A/N: Wheee!!! I'm back! First of all, thank you very much for your reviews cause they give me a reason to keep writing. Secondly, I'm glad you guys liked Nosferatu ^_^ He will play a veeery important role in the future plot… Thirdly, this chapter was ready quite a few days ago, but I had a lot of errands going on, now that I moved to go to university. Alrighty, this chapter is going to introduce you to the first (in this story) 'intimate' interaction between our two heroes… Don't get your hopes up though; this is only the fourth chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Boxers, g-strings and lacy undies
Quistis was really pleased by Seifer's improvement and overall performance. It was only their second day of training and things were going great. Exhausting, but great. After another straining three-hour lesson, Quistis dragged herself to the Cafeteria for lunch. Rinoa, Irvine and Zell were already there, in their usual table, eating lunch. Quistis walked over to them and landed heavily on a chair.
- "Hard day?" asked Irvine.
- "You don't know half of it…" replied Quistis.
- "Is that punk giving you a hard time?" asked Zell angrily, banging his glass of beer down on the table. "I'll go kick his ass!" he yelled, swiftly getting up from his chair.
- "Zell sit down!" said Quistis. "I have no problems with Seifer… Honestly, he's behaving perfectly well. I'm just tired that's all…"
- "So, how's he doing?" asked Rinoa cutting up her meat loaf.
- "Oh, he's good alright… Always been… I'm not worried about the battling part of the exam; he's a certain to pass. I just want to make sure that this time he'll be following orders. That's why I'm keeping him on a strict program." said Quistis. "What's good to eat?" she asked.
- "Hotdogs. If you ever get through that line…" said Zell pointing at a huge queue behind the counter that sold hotdogs.
- "Besides hotdogs?" asked Quistis smiling.
- "Burgers are good. With some mashed potatoes. That's what I got." said Irvine.
- "Looks good. I'll go get some for myself…" said Quistis getting up.
She walked over to the counters and as she did so, almost every student in line turned around to say 'Hello' and kindly gave up their position in line to let her go through first. Quistis found herself dragged in front of the queue and evidently, she ended up ordering a couple of hotdogs and French fries. Quistis went back to the table and sat down on her chair, noticing that Zell looked as if some bully had taken away his favorite toy.
- "You… you got through… You got h-h-hotdogs…" he said looking dazed. Quistis looked at him in pity, as his mouth watered up.
- "Here, you have them…" she said pushing her plate towards him.
- "Y-y-you don't want them?" he asked, as if she was presenting him with treasure.
- "Nah, I'm not really that hungry…"
- "You sure?"
- "Zell, eat the Hyne damn hotdogs before I change my mind…"
- "But what will you eat?" asked Irvine as Zell greedily grabbed one hotdog and took a huge bite.
- "I'll just eat the fries…" said Quistis. ("Oh… heavenly food…" mumbled Zell.)
- "Quistis, you've been training for three hours!" said Rinoa. "Surely only a few fries aren't going to get you through the day?"
- "I ate a big breakfast, don't worry…" said Quistis.
- "Man this training is killing me!" said Irvine rubbing his neck. "I'd forgotten how hard it was…"
- "'Ey, 'ou 'anted to beham a HeeD…" said Zell with a stuffed mouth.
- "I must be a frickin' masochist…" said Irvine sighing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was lying in his bed, writing something on a notebook. 'Just another month in this Hyne forsaken place and I'm gone! I'll get that stupid SeeD title to shut everyone up and then get the hell outta here… And maybe have some fun with the instructor while I'm at it…' He smirked at that last sentence. 'Damn, I've forgotten how good she looked… But ice cold as always… Although she seems to be thawing out a bit lately… Either way, she'll be easy to fall…' he wrote. He closed what was obviously a journal and put it back inside the drawer in his nightstand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A few days later…
Quistis sat on her window ledge having the feeling that something wasn't going on well with Seifer. On the days that preceded, she'd been under the impression that he was being awfully nice to her. Maybe even flirtatious... She looked over at the bright, silvery moon and sighed. The clock read 2:14 a.m. but she didn't care; tomorrow was Saturday and she had no lessons with Seifer. She hadn't been able to sleep. She kept having flashbacks of the previous days…
**FLASHBACK**
- "…there are monsters whose list of drawing spells not only upgrades with leveling up, but also gets filled with new ones." said Quistis. "For example, the T-Rexaur…" she began, but stopped because she noticed Seifer staring at her in a really weird way. "What? What's wrong? Something you didn't understand?" she asked.
- "E-excuse me?" asked Seifer startled, as if having woken up from a dream.
- "Seifer, were you paying any attention?" she asked impatiently.
- "Of course I was!" he said offended.
- "What was I just saying then?" she asked crossing her arms.
- "You were talking about the list of drawing spells that upgrades when monsters level up. You were just about to talk about the T-Rexaur." he replied instantly.
- "Well…" said Quistis "I guess you were paying attention… As I was saying, the T-Rexaur not only has an upgraded version of Fire and Thunder, meaning Fira and Thundara, but also Quakes. Got that?"
- "Yep." he replied smiling broadly.
- "OK, let's head for our training then…" she said getting up from her chair and heading towards the 2nd floor classroom door. Seifer sprinted there first.
- "Allow me…" he said opening the door for her. "Ladies first…" he said giving her a charming smile. Quistis froze on her position and looked stunned.
- "Seifer, are you feeling alright?" she asked.
- "Fine! Never been better!" he replied cheerfully.
- "O - K…" said Quistis walking outside the classroom. Seifer closed the door and ran behind her.
- "So, what are we gonna do today?" he asked sportingly.
- "I figured I'd let you handle a bit more powerful spells, like Quakes. They're not SeeD test level of course, but you already know how to handle low level spells by now."
- "Excellent…" said Seifer.
They silently walked down the corridor and at the turn, a student emerged out of nowhere running wildly. He would have collided with Quistis, if Seifer hadn't been quick enough to move her out of the way. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him, making her fall right into his arms. Quistis didn't have time to realize what had exactly happened, but she found herself being tightly held by Seifer's strong arms. She was so close, she could smell his perfume, feel each and every muscle on his abs, listen to his heart race. They looked at each other's eyes. Blue and green rays met. Quistis noticed that he was breathing heavily. But then again, so was she. Momentarily, she caught herself enjoying the fact that she was in his arms, their chests touching each other, but soon she mentally shook herself straight and realized the position she was in. She was an instructor and a student was practically hugging her. If anyone saw them like that, it would be hard to believe what had actually happened.
- "Thanks. You… You can let go now…" she said.
- "Alright…" he said, loosening his grip.
Quistis was almost certain that he'd been reluctant to let her off his arms. Hyne knows how much reluctant she had been to ask him to…
**END OF FLASHBACK**
Quistis sighed as she remembered that evening. She closed her eyes and remembered his smell… She thought of being held by him once again, he was looking at her eyes again, he was leaning in, his lips were touch… "What?!" she said out loud shooting her eyes open. 'Did I just think of…?' she wondered. 'Oh boy… I need to get a boyfriend… FAST. I've been alone for so long, I've even been having dreams of Seifer…' she thought and started laughing. She laughed hard for quite some time and then suddenly stopped. 'Why does that seem so funny? I mean, he might not be the nicest guy out there, but…' She thought of his tall figure, his golden blond hair, his emerald green eyes and finally his body… Oh how she'd love to touch every single curve of that body… She couldn't imagine which woman wouldn't… "Enough!" she said out loud. 'He's my student and I CAN'T have sexual thoughts for him! I mean I'm NOT! I'm NOT having sexual thoughts of him… I've just been loveless for too long…' she thought. 'Oh, yeah?' said a nagging little voice in the back of her head. 'Then why did you keep staring at his ass this morning?'
**FLASHBACK**
They'd just been done from training. They had gone to the plains outside Garden for bigger variety of monsters. Once again, they'd come across a T-Rexaur, which made their life difficult. When they were done they walked over to the beach, to clean themselves up a bit. Seifer was drenched in sweat and after wiping his wet forehead, he took off his trench coat. Quistis couldn't help but notice his perfectly shaped abs and muscles. His thin waist formed a 'V' with his wide shoulders, his sleeveless T-shirt revealed his muscular arms and as he kneeled on the shore to cup a handful of water, Quistis noticed part of a tattoo on his shoulder blade. Being as it was, that he was standing right in front of her, bent down, she was unable to miss his butt. 'Wow…' she thought raising an eyebrow. Just then, he got back up and Quistis shook her head to take her mind off… things…
- "Whew… Hard day, huh instructor?" he asked turning around to look at her.
- "Tell me about it… I think we should cancel this evening's lesson. We did a lot of work this morning." she said, sitting down on a rock to rest.
- "Oh, that'd be great!" said Seifer delighted. "I could really use a bit of rest. Are you sure?" he asked.
- "Yeah… You did really well today." she said. Seifer beamed, then kneeled back down and threw some more water on his face.
- "And what about the weather huh?!" he said smiling. "Summer's really starting to kick in! It's already June."
- "Indeed…" said Quistis. "It's beginning to get really hot out here…"
- "How 'bout it instructor?" said Seifer with a weird glint on his face that always meant bad news. "Up for a swim?" he asked.
- "A swim?" she said surprised.
- "Yeah! The weather's hot, the sea's great… What more could we ask for?" he said shrugging.
- "Two pairs of bathing suits perhaps?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Some towels maybe?" she added.
- "Towels are for sissies! It's too hot for a towel anyway! The sun'll dry us off" he said. "And as for bathing suits, we're already wearing them!"
- "You might… I'm not wearing any." she said.
- "You are wearing underwear right?" he asked smirking.
- "Of course." she said. "But certainly you're not suggesting…"
- "Yes I am! What do you think I'm diving in with? My boxers of course…"
- "Forget it." she said firmly.
- "Oh, come on! Weren't you just saying how hot it is out here?"
- "Seifer, I'm not diving in with my underwear!"
- "Why not?" he whined.
- "Because I don't go around showing my underwear to just anyone!"
- "Would you dive in if you were wearing a bathing suit?"
- "Yeah, sure…"
- "Then what's the big difference? Either way, you'd allow me to see the same amount of skin… Oh wait… Are you wearing a g-string?"
- "That's it, I'm out of here!" she said furiously, turning her heel.
- "Wait! If you are, I'll understand why you don't want to show me!"
- "I'm not wearing a g-string! Satisfied?"
- "Then what's the problem?" he asked exasperated.
- "Seifer…"
- "Oh, are they those lacy kinda things that…" he began, but saw that Quistis was about to slap him "I'm only kidding!"
- "Look. My underwear is just - plain - normal, OK?" she said, trying to remain calm.
- "Then dive in! Come on! Please?"
- "Have you got any idea of the trouble I'll be in, if I'm seen swimming around in my underwear with a student?" she asked seriously.
- "No-one from Garden comes around this place, unless they're training and I'm the only student doing that right now. Everyone else has revision for the exams, but no actual lessons. No-one could possibly see us." he said.
- "You're forgetting Irvine…"
- "Oh come on Quistis!" he said. He saw that she opened her mouth to correct him, so he interrupted her. "And don't you dare go correcting me, because we're not having a lesson right now. Lighten up a bit! I mean, you're eighteen for Hyne's sake! Act a bit more like your age!"
- "In case it has slipped your mind, I'm an instructor…"
- "Yeah, but you're also a person. A teenager to be more specific. Just… let go from time to time, will ya? Have some fun when you get the chance to…"
- "*Sigh* You're not gonna back off, are you?" she asked.
- "He, he…" he laughed "You know you want to, so stop playing hard to get… If it makes you feel better, I'll turn around when you're undressing."
- "I must be going insane…" she said smiling.
- "Yes!" he said delighted. "I haven't had a chance to swim for ages!" he said taking his T-shirt off.
- "Hey, hey wait a sec!" said Quistis, motioning him to stop.
- "What, what's wrong?" he asked, holding his T-shirt with one hand. 'Hyne, what a body…' Quistis thought, while receiving complete view of his perfectly chiseled chest.
- "I need to avert my eyes from the horrible sight…" she said smirking. "We'll both turn around."
- "OK…" he said smiling, turning around.
As he turned his back, Quistis stood there gaping at him. He'd gotten a huge tattoo on his entire back. It was the Fire Cross, the exact same one he sported on the sleeve of his trench coat. It was really impressive… Quistis caught herself looking at it and totally forgot about starting to get undressed. Seifer reminded her though, as he took off his shoes and pants. Quistis caught another glimpse of his ass and stared at it longingly.
- "Are you ready?" asked Seifer, when he was only wearing his boxers.
- "Uhh… No, not yet…" said Quistis jolting back to reality, quickly starting to undress.
- "What were you doing all this time?" he asked impatiently.
- "My… uhh… my boots." said Quistis suddenly. "They're a bit hard to remove…"
- "Need any help?" he asked.
- "No, I'm fine." she said pulling them out. "I'll just be another a minute…"
- "Alright…" said Seifer crossing his arms and walking over to the shore.
Quistis pulled her shirt off, her skirt down and gave herself a quick look. 'Thank Hyne I've shaved…' she thought.
- "Are you done yet?" asked Seifer in a bored tone.
- "Just a sec…" said Quistis, getting a weird smile on her face.
Slowly, she crept up behind him, trying to make no noise. She wanted to catch Seifer off guard and push him into the water. His position was perfect; he was standing there, right on the shore, his feet in the water… Just one push would do the trick… However, Seifer saw her shadow approaching and just when she was a few inches away, he turned around, grabbed her from the arms and threw her right into the sea. Quistis only had time to let out a small squeal, before finding herself choking on salty water. When she pushed her head back on the surface, she saw Seifer laughing his head off.
- "Mess with the best, die like the rest kiddo…" he said mockingly, crossing his arms.
- "My words exactly…" said Quistis, swiftly giving him a light kick on the knee pit, making him fall in as well.
- "You - are - so - dead!" said Seifer, emerging from the water with a piece of sea weed stuck on his hair.
Quistis laughed mischievously as she saw Seifer's state right now and that made him even madder. Suddenly, he jumped up from the water and landed right on top of her, pushing her down from the shoulders, back under the surface. Quistis swallowed yet again a great amount of salty water, until Seifer grabbed her arms and pulled her back up. She opened her eyes, coughing and breathing deeply, while Seifer was still gripping her arms firmly.
- "Say you're sorry!" he said.
- "*Cough* Never!" replied Quistis.
- "I see we'll have to do this the hard way!" he said pushing her back down. "Well?" he asked when she was back up. Quistis spat water on his face and laughed hysterically. He quickly wiped his face with one hand, while still holding her with the other. "Oh you're paying for that…" he said with a half serious-half amused look.
- "Make me!" she said, provoking him.
Seifer grabbed her with his other hand as well, but he loosened his grip. He looked deep into her eyes and took a really serious-looking expression. Quistis wasn't laughing anymore either… Seifer bit his bottom lip lightly. He rubbed her arms at the place he had been holding them. Quistis felt her whole body numb. He hesitantly swallowed and ever-so-slowly, he leaned in. Quistis felt her heart pound like a drum. He was getting dangerously close; she could hear him breathe. He was closing his eyes now. Without even thinking about it, she did as well… She'd almost forgotten what being kissed felt like… And now there she was, an instructor, with her student, about to… Wait a second… 'MY STUDENT?!' she thought. 'What the HELL am I doing?' Suddenly, she pressed her hands against Seifer's chest and pushed him away before he got the chance to do anything.
- "I… I-I've got to go…" she said in a terrified voice. She quickly ran out of the water, grabbed her clothes and shoes from the sand and took off.
- "Quistis wait!" yelled Seifer, but she was already gone. "Dammit!" he said throwing a punch at the water.
**END OF FLASHBACK**
Quistis sighed heavily and looked back at the glowing moon. 'It's just an infatuation… I could never possibly… Not with Seifer… Just an infatuation… Yes, that's right… 'Cause he's cute and all… But I'm not the kind of girl who'll fall for just that… Just an infatuation…' she thought closing her eyes…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Now that was some serious Seiftis interaction… And it's bound to get even more serious in future chapters… Y'know, when I originally wrote this chapter I had their first kiss added in as well. But when I read it again, it seemed to be much too soon for it… I mean, I've got to torture you guys a bit, don't I? ; -)
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
What will the next day be like for Seifer and Quistis? Normal? Awkward? Unbearable?
Quistis feels the need to talk to someone about the recent events taking place in her life. Who will she talk to and exactly how much is she going to 'bring to light'?
Rinoa and Selphie have arranged a little surprise for Quistis, which will bring her in a really awkward position.
And finally… When poor Quisty gets confronted by some friends to reveal the identity of the person she's beginning to take a liking to… who will she name?
STAY TUNED FOR MORE!