19. Heart
She's a goddamn ray of sunshine. Watching her walk is better than booze and sex combined, and Hyne knows that those are two of Seifer's favorite past times. He's trying to figure out what to say to her–maybe he'll just get up and hug her and life will be all hunky dory.
She stops a yard away, crosses her arms and looks down at him in that sexy angry librarian way he's always been fond of. Irvine's with her, too. Maybe he's planning on shooting Seifer for real this time, wouldn't that be nice?
"...Seifer."
Ah, she speaks, yet she says nothing. "Quistis." Hell, he doesn't know what to tell her–sorry I'm not dead? There's an awkward tension that hangs between them. Irvine goes a few feet away and lights a smoke, and they're something like alone.
"Not even a hug?" He throws his arms wide, and neither of them can tell if he's serious or not. When her expression shifts, he drops his arms. "What?" His question's quiet.
"Why didn't you come back?"
Oh, hell. "It's a long story."
"You could have called. Six months, Seifer. Six months, and everyone thought you were dead."
His chest gets abruptly tight, because it looks like she's going to cry, and he can't stand it when her face does that...thing. He reaches for her.
"Don't."
"Quis..."
"Just...don't."
So he doesn't.