Author's Notes: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I took some of the suggestions to mind and hope that this is reflected in my latest chapter. I think one day I'll have to retool the whole thing and edit it but let's just get it done for now:D

Disclaimer: I don't own, SquareEnix does.

Chapter 9: Proposal of alliance

"She lays down on the fresh lawn


She can make everything magical


But she tied one on big time


And it makes me wanna rewind


To back in the days when we were young

When everything was like a loaded gun"

Psycho – Puddle of Mudd

The sound of pounding on the door was multiplied by the pounding in his head and Seifer dragged his eyes open with a low moan. They felt gritty with too little sleep, and the sunlight seeping in through the cracks above his bed seemed overly bright, causing him to throw his arm across them as he kicked away the covers. Sitting up was another chore, but the thudding knock at the door was insistent and he wondered blearily if his rent was due.

He nearly tripped over one of the scattered bottles on his way to the door, and sent the glass rolling across the room, leaving behind a pain in his bare toes that had him cursing under his breath. He passed a hand over his face, blinking to try and recall the night before. He remembered leaving the hotel... frustration coursing through his veins, and he clearly remembered emptying his liquor cabinet, the knowledge that getting drunk off his ass would remove all feelings of lust from his rebellious body.

Shit. It looked like he'd been successful. Now all he felt was pain; from the monstrous headache to the nausea building in his empty stomach. He staggered against the doorjamb and yanked open the door, prepared to take out his ire on his unwitting visitor. The insult died on his lips as he stared down at Quistis Trepe.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He scowled at her, squinting as her hair shone golden in the morning sun.

Her eyes passed over him, distaste flickering through them before she let out a resigned sigh. He was still wearing the clothes from the night he'd come to her hotel room, and they were horribly wrinkled. He hadn't shaved, and the stubble across his chin was a slightly dark blonde. His eyes looked bloodshot and his hair was sticking up in a way that might have been cute if he didn't look so dour and... as if he had a really horrible hangover.

Pressing her hand against the firm wall of his chest she shoved him backwards so she could walk into the apartment, grimacing at the mess it was. He watched her with a look that was part confusion, but mostly annoyance.

"Look, I don't know why you're here Trepe. After you tossed me out last night you--"

Her eyebrow winged up and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That was the night before last Seifer. I see you've been in a drunken stupor. If I'd known that I might have waited the extra day for you to cool off before coming by."

He blinked at her dumbly, closing his eyes. Hyne, he'd passed out for a whole day. That was bad. Quistis moved past him to pick up the bottles and glanced at the labels before lining them neatly atop the counter.

"With all it seems that you consumed... I'm not surprised." Her eyes moved over him again and she wrinkled her nose. "Look, get a shower and painkillers, change clothes. I'll take you to breakfast, and then we can talk about what I came here for."

He looked at her in surprise, standing there with her back to the still-open door. The sun behind her lit her golden hair like a halo. She wore a conservative knee-length skirt and a pale pink tank top. She looked like summer and smelled like a garden, and she was standing in his apartment, looking at him expectantly with those blue eyes. Grumbling he turned away and made his way back towards the bathroom.

oooOOOOooo

Standing in the doorway to the bedroom Rinoa watched Squall sleep. He had returned to their room way beyond midnight that night, waking her when he climbed into bed. She'd slipped sleepily into his arms and been startled when he tightened his hold on her, pressing his face to her hair. She'd said nothing and he'd fallen into a restless sleep. Now finally he had been still for a while, and his rest seemed dreamless.

Across the room the clock glowed 8:00 and she moved reluctantly wake him, knowing he had another busy day ahead of him and he'd already slept later than usual. Her hand was gently insistent against his shoulder and when he opened his eyes, squinting up at her from beneath his bangs, she moved to draw the blinds, letting the brilliant morning sunlight illuminate the room.

He lie still for a moment, watching the way the rays of sunlight glinted off the blonde highlights in her bangs, and the light shone through the thin material of her white nightgown. He smiled before his gaze drifted to the clock and with a sigh he was pushing himself out of the bed, rubbing a hand through his sleep-tousled hair.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier? I have a meeting at nine."

She crossed towards the door that lead to the sitting room and small kitchenette of the Commander's quarters, turning to look at him as she paused there.

"You were back so late last night. I figured you needed the sleep."

She could hear the shower starting up and he'd already removed the t-shirt he'd slept in, leaving him only in a pair of grey shorts.

"It's bad Rin. Irvine and Selphie have already found the bodies of two of the crewmen on Laguna's ship and... they don't think any escape pods were launched."

Her hand went to her throat as horror filled her eyes.

"Squall I'm so..."

He shook his head, looking away from her. "I know. I can't talk about this now."

She watched him turn and disappear fully into the bathroom and stood there a moment, emotions rolling through her. Sometimes it struck her how she, with her abundance of emotions and penchant for expressing everything she felt so openly, could have ended up with someone like Squall.

Rinoa sighed, moving to the kitchenette to start coffee and glanced down at Angelo, who was already working on her breakfast. Despite Squall's dismissal she knew he was hurting right now, and worried. He just didn't have time to let that affect him.

She was cracking the eggs in a skillet when he emerged from the bedroom, dressed in his usual outfit. She couldn't understand how he could wear black in such hot weather, even with the Garden's efficient air conditioning. He'd forgone the jacket at least, and as he moved to pour himself a cup of coffee she could see that his hair was still damp.

As Squall sat she put the eggs onto a plate along with some toast and sausages. He slumped in his chair, and Rinoa could see that he was still exhausted. He drank the coffee black and ate the food she placed in front of him, saying nothing as she watched him worriedly.

Instead of speaking she moved up behind him and leaned in, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and resting her chin atop his head. Squall stilled, used to these sorts of gestures from the dark-haired sorceress. He put down his silverware and lifted his hands to rest over her arms, rubbing lightly along the soft pale skin as he let out a long sigh.

"I feel so helpless." He confessed, squeezing her biceps once before dropping his hands. "Cid's trial is going to hell, we can't seem to find anything that says he's innocent, Laguna's ship went down and everyone onboard is probably dead."

Her arms tightened around him and she rubbed her cheek against the soft strands of his hair, blinking back tears.

"And Esthar won't answer our messages. We don't know if it's because they're panicked over what happened to their leader, of if something's gone wrong there."

Rinoa moved around to sit beside him, drawing her chair close so that her knees were pressed against his thigh.

"Squall... its okay to be upset about what happened to your Father..."

His eyes hardened and he picked up his fork.

"I hardly knew the man Rinoa. Just because he happened to be my biological parent doesn't mean..."

She held up a hand, cutting him off.

"I know you didn't know him Squall. And I think that's what bothers you the most."

oooOOOOooo

"You want me to what?"

For a moment Quistis thought Seifer might spit his breakfast on her face, but he swallowed the eggs and gave her an incredulous look across the table. The people behind them had stopped speaking and she could feel inquisitive eyes on the back of her head. Silently she straightened her napkin, meeting his gaze. She took a sip of her coffee and soon the other couple had returned to their own conversation. She rested her elbows on either side of her plate, keeping her voice low and she leaned towards him.

"I want you to come with me to Esthar." She repeated her earlier request, though it wasn't voiced as a question.

"Don't you think it's a bit early for us to be going on a romantic getaway together Trepe?"

She sighed, her breath teasing the strands of blonde that fell in front of her face and she reached up a hand to push them back behind her ears.

"I have to go there to continue my investigation. We don't know the situation there right now... and I need someone to watch my back. With the trial against Cid every spare SeeD is out working on something, and we'd already had quite a few contracts set up."

"So basically you're saying that I'm your only choice." He scowled at her, not sure why that bothered him.

"No actually you're not." She sat back against the vinyl seat to take another sip of her coffee. "I was given the okay to hire someone, a freelance mercenary. I'll pay you of course. I'd rather work with you than someone I don't know for a couple of reasons; the first being that though you certainly weren't one to follow rules when you were at Garden you are at least aware of them..." She cocked a brow, hoping he hadn't tuned out everything she'd said in her classes and continued, "I won't have to explain things to you, and the second being we've worked together before. In battle I find that to be of key importance. I wouldn't trust some hired gun that plays without any rules."

"Yet you're trusting me?" He looked at her in mild disbelief. "You know I was never good with rules."

She shrugged her shoulders, "I trust you enough Seifer. You wouldn't do something that would get me killed."

He frowned at her, setting his fork on the empty plate. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Quistis smiled at him, taking the bill when the waitress returned to clear their plates. "Amazingly enough, I actually am sure of it." She stood, handing him a fat white envelope. "Meet me this afternoon at the pier by four o'clock with everything you'll need for the trip, including some changes of clothes and your weapon."

He stood as well. "I don't remember agreeing..."

"I'll bring extra magic for you." She offered him a wave and turned, making her way out of the small cafe.

He stared after her and looked down at the envelope in his hands. He opened it to see bills, a good chunk of gil, all neatly aligned. He stuffed it into his pocket and turned to stalk out of the establishment