Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Easier Said Than Done ❯ Steamy Window ( Chapter 3 )

Part 3: Steamy Window

Arrrggh! That in insufferable jerk! Oooh I'll get you back for that! She thought, angrily dragging her bedraggled self out of the water and onto the concrete ground of the harbour. Removing the clip that held her hair up, Quistis gathered her drenched hair and wrung it free of seawater. That was seriously going to damage her hair. She hated it when her went all gristly and raw - salt water did that and she had Seifer to thank. Tugging her trainers from her wet feet, Quistis upturned them to find a steady trickle of water drip down and a string of seaweed dangly from the inside sole. So much for clothes shopping.

~ ~ ~

Kicking off her sopping trainers, Quistis flipped her hair away from her face and pushed herself to her feet. A little water never hurt anybody, she thought positively. Trying her best to not breakdown and throw a tantrum as well as ignoring the curious looks of people that passed, she hurriedly made her way past the weapon's store and to the station. The ticket guard took in her not so professional state with an amused smile.

Quistis shook her head and held up a hand signalling that he shouldn't ask. he chuckled, "so where will you be off to, Miss Trepe?"

"Deling city,"

"Would you like to take the private SeeD carriage?"

"Please," she hardly thought drying herself off in public would be appropriate. Plus the heaters in the SeeD quarters of the train would help speed up the drying process of her clothes not to mention the towels to dry her hair.

"500 gil please, miss."

"Thank you," she said handing the money over and taking her ticket.

Her arrival was well timed. The 1:15pm train headed for Deling city via Timber was almost ready to depart when she stepped onto the platform and it wasn't long before the train was on its way and gaining speed.

Humming a little tune to herself, Quistis tapped the hallway password onto the inbuilt console on the wall. Private carriages were always nice but she couldn't help feel detached from the rest of the public - the world. Yes she was a SeeD but she was human too.

Shaking her head with a faint smile, she entered her carriage without further thought and was unzipping her wet sleeveless stop as the door closed behind her when the sound of the small bathroom door handle clacked.

Instantly on guard her hand reached halfway down her vest at the movement of the white painted door opening. Eyes widening, her sapphire eyes glinted dangerously at whom she saw.

~ ~ ~

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she took in Raijin's bulky frame, his pierced eyebrow, large wooden beads around his neck and his overly large baggy black pants.

"Nice to see you too, Trepe, ya know!" he replied irritably. He allowed Seifer and Fujin to push him around because they were a part of "the pack" - but not this woman, not prim and proper Quistis Trepe.

"That's Instructor Trepe, to you." she didn't hesitate to correct.

"Ah, screw you." he sneered. "Outside here you don't tell me what I can or can't do, ya know!"

"That's correct. However I believe you're not a SeeD. This carriage is admitted only to SeeD personnel." Quistis knew she sounded stuffy yet she didn't care. Slow and dull-witted people like Raijin needed to be put into place.

"I know that, ya know." Raijin said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I know I ain't a SeeD, but he is." he jerked a thumb back at the bathroom and grinned.

~ ~ ~

Man he felt much better now. The shower was definitely the way to go, at least that way he didn't end up smelling like a fish attracting flies and whatnot out in the open road. His clothes were in the heating room and would be dry in no time but would still smell of seawater. Can't help that, he thought clambering out of the bathtub quickly wrapping a big white towel around his waist. Sod the drying. Bloody Train Company were too stingy to give more than one towel. Grimacing at the bruise on his lower torso Seifer gingerly pressed at it here and there, biting back a curse when he pressed at a sensitive spot. One consolation he supposed was that the bruise was a sickly yellow colour, not crazy purple.

He had asked Raijin to come along with him to Deling city days ago, mainly for the company and also to exert his arrogance. Fujin got in the way too much, plus she was female and to be quite frank kind of scary. While he'd never strike a woman without reason he was glad that Raijin received all the abuse, the screaming and the kicking behind the knees.

Stepping up to the misted up glass mirror hanging above the towel bar, Seifer wiped a section clear to examine his chin. Already half a days worth of stubble was forming. I'll leave it for now, he said to himself while contemplating the idea of shaving.

His hair also smelt miles better. These days it was getting quite long and considered also getting it cut. Don't want it to end up like him - referring to Squall. It amazed him how Squall managed to keep hair at length and at that style. Gunks of gel came to mind causing him to involuntarily shiver. Hell no.

Muffled voices reached his ears as he was fingering his hair, attracting his interest. If he wasn't mistaken, Seifer swore that was a female voice he could hear. Only one way to find out.

~ ~ ~

Exiting the bathroom, Seifer began his telling off, "Raijin I thought I told you to stop entertaining women in-" and then cut himself when he saw exactly who the woman was.

"Its Trepe," Raijin said, stating the obvious and pointing at her without need.

"I can see that!" Seifer snapped. "What the hell is she doing here?!"

Raijin shrugged his muscled shoulders. Seifer took a long deep breath, ignoring the fact that it hurt because of the bruise. I do not fucking believe this, she's like a poltergeist - for Hyne's sake I'm gonna break something in a minute...

"Likewise I could say the same thing!" Quistis spoke up. "And I do have a name."

"You can shut the hell up!" Seifer barked rudely, his jerky head movements sending water droplets in all directions.

Quistis quickly complied. She knew what was running through his mind and she didn't blame him for being annoyed. Again, it wasn't her fault. She had no way in knowing that Seifer would be taking the train at the same time as she would. So why was she the one feeling guilty?!

"I'm not liking the situation as much as you are," Quistis dared to venture. "Think about it. I had no way in foreseeing that you would be on this train, least of all at this time."

The tall blond boy grimaced at her logic and felt the air conditioning from the overhead vents chill his damp skin. "Isn't it great then that life's full of coincidences." Seifer blew out a long breath, not knowing quite what to do. Trepe was here; nothing could be done about that - for now. And there was no avoiding her… fucking brilliant.

"Anyhow, think what you will. I however have paid the fare so-"

"Put a sock in it already, Trepe." Seifer interjected somewhat resignedly. Nitpicking female.

The train hadn't even reached the halfway point in the underwater tunnel and the woman was already turning into a head case. Deep in the core of his brain Seifer could feel the start of what would be a down right migraine. Suppressing an oath that would make Matron weep, Seifer returned to the bathroom giving the door a good solid slam.

Quistis flinched at the sharp snap of wood and wondered what to do next. Raijin did very little to make her presence welcome and in the enclosed room she began to get a fair idea of what she really smelt like. Discretely clearing her throat, Quistis made herself scarce, exiting the room and breathing heavily once she was out in the hallway. Oh well, she thought with a tinge of misery. I've been in worse situations than this.

~ ~ ~

Moving further down the hallway and past occupied booths - a public bathroom came into view at the very far end. Thankfully there was at least one towel - unused with further inspection. Ignoring the fact that her clothes were hardly wearable let alone properly dry, Quistis shunned her fitted black t-shirt, hipster bottoms and trainers and quickly ducked beneath the hot beating jet of water. She emitted a long overdue sigh of contentment, feeling the clammy moistness from the seawater leave her skin, not to mention all that tension.

Too many run-ins with Seifer Almasy were never a good thing. A) It made him suspicious and angry as hell and B) It tried her patience. And when it came to people like him, you needed all the patience in the world. Yet why did she feel as if he was going to pull a nasty trick on her? He had reason enough to do so. Hyperion, stepping on his toes one too many times. Being alert and wary in his presence was not being paranoid and Quistis found herself mentally making sure that she did just that.

~ ~ ~