Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Beneath the Mistletoe ❯ Beneath the Mistletoe (Ooo...look it's named after the story?) ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Christmas Eve day went by rather quickly for almost everyone. The
majority of the people were making final adjustments on The Christmas
Festival...and Selphie was totting a new megaphone, one that
apparently she received from Irvine, judging by the fact that he was
hanging all over her all day. Most everyone exchanged presents that
day so people could put them under their trees...which weren't really
that big or even real since there was always the threat of fire in
Balamb. Not that fake pine trees weren't every bit as flammable as
real ones, but that didn't matter in the eyes of most. Everyone was so
consumed by the Christmas spirit that they all seemed to
be...well...cheerful.

So with everyone being so happy, it was only natural for the day to
fly right by. And before anyone knew it, the sky had grown to a deep
blue. That was when Selphie called it a night for everyone (since
there were special Christmas shows to watch, after all...and even
Selphie didn't really want to work on the Festival any longer).
Tilmitt took center stage, tapping her finger on the screechy
microphone. Zell took the hint, and fixed with a few buttons until he
managed to get it without any distortion.

Selphie grinned and looked over everyone, "All right, guys! This has
totally been fun and I think that The Christmas Festival tomorrow will
be really mega cool! I'm glad you all helped me out with this...it's
going to be really great tomorrow. Booyaka! So this is to a totally,
mega, super awesome job guys!"

Everyone clapped uncertainly, and Selphie skipped down off the stairs,
heading over to Irvine's side. After mingling for a bit longer,
everyone started to filter out of the room. Quistis Trepe was one of
the first to do so. She had to 'pretty herself up' so to speak...even
if it was for watching cartoons with Raijin. A girl could never look
bad when she was on a date, after all! And the Instructor didn't
bother to tell anyone around her or ask for their help with hair and
makeup. Chances are, she would wind up looking like some sort of
hooker if she had anyone else do things for her. Then again, who knew
if Seifer liked hookers. Maybe that was the way to go...but no. She
was going to make herself look natural, so she headed back to her dorm
swiftly.

Several outfits later, Quistis emerged with the one she originally
started with...that pink outfit she always wore unless she was in her
SeeD uniform. It was a known fact that everyone in Balamb lacked
sufficient amounts of clothes, and they just bought many of the same
type of tacky clothing and wore that all the time. Though, for a
change, Quistis did something different. She removed the clip from
those blonde strands, watching the gold spill over her shoulders in
loose coils. Fingers combed through that hair, and she fixed it up
nicely. Light tones were used for makeup, and she brought those
glasses on her face to finish it up.

Once she was done, she waited for a few moments and then started for
that dormitory, remembering just where it was (surprisingly...well
actually the GFs just made her lose long term memories...not short
ones). So, when she got there, she knocked lightly on the door...and
it slid open to reveal--Raijin, wearing a Santa Claus hat.

"Ho, ho, ho...ya know?" He grinned.

"Um, Merry Christmas Eve, Raijin..." Quistis began uncertainly.

"Thanks...really appreciated, ya know? Come on in...Fuj is making the
popcorn because I have a tendency to make it catch on fire, ya
know..."

"Er...right...where's Seifer?"

"He'll be here shortly, ya know? Went off to get something, ya know?
Said we needed to keep you entertained, ya--"

"Yeah, I know..." Quistis knew then why everyone got exasperated with
Raijin so easily.

In a few moments, Fujin emerged from the kitchen area, holding in one
hand a bag of popcorn, "DONE. HERE."

Raijin found the scolding hot bag pushed into his arms, and like a
cartoon, the reaction was delayed...until, "OW! That's hot, Fujin...ya
know?!"

The other posse member snickered; apparently, that was what she
intended to do.

"So...what should we do while we're waiting...?" Quistis shifted her
weight to the opposite foot.

"DON'T KNOW. SEIFER SAID...ENTERTAIN."

"Yeah, ya know...so we gotta do something...entertaining for you, ya
know?"

"Just...watching you two is entertaining enough..." She smirked
somewhat and then sank down on the edge of a chair.

"RAIJIN. ENTERTAIN!" Fujin sat beside Quistis and grinned, watching
her stupid friend.

Which Raijin simply blinked, "I...uh...don't know how, ya know?"

"Sure you do...just...do something that's...funny..." Quistis and
Fujin exchanged looks with a smirk, and then looked back toward the
other.

"I, er, all right, ya know..."

Seifer Almasy had done some last minute shopping. It seemed, like the
Grinch, at the very last moment he had a change of heart and decided
to get some Christmas presents. Granted, they weren't anything great,
but damn it! It was the thought that counted anyway, right? So, with
those bags in hand, he headed back toward the dorm...hoping he didn't
keep anyone waiting that long. Well, actually...he didn't really care
if he did. He was Seifer, so no one could really expect him to change
all that much. The only difference now was that he was Seifer with
presents.

Approaching his room, he opened the door...and stood frighteningly
still in the doorway. Raijin was in the middle of the dorm, dancing
around his big stick weapon thing and Quistis and Fujin were doubled
over laughing as the other's poor attempt at entertainment. Though, in
all honesty...it was actually pretty entertaining in that comical sort
of way. Raijin stopped immediately once he noticed Seifer there, and
the two girls looked up, clearing there throats and stifling laughs
here and there.

"What the hell is going on?" Seifer arched a brow.

"I was entertaining them, ya know? Like ya told me to do, ya know?"

"RAIJIN, IDIOT," Fujin smirked somewhat, any time she got to make fun
of Raijin amused her.

"Hey, I am not, ya know!"

"Eh, I don't care what you were doing...Fujin! Put these in my
closet..." He extended the bags in her direction.

Fujin obediently agreed, and then took the bags off.

Quistis pushed herself up to her feet and moved over toward the table,
opening up the bag of popcorn and taking a few kernels. Not so many
for them to think she was a pig, but just some to be polite and dainty
while eating them. She could impress Seifer with her eating habits!
Yes, that was the plan...and she placed those into her mouth one at a
time, sparing a glance toward the Disciplinary Committee leader who
was coming her way. A faint blush rose into those cheeks and she
lowered her gaze to the bag of popcorn.

"Glad ya came..." Seifer rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah, me too..." She replied quickly.

"So...uh..."

"Yeah..."

"Should we just..."

"...start the movies?"

"Yeah, start the movies..."

"Yes, that sounds good, Seifer."

"All right...so...uh...just have a seat wherever you want..."

"Okay, thank you."

"No...prob."

Quistis moved back to where she was before, and then watched silently
as Raijin scrambled off to get his tapes. Fujin returned, giving
Quistis a rather vicious look. Apparently she didn't approve of the
date at all...though she didn't seem to mind before. But, before
Seifer wasn't there. That was probably the main reason after all. The
instructor just clasped her hands together self-consciously and
glanced toward the television. Much to her surprise, Seifer sank
beside her...and the main theme for Rudolph came on soon...with Raijin
singing along rather annoyingly ("RAGE!" Kick.) and then silencing
himself just as quick.

They went through Christmas classics such as Frosty, A Charlie Brown
Christmas, etc. And finally, the last one played was The Grinch
(through which, Seifer kept on cheering for the green monster, and
seemed sort of dejected in the end when he of course turned good).
After that, Raijin immediately hurried off, claiming that he needed to
get to bed early in order for Santa to come, and Fujin just followed
along behind to keep him happy. Even she could be a bit soft toward
him on Christmas Eve, but he better not expect anything special on
Christmas itself if he got annoying. That left the dating couple
alone, and they shifted a bit uncomfortably in silence.

Seifer pushed himself up to his feet, "Hm...should I...walk you back
to your dorm?"

"Yeah, yeah...sure..." Quistis smiled.

"All right...you first..." He opened the door for her.

"Thank you."

The two walked in silence, before Seifer paused in his tracks,
"Uh...Instructor Trepe?"

"What? And Seifer...you know you don't have to call me 'Instructor'
outside of the classroom."

"Oh, well I'll keep that in mind. But, anyway...where's your room?"

Quistis blinked, and then laughed, "That's right...you've never even
been down there. Come on, I'll lead the way...you can just accompany
me there."

"Yeah...sounds good to me."

The rest of the way was walked quietly. It wasn't that they didn't
enjoy each other's company...just that neither was really good at
relationships. Quistis's always seemed to backfire, and Seifer...well
he was just a natural jerk...so that pretty much explained the lack of
communication. And before either of them knew it, they made it back to
Quistis's room...which she stopped in front of, and turned toward her
'date.'

"I did have a really nice time. Strange, but nice..." The instructor
smiled.

"Yeah...me too..." Seifer replied without thought, and then when he
reflected on it...he realized that it sounded rather un-guy-like, but
oh well. It would have to do for now. After all, his posse wasn't
around to listen.

"Maybe, we could get together some other time..." She nodded
hopefully.

"...maybe."

Shuffling her feet, Quistis glanced over her shoulder, "Well, I had
better..."

"Get inside?"

"...yeah."

"All right. Well...goodnight then Ins--er...Quistis. Have a good
Christmas or something..."

"Yeah...yeah, you too, Seifer."

They lingered there a moment, hoping one would stop the other, but
when it came down to it...neither really knew how. So, the woman
turned on her heel, and went to walk back into her room, until
Seifer's hand came forward, laying lightly on her shoulder. Quistis
drew in a breath, and looked back toward him slowly.

"Wait...Quistis. There's...something I forgot..." Seifer looked around
the hall, before those features lit up...and he tugged her down to a
far corridor, only then planting a light kiss on her lips. That kiss
was returned, and soon broken as the teacher regarded him in
confusion. The gunblade user grinned, pointing upward. Sure enough,
hanging overhead was some mistletoe.

Quistis laughed, "Well, thank you. Maybe we can meet up sometime
tomorrow during the Christmas Festival."

"Ugh, you're gonna make me go to that and listen to Tilmitt's mouth
all day?"

"Well...if I have to suffer through it...you should too," She smiled.

"Maybe. We'll see what's going on tomorrow. I might have alternate
plans with my posse and all..."

"All right then, I hope you stop by. Merry Christmas...again."

"Yeah, same to you."

And with that, the two went their separate ways...to dream dreams of
sugar plums and candy canes, while waiting for Santa Claus to come to
town...or...really Garden.