Seifer rubbed his face and blinked at the computer screen. He felt as if more and more brain cells were being lost by the minute, but at least he was almost done. He'd procrastinated and put off the Galbadian Federal paperwork for so long, and now an unspoken but expected timeline loomed above him.

Before he was to officially assume any duties, he had to fill out the required forms, provide the required essays, print out required credentials, and get the required signatures. Then he had to report to General Caraway, followed by Headmaster Martine. Galbadia Garden had its own separate set of requirements, but the paperwork had been amended and merged since his role was a unique one. Then there was the Balamb Garden paperwork, since technically he matriculated and became a SeeD there.

Blugh. It took for-fucking-ever to fill out.

He originally thought he could get most of it done in the library where he wouldn't be interrupted, but he was wrong. The library was public – so as students shuffled in and out, whispered, dropped books, studied in groups together, or if dumbass Zell would drop by and talk a little too loudly with Library Girl, Seifer would get distracted. He needed peace and quiet. He needed to be completely alone.

Quistis's room was not an option. Even though she was elsewhere, performing random duties with Xu and Dr. Kadowaki, her room was still too much of a distraction. Especially the couch.

So he opted for her classroom – it was typically open for any students who wanted to login and check on their syllabus or homework assignments on the computers, but the classroom schedule showed that it would be empty for the better part of the month, until a new semester started.

It was dark as he worked since he didn't turn the lights on, but the sunlight was enough. He'd started after lunch and worked for hours. After printing out a few more sheets and scribbling something on a checklist fastened to a clipboard, he checked the time on the computer and stifled a curse. Almost 1600 hours. The day was shot.

He sighed, gathered up the scattered paperwork, and was about to rise out of his seat when the door beeped and slid open. Quistis stepped through and walked towards the front desk. He grinned and lifted his head to peek over the monitor as she let out a sigh, rummaged around in a few drawers, and pulled out some supplies. She looked down at a clipboard and made a few notes, so Seifer figured she was starting to prep for the new semester. He slowly rose and was about to greet her, but paused to reminisce a bit about the old days with a smirk.

Quistis shut the drawer, straightened, and immediately gasped upon seeing a form in the back of the room, clutching her chest and backing into the wall. "Seifer! Hyne, you scared me to death! What are you doing back there?"

"Finishing up my paperwork. Figured I could get more done in here."

Quistis's heart was still pounding. "Ugh, were you even going to say anything to me? Or just watch me in the dark like a creeper?"

He shrugged, the grin never leaving his face.

She leaned against the wall and rubbed her chest, catching her breath. "You shouldn't do that. I might have retaliated automatically."

Seifer snorted. "Except you follow the rules like a nerd and don't junction."

"Maybe you're a bad influence on me and I have a few spells junctioned."

"Doubtful they're high level. What, you'd hit me with a blizzard spell?" Seifer leaned to the side and pretended to fart. "Big whoop."

Quistis crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Lucky for you, I can't junction anything higher-level." She sighed and shook her head. Her tone sounded disappointed. "I feel like I've lost a lot of my magic skill set. Ever since we stopped using our GFs - "

"You'll learn," he interrupted. "Just like I have. It'll take longer, but you'll get there. Knowing you, you'll pick it up pretty quick, especially since you're a blue mage. You're better off, in my opinion. You don't need those stupid spirit animals latched onto your brain."

"Hm. Maybe you should tutor me," she smiled at him.

His grin turned mischievous and he stood up to slowly walk towards the front of the room. "Ooh. I like that idea."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Then, will you be able to teach me without any distractions?"

Seifer feigned ignorance. "Distractions? Who, me?"

"Yes, you."

"My dear instructor. I am the epitome of self control and discipline - "

" – Who keeps insisting I teach class in my lingerie," she interrupted in an exasperated tone.

"Only with me around," he clarified, walking closer. "No fucking Trepies allowed."

"You didn't answer my question. Seriously, will you teach me?"

"I said I would."

"Without getting distracted, Seifer. No groping, no squeezing, no vulgar jokes, no trying to sneak in a kiss - "

Seifer barked out a laugh. "Nice try, instructor, but no promises there. Especially if we use the training center. It's on the list, you know."

Quistis rolled her eyes again. "Well, in any case, I'm sorry I interrupted you being sneaky back there. Are you all finished with your work?"

"Just about. I was actually packing it up when you headed in."

"Oh, good. Want to walk back together, then? I'm all done here. I just wanted to see what supplies were still left, and if I needed to order more."

"Sounds good to me." He sauntered up to her and leaned in for a soft kiss. He hovered there for a minute, then went in for a second one. Then grinned and followed up with a third. Quistis rolled her eyes and hid a smile when he moved down to her neck. The kiss was light and playful, but he also brushed and teased and nipped and licked, so what started out as something simple and passing for her, quickly turned into something more serious and heated.

"Seifer," she breathed. "Let's get back to my room before we - "

He let out a noise of disapproval. "I haven't seen you all day."

"I know, so we should - "

He cut her off with another kiss and his hands started to wander low, shifting the hem of her skirt up –

Quistis pulled away and grabbed one of his wrists. "Seifer - "

He lowered his head again to suckle on her neck and his free hand slid up her skirt to toy with a sensitive spot, which elicited a sharp breath in his ear, and her body arched against him. Licking his lips in concentration, he swept a finger just a touch deeper and automatically pressed into her as soon as he felt the moisture. She moaned and he nibbled at her neck some more, focusing his foreplay elsewhere, and when she gasped again he lifted her up onto the desk for better leverage.

"Sounds like you need to unwind, instructor."

Quistis smiled into his mouth, spread her legs open for him and they kissed deeply –

Someone talking outside the door made them both freeze. Within a split second, Seifer stepped back, Quistis launched off the desk and straightened her skirt, and they turned away from each other just as the door slid open. Nida stepped through the portal but he didn't even notice the two since he was distracted by his conversation.

"I know, Selphie, otherwise I wouldn't be trying to schedule - "

"We need an aviation program for sure, it's just that I don't know if I want to overlap flight simulations with how to operate Garden - "

"I know, Selphie. Flying Garden isn't going to be standard protocol, you know. Not everyone needs to know how to do that - "

"Oh, hi, Quisty! Hey, Mister Hero!"

Seifer scowled and headed towards the back of the room to pick up his stack of paperwork. "Don't call me that."

Quistis had her clipboard in her hands and was pretending to rummage through the desk. "Hey, Selphie. Hey, Nida. What are you two up to?"

"Trying to iron out some sort of schedule with Nida here about our aviation program."

"There is no aviation program," Nida rolled his eyes.

"Yet," Selphie corrected him. "We just have to figure it out first, then run it by Cid."

"And Esthar," Nida reminded her. "And Galbadia. You do realize we need airships first?"

Selphie rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to Seifer and Quistis. "What are you two doing in here? Playing detention?"

Seifer let out a derisive snort. "I wish."

"No," Quistis put her hands on her hips, ignoring Seifer. "I came in here to make sure I had what I needed for next semester's curriculum, and I found Seifer actually working, believe it or not."

"I was working until all you dorks came in and interrupted my shit," Seifer retorted.

Selphie winked at him. "Really? Kinda dark in here, isn't it?"

"I was closing up shop," he replied flatly. "In fact, Quistis and I were just about to leave."

"Oh, good! It's close to dinnertime anyway," Selphie said. "Want to eat with us?"

Seifer and Quistis replied in unison with the opposite responses of "no" and "sure!" respectively. Quistis shot him a disapproving look and Seifer gave her another scowl.

"Oh, come on, Seif," Selphie grinned. "We're not gonna bite you."

Seifer narrowed his eyes and curled a lip. "Ugh. Don't call me that, either."

"Well, what do you want me to call you?"

"Uh, my actual name?"

"Well, we just dropped by to look at the classroom booking schedule," Nida tried to change the subject. "We're thinking about adding an aviation class next semester, although I have no idea what that would look like yet. It's a little…unorganized."

Selphie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "So? Gimme a break, it's new. Garden's never had one before."

"Would it be universal across all three Gardens?" Seifer asked, heading toward the front of the room with the paperwork tucked under his arm.

"Yep!" Selphie beamed, excited that he was showing interest. "Once Nida and I put something a little more comprehensive together and iron out the details, I want to run it by you since you're the head honcho at Galbadia."

"Not really. I don't run Garden. I won't have much of a say."

"Yes, you will. Cid's in charge of Balamb, but we all know that Squall will be calling the major shots later. I'm not going to plan something this big and involve Galbadia without your input."

Seifer examined her for a bit, then shrugged, opting to say nothing. He turned to Quistis. "Ready?"

She nodded and waved to Selphie and Nida. "See you guys later."

"Bye, Quisty!"

They both exited the classroom and made their way towards the elevator. As the doors slid shut with a soft ding, Seifer emitted a heavy sigh.

"Fuck. Thwarted. I so wanted to check off the classroom on that list. Several times."

Quistis shook her head and grinned. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."

"Hrmph. Promise?"

She glanced over at Seifer with a smirk on her face. Seifer glanced back at her and narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"That look you were giving Selphie earlier. You looked flattered."

He shrugged. "She bounces back awfully easy from tragedy. Figured she hated my guts. I'm surprised she'd even give a shit about my opinion."

"Your apology meant the world to her. And she knows that you were on our side all along."

"Hm. I had my doubts about her during that stupid field exam, but…"

Quistis waited patiently for him to elaborate.

Seifer crossed his arms. "…I gotta hand it to her. She's sharp."

Quistis smiled. "Yes, she is. And really good with flight controls, as it turns out."

"An aviation program at Garden would be a game changer."

She nodded in silent agreement and glanced over at him. After a pause, she asked tentatively, "Are you…sure you don't want to eat dinner with them?"

"Positive," he snapped, a little too quickly.

There was another pause before Quistis decided to change the subject. "Seifer, I'm serious about training with you. I'd like to start sooner rather than later."

He shot her a cocky grin. "Mmm. I bet you would, saucy little minx."

She refrained from another eye roll.

"I'll be getting up earlier in the next few weeks so I could help Raijin out with his drills," Seifer continued. "I could start training with you after that if you'd like."

"What are you helping Raijin for?"

"Just to stay fresh. I have to start prepping before the new semester starts."

The unpleasant reminder saddened her. In a few months, she'd be back to teaching and he'd have to start his new position in Galbadia. It meant time apart in a long-distance relationship, which she wasn't ready for. They'd spent nearly every day together since she'd gotten her memories back, and she didn't want to part from him so soon.

"Are you going to have time in your busy schedule to train with me in the mornings, instructor?"

She shook the unhappy thoughts from her head, gave his hand a squeeze, and stepped closer to give him a soft kiss. "I'll always make time for you."

He grinned and was about to respond when the elevator shifted to a stop and the doors chimed open. His expression abruptly turned pained as realization dawned on his face and he looked up to the ceiling in frustrated exasperation. "Fuck!"

Quistis looked up at him, alarmed. "What? Did you forget something?"

"The elevator! Aw, fuck me. Two chances in one day, gone."

Quistis sighed, shook her head, and walked out of the elevator, ignoring his despair.