~*~ When Did This Happen? ~*~
:: Seiftis. Squffie hints. (Quistis x Seifer, Squall x Selphie) ::
Chapter Thirteen: Fun with Vents
~Silverium~
Disclaimer: Squaresoft. Not Silver.
Squall winced but he found himself smiling. Scooting closer to Selphie He helped her find the screws and the appropriate appendage to her multi-tool. Soon the tiny grate was open.
"Squall, how will we fit through there?" Selphie asked, her eyes wide,
"I don't know, is that the vent?"
"Yes."
"Take it off, so we can see the floor below, that should give us some natural light from the windows there," Squall instructed, his mind calculating swiftly.
It took no time for Selphie's thin arm to stretch down and unclasp the vent. She made quite a racket trying to jar the thing loose but soon it crashed on to the floor below and her pale face seemed to grow rosier at the sight of freedom. Now that Squall could see the brunette his hard gaze softened, tears had streaked down her cheeks and her eyes were still glassy. Unable to resist he pulled back a lock of her hair and leaned forward, kissing her forehead lightly,
"You are really scared of the dark," He whispered in awe, "even though everything is the same,"
"It feels empty." Selphie replied quietly, "I thought…I thought once I had your darkness, it felt warm, like everything was there, but this darkness is just cold. I don't like cold darkness."
Squall smiled a tiny smile, which in turn received one of Selphie's brilliant grins. She leaned up and shyly kissed his cheek before the two set upon examining the floor. Squall stood up and motioned Selphie aside. Drawing his gunblade he made an invisible line stretching from the vent out a few inches,
"This should be soft metal, right?"
"Yes, only a little bit from the vent, go in a bit," Selphie nodded, "Are you going to split it?"
"If we can make this wider we might be able to get you out, then you can unlock the door like you did before," Squall mused absently,
"YEAH!"
With a roll of his eyes Squall swung mightily and slashed into the metal. It twisted and split against his blade. The noise was terrible, a fierce screech of metal on metal, but when he was done Squall breathed easier, looking at a square foot gap.
"I'm still going to be too big for that," Selphie said, regrettably.
"But the softer metal will be all around the vent right? I can open it up more?"
"Probably," Selphie agreed, standing back with a silly grin on her face.
When he was completely finished they had a hole that with some difficulty, Selphie was able to squeeze through. She landed on the ground and performed a little dance, throwing a peace sign up to Squall, and then skirted up the stairs.
Squall sat silently, waiting for the girl. He had been so intent upon rescuing her, his determination to keep her from being scared, being sad, alarmed him. He had never looked or thought about Selphie in that way but her soft revelations to him, her quiet admittance of fears had drawn out something in the stoic leader.
A scratching at the door made Squall look up and he heard a muttered curse before the door opened a crack. He could hear Selphie struggling to open it all the way so he got up and pushed against it, leaning all his weight into the door.
"Squally!"
Squall's eyes widened as the smudged blur of yellow slammed into him, throwing him against the now shut door. He shut his eyes and felt a stabbing pain lance up his hurt side but with Selphie's arms bear-hugging him and her excited chatter rambling in his ears he couldn't think of anywhere he'd want to be more. Looking up and blinking at her emerald eyes he smiled helplessly and even chuckled.
"That was SO scary but it's over now, we really should find Zell, hm. Maybe they won't make us find all the pieces, I bet I can reconstruct the plane without them all, they never said I had to get it up and running, only make it look whole again. Cid always likes to put the planes on display. Lets go to the security building, Zell's there, he's going to be SO mad that we didn't help him but that's okay 'cause better late than never, right Squally?"
"Yep," Squall replied, snaking his arm around her and shaking his head as they walked through the old generator building and out into the sunshine,
"Awww, cute! You said 'yep'." Selphie chirped, practically skipping alongside him, "And you're even smiling! I am such the luckiest girl!"
Listening to her sing along, her voice bright and high-pitched under the blue sky gave the silent man time to think. She was always providing him with time to think. Somehow being near her Squall was becoming more light-hearted. More like her. The vibrant rays stung their eyes when they were first subjected to them, and Squall shielded his face with his free hand, looking around,
"I passed the security building the last time I was here, it's this way,"
"Okee-dokee!" Selphie grinned.
Squall looked down at the copper halo the sun made in her hair. Selphie was so genuine, she never played someone else. Rinoa was always trying to be cool and collected like Quistis, as if she could be a leader, but she couldn't. Selphie never did that, she was just naturally happy and cute.
"Cute." Squall mused aloud,
"Hm? What is?" Selphie asked, her green eyes looking up innocently,
Squall blinked and looked down at her before a grin spread across his lips, "You are,"
"You think I'm CUTE?" Selphie's eyes widened,
"Yeah, I do," Squall nodded, his eyes returning to the dusty streets, "I think—mmf!"
Selphie had thrown herself at him, wrapping her arms and legs around the black-clad man, and had pressed her lips to his. Caught entirely by surprising Squall's eyes widened then instinctively shut, arms holding the girl against him. Her lips were soft, against him gently, and when they parted she looked just as dazzled as he felt.
"Selphie." Squall stared,
Selphie turned a faint pink and slid down him, "Ah…maybe I was t-too forward…"
"In the middle of the street? Haven't you heard of quiet corner moments?" Squall asked, bewildered,
"Maybe you should teach me about them," The girl returned with an impish grin,
Hanging his head and laughing, an odd sound even to himself, Squall resumed walking, throwing his arm around her shoulders, "Yeah, I'll see what I can do. But first, Zell."
~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note! (Yaaaay!)
So you guys are the best and most wonderful people ever! ::hands out Hershey's Kisses and Hugs since it's nearing Valentine's Day:: I've never had so much support before, and I really appreciate it. Here are the semi-updated shout outs, if I miss you, don't panic, I'll get you in the next one! Muwa ha ha ha ha. Remarkably University hasn't interrupted my flow ::knocks on wood:: …yet, so the chapters are still being rolled out. I'm nearing the end, and I'll be really sad when this is over. It's customary of me to ask this question: What are your favourite pairings? Hopefully Squffie and Seiftis, for yaoi I'm a Squall X Irvine type gal, can't help it…and do any of you watch/play/read Weiß Kreuz, Chrono Cross or FFVI (FFIII in North America)? I love those games/anime. If you like my writing, and want to see a pairing or game or story or whatever made into a fanfic just leave me a note, maybe I've heard of the series and can do something for you. We'll see.
Juliet3~ It's kind of nice when a plot develops, eh?
Frost~ It's weird juggling two couples, I hope I don't overplay one and underplay the other! As for Rinoa…It's not to say I hate her…but um, I'm not a huge fan. And she's not a real SeeD…but…I'll have her come in…sometime… ::sweatdrop::
Satanic Purple Onion~ Seffie takes a lot of beatings, so does Quisty, poor chicas.
Verdanii~ You did review them all! ::smiles:: the reviews don't come up automatically, but now you have signed them all, so very sweet of you! I can't believe you've left so many, over 2000+?! Waaaaai!
Aramaring~ If you like kisses you will LOVE this fic. ^-~
Natsu~ Unlikely pairings rock. I'm also a fan of Quistis X Irvine, and Selphie X Seifer, but I can't stand Zell X Quistis, nope, nope nope.
Aeris Deathscythe~ I'm updating! I'm updating!
Chibi Angel of Kamikaze~ Don't worry, lots of Squall coming up ^^;
DBH~ Spiders and showers are a wonderful mix...wait, wonderful if they're separate. I remember finding a spider in my shower and screaming really loudly, dancing, and jumping out of there a la Selphie.
Candace~ Why thank you, it was supposed to be really simple…and then it grew o.o
That's all for now! Cheers!
