~*~ When Did This Happen? ~*~
:: Seiftis. Squffie hints. (Quistis x Seifer, Squall x Selphie) ::
Chapter Thirty-One: Lookin' Good in Leather
~Silverium~
Disclaimer: Squaresoft. Not Silver.
"What's taking them so long?" Selphie agonized, squirming in her seat,
"Well, the medicine probably hasn't worked automatically," Zell shrugged, eyeing the bowl of chips in the middle of the table,
"Zell, no," Selphie said absently, "How long do you think they'll take?"
"Seifer will want to see her," Squall murmured, gazing off out the window,
Selphie looked at him curiously which made Squall turn faintly pink, "Come on Selphie. He likes her, we all know this right?"
"Seifer? Yeah, he's crazy about our Quisty," Irvine grinned roguishly, "that could be what's takin' them so long…ya know, Quistis doesn't mind Seifer that much either,"
Selphie giggled behind her hand, making the gents laugh. In the middle of their laughter the door burst open and with a shriek Selphie jumped up and threw a handful of confetti she had been holding. Squall, Nida, and Xu all stood up, and Zell dove for the chips while Selphie was occupied.
"SURPRISE!"
Quistis, standing, her face pink and her eyes dazzling, stared and then her shoulders dropped and her eyes teared up. Seifer stood behind her, his arm on her shoulder smiling a tight smile that bordered on concealed giddiness. Quistis looked around the room, soaking up the vibrant colours. She stared at her friends, realizing she had taken the sight of them for granted as well. Numbly she moved in slowly and stared with wide eyes.
"Selphie this is beautiful," She whispered, touched,
"Quisty!" Selphie pounced and cuddled the blonde happily,
Quistis returned the hug just as tightly and then was alternatively hugged by every one else in the room. A few times she was reduced to tears by the looks of love she received from her friends but soon she was laughing and sitting on a couch between Seifer and Selphie. Squall and Irvine shared another couch and Zell, Nida and Xu were on the other.
"We have gifts for you Quistis!" Selphie grinned, pulling a few packages forward,
"Oh, you shouldn't have!" Quistis exclaimed, her heart breaking at the generosity of her companions, the day had been so eventful.
She opened the first one and grinned, looking over the leather clothes with excitement. Instantly her eyes found Squall and Selphie, it was obvious who had picked these out.
"These are great," She said, eyes dancing,
"Now you can look as badass and sexy as Squally!" Selphie chirped, "I want to get a picture of us all dressed like that,"
"Now that would make a good picture," Irvine nodded with a smirk,
"I love them," Quistis nodded, folding everything back up and carefully putting it aside,
"Next is from me," Irvine announced, passing her a new one.
Quistis opened it up carefully and then her eyes widened, holding up a sculpture, "How…?"
"We're not sure ourselves, I think it's a gift from both me and Shiva. I went back to the training room to get your whip, and I found it there, it won't melt, we tried." Irvine said appreciatively.
Quistis stared and held it up to the light. Frozen in a pointed shard of ice was the canine tooth of the T-Rexasaur she had fought. It was suspended perfectly in the stone-gold ice. Irvine had made a base for it, so she didn't have to touch the cold glassy ice. Setting it down with the utmost care Quistis thanked Irvine profusely and went on to the next. From Zell she received studded leather gloves, fingers cut out. He explained it was to go with her outfit and make her truly lethal, Quistis laughed and tried them on, they fit perfectly. Xu had bought her a crystal vase and filled it with white roses, and from Nida she received a stack of books, including a few romances that she blushed over.
Last up was her present from Seifer. Quistis could barely stop her hands from trembling when she thought of the last words he had spoken to her. Automatically her heart had started pounding again and she looked at him for a brief moment before she undid the wrapping.
Inside was a book and curiously she opened the cover. A hand flew to her mouth and her tears rose up afresh. Pictures of every sunrise for the past week. Pictures of Garden. Pictures of Selphie nearly losing their lunches. Pictures of her friends hanging out, one of her posing to Xu in her leather. Quistis hadn't even known he was there. There were photos of everything she had missed, but it was the sunrises that touched her the most. The crimson-flooded skies, painted gold clouds with the soft pink overtones and dusky blue skies to light them up. As tears cascaded gently down her cheeks she sifted through the pages.
At the very back, suspended in the middle of the page, was a crystal heart pendant on a gold chain. In the middle was a flame, shaped from a ruby, and underneath:
"To Quistis Trepe, my one and only love, who allowed me to break through her icy heart and thaw it from within, I'll love you forever, Seifer Almasy."
Quistis hiccupped and then promptly buried her face in Seifer's chest. He laughed lightly and wrapped her in a tight embrace, kissing her cheek while their friends cooed and looked at the book while Quistis composed herself anew.
"You guys…are the best, the best friends in the world," Quistis sniffled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand and smiling sheepishly, "I love you guys so much."
"Aw Quisty, we love you too!" Selphie waved a hand in front of her eyes, holding back her own tears, "I'm so, so, so glad you can see again."
Quistis nodded but couldn't say anything, she was whole again, and now her heart wasn't frozen.
~*~*~*~
It's not over!!!
