A/N: Hey everyone…
I'm still trying to work out the whole not-allowed-to-respond-to-reviews thingy… I've been punished for disobeying a rule before, so it might be stricter this time; that's why I'm so picky about it.
Anyway, you're all free to e-mail me in case you have any questions about the story.
Vincent and Tidus appear courtesy of FF7 and FFX respectively :-p No need to say this, but I don't own those games either…
What I do own, is Iris and Jenna, the names I gave to two already existent but anonymous FF8 characters.
Enjoy!
Last chapter summary: Seifer rescues Quistis from G-Garden and they temporarily hide in a forest. The night approaches however and they need a new hide place. They sneak aboard the train to Timber and head towards the city, when Quistis begins to feel weak and collapses…
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 18: Iris and Jenna
A raven-haired girl with her hair cut in a short bob, was looking outside the window. She was keeping company to her mother in the kitchen while she cooked, but they'd ran out of things to discuss at some point, so the young girl was now sitting on the window ledge, day-dreaming. A knock on the door made her snap back to reality.
- "Could you get that, dear?" her mother asked.
- "Sure…" said the girl getting up, walking over to the door.
She pulled the handle open and was surprised to come face-to-face with a tall blond man, carrying a woman in his arms. Not bothering to ask if he could come in, Seifer barged inside the room.
- "I'm really sorry to come in like this, but-" he began.
- "I remember you…" said the woman who was cooking, now turning her head to look at her unexpected visitors "You came here about a few days ago with Rinoa and some other people…" she said.
- "Yes. And I really need your help right now… again." he said, with a pleading look on his face.
The young girl closed the door and approached him.
- "What's wrong with her?" she asked, referring to Quistis. Her mother turned off the stove, abandoning her cooking and came forward as well.
- "She was under Galbadian arrest. She was recently hit by a spell we couldn't recognize and she's been really weak. She was in her senses a while ago, but she raised a fever and went back unconscious…" Seifer explained quickly.
- "Was she the girl you brought when you were here the last time?" asked the mother.
- "Yes. Can you help her? Please?" pleaded Seifer, probably the first time in his life he ever did that. And probably the last.
- "Of course we will!" said the mother, sounding offended that he even dared to ask "Come on, let's take her upstairs…" she said, hurrying up the stairway.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Two little boys were sitting in a bedroom upstairs, looking down at the alley from their window. The door barged open and inside came their mother, their older sister and a man, vaguely familiar, carrying a girl. The two boys jolted up in surprise and looked at their mother with the most persuasive innocent expressions they could muster.
- "We didn't do anything!" one of them protested, before their mother even had a chance to say anything.
- "Vincent, Tidus go downstairs. We have to let a girl rest here." said their mother.
- "What's wrong with her?" asked one of them, approaching Seifer.
- "She's pretty…" said the other one, eyeing Quistis.
- "I said downstairs!" roared their mother, making them abide by her orders with huge frowns on their faces.
The two boys closed the door shut behind them, leaving the two women, Seifer and Quistis, alone.
- "Hurry up, lay her on the bed…" said the girl.
Seifer didn't need to be told twice and immediately laid Quistis on the bed, caressing her burning forehead.
- "Are you her boyfriend?" the mother asked, raising an eyebrow.
- "Yeah…" Seifer replied without even thinking. He reckoned it would make things much less complicated.
- "Take her coat off…" said the woman "By the way," she said, while Seifer did so "My name is Iris and this is my daughter Jenna."
- "I'm Seifer." replied the blond, forcing a smile out "And that's Quistis." he added.
- "Alright Seifer," said Iris, walking over to Quistis's side "Let's take a look at her…"
Iris touched Quistis's forehead and immediately flinched.
- "Great Hyne, she's burning in fever!" she exclaimed.
- "I know…" mumbled Seifer worriedly.
- "Jenna, go get me a small tank of water, some clean towels, some vinegar and a couple of Potions and Remedies." Iris ordered her daughter.
- "In a sec…" said Jenna, rushing out of the room.
- "Thank Hyne you brought her quickly… I think we'll be able to help her…" said Iris, taking Quistis's boots off.
- "I hope so…" said Seifer "Anything I can do to help?" he asked eagerly.
- "Yes, you can help me undress her." said Iris.
Seifer's eyes shot wide open at that last sentence. Luckily, Iris had already begun to unbuckle Quistis's pants and, having her back turned to him, didn't notice his reaction. Iris kept mumbling something about how she shouldn't be wearing any clothes to avoid getting sweaty and another bunch of things that never reached Seifer's ears. He was too stunned to hear or say anything.
- "Well hurry up!" said Iris exasperated "What are you standing there for?!"
- "C-c-coming…" stuttered Seifer, approaching her.
He hesitantly held Quistis from the armpits, raising her body, so that Iris could remove the pants.
- "Take her shirt and underwear off. I'll go help Jenna carry all those things…" said Iris getting up and leaving the room.
Seifer was still holding Quistis up when Iris left the room. He sighed deeply and softly laid her down back on the bed. He took a look at her. She looked so peaceful right now, with her eyes closed and her full lips slightly parted, her long blonde waterfall of hair hanging loose. Swallowing hard, he began unbuttoning her shirt 'Come on, you pussy!' he thought 'It's not like you've never seen a naked woman before!' He'd seen one too many actually, but the situation was way different now. Besides… This was Quistis we were talking about! His previous Instructor, for Hyne's sake!
Realizing that time was too precious to be spent in pointless thoughts, he undid her shirt. With trembling fingers, he parted it open, revealing Quistis's bare chest.
- "Oh Hyne…" mumbled Seifer looking away.
Not for long though… Within seconds, his gaze was upon her body again 'Dammit… I was hoping that her body would at least be covered in fuckin' boils or something… But she just HAD to have a smooth skin, didn't she?!' he thought, breathing fast. He felt like a complete pervert right now to even think about her that way. However, he couldn't help but feel the temperature of the room rising abnormally high all of a sudden and his pants beginning to feel tight 'AAARGH! You're gonna burn in Hell for that, Almasy!' he thought. Trying –and failing- to look away, he removed the shirt off her body completely.
And now for the even harder part; her underwear. Letting out a huge sigh, he moved his fingers to the white pair of panties she had now left on her body. With even shakier hands than before, he slid it down and pulled it off her body.
- "Holy shit…" he said in a whimpery voice.
He looked away and began taking deep breaths, fanning himself with his palms. Taking one last look at her, he quickly reached for the covers underneath her, pulling them out and covering her. He sighed in relief that his 'torture' was over and wiped his sweaty forehead with one palm. Right on cue, Iris and Jenna came inside, carrying all the things Iris had requested before.
Seifer stepped aside as Iris rushed to Quistis's side and rested all the things on the nightstand. She opened the bottle of vinegar and poured most of it into the tank of water. She dipped a towel in it, wringed it damp and rested it on Quistis's forehead.
- "Seifer?" said Iris, turning over to him.
- "Yes?" Seifer said eagerly.
- "Can you come and hold the compress? I'll use some healing items on Quistis." replied Iris, getting up.
- "Of course." said Seifer and sat by Quistis's side on the bed, slightly pressing the cool compress, while holding Quistis's hand.
- "Mom, I think you should use a Remedy first…" suggested Jenna.
- "That's what I was planning to do." said Iris, picking up a small blue bottle from the nightstand.
- "What spell was she hit by?" Jenna asked Seifer.
- "We couldn't tell… The woman who did it to her is a powerful sorceress…" replied Seifer "Sorceress Edea…" The two women gasped.
- "But she has regained consciousness, right?" asked Iris, opening the Remedy bottle.
- "Yes, she was much better before. But she was weak and the cold outside affected her easily." said Seifer.
- "I see… Pull her head up." Iris said.
Seifer gently held Quistis's head from the back and pressed the sides of her lips with his fingers, making them part wide enough for her to drink the Remedy. Iris put the blue bottle on Quistis's lips and began pouring the liquid down slowly. Quistis seemed to react and swallow the healing item. When the bottle was empty, Seifer gently laid her head back onto the pillow.
- "Alright… This should take effect soon enough… It'll drop the fever, but she'll still be weak. We'll give her another one when she wakes up and then a few Potions." said Iris.
- "Hyne… Iris, Jenna…" said Seifer rubbing his sore forehead "I can't thank you enough."
- "Think nothing of it." said Jenna smiling "Now why don't you let her rest and go get some sleep?"
- "Jenna's right. You look like you need it." said Iris.
- "No way." said Seifer shaking his head "I'm staying here."
- "Seifer, you need to sleep. You won't be of much help to her if you collapse!" said Iris.
- "I'll be fine." said Seifer "I might get some rest when her fever drops."
- "Suit yourself…" said Jenna "We'll be right in the next room if you need us. Just call."
- "Thank you." said Seifer smiling.
The door closed behind them, leaving Seifer and Quistis alone once again. Seifer looked at Quistis worriedly and changed the compress which had become warm on her head. The room now had a strong smell of vinegar in it, mixed with the scent of the Remedy used just before. Seifer rested the newly damp and cool compress on Quistis's forehead and ran a hand through her hair. He sighed deeply and encased her left hand inside both his own.
He stood by her side for hours. When Iris and Jenna came to check upon her before going to sleep, Iris noted that her fever had dropped considerably. Once again, she insisted that Seifer went to get some rest, even if it was for a couple of hours only, but yet again, he refused. He just remained there, sitting on a chair by the bed, taking care of her. It was drawing close to six in the morning, when his strength abandoned him and he found himself falling asleep on the chair by her side…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That was completely uncalled for!!!
What was?
He… He saw me…
That is your problem right now?!
Well… YES!
Honestly, if I had any idea you were going to be like this, I wouldn't have agreed to do it…
Be like what?!
You're concentrating on the wrong events! Look at him… He stayed up all night looking after you…
Oh, yes… How sweet of him…
Sarcasm isn't gonna do you any good, Quisty…
Let's just keep watching…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis felt the morning sun rays fall bright on her face, making her awaken. She slowly fluttered her eyelids open and tried to focus her blurry vision. She found herself in a room she didn't recognize. She looked around curiously and tried to stand on her elbows. She still was somewhat dizzy, but her fever had dropped completely and she was feeling much better. Wondering where she was, she felt another hand upon hers.
She looked down at the bedside and found Seifer asleep on her lap, with one hand on her thigh and the other placed upon hers. Quistis smiled weakly 'He stayed next to me…?' she wondered '...all night?' She looked at his face; his always somewhat strict features were now mild and relaxed and for the first time in her life, Quistis then realized that even he could look harmless, when sleeping like that; like a baby. She ran her fingers through his blond spikes of hair, making him flinch.
Seifer took a sharp intake of breath and immediately opened his eyes, turning to look if Quistis was alright. As soon as he saw her awake, a broad, warm smile appeared on his seemingly tortured face; his eyes were bloodshot and had huge blue circles underneath them, he was in serious need of shaving –not to mention a shower- and his hair was totally messed up. The wounds on his face were another story…
- "Quistis!" he exclaimed in a hoarse voice upon seeing her up "How are you feeling?" he asked, gently squeezing her hand.
- "Much better. I don't think I've got a fever anymore…" she replied smiling "Where are we?"
- "In Timber. When we came here with the others, the woman who lives here helped us because she knew Rinoa. She was the only one I knew in town and I brought you over to let you rest." he replied.
- "When did you come here? What others?" asked Quistis bemused.
- "Long story… We've got a lot to catch upon when you recover." he said.
- "What time is it?" Quistis asked, rubbing the back of her hair lazily.
- "Uhh…" said Seifer glancing at his watch "Almost seven thirty."
- "*Pause* Did you… stay here? All night?" she asked looking at him.
- "Nah… I just came about two hours ago. I woke up very early and came to check on you, but I fell asleep again…" lied Seifer, shrugging, trying hard not to blush.
- "Oh…" said Quistis, not being able to help but feel slightly disappointed "Umm… Where is this woman? I want to thank her." she asked.
- "Stay here, I'll go get her." said Seifer getting up, leaving the room.
Quistis sighed and covered herself up to the chin. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd have felt a lot better if she knew Seifer had watched over her during the night… 'Stop thinking so damn selfishly!' her conscience shouted back at her. A couple of minutes later, a plump, raven-haired woman appeared through the door, smiling at Quistis. She approached her and sat down on the chair by the bed.
- "Hello, Quistis. How are you feeling?" she asked.
- "Fine, thanks to you. I can't tell you how grateful I am for you help, Missus…?" said Quistis.
- "Just call me Iris, hon." said the woman kindly.
- "How long have I been…'out'?" asked Quistis.
- "Just since last night. Thank Hyne, Seifer brought you here immediately." replied Iris.
- "Right…" said Quistis smiling awkwardly "Where is he?"
- "Downstairs, getting some breakfast with my daughter, Jenna. The poor boy is exhausted…" said Iris.
- "Yeah, we went through a lot trying to get here…" Quistis mumbled.
- "I can imagine…" said Iris nodding "You know, you're really lucky to have a man like him." she added smiling warmly.
- "What?" asked Quistis blushing "Oh, no… He's not… We're not…together…" she said.
- "Oh…" said Iris 'Thought so…' "Sorry, my mistake."
- "It's alright…" said Quistis shrugging.
- "But I guess it was a plausible mistake to do, since he didn't leave your side all night. I thought he was your boyfriend…" said Iris getting up, smiling mischievously as Quistis turned burning red on the face.
- "Didn't leave my side…? But he said-" Quistis began.
- "I came to check upon you at five thirty and he was still up. I'm guessing he fell asleep sometime later." replied Iris, picking up another blue Remedy bottle from the nightstand.
- "Oh…" muttered Quistis, not knowing what else to say 'So he did stay up all night next to me…' she thought, her insides getting much warmer.
- "Come on dear," said Iris, bringing the Remedy bottle up to her lips "Time for another Remedy. It'll help you recover easily."
- "Ungh," grunted Quistis, adopting a disgusted expression "I hate Remedies. I rarely use them in battle. I prefer Esunas."
- "Don't be such a baby!" said Iris "Now open up your mouth."
Quistis reluctantly agreed and swallowed the healing liquid with difficulty. Iris didn't let her go until she'd drunk the lot. Quistis shivered in disgust and groaned.
- "Well, the good news is that you won't have to take another Remedy," said Iris, putting the bottle away "But you will have to take a few Potions for some days and stay in bed."
- "I don't mind Potions," replied Quistis "They taste much better… Oh, by the way, I want you to write me your address down somewhere so that I can send you the money for the Remedies and everything when we get back to Garden."
- "You're not serious, are you?" asked Iris, raising an eyebrow.
- "Of course I am! Remedies are really expensive! You just spent 1000 Gil on me!" said Quistis.
- "Forget it!" said Iris firmly "I won't accept your money!"
- "But-" began Quistis.
- "Are you hungry?" Iris asked quickly, changing the subject.
- "What?" asked Quistis.
- "I asked if you're hungry." repeated Iris.
- "A bit…" replied Quistis, rubbing her stomach.
- "I'll send something up with Seifer…" said Iris, smiling, leaving the room.
- "No! You don't have to-" began Quistis, but soon found herself speaking to an empty room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "…so my dad is off to FH now, but he'll be back in a couple of days." spoke Jenna.
- "I see…" said Seifer nodding.
- "What about your parents?" asked Jenna.
- "I'm an orphan." replied Seifer.
- "Oh, I'm sorry!" apologized Jenna.
- "That's alright, you couldn't have known…"
- "So… If you don't mind me prying… where did you grow up?" she asked.
- "I know it might sound weird… but I can't remember anything about my life before going to Garden." he said shrugging "I went there really young."
- "Right…" said Jenna nodding "And you met Quistis there?" she asked.
- "Yeah. She used to be my Instructor." replied Seifer.
- "Your instructor?!" exclaimed Jenna "But she looks just as old as you…"
- "She is." replied Seifer grinning "I'm only a couple of months younger than her."
- "But then, how…?" asked Jenna confused.
- "Quistis is Garden's prodigy child. She became a SeeD at fifteen and got her Instructor license about two years later." he said.
- "Amazing…" said Jenna impressed.
- "Yeah… She really is something…" mumbled Seifer.
Iris walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She found Seifer and Jenna talking, having finished their breakfast. Seifer was sipping some coffee, while Jenna was drinking orange juice. Upon hearing her footsteps, Seifer immediately turned around.
- "How is she?" he asked worriedly.
- "She's fine," replied Iris smiling "Think you can take up something for her to eat?" she asked.
- "Sure, sure…" said Seifer getting up.
- "Wait…I'll get a tray ready." said Iris, walking over to the kitchen counters.
Seifer waited patiently, while Iris put a few pieces of toast on the tray, a glass of orange juice, some butter, marmalade and a small knife. She handed the tray to Seifer and the blond hurried up the stairs.
- "Is she doing OK?" Jenna asked her mother.
- "She'll be alright…She just needs to rest." replied Iris "Oh and Jenna? Why don't you lend her a pair of pajamas to wear while she's here?"
- "Sure, they'll probably fit her." replied Jenna sportingly.
- "Well go get them, what are you waiting for?" asked Iris.
- "In a bit… Let those two have a moment alone…" said Jenna smiling.
- "He's not her boyfriend you know… Quistis said so." Iris said grinning. Jenna's jaw dropped "I told you…"
- "But he seems to like her so much…" said Jenna.
- "Oh he does." said Iris knowingly "They both do… They just don't know it yet…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer barged inside the bedroom, not bothering to knock. Quistis jumped up startled at the sight of him.
- "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?! I could be getting dressed in here!" she hissed at him 'Nothing I haven't seen…' thought Seifer, his mind trailing off to the events of last night. He quickly shook himself mentally and tried to come up with something witty to retort.
- "You're right… I should have knocked… Wouldn't want to hurt my precious eyes with the horrible sight…" he spat back smirking.
Quistis narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a poisonous glare 'I can't believe I actually felt BAD for him for staying up all night because of me!' she thought.
- "Here," he said approaching her, laying the tray on her lap "Iris thought you should eat something…"
- "Tell her I said thanks…" mumbled Quistis.
- "Hey, I had something to do with this too, you know! I carried the tray all the way up to you!" said Seifer exasperated.
- "Oh… right…" Quistis said sarcastically "Thanks… I guess…"
- "Ungh… Whatever… Just eat…" said Seifer, shaking his head in disbelief.
Quistis sat up on the bed, putting the blanket right underneath her armpits. Seifer shot her a sideways glance, feeling the neckline of his vest extremely tight all of a sudden, as he looked at her bare shoulders. Quistis had just buttered her toast and was about to take a bite, when she saw him pull his neckline with his finger.
- "What?" asked Quistis.
- "Nothing… I just feel… kinda… warm…" he said, looking away.
Quistis shrugged and began eating her breakfast greedily. Seifer looked at her again and grinned.
- "Damn, Trepe… And I thought Chicken-wuss ate like a pig…" he said smirking.
- "Bite me…" said Quistis, through a full mouth.
'Love to…' Seifer found himself thinking and immediately cursed at himself mentally for that thought.
- "*Ahem* I… uhh," he mumbled "I thought that maybe we should call Garden today and see if they could order us some tickets to get back."
- "Good idea."
- "Let's just hope everything went well…" Seifer said worriedly.
- "Why? What do you mean 'went well'?" asked Quistis confused.
- "*Sigh* Sit back and listen…" began Seifer. Quistis grabbed her juice glass and rested her back against the wall, eyeing Seifer eagerly "After that incident at the TV station we all hurried here. Iris let us stick around for a bit. We took the train to G-Garden and left you at the Infirmary there. They told us they'd be transferring you to Balamb, but they never did. We only found out about it recently. Anyway…There, we were ordered by the Headmasters of both Balamb and Galbadia Garden to go on a mission."
- "Both Gardens?" asked Quistis intrigued "What mission?"
- "Remember that woman at the TV station?"
- "Of course…"
- "Turns out she was Sorceress Edea." said Seifer.
- "Oh my Hyne!" exclaimed Quistis.
- "I know… We met a guy named Irvine Kinneas who was supposed to be our sharpshooter for the mission. We all left for Deling and met General Caraway there. By the way, he's Rinoa's father…"
- "WHAT?!" shouted Quistis, choking on her juice.
- "Anyway… We went off for the mission, but Rinoa was forced by her father to stay behind. She couldn't take it though and tried to take on the Sorceress by herself." narrated Seifer.
- "Oh no…"
- "It gets worse… She ended up under her spell and we had to rush to save her…"
- "You and Squall?" asked Quistis.
- "Yes, and that Irvine guy… We made it and then we had to fight Edea. To make a long story short," said Seifer, lowering his head "She… did… something to me and after that I don't remember much…"
- "What did she do?" asked Quistis concerned.
- "That's not the point…" said Seifer avoiding answering her question "When I woke up I was in a cell in D-District prison. Everyone else was held there as well. Irvine and Rinoa came for us and helped everyone escape. When we got out we split into three teams."
- "Three teams for what?" asked Quistis.
- "Well… Irvine and Rin informed us that the Galbadians were going to bomb the other two Gardens and that they were holding you captive to threaten B-Garden." replied Seifer.
- "BOMB the two Gardens?!" exclaimed Quistis, almost dropping her glass.
- "Yes… Selphie and Irvine went to the Missile base to stop the launch. They didn't manage to save Trabia… Squall, Rinoa and Zell went to Balamb to warn everyone in case Irvine and Selphie failed."
- "Oh Hyne…" said Quistis, holding her forehead "This is terrible…"
- "Yeah, I know… Jenna says she didn't hear anything on the news about Balamb Garden being bombed. Maybe they made it…" Seifer said, trying to sound optimistic.
- "And… you came to Galbadia all by yourself?" asked Quistis shyly.
- "Yeah…" Seifer said shrugging.
- "Why?" Quistis asked.
- "I dunno," said Seifer looking away "I guess I wanted to… thank you for… saving me back at the TV station…"
- "Oh…" mumbled Quistis.
Silence overtook them. Both of them avoided each other's gaze. Right then, there was a knock on the door and Jenna entered holding a set of pajamas.
- "Am I interrupting anything?" she asked shyly.
- "No Jenna, come in…" said Seifer "Jenna, Quistis. Quistis, Jenna." he added, introducing the two girls.
Quistis smiled and nodded at the pretty brunette in front of her, receiving a polite nod and a warm smile back.
- "I brought you something to wear in here." said Jenna.
- "Oh, you shouldn't have bothered… I've got my clothes with me…" said Quistis.
- "Don't be ridiculous… You can't wear a battle gear in bed." said Jenna grinning.
- "I'll go make that call…" said Seifer getting up "I'll leave you get dressed…"
- "Oh wait! I want to be in front too. Just wait for a sec outside and I'll call you when I'm dressed." said Quistis.
- "OK…" said Seifer.
- "Need any help?" offered Jenna.
- "No, I'll be fine. Thank you very much, Jenna…" replied Quistis.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer waited outside the room, leaning against the wooden door. After about five minutes, he heard Quistis's muffled voice from inside, telling him he could come in. He walked back inside and found her dressed in a set of baby blue pajamas.
- "Come on, let's go downstairs." said Seifer.
- "Alright…" said Quistis trying to get up from bed, but stumbled and almost tripped.
- "Still can't walk well?" he asked, approaching her.
- "I'll be fine…" she said and put her hand up against the wall.
- "*Sigh* Come on, I'll help you down…" he said, offering her his shoulder to lean upon.
- "I said I'll be fine!" snapped Quistis.
- "Hyne, woman! Stop being so damn stubborn and let me help you already!" shouted Seifer.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Iris was down at the kitchen with Jenna chatting during washing dishes, while Vincent and Tidus were outside, playing.
- "…so I told Marion that she should consider joining our group because-" Jenna said, but was interrupted by shouting from upstairs.
- "Shh…" Iris said, holding up her hand.
- "Hyne, woman! Stop being so damn stubborn and let me help you already!"
- "I - CAN - MANAGE!"
- "Look, I've got to go make a call and can't waste any more time on YOU! I'm going downstairs and you can just LIMP your way down there!"
- "Oh, no you DON'T! You're NOT making that call without me!"
- "It'll take you AGES to walk downstairs!"
- "Just wait and see!"
- "You DO realize that if you'd just let me help you we'd be down there ALREADY, don't you?!"
- "Sod off, Almasy! I said I can manage and you're gonna wait for me!"
- "The hell I am!"
- "Seifer, wha-?! Hold it RIGHT THERE! Don't you DARE! AARGH! PUT ME DOWN, YOU MORON!"
- "Just shut the hell up and STOP SQUIRMING!"
- "You're not the boss of me!"
Iris and Jenna broke into laughter, but went quiet as soon as they heard he door upstairs open. The shouts became louder now.
- "LET GO!!!"
- "SHUT UP! You're gonna wake up the entire block!"
- "Then LET – GO!"
- "Alright…"
- "Seifer NO! Yaaahhh! Don't you DARE DROP ME!"
- "Or you'll what?"
- "Or I'll-"
Quistis stopped shouting, as they'd almost reached the 1st floor and noticed that Iris and Jenna were looking at them, wide-eyed. And reasonably enough; Seifer was holding Quistis's left leg from the ankle, while her other one had encircled Seifer's neck, as she hung upside down. Her hands where grasping his vest, threatening to rip it to pieces, with force admirable for a person who'd just recovered from a weak state. They both shot Iris and Jenna awkward smiles.
- "Hi." said Quistis grinning.
- "Umm… Could we use your phone?" asked Seifer. Iris and Jenna nodded in unison, with jaws dropped down "OK… Where is it?" he asked again. Iris and Jenna pointed towards the counter by the door "Thank you."
Seifer walked over to the phone and once there, he held Quistis from the waist with one hand and with one graceful move, let her back to her feet. Quistis stumbled a bit, feeling dizzy and straightened her loose hair. She shot a glare at Seifer and nudged him hard on the ribs. Seifer let out a groan and muttered something that sounded a whole lot like 'bitch' through clenched teeth. Quistis ignored him and picked up the receiver of the blue phone, dialing the number of Balamb Garden. She waited a bit, while Seifer stood next to her, arms crossed.
- "The number you have called, is unattainable due to technical reasons." spoke a voice through the other end of the line.
Quistis hung up and looked at Seifer terrified.
- "Oh my Hyne! 'Technical reasons'?!" she said, trying to choke down a whimper.
- "Hey, hey… This could mean anything…" said Seifer, holding her arms "It doesn't mean that Garden got-"
- "What if everyone was in there?!" she whispered, while tears formed in her eyes "Squall, Zell, Rinoa, Selphie!"
- "Come on," said Seifer softly, trying to comfort her "We would have heard something on the news…" he added, touching her cheek with one palm. Quistis sniffed and a tear ran down her cheek "Think. Do you know anyone's cell-phone number we could call?" he asked.
- "I… I think… I think I remember Cid's…" she said, sniffing again.
- "Good. Now calm down." Seifer said, holding the base of her neck with both hands "If you do, then I'm sure it'll come to you…"
Quistis breathed deeply and wiped her teary eyes, falling deep in thought. Iris and Jenna shot each other puzzled looks. These two were unbelievable; one moment they're arguing like cat and dog, the next they're trying to comfort each other.
- "6943 875340." said Quistis calmly at some point "That's it."
- "See? I knew you'd remember it…" said Seifer, smiling warmly at her. Quistis returned the smile.
- "I'll make the call." she said and turned back around to the counter.
She picked up the receiver again and dialed the number. She bit one of her fingernails in anxiety as she waited.
- "It's calling…" she said, looking at Seifer, who stood there, looking at her eagerly.
Quistis heard the phone ring about seven times, before a male voice answered the call.
- "Hello?" said the man.
- "HEADMASTER CID?!" exclaimed Quistis in delight. Next to her, Seifer's eyes widened in joy.
- "Quistis?!" Cid shouted back "Thank Hyne, you're alright!"
- "What's going on?! What happened with the missiles?!" asked Quistis worriedly.
- "Everything turned out fine, Quistis. We didn't get hit." replied Cid.
- "Oh thank Hyne…" said Quistis sighing in relief.
- "Where are you?" asked Cid.
- "In Timber. With Seifer." replied Quistis.
- "SEIFER?! Hand him over the phone, NOW!" ordered Cid.
Puzzled, Quistis handed over the receiver to Seifer.
- "Aw shit…" mumbled Seifer, as if knowing what exactly would follow.
Quistis walked over to Iris and Jenna who asked her what was going on. Quistis just shrugged and turned to look at Seifer.
- "Hello Headm-" began Seifer hesitantly.
- "SEIFER ALMASY!" roared Cid "You irresponsible fool!" he yelled, making Seifer keep the receiver away from his ear "What the hell were you thinking, running off to Galbadia Garden all by yourself?!"
- "Sir, I-" began Seifer.
- "Shut it, Seifer!" shouted Cid "You could have gotten both yourself AND Quistis killed during that mission!"
- "But I didn't, did I?" Seifer asked, smirking.
- "I DON'T CARE!" yelled Cid "Just make sure you get Quistis back safely and THEN we'll talk!"
- "Fine, we'll be in Balamb this afternoon…" muttered Seifer.
- "Who said anything about Balamb?" asked Cid.
- "Well, where the hell should I bring her back to?!" asked Seifer exasperated.
- "Fisherman's Horizon." replied Cid.
- "What? Why?" asked Seifer.
- "Because that's where Balamb Garden is temporarily stationed."
- "'Stationed'?!" asked Seifer, utterly confused.
- "It's a long story to explain through the phone, just be here as soon as possible."
- "Well how do you expect I do that?! We have no Gil, no SeeD IDs, no items, and Trepe doesn't even have her weapon!" said Seifer.
- "Alright, alright… I'll send a SeeD aircraft to pick you up from Timber. It should be there in three hours. *Click*"
Seifer was left staring at the receiver dumbfounded. He hung up and turned over to the three women, rubbing the back of his hair.
- "What? What did Cid say?" asked Quistis eagerly.
- "He said that I should bring you over to Fisherman's Horizon…" replied Seifer.
- "What? Why?" Quistis asked puzzled.
- "My questions exactly…" said Seifer shrugging "He said the Garden in now 'stationed' there temporarily."
- "What does he mean 'stationed'?" asked Quistis.
- "Hey, I'm as confused as you are…" said Seifer.
- "Is everyone alright back in Garden?" asked Jenna.
- "Yeah, Cid said so at least…" replied Quistis.
- "So what are you going to do now?" asked Iris.
- "The headmaster ordered me to take Quistis back there as soon as possible, so I guess we should leave right about now…" replied Seifer.
- "Well, how are we ever going to get to FH?" asked Quistis.
- "Cid'll send an aircraft right now. It'll be here in about three hours." said Seifer.
- "Alright… Better go get ready then…" said Quistis "Can't wait to have a long, hot bath… I reek…"
- "Why don't you both take a shower or something here? You've still got plenty of time before you leave…" suggested Iris.
- "Thank you very much Iris, but we've already given you too much trouble…" said Quistis.
- "Nonsense! Seifer, you can go have a shower first and then Quistis will have a bath." said Jenna.
- "No, really it's…" began Seifer.
- "Upstairs! Now!" ordered Iris.
- "OK, OK, I'm going!" said Seifer, his eyes shooting wide open.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was sitting down at the kitchen table with Iris, Jenna and Iris's two young sons when Quistis came down the stairs. She was dressed in her peach battle gear and her damp hair was let down. She carefully took each step down, holding onto the railing of the stairs. Seifer got up and walked up to her, offering her his hand.
Quistis looked at him; he was now freshly shaved, his blond spikes were falling damp on his face and he definitely smelled a lot better than he did before... His eyes were fixed on her, expressionless, yet seemingly polite. Quistis took his hand and carefully walked down the rest of the wooden steps, joining everyone on the table.
- "I believe you haven't met my two sons." said Iris "This is Vincent and Tidus."
- "Hi, I'm Quistis." the blonde said politely, smiling at them.
- "I'm Vince." said one of them.
- "I'm yours…" said the other one, grinning goofily, earning a smack on the head by his mother.
- "Don't be rude!" yelled Iris.
- "No, it's OK…" said Quistis chuckling, while Jenna and Seifer grinned.
- "It's almost time." said Seifer "Are you ready?"
- "Yes, it's not like I had to pack anything…" replied Quistis, grinning.
- "Did you take the Potion I left for you in the room?" asked Iris.
- "Yes, thank you very much. I feel really well now." she said "By the way, would you happen to have to have a hair clip or a hair band?" she asked, holding her wet locks of hair.
- "Sure." said Jenna "Here…" she added, handing Quistis a hair band she took off her wrist.
- "Thank you…" said Quistis, pulling her hair up in a ponytail.
- "All set?" asked Seifer "We're meeting the SeeD aircraft out by the town outskirts."
- "When?" asked Quistis.
- "In about," said Seifer, glancing at his watch "Twenty minutes. Better get goin'."
- "OK…" said Quistis getting up.
The pair hugged everyone goodbye, thanking them for everything once again and left the small house, making their way over to the outer Gates of the city. After another small quarrel, Quistis agreed to let Seifer help her walk and the duet soon reached the outskirts of Timber, where the aircraft was already waiting. Finally; they were going back home...
A/N: The scene were Seifer undressed Quistis promises a lot of torturing in the future… Just wait and see ^_~
Until next time, adios!
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
Quistis and Seifer return safe back to Garden and try to catch up on what has happened during their absense