The sun shone brightly down upon the gently swaying dock. A motorboat
approached the dock, pushing the water aside from its path. The driver of
the boat carefully steered the boat and aligned it with the dock. The
engine was cut and the boat stopped. The door opened and 14 people stepped
off the boat. Each had arms entwined around someone else. Soft whispers
of reassurance and words of love could be heard.
"Irvy, are you sure about this?"
"Think of it as a test, Sefie. We'll be fine…"
"… so much. I'll miss you so much, Locke."
"We don't have to say goodbye yet, Celes..."
"…Squall, we still have time to back out."
"We don't need to…"
"Edgar…"
"Don't worry, Terra. You know I love you with all my heart..."
"Woman, I can't believe you made me come here."
"I won our bet fair and square. Besides, we're both faithful..."
"Shinigami, you watch yourself."
Sound of rich laughter. "You watch yourself too, cutie..."
"Why are we doing this again? You should know never to listen to Treize by now, Zechs!"
As the whispers continued, two women approached the group.
"Welcome to… Temptation Isle."
The whispers ceased and attention was given to the two women. The females rolled their eyes as their men boggled at the two beautiful women, maybe it wouldn't be so easy, after all. Even though they were already on the isle, just looking at them made this feel like a tropical getaway, not a sadistic game of willpower. One of the women was tall and lanky; her slim yet curvy figure clad in a bikini top that had flowers on it in warm shades; red, orange, and yellow with a matching wrap skirt. White high-heeled sandals kept her delicate feet from touching the scorching sand. Her long hair was a brilliant blue reminiscent of the sea; her eyes were also blue, only a lighter shade.
The other girl was much shorter; maybe even shorter than the shortest girl of the couples was. Despite her short stature, she had long slender legs that were well toned, probably from dancing. White shorts that came to her upper calves showed off these legs rather nicely. With it, she paired a strapless bikini top; unlike her companion's it was pink with flowers of every color imaginable on it. To add to its vivid (some would say tawdry) décor were tiny pink gems, which were obviously fake, but still sparkled in the sunlight. Also like her friend, she wore high-heeled white sandals; only hers were covered in glitter, giving them more of a silvery look. The entire effect was emphasized by many sparkly, different-colored bracelets winding their way up her wrists and nearly to her elbows, and many earrings in her ears, large hoops at the bottom and winding up the upper part of her ears were studs and smaller hoops. The only, well, normal, part of her appearance was her large blue eyes and chestnut-colored hair coming down to her upper back, streaked with natural streaks of blonde, and many streaks of red that couldn't possibly be natural.
"We're glad you all made it here. For the next 2 weeks, your commitment, your dedication to one another and the strength of your relationships will be tested." The blue-haired girl spoke. Eyeing the other, who was playing with one of her bracelets and obviously distracted, she gave her a small poke with a manicured finger and her head snapped up.
"What?? Oh yeah, right…. That scary, intimidating speech thing! Uh… Oh yeah… Make yourselves at home; the singles are already here…. And soon the fun will begin! MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!" She had to pause to take a breath, and then continued, "AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!". It went on in this manner until the other whispered something to her (probably that this was being televised), and she immediately stopped and fixed her hair, looking self-conscious.
"Uh…. Anyway…" The tall woman looked torn between amusement and alienation. "My name is Alandra, and this is Amica. We shall be your hosts for the entire duration of this test."
"And might I add, no BRIBING PLEASE. IT WILL not WORK; not JEWELRY OR MONEY, OR ANYTHING THAT WE LIKE." Amica winked.
Alandra just slapped her forehead.
"Well, we'll be your hosts for the next two weeks if neither of us gets fired!" She cast a sidelong glance at Amica, who was too engrossed in a tap dance to notice.
By now, the couples were giving each other "looks". You know: "What in the name of fudgemonkeys is going on here?" looks that only two people can exchange.
"So… where are the single ladies?" the auburn haired cowboy asked, receiving a sharp blow in the ribs from the short brunette beside him. "Just kidding, babe…"
"Well, the singles are already here. You'll meet them this afternoon, right after lunch. After meeting the singles, you'll be led to your separate living quarters and will not be able to communicate directly with each other for the next two weeks. But, before we go off to eat, introductions are necessary."
The camera spanned to the short brunette who had just hurt her boyfriend.
"So, introduce yourself and your boyfriend!" Alandra gave her the microphone.
"Okay! Hi! I'm Selphie Tilmitt and this is Irvine Kinneas! We're SeeDs, and we helped save the world! It's actually a REALLY funny story, like ok there was this sorceres—" She was cut off by her boyfriend.
"Uh, Sefie… I think we can save the story for later."
"Oh, ok Irvy!" She reached up and gave him a quick kiss.
Even Amica was scratching her head at this. Selphie handed the microphone to the next couple: a young man with a long braid and a cute girl with short hair. Alandra licked her lips at the sight of the guy, then remembered that she was on camera.
"Yo! I'm Shinigami, the God of Death! And this is the future Goddess of Death, Hilde Schbeiker!" Hilde rolled her eyes, then stole the microphone.
"We haven't quite agreed on what my title will be! And his name is actually Duo Maxwell!" She quipped.
"Uh…. Ok…" Alandra commented, having Hilde hand the microphone to a brown-haired man with a scar, and a raven-haired girl next to him.
"…"
"What Squall means to say is… oh shoot! I've never been good at this, that was Quistis' job to read him!"
"…"
"Oh, why can't you ever talk honey? Ok, I'm Rinoa Heartilly and this hottie is Squall Leonhart!" Rinoa jumped into the guy's arms. He raised an eyebrow, and shrugged at everyone else.
"Riiight…" Alandra stole the microphone from the girl, who was starting to tell the nostalgic tale of how she and Squall had gotten together, and gave it to another pretty, short-haired woman with a guy with long hair. ("We have a recurring trend," Amica joked).
"Do I have to this? Ok, fine… I'm Lucrezia Noin, but everyone calls me Noin, and this is Zechs Merquise, but he's also called Milliardo Peacecraft… it's a long story. Anyway, we're usually at Mars but we came here just to do this thing…. As for why, ask him!"
The camera panned to Zechs, but he soundlessly motioned for them to move on.
"Do we have any normal people here?" Alandra asked herself. She saw Amica grab the microphone and start to sing a showtune into it. "Guess not…" She stole it from the girl mid-aria and gave it to the next couple: a guy with blonde hair and a girl with green hair.
"Hello, ladies!" He saw Terra's face twist in anger and quickly added, "And gentlemen! I'm Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro! And this is my lovely girlfriend, Terra Branford!"
"…."
"She's not much of a public speaker," Edgar explained, then handed the microphone to a Chinese couple; one with blonde hair and the other with the traditional black hair.
"I'm Sally Po, and this is Wuf…"
"Why do you get to introduce us, woman!? You are too weak!" An enraged voice cut in.
"-Fei Chang!" Sally continued doggedly. "I'm a certified doctor who works on the Preventers, and Wufei works with me."
"This is injustice, woman! NATAKU!" Wufei screamed into the microphone before it mysteriously cut off. (Sally shot the technician a grateful look.)
"Good Lord…" Alandra was glad that it was the final couple as she handed them the microphone: a pretty blonde woman and a roguish looking guy.
"Hey, I'm Celes Chere! I used to be a general before I betrayed them and they caught me, and Locke Cole here rescued me!" She gave the man a hug; he blushed, grinning. "Anyway, now I travel around with Locke… he's a thief!"
"THAT'S TREASURE HUNTER!" Locke bellowed indignantly.
"Yeah, whatever! Anyway, we're happy to be here! Our relationship can survive anything, and this will just prove to everyone how serious we are!"
"And that concludes our introductions!" Amica told the camera happily, probably glad that this freakshow was over. As if that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black! "Now, let's go eat!"
The two women led the couples over to the large beach house. "This will be your last meal together for the next 2 weeks. Enjoy it."
The couples all sat down and Amica and Alandra sat at opposite ends of the table. The table was covered in fruits, desserts, and sandwiches. It was a simple lunch, but the couples thought it was special, since it was their last meal together.
Hilde giggled as Duo fed her a grape. Wufei looked at them in repugnance until Sally put a strawberry up to his lips. He turned and looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing, woman?"
"Feeding you."
Wufei was about to open his mouth to argue, but Sally quickly put the tip of the strawberry into his mouth. Considering his options; eating this strawberry or having Sally pissed at him for not eating it, Wufei bite down and smiled at her.
Rinoa watched Hilde and Wufei in envy. "Squally… will you feed me a piece of fruit?"
Squall looked up from his sandwich and gave her a puzzling look. "But… you're eating an apple right now."
Rinoa looked down at her right hand and tossed the apple behind her back. "Apple?"
Squall sweatdropped.
Celes picked up her glass of wine and twirled her arm around Locke's, who also had a glass of grape wine. Each drank from their own glass and smiled at one another.
"Eek! Irvy!" Selphie shrieked as she got cream from a chocolate éclair on her cheek, "You missed!"
Irvine laughed and wiped the cream off her cheek with his finger.
The sound of plastic against plastic was heard at the other end of the table. "Hah! Take that, Zechs Merquise!" Noin yelled, trying to knock the plastic straw from Zechs' hand with her own plastic straw.
"Never, Lucrezia Noin! I shall be victorious!" Zechs replied, successfully knocking the straw out of Noin's hand.
Noin fake gasped as Zechs pointed his straw at her. "Gracious Zechs Merquise, I ask you, spare this simple girl's life. I'll grant you anything in return."
"A kiss."
Noin held back her laughter as she pushed Zechs 'sword' aside and gave him a kiss. The two then broke into laughter.
Edgar dug the fork into the strawberry shortcake and lifted it up towards Terra's mouth. Terra smiled and opened her mouth, but at the last moment, Edgar pulled the fork away and ate the piece of cake. Terra pouted, grabbed another fork and broke off a piece of cake. She picked up the piece with her fingers and offered it to Edgar, pulling away at the last second, eating it herself, sticking her tongue out at him. Edgar laughed.
Once lunch was finished, Amica and Alandra grinned to each other. "Now the fun begins!" Amica announced to the couples, "It's time to split and meet the singles. However, there'll be a tour before meeting the singles. But that doesn't matter, because you're not going to be touring together anyways! Cue the tearful goodbyes!"
After many kisses and "I love you"s and "I'll miss you soo much!"s and "I think I'm going to cry! OH SQUALLY HUG ME!"s, the couples split. Amica took delight in leading the guys around, while Alandra gave the girls a tour.
Within an hour, the groups and their tour guides met again at the pool behind the beach house. "Now, you're not allowed to talk to your significant other anymore. That would just take all the fun out of it!" Alandra explained.
The couples were seated, guys and girls separate.
"Everyone comfortable?" Amica asked. The couples nodded in reply. "Then let's bring on the singles!"
Within moments, 10 single women and 10 single men, all clad in simple beachwear, were lined up on different sides of the pool.
"Ladies and gentlemen… meet your temptation." Alandra said, grinning. She left a moment of silence go by, for the couples to awe at the singles, or to back out right now should they want to. "The singles already know to stop at nothing to tempt you. Now, let's get to know them!"
Amica shot Alandra a look, telling her to brace for the worst, after the introductions the couples had.
A blonde woman stepped up; her hair up in a bun with the sides hanging down.
"I'm Quistis Trepe. I'm 19 years old, an instructor at Balamb GARDEN, and the official Squall-mind-reader!" she said, winking at Squall. Squall smiled and Rinoa fumed.
Next, a silver-haired woman took the microphone. "RAGE"
"Come again?" Alandra asked.
"SEIFER. REVENGE. FIGHT."
Only Amica seemed to understand. "Ok, she just had a fight with her boyfriend and they're participating in this as singles to get revenge on each other!"
"…" Alandra just handed the microphone to the next woman, a very ….well-endowed woman with long brown hair.
"I'm Tifa! I'm 20 and I participate in martial arts!"
"…How?" Amica demanded. Alandra poked her, but she appeared to be thinking the same thing.
"Duct-tape and a sports bras!" Tifa answered happily.
"Good god, that's her with a SPORTS BRA on?" Alandra whispered to Amica, who nodded sullenly, eyeing Tifa.
The microphone was handed to the next girl, and immediately as it happened, light fell on the girl. She was clothed in all white, her green eyes sparkling.
"My name is Aerith. I am 22 years old and a flower girl from the slums. I love flowers, and…" Her eyes misted over, and she was unable to continue; wordlessly she handed the microphone to the next person. She had honey blonde hair and wore a ridiculously pink bikini.
"Hi, I'm Relena Darlian, also known as Relena Peacecraft, former Queen of the World! I'm 18, I love my brother, long walks on the beach, my butler Pagan, pacifism, and…" she continued talking, as Amica grabbed the microphone from her and handed it to a young woman with long blonde hair and forked eyebrows.
"Hiii, I'm Dorothy! I'm 19 and I love war! War, and Zechs!" At the mention of Zechs, a maddened Relena jumped her. "I…mph…. Thought… .you…mph….were…pacifist AHHHHHH MY EYEBROWS!"
"MY BROTHER?! I NO LONGER CONSIDER MYSELF A PEACECRAFT!" Zechs sweatdropped.
Ignoring the match of hair-pulling and slapping, Alandra rescued the microphone and gave it to the next woman, a petite brunette with blue eyes.
"I'm Marguerite and I'm 18. My friends call me Margie though. My cousin, Bart, and I are supposed to get married someday; I don't know whether that's cute or gross! So, I figure if I do this and find some guy or learn something about commitment or realize it's okay or realize it's not or come to my senses and not do it even though it's a family tradition between our two families and thinking about this keeps me up all night and… Ahhh!" She screamed, after spewing out her entire life story in the span of 4.56356 seconds, then coughed and continued, "I'm from Nisan. Actually I'm its Great Mother."
"Lovely, now we have incest in addition to catfights." Alandra muttered. She reluctantly gave the microphone to a raven-haired woman.
"I'm Rachel and I'm 24! Locke used to be in love with me, let's see how he still feels!" She winked. Celes almost jumped out of her chair and Locke just slumped down into his.
"I'm Marle. I'm 18 and I'm a princess who traveled through time!" A redhead declared.
"I'm Schala… I'm 21 and I'm an enchantress." A lovely girl with milky blue hair declared, sending a burst of sparkles over the pool from her fingertips.
"Well, well… if these guys have a thing for clingy psychopaths with emotional problems who need therapy, then this will be mighty tempting indeed!" Amica winked at the camera.
Alandra took the microphone from Schala and cleared her throat. "Now, let's introduce these stunning single guys." She said, grinning widely. She walked over to the guys' end of the pool and handed the microphone to a blond man with spiked hair. He took the microphone and smiled at her. Alandra stood there with a goofy grin on her face for a little while.
"Uh… Alandra?" Amica called out.
Alandra blushed and quickly walked back over to where Amica stood.
The blond winked at Alandra and started introducing himself. "Yo, I'm Zell. I'm 18 and I'm a martial artist."
The next was another blonde, wearing a white trenchcoat. "I'm Seifer. I'm 19. I used to be a sorceress' knight. And, yes, I am here to spite my girlfriend." Seifer said, looking to Fuujin, who only looked away.
Alandra moved on to the next man, a suave brunette holding a rose. "A rose for you, m'lady." Alandra giggled. "I am Treize Kushrenada, aged 25. I am a soldier, but an honorable one at that."
The next was a young man with sandy blonde hair. "I am Quatre Raberba Winner, age 18. I'm a pacifist and the heir to the Winner fortune. I like playing violin." He smiled.
Alandra moved on to the next man, a tall thin man with long blonde hair tied in a braid like Duo's. She merely stared as he spoke:
"I'm Bartholomew Fatima, but you can call me Bart. I'm a prince, but I'm also a pirate. I'm 20 years old." He winked, causing Alandra to almost faint. She moved on before too much blood rushed to her head.
An extremely handsome man with long silver hair and startlingly green eyes met her gaze. She gulped and just handed him the microphone.
"I'm Sephiroth, age unknown. I was once SOLDIER'S greatest, and the role model to many."
The next was a guy with spiky blonde hair. "… I'm Cloud. I have a confusing life. It's best not to ask. All I basically know is that I'm 21!"
Alandra swooned for a little over the next man; lean and muscular with a short blonde ponytail wearing a muscle shirt and pants.
"The name's Sabin Figaro. I'm Edgar's brother, and a prince of Figaro. I became a martial artist, though, under the best trainer ever… Duncan!"
The next man was silver-haired, like Sephiroth, only not as tall or strong-looking. He wasn't bad, though.
"I am Setzer Gabbianni, lovely lady." He took Alandra's hand and kissed it. "I build airships, and I go where the wind takes me… I enjoy playing cards, and am what one would call a free spirit."
The next was a guy with spiky brown hair. "I'm Crono, age 19." That was all he said. Alandra shrugged and moved to where Amica was standing.
"Now that you've met the singles, it's time to decide who your significant other shouldn't date!" Amica exclaimed in glee, cackling evilly, "This is the best part!"
Alandra sweatdropped. "Right… well, during your tour, you were all given a necklace of a specific colour. Your significant other has the exact same coloured necklace. Now, one by one, you'll be presented with a bracelet of the same colour. You place that bracelet on the wrist of the one guy or girl you don't want your girlfriend or boyfriend to date. Simple as that! Of course, they can still talk and interact."
Amica smiled and carried the tray of bracelets over to the girls. She picked up a pink bracelet and handed it to Rinoa. Rinoa immediately stood up and walked over to Quistis. Without saying anything, she slipped the bracelet onto Quistis' wrist and sat back down in her chair, crossing her arms. Amica handed a white bracelet to Celes next. Celes walked over to Rachel in a fashion similar to Rinoa. She slipped the white bracelet onto Rachel's wrist and sat back down.
"Well, it's already heating up." Alandra commented.
Amica handed a purple bracelet to Noin next. "Give the bracelet to whoever you want." Noin stood up and carefully considered her options. As she was about to make a decision, something caught her eye. It was Relena jumping up and down, pointing to Dorothy. Noin chuckled, and to humour Relena, she slipped the bracelet onto Dorothy's wrist.
The next bracelet, a black one, was handed to Hilde. She jumped up from her chair and skipped over to the single girls. "Now… who would be a threat to my Shinigami?" Hilde asked herself, giggling. Hilde skipped over to Relena. "This is nothing personal!" she declared as she slipped the black bracelet onto Relena's wrist.
A yellow bracelet was handed to Selphie. "Am I allowed to make everyone share this one bracelet?" Selphie asked.
"Hey!" Irvine yelled out.
"Err… uh… no." Alandra replied.
"Darn!" Selphie cursed. She looked amongst the girls and stopped in front of Marle. "Hmm… okay! You get the bracelet!" she said, slipping the yellow bracelet onto Marle's wrist.
Amica handed a green bracelet to Terra. Terra silently stood up and slipped the bracelet onto Tifa's wrist. She could almost hear Edgar's disappointed groan.
The final bracelet, a red one, was handed to Sally. Sally stood up and walked in front of Aerith. She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favour." Sally joked, turning around and winking at Wufei.
"Woman…!" Wufei yelled.
Sally chuckled and blew a kiss at Wufei.
"And now it's the guys' turn!" Amica exclaimed excitedly. Alandra picked up another tray, which 7 different bracelets sat upon. She smiled and walked over to the guys. She picked up a pink bracelet and handed it to Squall. Squall silently stood up and eyed Seifer. He didn't bother slipping it onto his wrist, but just held it out for him. Seifer took the bracelet and put it on.
"Should I feel honoured?" Seifer asked, smirking. Squall just turned around and sat back down. Amica and Alandra sweatdropped. Alandra quickly walked over to Locke and handed him a white bracelet. Locke casually walked over to Setzer.
"Just to remind you that she's Celes and not Maria." Locke said, handing Setzer the bracelet.
Alandra waited until Locke was seated again to hand Zechs a purple bracelet. Zechs stood up. After a rousing game of "eenie-meeny-minie-mo", he shrugged and wordlessly gave the bracelet to Quatre.
Duo was handed the next bracelet, a black one. He cheerfully jumped up from his chair and surveyed the line of guys. He stopped in front of Bart. "Well, I wouldn't want my Hilde missing me too much and going for you." Duo said, chuckling as he handed the bracelet to Bart.
A yellow bracelet was handed to Irvine. Irvine confidently walked right up to Zell and gave him the bracelet.
Alandra handed the next bracelet, a green one, to Edgar. "Let's see, Terra obviously likes the tall, dashing and handsome kind," Edgar said, grinning, "So, who would she go for?" He stopped in front of Treize and assessed him. "Congratulations." Edgar said, handing Treize the green bracelet.
The final bracelet, a red one, was handed to Wufei. Wufei scowled as he walked up to Sephiroth. He handed the bracelet to him and kept scowling. He sat back down and still kept scowling.
Alandra set down the tray and smiled cheerfully at the camera. "And with that, we have our stage set for the next 2 weeks. Will these blocks only encourage relationships to develop? Or will the participants stay true to their lover's wishes? Time will only tell."
"And we'll see to it that it's exciting, edge-of-your-seat action!" Amica promised, with an evil glint in her eye.
~
Noin, Rinoa, Hilde, Selphie, Terra, Celes and Sally were sitting around a patio table, sipping cocktail drinks. Each wore a swimsuit suiting their style.
"2 weeks. I haven't a clue how I'll survive that long without the sight or smell of my sweet cowboy." Selphie pouted.
"It's only 2 weeks! And besides, we have cute guys to keep us company!" Hilde chirped cheerfully.
"Speaking of which, where are they?" Rinoa asked.
"I think they're inside the beach house. At least, that's where I last saw them." Celes answered.
"Why are they in there and not out here, seducing us like they're suppose to?" Hilde pointed out, giggling.
"I think they're doing something." Terra quietly responded.
"Oh? Doing something?" Selphie repeated, brightening up. She loved little surprises.
"Should we go see what they're planning?" Noin questioned.
"We should wait until they come and get us, shouldn't we? Wouldn't want the surprise ruined." Sally reasoned.
The girls all agreed and went back to sipping their drinks. Within 15 minutes, 7 guys walked out of the beach house and approached the ladies. Each stepped beside a specific girl. The girls quickly realized the guy standing beside them was the one their boyfriends had blocked.
"How devious!" Hilde exclaimed in glee, as she hooked her arm through Bart's.
"Quite." Sally agreed, similarly hooking hers through Sephiroth's.
With each girl's arm hooked through that of the guy they were blocked from, they group entered the beach house. Inside, the ladies were even more pleasantly surprised. On the table was an elegant meal set up especially for them.
"This is for us?" Rinoa asked, her eyes sparkling as Seifer guided her to a chair.
"Just for you." Seifer whispered into her ear. Rinoa blushed.
"Most intriguing method of seduction." Noin commented.
"Thank you." Quatre replied, pulling out her chair for her.
Terra giggled softly as she hung onto Treize's right arm. "This is amazing..." she whispered softly.
"Only for you, beautiful." Treize said, grinning.
The girls all sat down and were fed their meals.
~
"So, what are we suppose to do now?" Duo asked the group of guys all sitting around the patio table.
"I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for some sexy ladies." Irvine said, grinning.
"You and me both!" Edgar agreed enthusiastically.
Zechs rolled his eyes. "You've been apart from your girlfriends for no more than an hour. Shouldn't there be some resting period so you can cope wi---" Zechs was cut off as feminine hands slowly crept down his chest. "Uh…"
"I can help you rest." A soft voice whispered into Zechs' ear. Zechs abruptly turned around, faced Tifa and turned red.
"Thank you… for… the offer... but it's not… uh… necessary." Zechs stuttered and tried to push his chair backwards and away from close proximity to Tifa.
"Well, no problem." Tifa huskily replied, going to sit down on Irvine's lap, who readily accepted her.
Zechs sweatdropped and cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, shooting a look at Irvine, "we've only been apart from our girlfriends for no more than an hour. Don't you even miss them?"
"Of course. But we are here to enjoy ourselves." Locke pointed out, Rachel already giving him a massage.
"But there has to be some break in between." Zechs continued to argue.
Schala knelt down beside him and presented to him a tray of fruit, which seemed to have sparkles glittering all around it. Zechs gave her a look of exasperation and Schala only smiled. "I can tell how much you love your girlfriend. I'm only here to offer you some fruit."
Zechs smiled back and took a piece of cantaloupe. "Thank you."
Marle turned to look at the only other girl in the room who wasn't trying to seduce anyone, Aerith. Aerith was looking very ethereal in a light pink sundress and white sandals that strapped around her slender ankles. Shimmering auburn curls were cascading down her creamy shoulders. Sally would have had some competition if Aerith had shown any interest in Wufei, which she hadn't yet. As Wufei and Aerith were as different as night and day, that was a very good thing.
She decided that it was fun to survey the odds, and her gaze fell on Tifa. Aerith's angelic sundress was quite a contrast to Tifa's bikini, which was so skimpy it couldn't even fit the "string" category. That would be a thread bikini, in Marle's opinion. Marle was supposed to be seducing Irvine, but she really didn't feel like doing that, plus Tifa had her covered. Irvine and Edgar were such superficial jerks that they would probably be the first ones out of the game.
Marle smiled as she smoothed down her own sundress, which was mint- green with straw sandals and a cute little straw hat. Schala would surely give that Noin girl competition if Zechs hadn't been so devoted. Even if the redhead herself was pretty, Schala radiated loveliness from every inch of her creamy skin, which was highlighted by the light violet tank top and capri pants she wore, which were dark violet with light purple flowers on them. Marle felt very envious at the fact that she had matching purple sandals with spiked heels, then remembered that the girl was an enchantress and probably made them that color.
She then glanced over to where Squall and Quistis were talking.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think these were the single men." The blonde was scoffing in disgust, gesturing to where Tifa was practically giving Irvine a lap dance.
Squall obviously concurred, as he nodded and looked quite nauseated. For a moment Quistis seemed to forget that Squall was another woman's (even if she was a bitchy ditz)'s man, and her light blue eyes were focused on the other pair of blue eyes belonging to him.
"You know she's not going to remain faithful to you." She said quietly. Squall shrugged, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"Squall, look at me." It wasn't a command; it was a plea. He forced his gaze on her face (which, he had to admit, was quite pretty) and he felt lost in those blue eyes of hers. He had been feeling lost a lot lately.
"Rinoa is not going to remain faithful to you, not with Seifer on her block list. You may be cold, Squall, but you're not naïve." Quistis said, trying to sound firm, but failing. "And it doesn't even appear to be bothering you."
Marle grinned, amused. This woman wasn't using her appearance to ensnare this man, she was using her wits to raise the valid point that Squall's girlfriend was a promiscuous, bitchy airhead. Not that Quistis needed wits, as she was so beautiful. Wearing casual jean shorts and a light cerulean tank top that set off her eyes, she looked so good in them that she might as well have been wearing a designer evening gown. Marle glanced enviously at that luxurious blonde hair, which was in its trademark style with the back up and the sides hanging down. The only difference was that she had sunglasses on top of her head; the lenses tinted blue, and silver hoop earrings along with her other jewelry. She, too, was wearing sandals, only hers had platforms instead of high-heels. She was the only one in the room wearing glasses; small, oval ones that just gave her an air of intelligence and maturity.
Compared to all these women who were all gorgeous in their own way, Marle felt very inferior and regretted that she had decided to come here with these particular girls. She wished Crono was here, he made her feel as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Sighing, she remembered that Crono was on that other island. They had signed up as singles because, like most of the other singles had done for the same reason, they felt it was a harder test than merely being a couple, and they wanted to prove their love for each other was deeper than physical lust.
"You ok?" She looked up and saw a face that was simply beaming.
"Yes, I'm fine... are you Duo?" She recognised that braid.
He nodded. "You look down… what's up?"
"Oh, nothing…" She sighed. "I just… well… let's just say I'm homesick."
"I am, too…" He looked less happy for a minute, but it was a far cry from sadness. "Anywhere Hilde is, is home to me."
Smiling at the fact that there was another faithful man on the premise, Marle decided that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all and struck up a conversation with Duo.
Authors' Note: Hi guys, SporkGoddess here! Wow, the first day alone is 11 pages… hope you guys enjoyed it. ^_^ Please r/r, and there will be more coming soon!
"Irvy, are you sure about this?"
"Think of it as a test, Sefie. We'll be fine…"
"… so much. I'll miss you so much, Locke."
"We don't have to say goodbye yet, Celes..."
"…Squall, we still have time to back out."
"We don't need to…"
"Edgar…"
"Don't worry, Terra. You know I love you with all my heart..."
"Woman, I can't believe you made me come here."
"I won our bet fair and square. Besides, we're both faithful..."
"Shinigami, you watch yourself."
Sound of rich laughter. "You watch yourself too, cutie..."
"Why are we doing this again? You should know never to listen to Treize by now, Zechs!"
As the whispers continued, two women approached the group.
"Welcome to… Temptation Isle."
The whispers ceased and attention was given to the two women. The females rolled their eyes as their men boggled at the two beautiful women, maybe it wouldn't be so easy, after all. Even though they were already on the isle, just looking at them made this feel like a tropical getaway, not a sadistic game of willpower. One of the women was tall and lanky; her slim yet curvy figure clad in a bikini top that had flowers on it in warm shades; red, orange, and yellow with a matching wrap skirt. White high-heeled sandals kept her delicate feet from touching the scorching sand. Her long hair was a brilliant blue reminiscent of the sea; her eyes were also blue, only a lighter shade.
The other girl was much shorter; maybe even shorter than the shortest girl of the couples was. Despite her short stature, she had long slender legs that were well toned, probably from dancing. White shorts that came to her upper calves showed off these legs rather nicely. With it, she paired a strapless bikini top; unlike her companion's it was pink with flowers of every color imaginable on it. To add to its vivid (some would say tawdry) décor were tiny pink gems, which were obviously fake, but still sparkled in the sunlight. Also like her friend, she wore high-heeled white sandals; only hers were covered in glitter, giving them more of a silvery look. The entire effect was emphasized by many sparkly, different-colored bracelets winding their way up her wrists and nearly to her elbows, and many earrings in her ears, large hoops at the bottom and winding up the upper part of her ears were studs and smaller hoops. The only, well, normal, part of her appearance was her large blue eyes and chestnut-colored hair coming down to her upper back, streaked with natural streaks of blonde, and many streaks of red that couldn't possibly be natural.
"We're glad you all made it here. For the next 2 weeks, your commitment, your dedication to one another and the strength of your relationships will be tested." The blue-haired girl spoke. Eyeing the other, who was playing with one of her bracelets and obviously distracted, she gave her a small poke with a manicured finger and her head snapped up.
"What?? Oh yeah, right…. That scary, intimidating speech thing! Uh… Oh yeah… Make yourselves at home; the singles are already here…. And soon the fun will begin! MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!" She had to pause to take a breath, and then continued, "AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!". It went on in this manner until the other whispered something to her (probably that this was being televised), and she immediately stopped and fixed her hair, looking self-conscious.
"Uh…. Anyway…" The tall woman looked torn between amusement and alienation. "My name is Alandra, and this is Amica. We shall be your hosts for the entire duration of this test."
"And might I add, no BRIBING PLEASE. IT WILL not WORK; not JEWELRY OR MONEY, OR ANYTHING THAT WE LIKE." Amica winked.
Alandra just slapped her forehead.
"Well, we'll be your hosts for the next two weeks if neither of us gets fired!" She cast a sidelong glance at Amica, who was too engrossed in a tap dance to notice.
By now, the couples were giving each other "looks". You know: "What in the name of fudgemonkeys is going on here?" looks that only two people can exchange.
"So… where are the single ladies?" the auburn haired cowboy asked, receiving a sharp blow in the ribs from the short brunette beside him. "Just kidding, babe…"
"Well, the singles are already here. You'll meet them this afternoon, right after lunch. After meeting the singles, you'll be led to your separate living quarters and will not be able to communicate directly with each other for the next two weeks. But, before we go off to eat, introductions are necessary."
The camera spanned to the short brunette who had just hurt her boyfriend.
"So, introduce yourself and your boyfriend!" Alandra gave her the microphone.
"Okay! Hi! I'm Selphie Tilmitt and this is Irvine Kinneas! We're SeeDs, and we helped save the world! It's actually a REALLY funny story, like ok there was this sorceres—" She was cut off by her boyfriend.
"Uh, Sefie… I think we can save the story for later."
"Oh, ok Irvy!" She reached up and gave him a quick kiss.
Even Amica was scratching her head at this. Selphie handed the microphone to the next couple: a young man with a long braid and a cute girl with short hair. Alandra licked her lips at the sight of the guy, then remembered that she was on camera.
"Yo! I'm Shinigami, the God of Death! And this is the future Goddess of Death, Hilde Schbeiker!" Hilde rolled her eyes, then stole the microphone.
"We haven't quite agreed on what my title will be! And his name is actually Duo Maxwell!" She quipped.
"Uh…. Ok…" Alandra commented, having Hilde hand the microphone to a brown-haired man with a scar, and a raven-haired girl next to him.
"…"
"What Squall means to say is… oh shoot! I've never been good at this, that was Quistis' job to read him!"
"…"
"Oh, why can't you ever talk honey? Ok, I'm Rinoa Heartilly and this hottie is Squall Leonhart!" Rinoa jumped into the guy's arms. He raised an eyebrow, and shrugged at everyone else.
"Riiight…" Alandra stole the microphone from the girl, who was starting to tell the nostalgic tale of how she and Squall had gotten together, and gave it to another pretty, short-haired woman with a guy with long hair. ("We have a recurring trend," Amica joked).
"Do I have to this? Ok, fine… I'm Lucrezia Noin, but everyone calls me Noin, and this is Zechs Merquise, but he's also called Milliardo Peacecraft… it's a long story. Anyway, we're usually at Mars but we came here just to do this thing…. As for why, ask him!"
The camera panned to Zechs, but he soundlessly motioned for them to move on.
"Do we have any normal people here?" Alandra asked herself. She saw Amica grab the microphone and start to sing a showtune into it. "Guess not…" She stole it from the girl mid-aria and gave it to the next couple: a guy with blonde hair and a girl with green hair.
"Hello, ladies!" He saw Terra's face twist in anger and quickly added, "And gentlemen! I'm Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro! And this is my lovely girlfriend, Terra Branford!"
"…."
"She's not much of a public speaker," Edgar explained, then handed the microphone to a Chinese couple; one with blonde hair and the other with the traditional black hair.
"I'm Sally Po, and this is Wuf…"
"Why do you get to introduce us, woman!? You are too weak!" An enraged voice cut in.
"-Fei Chang!" Sally continued doggedly. "I'm a certified doctor who works on the Preventers, and Wufei works with me."
"This is injustice, woman! NATAKU!" Wufei screamed into the microphone before it mysteriously cut off. (Sally shot the technician a grateful look.)
"Good Lord…" Alandra was glad that it was the final couple as she handed them the microphone: a pretty blonde woman and a roguish looking guy.
"Hey, I'm Celes Chere! I used to be a general before I betrayed them and they caught me, and Locke Cole here rescued me!" She gave the man a hug; he blushed, grinning. "Anyway, now I travel around with Locke… he's a thief!"
"THAT'S TREASURE HUNTER!" Locke bellowed indignantly.
"Yeah, whatever! Anyway, we're happy to be here! Our relationship can survive anything, and this will just prove to everyone how serious we are!"
"And that concludes our introductions!" Amica told the camera happily, probably glad that this freakshow was over. As if that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black! "Now, let's go eat!"
The two women led the couples over to the large beach house. "This will be your last meal together for the next 2 weeks. Enjoy it."
The couples all sat down and Amica and Alandra sat at opposite ends of the table. The table was covered in fruits, desserts, and sandwiches. It was a simple lunch, but the couples thought it was special, since it was their last meal together.
Hilde giggled as Duo fed her a grape. Wufei looked at them in repugnance until Sally put a strawberry up to his lips. He turned and looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing, woman?"
"Feeding you."
Wufei was about to open his mouth to argue, but Sally quickly put the tip of the strawberry into his mouth. Considering his options; eating this strawberry or having Sally pissed at him for not eating it, Wufei bite down and smiled at her.
Rinoa watched Hilde and Wufei in envy. "Squally… will you feed me a piece of fruit?"
Squall looked up from his sandwich and gave her a puzzling look. "But… you're eating an apple right now."
Rinoa looked down at her right hand and tossed the apple behind her back. "Apple?"
Squall sweatdropped.
Celes picked up her glass of wine and twirled her arm around Locke's, who also had a glass of grape wine. Each drank from their own glass and smiled at one another.
"Eek! Irvy!" Selphie shrieked as she got cream from a chocolate éclair on her cheek, "You missed!"
Irvine laughed and wiped the cream off her cheek with his finger.
The sound of plastic against plastic was heard at the other end of the table. "Hah! Take that, Zechs Merquise!" Noin yelled, trying to knock the plastic straw from Zechs' hand with her own plastic straw.
"Never, Lucrezia Noin! I shall be victorious!" Zechs replied, successfully knocking the straw out of Noin's hand.
Noin fake gasped as Zechs pointed his straw at her. "Gracious Zechs Merquise, I ask you, spare this simple girl's life. I'll grant you anything in return."
"A kiss."
Noin held back her laughter as she pushed Zechs 'sword' aside and gave him a kiss. The two then broke into laughter.
Edgar dug the fork into the strawberry shortcake and lifted it up towards Terra's mouth. Terra smiled and opened her mouth, but at the last moment, Edgar pulled the fork away and ate the piece of cake. Terra pouted, grabbed another fork and broke off a piece of cake. She picked up the piece with her fingers and offered it to Edgar, pulling away at the last second, eating it herself, sticking her tongue out at him. Edgar laughed.
Once lunch was finished, Amica and Alandra grinned to each other. "Now the fun begins!" Amica announced to the couples, "It's time to split and meet the singles. However, there'll be a tour before meeting the singles. But that doesn't matter, because you're not going to be touring together anyways! Cue the tearful goodbyes!"
After many kisses and "I love you"s and "I'll miss you soo much!"s and "I think I'm going to cry! OH SQUALLY HUG ME!"s, the couples split. Amica took delight in leading the guys around, while Alandra gave the girls a tour.
Within an hour, the groups and their tour guides met again at the pool behind the beach house. "Now, you're not allowed to talk to your significant other anymore. That would just take all the fun out of it!" Alandra explained.
The couples were seated, guys and girls separate.
"Everyone comfortable?" Amica asked. The couples nodded in reply. "Then let's bring on the singles!"
Within moments, 10 single women and 10 single men, all clad in simple beachwear, were lined up on different sides of the pool.
"Ladies and gentlemen… meet your temptation." Alandra said, grinning. She left a moment of silence go by, for the couples to awe at the singles, or to back out right now should they want to. "The singles already know to stop at nothing to tempt you. Now, let's get to know them!"
Amica shot Alandra a look, telling her to brace for the worst, after the introductions the couples had.
A blonde woman stepped up; her hair up in a bun with the sides hanging down.
"I'm Quistis Trepe. I'm 19 years old, an instructor at Balamb GARDEN, and the official Squall-mind-reader!" she said, winking at Squall. Squall smiled and Rinoa fumed.
Next, a silver-haired woman took the microphone. "RAGE"
"Come again?" Alandra asked.
"SEIFER. REVENGE. FIGHT."
Only Amica seemed to understand. "Ok, she just had a fight with her boyfriend and they're participating in this as singles to get revenge on each other!"
"…" Alandra just handed the microphone to the next woman, a very ….well-endowed woman with long brown hair.
"I'm Tifa! I'm 20 and I participate in martial arts!"
"…How?" Amica demanded. Alandra poked her, but she appeared to be thinking the same thing.
"Duct-tape and a sports bras!" Tifa answered happily.
"Good god, that's her with a SPORTS BRA on?" Alandra whispered to Amica, who nodded sullenly, eyeing Tifa.
The microphone was handed to the next girl, and immediately as it happened, light fell on the girl. She was clothed in all white, her green eyes sparkling.
"My name is Aerith. I am 22 years old and a flower girl from the slums. I love flowers, and…" Her eyes misted over, and she was unable to continue; wordlessly she handed the microphone to the next person. She had honey blonde hair and wore a ridiculously pink bikini.
"Hi, I'm Relena Darlian, also known as Relena Peacecraft, former Queen of the World! I'm 18, I love my brother, long walks on the beach, my butler Pagan, pacifism, and…" she continued talking, as Amica grabbed the microphone from her and handed it to a young woman with long blonde hair and forked eyebrows.
"Hiii, I'm Dorothy! I'm 19 and I love war! War, and Zechs!" At the mention of Zechs, a maddened Relena jumped her. "I…mph…. Thought… .you…mph….were…pacifist AHHHHHH MY EYEBROWS!"
"MY BROTHER?! I NO LONGER CONSIDER MYSELF A PEACECRAFT!" Zechs sweatdropped.
Ignoring the match of hair-pulling and slapping, Alandra rescued the microphone and gave it to the next woman, a petite brunette with blue eyes.
"I'm Marguerite and I'm 18. My friends call me Margie though. My cousin, Bart, and I are supposed to get married someday; I don't know whether that's cute or gross! So, I figure if I do this and find some guy or learn something about commitment or realize it's okay or realize it's not or come to my senses and not do it even though it's a family tradition between our two families and thinking about this keeps me up all night and… Ahhh!" She screamed, after spewing out her entire life story in the span of 4.56356 seconds, then coughed and continued, "I'm from Nisan. Actually I'm its Great Mother."
"Lovely, now we have incest in addition to catfights." Alandra muttered. She reluctantly gave the microphone to a raven-haired woman.
"I'm Rachel and I'm 24! Locke used to be in love with me, let's see how he still feels!" She winked. Celes almost jumped out of her chair and Locke just slumped down into his.
"I'm Marle. I'm 18 and I'm a princess who traveled through time!" A redhead declared.
"I'm Schala… I'm 21 and I'm an enchantress." A lovely girl with milky blue hair declared, sending a burst of sparkles over the pool from her fingertips.
"Well, well… if these guys have a thing for clingy psychopaths with emotional problems who need therapy, then this will be mighty tempting indeed!" Amica winked at the camera.
Alandra took the microphone from Schala and cleared her throat. "Now, let's introduce these stunning single guys." She said, grinning widely. She walked over to the guys' end of the pool and handed the microphone to a blond man with spiked hair. He took the microphone and smiled at her. Alandra stood there with a goofy grin on her face for a little while.
"Uh… Alandra?" Amica called out.
Alandra blushed and quickly walked back over to where Amica stood.
The blond winked at Alandra and started introducing himself. "Yo, I'm Zell. I'm 18 and I'm a martial artist."
The next was another blonde, wearing a white trenchcoat. "I'm Seifer. I'm 19. I used to be a sorceress' knight. And, yes, I am here to spite my girlfriend." Seifer said, looking to Fuujin, who only looked away.
Alandra moved on to the next man, a suave brunette holding a rose. "A rose for you, m'lady." Alandra giggled. "I am Treize Kushrenada, aged 25. I am a soldier, but an honorable one at that."
The next was a young man with sandy blonde hair. "I am Quatre Raberba Winner, age 18. I'm a pacifist and the heir to the Winner fortune. I like playing violin." He smiled.
Alandra moved on to the next man, a tall thin man with long blonde hair tied in a braid like Duo's. She merely stared as he spoke:
"I'm Bartholomew Fatima, but you can call me Bart. I'm a prince, but I'm also a pirate. I'm 20 years old." He winked, causing Alandra to almost faint. She moved on before too much blood rushed to her head.
An extremely handsome man with long silver hair and startlingly green eyes met her gaze. She gulped and just handed him the microphone.
"I'm Sephiroth, age unknown. I was once SOLDIER'S greatest, and the role model to many."
The next was a guy with spiky blonde hair. "… I'm Cloud. I have a confusing life. It's best not to ask. All I basically know is that I'm 21!"
Alandra swooned for a little over the next man; lean and muscular with a short blonde ponytail wearing a muscle shirt and pants.
"The name's Sabin Figaro. I'm Edgar's brother, and a prince of Figaro. I became a martial artist, though, under the best trainer ever… Duncan!"
The next man was silver-haired, like Sephiroth, only not as tall or strong-looking. He wasn't bad, though.
"I am Setzer Gabbianni, lovely lady." He took Alandra's hand and kissed it. "I build airships, and I go where the wind takes me… I enjoy playing cards, and am what one would call a free spirit."
The next was a guy with spiky brown hair. "I'm Crono, age 19." That was all he said. Alandra shrugged and moved to where Amica was standing.
"Now that you've met the singles, it's time to decide who your significant other shouldn't date!" Amica exclaimed in glee, cackling evilly, "This is the best part!"
Alandra sweatdropped. "Right… well, during your tour, you were all given a necklace of a specific colour. Your significant other has the exact same coloured necklace. Now, one by one, you'll be presented with a bracelet of the same colour. You place that bracelet on the wrist of the one guy or girl you don't want your girlfriend or boyfriend to date. Simple as that! Of course, they can still talk and interact."
Amica smiled and carried the tray of bracelets over to the girls. She picked up a pink bracelet and handed it to Rinoa. Rinoa immediately stood up and walked over to Quistis. Without saying anything, she slipped the bracelet onto Quistis' wrist and sat back down in her chair, crossing her arms. Amica handed a white bracelet to Celes next. Celes walked over to Rachel in a fashion similar to Rinoa. She slipped the white bracelet onto Rachel's wrist and sat back down.
"Well, it's already heating up." Alandra commented.
Amica handed a purple bracelet to Noin next. "Give the bracelet to whoever you want." Noin stood up and carefully considered her options. As she was about to make a decision, something caught her eye. It was Relena jumping up and down, pointing to Dorothy. Noin chuckled, and to humour Relena, she slipped the bracelet onto Dorothy's wrist.
The next bracelet, a black one, was handed to Hilde. She jumped up from her chair and skipped over to the single girls. "Now… who would be a threat to my Shinigami?" Hilde asked herself, giggling. Hilde skipped over to Relena. "This is nothing personal!" she declared as she slipped the black bracelet onto Relena's wrist.
A yellow bracelet was handed to Selphie. "Am I allowed to make everyone share this one bracelet?" Selphie asked.
"Hey!" Irvine yelled out.
"Err… uh… no." Alandra replied.
"Darn!" Selphie cursed. She looked amongst the girls and stopped in front of Marle. "Hmm… okay! You get the bracelet!" she said, slipping the yellow bracelet onto Marle's wrist.
Amica handed a green bracelet to Terra. Terra silently stood up and slipped the bracelet onto Tifa's wrist. She could almost hear Edgar's disappointed groan.
The final bracelet, a red one, was handed to Sally. Sally stood up and walked in front of Aerith. She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favour." Sally joked, turning around and winking at Wufei.
"Woman…!" Wufei yelled.
Sally chuckled and blew a kiss at Wufei.
"And now it's the guys' turn!" Amica exclaimed excitedly. Alandra picked up another tray, which 7 different bracelets sat upon. She smiled and walked over to the guys. She picked up a pink bracelet and handed it to Squall. Squall silently stood up and eyed Seifer. He didn't bother slipping it onto his wrist, but just held it out for him. Seifer took the bracelet and put it on.
"Should I feel honoured?" Seifer asked, smirking. Squall just turned around and sat back down. Amica and Alandra sweatdropped. Alandra quickly walked over to Locke and handed him a white bracelet. Locke casually walked over to Setzer.
"Just to remind you that she's Celes and not Maria." Locke said, handing Setzer the bracelet.
Alandra waited until Locke was seated again to hand Zechs a purple bracelet. Zechs stood up. After a rousing game of "eenie-meeny-minie-mo", he shrugged and wordlessly gave the bracelet to Quatre.
Duo was handed the next bracelet, a black one. He cheerfully jumped up from his chair and surveyed the line of guys. He stopped in front of Bart. "Well, I wouldn't want my Hilde missing me too much and going for you." Duo said, chuckling as he handed the bracelet to Bart.
A yellow bracelet was handed to Irvine. Irvine confidently walked right up to Zell and gave him the bracelet.
Alandra handed the next bracelet, a green one, to Edgar. "Let's see, Terra obviously likes the tall, dashing and handsome kind," Edgar said, grinning, "So, who would she go for?" He stopped in front of Treize and assessed him. "Congratulations." Edgar said, handing Treize the green bracelet.
The final bracelet, a red one, was handed to Wufei. Wufei scowled as he walked up to Sephiroth. He handed the bracelet to him and kept scowling. He sat back down and still kept scowling.
Alandra set down the tray and smiled cheerfully at the camera. "And with that, we have our stage set for the next 2 weeks. Will these blocks only encourage relationships to develop? Or will the participants stay true to their lover's wishes? Time will only tell."
"And we'll see to it that it's exciting, edge-of-your-seat action!" Amica promised, with an evil glint in her eye.
~
Noin, Rinoa, Hilde, Selphie, Terra, Celes and Sally were sitting around a patio table, sipping cocktail drinks. Each wore a swimsuit suiting their style.
"2 weeks. I haven't a clue how I'll survive that long without the sight or smell of my sweet cowboy." Selphie pouted.
"It's only 2 weeks! And besides, we have cute guys to keep us company!" Hilde chirped cheerfully.
"Speaking of which, where are they?" Rinoa asked.
"I think they're inside the beach house. At least, that's where I last saw them." Celes answered.
"Why are they in there and not out here, seducing us like they're suppose to?" Hilde pointed out, giggling.
"I think they're doing something." Terra quietly responded.
"Oh? Doing something?" Selphie repeated, brightening up. She loved little surprises.
"Should we go see what they're planning?" Noin questioned.
"We should wait until they come and get us, shouldn't we? Wouldn't want the surprise ruined." Sally reasoned.
The girls all agreed and went back to sipping their drinks. Within 15 minutes, 7 guys walked out of the beach house and approached the ladies. Each stepped beside a specific girl. The girls quickly realized the guy standing beside them was the one their boyfriends had blocked.
"How devious!" Hilde exclaimed in glee, as she hooked her arm through Bart's.
"Quite." Sally agreed, similarly hooking hers through Sephiroth's.
With each girl's arm hooked through that of the guy they were blocked from, they group entered the beach house. Inside, the ladies were even more pleasantly surprised. On the table was an elegant meal set up especially for them.
"This is for us?" Rinoa asked, her eyes sparkling as Seifer guided her to a chair.
"Just for you." Seifer whispered into her ear. Rinoa blushed.
"Most intriguing method of seduction." Noin commented.
"Thank you." Quatre replied, pulling out her chair for her.
Terra giggled softly as she hung onto Treize's right arm. "This is amazing..." she whispered softly.
"Only for you, beautiful." Treize said, grinning.
The girls all sat down and were fed their meals.
~
"So, what are we suppose to do now?" Duo asked the group of guys all sitting around the patio table.
"I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for some sexy ladies." Irvine said, grinning.
"You and me both!" Edgar agreed enthusiastically.
Zechs rolled his eyes. "You've been apart from your girlfriends for no more than an hour. Shouldn't there be some resting period so you can cope wi---" Zechs was cut off as feminine hands slowly crept down his chest. "Uh…"
"I can help you rest." A soft voice whispered into Zechs' ear. Zechs abruptly turned around, faced Tifa and turned red.
"Thank you… for… the offer... but it's not… uh… necessary." Zechs stuttered and tried to push his chair backwards and away from close proximity to Tifa.
"Well, no problem." Tifa huskily replied, going to sit down on Irvine's lap, who readily accepted her.
Zechs sweatdropped and cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, shooting a look at Irvine, "we've only been apart from our girlfriends for no more than an hour. Don't you even miss them?"
"Of course. But we are here to enjoy ourselves." Locke pointed out, Rachel already giving him a massage.
"But there has to be some break in between." Zechs continued to argue.
Schala knelt down beside him and presented to him a tray of fruit, which seemed to have sparkles glittering all around it. Zechs gave her a look of exasperation and Schala only smiled. "I can tell how much you love your girlfriend. I'm only here to offer you some fruit."
Zechs smiled back and took a piece of cantaloupe. "Thank you."
Marle turned to look at the only other girl in the room who wasn't trying to seduce anyone, Aerith. Aerith was looking very ethereal in a light pink sundress and white sandals that strapped around her slender ankles. Shimmering auburn curls were cascading down her creamy shoulders. Sally would have had some competition if Aerith had shown any interest in Wufei, which she hadn't yet. As Wufei and Aerith were as different as night and day, that was a very good thing.
She decided that it was fun to survey the odds, and her gaze fell on Tifa. Aerith's angelic sundress was quite a contrast to Tifa's bikini, which was so skimpy it couldn't even fit the "string" category. That would be a thread bikini, in Marle's opinion. Marle was supposed to be seducing Irvine, but she really didn't feel like doing that, plus Tifa had her covered. Irvine and Edgar were such superficial jerks that they would probably be the first ones out of the game.
Marle smiled as she smoothed down her own sundress, which was mint- green with straw sandals and a cute little straw hat. Schala would surely give that Noin girl competition if Zechs hadn't been so devoted. Even if the redhead herself was pretty, Schala radiated loveliness from every inch of her creamy skin, which was highlighted by the light violet tank top and capri pants she wore, which were dark violet with light purple flowers on them. Marle felt very envious at the fact that she had matching purple sandals with spiked heels, then remembered that the girl was an enchantress and probably made them that color.
She then glanced over to where Squall and Quistis were talking.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think these were the single men." The blonde was scoffing in disgust, gesturing to where Tifa was practically giving Irvine a lap dance.
Squall obviously concurred, as he nodded and looked quite nauseated. For a moment Quistis seemed to forget that Squall was another woman's (even if she was a bitchy ditz)'s man, and her light blue eyes were focused on the other pair of blue eyes belonging to him.
"You know she's not going to remain faithful to you." She said quietly. Squall shrugged, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"Squall, look at me." It wasn't a command; it was a plea. He forced his gaze on her face (which, he had to admit, was quite pretty) and he felt lost in those blue eyes of hers. He had been feeling lost a lot lately.
"Rinoa is not going to remain faithful to you, not with Seifer on her block list. You may be cold, Squall, but you're not naïve." Quistis said, trying to sound firm, but failing. "And it doesn't even appear to be bothering you."
Marle grinned, amused. This woman wasn't using her appearance to ensnare this man, she was using her wits to raise the valid point that Squall's girlfriend was a promiscuous, bitchy airhead. Not that Quistis needed wits, as she was so beautiful. Wearing casual jean shorts and a light cerulean tank top that set off her eyes, she looked so good in them that she might as well have been wearing a designer evening gown. Marle glanced enviously at that luxurious blonde hair, which was in its trademark style with the back up and the sides hanging down. The only difference was that she had sunglasses on top of her head; the lenses tinted blue, and silver hoop earrings along with her other jewelry. She, too, was wearing sandals, only hers had platforms instead of high-heels. She was the only one in the room wearing glasses; small, oval ones that just gave her an air of intelligence and maturity.
Compared to all these women who were all gorgeous in their own way, Marle felt very inferior and regretted that she had decided to come here with these particular girls. She wished Crono was here, he made her feel as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Sighing, she remembered that Crono was on that other island. They had signed up as singles because, like most of the other singles had done for the same reason, they felt it was a harder test than merely being a couple, and they wanted to prove their love for each other was deeper than physical lust.
"You ok?" She looked up and saw a face that was simply beaming.
"Yes, I'm fine... are you Duo?" She recognised that braid.
He nodded. "You look down… what's up?"
"Oh, nothing…" She sighed. "I just… well… let's just say I'm homesick."
"I am, too…" He looked less happy for a minute, but it was a far cry from sadness. "Anywhere Hilde is, is home to me."
Smiling at the fact that there was another faithful man on the premise, Marle decided that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all and struck up a conversation with Duo.
Authors' Note: Hi guys, SporkGoddess here! Wow, the first day alone is 11 pages… hope you guys enjoyed it. ^_^ Please r/r, and there will be more coming soon!