A/N: Due to a rule of ffnet, I cannot post any comments about your reviews anymore guys, sorry.
Either way, I'd like to take this chance to thank each and every one of you who have reviewed and read this story so far. You're truly giving me motivation to do as well as I can.
The last comment Seifer makes about cigarettes is 'borrowed' by the late and greatest stand-up comedian of all time, Bill Hicks (it's quoted exactly as said, hence the reference to Jesus, God and Claudia Schieffer…).
Many kudos go to my beta, squeakychris, for the title of this chapter and for a really tight spot out of which he helped me out, when I lost a good portion of stuff I'd written… And also, for bringing to my notice, the fact that I made a mistake in the previous chapter. A person in the FF8 world can feel the presence of the 'faeries' (when Ellone sends someone's conscience into another person's past) in his past, not in the future like I portrayed it. A mistake which I'm going back to correct in a few days.
And without further ado, the awaited chapter of pure Seiftisness ^_~
Last chapter summary: A small break from 'dreams' as Ellone brings Quistis back to reality for a little while.
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 17: Today's knights don't ride horses
A couple of Galbadia Garden students were sitting on a bench by the train station near their Garden, holding hands, talking. At exactly 1:30 past noon, a train came to a stop at that certain station. The door opened and the passengers began to disembark. Most of them were Galbadia Garden students, going back to their academy after a weekend away at their homes. Among them, the tall, towering figure of a young blond man stood out. Seifer stepped out of the train, looking around the landscape before him. Onto one of the benches next to him, a young girl sat, taking in long drags from a cigarette, admiring the view before her. Seifer sighed, yearning for a cigarette of his own at the time, but shook himself mentally. He pulled up the collar of his grey trench coat, looking around for any familiar faces. Luckily, he found none. He began walking down the stone steps, reaching the ground. He raised his chin and narrowed his eyes, watching Galbadia Garden in the distance. He took a deep breath 'Time to get serious…' he thought, and began walking towards the red building.
Once getting close, he sneaked towards the scarce flora, which in that case would happen to be a few trees and bushes, trying to camouflage himself. He sat down on the ground, holding his chin with his thumb and index finger, pondering on what his next move would be. He had to get in there without anyone noticing him… But how? He couldn't go through the gates unnoticed, unless… His emerald green eyes suddenly sparkled and a mischievous grin appeared broad on his face. He got himself ready mentally and stood on guard behind the bushes, waiting for someone to pass by. Many students came and went, but all of them where walking in groups or where too short for his size. After waiting for a fair twenty minutes, a lone student appeared, heading towards the Garden. Seifer vaguely recognized him as a passenger from the train. He examined him from head to toe 'Looks pretty damn close to my size… Perfect.' Fortunately, there were no other people in the vicinity, so all Seifer had to do, was seize this golden opportunity 'Looks like Lady Luck decided to be on my side today…' he thought grinning.
He waited for the right moment to come and when it did, he grabbed the kid by the collar and pulled him into the bushes. Within the blink of an eye, he hit the boy right on the curve of the shoulder, judo chop style, rendering him unconscious 'Damn…' Seifer thought, rubbing the back of his hair 'I thought that only worked in movies…' Without further ado, he grabbed the guy's legs and dragged him behind the bushes. He stripped him down to his underwear and followed suit in removing his own clothes. He wore the guy's uniform, which was an almost perfect fit. The pants were a bit too short, but when he lowered the waistline, they looked just fine. He then proceeded in emptying the back pack the boy was carrying and shoved his own clothes inside. He couldn't possibly leave his favorite attire behind… He threw the back pack on his shoulders and took a look at the boy lying unconscious on the ground before him.
- "This just isn't you lucky day…" he said smirking and walked out of his hiding place.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer adjusted his blue Galbadia Garden cadet uniform and ran a hand through his fair hair. He looked like a fucking goof to his eyes, but right now all that mattered was his mission 'Ready or not, here I come, Instructor…' he thought. He began striding towards the biggest of the three Gardens, unable to help but feeling a small sting of anxiety at the pit of his stomach. Wearing his best 'casual' mask, he walked down the corridor and to the front gates of the building. He gave a nod to the man guarding them, who returned it, while thinking who the hell that kid was. Seifer soon entered the Main Hall of G-Garden and crossed his arms 'OK Trepe…I'm here… Now where the hell are they hidin' ya?' he thought. It's not like he'd come across a huge label reading 'WE'RE KEEPING QUISTIS TREPE HERE' anywhere…
Thinking quickly, he remembered the one thing -among numerous others- he was damn proud of; his really good computer skills. He smirked and walked over to the Directory. He searched a bit and located the classrooms within the complex corridors of G-Garden. He walked over to the stairway and ascended, locating the classrooms on the second floor. He entered one he found empty and walked to the back rows. He rested the back pack he was carrying onto the bench and sat down. Cracking his knuckles, he switched the terminal before him on. Typing and clicking only in the thunder-like manner a hacker could do, he had soon infiltrated the mainframe of Garden. Meaning, he had access to any information he wanted… After a few minutes of searching, he was able to get hold of the surveillance camera units. He checked and saw that, right now, there was a camera watching him closely, so he had to hurry before anyone got to him. And as he guessed, the excuse of 'studying' wouldn't convince anyone… He searched around and managed to get hold of a 'map' of the surveillance network.
3rd FLOOR
|
Headmaster's office
2nd FLOOR
_______________________________________________________|_______________________________________________________
| | | | | | | | | | |
Closet 1 CLSRM #1 CLSRM #2 CLSRM #3 CLSRM #4 CLSRM #5 CLSRM #6 CLSRM #7 CLSRM #8 CLSRM#9 Closet 2
'Closet?' Seifer though, raising an eyebrow. He clicked on the link of the camera unit at the first 'closet' and waited a few seconds for the image to appear. Nothing… Just a storage room for brooms and stuff. A closet, as the description put it. While scrolling down with the mouse to see the ASCII code for the 1st floor, he stopped. Wouldn't hurt to go look back in the second closet. He'd only waste a few seconds. He scrolled back up and clicked on the second closet link. His green eyes widened up in excitement as soon as the image was revealed 'DAMN – FUCKIN' - BINGO!' he thought, trying hard not to yell from joy.
The camera was watching over a small, rather claustrophobic room, in which Quistis was being held. The room had a single bed and nightstand with a cabinet only. Quistis was lying onto the bed, dressed in a white… something… Seifer couldn't really make it out well through the distorted camera picture. She was either asleep or still unconscious. As Seifer switched the terminal off and rushed the bag onto his shoulders, he wished it was the first…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The tall blond walked down the 2nd floor corridor, heading towards the closet in which Quistis was held. As soon as he approached it though, he immediately turned back around and out of sight. That had been a close one… He'd almost been seen by the two soldiers guarding the room Quistis was in 'Well, what did you expect you idiot?' he cursed at himself 'A welcoming committee? Of COURSE she was going to be guarded.' Well, things had been convenient enough for him up to now; it was high time he did some serious thinking on his next step. But then again… Seifer was never one to think through things thoroughly… 'Oh well… I'll just do this the old-fashioned way…' he thought after a while, and strode back towards the closet, hoping he hadn't just sentenced himself and Quistis to death…
The two soldiers were discussing something, about which Seifer couldn't care less. When he was a few feet away from them, they noticed him and stopped talking, turning to look at him, preparing their weapons.
- "What are ya doin' here, kid?" asked one of them.
- "This is a restricted area. Were you not informed about this?" asked the other one.
- "Oh yes, I know…" said Seifer grinning goofily, doing his best to pass as a harmless, clueless idiot, while trying to think of an excuse quickly "I was sent here by Headmaster's orders. I'm the resident physician's aid and I came to check upon Miss Trepe." he said.
Anxiety ate his insides, as he waited for the two soldiers' reactions. By the suspicious looks they were giving him right now, they didn't seem to be buying it, but didn't look overly suspicious either. The two men loosened the grasp of their weapons and looked at each other intently.
- "Step back for a sec." said one of them, turning his back at him, beginning to converse with the other.
Seifer did as he was told and slightly bit his bottom lip as he watched the soldiers whisper to each other.
- "He doesn't look harmful…" said the first one.
- "I dunno… We shouldn't just let him in…" said the other.
- "He did know her name though. And that's supposed to be classified information. How could he have known it if he really isn't sent by the doc?" asked the first one.
- "I know, but we still should be careful. We don't wanna risk anything…" said the other.
- "Right."
They both turned back around and faced Seifer, who took a step forward again.
- "Let me see some proof that you're sent by the doctor, kid." said one of them.
- "Oh right… Wait for a second…" said Seifer, opening his back-pack, pretending to look for the supposed 'proof'.
'OK. Alright… Calm down… If you panic they'll be able to tell in a matter of seconds…' he thought 'Dammit… If I try to take them out I'll have to move fast afterwards. The camera will capture me the moment I step inside. *Sigh* Brace yourself… Here goes…'
- "Here it is!" exclaimed Seifer, pretending to have found what he was supposedly looking for.
The two men crossed their arms and waited eagerly, as Seifer still kept his hand dug inside the back pack. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the bag from one strap and swung it across the soldiers' faces, hitting both of them square on the head. Without any hesitation, he drew his Hyperion from his belt and hit both men hard on the head with the handle. Within seconds, they were both lying on the floor, knocked out. Whispering a small prayer to Hyne to help him out of this, he rushed inside the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer barged inside the small closet, breathing fast. His eyes immediately fell upon his blonde Instructor, lying on the bed. Her hair was loose and spread all over the pillow, while Seifer noticed that she was wearing a white infirmary robe. Not wasting a second, he rushed over to her and shook her.
- "Quistis?! Wake up!" he whispered.
She didn't stir. She was obviously still unconscious. Cursing, Seifer looked around for her things. He swiftly opened the only storage space inside the room, the cabinet of the nightstand. Inside, lay Quistis's clothes and boots, but her weapon was missing. Deciding not to waste any time looking for it, he grabbed her garments and stuffed them into his bag. He suspended Hyperion from his belt and bent over to the bed. He slipped his hands underneath Quistis's knee pits and back, raising her onto his arms. Quistis suddenly moved about slightly and opened her eyes with difficulty. She looked at Seifer puzzled and barely parted her lips to speak.
- "S-S-Seifer…?! What-" she began feebly.
- "Shh… I'm gonna get you out of here, OK?" he whispered back tenderly.
Quistis simply nodded and closed her eyes, scooting closer to him 'Oh just fucking great you moron! You thought of everything EXCEPT for how the fuck you're gonna get out of the Garden, carrying the woman they're supposed to hold captive, in your arms!' he thought.
- "Quistis?" he whispered. The blonde woman opened up her azure eyes again "Hold on to me." he added.
Quistis weakly wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to release one arm and grab his gunblade with it. Deciding he'd wasted a lot of time and that the Galbadians were probably already on his trail, he rushed out of the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer ran down the corridor, as fast as he could. Carrying a full-grown woman in his arms, a bag on his shoulders and a damn heavy gunblade wasn't exactly allowing him to run like the wind… No sooner had he reached the stairway, than he came across a group of five soldiers, right on his trail. Seifer cursed under his breath and turned his gunblade upon them.
- "Stay the fuck back!" he yelled, making them all stop in their tracks.
He quickly turned back around and hurried down the stairways, knocking aside a couple of utterly puzzled students he came across. He felt Quistis try and hold tighter on to him. Without realizing it, his own grasp became tighter as well and he began running faster. The soldiers were bound to call for back-up and he'd soon be outnumbered. He had to think of something… fast! His steps brought him to the Main Hall, where many students and Garden staff turned their heads at the bizarre sight. Suddenly, he heard yells from the balcony right above him. A swarm of blue-uniformed soldiers had barged up there.
- "THERE HE IS!" yelled one of them "GET HIM!"
Upon hearing those words, every single person on the Hall, including some soldiers who had just rushed downstairs, advanced on Seifer. The blond pulled out his gunblade again, pointing it at anyone who came his way. This might save him a bit of time, but he was more than certain that outside, the sight wasn't going to be pretty…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer and Quistis made it to the Front Gate intact, but out there, they were confronted by a Squad of soldiers. Seifer immediately ceased running and came to a halt on his tracks. He just stood there, staring at the soldiers, thunderstruck. Quistis slowly turned her head around and looked at the swarm of Galbadians ready to arrest them.
- "End of the road kid! Put the girl down, drop your weapon and put your hands in the air!" shouted a soldier through a megaphone.
Quistis turned back and looked at Seifer straight in the eyes. Seifer looked back at her, reading sorrow and despair all over her face.
- "It's over, Seifer…" she whispered faintly, holding him tighter, nuzzling her head in his chest.
Seifer narrowed his eyes and frowned. His worried gaze made a swift check around him, stopping to his right.
- "The hell it is." he said firmly and raised his Hyperion at the soldiers, breaking into a run once again.
He took a couple of shots for cover, as he ran towards the G-Garden bikes parked right outside. He swiftly climbed onto one, settling Quistis right in front of him. With one hand, he twisted the gas of the bike, making the engine roar and with the other pointed his gunblade over to the crowd of soldiers.
- "Hold me." he said to Quistis, as he twisted the gas once more, releasing the brakes.
The motorcycle sped off, heading right to the middle of the Squad of Galbadians. Seifer took another couple of shots, clearing the space in front of them, as soldiers ducked to avoid the shots or dived away to get out of the bike's route. The blond pair rushed among the Squad within seconds. Seifer turned around momentarily, taking his last two shots towards the Galbadians, stopping them from following the motorcycle. Quistis was holding on to Seifer as tight as she could, her chin resting on his shoulder, as she watched the G-Garden fade away in the distance…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The two-wheeled vehicle was running wildly, slashing the air in front of it. The Galbadians had probably lost Seifer and Quistis by now, but they couldn't be sure, so Seifer kept speeding away. It had been over five minutes they'd escaped from G-Garden and they still hadn't exchanged a single word. Finally, Seifer broke the silence.
- "Are you alright?" he asked Quistis.
- "I still feel very weak, but yes. I'm OK…" she replied.
- "I hate to break this to you, but we're almost out of fuel. We need to find a place to hide." he said.
- "Maybe a forest…" Quistis suggested weakly.
- "Yes, probably… We're somewhere in between G-Garden and Timber, so we should encounter one sooner or later…" said Seifer.
- "Alright…" mumbled Quistis.
Seifer looked down at her and saw that the thin infirmary robe she was wearing was hardly keeping her warm. In fact, she was shivering. Hesitating a bit, he held her closer to him with one arm, rubbing her exposed back with his hand in warmth. Quistis closed her eyes and buried her head in his arms, holding him tightly from the waist, not saying a word.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By the time the pair reached a forest, it was already afternoon and the sun had long ago set. Within less than two hours, it would be starting to get dark and a forest would surely not be a safe place to spend the night. But for the time being, they needed to hide. Seifer drove the bike among the tall trees and made his way along a narrow path. He stopped when they reached a secluded spot, right next to a small pond. Seifer turned the engine off and dismounted the bike, holding Quistis's back with one arm, so that she wouldn't fall off. He picked her up in his arms once again and settled her onto the grass, resting her back on a tree trunk.
Quistis brought her knees close to her chest, hugging them with her arms, trying to get warm. Seifer took off his back pack and zipped it open. He retrieved his long trench coat from inside and covered Quistis with it.
- "Should keep you warm…" he mumbled, not looking at her in the eyes.
- "Thanks," muttered Quistis "For everything…" she added, looking at him.
- "Just… don't think about it…" Seifer said shrugging, still avoiding her gaze.
Quistis pulled the trench coat up to her chin, curling up into a ball underneath it. She closed her eyes and rested her head back on the tree trunk, sighing heavily. She opened them back up and saw Seifer on his knees, right in front of her, looking at her.
- "Still cold?" he asked.
- "No, I'm OK now…" she replied.
- "By the way, I managed to get your clothes. But I couldn't find your whip." he said.
- "Dammit…" said Quistis, lowering her head "I loved that Red Scorpion model… *Sigh* Thanks for getting my clothes anyway…"
Seifer simply nodded and looked down at his feet. They both remained silent for a while.
- "What… happened to you?" Quistis eventually said, looking at Seifer's face.
The blond had a faint bruise on his right eye, his left cheekbone was adorned by a deep cut and his bottom lip was wounded as well. Not to mention his hair and clothes, who looked beyond plain messy.
- "Long story…" replied Seifer "I'll fill you in on it when we're safe."
- "Alright…" Quistis replied. She paused for a bit, then spoke again "I suppose we can't spend the night here… It's too dangerous…"
- "No, I suppose not… We'll have to find a way out of here…" said Seifer, falling deep in thought.
- "The only place we can go from here is Timber." Quistis said "But we can't possibly get there on foot. There's no fuel left in the bike, is there?" she asked. Seifer shook his head in response.
- "I guess," he said after a bit, his eyes glistening "We could always take the train there…"
- "Do you carry any Gil? I sure don't…" she said.
- "Who said anything about paying?" Seifer asked grinning, looking at Quistis.
- "We can't do that…"
- "Why not?"
- "Because it's illegal!" said Quistis.
- "Look at our situation!" said Seifer exasperated "What are we going to do? Die here?!"
- "I suppose not…" mumbled Quistis, accepting defeat.
Awkward silence for a second time.
- "By the way," said Quistis, once again breaking the ice "I didn't know you could ride a bike…" she added, grinning.
- "There's a lot about me you don't know…" Seifer said, winking at her.
Quistis just scoffed and rolled her eyes at Seifer's comment. At some point, Seifer noticed her licking her lips.
- "What's wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
- "I'm thirsty…" she said, making an attempt to get up.
Before she got the chance to, Seifer slid his hands under her and picked her up in his arms for the third time that day. He walked towards the pond and settled her down by the edge. He bent down and cupped some water in his palms, offering it to Quistis. Quistis looked at him, smiling at her and felt her stomach flutter. Hesitantly, she flashed him a shy smile and barely touched his cupped palms, drinking the water in one huge gulp. Seifer grinned and repeated the process. After five handfuls of water, Quistis's thirst was finally quenched. With his still damp palms, Seifer wet her face, making her flinch to his touch.
- "Relax…I won't bite…" he said, chuckling a bit "Hard." he added, winking at her.
Quistis couldn't help but slightly giggle at that. She watched Seifer gently wipe her face with one sleeve of his blue uniform. She looked at him as their eyes locked, making her cheeks flush slightly. Seifer went on wiping her cheeks and forehead dry. He was looking at her with an expression of genuine concern and for the first time, Quistis noticed exactly how startlingly green his eyes were.
- "Why did you go on and do such a stupid thing?" he asked softly at some point.
- "What stupid thing?" asked Quistis.
- "Y'know… Rushing in front of me, when that woman tried to…" Seifer trailed off.
- "Well, why did you come and rescue me all by yourself today?" she asked back, trying to avoid his question.
- "I asked you first…" he said, wiping the last hint of moisture from her right cheek.
- "I… I just," Quistis stuttered, as Seifer traced her cheek with his thumb "Didn't… want to… see… one of my students… get hurt…"
Seifer retreated his hand.
- "One of your students…" he repeated, his eyes narrowing slightly.
- "Well… yes. I always want to take care of my students… Even if I'm not teaching them anymore…" she said, trying hard not to blush.
- "Right…" said Seifer lowering his head "Right."
He moved a bit away from her and bent over the pond again, cupping some water, throwing it on his face. Getting up to his feet, he wiped his face with the white tank top he wore underneath.
- "Better start moving along… If we want to catch that train…" Seifer said, walking over to his back pack, zipping it shut.
- "Right…" said Quistis nodding.
She slid her arms through the sleeves of the grey trench coat and tried to get up. She had barely taken a step forward, when she felt her legs incredibly weak and tripped over. With one swift step ahead, Seifer caught her in his arms and helped her up. Quistis met his cold gaze and quickly looked away, feeling her skin burn wherever he was touching her.
- "I assume you can't walk…" Seifer said.
- "No, it's OK, I-" she began.
- "Can it, Instructor." spat Seifer, making the blood in her veins begin to warm dangerously.
She was about to speak back at him, when he bent over and with one quick move, he plopped her up on his right shoulder, holding her legs tightly with one hand. He immediately began walking out of the forest and back to the plains.
- "Seifer, what the hell do you think you're doing?! Put me down this instant!" protested Quistis.
- "Why? So you can trip on every second step? This'll save us a lot of time…" Seifer said.
- "You can't carry me all the way to the train stop!" she insisted.
- "I can and I will. Now shut up Trepe, before I 'accidentally' drop you, head first." he threatened.
Quistis groaned loudly and rested her chin on her balled fist, watching the forest move farther away with each passing second…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It wasn't long before the pair of blondes heard the distant whistling of a train coming. There was no chance of taking the wrong one, as the only train passing that way, went straight to Timber. Seifer halted when they reached the train stop, walking over to some bushes nearby. He kneeled down, hiding among them, letting Quistis down on the ground at last.
- "We'll just wait here. The train will stop and when they see no passengers coming aboard, they'll take off again. Then, we get on." he said.
- "Alright…" Quistis nodded, raising the collar of the trench coat, hiding her chin and nose underneath the neckline.
- "What's the matter?" asked Seifer.
- "Nothing… I just feel… a bit… chilly…" she mumbled.
- "Hang on… We'll be much warmer any minute now…" he said.
After about five minutes, the train finally arrived. As expected, it came to a stop, waiting for any passengers to come aboard. When no-one did, the conductor gave the signal for it to start moving again.
- "Now's our chance… Come on." said Seifer, plopping Quistis onto his shoulder again.
The train had barely started accelerating, so it was easy for Seifer, even with Quistis's weight upon him, to jump up to the ledge on the last carriage. He let Quistis back down to her feet and tried to budge the door open. He twisted the round wheel with all his might, letting out a grunt. Eventually, he made it and the door opened. He helped Quistis inside and closed the door behind them.
Naturally, the last carriage of the train was the one used for storage, so no passengers were on it. It wasn't exactly what one would call warm, but it definitely beat being outside. Seifer rested Quistis down on the floor, among some storage crates. Quistis curled up into a corner, shivering.
- "Still cold?" Seifer asked in concern. Quistis nodded "Well of course you are. You're wearing a damn infirmary robe underneath…"
- "Can you give me my clothes?" she asked, teeth clicking from the cold.
- "And do you think that little skirt and vest of yours will keep you warm?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Quistis sighed "Wait," Seifer added, zipping the back pack open "I'll wear my clothes and you can wear this uniform and my coat. You'll be fine then…"
Quistis watched Seifer take out his clothes from the bag and get up. He twirled his finger, motioning her to turn around.
- "No peeking over my voluptuous body now, OK?" he asked, grinning, starting to unbutton his shirt.
Quistis chuckled and turned around. She heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor and biting her bottom lip, slowly turned her head around. Seifer had turned his back as well and was now in the process of removing his pants. Quistis raised an eyebrow, seeing him for the first time dressed in nothing but a pair of black boxers. She couldn't miss the elegant tattoo of the red Fire Cross, adorning his left shoulder blade… She smiled slightly at the inviting sight of a very well-built, half naked man before her, but blushed a bit and turned around before he caught her staring at his ass…
After a couple of minutes, Seifer was dressed in his usual attire, minus the trench coat.
- "OK, you can turn around now…" he said, zipping his vest shut.
Quistis did so and Seifer tossed her the blue Galbadian uniform he'd been wearing up to now. Quistis repeated the same twirling move he'd done before with her finger, making him smirk and turn around, crossing his arms behind his back. The blond woman slowly stood up and removed the trench coat first. She began taking off the white robe she'd been wearing and let it fall on the floor.
Seifer raised an eyebrow and cautiously turned his head around. He caught glimpse of a bare back, with a pair of shoulder blades protruding from porcelain-like skin. His eyes traveled further down and he soon got a clear image of his former Instructor, dressed in nothing but a pair of pearly white underwear. He grinned mischievously as she bent over, pulling the blue pants up. She then proceeded in slipping her slender arms through the sleeves of the shirt. She pulled it up, slowly covering her, up to now, exposed back and then began buttoning the shirt. Seifer turned his head back around just in time. Quistis retrieved the grey trench coat from the crate she'd rested it upon and threw it on her shoulders.
- "All done." she said softly.
Seifer turned to look at her. He grinned; aside from the trench coat which covered her from head to toe, the sleeves of the shirt were dangling from her arms almost half empty, her breasts could barely be noticed jutting underneath the baggy –on her- shirt and the pants were literally sweeping the floor. Quistis immediately realized what his grin was all about and reciprocated with one of her own, swinging the half-empty sleeves around. She sat down on the floor and Seifer approached her, getting a seat next to her. He ran a hand through his blond hair, exhaling audibly.
- "What's wrong?" Quistis asked.
- "Nothing…" said Seifer "It's just that… I haven't had a cigarette in ages…" Quistis rolled her eyes.
- "It's for the best. It's bad for your health anyway." she said matter-of-factly.
- "Health, schmealth… All I know is that every fuckin' cigarette I see on someone's lips seems divine." Seifer replied. Quistis cocked an eyebrow "No, seriously, every damn one of them looks reeeeal good to me right now. Every cigarette looks like it was made by God, rolled by Jesus and moistened shut with Claudia Schieffer's pus-"
- "DON'T say it…" Quistis threatened.
- "You get the idea…"
Quistis shook her head in disbelief and sighed.
- "What about you? Feeling better now?" Seifer asked.
- "I'm not cold anymore. In fact, I feel really hot… And really dizzy…" Quistis replied, burying her head in her knees.
- "Hot?" asked Seifer, raising an eyebrow "Lemme touch you forehead." he said, moving closer to her.
Quistis raised her head back up, allowing Seifer's palm to touch her forehead. She closed her eyes, feeling them sting. Seifer drew his hand back.
- "I think you've got a fever…" he said worriedly "But I can't tell with the palm…"
Before Quistis could react, Seifer moved his head close to hers and touched her forehead with his lips. She tried hard not to flinch and she hoped he'd interpret her furious blush as a symptom of the fever… Seifer drew back after a couple of seconds.
- "Yep. Fever all right…" he said nodding "Maybe you should get some sleep." he suggested.
- "I intend to…" she replied, closing her eyes.
Seifer offered her the bag as a pillow, earning a smile from her, as she lay down on the floor, covering herself with the trench coat. Within seconds, she was fast asleep…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The train was reaching Timber in less than ten minutes. Seifer got up and opened the back door of the carriage, noticing that they were drawing close. He closed it shut and walked over to Quistis, who had still to wake up. She nudged her softly on the arm, trying to wake her up.
- "Hey, Quistis? Come on, get up. We have to get off the train." he said.
Quistis slid her eyes open for a second, then closed them again.
- "I feel terrible…" she mumbled.
- "Why? What's wrong?" he asked.
- "I feel dizzier than ever…" she said, in a voice barely audible.
Seifer frowned and leaned in to touch her forehead with his lips again.
- "Holy shit, you're burning!" he said in concern, once pulling away.
Quistis didn't reply, just let out a whimper-like sound. She felt Seifer's arms slide under her body yet again, picking her up.
- "We'll have to walk for a couple of minutes to Timber. I'll get off as close as I can, OK?" she heard Seifer whisper to her.
- "OK…" she mumbled, slightly nodding.
Seifer opened the door and walked out to the ledge. Quistis felt a shiver run under her skin again, as the cold air outside rushed its way underneath her clothes. It was a natural fact that the temperature dropped dramatically when the night approached… Quistis held Seifer from the neck and braced herself as he told her he'd be jumping off. She felt her stomach upturn and then rumble, as Seifer landed on the ground, tripping and falling to his knees, never dropping her though. Seifer got up and began walking towards the city, now clearly visible from afar. It was less than six hundred feet away, so they'd be there in no time, as Seifer informed her. He kept on talking to her, but the sound of his voice soon became muffled, until she could hear nothing at all…
- "…I thought we could call Garden and ask for some tickets paid in advance for the train so-" Seifer said, but soon stopped when he saw Quistis wasn't reacting at all "Quistis?" he asked, shaking her a bit. She didn't stir. He couldn't even tell if she was breathing… "SHIT!" he cursed and broke into a run.
A/N: Dammit, this fic ruins all my possibilities of creating a nice ol' cliff-hanger… Y'all know that Quistis will live so… meh…
And no, the idea of measuring someone's temperature with the lips is not an idea of mine for another Seiftis moment, but a true fact (works better than when you use your palm).
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
Another 100% Seiftis chapter…
But I'm not tellin' ya anything about it…