A Promising Young SeeD

Chapter 8

Never Going Home


Garden had a lesser-known hospital wing other than the clinic Dr. Kadowaki used to run. Buried in the basement of Garden was a unit where long-term patients stayed. Both those who were too sick or injured to be moved, as well as those who were there involuntarily. It had the clean sterile appearance of any hospital. White walls, the smell of bleach. Crisp white uniforms of staff, the only noises the beeping of machines and the clacking of shoes on linoleum.

Irvine hated this part of Garden. Truth be told, Irvine didn't care much for Garden at all. But this part was the worst. He sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair next to his sunny angel, who was staring out a false window, mumbling incoherent nonsense. Being underground, the windows didn't actually face outside, but there were screens in them that mimicked day and night cycles and even weather changes. The rare times Selphie was awake, it was normally like this. It was like talking to a three-year-old.

"Do you think rainbows have feelings?"

"I like doggies."

"Trains make funny noises."

"I think my teeth will fall out."

He tended to tune out most of what she said. The entire thing was heartbreaking enough. But, loyal to the end, Irvine just wanted to be near her. Holding out hope that she would return.

"Are you listening, Irvy?"

"What was that, sunshine?" Irvine sharpened. She almost never used his name; she never even seemed to know he was there next to her. Always staring through him.

"There are weeds in the garden. The flowers aren't growing anymore." She said it in the same sing-song voice she often used while babbling nonsense. But something was different.

She looked him straight in the eyes, the beautiful jade gaze he had longed for for so long. She was staring at him again, recognizing him…

"Sefie—"

Her small hand darted out and grabbed his leg, squeezing hard enough to let him know to stay quiet. "The weeds are choking the flowers, Irvy," she repeated, her voice more somber this time.

She was trying to tell him something. He was sure of it. He opened his mouth to speak again when Dr. Sanford whisked in from the doorway.

"Ah! There you are. Time for your afternoon medication, dear."

Selphie quickly turned back to the illusionary window, going back to her sing-song voice. "Trains are pretty!"

Two large male orderlies followed and gripped Selphie by her arms. As if the two of them weren't double her weight on their own. As if she was a threat. They took her back to her room once again, to give her whatever medication sedated her.

But Irvine was sure. He knew. Selphie wasn't crazy. She wasn't a threat to herself. She was still in that pretty little head of hers, he just had to wait for the medication to wear off again. The medication wasn't to keep her safe, it was to stop her from talking about what happened to her.

All he could do now was try to make sense of what she was trying to tell him.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Seifer folded his arms across his chest as he watched Zell type away on his laptop and write things down in his small notebook.

"How long does that piece of crap take, Dincht?" he asked, motioning to the dull hum of the spectroscopy machine that was currently printing out a bunch of seemingly indistinguishable curves and spikes.

"Be a few more hours, usually this takes twelve to twenty…" Zell mumbled, about to go into a complex explanation of how it worked. Catching Seifer's bored and annoyed expression, he stopped and changed course. "I have a preliminary analysis anyway."

"Well, why the hell didn't you say that? I gave you this shit a week ago to look at. What is it?"

"Well, this drug looks like an analgesic of sorts, but…"

"A what?"

"A painkiller. But not your standard type. The diamonds have an analgesic effect, but it also causes the high. This is different. Some of the markings… I've never seen anything like it. What is it?" Zell pointed at a bunch of spikes on the green glowing screen like they were supposed to mean something.

"I thought so…" Seifer pushed off the door frame he was leaning on and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hey… do you think that machine would be able to break down what's in magic?"

"Magic?" Zell turned away from the screen and speared his fingers through his hair, pushing it from his eyes. "Magic is like… vapor, dude. I don't even know how you would put it in the machine, let alone… I mean, I suppose it has to have a chemical composition, but… Even then, all the magic is gone without junctioning, right? No more GFs, no more magic. Except for… I mean—" Zell trailed off, biting on his lip ring as his brows furrowed in thought.

Except for Rinoa. Was the unspoken thing between them.

"Forget I said anything. Thanks, Chicken-wuss."

Zell was surprised by the thanks, but shrugged and turned back to his laptop. He was about to type a new message to Seifer's hacker when his phone rang—a ringtone that told him to pick up.

"Howdy, cowboy." He attempted a cheesy drawl to his voice.

"Someone really ought to bake you a treat, buddy."

Zell's eyebrows raised. "Really? That does sound good, but my kitchen is… um… uh… under construction?" Speaking in codes had never been Zell's strong suit.

"Don't worry. My chef will find your kitchen just fine."

Zell clicked the phone shut, hoping to end the call quickly before anyone could track it. He had scrambled all their phones, making it nearly impossible to do so, but who knew what Garden was capable of, and deep down he thought it was unlikely that Garden wouldn't want to keep tabs on two wayward, very valuable, very dangerous SeeDs.

He was skeptical that Irvine's delivery person would be able to find them at Seifer's apartment without some sort of tracking device or following a phone signal, but Irvine had sounded extremely sure of himself.

Nothing to do but have faith.

Setting out to return to messaging Seifer's hacker, he was interrupted once again when Seifer reappeared with a small packet of silvery blue powder. "Put this shit in your machine, Chicken-wuss." He tossed it brusquely onto Zell's keyboard.

"You could at least say please, asshole."

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Please. Just get it done and then you can go back to diddling with your junk while fantasizing about my hacker."

"Hyne, dude. What is wrong with you? I don't even know what she looks like!"

Seifer grinned, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "What makes you think it's a she? I always kind of figured you—"

Zell bristled. Seifer always knew how to annoy the crap out of him. Apparently times hadn't changed, but Zell was older and wiser, and didn't need to cry anymore. What had once been a merciless cruelty had become more of a playful banter. Deep down he suspected that Seifer might even respect him on some level.

Maybe.

"I can tell by the way she writes. It's clearly a chick. What's her deal? How old is she? She seems—"

"Uh, uh, uh." Seifer wiggled his finger at Zell in a manner a parent would chastise a small child. "Ain't telling you shit, Dincht. Just tell the Archivist that I need to know about the money. They'll know what I mean."

Zell's eyebrows shot up. "Archivist? Cool code name!"

"Much better than the Boy with the Ruby Dragon Tattoo, or whatever dumb shit you're using—"

"Hey, it's better than Odin!"

Seifer actually paused at that one, his face draining of color for a brief moment. Normally the banter was back and forth, easy flowing, nothing truly personal, but whatever Zell said had clearly struck a nerve. Zell almost was ready to apologize after the look on Seifer's face. Almost.

"Just get your shit done, Chicken-wuss. Try not to take a week this time," Seifer muttered as he left the room.

Who made him the boss anyway?

Asshole.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Quistis and Raijin arrived back at the apartment with a few more bags of clothing and the new watch dangling from Quistis wrist. They had spent the 50,000 gil on a new wardrobe for her, which she had been wearing around town. The wardrobe went all the way down to her undergarments. She had underwear that cost what she would normally spend on a pair of jeans. Raijin kept assuring her it was important for appearances.

She was hanging up her clothing in Seifer's large, nearly empty walk-in closet when she heard the door to Fujin's bedroom slam rather loudly and the unmistakable sound of Seifer mumbling something irritated under his breath as he stomped into the kitchen.

She followed the sound of the muttering and found him pulling a pastry box from the fridge which he tossed unceremoniously on the kitchen counter.

"Here." He gestured towards the box when he saw she was standing at the threshold.

"What is it?" Quistis asked.

"Just open it. It won't kill you."

She did, tugging on the ribbon around the box bearing the name of the bakery, "Tear's Point Treats", and opened the white box. Inside was a single strawberry cupcake with white buttercream frosting. Her favorite. How did he know?

"What is this for?" she called to his retreating form. He had already started to leave the kitchen while she was opening the box.

"Don't tell me you forgot your birthday just because we're all going to be dead in a year." His voice called out from his bedroom.

Quistis didn't know what to say. Truly, she had forgotten her birthday. She had never been a birthday person to begin with. Making a big deal out of them always felt immature and silly. But the fact that he remembered without any reason to. Without any prompting. Was this just because they were playing house? Or was he trying to make amends for past sins? Trying to make her comfortable? Was it an elaborate trap to make her feel comfortable, only to sweep the rug from under her feet and do something nefarious?

He was at the front door before she could say anything, dressed in extremely attractive tight navy trousers and a form-fitting polo shirt that showed the taut muscles of his back.

"I'm out for the night. Won't be back until late." He left before she could say anything else.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

That night, Quistis lay awake on the couch. As she had done most nights in the week that she had started living in Seifer's apartment. She had become so accustomed to sleeping with Zell next to her that it had become the only way she could sleep now. But, Zell was either out working in some café, or sleeping on a cot in Fujin's room, or working with his machines. Or in some long encrypted conversation with Seifer's hacker. Zell didn't have the same problems sleeping that Quistis did.

The entire week was replaying in her head. From the pointless shopping trips, to the expensive underwear, barely seeing Seifer, and then when she did, him giving her a cupcake. It was almost like he was flirting with her. Or messing with her head. With Seifer, it was always hard to tell. It was early in the morning and Seifer still hadn't returned. Raijin had been back for hours and she could hear his soft snores from his room upstairs.

It wasn't like she was worried or anything.

Having only managed a few hours of sleep a night for the past week, she finally succumbed to exhaustion and dozed off for a few hours, before waking up in a cold sweat.

She wasn't sure if it was dreams that woke her, or… what she heard next. A whimper. A groan?

Glancing at the front door, she saw Seifer's shoes haphazardly tossed by the threshold, the deadbolt locked in place. So, he was home. She tried to squint to see the clock in the kitchen, but couldn't make out the numbers without her glasses on. It had to be late. Or early. Depending on who was asking.

Another deep groan.

Did Seifer have an overnight guest?

The idea that he had a guest irritated Quistis immensely for some reason, and pulling her blanket around herself she crept to his door to listen. Against her better judgement. It was a safety consideration after all. Especially if she was supposed to be his girlfriend.

Yet another groan, though it sounded less like one of pleasure and rather one of pain. Followed by a whimper. And not a pleasant one. There was the sound of sheets shifting and a series of rapid-fired cursing.

A nightmare?

Did he have them too? That shouldn't have surprised her.

"Stop creeping outside my door already." His voice startled her. "What the hell do you want?"

Quistis carefully pushed the door open to survey him. The blinds were open, moonlight and light pollution streaming in the window, casting grey-blue shadows on him. He was sitting up in bed, shirtless. Seifer's body had always been pleasant to look at, and it certainly hadn't changed with time. If anything, it was even more impressive. But while his body was impressive, his face was not: his eyes were red, his brow creased, hair tussled, showing a fitful sleep.

She instinctively clutched the blanket around herself tighter. Suddenly feeling self-conscious in her skimpy tank top and shorts that said "Deling U" across her rear, she didn't know what to say. Asking him if he was having a bad dream seemed like something that would be met with scorn. Or ridicule.

He sighed, before jerking the soft-looking sheets off himself and the bed and opening his arms. "Well, come here already."

"Wh-what?" She didn't like how shrill her voice sounded.

"You can't sleep either, right?" He gestured to the spot on the bed next to him with a jerk of his head. "I'm not stupid, Quistis. Back in your apartment, you were either fucking Chicken-wuss, or you don't like sleeping alone, and—"

"Seifer!"

He was unfazed by her interruption. "—and I can't really see you fucking him. I mean the height alone. How the hell does that work? Then again, you seem like the kind of girl who likes to be on top—"

"Will you shut up if I get in that bed with you?"

Seifer grinned.

She couldn't help but grin back, shaking her head. Dropping the blanket on the floor, she crawled over the bed to settle underneath the sheets next to him. Blankets didn't separate them, as she normally did with Zell. He remained far away though, on the other side of the bed.

She wanted him closer. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body. To know that she was alive and next to someone else alive. But she kept her back to him, staring at the moon from the floor-to-ceiling windows, trying to keep her breathing even and calm her racing heart. Why was her heart beating like this?

Some shifting, and the bed dipped slightly as his weight pressed into the mattress right behind her.

Finally.

She could finally feel the heat of his skin near hers, feel his rapid heartbeat against her back, just as fast as hers, as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her hair.

"Is this okay?" he whispered softly. So softly she barely heard it.

"Yes." She was surprised at how easily the word came out.

Was she so desperate for any contact? Would she want this from Raijin? Or Irvine? Maybe a companion in the same bed, but not like this. Not even Zell held her like this.

What was she doing?

"Stop thinking and sleep, Quistis." His hold on her tightened slightly, and within minutes his breathing stilled to the even pace of someone in a restful sleep.

She did sleep, and she didn't dream. Neither did he.

From that night on, she slid into bed next to him. No invitation was ever issued, and no question asked. It was a given. He would open his arms and she would crawl into them. And they would sleep.


beta: colobonema