Disclaimer: All characters belong to Squaresoft... All hail Squaresoft... blah. I quit, this is the last time I mention it!!!
Author's Note: Wow... it's been a really really really long time since I last wrote hasn't it? I apologize for the long, loooooong, delay. A lot of stuff is going on now, especially now that I'm contending with three science/math based classes... so much work, but I'm managing. Life also has a way of getting you to make certain things take a back seat, and quite literally I haven't written at all in what must be hmm... oh my, almost a year now!!!! Alas, I've finally gotten around to being able to write this chapter out. YAY! I hope you enjoy it, and sorry again for the overdue update. I didn't realize how long I've really been out of the game here...
Also, the writing format is a tad different than it used to be (and also a little better than before... I hope). The thoughts of characters are now displayed in italics, rather than in brackets. I just thought it looked better in the end product rather than the original format I did.
I went back and read the last chapters of this story, and I realized that there is a-LOT of spelling and grammar errors. I don't have spell/grammar check since I only use plain old WordPad, so if you see any mistakes, it's probably because I missed them when I was doing my correcting.
Whew! That about does it for that... Now on to the story!
The Lonely One
(Chapter 11: The Mission)
Quistis's eyes widened slightly, a faint swishing sound reaching her ears. Her eyes darted towards the direction of the door.
"Did you hear something?"
She felt Seifer shift slightly as he pulled away and looked into her eyes. "No... Did you?"
"I thought I did... but--" she stopped mid sentence as Seifer's hand came up to her mouth. He slowly let her go and walked towards the door cautiously, as if he was stepping on pins and needles. A lump formed in the blond girl's throat as she watched him with curiosity. It was still really late at night, and everyone in Garden should be sound asleep. It was probably just my imagination...
~*~
Seifer grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open slowly, his head poking out and surveying the fluorescently lit hallway. He listened intently for a few moments before shaking his head and pulling back into the room. There was nothing out there, and there didn't seem to be a sign that there had been. With a sigh, he turned and faced the confused girl on the bed.
He shrugged at her and took a step towards her. He stopped. What the--? Lifting his foot, he kneeled slightly, trying to see what he had just stepped on.
"What is it?" Quistis asked curiously. Seifer's gaze shifted up towards her as he picked up the item form the floor. Hesitantly, he held it out to her, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow.
It was a lily. A simple white lily... except for the fact that the petals were now wrinkled and broken from being stepped on. Seifer eyed it closely. Did he drop it when he had first come in? He didn't remember noticing anything...
With a shrug, he strided to Quistis and dropped the flower into the small tin trash can that was positioned beside her nightstand.
"Was there anyone outside?"
He shook his head as he straightened out his black blazer. "No. Deserted."
She took a deep breath and smiled in relief. "I guess it was all in my imagination..."
~*~
The sounds of their footsteps echoed through the main hall of Garden, the sound almost deafening in the stillness of the night. They sharply turned the corner, leading them down the hall towards the Training Center.
They needed relief...
They needed to kill...
Kicking open the heavy metal doors leading into the inner sanctum of the indoor jungle, they drew their weapon and began their assault. The quiet of the center was broken with the sound of torture...
The sounds of frustration and gratuitous killing...
Grats' blood flew like rain in every direction as they were attacked relentlessly by the intruder with the hatred in their eyes. T-rexaurs shrank away and hid... Even they dare not get in the way of the intruder.
The figure, tired and sweating, dropped their weapon among the slimy remains. They looked to their hands slowly.
Blood...
It was red blood.
They wished it was his blood.
Crying out, they angrily kicked a nearby tree and sunk to their knees; the wounded hands now wrapped in their own clothing. They didn't even notice they had been injured... but they didn't care. What they had witnessed in that small infirmary room almost made them want to retain their weapon and kill everything in this center regardless.
He was back...
And they were in love...
A whisper was breathed in fatigue and exasperation... A whisper of one who felt they had been torn into two...
"Quistis... How could you?"
~*~
3 weeks later
~*~
She waited, her arms crossed over the bust of her neatly pressed uniform, the sound of her foot nervously tapping the floor.
He was late.
Looking at her watch, she sighed and shook her head.
... I guess some things will never change...
~*~
..Shit..Shit..Shit...Shit..Shit----
Seifer ran down the halls of Balamb Garden, his black blazer in one hand, a piece of half eaten toast in the other. Trying to ignore the odd looks he was receiving from the students and staff alike, he made his way towards the entrance to the Library. As he neared, he sighed in relief at seeing the blond SeeD still waiting there for him.
Looking slightly annoyed, but at least she was still there.
Quistis' gaze caught his, as she angrily gestured to her watch.
"..I know! I know!" he cried coming to a hasty stop as to not crash into her.
"You're a half an hour late..."
Seifer shrugged and took another big bite of toast. She rolled her eyes and slapped the crusty piece of bread out of his hand in one quick move. He stood there stunned, as he watched it skid across the polished floor and fall into the pond just below the walkway.
"..The hell did you do that for! That was my breakfast!" he cried, attracting the attention of some startled students. Quistis maintained her sour glare, ignoring the strange gazes they were recieving.
"You knew we had a mission briefing this morning and you didn't bother to be ready early to prepare for it!!!"
He shrugged slightly and began to pull on his now wrinkled blazer, sliding his arms in slowly, one at a time. "Sorry, but I was up late last night grading papers for my weaponries classes..." he muttered glancing into her still annoyed eyes. He waited a moment, then was rewarded by seeing her brow uncrease a little... the annoyance in her eyes ebb away. He knew she understood what it was like to have to throw away hours of sleep to stay on top of work, and he counted on this empathy. To his satisfaction, she sighed heavily, a small smile tugging at the corners of her rosy lips.
"I understand."
Touchdown! He tried to hide his relief by pouting slightly, "Thanks Quisty..."
She smiled fully now, and shook her head, "Let's not keep our Commander waiting any longer shall we?" she motioned towards the elevator in an almost prestigious manner. Seifer nodded and began to follow her, his eyes not leaving the waterfall of honey-coloured hair that swayed to and fro with every step.
Three weeks so far... since he and her had decided to start things up. It was such a relief to be together again; the heavy weight of those two lonely years ebbing away with every kiss and every touch. Looking back now, he couldn't even comprehend how he managed to stay sane while knowing that the woman he loved - his Quistis - was on another continent; his and her life detangled from one another. He still remembered the day he left on the train as vividly as if it had been recorded and stored away in the deepest part of his mind. The way her lips formed those three little words; the look of relief and anguish that danced on her pale face as she watched the train pull him farther away... A look that he sure was mirrored on his own face that day.
His last two years, aside from the ache of not seeing her, hadn't been too bad. He had made quite the living for himself as an Esthar government official. He found it funny in a way; almost ironic in how he ended up trying to protect the very country he had fallen to his lowest in. Lunatic Pandora; Sorceress Adel... they seemed so far away now; so insignificant.
He had a new life now... even if it was his true self he had to lock away in the shadows. If it meant he could be with Quistis, then he would gladly do it, and has gladly been doing it. It was and is an almost surreal experience having her tender azure eyes on his; having her sneak a peck on the lips now and then... a loving hug when no one was watching. He figured rumors had already circulated how "Instructor Trepe" and "Instructor Langhoff" - he sighed slightly at the fake name - had begun to have a secret trist with one another. Even so, even if everyone knew or suspected, it would be highly unprofessional and highly risky to start showing outward and blatent displays of affection. It still made him nervous sometimes, worrying if somehow things would get out of hand and he would be out of the job... or even worse - be discovered.
A chime roused him out of his musings; the sound of the elevator reaching it's destination.
He shifted his gaze to Quistis, who was just pushing herself off the glass window of the elevator. Upon closer inspection, he could see that dark circles were forming below he big blue eyes. Seems like you've been skimping out on some sleep to catch up on some work yourself... Instinctively, he reached over and rubbed her back, causing her to turn her gaze to him and smile - asmile of reassurance that she would be fine. She was stubborn though, and he knew that she would pretend everything was alright when really she was almost near the edge. Squall had been extra demanding of her lately; late night calls for help with Garden affairs and paper work. Seifer found it unfair how he had somehow managed to place poor Quistis in the position of doing two exhausting jobs at the same time. She wasn't his secretary... but it seemed like she was being made into one - an assistant of sorts.
She accepted both jobs with a smile though - albeit a tired and scorning one, but a smile none-the-less.
The both pushed on the heavy wooden doors; a burst of morning sunlight flooding their gazes as they swung open. Balamb Garden was now coasting over the waters of the central ocean area, and it just so happened the the Commander's office was facing directly east.
Seifer squinted slightly; his contacts and glasses having little to no protection against the harsh sunlight shining in through the panoramic picture window. He could barely make out the brooding figure hunched over the large mahogony desk in the center if the room.
Quistis was the first to speak. "Our apologies for being late..." she said almost timidly as she bowed slightly to the sun-outlined figure. The effect of the light around him, making him himself seem like a shadow, lent the young Commander an almost intimidating appearance. Seifer found it funny in a way how Squall and Quistis were supposed to be such good friends, yet here she was now, apologizing and bowing as if he was a king. Things seemed distant between them lately, even though Squall worked with Quistis on the majority of the Garden affairs. Seifer remembered several occasions when Quistis would return from a night of work, absently mumbling how "Squall seemed cold today..." or, "He got angry with me again last night...". It was times like that that had caused her to pussy-foot around the maple-haired man, and caused her to use such a painfully polite tone when speaking to him.
Seifer absently wondered if it had anything to do with him. He was already well aware that Squall mistrusted him; he had known this since the day he had returned to Garden and asked for work. He hoped his hunch was wrong though - he didn't want Quistis to be punished for being with him... Of course Squall must have caught the rumours of him and Quistis... After all, everyone else in the school had.
"It's fine Ms. Trepe." Ms. Trepe? Too good for her to call her by her first name now are we? Seifer sowled slightly, his eyes hardening at the still darkened figure. His eyes shifted over to Quistis, a slight hint of hurt drifting into her eyes.
"You sent word lats night that you wished to speak with us about a possible mission?" Seifer interjected in an effort to lighten the load off of Quitis. He could faintly see Squall looked towards him, then sit back slightly.
"Yes... There's rumor that there's some covert actions going on in the mountains of Galbadia --"
Galbadia... Seifer hadn't returned there since two years ago when he narrowly escaped a life of confinement in the Desert Prison... The name held so many unpleasant memories from years past...
"-- and we were called by the Galbadian Government to scout it out. Our reputation as top-notch soldiers, and the past incidents with Joe Reynolds and you yourself Quistis seems to make them think we can hadle the job."
Seifer noticed how Quistis had relaxed slightly at being called by her first name once again, but also how her face paled at the mention of Reynolds... the man who had also helped Seifer escaped that fateful day two years ago. It saddened him to hear the news of his death, especially when he owed him so much; his life to be exact.
"So who is going to be appointed to attend such a task?" It was Quistis he had asked. Squall seemed thoughtful for a moment, his gaze shifting between Seifer and her. It was a moment later before he spoke-
"I'm appointing you and John to handle this one, and one other. We don't want to send too many at once; it may draw unwanted attention to have a team of four or more."
There was a moment of silence, a question forming in both Seifer's and Quistis's minds...
"Who will be the third in our party?" Seifer had beat Quitis to it.
He could feel Squall's eyes on him, and shifted slightly where he was standing. Spit it out Leonhart...
"I will be joining you on this mission."
~*~
"Squall's going with you?"
Selphie took a big bite out of her sandwich as she awaited the answer to her question. Quistis and John looked at each other, then back at the group of anxious faces. They nodded in unison, arousing raised eyebrows and lookes of utter "What the hell?".
Zell slammed down his cup of coffee and wiped his mouth, "I guess he's getting ansty about being stuck in that stuffy-ass office all damn day... finally decided to get back out in the field."
"Can he really do that though? Don't we need him here?" It was Selphie once again who voiced the doubts. Irvine, who was sitting at her side, lazily looked up from his soup, then shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not..."
His remark was met with stares. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat like a nervous little boy. Selphie raised an eyebrow and patted his shoulder. "Are you all right? You've been kind of odd for the past little while." Irvine didn't look up to her at this, just picked up his spoon and dipped it into the thick tomato soup.
"It's nothing... Selph." he lifted the spoon slightly, "Just tired... I guess."
This answer didn't seem to appease her though, for she still eyed him skeptically. Seifer watched his friend with a skeptic look of his own. Irvine had indeed also been acting a tad bit strange in the past few weeks, but whenever Seifer - "John" - asked him about what was eating him, he would just shake his head and mutter that he was fine... nothing wrong. Of course his behaviour showed otherwise for Irvine didn't seem to be quite his smart-alecky self. Seifer silently had tossed around a possible reason while talking with Quistis, but neither could come up with a valid explanation for it.
He had a hunch though, that the source of Irvine's woes was seated right at this very table. Brown bouncing hair and big green dewy eyes... not one would consider to be a source of sadness for anyone, but Seifer knew that Irvine still had not yet told the petite woman how he felt for her. The subject couldn't be approached however, and Irvine would find a way of avoiding at at all costs during private conversations while training during their spare time. He hadn't told Quistis about it though; after all, Irvine was somewhat of a best friend to him - John - and he knew that no matter how much le could trust Quistis, it was really something that was meant to be kept between Irvine and himself until the pony-tailed man himself was ready to reveal it.
Quistis let out a tired sigh and leaned her head on the table. Seifer had to fight not to rub her back for her, for everyone was sitting here. They had not come out to the group yet, even though they also probably suspected what was going on between the two...
"I guess I should start packing..." she muttered through a veil of honey coloured hair. Selphie leaned over and pulled it out of the tired woman's face, a look of sympathy playing on her own pixie-like features.
"You're so overworked Quisty... Maybe you should tell Squall to get someone else to help him." At this, Quistis tilted her head up slightly as to achieve some sort of eye contact with the other girl.
"Or maybe you should consider... you know... dropping being an instructor..." Selphie's face suddenly changed as she recieved a glare from Quistis , "b-but you know -- maybe I dunno.. maybe get your hours shortened.. or- - " Quistis was continuing to give her a sour look as if to say "are you insane?." Quistis had worked extra hard to recieve her liscence back, and the prospect of giving it up again didn't seem to be sitting too well with her.
"No it's ok, I can handle it... Really, I'm used to it by now." she said lazily, once again leaning her head on the table. Seifer and Selphie exchanged glances. She mouthed the word "Workaholic." while pointing down at the dozing woman. Seifer chuckled slightly at this and nodded.
He enjoyed it... the joking around with these people. Little do they know they were joking with Seifer Almasy though. They still all thought he was the Estherian, John Langhoff, and he seemed to be keeping his cover up quite well. No one seemed to pay him any mind; no one seemed to suspect that an escaped fugitive was right under their noses. He just hoped that for his sake - Quistis's sake - he would be able to keep this up for good. Everyone seemed to like him quite well, and not treat him suspiciously... He pushed the thoughts out of his head.
No point in thinking about it and analyzing it. You've kept it up for over two years now, so don't worry Almasy. He leaned back and crossed his arms, his mind wandering to the trip tomorrow. He was still unsure about the mission... Could they really afford to send the Commander and two instructors off to contend with bandits in the mountains?
All thoughts began to ebb away from his mind... fatigue taking it's place. He was too tired to think... so he let sleep take him, his thoughts slipping away into blissful darkness.
To be continued....
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Well there you have it, I've finally posted a chapter (just hope people will forgive me and read it still!). I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope that it ties into the story well enough. I didn't realize how long it's really been since I've posted, but it's March Break now, and I have free-time coming out the yin-yang (...did I really just type that?).
I'll be working on some more chapters this week, and will try to post at least a few more in the next week or so. I think my creative juices are once again flowing in this grey matter-o-mine! Enjoy the story, and happy reading! ^_^
Author's Note: Wow... it's been a really really really long time since I last wrote hasn't it? I apologize for the long, loooooong, delay. A lot of stuff is going on now, especially now that I'm contending with three science/math based classes... so much work, but I'm managing. Life also has a way of getting you to make certain things take a back seat, and quite literally I haven't written at all in what must be hmm... oh my, almost a year now!!!! Alas, I've finally gotten around to being able to write this chapter out. YAY! I hope you enjoy it, and sorry again for the overdue update. I didn't realize how long I've really been out of the game here...
Also, the writing format is a tad different than it used to be (and also a little better than before... I hope). The thoughts of characters are now displayed in italics, rather than in brackets. I just thought it looked better in the end product rather than the original format I did.
I went back and read the last chapters of this story, and I realized that there is a-LOT of spelling and grammar errors. I don't have spell/grammar check since I only use plain old WordPad, so if you see any mistakes, it's probably because I missed them when I was doing my correcting.
Whew! That about does it for that... Now on to the story!
(Chapter 11: The Mission)
"Did you hear something?"
She felt Seifer shift slightly as he pulled away and looked into her eyes. "No... Did you?"
"I thought I did... but--" she stopped mid sentence as Seifer's hand came up to her mouth. He slowly let her go and walked towards the door cautiously, as if he was stepping on pins and needles. A lump formed in the blond girl's throat as she watched him with curiosity. It was still really late at night, and everyone in Garden should be sound asleep. It was probably just my imagination...
~*~
Seifer grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open slowly, his head poking out and surveying the fluorescently lit hallway. He listened intently for a few moments before shaking his head and pulling back into the room. There was nothing out there, and there didn't seem to be a sign that there had been. With a sigh, he turned and faced the confused girl on the bed.
He shrugged at her and took a step towards her. He stopped. What the--? Lifting his foot, he kneeled slightly, trying to see what he had just stepped on.
"What is it?" Quistis asked curiously. Seifer's gaze shifted up towards her as he picked up the item form the floor. Hesitantly, he held it out to her, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow.
It was a lily. A simple white lily... except for the fact that the petals were now wrinkled and broken from being stepped on. Seifer eyed it closely. Did he drop it when he had first come in? He didn't remember noticing anything...
With a shrug, he strided to Quistis and dropped the flower into the small tin trash can that was positioned beside her nightstand.
"Was there anyone outside?"
He shook his head as he straightened out his black blazer. "No. Deserted."
She took a deep breath and smiled in relief. "I guess it was all in my imagination..."
~*~
The sounds of their footsteps echoed through the main hall of Garden, the sound almost deafening in the stillness of the night. They sharply turned the corner, leading them down the hall towards the Training Center.
They needed relief...
They needed to kill...
Kicking open the heavy metal doors leading into the inner sanctum of the indoor jungle, they drew their weapon and began their assault. The quiet of the center was broken with the sound of torture...
The sounds of frustration and gratuitous killing...
Grats' blood flew like rain in every direction as they were attacked relentlessly by the intruder with the hatred in their eyes. T-rexaurs shrank away and hid... Even they dare not get in the way of the intruder.
The figure, tired and sweating, dropped their weapon among the slimy remains. They looked to their hands slowly.
Blood...
It was red blood.
They wished it was his blood.
Crying out, they angrily kicked a nearby tree and sunk to their knees; the wounded hands now wrapped in their own clothing. They didn't even notice they had been injured... but they didn't care. What they had witnessed in that small infirmary room almost made them want to retain their weapon and kill everything in this center regardless.
He was back...
And they were in love...
A whisper was breathed in fatigue and exasperation... A whisper of one who felt they had been torn into two...
"Quistis... How could you?"
~*~
He was late.
Looking at her watch, she sighed and shook her head.
... I guess some things will never change...
~*~
..Shit..Shit..Shit...Shit..Shit----
Seifer ran down the halls of Balamb Garden, his black blazer in one hand, a piece of half eaten toast in the other. Trying to ignore the odd looks he was receiving from the students and staff alike, he made his way towards the entrance to the Library. As he neared, he sighed in relief at seeing the blond SeeD still waiting there for him.
Looking slightly annoyed, but at least she was still there.
Quistis' gaze caught his, as she angrily gestured to her watch.
"..I know! I know!" he cried coming to a hasty stop as to not crash into her.
"You're a half an hour late..."
Seifer shrugged and took another big bite of toast. She rolled her eyes and slapped the crusty piece of bread out of his hand in one quick move. He stood there stunned, as he watched it skid across the polished floor and fall into the pond just below the walkway.
"..The hell did you do that for! That was my breakfast!" he cried, attracting the attention of some startled students. Quistis maintained her sour glare, ignoring the strange gazes they were recieving.
"You knew we had a mission briefing this morning and you didn't bother to be ready early to prepare for it!!!"
He shrugged slightly and began to pull on his now wrinkled blazer, sliding his arms in slowly, one at a time. "Sorry, but I was up late last night grading papers for my weaponries classes..." he muttered glancing into her still annoyed eyes. He waited a moment, then was rewarded by seeing her brow uncrease a little... the annoyance in her eyes ebb away. He knew she understood what it was like to have to throw away hours of sleep to stay on top of work, and he counted on this empathy. To his satisfaction, she sighed heavily, a small smile tugging at the corners of her rosy lips.
"I understand."
Touchdown! He tried to hide his relief by pouting slightly, "Thanks Quisty..."
She smiled fully now, and shook her head, "Let's not keep our Commander waiting any longer shall we?" she motioned towards the elevator in an almost prestigious manner. Seifer nodded and began to follow her, his eyes not leaving the waterfall of honey-coloured hair that swayed to and fro with every step.
Three weeks so far... since he and her had decided to start things up. It was such a relief to be together again; the heavy weight of those two lonely years ebbing away with every kiss and every touch. Looking back now, he couldn't even comprehend how he managed to stay sane while knowing that the woman he loved - his Quistis - was on another continent; his and her life detangled from one another. He still remembered the day he left on the train as vividly as if it had been recorded and stored away in the deepest part of his mind. The way her lips formed those three little words; the look of relief and anguish that danced on her pale face as she watched the train pull him farther away... A look that he sure was mirrored on his own face that day.
His last two years, aside from the ache of not seeing her, hadn't been too bad. He had made quite the living for himself as an Esthar government official. He found it funny in a way; almost ironic in how he ended up trying to protect the very country he had fallen to his lowest in. Lunatic Pandora; Sorceress Adel... they seemed so far away now; so insignificant.
He had a new life now... even if it was his true self he had to lock away in the shadows. If it meant he could be with Quistis, then he would gladly do it, and has gladly been doing it. It was and is an almost surreal experience having her tender azure eyes on his; having her sneak a peck on the lips now and then... a loving hug when no one was watching. He figured rumors had already circulated how "Instructor Trepe" and "Instructor Langhoff" - he sighed slightly at the fake name - had begun to have a secret trist with one another. Even so, even if everyone knew or suspected, it would be highly unprofessional and highly risky to start showing outward and blatent displays of affection. It still made him nervous sometimes, worrying if somehow things would get out of hand and he would be out of the job... or even worse - be discovered.
A chime roused him out of his musings; the sound of the elevator reaching it's destination.
He shifted his gaze to Quistis, who was just pushing herself off the glass window of the elevator. Upon closer inspection, he could see that dark circles were forming below he big blue eyes. Seems like you've been skimping out on some sleep to catch up on some work yourself... Instinctively, he reached over and rubbed her back, causing her to turn her gaze to him and smile - asmile of reassurance that she would be fine. She was stubborn though, and he knew that she would pretend everything was alright when really she was almost near the edge. Squall had been extra demanding of her lately; late night calls for help with Garden affairs and paper work. Seifer found it unfair how he had somehow managed to place poor Quistis in the position of doing two exhausting jobs at the same time. She wasn't his secretary... but it seemed like she was being made into one - an assistant of sorts.
She accepted both jobs with a smile though - albeit a tired and scorning one, but a smile none-the-less.
The both pushed on the heavy wooden doors; a burst of morning sunlight flooding their gazes as they swung open. Balamb Garden was now coasting over the waters of the central ocean area, and it just so happened the the Commander's office was facing directly east.
Seifer squinted slightly; his contacts and glasses having little to no protection against the harsh sunlight shining in through the panoramic picture window. He could barely make out the brooding figure hunched over the large mahogony desk in the center if the room.
Quistis was the first to speak. "Our apologies for being late..." she said almost timidly as she bowed slightly to the sun-outlined figure. The effect of the light around him, making him himself seem like a shadow, lent the young Commander an almost intimidating appearance. Seifer found it funny in a way how Squall and Quistis were supposed to be such good friends, yet here she was now, apologizing and bowing as if he was a king. Things seemed distant between them lately, even though Squall worked with Quistis on the majority of the Garden affairs. Seifer remembered several occasions when Quistis would return from a night of work, absently mumbling how "Squall seemed cold today..." or, "He got angry with me again last night...". It was times like that that had caused her to pussy-foot around the maple-haired man, and caused her to use such a painfully polite tone when speaking to him.
Seifer absently wondered if it had anything to do with him. He was already well aware that Squall mistrusted him; he had known this since the day he had returned to Garden and asked for work. He hoped his hunch was wrong though - he didn't want Quistis to be punished for being with him... Of course Squall must have caught the rumours of him and Quistis... After all, everyone else in the school had.
"It's fine Ms. Trepe." Ms. Trepe? Too good for her to call her by her first name now are we? Seifer sowled slightly, his eyes hardening at the still darkened figure. His eyes shifted over to Quistis, a slight hint of hurt drifting into her eyes.
"You sent word lats night that you wished to speak with us about a possible mission?" Seifer interjected in an effort to lighten the load off of Quitis. He could faintly see Squall looked towards him, then sit back slightly.
"Yes... There's rumor that there's some covert actions going on in the mountains of Galbadia --"
Galbadia... Seifer hadn't returned there since two years ago when he narrowly escaped a life of confinement in the Desert Prison... The name held so many unpleasant memories from years past...
"-- and we were called by the Galbadian Government to scout it out. Our reputation as top-notch soldiers, and the past incidents with Joe Reynolds and you yourself Quistis seems to make them think we can hadle the job."
Seifer noticed how Quistis had relaxed slightly at being called by her first name once again, but also how her face paled at the mention of Reynolds... the man who had also helped Seifer escaped that fateful day two years ago. It saddened him to hear the news of his death, especially when he owed him so much; his life to be exact.
"So who is going to be appointed to attend such a task?" It was Quistis he had asked. Squall seemed thoughtful for a moment, his gaze shifting between Seifer and her. It was a moment later before he spoke-
"I'm appointing you and John to handle this one, and one other. We don't want to send too many at once; it may draw unwanted attention to have a team of four or more."
There was a moment of silence, a question forming in both Seifer's and Quistis's minds...
"Who will be the third in our party?" Seifer had beat Quitis to it.
He could feel Squall's eyes on him, and shifted slightly where he was standing. Spit it out Leonhart...
"I will be joining you on this mission."
~*~
"Squall's going with you?"
Selphie took a big bite out of her sandwich as she awaited the answer to her question. Quistis and John looked at each other, then back at the group of anxious faces. They nodded in unison, arousing raised eyebrows and lookes of utter "What the hell?".
Zell slammed down his cup of coffee and wiped his mouth, "I guess he's getting ansty about being stuck in that stuffy-ass office all damn day... finally decided to get back out in the field."
"Can he really do that though? Don't we need him here?" It was Selphie once again who voiced the doubts. Irvine, who was sitting at her side, lazily looked up from his soup, then shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not..."
His remark was met with stares. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat like a nervous little boy. Selphie raised an eyebrow and patted his shoulder. "Are you all right? You've been kind of odd for the past little while." Irvine didn't look up to her at this, just picked up his spoon and dipped it into the thick tomato soup.
"It's nothing... Selph." he lifted the spoon slightly, "Just tired... I guess."
This answer didn't seem to appease her though, for she still eyed him skeptically. Seifer watched his friend with a skeptic look of his own. Irvine had indeed also been acting a tad bit strange in the past few weeks, but whenever Seifer - "John" - asked him about what was eating him, he would just shake his head and mutter that he was fine... nothing wrong. Of course his behaviour showed otherwise for Irvine didn't seem to be quite his smart-alecky self. Seifer silently had tossed around a possible reason while talking with Quistis, but neither could come up with a valid explanation for it.
He had a hunch though, that the source of Irvine's woes was seated right at this very table. Brown bouncing hair and big green dewy eyes... not one would consider to be a source of sadness for anyone, but Seifer knew that Irvine still had not yet told the petite woman how he felt for her. The subject couldn't be approached however, and Irvine would find a way of avoiding at at all costs during private conversations while training during their spare time. He hadn't told Quistis about it though; after all, Irvine was somewhat of a best friend to him - John - and he knew that no matter how much le could trust Quistis, it was really something that was meant to be kept between Irvine and himself until the pony-tailed man himself was ready to reveal it.
Quistis let out a tired sigh and leaned her head on the table. Seifer had to fight not to rub her back for her, for everyone was sitting here. They had not come out to the group yet, even though they also probably suspected what was going on between the two...
"I guess I should start packing..." she muttered through a veil of honey coloured hair. Selphie leaned over and pulled it out of the tired woman's face, a look of sympathy playing on her own pixie-like features.
"You're so overworked Quisty... Maybe you should tell Squall to get someone else to help him." At this, Quistis tilted her head up slightly as to achieve some sort of eye contact with the other girl.
"Or maybe you should consider... you know... dropping being an instructor..." Selphie's face suddenly changed as she recieved a glare from Quistis , "b-but you know -- maybe I dunno.. maybe get your hours shortened.. or- - " Quistis was continuing to give her a sour look as if to say "are you insane?." Quistis had worked extra hard to recieve her liscence back, and the prospect of giving it up again didn't seem to be sitting too well with her.
"No it's ok, I can handle it... Really, I'm used to it by now." she said lazily, once again leaning her head on the table. Seifer and Selphie exchanged glances. She mouthed the word "Workaholic." while pointing down at the dozing woman. Seifer chuckled slightly at this and nodded.
He enjoyed it... the joking around with these people. Little do they know they were joking with Seifer Almasy though. They still all thought he was the Estherian, John Langhoff, and he seemed to be keeping his cover up quite well. No one seemed to pay him any mind; no one seemed to suspect that an escaped fugitive was right under their noses. He just hoped that for his sake - Quistis's sake - he would be able to keep this up for good. Everyone seemed to like him quite well, and not treat him suspiciously... He pushed the thoughts out of his head.
No point in thinking about it and analyzing it. You've kept it up for over two years now, so don't worry Almasy. He leaned back and crossed his arms, his mind wandering to the trip tomorrow. He was still unsure about the mission... Could they really afford to send the Commander and two instructors off to contend with bandits in the mountains?
All thoughts began to ebb away from his mind... fatigue taking it's place. He was too tired to think... so he let sleep take him, his thoughts slipping away into blissful darkness.
To be continued....
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Author's Note: Well there you have it, I've finally posted a chapter (just hope people will forgive me and read it still!). I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope that it ties into the story well enough. I didn't realize how long it's really been since I've posted, but it's March Break now, and I have free-time coming out the yin-yang (...did I really just type that?).
I'll be working on some more chapters this week, and will try to post at least a few more in the next week or so. I think my creative juices are once again flowing in this grey matter-o-mine! Enjoy the story, and happy reading! ^_^
