*Looks at review number* Oh my God! Thanks soooo much! *big grin*
Wow, a few of you are ecstatic that she slept with Squall, but more of you are downright frightened/mad/throwing rocks at me. LOL!
Squinoas Rule: Well, yes, admittedly I rushed it a bit. I think at this point we've conceived every possible reason for Squall to leave Rinoa, and there's not really a need to reiterate them over and over. However, were you to stick with the story, Squall's behavior would be explained further. He is however a bit OOC. This is because I personally find Squall's personality to be a lack thereof, so I gave him one. If you don't like the way I've portrayed him, I really don't care. I'm glad you like Squinoas. Kudos to you for accepting the stereotypical pairing. I don't do them well because I hate them with a passion usually reserved for serial killers and matadors. And for future reference, I'm not your sister.
*Last time, on It's the Sunday Morning After...*
Quistis, wanting a little clarification, gathered her clothes and stared down at the man on the bed. Her heart leaped but...was it in sisterly adoration or anticipation of his next kiss? It wasn't fair to stay with one or the other until she had this sorted out, so she dressed quickly and slipped out.
Squall did not stir.
*Chapter 5*
She wandered the hallways aimlessly, not even bothering to give the situation any thought. Maybe if she just relaxed, she'd get an inkling of what the answer to her problems was. Quietly, she sat down near the edge of one of Garden's balconies. Looking out over the landscape had often helped her sort out her feelings when she was even more confused than this.
She reflected on the night before. Spur of the moment, yes, stupid, that remained to be seen. Squall was an old friend and an old love, and she wasn't sure she felt anything besides the beginnings of a crush for Seifer. How could she possibly tell? In three days of being around Seifer, he'd somehow managed to endear himself to her. In a lifetime of being around Squall, he never had. Oh she'd adored him, certainly, but she'd never found him charming or loving or fun. Those qualities radiated from Seifer.
That was one of the major differences between Seifer and Squall. Seifer was a hell of a lot of fun. And Squall was...she didn't want to say boring, but he wasn't exactly the mile-a-minute bundle of flirty energy that seemed to reside in Seifer.
Sighing loftily, she leaned over the balcony and frowned. She shouldn't have slept with Squall, not until she'd sorted out her feelings. On a pro and con list Seifer was coming out on top, and that wasn't fair. She shouldn't have lead him on when she didn't know if it was a cliff or a valley she was leading him to.
Soft footsteps became louder, intruding on her peace from two different directions. They were slightly out of sync, four fast beats in a row, making it easy to tell there were two people and not one. As they became even louder, she turned to greet their owners.
The rivals eyed each other uneasily before looking at her.
"Quistis." They said in unison. Slightly embarrassed to have shared a common thought, they glanced at each other again. Squall cleared his throat.
"Can we talk?" He glared at Seifer. "Alone?" Seifer scowled back at him.
"You're not going anywhere alone with her."
"Too bad you weren't around to say that yesterday." Seifer's eyes darted to Quistis, who looked pained. Fixing his vision on Squall for the time being, he managed to project his voice.
"What are you talking about, Leonhart?" A half smile appeared on Squall's face.
"That question is redundant, Almasy. You know damn well what I'm talking about." Seifer's gaze took on a razor edge as he stared his opponent down.
"Right. Well. I'm going to go now, you let me know how this works out," Quistis practically squeaked. Slipping to the side, she ducked under the arm Seifer meant to catch her with and ran across the Quad and down a hallway.
She immediately heard two sets of footsteps behind her, and a glance thrown over her shoulder saw Seifer gaining a lot of ground. Squall was right behind him.
Unfortunately for Quistis, although her new dorm was down this hallway, Seifer had a passkey for it too. She swung her gaze from one wall to the other, searching for a mode of escape. She could not deal with this right now. And then she saw her saving grace, a boring brown door marked with the words 'Janitor's Closet'.
Yanking the door open, she hauled herself inside and slammed it behind her. There was a small deadbolt on the door, which she threw shut with a soft clack. Quistis pulled on an overhead light cord, only to find it didn't work. She sat in the darkness and listened to the pounding footsteps finally cease just outside her hiding place. Two muffled voices came through the crack between the door and the floorboards.
"...did, Leonhart!"
"Not...fault!" Pressing her ear against the crack, she got a better audio on the two.
"So what were you saying about Quistis, Leonhart? Yesterday what?"
"C'mon, Seifer, even you aren't that stupid." A loud thud shook the door and Quistis shuddered. Squall's voice sounded choked when he next spoke. "Look, we had sex. Did it, you follow? You must know what that is, Almasy." A second thud shook it even harder.
"If you ever touch her again I'll..." But Squall cut him off in a harsh whisper, almost as if his air had been cut off.
"Not yours to decide," he croaked. The bottom of the door slammed inward as Seifer's foot rocketed past Squall's shin, just missing him. The edge of the hard wood caught Quistis in the nose, and tears of pain came to her eyes.
"Ow!" Quickly she clapped a hand over her mouth and peeked under the doorframe with one blue eye. She could only see Seifer's boots and the very tips of Squall's shoes dangling from above. Suddenly Squall's weight came crashing down full in front of her, but Seifer shoved him to the side. She could see his knees now, then his hands spread on the floor and now… Oops. An emerald eye gazed serenely into her azure one.
"Quistis, for Hyne's sake get out of that closet."
"…No." Brilliant answer, that'll sure put him in his place. Rolling her eyes at herself, she clarified. "I need some time to myself. I can't go to my dorm, because it isn't. Mine, that is. And anywhere else I go I can bet one or both of you will follow. So I'm here to stay for a while." Stretching and straightening her spine, she sat up and leaned against the door. Squall's voice intruded next, cutting off whatever Seifer was going to say.
"Um…as commander of Garden I sort of…have a master key that'll open any room in this building." He coughed uncomfortably, and she could practically feel Seifer glaring at him.
"Well then what are you waiting for, Puberty Boy? An invitation? Open the damn door!" When Squall paused, he continued, sounding outraged. "You aren't going to leave her in there are you?"
"Well maybe…" A brief scuffle ensued resulting with Seifer shoving the passkey into its slot, and the deadbolt clicking back into its metal sheath. Quistis was in front of him with sad eyes, sitting on an overturned bucket. Unsympathetic, he hauled her up by one arm and brushed past Squall with Quistis in tow. Since a long talk with Squall wasn't exactly on Quistis's favorite things to do list at the moment, she went along without protest.
"Seifer? Where are we going?" Seifer just grumbled something in return and Quistis stared at his back as he hauled her to their destination. It turned out the balcony was again in her near future.
Abruptly Seifer let go of her and pulled back, regarding her confused expression and impatient stance.
"This may sound cliché, but how could you?" He drawled dryly, the look on his face of a careful mild annoyance.
"Seifer, you may have forgotten, but we aren't married, together, or otherwise involved besides two one night stands and the living arrangement you oh-so-lovingly organized with Cid." He stared at her, more than a little hurt but unwilling to show it. One night stands? Is that all I am? Cheap entertainment? His temper got the best of him, and he snapped at her, throwing back her own words in her face.
"Is this some kind of twisted revenge?" He snarled, "I mean seriously, Puberty Boy?" Quistis glared at him, two could play at that game.
"Aw, this isn't revenge Seifer," she said with a mock sweetness before her voice darkened a few octaves to match her murderous glare. "This is just fun." Smirking triumphantly, she whirled around to leave him standing there, like that night in the club. But Seifer was too quick for her, and before she could blink she found herself slammed up against the nearest wall with an angry Almasy inches from her face. Note to self: Choose words more carefully when faced with stronger, already cranky Seifer.
"Don't tempt me Quistis." She tossed her head defiantly, and stared into his startlingly green eyes, seemingly unafraid.
"Tempt you to do what?" She inwardly congratulated herself on her tone, dripping with just enough disgust to tick him off further.
"Shut you up." And with those words his mouth descended on hers in a kiss that voiced all words could not. He was jealous, angry, and yet mixed in there somewhere was a disturbing insecurity. She could tell he was somewhat unsure about himself, convinced she would pick his rival over what he had to offer her. When he pulled back, she sighed her unrest and tried to untangle herself from his arms. He held on tightly and forced her to look at him.
"I just...I was thinking and he was...there." She tried feebly to defend her actions but knew it was a lousy cover. She sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I was really confused after...well you know, so I was thinking by myself when he came along. And he just...I just...I guess we threw reason out the window for a while. I didn't plan it, but I can't be sure I would take it back. I just don't know, Seifer. Can you understand that?" Seifer considered that for a moment.
"Quistis, when I became Ultimecia's knight, I had second thoughts. When I came here to be a SeeD, I had second thoughts. When I took that SeeD exam, gave Squall that scar, I had second thoughts. But I have never had second thoughts about this." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "Can you understand that?" He watched serenely as she blinked a few times. Such emotional expression wasn't exactly characteristic of Seifer, and she regarded him with suspicion.
"Am I that good a lay?" She asked sarcastically. Immediately Seifer pushed himself away from her and the wall, his face dark and his eyes swirling with anger and hurt. He turned his gaze toward her and when he spoke his former soul baring had dissipated as if shoved under a hidden corner in his mind.
"Fine, Quistis. Have it your way. You know what?" He looked sorrowfully at the ground and shook his head, a growl managing to escape his carefully controlled calm. "Fuck you. Just. Fuck. You." With that said, he spun on his heel, his gray coat fanning out behind him as he stormed off the balcony.
Good, thought Quistis, good. But even her inner voice was shaking.
~***~
"Selphie, have you seen Squall?" Quistis glanced briefly over the tiny girl's shoulder, looking for the elusive Commander.
"Sorry, Quisty, I haven't. Guess what though? I know something you don't know!" She bounced on her heels for a moment and looked at Quistis expectantly.
"What, Selphie?"
"Seifer left today! He just walked up to Cid and said he quit!" The older woman's eyes widened.
"What?! Where did he go?"
"Dunno. Maybe Dollet. Maybe Timber." Quistis brushed past the brunette and made her way purposefully down the hall, calling back to Selphie.
"I have to see Squall. Thanks for the update, Selphie."
Sweeping briskly through the nearly empty hallway, Quistis turned a corner only to collide with the man she'd been looking for. Straightening her uniform, Quistis greeted him.
"Hi Squall. I need to talk to you about yesterday. I, um, have been doing some thinking and I wanted to let you know who I chose." Squall's face became a perfect blank, as though bracing himself for a let down. "After a long time alone, and some…hurt feelings, I decided that you're the one for me, Squall. I've always loved you."
Squall's eyes lit up like a little boy's at Christmas, and he gave Quistis a spine tingling kiss.
"Seifer's gone." She said when they broke apart, and Squall looked at her in wonder. Good job, bring up his lifelong rival after kissing…
"I know. I was there when Cid let him go." He stared at Quistis for a moment, sure she had been replaced by someone he didn't know. She seemed to be distant, even after the earth shattering kiss they had just shared. But he kissed her again and the aura disappeared, as if it had never even been there.
*Next Day*
Squall had been gone from their shared bed when Quistis had awoken that morning. She'd looked high and low for him, but whenever she caught sight of his leather clad form, he vanished down some unseen hallway. At last, weary of her search, she camped out in front of his office. As predicted, after only an hour's wait he rounded a corner, set toward the oak door that lead a man through the portal of paperwork.
"Hey." Greeted Quistis sheepishly. "I've been looking for you all day."
"Have you?" Said Squall, which would have been very normal were it not for the fact that his voice was colder than she'd ever heard it. "What can I do for you?"
"Wha…what can you…? No. Never mind." Tears filled her twin ocean pools as she wheeled around and fled down the hall. She threw herself on the bed in the room she used to share with Seifer and let herself cry for some time before she dared raise her head.
What happened?
Ack! Crappy chapter! Crappy ending! Noooo! I can see the flames already!!! Hee hee, sorry about that, this is my quickie filler chapter in which something especially important goes on but not enough to be a good chappie. I needed a means to an end and I'm sorry, I promise the ending chapter(s?) will be much MUCH better than what I've offered you today. My apologies ^_^ Plz review and tell me whether you want (dun dun dun) A) Quall, B) Seiftis/Quiefer or C) Both! Whee! aka alternate endings.