A/N: Ahh… Winter's here. Too bad… Fall is my fav season… I love the depressing-sort-of brown and red colors all over the place…
Anywayz… As promised, this chapter will include a tribute to one of my fav fics out there: 'It's the Sunday morning after' by Jello Ink. It's the first scene… Hee, hee…
Now on the second part of the fic. Have you guys ever read… angsty lemons? Sounds a bit weird? Maybe, but it fits really well with the story and Seifer's 'situation'. You'll see what I mean when you read it… I don't know if you'll like it as it's a bit… twisted. And it's not gonna be like the usual 'boinking' scenes. It's different. It's different 'cause this time it's not an act of lust, but despair….
Chapter 33: Catharsis
Quistis woke up the next morning with a headache. She was lying naked underneath the covers, being held by Seifer. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, facing her. Quistis rubbed her sore forehead and recalled the events of the last night. They'd gone to this rock club Seifer knew of. It was a huge one, packed with people dancing around in frenzy. After many, many drinks, they got up and danced too, until they couldn't move their feet. She then met a blank spot in her past night memories, but recalled their return to their room. They both stumbled across the hallways until they got there and when they did… Quistis grinned. She wouldn't doubt if the whole floor had heard their, erm… shouts last night…
She tried to sit up, still holding her forehead. The insides of her head felt as if they were going to explode from pumping. Quistis groaned in pain. A similar groan came from Seifer.
- "Hey… You're awake?" asked Quistis.
- "Yeah… Am I the only one who feels like his head in going to split up into millions of pieces?" he asked.
- "Trust me… You're not…" replied Quistis.
- "*Ungh* We did have a good time though, right?" he asked grinning.
- "Definitely…" said Quistis sitting up "OW!" she yelped in pain.
- "What? What is it?" asked Seifer jolting up from bed.
- "I dunno… I sat up and a shooting pain came from my st…" began Quistis holding her stomach, but suddenly froze in place.
He fingers touched something metallic sticking out from her belly. She looked under the covers and shot her eyes open.
- "Oh my Hyne…" she said breathlessly.
- "What?!" asked Seifer worriedly.
- "I've got a belly-button ring!" said Quistis in despair "I got my belly-button pierced!"
- "Really?!" said Seifer excitedly "Cool!"
- "It's not cool! It's…" said Quistis turning around to look at him, but froze again.
- "What?" asked Seifer.
- "That." said Quistis touching his right eyebrow, which was now 'decorated' by two small metallic beads.
- "Ow…" said Seifer, touching it as well "Wow… I got my eyebrow pierced?!" he asked. Quistis nodded "Damn, what did we do last night?!" he said chuckling.
- "It's not funny…" said Quistis frowning.
- "C'mon, don't worry…" he said holding her waist "I think it looks really sexy…" he said giving her belly-button a kiss.
- "Oh Hyne…" said Quistis rubbing her forehead "*Sigh* I need to go to the bathroom…"
She lazily got off bed and picked up her underwear from the floor. She put them on and walked inside the bathroom. Seifer lied back down and kept touching his eyebrow, grinning. Suddenly, Quistis stormed out of the bathroom, looking furious.
- "You are NOT letting me drink, EVER again!" she yelled.
- "What now?" asked Seifer sitting up in bed.
- "THIS!" she yelled and put her right leg onto the bed, pointing at her inner thigh.
Seifer's eyes shot wide open as he looked at the small tattoo now adorning Quistis' skin. It was a small red heart with a white ribbon hanging in front of it, which read 'Seifer' in black gothic letters.
- "You got a tattoo with my name?!" he asked chuckling.
- "Damn it Seifer, stop taking this so lightly!" she yelled.
- "Well, how else should I take it? There's nothing we can do about it now, so we might as well see the funny side of it." he said.
- "*Sigh* I'm never drinking again…" she said sitting on the bed.
- "I loved the part of the skin you got it on…" he said grinning mischievously "It's kinda like marking my 'territory'…"
Quistis grabbed a pillow and began banging him hard with it, while laughing along with him.
- "Hey, d'you think I got one too?" he asked after the pillow fight was over.
- "I dunno…" she said looking at him "I can't see anything in front… Turn around." Seifer got up and did so.
- "Well?" he asked.
- "Oh, you got one alright…" she said laughing.
- "Where?!" he asked excitedly.
- "On your right cheek."
- "My right…?" he began saying, puzzled "I got it on my ass?!" he yelled.
- "Oh yeah… Just like mine, only it says 'Quistis' on it… I guess that marks my territory…" she said grinning, slapping him on the tattoo lightly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis and Seifer spent the rest of the day walking around Esthar and its surroundings. They visited the Sorceress Memorial, the Lunar Gate, as well as many sights inside the city. They had lunch outside and finally returned at the Hotel in the afternoon. It was already 9:30 when they were sitting on the couch, in front of the television. They were watching a horror movie that was on -at least that was what the director intended it to be-. Quistis was staring at the screen bored, resting her head on her fist. Next to her, Seifer was already sound asleep. She turned the TV off through the remote control and nudged Seifer a bit.
- "Baby? Get up… Let's go sleep on the bed…" she said softly.
- "Mmm?" mumbled Seifer, half-opening his eyes.
- "You fell asleep on the couch. Let's go up to the bed."
- "OK…" said Seifer, lazily getting up.
- "I'll be with you in a sec… I'm going to the bathroom…" said Quistis.
When she was back out, she found Seifer covered underneath the blankets, sleeping deeply. She smiled and walked over to the bed. She carefully slid under the covers and lied next to him.
- "Goodnight kitten…" said Seifer, with eyes still closed.
- "'Night bunny…" said Quistis giving him a kiss on the forehead, then covering herself up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer's dream…
Seifer was walking around in a foggy, deserted landscape. He was all alone and as he tried to call for someone, no-one answered. He then heard a familiar laughter. It soon began to get louder and louder. Then, through the thick fog emerged a woman.
She was wearing a long red gown, open in the front to reveal her cleavage and she was bare-footed. Huge black wings emerged from her back and moved about slightly. The woman had long silvery-gray hair. Her eyes were flaming red and looked as if blood was dripping from them. Ultimecia…
Seifer felt a shiver run through his entire body at the sight of her. Ultimecia approached him and put a long gloved finger under his chin.
- "The poor, confused boy has grown…" she said.
- "Don't call me 'boy'!" yelled Seifer angrily.
- "Oh, but you are…Such a silly little boy, falling for a beautiful enchantress…" she said.
- "I haven't fallen for you!" he protested.
- "Just like I said it; silly. I don't mean myself boy…" she said laughing.
She then snapped her long fingers and the figure of another woman appeared right next to her; Quistis. She was wearing a long white gown, old and torn. Her blue eyes glistened, but had an expression of ultimate sorrow on them. Her hair hung loose and although her golden waterfall of locks looked dirty and wretched, she still looked like an angel. She seemed to be dazed, under the spell of Ultimecia. The sorceress walked over behind Quistis and ran her fingers on Quistis' slender shoulders. Seifer tried to reach for her, but felt his feet stuck on the ground. Ultimecia laughed once again and ran her snake-like tongue onto Quistis' neck.
- "She's mine now!" she said, slitting Quistis' throat with one of her long nails.
A long gash appeared on Quistis' pale neck, as Ultimecia laughed hysterically and drank her blood. Seifer moved around frantically, trying to run towards her, but no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't move. Quistis' head tilted on one side and looked at him with eyes half open.
- "Seifer, help me…" she whispered, as a tear ran down her face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "Quistis!" said Seifer breathlessly, jolting up from bed.
He was drenched in sweat and was shaking from fear. The dauntless Seifer Almasy had only one nightmare that haunted him at nights; Ultimecia. When under her control he couldn't think, he couldn't act in his own free will. He just followed her like a puppet and did as he was told to. But the only outcome was that he kept humiliating himself, as he never could use his strengths to the extent he was able to when he had all his senses. But right now, that was the least he was concerned about… The last thing he wanted, was to have Quistis in his nightmares as well. He couldn't bear the thought of Ultimecia coming back and taking her away from him…
He smiled awkwardly as he thought that it had just been a nightmare and turned to his left to look at his lover sleeping peacefully. To his terror, the place she slept in was empty. Horrified, he jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, hoping to find Quistis in there. He swung the door open and found no-one. He walked back into the room, holding his head with both hands in despair. He felt his mind blur, he couldn't think right. 'Please… PLEASE Hyne; don't let that nightmare be true… Don't… I'll never be able to cope with it…' he thought. Feeling his knees weak, he fell on the floor still holding his head.
Just then, the door to the room opened and Quistis walked inside, wearing Seifer's black trench coat. She was soaking wet.
- "Seifer?" she asked puzzled, when she saw him down on the floor.
- "Quistis?! Where were you?!" he asked getting up, walking over to her.
- "I couldn't sleep, so I just went out for a walk…" she said closing the door behind her "But it started raining, so I came back."
- "Don't you EVER do that to me again!" he yelled grabbing her wrists.
- "Do what?"
- "Leave like that without a warning!"
- "Seifer, I only went for a walk…"
- "I DON'T CARE!!!" he yelled. His eyes were glistening in anger and his look resembled the one he had when they were fighting in the forest before the met the T-Rexaurs. It was the second time in her life that Quistis felt afraid of him.
- "What the hell got into you?!" she asked, getting angry herself.
- "Shut up!" he said slapping her "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"
Quistis was left thunderstruck. She held her burning cheek and looked at the man before her. Seifer seemed to have lost it; he had a look of mixed terror and anger on his face.
- "Seifer…Are you going mad?" she asked faintly.
- "Hyne… Why are you doing this to me?" he asked almost pleadingly.
- "Doing what?"
- "You're scaring me…" he said cupping her face with both hands and kissing her.
Quistis had never felt more confused in her life. First he yelled at her and hit her and now he was kissing her so tenderly, as if he was afraid of breaking her. What was going on?
Suddenly, the kiss changed; it became more hostile. Seifer grabbed her wrists again and stuck her arms against the door behind her. He stopped kissing her and moved his hungry lips on her neck, biting it hard; he'd never wanted her as much as he did now. Quistis wrapped her arms around his neck and held his back hair softly. Seifer took her arms and shook them off him; he'd be the one making the rules tonight and she would have to comply with whatever he wanted. 'She has to pay for what she did…' thought Seifer. He moved his hands onto her shoulders and roughly removed the trench coat she was wearing, letting it fall to the floor. He then took her in his arms and carried her to the bed. Quistis held him from around the neck and looked puzzled in his eyes. The room was really dim, only the moonlight shed some light in it, but she could still make out the emerald green of his eyes. Only this time, they were darker and scary.
Seifer walked over to the bed with Quistis in his arms and threw her on it. He swiftly got on top of her and looked at her breathing heavily. Quistis put her hand on his cheek and caressed it, but he grabbed in and swung it away. He grabbed her shirt and started unbuttoning it. The rain had made the thin, white shirt almost transparent and Seifer could easily make out her bare breasts underneath it. Having no more patience, he ripped in open, ignoring any buttons left. He left it wide open, still on her body and greedily moved his mouth to her chest, cupping her breasts in both hands. Quistis moaned in pleasure as he made his way down and bit her nipples. Quickly, he pulled away and slid his arms to her thighs. His rough hands made their way up to her underwear underneath her midi skirt and pulled them down her long legs, until them too were discarded to the floor. He removed his hands from her body and took off his boxers.
Without any further ado, he pulled her skirt up to her waist, never removing it. He slid his hands between her thighs and separated them. He grabbed her from the waist and pulled her right onto his groin. He took her wrists and spread her arms on the bed, entering her roughly. He began thrusting hard. His hands now left her arms and were put up against the bed, to hold his weight. Quistis put her hands on his neck, caressing it. Seifer had never been so rough before, but she was enjoying it. At least at first… He was now thrusting so hard, that her moans of pleasure quickly changed into groans of pain.
- "Stop it… You're hurting me…" she said letting out a whimper.
- "You deserve to be hurt… You scared me…" he said without any emotion, but he began to thrust a bit more softly.
Quistis closed her eyes and let go of Seifer's neck. She was again enjoying it, but she was still feeling scared of him; he'd never been like that before.
- "Say you'll never scare me again…" said Seifer between heavy breaths "Say it… I want to hear it." he said holding her face roughly with one hand, while he stopped thrusting for a moment. His eyes were glistening again, but in a different way this time. They didn't read 'fear' anymore, but 'despair'.
- "I'll never scare you again…" said Quistis. As soon as she did, Seifer went on roughly and Quistis let a huge moan escape her lips.
- "Good… I never want to feel like this again…" he said closing his eyes.
As he did so, a tear came running on his cheek. And then another… And another… Quistis looked at him, more confused than ever. He was weeping silently, while going on thrusting hard. He was looking at her as if it was their last night together, as if he was going to lose her forever.
- "Why are you crying?" she asked holding his wet cheeks in her hands "Don't cry…"
- "You're making me cry…" he said as he thrust a few last times, then emptied himself inside her.
He fell heavy onto her chest and sobbed hard. Quistis held his head tenderly and stroked his sweaty hair. He'd never cried in his life before; it felt good, relieving. All his fears through the years, all the things he held inside him poured out of his soul that night. He'd never cried over anything before, yet the thought of losing her made him crack.
- "Don't leave me… Please don't leave me…" he pleaded sobbing, holding her tightly "I won't bear to lose you to anyone… Especially to Ultimecia…" he said. Right then Quistis understood everything.
- "I'll never leave you…Never… Not for Ultimecia or for anyone…" she said kissing him on the head softly.
- "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" he said sobbing harder.
And they stayed like that all night… Him crying hard, her holding him, telling him it would be alright. Seifer cried himself to sleep in his lover's arms as she held him close to her…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Soooo…. What did you guys think of that? I don't really classify that as a pure-blood lemon. You know why? Because it was a mixture of lust, confusion, despair and fear… I dunno why, but so far this is my fav moment of the story… Maybe because it's all about catharsis, like the chapter title states…
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
Sei and Quis return to Garden after their small time-out.
The next day, it's Quistis' birthday (NOTHING like the chapter about Selphie's birthday, I swear) and the gang have prepared something special for her. Will it go as well as planned…?