The timer went off and she snapped her attention back to what she was doing. Leaning over to get the dish of baked chicken out of the oven, she jumped in surprise when hands gently grasped her hips. She relaxed when she realized who it was and smiled as his hands pulled her to lean against him. His arms wrapped around her waist and he pressed kisses to her neck.
"I've missed you Seifer," she breathed, dropping her head back onto his shoulder as he continued kissing her neck. "I'm never letting you go for that long again. If Squall tries to give you another mission that long I'm either coming or you're not going."
She could feel his smirk against her skin and she laughed as his fingers tickled her sides. Jumping out of his grasp, she turned to face him and shook her finger at him teasingly.
"None of that," she warned, grinning at him. His eyebrows went up and his face adopted his almost famous innocent look. He pointed disbelievingly at himself and smirked again.
"Quistis, I can't believe you would think I was tickling you because I was teasing you," he exclaimed, his smirk becoming a grin as she rolled her eyes. She turned back to get their dinner out of the oven and he pressed behind her again. "I tickle you because I love the way your eyes look when you're laughing," he breathed in her ear, loving the shiver that ran down her spine as he spoke.
Her eyes were serious as she turned in his arms to face him again, the chicken remained forgotten in the oven.
"Seifer," she breathed, looking up into his eyes, the green eyes she loved so much. His eyes had always been the best window into his soul. He was very good at hiding his feelings, he always had been. She could see what he was feeling through his eyes, though. He was an intensely private person; she was the only one who got to know what went on in his head…and his heart.
Their marriage had surprised a lot of people in the Garden. The couple hadn't tried to hide that they were a couple; they just weren't very public with how close they actually were.
Only their closest friends got to see even a small part of the depth of Seifer and Quistis' feelings for each other. For the most part, they were very private and were rarely openly affectionate outside their dorm or the rooms of their friends. The cadets and SeeDs knew that the Almasys were very private and respected their need for concealment.
Once they were alone, however, the masks dropped away and their love for each other became apparent and obvious. Seifer's arms tightened around her and she leaned her head against his chest.
"Dance with me," he asked, his deep voice breaking through the peaceful silence of their kitchen. She didn't move her head from resting against his chest, just nodded without speaking. His fingers sought out hers and curled around her hand. Lifting them, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
Swaying to music that couldn't be heard, they held each other, silently reveling in their togetherness. No one could spoil this. This was their time.
After a while Seifer began leading the dance out of the kitchen. They danced slowly through the living room, still not speaking. As they danced past the stereo Seifer momentarily disengaged their fingers so he could press the play button on their stereo.
A familiar waltz filled the room and their dance changed to match the beat of the music. Without even thinking, they began retracing the steps of the dance that had started their adventure together.
"We've been working on this dance for a long time," she said quietly, looking up into his eyes, seeing how much he loved her reflected in his eyes. He nodded without speaking as they continued to twirl around the living room.
"It seems like we danced around each other for years before we finally got it together," she said wistfully, leaning her head on his chest again.
"But now we know the steps perfectly. It just took us a while," he replied.
"Yeah, I remember how long it took you to learn the steps," she said lightly, looking up at him teasingly, a smile on her lips.
He smirked as he dipped her, grinning as she reflexively tightened her grip on him, just as she had the first time they danced together.
Repeating his actions from that night, he leaned down and pressed a kiss on her cheek as he pulled them back up to stand straight.
But unlike that night he didn't walk away…
Their dance was far from over.
AN:The ending is way corny...but this idea of them dancing around each other for their whole lifes was actually what got me started writing this fic at all...it kind of grew from there but that basic idea was supposed to be the main point of the story...I don't know if it ended up like that but I'm pleased with how it did end up...I hope you liked it too.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed throught this...everyone who waited so patiently (and impatiently) for me to get my life out of the way so I could finally finish this...(for a 6 chapter fic it sure did take a long time to finish)...Every review was helpful and I'm grateful to everyone who took the time to drop me a little encouragement. Thanks so much!