All That Really Counts
Part One
Disclaimer: I don't own the charachters from Final Fantasy 8, Square does. I'm just taking them out to play for a little while.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Distribution: Ask, and ye shall recieve.
Author's Note: I came up with this story a while ago, and since I managed to not get any flames in the reviews from fanfiction.net (yay me!), I decided to see what everyone here would think of it.
All That Really Counts
Part One
Quistis Trepe sat at the desk of her classroom, not even really paying attention to the students that were patiently sitting at their desks doing their work. <I wish I'd stayed in my room today,> she thought to herself. <I need the extra sleep.>
All of a sudden, the bell signifying the end of the period went off, and all the students got up from their desks and began to leave. "Don't forget that your assignment is due after the weekend!" she reminded her class before they could all leave. As soon as the last of her students left the classroom, Quistis slumped back in her chair and heaved a sigh of relief. <Thank Hyne it's all over for today,> she thought to herself. <I'm so glad someone thought to invent the weekend.>
As Quistis was about to get up from her desk, someone came into the room. "Heeyyy, Quisty, whatcha' doin'?" the person said. Quistis turned around to see her friend, Selphie Tilmitt standing there with a huge smile on her face.
"Nothing, Selphie," Quistis said to her. "Just getting my things together and heading back to my room."
Selphie walked over to her friend and leaned over the front of Quistis's desk, her hands gripping the edge. "You have any plans for the weekend, Quistis?" Selphie asked.
"Not really," Quistis said. "I figured I'd just get around to grading some tests that have been sitting in my desk since yesterday."
"Quisty," Selphie said, with a serious look on her face, "you really need to go out this weekend. Just get out and relax, have some fun, you know? It's not good to keep on working all the time like you've been lately."
"Selphie," Quistis said putting a hand to her forehead, "it's only been three months since they gave me my instructors license back. And that's probably only because Squall used his influence as the commander of SeeD. I can't screw this up."
Selphie put a hand on Quistis' shoulder and said, "I know you want to prove you can handle this job, but it's unhealthy to work like you've been working. You need some time to yourself. Take a load off."
<At least working keeps my mind off of... other things,> Quistis thought to herself. <On the other hand, maybe Selphie's right. Maybe I should just relax a little once in a while.> "Selphie," Quistis said, turning her attention back to her friend, "I may end up taking your suggestion after all..."
"Woo-hoo!" Selphie yelled, pumping her fist into the air.
"BUT I'm going to have to have a nice, long nap first," Quistis continued. "There's no way I'm going anywhere feeling as tired as I do right now."
"Perfectly understandable," Selphie said, still smiling. "No one can party when they're falling over from exhaustion."
Quistis smiled slightly at Selphie, then gathered up her things from her desk. "Thanks for the talk, Selphie. I really needed it." Waving at Selphie one last time, Quistis turned around and left the classroom.
When Quistis got back to her room in the Garden, she tossed her things onto a chair and collapsed onto her bed. <What a day,> she thought to herself as she kicked off her shoes. <Thank Hyne it's over with.> Quistis sat up and began to remove her SeeD uniform, and once she had stripped down to her bra and panties, she slipped under the covers of her bed and started to drift off to sleep. <Here's to hoping that I have pleasant dreams,> she thought to herself, as sleep finally overtook her.
[Quistis opened her eyes, and realized that she must have slept for quite a while. She looked out the window of her room and saw that the sun had set long ago and that night was here. I guess that I should get up and do something to help me be able to sleep for the rest of the night, she thought to herself. Then she remembered her talk with Selphie that morning after her class. Well, no better time than the present, she thought, tossing back the covers of her bed.]
[As Quistis was slipping out of bed, she heard a sound coming from the bathroom. Operating on instinct, she grabbed her whip from her nightstand and immediately jumped out of bed, into a battle stance. "Who's there?" she said.]
[Quistis stood there, holding her stance as she waited for the person in her bathroom to come out. They slowly walked towards the doorway, holding their hands out in front of them. "Don't worry, Quistis," the person said, "it's just me." The person then lowered their hands, and Quistis realized for the first time just who she was talking to.]
["Shiva?" Quistis said, dropping her whip in shock. The ice GF stood before Quistis, her blue skin looking just as it always did whenever she was summoned in battle. "Shiva, what are you doing here? Did I summon you while I was asleep?"]
["No, Quisty," Shiva said, using the nickname that most of her friends used for her. "You're still asleep right now. You're dreaming this whole conversation."]
[Quistis sat back down on her bed with a thump. "What a relief," she said. "I was worried that something had happened."]
[Shiva said down beside Quistis and put an arm around her shoulder, Shiva's cold touch raising goosebumps on Quistis's skin. "You don't have to worry, Quisty. You're still sleeping soundly in your bed. I just really needed to talk to you."]
["What's wrong, Shiva?" Quistis said to the GF. "Why did you need to talk to me?"]
[Shiva removed her arm from Quistis's shoulder, and folded her hands in her lap. "I... I don't know if I should tell you," Shiva said nervously. "I mean, I really like being junctioned to you, and I don't wanna say anything that'll make you want to get rid of me."]
[Quistis put a reassuring hand on the GF's shoulder, and said. "It's all right, Shiva. You can tell me anything."]
[Shiva, still looking down at her hands in her lap, said in a voice almost too low to hear, "I think I'm in love..." the GF said, almost too low for Quistis to hear.]
[Quistis was slightly surprised by this, and rubbed Shiva's shoulder in sympathy. "I know how it feels," she said reassuringly to the GF. "Who is it you're in love with? Is it one of the other GF's?"]
["No," Shiva said, wiping a small tear away from one of her eyes.]
["It's not... Squall, is it?" Quistis asked cautiously. Shiva had been junctioned to Squall for a time before Squall had given her to Quistis. <Wouldn't that be just great,> Quistis thought to herself. <Both me and Shiva in love with a man that we can't have.>]
["No, it's not Squall, either," Shiva said. "It's you."]
[Quistis was nearly knocked over when what Shiva said sank in. <She's... in love... with me!?> She thought to herself. <But... I'm a human, and she's a GF!> Trying to regain her composure, Quistis removed her hand from Shiva's shoulder and said, "Shiva... did you say you were in love with me?"]
["Yes," Shiva said, turning to look Quistis in the eyes. "I don't know how it happened," Shiva said, tears forming in her eyes. "I mean, after I was junctioned to you, I found that I liked being with you. Your mind was so much more... sophisticated than anyone else's that I'd been junctioned to before." Shiva swallowed, and a couple of frozen tears fell from her face before she continued. "I really liked being your GF. I felt... special, I guess. But, after a while, I started to have this feeling whenever I saw you when you summoned me in battle. I thought you were so...beautiful!" Shiva managed to choke out, before she started sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh, Quistis, please don't hate me!"]
[Quistis's heart went out to Shiva, and she put an arm around the GF's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "Hey," Quistis said, "don't worry. I don't hate you."]
[Shiva rubbed at her eyes and looked at Quistis again. "You don't?" she said, sounding apprehensive.]
["No, I don't," Quistis said, trying to convince Shiva. She rubbed Shiva's shoulder to try and comfort the distressed GF.]
[Shiva smiled a little, and then practically jumped at Quistis, wrapping her arms around her in a hug that nearly knocked Quistis over. "Oh, thank you, Quistis," Shiva said over and over again. After a while, Shiva calmed down enough to back away from Quistis a little and look her in the face. She began to inch closer to Quistis's face, and all Quistis could do was just sit there and look into Shiva's ice-blue eyes. Shiva finally finished closing the distance between herself and Quistis, and kissed her gently on the lips.]