Disclaimer: I still haven't earned enough money to own any of the following... Final Fantasy (only some of the games and my muses, who are happily rampaging in my mind...), Magic - The Gathering (again - all I own are my ideas for creative use)

...It's been awhile since I unleashed the last chapter, I know... Sorry! But life sadly didn't stop for me and happily munched on my rare time.. For now through I present: Chapter three!


SeeDs, Guardians and... Love

Surprise, surprise!

During the following two hours I silently prayed a few times to Hyne, but also to the ancestress – the faith of the nomads… the faith of my father – to remain calm. Normally I'm not overly religious, but that… I think Seifer had some similar problems, namely trouble to believe what they wanted us to do. Now I know why they needed a male and a female SeeD… Fate is definitely laughing his or her – I don't particularly care – ass of!

The only good news was that it wouldn't last too long… Though, on the other hand, two weeks can be very long – depending on what you're doing and with whom you have to spent them. The ride to the hotel, where we were going to stay for the duration of our job, was spent in relative quiet. Actually it was more of a shocked silence…

I mean – come on! This assignment is going to force us to live together – as in having to share rooms, just in case someone is checking on us… Paranoid – that's what they are! Sadly enough I could understand their paranoia… – as a couple!!

That's like… hell? Or at least something along those lines…

Considering our ages – Seifer's 18 and I'm 17; Yay! I'm finally of age! At least back home… in some other states too, but the laws are different everywhere … – we're a relatively young married couple… The moment I heard that, I very nearly fell out of my icy exterior and my chair… caught myself at the last moment… and almost asked them if they'd lost it. Probably with the addition of a few choice words…

The mission itself was neither that bad nor that hard – a simple case of protecting VIPs: Give Noavyn Juun and his wife additional protection. This was necessary, because Juun – a politician – was running for election as a senator. There have been some pretty serious threats against him and his family and because of this… I think you can imagine the rest…

We were provided with the 'necessary' information for our assignment: Vinorian politics, history, economy, art… to put it short: about pretty much everything. Why we needed the whole stuff? There may be cases when we would have to pretend to be some sort of assistants too… Now don't get the wrong impression – we don't have to be around Juun constantly. That's what the 'active security guys', as we dubbed them, are for. They were also the ones who provided us with all that information.

But still… it's going to be one hell of a time. Can somebody please shoot me?

Eventually we reached the hotel, another grand impressive building, where we were going to stay for the next two weeks. At least everything was already arranged and the only thing we had to get was the key card for our rooms.

Did I mention that for this mission my name's been changed into 'Sae Almasy'? Sae was similar enough to my real name and seemingly more common in Vinoria than Icaé. Due to the similarity I should react to my name, when I'm called by it.

Well… it's not like Seifer calls me by my real name anyway… So far, he's been calling me chibi, Ice Queen, kid or something along those lines just to annoy me, or he simply calls me Faero. Why could Seifer keep his name and I had to change mine? Is Icaé Faero really that unusual?

Most people pronounce my name wrong, but hey – one can't have everything. It's actually pronounced like 'Isae' with emphasis on the 'sa' – which is spoken a bit sharply – and the 'e' – which is a bit stretched. But the way it's written is a bit confusing, I know – explaining too. Nevertheless, I like it – confusing or not.

The hotel itself was a very high building and like most buildings here an awesome construction of glass and some other materials, which I haven't any clue about. But it looks… wow! The Vinorians are in many ways artists and it shows in their buildings.

Our rooms were located rather high and so we had to take the elevator. Not much later we reached our floor and thus our rooms. They are great… wait a second, is that…? Yeah, it is… Ohhhh – look! There's even a balcony! Some inner voice happily squealed. I left my bag on the couch, opened the large glass doors and stepped outside. The view is like… wow! I got caught again in the raw beauty of the landscape. Due to the altitude I could clearly see the plains, rivers and mountains of Vinoria. Although it's cold here, Vinoria was a very beautiful, green and rich country. I almost felt at home here… but something was missing. Something important.

My peaceful moments of watching were all too soon over again. Seifer joined me silently on the balcony and I wondered if I should stay outside or escape inside. Yet… escaping was no real option since we had to live together and he could always ask me about my current behaviour, which was admittedly different than my usual act. So it was probably best to stay outside for a while longer – not to mention that I didn't want to give up the view right now – not even for a temporary relief.

"What's it with you and watching nature? Maybe I missed something in the past, but ever since we arrived here, you've been acting a little weird. Weirder than usual, that is…"

The dreaded question… Seifer – you've definitely got a timing for asking unwanted questions… One day… "Must be your imagination."

"Nah! I've known ya longer than most people. Did ya already forget that? Ya can't fool me as easily as you can fool those security guys…"

No, I haven't forgotten about that. And… as crazy as it is, it's true. There are not that many people who've known me as long as he and a few others in Balamb Garden. I sighed softly. I spent already more time in Garden than home. More than twice as much time… Still… sometimes, like now, I desperately miss home. Whatever – I can't change it anyway…

I looked over to my tall companion and took a few more moments of watching him, before I finally decided on answering his questions.

Seifer Almasy, 18 years old and one bloody damn good fighter – I've got to grant him that and I know it out of personal experience… Short, blond hair with a strand that's never staying in place… and piercing emerald green eyes.

The one thing he always loves to torment me with is that he's, with him being 1,88 m tall, 26 centimetres taller than me. What else to say about him? Not much… He's wearing, just as always – I wonder if he ever takes it off? – his choker and, not to forget, his grey coat with the red cross/sword on the sleeves. I'm not really sure what it is, but it looks like a mix out of both…

Other than that? I already mentioned that he's an excellent fighter – a strong one. He has to be… considering his chosen weapon – and again I experienced that first-handed… Seifer is a gunblade-specialist. One of the only two SeeD gunblade-specialists…

What a gunblade is? Easy: It's a mix between a gun and a sword – it has the handle of a gun and the blade of a sword. Due to that you can shoot and slash at your opponent – an extremely dangerous mix!

You see, a gunblade is very difficult to handle – it takes a lot of skill and even more practicing, but when you can fight with one, you can inflict an enormous amount of damage. On the other hand gunblades are weighting quite a lot. Trust me on that one… I know what I'm speaking of. I really do.

There are very few people who actually use a gunblade, since it's so difficult and takes so much practice. I myself only know of three people who are currently using one, excluding myself. I know how to fight with a gunblade, but I rarely ever use it. Although, to be exact, I have to say that one of them isn't using his gunblade all the time anymore… He changed his weapon years ago, but occasionally he still uses it – at least as far as I know… The other two gunblade-specialists are both SeeDs – Seifer and Squall. As weird as this may sound – considering their 'relationship' – the two of them are training partners, but since they're the only SeeDs with this choice of weapon… There's not that much choice… Still… it seems like they understand each other the best when they are fighting and/or training… I watched them several times – it's breathtaking to see them fight… It looks like some lethal dance – one wrong step and you're lost…

"Yo! Ice Queen! Get out of wherever you're right now to gimme at least an answer!"

Yeah… Whatever. It's always like this – he's going to unnerve me as long as it takes to get an answer. If I wanna have peace some time soon, I'm gonna have to tell him something. Just… what should I say? The truth? A mental snort. Then again… that could be fun…

"I like it…" I finally admitted.

"Huh? You're really outta it, you realize that, don't'cha?"

And you know that why? "Nah… it just…"

"What?"

"It reminds me of home. With one difference." I stopped talking. How did he do that? I always try to talk as little as possible, especially to him and yet he always manages to make me say more than I want to. Is that a special gift of him? I really shouldn't have said the last part – it only served to make him curious.

"What difference?" He sounded as if he really wanted to know.

"It's way colder here. Back home it never gets this cold…" I leaned on the railing, looking down on the illuminated city. Then I risked a glance at Seifer, who looked disbelieving.

"C'mon – it's not really cold. Maybe a bit cooler than Balamb, but definitely not cold."

Maybe not for you… I glared at him, daring him to say something, but he proved immune to it. Must be the result of receiving pretty much all of Squall's glares… I mused.

"Ya cold?" Seifer asked.

No… I'm just freezing.

It seemed that he had interpreted my silence correctly, since he said nothing when I turned around, sidestepped him and went back inside. My eyes fell on my bag, which was still lying on the couch, where I'd left it. I went over and set it a bit aside to create more free space for myself. Then I started rummaging through it, looking for my coat, since I had had no possibility to get it out.

But it seemed that Seifer wasn't finished with me yet. He followed hardly two minutes later and settled himself on a seemingly comfy, small blue couch in front of me. Apparently he'd come up with more questions, while alone on the balcony, because the questioning started anew.

"Care to tell me now? What's it with you and the cold?" Then, as if it was an afterthought, he added, "Compared to Trabia it's actually reasonably warm…"

Trabia? I don't even wanna think about that place now – way too cold! And… Vinoria not being much colder than Balamb? Hello? Big understatement. I silently grumbled. Seifer appeared to be quite content – he'd even taken off his coat… But I couldn't blame him – in here it was pleasantly warm.

I raised an eyebrow, "What a pity! Seeing as I'm neither from Balamb nor from Trabia, that argument's not working. So… sorry – I despise the cold. Even Balamb's sometimes too near to the edge for my liking…" I simply couldn't help my slight sarcasm.

I quickly glanced over to the large glass windows that were located next to the balcony doors, which were currently hidden beneath slightly billowing thin, whitish curtains. I was captured again by the view of the large moon, which in itself wasn't that extraordinary, but the enormous size of the moon gave off the illusion of it being near enough to crash into Atai the next moment.

The moon gave off enough light to create shadows all around, even though we'd turned on the lights. Outside there had been enough moonlight that we had been able to get a good look at Vinoria at night. The darkness, only brightened by the moonlight, was fascinating.

I glanced again at Seifer, who actually looked a bit stunned after my comment. But he wouldn't be himself, hadn't he found a comment to return.

"Such words… coming from you, the Ice Queen herself? I'm shocked!" Again he was mocking me. "And here I thought Trabia was perfect for ya…" For that remark he only earned an indignant look.

"Think again…" I dryly shot back at him.

He became a bit more serious. "You were born in a desert?"

That, while not being true, came a bit too close to the truth. I couldn't help that I loved heat so much. I was the child of a nomad after all…no denying that.

Meanwhile, my search had finally paid off as I actually found what I'd been looking for… I left my place on the couch to hang my coat up and while doing so, I decided that I had to change the topic. I had no wish to continue this particular issue and ignored his last words. Instead I started to unpack my bag and putting the items away, after returning to my seat. Mind you, not all of its contents, just what I was most likely to need. Although… that's pretty much about what is in it…

Seifer seemingly had gotten the hint and followed my example, fortunately not saying anything –for now… It was getting pretty late and even though I had gotten much more sleep than usual, I was getting tired. Must've been all the adrenaline today… When I finally came to an end – it hadn't taken that long, but still… – I couldn't stop myself from yawning anymore.

Okay – enough for today… All I wanna have now is a long, hot shower and then some more sleep. At least we've got tomorrow off, before our assignment is starting… Only fourteen days left…

They – the security guys – told us that we would most likely need the time to get familiar with the city… Not to mention that we were going to need a few things and we'd better get them as soon as possible. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day…

I snatched myself a few towels and went into the bathroom, before Seifer, who had finished unpacking not much after me, could do the same. After having finished – now I almost felt human again… – I discovered that in my hurry I'd forgotten my clothes… Whoops… Okay… no big deal. Seifer will for sure also wanna have a shower as soon as possible. Hopefully… Not to mention: I'm tired! And I've slept so much today, it's almost unreal… So… to hell with it! I'm goin' out now.

I walked out – a large bath towel wrapped around me and another, smaller one around my head, to prevent my long hair from dripping on the floor – and way too soon met Seifer, who was currently sprawled on a large bed. The only bed… A… double bed… Somebody shoot me now!!

As soon as he saw me, he started grinning – I'd almost expected this reaction _– and asked me if I'd forgotten something. That earned him another indignant look, but I didn't really care anymore. Of course I've forgotten something! Would I run around like that otherwise? The shower had merely woken me up a bit, but only enough to direct a weak glare at him… Pathetic…

Still grinning, he picked up some towels and clothes and just before finally vanishing into the bathroom, he quickly remarked, "For someone that small, you sure are well…" He couldn't finish his sentence, because I was reaching for something to throw at him. Whatever he'd wanted to say, was now left unsaid. My sword would've been an alternative preferable to throwing something, but it was out of my reach… Imagine the picture! Me, in some large towel chasing after Seifer with my sword … Hyne! It was ridiculous! Completely and utterly ridiculous… but still a fun thought to entertain…

At least I had some peace and privacy… but only for now…

I had to yawn again and decided that it was late enough and that I would like a bed very much. I changed my clothes and hung up the towels near the heating to let them dry during the night.

After lying down on the spacious bed I almost immediately fell asleep, only to wake up partially when Seifer returned from the bathroom and left his towels somewhere to dry. When I'm sleepy, I'm never in for serious arguing… My language also suffers then… a bit…

"So… What 'bout the bed? You gonna share with me or do I really have to take the couch?" He wasn't sounding very happy about the latter, but there wasn't much he could do, since I'd already 'claimed' the bed as mine – even though I'd done it after him, really – since he asked so nicely… Okay… I understand him… The couch's probably a bit too small for his large form and after sleeping there he's going to be grumpy tomorrow… Grumpy Seifer? Not something I wanna experience… So that's a big no-no… Besides – I don't really care 'bout that right now – as long as he behaves himself…

I sleepily looked up at him – he was standing in front of the bed, wearing his nightclothes – consistent of only loose drawstring pants and a shirt – and still damp hair from his earlier shower – and murmured, "Don't care. Ya can use the bed 's long 's ya leave me some space… We're both grown up and I wanna sleep, so… 's ya choice… G'Night!" These words said, I yawned again and turned around again to finally get some sleep. When I felt the bed shifting, I knew his unspoken answer.

A sleepy, "Night…", was the last thing I heard.

Liked it? Hated it? Found mistakes, strangeness or other stuff that's not making sense that I haven't found (or that makes perfectly sense to me)? Let me know what you thought of it ^^

*points at the shiny green review button* Come on - you know you just want to press it! *grins*

Authors notes: A lot of talking happened here... And the world finally got named *shrugs* They never specifically state a name for the FFVIII world (and really... Gaia just screams FFVII to me and planet? Pretty much the same. Atai is the Nigerian Creator Goddess and inventor of Deadly Arguments. She is married to Abassi, the Nigerian Creator God and Lord of the Sky. I liked the name Atai and the entries of this pair just seemed to fit *smiles* The next chapter will bring the morning after and some more talking and wondering.