My Immortal
By Faltering Hues
A/N: Well… I'm taking a break from the "epic's" I'm writing. So, here's this one shot song fic for all Seiftis fans. "My Immortal" by Evanescence. BEWARE the angst that lies ahead.
A/N 2: This turned out a lot more intense than I had planned. I'll say it again, beware if you can't handle strong emotions.
(I'm so tired of being here…
Suppressed by all my childish fears…)
Quistis stared at the bed. The empty bed. Its blankets were perfectly straight. There was no sign of bodies having slept on it. She signed and ran her fingers softly across the cotton. So much of him still lived in this room. It was pain. Kneeling to the ground, Quistis placed her head against his pillow.
(And if you have to leave…
I wish that you would just leave…)
She felt her eyes sagging. But sleep wasn't allowed now. Quistis needed time… to think. The pillow smelled heavily of him. The thick Seifer scent of freshly fallen rain. Her breath caught deep within her throat. Nothing rational would come to her mind. How was she going to live? To keep on going… like he would want.
Torture… she was being dragged down. Broken. Ripped to pieces. It was a test of stamina. Of mental stability.
(Because your presence still lingers here…
And it won't leave me alone…)
Blinking slowly, she turned her eyes to the picture on the nightstand. Together, but not smiling. Seifer was staring intently into her eyes. The memory of that day came flooding back.
He pulled her tightly against himself. Sometimes he wanted to be so close to her, he thought they'd end up as one. Quistis had always called him silly when he said that. But it was true. She meant the world to him. After all the years he had to watch her from afar, fawning over Squall, Seifer would never let her go. Never.
Quistis smiled softly up at him. "What are you thinking about?" Even if Seifer tried to, he could never hide himself from her.
Seifer looked down at Quistis. What was he thinking about? Her, of course. But to put his most inner emotions into words. "I'm thinking of you…" This was right. He need to do it now. Reaching into his pocket, Seifer fumbled around for a minute. Seifer found what he wanted and dropped to one knee. The small dark red box flipped open to reveal a small diamond set in a circle of sapphires. 'Quistis Trepe, will you marry me?"
Instantly tears filled her eyes. It was like a dream. The perfect daydream. Coming alive right before her. Quistis smiled dumbly, crying, and got down on her knees before him. "Yes Seifer. I will." Intense. He looked at her with such emotion Quistis thought her heart would burst in her chest.
Minutes passed. They were on their knees, snow falling slowly around them. It was almost as if time itself had stopped. Two hearts beating to the same rhythm. Two souls dancing beneath the stars.
Suddenly, a camera flash went off. Then a squeal sounded. Seifer shook his head, smiled, and slipped the ring on her finger.
The picture slipped idly from her grasp. Glass cracked and picture ripped. Quistis leaned against the bedside. So much. Too much. The memories, so fresh… new even. Why?
(These wounds won't seem to heal…
This pain is just too real…
There's just too much that time cannot erase…)
Why? A question Quistis asked herself numerous times throughout the day. WHY? What happened to make her world shatter? Her dream burst. Her heart break. Pain. All the agonizing pain. Sometimes it was enough to black out the happiness of some of her memories. Moments she had enjoyed…
Standing up, Quistis grabbed the picture from the ground. She threw back the blankets from the bed. The clip fell from her hair, sending masses of blonde all over. Fighting back the tears that threatened to show, Quistis laid down. The picture sat flat on the pillow next to her head. Seifer's pillow.
(When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears…
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears…
And I've held your hand through all these years…
But you still have… all of me…)
The beaches of Balamb. Seifer loved to go there. To get away from the crowds of the Garden. He needed peace. Time to think. To be alone. He stared down into the water swirling at his feet. Clear blue now mucked with brown sand. Quistis had followed him, Seifer knew. She didn't exactly make a quiet entrance.
"Hello, Professor. Do you follow your students often?" He didn't turn to face her, but kept staring down, his brow bent in thought. She stopped 15 feet away from him.
"Seifer…" Quistis took a step. Seifer didn't seem to pose a threat. A few more steps. Suddenly, he turned around.
"Dance with me." Seifer grabbed her up in his arms, and slowly spun her around in the crashing waves. Quistis was helpless in his arms. Safe. Needed. The water was up to her thighs. He was taking them further out. For once, she didn't mind being near Seifer Almasy. It was almost too good to be true.
His hand caught hold of her chin and gently put his lips against hers. She was now standing on his feet, letting him carry her. Water now reached her chest. Seifer didn't close his eyes, but Quistis did. He wanted to see her. A wave came rolling in, over their heads. A salty sweet kiss. Their first kiss.
(You used to captivate me…
By your resonating light…
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind…)
She curled her hand tightly around the blanket. Oh Seifer. What happened? Rolling onto her back, Quistis glared hurtfully at the ceiling. A soft knock sounded against the closed door. It slowly clicked open, and a small head poked in.
"Ma? Are you okay?" A small boy, Seifer style blonde hair, crystal blue eyes. "It's dinner time. Do you want to come and eat?" He was at least ten. His father's proud body features, mother's delicate face. Grasping the blanket edge, he pulled it down some and climbed into the bed with Quistis. "Daddy will be alright. He's an Almasy." Quistis wrapped her arms tightly around her son.
(Your face… it haunts my once pleasant dreams…
Your voice… it chased away all the sanity in me…)
A baby wrapped in a light blue blanket slept to the right of Quistis' hospital bed. "A boy… my beautiful baby boy." She clasped the side of his bed. Seifer hadn't made it yet. He had been away when she went into labor.
The door flew open. "QUISTIS!" He ran in, sweat pouring down his forehead. Then he stopped. Blue. That meant… "A boy?" Quistis nodded, smiling tiredly. Seifer grabbed his chest and the wall for support. Suddenly his legs felt like jelly. "A boy…" He walked calmly over and looked down. "Hey Almasy, welcome to the family." Seifer reached in. The baby grabbed his index finger and cooed softly. Quistis saw Seifer close his eyes and smile. Their child. Their son.
(These wounds won't seem to heal…
This pain is just too real…
There's just too much that time cannot erase…)
He was going to be alright. He was. He had to be. Come home. Eventually he would. The small boy had fallen asleep in her arms. Gently, she got up and tucked the blanket around him. Just like his father. A miniature Seifer sleeping where he Seifer should have been.
She walked out of the room and down the hallway to the kitchen. The room. The one that haunted her every night. But life was supposed to go on. He had told her so. Quistis needed something to believe, to hold onto. This life was slowly falling apart on her. And there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.
(When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears…
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears…
And I've held your hand through all of these years…
But you still have… all of me…)
The phone was ringing. Seifer didn't want her to answer it while they were eating dinner. Just the two of them alone. Their son had gone to a friend's house for the night. Quistis insisted on answering the phone, though, so Seifer had given up.
She grabbed the receiver and placed it against her ear. "Hello?" Seifer heard a faint male voice on the other end. "Excuse me?" His chairs legs scrapped across the kitchen floor. He didn't like the look on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Quistis." Seifer walked over to her. He reached to grab the phone from here… and in that moment, the windows all around them shattered. Glass flew at all angles. The backdoor was kicked in. "The hell is going on?!" He growled and pushed Quistis behind him, away from the flying glass.
A man dressed completely in black strolled through the broken back door, grinning. "Seifer Almasy." Five fairly large guys walked in behind him. "A pleasure to see you again." He snapped his fingers, and the men advanced on Seifer. Quistis knew the odds were definitely against them. But if she could only get to the other side of the kitchen… to the knives.
Seifer caught hold of her arm. "No." His eyes pleaded with her. But she couldn't allow anything bad to happen to him. "Go into another room, please Quistis." He walked defiantly towards the men. Her body wouldn't move. She could hardly breath. Her husband… her life…
His years of being husband and father had obviously slowed Seifer down, made him almost lazy. Quistis saw this, and made a move to run to him. But one of the guys grabbed her, slamming her against the wall, forcing her to watch what was coming. Seifer took down the first man with a few kicks to his kneecaps and a punch to the nose. But the next managed to slam Seifer into a cabinet. Blood spilled down his cheek. Quistis began to scream, tears falling freely. "SEIFER." The man held her tight.
Now Seifer's fingers were broken, all ten. He didn't scream, didn't cry. Always attempted to fight back. To save his wife and son. But he was gone. The Seifer from days at SeeD was dead. Turned into a loving man. A loving husband. Father to one. Three men hefted Seifer into the air, even while he fought to get away. Quistis realized what was happening. She violently kneed the man in his weak spot. He fell with a thud to the ground.
They were already going down the drive way with her life. She screamed and ran towards them. "QUISTIS! PLEASE NO. PLEASE GO IN THE HOUSE. I'LL BE HOME SOON. I PROMISE." She kept running. Seifer was roaring. Crying. Tears poured down his face. Seifer Almasy was crying. "I LOVE YOU. I'LL BE HOME SOON. DON'T WORRY. I LOVE YOU."
Then the gun shot rang out. The bullet impaled itself in Quistis' neck. Warm red liquid rolled quickly down her body. Seifer was gone. Her life. Her hope. Seifer. Despite the pain… Quistis staggered down the street after Seifer. After the car he was in. The car that blew up halfway down the street. Millions of pieces of her life flying through the boldly blue sky. All she remembered… black. Thud. Quistis was lying out cold in the middle of the street a block away from her home. Away from the blood. The pain.
(I've tried so hard to tell myself that your gone…
And though your still with me…
I've been alone all along…)
Quistis looked around the kitchen. FLASH. All of that blood. So much pain. FLASH. It wasn't really there. FLASH. Oh god, it was everywhere. On her hands, her clothes. The pain in her neck. She couldn't talk. FLASH. She still couldn't talk. The bullet had ruined her voice. The bullet… the pain. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Quistis' prone form was lying on the kitchen floor. The last image she saw was Seifer. Screaming and crying, wanting her to rescue him. To save him like he had her so many times. Seifer. Her life, the only one who ever understood. Seifer Almasy.
(When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears…
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears…
And I've held your hand through all of these years…
But you still have… all of me…)
