All Aboard
As she watched Raijin and Seifer climb the gangway to board their ship home, she couldn't help but feel she was living in an alternate reality. There they went, her friend Raijin and her … Seifer, having a casual conversation about how much of a nightmare the packed boat would be. As if nothing had happened; as if their universe hadn't seismically shifted this morning.
She was surprised by how normal everything still was, despite the fact that Seifer's mouth had been on hers just minutes ago. Despite the fact that his hands had reached under her thighs to lift her onto the bathroom counter effortlessly, and that her legs had wrapped around his waist to pull him closer. Despite the fact that they'd only stopped to laugh briefly, when somewhere in between it all he hit his head on the wall sconce, sending light refracting in the mirror and sparking across his face. Karma, she'd said, touching the injured spot gently with her pale fingers. Worth it, he'd said huskily, before slanting his lips against hers again.
It was Raijin who'd interrupted them, knocking on the door of the hotel room cautiously. You guys okay in here? It's almost time to leave, ya know? He'd probably anticipated coming back to a fight, but instead walked in to find his friends scrambling out of the bathroom like they'd been caught committing a crime. Seifer's lips were pink with use, and the skin on Fujin's chin felt raw from friction with his unshaven face.
But Raijin didn't press the issue, understanding the sensitivity, and only asked them if they were ready to leave. All three of them looked around the room to Fujin and Seifer's unpacked things; the unboxed gift on the bed, earrings still on the nightstand, and Fujin's blue coat that had somehow been discarded and tossed just outside the bathroom door. Their unpreparedness was the confession that no one needed to verbalize.
With Raijin moving swiftly to tidy things up, Fujin's face red from a fresh blush, and Seifer rubbing his head to alleviate his throbbing headache, the trio worked in tandem to prepare for their voyage. Fujin's fingers delicately finished packing Seifer's clothes, placing the gift she'd bought him safely on top. Raijin snaked a pair of Fujin's black leggings off of the floor and stuffed them in an exterior compartment of her suitcase, and then snagged the silver earrings off of the dresser and reached out to place them in her hand. Fujin turned to see Seifer bending down to grab their coats from the floor before stopping to stare at the spot they'd just occupied on the counter, smiling wistfully as he reached out to straighten the now tilted sconce.
Outwardly, it seemed that not much had changed between them at all, save for Seifer's hands draping her coat over her shoulders and his fingers gently prying her suitcase from her hand when it was time to leave. I've got it, he'd said quietly when she began to protest. Raijin only smiled, more than likely wondering how long they were planning on keeping this charade up.
Inwardly … now that was a different story. Fujin had a very present feeling of disbelief that his hands had just been on her in that way, and that now they were just standing here boarding a boat for home as if it were all normal. As if it hadn't been something she'd been dreaming of for the better part of a decade.
In the midst of the giddiness, waves of panic that it was just a dream washed over her; a moment never to be replicated unless her mind deigned it important enough to dream again. But, the strong seaward wind stung against the rawness of her chin, where his face had been pressed to hers … it had to be real.
She stopped at the bottom of the gangway to get one more glimpse of Dollet, knowing she'd miss it even though their time there had been fraught. Her heart already ached for their hotel room, the weather beaten docks that creaked with the rocking of the waves, and walking home together on cobblestone streets under the lamplight that weaved among the salt-slicked buildings. She didn't know what they'd be returning home to, but she knew it wouldn't be this.
"Fuu, you forget something?" Seifer's voice called to her from the deck. She turned to see him looking down at her with the sun bright in the sky behind him—she had to shield her eyes. He looked overburdened, carrying two suitcases and his white coat slung over his shoulder. "If you did you may as well call the hotel and have it shipped home—this thing's taking off soon." Her mouth crooked into a small smile at the irrational worry in his voice that she'd be left behind.
"NO. SAYING GOODBYE."
"Well, can you say goodbye from up here? I mean, I will swim back for you if I have to. But if we can avoid that it'd be great." One of the bags slipped a little in his grip.
"COMING." She walked towards him, and his expression softened as she stepped onto the deck.
"Here, Raijin went this way." He jerked his head to his left, and they walked together through the throngs of tightly packed cruise-goers in the midst of their vacation. It was mostly people older than them, in their 40s and 50s, enjoying music and cocktails on the deck or sunning in chairs along the aisles of the boat. They walked by an outdoor dining area, just off of a main dining room.
"Hey, we should come grab dinner up here later instead of going out in Deling." Seifer stopped to survey the spot, and she halted alongside him, a little overwhelmed with all the foot traffic compared to the sleepy summer streets of their seaside getaway. "Nice lighting, the ocean air …"
"Yeah, sure." She shrugged her shoulders at him, not really caring at the moment where they would have dinner. "Looks nice."
"Great," Seifer smiled and nudged her forward towards the check-in desk with his elbow. "It's a date then."
"A date?" She arched a pale eyebrow at him, inadvertently asking the question like she was unsure of the definition of the word.
"Yeah … unless you don't want to." Fujin's hesitance made him second guess himself.
"N-no, of course. That would … be nice." Fujin fumbled her words as his green eyes looked into her own. Hyne, she could get lost forever in those eyes.
"Good, let's find out what time they serve dinner—I'll tell Raijin we have plans. But before we go anywhere I want the three of us to sit down and hash out what we're doing when we get back to Garden." They began to walk again, and she spotted Raijin excitedly waving a folder in the air at them.
"What do you suppose that's all about?" Fujin squinted to try and make out the words he was mouthing to them.
"The room, probably. Didn't I tell you it was nice?"
"Seifer," she groaned. "How much did this trip home cost, exactly?" He smirked, and increased his pace to avoid the question.
"This is what happens when you let me plan things, Fuu. It's always a little over the top."
"You always have to be the hero, don't you?" She yelled after him, and he turned to wink at her before rushing to meet Raijin.
Even though this day was far from normal, it still felt right. Fujin allowed herself to hope.
"Holy crap …" Raijin was the first to enter their suite, stopping in the doorway to stare in awe and blocking them from entering. "This is huge, ya know?"
Seifer followed next, nudging his way past Raijin and setting the two suitcases down on the floor, with Fujin just steps behind. She found herself standing in a clean and modern living room with a fireplace, sofa, a small round table, and a long wall of glass windows.
"Check out this view!" Raijin scurried to the far side of the room, opening the shades to reveal a panorama of the ocean and a small private deck.
"Wow …" Seifer walked to the sofa, inspecting it for a minute before laying down. "Not too shabby."
Fujin turned to her right and opened a door leading to a large bedroom. It had another wall of windows, and a breathtaking view of the water.
"Seifer, seriously. How much did this cost?" She returned to the living room to disapprovingly glare at him.
"It doesn't matter." He reassured her, as he folded his arms behind his head. "What's done is done. Just enjoy it."
"No worries here, ya know," Raijin chimed in from the deck, before his eyes grew wide at the sight of another door. "Is that another room?" Raijin bolted back inside through the door, and his voice echoed out to them. "Yep, sorry guys. I'm totally taking this one." Seifer rolled his eyes.
"I'll take the sofa, Fuu. That room's all yours." He pointed to the space behind her.
"But Seifer the sofa is tiny. That's silly, I'll take it."
"No, you take the room. Besides, I'm sure it pulls out … a sleeper sofa, probably." Seifer inspected the side of the sofa for evidence that it expanded in anyway.
"It doesn't, and your feet are hanging off the end. Let me—" But he cut her off, ignoring her request.
"Raijin, come back out here for a minute." Seifer yelled to their bronze friend, standing from the sofa and made his way to sit down at the table. "We need to talk about what's going to happen when we get back." Fujin followed suit, without command, and settled in the chair beside him. Raijin reluctantly emerged from his room, and plunked into the chair across from Seifer.
"Man, I don't want to talk about this. Can't we just … pretend we don't know anything, ya know? Drop Caraway's message in the ocean …" Raijin released an imaginary object with his hand, and Seifer shook his head.
"With other things in play now …" His eyes darted to Fujin, and then back to Raijin. "Inaction just isn't an option for us." Raijin nodded, and laced his fingers together on the table.
"When we get back, we need to head right to see Cid and hand off the message, but …" He paused for a moment to choose his words wisely. Fujin could tell he didn't want to scare her. "I can't decide if we should tell him about what's going on with you yet, Fuu."
"I have to meet with Kadowaki when I get back though, and at least get her to redact my records … don't you think she'll be obligated to tell Cid?" Seifer shook his head and sighed.
"She's not supposed to tell him, if her oath as a medical professional means anything at all. And for Kadowaki, I think it does. We should be okay."
"Why don't you want Cid to know, Seif?" Raijin questioned, his brow furrowing. "He's a decent guy, ya know. Trustworthy."
"I just have this weird feeling … " Seifer leaned back in his chair.
"Seifer …" Fujin interrupted him, tugging nervously at the sleeves of her coat, knowing how averse to differing opinions he was. "I think Cid needs to know, at some point."
"But why?" His eyes narrowed slightly as he considered her position. "You don't actually think these things are related, do you? I mean, I know Caraway's all worried about fate of the world, and was spouting off some seriously hyperbolic shit at dinner. But I think it sounds a little crazy. And regardless of that, it's always the three of us first, the rest of the world second." Fujin saw Raijin nodding in agreement with Seifer out of the corner of her eye. "We're our collective top priority, and I don't think giving all of our information away is putting us first." Fujin reluctantly nodded in agreement as she process his opinion.
"So … maybe for now we meet with Cid to give him Caraway's note and see if we get any additional intel. Then reassess once we have a clearer picture?" She proposed hesitantly, and Seifer's eyebrows lifted in interest.
"Are you saying that we should work the headmaster of Balamb Garden?" She held up her palm to stop him from talking.
"No … well, not explicitly. I think that I'll need to tell Cid everything eventually, but you're right—there's no use in jumping the gun. Maybe we should take a staggered approach." Fujin placed her forearms on the table and leaned forward.
"I'll schedule an appointment with Kadowaki right when we get back—she was worried about me when we left, and I know she'll make time for me. I'll check in with her about my symptoms and see if she can keep them off the record. I'll have to decide if I can trust her enough to reveal this alleged history of Pandemona yet. After that, we'll deliver the message to Cid and see where the conversation goes." Seifer smiled and then looked to Raijin, pointing his finger at Fujin.
"You see that Raij—that's a stone-cold mercenary right there. Hyne Fuu, you don't even have your stripes yet and you're already carrying out clandestine operations against our commander in chief." He turned back to wink at her and she groaned as Raijin chuckled along with him.
"Okay, okay—sorry. All joking aside." He leaned forward in his chair, and rested his arms on the table, mirroring her position. "The plan's good, but let's make sure we keep touching base before each step, okay?" He looked directly into Fujin's eyes. "No taking on the burden of responsibility. We don't make choices on our own for the group as a whole." She knew he was referencing her decision to not tell them about this to begin with. She nodded in agreement, knowing he was right.
"Okay." She agreed.
"Good. We'll get things in motion as soon as we get back. Now … Raijin…" Seifer pivoted towards their friend. "You and I are going to go on deck for a minute. I wanted to check something out."
"Check what out? We're on a boat dude." Raijin held his hand out, as if presenting the ocean to Seifer. "This is basically it, ya know?"
"Just come with me," Seifer groaned. "Let's see what time we're getting to Deling. Fuu, why don't you get settled here. Catch up on some sleep if you can …" his voice trailed off, sorry he'd brought up the fact that she hadn't slept well. "I think tomorrow's going to be a long day. C'mon Raijin, let's go." Seifer clapped Raijin's shoulder, and both stood up and walked towards the door.
"When will you be back?" She called after them, turning in her chair.
"Not sure. Dinner's at 6 p.m., okay?" He looked back to smile at her, and the two of them walked out the door. When it was closed, she could hear Raijin's voice echoing in the hallway as he playfully mocked their golden friend.
"Oh Fuu, hopefully you rest up. Oh Fuu, take the big room. Ya got something to tell me?" She could hear Seifer mutter at him, and Raijin's laughter echoed down the hallway, becoming faint as they made their way to the deck.
Panic washed over her again, as she realized that Seifer had likely gone off with Raijin to tell him about how they were … something now. It's not that she didn't want that—Hyne knows, that wasn't the case. But somehow, more people knowing about them made it feel risky … more fragile.
She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and decided that taking a nap while the wind in her head was quiet would be a better idea than worrying about things she had no control over. She made her way to her room, and fell soundly asleep.