Mission to Date

Chapter 6

It was bright and early when Seifer, together with Quistis, left for Dollet. On their way, Seifer kept on pondering about his first mission. It wasn't anything like he had thought of, in fact, nothing like it at all. The first part ordered by Cid was acceptable, but the second one seemed off the line. He could still clearly recall the orders of the Headmaster the other day and he kept repeating it to himself if he had heard him right.

"As you may not know, my wife and I will be celebrating our anniversary in a few weeks time, and I have been thinking of several gifts to give her, one of which will be her Edea Card. Now I know we have a rare chance of finding it since there's only one in the world, but I was informed from a likely source that the Edea Card right now belongs to the man who runs one of the pubs in Dollet." Cid said in casual but recognisable tone. "And as not many know, there will be an annual Triple Triad Convention at Dollet for the next three days starting tomorrow, and I have asked Quistis to be the one who will play up against the owner of the pub and retrieve the card. Now, it might not be an easy process, so it might take a couple of days before she gets it."

"So...?" Seifer asked, perplexed at his point.

"So, which brings me to your mission." Cid answered smiling, "You are to escort at Dollet for the duration. You will take her there, stay with her, guard her and bring her back to the Garden safely. Not bad for a first mission, don't you think?"

"Sounds boring to me. Does she seriously need an escort?" Seifer begged to disagree.

"Every mission needs one. As SeeD, you should know, the Garden only permits missions with at least two parties." He uttered in speculative tone. Seifer could only twitch his lip at Cid's words. "That's your mission for the first part, escort Quistis. The second one is where it gets interesting. I want you to go out and have dinner with her at Lapin Beach in Dollet before you return to the Garden." Cid said smiling, practically waiting for him to react.

"Is that joke?"

"No, that's part of your mission."

"Do all missions require a dinner date?" Seifer sarcastically asked with a raised brow.

"That all depends. This particular mission basically requires one. Now, don't get me all wrong. I'm not making a fool out of you at all...this 'date' is meant to be for Quistis—her reward for the mission in simple terms. I want you to treat her special, make her feel wanted and simply give her a good time."

Seifer stopped at his thoughts when the train to Dollet halted to a stop at the station. They took the usual train route of Balamb-Timber and from Timber to Dollet. It took them a few hours before they could check in at the hotel, and it was just before lunch when they finally stood by Hotel Dollet's reception desk to get a room.

"Welcome ya'll to Hotel Dollet. Will ya be stayin' for the night?" The hotel receptionist blithely greeted as soon as they stood by the counter.

"Yeah, we'll be stayin' here for two nights, so get us a nice room." Seifer demanded handing her 3600gil.

"That's one Deluxe Suite for the happy couple." The receptionist said with delight taking the money off his hand.

"Do we look like a couple! That's two Deluxe Singles. Make sure my room's right across hers, got that?"

"Gee, sorry for assuming." The receptionist grumbled beneath her breath as she scanned for another key card.

"Ya got a problem!" Seifer snorted at her words.

"Nope. Here're your key cards. Her room will be in 409 and you sir will be stayin' in Room 402, that's right across hers." She gave him a nice but suspicious smile as soon as she handed him his card. "I hope you have a pleasant experience durin' your stay. Just speak to the bell girl over by the elevator. She'll take you to your rooms."

They first settled in their individual rooms before they headed for the said convention. The day passed pretty quickly for Quistis who played the whole afternoon in search of the Edea Card, while it was a hell of a bore for Seifer to sit around and wait til dusk for the competition to end, that by the time it was over, he quickly dragged her back to the hotel.

o O o

It was late and Quistis was already sitting on her bed, her back rested against the headboard. The bedcover had been neatly folded and placed on the desk at one corner. A blanket covered her legs-down for it was a chilly night. A single incandescent lamp on her bedside table lit the room, giving off just enough light for her to read a book with very narrow font.

It was pass ten and she was simply reading herself off to sleep. Her hair was no longer clipped, it neatly fell down her back with a few loose strands framing her rounded face. She was still wearing the hotel's thick-cotton robe to cover up her silk nightgown underneath. She was so absorbed in the book that she was startled when the door suddenly swung open.

Holding the book down when Seifer barged in, she removed her glasses and gave him a curious look. "What are you doing?"

"I came to check up on you, if you're still breathing."

"Well, surprise, I'm alive." She sternly replied raising a brow.

"Darn, I guess you are." He said back, just as stern approaching her, his eyes surveyed the room glancing at her from time to time.

"What are you doing!"

"What does it look like! I'm checking for any suspicious objects."

"Do you actually think I'm being stalked? I'm a SeeD just like you, in fact years before you. I can take care of myself just fine." Irritated by his behavior, she stood up and led him to the door.

When he reached the door, he turned back at Quistis and for a moment was silenced the apparent difference in her appearance. For the first time he saw her in a different light, nothing like the respected instructor, rather just a normal and beautiful lady standing before him. Noticing a change in the mood, she right away tied her robe and held it closer to cover her chest.

"I appreciate your concern, but really, you should leave. Goodnight."

He shook his head to wear off the trance. "You listen to me. This is my first official mission as SeeD and as lame as it is, I was given the order to protect you. You are under my responsibility as long as we're under contract. Should anything happen to you, I will be the one to blame and will be disgraced again if I fail, so don't make this hard for me cause you're messing things up!" he said in all formality that he actually got Quistis' attention.

She felt uneasy by what he said and so she submitted. "What do you want me to do then?"

"Do me a favor and go to sleep." He said closing the door.

At his words, she didn't know how to react even after he had closed the door. She just stood there, digesting his words. She looked at the book she was just reading, closed it, and placed it on the bedside table; and like an obedient little girl, she laid on her bed and it wasn't long before she nodded off to sleep.

o O o

The next day, Quistis came out of her room to take another round on the competition. Her mind had been put to ease by the good night's rest that she no longer felt uneasy about confronting Seifer; she was ready to face him. Double-checking her purse, making sure she had her card deck with her, she closed the door and locked it. She turned around and was about to knock on Seifer's door when she found him crouching on the floor outside his doorstep, his head bent over his knees while his back rested on the door; he was apparently tired.

"Time to go sleepy head." she teasingly said patting his head to wake him.

"WHOA!" He was startled by the sudden touch on his head. "Already! I was half-way to sleep, dammit!" He opened his eyes wide to focus on her, blinking hard to rid off his hazy vision. His hair was messed up, while dark-heavy eye bags drooped down his lower lashes.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" she managed to ask without laughing at his haggard appearance.

"Isn't it obvious! I was up all night!" his lack of sleep easily ticked him off.

"And after ordering me to sleep early last night, you were up all night probably enjoying. I bet you drank at the bar all night long!" Quistis accused. She felt double-crossed and stupid after taking orders from him last night. "And to actually think I believed you!"

"Oh what do you know! Let's just go and get this thing over with!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the elevator, but was also careful not to hurt her.

When they reached the elevator, she looked at him and noticed there was something bothering him.

"Tell me, what really happened?" this time, her tone was concerned.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He murmured shaking his head.

o O o

The day was slower than ever for Seifer that day, with tensions between him and Quistis building up, he was pretty miserable. When it was finally time to return to Hotel Dollet for their second night, Seifer convinced Quistis that they switched rooms for precaution. Quistis, tired and simply wanting to sleep agreed to his terms and went to his room when it was time for bed. She didn't bother packing up since they'll be returning to their usual rooms in the morning.

It was about 1 A.M. when Seifer heard several loud knocks on his door.

"Seifer? Seifer! SEIFER! SEIFER! You open up this door RIGHT NOW!" he heard a voice yelling from behind the closed door.

Groggy from sleep, he stumbled out of bed and onto the floor then quickly got up to his feet to open the door. As soon the knob cracked, the door swung open and hit his shoulders.

"The heck's wrong with you!" he exclaimed in annoyance glaring hard at Quistis.

"You jerk!" Quistis retorted, then for a moment silenced by the shocking sight; Seifer was half-naked. Muscles bordered his shoulders down to his chest, his abs perfectly framed his body, and his black boxers was a perfectly fitted to show his slightly curved waist. Nonetheless, Quistis quickly shook off the shock and started to natter. "How dare you make me sleep in a haunted room! Do you realize how freaked-out I am! A bloody woman in a wedding gown kept pacing back and forth in my bed—and in fact she went THROUGH me! Not only that! Screaming cries of some infant kept me up ALL night! You-big-inconsiderate-coward you—" she reached a point of indignation that her voice came out temporarily muted.

Pissed by her prattle, he scoffed, "Well get over it!" He moved out of the doorway. "Get in and get some sleep."

"So that's why you insisted we switch rooms-you sly coward!"

"No, I just don't want us sleeping on the same bed!"

"Well the floor is wide open for your bidding!"

"Then what if I say I sleep naked!"

"Well—" his words made her glance at his body the second time, this time her silence was rendered by contemplation of a rebuttal. "Then use some blankets to cover yourself up!"

"Why? I bet you can't resist seeing me like this." He teasingly flexed his body causing his muscles to sharpen into nice curves.

"Not at all, in fact I think it's gross!" Quistis bantered, sternly looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah right." he muttered looking way, then headed to the bathroom.

When he finally got out a couple of seconds later, he was already wearing a white cotton shirt, but his boxers was left uncovered by anything save for the shirt which reached down his waist.

For a second he looked at Quistis who stood by the bed, her arms folded and looking at him apparently waiting for anything to be said.

"Go ahead, I don't bite." He said, casually laying on the bed and tapping it as a cue that she lay down beside him.

"Do you seriously think I'm sleeping on the same bed with you! What do you take me for?" she sternly disapproved.

"Suit yourself." He conveniently threw a pillow on the floor near her.

"I can't believe how rude—and to think—argh!" She fretted stomping her foot, but quickly swallowed her words when she sat on the floor and carefully laid her head on the pillow.

On the floor, her eyes blazed when Seifer gave her an amusingly crooked smile.

"Who am I kidding?" he mumbled beneath his breath, then rolled over to the edge of the bed, getting closer to where Quistis was uncomfortably laying. He looked at her stiffened position, her back pressing straight on the cold floor; it was stupid, what he made her do.

"Get up here. I can't let you sleep like that." He nudged her to be heard.

"No."

Seifer let out an irate sigh, then without warning, let himself fall off the bed dragging along the blanket and rolled in closer to lie beside Quistis.

She instantly felt his presence beside her and immediately struggled to get up on her feet.

"SEIFER!"

"What! You want to sleep on the floor?"

"No..."

"Then get to bed. I'm doing you a favor here."

Without saying anything more, she strode pass him and quickly lifted the covers, wrapped it around her, tucked her head on the pillow and closed her eyes.

It wasn't long before she felt the bed drooping down by an unfamiliar weight. She opened her eye, just for a peek, and saw Seifer's elbows leaning on the bed, and him, looking at her with malicious eyes.

Her eyes flung wide open and she sat up in surprise. "Seifer! Come in any closer and I'll scream!" she warned, pointing at him.

"I dare you." He grimaced, leaning in closer to her face.

"RAPE! RAPE! RA—"

"SHIT! I was only fooling around with ya'." Seifer exclaimed in fear of the possibility of being heard. He cut her off by tightly covering her mouth with his palm.

"I-I can't breathe!" She struggled to muffle through his palm.

"Dammit woman, you could have gotten us in deep shit!" he reprimanded, taking off his hand.

"Well quit scaring me. It isn't funny you know." She said, grasping for air.

"Get real! I won't do anything stupid!"

"You just did."

"Shut up and just get to sleep...I got plans for us tomorrow."

"Really? Does it involve your foolishness?" she asked, suddenly curious.

Her words got him thinking. "Sorta'...dammit, you have no idea."

"Surprise me then."

That night, all Seifer could think about was making up and be in good terms with Quistis since he clearly remembered Cid stating that she would be the one to report on his behalf the mission. Since it was one of his objectives to give Quistis a good time, he felt sceptical about what she would say about him considering their clouded relationship at the moment. If he wanted to make things right, he had to make sure that the date would be perfect.

It would be his only way out.

o O o

The next day, they went back to the convention for another shot at winning over Edea's card. It took the entire afternoon for Quistis to finally get a hold of the card after a Sudden Death battle with the pub owner. Immediately, Seifer told Quistis to leave the place because he could no longer take another minute being in that pub. As they got out, Seifer casually asked her if they could have their dinner at Lapin Beach. Baffled to the idea that he was asking her out, she couldn't reply to the offer, but since he insisted whether she liked it or not, she had no other choice.

That afternoon, close to twilight, Seifer suggested they go catch the fish themselves since his theory stated that food would taste better if you've worked hard for it. Again, Quistis was dragged into a mess when no fish was biting and it was already close to seven in the evening. Infuriated, she decided to walk out on him, but as fate might call it, they were meant to have the date. Just as Quistis took her first step, Seifer grabbed hold of her.

"Wait, I think I just caught something!" He jerked holding her hand, while on his other was the fishing pole.

"What? Then pull it!" she demanded with apparent excitement in her voice.

Doing as he was told, he took hold of the pole and started to reel in the fish slowly but surely. The fish struggled for its life, but Seifer had no sentiments for it, he was starving and so was his 'date'. When he felt like the fish was close enough, he hauled in the rod and out of the water jumped a huge Balamb fish about the size of a cat.

Quistis was at awe with his catch that she immediately changed her mind and decided to stay and celebrate it with him.

She built a fire on the sand with some sticks while he was in charge of cleaning the fish since he knew too well from the experience of his last job that if a Balamb fish was not well cleaned before you cook it, it's going to end up stinking the place. So carefully he washed it by the shore, taking off its innards and all traces of its fishy smell. When they were ready, they skewered the fish onto a sturdy twig and patiently waited for it to cook, chatting a few nonsense while they were at it.

Quistis was surprisingly impressed at how well versed Seifer was with the sea and cooking fishes that it was a weird new feeling for her to feel intimidated by him.

He raked out the coals from the ashes, rekindled up the fire, fed it with leaves and dry barks, and with his scanty breath blew it into a flame. He brought off a corner of split sticks and dry branches, broke them up and placed them under the skewered Balamb fish. It took over thirty minutes before Seifer was sure that it was cooked. Since Quistis was his guest, he took the initiative of serving her the grilled fish.

As he took out the fish and handed it to her, it looked so scrumptious that she omitted the idea of steaming hot, and right away sank in her teeth for a bite. Upon swallowing the piece of morsel, she felt her throat engulfed in flames that she so quickly grabbed the water bottle Seifer was drinking causing it to spill on his coat that it verged on rudeness. As the cool liquid flowed down her throat, she felt an air of relief, though she still felt slight pinpricks on her burnt tongue.

"Talk about rude, I never thought I'd see the day." Seifer snickered rather irritated, though it was obvious, in his eyes was a hint of laughter.

"I'm sorry..." she apologized, embarrassed.

"Give me that." Seifer motioned to hand him the fish.

She did as she was told.

Holding the fish with his left, his right gently peeled off the skin, allowing the meaty flesh to be exposed in the breeze. Soft-hazy smoke rose from the succulent meat. He then carefully scrapped off a small portion of the meat just above the fish's fins. Quistis watched in amazement as he held the juicy meat oozing with its natural oil on his fingertips. Gently blowing it to make sure it wasn't hot this time, he stretched out his hand just close enough for Quistis' lips to reach.

"Here, it's gonna taste better this time." He said with a crooked smile.

"Thanks." She replied in tone of gratitude, yet hesitated when Seifer motioned her to eat the fish off his hand.

"Uhh...I can feed myself just fine." She tried getting hold of the fish, but Seifer parried, insisting she ate the one on his fingers.

"Oh, grow up!" Finally, getting tired of his raised arm, he lodged the meat to Quistis' lip leaving her no other option but to open her mouth.

With his thumb, he gently pushed the meat, directing it to fall on her tongue. Though sweet as it might seem, Quistis, annoyed by what he did, bit his fingers just before he drew it back.

"OUCH! Dammit, what was that for!"

"For insisting on my refusal." She rebutted with a half-chewed fish prancing about her mouth.

Irritated as she seemed, she had to admit—he was right, the fish tasted better. The soft-light texture melted on her tongue like butter; the fish's natural oils mingled with its fresh sea salt taste; it was like eating part of the ocean offered to her by its waters.

Everything about it delighted her.

With nothing much to talk about, Quistis took out the book she had been reading since the other night and started to flip through the pages searching for the chapter where she had left off. When Seifer caught sight of the title, right away he took the interest of teasing her.

"Beauty and the Beast! Isn't that a fairytale for babies?" He laughed, following her stare at the text.

"Don't be ridiculous. This happens to be one of the most romantic stories ever told!" she kept her head down on the page, only glancing through her lashes.

Seifer scoffed at her seemingly lack of attention at his taunt, she didn't even bothered to look at him. So to get the attention he wanted, he grabbed the book and stood up chuckling as he quickly skimmed the pages one after the other. "Oh grow up! This book is for little girls who believe in fairytale stories and fairytale endings."

"Be careful, I borrowed it from the library!" She quickly stood up and took a hold of the book, slapping Seifer's hand to release it. "For your information, Beauty and the Beast is not meant to be taken literally. It was written to convey a beautiful message of love's power to change—"

"Get real, it's for children!"

"You just don't get it do you?" She folded her arms and raised up an eyebrow. "It's not about the moving candle stand and talking tea pots, it's about witnessing the transformation of a beast into a man worthy of true love...how much he was willing change for her and how much she overlooked the Beast's appearance." Her stare went from pissed to passionate. She apparently loved the story so much that she was willing to lecture Seifer even if it took all night. "They started out as strangers, then they began to respect each other when Beast decided to put down his ego, that's when things began to change for the two—"

"You do realize I already know the story." Seifer sounded like he was suppressing laughter.

"Literally. But do you know about the mood, the tone, the theme of the story? I bet not."

"The heck, should I care! C'mon Quis, quit the baby's book. It changes the whole mature-woman image of you."

Her face became tinted with a reddish glow, she felt insulted, and Seifer was going way overboard on mocking her favorite love story.

"You know why I read fairytales like this! It gives me hope that BEASTS like YOU could learn to change!" she retorted, and she seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.

Surprised by her sudden outburst, he searched for words to answer her accuse—and it took a while before he finally did. "If you think you're Belle, then you're gonna have to be more assertive than that to make a beast like me become prince charming."

"Well I think I'm not the only one who dreams of fairytale endings. You read those fairytale stories about Sorceress' Knights—"

"Hey! Those are epics—not fairytales from kiddie land!"

"For your information, the author of kiddie land also happens to be the author of your so-called epic." Her voice held an edge of derision.

"You're blowin' me off!" Seifer reacted in disbelief. He grabbed the book back and turned to its spine and saw the very same name on the book he had been reading. "Shit! I read a book written by a wussy author!" His legs weakened at the realization that he let himself fall back down on the sand.

"That doesn't mean he wrote a love story, that makes him less of an epic writer." She said in disapproval as she positioned herself right beside him just so she could look at him straight in the eye. "Let's turn the tables now shall we? Why do YOU read the Sorceress' Knight?"

Seifer became silent for the second time that night, figuring out for the right words to say that would not make him look less pathetic. "Same reason you do...hoping to get an epic ending. I got to be the Sorceress' Knight, but this is kinda not the ending I was hoping for..." The moment he said those words, he realized just how pathetic he made himself sound like that he expected her to laugh at him any second now.

But Quistis wasn't like him; she was surprised by the frailty of his voice and looked at him with curious eyes.

Was Seifer showing a weak side?

"What happened?" she asked, though the answer was right in front of her.

"Want some beer?" he said in a tone that closed the subject, completely ignoring her question.

"I don't drink..." she didn't press on her question, instead, she simply replied as if she hadn't asked at all.

He pulled out two cans of beer from the bag of groceries they bought earlier, cracked open and handed it to her, which she hesitantly received, opened the second and held it up for a toast.

"Here's to our brilliantly frustrating lives!"

"Hey, I'm not that bitter about life." She said curtly, as her tone was livid.

"Yeah right, like I haven't noticed. Now quit pretendin' and let's have a toast!" he snickered, letting his can hit hers then briskly took in a big gulp.

She let out a sigh, then sipped a few droplets from the can he gave her. She puckered her lips at the not so delightful bitterness of the dark brew. She held a certain sense of composure no matter how much eager she was to throw the filled can at the obnoxious man she was sitting right next to.

The night was still, even the waves seemed silent that night...suddenly, out of the silence, she heard him out of the corner of her ear saying,

"Don't worry...someday, I'll tell you all about my epic ending."

She shifted her gaze at him and saw him let out a slight smile, but his eyes were hard.

Sneak Preview:

Race to the Wedding

Chapter 7

"You're challenging ME!" he snickered, "What's the catch?"

"Whoever loses...proposes to his partner."

Seifer went on a laughing spree. "I've heard you say stupid things before, but this is BY FAR the stupidest. You expect me to propose to Quistis!"

"Are you expecting to lose?"

A/N: Okay, I know this seems to have been made as if in a rush...well the fact is that I stuck everything in that was supposed to happen for their duration in Dollet within this chapter even if I could have written two separate chapters. The first and second day came like a breeze, and not to mention how much I skipped the details on the 'horror' scene at the hotel room...Hahahaha! I have to admit, I had plans of making a comedic-horror out of it, but I just can't find the right material for it since I suck at writing scary things...but think of it this way, that's one person down, seven more to go! Oh, and there are also some important lines here that you must consider remembering since it'll connect several chapters from now, their last conversation by the beach in particular. Take note of how the 'fairytale' theme is starting to appear...you'll get what I mean when the time comes. For now, drop a REVIEW and make my day!