Seven days later, Selphie stood in front of Quistis' desk while the headmistress moved some papers around on her desk absentmindedly as she read them. Selphie stood silently, waiting, eyes gazing upwards to where someone she didn't know drove Garden—or, they would if Garden was moving. She liked it better when Nida was driving, but also, she realized, she liked it best when Nida was with her, so in the end it worked out okay.

Though, if things worked out how she expected, Nida would no longer be her partner. He'd be on his own missions, and honestly, that would be good for him. He'd spent most of his SeeD life attached to Selphie, always second. He deserved a mission of his actual own that didn't involve driving an ancient Centra device around the world.

When Quistis finished reading, she moved her hand away from the paper and looked up at Selphie with an unreadable expression. "So you're resigning."

"After the situation with Sanctus is resolved," Selphie corrected. "Of course, I don't know how long that'll take, but . . ."

Quistis gave the tiniest of smiles and pushed herself to her feet. "Selphie," she said in a soft voice, "is there anything you want to tell me?"

Selphie's eyes widened a moment, then she said, "Are you not going to accept my resignation?"

"No, I will," Quistis said, waving a hand in the air that she tucked away when she folded her arms. "You very clearly spelled out an understandable reason for resigning, and I respect that. I'm not asking as headmistress, I'm asking as your friend."

She brought her shoulders in. "I just keep thinking about . . ." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore." The two of them locked eyes silently for a few moments, then as Quistis opened her mouth, Selphie quickly said, "No, I'm sorry. I . . . I'm just thinking about . . . about Fujin."

Quistis' face darkened, but she nodded and took a seat, gesturing for Selphie to do so as well. "I see," she said. "It's different when it's someone you know."

"Or someone that someone you know loves," Selphie murmured, carefully taking a seat on the very edge of the chair. "But I couldn't . . . let him do it himself. He'd hate himself for forever, and he's already hated himself for long enough."

A lightness entered Quistis' eyes, but she said nothing.

Selphie took a steadying breath. "I know I'm a mercenary. I know it's part of the job description sometimes. And maybe that's why . . . finally facing that, it just helped me realize that leaving Garden is what's best for me. It's not the only reason . . ." She glanced at the papers on the desk.

"I know," Quistis said with acknowledging nod.

"The war was different," Selphie said firmly. "And I was younger then. But I like what I did in Esthar. I would want to go back in the future. But I can't leave now because Sanctus is still out there, and as long as they want to hurt Garden, as long as they're planning to hurt Garden . . ." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I asked Seifer if he would help me stop them, after we stopped the attack on Balamb a week ago. He said he couldn't answer. I had planned on asking him again, but now . . ."

"You care about him a lot, don't you?" Quistis asked.

When Selphie's head snapped up, she saw the tenderness in Quistis' eyes and felt her cheeks grow hot. "I just . . . don't want him to have to see the person who killed a member of his family. That would just hurt him more, you know. I'm not . . . I'm not a cruel person—or I try not to be."

Quistis leaned forward, reaching out a hand towards Selphie. "I know you're not, Selphie. Everyone knows."

After brief hesitation, Selphie set her hand in Quistis'.

"Have you spoken with him?" Quistis asked.

Selphie's brows furrowed and she stared at their hands. "He came to visit me when I was in the infirmary, but I was pretending to be asleep. When Dr. Kadowaki discharged me, I just sort of . . . avoided him."

For long minutes, they said nothing. Quistis' thumb ran along the side of Selphie's hand. Then she pulled away, and in a professional tone, asked, "As for your request, you of course may continue to work on the Sanctus case. But I have been informed by Dr. Kadowaki that she has forbidden you from returning to work for two months. Squall and Nida will be heading the task force in the interim, including the interrogation of Raijin."

She winced at Raijin's name. He'd been the most devastated at Fujin's loss. Selphie couldn't even begin to imagine facing him ever again. He had no reason to forgive her. They had no memories at the orphanage when they were young, or any memories at all outside the war, and even then . . .

"I understand," she said, in a stronger voice than she felt.

"As for your resignation, upon the conclusion of our efforts against Sanctus, whenever that may be, we can further discuss your options. I'm sure President Loire would love to hire you on again, but as Selphie Tilmitt rather than SeeD Tilmitt. If not, there are plenty of avenues, and I would be happy to assist in any way I can, if you'll let me," Quistis said.

Selphie smiled. "Of course. Thanks, Quisty."

"Honestly, depending on how this all unfolds, you may not be alone," Quistis said.

"What do you mean?" Selphie asked.

Quistis just gave an easy smile and waved the question away. "The politics of the world. Just a feeling, anyway, nothing based in too much fact." She stood again. "Is there anything else I can help you with today, Selphie?"

Selphie stood as well. "No. I think I'm going to finally clean out my room, though."

"Already?" Quistis asked in surprise.

"I haven't used it in ten years; I'm not about to start again. It's just takin' up space," she said.

"I see what you mean," Quistis said. "Well, if you need anything else, please feel free to come talk to me. I can always make time for you, Selphie."

Selphie felt her cheeks go warm again, though it was different than before. She gave a bright smile, saluted, and saw herself out. Down the elevator, she glanced out the glass at the students walking the corridors. They had been so scared during the evacuation, but ever since, they seemed to think the threat was over. They even threw a party. Only the staff and the SeeDs seemed to really understand this was only the very beginning of the struggle against Sanctus and public opinion.

She shook her head of the thoughts, focusing on the now. The elevator came to a stop and she headed quickly to her old room. Unlike Seifer's, all her stuff was still in there, untouched except for some cleaning by the janitorial staff. Her hand hovered by the lightswitch, but after some thought, she lowered her hand and let it stay dark.

The first thing she noticed was the poster of Leviathan above her bed. Funny she had found the guardian force again in Seifer's possession, of all people. Before, the poster gave her delight, but now it just made her sad. She hadn't junctioned a GF until a week ago, when she had subsequently used a Firaga to roast Fujin alive. Then, it had definitely been an emergency, but now the thought of using a GF for magic sickened her. She was Selphie, a SeeD, who had taken an oath, and who didn't need guardian forces anymore. Not even in an emergency.

That meant saying a permanent goodbye to her three friends, but the thought of it almost excited her now. Leaving Garden, getting rid of her GFs, seeing her friends again, it was all the end of an era and the start of a new one. And she had to admit, the coming years already looked better than the past ten she'd lived. She was free to be her own self, no longer shackled down by Ultimecia, by time compression, by Seifer, by Garden.

Quistis was right: soon she would be just Selphie Tilmitt. And maybe that's the way it had always meant to be. Garden had been there for the sorceress. Fate had willed her to be a part of that mission. But that was over now. She could be free to choose her own fate.

She knelt on her bed and slowly peeled the poster off of the ceiling. Then she curled it up into a cylinder and wrapped a rubber band around it to keep it together.

Someone knocked on the door. She set the poster on the bed and carefully tiptoed her way over to the door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the button. The door slid open and there stood Seifer, an annoyed look on his face and something in his hand.

Shit!

Seifer put his hand over the door to keep it from closing and then lifted what appeared to be a leather jacket. Right on time.

"The hell is this, Tilmitt?" he asked.

"A new jacket, it looks like. Did you buy it from Balamb? They have nice jackets there," she said innocently, nonchalantly, wishing he would leave. It was painful just to look at him. "I can't remember the name of the shop; it's been so long."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "Really? You didn't buy it?"

She shook her head. "I don't have the kind of money for that. Ha ha, it's gotta be at least 4000 gil, right?"

"It is 4000 gil," Seifer said. "Stop lying, Tilmitt. Nida told me everything."

Hynedamn it, Nida.

"Does he know you know his name?" she asked.

"Don't try to change the subject," Seifer said.

Selphie sighed and turned away, walking back into the room. The door closed a moment later, but of course Seifer had come into the room with her. She crossed an arm over her torso. "So what if I did buy you a jacket? I ruined your other one, you know. It's not a big deal."

"Four thousand gil may not be a lot to you, but it's a fuck-ton of money to me," Seifer said.

She was quiet, her eyes gazing around her room. When her eyes stopped on a particular box, she said, "Hey, this is my old room, ya know? So watch this—I haven't done this in forever." She skipped over to the box, sifting through it until her hands wrapped around a remote control. It was hard to see in the darkness, but eventually her memory guided her finger to the right button and suddenly there was light: dim faerie lights blinked around the top of the room.

"Faerie lights! I put them in here first night of being a SeeD, right before the party," Selphie said.

Behind her, Seifer was looking at the lights in slight wonder. The way it reflected out of his cerulean eyes was almost beautiful. And in that moment he looked so innocent and even adorable. If only she hadn't murdered his friend seven days ago. If only she could be genuinely playful with him like she had before. It had been nice spending time with him, confiding in him, being silly with him. He was the last person she expected to befriend like that, but here he was, standing there even after what she'd done. Maybe then he didn't hate her, but he should have.

He looked at her and she quickly averted her eyes, walking over to the bed and holding the poster up. "Leviathan. You want it?"

Seifer frowned and made an exasperated noise. "No, Selphie, I don't want . . ." He sighed, then reached out and took the poster from her.

Selphie put her hands behind her back. "I'm going to clean out my room. Maybe sell my things off or just give it away. There's a lot of good stuff in here; I'm sure there'll be lots of kids here who want it." She looked over at a framed picture of her and Zell from the SeeD party. He had a hot dog stuffed in his mouth as he tried to smile, and she was holding a glass of wine she'd stolen from a staff member. Back then she sure had winked and stuck her tongue out. Sometimes she still did it, but now it just felt too silly.

"And where you going after that?" Seifer asked.

She looked at him quickly, mouth open to reply, but nothing came out. I wanna ask, but I can't. You should just leave, Seifer. Your mission is over. You can go back to Winhill and you don't have to ever worry about being bothered by me again.

As she looked at him, as he waited for her to say something, she thought about the way he'd held her after the confrontation with Fujin and Raijin. It had been so warm in his arms. The second half of it she'd passed out, but she remembered going through the MD level towards the elevator. He was looking ahead determinedly and she was only thinking how sorry she was, how much she wanted to apologize to him, but nothing came out. She could only lie there, thinking she wasn't worthy to be held so tenderly by him.

And there her cheeks went again, warming up, probably turning pink. "Maybe Esthar. Or maybe I'll just keep hopping around from town to town. There's a lot to see, ya know." Her eyes lowered. "I suppose you're going back to Winhill."

He too was quiet for a moment before answering. "Yeah, that's right. Least for a while."

Selphie glanced at the jacket, then back at him. "Did you try it on? Does it even fit? I had to guess your size."

"It fits fine."

She smiled. "I'm glad," she said quietly. Then she cleared her throat and turned around, staring at her room. "I didn't remember having so much stuff. This might take a while, so I probably won't see you for quite some time."

Silence.

Eventually she looked over her shoulder, but Seifer was staring at nothing, looking lost in thought. She just took in the features of his face, his scar and lips mostly, and then looked forward again.

After a minute, she heard his heavy footsteps, and then something draped over her shoulders. With its arrival, the claws that had clung to her for so long finally loosened fully and fell away into nothingness. When she looked down, she saw Seifer's leather jacket. Her hand lifted a little to gently touch it, quickly squeezing the fabric with tight fingers.

"You look like you could use it more than me," he said, and she forced herself not to look back at him. "But I'm not giving it to you or anything, okay, Tilmitt? I'm lending it. I expect it back next time I see you."

She smiled again.

His footsteps moved across the floor again, and she realized too late their direction. By the time she turned around, she could only see a flash of his blond hair before the door closed. She pulled the jacket tighter around her. It still smelled new, but he'd worn it at least once, probably to try it on, make sure it fit.

She was glad he'd stopped by before leaving. It had hurt her core to see him again, but Quistis was right: she had grown fond of him over the months. He was an asshole a lot of the time, and he cared about things far more than he let on, but he was sincere, and he did work hard. When she'd hired him on, of course she expected him to actually help, but not to the degree he had. Given some time, he would have made a damned good SeeD. They could have been on missions together if Ultimecia hadn't decided to destroy the world.

Either way, she was glad to have met up with him again. There was something exhilarating about being in his presence, even when she was annoyed with him. And though things were . . . bad right now, that would change, just like all the badness from the war had gone away. She'd changed, and so had Seifer.

Change or don't change. I'll still be me. I'll always still be me.

So she'd give it some time, and then start again if she felt up to it. Though she'd just told him she wouldn't bother him ever again, it had to happen anyway, didn't it? And despite her words, he'd even said he'd see her again, so she could give his jacket back.

Selphie smiled and slipped her arms in through the sleeves. The jacket was way too big for her, but it was comfy and warm.

She hadn't run after Irvine. Honestly, she'd never run after anyone. But it seemed like she was about to with Seifer, in a way. It was still surprising her, and it probably would for a while, but she was fine with it. More than fine.

She liked hanging around with that blond, blue-eyed jerk!

With a little laugh, she went to the wall and turned on the main lights in the room. She was excited to clear all this stuff out, maybe find some things she had forgotten about-had wanted to forget about. But everything was good now, all her memories, even the bad ones from the war, because without them, she wouldn't be who she was today. And she liked who she was now, she realized. I'm not a sad mess or anything. I'm just Selphie.

She owed it to her friends, she owed it to Matron and Edea, she owed it to Laguna and the people in Esthar, she owed it to Tadao Nida, and she owed it to herself for hanging in there.

Most of all she owed it to Seifer Almasy.

Thinking of them all brought a big smile to her face.

Thank you.