"Selphie! Irvine!" Quistis responded with a wave. No longer than two seconds later, Selphie had her arms wrapped around the taller woman's neck and was bouncing from foot to foot.
"Oooh Quisty! We've missed you so much!" Selphie said, stressing the "so" to the point it was almost a squeal. "We made Squall tell us when you'd be back so we could meet you here."
"I see. But I suppose our leader was too busy to come with you, wasn't he?" Quistis replied with only the smallest hint of bitterness in her voice, gently removing Selphie's arms from her neck.
"You know our Squall," Irvine confirmed. "But we're never too busy to pick up a lady as lovely as yourself," he added, with a tip of his hat. The comment earned him a slug in the arm from Selphie and a soft chuckle from Quistis.
"Well, I'm glad someone came to greet me. I was going to have to haul all this stuff back to Garden myself, since I let my team have a night on the town without realizing I would have to deal with our supplies…" Quistis trailed off, gesturing to the pile of SeeD baggage.
Irvine grinned at the blonde. "Uh oh, Quisty – you're getting soft!" He paused for a moment and grabbed a loose trolley. "We've got one of the SeeD vehicles here with us, so this'll be nothing to get back. Right, Selphie?"
"Right!" Selphie exclaimed, punching the air above her head. "Just leave it to us, Commander Trepe! You can supervise!"
No sooner than Selphie finished her sentence were the duo stacking bags on the trolley. Quistis smiled as she watched them. While she was avoiding the Garden on purpose, it was hard to not miss her friends.
---
"So, tell us, Quisty! What exciting things have you been doing in Galbadia?"
Selphie and Irvine had the baggage packed into the car so quickly that a sliver of the sun could still be seen on the horizon. While the drive back to Garden was a short one, Selphie never lost an opportunity to catch up on some gossip.
"Nothing too exciting, Selphie. The wendigo population was getting out of hand, so we thinned them out a little bit." Quistis shifted around a little uncomfortably in the back seat. While the duo was able to pack the car quickly, it was done with little regard to neatness. The result was the unfortunate back seat passenger needing to lean against the tower of bags to keep them from collapsing.
"That's no fun! Why don't they send you on some sort of exciting mission? Like rescuing trapped miners or freeing hostages?" This wasn't the sort of gossip she was looking for. Selphie turned around in her seat so her friend could see the full disgust on her face.
Quistis laughed at the brunette's disappointment. "I'm leading groups of novice SeeDs, you know! We want to ease them in gently; start them off slowly. I'm afraid that doesn't include such thrilling things as rescuing people in all sorts of precarious situations."
"We were novice SeeDs when we saved the world! They shou..." Irvine's comment was interrupted by Quistis clearing her throat. "Okay, okay! Most of us were. But come on, Quistis! Aren't you dying of boredom?"
"No, not really." Yes. Oh Hyne, yes. "I enjoy the travel." Like I haven't seen the world seven times already. "Besides, someone needs to do it." But why me?
Selphie turned back around in her seat to face the proper direction and rolled her eyes. "You were always a terrible liar, Quisty."
I know, Selphie. I know. Quistis turned her head to look out the window and stifled a small gasp. They were almost to their destination, and the Garden could be seen in all its glory. It always took her breath away when it was lit up at night, especially when she had been away for so long. Her stomach did a flip-flop; she couldn't decide if she was happy to be back, or if she was apprehensive about meeting all her memories head-on.
Irvine slowed down to wave at the gatekeeper before driving into the Garden parking lot. "Home sweet home," he announced, pulling into an empty spot. "Selphie and I will get one of the Garden staff to drop off all of this stuff in the right places. You can take your bag and go back to your room. Relax for a change, huh?"
"Yes, sir," Quistis responded, exiting the car...causing the tower of baggage to collapse and leading Selphie to a fit of giggles.
"Irvy! You're such a terrible packer!"
"Hey now – I think someone else packed the backseat…" Irvine said teasingly, putting his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and holding her close. Quistis turned away and began to pick through the bags for her own. It wasn't that she didn't approve of the relationship, because she did, wholeheartedly.
It just reminded her of the gaping hole in her own life.
Finally fishing her own belongings out of the mess that had been created in the backseat, Quistis said her goodbyes. She had almost reached the door of the parking garage when Selphie called out to her.
"Oh, Quisty! I almost forgot! Do you want to meet Irvy and me for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Why not?" Quistis said, stopping to turn her head. I can think of a few reasons, actually… "That is, if I'm still around…"
"Great! See you then!" Selphie seemed to ignore the second comment.
Waving one last time to her friends, Quistis opened the door to the parking garage and entered the Garden proper.
---
It was dinnertime, and the crossroads of the Garden were, for the most part, empty. She couldn't have planned it better.
While Quistis was rarely gone for longer than a week, the Garden always seemed to change during that period she was away. This time, the spring warmth had made the plants and greenery more beautiful than she remembered.
Maybe being here won't be so bad, after all, she thought to herself, with a smile.
With a sigh of relief, Quistis arrived at the door to her room. She had successfully avoided any contact with the other residents or staff. Setting her bag down on the floor, she inputted her keycode, and the door opened with a satisfying click.
The room was just as she left it: bed made, desk neat and tidy, everything in its proper place. Quistis set her bag down by the bed, and strode across the room to the window. The air was slightly stale from the room being closed up, but this problem was quickly remedied when the window was opened. There was a breeze coming off the ocean, carrying a light scent of salt and seaweed. Quistis filled her lungs with the air, enjoying the smell of the sea. It was a scent that always relaxed her, but it wasn't until that day at Trabia Garden all those months ago that she realized why. All of her happy memories took place by the ocean; the memories of the orphanage and of Balamb. But there wasn't time for relaxation now – she had a mission report to file.
Sitting down at her desk, she picked up the phone and dialed the Headmaster's office. The other line was answered before two rings were up.
"Hello, Hilda. This is Quistis…Quistis Trepe. …Yes, I am doing fine. And yourself? …Wonderful. I didn't expect you to be there anymore this evening; I was planning on leaving Cid a message and filing the mission report myself. …Oh, I see. …Everything went fine. Nothing eventful whatsoever. …Of course, I could bring the report up to you. It won't be a problem at all. …I'll see you in a moment, Hilda. …Goodbye."
Quistis hung up the phone and stood to retrieve the report folder from her bag. She was exceedingly thankful that Hilda, Cid's secretary, had offered to file the report herself, stating that a formal oral report wouldn't be necessary, as there was nothing major to report. If she would have had to give her report to Squall…well, that was just a situation she didn't want to think about.
Report in hand, the blonde took one more deep breath of the sea air flowing into her room before closing the door behind her.
---
The mission report and SeeD evaluations had been completed and submitted, so Quistis was now a "free woman," as Hilda had said, until her next mission. The term didn't seem as wonderful to Quistis as it did to Hilda. Being a "free woman" meant that she now had time to think…and that was the last thing she wanted to be able to do.
Instead of going back to her room, Quistis decided to take a moment and see if the second floor balcony was still open. Ever since she had opened her window, the sea breeze was beckoning its child back to it.
As she approached the door that lead out onto the ledge, voices drifted out to her. Occupied, Quistis thought to herself. Too bad.
However, she couldn't tear her ears away from the conversation. They were voices she knew… Quistis strained her ears to hear what they were saying.
"It's been rough on all of us. You're a very strong person to be able to carry all of us on your shoulders. I'm proud of you."
"Yeah…I know. …Thanks, Rinoa."
Quistis' heart leaped into her throat. Of course she recognized those voices. And of course they'd be out on the balcony at night. The stars were always something they shared. Ever since that fateful SeeD ball…
Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of movement coming from the balcony door. Panicking, Quistis slipped into an empty classroom as she heard Squall and Rinoa get closer. They were the last people she wanted to see at Garden, the ones she was going to try so hard and avoid - but instead, she runs into them as soon as she steps foot back into her former home. Quistis knew they couldn't see her, let alone hear her, but she held her breath as the couple passed by. Her heart quickened as Squall came into view; he hadn't changed a bit over the months she had been avoiding him. He was just as his former instructor remembered. Just as he looked in the memories that haunted her.
Once Quistis felt they had moved far enough down the hallway to avoid seeing her, she stepped out of the classroom and watched them enter the elevator. Squall let Rinoa go first, placing his hand on the small of her back. She even thought she could see a shadow of a smile on the profile of his face.
"Quistis! I didn't know you were back!"
Quistis was so engrossed with the scene in front of her she didn't hear someone approach her from behind. With a small gasp she turned around and smiled at the sight of her old friend.
"Xu! I just got back – I was on a mission with some novice officers to Galbadia," Quistis explained, hugging her fellow SeeD. "I didn't even think I'd be here for very long – I was expecting another mission – otherwise I would have let you know."
Xu frowned slightly at her blonde friend. "Another mission? But Quistis, you've been traveling for months without a break. Why don't you stay here for a little while? Take a vacation?"
Quistis shrugged her shoulders. "They're keeping me busy, I suppose. I've found quite a niche taking new SeeDs out for their first missions."
"That's not what I've been hearing. I think you're keeping yourself busy, rather than the other way around," Xu raised an eyebrow at the slightly ruffled Quistis. "Your name hasn't left the available list for the past four months. If I didn't know any better, I would think you didn't want to be here."
"Oh, Xu, come on now. You know that isn't true. But let's not talk about that for the moment, okay? I'm here now, doesn't that count for anything? Besides, I haven't gotten my next mission assignment, so maybe I'll be here for a while." Quistis hoped that wouldn't be so, but smiled reassuringly at her friend anyways.
"Good! I'll make sure your name gets taken off the available list. I'll inform Cid and Squall at once." And with that, Xu turned on her heel, leaving an invisibly fuming Quistis behind. So much for her short stay in Balamb.
---
A/N: This story is coming out surprisingly easily; it was so well formed in my mind to begin with. The second chapter was considerably longer than the first, and I could have added more if I wanted to. But…! I must pace myself. I'm sorry if there isn't much action right now – but for good action, there must be a good setup, correct? The next chapter, however, will herald in more excitement.
And thank you for the lovely reviews. I hope I don't disappoint you!