~Zell~
Pinching the arm of her glasses between her fingers, I watch Quistis as she guides me to place Ellone on a linen-lined metal table, similar to one you'd see in a veterinarian's office. The older man thanks me for bringing her down so easily before urging me towards the doorway to leave. I eye Quistis and raise a brow, making sure she is alright with my departure. She smiles and nods, offering a quick wave when I go back the way we just came. Just to be sure though, I lean against the wall outside of the room and cautiously watch and listen to ensure she would be alright with the doctor. The giant wall sign scrawled with 'Odine Laboratories' proves to be in the perfect position, the glassy surface giving me a clear viewing of inside the room without them realizing I am still here.
"Well," the doctor states, turning towards Quistis with his hands folded behind his back. Quistis stares at him, unsure of how honest the man's motives truly are when it came to offering to help Ellone. "Since you insist on being here, I insist on you helping me figure out what is wrong with her." The shorter man holds one of his hands out to his side, gesturing to the tabletop that expands the length of the room, covered in boxes stacked almost to the ceiling of the lab. "Start here with these, and see what you can find about Miss Ellone's abilities while I begin to conduct tests." Odine turns away from her then, heading towards the unconscious girl.
"What tests are you going to conduct exactly?" Quistis questions him suspiciously, watching his every move. The man halts beside the table Ellone is resting on and drops his head, shaking it.
"Standard checkup procedures Ms. Trepe, nothing unorthodox." His frustrations are starting to show, I notice with the bit of a bite to his tone.
"Certainly not with me right here, doctor," the strawberry blonde replies, narrowing her eyes towards him. She slides the box that is closest to her off of the counter and carries it to a stool facing Ellone. Placing the box beside the girl, she scoots the chair as close to her as possible without being in the way and begins digging through its contents. Odine stares at her for a few more moments before shaking his head once more and getting started on his examination. Yeah, Quistis will be fine with him, I tell myself with a grin before turning and heading back towards the exit.
Stepping out into the warm air, I draw in a long breath, raising my arms up on either side of me in the process. I hold the air in my lungs until I feel like they're about to burst before exhaling harshly, dropping my arms back to my sides. Walking towards the car that brought me from the palace, I frown at the thought of going back. I need to clear my thoughts I decide, waving the driver of the car off and walking up the path towards the shopping center. The warmth of the day brought a lot of people out, but not an overwhelming amount. Finely dressed couples roam the edges of the roads to avoid any oncoming vehicles and wave at them if they do drive by. Peaceful and friendly people gather in tiny groups throughout the city, discussing the simple pleasures of living in Esthar. I wave to a smiling lady and her small boy as they pass by me, just leaving the shopping center kiosk. Pressing the screen to life, I briefly scan through the shop names before aimlessly pressing a few of them to see what they offered.
"Retail therapy, huh?" A familiar voice in my ear startles me. My eyes snap to the newcomer, shutting my shopping experience down since I broke eye contact with the machine. Seifer stands beside me, holding his hands up in a surrendering apology. His eyes stay where the computer screen once was to avoid mine.
"This huge city and you manage to find me," I murmur, suspicious of him actually finding me and not following me this whole time. Seifer's shoulders raise in a shrug.
"You weren't in your room. I asked the front guards if you returned yet and they told me you hadn't, so I started towards the lab, but I saw Laguna's driver pull up. You didn't get out of the car, which I didn't think you would anyway since you'd need to clear your mind, so I knew you'd be wandering around the city somewhere. Most of the city is just paths to more paths with an occasional floating garden near some stairs. This is about the only interesting spot, or at least interesting to you." His gaze meets my speechless face when he finishes his explanation before facing forward once again. "I do know you Zell. I've known you most of my life, remember?" he asks me with a deep breath. His hands were resting on his thighs, thumbs tucked inside the front pockets of his jeans. I notice the fingers resting outside of the pockets are trembling slightly. Is he nervous, I wonder dragging my eyes slowly back to his face.
"It wasn't retail therapy," I mumble after a few minutes of silence between the two of us before starting off again towards the palace. Since the person I am trying to avoid is standing right next to me, I might as well go back now. Seifer snorts, falling in line behind me to follow. I turn my head a few times, seeing him still staring down at his feet.
"Now you're blatantly following me," I joke, trying to lighten the mood between us. This is Seifer, the man I've known for as far back as the Guardian Force's allow me to remember. He's always been such an asshole, relentlessly teasing and poking fun at me, belittling me and humiliating me. This prick is one of the reasons I got into martial arts before we were shipped off to Garden, so I could protect myself against him constantly beating me up and calling me that damn nickname all the way up until SeeD exams. But now he's changed so much I hardly feel like I know him anymore. The blonde snickers behind me before picking up his pace and stepping in sync beside me. I watch him out of my peripheral as my mind races with all the differences from then to now in the man, but my thoughts seem to stick to one very large difference I can't seem to ignore.
"Why'd you do it?" I question him, my voice barely above a whisper as my throat is almost swollen shut from nerves. A familiar sneer appears on his face and I already hear the words he's about to say before he even utters a sound.
"Do what?" we both say at the same time. I stop walking and cross my arms, glaring at the back of his head. Maybe he isn't as different as I thought. Seifer takes a few more steps before turning his face to where I once was next to him, seeing my stance out of the corner of his eye. The blonde sighs heavily, glancing over to the other side of the path we're on. We were walking by one of the floating gardens he mentioned earlier, the staircase zigzagging back and forth between the floral levels. Seifer shuffles towards the lower level where a bench lies centered with the flower box behind it and takes a seat, resting his elbows on his knees and keeping his gaze on the ground. I take in my own deep breath and slowly walk over, settling down beside him and waiting.
"I know so much about you Zell. I remember so much from when we were kids at Matron's and in classes together at Garden. I know your habits and mannerisms, what makes you tick and what sets you off," he leans against the back of the bench now, trademark grin in place.
"Chicken-wuss" we both say, my eyes rolling into my skull instinctively as he breathes out a chuckle. His baby blues finally meet mine, the sneer fading into a sincere smile.
"But in all the years I've known you, studied you, learned everything there is to know about you, I never learned how to show you," he trails off for a moment, his hand clenching his jacket over the top of his heart. His eyes wince in pain as he pats his fist over his heart a few times, tears beginning to form in his eyes. All I can do is stare at him, words failing to form in my mind from the shock of the moment. Seifer sighs again, widening his eyes to stop the tears from pooling any more than they already have.
"After Edea and I changed back, I was overcome with memories of what I had done to you, to all of you. And when I would think back to when it started, the line between my control before her and her control over me was blurred," Seifer shakes his head and stares up into the sky, failing at preventing the tears from forming.
"I realized I couldn't tell where my torment against you guys ended and hers began."
~Seifer~
I take a moment to regain my composure, allowing the broken worded sentences to sink into the blonde's head. Is anything I am saying making any sense to him? Or am I wasting my time? After a few deep breaths, my eyes even out again, tears retreating. I glance over my shoulder to see Zell, staring forward his mouth slightly ajar.
"Does any of this make any sense?" I finally ask, my nerves almost completely shot. The blonde snaps his mouth closed and furrows his brow a bit, but keeps his eyes away from mine.
"You tortured me, Seifer. You used me as an easy target to beat up, pick on and everything in between. For the majority of my life that is all you've ever done to me," he trails off for a second, swallowing back his own tears before turning to face me on the bench. "What makes me think the words you say now, or your actions now are anything different?" I should have expected him to doubt me to some degree. Hell, this is chicken-wuss, the man I did focus my sole attention on for years only to humiliate and devastate at every possibility that arose. But his words still felt like taking a boulder to the gut, knocking the wind right out of my lungs. I hang my head low, dropping my eyes down to my boots and rack my brain on how I could possibly prove to him I no longer wished him any harm.
"I have nothing to give you as proof, Zell; only my broken stutters and a promise that what I said and did before will never happen again. If there's one thing I regret about my past aside from devoting myself unwillingly to a demented psychopath that tried to destroy the world and everyone in it, it is everything I did to you while growing up. I wish I could take it all back and actually have enough guts to show you how I felt. To show you how I feel even now, but all I can do is remember that my horrible treatment of you then is partially what made you who you are now, and that man is everything to me." His eyes stare into mine as both of our mouths seem to drop open. I think I shocked not only him, but myself with what I said, finally able to speak from the heart. It took my entire life to sit beside this man and say to him everything I've wanted to say to him since we were first learning how to fight, and I'm not going to waste this second chance I've gotten to see him again after everything we've been through.
Before he can turn away from me, I place my hands on both sides of his face and slowly lean forward, taking my time to see if he would forcefully pull away from me. He only stares at me, his eyes widening the closer I get. I savor the moments until our lips finally touch, keeping this time around a bit less rushed and harsh. His pillow soft lips press against my own, spreading warmth throughout my entire body. Our mouths mesh together for a few moments of bliss before he parts his lips, releasing a warm breath against my mouth.
A small moan passes through my own parted lips when I slide my tongue along his bottom lip. His hands suddenly cling together behind my head as he pulls me closer along the bench, his tongue seeking mine out. They dance together in our mouths for a few incredible moments before he finally pulls back to breathe, locking his eyes with mine. His expression reads pure shock, but his eyes still manage to scan over all of my features to see if any malice is hidden in them. When he doesn't seem to spot any, he leans back from me, pressing a hand on my chest to stop me from pulling him back in.
"I need to think," he manages to mumble under his breath as he runs his gloved fingers through his hair and zones out. I watch him, a smirk playing at the corner of my mouth when I see the affect our kiss had on him matched that of my own. His mind is racing, I can tell as his eyes flicker all over every surface before us, until they finally come back to mine.
"This is going really fast. I still don't know if I believe that this isn't just another sick joke, Seifer. But I really," he trails off, seeing the disappointment behind my eyes. Slowly he places his hand within my own in my lap, linking our fingers together. I watch our hands as they connect before looking back into his eyes. "I really hope this is real." He finishes with a blushing smile. I nod, bringing his hand up to my lips and press a quick kiss on the back of his glove. Frowning, Zell smirks at me as I twist my thumb behind his hand and scoot the fabric aside and try again, kissing the skin on the back of his hand this time.
"If you ever want to talk, or ask me anything, I'm here. All I can do is wait for you to be ready to believe me, and I am more than willing to wait," I mention before leaning in for another stolen kiss. Keeping it quick, I peck his lips a few times before standing, raising him with me from the bench. He keeps ahold of my hand as we head back towards the palace, my spirits rising with every step. I will prove to this man that he is everything to me, somehow. Even if it means waiting forever, I'll do it. I owe him nothing less.