~*~ When Did This Happen? ~*~

:: Seiftis. Squffie hints. (Quistis x Seifer, Squall x Selphie) ::

Chapter Nineteen: Nearing Breaking Point

~Silverium~

Disclaimer: Squaresoft. Not Silver.

Note: The PG 13 rating is for language…and those romantic moments of course.

 "She's HERE!" Selphie burst into the lounge and grabbed Squall and Irvine's hands, "Xu told me Quistis arrived!"

            "Selphie, you were up until 5:30am, and woke up at 8:00am, how the hell are you so cheerful? Are you wired on caffeine? Do you have a sugar IV hooked up under your pillow?" Zell growled as he slowly got up off the couch,

            "Quisty's here! Whoo hoo! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

            "Someone, cork her." Seifer muttered as he trailed

            "Listen Mr. Grumbles—"

            "Finish that sentence Tilmitt and I'll lock you in a closet." Seifer warned,

            Selphie settled for another sticking out of the tongue. Squall ignored it all, and calmly walked out the door. When everyone was out and following he slowed down to let them catch up. Smiles were seen all around, most in relief for the return of Quistis. They trooped into the elevator ("I wanna push the button!" "I'll push your button Selphie, namely the 'off' one." "Seifer, no, just…no." "Stuff it Cowboy.") and then down the stairs. At the bottom with a small bag and standing behind Xu was Trepe. Xu announced their arrival, though it was loud enough for Quistis to hear, and she stepped forward a little awkwardly but struck a pose,

            "Check it out! Badass Quistis!" She said, a grin on her face.

            She was in dress pants, black, with shiny black boots. A small turtleneck sleeveless black halter-top was covered mostly with a short leather jacket, also black; it resembled Squall's with white fur around the collar and cuffs. She wore dark shades on her face, blocking their view of her eyes.

            "Holy…" Seifer's eyes were saucers,

            "Quistis! You're totally awesome!" Selphie shrieked, running forward and bouncing at the side of her friend,

            "Squall has competition," Irvine smirked, while Squall stared openly.

            So maybe it wasn't just him, maybe everyone looked good in black leather. It nearly made him distraught, but vanity took over. If Quistis looked that good, he must be dazzling. Squall stepped up and tapped Quistis to alert her where to look,

            "We're glad you're back." He said quietly,

            Quistis' smile grew more serious, "Thank you Squall, it's good to be back."

            "Are you going be able to see?" Selphie piped up, unable to help herself,

            "Maybe," Quistis whispered, her worry surfacing, though she covered it nearly instantly, "Cid promised me a job no matter what,"

            "Cid would never kick you out Quisty, is that what you were scared of? We'd beat him up if he did that!" Selphie grinned,

            "Selphie!"

            "What? We would. Wouldn't we?" Selphie paused then narrowed her eyes, "I would. Super-Selphie Dominatrix fighter YEAH!"

            Irvine shook his head and chuckled. They led Quistis to the lounge and spent an enjoyable day together, with lots of laughing. Quistis felt relieved to be there again, as if nothing was wrong. She felt isolated in her world of darkness but continuously prayed that it wouldn't last long. Near the end of the evening she stood up and turned to her right instinctively, as she usually would, but this sudden movement caused her to crash right into Seifer. With a squeak she rocked on her heels backwards and the shades slipped from her eyes.

            Collectively they all turned and stared as Quistis frantically dropped to her knees, searching for the accessory she used to hide behind. Seifer blinked in surprise, as he gazed into the orbs of Quistis Trepe. They were an off white, holding only the barest shade of blue. Where were the dark crystals he had longed to stare into? Where were the eyes that matched the sky on the most brilliant day? He looked at the others, and saw the same expressions on their faces, even Squall looked amazed.

            Cursing softly Seifer dropped down by Quistis, who had started to shake, with her cheeks blushing. He picked up the shades easily and then covered her hands with one of his own,

            "I've got them, hey, hold on Trepe," He said quietly,

            Quistis drew in a shuddering breath. She was humiliated. She knew what her eyes looked like, the doctor had told her that the pigment was gone. She felt Seifer gently hold her face and slip the sunglasses back into place. Closing her eyes and swallowing her tears she pressed her lips together and let him help her up. Summoning a mental view of the lounge she pushed past Seifer with a tight, "Please move."

            Everyone else darted out of her way as she left the room. Looking crushed, Selphie ran after her while the gentlemen just stood helplessly. Seifer felt sick, if Trepe didn't get her sight back she would break. He could see that Squall understood this, the stoic leader had a chiseled blank look, but his eyes burned.

            "All right, no one says anything to Trepe," Seifer ground out, "treat her as normal. And…I've got an idea."

            "But…" Zell began,

            "No Zell, she needs to do this by herself." Seifer snapped, "I mean it."

            Seifer quietly pulled Squall aside and whispered in his ear. The dark-haired man nodded, his eyes even softened, and then they split up, one by one filing out. Last to leave and all alone, Seifer slammed his fist into the wall. Quistis couldn't break. She held them all together.

~*~*~*~

Author's Note: I've been lazy!!! Wow, I've got lots of thanks to do. I remember signing into MSN (a rare thing indeed) and seeing five new emails. Despairing and thinking they were forwards I opened my inbox to see a mini flood of  "[Fanfiction.net] Review Alert!". Beside that in my junk mail folder there were an additional two, I laughed and though, "imagine if those were reviews as well, that'd make my day." Needless to say my day was made. Now I have mass chunks of reviews, and I'm adoring every one of them. Honestly…you guys have no idea how touching this is. So, here is the long list of thanks…and…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERDANII, SWEET 16! (A bit late, but I thought it should be mentioned)

Jordan Herrick ~ Tee hee, I love cliffhangers over weekends.

Candace ~ Whee! I won you over to the Selphie x Squall pairing. I feel proud…

Aramaring ~ You like kisses? I shall give you kisses! Er..I mean…I'll give you Squall x Selphie kisses…

Satanic-Purple-Onion ~ Empire Records! Great movie. I applaud your Mark-like scream.

Frost ~ Yeah…Rinoa…ick. I don't know, Squaresoft erks me with those characters. Aeris, Rinoa, Garnet, Yuna. Bleccch!

QSan ~ I updated! You don't have to cry! Please don't cry ;_;

Jade Stellar ~ I love your name, and cuterific? Nice!

DBH ~ Hmm…Selphie singing the train song and Squall kissing her to shut her up…that's a very, very good idea… * ponders *

Aeris Deathscythe ~ I'm glad you like this fic. It likes to be liked. I like to be liked.

Frost, Aramaring, and Jade Stellar ~ Tee hee, Selphie's personality just begged to have a quirk like that. My friends and I have a series of jokes on how we like dominant males but we can never find them, so to make up for the lack if we want something from someone else we usually cry, "Hey, pass the chips…NOW BITCH!" and all laugh…we're weird…

Chibi Angelo of Kamikazi ~ I'm updating! Really! I am!

Juliet3 ~ Quisty and Seiffy do need to be happy. With each other. And it will happen. I hope. ^-~

Whee! All right. Keep reading you lovely people.

~Silverium.