A/N: FFVIII and its characters are property of Square-Enix. I have to extend my gratitude my thanks to the people who took the time to read and especially review this fic. It's encouraging that there are people out there who share my opinions on this game, so thank you very much, my two anonymous reviewers. And irishais, thanks so much for your support for not only this fic of mine but others as well. Your comment on Seifer's first line in the previous chapter reflected my opinion entirely, but I'm somehow unable to get the right words out. Hehe.

As it is, I really hope not to disappoint you, but here's a friendly reminder that each chapter I'm churning out is semi-drabblish, involving (somewhat) short conversations between Quistis and Seifer as their relationship progresses. This fic is probably not plot-driven and I'll leave the time lapse between events open for speculation. Hopefully it will still meet your expectations in some way. Please drop a review to let me know what you think!

I'll explain my rationale for this portrayal of Quistis in the next chapter... probably...

lessons in ineloquence

#02: p o co - a - p o c o

"Good afternoon, Seifer."

Seifer had been on the verge of storming into another door somewhere near the end of the corridor, but now he stopped to stare incredulously at the ex-teacher who stood with her back against the wall of the submarine. "What the heck? Why're you here? And aren't you sick of using that pretentious teacher-tone yet?"

"Assisting with the exam." Quistis folded her arms, a wry half-smile on her face. "I'm shocked, Seifer. You actually piggybacked your teammate all the way here. You do have compassion for fellow homo-sapiens, after all."

"In case you haven't tired of labeling me 'Monster' yet, Quistis, I'll remind you that I do retain so-called ties-of-humankind with Fujin and Raijin." His tone was less sharp than what Quistis had been used to. He was probably tired, judging from the way he half-slammed and leaned into the wall adjacent to Quistis'.

"The rest of your disciplinary committee, yes. You know, this is the first time I've heard you mention them in an almost-appreciative manner."

A girl in braids and an exceptionally-short skirt burst into the area before Quistis could hear Seifer's reply. Her face was streaked with tears and mascara smudges. Quistis watched, half-amused, as the overly-emotional girl began demanding from Seifer a report of the state of her wounded fellow teammate. The latter gave it in a highly-annoyed tone, and as the girl began weeping again out of gratitude, a vein in Seifer's neck bulged dangerously. Finally, the girl left, and Seifer rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

"That useless bitch and her equally-useless boyfriend," he growled maliciously.

Quistis smiled inwardly. Seifer Almasy had changed. She thought she would never be around to see that day arrive, but it had. If he had been the way he was just a year ago, nothing would have prevented him from giving the girl a hard shake and telling her exactly how little he thought of her in as impolite terms as possible. "Seifer," she spoke after a long pause, "why was it obvious?"

He stared at her, comprehension rising to his eyes only after a few seconds, and then snorted. "I can't believe you've still been thinking about that. You're even more pathetic than I thought, you know?" He turned away slightly. "It was the way you always looked at him with that mushy look in your eyes."

"Do you believe me when I say I'm happy at this point in my life?"

"How should I know, man? Different people see happiness differently. Sometimes it's all in the mind, and I'm not even gonna guess what's in that weird female brain of yours."

"Do you believe that contentment equals happiness? Because I dare to say that I'm contented. I'm earning my keep, I've got a number of really close friends and I work - live - in a vibrant and compassionate place. And I've been part of the team that saved the world!" She gave a little laugh. "There's nothing more I would ask for. It's just that I still feel sad and frustrated about Squall. But sadness and frustration's all part and parcel of life, right? If sadness and frustration are enough to tip the scales in favour of 'not happy', then no one would ever be happy, right?"

There was a long pause. Finally Seifer said, with narrowed eyes, "This whole happiness and sadness issue is crap, since I don't really understand why you can say you're happy when you have to keep questioning it yourself."

Seifer's unexpectedly insightful comment jarred Quistis to the bone. It took a long while for her to laugh and say, "I can't believe it… I actually tried to strike up a philosophical conversation with Seifer." She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I must be losing it."

"You sure don't sound so professional anymore, mam. Eh? What is it again, you wimpy wuss?" For the girl-in-braids had just run in once again.

(little by little)