Seifer hated trains. Absolutely despised them.
They must have been on ten trains in the past three days, traveling all around the world, trying to throw the sorceress - if that is what she was - off their scent. Quistis came up with it despite Seifer's protests.
He tried to tell her that she was a sorceress, they could fly to the outer breaches of the earth and she could still find them if she wanted to. He also argued that he wouldn't run away from his problems. But the truth was, Quistis was very unnerved about the message left for them on the magazine. Even if it was mostly directed at Seifer, it involved her and Zell as well. Someone, apparently, wanted to get rid of the three because they were getting too close. And she was scared. Scared of what this person is capable of, and scared to find out what was trying to be covered up. So in the end, Quistis had her way.
(Hyne. She's so fucking bossy! Can't even see that she's wrong.)
Seifer scowled, and returned yet another cigarette to his lips. He had never smoked as much in his life as he had in the past few days. Zell was driving him crazy, Quistis was driving him crazy, and all these fucking train rides were driving him crazy.
Quistis plucked the cigarette from his lips. He was so busy brooding over her bossiness, he didn't even notice her approach. Preparing a long string of curses to launch at her, she simply glared at him defiantly, and brought the cigarette to her own mouth.
Seifer openly gaped as she took a long drag, without a cough.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded loudly.
"You'll wake up Zell," she said emotionlessly, staring out the train's window, not meeting his gaze.
"Like I care," he muttered, but lowered his voice anyway. "Since when do you smoke?"
"I don't."
"Then why aren't you hacking up a lung?"
"My foster parents always smoked up a storm. Guess I just got used to it during the few years I lived with them," she shrugged indifferently.
"... ... ..."
Seifer looked her quickly up and down. She was in her pajamas - a pair of silky black pants and a black tank top. He wasn't used to seeing her in dark clothes - she looked good in them, he decided. Her hair was down and tousled, she looked entirely different than usual. He allowed her to keep the cigarette, and pulled out a new one for himself.
"I'm sorry..." she said softly, tugging the cigarette from her ruddy lips and smashing it out in an ashtray on a nearby table.
"Don't be. It was just one cigarette."
"Not for that."
"What for, then?"
"Dragging you and Zell all across the world, just because I was scared," she started. "I've been thinking about it. You were right, you can't run from a sorceress."
"Damn straight I was right," he snorted.
"You aren't making this any easier..." she sighed, crossing her arms. "...What do you think we should do?" Her voice was starting to sound fragile, weak. Seifer didn't like that at all, and his back stiffened.
"You're in charge of this, Trepe, not me."
"I'm not asking for your orders. I'm asking for your opinion."
"That's a first," he smirked. "I think it's time to stop this running. Where's this train headed?"
"Timber..."
"Timber. There will be shit to do there, right?"
"We can go to Timber Maniacs...hey! Maybe there will be someone there who can decode Deling's Dream Won't End!" The familiar hopeful ring returned to her voice.
"You didn't need my opinion after all," he looked away. "There aren't a lot of good things I can say about you, Quistis. But I admit that you can take care of yourself just fine."
"No I can't," she crinkled her nose. "I suck at it. I just want someone else to take care of me..." she admitted, quietly cursing herself for telling him so. You just don't confide things like that to Seifer without it blowing up in your face.
Seifer smiled slightly as she stared at the floor.
"Quistis."
"What."
She refused to look back up at him, and he placed his index finger under her chin, tilting it up to look her in the eye.
She was confused as she saw him lean in. Her heart was pounding erratically as his lips brushed against her own. Chaste was all it could be described as, it reminded her of walking down the street and brushing arms with a stranger.
As he pulled away, her lips were trembling, eyes shut tightly.
"You're not a child, Quistis," he began, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself - yes, what *you* want, dear Instructor, is love. Am I right?" He sounded confident enough that he was right.
"And if you were?" she said icily, eyes still closed. "Even if I did want...love...there would be nothing you could do about it. You love yourself so much there's no room for anyone else."
Stung, Seifer turned his back on her.
"And you're too cold to let anyone else in, so we're both screwed. Hyne, why are you such a bitch? I didn't know I was that bad of a kisser," he growled sarcastically.
"Do we have to fight?" she placed a hand tentatively on his elbow, walking around him to face him again. His eyes were hurt, hostile.
"Oh sure. Now you want to get along."
"Seifer...I just wasn't expecting you to kiss me. You caught me off guard. And you were right, I do want love. I just don't know where to look for it."
"You never thought to look here."
"You wanted me to?" she tilted her head to one side, questioningly.
"No...hell, I don't even know why I kissed you. I don't like you."
"Thanks," she deadpanned. "Fond of you too."
"This is why we don't get along," he announced, scratching the back of his head.
"Why? We're too different?"
"No. We're too similar," he said, searching her eyes for a reaction. He got one, but not one that he expected.
She stood on her tiptoes, pulling his head roughly down to meet hers. She dug her nails into the back of his neck, insistent when he tried to pull away. He gave up, and began to work his mouth over hers. He heard her sigh in satisfaction, and smile under his lips. When the kiss ended, there was no hostility in either of them.
"Smoking makes you act foolishly, Instructor," he observed with a raised brow. "Changing your mind about me?"
"More like making it up..." she answered cryptically. "Oh, and you are a quite satisfactory kisser, by the way."
Seifer smirked.
"You think so?" he asked, trying to feign being humble.
"Indeed," she suddenly turned sad. "Seifer...what are we?"
"...I don't know. What do you think we should be?"
"I'm not sure. We do still have a mission...getting tangled up in a relationship could complicate things."
"No argument here."
"Then again, one can't deny there was something behind what happened just now. I'm not sure what it was, but there was something there. Did you feel the same?"
"Yeah. There was something there..." he frowned, looking down at her. "But something is just something. Don't go thinking that it's love."
"I won't," she frowned. "Let's just forget this happened, for now. Once everything settles down and we get back to Garden, we can work out our feelings. Is that okay with you...?"
"Suppose that is as good a solution as any..." he shrugged, looking towards Zell, sleeping on the couch in the private SeeD room for the first time. "Hey. We gonna tell Chicken-wuss about this?"
"No, he'll just freak out about it."
"He freaks out about anything," Seifer snorted. "Hmm. You're taking this very calmly."
"What do you mean?" she furrowed her brow.
"Well, you're being level headed. Actually making sense."
"Imagine that."
He grinned, and stretched lazily.
**Attention passengers. We will be arriving at Timber shortly. Please gather your baggage...**
"Okay. Let's get this sorceress or whatever, go back to Garden, and make mad passionate love to the break of dawn. Sound good?" Seifer suggested.
Quistis blinked a couple times, and ignored the question. She quietly walked over to Zell to shake him awake.
The train pulled into Timber Station, unaware and uncaring of what had happened between two of its passengers.
Notes: AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! GODDAMN WRITER'S BLOCK!! RAGE!!!! I'm sorry, I meant to have their first kiss come out SO much better than it did. I promise, once my writer's block leaves once and for all, I'll go back and edit this whole story through all it's iffy parts, and make it worthy of all the support it is getting ^_^ I love you all! You help keep me going.
They must have been on ten trains in the past three days, traveling all around the world, trying to throw the sorceress - if that is what she was - off their scent. Quistis came up with it despite Seifer's protests.
He tried to tell her that she was a sorceress, they could fly to the outer breaches of the earth and she could still find them if she wanted to. He also argued that he wouldn't run away from his problems. But the truth was, Quistis was very unnerved about the message left for them on the magazine. Even if it was mostly directed at Seifer, it involved her and Zell as well. Someone, apparently, wanted to get rid of the three because they were getting too close. And she was scared. Scared of what this person is capable of, and scared to find out what was trying to be covered up. So in the end, Quistis had her way.
(Hyne. She's so fucking bossy! Can't even see that she's wrong.)
Seifer scowled, and returned yet another cigarette to his lips. He had never smoked as much in his life as he had in the past few days. Zell was driving him crazy, Quistis was driving him crazy, and all these fucking train rides were driving him crazy.
Quistis plucked the cigarette from his lips. He was so busy brooding over her bossiness, he didn't even notice her approach. Preparing a long string of curses to launch at her, she simply glared at him defiantly, and brought the cigarette to her own mouth.
Seifer openly gaped as she took a long drag, without a cough.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded loudly.
"You'll wake up Zell," she said emotionlessly, staring out the train's window, not meeting his gaze.
"Like I care," he muttered, but lowered his voice anyway. "Since when do you smoke?"
"I don't."
"Then why aren't you hacking up a lung?"
"My foster parents always smoked up a storm. Guess I just got used to it during the few years I lived with them," she shrugged indifferently.
"... ... ..."
Seifer looked her quickly up and down. She was in her pajamas - a pair of silky black pants and a black tank top. He wasn't used to seeing her in dark clothes - she looked good in them, he decided. Her hair was down and tousled, she looked entirely different than usual. He allowed her to keep the cigarette, and pulled out a new one for himself.
"I'm sorry..." she said softly, tugging the cigarette from her ruddy lips and smashing it out in an ashtray on a nearby table.
"Don't be. It was just one cigarette."
"Not for that."
"What for, then?"
"Dragging you and Zell all across the world, just because I was scared," she started. "I've been thinking about it. You were right, you can't run from a sorceress."
"Damn straight I was right," he snorted.
"You aren't making this any easier..." she sighed, crossing her arms. "...What do you think we should do?" Her voice was starting to sound fragile, weak. Seifer didn't like that at all, and his back stiffened.
"You're in charge of this, Trepe, not me."
"I'm not asking for your orders. I'm asking for your opinion."
"That's a first," he smirked. "I think it's time to stop this running. Where's this train headed?"
"Timber..."
"Timber. There will be shit to do there, right?"
"We can go to Timber Maniacs...hey! Maybe there will be someone there who can decode Deling's Dream Won't End!" The familiar hopeful ring returned to her voice.
"You didn't need my opinion after all," he looked away. "There aren't a lot of good things I can say about you, Quistis. But I admit that you can take care of yourself just fine."
"No I can't," she crinkled her nose. "I suck at it. I just want someone else to take care of me..." she admitted, quietly cursing herself for telling him so. You just don't confide things like that to Seifer without it blowing up in your face.
Seifer smiled slightly as she stared at the floor.
"Quistis."
"What."
She refused to look back up at him, and he placed his index finger under her chin, tilting it up to look her in the eye.
She was confused as she saw him lean in. Her heart was pounding erratically as his lips brushed against her own. Chaste was all it could be described as, it reminded her of walking down the street and brushing arms with a stranger.
As he pulled away, her lips were trembling, eyes shut tightly.
"You're not a child, Quistis," he began, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself - yes, what *you* want, dear Instructor, is love. Am I right?" He sounded confident enough that he was right.
"And if you were?" she said icily, eyes still closed. "Even if I did want...love...there would be nothing you could do about it. You love yourself so much there's no room for anyone else."
Stung, Seifer turned his back on her.
"And you're too cold to let anyone else in, so we're both screwed. Hyne, why are you such a bitch? I didn't know I was that bad of a kisser," he growled sarcastically.
"Do we have to fight?" she placed a hand tentatively on his elbow, walking around him to face him again. His eyes were hurt, hostile.
"Oh sure. Now you want to get along."
"Seifer...I just wasn't expecting you to kiss me. You caught me off guard. And you were right, I do want love. I just don't know where to look for it."
"You never thought to look here."
"You wanted me to?" she tilted her head to one side, questioningly.
"No...hell, I don't even know why I kissed you. I don't like you."
"Thanks," she deadpanned. "Fond of you too."
"This is why we don't get along," he announced, scratching the back of his head.
"Why? We're too different?"
"No. We're too similar," he said, searching her eyes for a reaction. He got one, but not one that he expected.
She stood on her tiptoes, pulling his head roughly down to meet hers. She dug her nails into the back of his neck, insistent when he tried to pull away. He gave up, and began to work his mouth over hers. He heard her sigh in satisfaction, and smile under his lips. When the kiss ended, there was no hostility in either of them.
"Smoking makes you act foolishly, Instructor," he observed with a raised brow. "Changing your mind about me?"
"More like making it up..." she answered cryptically. "Oh, and you are a quite satisfactory kisser, by the way."
Seifer smirked.
"You think so?" he asked, trying to feign being humble.
"Indeed," she suddenly turned sad. "Seifer...what are we?"
"...I don't know. What do you think we should be?"
"I'm not sure. We do still have a mission...getting tangled up in a relationship could complicate things."
"No argument here."
"Then again, one can't deny there was something behind what happened just now. I'm not sure what it was, but there was something there. Did you feel the same?"
"Yeah. There was something there..." he frowned, looking down at her. "But something is just something. Don't go thinking that it's love."
"I won't," she frowned. "Let's just forget this happened, for now. Once everything settles down and we get back to Garden, we can work out our feelings. Is that okay with you...?"
"Suppose that is as good a solution as any..." he shrugged, looking towards Zell, sleeping on the couch in the private SeeD room for the first time. "Hey. We gonna tell Chicken-wuss about this?"
"No, he'll just freak out about it."
"He freaks out about anything," Seifer snorted. "Hmm. You're taking this very calmly."
"What do you mean?" she furrowed her brow.
"Well, you're being level headed. Actually making sense."
"Imagine that."
He grinned, and stretched lazily.
**Attention passengers. We will be arriving at Timber shortly. Please gather your baggage...**
"Okay. Let's get this sorceress or whatever, go back to Garden, and make mad passionate love to the break of dawn. Sound good?" Seifer suggested.
Quistis blinked a couple times, and ignored the question. She quietly walked over to Zell to shake him awake.
The train pulled into Timber Station, unaware and uncaring of what had happened between two of its passengers.
Notes: AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! GODDAMN WRITER'S BLOCK!! RAGE!!!! I'm sorry, I meant to have their first kiss come out SO much better than it did. I promise, once my writer's block leaves once and for all, I'll go back and edit this whole story through all it's iffy parts, and make it worthy of all the support it is getting ^_^ I love you all! You help keep me going.