Sapphire eyes search the azure skies over the Alcauld Plains until the undulating cries of sea gulls fade away into the vast expanse that is called the western horizon. Squall sighs and inhales deeply the balmy and briny scent of the air. Balamb's sunset is truly lovely, even though he prefers sunrise more.
His peace is interrupted by the sound of a swinging door, beneath him, in Headmaster Cid's office, followed by the drone of the lift to the pilot's deck. He turns around to find Selphie and Rinoa, who both smile at first but then look serious. Selphie looks to Rinoa with an inquisitive look, and Rinoa states, "Business first." Selphie seems to consider this a while, before finally exclaiming, not without a little leap, "Matron succeeded! Seifer came back!"
Squall nods slightly in approval, then frowns at remembering something and adds, "Have you kept the event a secret?" Selphie yawns and stretches her arms before she plops down on the seat placed in the room. "But of course. If Seifer knew, then he probably wouldn't come. Besides, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun." Rinoa also heads for the chairs recently installed on the deck. Closing the distance with long, quick strides and both her hands clasped behind her back, she stops in front of Squall and grins: "Won't Seifer be surprised."
Circling around Squall, inspecting him briefly, she adds, in mock admonishment, "Speaking of which, you should be dressed in a suit right now, not that leather jacket." Squall looks down, and realizes that he does need to change. In a trademark gesture he puts his hand to his forehead before uttering something remotely like an apology and going downstairs to change for the night.
Quistis finishes wrapping the long tresses of her hair up into three mounds of honey-gold. She slides jeweled hair pins to hold her hair in place, then scrutinizes her own appearance in the mirror. Satisfied with the way she looked in her gown of silver satin, she puts on a pair of matching gloves and finally twirls her taffeta wrap around her arms. She is determined to look good tonight, determined to prove the rumours wrong. If she had loved Squall, then it was an admiring sort of love, certainly not the ridiculous unrequited love as some people had fancied her to have. Although, she admits to herself, she does need someone who can love her.
Yet finding true love is so hard. Like finding that one last jigsaw piece that fits into the puzzle of your soul, out of many millions.
Squall, dressed in an elegant black suit, examines the gold band for the last time before he opens the door to step out of his dorm room. The ring is embedded with many small white diamonds arranged in a pattern to look like wings. Pocketing the trinket and turning a corner in the long hallway, the first pair of eyes that he meets is Rinoa's. She wears a gown the color of periwinkle, simple yet enchanting. The words "You look lovely, my angel" first form in his head, but instead he says: "Let's go."
Seifer is indeed surprised to see the entire third floor of Garden now decorated with thick, artificial vines wrapping around the walls and hanging from above, weaving a ceiling of green. Here and there flowers accentuate the room, with a vase present on every elegant table. Soft music drifts through the air like a dreamy wanderer, altering its pace every now and then to savor the delicious line of melody played. Edea, by his side, hums to herself. "The Raindrops Prelude," she comments. Cid, accompanying Seifer on the other side, pats Seifer's back, his hand remaining there in a paternal gesture that, at the same time, seems like to Seifer a measure to prevent his escape, somehow restraining as well as comforting. Seifer, however, makes no effort to escape, though he cannot help but wonder at the fact that he had not encountered many hateful stares, at least not in the first two hours that he returned to Garden.
The most unexpected moment comes when the doors of the office open to reveal Squall and Rinoa. Seifer can only stare as the pair moves straight towards him, sincere smiles on their faces, as Seifer's mouth drops open when Squall offers his hand in a token of friendship. For a moment, all is silent, before Squall grins and Rinoa begins to giggle softly. Seeing that Seifer is only more confused, Squall explains. "I wish that I had a camera on hand. God, that was classic. With that pathetic expression on your face—why, you looked fairly like a puberty boy."
Squall extends his hand again, and this time Seifer shakes hands.
The elevator rings again, signifying the approach of more SeeDs to join in the celebration. Seifer does not look back. "What's the occasion here?" he asks Cid.
Cid smiles but says nothing, as Selphie betrays her presence with the bright peal of her voice—"The maid of honor arrives!"
"Your wedding, Squall?" Seifer asks incredulously.
Before Squall could answer, a light hand taps Seifer's shoulder, and he turns to meet the gaze of Quistis.
A/N: Yes, I know that I'm writing in present tense. If that's how I started, then I'll keep writing in this tense until I end the story. It just struck me as a more interesting and more challenging form than the regular past tense. Many thanks to all of you that finished reading this piece!! I've dropped out of Final Fantasy 8 for too long. I'm also working on developing some ideas for my Silmarillion fanfiction; I just love the elves!
