...leave it up to you...

Chapter 4 : A gift before departure

Tamiel

"So where are we going?" I ask happily as Seifer and I walk through the busy streets of Deling City. People are everywhere in their bright colored clothes. Ooh, someone's even got on polka dots!

"I thought those died out a year ago..."

"What?"

I flash a joking smile at Seifer and shrug. "Oh, nothing! Nothing at all, Seifer!"

He gives me a funny look, then shakes his head and continues to navigate for us through the streets.

I wonder where we're going. He said he wanted to show me something, but I don't know what it is. He also said to think of cute names. I wonder why... MAYBE HE GOT SOMEONE PREGNANT AND HE'S GOING TO HAVE A KID!

"Is it a boy or a girl!" I demand, stopping Seifer in the middle of the sea of people. He stares at me in shock and stutters,

"W-what? How did you know what it was?"

I shake my head and frown. "Where's your baby? Who's your wife? WHEN DID SHE GET PREGNANT!"

Seifer blinks for a moment, then bursts out laughing. I don't think I've ever seen him laugh so hard. He takes a deep breath and stands up straight, then smirks and shakes his head. "I'm not having a baby, Tam. No one's pregnant, okay? Are you going to relax now?"

I nod, pouting just a little as we continue to walk. Finally he stops and pulls me into some shop I've never heard of or seen. I look around and see that it's full of pets.

Pets? Why are we in a pet shop?

The owner looks Seifer over uneasily. He probably recognizes him, even though Seifer's stopped wearing that coat. He stopped wearing it a while ago. I mean, it's been seven months since he started living with me.

"Can... can I help you?" the owner asks, walking over to us. Seifer looks at the man and kind of sneers. I poke him in the ribs and he grunts.

"Actually, yeah. I was holding a certain... pet, here. I called on the phone."

"Under what name?"

"Tamiel."

I step on Seifer's foot and give him a 'look'. "Why are you holding things at a pet store under my name!" I demand firmly. He smirks at me and points to the pet store owner who brings something out of the back. I quirk my head to the bit and see that it's a tiny white chicobo.

"Awwww..." I pet the tiny chicobo on the head and smile at it. It's got these huge blue eyes and it's so cute! Oh, I want it so bad! I wonder if it's a girl or a boy... hmm...

I look back up at Seifer and frown a little. "Who's it for?" I ask.

Seifer almost falls over. "IT'S FOR YOU!" he exclaims. I stare at him in shock, then jump up and down and scream happily. The owner hands me the chicobo, but whispers,

"Do you know who your boyfriend is?"

Okay, normally that would bother me. A lot. And I'd get upset and yell and smack the guy. But today, no. Seifer just bought me a pet! And it's a cute little white chicobo.

I stand up straight and firmly say to the owner, "This here is Seifer Almasy. Not the 'Sorceress's Knight' or anything else - just Seifer Almasy. And second, he's not my boyfriend. He's just one of the closest friends I've had for a long time and maybe, just maybe you should look past what he's done and look at who he is now. So there." I stick out my tongue at the end to emphasize my point and the owner just nods.

... I swear, though, that if there weren't those two other customers watching our every move, he would've smiled bigger. Because I know that for a split second, there was a definite smile on that man's face.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" I ask Seifer, holding up my baby chicobo and sticking it in his face.

"Put it down! Put it down!" he says, swatting it away. I hold it closely to me and pout. "Anyway, it's a little girl. And I guess it's kinda cute... kinda."

I smile and cuddle my new pet. "I'm going to name her... Tiara!"

"T-Tiara?" he asks.

"Yeah! I think it's a cute name for my new baby!"

"Whatever..."

I wrinkle my nose and hip-check Seifer. "You're just jealous."

Seifer shrugs and goes up to the owner to pay. He comes back and we head back to our apartment. Once we're back he tells me that we need to talk.

I sit down on the couch, Tiara in my lap, and look up at him with big eyes. He seems serious. I wonder why?

"Well, what's going on?" I ask.

Seifer takes a deep breath, then says, "I'm leaving."