Stealth
Chapter xl
By YuriNigasa
*standard I don't own FFVIII, Squaresoft, characters, etc. applies from now until whenever I decide I'm done*
Stealth
Chapter xl
By YuriNigasa
"I don't think you heard me properly, you bureaucratic nimrod. You fucking put me through and you do it now, or I'll come up there and show you how the business end of a gunblade works. I don't care what time of night it is; I don't even care if she's in the middle of boffing some hapless Presidential aide. You ring Elle's room and tell her it's Seifer Almasy and it's an emergency."
I wasn't in the mood to dick around. I was in the middle of swallowing my pride, and my desire to do grievous bodily harm to the President of Esthar, all in hopes of saving the only person I loved. The screen went blank for a moment, and then I saw Elle's face appear as the transmission connected. She had the disheveled look of the newly awakened about her, and was blinking her eyes rapidly to clear the haze of sleep from them.
"Seifer?" she asked, yawning. "It's," another yawn, "five in the morning. What could you possibly need that couldn't have waited until nine?"
"I need a favor, Elle. Not for me, though. I need you to do something and above all, please don't get him involved in this," I said.
"Him? Oh," she fell silent, "I understand. Well not entirely, but I thought that maybe since they'd issued those apologies..."
Apologies? I hadn't exactly been keeping up on the news. Centra wasn't known for being a modern journalistic haven or a bustling center for information. "What do you mean, apologies?"
"Where have you been? Last week Esthar, well, more like Uncle Laguna, but you get what I mean... anyway, you've been cleared, Seifer. You're being hailed as an unsung hero of the Conflict. Didn't you know?"
I must have stood there in shock for several moments, because she cleared her throat loudly to get my attention. "Seifer?"
"Sorry," I said, "I didn't know. I've been... preoccupied recently. Listen, Elle, this is important. I need you to come to Balamb. Just you. Make up whatever excuse you need to but get here quick, and please," I pleaded, "don't tell Loire. I don't want him knowing about this or involved in it. I trust you."
"I... I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises, Seifer." She looked concerned, as well she should. I didn't want to hint at what the problem was. I wasn't stupid. Transmissions into the Palace were hardly confidential and I was taking an incredible risk as it stood.
"Thank you, I understand. Listen; leave word at Balamb if you need me. I can't promise that I'll be available or that I'll even be able to answer right away if you call, but I'll get the message. I'll let you get back to sleep."
The look on her face said that she probably wouldn't be sleeping much the rest of the night. She wasn't a worrier by nature, but I hadn't given her enough reason not to be concerned. "Thanks. I'll be in touch. Goodnight."
"G'nite Elle," I said, and cut the transmission. I'd had Balamb route the call through several channels, scrambling the hopes of determining the point of origin. I didn't need it being traced back to Centra. I clicked back to the main connection and asked to be transferred to Xu's extension. A moment later she came on the line, and I gave her a heads up to watch for Elle's call. I told her that when Elle arrived arrangements would be made to transport her here to Centra. Closing the connection I looked up into Quisty's concerned face.
"I can't Quisty... I wish like hell I could tell you but I can't. I don't even know what's broken but I'm trying to fix it anyway." My voice sounded defeated and tired, even to my own ears.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I didn't know anyone else was up. She said he cleared you? Congratulations are in order, I suppose." She smiled weakly.
"Wish I felt more like celebrating, but there's just not time for it. I really didn't give a damn if he ever did. All that mattered to me was that Squall believed me. That's all that's ever mattered."
"I never really understood the two of you. It's like you operate at a different level than the rest of us. You make it seem effortless, the two of you, together. Two halves that don't work so well apart, but together, you've been formidable."
"It's not effortless. Believe me, it's not. I suppose we just respect the fact that we're different. I don't try to change him. Never have. Never will. If I did that, he wouldn't be," my voice faltered and my final thought, 'the man I love,' went unspoken. I suppose I wasn't ready to voice that to them yet. Like it was something horribly personal and private between the two of us. Words I wanted him and only him to hear.
"I'm envious of that. I know I have the rest of my life to find what I want, that I'm not done becoming me yet, but all the same it's something I wish I had." She looked a little sad.
I had to lift the mood somehow. I didn't need to feel this heavy cloak of depression falling across my shoulders. "How about a certain Trabian doctor?" I wiggled my eyebrows up and down and shot her a lecherous look.
She blushed. "Hush, Seifer. He's old enough to..."
"And?" I interrupted. "He's cute, if you go for those geeky intellectual types. Come on Quis, I've seen him look at you and I've seen you look at him. Bang him and get it over with already."
Her face turned scarlet, and she looked at me, her blue eyes wide in mock horror. "You are an absolute pervert, I'll have you know."
"I thought that was one of my more endearing traits." I winked. "Don't tell me the thought hasn't crossed your mind, oh, forty or fifty times."
She hit me on the arm, feigning indignation. Then she lowered her head and put her lips next to my ear. "More like sixty to seventy," she whispered conspiratorially.
I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep my laughter from echoing down the halls. Guess that just goes to prove that I didn't know her as well as I thought. Who'd have ever thought I'd be sitting here in the Ragnarok's Com room discussing her fetish for older, geeky, men? Not I said the fly.
Too bad he already knows I'm taken or we could make him jealous. I'd be like making out with my sister but hey, what is that they say about..."
She made a face of disgust. "Don't even say it... Ugh. I can't tell you how wrong that is on how many levels."
"You could always 'accidentally' head into the wrong quarters," I moved my vocal tone up in a falsetto imitation of Quisty. "Oh, pardon me, Mr. Usuki, I didn't realize this wasn't my room." I batted my eyelashes and looked coy.
"Stop it! You're horrible. I think I can come up with a better plan than that on my own, thank you. You sound like one of those nauseating women from a dime store paperback."
"Read a lot of them, have you?"
"No," she fumed. "Have you?"
"I borrowed one of Zell's once, does that count?" I smirked.
"Zell? You're kidding, I hope."
"Go check his room if you don't believe me," I said with a straight face. Then I broke into a grin, "Yes, of course I'm kidding."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly. Yawning, she put a hand to her mouth and stretched. "I think it's time to go to bed."
"I'll warn Doctor Usuki you're on your way," I said.
"Shut up," she muttered, waving a hand in dismissal and began walking down the hall.
“Hey Quistis,” I said softly in parting. She turned and looked at me, her gaze soft and concerned.
“Yeah?”
“We should talk more often.”
“I’d like that, Seifer.” She smiled. “'Night.”
“Goodnight.”
I missed her presence already. She had been a distraction, something that had kept my thoughts at bay with mindless banter. Now, I was faced with the task of returning to the room I shared with Squall. When I left he had been sleeping, courtesy of a couple sedatives I liberated from a med kit. Theoretically, they should keep him out all night, but with him, I never can tell.
I walked down the hall and opened the door. The light shone in, highlighting his curled form on the bed. His breathing was slow and regular. I sighed thankfully and walked in. I stripped down and climbed in with him. Instantly he turned and curled against me and I wrapped my arms around him protectively. It just seemed like every time we get one step ahead in this entire fucked up situation something comes along and knocks us two steps back. I hoped bringing Elle here was the right thing to do. I wasn't sure that Squall would be too pleased with what I had done, but this was out of my league. I was banking on her peculiar power being able to bring Squall's suppressed memories back to the forefront of his mind. I silently hoped that what we needed to know wasn't gone forever.