Operation: Mariposa

by Scarlet Fever

Seifer/Squall slash! Rated M for Graphic language, violence, sexual content and drug/alcohol use. What do you do when your whole world turns against you? Been a while since I posted a fic on here! Work In Progress!

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 06

Sol scanned the crowd for his target, and his assassins. He could pick out Mars and Neptune quite easily, for he knew everything about them. And they, nothing about him. Not even that he was indeed male. They could look right at him, and not know that this was the person sending them on this current job. It was rare for him to use more than one assassin at a time, but this was a rather complicated task.

"Neptune, respond," Sol murmured into his cell phone, voice masked to the person on the other end. Lots of people were talking in radios and cell phones, so he went unnoticed. His assassins were wearing miniscule headsets.

"In position," her voice replied. She'd worn a black wig with thick, blunt bangs, and did her makeup so she was nigh unrecognizable, but he still knew who she was. Her black silk, halter-necked, long-sleeve gown with full, layered skirt and matching gloves, looked quite demure and proper from the front, but when she turned around, it was completely backless, daring to show a peek of ass crack. She was chatting with some party guest, making him laugh and blush.

"Mars, respond."

"In position," Mars's breathy voice replied. She was posing as a member of the serving crew, able to dart through the crowd, her eyes watching the room as she handed out champagne. She even walked close enough to Sol that he was able to pluck a glass from her tray. She even smiled at him, completely ignorant that she'd just looked at her boss.

This huge party was a charity event for one of Deling City's largest hospitals, where the Galbadian Finance Minister, Xander DeSota, would be giving a speech about increased funding for health care, and the hiring of more health care professionals. The contract to kill DeSota actually came to Sol's attention more than a month ago, but DeSota was paranoid and kept himself quite cloistered, making it difficult to plan his death. Not only had he hired SeeD as bodyguards, but Sol recognized various other mercenary outfits, as well as the presence of the Deling police and the Galbadian army. There were even a few Estharian soldiers for hire milling around and looking imposing. Nida Nomura was standing near DeSoto at all times.

"Status?" He asked of Neptune.

"Plainclothes near each exit. First SeeD right with DeSota, the second SeeD is at the bar."

"Noted," Sol murmured, knowing Neptune was talking about Irvine Kinneas. "On a signal from me, Mars will start creating a diversion to throw this place in chaos. Take the shot, and exit via the rooftops."

"Guarded," Neptune pointed out through her phone. "I checked earlier. Some army sword-sells."

"You let me worry about that," Sol answered cryptically. "Meanwhile, relax and have a drink." He snapped his phone shut, sipping the champagne. He trusted Neptune's skills to get the shot. She, along with Jupiter, were his favourites. But, Almasy's face was far too recognizable for this mission, and he'd also wanted some of his female assassins because their hair could mask their headsets.

Sol sipped his champagne and waited until DeSota was starting to climb the stairs towards the podium where he'd be giving his speech. He kissed his wife on the cheek, Nida shadowing him. Sol casually flipped his phone up again. "Go," he called to Mars. Weaving through the crowd, she was able to deftly start casting magic without anyone noticing. She was quite good with fiddly status spells, and started afflicting confuse on random people. Some of the guests first, then a couple of the Galbadian mercenaries. As people started to act strangely when the confuse magic took hold of them, Sol started sending a text message. When he hit send, there was a deep rumbling that went through the convention room, rattling the chandeliers and vibrating the ground like an earthquake. The confused guests started attacking one another, or shrieking in mania, one of the mercenaries firing his weapon in the air, then towards the now panicking crowd.

Amongst the shouting and screaming and yelling, the fire alarms started to wail from the explosion on the boiler room below. The smoke and the confusion gave Neptune a perfect chance to pull a pistol from under her voluminous skirts, and take the shot at DeSoto and the members of his staff. Mars was taking care of the mercenaries she'd confused, putting them to sleep, or outright killing a few of them with a concealed stiletto. Even through all the chaos though, Nida saw where the shot came from. Sol had given instructions to his assassins not to harm the SeeD, since they were so high-profile and because they were looking for any evidence of the Solar System, and ways to bring them to light.

Neptune dropped the gun on the posh carpet and made a quick dash for the door leading to the stairwell. The quick burst of bullets exploded from Nida's sub-machine gun after her. Neptune felt the hot sear of lead pierce her shoulder as she ducked behind a party guest. Blood made her black dress heavy and wet as she fired back before throwing herself into the stairwell. Gripping her shoulder, she ran up the stairs towards the roof.

"Get her!" Nida shouted to one of the Galbadian army men, pointing at Mars. "She's in on it!"

Mars's eyes grew wide, and she threw her champagne tray at the officer. Glass and alcohol flew through the air as she made a dash, flinging magic behind her. Sol could only stand back and watch as a second army private tackled her. After all, he couldn't blow his cover. Nida started to run after Neptune as Mars struggled under the heavy bulk of the man on top of her. Sol picked his way through the crowd and confusion as a sleep spell was put over Mars.

He could hear the muted splatter of gunfire as he made his way into the stairwell, lit red by the emergency lights. The alarm was still wailing, and as he made his way to the roof, gun now out, he could hear sirens coming from the streets below. As he climbed, he passed the ripped remains of Neptune's skirts. She must have torn it so she could make an easier escape. Sol hovered in the stairwell's door so he wouldn't give himself away to either SeeD or assassin, and to keep himself dry because it was pouring cold October rain. From his vantage point, he could see Nida perched behind a chimney stack, sharing shots with Neptune, who must have been hiding near the lip of the roof. As Nida had to stop to change magazines, Sol saw the silhouette of Neptune dash towards the edge of the roof and leap towards the building next door. Nida quickly snapped the magazine into place and fired. Neptune's lack of grace in her landing on the lower roof next door signified that one of Nida's bullets found its mark.

Nida started to chase after her, and skidded to a stop on the slippery ground near the edge of the roof. He had to throw himself to the ground as Neptune fired at him, then jumped over to another rooftop, and disappeared down a fire escape. Nida ran as fast as he could at the roof's edge, and threw himself off, making a loud splash as he landed in a puddle on the adjacent roof. Sol turned and went back into the party before he could be seen, melding back into his other life seamlessly.

Nida stumbled on the slippery roof, looking into the alleyway below where the assassin had vanished. He could see nothing but the heavy stream of water from the eaves, and the dimness of dumpsters and garbage below. He jumped across to the fire escape, trying to see if there was any blood trail to follow, but the rain was making that impossible. He slid down the rusty ladder into the alley, kicking over boxes and peering into the dumpster, but nothing. She was gone.

"Fuck!" Nida cursed under his breath. He'd had her! Now it would be impossible to find the killer. She would have melted into the Deling City crowd. Nida pulled out his phone as he made his way back to the gala centre. It only rang once before Xu picked up. "Xu? DeSota's dead."

It was the middle of the night in Balamb, but Xu was wide awake. She'd been waiting to hear from Irvine and Nida, and the sound of his voice thrilled her so much that it caused her nipples to harden against the silk of her nightie. "Dead?" She echoed, some of her euphoria at listening to Nida say her name while she was laying in bed.

"Assassinated." Nida was stopped at the front doors by the fire department, who were dealing with the blaze in the boiler room. Everyone had been ushered outside, most being taken to local hospitals by ambulance. Irvine was standing next to the unconscious waitress, water dripping from the brim of his cowboy hat.

"The Solar System?" Xu asked, sitting upright. The sheets pooled around her, and her excitement rose again.

"Looks like it. We got a woman in custody, I think she was in on the hit. What do you want us to do? Bring her to Galbadia Garden?"

"No, bring her here. I'd very much like to question her." She could hear tenseness in Nida's voice. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly. "You sound like you're in pain."

"It's nothing. Just a flesh wound. We'll debrief with local authorities here, then come back to Balamb."

"Roger. Good job," she praised.

"Hardly," Nida muttered. "Our client's dead."

"We might have opened up something much bigger now, though..." Xu smiled into the phone. "I'll see you soon," she cooed.

"Bye," Nida said uncomfortably, flipping his phone shut. The fact that Xu still wouldn't take the hint about his feelings for her disturbed him.

"You should really get a doctor to look at that," Irvine murmured, gently gripping Nida's arm so he could look at the injury.

"I'm fine. Ow!" He snapped as Irvine prodded the flesh with a finger. "Well, it would be fine if you'd stop doing that!"

"Sorry, man. So, what'd the boss lady say?" He tipped his hat up and looked over to their sleeping prisoner.

"Bring her back to Balamb for questioning. Xu agrees with me that she's probably a member of the Solar System, same as the one that got away."

"All righty." Irvine started pulling the woman along to their vehicle. "But, hospital first so you can get stitched up."

"Nah. I'll just cast some cure on it," Nida muttered. "We need to get her back. You wanna debrief with the police chief, or should I?"

"I'll do it. Just go relax in the car, and make sure Sleeping Beauty doesn't wake up."

"Yeah, maybe it isn't a good idea for you to be alone with a helpless female suspect."

Irvine winked and left his partner to find someone in charge.

Half a dozen blocks away from the convention center, Neptune stirred in a dingy alleyway that reeked of garbage and old urine, the rain only intensifying the odour. She had the sense that she'd blacked out momentarily. She could hear a high-pitched drone, like a beehive had suddenly taken up camp in her head. But... it sounded like words. Neptune groaned and touched the side of her head, feeling the beginnings of a mighty bump. Her wig and headset were askew, and she could feel blood drenching her clothes along with the cold autumn rains.

She narrowed her eyes when she thought she could hear someone talking to her again.

"Neptune, respond."

She groaned, and rolled over so she could retch. Mostly blood came up with the vomit.

"Neptune, respond."

She opened her mouth to reply, but she must have blacked out again, because when she came to, there was silence from her earpiece, and the rain had intensified. She started coughing up the water that had gotten into her lungs from breathing in rainwater. She tore off the wig and tossed it into a pile of long-forgotten garbage beside her, her pale hair streaked with blood. She then pulled off her gloves, and started ripping the satin into strips for temporary bandages. Using the wall as support, she rose to her feet, vomiting again. She searched under her skirts for her phone, which was strapped to her thigh next to the empty gun holster. It took her a few muddled tries before she was successful in dialling.

"NEPTUNE..." She hissed, panting into the phone. In her befuddled state, she instinctively fell into her stilted speech pattern, born out of being raised by a lone, deaf mother. She'd never spoken properly to another person until she'd gone to school, and it had affected her ever since. "REPORTING." Her wet silver hair looked like liquid moonlight.

"Good work, Neptune," Sol replied. His mechanized voice made it impossible to tell his mood or emotion. "Get yourself to Ceres." He was referring to one of the Solar System's underground doctors - the kind of doctor who was on constant retainer for mob bosses, drug dealers, and assassin cells. "I'll contact you in due time."

Neptune dialled a second number, sliding down the wall as her legs started to give out. She contacted Ceres's office, and asked that an envoy come to collect her. As she waited, she collapsed back to the dirty cement, her tattered and ripped skirts spreading around her. Heavy and wet with water and blood. The makeup that had covered the scarring around her left eye was washed away, and her glass eye itched, and she could feel it so acutely. It was why she rarely wore it. The fake eye make a gross squelching sound as she popped it out and secured it in a small silk money pouch at her hip. Had Nida recognized her? Would Sol kill her if her cover was blown? How would Raijin and Seifer feel, reading about this in the paper?

Fujin shook the cobwebs out of her head, chiding herself angrily. "FOOL," she whispered to herself, watching the sidewalk for her ride. "WEAK." She wasn't a woman who let herself fall into self-depreciation, into depression. She didn't allow herself the weakness of those kinds of emotions. She couldn't. She wouldn't. A car pulled up on the sidewalk, and a figure in a black rain slicker got out, helping her to her feet without a word.

---

"SOFT," Fujin commented, running her free hand over a hank of cashmere yarn.

"Step away, or you'll be ensnared," Quistis joked. She was in a yarn shop in Dollet with Fujin, Seifer waiting outside, to avoid what he called 'yarn coma' - a phenomenon to describe his boredom with watching Quistis shop for knitting supplies. Quistis made the mistake of touching the impossibly soft yarn, and put it in her basket, along with the many other balls she was purchasing.

"STOP," Fujin sniped as she caught Quistis looking at her again. Her arm was in a sling from 'falling down the stairs'. She'd said she'd tripped over Raijin's gym bag, which everyone believed. Raijin wasn't all that tidy, and even in these few months that Quistis had been spending more time with the old posse, she'd tripped a few times over things like his backpack and his shoes.

"I'm sorry! I guess I can't help being all big-sisterly." She pursed her lips and looked to the picture window. She could see Seifer standing against a lamppost outside, staring off into space. He was tan, even in November, from a very recent trip to the Kashkabald looking for snakes. But, despite the bronze of his skin tone, he looked drawn and pale.

"APPRECIATED," Fujin noted, rubbing a pumpkin orange silk blend against her cheek.

"He looks so sad," Quistis murmured.

Fujin looked to the window, her good eye narrowing. "DEPRESSED."

Quistis frowned as she watched her childhood friend beadily. Seifer had a newspaper in his hands, but he was hardly reading it. And, she knew what he was thinking about. Every time she even mentioned Squall, Seifer would shut right down, his response either one of great anger, or silence to mask his sorrow. Since coming to teach at Galbadia, she'd been spending most of her free weekends in Dollet, and she became more and more concerned about Seifer as time went on. In Balamb, she could take his carefree attitude at face-value, but here... she could plainly see it was a lie. Aside from Fujin and Raijin, he had nobody. People from school mostly shunned him as Ultimecia's lapdog. The outright hostility had died down, but this blatant, cold ignoring was much worse, in Quistis's estimation. Raijin was like Selphie in the regard that he could make friends wherever he went, and even cold Fujin made some new pals at Rulemakers, a triple triad club in town that had the reputation of being a bit... tyrannical and totalitarian about rules, and using as many as possible. But, not Seifer. His role as Ultimecia's Knight had taken its toll. He was painfully alone, and it was obvious that his heart was broken. Quistis loved Squall dearly, but she just wanted to punch him right in the face for his handling of this situation.

"Okay, I think this should be enough until next time," she murmured, looking at her overflowing basket of yarn.

"OUTSIDE," Fujin said, nodding her head towards the door. She went out and waited for Quistis to pay, putting her good hand on Seifer's arm. He jerked, Fujin's firm touch surprising him.

"Oh, hey... you finally done?" He snarked, watching a motorcycle drive by.

"PAPER?" Fujin asked, wanting to say so much more. It pained her to see Seifer so miserable. She took the paper that he wasn't reading for his hands, and stopped dead when she read a secondary headline on the front page. 'Solar System Assassin Dies In Custody'. Her eye scanned the article. She'd known about the capture Mars, though she hadn't known which one at the convention center the other assassin had been. The article was painfully short on facts, but Xu was quoted in it, saying she'd committed suicide by poison ingestion.

Seifer lazily looked down at his friend when there was nothing else to stare at on the street. He came back to reality when he noticed the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"PAIN," she lied, rubbing her shoulder.

"You want to go home?"

She shook her head, handing the paper back to Seifer. He checked his watch and unfolded it. "You want a late lunch? I feel like something greasy and really bad... for... me..." He trailed off as he saw the same article that had slipped Fujin into stunned silence. Together, Jupiter and Neptune, stood in shock, neither knowing the other's secret.

"Okay, done!" Quistis exclaimed, holding up four bulging paper bags full of yarn. "Sorry I took so long. You should have come in, it's warmer in there."

Seifer just grunted and folded the paper under his arm. A coffee shop across the street had some music playing from a speaker within. He could hear the strains of a local band that he liked, but the song felt like a knife in his heart, because this CD had been played a few times in the background while he and Squall had been together. It broke his heart, and at the same time, made him angrier than he'd been in recent memory.

"I'll buy lunch," Quistis offered. "To make up for you having to wait on the sidewalk like a bored husband."

"Huh?" He asked distractedly, clenching his jaw to quell the emotion threatening to drown him. He was trying very hard not to think of touching Squall's bare skin, or how it felt to fall asleep beside him, their limbs braided together. The taste of his sweat and the sound of his laughter at the most intimate of moments. He hated himself for believing something could have come out of it, and for hoping that he could feel it again.

"Lunch?" Quistis asked. She could see a muscle in Seifer's jaw twitching. She sighed and leaned into him, resting her temple against his shoulder. He was stiff, but didn't reject the silent comfort. "Maybe we'll just eat in? I guess at least we can be unhappy together, and not infect the general population."

"UNHAPPY?"

Quistis just shrugged.

"I guess being driven out of your home will do that," Fujin replied quietly. It still stunned Quistis to hear her talk normally. Her voice was husky and musical. Most people at Garden thought of Fujin as a sycophantic weirdo or a rigid, icy bitch, but outside of a teacher/student setting, Quistis was beginning to learn that she was actually quite fun to hang around with. "Especially because of lies."

"And... I love teaching again, but Galbadia Garden isn't Balamb Garden. It's not... friendly. But... maybe they're the same now. Balamb Garden isn't exactly a friendly place anymore, at least not to me."

"It's kind of strange..." Seifer trailed off, now somewhat paying attention once they'd passed the café. "Normally, stupid nonsense rumours like those kind of fade away, but these ones aren't."

"Neither are the ones that I hired someone to kill Evan," Quistis muttered darkly. That was the newest one. She guessed that since she and Squall weren't being photographed together anymore, they needed something else to write about, and her and Seifer's joint plot to kill Evan seemed to be their current favourite. But, if Squall and Rinoa were caught being less than lovey-dovey in public, the old Squall and Quistis story came barrelling out again. "So... you think that someone's, what? Goading these stories?"

Seifer shrugged as they turned onto a different street, heading towards his apartment building.

"PARANOID."

"Wouldn't be the worst thing that anyone accused me of."

"STORY..." Fujin began tentatively. "ASSASSIN?"

"Oh, you mean the Solar System thing?" Quistis asked distractedly. They'd passed an antique shop, and she saw a nice armoire in the window that she totally didn't have room for, but wanted anyway.

Seifer's posture became a little stiffer as they paused at the window. Quistis saw the price tag and exclaimed "hell's bells! Keep walking."

"EXIST?" Fujin asked dubiously, trying to fish for information about the other assassin's death.

"I guess so," Quistis replied, her shopping bags swinging at her sides. "I only know what I heard from Irvine and Xu, but they were pretty certain she was a member, but never got to question her properly. She never admitted to anything. I don't even think she said one word. They found her dead in her cell. She probably had some kind of cyanide pill on her," the blonde guessed.

"She killed herself rather than give away a secret," Seifer murmured. Internally, he wasn't quite so certain, and though neither knew it, Fujin was thinking the exact same thoughts. That maybe it hadn't been suicide at all. That Sol had somehow killed her so she wouldn't give up the Solar System under interrogation or torture. And, that meant that he infiltrated Garden somehow, or had gotten to her en route to Balamb. Could Sol be SeeD?

"I guess Xu's pretty upset about it. She really wants to find some proof about them."

"Then I guess her death did some good," Seifer murmured with an almost smile gracing his face. Like the sun trying to come out from behind grey clouds after weeks of cold rain.

"Seifer..." Quistis chided. "I don't understand what you and Xu have against each other. I think you two would get along really well if you just put this foolishness behind you!" She exclaimed as they turned onto Seifer's street.

"She's a bitch."

"She is not," Quistis protested. "She's been really awesome through this whole mess, and she's one of my best friends!"

"Hey, Seifer," a man greeted. He bent over and picked up a black cat. "He got out again. No matter what I do, he finds a way to escape." The cat didn't seem to want to get caught, and was struggling and making all kinds of angry cat noises. The man whispered in its ear, and it settled down almost immediately.

"Hi." Seifer went over and pet the animal in the man's arms. "Quisty, you remember Ivan?"

"Nice to see you again," he greeted jovially.

"You too." She smiled, having seen Ivan a few times in passing in the building. He was as tall as Seifer, and very fit. He was also particularly handsome with exotic olive skin and the most intense, dark eyes she'd ever seen that seemed to exude knowledge well beyond his years. He seemed to be the only person, other than Raijin and Fujin, that Seifer was on good terms with. He was also at the University, though he was enrolled in Hasberry College, the arts section of the school, majoring in dance.

"What are the plans for today?"

"Nothin'," Seifer grumped. "Ordering take-out, I guess."

"That's too bad. Maybe something interesting will come up?" Ivan flirted, his black eyes glittering.

"Maybe," Seifer muttered evasively. Quistis and Fujin shared a look of amusement.

"Nice seeing you, Quistis. Fujin."

The silver-haired woman waved and went up towards the building ahead of the two blondes. Quistis studied Seifer's face, which was deep in thought. He fished around in his pocked for his keys, then stopped. "Here." He pushed them into Quistis's palm as he turned back. "Hey, Ivan..."

Quistis started walking as Seifer went back, but she kept looking over her shoulder in curiosity. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but by the way a lovely smile lit up Ivan's angular face, Seifer had just asked him on a date.

"He's a nice guy, right?" Quistis asked of Fujin as she tried to juggle her shopping bags and the keys. Fujin just efficiently snatched the keys away and slid them in the lock.

"IVAN?"

"Yeah."

Fujin nodded. "He doesn't seem to care that Seifer was Ultimecia's Knight, which is a nice change from most people, and a big plus in my book. I've never asked him, but I have the feeling he's been at Garden, or in the military."

"How come?"

"FEELING. AURA. Like he knows magic, or maybe junctions GF. But, that's a hard question to deftly put into a conversation."

"I think Seifer asked him out."

"GOOD."

"Yeah, but..."

"NO," Fujin protested emphatically, taking off her jacket once inside. It took some effort, and then some help on Quistis's part because of the sling. "He should be happy, instead of pining for someone who used him."

"Squall didn't use him. It's... complicated."

Fujin waved her good hand angrily. "NEVERMIND."

Quistis sighed and lowered herself onto the threadbare sofa. She talked to Squall on the phone all the time, something she was certain he kept secret from Rinoa. Squall and Rinoa's relationship did seem to be improving, at least from what he was telling her. He would talk about how scared she was of herself, but that she was still trying. The pride in his voice came through clearly. But, what also came through clearly was the sadness she knew he was trying to hide when he would ask about Seifer. Squall tried to make it sound casual, like he was asking about an indifferent acquaintance, but the lie of that only made it more heartbreaking. But, mostly they would just talk. About everything and anything. She missed him. She missed her old life, before everything had gone horribly wrong.

"QUISTIS?" Fujin asked, sitting down on the couch. "Are you okay?" She asked more gently, putting a hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her reverie. "Yeah, fine."

"When people are fine, they usually aren't crying."

Quistis reached up to touch her cheeks, surprised that they were wet. "Oh, goodness!" She exclaimed, taking off her glasses and wiping her eyes in embarrassment. "Look at me, falling apart like a fool."

Fujin didn't reply. If Quistis wanted to talk about it, she would. And, she didn't seem to want to. Besides, a ringing started emanating from her purse.

Quistis rifled for her phone, composing herself as she looked at the caller display. It was Ellone. "Hi, Elle," she greeted, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt. If Ellone got wind that she was upset, she'd worry and fret for hours.

"What's up?" Ellone asked, not sounding her usual, cheery self.

"I could ask the same" Quistis trailed off.

"Did you get the invitation?" Ellone asked, though Quistis was quite sure that wasn't why she called.

"I did. They're beautiful. Finally set a date, huh?" Ellone and Roberto's wedding was set for January 15th.

"Quisty, this is about Squall. Rinoa, Uncle Laguna and I are going to have an intervention for him."

"Is he getting worse?" She asked, immediately starting to tear up again. Fujin raised her head as the door opened and Seifer came in, wearing a very, very small smile.

"Yeah," Ellone murmured. "We... we just have to do something! I want you and Seifer to come to it."

"You know I will. When?"

"Tomorrow, if you can. Squall and Rinoa are here in Esthar now. Uncle Laguna said he'd send an airship for you."

"Oh, he doesn't have to do that."

"I think he just wants to pilot it."

Quistis couldn't help but smile. "Well, you know I will. I'm at Seifer's now, if you want to ask him."

Seifer's scarred brow creased as Quistis thrust her phone at him, mouthing 'Elle'.

"Hi, Elle. Yes, I got it. It's very nice," the ladies heard him reply, talking about the wedding invitation.

The smile that had tried so hard to come to his face faded away as he listened to Ellone's end of the conversation. "Oh... no, Elle. I can't." He paused as she tried to argue with him. "No, really. I... I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm too busy."

"This is really important," she urged.

"I know. I'm sorry."

Ellone sighed. "I guess I'll never be able to change your mind. You're too stubborn. You're as bad as Squall."

Seifer closed his eyes. "Tell him..." He trailed off. Tell Squall what, exactly? Tell him to leave Rinoa and come back here because Seifer missed him? Tell him Seifer loved him? "Tell him I hope he gets his life sorted out."

"That sounds so final..." Ellone murmured.

"I'll give the phone back to Quisty now."

"Seifer!" Ellone exclaimed.

"I'll see you later."

"Seifer!" She groaned, as irritated as ever-calm Ellone ever got.

"Tell Laguna that I'll just take the train."

"He'll be so disappointed. Can you try to convince Seifer to come?"

"Do you think I'd be successful?" She asked rhetorically, giving the tall blonde man a dirty look.

"Squall will really appreciate you being here."

"See you soon, Sis." Quistis flipped her phone shut and stared at Seifer hard.

"What?" He snapped, sitting on the couch's armrest, rifling through one of Quistis's shopping bags so he wouldn't have to look into her laser-like gaze.

"I think Ivan would understand if you told him why you had to cancel"

"It's not that," he said emphatically. He didn't deny that he'd asked the other man on a date. For that night, to be exact.

"Then, what? Look, Squall needs support!"

"I hope he does sober up."

"Seifer..."

"I can't!" He shouted, louder than he intended to. "I can't see him," he added more quietly.

"Oh, honey..." She put a hand on his leg.

"No!" He shouted furiously, anger paling his face.

"I understand." She patted his knee and rose to her feet. "I guess I better get going if I'm going to get the train."

"AIRSHIP?" Fujin asked.

"Oh, Laguna wanted to. But, I think I'd die of mortification to have him touch down in the middle of town," Quistis answered. She started to collect her belongings, which had already made their way all through Seifer's apartment, though she'd only been there a day.

"HELP?" Fujin offered, picking up Quistis's shopping bags.

"I see you offered to carry the light stuff." She turned to Seifer, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He'd been a million miles away, so it startled him. She knew what he'd been thinking about. "You are coming to the wedding though, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Ellone would kill me if I didn't."

"I'd kill you if you didn't."

"Just go. I wouldn't want President Loire to send the entire Esthar armada after you."

There were a million things she wanted to say, but she knew Seifer would hear none of them. "I'll call you when I come home, okay?" The word 'home' sounded so hollow on her tongue. Galbadia Garden wasn't really her home, but was Balamb really her home anymore? She moved to the door, and turned back to face Seifer. "Come. Please."

"No."

Quistis blinked at the venom in his tone. "All right," was all she could say. "I would say that I hope you won't hold this grudge forever, but knowing you, I bet you could." She turned to Fujin. "Okay, let's go."

---

Rinoa looked carefully at Squall's profile as they walked into the Presidential Palace towards the lifter docks. He must have sensed her scrutiny, because he would occasionally look at her. He would squeeze her hand, but fall into a remote silence, like he was somewhere else. She worried about how he would react to being ambushed with an intervention. Would he be furious? Would he even accept their help? Would they have to force him into rehab? All she knew was that they had to do something. The purple shadows under Squall's eyes were becoming deeper and darker, and his lithe frame was becoming waifish, bony. The days where his wintery eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of alcohol grew in number, and he would lash out at those around him at the drop of a hat.

Such an outburst had happened three days ago, where they'd started arguing over something really stupid. Rinoa had suggested taking a trip together, and while he'd seemed somewhat interested, whenever she brought it up, or made suggestions on locations, his booze-fuelled temper would flare, and the next thing she knew, they were fighting. He'd disappeared for hours, and come back rather apologetic, though very intoxicated. It was the last straw for her. Something had to be done. She had to find a way to bring the real Squall back from within this... impostor. Gods, he was even drunk right now. In the middle of the day! Rinoa thought it was a miracle that he was even walking.

Squall grunted when he felt sharp pain in his hand. He looked down, and saw that crackling magic was twining around his and Rinoa's joined digits, hot and thorny.

"Oh no!" Rinoa yanked her hand from Squall's, bringing it to her mouth in horror. Images of Angelo's death came to the surface of her mind. Thoughts of blood rapidly draining from Quistis's neck...

"It's okay." Squall took her hand again, and brought her close, kissing the top of her head, tasting the magic still thrumming under the surface.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he repeated.

Her heart swelled at his affection, but she wondered how long it would last once they pretty much ganged up on him. She also worried about seeing Quistis again. Ellone had wanted her there for Squall, but Rinoa was internally hesitant. Things between her and Squall had mostly been going fine now that she was at Galbadia Garden. Would that change? How would they react to seeing each other? How would Rinoa act? She'd never actually properly apologized for hurting Quistis, but then she also didn't want to. Quistis had hurt her by trying to steal Squall, and then completely denied it.

Squall grunted again, the magic singing him. "You okay?" He asked seriously, pulling off his glove after she'd broken contact, examining it to see if he'd been burned.

She nodded firmly, trying to be braver than she actually felt. She took his hand again, looking at his profile. "I love you," she whispered suddenly. "You know that, right?" Her feeling of dread increased, though she knew she was doing the right thing.

His eyebrows came together. "Yes..." He trailed off with growing suspicion.

They were having the intervention in Laguna's private quarters. Rinoa's heart dropped into her dressy boots when she saw Quistis. If her heart could go even lower, it would have when Squall's face lit up like Rinoa hadn't seen it do in a long time. Or, had she ever seen him smile like that? Like his body was too small to contain his joy. He strode across the room and grabbed Quistis into a firm, long hug. One that she eagerly reciprocated to Rinoa's chagrin. All the rumours she'd been trying to forget and ignore came to the forefront of her mind.

"What are you doing here?" Squall asked eagerly.

Though Quistis was very happy to see him, she could only regard him sadly. His skin looked pallid, his eyes ghoulish with the deep purple circles under them. And, even mouthwash couldn't mask the smell on his breath.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rinoa hovering, shooting looks at them from under her lashes. The growing anger in Rinoa's gaze also made anger rise in Quistis. It was nice to know that her so-called friends still believed the worst about her.

"Squall!" Laguna boomed, catching his son in a bone-crushing hug as soon as he'd separated from Quistis. He didn't return the gesture of affection, and stood like an awkward statue in his father's arms. He was a pretty horrible liar, so his worry showed immediately in his eyes, as did the fact that this wasn't an innocent get-together.

"Laguna, what's going on?" Squall asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You know, I really wish you would call me 'Dad' sometimes, Squall."

He was silent. Cold anger started to wash from him, and he looked to the faces of his friends with mounting displeasure. "What's going on?" He asked again when Laguna started shuffling nervously under such scrutiny.

"What do you mean, 'going on'? I don't need an occasion to see my own son. It's nothing strange really, to have all your friends come here for a nice visit. It's not like we pulled Quistis right out of class, and it's really not like I offered to fly an airship so she could get here as quickly as possible for today. But, not that today is anything really special, right?" He laughed to hide a wince when his old leg cramp started to act up.

"Oh, I see." Squall's voice became silky, which meant he was getting really mad. Though he was pretty fucking drunk, he was no dummy, and he knew what this was. He whirled around to look at Rinoa, shaking his head at her in disgust. "So, Squall's so weak that he can't help himself?"

"We're worried about you!" Selphie exclaimed, going to Rinoa's side in a show of solidarity. Rinoa couldn't look up from the carpet. She couldn't look up and let herself lose control of her magic in the face of Squall's anger. In this tiny room? What if she killed someone?

"There are some world-class facilities here in Esthar," Laguna offered. "We just... we want the old Squall back."

"Ganging up on me? Throwing accusations at me? That's supposed to work?" Squall asked, questions directed at Rinoa alone. "Trying to change me?" He slurred.

"It wasn't Rinoa's idea!" Ellone protested. "It was my idea. Be mad at me!" She stood right in front of Squall, searching his blue eyes with her brown ones.

"You're a drunk," Irvine blurted out.

"Dude!" Zell exclaimed. "Not cool."

"It's true," he said tonelessly. "You're an addict, Squall. You're going to drink yourself into ruin. You're going to piss away your entire life, and push away everyone that you love, and that loves you. You're trying to escape, I get it. But, soon you won't be able to come back."

Squall couldn't help but think about Seifer at Irvine's cold statement. "And, I wonder what I have to escape from," he hissed meanly. "Maybe from all of you." He started to storm past Ellone, and jerkily shook her off when she tried to grab his arm. "Why don't you all just fuck off?" He muttered.

"Squall!" Laguna called after him, tears welling in his eyes.

"I'll go talk to him," Quistis whispered, squeezing Laguna's shoulder.

Rinoa opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself. This wasn't about her, or about Quistis. "You're just letting her go?" Selphie asked quietly in her ear.

"Yes." So much conflict in that simple reply.

"Squall!" Quistis shouted as she jogged to catch up with him. Esthar twinkled around them through the glass pedway.

"Get out of my face, Quisty."

"No!" She shouted, stepping closer to him until she was invading his personal space.

He stepped back and started walking away from her, but Quistis matched his fast pace, and grabbed him in a very strong grip. She deftly twisted his arm, sending red hot pain shooting up through his elbow and shoulder.

"Now, sit down." Her voice was iron as she pushed him down onto a platform that led to one of the Palace's many lifters.

He tried to jerk his arm away, but it hurt pretty badly. He stumbled over his own feet, his usual proud grace completely drowned in alcohol.

"Is this the only reason you came?" Squall asked, reaching into his leather jacket, pulling out a silver flask. His words were mush-mouthed together as he took a long swig. "For some stupid intervention that I don't need?"

Quistis forcibly pulled the flask from his grip. "Irvine's right. You are a drunk. I hate seeing you like this."

Squall remained silent, hunching forward.

"You can't blame Elle and Rinoa for wanting to help you. They love you, just like I do."

"You're actually defending Rinoa?" Squall asked, bitterness festering. "She drove you away!" He exclaimed. Quistis was one of the things he and Rinoa constantly argued about. "She took you away from me!"

"I drove myself away!" Quistis snapped, voice trembling. "I should have stayed in Balamb. I shouldn't have let stupid rumours dictate my life. I should have made you tell her the real truth."

Squall looked at her from under the curtain of his bangs. "Did...?" He bit his lip. "Did Ellone ask Seifer to come here?"

After a beat, Quistis gave one, slow nod.

"He refused, didn't he?"

She nodded again, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear that'd come loose from her bun.

Squall looked away, wanting to hide the sudden panic in his eyes, the painful plummet of his stomach. "Did he... say anything?" He asked the wall.

Quistis pushed up her glasses, replying slowly. "He hopes you get your life sorted out."

"Wow," was Squall's answer. On the surface, it seemed like a sympathetic kind of thing to say, but Squall felt the poison underneath, even coming from Quistis's serene, even voice. He could feel, even in hearsay, that the deep, complex connection between he and Seifer had perhaps been irrevocably damaged.

"He's just... angry," Quistis whispered, sliding closer to Squall so she could wrap her arm around his shoulder. It was a testament to the firm closeness he felt with her that he didn't pull away. "And, you know what Seifer's like when he's angry." She thought it would be a bad idea to mention anything about Ivan. "He can be a real fucking asshole." She would hope he cracked a smile, but he didn't.

"Rinoa needed me..."

She grunted angrily. "Someone's always going to need you, Squall. Ruining yourself isn't going to change that. Escapism won't make it go away."

"I'm fine," he hissed.

"A drunk and a liar."

"I don't have a problem!" He shouted, jumping to his feet so he could leave this conversation behind.

"Yes, you do!" She shouted back, also rising to her feet and staying in his personal space. "And, this is the problem! You are the problem!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly. "You aren't escaping from everyone else. You're escaping from yourself!"

Squall scoffed.

"It's true!" She pressed with the utmost urgency. She spun him around when he tried to turn away from her. "You've always been escaping from yourself! You're so terrified of living your own life that you'd rather fuck it all away! You'd rather live in this vortex, lost between your feelings for two people, than accept which YOU want more! You can't even accept that you're addicted." Quistis was standing chest-to-chest with him. She could tell that she was upsetting him, but he needed this. He needed someone to get in his face and call him out on his bullshit. Even when fighting Ultimecia, and when his feelings for Rinoa were growing, he'd needed someone to push him into what he knew was right, but wouldn't act upon. "You're being a coward."

"I can control it..." Squall muttered, trying to look anywhere but her angry sapphire eyes.

"You can't," she whispered back.

He finally met her gaze, and looked into her face for a long time. She stared right back, never wavering. The look stretched for long, silent minutes. "I... I am a coward."

"You're one of the strongest people I know," Quistis murmured, taking his hands and holding them tightly. "I don't know why you can't see it. Why won't you believe it about yourself?"

He could see her disappointment, but it was far outweighed by her unconditional friendship and love. He slumped into her, unable to hold himself up under the weight of life. It was something that everyone else seemed to be able to do quite easily, so why couldn't he? He felt Quistis's arms wrap around him, and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

Laguna crept out into the hallway. Kiros had been holding him back, wanting to let Quistis handle things, but being Laguna, he was unable to just sit back and not know how it was going. He'd heard the muffled sounds of their shouting, and then silence that was driving his curiosity nuts. He saw Quistis and Squall hugging, how his son was slumped over, his body language full of defeat.

"Uh... hi. You okay?" Laguna asked, fiddling with his dog tags.

Squall stood up and looked at Laguna in his completely blank way.

"I'm sorry I ambushed you," he started apologizing profusely. "It kinda sounded like a good idea at the time..."

"I'll go."

"You will?" Laguna's face brightened in a way that was irresistible. He reached out and clasped Squall's shoulders, but the contact was met with a stiff reply that made Laguna's smile wither around the edges. "I'm happy." Quistis tried to hide her frown. Often, rehab didn't work the first time, but how could she say that right now?

Squall just nodded, feeling the swell of failure. This was admitting defeat. He'd fucked up, and couldn't fix it himself. He could hear Laguna talking to him, and could smell Quistis's woodsy, subtle perfume, but they were fading away under his own internal self-criticism.

"Squall?"

Rinoa's voice cut through the muted noise like a bell, and he looked down into her eyes. She looked frightened of him and his reaction. She was worrying her hands and fiddling with her delicate filigreed necklace. The little pink glass beads shimmered as his eyes were drawn to them, and he realized it was because there were tears threatening to form in them. He blinked them away, the sad self-loathing, and watched as she approached him.

"Are... are you...?"

"I'll go," he answered, in the same impassive way he'd answered Laguna.

"Really?" Hope filled her deep brown eyes, and swelled her voice. She reached out and took his hand, squeezing it tightly enough that his leather gloves made noise. She slowly looked in Quistis's direction, and found the blonde was looking at her, too. Their eyes met, really met, for the first time in a while. Quistis was much better at hiding her emotions than Rinoa was, so it was hard for the brunette to tell what the other woman was thinking or feeling. She started to think she should thank Quistis for whatever she said, and even took in the breath to begin, but the other woman's cobalt eyes looked away, and didn't return to Rinoa at all.

Laguna started talking about getting Squall immediately into rehab, and how he could pull some strings and this and that. Squall looked to Quistis with a little panic, and her small smile made him feel more at ease. It said 'it will be okay'. It said 'you can do this'. It said 'I have faith in you'. I am your best friend. I love you, even if you fail. He hoped that she could see all that in his face, too. How much she meant to him. How he wished he had the ability to express those kinds of things to her. She put her hand on his shoulder, and the touch said that she knew.

---

In the dark of her office, the pale and blue light of Xu's laptop monitor reflected off the glass surfaces. The lenses of her eyeglasses, the shadowboxes filled with butterflies, the window that looked out towards the mountains. All her work was really turning out for nothing, and she felt trapped. Squall had gone through rehab in Esthar, and looked healthier than he had in months. Quistis was almost done teaching in Galbadia, and her reputation was starting to heal. They were taking vacation to go to Ellone's wedding, and then would be back at Garden. Though Cid hadn't mentioned anything, Xu was sure that he would announce appointing them to take over Garden at that point.

And, it made Xu sick. So ill that she'd been unable to eat anything all day. Squall and Quistis were so undeserving of the Headmaster's seat. Xu had given everything to Garden! Giving control to a couple of figureheads was another in a string of massive blunders Cid made as far as controlling the school went. He was too blinded by his wife's preference to see how successful they'd been when Xu was picking up all his slack. Her anger made her mouth dry, and her throat felt parched with the fire of it. Now, she was sitting up in the middle of the night, trying desperately to find any angle she could use to finally destroy any chance for Squall and Quistis to take what was rightfully hers.

Suddenly, her back stiffened and straightened, and her eyebrows rose over the frames of her glasses. It was like a light bulb had gone off over her head. She started typing a message to Luchia and Astor, and started to pull up files, a smile spreading slowly over her heart-shaped face. It grew larger and larger as things began to form before her. There was a gentle knock on the door, and while she was disappointed that it wasn't her assistants, she didn't have to fake being happy to see Zell.

"S'up! I saw light coming from under your door," he murmured into the dark, closing the door behind him. "I can't believe you're still up working."

"Garden never stops running." She minimized what she was doing quickly, and slowly rose from her chair, taking off her glasses. "I think the bigger question is what are you doing up?"

"Sometimes I get carried away when I work out," he answered, coming to stand very close to her when she leaned against her desk. "And, I was kinda thinkin'..."

"About?"

"Well... I know it's kinda short notice, but youwannagototheweddingwithme?" Zell asked in a big rush. He liked Xu quite a bit, but things between them had been stalled. He'd been away a lot on missions, and she'd seemed really distant and distracted lately.

Xu looked at him for a while. She'd been keeping herself distant from Zell because she still had great hopes for a future with Nida, but still wanted to keep the blonde at arm's length because he could come in handy. Now... now she would need him on her side. "You know..." She coyly leaned in and gently brushed his bare arm with her fingertips, in a way that caused gooseflesh to rise. "I was kind of worried that you weren't going to ask me."

"Oh, uh... maybe I thought you would say no?"

"I'm sorry that we haven't gotten to spend much time together lately," she apologized quietly, moving closer still. She stopped just before contact between their chests could be made. When she breathed, the fullest part of her breasts brushed against him. She knew he was noticing, from the look in his eyes. "I would love to go with you."

"Yeah?" He asked, pleased.

"Yeah." She stepped closer again, and put her hands on his thickly muscled shoulders. "You didn't work out too hard, did you?"

"Nah, I always have good stamina," Zell commented. He then realized what Xu was hinting at, and all he could say was "...oh." Which sounded really dumb and un-suave in his ears. "You want to?" He and Xu hadn't done much in terms of that, and had only had a couple of kisses. She just seemed too mature and professional for quickies all over Garden. "Now?" He kept trying to think of awesomely hot things to say, but was coming up blank.

"You have other plans?" She asked, leaning in for a kiss. She faked a moan of pleasure when he wrapped his arms around her tight. She wanted it to be Nida that she was kissing, Nida's arms that were holding her like this. As Zell's mouth trailed down her neck, and his fingers worked the buttons on her uniform's jacket, she mulled her plans over in her mind, gaining far more pleasure from them than she was from Zell's caresses.

---

Squall slowly let out his breath, leaning against the wall of the bathroom stall he was hiding in. He just needed some time alone. The wedding had been beautiful, Ellone and Roberto both radiant and beyond happy. But, he couldn't share such joy. He felt overwhelmed by everyone else's happiness, and his hands shook when he pulled a hidden flask from inside an inner jacket pocket. He took a long swig, definitely not his first since getting out of rehab. The warm whiskey worked through his body and calmed his shaking nerves. Oh, now it's your turn! When are you and Rinoa getting hitched? Rinoa's going to be a beautiful bride! When are you going to pop the question, Squall? He could see those questions in people's eyes when they looked at him. That he was expected to marry Rinoa soon. That he was expected to be the dutiful Sorceress's Knight. He took another long drink, and quickly stowed the flask when he heard the bathroom door opening, and the voices of two party guests. He made the act convincing by flushing the toilet, using the noise of the water to mask the sound of him swishing mouthwash. Two men he didn't know were chatting at the urinals as he washed his hands, staring morosely at his own reflection. Did he really look that much like a trapped prisoner, or was it just his own mental projections?

He could hear a cheerful waltz playing as he made his way back to the banquet hall, walking slowly so he wouldn't give away that he wasn't exactly sober. Everyone would be so disappointed in him that rehab hadn't worked. He'd even been sneaking drinks with other alcoholics while at rehab. He'd even once or twice snuck into janitor's closets for a bump of cocaine with some of the others.

"Hi, Irvine," he said with great measure to keep his voice even. Irvine was leaning against the wall, flirting madly with Fujin, who seemed immune to his charms. But, she wasn't beating the crap out of him, so it must not have been completely unwanted.

"Yeah, yeah" Irvine waved his hand. "Tell Xu I said hi, Zell..." He trailed off distractedly, his eyes only for the silver-haired woman.

When Squall entered the hall, and saw the couples dancing, he felt like he was going to collapse. His eyes met Quistis's across the room. She looked just as lonely and miserable as him, and he wanted to go over to her, but didn't when he met his girlfriend's eyes. Rinoa came over to him and took his hand. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Wanna dance?" She asked, but when their eyes met, she looked away. Her cheeks started to fill with hot colour.

"No," he muttered, looking at the couples. Quistis looked away, returning to her conversation with a woman Squall didn't know.

"You think we should talk?" She asked, trying to control her blushing.

"Not now," was his terse reply.

"Of course not," muttered Rinoa under her breath. Last night, Squall and Rinoa had tried to be a little daring sexually. Squall sometimes would ask her to try things, most often anal sex. She wasn't really that interested, but complied because she wanted to please him. Even though it wasn't her thing, she hated how Squall seemed so... afraid to ask her, like he didn't trust her to be open-minded. Last night, he'd wanted her to be more forceful with him. She wasn't really comfortable at first in the role of 'dominatrix-lite', but after a while she'd kind of gotten into it. However, she'd lost control of her magic briefly, and hurt him. She'd given him a deep magic bruise, and while she'd been horrified and filled with fear of herself, and thoughts of what happened last time she'd lost control, Squall had moaned like she'd never heard him moan. And, now... they couldn't even look into each other's eyes. Why wouldn't he just trust her? Trust them?

"Please?" She asked again. "Just one dance? We haven't danced together since we first met."

Squall looked over at her, and the memory gave him a small smile. "You looked really pretty. And, made a really awful attempt at trying to hypnotize me."

She laughed quietly, pulling him onto the dance floor, just like she'd done back then. "And, I told you that you were the best looking guy at the party."

"Except you only had eyes for Cid," Squall murmured. Rinoa actually did most of the leading, since Squall was a reluctant dancer at the best of times.

She chuckled and rested her chin on his shoulder, sighing. "I think you should get lessons from Ivan."

Squall stiffened, causing him to misstep and trod on Rinoa's foot. He hadn't spoken to Seifer or his new boyfriend yet, and really didn't want to even hear this guy's name mentioned. It had taken all of his restraint, and much of the alcohol hidden on his person, to not kill Ivan right there when he and Seifer had started talking to Laguna. It had actually been the first time that Seifer and Squall's father had actually 'met', and he'd had a sense that it should have been him to introduce the two most prominent men in his life. It should have been him and Seifer, not Seifer and some asshole.

"Ouch."

"Sorry."

"Lessons would be helpful... and keep me from getting my toes broken." Rinoa watched them dance from over Squall's shoulder. Ivan and Seifer were of equal height, and painfully elegant. She noticed she wasn't the only person who watched them. Couples nearby would cast appreciative looks at their dancing form.

"Sorry," Squall muttered again, getting sloppier in his distress. He jerkily spun Rinoa around so he could look at them. Seifer and Ivan didn't notice his icy glare, and were chatting about something. They did this waltz to textbook perfection and beyond. Ivan looked like dancing was easier for him than walking. When Ivan leaned into Seifer's body and they kissed, Squall's jaw clenched so tightly that it was a wonder all his teeth didn't shatter.

"Ow!" Rinoa whimpered. "My hand."

"Oh..." Squall loosened his grip. "Sorry."

Rinoa just shook her head. "I wish you would talk to me," she muttered as the song ended and the band announced they were going on break. They still stood on the dance floor, staring at each other with mounting tension. "Are you thinking about last night?"

He sighed. "You shouldn't have to do things you don't want to just to make me happy." The advice was so fucking hollow, because it was advice he really maybe should have been following himself.

"I was actually having fun... until then..."

"You were pretty hot," he admitted.

She couldn't help grinning, but became serious quickly. "I just... get afraid of myself sometimes. Especially considering whose powers are inside me..."

"You aren't her," Squall said firmly.

"I know... but, thanks." Rinoa squeezed Squall's hand. "It means a lot to hear that sometimes." She was distracted by movement in her peripheral vision, and waved at Seifer and Ivan, who were making their way towards the bar. "Hey, come here!" She exclaimed with a smile, beckoning them over. Seifer looked quite hesitant. "Oh, come on!" She moaned. "You have to introduce me properly!"

Seifer's face gave nothing away as he and Ivan came to stand in front of the person he'd been spending the entire day trying to avoid. "Rinoa, Squall, this is Ivan Blackmoon."

"Nice to meet you," Rinoa said genuinely. "I hear you're a dancer? It's not really hard to tell by watching you, though. You dance beautifully."

"Thank you," Ivan replied cheerfully. "Seifer speaks very highly of you."

"Does he now?" She nudged him with her elbow. She briefly got a strange feeling, like she'd brushed up against an electrical current. She felt it in her magic aura, but couldn't place what it was exactly. She wasn't as in tune with her Sorcery senses as Edea was. She looked into Ivan's eyes, and could have sworn that the feeling was coming from him, something more powerful than she'd ever felt in her entire life. But, then she thought she must have imagined it, because it was gone. "He must have taught you a few moves" She trailed off, finding herself.

"Are you saying I wasn't a good dancer before?" Seifer asked, faux-haughtily. "Though, I don't think people will talk about it as much as people do your famous waltz at the SeeD graduation ball," he murmured silkily.

"I've heard a lot about you," Ivan said to Squall. "Quistis and Irvine have a lot of high praise for you."

"You know Irvine?" Rinoa asked. Squall couldn't find his voice, and could only glare.

"He comes into Dollet once in a while to hang out with Seifer. I only really got to know him on Seifer's birthday."

"Did you get our gift?" Rinoa asked. "I'm sorry we couldn't make it."

"It's fine," Seifer answered. "I preferred things to be quiet. And, the coat was really nice."

"Squall picked it out," she answered. "You could probably tell, since it was leather and all."

"I could," Seifer answered. He didn't tell her that the coat was now buried in the back of his closet, probably never to be worn. How could he not know that this expensive, beautiful coat had been all Squall with Rinoa's name merely attached? How could he ever wear it and not think about what could have been between them? "So..." He trailed off, smiling. "When's the big day for you guys? Now that Ellone's hitched, you two will be the next to march down the aisle."

"I'm not holding my breath," joked Rinoa, though there was a bitter undercurrent of truth.

Squall bit the inside of his cheek. Seifer's tone was jovial, and his smile easy, but Squall knew the other man well enough to know he was purposely being mean. And, it was working. His eyes met Seifer's, and he couldn't look away, not even when Quistis made her way over.

"Hi, Ivan." She craned her face up and kissed his olive cheek. She didn't have to stand on her tiptoes because of her heels. "Hello, Rinoa."

"Hi..." Rinoa trailed off, looking at her shoes, which were the same as the other woman's.

"Oh, Quisty. We were just talking about Squall and Rinoa's impending wedding. I think you'd look really nice in full, antique Sorceress regalia."

"Oh, that stuff's way too fancy for me," Rinoa said, oblivious to the ugly aura of this conversation.

"It wouldn't really matter what you were wearing, I suppose. You could be wearing a sweat suit. It only matters that you're giving yourself completely to one person, telling the whole world that you're giving your soul to them, and you're going to do it for the rest of your life," he said quietly, eyes on Squall the entire time.

"What a beautiful way to put it." Rinoa squeezed Squall's hand again.

"Well, it's true. You and Squall and the perfect couple. A Sorceress and her Knight, who risked everything to save her. Despite his... Squall-ness, he proved that he loves you, Rinoa. That you're the only one in his heart." He stepped closer to Ivan and twined their fingers together. Squall's gaze slid down, remembering the warmth of Seifer's body under his own hands. "I'm sure there will be fairy tales written about the two of you. Maybe I'll find that." He looked at Ivan, who only briefly smiled. Squall noticed he actually looked somewhat troubled, and that Ivan was looking pointedly at him. "I don't want to be alone forever, y'know?"

"You think you two will get married?" Rinoa asked.

"God no," Ivan answered with laughter enriching his voice. "Right now, it's just casual. I don't think I'm ready for that, and Seifer's always away. I think he cares about the tonberrys more than he does about me."

"Not true," Seifer protested. He leaned in and kissed Ivan's temple. Squall's hand balled into a fist. "Well, maybe just a little. There was that one time I kinda did call you Sunny in bed," he added with laughter.

Squall sucked in his breath so sharply that it caused them all to briefly look at him.

"Did you know that Seifer discovered tonberrys have a spiritual side?" Quistis asked, voice cracking. She was desperately trying to change the subject, her heart going out to Squall.

"Oooh, really?" Rinoa asked. Seifer started talking to her about how he'd seen his favourite tonberry, Sunny, making an offering of roots and mushrooms in Odin's chamber, then drawing some kind of pictogram around the food with her own blood. "Makes me feel shitty that I'm the one that killed him. His state of death being debatable, though." He put his arm around Ivan's shoulder, who gave his partner a deep look. "I'm getting kinda hungry, so we're going to head to the buffet table." He gestured to the musician's podium. "The band's setting up again," he pointed out as he started to lead Ivan away from the dance floor. "Maybe you can make a request for Eyes On Me!" He called, waving at them.

"Wow. I'm kind of blindsided by your ability to be a complete prick," Ivan murmured out of the corner of his mouth as Seifer wove him through the couples moving back towards the dance floor. Seifer punched Zell hard in the shoulder as the shorter blonde passed by, hand in hand with Xu. They both glared at him, which made him smirk.

Seifer refused to answer. He'd told Ivan about Squall out of a desire for honesty, but talking about him wasn't something he really wanted to do. It still felt too raw. Ivan looked over his shoulder through the crowd. Seifer'd told Ivan that Squall hadn't loved him, and pretty much used him for sex, but the dark-haired man could plainly see that wasn't true, and he felt sorry for Squall.

"Oh, would you dance with me if I did request it?" Rinoa asked hopefully, rubbing her hand up and down Squall's arm.

He only stared ahead, feeling like his heart was laying at his feet, trampled upon.

"Squall?" Rinoa asked.

"Excuse me." He disentangled himself from his girlfriend, leaving her and Quistis standing there. Rinoa was full of confusion, and Quistis full of conflict. She completely understood how hurt Seifer was, but he'd been quite awful.

The two women shared an awkward look, both wearing the same dress but looking completely different in it. "That dress looks really nice on you," Quistis muttered. "Light blue always does." She turned to head back across the room.

"Oh, no... you're taller, so it glides like it should on you," Rinoa replied meekly, fiddling with the ends of her hair nervously. Her cocoa brown eyes kept flickering up to meet Quistis's gaze, too nervous to really look into her eyes. "It just makes my legs look like stumpy sausages."

"Nearly every man is looking at you now."

"Except for Squall," Rinoa muttered sadly. She had the suspicion that he was drinking again, but didn't know how to ask him such a question without it becoming some huge fight. She looked into Quistis's face, not actually accusing her of anything. But, Quistis must have took it as such, because her expression became closed and steely.

"Enjoy the party," Quistis muttered, gently pushing her way through the crowd, wanting to be away from Rinoa before any tears became visible.

"Quistis, wait! Please!" Rinoa called, but her voice was drowned out by the band's lively rendition of a foxtrot.

---

Seifer looked out to the futuristic urban landscape of Esthar, standing on a lonely balcony with a half-empty champagne flute dangling between his fingers. Even though the air was cool, it didn't really even feel like he was outside at all. He was starting to get used to being outside all the time, so it was rather uncomfortable. That, as far as his eye could see, it was all city.

"I'd forgotten how cruel you can be sometimes."

Seifer looked over his shoulder when he heard Squall's voice. It made him furious that all he could think about was how amazing he looked in his perfectly tailored suit, bathed in the blue evening lights of the city. He got some vindictive pleasure that Squall looked visibly upset, while at the same time feeling like a complete asshole. He turned back to face the cityscape. "Yeah, well...'whatever', as you would say."

"I was looking for you."

Silence.

"I tried calling you on your birthday," Squall said quietly, taking small steps forward, like he was approaching a wounded tiger.

"I know."

Squall took a few more steps forward, until he was leaning against the balcony's railing, just as the other man was, but still keeping his distance.

"You didn't leave a message."

"Would you have answered if I had?"

"No," Seifer sighed. "Probably not."

"I wanted to apologize."

The blonde grunted irritably.

"Will you let me?"

Seifer just kept staring out at Esthar. The stars couldn't be seen because of all the light pollution. Even the moon was barely visible.

"Seifer... I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, just..." He sighed and ran an impatient hand through his hair. "I'm trying to do the right thing."

"Okay, fine. I forgive you."

Squall frowned at the complete lack of sincerity in Seifer's voice. "You're lying."

"I am," was the now completely sincere answer. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Squall, who looked so vulnerable and out of his element that Seifer forgot his anger. "Are you really doing the right thing?"

"I'm trying."

"For who? For you? Or, for everyone else? If this is what you really wanted, why do you look so fucking miserable? Why didn't rehab work? Why are you drunk right now?"

"You can tell?"

Seifer shook his head. "Please." He turned away from the city, now completely looking at Squall. "What do you want?"

"I... justwannatalk..." Squall mumbled into his chest.

"No. What do you want, Squall?"

Squall looked up, and cocked his head.

"It's not a hard question."

He was silent for a long time. "Maybe it is."

"It isn't," Seifer snapped. "You just make it that way. You make your life hard, Squall."

"I like it when you say my name," he whispered.

Seifer grumbled angrily under his breath. "You must just like the way Rinoa says it more."

"You wouldn't be so angry if you didn't still care." Squall inched closer, until he was standing right next to Seifer. He searched the other man's face, hoping for eye contact.

"Of course I do!" Seifer hissed. He met Squall's perfectly blue eyes, and knew the other man could see exactly what he was feeling. And, he could see what Squall was feeling. It deeply angered him, but more because of the hope it gave him.

"What about Ivan?" Squall asked quietly, his hand sliding very slowly along the balcony's railing. He stopped short of touching Seifer's hand, but came as close as he dared.

"He's... he's wonderful."

Squall's heart plummeted.

"But, it's only casual. That's all he really wants, and he's been really up front about that, that he's not ready for a serious relationship. And, he knows that I'm..."

"You're what?" Squall's heart now refused to beat.

Seifer didn't answer, and turned his face away.

"You're what?" Squall demanded, reaching out to turn Seifer's face back to him. Seifer caught his wrist in a hard, strong grip. It hurt a little, but was far more thrilling than painful. "Not over me?" Squall asked, breath warm against Seifer's cheek.

"Does it matter what my answer is?"

Squall's chest hurt from the rapid changes in his heart rate. He leaned in, wanting to touch Seifer more than anything, but not wanting to push his luck by trying for a kiss. Instead, his cheek brushed against Seifer's, and he breathed in the smell of him, revelled in the feel of him. Seifer's hand constricted around his wrist, but Squall stepped closer still, until his body was flush with Seifer's. His hand was starting to go numb from the tightness of Seifer's grip, but he really didn't care about that as he craned his neck and stood on his toes so his forehead could touch Seifer's, scars a perfect mirror of each other. A metaphor for their entire beings.

Seifer was frozen solid in the face of Squall's nearness, and couldn't protest as Squall's breath warmed his lips. His heart was beating painfully fast, and he couldn't do anything as Squall kissed him gently. How could he pull away when this was all he wanted? Squall's arm was now around his waist, and the kiss was becoming firmer and more passionate. Squall could feel Seifer yielding, and when the other man's mouth opened against his own, he felt the same pleasured rush that he'd felt the last time they'd kissed. Before Squall had turned his back on it.

Seifer started to connect to his sense of pride, and pushed Squall away forcibly enough that their parting lips made a loud squelching sound. Because Squall had been standing on his toes and leaning his weight into Seifer's body, not to mention the fact that he was also drunk, he stumbled. If Seifer hadn't still been holding his wrist, he would have fallen. Squall stared up at him with drunken confusion, and the blonde hated how pathetic the normally proud man looked.

"Seifer..." Squall whispered, bringing forth memories of more intimate moments when Squall had whispered his name like that.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Seifer whispered back.

Squall could see tears beginning to form in Seifer's peridot eyes, tears that he seemed completely unaware of. He reached up with his free hand, and used his thumb to gently wipe away the wetness that was trickling its way down Seifer's cheek. Did Seifer shed tears often because of him? Squall manipulated his trapped hand so his fingers were twined with Seifer's, and stepped closer again. But, this time he rested his chin on Seifer's shoulder and held him, even though the other man's body language was less than reciprocating.

He sucked in his breath with shock when he heard someone other than Seifer clearing their throat. He disentangled himself from the warmth of Seifer's body, though it was being held like a stiff brick wall. Squall's heart rate slowed to normal when he saw it was Quistis, leaning against the door leading back into the Palace, her arms crossed. "You're lucky it's me, and not Rinoa or Ivan."

"Ivan wouldn't be surprised. I've told him the truth," Seifer murmured, looking sidelong at Squall, eyes full of accusation. "What would you have said if she'd been Rinoa? Or, if she'd been your father?"

Squall's lips parted, but nothing came out. He had no response.

"Would you have told her the truth? Would you have told her you want to be with me?"

Squall knew his silence wasn't what Seifer wanted to hear, and looked away as Seifer's pale green eyes started to boil.

"Piss off. Seriously." The taller man let out a bitter, disgusted sigh and stalked off, only pausing his stride to squeeze Quistis's shoulder affectionately in passing.

"I came to check on you," Quistis murmured, coming to stand beside her friend at the railing. She rested her arms on it, looking out over Esthar. Squall did the same, though she was certain he wasn't paying attention to the futuristic skyline. "To see if you were okay. I know he upset you back there."

"I deserved it," Squall muttered hatefully. Why couldn't he just listen to that voice inside him, begging him to listen?

"Yeah," she breathed. "You do. But, that doesn't mean I still can't be concerned about you." She bumped her shoulder against his.

"Quisty, do you think he would take me back, even if I did tell the truth?" He didn't look at her as he asked this. "And, don't lie to spare my feelings."

"I don't know," she answered. "And, that's the truth. I know that you and Seifer... well, your relationship is deeper than even the two of you know. But, I also know Seifer is a very proud man, and you made a fool of him. You hurt him. And, that's not something he'll just forget overnight, Squall."

Squall silently absorbed her words, and the soaked into his skin like a poison. She'd just cast his deepest fear into high-contrast - that Seifer would never be able to forgive him, and the relationship he had with him, so unique and deep and intense, was gone forever. Few people could have probably hoped, ever in their lives, to have such a close bond with another human being, and Squall had fucked it up. Had he just wanted sex, because he'd misunderstood that soulful bond and thought it was about the physical, and mistaken it for bi-curiosity? Or, had he misunderstood his strong desire to protect and look after Rinoa, to be the Knight to her Sorceress, and mistaken it for love?

"I'm sorry, but you asked."

"Yeah, I did." Squall pushed himself away from the railing and slumped off. Quistis wanted to follow him, but figured he really wanted to be along right now.

Squall was getting pretty good at finding the deserted, lesser used hallways in the Estharian Palace, which he used to his advantage. He just really didn't want to lay eyes on anyone at that moment. Anyone that would have wanted to stop and talk to him was engaged with the wedding, and most of the employees working were in their offices, in meetings, or had gone home. Any he did pass had no interest in him. Once outside the Palace, he walked along the strange blue highways. Esthar was a city that was always busy, to there were lots of people out, too wrapped up in their own business to notice the President's son pulling out a flask from his tuxedo jacket and publicly drinking.

He drained every last drop of scotch, but still didn't feel numb. Not even after he drank his second hidden flask. He may as well have been drinking water for the effect it was having on him. He found that he was heading for the Aubergine District of the city, which was the name for the half-dozen blocks where most of the gay or fetish clubs and establishments resided. Squall tapped the bottom of his second flask for the last few droplets, shamelessly trying to get out what he could. He realized with a jolt it was because he wanted to taste something other than Seifer's mouth, which stuck to his lips like honey.

Squall entered a strip bar that he hadn't even bothered to check the name of. He plunked himself at the bar and started ordering shot after shot, casually looking over his shoulder at the three stages in the center of the building, only really paying attention when there was an eyeful of naked cock. He tapped the bar as a new dancer came on, and the bartender raised an eyebrow at him, his expression full of 'you've had too much to drink, Sir.' Squall pulled out a few large bills, and slid them towards the bartender's hand. It was enough to make him ignore just how much Squall was actually drinking.

He was actually starting to feel affected after he'd consumed enough drink that alcohol poisoning wasn't out of the realm of possibility. He became distracted from his single-minded task of sloshing away his longing for well, he didn't know what, when he looked at the body and face of one of the dancers, billed as Cheeky Ride. Squall thought the name had a little to be desired, but his body was far from disappointing. Not to mention the fact that he had short blonde hair, and looked quite long of limb.

"Who do I talk to about private rooms?" Squall slurred over the loud, pulsating electronica soundtrack.

"The manager." The bartender pointed to someone near a door marked 'staff only', who was in a conversation with a bouncer.

"Just give me the bottle," Squall demanded, gesturing to some scotch. He put more gil on the bar, enough that couldn't be argued with. He went over and requested a private dance from one Cheeky Ride, and pressed money into the manager's hand. Squall probably would be horrified the next morning about how much gil he was throwing away, but a combination of horniness and drunkenness made him not care in the slightest.

He was directed to an empty private room, and he lounged against the red and black velvet cushions of the fainting couch like he was completely at home doing something like this, even though he really wasn't. His sluttiness was resigned only to two people, both of whom he was in love with, and an act like having a stranger grind their naked body against him would have mortified and embarrassed him in any other state of mind.

When Cheeky Ride came in, he was even hotter up close. Not as hot as Seifer, of course, but still pretty fuckable. He cocked his head and blinked in a way that suggested he'd recognized Squall, but he didn't say anything. He was probably used to having some famous faces of Esthar request his company. How many politicians, actors or sports figures had sat on this exact couch and greedily eyed this stripper's naked flesh, just like Squall was doing right now?

"What do you want me to do?" Cheeky asked in a perfectly rehearsed coquettish way, playing with the sash on his robe.

" ...Whatever. Just as long as you wind up naked." Squall swigged from his bottle, his taste buds as thirsty as his eyes, which never wavered from his companion's groin area. He started to become bored by the nude gyrating, and distracted by the fact the stripper was sniffling a lot.

"How much if you let me inhale some of that blow you're high on?"

"Wha...?"

Squall just raised an eyebrow, steadily drinking as Cheeky tried to think of an answer. "How much to snort it off your body?"

"We're not supposed to..." Cheeky trailed off. Without his practiced voice, he sounded quite young.

Squall clumsily reached into his inner jacket with one hand, the other still wrapped around the now half-empty scotch bottle. He pulled out a wad of gil, and waved it under the boy's nose. "This enough?" He asked, bored tone becoming irritated.

"For that much, you could do anything you wanted to me," the boy breathed. He snatched the money between two fingers and counted it. He slid it into one of the pockets on his discarded robe, and pulled out a vial of white powder.

Squall rudely grabbed it, and shoved the stripper down, so he was sprawled on the couch, flat on his back. He was being pretty rough, but didn't give two shits. He poured some of the cocaine out onto Cheeky's stomach, and inhaled noisily. He licked up whatever grains of powder he'd missed, his head already starting to spin in a way that was pleasing to him. It made him feel like he was floating away, like he wasn't Squall Leonhart anymore. He didn't have the shackles of his life, he didn't have any of Squall's responsibility. He didn't have any self-loathing, or hatred of what his life had become. Or rather, what he'd let his life become by standing idly by. He could only distantly feel his companion sliding against him, taking his own hit of cocaine. He could feel the stripper's warm mouth cascading over the column of his throat, his fingers working the buttons on Squall's shirt, then finding their way into his lap.

When the stripper's mouth started to follow his hand, Squall shoved him away, looking him in the eye. His lids were half-closed with desire and inebriation, and saliva glistened on his lower lip. Squall put his hand in the young man's face and shoved him on his back with lack of ceremony or affection. He looked down at Cheeky, who was completely out of it and giggling under his breath. Squall started moving down his body to sate his craving for cock. He took another long snort to dull everything into a smear of blurry colour. He wanted to numb himself against the fact that the penis in his mouth wasn't the one that he wanted to be tasting. The cocaine and booze helped the fantasy along, and aided in suffering through the lies he'd created for himself. The one, big, giant lie his whole life had become.

---

"Hey, Irvine! Come on, we're going to breakfast!" Zell bellowed, pounding his fist on Irvine's door. The Palace had quieted down considerably after the wedding. Ellone and Roberto had already left for their honeymoon in Winhill. Zell checked his watch. "Or, brunch. Or lunch..." They'd all had a pretty late start after the reception, but had planned the previous night to enjoy the city.

"Maybe he's not in there alone," Xu murmured, checking her cell phone, reading a message from Luchia, who was getting things rolling in Deling City.

"I noticed him and Selphie dancing together a few times last night. Maybe..." Zell shrugged. "Yeah, maybe let's give him a few minutes." He put his hand on Xu's back and started to lead her away as her nose was still buried in her phone. He looked over his shoulder when he heard the door open, and he pulled a muscle in his neck from how violently he double-taked. After all, it wasn't an everyday occurrence to see Fujin leaving Irvine's room, obviously just having redressed in a hurry. Her suit jacket barely covered a bared chest, and she was carrying lacy black under things in her hands. Xu's eyebrows shot up, Luchia's text message completely forgotten, and Zell started stammering like a ninny.

Irvine stood in the doorway, his nudity only covered by his well-placed cowboy hat. He murmured something to Fujin under his breath, and she just simply nodded in a business-like manner that wasn't really post-coital.

She looked at both Xu and Zell with usual coldness as she started to walk back to her room. "CHICKEN," she greeted.

"Hey!" He shouted after her. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL... oh, forget it." He stormed right over to Irvine, who was full of masculine smugness. "Did I just see what I thought I saw?"

"Does it give you heart troubles to change your mood so rapidly?" He asked, puffing on a cigarette that had been dangling between two fingers.

"You and Fujin?!" Zell demanded.

Irvine grinned like a shark.

"Dude, I cannot believe this. And, can you please put some clothes on?"

"What do you expect when you come pounding on my door. If you hadn't been so rude, I would have been up to the hilt in her again."

"Oh, God." Zell slapped his forehead. "You're going to give me nightmares. I just... Fujin?!" He demanded.

The grin on Irvine's face was starting to fade, and Zell thought he actually was starting to look annoyed, which was rare for him. "She's a woman and she's hot, Zell. Get over yourself. Now, let me get dressed, and over breakfast slash brunch slash lunch, I'll tell you about the best sex I've ever had."

"Thanks for my part of that, but no." Xu said earnestly.

"You ask Seifer and Ivan?"

Zell and Xu exchanged looks. " ...yeah, he said no thanks. Wanted to go out of the city. Thankfully," he added under his breath to his girlfriend, who smirked. "Said something about snake-hunting. Which is maybe a euphemism for something I really, really, really don't want to get a mental image of, or else I'll never be able to sleep again."

"That Ivan guy seems nice. Maybe he should be warned," Xu said silkily, to which Zell chuckled.

"You guys are assholes," Irvine muttered. It was maybe meant to be a joke, but his tone was quite serious. He turned to go back into his room, which made Zell groan and avert his eyes.

"You're not wearing pants!"

"You love it," Irvine purred before slamming his door.

Zell started pacing as he waited for Irvine to get dressed, Xu wandering off a little so she could make some phone calls. He saw Rinoa walking up the hallway, and called out to her. "S'up, Rinoa! Irvine and Fujin totally slept together!"

"Oh, really?" She asked, distracted. "That's nice."

"You and Squall should come with us to breakfast!" He called to her as she continued down the hallway.

"Oh, thanks, Zell... but, not right now. Maybe for dinner," she murmured, turning a corner. Her arms were locked around her torso as she made her way down the hall with purpose. She stopped at her destination, and rapped twice on the door, but didn't wait for a response. She opened the door, and stepped into Quistis's bedroom.

"Where is he?" She demanded, her anger flowing out of her when she saw that Quistis had been very, very asleep. And, that she was very, very alone.

"Huh...?" Quistis rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Rinoa...?" She yawned, looking at the other woman in sleepy confusion. "What are you doing in here? Is something wrong?" The blonde was immediately awake with concern. "Where's who?"

"Umm..." was Rinoa's reply, which sounded really lame to her.

"Oh my God," Quistis hissed, rubbing her cobalt eyes again. "You're looking for Squall in here, aren't you?" She sat up fully.

Rinoa mumbled something inconsequential, fidgeting wildly.

"I can't believe this." Quistis threw the sheets off and stood up. She was only wearing a tank top and panties, but didn't care. "I can't fucking believe this." She threw back the sheets. "You see anyone laying in there?" She broadly gestured to the now exposed under sheets, slapping the flatness for good measure. "I mean, I know Squall's pretty slender, and might be hard to see, so you can come take a closer look if you want."

"I was just wondering... if you knew where he was," the Sorceress whispered.

"Horse shit you were. You were hoping to accuse me, like everyone else does."

"Where is he?" Rinoa slowly looked up into Quistis's eyes, flinching at the alien fury in them.

"How should I know?" Quistis demanded. "Probably out getting drunk and high somewhere."

"He's still drinking?"

"Isn't that something you should be asking him? Don't you think that maybe that's the fucking problem between the two of you, and why he's..." Quistis stopped herself, for she'd almost blurted out the truth. She pinched her nose, feeling trapped. It would be so much easier to just tell Rinoa, but she was so hurt by her former friend that she decided not to. Let her find out for herself, then. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you can't tar and feather me. Not today." Quistis opened the door, glaring at Rinoa as she held it open. "Get out."

"Quistis, I..." Rinoa stopped talking under the weight of Quistis's anger. "I'm sorry," she whispered before running out of the room, covering her face with her hands as tears started to flow. The slam Quistis gave the door rattled through the hallway, as loud and painful as a gunshot.

---

Seifer fished a lock pick out of his pocket, and deftly bypassed the deadbolt that blocked him from his destination. He'd told Zell that he was going out to look for snakes, but the truth was he'd gotten a call from Sol around dawn. He was now breaking into a loft where a prominent Estharian psychiatrist was hiding out. He was going to be a witness in a trial, and of course someone he was going to be testifying against wanted him out of the way. As the lock clicked and Seifer slid soundlessly into the dark loft, stepping over the body of the guard he'd just killed, he felt sick with himself. But, what was he going to do? Sol wasn't the kind of person to be argued with, and he'd probably go the same way as Mars if he didn't go through with the hit.

He hadn't needed to lie to Ivan, because his boyfriend had wanted to explore the city, this being his first time in mythical Esthar. In fact, he'd been very eager about the whole thing, and had left as soon as the sun was completely up. Seifer pulled out a silenced handgun as he noiselessly ascended the stairs to the bedroom. The lights were all off, and his ears were perked for the sound of another hired bodyguard. He could hear the small sound of a floorboard creaking, and then the movement of darkness against darkness as the silhouette of another guard moved. Seifer fired, and heard the loud thump of his body hitting the floor. He waited to see if that would bring out anyone else, but heard nothing, other than the sound of loud snoring. The psychiatrist and his trophy girlfriend were sitting ducks, still sleeping as Seifer shot them both in the head, brains and blood splattering on the wall and soaking the sheets and pillows. He dropped the gun at the scene, and left as silently as he'd come, feeling as dead inside as the people he'd so ruthlessly killed.

Ivan was very understanding about Seifer still having very strong feelings for Squall, no matter what Squall did or said to him, but would he have that same understanding if he found out about this? How would Squall feel? Seifer worried more about what Squall would say than what Ivan would say, but he also had the feeling that Squall wouldn't be as angry. That he wouldn't be surprised. That he would understand, and it wouldn't change his feelings much. That Squall would still love him.

Seifer took a lifter to the rental car station. It was still very early, so the futuristic blue highroads and pedways weren't nearly as crowded as they would be in only an hour or two. The recorded, soothing female voice announced the scheduled stops, and the two other people on the lifter with Seifer both stood up when the voice called out "Now arriving at - Odine Laboratories." They got off, and one person got on as the voice pleasantly murmured "next stop - Southlands Gateway. Next stop - Southlands Gateway." That was the stop Seifer wanted. He could rent a car and go looking for snakes - keeping his alibi alive. The lifter waited, for this was a busy stop, and more people might come. Seifer's attention was drawn by what looked like some kind of commotion at Odine's labs. There were soldiers running around, heading for the labs with guns out.

As the lifter took off towards its next destination, Seifer looked over his shoulder towards the labs. Soldiers were gesticulating wildly to each other and running around like chickens with their heads cut off. But, Seifer's icy green eyes narrowed when he could have sworn he saw a familiar figure walking away from the scene, nobody even noticing he was there. Seifer blinked a couple of times and strained his eyes until he couldn't see it anymore. He'd been far enough away, and in motion, that it cast doubt on if he'd actually seen anything at all, but he could have sworn it looked like Ivan had been walking away from Odine's labs, and nobody else had even noticed him.

When Seifer returned to the Palace around dusk, there was quite the commotion. He briefly wondered if they'd found the psychiatrist dead, but all the talk was about what happened at the labs. He started to look for someone who could tell him what was going on, and for Ivan. But, their guest room was empty. What was he doing at the labs? Had that even been him?

"Irvine!" He called when he saw his childhood friend, talking with Quistis, Selphie, Rinoa, and a very haggard looking Squall. "Hey, you guys seen Ivan?"

"In there." Irvine pointed to a board room that Laguna used often. He could hear Odine's shrill voice, and he sounded hysterical. Seifer picked up on the tension among the group. Quistis was pointedly not looking at Rinoa, Rinoa was looking at her shoes, stealing looks at Quistis while trying not to look at Squall.

When Seifer looked at Squall's face, he was taken aback. "Hyne, Squall. You look like you woke up in a dumpster."

"Didn't sleep," he muttered. That was partially true. He'd been up most of the night doing drugs with Cheeky and some of his junkie friends, in between bouts of doing Cheeky and some of his friends of both genders. After her disastrous visit to Quistis's room, Rinoa had found him passed out in one of the unused guest rooms. Her questions about his whereabouts, and his subsequent evasive lies, had started a tense argument that they were still locked in.

"So, what happened?" Seifer asked, curious as hell and concerned for his boyfriend.

"There was a break-in at Odine's labs," Selphie answered. "A really strange one. They're asking Ivan if he saw anything." She was leaning against the board room door, straining her ears to eavesdrop. "C'mon, guys!" She hissed. "Talk louder!"

"Why are they asking Ivan?" Seifer asked blankly.

"Because he was in a tour group that was there around the time of the break-in. They're asking all of them. You didn't know?"

Seifer felt very relieved, and very silly for any suspicions. "He just said he wanted to go out exploring. He often does things spur of the moment. So... strange how?"

"Magical," Rinoa answered. "They used magic to break into restricted areas, but there was nobody on the security cameras."

"They made themselves invisible?" Seifer asked, cocking an eyebrow. "That's not possible... right? Unless Esthar has made that technology." Magic and para-magic couldn't render a person invisible to something mechanical like a security camera. Even Ultimecia hadn't been able to make herself disappear from sight, and had to resort to bodily possession as a disguise.

"It's not supposed to be," Quistis replied, stroking her cheek, in deep thought. "They think it might have been Galbadia behind it, since they entered the advanced R and D sections. They might have been after projects that Odine was working on. But..."

"You think it was an inside job," Seifer finished, lowering his voice. "Espionage?"

Irvine tapped the side of his nose. "Probably was someone who worked in Odine's labs, and is going to sell information to the Galbadian army."

"Sounds sneeakkyyy!" Selphie murmured, excited.

"What kind of projects were in there?" Seifer asked, highly interested.

Quistis shrugged. "Nobody's really sure, considering how paranoid Odine is. He's going to bring her in to see if she can feel some residual magic." She jerked her beautiful blonde head in Rinoa's direction.

"I wonder if it was just research, or actual hardware?" Irvine wondered lowly.

"Someone who worked there would have known how to bypass the cameras. Maybe the tour group Ivan was in saw someone acting squirrelly," guessed Selphie, closing her eyes as she strained to hear through the thick door.

"I don't know that I can be much help," Rinoa muttered. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to be looking for. Odine's labs are full of magical energy, old and new."

"You'll do fine," Irvine encouraged in his most flirtatious voice as he patted her shoulder. Quistis said nothing, her jaw so tight it may as well have been wired shut.

"How's President Loire doing?" Seifer asked of Rinoa, though he was looking at Squall. Seifer knew the other man so well that he had the feeling he himself wasn't the only person who'd done something very recently that he wholly regretted.

"Oh, you know..." She muttered, sounding as miserable as Squall looked. "He'd still have a smile on his face, no matter what was happening. He's probably getting annoyed with Odine freaking out, though."

Squall looked at Rinoa's profile, then Seifer's. Rinoa was doing her angry silent treatment, and not looking at him, even though he knew she could feel his gaze on her. On the other hand, Seifer's eyes were zeroed in right on Squall's face. Squall could see the anger, disgust and pity in the other man's handsome face, but just as Seifer had seen regret in Squall, Squall could see it in Seifer. The more he looked into Seifer's pale green eyes, the more lost he seemed, like Seifer was letting the icy veneer melt away, showing something to Squall that he didn't let anyone else see. It made Squall hate himself even more for throwing away what they could have had, but Seifer looked away. He'd felt the moment, and his pride took over. He wouldn't let Squall get that close to him again. He couldn't just open himself like that, and then have his heart handed back to him like a used tissue whenever Rinoa batted her eyelashes and asked for Squall to rescue her. He wouldn't.

Squall even started to open his mouth. He could feel some wild, foolhardy confession welling in his throat. He was actually forming the words that he knew he should have said the moment his lips had touched Seifer's for the first time, but his mouth snapped shut when the board room doors opened, and the people inside came spilling out. Odine was a flurry of flustering arms and wildly coloured fabrics as he made a beeline straight to Rinoa. "Oh, Sorzerezz Rinoa! Pleaze come help!" Odine started tugging on her arm, while Laguna shook his head and gave Rinoa an apologetic shrug.

Squall didn't bother to say anything to his girlfriend as Odine dragged her away. It's not like she wanted to hear anything he had to say right now, anyway. Instead, he watched with mounting misery and anger as Ivan came out of the room, shrugging in a way that was painfully elegant. When he smiled at Seifer and ran his olive-skinned hand down the blonde man's arm, Squall really did wish bodily harm on him. Was his hatred for this man palpable? Could Ivan feel Squall's desire to slam his head in a door over and over again?

"You okay?" Seifer asked, leaning in for a kiss. Ivan kept it chaste, his dark eyes sliding over to Squall. The shorter man was taken aback by the way Ivan looked at him. Like he knew exactly what Squall was thinking at that moment, and had turned his face away from Seifer's after only the briefest of kisses to spare Squall's feelings. It was pretty unnerving.

"Fine. They just wanted to know if I'd seen any of the lab employees doing strange things."

"They didn't rough you up, did they?" Seifer asked, teasing.

"No. You don't have any need to defend my honour," he murmured with an eye roll.

"Did you see anything?" Quistis asked eagerly.

"Like a hoard of Galbadian soldiers?" Irvine asked with a wink.

"Honestly, no. But, if they were going to do this, why would they let a tour group see them doing anything out of the ordinary?"

As Ivan spoke, Squall turned away from the conversation and walked slowly down the hallway, feeling so alone and in desperate want of a drink. Seifer felt a desire that was just as great - the one to go after Squall and just slap some sense into him, and get him into rehab again. And, what? Fight for him? Demand that Squall tell the truth about them? Make Squall his again, if Squall ever could have been considered 'his'? Squall made his choice, so why wouldn't Seifer's heart listen to the rest of him, and just let him go?

---

Two days later, Quistis was reading a newspaper and talking to Xu on the train back to Balamb. "If Galbadia was going to steal anything, they wouldn't just take one little thing having to do with Guardian Force research." They'd rehashed the details of the break-in to Odine's facilities several times, but it was still fun to discuss. Though, Irvine had no interest in going over it again. He was too busy flirting with Fujin, not caring one bit that Raijin was sitting between them, and getting more irritated by the minute.

"I know," Xu murmured thoughtfully. "GF study isn't exactly cutting edge anymore, and I don't know that it would have proper weapon applications."

"I wouldn't really want to have my army go up against an attack from someone summoning Eden, though," pointed out Quistis with a grin.

"Yeah, really!" Xu exclaimed. The closer they got to Balamb, the higher her spirits rose. "I bet questioning Ivan's tour group was maybe just a distraction, too." Seifer and Ivan had stayed behind in Esthar for a few more days, like a little vacation. The thought of Seifer and Ivan spending days alone together like some mini-honeymoon made Squall want to throw up.

"Unless someone knows something about a GF that nobody else has discovered yet," Zell pointed out. Xu was sitting between him and Quistis, and his hand was resting on her knee. "Why else would someone want to take a detector like that?" Only one thing had physically been stolen - a pocket-sized detection device that could locate the magical signatures of Guardian Forces.

"To cause a distraction," Squall slurred from across the aisle, not looking up from the issue of Weapons Monthly he was reading. He wasn't even really trying to hide the fact anymore that rehab hadn't worked, and he was sloshed out of his mind. The train started to slow as it neared Balamb's station. The conductor's voice told them that they would be arriving shortly, and to make sure they had all their personal belongings.

"Squall has a point," Selphie murmured, casting a wary eye across to him. "It's totally what I would do if I really wanted to find out some down and dirty information." Her jade eyes narrowed in mock-sneakiness. "Throw them off the trail by stealing something unimportant, and then WHAMMO!" She punched the air with her fist. Rinoa had to jerk back to avoid getting hit. "That's when I'd go into the top secret files and start printing out what I needed."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this..." Zell trailed off, arching a pale eyebrow. "It really does seem like something you'd do."

"Or, she'd make it seem like it was bigger than it was, but she'd really be after the GF detector so she could stalk Doomtrain," Quistis joked.

"Yeah, well..." Selphie laughed along with the rest of them, except for Squall, who didn't even muster a smile. But, Selphie's smile also wilted earlier than it would have if anyone else had made the crack. She was still less than friendly with Quistis over the whole love triangle thing. Quistis noticed, and promptly lost her humour, too.

Normally, Selphie was always the first to do something, but as far as trains went, she was always the last off, so she waited while everyone else stood up as the vessel came to a stop at Balamb's station. She found herself walking behind Quistis and Xu, and the whole air of it was very awkward. As they waited for their luggage to be unloaded, Quistis's ears perked up when she heard someone calling her name.

"Ms. Quistis Trepe?" A man asked, weaving through the crowd towards her. Another man, that was obviously with him, was calling Squall's name.

"Yes...?" She asked warily. His face was unfamiliar to her, and he definitely wasn't from Garden.

The man, her height and stocky with muscle, his light brown hair thinning at the hairline, rummaged inside his rumpled trench coat and pulled out an ID badge. "I'm Detective Aaronson from the Deling City police. I'd like to ask you a few questions." A few feet away, the other man in a similar trench coat was pulling out his ID and showing it to Squall, saying pretty much the exact same thing to him.

"About?" She asked blankly, though her blood ran cold with a very bad premonition.

"The death of Evan Phaighn."

"You've already asked me about that," she muttered, brow furrowed. She could hear Squall arguing in kind with the other officer.

"New evidence has come to light. Will you please come with me, ma'am?"

Quistis opened her mouth to protest, but what could she say? They were going to question her whether she wanted them to or not. She looked over her shoulder and saw that anyone within earshot was staring at her, and that a few were whispering behind their hands. Xu was biting her lip in concern and said "don't worry. I'll call a Garden official."

Quistis nodded, and let the detective lead her away towards the Balamb Police Department. Squall wasn't far behind. She looked over her shoulder again, and saw Xu nodding in encouragement, still biting her lip with worry. But, Quistis had mistaken her friend's reaction. Xu wasn't biting her lip in concern, but to hide the fact that she was grinning from ear to ear.