Disclaimer: SquareSoft owns Final fantasy and all related characters. I wrote this for fun, and am making no money from it. I borrowed the title from the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen (who may have licensed it from someone else, I don't know). Again, I don't own the song, I just think it fit the chapter J
Chapter 2: Crazy Little Thing Called…
Scene: Deling City
Two Months Later
Quistis sat in her room in the Galbadia Hotel. She just sat there on the bed, looking in the mirror, and listening to the sounds of the city. She looked tired. Not necessarily physically, because she was at her peak fitness. She was emotionally drained, however.
The past couple months had been whirlwind. After the death of Vinzer Deling and the abdication of Edea, Galbadia had been left without a strong ruler. There had been rumors of a military takeover, and that the military had broken off into several factions, taking control of Galbadia's different occupied territories. The last part of the rumor, sadly, was somewhat true.
A Galbadian unit near Winhill had decided to attempt capture of the small, out-of-the-way town. Squall and Headmaster Cid had decided to use it as a field exam, even though it was only a few weeks since the Dollet exam, because they felt there was a dire need for SeeDs in the wake of Galbadia's political chaos. War could erupt any second, and every nation would probably be calling for SeeD's help.
It was shortly before that exam that Rinoa had decided to become a SeeD. She was a little old to start, but she successfully argued with Cid that she had about as much, if not more, skill with combat, magic, and GFs. He allowed her to take a written exam, for which she studied furiously and passed, and the latest field exam, which she also passed, with much higher marks than even Quistis expected. Rinoa had become a SeeD.
Squall hadn't been too keen on the idea. Being the knight in shining armor that he is, he had wanted to keep her safe from all the dangers that SeeDs can face on a regular basis. Hell, he'd spent the previous few weeks saving her life from Edea, Adel, and from floating away into space. But he was as surprised as anyone how well she followed orders, faced danger with determination, and ensured the safety of her comrades.
She's become a SeeD. Perhaps she did it so she could be closer to him, thought Quistis. Either way, she's damn good, and I feel comfortable putting my life in her hands.
Quistis adjusted her glasses. Her eyes had gotten too tired of the contacts, so her optician had told her to keep them out for a week or so and give her eyes time to rest. You know, she thought, Irvine was right. My glasses really do make me look pretty.
Quistis, Rinoa, and Selphie had spent the last week, from almost immediately after the Winhill exam, as diplomatic guards for the Southern Country ambassador, as she met with Galbadia's new interim president, General Caraway. The negotiations were successful and finished early, so they were allowed to spend one last night at Deling City before heading back to Garden. It had been an uneventful assignment, since Galbadia Proper had become pretty stable, and Cid probably thought they could use a nice, easy assignment to relieve the stress of the last few weeks. He was right.
She heard a knock at her door. She got up and padded over to it in stocking feet. When she opened it, she saw Rinoa's smiling face and happily waving hand. "Hey, Quisty!" She had changed out of her uniform and was in her favorite cream-colored evening skirt, as if she'd planned to go out.
"Hey Rinny, come on in!" As jealous as Quistis felt toward Rinoa, she couldn't help but love the girl. She was always so happy and always had something nice to say. She was a lot like Selphie, but a little less hyper and more adult.
Rinoa came in and noticed Quistis' bag packed on the bed. "Ready to go already?" she asked.
"Yeah, well, I didn't have much else to do besides watch TV," said Quistis.
"Aww," said Rinoa, "you sound tired. Too bad, I was going to see if you and Selphie would want to go have some fun."
Quistis perked up at that. She could use a good girls' night out. "Why not?"
"Hee hee! Great! Let's get you into something nice!" Rinoa went up to Quistis' bag and ruffled through it, disrupting Quistis' orderly packing. Quistis just smiled, sighed, and shook her head.
"Here you go," said Rinoa, pulling out a knee-length blue and gold skirt with a strappy top. "Good for a night on the town?"
"Sure, Rinny. Forgot I had that in there. But I didn't bring any evening shoes to wear, just my boots."
Rinoa pursed her lips and looked at Quistis' feet. "Hmmm…You're about my size, I think, maybe a little bigger. Hang on…"
Rinoa sprinted back to her room, and was back before Quistis could follow her. "Here, try these on Quisty," said Rinoa, handing her a pair of gold strappy high heels. "They always were a little big on me."
Quistis slipped off her socks and slid her bare feet into the shoes. They felt great on her, and fit very well.
"What do you think?" said Quistis, modeling them.
"Perfect!" said Rinoa and Selphie at the same time. Rinoa and Quistis both looked at Selphie, who had just come into the room.
"You guys were making so much noise I figured something was up. You going out?" she asked.
"Yep, and we want you to come, if you want," said Rinoa.
"Really?! Yaaay!!!" said Selphie. "I'll be right back!" She ran back to her room to change.
Rinoa then turned to Quistis and said, "Now we have to do something with your hair. Right now it's saying 'schoolmarm,' but when I'm done with it, it'll say 'hunk magnet!'"
Quistis giggled in spite of herself. This was the kind of thing she'd never had the opportunity to do before, and she was having so much fun already. Rinoa pulled Quistis' hair out of the bun she usually wore on top of her head. Her normally straight hair came down in curls, and with a little of Rinoa's magic with the hotel shampoo, she'd given Quistis a hairdo that made her do a double-take in the mirror.
She quickly changed into her blue and gold skirt, and looked at herself and Rinoa in the mirror. Just then, Selphie came in wearing her own red and black dress, and they all gave themselves a good look in the mirror.
"We're gonna knock 'em dead," said Quistis.
"Boo-yaka!" replied Selphie. They all locked up their rooms and headed downstairs to start their fun evening.
*
The three SeeDs had a lot of fun. They went to a few dance clubs, danced with a few of the good-looking guys that had come in to escape the real world for a short while. Quistis was surprised to see Rinoa dance with a few of the guys, but she looked more into having fun than trying to pick any of the guys up.
Good. If she did anything to hurt Squall, thought Quistis, I'd kill her.
After a few dances at the second club, the convened at the bar to have a few drinks. Since the drinking age in Galbadia was 16, they were all able to get drinks.
Quistis mentioned to Rinoa how much fun she was having, and noticed how much fun Rinoa seemed to be having dancing with other guys. Rinoa just laughed it off and said, "Sometimes a dance is just a dance, Quisty. My heart always belongs to Squall. He's a much better dancer than these guys, anyway."
Quistis gave a half laugh as she thought, I wouldn't know. She started feeling a familiar pain in her heart again. But instead of wallowing in it, she had a couple more drinks and allowed Selphie to pull her back out to the dance floor to hunt some more cute guys.
They spent the rest of the evening dancing and drinking, with Quistis doing more drinking than the other two. When they'd finally decided they'd had enough (and only a few hours before they had to leave for their train back to Balamb), they said their goodbyes to the disappointed guys and headed back on foot to the Galbadia Hotel. Quistis seemed to have slightly more trouble walking than either Rinoa or Selphie, but was able to stay on her own two feet.
When they finally got back to the hotel, they were all laughing, talking about the different guys and basically just reflecting on their good time. They were shushed by the concierge as they approached the elevator, so they all shushed each other, then broke out into giggles.
When they got back to their rooms, Selphie said her goodnights and went into her room. Rinoa helped Quistis, more than a little tipsy, get back into her room.
When they got there, Quistis stepped out of her shoes and glided (as well as a drunk person can) toward the bed and sat down.
"Y'ok, Quisty?" asked Rinoa.
"Ya, shur," sad Quistis. Both broke out into another giggling fit.
Quistis lay back on her bed and sighed. "Ya know, Rinny, thish is the mosht fun I've had in a looong time."
Rinoa walked over and sat on the bed with Quistis. "Ya looked like ya needed it."
She grinned at Quistis, who turned her head to look at her.
Quistis sighed again, "Rinny, I love you. Yer, like, the best friend I've evrr had. I can just be myself around you, I don't have to be, like, Instructor Trepe all the time."
Rinoa smiled and said, "Yeah, you helped me a lot too. I never got a chance to thank you for everything you did for me, even giving me a kick in the pants when I needed it."
They broke out into a quick giggling fit again. When Quistis caught her breath, she said, "I really gotta tell ya something Rinny. I say this because I love you so much: I hate you."
"Huh?" said Rinoa, her grin beginning to melt away.
"You took the only guy I was ever in love with, and made him open up for you. He's only got eyes for you. I love you so much for that and I hate you." Quistis bit her lower lip, not surprised that it was numb. She'd said it. Couldn't take it back now. She felt her eyes begin to water.
"Oh, Quisty," said Rinoa. She didn't know what to say. Quistis was her friend, and she was sure she didn't mean what she was saying, that it was the cocktails talking.
Quistis began to sob quietly. "I j-just feel like I'm never going to find someone who loves me, not just like a friend, but someone that'll spend the rest of their life with me, make love to me, and have a family with me."
"Oh, Quisty," repeated Rinoa. She wiped away a couple tears from Quistis' eyes.
Quistis took her hand and gripped it firmly. "Promise me," said Quistis, "promise me that you'll make him happy. Please promise me."
Rinoa felt tears begin to sting her eyes. She felt so sorry for her friend, the experienced soldier that was breaking down right in front of her.
"I promise," said Rinoa. "I promise that you'll be happy too. Someday you'll find the right man that'll sweep you off your feet. Or maybe you'll sweep him off his, however you want it."
Quistis giggled and held Rinoa's hand to her cheek. "Oh, Rinny, that's why I love ya. Yer always so nice an ye jes…gr…fn…" Quistis faded off.
Rinoa shook her head slightly and smiled as her friend fell asleep. She too her hand out of Quistis' soft grip, and tried pulling her friend further up on the bed, so she could tuck her in.
Once she'd gotten Quistis more or less tucked in for the night, she walked to the door and switched off the light.
"I promise, Quisty," she said quietly, as she left the room and latched the door.
*
The next morning the phone rang, waking Quistis up with a slight headache and a stiff body. She remembered that they had gone out last night, and that they'd had fun, but no specifics came to mind. She must have just stayed up too late.
She picked up the phone and heard the bored-sounding voice of a young man, "This is your 6 AM wake-up call."
Quistis looked at the clock by her bed. 6:30. "Thanks" she said, and hung up the phone.
She got up out of bed, realizing that she was still in the skirt she wore last night. She slipped out of it and slid into the shower, hoping it would help ease the ache in her head. She turned on the water, got into the shower, and as she washed up, she tried to remember the evening.
She remembered a lot of dancing, and now that she thought of it, there was some drinking, too. She'd never drunk that much before; that was probably why she felt hung over now. She wasn't too sure how they all got back here, but she thought she remembered Rinoa being there in her room afterward. They talked a little, and…
Oh my God!
Quistis burst out of the shower, her hair soaking wet and dripping as it hung from her head. She threw a towel over herself and rushed out her door, over to Rinoa's room.
A couple that was leaving early saw her in her towel rushing to the other's room and knocking it frantically. The male half of the couple especially had a hard time looking away from her, until his mate grabbed his ear and dragged him down the hall in the opposite direction.
"Just a sec," came a sleepy voice from inside the room. When Rinoa came to the door, her hair was disheveled and eyes droopy, like she'd just woken from a deep sleep.
"Rinny…" started Quistis, trying to find the words to express her shame and sorrow.
"Quisty?" said Rinoa, dressed in a pair of satin pajamas, still disoriented from waking so suddenly.
"Can I come in?"
"Uh, sure," said Rinoa, just now realizing that her friend was dripping wet, wearing only a hotel bath towel.
Quistis stepped into the room and Rinoa closed the door. Quistis stayed turned away from Rinoa as she tried to find the right words.
"Quisty, it's kind of early, isn't it? Don't we have until oh-eight-hundred to catch the train back to Balamb?"
"Rinny, I…" started Quistis. She felt so ashamed at this moment she felt she could curl up and die. The hangover didn't help.
"Quisty, what?" asked Rinoa, somewhat confused.
Quistis turned around quickly and seized Rinoa in a tight hug. She squeezed her eyes tightly as she, still soaking wet, held her smaller friend tightly. Rinoa just grunted with surprise.
"Rinny, I am so, so sorry! I didn't mean it!"
For a second, Rinoa wasn't sure what Quistis meant, until the last ten minutes before she had gone to sleep came back to her. So that's what her dream had been about…
"Quisty, it's ok," said Rinoa.
"No, it's not, Rinny," said Quistis. She loosened her embrace, but still held Rinoa close. "I said some things I didn't mean, that I never meant to say to you. I take it all back. I didn't mean any of it."
Rinoa patted Quistis' back. Sighing, she said, "Actually, I believe you did."
"Huh?" said Quistis, as she pulled away to look Rinoa in the face.
"At least the part about being in love with Squall, I think you meant it."
Quistis stammered for a second, trying to find the right words. Then, ashamedly, she said, "Yeah, I guess I did mean that part."
"It's ok," said Rinoa, trying to soothe her friend. "I mean, you guys have known each other for most of your lives, for longer than you can even remember. And Squall is a very attractive man, and really loveable when you get past the chip on his shoulder."
"I guess," hesitated Quistis, "that I am a little jealous of you, because you were able to get him to do in a couple weeks what I'd tried to do for a couple years: get him to open up."
"Well," said Rinoa, "it wasn't that easy." She let go of Quistis and went over to sit on the unmade bed. She signaled Quistis to follow her and do the same, which Quistis did.
Rinoa continued, "I had some help from the fact that we were in an endless string of life-and-death battles, and the I saved him from dying somewhere lost in time."
Quistis crooked her head slightly, drinking it all in. "Well, he did love you before that, he just couldn't admit it to anyone, especially himself. He was so overwhelmed by it, but at the same time, trying to be the new leader of the people he'd known and followed his whole life, that I think it just put him into overload. I saw the hurt in his eyes after he'd let you go to be sealed up by the Esthar soldiers, after the lunar cry. But he didn't want to make your decision for you, and he thought whatever you decided was the right thing, even if it meant he'd never get to see you again. When he realized that you had probably made your decision under duress too, he immediately rushed off like, well, like your knight."
Rinoa smiled at that, and felt her cheeks go a little flush. She had tried to be normal after the whole debacle with Ultimecia, but the truth that she was now the sorceress had still haunted her. Yet her friends never treated her any differently, even though, if she'd so chosen, she could destroy them all very easily.
She shook that idea out of her head, getting a slightly confused look from Quistis. "Well, from what you've told me, he carried me, on foot, all the way from Fisherman' Horizon to Esthar. But I think that if you were in that situation, Quisty, he would have done the same for you. He may not have said it, but he cares a great deal for you. Like a sister."
"Yeah," said Quistis. She could remember once telling Squall how she felt like a sister to him. Maybe that was why he was never interested in her.
"Anyway," said Rinoa, "I didn't take what you said seriously, so no apologies are necessary. If you're really worried about it, you can get me some pain killer for this headache."
Quistis chuckled, then started laughing. Rinoa joined in, but they both stopped and put their hands to their foreheads. "I think I could use some too," said Quistis. She broke open the sundries package that had been left on Rinoa's dresser, and tossed a small paper envelope to her, taking a second one for herself.
"One thing, Rinny," said Quistis. "Please don't tell Squall."
Rinoa gave Quistis a sympathetic look. "I won't. I promise."
Quistis nodded and smiled. "Time to get ready," she said as she headed back to her room. "Train leaves at oh-eight-hundred."