His eyes slowly fluttered open. There was
a ceiling fan above him. He blinked. His room at
Quistis'
head rested against his chest and her hand lay curled loosely in his shirt. Her
hair had fallen down, creating a swirling blonde pattern on his dark shirt, and
framing her peaceful face. He stared at her and hesitantly lay back down,
careful not to move her. He frowned again. How did he get up on the bed? After
the nightmare, he'd fallen asleep on the floor. Why did she-
A soft sigh from her caught his attention, and he angled his head to see her face. She
didn't wake up slowly, her eyes popped open and she was instantly aware. Her
deep blue eyes zipped up to his face and she smiled doubtfully. Her hand curled
tighter into his shirt, then, as if she'd been stung, she sprang up to a
sitting position and ran a hand through her hair. "Uh-good
morning."
Seifer
raised an eyebrow. "To you too." She stood
up and grabbed her clip, ramming it into place on her head. Her glasses were
next and she finally turned to face him. From behind the scratched glasses, her
eyes looked tired and blurry, and the serious face didn't go well with the
tight outfit she was still wearing. She was a walking contradiction. The
glasses made her look like a bored librarian, but she'd proved at the club that
she knew how to dance and work the male crowd. He found it quite fascinating,
but he didn't say anything. Instead he sat up and stared at her, a smirk
surfacing. "So what'd you find out?"
She jumped at the sound of his
voice, and, annoyed with herself, she glared at him. "Honestly, not
much."
"Enough that
you had to be secretive."
"Well...yes," she
conceded. "He was the man we were looking for, unless there are two Martin
Ruedays." She frowned. "It bugs me though,
that he doesn't hide his identity. I mean, how bad can he be if he isn't even
trying to hide who he is?"
"Maybe he has enough people
under his thumb that it doesn't matter," Seifer
guessed.
"Maybe, but it makes him a
really easy target for his enemies."
"He has a lot of faith in his
guards to protect him," Seifer hid his wince,
but he knew she'd noticed.
"I'm sure none could compare to
a knight," she looked away, and removed her glasses, laying them on the
nightstand. She turned back, mouth open. "Seifer,
I-"
"No, don't say anything,"
he said harshly. "We're here on a mission."
"Seifer-"
Her blue eyes were glistening, but she stopped herself. She plopped down on the
end of the bed, and fiddled with the ends of her hair. "He's doing
something illegal, but I'm not sure what. I'll have to get much closer to him.
Sort of a..."
"Whore?" he suggested
cruelly, angry at the jealous spurt that hit him.
"Yes," her voice was cold.
"If that's the only way I get the information Cid needs, than that's what
I'll do." Her voice got even colder if that was possible. "You have
to sacrifice yourself to be a SeeD, Seifer."
"Does that include your
body?"
"If it comes
to that, yes!"
"Do you have so little respect
for yourself, Quistis?" Seifer
stared at her, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"It has little to do with
respect!" She glared at him. "It's only a body, it isn't me."
"How do you
define you other than through a body?! You're spirit can't exist without
a body!"
That stopped her. "I..."
She couldn't say it. Through other people's reactions to you.
Seifer, of all people, knew what it was to be judged.
She'd been one to condemn him too...but she really hadn't meant it. It was
just...Squall was there and...
"So how do we find out what Rueday is doing without you having to be a plaything for
him?" Seifer completely dismissed her idea and ignored
her glare. "Because once he has you and knows you know things you
shouldn't, he won't be kind to the idea of you leaving."
"I don't know," she put
her chin in her hands. "It just seemed the easiest way to do it. Though
the leaving part was something I hadn't thought of." Quistis
turned her head towards him. "And normally you wouldn't either. Why
now?"
Seifer
didn't know the answer to that anymore than he knew what the square root of
6483 was. 80.51707. Because he wanted to make sure she got
out alive. Not like he could tell her
that. So he shrugged. "I don't like
the idea of someone selling themselves for a mission. And getting out alive is
always a top priority, even for those who are problematic," he sneered at
her, hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions.
She didn't. Instead her eyes iced
over and she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm a SeeD.
I would escape."
"With the
hounds on your tail."
"That's why there are
two of us, Seifer," she bent down, bringing
herself nose-to-nose with him. "We devise a plan. Once I infiltrate his
operation, we can come up with something."
"And how will we see each
other?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't know," she threw
up her hands. "They're just suggestions!"
"Pretty bad ones," he
snarled, the thought of Quistis as a sexual plaything
making him angrier. "But what should I expect from a mediocre instructor
like you?"
Her breath hitched in her throat.
"You...you bastard," she choked out. Her hand clenched into a fist.
"We should have left you in Fisherman's Horizon when you came begging us
to take you back! You're a traitor and you'll never be anywhere close to
Squall, no matter how hard you try!" Her blue eyes widened as the impact
of what she'd just said hit her, and her hand went slowly up to her mouth. "Oh my...Seifer, I..."
"Good to know how you really
feel, Instructor." Eyes like two green flames, he stood. I always gotta be
doing something BIG. I don't wanna stop. I'm gonna keep running, to the end...to the goal. There's no
way I'm sharing it with you! That's what he'd said to Squall. He was right, he didn't share it with Squall. He lost it to Squall.
Everything, every goal, every dream. Even the ones he
didn't know he had. "I'm leaving." Seifer grabbed his trenchcoat and started for the door. He turned his head,
catching Quistis's eyes and smiled bitterly,"
Don't worry, Instructor. I won't walk on the mission. Even I'm not that much of
a traitor." He left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Quistis
stared at the closed door a moment, before falling to her knees and letting the
tears come.
* * *
He was running. That much he knew.
Where, he didn't know. Just away. Away
from her and her love for Squall. Away from her and
her hatred for him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking.
He barely noticed when he bumped into people, and didn't say a word when he
did. Just kept walking.
This is what you always do, he told himself. You run to find something better.
You run to find something that makes you important, at least for a little
while. That's why you joined Edea-er, Matron. Matron
had a use for you, she made you feel important.
What use are you to Quistis? She can manage on her own,
she has been since she was...eight years old. She's been a SeeD
for the past five years. She knows what she's doing. She would have gotten out
of the fight last night somehow. Maybe she would be a little used, but what she
was planning with Rueday is no different! Except she's willing...What if Rueday
hypnotized her somehow? Seifer's blue eyes
were taking on a green edge as he narrowed them. No, Quistis
hadn't been with him that long, and that club was too noisy for hypnosis of any
kind.
He lifted his head and watched the
cloudy sky as he walked. I hope she wasn't serious. Does she not care about
herself at all? Something bad could happen to her, and if she used her body
like that...His eyes lit up, now even more green, and he gave a twisted smile.
I think I have an idea...
OOMPH!
Two men, huge men built like
football players, stood shoulder to shoulder in front of him, sneering at him.
Wow, they're almost four of me, he
thought vaguely, before he was picked up by the collar of his coat.
"You Squall?" one asked
gruffly, the one who wasn't holding him as if he were a bag of feathers.
It took Seifer
a moment for the question to sink in and another one for him to realize the
answer. "Yes, that's me. Do I know you?"
The one holding him snorted.
"Not likely." His mud brown eyes squinted at Seifer.
"Our boss wants to see you."
"Do I know him?" Seifer asked as cockily as he could, considering he was two
feet off the ground.
"No, but that cute blonde you
left T-Night with last night did." That was the first time Seifer had heard Quistis referred
to as cute. It boggled the mind. "Speaking of the wench, where is she? Our
boss wants to speak to her, too."
Seifer
tried to shrug, but he soon realized the futility of his efforts. Instead he said," No idea where she is. The
wench," he almost sniggered at the word," left my hotel room early
this morning." Why the hell are you protecting her? he
asked himself. The only thing she has to do is let loose with her opinions on
someone and they'll be crushed like a bug beneath her shoe. He frowned
inwardly. I'm not crushed! Nothing that woman can say will
crush me! I'm strong! I had to be...
"Hey!" The one holding him
shook him roughly. "Wake-up, blondie."
Without setting Seifer down, he turned, his sidekick
right beside him, and began to walk.
"I don't suppose I could walk
myself. It's kind of uncomfortable being carried by the collar." Seifer frowned. If he could just get to his gunblade...
The two men exchanged glances and
one nodded. Seifer was set on his feet, and he
quickly reached for hilt on the Hyperion. And got his pocket
instead. He turned white, then red, and let out a huge sigh of
frustration. His Hyperion was sitting right where he left it, next to the bed
in the hotel room. "Dammit," he cursed
under his breath and wondered if he could win a fight with two linebackers
without his gunblade. Slowly he went through his magic inventory and
came up with very bad odds. So he decided to do something very uncharacteristic
of him, and cooperate. Damn if he didn't hate cooperation. It was s o boring.
But if it would save Quistis while she was still
weak-weak! Ha!-, than he could afford to be gallant. Wouldn't
make a habit of it though. He joined the two men in walking.