Quistis's heels clicked solemnly across the floor as she walked down the hall towards the dorms. She had been all over Garden, and no one seemed to know where Seifer was.
Or Rinoa, for that matter.
As she walked around past the training center, she spotted Zell coming from the garage. There's someone I haven't asked. She waved to get the boy's attention.
"Oh, hey, Quisty," Zell grinned with his usual exuberance.
"Zell," she replied, repeating the same words she must have said a hundred times already today. "Have you seen Seifer?"
Immediately she could tell that he knew something. His mouth did that quirky thing and he looked past her instead of at her. "Um…not lately."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Uh…this morning. Yeah. At breakfast."
"Do you know where he is right now?"
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"Uh…No. I don't know exactly where he is right now."
Quistis's brow furrowed. "Zell."
"I don't!"
"Is he in Garden?"
Zell stared at the fountain.
"Zell."
Dammit, Zell thought, I can't lie to her...She knows me better than that. Ah! Seifer's gonna kill me. "No. He went to Balamb."
"Oh. That's not a big deal, Zell, you could've just said so to begin with."
"Sure, Quisty. Look, I've gotta run before all the hot dogs are gone. See ya!" And with that Zell escaped before his big mouth got him in any trouble.
Quistis puzzled over his words after he had dashed away. So he went to Balamb. No big deal. But Zell was definitely hiding something…Quistis stopped in her tracks. Wait. No one has seen Rinoa today, either. Matron mentioned she wasn't coming to practice today. What if…? She had heard the rumors, too, but up until now had completely disregarded them. Quistis all but ran to the garage. She barged into the office, surprising the cadet assigned to the books for the day.
"Can I help, Ms. Trepe?" he asked, gathering himself up. She recognized him immediately.
"Sure, Ken," she smiled. "I need to ask a question. Did Seifer Almasy sign out a car today?" Technically, the cadet wasn't supposed to tell her anything. She wasn't an instructor any more, and didn't currently have any authorization to pull vehicle records. But she knew one thing.
Ken was a Trepie.
"Yes, Ms. Trepe, he did."
"Was he alone?"
"No, ma'am." Ken was more than happy to help her out, if it might mean Quistis Trepe would once again become available on the dating market. "He went with Rinoa Heartilly."
Seifer breathed a deep sigh of relief as they finally exited the jewelry shop, his precious purchase tucked safely away from the brightly offending afternoon sun. The small shop and the stuck up old woman behind the counter had given him a headache, and the blinding light of day served to sharpen the pain. He slipped a pair of sunglasses on and turned to look at Rinoa.
Observing the raven haired beauty who walked beside him, he was reminded briefly of their summer in Deling, but knew there were many intimate differences. They were both different people now, much older people, each with a gift carried in their hearts for another, a similarity which made them all the closer.
"Thanks, Rin," he said softly. She turned and smiled at him.
"No problem, Seif," she responded, glancing at her watch. Squall is a lucky man, Seifer thought. He thought of the top of a velvet black box peeking out of his pocket. And so am I.
"Want to get something to eat before we head back?" he asked.
"Yes! I am so sick of hot dogs, I've been seriously contemplating trying the mystery meat!"
Seifer chuckled as he opened the door to a small diner. They found a table and ordered drinks. While they waited, Rinoa looked over at him.
"So, Seifer, I have never heard….In fact, I don't think anyone has ever heard. How did you and Quistis get together?"
Seifer looked down at the table, remembering. That day seemed like an eternity ago…
"Here we are," he said softly, turning to watch her climb the last few steps to the top of the gently rounded hill. He watched her face anxiously as she looked around, looking for her reaction.
Quistis's breath caught in her throat at the spectacular sight. The hill itself was covered in short, lush grass and scatterings of wildflowers, and its height offered a wonderful vantage point from which to view the forest that surrounded them. Not a bit of civilization in sight, no cars, no towns, no people. Just them and the trees.
And the sky! The dome of star-speckled black velvet spread out forever, making Quistis feel very small, yet at the same time making her feel as if her soul was soaring. The stars twinkled more brightly tonight than she ever remembered, while the silver light of the moon covered the landscape in a shimmering blanket.
She turned cerulean eyes on him, a smile spread across her face. "It is beautiful," she whispered.
Seifer smiled back at her. He felt strange, light, as if he suddenly weighed far less. Perhaps the burden of guilt had flown from him, at least for the evening's sake. He pulled out an old, worn blanket and spread it on the grass.
Quistis's hand tingled where he grasped it as he led her to sit on the blanket. Then he flopped back unceremoniously, spread out to fully view the canvas of night.
Imagine, Seifer Almasy stargazing, Quistis thought with a giggle as she lay down beside him.
Imagine, Quistis Trepe giggling, Seifer thought with equal bemusement.
"That one there," he said, breaking the silence after several awe filled moments. "That's Bahamut, king of dragons. And over there," he pointed, "there's Orion, the hunter."
"And there," she spoke, "is the Sorceress's Knight."
Immediately she felt as if she'd made a mistake. Seifer was silent for a long time.
"Seifer, I'm sorry…"
"No," he replied. "Don't be. I
failed. I accept that. My failure wasn't in the battle, but in the side I ended
up on. Perhaps I failed because…I didn't think, I only felt. Perhaps I failed
because I was weak. But whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I
believe that, Quisty. Maybe I don't need a sorceress to be a Knight."
A long, comfortable silence ensued. The moon continued its climb to the summit of the heavens, its light giving Quistis thoughts to ponder.
"The midnight sky must love the moon," Seifer spoke, interrupting her musings.
"What?" she blinked.
"Think about it. While the night sky has stars all the time, they're just little twinkling lights. They don't really illuminate anything. But the moon…The moon is a silver light that fills the midnight's existence, bringing it life."
Quistis rolled up on her side to stare at him. "Seifer Almasy, I can't believe that just came out of your mouth."
Seifer felt his face flush. "Sorry, I knew it was stupid," he mumbled.
"No, no!" Quistis shook her head. "It wasn't stupid! It was just unexpected to hear poetry coming from you. It was…It was beautiful."
He turned to look at her, and found her face was much closer than he'd thought. He found himself drowning in azure pools, could hear his heart pounding away in his ears. He could no longer fight the draw of her presence. Her eyes, her smile, her perfect form, her full red lips drew him in, until finally their lips touched…
And in the darkness, two lonely souls found their way home.
"Seifer?" Rinoa waved a hand in front of his face. "You in there?"
"Mmm? Yeah. Stargazing."
"What?"
"Stargazing. That's how we got together."
"Oh." And thankfully, Rinoa didn't ask for any elaboration. Seifer never wanted to belittle that night with mere words.
Quistis wandered her way towards the dorms, feeling lost and lonely. So Seifer had gone to Balamb with Rinoa. She'd heard all the rumors flying around about how he'd left her because he was still hung up on Rinoa. It wasn't the only rumor making its run, and she'd reacted to it much the same way she'd imagined Squall had. She shrugged, thinking it utter nonsense and the result of cadets with too much time on their hands.
But now…Now she wasn't so certain. Seifer rarely left Garden for anything, yet here he'd run off to Balamb with Rinoa. The thoughts just kept circling around Quistis's mind, making her eyes burn and her head swim.
As she came around a bend she spotted someone walking towards her. Relief flooded her heart. Here was someone who didn't need her to be strong anymore. She'd been strong for him as children, but now he was the commander. Now he was the strong one. And now she needed his strength. Without a word of warning she flung herself at him, no longer able to contain her anguish.
Squall Leonhart frowned in puzzlement at the sobbing woman he found himself holding. He didn't have to ask why. He'd heard all the rumors already, and had subsequently assigned many cadets with new cleaning duties to keep their hands busy since they seemed to have so much free time. But Quistis had a tendency to care a little too much about what others thought of her and said about her.
No, he was puzzled because he wasn't really sure what to do. Hmm…what would Rinoa do? No, I couldn't, I'm rotten at it.
Well, how are you ever going to get better if you don't try? A voice that sounded suspiciously like Rinoa demanded in his head.
Okay, okay, give me a break already. He put his hand under her chin, making her look up at him. "Quisty," he said gently, "you want to come back to my room and talk about it?"
Quistis blinked. Squall wanted to talk? She glanced around looking for the ice, for surely she was already in hell. Finding none, she gave him a small, bitter smile. "Sure. Yes." She bit back a sob. "I'd love that."