(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .author's note. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I live!
I think you got it wrong. No, Quistis didn't confess her undying love for Laguna. She still thinks her heart's broken, remember? She just admitted that he . . . erm, 'turns her on,' so to speak.
Love takes a bit longer, folks. Wait a bit.
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. quistis .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
"So, uh . . . Quistis, this hotel's only got one room." Laguna looked around nervously.
I sighed. "We shared a room in Deling, and that only had one bed. This one has," I gestured with an annoyed air, "three. I sleep here, and you can sleep," I pointed, "over there."
"But . . . that was different!" he whined. I ignored him.
A few minutes later, he still was casting furtive looks around the room, but took a nervous seat on 'his' bed anyway. "So, what now?"
I shivered slightly, remembering with slight displeasure the last time he'd said that. . . shirtless . . . and on aforementioned single bed . . . I shook my head dazedly, and answered even more curtly than usual, "Shopping. For food."
"Oh . . ." Laguna looked slightly put out by my tone, but it didn't phase him much. Nothing phased Laguna much. "Ok!" He gave a passing smile as he practically skipped out of the room. I frowned at the feeling in my stomach, but followed.
Laguna smiled brightly at the clerkwoman as we left the hotel, and I raised an eyebrow as the woman blinked, and stared, unbelieving. I sighed, and grabbed him by the elbow.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Laguna didn't know how to tone down his presence. I suppose it was something to do with his Hyne damned charisma, but I sighed as adults furtively stared and children with less tact blatantly pointed.
"Holy crap!" It's the dead guy!"
I gave the child my best reprimanding glare, but as luck would have it, they didn't see it.
Laguna was blessedly oblivious to the attention, or maybe he was just used to it. Although, in Esthar no one had been surprised to see him . . . maybe he walked the streets of Esthar often. "So," he said brightly. "Do you have money on you?" Laguna winked at a young woman slightly older than I.
I caught myself before I scowled. "I have a tab. I'm not exactly poor, what with two months pay overtime for that Sorceress mess a few months ago." I said absently. "So I have plenty-"
"QUISTIS?! What the hell?"
"QUISTY! Quisty's back!"
I swiveled on my heel. Selphie? Zell? What were they doing here?
"What the hell are you doing here?" Zell demanded, and then he looked around . . . I counted the seconds until he noticed my companion. ". . . THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!" Ah. As usual, quite tactful.
Selphie was gushing. "Oh wow, this is sooo cool, its been a long time, Quistis! Well, just a week, but yeah, that's still a long time! Especially since, we, you know, didn't know where you were, and, . . . OOOOOH!" I winced as she punctuated her sentence with a squeal.
I knew that squeal. It's meaning was something akin to 'I'm-gonna-throw- myself-at-you-and-practically-kill-you-but-then-call-it-a-hug.'
Zell was laden down with Selphie's shopping, and couldn't prevent the inevitable . . .and Selphie was now running headlong towards us. I braced myself for impact . . .
I heard Laguna's muffled 'oof' and Selphie crashed into him, and latched her arms around his neck.
"Sir Laguna!" Selphie bubbled happily. I tilted my head up disapprovingly, and felt my eyes narrow. Honestly, couldn't the girl do anything without involving physical contact?
I cleared my throat loudly, with a pointed glare at Selphie. Which was, to my dismay, pointedly ignored.
Laguna, at least, didn't seem to enjoy it that much. "Erm . . ." he feebly tried to disentangle her arms from his neck. Unfortunately, she had latched herself on quite firmly. "Look, ah . . ." Laguna winced as he freed his hair from her grasp. "Could you, you know, let go?"
Selphie seemed to notice his discomfort. She let go, with a noticeable pout. Although, everything Selphie did was noticeable. "Honestly," she snapped her fingers, "Some people just don't like hugs! Guess you're one of them, huh?"
"Um . . ." Laguna inched away from her as though she had long, pointy teeth. "Yeah, I am . . ."
Zell shifted, and I took a bag from his hefty load. "Hey, thanks," He grinned. "So, Irvine told us everything. You just now proved it. Squall's . . . still an ass."
Selphie bounced towards us. "Who're you calling an ass? Oooh, Squall? Yeah, he's being stupid." She bounced, and clasped her hands together, looking upward with a nostalgic pose. "I would KILL for a real parent."
"You've killed for less . . ." Zell muttered from behind his stack of parcels. ". . .like that chocolate bar . . ."
Selphie ignored him, and grabbed my wrist. "Quistis, c'mon, let's go talk." Laguna and Zell blinked simultaneously. Selphie scowled at them. "It's GIRL TALK," she declared, waving the phrase like it was the Omega Weapon. Surprisingly, the men muttered an excuse and walked off.
"Works like a charm!" she gloated, and yanked me down on the bench. "Soooo." She whispered conspiratorially, "Who is he?"
I tilted my head confusedly. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't play innocent with me!" She giggled like a madwoman, and poked me in the ribs. "You leave here all depressed and junky, and you're gone for like, a week, and you come back all hunky dory like the past few months never existed." Sniffing haughtily, she looked around, and leaned forward.
"In my opinion . . ." she whispered almost drunkenly, "the only thing that could cure you that fast . . ." she cleared her throat, "is a MAN." She emphasized the word as though it were a revelation, a gift from Hyne. "So, who is he?"
I blinked. "I'm afraid . . . not."
"Oh come on!" Selphie pleaded in an exasperated tone. "I know for a fact it's a guy who fixed you!"
Fixed me? To my knowledge, I was still broken. . .
. . . if I was still broken . . . then why was I so much . . .
No. Don't get your hopes up. You can't possibly believe that after all this time, you heart just got up and mended itself. If, of course, it ever existed to begin with . . .
I looked at Selphie calmly as she rattled on. " . . .or was it some hot intern, like the West Wing? Oooh, I bet it was on a desk, wasn't it? Maybe . . ."
I snorted. "I'm sorry to say, but the only three men I was around were Laguna, Ward, Kiros, and a hot dog vendor." Catching the light in her eye, I added, "an OLD hot dog vendor."
Of course. . . not to say that being around Laguna was a bad thing. . .
She snapped her fingers. "Ah, damn . . . So, anything happen that was exciting?"
I raised an eyebrow. "I died," I teased.
Selphie blinked, and then grinned. "Well . . . you know, as exciting as that probably is, I was hoping for more details. On stuff that happened before then?"
I shook my head. "Let's see, then . . . well, I was in a hotel, and I saw Laguna on TV. His life had been attempted on numerous times, so I decided it was best to go and make sure he didn't die before Squall . . ."
"Stopped being an ass?" Selphie offered.
Well, she certainly knew how to put things. "Yes. And so I went to help. Esthar hasn't had a war in years, so their organized defenses, though effective against monsters, did nothing to stop assassins. So I organized the defenses and Kiros, Ward and I did shifts to make sure Laguna didn't get killed."
Selphie nodded me on, and I continued. "A few slipped through. A man with a grenade got into his bedroom, and destroyed the entire room."
"Oooh. . . ."
"Yes. There were a few other attempts as well, but when we went to Dollet, Laguna found a bomb, and we parachuted. The Apocalypse was found, but we weren't, so we were presumed dead, as you knew." I glanced over at Selphie, to find her grinning insanely.
This, to state the obvious, was not a good thing.
"You hate bodyguard duty," She accused happily, "But you did it willingly . . .for LAGUNA." Selphie emphasized. I swallowed as the glint grew in her eye
I shook my head, and hurried on. "I found Laguna and passed out. Laguna managed to drag both of us to Deling, and I got us transportation to hide here. Hyne knows how, he was hurt. Thank Hyne I had numerous healing spells on me."
"Uh huh . . ." Selphie swung her legs, her impish smile still wide on her face. "You've done nothing but talk about Laguna, you know."
"I'm his bodyguard. I had to spend a lot of time with the man," I protested. Not that I had anything to protest about . . .not really . . . "For Hyne's sake," I snapped, "I know his favorite snack food!"
"What is it?" Selphie wrinkled her nose.
"Twinkies."
"Hohos are better . . ." she mused, before grabbing my shoulder and smushing us together cheek to cheek. "Anyway, you gotta admit . . ." she whispered impishly, "Sir Laguna's pretty good lookin' for a guy his age, huh?"
I cursed silently as my cheeks flushed. Selphie appraised my blush with a sparkling eye. "Aha. You already noticed that, didn't you? Hmm?"
"SELPHIE!" I gasped, before looking around nervouskly. Had anyone heard her? I hissed at her, "The man is Squall's father, for Hyne's sake!"
Selphie wasn't phased. "I think . . ." She leaned in closer than before . . . " . . . that you LIKE like Laguna, ne?"
"WHAT?" I yelped, and straightened immediately, giving her a wary eye. Well, I certainly liked Laguna yes, but it was purely a physical attraction . . . even though, I could appreciate his company as merely a friend as well . . . but then, the attraction wasn't PURELY physical, was it?
Damn. Damn damn damn. I'd taken too long to answer, and Selphie was giving me knowing looks.
"You . . ." I tried desperately to look casual, but probably only succeeded in looking desperate. "You don't honestly think that, do you?"
"I do." Selphie winked.
I grabbed her wrist. "You wouldn't."
She smiled. "I would."
I looked at her. "You would."
She looked around, and said quietly, "Or wouldn't I?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned.
Selphie grinned. "I mean that . . ." she twirled her hair haphazardly, "I can forget this whole conversation . . . in return for a favor."
"That's . . ." My eyes widened at the devious intentions of my - former - friend. "That's blackmail."
"Yup!" The traitorous girl bounced happily. "But even if it weren't blackmail, you'd still do it."
"What makes you think that?" I demanded curtly.
"Cuz. You're my friend, remember?" She sucked on a finger thoughtfully. "It's not much . . . I just wanna know what Irvy thinks of me, you know?"
I blinked at her. Twice. And I genuinely smiled for the third time that week.
Selphie didn't seem to take it the right way, though. "IT ISN'T FUNNY!" She wailed, rocking back and forth.
"Yes it is." I answered without thinking.
Her temper struck with less warning than usual. "Oooh, so what if I happen to like him, huh? So what if it's hopeless, a million other girls like him just as much, so I got as much of a claim as they do!"
"So . . ." I said quietly, raising an eyebrow, "you don't believe him when he tells you he likes you himself?"
"He says that to all the girls!"
Ah. I see, her point is made. "Trust me, the man's in love with you. Why do you think he flirts with other girls so much when you're around?"
"Cause he's a goober?"
I sighed, but my smile couldn't help but get wider. This might take awhile.
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .laguna. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I blinked.
Quistis was smiling.
Okay. It must be a girl thing. . . I mean, girls giggle and stuff over nothing, so I guess it was normal for her and Selphie to be all, you know, girlie. Even though I thought I was the one who made Quistis smile! ME!
Zell noticed where I was looking. "She hasn't been, you know, really honestly happy like that in, uh, forever. Bask in the sight while you still can," Zell noted almost morosely.
"Nah, I got through to her a few times," I said defensively. Zell cocked an eyebrow at me, and I said hurriedly, "I can't stand it when other people are depressed."
"She seems . . . fine now, though." Zell studied her for a second, and shrugged. "Eh, what do I know about women." He fished a candy bar out of his pocket and started to unwrap it.
I frowned at Quistis. Yeah, she did seem a bit looser . . . a lot looser, actually, then when we were at the treaty signing. Then, she was just an absolute cold fish.
. . . Yeah, fine, okay, so she was still a cold fish. But she was a nicer cold fish now than she had been. "Yeah, I guess she is better now," I remarked openly. "You should have seen her a week ago. When that Rinoa girl went . . ."
I froze. Zell looked up, obviously interested, I grinned weakly. "Uh . . . yeah, she looked . . . really out of it," I finished lamely, wincing. Yeah, he could definitely tell that was a lie. Hell, I'd even know it was a lie, and I usually take things at face value.
"Part of the unspoken agreement those two have going on."
I practically fell out of my chair trying to turn around.
Squall was there. How the hell . . ? Oh, wait . . .I remembered . . . SeeDs probably wouldn't be running around town like this on a normal day. It must be a break day or something, so almost anyone could be here. . .
I covered my surprise and grinned genuinely. "Hey."
He nodded at me. "Hey."
He took a seat. I blinked, but to cover any awkwardness, I continued. "Anyway, Quistis is a lot better lately. She seems to be having a good time with Elsie."
"It's Selphie." Squall said neutrally.
"Same difference," I waved it away. "Anyway, I'm pretty clueless about the whole thing."
"You know more than we do," Squall pointed out.
" . . . THE HELL?!" The table shook as it was punched. I looked confusedly over.
Zell was standing up, looking between the two of us strangely. He shook his head, and muttered, "Uh, yeah . . . I think I misunderstood this whole thing . . ."
Squall looked up, then back at the martial artist and raised an eyebrow. "So Quistis did tell you guys," Zell looked up as Squall went on. "And said not to tell me you knew."
I shrugged. New bit of information to me, but it sounded like a move Quistis would make. And Zell looked both confused and guilty, so it was apparently true.
"Uh. . . yeah, actually . . ." Zell scratched the back of his neck. "Eh . . . so . . . is it true?"
How exactly does one react in a situation like this? It's not like I could swell with pride like most fathers. I mean, seriously. I'd denied his even being alive for years, and chosen to forget about him until he practically jumped up and waved his existence in my face.
I opened my mouth to answer, but it was probably lucky for me when Zell answered his own question. "Eh, what am I saying? Of course its true. Look at you guys, your profiles look so much alike it's like looking in a frigging mirror." He munched thoughtfully on his candy.
I looked blankly at Squall. I guess we looked a little alike. . . Squall cleared his throat, obviously intent n changing the subject. "Where's Quistis?"
"Over there," I pointed. Squall followed my finger, and blinked, then frowned. I tilted my head.
He looked at Quistis, and back at me, and back at Quistis again. I just sat there and blinked. Did he see something? "What?" I asked.
He looked at me. "Nothing." He gave something equivalent to a sigh and looked back at me seriously. "So what are you guys doing here?"
"Hiding." I yawned. "Kiros thinks being dead for a bit is the best way to stem all the attempts on my life. Plus, he's got something planned."
"What's that?" Zell asked.
"Like I know." I shrugged. "Power plays, surprise attacks, and stuff like that aren't my strength."
Squall sputtered in his drink.
I twitched.
Squall looked at me. "This is a pretty open place to be in hiding. Wouldn't Winhill be better for something like that?"
"Winhill is technically still part of Galbadia." I pouted at that fact. Kiros shoulda let me grab it while Galbadia was weakened from the Sorceress War, but nooo, the Lunar Cry had taken a lot out of us as well . . .
Squall frowned for a moment, and looked at me with a serious set to his mouth. "You'd be better off if you stayed at Garden."
Well, I guess so yeah, but . . . wait, WHAT? I looked up at him. "Whoa! Are you being serious?"
He sighed, and put his drink down. "Yes. Seriously."
I grinned at him. He stared blankly and went back to his drink.
You'd think seeing Squall for the first time after he found out I'm his father would be awkward. Hell, I'd have bet my life on it.
I grinned. Nah, if I put my life on the line for anything, Quistis would kill me.
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .author's note. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
Ah . . . Ok. So they get to stay at Garden now.
I have my plot sheet right here, and it reads 'In Garden they get forced to become closer . . .' How the heck am I gonna do that?
In any case, my writing is going to slow down. I really gotta prepare for my SAT's. I did well on my PSAT, but they've totally screwed with it and its format. Plus, I need to practice writing ESSAYS. I can't write a formal essay to save my life. . .
I'm listening to the little known Get Backers soundtrack. The series isn't dubbed yet (thank god) but Saikou Fansubs has thankfully gotten around that. I recommend it to you.
I live!
I think you got it wrong. No, Quistis didn't confess her undying love for Laguna. She still thinks her heart's broken, remember? She just admitted that he . . . erm, 'turns her on,' so to speak.
Love takes a bit longer, folks. Wait a bit.
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. quistis .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
"So, uh . . . Quistis, this hotel's only got one room." Laguna looked around nervously.
I sighed. "We shared a room in Deling, and that only had one bed. This one has," I gestured with an annoyed air, "three. I sleep here, and you can sleep," I pointed, "over there."
"But . . . that was different!" he whined. I ignored him.
A few minutes later, he still was casting furtive looks around the room, but took a nervous seat on 'his' bed anyway. "So, what now?"
I shivered slightly, remembering with slight displeasure the last time he'd said that. . . shirtless . . . and on aforementioned single bed . . . I shook my head dazedly, and answered even more curtly than usual, "Shopping. For food."
"Oh . . ." Laguna looked slightly put out by my tone, but it didn't phase him much. Nothing phased Laguna much. "Ok!" He gave a passing smile as he practically skipped out of the room. I frowned at the feeling in my stomach, but followed.
Laguna smiled brightly at the clerkwoman as we left the hotel, and I raised an eyebrow as the woman blinked, and stared, unbelieving. I sighed, and grabbed him by the elbow.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Laguna didn't know how to tone down his presence. I suppose it was something to do with his Hyne damned charisma, but I sighed as adults furtively stared and children with less tact blatantly pointed.
"Holy crap!" It's the dead guy!"
I gave the child my best reprimanding glare, but as luck would have it, they didn't see it.
Laguna was blessedly oblivious to the attention, or maybe he was just used to it. Although, in Esthar no one had been surprised to see him . . . maybe he walked the streets of Esthar often. "So," he said brightly. "Do you have money on you?" Laguna winked at a young woman slightly older than I.
I caught myself before I scowled. "I have a tab. I'm not exactly poor, what with two months pay overtime for that Sorceress mess a few months ago." I said absently. "So I have plenty-"
"QUISTIS?! What the hell?"
"QUISTY! Quisty's back!"
I swiveled on my heel. Selphie? Zell? What were they doing here?
"What the hell are you doing here?" Zell demanded, and then he looked around . . . I counted the seconds until he noticed my companion. ". . . THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!" Ah. As usual, quite tactful.
Selphie was gushing. "Oh wow, this is sooo cool, its been a long time, Quistis! Well, just a week, but yeah, that's still a long time! Especially since, we, you know, didn't know where you were, and, . . . OOOOOH!" I winced as she punctuated her sentence with a squeal.
I knew that squeal. It's meaning was something akin to 'I'm-gonna-throw- myself-at-you-and-practically-kill-you-but-then-call-it-a-hug.'
Zell was laden down with Selphie's shopping, and couldn't prevent the inevitable . . .and Selphie was now running headlong towards us. I braced myself for impact . . .
I heard Laguna's muffled 'oof' and Selphie crashed into him, and latched her arms around his neck.
"Sir Laguna!" Selphie bubbled happily. I tilted my head up disapprovingly, and felt my eyes narrow. Honestly, couldn't the girl do anything without involving physical contact?
I cleared my throat loudly, with a pointed glare at Selphie. Which was, to my dismay, pointedly ignored.
Laguna, at least, didn't seem to enjoy it that much. "Erm . . ." he feebly tried to disentangle her arms from his neck. Unfortunately, she had latched herself on quite firmly. "Look, ah . . ." Laguna winced as he freed his hair from her grasp. "Could you, you know, let go?"
Selphie seemed to notice his discomfort. She let go, with a noticeable pout. Although, everything Selphie did was noticeable. "Honestly," she snapped her fingers, "Some people just don't like hugs! Guess you're one of them, huh?"
"Um . . ." Laguna inched away from her as though she had long, pointy teeth. "Yeah, I am . . ."
Zell shifted, and I took a bag from his hefty load. "Hey, thanks," He grinned. "So, Irvine told us everything. You just now proved it. Squall's . . . still an ass."
Selphie bounced towards us. "Who're you calling an ass? Oooh, Squall? Yeah, he's being stupid." She bounced, and clasped her hands together, looking upward with a nostalgic pose. "I would KILL for a real parent."
"You've killed for less . . ." Zell muttered from behind his stack of parcels. ". . .like that chocolate bar . . ."
Selphie ignored him, and grabbed my wrist. "Quistis, c'mon, let's go talk." Laguna and Zell blinked simultaneously. Selphie scowled at them. "It's GIRL TALK," she declared, waving the phrase like it was the Omega Weapon. Surprisingly, the men muttered an excuse and walked off.
"Works like a charm!" she gloated, and yanked me down on the bench. "Soooo." She whispered conspiratorially, "Who is he?"
I tilted my head confusedly. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't play innocent with me!" She giggled like a madwoman, and poked me in the ribs. "You leave here all depressed and junky, and you're gone for like, a week, and you come back all hunky dory like the past few months never existed." Sniffing haughtily, she looked around, and leaned forward.
"In my opinion . . ." she whispered almost drunkenly, "the only thing that could cure you that fast . . ." she cleared her throat, "is a MAN." She emphasized the word as though it were a revelation, a gift from Hyne. "So, who is he?"
I blinked. "I'm afraid . . . not."
"Oh come on!" Selphie pleaded in an exasperated tone. "I know for a fact it's a guy who fixed you!"
Fixed me? To my knowledge, I was still broken. . .
. . . if I was still broken . . . then why was I so much . . .
No. Don't get your hopes up. You can't possibly believe that after all this time, you heart just got up and mended itself. If, of course, it ever existed to begin with . . .
I looked at Selphie calmly as she rattled on. " . . .or was it some hot intern, like the West Wing? Oooh, I bet it was on a desk, wasn't it? Maybe . . ."
I snorted. "I'm sorry to say, but the only three men I was around were Laguna, Ward, Kiros, and a hot dog vendor." Catching the light in her eye, I added, "an OLD hot dog vendor."
Of course. . . not to say that being around Laguna was a bad thing. . .
She snapped her fingers. "Ah, damn . . . So, anything happen that was exciting?"
I raised an eyebrow. "I died," I teased.
Selphie blinked, and then grinned. "Well . . . you know, as exciting as that probably is, I was hoping for more details. On stuff that happened before then?"
I shook my head. "Let's see, then . . . well, I was in a hotel, and I saw Laguna on TV. His life had been attempted on numerous times, so I decided it was best to go and make sure he didn't die before Squall . . ."
"Stopped being an ass?" Selphie offered.
Well, she certainly knew how to put things. "Yes. And so I went to help. Esthar hasn't had a war in years, so their organized defenses, though effective against monsters, did nothing to stop assassins. So I organized the defenses and Kiros, Ward and I did shifts to make sure Laguna didn't get killed."
Selphie nodded me on, and I continued. "A few slipped through. A man with a grenade got into his bedroom, and destroyed the entire room."
"Oooh. . . ."
"Yes. There were a few other attempts as well, but when we went to Dollet, Laguna found a bomb, and we parachuted. The Apocalypse was found, but we weren't, so we were presumed dead, as you knew." I glanced over at Selphie, to find her grinning insanely.
This, to state the obvious, was not a good thing.
"You hate bodyguard duty," She accused happily, "But you did it willingly . . .for LAGUNA." Selphie emphasized. I swallowed as the glint grew in her eye
I shook my head, and hurried on. "I found Laguna and passed out. Laguna managed to drag both of us to Deling, and I got us transportation to hide here. Hyne knows how, he was hurt. Thank Hyne I had numerous healing spells on me."
"Uh huh . . ." Selphie swung her legs, her impish smile still wide on her face. "You've done nothing but talk about Laguna, you know."
"I'm his bodyguard. I had to spend a lot of time with the man," I protested. Not that I had anything to protest about . . .not really . . . "For Hyne's sake," I snapped, "I know his favorite snack food!"
"What is it?" Selphie wrinkled her nose.
"Twinkies."
"Hohos are better . . ." she mused, before grabbing my shoulder and smushing us together cheek to cheek. "Anyway, you gotta admit . . ." she whispered impishly, "Sir Laguna's pretty good lookin' for a guy his age, huh?"
I cursed silently as my cheeks flushed. Selphie appraised my blush with a sparkling eye. "Aha. You already noticed that, didn't you? Hmm?"
"SELPHIE!" I gasped, before looking around nervouskly. Had anyone heard her? I hissed at her, "The man is Squall's father, for Hyne's sake!"
Selphie wasn't phased. "I think . . ." She leaned in closer than before . . . " . . . that you LIKE like Laguna, ne?"
"WHAT?" I yelped, and straightened immediately, giving her a wary eye. Well, I certainly liked Laguna yes, but it was purely a physical attraction . . . even though, I could appreciate his company as merely a friend as well . . . but then, the attraction wasn't PURELY physical, was it?
Damn. Damn damn damn. I'd taken too long to answer, and Selphie was giving me knowing looks.
"You . . ." I tried desperately to look casual, but probably only succeeded in looking desperate. "You don't honestly think that, do you?"
"I do." Selphie winked.
I grabbed her wrist. "You wouldn't."
She smiled. "I would."
I looked at her. "You would."
She looked around, and said quietly, "Or wouldn't I?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned.
Selphie grinned. "I mean that . . ." she twirled her hair haphazardly, "I can forget this whole conversation . . . in return for a favor."
"That's . . ." My eyes widened at the devious intentions of my - former - friend. "That's blackmail."
"Yup!" The traitorous girl bounced happily. "But even if it weren't blackmail, you'd still do it."
"What makes you think that?" I demanded curtly.
"Cuz. You're my friend, remember?" She sucked on a finger thoughtfully. "It's not much . . . I just wanna know what Irvy thinks of me, you know?"
I blinked at her. Twice. And I genuinely smiled for the third time that week.
Selphie didn't seem to take it the right way, though. "IT ISN'T FUNNY!" She wailed, rocking back and forth.
"Yes it is." I answered without thinking.
Her temper struck with less warning than usual. "Oooh, so what if I happen to like him, huh? So what if it's hopeless, a million other girls like him just as much, so I got as much of a claim as they do!"
"So . . ." I said quietly, raising an eyebrow, "you don't believe him when he tells you he likes you himself?"
"He says that to all the girls!"
Ah. I see, her point is made. "Trust me, the man's in love with you. Why do you think he flirts with other girls so much when you're around?"
"Cause he's a goober?"
I sighed, but my smile couldn't help but get wider. This might take awhile.
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .laguna. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I blinked.
Quistis was smiling.
Okay. It must be a girl thing. . . I mean, girls giggle and stuff over nothing, so I guess it was normal for her and Selphie to be all, you know, girlie. Even though I thought I was the one who made Quistis smile! ME!
Zell noticed where I was looking. "She hasn't been, you know, really honestly happy like that in, uh, forever. Bask in the sight while you still can," Zell noted almost morosely.
"Nah, I got through to her a few times," I said defensively. Zell cocked an eyebrow at me, and I said hurriedly, "I can't stand it when other people are depressed."
"She seems . . . fine now, though." Zell studied her for a second, and shrugged. "Eh, what do I know about women." He fished a candy bar out of his pocket and started to unwrap it.
I frowned at Quistis. Yeah, she did seem a bit looser . . . a lot looser, actually, then when we were at the treaty signing. Then, she was just an absolute cold fish.
. . . Yeah, fine, okay, so she was still a cold fish. But she was a nicer cold fish now than she had been. "Yeah, I guess she is better now," I remarked openly. "You should have seen her a week ago. When that Rinoa girl went . . ."
I froze. Zell looked up, obviously interested, I grinned weakly. "Uh . . . yeah, she looked . . . really out of it," I finished lamely, wincing. Yeah, he could definitely tell that was a lie. Hell, I'd even know it was a lie, and I usually take things at face value.
"Part of the unspoken agreement those two have going on."
I practically fell out of my chair trying to turn around.
Squall was there. How the hell . . ? Oh, wait . . .I remembered . . . SeeDs probably wouldn't be running around town like this on a normal day. It must be a break day or something, so almost anyone could be here. . .
I covered my surprise and grinned genuinely. "Hey."
He nodded at me. "Hey."
He took a seat. I blinked, but to cover any awkwardness, I continued. "Anyway, Quistis is a lot better lately. She seems to be having a good time with Elsie."
"It's Selphie." Squall said neutrally.
"Same difference," I waved it away. "Anyway, I'm pretty clueless about the whole thing."
"You know more than we do," Squall pointed out.
" . . . THE HELL?!" The table shook as it was punched. I looked confusedly over.
Zell was standing up, looking between the two of us strangely. He shook his head, and muttered, "Uh, yeah . . . I think I misunderstood this whole thing . . ."
Squall looked up, then back at the martial artist and raised an eyebrow. "So Quistis did tell you guys," Zell looked up as Squall went on. "And said not to tell me you knew."
I shrugged. New bit of information to me, but it sounded like a move Quistis would make. And Zell looked both confused and guilty, so it was apparently true.
"Uh. . . yeah, actually . . ." Zell scratched the back of his neck. "Eh . . . so . . . is it true?"
How exactly does one react in a situation like this? It's not like I could swell with pride like most fathers. I mean, seriously. I'd denied his even being alive for years, and chosen to forget about him until he practically jumped up and waved his existence in my face.
I opened my mouth to answer, but it was probably lucky for me when Zell answered his own question. "Eh, what am I saying? Of course its true. Look at you guys, your profiles look so much alike it's like looking in a frigging mirror." He munched thoughtfully on his candy.
I looked blankly at Squall. I guess we looked a little alike. . . Squall cleared his throat, obviously intent n changing the subject. "Where's Quistis?"
"Over there," I pointed. Squall followed my finger, and blinked, then frowned. I tilted my head.
He looked at Quistis, and back at me, and back at Quistis again. I just sat there and blinked. Did he see something? "What?" I asked.
He looked at me. "Nothing." He gave something equivalent to a sigh and looked back at me seriously. "So what are you guys doing here?"
"Hiding." I yawned. "Kiros thinks being dead for a bit is the best way to stem all the attempts on my life. Plus, he's got something planned."
"What's that?" Zell asked.
"Like I know." I shrugged. "Power plays, surprise attacks, and stuff like that aren't my strength."
Squall sputtered in his drink.
I twitched.
Squall looked at me. "This is a pretty open place to be in hiding. Wouldn't Winhill be better for something like that?"
"Winhill is technically still part of Galbadia." I pouted at that fact. Kiros shoulda let me grab it while Galbadia was weakened from the Sorceress War, but nooo, the Lunar Cry had taken a lot out of us as well . . .
Squall frowned for a moment, and looked at me with a serious set to his mouth. "You'd be better off if you stayed at Garden."
Well, I guess so yeah, but . . . wait, WHAT? I looked up at him. "Whoa! Are you being serious?"
He sighed, and put his drink down. "Yes. Seriously."
I grinned at him. He stared blankly and went back to his drink.
You'd think seeing Squall for the first time after he found out I'm his father would be awkward. Hell, I'd have bet my life on it.
I grinned. Nah, if I put my life on the line for anything, Quistis would kill me.
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .author's note. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
Ah . . . Ok. So they get to stay at Garden now.
I have my plot sheet right here, and it reads 'In Garden they get forced to become closer . . .' How the heck am I gonna do that?
In any case, my writing is going to slow down. I really gotta prepare for my SAT's. I did well on my PSAT, but they've totally screwed with it and its format. Plus, I need to practice writing ESSAYS. I can't write a formal essay to save my life. . .
I'm listening to the little known Get Backers soundtrack. The series isn't dubbed yet (thank god) but Saikou Fansubs has thankfully gotten around that. I recommend it to you.