(a/n: Hee hee, I don't know what I'm laughing about. Willing to take time out of your busy holidayz to read this? Yes, no, maybe? Egh!)
***
Chapter Nine: Bad Timing.
***
It was unnaturally quiet in the plane, the only thing ringing in Selphie's ear was the humming of the engine. Silence bothered her, so she continued to sing but eventually ended up giving herself a headache. Thoughts began to drift aimlessly through her mind, of what she would do when she saw Squall again, of how she would evade that kidnapping whore, and of how to tell Seifer she had kissed Squall. She had meant for it to remain a secret buried within her (although over half of Garden had seen it) but whenever she saw Seifer, a pang of guilt racked through her.
The green eyed knight had been more lenient towards her, and had even cracked a few smiles her way. She could tell that he cared for her, and that made her feel even worse, knowing that she was keeping something from the man she had feelings for. Love, was it? She didn't know...it would come to her when she felt love and right now, she was in limbo.
Their relationship had been short, yet if felt as if they had been with one another from past lifetimes. At times she felt like she would break if he never spoke to her, and at others she wished he would leave her be. But right now...she didn't know what to call it. They were being friendly with one another, and it was driving her crazy. At the sight of him, she had to resist the urge to throw herself on him, especially since he had tossed away that horrible trench coat and now wore a black ribbed sweater. She looked down at herself, sighing at her white sleeveless turtle neck and her silvery blue jeans, then she ran her hand through her ponytail. She missed her yellow dress, but after some of the rude comments she got for wearing it from the Garden men, she had ditched it for something more modest.
The plane suddenly stopped, becoming halted by the invisible barrier that shrouded Esthar. She needed someone else on the left controls to help her penetrate it, but both men had vanished.
" Hey, guys?"
Her voice carried through the room, but there was no response.
" Hello? ANYONE?"
She began to worry, not only for the few minutes they had before the electricity fried their little aircraft but for the two missing SeeDs welfare. Had they possibly killed each other? The plane gave a shudder and she tried to pull away from the force pulling them in, but it was near impossible. How could she have flown straight into the barrier? Selphie mentally kicked herself. She continued to pull the control as far back possible, but then a red light filled the room along with an annoying siren.
Power lock down, starting in ten seconds.
" No!"
Ten...
" Don't, you stupid machine!"
Nine...
" Uhm...guys?"
Eight...
" Where are you?"
Seven...
" Zell?"
Six...
" Seifer..."
Five...
" Seifer!!!"
Four...
" SEIFER!"
Three...
Another tremor passed through the plane, this time Selphie having to hold onto the arm of the seat to keep from falling.
" Selph, what's happening?" Zell came running to her side, knowing the answer without her having to explain. He grabbed the left controls and together they attempted to break the Ragnarok from the barrier's pull.
Two...
" Why did you fly right into it?" Zell asked, exasperated. "There's no way we can break out of this now!"
" I'm sorry!" Selphie felt like a complete idiot, and no doubt, Zell and Seifer probably felt the same way. She wanted to mope and hide but there was no refuge at this time.
" Well, after 'one' we're gonna have to jump out."
" What?! It can't be that bad!"
Zell ignored Selphie and took the elevator down, most likely to the hanger to retrieve jet packs. Selphie sighed and followed up. On the bottom floor, she was thrown off balance when the plane roughly jerked to the side but she was caught by Seifer before she smashed into the wall.
She shakily smiled at him, and his response was a curt nod.
One...
" Oh shit!" She broke away from him, which wasn't too hard since he was practically pushing her away, and ran to the hanger where Zell was waiting.
" We have ten seconds," Zell said, handing out the packs. " Try to keep from the barrier. It'll fry us up like ants if we go too close."
He jumped out first, and Selphie lingered when she was supposed jump second.
" Jump," Seifer said, waiting impatiently. " It shouldn't be difficult -you tend to jump into things."
" I'm afraid of heights and I think that...what?" she stopped and turned her eyes away from the open pit. " What is that supposed to mean?"
" Never thought you would be the playing type," Seifer responded, giving a malevolent grin. Selphie was about to open her mouth when Seifer held out a finger and pushed her out of the plane.
***
The only thoughts running through Selphie's head was about how she was going to die. The scene was very familiar to when Salman had pushed her off of the building but this time the man she cared intensely about had given her the shove over. She closed her eyes, wondering how long it would be until she hit the ground. Wind filled her ears, but soon after, also the sound of someone shouting.
" The pack..."
Oh, right!
She held out her hand and pulled on a lever on her bag, allowing the jetpack to operate. A few moments passed as she was suspended in air, then she began to gently drift down. The pull of the barrier wasn't that strong and she easily evaded it, although the Ragnarok was not so lucky. The red ship was pulled violently against the barrier, and it then exploded into a mass of fire and metal.
Selphie winced as she moved out of the way of a burning piece of wreckage. It was an interesting game of dodging the scraps until a giant gust blew her completely away from where Zell had landed and even higher into the air.
" ...Friggin Elnoyle!"
She craned her neck upward to see Seifer summoning Shiva. He looked down at her and yelled for her to summon a GF of her own or they would both be dead.
What a perfect time for an Elnoyle to show up... She decided on Doomtrain, but the only problem was that she couldn't see the monster. It was higher up, and it would be difficult for Doomtrain to attack the monster if it wasn't in her vision. A bit of ice fell onto her, leaving a red, burning mark once it had melted. Apparently, Shiva had done some damage. Selphie urged her jetpack to take her higher, but unfortunately, once she was gaining height, she heard the chilling sound of the Elnoyle sucking air in. It released Storm Breath, and Selphie went flying in the opposite direction from Esthar, Seifer following not far behind. And as Hyne had it, they both fell into the ocean.
***
" You swim like a hammer," Selphie commented once she had finished coughing up some salt water. The tide had been friendly with them, and they didn't have to swim very far before both Selphie and Seifer had been washed onto a shore somewhere in Esthar.
" Nice analogy," Seifer replied, stripping off his water heavy shirt. He stood and glanced around. " So...where are we?"
" Dunno." Selphie lay back on the hot sand, not caring that it was going to be a bitch to get out of her hair. She wanted to sleep so badly, but Seifer grabbed her leg and began to drag her off of the beach. " Oww, there are rocks here!" She protested in her whiny little voice.
He let go abruptly and let out a heavy sigh.
" We are fucking screwed." With that, he sat down next to Selphie and stared mindlessly at the sky.
" You're going to give up without even trying?" Selphie asked in disbelief, her eyes wide in horror. " That's not the Seifer way!"
" 'Seifer way'?" He broke out of his temporary trance to throw a nearby shell at Selphie. She artfully dodged it and giggled heartily. " I still can't believe it."
" Believe what?" Selphie asked, sitting in front of Seifer. Her attention was not on him, though, as she raked her fingers through the tangled mess of her hair.
" That..." he paused, studying Selphie carefully for a moment before continuing. " ...Squall is interested in you."
Selphie's hand shot out of her hair and her face turned red then purple and finally settled on a pink color. " No, no, that's crazy, he--"
" Zell told me everything."
" That little bastard..." Selphie hissed, picking up a clam, then shattering it in her hand. Seifer moved back slightly. " But it's not at all what Zell told you. I don't care about Squall."
" Hey, and I don't care."
" Whaa..."
" Y'see, it's kinda like this," Seifer said, standing up. He brushed off some sand from his pants and began pacing, which irritated Selphie. " I would care if there was something between us -but there isn't. There's nothing in jeopardy; there's nothing to break."
Selphie jumped up disbelief and anger overcoming her. " Seifer, I'm not in the mood for one of your games again."
" This isn't a game."
" Yes, yes it is," Selphie insisted. A small smile crept onto her face and she swayed slightly side to side. " You care for me."
" The hell I do."
" That's it! You have feelings for me!" She jumped up and down and for a moment Seifer smiled before allowing his blank face to take over again. Selphie had a feeling that he was denying everything in fear, but she was so close to shattering the barrier.
" Listen, Messenger girl, this is all in your little head," Seifer said, trying to convince himself as well. He jabbed the side of Selphie's head and she smacked his finger away.
" As was our first kiss in the elevator, right? Oh, not to mention you pulling me into the closet, trying to make out with me in the train, and when you--"
" Exactly." Seifer began to walk away from her, but she ran up and tackled him to the sandy ground. He fell flat onto his face, small bits of sand going into his mouth.
" Selphie, get the hell off of me!" he shouted, attempting to roll over but she sat firmly on his back.
" Just admit what you feel about me, and let this all be over with!"
" I don't feel anything but annoyance towards you!" Quickly, Seifer reached up and began to tickle Selphie, causing her to roll off of him in a fit of giggles. He scowled down at her once he had gotten up and continued to walk away. The beach was endless, and he had no idea on which side of Esthar it was on. He turned around after five pointless minutes and saw Selphie silently following him.
" What?"
" Tell me, how would you feel if I did enjoy that kiss with Squall?" she asked, once she had ran up to him. Seifer shrugged but inside was bothered. He tried to shrug off the feelings, but he had already accepted that Selphie was bound to him -one way or another.
" I wouldn't give a damn," Seifer replied casually. Selphie's face darkened slightly and she placed one hand on her hip.
" What do you mean by that?"
" I-don't-care."
Selphie's eyes grew large and she was about to kick Seifer, but he caught her leg and yanked, causing her to fall into the sand.
" But you have to care!" she whined, not bothering to get up. " It's who you are!"
" Hey, you can be with whomever you want. We have nothing between us to break or place in jeopardy," Seifer muttered, liking how Selphie was irritated that he didn't feel possessive towards her. "Nothing."
But in all honesty, he was beginning to be sick of the frequent turns they made with one another, neither seeming to meet at the same time but passing one another even by one second, one single aggravating second.
" I'll wait forever if that's what it takes," Selphie suddenly said. Seifer broke out of his thoughts to stare at her in silence and slight astonishment. She was lying in sand, her hair tangled, her eyes wide and her clothes, a bunched up mess. Yet he had never seen her appear so determined. Her eyes remained transfixed on his as she continued, " Think, for once. Just..." She stopped, holding her breath on that last word before spitting it out bitterly. Hastily, she stood up and brushed off bits of sand clinging to her jeans. Then she allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek before whipping it away viciously and crying out, " You're only hurting yourself!". Her expression was between wanting to chop Seifer's head off, or wanting to break down into tears. The decapitation seemed to prevail.
Seifer's hand clenched and he raised it slightly, wanting to protest to Selphie's words but what aggravated him was that her statement was truth. She was always right. He was about to, in an obvious fit of insanity, take back everything cruel he had ever said to her and admit to what he felt but she had already left. This made Seifer question whether she was going to wait forever, and the answer was predominant -an eternity is never a lifetime.
***
She had no shoes. The beach sand was soft, white and feathery to the soles of her feet but now she was facing the pain of the forest floor. The mission began to dominate her thoughts, and she remembered that usually when cutting through a forest, a clear pathway to Esthar would be found. She didn't know where Seifer was. She tried to tell herself that she didn't care, but she obviously did if she had to resort to lying to herself. Seifer had been left behind in a fit of...she didn't even know what to call it. Too many emotions spilled out at once, including her saying something she severely regretted after.
" I'll wait forever if that's what it takes."
Honestly, how could she have said such a sappy, stupid thing? She would never wait for an arrogant, caustic bastard...and Seifer was worse than an arrogant, caustic bastard! She wondered how much fun he was gaining from playing snakes and ladders with her. One moment, they're fine -the next; he's being his psychotic self.
Their relationship together couldn't even be classified under anything couples had towards one another. Lust, yeah that was there. But they were married. Where did that leave them? Where did that leave her? In all truth, she had thought about herself seldom when it came to the two of them. She wanted Seifer to admit his feelings so that he could free himself from the cage he was in. And it was only because of him that she got the mission. It was always about him -he was like a spoiled child! And it was not as if she wasn't suffering as well. It wasn't easy for her to fall for someone, or place her trust within him or her. Then again, nothing for her was easy.
Selphie cast Blizzard on a nearby tree in her anger but was surprised when it screamed at her.
" A talking tree?" Selphie whispered, walking cautiously toward the large oak. " Hello, Mr. Tree? Did I hurt you?"
" Yes, you did!" the tree answered dryly, sounding suspiciously like Seifer. Selphie ran to the tree and peered around the corner to see Seifer brushing off bits of ice from him. He had some leaves in his hair, and his feet were as callused as her's were, making it hard for Selphie to appear mad at him.
" Oh, so you decided to follow me," she said coolly, turning around and folding her arms. When Seifer's hand clamped on her shoulder, she shrugged it off and began to follow the path she had been taking befor2e discovering him.
" Selphie..."
" I'm not listening!" Selphie sang out, plugging her fingers into her ears. Unfortunately, it was this moment that she chose to close her eyes as well, and ended up smacking into a tree. Before she fell to the ground, she was caught by Seifer who grinned down at her in his arms. She struggled to move out of his grasp, but Seifer refused to loosen his hold on her waist and back.
" I think that for once, Leonhart has lost," Seifer said, laughing shortly afterward.
" He never was in this game," Selphie replied, smiling back at him. Seifer leaned down and kissed her softly for the first time. A part of Selphie missed his viciousness, but another was intrigued by his dramatic change. Seifer was slowly lowering her to the forest floor when the sounds of a gun clicking were heard.
" We were afraid of this," said a man in a blue Esthar suit, holding his gun dauntingly close to Seifer's head. " Put her down."
Behind him were a dozen more soldiers, their expression unreadable through their silver helmet. The soldiers forced the two SeeDs into a small aircraft, where they wordlessly were taken inside Esthar in what seemed like minutes. Selphie met with Seifer's eyes but couldn't tell whether he had come to the same conclusion that she had -a deceased man was going to be the death of them.
Once inside Esthar, the pair was forced to the Sorceress' Memorial where a familiar dark man waited for them.
" Kiros!" Selphie cried out, but was silenced by one of the soldiers smacking her with the end of their gun. Selphie glared at the man, focusing all of her energy of her hatred toward him. Well, hatred that had been conjured up in the minute she had known him. Seifer, though, took a different approach and grabbed the man by the collar. The soldier advanced on him, but stopped when Kiros came forward.
" You two -inside," he said, rather coldly. There was a slight hint of remorse, but Selphie pretended that she didn't hear it. In fact, the blocked out all thoughts of something bad happening to them. The horrible feeling that had been chewing away at her resulting to severing her artery as she stepped fully inside.
A large round room with approximately a dozen people stood before her, everyone in having a grim look on their faces.
" Love," one man spoke out, disgust lacing his words. " Quite disgraceful."
" I thought Cid had raised the children better than this..." a woman next to him said softly.
" Silence."
The words stopped and a silence overcame the ominous room. Selphie briefly moved her eyes to Seifer, who seemed to be smirking slightly.
A man in traditional Esthar clothing came out and sat at the front desk. He was about to remove his headgear but another man in a slightly less elaborate uniform shook his head slowly.
" SeeD -Selphie Tilmitt, 20768A and Seifer Almasy, 20639A. You are charged with defiling order 29B, stating that no member of military standard is to have physical relations with another member, under any circumstances."
" But we didn't even--"
" Speak, only when authorized to," the man next to the speaker said, cutting off Selphie briskly. She was about to stick out her tongue, but thought better of it.
" Requesting permission to speak," Seifer followed up, taking a step forward. His eyes remained steady on the gray wall behind the head speaker, and his voice was clear and organized. Selphie's mouth opened slightly, but she shook her head and decided that he was probably used to Esthar protocol. Not that he ever used it, but there was a first time for everything.
" Denied."
At the rejection, the main speaker bolted up but was pushed down by two other Esthar personnel's. He seemed to be putting up a fight, but one man leaned over and said something quietly. The main speaker became still once more.
" We were enlightened with the fact that 25 days ago, Seifer Almasy and Selphie Tilmitt were wed forcefully. Understanding the premises of the situation, we were willing to disregard the year of marriage the SeeDs would undergo. Yet, we have had reports of the two having a relationship outside of SeeD. This has led us to believe that...that..."
He suddenly stopped talking altogether and held his head in his hands. Selphie could have sworn he was muttering some sort of protest, but blood had rushed to her ears in light of what was happening. She wanted to block out everything, because every word was a jab, and a reminder of what had happened. And even though she became closer to Seifer during the experience, there was always the possibility of something more malice underneath it all. She didn't want to deny what she felt for him, but it did seem that Salman was adding the finishing touch to the damage he had caused them.
" Mr. President, if I may continue in your place," said the man next to the President. Selphie gasped inwardly, realizing that Laguna had been interrogating them the entire time. A headache began to overcome her, in wonder of Laguna's actions. He couldn't possibly have something against them! Well, not her at least.
Laguna nodded; the man began to walk around the front of the room with pure confidence, as if he were enjoying what was going on.
" People of the World Court: We are led to believe that because of Seifer Almasy and Selphie Tilmitt's relations with one another, this was a catalyst to the failure of stopping Resistance Faction Number 3."
" Great..." Seifer muttered, hanging his head down for the first time that Selphie could remember. " This is just great."
For some reason, Selphie felt the anguish that Seifer did but for not the same cause. The SeeD position she had worked seven years for was nothing in light of what happened to her. In that dreary room, in the shadow cast darkness, she realized that it was more than a mere liking for Seifer. It was love.
" ...Towards Ms. Tilmitt, Mr. Almasy? This will be followed with a plead."
Selphie snapped out of her thoughts to look at Seifer, wondering what he was going to say. Blame the entire situation on her, no doubt. She was in charge of the entire mission, and she was literally guilty in the masked eyes of law. It was her fault entirely. Waiting expectantly for his ruthless, yet horribly true answer, she squeezed her eyes shut and tensed her body.
" I love her. So...guess I'm guilty."
The small whispers, the shouts of the man, and even the building walls were not enough to block out the sound of Selphie's scream.
" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Instantly, she began to beat Seifer over the head with her little fists, while yelling at him. " What the hell is wrong with you? Now we're screwed! And you're not even speaking for the BOTH OF US!!!!"
***
( a/n: There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but if I had included it, this would have been twenty pages long, something I'm sure no one has time to read. One more thing: Merry Christmas! Just for fun, and no apparent reason, put down your favorite Christmas carol in your review. I was trying to think of some in Math class, and ended up resorting to Britney Spears. People wanted to kill me. Anyway, if enough people want it, I can upload the next chapter on Thursday. ^_^. Happy Holidayz! )