"Squall."
He glanced up at the sound of his name, having been reading over a paper printout of the calls Laguna have received before leaving.
"Yes?"
"Laguna has the dinner tonight, right? We have a few hours of free time before then, don't we?"
Squall nodded, then could have smacked himself. Although she was speaking to him, she wasn't looking at him; so she didn't see the nod. "Yes. The dinner begins at eight." There was a slight pause, while Quistis continued toying with her food. Finally, she looked up, and smiled.
"I'm going to call Selphie, and see if she wants anything. Want to go..." He waited. "Want to go shopping with me?"
Squall studied her for a moment. They'd only spoken of business matters the past few days; it seemed she was still avoiding him. Or was he avoiding her, because of his fear of rejection? Maybe now, was the time to find out. And besides, he'd wanted to pick up a few things from the shops himself.
"Alright." A small smile. Quistis blinked. "Thanks for inviting me. Shall we leave in about... an hour?"
Quistis nodded, returning the smile. Oh, he didn't know what he'd just gotten himself into...

They'd ended up in a formal wear shop, after about four hours. He never thought that Quistis had an odd sense of humor, but after seeing some of the stuff she'd bought for Irvine... Of course, his birthday was coming up. But... glow in the dark handcuffs? Squall shook his head, laughing inwardly at the look she'd receive from Selphie for a few of her gifts.
"Hmm... I wonder if any of these will do..." Quistis mused aloud, walking over to a rack of dresses. That was when Squall realized where he was. The most horrible spot for any male in the world to be in. The woman's section of a dress shop.
"Squall." He looked at Quistis, who was holding up a pink dress. "What do you think?"
'I hate pink.' Was the first thought that came to mind. He thought he said it aloud for a moment, when she smirked. "Hate it, right? Well, I'm going to look around."
"... Why?"
"The ball is in two nights. And, I need a dress for it. You know, while we're here... Why don't you look for a tux."
"A tux..." Squall wondered why he was he was not briskly moving towards the store's exit. Just as that thought entered his mind, a saleswoman walked over to them.
"Good afternoon! Do you two need help with anything?"
Quistis smiled at the older lady, while Squall felt like a deer trapped in headlights. He was stuck now. However, if he was going to be stuck wearing a tux.
"I'll make a deal with you."
"Hmm?" Quistis glanced at him, wondering what he was trying to cook up. "I'll wear a tux, if I get the final decision on your dress."
The saleslady laughed. "Oh, that's much nicer then some of the boyfriend's who have come into this shop. Let me know when you are ready, and I'll set aside one of the personal dressing room for you both."
"...Personal dressing rooms?"
She pointed over to left, their gazes followed. Along the wall, were sets of booths. "Those are for the singles who come shopping. For couples, it's a whole room. There's a sitting area, and then the dressing room itself. This way, he can wait while you try on your gowns, and then you can wait, while he dons his tux."
"That'll be fine, thank you.. Miss..."
"White. Ms. White, dearie."
Quistis started sniggering at the thought of Squall modeling a tux for her. This would be too rich; oh she wished she had a camera. While he sounded totally nonchalant about the whole thing, his eyes told her otherwise. In fact, if looks could kill, she'd be dead.


Squall was leaning back in a chair, waiting for Quistis to emerge from the dressing room. While he would die before admitting it, he was actually having fun watching her try on the outfits. He wondered which dress she would have on this time. Last dress, it'd been a frothy white confection, more like a wedding dress then something for a ball. Squall had made the same 'blech' face Laguna had, and Quistis had started laughing. She had picked up this blue/silver gown that Squall had liked, so he hoped she'd pick that one. But would he tell her? No.

"Ok, Squall... Close your eyes..." Squall smirked. "I mean it!"
"Alright, Alright..." Squall closed his eyes, hearing the door open, then a slight whispering sound as she walked out to show him the dress. Quistis smiled at the picture he made. He was dressed in his usual leathers, sans jacket. Instead, he was wearing a black fitted shirt, and had on only one belt instead of three. His eyes were closed, lips faintly curved upwards. He looked as though he was hoping about something.
"Ok, you can open your eyes...."
He opened his eyes slowly, then they widened of their own accord, before returning too normal. Quistis almost blushed.
"Quistis... You look..." He trailed off, words tumbling over in his mind, unable to push then past his lips.
The gown was the one he liked. It reminded him of the moon-dappled waters off Balamb's shore at night. Yet it wasn't a dark blue, near black. Instead, it was the frothy silver of the waves coming upon the shore, lured by the moon's tide. Quistis was pulling him towards her that very same way.
"...Wow." Squall slumped back in his chair.
"You like this one?" She looked down at the ground, not able to meet his eyes. The top of the gown was fitted, hugging her curves just so, and held in place by two gossamer thin straps. It had a slight flare at the waist, so the skirt itself didn't cling to her legs, instead when she moved, it flowed about her like water.
"I do..." Squall was floored. He knew that she was beautiful, half the garden did. But now, she looked like a creature from a fairy tale, come to life.
--
Quistis smiled, shyly raising her eyes to meet his. This had actually been the gown she had really wanted. The color reminded her of Squall's eyes. That night, on the beach, his eyes had looked this color. As their eyes locked, it seemed as though something was passed between them. Her lips parted slightly, trying to think of something to say. Before any words could be formed, Squall was out his chair, his arms around her.
"Squ..." She was cut off as he pressed his lips against her own, gently. When she didn't resist, instead, she seemed to melt into him; he deepened the kiss, pulling her even closer, not wanting to ever let her go.
When she was finally able to move, to breathe, she looked up at Squall from beneath her lashes. His eyes were on her; almost as dark as the Griever pendent he wore.
"Quistis... I... "
She smiled, gently placing her fingers against his lips, stilling his words. "Shhh, I know. I do too."
--

He was rudely awakened from his daydream, by something being dumped in his lap. Quick reflexes allowed him to catch it, before it fell to the ground. Squall looked at the black pants with distaste. They looked almost like Seifer's.
"Your turn." Quistis smiled, plopping into the chair beside his. Squall just blinked at her. "Uh, Quistis."
"Yes?" She tilted her head to the side, wondering why there was a look of confusion in his eyes.
"Nevermind..." It'd be stupid to ask her if they just kissed. But it had been so real...



----
A/N - Okay, this takes place during Something Between Us, chapter 2. Between the -- and -- is the daydream part, everything else happened. I just posted it on it's own, since chapter two was long enough. ^_^ I hope y'all enjoyed the sluff fluffiness.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Squall, but I don't. ;_; Square does.