Emeralds & Steel

Entry for The Squallphie Contest. Hosted by Alonia Everclear, Seiferfetish, and Saravien (pub18.ezboard.com/bseiftisforever message board).

~ Disclaimer ~

Final Fantasy VIII, its characters and locations are property of Squaresoft. I Was Made For Lovin' You and Shandy are property of Casablanca Records & Filmworks Inc. (they were the last time I checked anyway), and Vivo Per Lei is copyright of Insieme Srl (I think). I do own the idea for this story, and the poems (who in their right mind would want them anyway?).

~ Foreword ~

So the rules, or rather guidelines - as it was mentioned that all or none of them could be used, as long as it was a Squallphie - are:

1) Rinoa comes on to Seifer and Squall overhears

2) Seifer refuses, he's with Quistis

3) Selphie cheers Squall up, and finds out that Irvine is cheating on her with Fujin

4) Squall decides to cheer Selphie up

5) Zell is happy with library girl and his hot-dogs (thus unavailable)

6) It might happen that Irvine ends up with Fujin and Rinoa with Raijin

7) Five chapters maximum

8) No lemons

Have you ever heard of a farfetched story? I had to go pretty far to fetch this one, and then use persuasion (you don't want to know, trust me) to bring it back. And so I had to bend the guidelines some (a lot in fact), because I don't want to blatantly bash any of the characters (I'm nice that way).

Warning: Trying to say Zell's girlfriend's name in one breath can be hazardous to your health, the author denies any responsibility if the reader decides to try it in spite of this advice.

PG13 rating is for a little swearing, innuendo, and rambling insanity. And I made up Raijin's name 'Barjan'.

I hope you'll enjoy ^_^

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~* V – How It Ends… *~

She awoke from a refreshing slumber, comfortably cradled against him. Her lover's arm was protectively thrown over her petite body, and she cuddled closer to him with a smile on her lips. Soon enough he would wake, and then she didn't know what would ensue.

Did what they had shared mean something to him, as it did to her? She realized -with vivid clarity- that the events of the past week had brought them to this point, and that her life would never be the same. 'No matter what happens, I will have no regrets.' she thought 'We both needed comforting, but I sure hope that it's more than just that…'

She also hoped that this moment would never end, and that she could just stay in Squall's arms, warm and safe. Part of her wanted him to awake, and then she would know how he really felt, but another part dreaded it. A gentle kiss on her neck, and his arm tightening his embrace, informed her that the night was over – a new day had begun, and the next minutes would determine if it would be a happy one or not.

"Good morning, beautiful…" Squall said softly.

"Good morning," she replied, "Slept well?"

He gently turned her so she would face him and smiled, "Better than I have in a very long time."

She kissed him tentatively, to which he responded with an abandon that she never suspected he was capable of. If life allowed her to get to know him better, she had no doubt that it would be an interesting journey. Her emerald-eyes locked on his steel-blue ones, and she whispered, "Squall, I have something to tell you…"

"I know," he answered, "We need to have a serious conversation, Selphie."

His next words changed everything forever.

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~* IV – How It Started… *~

Well, now you know how this story ends, but I guess that you want to find out how they got to that point. You see, it all started to gain momentum on the Monday before Garden's Ball. Selphie had overslept, because the battery in her Pikachu-alarm clock had died during the night. She decided to have lunch first, and then go to the Quad to supervise the preparations for Saturday night's festivities.

Our spirited friend was skipping down the halls of Balamb Garden, just minding her own business (but not for long) and being her usual cheery self. A long time ago, in her science class, she had learned about osmosis and how things tended to equalize themselves. She had then developed her theory about happiness, which was that if she was happy enough it would rub off on people around her – it was, in her mind at any rate, sound and solid scientific reasoning.

She skipped around a corner, and…

*BANG!!!*

Before she could fall, two strong arms took hold of her. "Selphie, are you all right?" asked the other person.

"Huh, Squall?" She replied, still a little dazed, "Yeah, I think so."

"Good." He said then started to walk away.

"Squall, wait!" she yelled, jumping in front of him to block his way.

An annoyed frown appeared on his face (level 6.72 on his annoyance scale), and she inquired, "What's wrong? You look even more dejected than usual."

"Nothing."

"C'mooooooooooon!" Insisted the brunette, "I'm your friend and I'll help you with whatever it is."

"You really want to help me?"

"YUP!" ~^_^~

"Then leave me alone." And with that he hurried down the corridor towards his dorm.

Selphie shrugged and skipped her way to the cafeteria. Once there she spotted Zell enjoying lunch with his girlfriend, the library girl. "Hiya Zell!" piped our spirited friend merrily.

"Hey, Shelphie." He greeted back between two mouthfuls of hot-dog, "You *chew chew* heard about *gulps* Shquall *chomp* and Rinoa?"

"Huh, nope…" she said puzzled, for she was usually well informed on Garden's gossip – actually, she was more often than not the source of Garden's gossip.

"Zell," intervened his girlfriend, "No hables con la boca llena, hombre!" – [Don't talk with your mouth full, man!]

Zell swallowed, and continued, "You don't know, Selphie? Rinoa…"

Once again, his girlfriend cut him off, "¡Amorcito! Don't spread ugly rumors, we don't even know how much of it is true, ¡Caray!" [Amorcito = Beloved; Caray is just an expression like 'dammit' or 'caramba']

The tattooed guy faced his beloved Latina, "But, Cristina Monica Reina Ema Antonia Maria Juanita Dolores Conchita Milagros Renata Francesca Manuela Angelica Veronica Marisol Consuelo…" – [Phew! Now you finally know her name ^_^]

'Please tell me!" Pleaded a now curious Selphie.

"¡Ha, bueno!" Replied Cristina Monica Reina Ema Antonia Maria Juanita Dolores Conchita Milagros Renata Francesca Manuela Angelica Veronica Marisol Consuelo, "But remember what happens to people who spread gossip." – [Ha, bueno = All right]

"They end up working for tabloids and make lots of money?" Replied Zell innocently.

Cristina Monica Reina Ema Antonia Maria Juanita Dolores Conchita Milagros Renata Francesca Manuela Angelica Veronica Marisol Consuelo rolled her eyes in a gesture of hopelessness, "¡Eres impossible, pero te amo!" – [You're impossible, but I love you] – she then kissed him passionately and excused herself, "Well, I have to go for my shift at the biblioteca. Hasta luego, Sofía." – [Biblioteca = Library; Hasta luego = See yah]

"It's Selphie!" Corrected the yellow-clad woman, but Cristina Monica Reina Ema Antonia Maria Juanita Dolores Conchita Milagros Renata Francesca Manuela Angelica Veronica Marisol Consuelo was already out of earshot, and our spirited friend's attention span (not very long in the best of cases) was already on the issue of Squall and Rinoa.

"Sooooooooo, Zelly," She started, "What about Rinny?"

Zell swallowed his twentieth hot-dog (he always ate lightly for lunch), and replied, "Well, I heard from Xu, who was told by the boy who runs around Garden, who got it from Nida, who was told by Trepie #2, who herself knew from Angelo, who had it from a reliable source –I think it was one of the cafeteria ladies- who had overheard a conversation by two of the girls who wander aimlessly around the directory, that early this morning Rinoa and Seifer were in the Quad getting close and personal. She also said that she was dying to kiss him, that she wanted to sleep with him, and that she was the only man in the world for her."

"HO!!!" ~O_O~

"Yeah," Continued the martial artist, "From what I heard, Squall and Quistis witnessed the whole thing. I thought that Quis would be trilled, since she's had a crush on our beloved Commander for a while, but in fact it would seem that she was upset about it."

The mystery was deepening, and Selphie hated unanswered questions – they rubbed against her nature. Furthermore, Seifer was supposed to be helping with the Festival's preparations, and NOT enjoying himself. After leaving Zell to stare despairingly at his empty plate, she made the circuit of her regular sources of information. She even went as far as to check the anonymous gossip bulletin on Garden's message board, but then remembered that she was the one who had put it up, and realized that she wouldn't get any news there.

She had only one alternative left, and decided to act on it. It would be perilous, but she wasn't one to balk away from a challenge – especially when the happiness of her closest friends was at stake. And so it was with an assured step –or rather skip- that she homed in on her destination with determination.

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Meanwhile…

On one of Balamb's beaches, a blonde woman was sitting on a rock. The salty water lapped lazily at her bare feet, and she looked out to the immensity of the ocean. The whole scene that morning had greatly upset her, for she had trusted Seifer and considered Rinoa as a close friend.

"Maybe I should join a convent and become a nun." She mused out loud.

"Could we still date then?" Inquired a voice.

Surprised that he had managed to sneak on her like that, Quistis faced him and asked, "What are you doing here, Seifer? Why aren't you with her?"

"Quistis, listen," He pleaded, "It is all a terrible misunderstanding, I swear."

"She was in your arms, Seifer!" She exclaimed, "Don't try to deny it!"

"Quisty, baby, my little sunshine, my sweet banana split with whipped cream and a cherry on top, she fell and I grabbed her." He explained, "You left too soon or you would have heard me tell her about us."

Quistis pondered his words. It was true that all she had witnessed was Rinoa in Seifer's embrace, and due to the noise in the Quad (as Selphie's minions –er- helpers were decorating for Saturday's ball) she might have misunderstood the whole exchange. Maybe he really was innocent and she shouldn't be so harsh on the poor guy.

"Listen, I know that she took Squall away from you," Continued the tall man, "But my heart belongs to you…"

"Then why do we have to keep our relationship secret? Now that you told Rinoa, and that others have probably heard, we could let the world know about us."

"Quisty, you know how people still feel about me," Said Seifer with sadness, "People have not forgiven me yet, and I don't want you to suffer because of me…"

"Ho, Seifer…" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him lovingly. "I don't care what people think of me, and they will eventually realize that you have changed."

"Are you sure?" He insisted, "I don't want you to be ostracized or anything…"

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." She affirmed, "And 'ostracized'? I see that you've been paying attention in my English class."

"I always pay attention to every word that comes out of your beautiful lips." He answered and held her tight, reveling in the comfort of her embrace, "Next Saturday, at the ball, we'll walk in together, and then all will know about us."

"I love you, Seifer…"

"I love you, Quisty…"

Their lips met again in a sweet and loving caress, and this would have been a great moment for a shooting star to pass overhead, but it was still daytime and not the season anyway. A seagull did pass nearby, flying majestically in the sky towards the great expanse of the ocean, gliding gracefully in the wind currents as a noble symbol of…

*QWACK!!!*

The bird, or what was left of it, fell in a mess of feathers and blood. The Shuriken returned to its owner and she cursed her short temper, but she had to vent her anger somehow (those damn critters stole my French fries once, and I was really hungry and short on cash). Fortunately, the couple on which she was spying didn't notice her, for they were lost in their own private universe. All this was that Tilmitt girl's fault, thought the pale woman spying on the two lovers. If the Prozac-junkie had minded her own business Seifer would still be available.

Not that Fujin had ever gathered the courage to tell Seifer about her feelings, but she had dreamt and hoped that he would realize her inner beauty - and declare his love for her. But then Selphie 'meddling' Tilmitt (the ecstasy-high bitch) had arranged a blind date between the two blonds, with the present results. Well, our albino friend would not leave such an affront unpunished! No sir! She would get back to the perky girl with a vengeance, and in a most cruel way.

"REVENGE" spat the fair woman as she made her way back to Balamb Garden.

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~*~ To Be Continued ~*~