A/N: Well if it's gone downhill since the last chap, please tell me. I'm not all that great at the whole kissing scene thing. Further note: Sorry if I just ruined it for everybody...oh wait! I never said who was kissing! Well I'll shutup and let you find out who does what and that sort of thing. ^-^
~Chapter 7~
"Um...sure..." she tried smiling weakly, "Good to see you again, Seifer."
Seifer nodded, a smirk on his face, as Quistis glanced at Zell before running into her room and almost slamming her door shut. The landlord looked puzzled but shook it off and led the pair into the basement. He babbled for a while about the two bedrooms and blah blah blah until Seifer gave him a death look and he cleared out.
"Yo, Seifer?"
"What?"
"Quistis isn't exactly...er...happy about seeing us here, so what makes you think we're going to see her long enough to talk to her?"
"Because Chickenwuss, do the math. Quistis is not the type to wear dirty clothes for months right? And guess where the washer and dryer are? Down here. She's not going to go waste money at a laundromat just to avoid a possible sighting of us." Zell tilted his head to the side as if he weren't quite sure how far she would go not to see them. Finally he nodded, sitting down in a battered beanbag chair.
Seifer lay down on the dusty mattress in one of the two downstairs bedrooms and promptly fell asleep. He could faintly hear Zell snoring through the cement wall.
**~Next day~**
Needless to say, Quistis didn't get a very good sleep that night. Unfortunately after she had run home the day before, she'd called her boss and told him she had a sudden case of the flu. After numerous apologies for taking a sick day on her second day of work, she had hung up in hopes that after Thursday the SeeDs would have retreated to Balamb again. And she was right mostly. She just hadn't planned on a couple staying behind. Or on them living in her house, sharing the same space...Quistis took a deep breath when she realized she was hyperventilating.
Creeping to the back door, she glanced at the coat hanger. No trench coat. She was sure she had seen it there the previous night when she had come to the kitchen for a drink. So that meant they were out. Well, Seifer was out. But she was sure Zell would bend to Seifer's obvious dictatorship and follow him around like Raijin and Fujin had. Not with the devotion, more likely kicking, screaming and swearing but following all the same.
She REALLY regretted throwing out her SeeD uniform and battle gear. What she was wearing was her only change of clothes. Which meant, now that she had to wash them, she had nothing else to wear while they were in the machine. She wasn't so distressed as to pick her old clothes out of the garbage can though, that was just nasty. Hyne knew what had been in those things. Quistis suddenly felt a sharp hatred for whoever had put the washing machine in the basement. Thank goodness they had gone out. She hoped they wouldn't return before she had finished washing her clothes. She had no idea what Seifer had been putting his hands in yesterday but it had left a black handprint on her back! And there was dirt from the pub on the bottom of her jeans!
Opening the door that separated her level with the basement, she crept down the stairs and looked around fervently at the bottom. She saw that the two bedroom doors were shut, but as she heard not even a light rustling after a long pause, she figured they were in fact gone. Heaving a sigh of relief she headed over to the washing machine and stripped off her tank top and jeans, throwing them in the washer. The first cycle went by as Quistis read a magazine she had received in the mail. It wasn't very interesting but then, being a religious handout, she hadn't expected it to enthrall her. But it passed time and there was a sweet story from the Book of Hyne in it. She read the address stamp on the back. Hyne's Witnesses. Yawning, she pulled her clothes out of the washer and plopped them in the dryer sopping wet.
The tank top dried quickly, so Quistis pulled it out and put it on. The jeans however were another matter. She knew exactly how awful damp jeans felt on her skin and decided to let them dry properly before putting them on. She sat on an upturned laundry basket in her tank top and underwear, shivering slightly. The dryer thumped like it was on its last legs, shaking violently and making the most Hyne-awful noises.
Suddenly Quistis stopped thinking altogether and was very quiet; trying to hear over the dryer's loud bumping. She could have sworn she heard someone swear.
"What the hell is that goddamn noise?" said the muffled voice. Quistis's eyes got wide and she clamped a hand over her mouth and dived behind the dryer. She could only hope he wouldn't look too closely or wonder why the dryer was going. The door to the bedroom swung open on a creaky hinge, and the voice came closer.
"What..." he stopped about three feet from where Quistis was hiding and there was a pause. Quistis couldn't see what he was doing, but she hoped he wasn't turning it off. She needed those jeans! "Wonder if Chickenwuss felt the need to do some laundry...Ah well just get the laundry basket, should be done in a few minutes."
Quistis froze. But she was holding the laundry...oh no. ~Please Hyne, don't let him look here, please, please~
"Where is that stupid thing?" He glanced around the room and then his gaze rested on the space behind the dryer. Stepping over to it he looked down...into the horrified eyes of Quistis. "Why Quistis, nice to see you! And in such an underdressed fashion too, this is a treat!"
Quistis blushed hotly and glared at him. "Shutup, Seifer!" Seifer looked down at her and smirked, running his gaze along her body in a very obvious way.
"No other change of clothes I presume?"
"No, Seifer I just feel like sitting around in my underwear...of course not!"
Then Seifer surprised her by pulling her up by her hand, taking his trench coat off and wrapping it around her shoulders. He smiled at her, a real smile, not a smirk. She smiled back cautiously, tip-toeing around the expression as if she could expect to hit a land mine at any moment.
"Thank you."
"Not a problem," he said, still smiling. As they waited in silence for the dryer to cease it rumbling and thunking, he couldn't help but stare at her. He knew she was trying to avoid looking at him directly, she was directing her eyes anywhere but his. She looked so...small, so fragile, a little girl in a big man's coat. Its dim color made her look paler, like a china doll, even her hair seemed more golden than it had ever been. She'd neglected her contacts today and he admired silently the beautiful, natural blue hue of her eyes. Absentmindedly, she wrapped a strand of her honey-colored hair around her fingers. Without even realized it, she was driving him to distraction.
As if under a powerful hypnosis, he reached out an arm and wrapped it around her waist, drawing her to him. She put him under a spell not even the best sorceress in the world could hope to cast while having the effect that one smile, one glance from her could produce in him. Her eyes questioned his actions as she turned her face up to his. Those eyes... In a trance, he lowered his head and kissed her deeply. He felt her stiffen in his arms, but after a moment she seemed to give herself up to him, leaning into him as she draped an arm around his neck. Vaguely, Seifer heard an anguished cry from his right somewhere. He felt Quistis pull away, breaking the kiss but not his embrace and her eyes widened as she glanced to the right.
Looking up, Seifer barely saw Zell's fist come at his jaw. In a confusing spin of pain, he was propelled backwards, cracking his head on the cement wall behind him. He heard a strange jumble of syllables bouncing around in his throbbing head, before Seifer Almasy saw no more.
Is Seifer dead? Unconscious? In a coma? What's Quistis going to do to Zell? What's Zell's reaction going to be? Find out in Chapter 8! Coming to a fanfiction.net near you!
~Chapter 7~
"Um...sure..." she tried smiling weakly, "Good to see you again, Seifer."
Seifer nodded, a smirk on his face, as Quistis glanced at Zell before running into her room and almost slamming her door shut. The landlord looked puzzled but shook it off and led the pair into the basement. He babbled for a while about the two bedrooms and blah blah blah until Seifer gave him a death look and he cleared out.
"Yo, Seifer?"
"What?"
"Quistis isn't exactly...er...happy about seeing us here, so what makes you think we're going to see her long enough to talk to her?"
"Because Chickenwuss, do the math. Quistis is not the type to wear dirty clothes for months right? And guess where the washer and dryer are? Down here. She's not going to go waste money at a laundromat just to avoid a possible sighting of us." Zell tilted his head to the side as if he weren't quite sure how far she would go not to see them. Finally he nodded, sitting down in a battered beanbag chair.
Seifer lay down on the dusty mattress in one of the two downstairs bedrooms and promptly fell asleep. He could faintly hear Zell snoring through the cement wall.
**~Next day~**
Needless to say, Quistis didn't get a very good sleep that night. Unfortunately after she had run home the day before, she'd called her boss and told him she had a sudden case of the flu. After numerous apologies for taking a sick day on her second day of work, she had hung up in hopes that after Thursday the SeeDs would have retreated to Balamb again. And she was right mostly. She just hadn't planned on a couple staying behind. Or on them living in her house, sharing the same space...Quistis took a deep breath when she realized she was hyperventilating.
Creeping to the back door, she glanced at the coat hanger. No trench coat. She was sure she had seen it there the previous night when she had come to the kitchen for a drink. So that meant they were out. Well, Seifer was out. But she was sure Zell would bend to Seifer's obvious dictatorship and follow him around like Raijin and Fujin had. Not with the devotion, more likely kicking, screaming and swearing but following all the same.
She REALLY regretted throwing out her SeeD uniform and battle gear. What she was wearing was her only change of clothes. Which meant, now that she had to wash them, she had nothing else to wear while they were in the machine. She wasn't so distressed as to pick her old clothes out of the garbage can though, that was just nasty. Hyne knew what had been in those things. Quistis suddenly felt a sharp hatred for whoever had put the washing machine in the basement. Thank goodness they had gone out. She hoped they wouldn't return before she had finished washing her clothes. She had no idea what Seifer had been putting his hands in yesterday but it had left a black handprint on her back! And there was dirt from the pub on the bottom of her jeans!
Opening the door that separated her level with the basement, she crept down the stairs and looked around fervently at the bottom. She saw that the two bedroom doors were shut, but as she heard not even a light rustling after a long pause, she figured they were in fact gone. Heaving a sigh of relief she headed over to the washing machine and stripped off her tank top and jeans, throwing them in the washer. The first cycle went by as Quistis read a magazine she had received in the mail. It wasn't very interesting but then, being a religious handout, she hadn't expected it to enthrall her. But it passed time and there was a sweet story from the Book of Hyne in it. She read the address stamp on the back. Hyne's Witnesses. Yawning, she pulled her clothes out of the washer and plopped them in the dryer sopping wet.
The tank top dried quickly, so Quistis pulled it out and put it on. The jeans however were another matter. She knew exactly how awful damp jeans felt on her skin and decided to let them dry properly before putting them on. She sat on an upturned laundry basket in her tank top and underwear, shivering slightly. The dryer thumped like it was on its last legs, shaking violently and making the most Hyne-awful noises.
Suddenly Quistis stopped thinking altogether and was very quiet; trying to hear over the dryer's loud bumping. She could have sworn she heard someone swear.
"What the hell is that goddamn noise?" said the muffled voice. Quistis's eyes got wide and she clamped a hand over her mouth and dived behind the dryer. She could only hope he wouldn't look too closely or wonder why the dryer was going. The door to the bedroom swung open on a creaky hinge, and the voice came closer.
"What..." he stopped about three feet from where Quistis was hiding and there was a pause. Quistis couldn't see what he was doing, but she hoped he wasn't turning it off. She needed those jeans! "Wonder if Chickenwuss felt the need to do some laundry...Ah well just get the laundry basket, should be done in a few minutes."
Quistis froze. But she was holding the laundry...oh no. ~Please Hyne, don't let him look here, please, please~
"Where is that stupid thing?" He glanced around the room and then his gaze rested on the space behind the dryer. Stepping over to it he looked down...into the horrified eyes of Quistis. "Why Quistis, nice to see you! And in such an underdressed fashion too, this is a treat!"
Quistis blushed hotly and glared at him. "Shutup, Seifer!" Seifer looked down at her and smirked, running his gaze along her body in a very obvious way.
"No other change of clothes I presume?"
"No, Seifer I just feel like sitting around in my underwear...of course not!"
Then Seifer surprised her by pulling her up by her hand, taking his trench coat off and wrapping it around her shoulders. He smiled at her, a real smile, not a smirk. She smiled back cautiously, tip-toeing around the expression as if she could expect to hit a land mine at any moment.
"Thank you."
"Not a problem," he said, still smiling. As they waited in silence for the dryer to cease it rumbling and thunking, he couldn't help but stare at her. He knew she was trying to avoid looking at him directly, she was directing her eyes anywhere but his. She looked so...small, so fragile, a little girl in a big man's coat. Its dim color made her look paler, like a china doll, even her hair seemed more golden than it had ever been. She'd neglected her contacts today and he admired silently the beautiful, natural blue hue of her eyes. Absentmindedly, she wrapped a strand of her honey-colored hair around her fingers. Without even realized it, she was driving him to distraction.
As if under a powerful hypnosis, he reached out an arm and wrapped it around her waist, drawing her to him. She put him under a spell not even the best sorceress in the world could hope to cast while having the effect that one smile, one glance from her could produce in him. Her eyes questioned his actions as she turned her face up to his. Those eyes... In a trance, he lowered his head and kissed her deeply. He felt her stiffen in his arms, but after a moment she seemed to give herself up to him, leaning into him as she draped an arm around his neck. Vaguely, Seifer heard an anguished cry from his right somewhere. He felt Quistis pull away, breaking the kiss but not his embrace and her eyes widened as she glanced to the right.
Looking up, Seifer barely saw Zell's fist come at his jaw. In a confusing spin of pain, he was propelled backwards, cracking his head on the cement wall behind him. He heard a strange jumble of syllables bouncing around in his throbbing head, before Seifer Almasy saw no more.
Is Seifer dead? Unconscious? In a coma? What's Quistis going to do to Zell? What's Zell's reaction going to be? Find out in Chapter 8! Coming to a fanfiction.net near you!
