Disclaimer: SquareSoft owns Final fantasy and all related characters. I wrote this for fun, and am making no money from it.
Chapter 1: Frustration
Scene: Balamb Garden
The Next Morning
Quistis woke up and found herself laying face down on her bed, which was still made, and she was still in her clothes. Her eyes felt puffy, which told her she'd cried herself to sleep.
She turned over and sat up on her bed. She remembered the dream she'd been having just before she woke up. Squall was standing there, his arms open, waiting for her. She was running to meet his embrace, her arms open. But as she got closer, her feet began to stick to the ground, like she was running through mud. She got close, so close, when Rinoa came out of nowhere and jumped into his embrace.
That was when she woke up. She felt like crying, but she'd used up all of her tears just getting to sleep. Instead, she stood up and checked the clock. Oh-four hundred hours. The party should have broken up by now, and everyone should be in their dorms.
Not caring what she looked like, Quistis scooped up her Save the Queen whip, attached it to her belt, and left her dorm room. Maybe some training will do her good.
The halls were empty, all underclassmen dutifully resting up for the next day, and upperclassmen and partygoers sleeping off their hangovers. She strode past the Garden employee blocking entrance to the cafeteria, toward the only open facility at this time of morning, the training center. As she approached, she heard the cries of the various forms of wildlife living within. The noise helped quiet her own thoughts as she geared herself up for survival. If she didn't stay on her toes, she could very well be killed training.
Quistis spent several hours in the training room, and let her emotions boil over and feed her anger. Very often, even without being injured, she felt herself able to use her Blue Magic. She figured it was because she felt so hurt, so alone, so sad, and so angry all at once. Every strike of her whip became more ferocious, and none of the monsters even stood a chance. She either let a sob or a scream of emotional pain escape with every strike of her weapon.
She felt herself finally starting to get tired. She checked her wristwatch, and noticed that it was twelve-oh-five. She'd been in there for about eight hours, missed breakfast, and was now missing lunch, and yet she didn't care.
Just then, she heard a rustle behind her. She spun around and struck hard with her whip, before she realized what, or whom, she was striking. Fortunately for her guest, he had quick enough reflexes to block her blow with his gunblade.
"Squall!" Quistis shouted. She dropped her whip and just stood there in silence.
"Not the kind of greeting I was hoping for," said Squall. "You look like you've been busy."
Quistis realized that with eight hours of training came eight hours of sweat and tears. Her hair was probably a mess. Her face probably looked like she'd run all the way to Esthar and back, and her clothes were probably sweat-stained and disgusting.
"I..." she stuttered, "I've been training. Don't want to, uh, lose my edge, you know. Was planning to go for a couple more hours"
"No problem," said Squall. "Though I thought it was against the rules to train alone, because of how dangerous it can be. Would you mind partnering up?"
Quistis bent down and picked up her whip. "Of course not, Squall. You are Commander, after all."
Squall lowered his head and shook it a little. "Still can't get used to that title."
Quistis smiled slightly. "You will. You wouldn't have it if you didn't deserve it."
Squall, like normal, gave no reply to the compliment. Instead, he motioned for them to continue on. They roamed together through the large multi-chambered room, dispatching various groups of monsters along the way.
After fighting and defeating one of the feared T-Rexaurs, Squall said to Quistis, "Just like old times."
Quistis knew what he meant. The evening that he'd been promoted, and she'd been demoted, to SeeD soldier, they had fought their way through the training center to go to the students' late night hangout. Quistis remembered the night all too well, and it opened another fresh would in her heart.
"I remember," she said. "I told you that I had been demoted, and you told me to deal with my own problems, to go…"
"…talk to a wall," finished Squall. He'd lowered both his weapon and his head, shamefully. "Look, Quistis, I'm sorry about that. I didn't intend to hurt your feelings, but… I just didn't want anyone getting close to me. After Sis left us all those years…"
"What you said really hurt me, Squall. You made me feel like a piece of buel guano you'd just stepped in." She looked at him accusingly.
Squall walked up to her slowly, sheathed his weapon, and said, "I know, and I'm sorry."
He looked her right in the eye with the most sincere look he'd ever given her. She felt her anger begin to melt away. If only this had happened a few weeks ago…
Squall broke the moment and said, "I hope I can make up for all that."
Quistis, trying not to get her hopes up, failed. "Really?"
"Yeah. You and Rinoa get along so well,
and we've known each other longer than we remember, I mean, we've got a good
foundation for friendship, right?"
Quistis almost grimaced at the mention of Rinoa. She's allowed herself to get lost in her desire for Squall and forgot the reality that his heart belonged to her. End of discussion.
"Yeah, you're right. But I'm going to hold you to that, Mister Commander Sir. By the way, where is Rinoa?"
"She's discussing her contract with Headmaster Cid," said Squall. "Technically, Zell, Selphie and I are still under her command as our client until Timber is liberated. They're probably talking about the political situation in Galbadia."
Squall chuckled. He felt better. He was going to try to make peace with everyone, now that he'd finally found peace with himself. Most importantly, he'd wanted to make friends with Quistis, because he'd learned through Rinoa just how much the things he'd done had hurt Quistis.
Funny, thought Squall, a few days ago I would never have cared what anyone else thought about me or if I hurt their feelings. Rinoa really has changed me for the better.
Quistis swiped her hand across her forehead, and felt a slight wave of dizziness and she staggered back a little. Squall rushed forward and caught her, one arm behind her back, the other grabbing her arm. "Quistis! Are you okay?"
Quistis shook her head to clear the cobwebs, and found that she was being held by Squall. Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't know if she wanted to faint or grab his collar and kiss him. Instead, she just looked into his eyes and said, "Yes, I'm fine."
"I'm taking you to the infirmary," he said.
"I don't need to go to the infirmary, I'm perfectly all right."
"Just how long have you been training?"
Quistis thought for a second, and said "Oh, about eight and a half hours now."
"Eight and a half hours! And you haven't eaten? Come on, I'm taking you back to your room."
"No, I'm fine…"
"You won't be able to fight if you can't even stand up. I'm taking you back, and I'll get you something to eat." Squall picked her up so she was standing straight and put her arm around his neck. He cast a Curaga spell to help give her enough energy to walk to her room.
"I can walk, young man. Commander or not, don't forget that I'm still older and more experienced than you," she said in more of a condescending tone than she would have liked. She took her arm from his neck and stood straight up, and managed to walk on her own.
They were fortunately able to avoid any battles on the way out of the training center. Quistis and Squall walked side-by-side, with Squall ready to catch her if she had another faint spell. Garden students and staff alike watched as the two highly decorated SeeDs walked together toward the dorms. Squall looked normal, but Quistis looked totally disheveled, with her hair in disarray and her face ashen and eyes droopy. None of them knew she'd spent all morning in the training center alone.
When they finally got to her dorm room, Squall saw her inside and sat her down on her bed. He then left for the cafeteria, saying that the hot dogs were probably long gone by now, but they'd probably still have something good.
Quistis smiled and gave him a quiet thanks. When he'd left and closed her door, she lay down on her twin bed and gazed at the ceiling.
Squall really has changed, she thought. Rinoa took the one part of him that nobody liked, his standoffish personality, and turned it around. Everything else is the same, everything that I…
She had to admit it to herself…
… fell in love with.
She stood up reluctantly, her aching and tired body not wanting to respond. She began to undress and prepare for a nice hot shower. As she undressed, she looked outside. Garden had returned to its original home, the fields of Balamb. It must have landed while she was training; she didn't notice.
Sighing, she finished removing her clothes and headed for the shower. As she cleaned up, she thought about everything that had happened, and she didn't know what to do. She was madly in love with Squall, but she also helped get him together with Rinoa. Why? Maybe he just seemed…happier…with her, and she wanted him to be happy.
Quistis rolled around all sorts of thoughts through her head. Suppose she just jumped into Squalls arms when he came with her lunch and told her how much she loved him. Yeah, that would be pretty pathetic.
Oh shit, she thought. He's probably back by now!
She jumped out of the shower, quickly wrapped a towel around herself, and went to the door, hoping to see someone on the other side. Instead, she saw a tray on the floor, with a potpie, some steamed vegetables, and a glass of ice water. From the look of the droplets on the water glass, it hadn't been there long. He hadn't waited for her longer than a minute.
Oh, well. He's busy, after all. He is the Garden Commander. Probably has some commanding to do.
She picked up the tray, brought it inside, and closed her door with a kick from her bare foot. She was still dripping wet, so she decided to dry off a little before she ate her first meal of what had already been a long day.