A/N- If it weren't for my exams and my internet being down, I would have gotten this out sooner. I am currently working on the next chapter and hopefully it will be out sometime next week.
2 Reviews! Yay. I actually didn't expect that much since this is a old community. But it only take 1 review to keep me going.
So here is Chapter 2
An Overdue Homecoming.
"...How much longer?"
The much older man rolled his eyes. For the last hour Squall had decided that the lone wolf image wasn't going to work if he wanted to keep asking how far they were from Balamb.
Sighing he answered. "10 minutes."
They were in the control room, Squall leaning against a pillar erected in the middle of the room, trying to appear calm, cool, and collected; Although Winston had the suspicion that the man was edgy, irritable, and nervous. Squall kept a cool cold look on his face like always, but on the inside he was scared stiff. Although there were more pros than cons, Seeing Quistis again completely outweighed them.
What am I scared of? He scolded himself it's just Quistis, we'll pretend nothing ever happened between the two of us, and we'll go back to having a working relationship. He slightly brightensat his revelation. He'd just ignore the history of their year long relationship, and make sure no personal feelings get in the way. Not that he had any lingering affection for her... right?
Right. Of course he didn't.
"Approaching Balamb town harbour, Sir!" A ship mate announced.
Winston glances out a window and takes a minute overlooking the town of Balamb. The town was peaceful, even looking at it from afar he could sense a glow of serenity surrounding the relatively small town. He glances at the water climbing up the side of the harbour before it plummets back into the lake, once again becoming one with the larger body of liquid.
He shakes himself from his amazed awe at the puny, but magnificent town, and makes his way towards the lone soldier. It was time for a farewell.
"So I guess this is it." He says at the young man.
Squall nods, his chestnut locks shifting with the slight movement. "Yeah."
They stay in comfortable silence, both gazing out at the approaching land of civilization. "Quite a town you have here." Winston comments absently.
The brunette stares out, his eyes showing nothing. "I guess."
They fall back into silence, their feet vibrating as the engine slows down to a complete stop. Winston turns to look at the commander.
"You'd done well." A nod was his response. "Really, over the past four years you have been nothing loyal to your duty of protecting me." He pauses for a moment, sneaking a look to see if he got any reaction. "Balamb Garden is lucky to have you as a commander."
Squall was taken by surprise at the compliments directed at him. "Thank you, Sir, Just doing my job."
"Yes well four years is a long time to be away from home for just doing a job."
Home. It hadn't really hit him until now that he was back to the place where everything had started. The place where he was deemed a hero for defeating Ultimecia. The place where he learned how to open up and let people in. The place where he felt like he had belonged. The place where he had found love the first time and a second time. Home.
"Too long..." He says more to himself.
If the old man heard him, he decided not to comment. "Tell Cid, I'll fax him the mission report." Squall gives a curt nod and shifts his duffle bag on his shoulder, before he extends his hand in a formal goodbye.
President Winston smiles at the gesture, taking his hand in his before placing a firm grip and shaking.
The brunette begins his walk out the door, when the gruffly voice is heard once again.
"Squall" The man says his first name for the first time since they met four years ago.
The man turns, giving him his attention.
"Home is a shelter for all kinds of storms..." He says a distant look in his green orbs. "...even if there are storms within the home itself."
Squall stands motionless for a moment, closing his eyes, and letting the words sink deep into his soul. Maybe...just maybe he understood Squall and for that Squall respected him. Not many people attempted to peel away the protective layers back.
For the first time in nearly half a decade, Squall gave a smile. Not a slight grin, but a lips twisting-upward kind of smile.
"Thank you." He says softly
And he knows he means it because for the first time he sees a smile on the tormented young man's face, and instead of hearing a cold voice, he hears the softness within his voice, that's been concealed behind the bitterness.
He smiles as he sees the young man makes his leave and once out of the ferry takes his surroundings in like it was the first time he's been outside.
Squall trudges slowly, giving a slight wave at the departing ferry. He breathes in the familiar atmosphere, relishing in the relaxing tranquility it gave him.
He takes a seat on a nearby bench, dropping his duffle bag beside him, and loosening the blue collar of his uniform. Facing the blue depths and gazing out towards the sea, he lets his entire body slump against the worn out wood.
He was 18 when he left. Four years later and he's 22. He was still young, yet he felt like a war veteran. The term fit him. He all but protected the president of Timur from every threat perceived against him. He had his doubts when he was told he was going back. But now he felt relieved. Relieved that he could finally stop fighting and go back home.
He looks up at the gigantic orange orb in the clear sky. Too early He thought. That was his excuse. It was too early in the morning, students were probably still in class, and he wouldn't dare disturb any classes with the amount of strict instructors at Balamb.
Or maybe you're just finding any reason to avoid the inevitable.
He shook that thought out of his head, deciding that he would get reacquainted with the town until he was good and ready to go back.
Sighing, he stands up and tosses his duffle bag over a shoulder and with slight peace of mind, aimlessly wanders around Balamb.
-----
"I don't know." Selphie murmured. "I still think the second one was good."
"That ugly thing? You might as well wear a garbage bag." Rinoa huffed.
The 22 year old blonde sighed for the umpteenth time in the last two hours. They were sitting in the deserted cafeteria, flipping through half a dozen wedding magazines, trying to decide on a wedding dress for her upcoming day.
"When is it again Quisty?" Selphie asked.
"A little over 2 months from now." Quistis sighed, closing the latest magazine.
"Wow. I still can't believe that our Quisty is getting married!" Rinoa teased.
She couldn't imagine getting married to anyone else but Seymour. He was her saviour after everything she had endured.
She smiled, as she remembered the first time they met.
-----
"Are you sure everything is alright Quisty?" Rinoa softly asked her.
She nodded, pushing away the tray of food, deciding that she didn't feel like eating her lunch anymore.
It had only been a month since Squall was pronounced dead and Rinoa was extremely worried about the group, especially for the newly re-instated instructor. She looked paler than she usually did. Her eyes had dark rings around them, obviously showing that she was not sleeping. The blonde seem to forget how to laugh, even her radiant smile was virtually non-existent these days. Her desire to be alone was strong. It had taken her half an hour to coax her out of her classroom to come have lunch with her friends.
"I'm going to go finish up on some papers I need to mark." The blonde stated.
Rinoa hesitated for a moment, before sighing and nodding.
The blonde headed out of the cafeteria, but didn't go back to the classroom. Instead she found herself sitting at the side of the crystal like fountain.
Placing her blue clad elbows on her bare knees, she leaned out and stared out into nothingness.
It was still difficult to believe that he was gone. Actually gone. Sure, he had gone on missions, but he had always come back to her. Always. It tore at her heart to let him leave with the way they left things. She had to deal with the aftermath of his death alone. No matter what anyone tried to say, nothing helped. Nothing would help ease the guilt she felt for the terrible things she had last said to him.
All she could think about was never running her hair through his surprisingly soft hair, or how she would never see the rare smiles he only gave to her. She missed him, she concluded. Everything about him she would miss.
"Are you okay?" A voice erupted her lonely thoughts.
She tore her eyes away for the muddy floors, and in front of her stood a handsome tall blonde man, looking like he did not at all fit in with the Garden. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she snapped, annoyed at the disturbance.
The mysterious man shrugged his broad shoulders, and flashed a white smile. "I don't know. When I see a pretty girl sitting by herself and wallowing I assume she's not okay."
She stared at the blonde, angered by the fact that he thought he could read her. "Well you're wrong because I'm perfectly fine. So you can get lost." She said venomously.
The man looked taken aback at her angered outburst. "Look I didn't mean to intrude..." He trailed off, not wanting to get slap if he uttered something that would blow the top off of the girl.
Quistis sighed, knowing that she had no right to take out her pain and anger on a stranger. "It's okay." She says, cutting him off.
Yet the man still didn't leave. Instead he took it as an invitation to take a cautious seat beside the sorrow filled blonde. "You know it's not healthy to keep things bottled up."
The instructor snorted. "What are you? A therapist?" She sarcastically questions.
The man grinned a little. "No, but I-"He is abruptly cut off as he tries to lean back on his hands, oblivious that he was sitting on the side of a fountain and that there was water behind him instead of a solid surface.
Water splashes up and Quistis immediately moves from her spot, trying to avoid getting drenched.
He hears a couple chuckles and giggles from passing students that witness the embarrassing incident, and unexpectedly, the pretty blonde lets out a laugh of her own. He finds it weird how her laughter seems to stand out from the rest.
She offers him a gloved hand. He takes it as water is dripped of his ruined suit and back into the fountain as he steps out.
"Thanks" he mumbles, obviously still embarrassed at the accident.
"No problem." She offers.
He shifts, uncomfortable with the added weight from the water. He looks up to see her with a slight grin.
"Did I just see a smile on the ice goddess?" He teases.
As much as she tries to stop it, her slight grin turns into a full grin. "Shut it, before I shove you back in there."
He laughs at her threat, before his eyes wander to the clock. His eyes widen as he realizes he was late.
He was here to get the role as commander and walking in late drenched head to toe was not exactly the best impression.
"I should probably go." He motions to the clock, before he turns away.
He stops for a second and turns back around to face the mysterious women. "Hey," She looks up at him. "Like I said before, it's not healthy to keep things in." He stops, feeling uncomfortable with his next words. "But I'm here if you ever want to talk." He finishes.
With that he walks off. Cringing with every squeak his soaked boots made.
As he is boarding the elevator, he doesn't notice the odd looks he was receiving; instead he sees a smile on the blonde women's pretty features.
-----
Quistis would be forever grateful for the way he had picked her back up.
Of course they didn't exactly get along right from the start; but she had taken him up on his offer and began talking to him. She talked about everything and anything...except Squall. She would only get choked up when she would start to talk about him. To this day Seymour had no idea of her history with Squall, heck he doesn't even know a Squall existed. Even the group didn't mention Squall because of the uncomfortable subject of him. Gradually talking turned into dates, dates turned into a relationship, and a relationship turned into an engagement. All in the span of four years.
"Quisty, how about this one?" Selphie reached across the table and threw the magazine down in front of the blonde.
The blonde readjusted her glasses and she almost gasped at the sight of the absolutely gorgeous dress. The silhouette of the sleeveless white dress was a ball gown style, a fitted bodice and a waistline leading to a very full skirt, the train of the dress was a royal style, 4 feet long of sparkling white.
"This is the one." She barely whispered.
The raven haired girl and the happy-go-lucky brunette breathed out a long breath, happy to be done with the tedious process of picking a wedding dress.
"Let's go celebrate!" The short haired girl squealed.
The two other women looked at her.
"Aww come on guys, I spent my entire free spare sitting on my butt reading wedding magazines." She wrinkled her nose at the cause of her boredom. "Let's go out for drinks!" She seemed so excited, Quistis almost couldn't deny her.
"I don't really know..." Quistis said as she began to pack up the magazines, before getting up.
Selphie and Rinoa follow right behind her heels. "Don't be such a party pooper Quisty!" Selphie all but screams.
"Yeah, I guess this would be pretty fun..." Rinoa quirks an eyebrow at the overly excited girl.
The strict instructor shakes her head "Thanks but no thanks."
Selphie pouts "Why not Quistis? It's just going to be a day of relaxation. There shouldn't be a reason not to go...unless..." The shorter girl stops mid-step and her eyes widen as if she realized something.
Pushing her hair out of her glasses, Quistis raises an eyebrow. "Unless what?" she inquires.
Selphie moves her eyes toward the blonde and slowly points an accusing finger at her. "...unless you're... pregnant!" She squeals happily.
Quistis drops her magazines. "What! No I'm-"
"That explains why you don't want to go!" She once again raises another accusing finger at the startled blonde.
She swats the offending finger away. "Selphie, that's just ridiculous, I'm not-"She once again gets cut off.
The brunette leans on the tips of her toes and back to the heels. "Then prove you're not, come with us." She says with a sly smile. "Or else..."
Quistis openly gapes at the cunning girl. She wouldn't spread such a false lie would she? She courseshe would. This was Selphie Tilmitt, the biggest gossip in the entire garden. She even placed a single day of the week as her gossip day, whereas she would go around the garden trying to gather any dirty information.
Quistis knew she was defeated. Selphie had outsmarted her. "Fine..." she hesitantly agrees.
Her eyes light up as she won. "Great! We'll go later after you're done with your classes!" With that she happily skips off, dragging the frighten looking Rinoa along.
Quistis lets an amused expression grace her face as she bends down to pick up the fallen recreational reading material, making her way to her awaiting class.
-----
It was early evening, the sun starting to set, when he decided it was time to head back.
He wasn't sure what kept him so long from heading there straight away, but the point was that he was heading back...eventually. He stares down at the mug of lukewarm coffee in his hands, noticing how the dark liquid made a slight ripple whenever someone walked across the diner.
He turns his gaze out the tinted window of the diner, watching as couples strolled along the boardwalk towards the beach as if nothing in the world was wrong. He adverts his gaze away. Those things were not what he needed to look at, especially when they brought back memories. Memories that he knows he will never be able to re-live again.
A hand waving in front of his face brought him back to his surroundings. "Refill Hun?" the waitress who looked to be mid twenties asked him.
He nodded absently, gently pushing his now empty mug towards her. She poured the steaming beverage into the mug, flashed him a flirtatious smile, and walked away, deliberately swaying her hips in a futile attempt in seducing him.
Squall made no move with the smile thrown his way. No women ever seem to match up with Quistis. Their hair was never golden enough, their smiles were never as white and glistening, and their eyes...their eyes were never blue enough, their eyes never spoke to him like Quistis' did with him.
He made no effort to completely erase her out of his mind. He tried; he tried as hard as he could. Yet he would always find himself clutching onto whatever memories were left in his hazy brain. He wondered sometimes, if she ever had gone weeks where she hadn't slept a wink because he was on her mind, if she even thought about him at all, or if she was happy he was supposedly dead.
He wouldn't be surprised if she was thrilled with his death. He would want himself dead if he witness what she had witnessed.
He takes brief sips of the coffee, swirling the bitter taste in his mouth.
"Hey! Aren't you Commander Leonhart?" His dark eyes fall to a young boy with burnished shaggy hair.
Squall languidly nods his head, curious as to how the boy knew him. "Can I get your autograph?" He asks excitedly.
Befuddled, Squall nods. His confusion turns into realization as the youngster pulls out an old newspaper. The man takes it out of the boy's small hands and reads the fine print.
Squall Leonhart, Commander of Balamb Garden and his fellow SeeDs protect the world from sorceress from the future!
Below was a group picture of the named heroes and heroines. Zell and Irvine were both in each other's headlocks; Rinoa was kneeling down in the middle with Angelo, Selphie flashing the camera an extraordinary smile. Although they all brought back good memories. The man with brown hair, and a rare smile on his face was his interest or namely the pair of arms that were wrapped around his waist. He was standing to the side with his arms folded across his chest, his face showing no emotion. Quistis had come up to him and unwrapped his folded arms and instead wrapped her own arms around his mid-section and as the camera flashed, Squall couldn't hold the smile that sneakily crept onto his face.
"Um... Commander?" The boy nervously asked, obviously smitten with his hero.
Jumping slightly, he snatched the pen outstretched to him by the boy and carefully signed his name.
The boy's eyes light up like an ember in a fire. "Thanks! I kept this paper so that if I ever met you, you could sign it!" He hopped away joyfully, saying something about showing this to everyone he knew.
Squall felt his lips quirk upwards. Still to this day, he got the occasional recognition from those who followed him throughout his on-going adventure.
He downed the rest of the bitter beverage, deciding that now was as good as any time to start his journey back to Garden. Throwing a few gil onto the table he adjusts the filled duffle bag and pushes out the transparent doors and into the warm early evening. He spots a cab as he rounds a street corner, and he contemplates whether or not he should take the easy ride there.
The brunette decides to go by foot. It would give him time to think, and he really just needed to see everything again. He walks across each street, the glow from the setting sun casting a dark shadow of his figure onto the road. Before he knows it, he makes it to the front gate of the town of Balamb.
"Leaving sir?" The authorized man in blue asked.
He nods his head, buttoning up his uniform collar.
The short chubby man reaches around to his toll booth, playing with the control for a while before the steel gates part. "We hope you enjoyed your stay here in Balamb!" He wishes with so much enthusiasm that he thought his voice would break from the genuine happy vibe.
Squall steps out and he gazes out at the surroundings. The prairies were a deep verdurous green, the less numerous trees peeking out every once in a while. The air smelt fresher, much more vibrate then it had when it was polluted by the man made pollutants. He continues on the grass, hearing a slight crunch under his weight with every step.
He can't help but wonder if she had change since the last time they had seen each other. Was she still the caring, loving protector of everyone? Did she still wear those hairclips in her blonde hair, or had she listened to him and let her hair fall naturally around her beautiful face? Or had she decided to change her entire look?
A hiss brought him out of his daydream and he quickly grabbed his gunblade, and poised it up in battle position as a killer wasp flew at him, needle ready to inflict poison. He stands for a moment unfazed, surprised at how slow the monster was moving towards him. Just as the wasp came in striking distance, the highly trained SeeD gave a single slash with the weapon, giving the redden blade a quick wipe directly after before continuing to the awaiting garden.
The monsters around here used to give me so much trouble. He thought. It was that mission, he figured. Every day during that tiresome, incessant mission, he had fought everyday of every minute. The monsters there were associated with high grade technology, making them even more burdensome then the ones found here.
He was isolated during the term of the mission, and had regretted taking on the long term responsibility, but it made him stronger,both physically and mentally. He could easily take out any threat thrown his way, with a few swings of his deadly blade, no one ever dared to step foot with him. He could keep his mind at bay; he felt no regret or guilt when he killed like he did before. His mind was numb, shut out with no insignificant value when it came to killing. Squall went into battle with only killer instincts, and it was enough to get him through his ordeals.
He disposed of the few brave monsters that got in his way. He heard no crunching of grass as his heavy boots hit the earth. Instead he heard clicks as his boots made contact with the hard pavement. With a little anxiety and fear, Squall looks up at the garden staring right back at him. Four long years and he comes face to face with his home. It was still the same as he remembered; a royal sapphire blue coated exterior. Trees were lined up in such an articulate way that he was sure they hired a famous artist to make trees of all things a master piece.
He carefully stalked up the small set of concrete stairs to get a better look of everything. Everyone was gone; probably off to bed as he realized that the sky turned from a violet to a dark, star littered one.
Not in a rush, he slowly moved towards the entrance of the front of the garden. He spotted the reception booth at the front door with the personnel inside who appeared to be sleeping on the job. Deciding not to wake him, he goes through the one way lane with 'in' written in bright ember letters.
Inside the familiar surroundings were a few stranglers sleepily walking to their respective dorms. His grey eyes widen as a senior kid looks curiously at him standing in the entrance of the school. He quickly slides back into the shadows casted by the potted plants. It wouldn't exactly be a good idea to walk around the Garden when the entire school thought he was dead. He didn't need for a kid to go around screaming that he saw a ghost.
He takes a peek and sees that the kid stares for an extra second before shrugging and strolling off. Knowing that he couldn't be seen, he quickly jogs towards the elevator, jumping a larger set of stairs two at a time. He pushes the button impatiently, not wanting to be spotted. Finally the doors slide open and he himself slides in.
He leans on the metal railing as the elevator ascends with conservative flight.
Reaching the top floor, he steps out.
The secretary, who was beginning to pack up her belongings, looks up at him. "May I help you?" She gives a curious look at the man who arrived late in the evening.
He brushes his hands down the front of his suit, suddenly self conscious about his dishevelled appearance. "Yes, I'm here to see headmaster Cid." He says.
The redhead looks at him with a questioning face, nodding slowly and opening large double doors before disappearing inside.
He hears mummers inside and he takes the precious moment to inspect his commander uniform, buttoning up any loose buttons, and brushing away any dirt and wrinkles he had gotten on them on his way here.
The redhead pokes her head out. "What's your name?" She suspiciously directs at him.
The tired brunette stops fiddling with his uniform and her eyes widen as she seemed to take notice of his elite status when he answers. "Squall Leonhart."
She stares at him for few extra seconds, actually wondering if it was the Squall Leonhart, before she nods her head, and disappears back inside the door.
"You can go right on in." She says, once she comes back to greet him.
Squall takes a deep breath, walking towards the pre-open door.
The doors close behind him with a light bang. He stands a few feet away from the doors and he spots the shorter older man staring out the wall sized windows.
Not knowing whether or not the man noticed his presence, Squall takes a look around the spacious office. It was almost exactly the same the last time he been in here. Books ranging from thickness filled the mahogany book shelves; the overly cluttered desk in the back of the room was illuminated by the slight moon light shining through the crystallized windows.
His gaze adverts to the movement of the man in front of the window.
Cid turns around to face Squall and once his aged eyes fall upon him, he happily beams at the young man.
"Squall." He moves away from the moisture coated windows and towards the man in the uniform.
Unexpectedly, the shorter man engulfs the brunette in a warm hug. Squall, although doesn't return the hug, doesn't push away either.
Cid moves away, motioning for Squall to follow him as he sits in the expensive leather chair behind his desk.
Squall follows suit, dropping his duffle bag by the chair, before he himself takes a seat in front of the desk. He feels his tense legs relax from the extensive activities it had endured.
"You're back." He says simply.
Squall raises his brow "Is that okay?"
He gives a wave of his hand "Don't be silly, of course it is." He reaches forward attempting to straighten out his messy desk. "Just expecting you earlier."
He thinks back to where he was earlier. Wandering around, putting off coming back. Squall nods, silently rubbing his knuckles.
"How was your mission?" Cid was interested in the details, with a four year mission under his belt; he must have tons of stories to tell.
The grey eyed man shrugs, "It was fine."
Cid sighs. He's still the same old Squall. He thought with amusement. He had feared the commander would change after such a long time away. But he hadn't changed; he was still the straight to the point, anti-sociable leader. It was often that young SeeDs were sent on missions and they came back completely scarred for life. He hadn't expected much change out of Squall though; the man was unfazed by anything that went about around him. He was made of ice, cold bitter arctic ice.
"Have you suffered any serious injuries?" He questions
Squall gives a shake of his head. "I'm fine." He responds.
He painfully wanted to know where the blonde instructor was, but it would cause too much of a suspicion. So instead of singling out the one woman, he keeps quiet. He didn't know if he wanted to ask because he wanted to see her or wanted to know where she was so he could purposely avoid seeing her. When it came to Quistis, he didn't know what he wanted. He was always confused. But he knew one thing. He knew that he was content in her company. Although he didn't know if that would be the same considering the circumstances of his abrupt departure and their destroyed relationship.
"They went out to celebrate." He stated, as if reading the young man's thoughts.
The startled brunette stares at him incredulously, "How'd you..." He trails off, confused by the man's words. Celebrate? He thought. Celebrate what? He transfers his attention to the man as he speaks.
He buttons a loose buckle on his red sleeveless sweater, grinning with knowledge. "Everyone needs people in their life Squall. Even you." He says with brilliance. Even though the man kept any feelings hidden deep within, he unknowingly shows more emotion in his eyes than he did if he spoke.
"You should probably get some rest; it looks like you haven't slept for a while." He comments on Squall's fatigued frame.
Squall wonders if his face showed any signs that he were an insomniac. He furrowed his brows as he remembers Cid wasn't the first person to point out his apparent tiresome face. He nods, reaching down to gather his belongings.
"Your old dorm is already prepared for you," he reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out the key card. "Here it is." He hands the pass to other man's outstretched hand.
"Oh, by the way, I have to ask a favour of you." He says in a low whisper, as if someone was watching them.
Squall sighs, he hadn't even been here a full hour yet and he was given another task. I guess that comes with accepting commander status.
"What is it?"
"Try to lay low for at least today." Squall quirks a brown brow. Cid explains. "Everyone thinks you died. I don't want to scare the entire school with a ghost." He says laughingly.
The brunette understandingly nods, turning his back and moving towards the door.
"Squall"
He stops and turns to look at the headmaster. "Yeah?"
"It's good to have you back. You were very well missed." He gives a teasing smile.
That brought out a shadow of a grin on his handsome features. "I...I think it'll be good to be back." He pushes out the doors and into the awaiting elevator.
-----
Quistis' head was throbbing. It felt like a jackhammer was going off on the top of her pretty blonde head. She knew it was a bad idea going along with Selphie. That girl was so...demanding, and insistent. Although she didn't force alcohol down her throat, she made her feel horrible for not participating in her made up drinking game. In the end the perky girl had made her drink until she thought she would end up in a coma by the end of the night.
With a giggling Selphie on one side of her, and a snoring Rinoa on the other, the trio waited patiently in the back of the cab. They had gone to Balamb for the little celebration, and while she was there she thought she spotted a man wielding a gunblade heading towards Balamb. She quickly shrugged it off on the intoxicating drinks she had consumed.
She craved nothing but going to her room and passing out on her bed. It was already pass curfew for the students, and too late for her.
The cab came to a gradual halt at the gate of the Garden and Quistis gently shook Rinoa awake, as the still giggling Selphie paid the driver with crumbled Gil.
"That was soooo much fun!" The brunette slurred, once they had reached the lobby of the school.
"I'm sure I'll regret this in the morning, but for right now I'll have to agree." A swaying Rinoa said.
Quistis at the moment was having a hard time staying upright. Giving up on trying staying upright on her own, she places her hand on a nearby wall and uses it for a substitution of her impaired balanced and slightly blurred vision.
"Yeah. Fun." She yawned.
"Someone's sleepily." Selphie slurred before falling on her behind and laughing as loud as possible.
"Alright, I'm going to bring her to bed before she wakes up the entire Garden." Rinoa stumbled over her sentence. "Will you be alright going to your room?"
"I'll be fine." The blonde assured the caring girl.
She rounded a corner, her hand still on the wall, when she saw a silhouette of a man come through the dimly lighted elevator entrance.
She didn't know what drew her to him but there was something so achingly familiar with his stature. So much so that she could feel a distinct, but familiar chill run up and down her spine. She squinted in the darkness trying to rid her blue eyes of the blurriness.
The man takes a cautious look around, as if he didn't want to be seen. He gazed in her direction but didn't seem to take notice of her from her standing in the shadows and the lack of lighting the Garden had in the early hours of the morning.
Quistis on the other hand strained to catch a glimpse of his face. From not wearing her glasses and the effects of drinking, her vision was not the 20/20 it usually was. Although she could tell that he had light brown hair, had some sort of bag over his shoulder, and was in a navy blue uniform.
He started to advance, going down the stairs and towards the dormitories wing.
The blonde quickly unstrapped her heels and abandoned her only temporary form of balance. What the hell is the matter with me? She mentally thought I'm stalking a man I don't know...and I don't know why! She didn't know why. But she knew there was something about him that was magnetic. Something about him that was begging her, pleading her to follow him otherwise she would sincerely regret it.
The world seemed to tilt from side to side with each uncoordinated step she took, but she was too determined to catch the mysterious man to fall in a heap. She tried to say as stealth as she could, not wanting the man to catch her following him. Her bare feet slapped across the cold tiles of the floor and she sped up her pace as she lost sight of him disappearing around a corner.
"Ooooft" She fell straight on her back as she collided with something.
"Quistis?" The voice sounded surprised.
Rubbing her lower back, she looked up "Oh, hey Seymour, what are you doing up?" The blonde slightly slurred.
"Trying to find you." He stated. He looked at her sprawled out form before lifting her up bridal style. "Are you drunk?" He wrinkled his nose as a strong stench of sour alcohol reached his nostrils.
"Maybe." She giggled.
He looked amused. Quistis was never one to get drunk, especially when she had a class early tomorrow morning. He was certain she was going to have one nasty hangover tomorrow morning. "Alright. Let's get you back to bed. "He whispered to her.
He pivoted with her still in his arms to the direction she was just coming from. As he began to walk them to their dorm room, she twisted her neck to see the man at the far end of the hallway, stopping in front of a door, pushing his brown locks out of his eyes before pulling out a key card and slipping inside the room.
If Seymour hadn't found her, she would have marched...or in her current state; stumble right up to that door and demand to know who he was. But she couldn't. Her Fiancé wouldn't be too pleased to know that his wife-to-be was following another man. So she pushed the subject to the back of her drunken mind and once in her dorm, fell into a fitful sleep full of dreams of the mysterious man.
I know there is a lot of things unexplained, but thing will become much more clear in the incoming chapters. Seymour will be more defined along with missing details.