Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is for the 30 Kisses challenge using list iota. This is set after the game and is slightly AU. Theme 6: It's Not A Diamond.

Love's Jewels

Quistis hummed to herself as she made her way back to her quarters. It was shaping up to be a very good day. The young instructor had just finished teaching the last class of the term, and she had a lunch date with her boyfriend in about thirty minutes. That would give her plenty of time to change out of her uniform and meet Seifer at the café in Balamb.

"Instructor Trepe!"

She turned, the interruption not even ruffling her good humor. "Yes?"

The young man stopped before her. Quistis cast about for his name; they'd been on mission together sometime in the last year or so. He was the younger son of a wealthy family. His brothers had gone into politics, and he had chosen a military life. Gavin Kerntfield was his name.

"Instructor, Quistis," he smiled at her. "Can I have a moment of your time?"

"Of course."

To her complete surprise, he grabbed her hand, sliding a heavy ring onto her it.

"Quistis Trepe, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?"

Speech was not coming to her lips. It wasn't every day that random SeeDs proposed to her after all. What was she supposed to say? Quistis wasn't about to say yes, but she didn't want to hurt the man either. Male egos had a tendency to be fragile and causing a scene was not on her agenda today. Gavin seemed to take her silence in stride.

"I can understand that this is something of a shock. You don't have to answer right this minute. I'll find you later."

And with that, he walked away. Quistis stared down at the rock on her finger. A large square diamond, yellow in color, mounted in platinum that was liberally studded with smaller diamonds, it was not something she would have chosen for herself. Slipping it off into her pocket, she resumed her journey back to her room. What on earth was she going to do about this?

Her mood was distracted when she arrived at lunch. The issue of the proposal was bothering her. Still, she managed to push it to the back of her mind as Seifer entertained her with tales of the latest antics from his last mission. For some reason, Squall kept assigning him missions with Zell, and the fallout was always amusing.

"And then Chicken Wuss had both syrup and whipped cream in his hair. I thought he was going to have hysterics right then and there, but he just turned to the girl and asked if they had strawberries as well since it wouldn't be a proper pancake with out them." Seifer rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. "I've got a question for you, Quisty."

She tried to rein in her giggles. "Yes?"

His face turned serious. "Well, it sort of comes with a gift."

Seifer turned her hand over, tucking a little velvet bag into it. Puzzled, Quistis carefully pulled open the drawstrings and shook the bag out into her other hand. Delicate bands of white gold twisted and twined together forming a puzzle that held a single blue moonstone.

"I know it's not a diamond, but it reminded me of you. Will you marry me, Quistis?"

"I…oh…Seifer." Her free hand came up to cover her mouth. "Darling, I…can I have a little time?"

Her voice had gotten very small. Seifer just grinned and recaptured her hand, brushing a kiss across its back.

"Of course. I didn't think the proposal would shock Instructor Trepe speechless though," he teased.

Quistis kicked him under the table.

It was not quite the lunch she had been planning this morning, and Quistis left it feeling as stunned as she had when she arrived. The answer to Seifer's question was yes of course. She loved him, and perhaps it was a bit early to jump into marriage as they had only been officially dating for about eight months, but on the other hand, they had never been a convention couple. It was just she felt wrong accepting without taking care of the other proposal. And she still didn't know what to do about Gavin's proposal. Quistis wasn't about to say yes, but she still didn't know how to turn the man down without causing too much heartbreak. She knew how much rejection could hurt even if it was simply an infatuation.

Hoping that hot water would settle her nerves and help her think, Quistis ran herself a shower. She leaned against the tiled wall letting the hot water and steam wrap around her. Answers were not forthcoming, but she did start to feel better. Twenty minutes later the water was getting cold, and Quistis was considerably mellower. She didn't quite have a plan of action, but she was getting this taken care of today.

The knock at her door came just as she started toweling her hair dry.

"Just a minute!"

The knocking continued. Quistis sighed, wrapping her towel more tightly around herself. It was probably Selphie about another one of her decorating committees. It was probably graduation this time. Absently, she slipped Seifer's ring onto her finger, heading for the door.

"Yes?" She yanked open the door to find Seifer and Gavin instead of the expected Selphie. Blushing, Quistis tightened her grip on her towel. "Can I help you?"

Seifer's gaze had gone immediately to the ring on her finger. Gavin seemed a little more preoccupied with the view.

"Ahem. My face is up here."

The man flushed and looked away.

"Now, what can I do for you two?"

Seifer's gaze was still on the ring. Gavin tapped his foot impatiently. "Do you have an answer for me?"

His irritated tone suddenly made Quistis feel much better for what she was about to do to him. Seifer's eyes narrowed, and she sighed. He was going to be overprotective again. Quistis pointed her finger at him.

"You, inside." Her finger moved to Gavin. "You, stay there. I'll be right back."

She waited until Seifer was inside her room before following him, scooping up the other ring from her dresser. Quistis flashed him a smile. "This will just take a minute."

Returning to the door, she held out the ring. "This is yours. I can't accept it. I'm not sure why you asked me, but I can not in good conscience say yes. I barely know you, and I don't love you. We both deserve more that that."

Quistis dropped the ring into his hand. Gavin frowned. "But I'm perfect for you. No one else is a better match."

"There's more to life than perfection, and I've already had the one proposal I want."

With that, she turned on her heel and shut the door. She leaned back against and met the pair of emerald eyes that were watching her. Quistis smiled. "Hey."

Seifer captured her left hand. "So this is a yes, then?"

"Yes."

He kissed her palm. "Good."