Serendipity

Chapter 10

To the days which followed, the two had been unusually quiet, either one not mentioning about their encounter with the old fortune teller. Opening the topic as both thought, would result to an uncomfortable situation. And although they gave the effort to keep up with their friendly conversation at a normal pace, they both knew things were no longer as down-to-earth as it was...

As it should.

The morning of the full moon, Seifer and Quistis were quietly eating breakfast. It was a Saturday, at 10 in the morning, everyone had already eaten their breakfast, save for the two. Trying to pretend to concentrate on chomping down their food to avoid any conversation, it was a weird silence.

"So..." Seifer muttered a cough, giving the effort to open up a topic.

"Hmmm?"

When Quistis placed her fork on the plate and looked at him at full, his mind started to struggle finding for words to be said, ANY.

"Is that beef?" He stupidly asked, stupidly pointing his spoon at the morsel of food on her plate.

"It's corned beef. It must be beef then." She wryly gave him an odd looking smile, though it was obvious, she was holding in a laugh.

The stupidity of the question and the mockery of her answer made the silence grow deeper. It could have been better if he was being sarcastic, but at the formality of how the question and reply came, it simply resulted to another odd silence.

"What's going on? You're both unusually quiet." A deep familiar voice suddenly came in to the scene.

Quistis immediately turned to see the face of the man whose voice she adored so much. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Gavin locking a smile and a stare at her.

"Gavin, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it natural for a doctor to eat a late breakfast?" His statement made her question sound as stupid as Seifer's causing her to twitch her lip at the thought.

"Soymilk and tofu?" Seifer raised a brow at the sight of the food neatly placed on his tray.

"Well yes, I'm on a strict diet...it's essential for every doctor to have a healthy lifestyle." Gavin explained giving Seifer a brief glance before turning back to Quistis. "I'll be free tonight, perhaps we could have dinner at Balamb, if you'd like. You still owe me that dinner you promised last week."

"You're going out with Doc now?" Seifer couldn't help but interrupt, a fleeting shock ran across his face.

"Yes?" She wasn't sure about the answer, as far as she knew, her relationship with Gavin hasn't been going anywhere since four years ago, and she confirmed it when she caught sight of Gavin frowning. When Seifer scowled, she backed out, "but not really..." but then again caught the disappointment in Gavin's eyes. She was really in a fix as someone being 'caught in the middle'. "What I mean is, we just hang out...sometimes." She said unsure at the trail of the thought.

"Hang out, that seems more like the appropriate term." Gavin beamed down at her and rephrased his question.

It worked.

"So, how about hanging out tonight?"

"Tonight?" She gave Seifer a quick side glance and saw him anxiously waiting for her to answer. Tonight was the night she was supposed to meet Seifer at the beach for the 'ritual'. And although neither one of them had mentioned about it, she felt like they had an unspoken agreement behind the stolen glances and closely related topics they had been discussing about for the past three days. She had to think hard, a consideration to get closer to a man of her past or a man with a possible future with her. Giving Seifer one last glance before making a stand, she looked down and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I have my priorities."

"Priorities?" Gavin gave her a puzzled look, it was the first time she had turned down an offer.

She simply gave Seifer a tentative smile, who was at that time baffled by her decision, before turning that smile to face Gavin. "Yes, priorities. Isn't it natural for a woman to have one?"

Gavin glowered at her statement, she wasn't being easy today. It was the first time he felt Quistis rejected him, and it made him grow fond at the thought. Although he had been looking out for Quistis from a distance, he always had been making sure to protect her from being taken away from him. They had a good mutual relationship and had always been counting on turning to Quistis whenever he needed someone, but to hear her rejection, he felt like he was losing her. He had to do something, fast.

"If that's the case, then you don't mind if we hang out for breakfast?" he casually said, pretending as if Quistis' statement hadn't bothered him at all.

"Of course not!" she cooed, moving her plate a bit for some space so that he could place his right beside hers. "Take a seat."

He chuckled at her excitement.

When Gavin comfortably sat right beside her, Seifer was the one who felt the discomfort and stood up.

"Well, that's my cue."

"Seifer, you're being rude!"

"The heck! I'm simply giving you the benefit of privacy to...hang out." He quoted the last word with a raised brow at Quistis.

"Hmph..." Quistis couldn't exactly find the words to reply to what he said, so instead she gestured to shoo him.

"I'll see you tonight then." He winked at her before turning to leave, causing Gavin to wonder, and her, to feel goose bumps.

"Priorities, huh?" Gavin snickered, his umber eyes glistening with a hint of tension as he looked at Seifer at a distance.

"It isn't what you think...it's a long story—and it's a bit complicated at the moment." Quistis explained with a sigh.

Gavin smiled at the new revelation Quistis admitted to him and bothered to know. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

"Do you really wanna know about this hopeless romantic?" she folded her arms and stared at him that he might feel any guilt.

But he simply chuckled and sipped his soymilk. For a moment, he looked at his glass, smiled, then turned to her. "Of course! I happen to care a lot for this hopeless romantic." He sweet-talked, pinching her blushed cheek.

She teasingly slapped Gavin's hand along with a light push. "Not this time smooth-talker."

"But seriously, what's going on? I know that face, and that face is telling me that you're having a liking with someone." He gave her a knowing look as he pointed to every corner of her readable face.

"Everyone's been pairing Seifer and me." She finally admitted. "It's not like I care…but it's beginning to bother me."

Her words gave light to his confusion and immediately asked the first question which struck his mind, "Do you know where your relationship is going?"

She shook her head and covered her face with her palm, "Please don't ask me that question right now...I really don't know."

"Do you...like him?"

"He makes a good friend. I'm really fond of him." She peeked out of her palm and grinned at him, her cheeks seemed to glow beneath her hand.

"If that's the case, I can only hope that you now know the difference between a man who sees you only as a friend, and a man who sees his future with you." Gavin could only mention an advice, and gave her a wink after his words. He saw how Quistis reacted to his question, he was right, there was the possibility of losing her. But he wasn't a selfish guy, he knew their relationship would only reach as far as friendship, he just had to smile...she was finally moving on.

Quistis giggled when memories with Gavin swept before her.

"I know...I learned my lesson."

o O o

The sun submerged in the quiet sea and gave way for the moon to illuminate the darkness which the sun has left. It was a nice silver-tinted sphere which was so dazzling, only the brightest stars found the courage to compete with its light. After three agonizing days of wait for the full moon, it was finally time.

Seifer stepped out of the grass and onto the white sandy beach. His thoughts had been bothered by Lady Aurora; he had always felt the whole idea was a big joke knowing that someone was behind their pair-up again, but somewhere deep inside him felt the urge of seeing things through. He wasn't completely against the fact that he was being chained with Quistis, to him she was okay, but that was it, she was just okay. Yes, they were turning out to be really good friends, but the border was there, they were just friends. Thoughts of possibilities and expectations of the night came to mind when he saw her figure at a distance. It was her, no doubt. Each step closer to her, he corresponded with a question, while on every other step, an answer to his own question. It was a tug-o-war between facing his supposed fate or backing out of it, but the answer eventually came when he realized he had stepped right next to her.

She was quiet, gazing out at the sea as she had been lost in its wonders. Ever since Seifer spoke to her about how wonderful the sea was to him, she began to consider how beautiful the sea was to her. That night, sitting alone, she surprisingly found the sea an amusing companion.

"Beautiful ain't it? That's my girl you're looking at." Seifer said in a deep calm voice as he sat right next to her.

At his word, she smiled and turned to him. "Yes, she's really beautiful...it's no surprise you're so in love with her."

"Yeah...the only one who could take my breath away."

"Wow...lucky girl." Quistis said with a chuckle.

A momentary silence.

"So..." Seifer began in a tone which seemed to open the topic, but when he caught her glace at him, he quailed. "Your hair seems ochre under the moonlight." He mentioned instead when he saw some strands flutter with the breeze.

She was surprised to hear him said that, he was the first. "Your sarcasm never fails to amaze me."

"You're the one being sarcastic here." He croaked then caught a couple of strands to show her. "See?"

He was right, it was more ochre than blonde. It was something she had always known, that there were some ochre strands beneath all those yellow hair, but it was only Seifer who mentioned to have noticed, and surprisingly under such a faint light as being compared to the sun. It was an unusual feeling for her to be with someone who notices even the minute details which not everyone sees.

"I'll take that as a compliment...you're the first one to notice that—other than me of course." She pulled her hair back when he released the strands.

"That's a pity. I guess I'm just more observant than those fools crushing on you." When he heard what he just said, he coughed. "That didn't come out right..." then laughed, "They don't notice you as much as I do." His expression became stern again. "That didn't come out right either...dammit, I'll shut up now."

Her reaction was to burst in laughter. "You seem a little...off." But behind her giggle was gladness and flattery. If there was any man, in fact, anyone who had been seeing the whole other side to her besides the superficial exterior she extrudes, it was Seifer. Although he doesn't necessarily show it, he pays attention behind his seemingly short attention span. It was simply his ego forbidding himself to admit, he listens, and that is what she had come to realize in her effort to understanding him after so long.

"It's not very easy to come and seal my fate with you with this small bottle." He finally mustered himself the courage to get to the point and get it over and done with. He took out from his coat the small vial and swivelled it against the light of the moon causing it to reflect in his eyes.

To where Quistis sat, looking at him, she saw his green eyes reflect a silver hue. It was a beautiful sight, somehow very gentle—not a usual aura Seifer usually elicits. "Do you think..." She felt hesitation sunk in. "What do you think?"

"Listen, I didn't wanna come...but somehow, for unusual some reason, my conscience crept up to me from who-knows-where. It must be a big deal for you to turn down Doctor Love's offer." He held down the bottle and turned to look at her with a cocky grin. "You turned down your biggest crush in the world just for me. I must say, I'm amused...and just so you know, I don't mind. If it's you, then it's you."

"Don't you think we should talk about this first?" She felt offended by how casually he seemed to be taking situation...and what he said about not wanting to come.

"What's to talk about?"

"You're not taking this seriously!"

"I am! I'm just not all paranoid about it." He scoffed at how seriously she was taking the whole situation.

She was taken aback, she felt a blush of embarrassment. "I'm sorry...it's just that this whole matchmaking issue, it's beginning to bug me."

"Who is it this time?" he gruffly asked shaking his head. His intuition was right, there was someone behind the whole idea.

"Xu"

"Strange, she hates me." He openly admitted with a creased forehead.

"Well...let's just say, she hates you because you weren't treating me right. Now that we're okay, she's beginning to see a whole side of you."

"Cid, Squall, Rinoa, and now Xu..." Seifer punched the sand with his fists, "Dammit, why can't they just leave us alone!"

"Let's just ignore them okay?" She warmly subdued him by holding his hand. "We're friends, and we both know that."

He twitched his lip at the touch of her hand. "Yeah, like I said, let's just play along."

"Playing along sounds fun, but do we have to do everything they dare? Take this situation for example, do we really have to drink the potion?"

"That's the fun of the game, taking every challenge head-on."

"This..." she bit her lip, but decided to speak anyway, "This doesn't seem like a game to me anymore. I don't think I could just 'play along' forever."

"So you want to take things seriously between us, is that it?"

"NO! Geez Seifer, you're so full of yourself!"

"Then what the heck are you saying? Just spit it out!"

"If we keep this up, what if...what if we end up falling into their trap?"

"So? I'm not scared. I know I won't." He confidently declared, then peered at her, "Are you?"

"Of course not!" she reacted with a hiss, but felt her heart leaped at the question. "Why did you even come?"

"Simple, I want to see this through." He said, looking even deeper into her eyes.

She felt queasy at his stare, so she turned away. "Then if that's the case, let's get this over with." She sighed as she took out her own vial, "If the liquid turns red, then we're meant for each other, but if remains transparent, then we're not...I guess…I also want to see this through." She waved her vial at him as a cue for their toast. "Shall we?"

"Fine, it's almost midnight anyway. We wouldn't wanna be cursed now, do we?" When he realized they were actually going for it, he felt the chills when he remembered his 'proposal'.

His hand reached down his pocket, there he felt the ring colder than ever. He should have disposed of it when he had the chance, he could have been spending cash instead of getting himself an early and unwanted engagement. He had several chances of pawning it at Balamb, but whenever he tried to, something always came up, and the closest he got to selling it he ended up backing out. It was like somewhere deep within him was not permitting him to sell the ring.

Was it his conscience telling him that it belonged to Quistis?

Or was it fate telling him that it was meant for someone?

So far, he didn't know because all he could think about was him, proposing to Quistis right after the toast.

There was a border between curiosity and seeing things through, what he wanted was the latter. Though he knew the proposal would be a hoax and wouldn't stick to his word, he wanted to see, just to know,

Was their relationship enough for Quistis to accept his proposal?

He had never felt so nervous about doing something his whole life. Heck, it beats the feeling he had when he was waiting for the result of his SeeD Test. Getting dumped or getting engaged, either way he didn't approve, but still he was the kind of guy who wouldn't let down on a dare. He felt like with that toast, it would seal his fate and with that toast, a new chapter in his life would begin. His left hand trembled as it held tightly on the ring in his pocket, while his right was also shaking as he held up the bottle. He had thought of backing out several times that night, but he kept on recalling the old woman's threat of a curse opting him to make the safer choice.

His wrist watch struck midnight.

"I guess this is it, huh?"

"C-cheers?" Quistis raised her bottle with due hesitation.

"Cheers!" he exclaimed; his tension got the better of him and made him hit Quistis' bottle with so much force that it shattered at his toast.

Quistis' eyes widened with shock as she saw the liquid spill onto the sandy beach.

"Oh shit!" Seifer gave the useless effort to save the potion, but the glass didn't just crack, it smashed, causing the oil to immediately spill.

"Forget it...what's done is done." She uttered with apparent disappointment as she pulled Seifer up from crouching on the sand and picking up the broken pieces.

"Just so you know, I didn't mean to do that." He immediately explained as he stared at her frustrated eyes.

"No use crying over spilled milk." She forced out a smile, "Guess we just blew up destinies yet again, huh?"

He looked at her, searching for something positive in her face at least, but it never occurred, she wasn't amused about what happened so instead he thought of something to say, just to lower down her frustration somehow. "No, destiny just told us this isn't how it's supposed to happen." He said, finally releasing the ring in his pocket which he had been holding on for so long, and patting Quistis on the shoulders.

It worked, his words made her smile more sincere.

"Well I'm glad that's over...I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it's supposed to happen."

Seifer let out a laugh, throaty and deep. He too was relieved; that wasn't what he wanted it done, not his way, he thought.

"C'mon, let's go get some sleep...we had enough excitement for one night." He yawned, leading the way back.

Quistis had just left the spot when the moon peeked out of the clouds lighting up the white sand to reveal the red tinted grains that caught the spilled potion.

Sneak Preview:

1—2—3 Action!

Chapter 11

"Alright people, places everyone—PLACES! Aaaaaaaaaand...ACTION!"

Squall dragged himself up the stage staring rather blankly in space, for a moment. He looked at his script and started reading it in monotonous tone, "Roar...roar...roar...behold the rose which sealed my fate into this cursed body of a beast...roar...roar..."

Selphie, unable to take the horror of his acting, rushed up the stage and interrupted. "Okay, stop. That was bad...real bad."

"That wasn't bad, that was pathetic!" Seifer added yelling from his seat.

A/N: And that is what I meant by serendipity. It's a real cute word which I love oh-so-very much! In this chapter, I focused on how they'll be taking in what's coming at them—you know, the pair-up and all. I was initially planning to make them innocent about the pair-up throughout the entire story, but that would just make it too unrealistic because if Squall was able to figure out he was being paired with Rinoa, what more Seifer and Quistis! And so Seifer's proposal of 'playing along heads-on' sounds reasonable enough—not to mention fun. Hahahaha! As for Gavin, I really don't know how to define their relationship…but I think you get the picture.