(Disclaimer: Still looking for girl names. This is the absolute final chapter before Fujjin has her baby! I need some suggestions!)
Welcoming Home
Irvine remained by the Balamb shops after Squall and Zell departed for Balamb Garden.
He had stuck around for a cute salesclerk that was inside the shop window. She kept glancing back at him, obviously feeling a little bit uncomfortable.
"Sir, you're aware you've been standing there for almost half an hour, right?"
"Well, I'm not sure what I should buy."
"Are you sure you're not confused with the shop nextdoor? Are you looking for items or weapons?"
"Well, who sells the weapons nextdoor?"
The salesclerk smiled nervously. "Some tall blonde in about her early 20s, I think. She's pretty new there, and she's been waiting for customers for some time."
Irvine grinned. "Well, shoot doggie. I think I'm gonna head on over there. Could be I am confused." He tipped his hat. "Thank you, ma'am." The short redheaded salesclerk smiled politely, but as he turned away from the window and toward the Weapon's Shop, she closed the metal shutter doors over the window as fast as she could.
Irvine knocked on the wooden Weapon's Shop door. "Anyone in there?"
The door opened slowly, and he heard someone mumble. Irvine quickly straightened his appearance for the blonde, but when he saw the person behind the door, his jaw dropped; it was the same old man who had been there forever.
"Uh, sir, isn't there a blonde woman who works here?"
"Oh, you mean the new girl? She hasn't worked long here, but yeah, she's here." He yelled to the back of the shop, "Get on out here, hun!"
Irvine was only able to see her head from the back at first: short, blonde, curly locks, but he found her face familiar when she neared the window. "Quistis?"
Quistis noticed him. "Hey, Irvine. What're you doing here?"
"Maybe I should be asking you that."
"Well, I work here part-time. Being an instructor doesn't pay unless it's during a SeeD mission. Besides, I'm not planning on being instructor forever, so I gotta start somewhere." She paused, then said, "Speaking on teaching, I haven't seen you in class in a while. Where have you been? Did you drop out?"
"Afraid so."
"May I ask why?"
"Well, I wasn't doing so well the last few weeks, and I'm eighteen, and can officially leave the Garden when I'm eighteen, right?"
"Well, with Cid's approval, yes, but not exactly drop out. You're planning on coming to the SeeD Ball, aren't you?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
"Well, it's for invited guests, SeeDs, and students only, so you better get your act back together."
Irvine scratched his head. "I guess that's why I didn't notice you at first was because your hair was cut."
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it looks great on you."
"Thanks. Lots of my students think so." There was an awkward silence. "So, where have you been staying since you dropped out of Garden?"
"Well, I've been going a lot of places by train. I returned to Galbadia for a while, and they wanted me back, but I didn't want to get enlisted into another school. Besides, I would've missed you guys here."
"So why did you return to Galbadia?"
"Because I had a paycheck that I needed to pick up."
"Paycheck? What for?"
"Just the same as for SeeDs, sharpshooters get paid salary, too."
The conversation was interrupted by a train whistle as the train pulled into the Balamb Station. Moments later, Irvine noticed two familiar faces step off of the train.
"Haven't seen you two in a while," Laguna said.
"How have you been?" Ellone asked.
"We've been good," Irvine said.
"I was afraid you may not have made it. I hear there were many train delays for some reason," Quistis said. "The Ball is in three days, and I was afraid you'd miss it."
"Not for the world," Laguna said. "My son's proposing, isn't he? No way I would miss that."
"Yeah," Irvine started, "that's gonna be a big day. Full of too many tears. Better bring some tissues."
"Well," Quistis said, "I can wrap up for now, and we can all head on over to the Garden. I'm sure everyone will be wanting to see you both."
"Just make sure Rinoa doesn't find out exactly why we're here," Ellone told her.
Quistis left from her shop, and she, Irvine, Laguna, and Ellone headed for Balamb Garden.
(I figured out from reading earlier that I sometimes said that Raiun's eyes are brown. I know this is random, but I spotted it too many times to forget it. His eyes are GREEN. If I type brown again, someone slap me, kay? Squall's are BROWN, and Raiun's are GREEN. Sorry if I confused a lot of people S)