Rating: R
Disclaimer: This fic is mine...the characters (mostly) are not.
A/N: I love this chapter, I really do...it was so easy to write!
Chapter 8: Contact
Three uneventful days passed before Seifer brought up the topic of the basket again. Quistis had been drilling Ann and Pita, but neither or them seemed very interested in the army's plans. Sitting on the bed with her head in her hands, groaning with frustration, she looked up at him. He waited, and then repeated his question.
"What was in it?" His stance was firm, unrelenting. "Everyone else seems to know except me. I want to know."
"What do you mean everyone else knows?" she asked.
"You know...the guys...they know," he shrugged. "They keep asking me how I liked that basket from the G.A.W. and winking."
"It was just...you know..." she waved a hand around in the air. "Womanly stuff."
"She asked you if it fit," he narrowed his eyes. "I've let it go for three days...now, I want to know. I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me."
"I'm not going to tell you," she replied belligerently.
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"If you don't tell me, I'll just look through your stuff until I find it," he announced.
"You wouldn't know what you were looking for," she retorted.
"I'm thinking I'd probably know it when I found it," he rolled his eyes. She'd become very familiar with his eyes in the past few days. She had to dye his hair regularly to cover up his blonde roots, and the entire time he would regard her with his hot, aqua colored eyes. Most of the time they were hostile, but sometimes they were just curious. Currently, his eyes sparkled with mischief, it was a playful Seifer she hadn't seen since her days as an instructor.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"Oh yeah." He crossed his arms and stood in front of her, waiting.
"You promise not to laugh?"
"Nope."
"Seifer...you're not helping yourself by admitting that you'll probably tease me relentlessly," she replied, leaning back on her elbows. He plopped down onto the bed next to her, his weight making her roll to one side a little.
"Don't make me force it out of you," he teased. "I will...I know your weaknesses you know."
"My weaknesses?" she laughed. "Those would be?"
"I can annoy the hell out of you," he replied. "And I'm not going to stop bothering you until you tell me. So, it would be much easier for you just to tell me now and get it over with. It can't be that bad."
"I'm not telling you."
"Quistis! Damn it...come on!" he got up on his knees on the bed.
"Shh...it's late...you'll wake people up," she said, holding a finger up to her lips.
"You're worried I'm going to wake people up?" he sat back on his haunches, an evil glimmer in his eye. Before she realized what he was going to do, he started bouncing on the bed, making the springs creak and slamming it against the wall.
"Seifer...what are you doing?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! Quistis! Yeah!" he cried out with a wide grin and got up onto his feet. He continued to make noise, jumping up and down on the bed with vicious ferocity.
"Seifer...stop it!" she hissed. "People are going to think we're-"
"Woo...baby...yeah!" he kept jumping around the bed.
"Seifer!" she felt a hot blush rising up her neck. "Stop!" He shook his head, and lifted her up to jump with him.
"Not until you tell me," he grinned.
"Okay! Fine...fine!" she jerked her hands away from his. "I'll tell you...just knock it off." Obligingly, he hopped off the bed and offered her a hand to help her down as well.
"Alright...let's have it," he demanded the moment her feet touched the floor. Quistis sighed, thinking that he was making it out to be a much bigger deal than it really was.
"They gave me lingerie," she replied.
"No kidding?" he laughed. "Where is it?"
"I'm not going to let you see it!" she spat, feeling flustered.
"Do I have to start the whole jumping on the bed thing over again?" he asked, a cocky grin sliding across his face.
"Hyne, you're irritating," she shook her head and walked to the closet to retrieve the tiny thing from her bag. Seifer came up right behind her as she pushed clothing aside to get it. He watched over her shoulder until she elbowed him in the ribs.
"What the hell was that for?"
"You're standing to close!" Quistis sneered. "There's such a thing as personal space, you know." He reluctantly took a step back, and Quistis turned her attention back to her bag. She found the teddy at the bottom, and hesitantly pulled it out. Seifer grabbed it away from her before she had the chance to even turn around.
"Holy shit!" he held it up in the air, examining it. "Those old chicks have killer taste in underwear!" Quistis was blushing with embarrassment at even having the sexy underwear in her possession.
He held the teddy out at arm's length and closed one eye.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Just stand still," he commanded, and moved the black garment around a little until he apparently found a satisfactory spot.
"Stop," Quistis reached to take it from him, but he yanked it away.
"Damn...can't believe you've been holding out on me like this," he laughed and held it just out of her reach. "Have you really tried it on? You said that it fit."
"No! Of course I haven't tried it on!"
"You should!" he smiled. "Go put it on!"
"I'm not going to put it on!" she squealed.
"Oh, quit being such a prude," he shook his head. "It's not like I'm saying you have to come out and show me...just try it on."
"I don't want to try it on," she replied through her teeth, still trying to get it away from him.
"Come on," he insisted stubbornly. "What are you afraid of? Afraid that stuffy old Quistis Trepe might actually like looking sexy?"
"I'm not afraid of anything," she said. "I just don't want to put it on."
"Quistis, I'm serious," he announced. "Try it on."
"Why?"
"Why not?" he countered. "Just go in the bathroom...and put it on. If you hate it, take it off...burn it...flush it down the toilet...shit, I don't give a damn what you do with it. Just try it on."
"Fine...just give it to me!" she relented. He lowered his arm slowly, letting her grab it from him and then ushered her quickly toward the bathroom. Practically thrown inside the small room, she stood for a second and thought over what she was going to do. Curiously, she looked down at the piece of lingerie. It was somewhat tempting to try it on.
"Stop thinking about it and just do it," Seifer commanded from the other side of the door, as if he somehow knew what she was thinking.
"Ugh...Hyne..." she grumbled to herself and started pulling off clothes. She tossed them down haphazardly on the floor, not really paying attention to what went where. Finally, she was faced with the task of putting on the teddy. She held it up in the air for a moment, trying to figure out what went where. Shrugging her shoulders, she pulled it on as best as she could and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
She was surprised at how she looked. The woman staring back at her was a whole different Quistis Trepe. Her hair fell wildly about her shoulders and the black lace hugged her body. She felt...alluring. A smile tingling at her lips, she spun around, getting a view of herself as a whole. It was slightly embarrassing, and she felt badly for liking the sexy, provocative way it showed off her body.
A laugh tore itself from her chest, and she quickly tried to stifle it.
"Told you!" Seifer gloated. "When do I get to see?"
"Never!" she pulled the underwear off and started quickly to redress herself. She could hear him laughing on the other side of the door, and felt suspiciously like she'd been tricked. When she was decent again, she opened the door to find him waiting on the other side.
"So?" he asked with a smug grin. "How was it?"
"Seifer...you're an awful human being," she replied, still feeling humiliated.
"Why? What'd I do?" he asked, holding up his hands innocently.
"You tricked me."
"I didn't trick you."
"You're laughing at me."
"Quistis..." he grabbed her arm. "You really need to let loose sometimes. You're not an instructor anymore. You can act like your not in your upper forties, you know. Have some fun every once in a while."
"Dressing up like a slut is fun?" she asked.
"I'd dress up like one if I could," he grinned. She jerked her hand away.
"You're gross."
"Yep...and damn proud of it too," he replied. "At least I'm not a prude."
"I'm not a prude."
"You are," he nodded emphatically. "You are the definition of prude. You're mad at me now because I got you do to something that went completely against your prudishness, and you liked it!"
"That's not why I'm mad at you," she replied, tossing the teddy down on the bed.
"Oh, so you're admitting that you liked it?" he pressed on. "Everyone likes to feel desirable, Quistis...even you."
"Right...because no one in their right mind would want me without proper provocation," she replied with a vehemence that surprised even her. "You know, Seifer, I don't really need to be reminded all the time of just how many things are wrong with me. I'm perfectly aware of the fact that I'm seriously fucked up, and you're just an ass for pointing it out!"
Seifer froze. Quistis couldn't recall the last time she'd used the word fuck. She had nothing against cuss words, she only respected their power more than the average person. She saved them for the proper occasion, and that made them exceedingly strong when she used them.
"Hold on," he held up his hands. "Where did that come from?"
She could feel angry tears stinging at the back of her eyes as she pointed accusingly at him.
"You're miserable, and you drag people down with you!" she ranted. "Well, I don't need you to make me miserable, Seifer! You make me do things to feed your own sick sense of humor and try to fool yourself that you're not in the nasty gutter that you live in! I don't need you making me feel - "
"Quistis! Stop!" he commanded. "I'm not trying to make you feel dumb...I'm just trying to get you to loosen up a bit."
"Shut up and just listen to me, Seifer!" she walked up to him, poking him in the chest. "You have been nothing but a pain in the ass since the start of this mission. You drag me down, telling me I'm not good enough to be a leader. I'm sick of you, sick of having to share in your guilt!"
"Quistis - " he tried to interrupt her again, not understanding where her sudden outburst was coming from.
"I just want to have something," she announced. "Something...anything...I need something to hold onto...to look forward to when I get up in the morning. SeeD is all I have, and I won't let you ruin that for me! I won't let you change me, I am who I am - prude or not - and you're just going to have to deal with that!"
She paused, taking a deep breath. Seifer waited to see if she would continue, and when she didn't, he let out a long sigh.
"Quistis...you're a bitch," he informed her. "You're a bitch, and I'm an ass. Big fucking deal...I really don't give a damn whether or not you sleep with every guy in Garden or tuck yourself up in your room. I just thought, maybe, there was another side to you. Well, you know what? I found it...and it's just as bitchy."
"I'm not a prude," she whined, angry at herself all over again when she heard her voice shake a little. "And...just because I like to be in control...it doesn't mean anything. You don't know anything about me."
"Fine, you're not a prude," he rolled his eyes. "That make you feel better?"
"I don't want to talk to you anymore..." she shook her head and turned away from him. She so rarely lost control of her emotions that she was still in shock over her outburst.
"Fine...see if I give a damn," he grumbled. "I'll just go back to my gutter."
"Good."
"Great."
"Fine."
She stalked over to the bed and sat down on it, looking down at the teddy and wondering why she really was angry. It didn't make a lot of sense, he'd been right about the lingerie. It was nice to feel desirable for once...to feel like a woman instead of a mercenary. But, instead of simply admitting defeat, she'd turned around and screamed at him.
Maybe I am a bitch...
Her breathing was ragged, and she searched herself in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. Why had she reacted so violently? Was it just that Seifer had irritated her beyond her capacity to take? Or had he struck a weak spot that she hadn't know she had? Confused, she rubbed her temples and turned around to look at him.
"Seifer?"
"What?" He sounded angry. His back was facing her, and his muscles were visibly bunched.
"I'm sorry...I don't..." she hesitated. "I'm sorry."
"Great, good for you." She groaned inwardly with frustration.
"It...uh..." she cringed to herself. "It did feel nice to feel kind of sexy for once..." He turned around and looked at her with flaming green eyes.
"I wasn't trying to make fun of you," he announced.
"I know...I just..." she rested her head in her hand for a moment. "I don't know...I just got upset. I don't know why."
"You know, Quistis," he walked over to her, his eyes avoiding hers. "There are hundreds of guys at Garden who'd give their right arm to have one night alone with you."
"I don't want to hear about it," she replied.
"Quistis," he persisted. "You are desirable. With or without the lingerie, okay? You don't have to be so hard on yourself all the time."
"Seifer...I really don't want to talk about it," she insisted, turning her face away from him. The last thing she wanted to fall into his lies so he could turn them around on her. He picked up the teddy, waving it around as he replied.
"Well, damn it, you should!" He was getting angry again. "You never have a clue what's going on outside of yourself, do you?"
Quistis was about to reply, when the phone rang. They both turned and looked at it like it was going to jump up and bite them. They hadn't used the phone and, really, hadn't even been aware that it was hooked up. She stared at it until it rang for the third time before reaching over and picking it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey! Quistis? It's Selphie!" the voice on the other end chirped. "Boy, do I have news for you!"
She looked up to see Seifer storm out of the room, his shoulders hunched forward.
"That's great, Selphie," she sighed. "What is it?"
"I think they're planning to invade next week."
