Finally the jury entered, one by one, and Seifer stiffened as he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He glanced back and saw the hand belonged to Rinoa, who gazed solemnly back at him. In her eyes were understanding and forgiveness.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," the judge began. "How do you find the defendant?"
The jury foreman hesitated and Seifer held his breath. So, it had come down to this very moment. In a second, he'd know his fate. The question was, could he handle it? Could he handle being ripped away from the new life he'd barely begun? Could he face his death without regrets?
Regrets. No, there would be a lot of those. Too many to count, whether he lived or died. But he found, as he waited, that he didn't want to die. He wanted to find out what awaited him outside the bars of the prison and the walls of the courtroom.
"Yes, your honor," the foreman said. "We the jury find Mr. Almasy not guilty."
Seifer felt the breath leave his lungs, and for a second, he was unable to reclaim it. Around him, the crowd erupted, part in protest, the other part in jubilation. Behind him were the loudest cries of joy, and though his heart echoed them, he could not move from his seat. He was stunned as he closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. Not guilty. He was a free man.
"Mr. Almasy," the judge said and Seifer opened his eyes. "Although I don't completely agree with the jury's ruling, the evidence your defender presented was intriguing enough to raise questions about your guilt. So, in light of their ruling, Mr. Almasy, you are free to go."
"Thank you sir," Seifer replied and a moment later, he was on his feet. He turned to Quistis and found himself unable to speak.
Quistis' eyes teared up and her hands were pressed to her mouth to trap a cry of happiness that she wouldn't dare let escape. She too, had no words, and Seifer pulled her into a fierce embrace, holding her tight in his arms. "You did it," he whispered into her ear. "Hyne, you really did it!"
"We did it," she whispered back.
Unable to contain himself any longer, he picked her up off of her feet and spun her around. She let out a peal of laughter and buried her face in his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his neck. He could feel her breath and tears against his neck, and for a moment, he thought he might never let her go.
"I owe you my life, Quis."
"Maybe one day, you'll make it up to me."
Seifer was filled with a profound sense of love for her as he held her close, with the sounds of pandemonium all around. The courtroom was going crazy. There were tears, cries of joy, moans of protest and uncensored displays of anger, but Seifer didn't give a damn about any of it. All he knew was that he was free, and Quistis was the reason. He would always be in debt to her, no matter what he did to make it up. She'd given up so much for this, she'd put so much heart into it, and he couldn't imagine how he might be able to repay this kindness.
Well, he knew what he could do, but that prospect was frightening in itself.
In that moment of quiet madness, with Quistis in his arms, he whispered, "Thank you, Quis." The words felt alien on his lips. Seifer Almasy never said thank you, and he supposed it was about time he started. He had a lot of people to thank, including Squall.
When he released her, he could see the pride as well as the exhaustion in her eyes. She knew she'd worked hard, and she knew it had paid off, and now that it was over, the weariness shone through more than it had before. As selfish as it seemed, he wasn't ready to let her rest.
He wanted to celebrate.
"Waddya say we get the hell out of here?" he asked her and held his arm out for her to take.
She slipped her arm through his and practically leaned on him to keep upright. "Thought you'd never ask," she replied.
They joined the people Seifer was now able to consider friends, his old orphanage gang, and there was a grin on every single face that came to greet the pair. Seifer hadn't expected to see them so jubilant to see him go free. Not even Chicken-wuss could deny his grin, and Seifer was a bit humbled.
"Color me impressed," Irvine said as he slipped his arms around Quistis and gave her a friendly hug and a pat on the back. "If I'm ever in trouble, I'm gonna get you to defend me."
"Don't count on it," Quistis said with a weak laugh. "This is the first and the last time. Ever."
"You are one lucky son of a bitch," Irvine told Seifer and he gave him a rough pat on the arm.
Luck? What did luck have to do with it, Seifer wondered. It wasn't luck that he'd gotten off without so much as a slap on the hand and a few nights behind bars. It seemed more like . . . fate, perhaps? "Thanks, man," Seifer said and offered his hand.
Squall came next. "Congratulations," he said, and he too offered a hand to Seifer.
"The congratulations go to Quistis," Seifer replied.
For a moment, Squall stared at him. "Never thought I'd hear you say that."
"Not a smart mouthed kid anymore," Seifer replied with a grin. "I can give credit where credit is due."
"So," Headmaster Cid began, "In celebration, how about I treat everyone to an early dinner at the hotel?"
Everyone agreed, even Quistis who appeared ready to fall over on the spot. Together, they made their way past the reporters and photographers to the hotel a few blocks away. On the way there, Seifer took Cid aside. "Sir, I apologize for . . ."
"No need," the headmaster said, cutting him off. His expression was a bit pained, but there was not a trace of anger in his eyes. "It was just her body, not her mind. All is forgiven."
Seifer felt a great relief at these words. "Thank you, sir."
During the meal at the hotel, Quistis was very quiet, Seifer noticed. Unusually quiet. She smiled often and accepted her well deserved praise graciously, but she said little as they ate their dinner. Seifer knew that this was just exhaustion catching up with her, and he too was feeling a little weary, however, he was in good spirits and sleep could wait till later. He wanted to enjoy this new freedom while he could still appreciate it.
"Hey, Quistis, that was some party trick you and Rinoa pulled up there," Irvine said as he pushed his empty plate away and grinned at Rinoa. "Can you do that again?"
"Only if you're my subject," Rinoa replied with a innocent smile.
"Now that might be interesting," Irvine said. "Try it out on me."
"Trust me, cowboy," Seifer said seriously. "You don't want to go there."
"Yeah, take his word for it, man," Zell agreed and he put his hand to his head.
Seifer found this curious and he made a mental note to ask Quistis about it later. "Got a headache or something, chicken-wuss?" he asked.
Zell looked as though he might come across the table and attack him. "What did you call me?!"
"Settle down," Cid said and pushed Zell back into his chair. "Let's let bygones be, shall we?"
Zell merely glared his response back at Seifer. Seifer ignored him and turned his attention to Quistis, who stifled a yawn and then smiled up at him. She looked so tired, he wanted to suggest that she get some rest. She'd worked so hard, and he could tell how it had caught up with her, now that it was over. Seifer couldn't help but wonder what she'd be doing right now if the verdict had been different. Crying perhaps?
As he was about to suggest she rest for a while, Quistis pushed away from the table and stood up. "Sorry to be a killjoy, but I think I need to lay down for a little while."
"I'll walk you," Seifer said and got to his feet. He couldn't help but notice the looks exchanged among the group at the table. Some raised an eyebrow, others smiled knowingly.
"Not necessary," Quistis told him.
"Let me walk you," he insisted, ignoring the looks he was getting.
"All right," Quistis said, too tired to argue. She noticed the pointed glances too, and her cheeks flushed. "I'll see you guys later."
Seifer held out his arm to her and they walked slowly to the elevator.
When Seifer returned to the table a few minutes later, Cid ordered a round of drinks, and Seifer gratefully accepted a Mimmet and bourbon.
"Is Quisty all right?" Rinoa asked, concern lining her face.
"Just worn out," Seifer told her. "She'll be fine once she gets some sleep."
As the afternoon wore on, Cid continued to by drinks, and Seifer continued to accept them. By nightfall, he was in no uncertain terms, crocked. But it was all right, since everyone else seemed pretty sauced too, including Cid himself. It was the first time in a very long time that Seifer had been able to drink and actually enjoy it.
"Gentlemen," Irvine said in a slurred voice. "I propose we take leave of this table and go find some place where we can get rowdy."
"I schecond the motion," Zell said as he stood. Zell had far more than his share and it showed. "Shomewhere with a pool table."
"Irvie," Selphie protested and crossed her arms. "You're already drunk."
"Nah. I'm not drunk. Not yet anyway," Irvine told her and laid his hand on her cheek. "You ladies stay here and give each other makeovers or whatever it is that you do."
"OOohh, makeovers!" Selphie cried and turned to Rinoa, who rolled her eyes at the pint sized cheerleader.
"Seifer, you coming?" Irvine asked. "It's on me."
"Why the hell not?" Seifer said and stood up to join the cowboy.
"Squall?" Irvine asked.
"Sure," Squall said with a cheesy grin. It amused Seifer to see that Squall was a happy drunk. He'd always figured Squall would be a sullen after too many drinks, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him smiling from ear to ear as he pushed his chair in.
"Cid?"
"No thanks, son. I'm too old for that," Cid replied and put his arm around Edea's shoulders. "I'm going to spend the evening with my lovely wife."
"Party pooper," Zell mumbled.
"Let's go find ourselves a bar," Irvine announced as he got to his feet.
"Um," Rinoa said, "I know this is guys night out or whatever, but would you mind if I tagged along? I'm up for a few games of pool."
Zell groaned. "You just wanna prove you're shtill the besht pool player at Garden," he said. "No way. This ish for the guys. You're not a guy."
"So what?" Rinoa asked and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not allowed to go out?"
"Go out with Shelfie," Zell said and wobbled a bit on his feet. Seifer noted that the boy was pretty far gone, and likely wouldn't last very long.
"Irvine?" Rinoa asked as she batted her eyelashes at him.
"Why not? I'm up for a challenge." Irvine said and he headed for
the door. "Well, come on if you're comin'."
The bar was loud, full of cigarette smoke and stank of stale beer. It was the kind of place Seifer could get into, and it would be a perfect spot to celebrate his freedom. He wished Quistis had come, but it wouldn't have been fair to wake her up and drag her along. Besides, he couldn't imagine her getting off on a place like that. Well, after a few drinks, maybe she would.
There were pool tables, dart boards and video games in the back, and at the bar itself were several small televisions, each displaying a different sporting event. The crowd itself was young, for the most part, and there seemed to be far more males than females in the place. Typical for a seedy sports bar, Seifer supposed.
As Irvine and Seifer entered the bar, Zell, Squall and Rinoa had already made their way ahead of them to the pool tables where Rinoa was surveying the selection of pool cues and Zell was bragging in a very loud voice that he was going to beat her. Seifer wondered if he ever had beaten her. Rinoa was terribly good at pool, and Seifer himself had only beat her once when they were dating.
"Buy you a drink?" Irvine asked as they surveyed the place together.
"I don't swing that way, cowboy," Seifer replied and sat down on a stool at the bar.
"Nor do I," Irvine said and gave him a lopsided smirk. "So what are we drinking?"
"I can buy my own drinks," Seifer protested. Truth be told, he only had a small amount of Gil on him, but he was too proud to admit this to the cowboy. He didn't want to be a beggar.
"Tonight the drinks are on me. You can return the favor some other time," Irvine said. "So what are we drinking?"
"Tequila."
"My man!" Irvine cried and patted him on the back. "Now we're talking."
Seifer remembered only a little of Irvine from the orphanage, and what he did remember were incidents involving fireworks. And he hadn't known him later as he had Quistis and Squall, but he could see where the cowboy might end up being a good friend. At least he had a drinking buddy, anyway, and that in itself was a good thing.
"Two shots of Tequila!" Irvine called out over the noise. Then the turned to Seifer. "So, man, what's up with you and Quistis?"
"What do you mean, what's up with me and Quistis?" Seifer asked.
"How do you feel about her?"
"Quis, she's great," Seifer said, and he was mortified to feel his cheeks begin to burn. Fortunately, the lights were dim, and he doubted the cowboy could see the way his skin flamed at the mere mention of anything Quistis.
"And?"
"I don't know," Seifer said. "I'm grateful to her. For everything she did."
The bartender placed their shots on the bar before them. "Bottoms up," Irvine said and held the glass in the air. "Make a toast."
Seifer was at a loss as to what he should toast to. Quistis? His freedom? There were so many things he could say, but half of them were cheesy, and the other half were practically love sick homages to Quistis. After a pause, he held his own glass in the air and said, "Here's hoping I don't have a hangover tomorrow."
Irvine laughed and they touched the shot glasses together. Then, Seifer knocked his drink back and swallowed the shot without tasting it. It went down smooth and he slammed the glass back down onto the bar.
There was a triumphant female cry from the back of the room and Seifer turned towards the sound. Rinoa, who'd obviously had plenty to drink herself as evidenced by her rosy cheeks, was holding her hand out to Zell, who dug in his pockets for what Seifer assumed was cash. He chuckled at this and shook his head. "Anyone ever beat her?"
"Not to my knowledge," Irvine replied and signaled to the bartender to bring another round. "That girl's damn good. Give her an hour and she'll be hustling everyone."
Seifer smirked and accepted a second shot of Tequila. "Your turn to toast," he told Irvine as he held his glass up.
"May life treat you kind, my friend."
Quistis couldn't sleep. She'd managed to get a few hours of rest, but a sound in the hallway had woken her an hour before and she hadn't been able to get back to sleep since. She sat up in the bed and wondered where everyone was. Seifer had not yet returned, and likely, he was out celebrating. Quistis would have liked to join him, but she'd been about to fall asleep at the table during dinner. She knew she wouldn't have lasted an hour more even if he'd been there.
She was grateful that everyone had allowed her rest, but now, she was lonely and bored. The last several days had been hectic at best, yet her body had adjusted to the pace and she felt the need to do something, anything, to keep herself busy. After she'd paced the hotel room for what seemed the hundredth time, she went to the darkened window, stared out at the night and she let her thoughts take over.
Perhaps now there was a chance for her to find what she'd been looking for. Perhaps she might find it in Seifer. Perhaps not. Still, she hoped that whatever spark there had been between them since he'd returned was still present. It was terribly exciting to think that he might look at her as if she were something special, that he might care for her, and at the same time, both were equally frightening. Could she really let him into her heart? Would she let him tear the walls down and see what was inside? She didn't know, and part of her didn't want to find out.
Quistis knew she was a lot like Squall in this respect. Before Rinoa, Squall had been so afraid that someone might get to know the real him, and end up hurting him, that he chased away anyone who dared try. Quistis too was afraid of being hurt. She'd once preached to Squall about accepting help from others, but the truth was, deep down in side, she felt the same way he had. She still felt that way, while Squall had learned to depend on those who cared about him.
Truth be told, she was deeply in love with Seifer, but she was afraid to let it show. Even more afraid now than before because it might actually end up somewhere. Wherever it might go, she feared that he'd only hurt her. Squall had put that thought into her head the night they'd taken him away, and she hadn't been able to shake it since. Even as she was defending Seifer, the thought was there, despite what she felt in her heart.
As Quistis leaned her head against the cold pane of glass, she sighed
and hoped that Seifer loved her back.
"I am shoooo in love wish Quish," Seifer slurred as he climbed up onto the pool table. Rinoa had just beaten him for the fifth time in a row, but he didn't care. He was just happy to be alive, happy to be drunk and happy to be in love. "Hey you peoples," he said to the faces that stared up at him as he walked back and forth across the table, "I'm Sheifer Almasy. I'm in love wish Quish Trep . . .pe. Yoush got a problem wish that?"
"Hey Rinoa," Irvine asked as he grinned up at Seifer, "are you making him do that?"
Rinoa shook her head. "Sadly, no."
"All right saucy," Irvine said to Seifer. "Come on down. You've made your point."
"I'm a free man!" Seifer cried to the crowd. He wasn't going to come down until everyone knew how happy he was to be free and still alive. "I'm free!"
He didn't see the figure to the left, who clenched his hands at his sides in attempt to control his anger. That figure suddenly lunged at him, caught him around the legs and threw him back against the table. Cries of panic erupted from all around and Seifer was confused. He was supposed to be standing, wasn't he? So why was his back flat against the table, and why where the ceiling fans spinning so fast? "Hey," he muttered, and then a fist hit him square in the nose. Pain spiraled through his face and he saw stars behind his eyes.
"Because of you, my girlfriend is dead!" A voice screamed and then the fist hit him again. Seifer was too drunk to realize what was going on, and it didn't even occur to him to fight back.
Then, the figure was gone, and he felt hands under his arms that dragged him from the table. "Come on, man," Irvine's voice said in his ear. "I don't think we're welcome here anymore."
"Yeah, letsh go home," Seifer said as he got to his feet. "The roomsh spinning."
"Oh, hell," Irvine said and grabbed him by the arm. "Let's get out of here."
"Hey, I told you I don't shwing that way," Seifer protested.
"And I told you I don't either, now let's go before you get killed or something," Irvine said and dragged Seifer to the door.
"Are you taking me to my Quish?" Seifer asked. He really hoped so. He wanted to see her face and give her a great big kiss. "Did I tell you I love Quish?"
"About twenty times now," Irvine said.
Fortunately for Seifer, the hotel was only a block away, and Irvine was able to guide him without any major incidents. Squall, Rinoa and Zell were close behind, though Zell was about as bad off as Seifer.
"Alright, now cool it," Irvine told the crew as he opened the front door of the hotel. "Don't talk, just walk, ok?"
"Whatever you shay, boss," Seifer replied and he saluted his companion.
They made it through the lobby without incident, though once inside the elevator, Seifer made for the buttons and began pressing them. He liked the way they glowed when they were pushed. At the bottom was a red one. "What doesh this do?" he asked and stuck his finger out to push it.
"Don't touch that, Seifer," Rinoa said, annoyed.
Seifer laughed and leaned against the wall as the elevator came to a halt. The doors opened to an empty floor. "Why'd we shtop?" he asked.
"That's what happens when you push every button," Rinoa said.
"Sho what do we do wish him?" Zell asked. Zell looked a little green around the edges, as if he might be sick.
"Take him to Quistis, I guess," Squall said.
"Quishtish is gonna be pished," Zell said and giggled.
"I doubt that," Irvine muttered.
After stopping on every single floor, the elevator finally came to the floor they were seeking. Seifer shuffled forward and looked about. He knew this place. He'd been there before. Quistis had taken him there when he was a bum on the streets.
He followed Irvine to a door marked '503' and Irvine began to pound on it. "Quistis?" he called.
"Shhh!" Seifer hissed. "Quish ish shleeping."
"Yeah, well, we're going to wake her up," Irvine said.
Quistis was startled from her thoughts by a loud knock and muffled voices from the side of the door. "Quistis?" Irvine's voice called, and Quistis hurried to answer it. She flung the door open and was shocked to see a bloody, intoxicated Seifer standing in the hall, grinning like a fool.
"Brought you a present," Irvine said and pushed the drunken man into the room.
"What did you guys do to him?" Quistis asked as she headed for the bathroom to collect first aid supplies.
"Nothing," Irvine said innocently. "Well, good night!"
And with that, he closed the door. Quistis heard muffled laughter
from the other side as her friends made their way to their own rooms.
Quistis was a little miffed that they'd get Seifer trashed, get into a
bar room brawl and then just leave her to deal with it.
"Quish," Seifer said happily as she returned with a small potion and a few bandages. "Quish, I love you shooo mush."
"That's nice, Seifer," Quistis replied. She wanted to smile, but she was too irritated to express what she felt inside. "But do you mind telling me what happened?"
Seifer looked perplexed. "I don't know. Shome guy wash mad at me."
Quistis tended to his wounds in silence, and she couldn't help but notice the way he was looking at her. It made her shiver a little, for he was looking at her with the same expression Squall sometimes gave Rinoa. Was it only because he was drunk? She didn't know, but it gave her a little hope, for alcohol was as effective a truth serum as sodium pentathol.
"You're shoooo beautiful," Seifer said as she tossed the empty potion into a nearby trash bin. "And I'm shooo in love wish you."
Finally, Quistis allowed herself to smile. "Are you really?"
"Yesh!" He cried and stood up, but then sat back down when he lost his balance.
"Hmph. I think you'd better sleep it off, tough guy," Quistis said and she guided him to the spare bed. "You're going to have one nasty hangover tomorrow."
"Nope," Seifer said and shook his head. "I shaid a toast. No hangoversh for me!"
Quistis hadn't any idea what he was talking about, so she kept quiet and helped him take his shoes off. Then, she covered him with the blanket. "Get some sleep," she instructed and then returned to her spot at the window.
She sat there for more than an hour, smiling faintly to herself. When she was certain he was asleep, she sat down on her own bed and looked at him. There was definitely a nice guy hiding somewhere beneath all that bravado, and Quistis made up her mind to draw him out.
After a while, she switched out the light, climbed beneath her own blankets
and whispered to the darkness, "I love you too, Seifer."
***Notes***
WARNING: ANGSTY DRUNKEN RAMBLINGS AHEAD
Apologize if this chapter is badly written or if I failed to edit properly. Drunk off my ass. Pissed at the world......it's been a traumatic week to say the least. My head's not in the right place right now, and all I can do to distract myself is to write. Even if I have to write badly. It's the only thing I have to fall back on. Still, I've been in a really bad place for several days now, and I haven't even been able to sit down and write until today. I feel like my whole life is falling apart before my eyes, and unfortunately that's not too far off. Everything's going to change from this point on.....
Sometimes, life drops a bomb on you . . . do you wait out the explosion or do you let it take you down with it? Am I being cryptic? Sorry. It's just that....you marry someone, you expect it to be forever, you put your heart into it, you support, love and back them up every step of the way . . . only to see your best efforts fail. What do you do? Do you call it quits? After eight years of friendship, are you willing to let it go? And if you let it go, do you walk away and not look back? Do you force yourself not to care? And when there's no more beer left in the fridge, do you walk your miserable drunk ass self down to the nearest gas station to by more or do you go to bed and sleep it off?
And what if that person you married and care about has done the unforgivable? You can't trust him anymore, but he wants to stay married-and of course, you still stupidly love him-but the question is, how do you continue something that's been a lie? And how do you know he won't go back to her when times get hard again? How can you be expected to forgive it?
Well, people, I don't forgive it. He's done enough to hurt me, and I'm not going to sit back and take more, no matter how much he says he 'loves' me, especially when I know he's told her the same thing. The thing is, I'm the one who has to rebuild my life while he can continue on being the same heartless bastard he's become. I'm the one who's going to have to find a place to live, and I'm the one who will have to make due on a pathetic income, since just before he dropped this bomb on me, he got fired and no longer has an income. It's mind blowing that he didn't consider what kind of position his actions would put me in. But then, what cheater considers the feelings of the other person anyhow? Mine certainly weren't. The worst of it is, though, the person he cheated with is someone really close to me, or so I thought. I hate them both.
So, if my updates are not as frequent as you're used to, please forgive me. This is not easy, and I have a lot on my plate right now and I'm having to deal with it on my own. And, it's hard to write a romance type story when your own romantic life has just been shit all over. I will update, just not as often.
Peace.
Sara