Chapter 2: A New Home
“You’ve really got a nice place here,” Celes mentioned as they entered Quistis’s room. ‘It’s better than most of the inns that I’ve stayed in.’
“Well, it’s a perk of being an instructor.” Quistis said, with a charming smile. They took off their footwear at the door and enjoyed the plush carpet tickling their feet.
Celes enjoyed the feeling. Very few had the privilege of a large rug in her world. Not even the richest people of Jidoor had wall-to-wall carpeting. She wiggled her toes. Quistis just enjoyed the warm smile of simple enjoyment on the woman’s face. Then, when their eyes met, she realized she had been staring at the other blonde. Her mind immediately sought out a reasonable excuse. “I bet you’d like to take a shower…”
Celes’s smile grew. “That would be lovely.”
Quistis blushed. “I’ll get you something to wear.” They went to a dresser and the instructor scanned through various things. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top, along with the necessary underwear. Embarrassingly, a pair of Quistis’s more risqué underwear stuck to the shorts. Selphie had bought it for her in case she found “the one.” Celes tried to block the mental image, but failed miserably.
Celes enjoyed the warm water. It had been two days since she had taken a warm bath. She also enjoyed the scented shampoos, especially the vanilla.
After Celes was finished and dressed, she rested on the plush couch, while she waited for Quistis.
--
Selphie had lost Irvine ages ago. She dumped his girly magazine into Quistis’s mail box. ‘I wonder if that’ll give Celes a hint, if she hasn’t figured it out by now. She’d have to be pretty thick.’
She was currently working in the Quad on Festival Preparations. There was a nice celebration after everyone got back from defeating Ultimecia, but the traditional festival event was only a few months away. It never hurt to start early.
Selphie wasn’t sure what to think of Irvine. No matter how much he flirted with her, she kept thinking of him as a big brother. ‘Maybe, he’s not my ‘special one.’ He’s definitely not giving enough effort. Otherwise, he’d quit flirting with every girl with legs.’
She sighed. The box that she had been lifting up onto a shelf slipped. She braced for a nasty bump on the head. It never came.
A pale hand had stopped the box. Selphie looked into Fujin’s eye. “HELP?”
The brunette smiled. “Sure!” She felt something nice and warm inside her heart. It was confusing. “Thanks Fujin. I thought I was gonna be a Tilmitt pancake! By the way, what are you doing in the quad?”
Fujin pondered for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed. “CONCERN… SELPHIE… ALONE…” The pale woman said, with her halting voice. She had once explained that anything above a whisper came out too loud. She could whisper easier and in complete sentences, but rarely felt comfortable enough around anyone to get close enough.
“You were watching over me? How sweet!” Selphie felt safe with the tough girl around. She felt a huge amount of relief when Fujin had returned to the Garden.
Fujin looked sheepish. “WORK?” She said, trying to distract the brunette. It didn’t work.
“Nah! We’ve got to celebrate you saving me from certain doom!” Sure she was being a bit melodramatic, but she rarely got to enjoy the silver-haired woman’s company and she was going to take advantage of it. “Let me buy you something from the snack machine and we’ll go sit on the courtyard and look at the stars.” The energetic girl realized how much this sounded like a date. “Would that be okay?”
Fujin pondered it for a second. “OKAY.”
The response was instant. “Booya!”
--
Quistis smiled as she came out of the bathroom. ‘I’m so glad to get clean.’ She threw their dirty clothes into a hamper, before she admired her ‘white knight’ who was comfortably reclining on the couch. She realized that she should offer the woman something to drink. “Celes,” she loved saying the name. “Would you like some tea?”
“Sure, I would love some, Quistis,” Celes said watching as her new ‘friend’ went into her small kitchen. She heard clinking of dishes in preparation.
A minute later, there was a chime signaling that there was someone present at the door. Both blondes responded. As Celes neared the door, Quistis’s foot caught on a rug and sent her sprawling on top of Celes.
Impatient, their guest opened the door. As they struggled to get up, Rinoa smiled down at them. “Sorry, I just figured I’d let myself in.” A sly look crossed her brown eyes, as she noticed Quistis’s face was cushioned by the mysterious blonde’s chest. Both were fiercely blushing. “Did I interrupt something?” Rinoa’s grin was indicating something less than innocent was in progress.
Quistis recovered first. “We bumped into each other as we went to answer the door.”
“Sure,” Rinoa replied. “So you’re the one who saved Quistis?” She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Rinoa Heartilly.”
“Celes Chere. Nice to meet you.” She was surprised when she was pulled into a tight hug.
“Thank you for saving her. I’d hate to imagine what would have happened…”
“It was nothing…” Celes swore she saw a jealous look on the other blonde’s face. Quistis noticed her looking and blushed. Rinoa let go and backed off. “Beautiful and humble… Quistis is really lucky.”
Quistis nearly choked on her tea. “Rinoa! We just met!” The instructor didn’t try to sound too offended. It sounded more like a mild scolding.
Rinoa grinned. She noticed the obvious attraction both ways. Celes was a bit more subtle about it. Quistis was acting like a school girl. It was really cute.
--
Rinoa had a cup of tea and left to take Squall a snack before she went back to her and Selphie's room. This left the girls alone to chat about their favorite things. They discussed ice cream flavors, colors, and spells. Celes let out a yawn and Quistis immediately followed. Neither woman wanted to go to sleep because they were enjoying each others’ company.
“I hate to cut this off, but class comes early in the morning.” Quistis stretched, while her shirt exposed her midriff. Celes’s eyes immediately went to the smooth skin. She quickly turned her eyes before the other woman noticed. Quistis noticed the gesture, which obviously gave away where her eyes had been. ‘She was looking at me! She’s interested, I think.’ Her mind returned to her previous thoughts. “So which class do you want to observe?”
Celes looked into the ice blue eyes. “All of them. I need to see every group present in the Garden if I’m to be involved. If I am to be your assistant.”
“But you could probably teach your own class…”
“No.” Celes blushed at her interruption. “I would rather be with you…” Her blush went full red. She walked over to the door of her new room. “Good night.”
“Wait,” Quistis stopped her. She got up and crossed over to Celes. “Good night. I’ll wake you at 7.” She leaned over and kissed the general on the cheek. Then, she giggled and went to her room.
Celes just stood there frozen. The grief from losing Terra was starting to heal, but guilt seeped in. ‘Am I just trying to replace her?’ A warmth in her heart spoke otherwise. ‘Am I ready to move on? I still love Terra, but I know I’m attracted to Quistis in every way. Terra was kind and loving. Quistis is intelligent and fun.’ Her mind kept thinking about the two women. She drifted off to sleep.
--
Celes had a dream about Terra that night. She remembered the fight with Kefka at the top of the Tower. The crazed clown thought he was God. Terra was transformed into her Esper form. She was still shy about it. She thought she was a monster. Celes told her that she was beautiful no matter what she looked like. Terra had blushed when Celes hugged her in her transformed state.
Kefka mentioned something about not allowing such “unnatural relations” in his kingdom. The women responded with a ferocious counter-attack that caught the freak off-guard. The look of shock on his face was priceless as his life disappeared. Terra and Celes ran to the airship hand-in-hand.
Afterwards, they went back to Mobliz together. They had watched over the orphans over the nextcouple of months. As the town was rebuilt, they spent more and more time together. They were almost inseparable. However, neither got the courage to admit their feelings. They weren’t worried. They were together and they had all the time in the world. Or so they thought…
--
Celes woke up with a gentle shake from Quistis. She looked into the beautiful blues eyes that were concerned. “Were you crying?”
“It’s all right, I was remembering my friend…”
“Was she special?”
“She was kind and strong. She loved children and took care of many orphans. She’s gone though.” Celes decided that this was not a good way to start the day. “But I’m okay. I know she wouldn’t want me to stop living. I won’t forget her, but I must keep living for her and myself.” She rose to her feet and received a comforting hug from Quistis. It warmed her heart. It was a sign, but she still wanted to take it slow. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” The instructor smiled. “Now how about breakfast?”
“Sound great.”
--
The first class of the day was fairly young by Celes’s standards. There couldn’t have been anyone older than 13. Quistis was talking about the basics of ‘junctioning.’ Celes felt a lance go through her heart when she heard about the similarities between Guardian Forces and Espers. ‘Terra.’ She was only half, but it made her look differently at those who gave their lives to become Magicite. What was the story with these Guardian Forces… ‘Did they have to make a sacrifice too?’
Quistis noticed the thoughtful look in her crush’s face. She laid a comforting hand on the woman’s shoulder as she turned to the class. “I’m sorry for not explaining my guest’s presence earlier.” The class had been having some difficulty paying attention to Quistis, an uncommon problem. A few girls were openly swooning and had their pencils eager to write down the name of the quiet, elegant woman. Quistis looked at Celes. “Would you like to do the honors, or should I?”
Celes uncrossed her legs and stood. She shifted the borrowed SeeD uniform and cleared her throat. Her military history was obvious from her posture. “I am Celes Chere. I am a former general.” That set off some whispers. “I’m considering becoming Quistis’s assistant teacher.” One girl promptly squealed setting off a chain reaction of cheers. The Trepies looked somewhat skeptically. They did not like the blush on their favorite instructor's face.
Quistis immediately reestablished control. “Okay, settle down class. You don’t want to scare her off.” There was immediate silence fromthe rowdy classroom. Quistis smiled before continuing the lesson.
--
The rest of the classes went on with continuing enthusiasm. The students noticed the extra pep in their instructor’s lessons. They also noticed the careful glances toward their potential teacher’s aide.
--
The two blondes were enjoying lunch in the cafeteria. Celes had actually tried one of the hot dogs that Zell had placed onto her plate. She said it was alright, but preferred the chicken sandwich that Quistis had recommended. ‘Maybe there’s another reason for that…’ Celes’s inner voice teased. She noticed Selphie entering hanging on the arm of someone who wasn’t the cowboy from the previous day. “Quistis, who is that with Selphie?”
“You mean, Irv…” She looked over. What was Selphie doing with Fujin? She had nothing against Fujin, even though they had been on opposite side of the battle field once. She knew it was out of loyalty to a friend. She then realized that she was ignoring Celes’s question. “That’s Fujin. She’s really quiet, even moreso than Squall. I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect those two to be hanging out.”
“Who’s Squall?” Celes followed up. She felt like the new kid, which she technically was.
“He’s Rinoa’s boyfriend. Not to mention the battle commander of the Garden.”
“Really.” The mention of Rinoa made her think of the events of the previous night, ending with the kiss. On the cheek. ‘Relax.’ She didn’t want to blush. ‘Too late.’
“Is something wrong?” Quistis looked mildly confused. She noticed that some of the Trepies were looking on with jealousy. “Is it my fan club? I’ll take care of them if they are threatening you.”
Celes caught her as she was trying to stand. She also noticed the hand going for the whip. “No I was just thinking about something.”
Quistis relaxed and sipped her iced tea. “Is it too early to ask if you’ve considered becoming a teacher?”
“No, it’s not too early. I can see what kind of advantages my experience would bring. I was fighting since I was around the age of your youngest students. I know what kind of fears they’ll have to overcome. I may not be very technical with the ‘junctioning’ skill, but I do understand magic. It’s in my blood, literally.” Celes felt like she had killed the friendly atmosphere. However, the happy look on Quistis’s face couldn’t be dissuaded.
“Well, that means we need to inform Headmaster Cid.” Quistis had to resist the urge to drag the woman all the way to the Headmaster’s office right now. They hadn’t even had dessert yet. The warm cinnamon rolls looked delightful.
Celes jumped slightly as hands covered her eyes. “Guess who!” An obviously cheery voice chirped.
“Let me see… Is it a cute brunette named Selphie?” She heard a nearby grunt that insinuated she had slightly jealous company. ‘What a good way to make friends…’ She thought sarcastically.
“Correct!” Selphie yelled. She removes the hands and waved vigorously at Quistis, who was only three feet away. “I was just about to ask if Quisty and you wanted to "double" with me and Fujin when we go to Balamb tonight.” The silver-haired woman blushed brightly. Her eye went looking around the room for something to focus on besides the brunette.
“Well, actually, Celes is accepting the assistant teaching position and we’re probably going to be busy in a meeting the Headmaster.” Quistis said with a sigh. ‘I’ll show her around Balamb some time later.’
Selphie looked disappointed…for about two seconds. Then, she resumed her usually bright smile. “That’s okay, I guess it’ll be more romantic with just the two of us.”
“NOT…DATE…” Fujin interrupted, trying to be convincing.
“Yeah, right. You know you’re sweet on me!” Selphie said confidently. Fujin just blushed. “I’ll make sure to wear something really cute for you!”
“SELPHIE…STOP…” Fujin, still trying to hide her embarrassment, turned her head.
“Sorry, it’s just so much fun!” Selphie looked apologetic. “Pick you up at your room at six?”
“OKAY.” Fujin said before leaving.
Selphie sighed longing as she left. Quistis laughed softly. “I never figured that you and her would go out…”
Selphie giggled. “Me either. She saved me from getting squished by a box last night. I thought it was really sweet, so I bought her a cupcake from the snack machine and we looked at the stars and talked and stuff. She’s really sweet.”
“But what about Irvine?” Celes asked. ‘I know Quistis is thinking the same thing.’
“It’s not like we were ever going out. He never got serious and I got tired of waiting. It’s not like he’ll stop flirting. Besides, I really wanted to get to know the real Fujin.” Selphie looked contemplative. She shook her head. “Well, I’d better go get ready!”
Selphie sprinted off. Quistis said: “She’s really cute, isn’t she?”
Celes nodded. ‘And you’re really beautiful.’ She smiled.
--
They arrived at the Headmaster’s office, slightly anxious. Celes wasn’t sure what he would expect fromher tohelp Quistis. Would there be a test? She’d have to study, because she definitely didn’t understand the magic principles of junctioning.
“Hello, Quistis, Celes,” he nodded politely. “What can I do for you ladies?”
Quistis indicated to Celes that it was her time to speak. She stood up and saluted. “Sir, I would like to undertake the task of assisting Instructor Quistis in educating the cadets of Balamb Garden!”
Cid was surprised at the formality. “Yes, I’m glad you are interested.” He stood up and paced. “Would you be willing to be tested for this position? These positions normally go to fully-instated SeeDs.”
“I understand fully, sir. In what manner will I be tested?” Celes was hoping the written test wouldn’t be difficult, so she wouldn’t be a burden on Quistis.
“A battle exam to test your experience. As you are probably aware, there is a training grounds on campus. I would like for you to duel with one of my better SeeDs.” Cid said with some pride.
“Who would that be, Headmaster?” Quistis asked, concerned. She knew the lady general was tough; it was just aknee-jerk reaction.
Cid smiled. “Squall Leonhart.”
End
So is this story still worth reading? I sure hope so. I’m ready for the next chapter and psyched. I’ve got the duel taken care of. However, I would like to hear if anyone else has a few small ideas. Funny cameos, or what not. I’m not familiar with everyone in the game, but I could definitely have fun with some major characters. No guarantees, but I’d like to have some fun with my readers.
Please read and review. Be gentle, but honest. Thanks!