"Ahhh…" I sighed softly, letting myself lay in the bubbly warm waters of the bathtub. This is so relaxing. I could spend my entire day in here. Lost in a trance, I could feel my muscles easing. It's been a hell of a day. "Now where's my shampoo…?" Blindly, I attempted to reach for the bottle, swaying my hand from here to there. Nothing. Did I forget to bring it in with me? I rolled my eyes and growled at the fact that the bottle is not in here. I sighed heavily, and reluctantly pulled myself out of the heavenly waters. Grabbing a large towel, I wrapped myself up. I slowly walked to the door, leaving a puddle of water behind. Opening the bathroom door, I peeked out. Seifer was lying on the bed, still holding the towel on his cheek. His eyes were closed. Good. If I could just get my shampoo out of my suitcase without him noticing me. I stealthily walked to my suitcase and unzipped it. I looked over the bed to see if Seifer opened his eyes. He didn't. With a sigh of relief, I went about my doings, rather hastily, and got my shampoo. I grinned and started back to the warm bliss of my bath.
"Aren't you forgetful today, Quistis?"
I looked over to him; a smug grin on his face. His eyes were well and open, eyeing me from head to toe.
"What are you looking at?" I mused bitterly. My hair was untied and still dripping wet, and I stood there, gradually creating a small puddle on the dry carpet.
"You should let your hair down like that, Quistis. It looks better like that."
I felt my cheeks burning. "Oh Seifer. Just shut up. It's bad enough that I'm stuck with your cocky self in this mission!" I stormed back to the bathroom and slammed the door.
"Easy Quistis, or you'll end up in an accident to yourself," he shot back. Furious, I opened the door and poked my head out.
"It's Instructor. Remember Seifer, you're my student, so I expect you to call me that," After that I slammed the door once again. Hyne! Seifer, you're such a bastard. Enraged, I marched quickly to my bath, hoping the warm waters will calm me down…I slipped.
Seifer heard a loud thud in the bathroom.
The ceiling light shone brightly to my eyes. "Ugh…" I moaned painfully. My back ached in pain. Mumbling curses, I attempted to stand up. I took a hold of the sink for balance, and looked in the mirror. I was a mess. My hair was stringy, my eyes were red, and my back hurt like a gunblade just pierced it.
"I told you Instructor. Go easy on yourself or you'll end up in an accident," Seifer spoke loudly from his bed.
I made a face to his remark. Damn you, Seifer. Why do you have to be like this?
"Shit," I cursed when I saw a large bruise forming on the bottom part of my back. Sigh, well, maybe the bath would soothe it. I carefully stepped into the water and sat in the tub. The pain throbbed annoyingly on my back. Squirting shampoo on my hand, I worked into a nice lather on my hair. The pain is killing me…my arms felt weak, and suddenly the world before me went dark.
Seifer looked at his fresh new scar on his cheek in the mirror. "Damn it, Quistis." The towel he held was entirely soaked in blood. He needed a new towel.
"Quistis," he called to the door and knocked on it loudly. "Give me a towel, will you?" He knocked on it again. No answer. This time he pounded the door. No answer. He sighed. "Quistis, I'm sorry that I mocked you earlier and that I ruined your mood. But I need a new towel here and I'm gonna die from loss of blood if you don't fetch me that towel," he said. No answer. Seifer felt something was wrong. The Quistis he knew would cynically open the door, toss him the towel, and mumble a few cusses under her breath. No, something wasn't right. A wave of fear rushed through him. "Quistis!! Are you all right?!" He fumbled with the doorknob, trying to open the door. The door was shut tight. "Damn it!" Stepping back, he rushed to the door and kicked it. The door didn't budge. He kicked it again. It didn't move. "Fuck!" Hurriedly gazing through the room for some way to open the door, he spotted his Hyperion. "Quistis, hang on." With much force, he stuck his Hyperion against the wooden door. The door crumbled easily under the touch of the gunblade. Seifer hurried inside and found a frail, unconscious body in the water.
~*~
I awoke in a gasp. My eyes shot open, and a wave of pain flowed through my back. I grunted in pain, and squinted through the dark room, for it was night already. I realized that I wasn't in the bathroom, plus, I was fully dressed, and in bed.
"What?" Confusion rushed through my head. I sat up, trying to think things through. I remembered myself in the bathtub…did I black out? How did I end up here in bed?…Seifer…
"Quistis?"
The voice came from a dark corner.
"Seifer?"
A dark figure rose from behind the dark shadows. "Quistis, thank Hyne that you're all right." Seifer sat beside me on the bed. I could see his eyes reflected by the moonlight.
"Seifer, what happened?" My voice sounded groggy. "And what did you do?" I saw a tinge of embarrassment in his eyes.
"Um, Quistis, you blacked out while you were taking a bath."
"Oh, really? I didn't know," I replied sarcastically.
"Well, I found you lying there and I brought you to bed and I—" he cut off short.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "You saw me naked?!" Seifer ignored my outburst and continued on.
" And…I dressed you."
Another flow of pain shot up my back. I arched up in pain.
"Ugh!" Tears brimmed my eyes. Seifer gently placed his arms around me. I fought away his arms. "Don't touch me! I cannot believe that you saw me naked and dressed me. How dare you do such a thing!"
Seifer's face darkened. "What, so you want me to leave you there to die? C'mon Quistis, you should thank me for saving your life, or else you would've drown to death. You call yourself an Instructor, thinking you're better than everybody that you can take care of yourself. Well, now here's a contradiction; I find your pitiful body unconscious in a bathtub! And now you're taking your shit out on me because I saved your life?" With that, he exited the room and shut the door hard. His heavy footsteps diminished until I couldn't hear it anymore.
I sat there, stunned at his outburst.
"…Seifer…I…I'm so sorry. I didn't—" I spoke to myself. Tears ran down my face, and I was at a lost of words. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed in the darkness. Until I could not cry any longer, I drifted into a heavy sleep.
~*~
I awoke when something kicked me softly in the leg. It was still dark, probably around 2:00 in the morning. I shifted to my left side on the bed, the pain was still throbbing. Seifer was sleeping, his leg must have woke me up. The night had an awkward silence, and I lay there staring at him. The curtains on the window swayed gently with the breeze, making the silver moonlight dance around the room. Seifer looks so innocent, so serene. His handsome face shone brightly with the moonlight. A scar rested on his cheek, and I gently placed my fingers on it, slowly moving along the scar. I must admit, I was harsh to him tonight. There's something else to him that I've never seen before…a certain kind of…love. Although I couldn't stand his impulsive nature, tonight, he showed something to me that I never thought he had it in him. I rolled my eyes. Oh please, Seifer? He just wants to get laid by a girl, just like that moment we had at the balcony. I sneered inwardly, and looked at his face again. My eyes softened. Perhaps, there is a caring side to Seifer, just buried deep inside him…like Squall. I sighed heavily. The breeze picked up and blew its icy breath into the room. I shivered, and pulled the covers up to my neck. With no apparent reason, I gently moved close to Seifer, next to his chest. He's so warm. Cuddling comfortably, I went back to sleep.
In the darkness, Seifer smiled.
~*~
TBC!!!!