Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related things belong to SquareSoft. As if you didn't already know
Chapter 8: No Man Is An Island
Setting: Balamb Garden Classroom 204
Nine Days Later
"Class, our time is up for today. I want you to study your notes on using the Draw ability, and meet me in the Training Center corridor tomorrow morning at oh-eight-hundred. You'll be practicing what you've learned by drawing some basic magic from some of the weaker monsters in the Training Center.
"But I want to make one thing crystal clear," she said, glaring at each of her 11 students to make sure she had their attention. "You will not go to the Training Center tonight and try to Draw your own magic. I don't care if you've gone in there and fought them before, drawing magic leaves you vulnerable to attack, and you will be hurt and can be killed if you don't know what you're doing. And any part of you that survives will be punished severely. Understood?"
She was satisfied to see the understanding gazes of her students. "Good. Then I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning. Class dismissed."
The students all got out of their seats, grabbed their books, and filed out the door. As they worked their way out of the room, Squall walked in.
"That was a little harsher than I remember you being, Quist," he said, leaning against one of the student terminals and crossing his arms.
"Maybe," said Quistis, sitting down behind her desk. "But then again, I remember a young future Commander that went off to practice Drawing some magic from a herd of Grats, when he was about their age. And if I recall, he spent a week in the infirmary. If there's one thing I learned from teaching you and Seifer, it's that you can never put enough stress on being careful with your life and the lives of your companions."
Squall nodded thoughtfully, stroking the diagonal scar that crossed his brow. That's a lesson that Seifer and I never learned very well.
"Speaking of which, he's due back from Dollet today." Squall uncrossed his arms and rested his elbows on top of the terminals behind him. "They think they've eliminated all the nests. But the Dollet army plans to take over the cleanup job, I think mainly because they didn't want to pay us any more money."
Quistis was absentmindedly flipping through her lesson planner, ignoring Squall's summary of the mission. I know he'll be back, she thought. But I don't know what I'll do when he gets back.
"Quist, I know something happened between you and Seifer at the Ball last week. I have a feeling you told Rinoa, but she wouldn't tell me anything about it before she left for Trabia. As SeeD Commander, I need to know if it's something that will interfere with either of your duties. But," he said, walking over to her and kneeling down to meet her at eye level, "as your friend, I want to know if there's some way I can help you. You watched out for me all these years that we've been at Garden together. At least let me try to pay you back for it."
Quistis sighed. "Squall, that's the kind of request I'd wanted to hear from you for years."
Squall lowered his head. He felt returning pangs of guilt for how much he'd hurt Quistis when she'd needed his support a couple years ago.
"You're probably the closest thing Seifer has to a friend, Squall, but if I tell you this, you have to promise never to tell him."
Squall nodded. Seifer and me, friends? Don't know if I'd go that far. We've learned to tolerate each other, and actually have occasional conversations without hurling insults.
"The night of the Ball, Seifer and I kissed," said Quistis. "We'd been growing closer the more time we spent together, and I saw how much he had matured. I thought it was just a crush at first, but after we kissed, I wasn't so sure. But then…after we kissed, he just walked away. The problem is, I never saw him after that, before he left on his mission, so I don't know if it meant anything to him or not."
"Do you know why he walked away?" asked Squall.
"I think he's punishing himself because he thinks it's his fault that Raijin and Fujin are dead." Quistis shivered lightly, remembering her reaction when Seifer had told her.
Squall twitched when he heard that. Dead? I never heard anything about their deaths! "My God," said Squall, "I didn't know they were dead! I…I never liked them very much, but…did he tell you how they died?"
Quistis sighed again. "Yes, he did. I'd rather not tell you, because I don't want to think about it. But, you need to know."
She told Squall the whole story Seifer had told her. As she did so, Squall looked away, obviously very distressed. He was now starting to understand why Seifer had humbled himself so much over the past several months, to make sure he made it to SeeD.
"And then after he finished," Quistis continued, "I kissed him. The first kiss was on his forehead, because I wanted to let him know how sorry I was. Then, we just looked at each other for a minute, and we kissed. I mean, it wasn't the kind of thing I could mistake. It was real, and I felt it down to my soul. And I felt his soul pouring out through his touch. Do you understand what I mean?"
That sounds an awful lot like the first time Rinoa and I kissed. "Yeah, I think so," he replied.
"But," continued Quistis, tapping her fingers on the desk, "Then he just walked away, saying he didn't deserve to be happy. That's just before you all saw him leave the ballroom."
Squall stood from his kneeling position, his knees protesting the sudden movement. He ignored the aching, though, and said, "Would you like me to talk to him when he gets back? Let him know it's not his fault?"
Quistis brought her palm to her forehead and said, "No offense, Squall, but that could only make things worse. I need to talk to him myself, and I'll do it as soon as he gets back."
Squall nodded slowly. "Their ETA is 1915 hours today. He probably won't come see me, since only the Captain needs to make the team's report, but I'll let you know as soon as they arrive."
Quistis smiled. You're a good friend, Squall. If only you'd been like this two years ago, when I really needed you. "Thanks. What are you doing for dinner tonight?"
Squall's eyebrows went up. "Uh, I was going to go back home and make a couple sandwiches."
"Would you like some company? You seem to be pretty lonely in your apartment all alone, without Rinny around."
Damn, this woman can read me too easily. "Uh, sure."
"I'll make you a little dish I learned from one of the delegates on my last mission to the Galbadian peace talks. You'll like it," Quistis smiled at him, standing up. "Besides, it'll help me pass the time before Seifer gets back."
The ulterior motive, Squall thought, amused. At least I'll get a dinner out of it.
*Seifer, Gelessa, and Bradden entered the front gate of Garden, stomping the snow off their boots. The sun had already sunken below the horizon, painting a red twilight glow in the western sky. All three of them, no matter what they had to face here, were glad to be home.
"I have to go make my report to Commander Leonhart," said Gelessa. "You guys are free to go do whatever you want, unless the Commander calls you."
"Finally!" said Bradden, sprinting off toward Garden. Seifer, however, just stood and stared at the blue and white building, which was illuminated both by the golden red sky and the bright blue and white lights surrounding Garden.
Well, he thought, she's probably in there waiting to talk to me. But I have no clue what to say to her.
"Seifer?" said Gelessa. "Are you all right?"
Seifer snapped out of his trance, and glared at Gelessa. "I'm fine," he said, before walking proudly toward Garden.
Gelessa shook her head, and followed. During this mission, Seifer had justified his reputation of being a stuck-up show-off. I really don't like him, she thought. I don't see how anyone can get along with him.
*Quistis and Squall both left his apartment when he'd received the call that the Dollet team had just returned. While he headed for his office, she took the elevator to the first floor.
Squall had been very impressed with the meal she'd made: Sautéed Fastitocalon fillets with curried rice. She'd never actually had a chance to make it before, but had committed the recipe to memory, hoping one day to impress her boyfriend/fiancée/husband with it. However, she was not too disappointed that Squall was the first man she'd ever made it for.
He seemed to actually enjoy her company. She'd recommended that he invite his friends over more often, so he wouldn't always have to return to the empty apartment while his wife was away. Squall had commented that if he started doing that, everyone would think he was dying. She'd laughed at the comment, but realized he wasn't too far from the truth. Although he was much more open with his friends than she could ever remember, he always kept his private life to himself. Even when he and Rinoa had their occasional arguments, he'd never asked his friends for help in resolving them, whereas Rinoa always came to Quistis or Selphie.
Maybe, someday, he'll trust us all enough to let us in.
The evening had been fun for both of them. She and Squall had talked about times past, and their gradually returning memories of their childhood in Edea's orphanage. She could tell how much her visit had helped Squall relieve some of his loneliness, but it had also greatly helped her get past the stress she'd been feeling, in anticipation of the confrontation she planned to have with Seifer shortly.
Now that she knew he was back, she decided she had no choice but to hunt him down and make him talk to her. She decided he would most likely be in the Training Center. He loves fighting. And if he's as nervous about seeing me as I am about him, then he'll be there working it off.
As she rode the elevator to the first floor, she began reciting, to herself, what she would say to him to break the ice. She figured she would wing it after that.
"'Hey, Seifer! How was the mission? I bet you did well'…no, that's too lovey-dovey… 'Seifer, we need to talk'…no, men always go on the defense when you say that…'Seifer, we have to talk about our kiss that night'…no, too direct…ah, hell…"
The elevator door opened with a small bell's ring, and she stepped out, her arms crossed as she thought.
"How was the mission?"…yeah, that's good to start. Let's see, umm…"There's something I have to tell you about the night of the ball"…maybe I should do that. Do I tell him I love him? No, bad idea. Maybe I should just say we ought to consider being more than friends…Are we even friends now?
Quistis arrived at her dorm. She quickly changed into her standard combat outfit and grabbed her Save The Queen whip. She then lost herself in thought as she made her way down to the Training Center.
Before she knew it, she was at the Training Center's entrance. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and started walking down the hallway.
Okay, Quisty, here goes nothing.
Just after she had that thought, she passed one of her students, who jumped when he saw her. She stopped, placed her hands on her hips, and said, "Just what do you think you're doing here, Jon?"
"Uh, I'm just…uh…collecting leaves for my leaf collection," answered the teenager.
Quistis shook her head. "Get out of here now, unless you want to spend all day tomorrow doing calisthenics."
"N-no, ma'am! I mean, yes, ma'am!" he said. He immediately started running out toward Garden proper.
Kids, she thought. They may get younger every year, but they never change. She continued walking down the hallway.
Once she felt the hard steel of the Garden hallway give way to unsteady dirt, she stopped and considered her options. The entrance area was heavily foliated, but monsters were not allowed in there. She could choose either the door directly ahead of her, or the one to her left, to enter the monster-infested semicircle. She noticed a set of size 13 bootprints in the dirt leading up to the left door, so she guessed that was where Seifer had gone.
Sure enough, once she opened the door, she saw him strike down a group of grats. I'd bet a thousand gil he's looking for a T-Rexaur to beat up.
"Seifer," she said. Seifer whipped around, readying to strike with his Hyperion. When he saw who his visitor was, he lowered his guard slightly.
"Quistis," said Seifer. "I'm kind of busy right now." He turned away, scanning the area for more monsters to kill.
Quistis walked up to his side and said, "You know, you're really not supposed to train alone. It can be dangerous." Great, way to go Quistis, she thought. Just start acting like his instructor. To try to save herself, she said, "Would you like a partner?"
Seifer prepared to refuse, but instead shrugged and said, "I can't stop you." He continued hunting for another kill.
Quistis followed him, trying to decide what to say next. Finally, she fell onto her default question: "How was your first mission?"
"Dull," said Seifer. "They didn't need SeeD to clean the monsters from the communications tower, they needed an exterminator."
Quistis nodded and said, "Mmm hmm". She didn't necessarily agree with him, but she wanted to keep him off the defensive, if possible. "I'm sure you did an excellent job." Stop trying to flatter him, Quisty, he'll see right through it.
She wants to talk, I know it, thought Seifer. If this has been tearing her up the whole time, like it has me, then it looks like I won't be able to get out of this conversation without hurting her. I don't want to do that. "Yeah, I'm sure I did," Seifer said, not really listening to what he said.
Quistis gripped her whip tightly. This is it. I have to get this out now. "Look, Seifer, we have to talk about something." She reached out and grabbed his arm lightly. Seifer finally turned to look at her, gently removing his arm from her grip.
"Quistis, I really don't…"
"No, Seifer," said Quistis. "Something happened between us the night of your graduation and we need to talk about it. Because I can't put it out of my head, and I can't let it wait until you think you're ready." Too forceful, Quisty. You're going to scare him off.
Seifer sighed. She's really gotten aggressive recently. One of the qualities I've really started to like about her. "All right, then. Talk."
Quistis led him back to the Training Center entrance, so they wouldn't be stalked by any monsters as they tried to have their conversation.
"Seifer, I need to know what you think about what happened that night."
Seifer shook his head. "I don't know. I just figured you were feeling sorry for me." Bad reply, Seifer.
Quistis crossed her arms, lowered her head, and turned partly away. "Is…is that all you think it was? So, were you just accepting my sympathy when you kissed me back?"
"No…I…look, Quistis, I'm not really good at this kind of thing. I don't know how to say what I felt." Seifer crossed his arms and lowered his head, unintentionally mimicking Quistis.
"It was…more than that for me, Seifer. I'm afraid of saying this, because I'm afraid of how you'll take it. But I…I feel like I've grown so close to you in these past five months. I admit, at first, things were kind of rocky, but I felt like we were becoming friends. Then, it started to feel like a little more."
Seifer shook his head. "You sure you want to be my friend? Just look where that gets you. Shot in the head or in the chest…"
"Stop it, Seifer," said Quistis, turning to face him. She tilted his head up so she was looking into his eyes. "You're not the only one that's ever lost someone important to them. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to them. They made their own choices, they were adults. How did you know that would happen to them?"
Seifer closed his eyes. "I don't want to have this conversation." With that, he turned and started walking toward the exit.
"Seifer. Seifer, stop. Stop, please!" Seifer ignored Quistis' pleas. Finally, she pulled out her whip and struck out at him.
The whip wrapped itself around Seifer's waist, bringing his exit to a halt. He turned, putting his hands on the whip, and said, "What the hell? What do you want from me?"
Quistis walked up to him, the hilt of the whip in her hand, and said, "I want you to stop acting like a martyr and start acting like a human being. If you have feelings for me, then tell me. If you don't, I want to know, and I will never trouble you again."
She tugged on her whip, giving it a quick twist. The whip released itself from Seifer's waist and fell limply to the ground. She wrapped it back up and hung it at her waist.
Seifer stood there for a moment, staring into her baby blue eyes. He'd longed to look into her eyes like this ever since he'd left, but he wouldn't admit it to himself. I could say I don't have any feelings for her, but that'd be a lie. And I'd end up regretting it and feeling guilty. Damn.
"I…I do have feelings for you," he said finally.
Quistis pursed her lips. Why was that so hard for him to say? Is he lying to make me feel better, or does he just have as hard a time expressing himself as Squall does?
Seifer waited a moment for her response. When she said nothing, he said, "Well?"
Quistis nodded slightly, as if responding to an unspoken question. "Then kiss me."
Seifer looked at her for a second, trying to decide if it was such a good idea. He was afraid that if he kissed her, and she felt it was too forced, she'd think he was lying about his feelings for her. But I wasn't lying, I just don't know how to show it.
Seifer took Quistis' upper arms in his hands, and kissed her on the lips. At first, he felt a little stiff, making her stiff. Then as the kiss continued, he felt his worries and concerns melt away into her, and he relaxed, enjoying this contact with her.
Quistis was worried for a moment when she felt how stiff his kiss was. She was afraid that she was right, that he didn't really feel for her. But then, she felt him begin to loosen up, and she responded by loosening herself up. She began to drink fully of this man that embraced her, letting him release his pain, his tension, his doubt, into her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer to her.
Seifer felt her arms around his waist, pulling them closer together. He responded by locking his hands at her back, between her shoulders.
When they finally released their kiss, they looked into each other's eyes. After a few seconds of silence, Seifer said, "Thank you. I do feel better."
Quistis smiled. "That what I'd hoped. I do care for you, Seifer."
Seifer's eyes moved away from her face, toward the far wall beyond her. "I don't know if I can let my guilt for Fujin and Raijin go, though. I mean, I see them almost every night when I go to sleep."
"Well, we can work on getting you through that," said Quistis, placing a hand on Seifer's cheek. She felt the rough bristles of his five o'clock shadow under her slightly-calloused fingers.
Seifer closed his eyes, enjoying the soft, warm touch of her hand on his cheek.
"We, as in you, me, and our friends," finished Quistis.
Seifer opened his eyes. "What? Our friends?"
Quistis nodded. "Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine. Believe it or not, they care for you, too. I think that if you open up to them a little more and try to be friends with them, they'll be happy to have you."
Seifer backed away, breaking their embrace. "I don't know about that, Quistis. Zell's always hated me. Squall never much liked me, especially after I gave him his one of these." He touched the scar on his brow. "I don't even know Selphie or Irvine, beyond what happened when I was Ultimecia's knight. And Rinoa…I gave her up as a sacrifice to Adel, and nearly killed her more than once. I just don't think they'd want to be that close to me."
"Oh," said Quistis. "So you know my friends better than I know them, huh?"
Seifer crossed his arms and hung his head. That's not what I meant, I just…feel guilty…
"None of them blame you for the things that happened under Ultimecia. And from before that…we understand that people change. Believe it or not, we're all still teenagers, and we're at that time in our life where we just have to accept that we'll soon be totally different people than we are now. I've seen you grow up a lot recently, Seifer, and so has everyone else." She took his hand into hers, and stroked his leather glove.
Seifer sighed. Never imagined I'd actually be trying to make friends with the Chicken-Wuss and Puberty Boy. No, he corrected himself, Zell and Squall. I need to stop putting people down. It's no wonder nobody liked me before. "Ok," he said. "Why not? It's not easy spending all your time alone."
Quistis smiled again. She drew his arms apart, and held both his hands in hers. "That would make me very happy, Seifer."
Seifer gave the first real smile he could remember having in many months. I make her happy, he thought. All that time I was searching for my dream, I never realized the answer to all my dreams were right here, in her eyes.
"Why don't we get something to eat? You're probably starving, and I'd be willing to bet you came right here after you got back."
Seifer nodded. "Yeah, you're right, on both counts." With that, he led her out of the Training Center toward Garden proper.
As they walked down the hallway together, they received many questioning glances and stares from students as Seifer and Quistis talked about his mission and her teaching. Several Trepies looked jealously at Seifer, with whom their beloved Instructor Trepe seemed to be having a good time. However, they decided that, based on Seifer's reputation, they should not confront him.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, several conversations stopped as students and SeeDs alike watched Quistis and Seifer enter together, get in line together, and get their food and walk away from the counter together.
Quistis spotted Zell and Christine in one of the tables in the far corner. She motioned for Seifer to follow her to their table.
Christine was eating a chef's salad, and was the first to notice Quistis and Seifer approach them. She smiled at them and motioned to two free chairs at their table. Zell, who was busy eating a chili dog, didn't notice Quistis and Seifer approach, and only looked up when he saw Christine out of the corner of his eye, motioning to someone.
He looked up, and nearly choked on his mouthful of hot dog and chili. "Seesssfurr?" he said, before swallowing his mouthful.
"Hi Zell, Christine. May Seifer and I join you for dinner?" asked Quistis.
"Uh…?" was all Zell could muster.
"Of course," said Christine. "This must be Seifer."
Seifer nodded as he sat down. "I don't think we've met."
Christine said, "I'm Christine Everest, Zell's girlfriend." Zell coughed at that part, either because he'd swallowed his food too fast, or because he still wasn't used to Christine being described as his girlfriend.
"Nice to meet ya," said Seifer. "As you seem to know already, I'm Seifer Almasy, gunblade expert and…"
Quistis cleared her throat. Seifer realized he was starting to show off, and continued "…I've, uh, known Zell here for some time. Right?"
Zell just glanced between Quistis and Seifer. He didn't quite know what to say. He'd never thought Seifer would sit down to dinner with him, and not use that time to hurl insult after insult at him.
"Zell and Seifer were in the same class for a while," said Quistis, trying to break Zell's stunned silence. "They worked together during Zell's field exam."
Christine finally elbowed Zell, which startled him into speaking. "Uh, uh, yeah, yeah we did."
"So I hear you're Deputy Commander of SeeD now, huh?" asked Seifer
"Yeah, uh, Squall thought I did a good job leading the mission in Centra last month. He, uh, wanted someone here to run the show if he ever had to go." Zell crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, relaxing slightly.
"Well…congratulations," said Seifer, a little forced.
"Thanks…Seifer," said Zell.
For the next half hour, Quistis and Christine did their best to keep the conversation going. After a while, Seifer and Zell started talking normally, first to the women, and then to each other. Quistis was especially pleased that she'd proven herself right; Zell and Seifer would actually be able to get along without wanting to kill each other. She chuckled inwardly as she remembered how Zell had used to refer to Seifer as his "archenemy", and how Seifer would relentlessly tease Zell, even when they were all children.
Then a thought came to her. Does Seifer know we all grew up together? I can't believe it, but that never occurred to me until just now. She looked at Seifer, who was actually starting to smile as he described his latest mission to Zell, who was also smiling a little. Maybe I should wait to bring it up until things are a little more patched between Seifer and everyone else.
After a while, Zell remembered he needed to go handle a few tasks Squall had asked him to do tonight. He stood up, said his goodbyes to Quistis and Seifer, and he and Christine left the cafeteria.
Once they were gone, Quistis turned to Seifer and said, "Wow. I'm very proud of you, Seifer. Not one crack or insult, and you and Zell actually had a normal, adult conversation."
"Yeah," sighed Seifer, "but I didn't get much chance to eat. My food's cold."
Quistis smiled and shook her head. "One of the few perils of having friends, I suppose. If you can get along with Zell, I think you can get along with anybody."
*The next noon, Seifer returned to his dorm room just in time to hear the chirping of the new phone on his desk. After he'd become a SeeD and had gotten his own room, he'd been given his own phone. A SeeD privilege, I suppose, he thought. Being on-call, even when you're supposed to be relaxing.
He picked up the receiver. "Yeah?"
"Seifer, this is Squall. If you have some time, I'd like to see you in my office."
What does Squall need to see me for? "Uh, all right. When?"
"Just when you have some time. Have lunch first, if you want."
Seifer shrugged. "All right, I'll be there in about a half hour."
"Thanks." The phone clicked as Squall hung up. Seifer ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get a small amount of sweat out of it.
What does he need to see me for? he asked himself again. Sighing, he got ready to take a quick shower.
About twenty minutes later, Seifer arrived at Squall's office. He'd eaten a quick lunch, being very curious as to why Squall wanted to see him.
Bowler Fisk, ever-present on the third floor of Garden, buzzed Squall to let him know that Seifer had arrived.
"Tell him to come on in," came Squall's voice.
"Go ahead, he's waiting for you," said Bowler. Seifer opened Squall's door and stepped inside.
He saw Squall sitting behind his desk, looking at something on his computer terminal. "Come on in," he said. "Have a seat."
Seifer walked up to the desk and sat in one of the chairs. Squall typed a little more on his terminal, and then finally turned toward Seifer. "How was your first mission?"
Seifer crossed his arms. "Boring as hell. They needed an exterminator, not elite SeeDs."
Squall shrugged. "Hey, they hired us to do the job. You got paid, and actually went up a couple rank levels."
Seifer let out a small "humph". Then, he said, "Thanks."
They sat there silently for a minute. Then, Squall said, "So, what did you think of Gelessa?"
Seifer's eyebrow went up. Is he trying to trick me into putting down a superior officer? He just shrugged.
"I need a little more than that, Seifer. I'm trying to evaluate her command performance, and since you have more field experience than she does, with how many times you've taken field exams…"
Seifer's frown deepened.
Squall continued, "…I wanted your opinion on how well she did as a Squad Captain."
Seifer seemed lost in thought for a minute. He was trying to decide how best to answer the question. Finally, he said, "She did ok, for a first command. She was nervous, but she got the job done, and kept us focused on the job at hand."
Squall waited for more, and tilted his head when he decided Seifer was finished. "That's all?"
"Yep," said Seifer, standing up. "If I knew I'd be evaluating her, I'd have taken notes." He started to leave.
"Wait, Seifer," said Squall.
Seifer turned to face him again, looking irritated.
"That's not the only reason I wanted to talk to you."
Seifer sighed and crossed his arms. He went back and sat in his chair. Squall came around from behind his desk, pulled up the other chair, and sat facing Seifer.
Squall started, "Look, I know that you and I never got along too well. I'm not going to say why I think that is, because I'm probably wrong. And I know that lately, we've been getting along a little better, at least not trying to kill each other."
Seifer chuckled slightly at that.
"But, I want to try to bury the hatchet," continued Squall. "Both of us have done a lot of growing up over the past year or so." Squall hesitated, trying to find the right words. "But all through the years, even though we always fought, we had an understanding. I think we'd be more constructive as friends rather than enemies."
Seifer turned away, suddenly embarrassed to be in the room. I can't believe Squall's reaching out to me! This is something I'd never expected to see. Not in a million years. Unless…
"Quistis put you up to this," Seifer responded.
"Huh? Put me up to what?"
Seifer looked him square in the eyes. "She told me that all of you guys wanted to be friends with me, but didn't know how to say it. She's probably here now. Listening." He scanned the room, and focused on the washroom door. He stood up, walked silently to the door, and thrust it open.
The room was dark and empty. No one was inside. Seifer looked back at Squall,accusingly.
"Seifer, she didn't put me up to anything," Squall defended himself. He stood up and walked over to Seifer. "I just think that we're both adults, and we can get past our childhood differences and try to get along."
Seifer crossed his arms and lowered his head, thinking. Is he serious? I've never known Squall to not be. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't rather be friends than enemies with him, but this just seems too…strange to be happening all of a sudden.
Squall watched Seifer intently. Come on, Seifer. Quit being suspicious for once. You know you and I are more alike than we'll ever admit. We don't really want to be enemies anymore. At least I don't.
"All right," said Seifer. "You're right. I guess I'm tired of being at odds with everyone. As fun as it used to be, it's gotten kind of old."
Squall stuck out his hand. Seifer accepted it, and they had a hearty handshake. "I'm glad to hear it. Really, I am. I'd like to get a chance to catch up with you on things sometime. I can only imagine what you'd been up to before you got here."
Yeah, really. "Well, if you'll excuse me," said Seifer, "I have to go report to Instructor Vicks for a live gunblade demonstration."
Squall nodded. "See you around."
"Yeah," said Seifer as he left the office.
When Squall was satisfied that Seifer had left in the elevator, he said, "Ok."
"Dispel," said a female voice, from thin air. Suddenly, Quistis popped into existence, the Vanish spell she'd cast on herself now broken.
Squall walked up to her. "I told you he'd be suspicious."
Quistis shook her head. "It's for his own good. I don't want him turning into you, after all." She smiled.
"Whatever…" said Squall.
"Seriously, though, what Seifer needs now are friends. I wouldn't have come to see you if I didn't know you wanted to be friends with him."
"You love him, don't you?" asked Squall suddenly. He expected Quistis to be taken aback by the question.
Instead, she nodded. "Yes, I do. That's why I want the best for him. We can all help him get over the guilt he feels over losing his posse, and he can finally be able to be happy again. All I want is for him to be happy."
"Well, don't forget that you need happiness too," said Squall. "I don't want you to get hurt."
Quistis shook her head. "I won't I promise. I know he loves me. Maybe he doesn't know it yet, but I can just tell."
Squall nodded. "Well, you know him better than any of us, at this point. Now, don't you have a class to get back to?"
"Yes," said Quistis. "They're probably all done with lunch and itching to get their hands on more magic." She shook her head. "Hard to believe that was us, just four to five years ago."
She walked out of Squall's office as he went back to sit down at his desk. She rode the elevator down to the first floor.
Once she arrived and stepped out of the elevator, she heard a familiar voice say, "Done with your little meeting, Quistis?"
She turned sharply to see Seifer, staring at her accusingly.
"Seifer? I was just, uh…"
"Putting Squall up to trying to make friends with me," said Seifer, more than a little angry. "Just what are you trying to do?"
"Seifer, Squall wouldn't have talked to you unless he'd wanted to. You know that much about him." Quistis tried to touch Seifer's arm, but he stepped away.
"Dammit, Quistis," said Seifer. "You're trying to run my life!"
"I am not!" said Quistis. "But you just won't admit to yourself that you need other people! I'm trying to help you help yourself. I don't want to see you destroy yourself because of the guilt you've placed on yourself. What I told you about everyone wanting to be friends with you was true. They just didn't think you'd be open to it."
Seifer prepared to tell her to go to hell, and then storm off. But when he tried to say the words, he found he couldn't. Dammit, she's right. I do need friends. And, like it or not, Squall's probably the best one I could find.
"Ok, fine," said Seifer, conceding defeat. "But you need to promise me you won't do any more behind-the-scenes shit, okay? I don't need someone setting me up every step I take."
Quistis smiled, relieved. "I promise. Look, I have to get back to my class, but I'd like to meet you later to talk. Would that be okay?"
Seifer nodded. "How about the 'secret area' behind the Training Center, at seventeen-thirty hours?" she proposed. Seifer raised his eyebrows. "Hey," Quistis continued, "It's probably the only place where we can talk privately. And I don't think it would be…proper…for us to meet in each other's dorms."
Seifer thought about the possibilities of what could happen if they did meet in each other's dorms, and a slight smile appeared on his face. "Hey, none of that, Almasy," said Quistis, trying not to think of the possibilities herself. "See you then." She walked away toward the Training Center.
Seifer watched her leave, admiring her lean figure and flowing grace as she strode away from him. Then, he got back into the elevator, headed for the second floor classrooms.
Well, Quisty, he thought. This is something I'm definitely looking forward to.