~Quistis~
I pace back and forth, avoiding eye contact with the boxing blonde in the corner of the headmaster's office. His irritation with me can be felt from halfway out into the hallway but I don't have time to answer his questions. My only concern is seeing that Squall is, in fact, alright. Zell Dincht will just have to wait his turn to ask anyone any questions. Blue eyes bore into the back of my skull when I stop my antics and just stare at the door, waiting for something to happen.
"Hey guys!" A voice shrieks through the doorway from the other side. And here we have Selphie Tilmitt, the only other person I know in this garden that maintains similar levels of hyperactivity to Zell's. Before either of us could respond, a small yellow blur flashes into the room and takes a seat behind the large desk. The tiny brunette giggles as she bounces up and down in the seat, humming her usual song she made up about trains and appearing to not have a worry in the world. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I turn to fully face Balamb Garden's nunchuck-wielding pyrotechnician before another familiar voice eases its way into the room behind me.
"Come on Selphie, you know I always get the desk chair." I exhale a breath I didn't realize I was holding and turn back to the doorway as the charming cowboy's words melt into our ears. He steps into the office, his trench coat swishing with each step. Pinching the brim of his ten gallon hat and tugging it downwards, he greets Zell before turning his blue eyes to my own. The man shifts his fingers so his thumb and index finger form a finger gun, the pointer finger now pushing the brim of his hat upwards to fully expose his eyes to my own. One of his eyelids slowly closes, winking at me shamelessly in front of the others as he finishes addressing the brunette behind the desk. "One way or another, that is."
A gentle giggle abruptly morphs into a squeak when the tall cowboy clutches Selphie's body with his hands and lifts her from the chair like a feather before seating himself and settling her body into his lap. The quirky brunette doesn't sit still for long though, shoving herself off of the man with little concern for his body as she hurls herself up and a few feet away from the forward man. The cowboy's injuries are not the cause of the hurt now displaying across his face though, since he quickly regains his composure by tilting his hat forward to hide any visible emotion. A dirty trick, I think to myself when I notice Selphie's triumphant glare wilting with every centimeter of Irvine's face that hides from her vision. Without hesitation, the concerned female kneels down beside the office chair to gaze into the man's eyes.
"Aww, Irvy!" She squeals as she playfully smacks his shoulder, a classic Selphie move to cheer him right up. She gently places both of her hands on either side of his hat and slowly raises it off of his head, revealing his caramel colored ponytail and downward stare. The smirk could no longer be hidden from us, as I knew he was only playing wounded for the girl's returned attentions. Selphie giggles once more when she places the hat on her own head and tilts it with her own finger gun to mock the man before her. Before the nauseating facade could go any further, the office door slides closed, stealing all of our attention away. I sigh, shrugging away my concerns as Squall turns away from the door to faces us briefly and scans the room, probably ensuring everyone is present before he begins. His gloved hand points to Irvine with the slightest show of irritation behind his natural authoritative presence.
"Move." One word was all it took to snap the sly cowboy to attention. In an instant he's out of the office chair and standing beside me, a salute in place along with the rest of us. We are all close, obviously, since we knew each other when we were children and have grown close like we used to be once more. But we also all understand our roles and Squall's role was our leader when we were reunited back then and that still remains his role now since he is our recently appointed headmaster. Even as we were getting to know each other all over again, I cannot recall a time where Squall didn't just ooze domination, his presence just demanding respect from the get go. Despite that we all have so much history together, that doesn't change the fact that when Squall tells any one of us to jump, we never hesitate; we just jump. "At ease," Squall instructs after a quick salute.
He sits in his chair and turns, rolling on the wheels to adjust it back to the center of the desk before pinching the bridge of his nose in typical 'I'm-irritated' fashion. Is he irritated at Irvine and Selphie, or something else? I cross one arm on my torso and rest my elbow on it, pushing my glasses up slightly to better survey the man before us. His shoulders seem to be slouching a bit, a touch of darkness underneath his eyes and his hair appears to be flatter on one side compared to the other, possibly from lack of showering this morning. I recall when he moved towards the desk, his steps were loud due to his boots being unbuckled and he is holding what looks to be his phone charger in his hand.
I can feel my forehead crinkle at these minute but detrimental details I now notice. Anyone who knows this man even if only in passing is aware of how utterly and completely in control he is, down to the finest of details. The stoic brunette is easily the only one left out of us all who still religiously maintains the strict training regime we were once required to do as students before we all gave it up when we made it to SeeD members. That in itself takes up the entirety of a student's day, but Squall manages to do the training sessions and the workout while maintaining the appearances of oneself and one's dorm to protocol's standards. He scours the library for hours of learning about our surrounding enemies. All this on top of all of the headaches and time-consuming tasks required for running the Garden without missing a beat. It's been said you can literally count down to the second the moment when Squall starts or stops the task at hand. All of these are reasons for me to further frown at him now. To see him as he is now, still presentable to outsiders but, to the people that know him, he is completely out of sorts, and that has never been witnessed before. I hold my breath once again as I drink in the significance of these changes and take note of how unsettling and unnerving they are to say the least.
~Squall~
I pinch the bridge of my nose almost to the point of closure, failing to decide how I am to broach this subject with my team. My hand drops from my face back down on top of my desk with a thump as I release a sigh.
"Irvine," I state before sliding my other hand across to him. He steps forward, glancing between my hand and my eyes in eager curiosity. My gloved fingers release my phone charger while my other hand now digs in my jacket pocket for my phone. "Will you plug this in for me please?" The lean brunette nods, taking the cord and phone from me and plugging it into the far wall while setting the phone on the end table between the couches. I thank the curious man with a nod before bending down beneath my desk to buckle my boots. What they must think of me after this display? I silently begin to scold myself once more while my mind fills with the possibilities. With the buckles fastened, I sit up and slouch back into the cushioned seat with a huff, resisting the urge to try and read everyone's minds through their eyes.
"What's up man?" Zell breaks the silence with his question, which is surely the same question they all have. My fingers find their way to the top of my nose once more. What's up indeed? I intend to tell them I need a minute to think, to grasp what it is that happened last night to cause these abrupt and unwanted changes in me but I was cut off from my intentions.
"Whatever it is, just say it Squally!" Selphie's chipper tone rakes any construction of thought away with its shrillness. How Irvine can handle such a pitch, I'll never know. But that aside, a hint of a smile sweeps across my lips at her simplistic request. I'm not sure what 'it' is, can't you understand that? There's only one thought that has continuously returned while I have been attempting to devise a strategy, and that thought will just have to be my starting point I decide.
"Selphie," I state, standing from behind my desk to face them all. The others all sharpen their stances a bit at my sudden movement, snapping back to attention without being instructed to do so. My eyes address each of them silently, willing them to understand there is no plan in mind, only reactions to the actions of the previous evening. I don't want to consider it, to think of the possibility of something being wrong with Sis but it is still a possibility that continues to resurface which means only one thing. My eyes finally find the tiny brunette I called upon and she offers me a quick nod.
"Fire up Ragnarok, we're going to Esthar." The girl lights up immediately, excited to fly the machine again. She hastily salutes before bouncing out of the office in a flash. Before the others can begin asking questions, I hold up my hand to silence them.
"Pack for a week-long stay. Irvine, pack for Selphie as well since she's more than likely already in the cockpit and will refuse to leave. Quistis, instruct Xu and Nida to take over control of the garden in our absence." The two salute me before turning and taking their leave. I head for the door myself, my thoughts filling with final instructions for Xu and Nida but Zell breaks my concentration.
"Anything for me boss?" I glance over my shoulder as the blonde walks up behind me, twirling my phone and charger in the air. He hands them to me before clapping a hand on my shoulder.
"Aside from helping you keep your head on?" I smirk at the blonde as we both stalk out of the office and into the hallway, deciding to ignore the urge to tease with a little play on his words. The two of us have hinted in the past at possibilities occurring between us, more so in recent months but I still hold back, although I'm unsure why. To say Zell is enticing would be almost an insult at how big of an understatement it is, but I still couldn't seem to find my way with him. Lately I seem to be reciprocating his banter, but he is mostly the one that initiates anything between us… mostly.
"All you need to do aside from pack is be ready for training once we board." He catches my eye when we board the elevator, raising a brow as I lean in front of him to hit the button for the first floor. I clear my throat, causing him to do the same and we both return to our appropriately spaced apart stances.
"Does that mean I should go to the training center and gather the Ragnarok Special of Propagators?" he asks me while facing forward. I do the same, but a smile still crosses my face.
"If you'd rather fight them over training with me, I understand." The elevator softly drops the last few inches and before the door slides open I turn and stare into Zell's eyes, my smile turns into a smirk. Leaning towards the blonde, I shift to the side and bring my mouth to his ear.
"You couldn't handle me anyway." And with that, I exit the newly opened doorway without failing to notice the sharp intake of air from behind me. The blonde takes a moment to regain focus, almost getting swept back up to the second floor before he quickly bolts from the closing door and shuffles up behind me. Before he can catch up, I abruptly turn and face him once more, holding my hand up to halt him in his place.
"Where are you going?" I question him with a blank stare. The blonde's face creases with confusion at my sudden shift in behavior before pointing in the direction I was going.
"To the dorms to pack." He replies with all the confusion displayed on his face now in his tone. I wiggle my index finger at him and shake my head, pointing behind him.
"No, we'll stick to your suggestion. Go to the training center and secure some Propagators. Maybe you and I can do cardio training some other time." The blonde's jaw drops at my blatant flirting as we are both taken aback by my new found cockiness. I offer a quick wink on instinct and turn back towards the dorms to pack, leaving Zell behind me completely speechless. Hyne, what is wrong with me? Where did that come from? I tune those questions out for the moment, focusing on the situation once more while I turn down the dorm hall.