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batsutousaiTitle: Sins of Our Young
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Betas: Shara Lunison/tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhir
Chapters: 4 of 10
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, hints of Quistis/Rinoa
Warnings: AU, minor canon-fuckery, Rinoa bashing, minor Quisty bashing
Summary: How the game could have gone if the writers weren't on crack and so set on everyone being straight.
A/N: Introducing an OC from Zyxt: Headmistress Angelica Fields. Sans hitting on Squall, this time.
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Faraway Reflections
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Trabia Garden arrived just before dinner. Squall and Cid were seated at the conference table, debating the changes Garden would undergo as a mobile military base and school. Cid seemed to think their lives could continue on without change unless they were involved in an actual battle; Squall thought he was an optimistic idiot.
They were saved from bout thirteen of Cid attempting to explain his side while Squall glowered at him – Squall had been counting – by a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Cid called, shuffling the papers on the table into an attempt at organisation.
Xu's head poked in. "Trabia Garden is here. Do either of you know where Selphie is?"
"She's sleeping in my room," Squall allowed. When the other two gave him disbelieving looks, he sighed and said, "She was having trouble sleeping, so I left her in my room. Something about a comforting presence?"
Cid snorted and looked away when Squall shot him a glare.
"Sounds like somebody's got a crush," Xu announced, grinning. "Should we be expecting a wedding instead of a Garden Festival?"
Squall shoved away from the table, glowering. "Where is Trabia attaching?" he growled.
Xu shook her head. "Main entrance."
"I'll collect Selphie and meet you there," he said.
"From your 'love nest'," Xu teased.
Squall levelled an unimpressed look at her, then brushed past and down the hall. 'I'm surrounded by idiots and children. Fucking hell, it's a wonder this place has run as smoothly as it has.'
Upon reaching his room, Squall couldn't help but stop before waking Selphie. The young woman was resting peacefully for what sounded to be the first time since she left Trabia Garden to take the practical. Selphie had insisted that she'd managed at least one night of good sleep in there somewhere when Squall had mentioned that, but he wasn't sure he believed her. He'd only managed real sleep after collapsing in the lift, and he wasn't struggling with nightmares.
'She'll never forgive me if I let her sleep through the initial greetings,' Squall reminded himself. 'No matter how much she needs the sleep, I need my sanity more.' Shaking his head, he reached over and touched her shoulder. "Selphie. Wake up."
Drowsy green eyes blinked up at him. "Squally?" she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. "What time is–" She was cut off by a jaw-cracking yawn. "–time is it?"
"A little before six," Squall replied. "Trabia Garden is here."
"Okay..." Selphie murmured, closing her eyes and relaxing back against Squall's pillow. Squall had time to raise one eyebrow in amused disbelief, then the young woman bolted upright. "Trabia's here?!"
"We're to meet them at the main entrance," Squall agreed. Selphie jumped out of the bed and made to dash out the door, only for Squall to catch her wrist and tug her to a stop. "Boots."
Selphie flushed a bright red, then leaned down to pick up her boots from the end of the bed. "Oops," she mumbled, dropping onto the bed to pull them on. She remembered to grab her nunchakus once she'd finished pulling on her second boot, then jumped back up. "Okay! Let's go!"
Squall motioned for her to take the lead, which only lasted for about five feet past Squall's room door before she'd dropped back and taken a hold of his arm, looking troubled. "What?" he asked.
Selphie worried her lower lip. "What if... What if they're disappointed in me? I mean, our first two missions were epic failures–"
"Are you disappointed?" Squall interrupted before she could get a proper rant going.
Selphie blinked. "Huh?"
"Are you disappointed?"
Selphie blinked again and considered that for a moment before shaking her head. "No," she decided. "We did what we could with what we were given."
"Then why does it matter what they think?"
Selphie sighed, amused. "Squall, you're so awkward about the strangest things."
"Hmm." Squall shrugged. "Xu and Cid seem to think we're dating."
Selphie snorted. "Of course they do. Did you tell them how completely off-base they were?"
"I had more important things–"
"You chickened out." Selphie laughed and hugged his arm. "We really need to work on your social skills, Squally."
Squall sighed, resigned to both the childhood nickname and the fact that everyone he knew seemed to think his social skills were lacking. There was nothing wrong with not sharing his every thought.
Cid and Xu were waiting for them at the main entrance, grinning at the way Selphie was hanging off Squall's arm. "I'd say that's more than a 'crush'," Cid teased.
"I have no interest in dating my little brother," Selphie declared. "He just so happens to be my favourite little brother, and the perfect height for me to cuddle his arm!"
"What does that make Irvine?" Squall wondered.
"My favourite best friend." Selphie grinned. "And the owner of my favourite hat. You should steal it for me next time we see him, Squally."
"I don't steal hats," Squall informed her drily.
"But you'd steal Irvy's for me, wouldn't you?" Selphie wheedled.
"No."
"But, Squally–"
"Selphie?" a new voice interrupted, saving Squall from having to refuse Selphie's hopeful eyes.
Selphie spun on the spot, eyes lighting up when she caught sight of the approaching trio. "Sonya! Antonio!" she shouted, then she was off like a rocket to greet her friends, laughing as the young man – Antonio – caught her in a hug and swung her around in a circle.
The woman standing behind the three teens smiled pleasantly at them, then stepped forward to shake hands with Cid. "Cid, it's been too long."
"And you look as lovely as ever, Angelica," Cid replied cheerfully. "I'm glad to find you looking so well, though I wish the circumstances were less dire."
"Likewise," the Trabia Garden Headmistress agreed, worry-lines etched deeply into her forehead. Her eyes took in the young man and woman that stood just behind Cid and she asked, "Assistants, or bodyguards?"
Cid blinked, then looked back at Xu and Squall with a surprised expression. "Oh! Sorry, I'm remiss. Squall, Xu, this is Angelica Fields, Headmistress of Trabia Garden. Angelica, this is Xu Han, my Head of Staff and Squall Leonhart, SeeD Commander."
"Whaat?!" Selphie called, hurrying over with her two friends trailing behind. "Squally!"
"You slept through the announcement," Squall told her drily.
Selphie huffed and dropped a gentle swat on his arm. "I'm not talking to you for the next two days!"
"Hm."
Selphie pouted a bit, then latched onto his arm and demanded, "You're stealing Irvy's hat for me."
"If you want his hat so badly, ask him for it."
"It's more fun if it's stolen."
"Then use a step ladder."
"Squally!" Selphie swatted his arm again. "Are you calling me short?"
Squall shrugged. "If you'd prefer."
Selphie huffed and turned to her friends. "We're going to eat dinner in the cafeteria with the cool people!" she declared, leaving Squall for her friends and leading them from the the entrance.
Cid chuckled while Squall rubbed helplessly at his scar. "Dinner will be delivered to us in the meeting room, if you'd like to join us, Angelica?"
Angelica smiled, years of stress fading from her face. "I'd love to. It's almost a pity Selphie won't be there; it hasn't been the same without her. I'm glad she's made friends here, though." She glanced curiously at the stoic young man who walked calmly just to her left.
Squall blinked at the consideration. 'What? Oh, she probably thinks I'm dating Selphie too.' He resisted the urge to sigh. 'Honestly, doesn't anyone understand that she's just a particularly tactile person? If Irvine was here, she'd almost certainly be hanging off him more than me. Probably trying to steal his hat the whole time. Mental note, warn Irvine about Selphie's klepto tendencies...'
Cid's papers were shoved off to one side and the four sat to eat the food a couple runners had brought up. They kept the dinner conversation light, discussing the weather and the Balamb strawberry festival which was coming up.
Once the dishes were cleared, the air grew heavy. "Tell me everything you know about this Sorceress," Angelica requested.
"Her name is Edea Kramer," Cid offered, smiling tiredly at the Headmistress' startled look. "Yes, my wife."
"The one who founded Garden and SeeD?" Angelica breathed.
"The very same," Cid agreed. "From what I've heard through various sources, she suddenly started acting a little odd about three months ago and vanished from sight about a month and a half ago. Almost two weeks ago, some Galbadian forces invaded Dollet and got their Communication Tower up and running to enable them to stream a live broadcast from Timber."
"We saw that," Angelica admitted. "Someone from Garden interrupted everything, though."
"Seifer Almasy, cadet," Cid offered. "He was worried about a team I'd dispatched to Timber and ran after them. In the havoc, it was mentioned that they were from Garden. Other than that..." He frowned, uncertain.
"Seifer retreated with President Deling," Squall reported in a monotone. "He met with Edea in a side room where she walked out of a curtain. Deling was released and Seifer followed Edea back through the curtain, both of them vanishing from the room. Within the day, the report had gone out that he'd been executed, though that turned out to be a lie put out by the Sorceress to hide the fact that Seifer had become her Knight.
"Approximately a week ago, after a failed assassination attempt, Edea ordered missiles to be launched at both Trabia and Balamb Gardens–"
"What?" Angelica breathed, horrified. "Why weren't we informed?"
"The missile base was destroyed before the first volley could be sent," Squall offered. "We weren't made aware that Trabia had been targeted until long after the incident, when we managed to get in contact with an agent in Galbadia Garden. That same agent warned us about Galbadia Garden's mobility and Sorceress Edea's intentions to attack first Balamb Garden, then Trabia Garden with her mobile base."
Angelica shook her head, then asked, "Do we know who destroyed the missile base?"
Squall paused for a split second, then shook his head. "No. Our agent said Edea has whoever it is, but I haven't heard anything more than that."
Xu narrowed her eyes. "You have an idea, though," she deduced. "Come on, Squall. Who do you think it was?"
"Squall, you know who it was?" Cid asked.
"I have a suspicion," Squall corrected. "There's one person who Edea trusted without question who has, since, completely fallen off the radar. For all we know, he's off on some nasty quest for her."
Xu blinked, then hissed, "You think Seifer blew up the missile base?"
"Knights are loyal to a fault to their Sorceresses," Cid insisted, shaking his head. "Something more important to him than his Sorceress must have shaken him from his devotion, and I very much doubt there is such a thing."
Squall shrugged. "I said it was a suspicion, not fact."
Xu shook her head. "No, you're too logical for a mere suspicion. You know some–"
"Seifer and I have been together for as long as I can remember," Squall interrupted, voice sharper than he'd intended. "I am not infallible, Xu, and my emotions can control my mind just as much as the next person. It's a suspicion." He glared her down until she looked away.
Squall hadn't told anyone about Seifer being in the torture room, calling the shots. Whether to protect his rival's identity if it turned out he was on their side or because of his own shame at Seifer having been his torturer, he wasn't certain, but he had every intention of taking that particular secret to his grave, assuming Seifer would let him.
The other man's too-green eyes, bright with madness, haunted his dreams at times; not as a nightmare, but as a sad, shattered memory. He wished the GFs would erase that memory from him, because he didn't want to remember Seifer like that; he wanted to remember green eyes over a taunting smile, or awash in jealous rage because Squall was ignoring him again. He wanted to remember green eyes burning over a gunblade, bright with the excitement of battle, or laughing with Raijin and Fujin over another nasty joke at someone else's expense.
"Whether this Knight is or isn't on our side is hardly a concern right now," Angelica interrupted the tense silence that had fallen. "Galbadia Garden is mobile, and there's only so long we can avoid them, especially if we're stuck in dock at FH, waiting on repairs. Do we know where they are right now?"
"Our last report was that they were headed towards you," Squall announced, eyes narrowed in thought. "With the Gardens mobile, our lines of communication are tentative, at best."
"Have you checked to see if your agent sent any new updates?" Cid asked, curious.
Squall shook his head. "It's barely been two days, and we're both pretty certain it's going to take longer than that for Galbadia Garden to make land near a city or town where access to the messaging service can be found. The morning is the absolute earliest, at my guess."
"I don't like sitting around, waiting for them to come to us," Angelica complained, rubbing a hand over her mouth. "How long have your repairs taken?"
"They estimated four days at the beginning, but they seem to be aiming for three, at this point," Xu offered. "I don't know how your systems look, so I can't say for sure for you."
"Our console looked more updated than what Selphie described to us," Angelica offered. "I can't tell you if it really was or not, however."
"Whether it was or not, the FH technicians may have just as much trouble fixing it," Squall commented thoughtfully. "Balamb will be ready sometime tomorrow evening, I believe. We can pull back from dock then and be ready to meet Galbadia if they make a surprise appearance. That should buy you any necessary time to evacuate any technicians or junior classmen before joining us."
"Assuming the controls will even work," Angelica added drily.
Squall shook his head. "The FH technicians can work on the controls without completely disconnecting them from the power ring. That was something we asked them before they started pulling the console apart, just in case. There's only a ten-minute gap of time where the system has to be cut to switch over to the new controller, but I'm pretty sure we can hold out against Galbadia for ten minutes."
"You're sure?" Angelica asked.
Squall's eyes hardened. "We're SeeD," he said by way of response.
Angelica nodded. "Good. Let's talk war."
Squall nodded and drew over a diagram of Balamb Garden that he'd made notations on, battle plans for a Garden-to-Garden fight. Even Cid and Xu got involved in the discussion, which went well into the evening.
-0-
Squall sighed as his door slid shut behind him, the lock clicking into place. Being Commander was a lot of unexpected work, but he felt better about the coming engagement with Galbadia Garden after having hashed out all the details. Unlike Cid, Angelica had a logical mind suited for battle tactics, which let the two of them argue various troop placements while Xu and Cid looked on, bemused.
Something on his bed shifted and Squall pulled out a knife hidden in one of his many belts as he crept forward, eyes squinting in the dark, as if it would help them adapt. Finally, almost to the bed, he recognised the jumper-dress and the flipped hair. He sighed and slipped the knife away before crouching next to his bed. "Selphie," he murmured, touching her shoulder.
Selphie mumbled wordlessly in her sleep and turned over, clutching Squall's pillow to her chest like a teddy bear.
"Selphie," he tried again.
Selphie made a weak batting motion with one hand, then curled around the pillow a bit more.
Squall shook his head, torn between amusement and irritation. Amusement won, so he hunted down the extra blankets and pillow he kept in the cupboard for cold nights – the heater in his old room had often failed at the worst times, so both he and his roommate had kept spare blankets, and he had the extra pillow because his roommate had once stolen his for his girlfriend – and set them out on the floor. A quick trip to the bathroom saw him changed into the loose sleep trousers he favoured and he lay down in his makeshift bed. Two knives were placed in easy reach, then he closed his eyes and settled in to sleep.
-0-
"Squally?" Selphie wondered sleepily as she peeked over the edge of the bed. "Why are you sleeping on the floor?"
Squall grunted, eyes clenched shut against the bar of light that happened to slip through the blinds and directly into his eyes. "You're in my bed," he muttered, turning over. He swore the bar of light was following him.
"You could have slept with me," Selphie pointed out.
Squall gave up on avoiding the light and sat up. After a moment of blinking at the face that was too close to his, he glared over his shoulder at the blinds, deciding it had bothered him the most that morning.
Selphie giggled into her hand and reached out to touch the mess of hair that looked even more tousled than usual. "I don't think I've ever seen you when you've just woken up, before," she commented. Sure, they'd slept on the road to Galbadia Garden and during those strange dreams of Laguna, but Squall had never really relaxed at that time. Not like he had in his own room.
Squall grunted, deciding the blinds had been sufficiently glared into submission and turned to the other annoyance. "Why were you in my bed, anyway?" he asked.
Selphie opened her mouth to answer, but then she recognised the pale circle of skin at his right shoulder and her voice caught. She reached out a trembling hand and touched the mark, only to pull away at the disconcerting chill of the too-pale skin.
Squall blinked, then glanced down at the scar. "Ah," he said, blank blue-grey eyes turning back towards her. "It's nothing, Selphie."
"It's..." She paused to swallow, clenching her fingers. "It's cold," she whispered.
Squall shrugged. "Sorceress magic," he offered. "Doctor Kadowaki thinks it's likely to remain slightly colder than my normal body temperature for the rest of my life."
"It doesn't bother you?" Selphie asked, reaching out again to touch the mark, prepared for the chill that time.
"I don't relish the winter, but, no, not really. It's just another scar."
"You could have died," Selphie whispered, tears springing to her eyes.
Squall reached up and covered the hand on his shoulder with one of his own. "I have no intention in dying from something as simple as a pike of ice."
"S-simple?" Selphie choked. "You call that simple?"
"We're mercenaries," Squall reminded her gently. "Compared to the deaths of most of our kin, a pike of ice is simple, even if it was thrown by a Sorceress. It didn't kill me, and I doubt the next one will, either."
"There won't be another one," Selphie hissed, eyes narrowed.
Squall shrugged. "You don't know that." His eyes were sombre as he pulled her hand away from the cold skin and held it between both of his hands to warm it. "For as long as Matron lives, another pike could come. Perhaps it will kill me, perhaps it won't. The future is an uncertain thing."
Selphie closed her eyes. "Why do you have to be so sensible?" she pleaded.
"Someone has to," Squall replied, letting go of her hand and standing in a fluid motion. "I need to go into town and check to see if Irvine's responded. Did you want to come, or did you have something planned with your friends from Trabia?"
Selphie shook her head. "We don't have anything planned until this afternoon. Want to meet by the second floor deck?"
"Sure. Fifteen minutes?" Squall agreed, hunting down some fresh clothing.
"Sounds good." Selphie made a point to grab her boots and nunchakus before heading for the door, not bothering to put the boots on.
"Selphie," Squall called just before she could open the door, a strained note in his voice.
"I'm not putting my boots on until I've changed," Selphie declared, shooting a scowl over her shoulder.
Squall was very determinedly looking the other way. "Pull down your dress."
Selphie glanced down and was surprised to find her dress riding up to her hips, violently orange panties obviously showing. "Oops," she said with a laugh as she pulled down the dress. "Sorry about that, Squally."
Squall waved her on, still refusing to look.
Selphie giggled at him, then hurried from his room and down the hall to her own. She could already hear the gossip starting about her sleeping with the stoic Commander and she rolled her eyes at the lot of them. Even Sonya and Antonio thought she and Squall were an item, for all that they both knew how she tended to cling to anyone a head taller than her. Insisting that Squall was just her little brother had made her friends laugh and she was sort of irritated with them for it, even if she was glad to see them again.
She quickly stripped upon entering her room and hopped into the shower for a quick cleaning. Once she was out, she started drying herself, only to pause and stare at her reflection in the mirror. She touched her right shoulder, where Squall's too-cold scar was, eyes sad. He had all sorts of scars, she'd seen, and his blasé comment about the one from the Sorceress just made her sad; what sort of person was so used to receiving new scars that he didn't care about them anymore?
She glanced down at her own two scars, one on her left hip from a training accident at Trabia Garden five years ago, the other on her right outer thigh from their fight with Seifer before Squall distracted him. She didn't care for either of them, but they had been too old for a full healing by the time she'd reached proper medical assistance.
"Maybe I'm just vain," she decided, roughly attacking her hair with the towel. "Squall's right, we're mercenaries; I'll get lots more scars before I die, and not all of them will be hidden by my clothing." She smiled faintly at the memory of the scar between Squall's eyes, which gave him a sort of roguish charm. "Maybe I'll get a nice scar," she decided, "like Squall's. Not exactly his, though, 'cause I can't pull it off like he can, but... Maybe I can talk someone into giving me a little star-shaped scar under one eye? That would be cute..."
She giggled to herself as she slipped on her boots and secured her nunchakus at her back before skipping out her door.
Squall was waiting for her at their designated meeting spot and they both placed their preferred weapons into the locked box, then stepped out on the deck and climbed up onto the crane.
"How did your meeting go?" Selphie asked as they started down the crane walkway, holding his arm in one hand.
"It was productive," Squall allowed.
Selphie translated that to mean that things had gone particularly well and smiled. "Good. Did you like Headmistress Angelica?"
"She's more sensible than Cid."
Selphie laughed. "I can see that. I take it we're hoping Irvine can tell us where Galbadia Garden is?"
"Basically."
Selphie nodded and let go of Squall so he could navigate a particularly tricky step, then help her down.
"Why were you in my bed?" Squall asked as they set off down the track towards the inn.
"Oh, uhm..." Selphie flushed and clutched Squall's arm a little tighter. "You're going to laugh."
Squall sighed. "I'm not going to laugh at you, Selphie."
"You're going to think I'm strange!"
"Since when is that new?"
Selphie smiled at that, admitting that Squall had a point. "Well... I told you about my nightmares, right?"
"Mmhm."
"When I was little, back when I first joined Trabia, after my adopted parents died, I couldn't sleep without something of theirs. It was like... Like a teddy bear, you know? I could smell them and it didn't hurt so much that they were gone."
Squall considered that for a moment. "I'm still here," he pointed out.
"I know." Selphie stepped a touch closer, walking awkwardly, but taking comfort in Squall's nearness. "It's silly, but it helps. I suppose I could just steal your pillow..."
Squall snorted. "It's not a big deal," he assured her, "I just wasn't expecting to find you there. If you want to sleep in my room, I won't stop you."
Selphie beamed up at him. "Really?!"
"Really." Squall gently extracted his arm from her hold and ushered her into the inn.
"Even though people are going to talk?" Selphie wondered, worried again.
"People always talk," Squall replied, shrugging. "They're not happy if they don't have something to gossip about."
Selphie giggled nervously. She supposed that was true.
Squall logged into his messaging account and glanced through his messages idly. He finally came across one from Irvine, sent two hours ago, and popped it open.
"RH is SE's Knight. On way to FH. ETA 5 hrs."
"Fuck," Squall swore.
"RH?" Selphie asked from his elbow, fear creeping through her stomach.
"Rinoa." Squall quickly logged out and turned towards the main street. "Our repairs won't be finished for another five hours, at least, and Trabia isn't in fighting condition. We were supposed to have more time than this."
"How'd they find out?" Selphie gasped, jogging slightly to keep up with Squall's longer stride.
Squall's expression darkened. "I have a good idea, and I'm going to kill her."
Selphie paused, thinking that over. Then it clicked and she hurried to catch up.
Quistis had messaged Rinoa.
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A/N: XD Cliffhangers are rockin'. Don't you hate me?
Now, I think I'll go cackle a bit over there before starting the next chapter. Quisty's gonna get a talking to!
~Bats ^.^x
Translations for Irvine's messages:
FH - Fisherman's Horizon
SE - Sorceress Edea
RH - Rinoa Heartilly
Chapters:
1 - Hiding Betrayal ||| 2 - Trying to Please Them All
3 - Every Little Earthquake |||4 - Faraway Reflections
5 - Guilty By Association ||| 6 - Clouds Are the Future
7 - Sins of Our Tongue ||| 8 - Every Hero Has a Path, Every Sinner a Future
9 - Gather Your Strength ||| 10 - Forever's Never Too Long
..
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/
batsutousaiBetas: Shara Lunison/
tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhirChapters: 4 of 10
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, hints of Quistis/Rinoa
Warnings: AU, minor canon-fuckery, Rinoa bashing, minor Quisty bashing
Summary: How the game could have gone if the writers weren't on crack and so set on everyone being straight.
A/N: Introducing an OC from Zyxt: Headmistress Angelica Fields. Sans hitting on Squall, this time.
Faraway Reflections
-0-0-0-
Trabia Garden arrived just before dinner. Squall and Cid were seated at the conference table, debating the changes Garden would undergo as a mobile military base and school. Cid seemed to think their lives could continue on without change unless they were involved in an actual battle; Squall thought he was an optimistic idiot.
They were saved from bout thirteen of Cid attempting to explain his side while Squall glowered at him – Squall had been counting – by a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Cid called, shuffling the papers on the table into an attempt at organisation.
Xu's head poked in. "Trabia Garden is here. Do either of you know where Selphie is?"
"She's sleeping in my room," Squall allowed. When the other two gave him disbelieving looks, he sighed and said, "She was having trouble sleeping, so I left her in my room. Something about a comforting presence?"
Cid snorted and looked away when Squall shot him a glare.
"Sounds like somebody's got a crush," Xu announced, grinning. "Should we be expecting a wedding instead of a Garden Festival?"
Squall shoved away from the table, glowering. "Where is Trabia attaching?" he growled.
Xu shook her head. "Main entrance."
"I'll collect Selphie and meet you there," he said.
"From your 'love nest'," Xu teased.
Squall levelled an unimpressed look at her, then brushed past and down the hall. 'I'm surrounded by idiots and children. Fucking hell, it's a wonder this place has run as smoothly as it has.'
Upon reaching his room, Squall couldn't help but stop before waking Selphie. The young woman was resting peacefully for what sounded to be the first time since she left Trabia Garden to take the practical. Selphie had insisted that she'd managed at least one night of good sleep in there somewhere when Squall had mentioned that, but he wasn't sure he believed her. He'd only managed real sleep after collapsing in the lift, and he wasn't struggling with nightmares.
'She'll never forgive me if I let her sleep through the initial greetings,' Squall reminded himself. 'No matter how much she needs the sleep, I need my sanity more.' Shaking his head, he reached over and touched her shoulder. "Selphie. Wake up."
Drowsy green eyes blinked up at him. "Squally?" she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. "What time is–" She was cut off by a jaw-cracking yawn. "–time is it?"
"A little before six," Squall replied. "Trabia Garden is here."
"Okay..." Selphie murmured, closing her eyes and relaxing back against Squall's pillow. Squall had time to raise one eyebrow in amused disbelief, then the young woman bolted upright. "Trabia's here?!"
"We're to meet them at the main entrance," Squall agreed. Selphie jumped out of the bed and made to dash out the door, only for Squall to catch her wrist and tug her to a stop. "Boots."
Selphie flushed a bright red, then leaned down to pick up her boots from the end of the bed. "Oops," she mumbled, dropping onto the bed to pull them on. She remembered to grab her nunchakus once she'd finished pulling on her second boot, then jumped back up. "Okay! Let's go!"
Squall motioned for her to take the lead, which only lasted for about five feet past Squall's room door before she'd dropped back and taken a hold of his arm, looking troubled. "What?" he asked.
Selphie worried her lower lip. "What if... What if they're disappointed in me? I mean, our first two missions were epic failures–"
"Are you disappointed?" Squall interrupted before she could get a proper rant going.
Selphie blinked. "Huh?"
"Are you disappointed?"
Selphie blinked again and considered that for a moment before shaking her head. "No," she decided. "We did what we could with what we were given."
"Then why does it matter what they think?"
Selphie sighed, amused. "Squall, you're so awkward about the strangest things."
"Hmm." Squall shrugged. "Xu and Cid seem to think we're dating."
Selphie snorted. "Of course they do. Did you tell them how completely off-base they were?"
"I had more important things–"
"You chickened out." Selphie laughed and hugged his arm. "We really need to work on your social skills, Squally."
Squall sighed, resigned to both the childhood nickname and the fact that everyone he knew seemed to think his social skills were lacking. There was nothing wrong with not sharing his every thought.
Cid and Xu were waiting for them at the main entrance, grinning at the way Selphie was hanging off Squall's arm. "I'd say that's more than a 'crush'," Cid teased.
"I have no interest in dating my little brother," Selphie declared. "He just so happens to be my favourite little brother, and the perfect height for me to cuddle his arm!"
"What does that make Irvine?" Squall wondered.
"My favourite best friend." Selphie grinned. "And the owner of my favourite hat. You should steal it for me next time we see him, Squally."
"I don't steal hats," Squall informed her drily.
"But you'd steal Irvy's for me, wouldn't you?" Selphie wheedled.
"No."
"But, Squally–"
"Selphie?" a new voice interrupted, saving Squall from having to refuse Selphie's hopeful eyes.
Selphie spun on the spot, eyes lighting up when she caught sight of the approaching trio. "Sonya! Antonio!" she shouted, then she was off like a rocket to greet her friends, laughing as the young man – Antonio – caught her in a hug and swung her around in a circle.
The woman standing behind the three teens smiled pleasantly at them, then stepped forward to shake hands with Cid. "Cid, it's been too long."
"And you look as lovely as ever, Angelica," Cid replied cheerfully. "I'm glad to find you looking so well, though I wish the circumstances were less dire."
"Likewise," the Trabia Garden Headmistress agreed, worry-lines etched deeply into her forehead. Her eyes took in the young man and woman that stood just behind Cid and she asked, "Assistants, or bodyguards?"
Cid blinked, then looked back at Xu and Squall with a surprised expression. "Oh! Sorry, I'm remiss. Squall, Xu, this is Angelica Fields, Headmistress of Trabia Garden. Angelica, this is Xu Han, my Head of Staff and Squall Leonhart, SeeD Commander."
"Whaat?!" Selphie called, hurrying over with her two friends trailing behind. "Squally!"
"You slept through the announcement," Squall told her drily.
Selphie huffed and dropped a gentle swat on his arm. "I'm not talking to you for the next two days!"
"Hm."
Selphie pouted a bit, then latched onto his arm and demanded, "You're stealing Irvy's hat for me."
"If you want his hat so badly, ask him for it."
"It's more fun if it's stolen."
"Then use a step ladder."
"Squally!" Selphie swatted his arm again. "Are you calling me short?"
Squall shrugged. "If you'd prefer."
Selphie huffed and turned to her friends. "We're going to eat dinner in the cafeteria with the cool people!" she declared, leaving Squall for her friends and leading them from the the entrance.
Cid chuckled while Squall rubbed helplessly at his scar. "Dinner will be delivered to us in the meeting room, if you'd like to join us, Angelica?"
Angelica smiled, years of stress fading from her face. "I'd love to. It's almost a pity Selphie won't be there; it hasn't been the same without her. I'm glad she's made friends here, though." She glanced curiously at the stoic young man who walked calmly just to her left.
Squall blinked at the consideration. 'What? Oh, she probably thinks I'm dating Selphie too.' He resisted the urge to sigh. 'Honestly, doesn't anyone understand that she's just a particularly tactile person? If Irvine was here, she'd almost certainly be hanging off him more than me. Probably trying to steal his hat the whole time. Mental note, warn Irvine about Selphie's klepto tendencies...'
Cid's papers were shoved off to one side and the four sat to eat the food a couple runners had brought up. They kept the dinner conversation light, discussing the weather and the Balamb strawberry festival which was coming up.
Once the dishes were cleared, the air grew heavy. "Tell me everything you know about this Sorceress," Angelica requested.
"Her name is Edea Kramer," Cid offered, smiling tiredly at the Headmistress' startled look. "Yes, my wife."
"The one who founded Garden and SeeD?" Angelica breathed.
"The very same," Cid agreed. "From what I've heard through various sources, she suddenly started acting a little odd about three months ago and vanished from sight about a month and a half ago. Almost two weeks ago, some Galbadian forces invaded Dollet and got their Communication Tower up and running to enable them to stream a live broadcast from Timber."
"We saw that," Angelica admitted. "Someone from Garden interrupted everything, though."
"Seifer Almasy, cadet," Cid offered. "He was worried about a team I'd dispatched to Timber and ran after them. In the havoc, it was mentioned that they were from Garden. Other than that..." He frowned, uncertain.
"Seifer retreated with President Deling," Squall reported in a monotone. "He met with Edea in a side room where she walked out of a curtain. Deling was released and Seifer followed Edea back through the curtain, both of them vanishing from the room. Within the day, the report had gone out that he'd been executed, though that turned out to be a lie put out by the Sorceress to hide the fact that Seifer had become her Knight.
"Approximately a week ago, after a failed assassination attempt, Edea ordered missiles to be launched at both Trabia and Balamb Gardens–"
"What?" Angelica breathed, horrified. "Why weren't we informed?"
"The missile base was destroyed before the first volley could be sent," Squall offered. "We weren't made aware that Trabia had been targeted until long after the incident, when we managed to get in contact with an agent in Galbadia Garden. That same agent warned us about Galbadia Garden's mobility and Sorceress Edea's intentions to attack first Balamb Garden, then Trabia Garden with her mobile base."
Angelica shook her head, then asked, "Do we know who destroyed the missile base?"
Squall paused for a split second, then shook his head. "No. Our agent said Edea has whoever it is, but I haven't heard anything more than that."
Xu narrowed her eyes. "You have an idea, though," she deduced. "Come on, Squall. Who do you think it was?"
"Squall, you know who it was?" Cid asked.
"I have a suspicion," Squall corrected. "There's one person who Edea trusted without question who has, since, completely fallen off the radar. For all we know, he's off on some nasty quest for her."
Xu blinked, then hissed, "You think Seifer blew up the missile base?"
"Knights are loyal to a fault to their Sorceresses," Cid insisted, shaking his head. "Something more important to him than his Sorceress must have shaken him from his devotion, and I very much doubt there is such a thing."
Squall shrugged. "I said it was a suspicion, not fact."
Xu shook her head. "No, you're too logical for a mere suspicion. You know some–"
"Seifer and I have been together for as long as I can remember," Squall interrupted, voice sharper than he'd intended. "I am not infallible, Xu, and my emotions can control my mind just as much as the next person. It's a suspicion." He glared her down until she looked away.
Squall hadn't told anyone about Seifer being in the torture room, calling the shots. Whether to protect his rival's identity if it turned out he was on their side or because of his own shame at Seifer having been his torturer, he wasn't certain, but he had every intention of taking that particular secret to his grave, assuming Seifer would let him.
The other man's too-green eyes, bright with madness, haunted his dreams at times; not as a nightmare, but as a sad, shattered memory. He wished the GFs would erase that memory from him, because he didn't want to remember Seifer like that; he wanted to remember green eyes over a taunting smile, or awash in jealous rage because Squall was ignoring him again. He wanted to remember green eyes burning over a gunblade, bright with the excitement of battle, or laughing with Raijin and Fujin over another nasty joke at someone else's expense.
"Whether this Knight is or isn't on our side is hardly a concern right now," Angelica interrupted the tense silence that had fallen. "Galbadia Garden is mobile, and there's only so long we can avoid them, especially if we're stuck in dock at FH, waiting on repairs. Do we know where they are right now?"
"Our last report was that they were headed towards you," Squall announced, eyes narrowed in thought. "With the Gardens mobile, our lines of communication are tentative, at best."
"Have you checked to see if your agent sent any new updates?" Cid asked, curious.
Squall shook his head. "It's barely been two days, and we're both pretty certain it's going to take longer than that for Galbadia Garden to make land near a city or town where access to the messaging service can be found. The morning is the absolute earliest, at my guess."
"I don't like sitting around, waiting for them to come to us," Angelica complained, rubbing a hand over her mouth. "How long have your repairs taken?"
"They estimated four days at the beginning, but they seem to be aiming for three, at this point," Xu offered. "I don't know how your systems look, so I can't say for sure for you."
"Our console looked more updated than what Selphie described to us," Angelica offered. "I can't tell you if it really was or not, however."
"Whether it was or not, the FH technicians may have just as much trouble fixing it," Squall commented thoughtfully. "Balamb will be ready sometime tomorrow evening, I believe. We can pull back from dock then and be ready to meet Galbadia if they make a surprise appearance. That should buy you any necessary time to evacuate any technicians or junior classmen before joining us."
"Assuming the controls will even work," Angelica added drily.
Squall shook his head. "The FH technicians can work on the controls without completely disconnecting them from the power ring. That was something we asked them before they started pulling the console apart, just in case. There's only a ten-minute gap of time where the system has to be cut to switch over to the new controller, but I'm pretty sure we can hold out against Galbadia for ten minutes."
"You're sure?" Angelica asked.
Squall's eyes hardened. "We're SeeD," he said by way of response.
Angelica nodded. "Good. Let's talk war."
Squall nodded and drew over a diagram of Balamb Garden that he'd made notations on, battle plans for a Garden-to-Garden fight. Even Cid and Xu got involved in the discussion, which went well into the evening.
Squall sighed as his door slid shut behind him, the lock clicking into place. Being Commander was a lot of unexpected work, but he felt better about the coming engagement with Galbadia Garden after having hashed out all the details. Unlike Cid, Angelica had a logical mind suited for battle tactics, which let the two of them argue various troop placements while Xu and Cid looked on, bemused.
Something on his bed shifted and Squall pulled out a knife hidden in one of his many belts as he crept forward, eyes squinting in the dark, as if it would help them adapt. Finally, almost to the bed, he recognised the jumper-dress and the flipped hair. He sighed and slipped the knife away before crouching next to his bed. "Selphie," he murmured, touching her shoulder.
Selphie mumbled wordlessly in her sleep and turned over, clutching Squall's pillow to her chest like a teddy bear.
"Selphie," he tried again.
Selphie made a weak batting motion with one hand, then curled around the pillow a bit more.
Squall shook his head, torn between amusement and irritation. Amusement won, so he hunted down the extra blankets and pillow he kept in the cupboard for cold nights – the heater in his old room had often failed at the worst times, so both he and his roommate had kept spare blankets, and he had the extra pillow because his roommate had once stolen his for his girlfriend – and set them out on the floor. A quick trip to the bathroom saw him changed into the loose sleep trousers he favoured and he lay down in his makeshift bed. Two knives were placed in easy reach, then he closed his eyes and settled in to sleep.
"Squally?" Selphie wondered sleepily as she peeked over the edge of the bed. "Why are you sleeping on the floor?"
Squall grunted, eyes clenched shut against the bar of light that happened to slip through the blinds and directly into his eyes. "You're in my bed," he muttered, turning over. He swore the bar of light was following him.
"You could have slept with me," Selphie pointed out.
Squall gave up on avoiding the light and sat up. After a moment of blinking at the face that was too close to his, he glared over his shoulder at the blinds, deciding it had bothered him the most that morning.
Selphie giggled into her hand and reached out to touch the mess of hair that looked even more tousled than usual. "I don't think I've ever seen you when you've just woken up, before," she commented. Sure, they'd slept on the road to Galbadia Garden and during those strange dreams of Laguna, but Squall had never really relaxed at that time. Not like he had in his own room.
Squall grunted, deciding the blinds had been sufficiently glared into submission and turned to the other annoyance. "Why were you in my bed, anyway?" he asked.
Selphie opened her mouth to answer, but then she recognised the pale circle of skin at his right shoulder and her voice caught. She reached out a trembling hand and touched the mark, only to pull away at the disconcerting chill of the too-pale skin.
Squall blinked, then glanced down at the scar. "Ah," he said, blank blue-grey eyes turning back towards her. "It's nothing, Selphie."
"It's..." She paused to swallow, clenching her fingers. "It's cold," she whispered.
Squall shrugged. "Sorceress magic," he offered. "Doctor Kadowaki thinks it's likely to remain slightly colder than my normal body temperature for the rest of my life."
"It doesn't bother you?" Selphie asked, reaching out again to touch the mark, prepared for the chill that time.
"I don't relish the winter, but, no, not really. It's just another scar."
"You could have died," Selphie whispered, tears springing to her eyes.
Squall reached up and covered the hand on his shoulder with one of his own. "I have no intention in dying from something as simple as a pike of ice."
"S-simple?" Selphie choked. "You call that simple?"
"We're mercenaries," Squall reminded her gently. "Compared to the deaths of most of our kin, a pike of ice is simple, even if it was thrown by a Sorceress. It didn't kill me, and I doubt the next one will, either."
"There won't be another one," Selphie hissed, eyes narrowed.
Squall shrugged. "You don't know that." His eyes were sombre as he pulled her hand away from the cold skin and held it between both of his hands to warm it. "For as long as Matron lives, another pike could come. Perhaps it will kill me, perhaps it won't. The future is an uncertain thing."
Selphie closed her eyes. "Why do you have to be so sensible?" she pleaded.
"Someone has to," Squall replied, letting go of her hand and standing in a fluid motion. "I need to go into town and check to see if Irvine's responded. Did you want to come, or did you have something planned with your friends from Trabia?"
Selphie shook her head. "We don't have anything planned until this afternoon. Want to meet by the second floor deck?"
"Sure. Fifteen minutes?" Squall agreed, hunting down some fresh clothing.
"Sounds good." Selphie made a point to grab her boots and nunchakus before heading for the door, not bothering to put the boots on.
"Selphie," Squall called just before she could open the door, a strained note in his voice.
"I'm not putting my boots on until I've changed," Selphie declared, shooting a scowl over her shoulder.
Squall was very determinedly looking the other way. "Pull down your dress."
Selphie glanced down and was surprised to find her dress riding up to her hips, violently orange panties obviously showing. "Oops," she said with a laugh as she pulled down the dress. "Sorry about that, Squally."
Squall waved her on, still refusing to look.
Selphie giggled at him, then hurried from his room and down the hall to her own. She could already hear the gossip starting about her sleeping with the stoic Commander and she rolled her eyes at the lot of them. Even Sonya and Antonio thought she and Squall were an item, for all that they both knew how she tended to cling to anyone a head taller than her. Insisting that Squall was just her little brother had made her friends laugh and she was sort of irritated with them for it, even if she was glad to see them again.
She quickly stripped upon entering her room and hopped into the shower for a quick cleaning. Once she was out, she started drying herself, only to pause and stare at her reflection in the mirror. She touched her right shoulder, where Squall's too-cold scar was, eyes sad. He had all sorts of scars, she'd seen, and his blasé comment about the one from the Sorceress just made her sad; what sort of person was so used to receiving new scars that he didn't care about them anymore?
She glanced down at her own two scars, one on her left hip from a training accident at Trabia Garden five years ago, the other on her right outer thigh from their fight with Seifer before Squall distracted him. She didn't care for either of them, but they had been too old for a full healing by the time she'd reached proper medical assistance.
"Maybe I'm just vain," she decided, roughly attacking her hair with the towel. "Squall's right, we're mercenaries; I'll get lots more scars before I die, and not all of them will be hidden by my clothing." She smiled faintly at the memory of the scar between Squall's eyes, which gave him a sort of roguish charm. "Maybe I'll get a nice scar," she decided, "like Squall's. Not exactly his, though, 'cause I can't pull it off like he can, but... Maybe I can talk someone into giving me a little star-shaped scar under one eye? That would be cute..."
She giggled to herself as she slipped on her boots and secured her nunchakus at her back before skipping out her door.
Squall was waiting for her at their designated meeting spot and they both placed their preferred weapons into the locked box, then stepped out on the deck and climbed up onto the crane.
"How did your meeting go?" Selphie asked as they started down the crane walkway, holding his arm in one hand.
"It was productive," Squall allowed.
Selphie translated that to mean that things had gone particularly well and smiled. "Good. Did you like Headmistress Angelica?"
"She's more sensible than Cid."
Selphie laughed. "I can see that. I take it we're hoping Irvine can tell us where Galbadia Garden is?"
"Basically."
Selphie nodded and let go of Squall so he could navigate a particularly tricky step, then help her down.
"Why were you in my bed?" Squall asked as they set off down the track towards the inn.
"Oh, uhm..." Selphie flushed and clutched Squall's arm a little tighter. "You're going to laugh."
Squall sighed. "I'm not going to laugh at you, Selphie."
"You're going to think I'm strange!"
"Since when is that new?"
Selphie smiled at that, admitting that Squall had a point. "Well... I told you about my nightmares, right?"
"Mmhm."
"When I was little, back when I first joined Trabia, after my adopted parents died, I couldn't sleep without something of theirs. It was like... Like a teddy bear, you know? I could smell them and it didn't hurt so much that they were gone."
Squall considered that for a moment. "I'm still here," he pointed out.
"I know." Selphie stepped a touch closer, walking awkwardly, but taking comfort in Squall's nearness. "It's silly, but it helps. I suppose I could just steal your pillow..."
Squall snorted. "It's not a big deal," he assured her, "I just wasn't expecting to find you there. If you want to sleep in my room, I won't stop you."
Selphie beamed up at him. "Really?!"
"Really." Squall gently extracted his arm from her hold and ushered her into the inn.
"Even though people are going to talk?" Selphie wondered, worried again.
"People always talk," Squall replied, shrugging. "They're not happy if they don't have something to gossip about."
Selphie giggled nervously. She supposed that was true.
Squall logged into his messaging account and glanced through his messages idly. He finally came across one from Irvine, sent two hours ago, and popped it open.
"RH is SE's Knight. On way to FH. ETA 5 hrs."
"Fuck," Squall swore.
"RH?" Selphie asked from his elbow, fear creeping through her stomach.
"Rinoa." Squall quickly logged out and turned towards the main street. "Our repairs won't be finished for another five hours, at least, and Trabia isn't in fighting condition. We were supposed to have more time than this."
"How'd they find out?" Selphie gasped, jogging slightly to keep up with Squall's longer stride.
Squall's expression darkened. "I have a good idea, and I'm going to kill her."
Selphie paused, thinking that over. Then it clicked and she hurried to catch up.
Quistis had messaged Rinoa.
-0-0-0-
A/N: XD Cliffhangers are rockin'. Don't you hate me?
Now, I think I'll go cackle a bit over there before starting the next chapter. Quisty's gonna get a talking to!
~Bats ^.^x
Translations for Irvine's messages:
FH - Fisherman's Horizon
SE - Sorceress Edea
RH - Rinoa Heartilly
1 - Hiding Betrayal ||| 2 - Trying to Please Them All
3 - Every Little Earthquake |||
5 - Guilty By Association ||| 6 - Clouds Are the Future
7 - Sins of Our Tongue ||| 8 - Every Hero Has a Path, Every Sinner a Future
9 - Gather Your Strength ||| 10 - Forever's Never Too Long
..
