Chapter 9: Zen And The Art of Fly Fishing

Nida stood at the lakeshore with his fishing rod in hand, preparing to make a cast. He smiled over at Quistis and then carefully, gracefully, flung the rod forward. The line, with the fly lure attached, arced over the water before landing several meters away with a quiet splash.

As Nida reeled the lure back in for another try, Quistis commented, "You know, when you said fishing, I didn't know you meant fly-fishing."

Nida flicked the rod back and forth a few times then made another cast, admiring the way the lure sailed over the water as though it was a living fly. Quistis smiled at the sight. Until she'd come fishing with Nida, she'd never known that something so prosaic could actually be so beautiful.

And it was. The morning sun gilded everything, striking sparks of light from the dew left behind on the grass, the cattails and the tree leaves. Dragonflies and other flying insects flitted over the sun washed lake, tempting the lake trout that Nida was fishing for to leap up and snap after them. Birds sang, loons warbled and ducks quacked, while frogs and toads boomed a deep counterpoint.

It had nothing at all to do with the fact that she had fallen head over heels in love with the man busily turning a fly-fishing cast into a graceful work of art. Certainly he added to the beauty of the morning, and Quistis raised her camera and snapped another picture of him as he made a cast, capturing that moment in time forever. Then she sighed at the scene; at how the pure quality of the light silhouetted him against the reeds and cattails, at the way his camouflage patterned boonie hat tilted down over his brow just so, and at how well his lean body wore his black board shorts and t-shirt.

Reeling in his line yet again, Nida replied, "Well, I love lake trout. And this is challenging and fun."

"It looks like it. The way you fling that lure out, it almost looks like a dance. I'm having fun just watching you." Quistis smiled at him.

Nida smiled back, "You want to give it a try? I brought an extra pole."

"Sure." Quistis said, laying her camera aside. Nida reeled in his line and set his pole down for a moment while he got the other pole.

When he returned, he instructed Quistis on the way to make a cast, and she was amazed at the fact that when it came right down to it, it actually was a dance. Certainly the way the pole was wielded was not far off from wielding a sword, which was one reason why Nida seemed to have such an affinity for the practice. Every movement, every flick of the wrist, played a part in the cast, and the better the cast, the more lifelike the lure appeared.

And just like the sword, it was easy to learn, but difficult to master.

They spent the morning like that, dancing in tandem with their long poles, sending brightly colored fly lures winging out over the water in the hopes that a hungry trout would be tempted beyond reason to leap up after it. They spoke little, instead concentrating upon fishing, but Quistis didn't mind it. The silences were companionable. Comfortable. And every so often leavened with a warm smile or a laugh as either he or she missed a cast or tangled their line.

It became a form of meditation, pulling them both into a zen-like state of calm contemplation. Until a trout leaped up and snatched Quistis' lure, causing her to exclaim in excitement.

"I got one!" she gasped, holding onto the pole as it bent from the trout's efforts to escape.

"Tug it back to set the hook, then start reeling it in." Nida instructed, grinning at her excitement and laying his pole down. He got a net and a bucket of water ready for the fish when Quistis finally brought it in.

"Oh! Oh my! This thing is really fighting!" She gasped, reeling and pulling back on the pole. Nida set down the net and the bucket, thinking to give Quistis a hand.

"I've got this, don't worry." She said, smiling at him. Then she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced in its direction for a better look.

"Nida! Your pole!" she said urgently. Nida, who'd been grinning at the sight of Quistis, hair pulled back into a pony-tail and wearing a bright blue halter style bikini top and cut off shorts, continued reeling in the tiring fish on the end of her line. She looked sexy as hell, even with her face scrubbed clean of makeup, and Nida enjoyed the privilege of looking his fill at her.

Her urgent call brought his attention to his own pole in time to see it slowly sliding toward the water. The tension in the line attached showed plainly that it was being pulled, and Nida's eyes widened.

"Whoa!" he gasped, diving after it and grabbing it in the nick of time. Quistis' laughter bubbled up from beside him as he rolled triumphantly to his feet with his pole in hand and began fighting whatever it was on the end of his line. The pole bent markedly and Nida marveled at the strength of the tug.

"Holy crap Quistis! I think I just hooked the lake monster!" He exclaimed, hauling back with all his strength.

"Nope, sorry!" Quistis laughed breathlessly, "I got the lake monster, I'm sure of it! You've probably just hooked a guppy!"

"Hah! I'll show you guppy…" Nida said stoutly, working the reel for all he was worth.

They both fought their battles in tandem, laughing and joking with each other. The end result however, wasn't quite what either expected.

Nida held the end of his line up and surveyed the "lake monster" that he'd hooked with chagrin, laughing ruefully as he compared it with Quistis' catch. As hard as the fish had fought, he'd been sure it was a monster. Instead, the silvery creature flopping on the end of his line was barely the size of his hand.

"I think yours is bigger than mine." He observed.

Quistis burst out laughing at his remark, saying, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Nida echoed her laughter, shaking his head as he worked he hook out of the still gasping fish, and saying, "See? That's why I love you. Such compassion for the fragile male ego." Tossing the little fish back into the lake, he added, "Off you go mate. Go get bigger for the next battle."

He looked up to see Quistis staring at him, the beautiful lake trout that she'd hooked hanging forgotten from her hand.

Crap. Suddenly, he realized what he'd inadvertently let slip. He hadn't wanted to tell her so randomly what he'd felt…it had just felt so natural that it had come out on its own.

"What did you say?" She whispered.

Nida swallowed, and answered softly, "I love you."

And there it was. Nida watched as Quistis' eyes filled with tears, the fish she'd caught falling from her nerveless fingers. Then she launched herself at him, taking his face in her hands and kissing him senseless.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and kissed her back, completely overwhelmed by her response. Stars didn't fall. Violins didn't sound and fireworks didn't explode, but that didn't matter. They had the loons, the frogs and the trumpeting of the black swans as a haunting soundtrack. More than adequate music for his heart to sing with.

So he lost himself in their kiss, in the feel of her warm body as he held her close, the soft, silky texture of her lips, the flavor and essence of her. Kissing away the tears that tracked down her cheeks, telling her wordlessly that every word that had spilled from his lips was straight from his heart.

Quistis too was overwhelmed by what she was feeling as she kissed him. She felt as though she was both soaring and falling at the same time. Both scared and exhilarated, her heart pounded heavily as she broke off the kiss and simply buried her face in the crook of his neck and held him while the tears continued to leak from her eyes.

I love you. Three small, softly spoken words, given proof by the soft intensity of Nida's expression, the gentleness of his touch as he held her; three words that had buried themselves deep into the center of her being.

A small eternity passed as they held each other. The tears dried on Quistis' cheeks, those that Nida hadn't kissed away. He stroked her hair lightly, and Quistis stroked Nida's cheek and caressed the back of his neck, threading her fingers through his hair.

He had remained silent, not pushing for a response from her beyond kissing her enthusiastically. It made her love him even more that he allowed her time to process what he'd said, not pressing her for anything.

"I love you too," she whispered, smiling in quiet joy. He tightened his arms around her, leaning his cheek against hers.

He wanted to stay there like that with her forever. Quistis too, seemed unwilling to move from their embrace. But…eventually they had to.

Nida shifted first, loosening his hold upon her and taking her face in his hands, brushing away the remaining traces of tears from Quistis' cheeks. Then he simply gazed at her, his smile lighting not only his face but his eyes as well. And Quistis was lost, staring into the kaleidoscope of blues, greens, golds and browns that swirled together to produce the coloration that so many called "hazel" and was in reality a mixture of all colors.

His smile grew broader and a soft laugh bubbled up from deep inside of him and he said, "I think you dropped your fish back into the lake."

Quistis' laugh echoed his and she said, "I guess I'll have to catch us another one."


It turned out, she didn't need to. The hook and line had still been attached, so it was relatively easy to retrieve the poor creature and put it in the bucket where it swam about listlessly, awaiting its ultimate fate. Quistis and Nida meanwhile, resumed their fishing, catching only one more fish each before the heat of the day got the better of them and they put away the fishing gear in favor of swimming.

As promised, Quistis called Leviathan, turning it loose into the lake where it dove and surfaced with a happy bugle, pausing only to touch its nose briefly against Quistis' cheek before arching away with sinuous grace, searching for its promised playmate.

Nida was laughing again as it did, shaking his head in amazement. "That's just too cute for words. And I never thought I'd refer to a water elemental in the form of a sea-monster as "cute"."

"No," Quistis said with a smile as they watched the Guardian slithering through the water toward the opposite side of the lake. The sun glittered off the silvery blue scales that peeked periodically above the surface of the water with an opalescent gleam. "She's not cute. She's beautiful."

"Wonder what the Obel Lake monster looks like? What if it's not even remotely like her?" Nida asked.

"I don't think it matters. I think she just wanted to get out and play a bit." Quistis said with a shrug. Then she gave into temptation and waded into the water, shivering slightly at the temperature of the lake.

"Do you do this a lot? Turn her loose like this?" Nida asked, curiously. His GF Aeryon had never seemed to have a problem with remaining housed within his mind or staying dormant until junctioned. It had never occurred to Nida to wonder if the creature might not at times want to fly free…

"Occasionally. There's a funny story related to that." Quistis said, wading deeper into the water as she grew accustomed to the temperature.

Nida followed her, asking, "Yeah? Tell me."

"You know Squall's taken up surfing, right?" Quistis asked him.

"Yeah, I remember hearing about it. I guess he got pretty good at it." Nida said.

"Not as good as Zell and Irvine, but not too bad for someone who isn't obsessed with it." She said.

"So, how does turning Leviathan loose relate to Squall and surfing…." Nida's voice trailed off as his mind caught up with what he'd just said and he stared at Quistis, eyes wide.

"No way." He stated, staring at her.

She burst into laughter, replying, "Yes way. Zell was junctioned to her at the time and he had the brilliant idea to call her out and turn her loose since the waves weren't big enough to surf that day. He thought it'd be cool as hell to surf a tsunami."

Nida's jaw dropped, "They actually had her do her tsunami attack? What happened?"

"Well, they all three nearly drowned but Zell at least thought it was awesome and began doing it on a semi regular basis when the waves just weren't challenging enough for them. Turned out, Leviathan enjoyed it too, and tempered her attack to just enough strength to make some nice waves without drowning everyone." Quistis answered.

"No wonder Zell liked to junction her so much. I'd always wondered about that. I thought he was more suited to a fire elemental like Ifrit." Nida commented.

"If you go by personality, definitely." Quistis said.

A loud splash and deep rumble caught their attention and they looked toward the opposite side of the lake to see the gleaming, silvery blue Leviathan facing a similarly serpentine creature in iridescent green and black. They both had reared well out of the water and faced each other, both rumbling threateningly, necks weaving back and forth in a snakelike dance. Quistis exchanged a worried look with Nida, wondering if she hadn't upset the resident lake monster by invading its territory.

She was on the verge of recalling Leviathan when Nida said, "Look!"

The lake monster surged forward, but instead of biting at Leviathan, it twined its neck around hers, hissing softly. Their bodies tangled together, they fell back into the water with a mighty splash. There was a curious lack of aggression in their actions, and it took an observation from Nida to provide insight as to why.

"Looks like the mating dance of the Balamb seasnake." Nida commented.

Quistis stared at him, eyes wide, and gasped, "they're mating?" Then she started laughing as the impressions she received from the Guardian bore that out.

Nida joined her, saying, "I think as of now, you're her favorite host."

Quistis, still laughing, asked him, "why?"

"You got her laid! How often does that happen for a GF?" Nida asked.

Quistis laughed harder and managed, "I'd never thought about it, honestly!"

Nida playfully flicked a bit of water at Quistis, saying, "considering where your mind has been lately, that is a surprise."

Quistis raised one eyebrow, cringing only slightly as the cold water that Nida had flicked at her landed upon her sun-warmed skin. The initial shock passed quickly and Quistis responded in kind, prompting Nida to flinch as the cold water hit him, laughing.

"Oh?" She challenged, "and just where do you think my mind has been?"

"Same place mine's been." Nida snorted, moving to take her into his arms again. He bent down and kissed her, and she pulled close until she was flush against him. The warmth of their bodies against each other made them forget the chill of the water they were standing in. They were oblivious to all but the sensations evoked by their kiss.

Then something large exploded from the water close to them, and drenched them both in a torrent of icy lake water.

Quistis screamed, and Nida exclaimed, "Holy crap that's cold!" Quistis clung to him, laughing uncontrollably, and he got a brief flash of gleaming blue and silver scales before Leviathan dove back into the water, splashing more water upon them.

"She wants to play with us." Quistis said, still laughing.

"Play with us? How?" Nida asked.

"Watch." Quistis said, then let go of him and backed away, into deeper water. Nida's eyes widened as he saw the telltale ripples on the surface of the water that signaled the elemental's approach. Then suddenly the creature's head rose above the surface of the lake, taking Quistis with it. She clung to the spikes around its head, sitting astride its neck as it glided quickly through the water.

"Nida! Come on!" she called, holding her hand out to him as they slithered by. He reached out and she caught him, pulling him along with them both. He scrambled aboard the snakelike neck, taking care with the spikes, and settled himself behind Quistis, wrapping his arms around her waist.

He held on while Leviathan undulated through the water with surprising speed. Nida was momentarily distracted by the exhilaration of riding the creature, so didn't notice the shadow pacing them at first. A flash of iridescent green caught his eye however as the lake monster's back broke the surface of the water. Then its head reared above the water and it slithered beside them.

Nida directed Quistis' attention to the green and black monster, and she gasped.

"Wow! Isn't he gorgeous?" she said.

Nida narrowed his eyes, and finally nodded in agreement. The creature turned its golden eyes upon them for a moment, and Nida stared, caught by the intelligence he saw there. This was not a mere monster. It was. …Something else. The spell was broken as the monster turned away and dove back under the water, its blackish-green coloration rendering it all but invisible in the deep waters of the lake.

It turned into a race, with Nida and Quistis both laughing in exhilaration at the speed Leviathan reached while keeping pace with the resident monster. Once that was concluded, with no clear winner that either Quistis or Nida could deduce, they took to swimming instead. Leviathan seemed content to simply float upon the surface of the water and allow them to swim around and under it, using it for a diving platform or a float.

"I wonder if she'd let us fish while we're up here?" Nida mused.

Quistis laughed, "Yes, but don't you think she'd scare the fish away? She doesn't look like a boat."

"Nah. If anything, she'll just look like a log floating in the water." Nida grinned.

An irritated rumble sounded from the elemental and it dove, arching down into the water and causing a coil to hump up suddenly and travel down its length. The sudden movement dislodged its passengers, sending them back into the water. Quistis yelped in surprise, while Nida simply held his breath as he hit the water and went under.

He surfaced seconds later, sputtering and wiping water from his face, saying, "I think I've insulted her."

Quistis, who as also sputtering, replied, "Yeah, I'm getting a distinct sense of irritation from her. It's all right darling," She called out, "we didn't mean to imply that you were a log, just that you're very good at disguising yourself as one. It makes fishing so much easier when they don't know a large predator is nearby."

Nida laughed when Leviathan's tail flipped up, flinging more water at them.

"I guess this means no more free rides, huh?" He grinned, wiping water off his face again.

"That's okay, I'm a good swimmer." Quistis said, making her way to his side.

"Well, that's good." Nida said, squinting into the distance. "Because I think your guardian just dumped us off in the middle of the lake."

"Oh, dear. Can you swim that far?" Quistis asked sweetly.

Nida made a great show of pondering that question, finally answering, "Well, I'm training for the decathlon, not a triathlon, so…. that may be a bit of a challenge for me. But I think I can make it."

"Race you to the shore then!" Quistis challenged, striking out immediately with surprising speed.

"Hey!" Nida exclaimed, then followed suit, swimming strongly after her. In truth, they were both good swimmers. It was part of the physical requirements that went along with being a SeeD. Everyone had to know how to swim, and swim well. While Nida couldn't compete with the members of Balamb Garden's swim team, he was still strong and confident in the water. As was Quistis. Of course, being junctioned to Leviathan gave her the edge in strength and endurance.

Nida still managed to at least remain even with her for the first half of their impromptu race. Then he realized that the distance was farther than he'd thought, and that swimming unjunctioned was a bad way to come to a realization of one's own physical limitations.

Since drowning wasn't included in his plans for the weekend, he dropped back to a slower pace and did his best to breathe in synch with his strokes. Swimming in a freshwater lake had different challenges than swimming in a pool or in the ocean. In the ocean one had to contend with the tides, and with the denizens of that environment. In the pool there was no challenge beyond simply swimming.

In the lake, there weren't tides, but there were water weeds, almost more insidious than seaweed in the way that they tangled in one's arms and legs the closer one drew to shore, interfering with the motion of swimming. Dragging the swimmer down and hampering their progress. There were creatures like snapper turtles, sturgeon, and of course the lake monster, which could be nearly as problematical as sharks, jellyfish and adamantoise.

Of course, no one yet had any solid proof that the lake monster had ever attacked anyone.

By the time Nida made it to shore, he was sobbing for breath and his arms and legs were rubbery from fatigue. Quistis of course had beaten him handily, and had actually gotten worried when she didn't see him right on her heels. Watching him grimly labor on after her made her feel guilty for forgetting that he'd dropped all of his junctions just the previous day.

Crawling ashore, he collapsed on the soft grass, panting heavily. Quistis made her way over to him and sat down, stroking her hand down his back gently.

"Sorry. I forgot you'd dropped all of your junctions." She said. Nida rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, concentrating on breathing. It didn't take long for him to catch his breath however.

"God," He said breathlessly. "How far was that? A kilometer?"

"I doubt it. Maybe half that." Quistis said.

Nida rolled his head over and looked at her, replying, "Felt like it was a kilometer. You're lucky I didn't drown."

"You wouldn't have drowned. I'd have resuscitated you. Besides, a kilometer's nothing. If you're White SeeD, they make you swim ten kilometers or you aren't even accepted. It's their equivalent of a field exam I guess. They drop you overboard and sail off. If you make it back to the ship, you're a White SeeD." Quistis said.

Nida snorted, "proof of my privately held opinion that those guys are completely insane."

"They aren't any crazier than the rest of us SeeDs, just a little more narrowly focused." She said.

"Narrow is right." Nida said with a grimace. The White SeeDs he'd met had been so narrow-minded it was a wonder that anything other than their mission occupied their thoughts.

"I know what you're getting at, but they aren't all like that. Some of them are very nice." Quistis said.

"If you say so. How do you know so much about them anyway? The only time they were aboard Garden was when that girl, Ellone was there. They didn't mix much with us while they there." Nida said, belatedly remembering that Ellone was Squall's sister and aside from Laguna Loire, the only family he had.

It had taken awhile for him to wrap his head around those revelations. Indeed, everyone in Garden had buzzed about it for weeks when Squall had revealed that information. It made Nida even more determined to find information about his own family. Squall had managed it, mainly through luck and a twist of fate. Perhaps fate would finally work in Nida's favor as well.

"I…uh… got to know one of them awhile back." Quistis answered hesitantly. It had been a couple of years ago, just after Squall and Rinoa had announced their engagement in fact. She'd been on her way from Galbadia to Esthar on business and had a layover in FH. The White SeeDs had been docked there as well. The young man she'd met and spent the night with had been both beautiful and sweet, but they both had known that nothing much could come of their brief liaison. The White SeeDs lived on the sea, and Quistis, despite the fact that Garden itself could sail upon the oceans if needed, was still largely landbound.

But that connection, brief though it had been, had left them both with fond memories and it had helped Quistis to finally put her schoolgirl crush on Squall to rest once and for all. She had learned that there were other men out there, some of them easily as gorgeous as Squall, if not more so, and most of them much more available to her than Squall had ever been.

Nida rolled over onto his side facing her; his breathing and heartbeat finally back to normal. She didn't elaborate on her answer, and he didn't press for details. He suspected that the White SeeD she'd gotten to know had been male; possibly a former lover, and he didn't really care too much what she'd done or whom she'd done it with before they'd started dating. The only exception to that being the man who'd left such profound scars upon her psyche. Him, Nida wanted to kill.

A gurgling growl from Nida's midsection started them both laughing and reminded them that it was midday and neither had eaten since morning.

"We'd better get some lunch. It's no wonder you faded halfway through your swim." Quistis said.

"You're probably right." Rolling back onto his back and flinging his forearm over his eyes to block out the sun, Nida said, "Ugh. I'm afraid you'll have to do the cooking. I'm too tired to move."

"Too tired to even help me kill and clean our fish?" Quistis asked.

Nida peered at her from under his shielding forearm and said; "I thought we were going to have them for dinner."

"I doubt they'll last that long. Besides, it's mean to prolong their suffering." Quistis replied.

Nida laughed softly, "So it's a mercy killing you're after huh? Well, sorry but my muscles are mush right now. I couldn't stand up if I wanted to."

Quistis snorted, "You're exaggerating. And even if you aren't, I know I can get at least part of you to stand up."

Nida dropped his forearm and grinned at the arch expression on Quistis' face. "Prove it." He challenged, and his grin grew wider as he added, "Please."

"Okay." She said, leaning over to kiss him deeply. He let his hand caress the back of her neck under her damp hair, and tasted sunshine on her lips. Her hand caressed the drying skin of his chest, then her fingers traced lightly down the trail of hair that led to his shorts. A groan was forced from him as her hand slipped inside and she began to fondle him.

She teased him with her lips and tongue, making his head swim with her searing kisses while her hand stroked and caressed him to full arousal. Then she stopped, pulling both her hand and lips away from him with a wicked grin.

Standing up, she started to walk away, ignoring his groans and curses, and said sweetly, "Want more? You'll have to come and get it."

"You…wicked, evil…. sexy…arrrgh! You'll pay for that!" Nida growled. Quistis simply laughed and walked away, leaving him aching.

He scrambled to his feet, rubbery legs and all, and managed not to wobble too much as he hurried to catch up to her and grabbed her, pulling her into a rough kiss.

"Bitch. Teasing me like that." He breathed between kisses, adding, "But I love you anyway."

"I love you too," Quistis said, giving as good as she got. He pressed her close and she could feel his hardness pressing into her belly.

"Now, let's take care of lunch, then I promise I'll take care of you." She said.

"How about we take care of each other?" Nida asked softly. Quistis smiled, sensing a deeper meaning beneath that soft question.

"Deal." She answered.


Nida deftly gutted, scaled and filleted the fish he'd caught, while Quistis did the same with hers. She did so with a matter of fact skill that Nida had to admire. Not everyone could handle that task. He'd seen both girls and guys get grossed out or sick, or were too clumsy to handle the slippery fish. Even some female SeeDs had trouble with it, Nida had found. Not every girl, SeeD or not, was suited to outdoor living.

It didn't surprise him that Quistis was so deft at handling a filleting knife. She certainly had enough field experience now that living off the land was second nature to her. He was glad of course that it spared him the histrionics that such activities as gutting a fish and baiting a hook tended to cause in some girls.

Once that task was done, and the offal tossed to an appreciative Leviathan as a snack, Nida asked Quistis, "Do you want to cook them or shall I?"

"You do it. I'm going to see if I can't find some watercress and some other herbs to liven it up a little. There's a bit of grease left over from the bacon this morning in the pan, so you shouldn't have any trouble frying the fish. I'll be back in a little bit." She said, buckling on the belt that held her whip.

As she strode out of camp, she pointed her finger at the pile of wood in the fire pit and cast a fira spell to light it. Nida got out the cooking gear while she was gone, setting it up after the fire had died down a little bit.

By the time Quistis reappeared with an armful of fresh greens, the fish was done, as was the rice that he'd cooked along with it. Quistis rinsed the watercress and other herbs off in the lake and shook it out, depositing a handful on each of their plates.

They sat side by side by the fire, eating their fresh-caught lake trout fillets, greens and rice, the warm afternoon sun beating down on them.

"Oh, I almost forgot about the beers. I'll be right back sweetie." Nida laid his plate aside and went over to the cooler they'd brought. Well stocked with ice, and periodically refreshed by the judicial use of a weak blizzard spell, it contained their beers along with other perishable items that they'd brought along.

Nida opened both and sat down next to Quistis again, handing one of them to her.

"Thanks," She said, taking a sip.

Nida took a sip of his as well, replying, "You're welcome." He set his bottle down briefly to retrieve his plate and resume eating.

"This is good," Quistis smiled, enjoying the contrasting flavors of the fish, the greens and the rice. "Smart, sexy, and a good cook. I think I'll keep you."

"Good. Then my plan is working." Nida grinned at her with a wink.

"Plan?" Quistis asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes. My plan to seduce you with my sexy body, dazzle you with my brilliance, and finally win your heart with my mad cooking skills." He answered.

Quistis laughed at that, interjecting, "none of which holds a candle to your humility."

Nida chuckled at that, smiling over at her. "Hey, at least I'm not trying to baffle you with bullshit. I'm the real deal baby, as Zell would say."

Quistis laughed harder at that, asking, "He would say that too, wouldn't he?"

"He has, on more than one occasion. And it's surprisingly successful." Nida confirmed.

Quistis' eyes widened and she asked, "Wait, does that mean what I think it means?"

Nida nodded, "It does, and believe me, I've seen the guy at work. He could give Irvine a run for his money, if the mood hits him right."

"Zell? Really?" Quistis asked, incredulous.

"Really. He's kind of like you Quiss, in that he doesn't date SeeDs much. Apparently, the townie girls really like blonds who've helped save the world." Nida answered.

"Wow. I've never really even thought of him like that. He's always been like my little brother." Quistis said.

Then a thought struck her, and she asked Nida, "Who said I didn't date SeeDs?"

He shrugged and answered, "Xu, but even if she hadn't mentioned it, I'd already noticed. Why is that?"

He'd noticed? Quistis suddenly wondered how long Nida had been noticing her.

"I guess I have to clarify that a bit. It's not that I don't date SeeDs; I just don't date any Balamb SeeDs. Or at least, I didn't." Quistis smiled slightly over at Nida before returning her attention to the remains of her food.

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"The Trepies," Quistis admitted. "Among other things. Honestly, the gossip there can get pretty bad. The last thing I want is everyone and their brother discussing my love life like it's the latest soap opera."

Nida frowned. He understood her concerns about the gossip. He didn't care for it either. What that meant for the two of them, he had no idea. He wasn't going to let it scare him off, and while the Trepies were annoying, they weren't enough of a deterrent to stop him from seeing Quistis. In short, he didn't care what everyone else said or thought about who he was dating. The trick was to be selective on who he talked to, and never discuss things that he didn't want spread openly around Garden.

Finally he reached over and took her hand, squeezing it slightly and asked her, "Where does that leave us then?"

Quistis sighed and looked away, "I don't know. I don't want you to feel like we have to hide, or that I'm ashamed for people to know that we're together. Nothing's further from the truth. But at the same time, I don't want it all over Garden either. I mean, we only just started dating and…"

"I understand. Or at least, I think I do. Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm pretty discreet about my personal life as well. My close friends know I'm dating you, but I trust them. Ultimately, it doesn't matter to me who knows and who doesn't."

Then Quistis laughed slightly and said, "Selphie's going to be after me for details. She already suspects that I've met someone. And trust me, what she knows, everyone knows."

"Well Xu's already aware. She's my friend too, you know." Nida told her.

Quistis nodded, "I did wonder what she wanted to talk to me about yesterday. But I've been so busy I haven't really had a chance to connect with her. With Selphie, well, she had me cornered last week but Irvine came back from his last assignment and spirited her away before I had a chance to say anything."

"I'm guessing you want to keep our relationship under wraps for the time being." Nida said.

Quistis nodded, "Yes, for a little while. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. It's nobody's business but ours anyway." Nida said, then pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingertips gently, adding, "Don't worry sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere."

Quistis smiled and caressed his cheek, saying softly, "I've always suspected you had a stubborn streak, Nida."

"You bet. How else would I have made SeeD? Hung in there when others dropped out or failed? It's not easy to do what we do. It's even harder to get to our level to do it at all. Stubborn? Yes. When it means something to me." Nida smiled back and kissed the palm of her hand. It meant something to him all right. It meant everything.

It was amazing, Quistis reflected as they both dealt with the dishes and utensils they'd used in the preparation of their meal. On the one hand, it felt like their relationship was progressing at the speed of light, far faster than Quistis would ordinarily be at ease with. On the other hand, Quistis had already known Nida for years. They already had a relationship, one that Quistis was content with. It had simply progressed from a platonic work relationship to a romantic one; an entirely different level, but one that with Nida at least, Quistis was becoming more and more comfortable with as time passed.

They returned to the lakeshore hand in hand as the afternoon progressed to dusk. What Quistis had begun earlier would be concluded later, they had both silently agreed, and Nida's immediate need had long since abated. It had by no means gone away however.

As they had done the evening before, they gazed out over the tranquil lake, listening to the creatures that lived there. A pair of ripples, disturbances left behind by something swimming under the surface, arrowed their way toward the shore where Nida and Quistis were standing.

The cause of those ripples reared up several meters from the shore where the water was still deep. Both Leviathan and the lake monster faced Quistis and Nida, side by side. They simply admired the creatures in silence, struck by the contrast between Leviathan's bright beauty and the lake monster's dark iridescence.

Quistis smiled and raised her camera to snap a picture, saying, "You two are too beautiful not to photograph. I hope you don't mind."

Leviathan sent her feelings of joy, which Quistis took to be agreement, and the lake monster…

"You may call me by the name of this lake, for I am its Guardian. I am Obel." It said.

"A Guardian? You're a GF?" Nida asked.

The creature turned its golden eyes upon Nida and responded, "Not as you know them. I guard only this lake and its environment. I am an elemental like your lovely Leviathan, but not of enough strength to tempt anyone to capture and subjugate me."

Quistis smiled then, saying, "I didn't believe Squall at first when he told me you'd spoken to him, even though I know he doesn't lie or make things up. You really did though, didn't you?"

"I did, though I did not reveal myself." The elemental said.

"Well, thank you for allowing us to visit your lovely home." Quistis said.

The creature inclined its head gracefully and replied, "And thank you, for respecting it as such. And for allowing your Guardian to visit with me. Her company was much appreciated."

Quistis and Nida both smiled as the two creatures twined their necks together in a serpentine embrace and then separated.

Facing them once again, the lake monster said, "She is fatigued, and wishes to return. But before you leave this place, would you summon her once more?"

"I'd be happy to." Quistis said, then turning her attention to Leviathan asked, "are you ready to return?" Leviathan nodded once, signaling an affirmative.

"Come then." Quistis said, and Leviathan touched noses briefly with Obel, then disappeared in a watery shimmer of light. Immediately, Quistis felt the Guardian's psychic presence in her mind, tired, sated and happy. Its physical form had returned to its home dimension. The feelings she got from the elemental assured her that Leviathan would be more than willing to return to this plane to visit with Obel once more.

"She will return in the morning," Quistis assured the resident monster and the creature inclined its head once again.

"Thank you. Have a good evening." Obel said, gracefully arching back into the water with a quiet splash. Only the telltale ripples left behind in its wake gave evidence of its passing as it swam away.

Nida slid his arm around Quistis' waist and pulled her close to his side, leaning his cheek against her hair.

"Now, that was just about the most amazing thing I've ever seen." He commented softly.

"Yeah, it was." Quistis said. They lapsed into silence for a moment, gazing raptly at the beautiful scenery before them.

Then she sighed, "I wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow."

"Me too. We'll have to come back and make a proper vacation of it, if we can get the time off. But we do have until tomorrow afternoon at least. We'll still be able to exhaust ourselves with fishing, swimming…and sex…" Nida said, and Quistis laughed.

"Had to have the sex in there, huh?" she smiled at him.

"Definitely. In fact, I seem to recall a bit of unfinished business that you started earlier. Are you interested in continuing from where you left off?" Nida asked her, gently turning her to face him, hands caressing her waist gently.

Quistis gazed up at him, and Nida fell into her crystalline blue eyes. She was summer, he thought. Golden hair like the blazing glory of the westering sun, eyes that rivaled the summer sky. Creamy skin with a hint of gold, and luscious curves which the SeeD uniform she normally wore hid far too well. Those curves were now on full display, and the bright blue bikini top and sexy cutoff shorts that Quistis was wearing hid very little of them. Nida had ached to have even those brief scraps of clothing off of her and her naked in his arms all day.

"You want to go to bed already? It's not even dark yet." Quistis smiled, then gasped slightly and shivered as Nida's fingers traced lightly along the top edge of her shorts, across her stomach and up her sides.

"All the better to see you with, my dear." Nida murmured, slow smile starting as he leaned in closer to her.

"I thought you exhausted yourself swimming." Quistis teased.

Then she closed her eyes as Nida's cheek grazed hers lightly, his lips touched her ear and his warm breath sent a thrill down her spine as he whispered, "I'm feeling much restored."

"Are you now?" she asked breathlessly. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. Not with what Nida was currently doing to her.

"Mmm-Hmmm." He responded, trailing his lips down her neck while lightly brushing his thumbs across her hardening nipples through the thin fabric of her bikini top.

"Oh. That's…uh…." She gasped as he lightly nipped her neck. She swallowed as his hands trailed lightly down her belly to dip below the waistband of her shorts.

The only thing she could articulate after that was a low moan as his lips found hers at the same time that his fingers found…. something else. Her knees went weak and she clung to him while she fought for breath under the twin assault of his lips and his clever fingers.

Then, just when she felt that she couldn't take any more, that she was simultaneously on the verge of melting and exploding…. it stopped.

Her breath escaped her in a bewildered, "huh?" as Nida stepped away with a wide, roguish grin.

"If you want more," He teased, "you'll have to come and get it."

Then he sauntered toward the tent with a low chuckle.

Quistis was left staring after him, trying to gather her scattered wits. She was going to kill him. After they'd finished what they'd started.


Author's note: Yes. I am EVIL. :)