All That Really Counts
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.]
**********
Quistis sat bolt upright in her bed, breathing heavily. Wow, she
thought to herself, what a dream. Quistis swung her legs out of her
bed, and went over to her closet to find something to change into. I
wonder if it meant anything. I’ve never heard of a GF trying to make
contact with someone in their dreams before. She grabbed her usual
ensemble of a pink skirt and top with knee-high boots and put them on
her bed. She went into her bathroom and turned on the water in her
shower, and looked into the mirror while she waited for the water to
warm up.
Quistis nearly fell over in shock when she turned to look in the
mirror. Instead of seeing herself, she saw Shiva’s face in the mirror.
Quistis, she heard the GF say, I love you…
Quistis blinked a couple of times and shook her head a little. When
she looked back in the mirror, all she saw was her own face. Great,
Quistis, she thought to herself. You’re daydreaming about a GF. She
tried not to think about it anymore as she removed her underwear and
stepped into the shower.
After Quistis finished her shower, she grabbed her bathrobe from the
hook on the back of her door and put it on. As she went to her drawer
to get a clean set of underwear, there was a knock at her door.
“Come in,” she yelled.
The door opened, and Selphie walked into Quistis’s room. “Did you have
a good nap, Quisty?” Selphie asked, with the usual cheery tone to her
voice.
“Yeah, I guess,” Quistis said, sitting down on her bed. “But I had
this weird dream…”
“Ohh, tell me all about it!” Selphie said, pulling a chair close to
Quistis’s bed and sitting down in it.
“What did you dream about?” “It was kinda strange,” Quistis said.
“Shiva came to me in this dream and said she wanted to talk to me.”
Selphie got a confused look on her face. “You mean the GF Shiva?” she
said.
“Yeah,” Quistis said.
“Well, what did she say to you?” Selphie said, sounding excited.
“She said she loved me,” Quistis said, giving a small nervous laugh.
“Imagine that,” she continued. “A GF said she was in love with me.”
Selphie looked like she would fall over if she hadn’t been sitting.
“She said she was in love with you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Quistis replied. “But that’s not all. Right before I woke up,
she… she kinda kissed me.”
Selphie’s eyes bugged out of her head, and her jaw nearly hit the
ground when what Quistis said sank in.
“She kissed you?” Selphie said, nearly yelling in surprise.
“Yeah,” Quistis said. She briefly considered telling Selphie about
seeing Shiva in the mirror after she woke up, but decided that she had
had enough surprises for today. “Do you think it means anything?”
Quistis asked Selphie. “I mean, can a GF actually contact someone in
their dreams?”
Selphie snapped back to reality and tried to answer Quistis’s
question. “I’m not sure,” Selphie said. “I mean, I’ve had some dreams
where I’ve seen the GF’s that I’ve had junctioned at the time, but
I’ve never had a dream like the one you described.”
“Well, maybe it was nothing,” Quistis said. “Maybe it was just a
result of too many sleepless nights.”
Selphie scratched her chin, thinking about what Quistis had just told
her. “Maybe you’re right.” She then remembered why she had come to
Quistis’s room in the first place. “Oh, I almost forgot. Everyone’s
going to Balamb City tonight for dinner. You wanna go with us?”
Quistis thought about it for a minute before answering. “Sure,” she
said, smiling a little. “It’s not like I have anything important to do
tonight.”
“Great!” Selphie said. “Once you’re dressed, just meet us at the
directory in the main hall. See you soon!” Selphie got up out of the
chair she had been sitting in and waved goodbye as she left the room.
Quistis got up off the bed and began to get dressed. Shiva, actually
in love with me, she thought to herself. It must have been a dream.
She grinned as she remembered the details of the dream. But… that kiss
wasn’t half-bad. Quistis shook her head, trying to get her thoughts
back in order, and finished getting dressed.
**********
Later that evening, Quistis and the rest of her friends were sitting
around a table at a restaurant in Balamb City. Everyone was making
idle small talk about whatever their tasks for the day had been.
Quistis was only paying enough attention to know when to nod when she
was being talked to. Squall and Rinoa were sitting close together,
Squall with his arm around Rinoa’s shoulder. Irvine was sitting with
Selphie, trying his best to get a kiss from her, Selphie doing her
best to make sure that Irvine didn’t do anything stupid out in public.
Even Zell had a date that night. It was the pig-tailed girl that
Quistis had seen with Zell quite a bit lately. They looked happy
together, holding each other’s hands in plain view. Suddenly, Quistis
was broken out of her thoughts when Squall said something to her. “I’m
sorry, Squall,” Quistis said, “what did you just say?”
“I was just asking how your day was,” Squall said.
This is a first, Quistis thought to herself. Squall’s actually asking
someone how they feel. Rinoa is actually making some headway with his
people skills. “Can’t complain,” she said, finally responding to
Squall’s question. “What about you?”
“Fine,” Squall said, giving the traditional monosyllabic response.
Rinoa gave Squall a light elbow to the side, and said to Quistis,
“What have you been up to lately?”
Quistis smiled as she answered. “Just work, work, and more work,”
Quistis said. Although she had been jealous of Rinoa at first for
getting the man she had thought she was in love with for so long, she
had eventually warmed up to the girl. “How about you?”
Rinoa smiled as she began to answer, but just before she could say
anything, Quistis looked in a mirror behind the bar of the restaurant,
and nearly fell over when, instead of seeing her own reflection, she
once again saw Shiva. The GF smiled at her, and Quistis heard her say,
I love you. Quistis squeezed her eyes shut and when opened them again,
Shiva was gone from the mirror. Rinoa noticed the change of expression
on Quistis’s face, and felt concern for her friend. “Quistis,” Rinoa
asked, “are you all right? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Quistis recovered after a second, and then said “I… I’m all right.”
She then began to get up from the table. “I need to go to the
washroom. Rinoa, would you mind coming with me?” Rinoa got up from her
seat beside Squall, and said “No problem, Quisty.” The two women then
walked off in the direction of the washroom.
Zell watched Quistis and Rinoa as they left. “Wonder what that was all
about?” he said to the rest of the group.
“Beats me,” said Irvine.
Selphie looked off in the direction that her two friends had walked,
knowing what Quistis was going to tell Rinoa. I just hope she doesn’t
nearly pass out like I did, she thought to herself, then returned to
fending off Irvine’s amorous advances.
**********
When Quistis was sure that she and Rinoa were alone in the ladies
room, she turned to her friend and said, “Rinoa, I need to talk to
you.”
Rinoa turned to Quistis and said, “What is it Quisty? You’ve been
acting strange all night. Is something wrong?”
“It’s about this dream I had after I went back to my room after class
today,” Quistis said, bracing herself on a counter and looking down at
her hands. “Shiva came to me in a dream and said that she wanted to
talk to me.”
“A GF contacted you in your dreams?” Rinoa said. “That’s unusual, but
not unheard of. They usually warn the people they’re junctioned to
about an upcoming danger. What did she say?”
“She said she loved me,” Quistis said, barely loud enough for Rinoa to
hear.
“She said what?” Rinoa said, obviously shocked.
“She said she loved me,” Quistis repeated. “But that’s not all. Right
before I woke up, she kissed me.”
“She kissed you?” Rinoa said, suddenly feeling the need to sit down.
“Yeah,” Quistis said, fighting back the urge to cry she was having
right now. “And, to top it all off, I’ve been seeing her whenever I
look into a mirror ever since I woke up.” A tear escaped from her eyes
and made a trail down her face. “What am I supposed to do? Is this
real, or is it just a dream?” She covered her face with her hands and
her shoulders began to shake.
Rinoa cautiously put a hand on Quistis’s shoulder to try and comfort
her friend. “Hey, Quistis,” Rinoa said, “don’t worry. It was probably
just a dream. Nothing more.”
“I’ve been trying to convince myself of that all night,” Quistis said.
“But the more and more I think about it, the more I’m sure that it was
more than just a dream.” She wiped at her face with the back of her
hand and tried to compose herself as she continued. “What if Shiva
really is in love with me? The only time we could be together is in my
dreams. How could we possibly make a long lasting relationship when
the only time we can see each other is when I’m asleep?”
Rinoa paced in front of Quistis a couple of times, trying to figure
out what to say to her friend. I never knew that Quistis might be gay,
she thought to herself. What am I supposed to say to her? “Hey,
Quisty, you may not be able to be with Shiva, but I know this nice
girl that you might like…” …yeah, right! She turned to face Quistis
and said, “Quistis… are you saying that you might have the same
feelings for Shiva as she has for you?”
Quistis wiped a few more tears from her eyes and said, “I think I do.”
Rinoa saw the look in Quistis’s eyes, and knew that she meant every
word of what she said. “Well, then,” Rinoa said, “I guess we’ll just
have to find a way that you and Shiva can be together when you’re not
asleep, then, won’t we?”
Quistis looked up at Rinoa, and managed to get out, “You’d help me do
that?”
Rinoa smiled warmly at Quistis and said, “You’re my friend. Of course
I would.”
Quistis ran up to Rinoa and nearly bowled her over with a hug. “Oh,
thank you,” she said breathlessly. “Thank you so much!”
“Hey,” Rinoa said, returning the hug, “what good is being a sorceress
if she can’t do something like bringing a GF to life for one of her
best friends?”
Once Quistis had composed herself and cleaned her face, her and Rinoa
went back to the table that the rest of the group was sitting at. Her
friends could tell that she had been crying, but when they saw the
huge smile on her face, they decided that whatever Rinoa had said to
her had cheered her up, and they went back to talking or eating
whatever they had ordered.
Quistis sat in her seat, feeling happy and content. She was finally
going to be with the person she loved. Don’t worry, Shiva, Quistis
thought to herself. We’ll be together before you know it.
**********
Meanwhile, in the corner of Quistis’s mind where the GF’s she had
junctioned were living, Shiva could barley contain herself. She loves
me! Shiva thought to herself, barely able to keep from jumping up and
down (so to speak). She really loves me!
Shiva was so excited at the prospect of being able to be with Quistis
whenever she wanted that she didn’t notice when the other GF Quistis
had junctioned, Siren, walked over to where Shiva was. “What’s got you
so excited?” Siren asked. “You look like a kid that got everything
they wanted for Winter Solstice.” “Well,” Shiva began, a huge grin
still plastered on her blue face, “I kinda told Quistis how I felt
about her while she was asleep this afternoon.”
Siren smiled at her friend. “So, you finally worked up the nerve to
tell Quistis that you love her, eh?” She sat down beside her friend
and asked, “What did she say?”
“Well, she was just in the washroom with that human friend of hers,
Rinoa,” Shiva said, “and she said that they were going to try and find
a way for me to be with her all the time!”
“You mean they’re going to try and find a way to make your next
appearance permanent?” Siren said incredulously.
“Yup,” Shiva said, still grinning happily. “Rinoa’s a sorceress, so
she’s going to try and help Quistis find a way to make my next
appearance somewhat longer than usual.” Shiva giggled, and rubbed her
arms with her hands quickly. “Oh, I can’t wait ‘till Quistis is asleep
tonight! I can’t wait to talk to her again!” Siren gave Shiva a hug,
and said, “Well, good luck. I hope that you and Quistis are very happy
together.” “Thanks, Siren,” Shiva said, still with a huge smile on her
face. When Siren walked away, Shiva practically jumped up and down for
joy.
She loves me!
**********
Soon after Quistis and the rest of her friends returned to Garden, she
quickly said goodnight to everyone and went straight to her room.
As she left the group’s sight, Squall turned to Rinoa and said, “Hey,
Rinoa, what did Quistis want to talk to you about?”
Rinoa paused for a second while she considered her answer. “Oh,” she
said, “nothing much. Just girl talk, really.” Rinoa almost sighed
audibly when Squall accepted her answer and didn’t press for details.
Rinoa was distracted from her thoughts about Quistis when she felt
someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around to look Selphie in
the eye. “Rinoa,” she said, “mind if I talk to you for a minute?
Alone?” Rinoa saw the urgent look in Selphie’s eyes, and said, “Uhh,
sure, Selphie.” Selphie then grabbed Rinoa by the arm and dragged her
towards her own room in the Garden.
Once they were in Selphie’s room, Selphie turned to Rinoa and said,
“All right, what did you and Quistis talk about?”
“I’m sorry Selphie,” Rinoa said, “but I really don’t think that she’d
want me to tell you. Or anyone for that matter. No offense intended,
of course.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Selphie said. The young SeeD swallowed a
little before she continued. “Rinoa,” she said, “Quistis told me about
Shiva coming to her in her dreams. I already know all about it.” Rinoa
plopped down onto Selphie’s bed, feeling relieved beyond belief.
“Thank Hyne I’m not the only one that knows,” Rinoa said. “I don’t
know if I’d be able to do what I told Quistis I’d help her do if it
were just me and her.”
“What do you mean, what you told Quistis that you’d help her do?”
Selphie asked as she sat beside Rinoa on the bed, her curiosity
suddenly piqued.
“Well,” Rinoa said, “I promised Quistis that I’d help her find a way
to let Shiva stay here with her permanently.”
Selphie’s jaw dropped when she heard what Rinoa said. “What?” she
asked, not quite sure what to think. Once she got over the shock,
Selphie managed to say, “So, it wasn’t just another dream? Shiva
really did make contact with Quistis while she was asleep?”
“Yes,” Rinoa said. “If Quistis had just seen her in her dreams, then I
might have thought differently. But, since she’s been seeing Shiva
whenever she looks into a mirror today, I figured that Shiva really
did make contact with Quistis.”
“Whoa, back up there,” Selphie said. “Quistis has been seeing Shiva
while she was awake? She never told me that.”
“Well, apparently she has,” Rinoa said. “That’s what convinced me that
it wasn’t just a dream, and that Shiva really was talking to Quistis.”
“Wow,” Selphie said, falling backwards onto her bed. “You know, this
is going to be kinda hard to do.”
“Yeah,” Rinoa said falling backwards to lie beside Selphie. “But, you
should have seen the look on Quistis’s face. She was so sad at the
thought of never being able to be with the person she loved. Then,
when I told her I’d help, she was so… elated, I guess the word is.”
“Yeah, I saw the look on her face when the two of you came back to the
table,” Selphie said. “One question,” she continued. “Do you have any
idea on how to go about liberating a GF permanently?”
“None whatsoever,” Rinoa said. “But I’m going to try.”
**********
[Quistis opened her eyes, and immediately knew that she was dreaming.
She had been so excited at the prospect of actually being able to be
with Shiva all the time, she had barley been able to strip down to her
underwear before she was in her bed trying to fall asleep. She sat up
in her bed and swung her legs out of it to the floor. “Shiva?” Quistis
called out cautiously. “Are you there?”]
[Suddenly, a pair of ice-blue hands covered her eyes from behind, and
a voice said, “Guess who!”]
[“Hmm,” Quistis said, a smile spreading across her face. “Is it…
Siren?”]
[“Smartass,” Shiva said, removing her hands from Quistis’s eyes. “I
missed you, you know.”]
[“Yeah,” Quistis said, “I missed you, too.” She turned around to face
Shiva, and smiled at the GF.]
[“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Rinoa in the
washroom this evening,” Shiva said, smiling as she looked at Quistis.
“Do you think that it’s really possible?”]
[“I’m not going to stop trying until it’s a reality,” Quistis said,
putting her arms around Shiva’s neck. “I’m really sorry I didn’t say
this the last time we talked,” Quistis continued, “but… I love you.”]
[Shiva just smiled, and put her arms around Quistis. “It’s all right,”
she said. “I knew how you felt when you finished talking to Rinoa.”]
[Quistis just looked Shiva in the eyes, and moved closer to the one
she loved. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, their tongues
exploring each other’s mouths. When they finally broke the kiss,
Quistis was the first one of them to speak. “Wow,” she said, feeling
out of breath. “That was… rather… enjoyable.”]
[Shiva just sat back on the bed, feeling the same way that Quistis
felt. “Yeah. Enjoyable pretty much sums that up.”]
[Quistis grinned as she thought of being able to kiss Shiva while she
wasn’t dreaming. “I can hardly wait until you’re in the real world
with me,” Quistis said.]
[“Me either,” Shiva said, running a hand through Quistis’s hair. “I’m
so excited.”]
[Quistis looked at Shiva and smiled. “That would make two of us,” she
said, pulling the GF into another long kiss.]
**********
Quistis woke up from her dream with a huge smile on her face. Who knew
that a GF would be able to kiss that well? She got up from her bed,
and went about her daily morning ritual of showering and getting
dressed. Since it was still the weekend, Quistis decided to go for a
walk to the beach near the Garden. Once she was finished getting
dressed after her shower, she fastened her whip to her belt and headed
out of the Garden towards the beach.
When Quistis arrived at the beach, she saw Rinoa sitting there with
Squall. The two lovebirds, Quistis thought to herself as she got
closer. She made sure that she wasn’t disturbing anything before she
made her presence known.
Rinoa turned around when she heard someone coming, and got up to greet
Quistis with a friendly hug. “Hey, Quistis,” she said, smiling as she
let go of her friend. “Did you sleep well?”
Quistis blushed a little as she remembered what she had dreamed about
that night. “Umm… yeah, I did,” she replied quickly. Eager to change
the subject, Quistis said, “So, what are you and Squall up to?”
“Oh, nothing,” Rinoa said, sitting down beside Squall on their blanket
and motioning for Quistis to do the same.
Quistis took the offered seat, and Squall waved a greeting at her as
she did. “Hey, Quistis,” he said, glancing in her direction.
Quistis looked at Squall and said, “Good morning, Squall. How you
feeling today?”
“Pretty good,” he responded. Wow, Quistis thought to herself. He
actually responded with more than one word! Rinoa really is having a
positive influence on him!
Once Quistis got over the shock of Squall actually answering a
question with more than one word, she turned to Rinoa. “Rinoa,” she
said, “mind if I drag you off for a second?”
Rinoa saw the look on Quistis’s face, and knew right away what she
wanted to talk about. “Sure,” she said. “Squall, I’ll be right back,”
she said to her boyfriend. “Don’t disappear on me, all right?” “Sure,”
Squall responded. “Don’t be gone too long.” He took Rinoa’s hand into
his own and kissed it before she walked off with Quistis.
Once Quistis thought she and Rinoa were out of Squall’s range of
hearing, she said to Rinoa, “All right, who is that, and what have you
done with the real Squall Leonhart?”
Rinoa laughed at Quistis’s statement. “He has changed, hasn’t he?” She
looked back towards where Squall was sitting, and a warm smile spread
across her face. “I can still remember when he wouldn’t even say more
than two words to me at a time unless it was absolutely necessary.”
Quistis grinned as she compared the way Squall was before he had met
Rinoa, and the way he was now that Rinoa was in his life. She
definitely has been a positive influence on him, she thought to
herself. Then she remembered what she had wanted to ask Rinoa.
“Rinoa,” Quistis asked, smoothing out her face before she continued,
“do you have any idea on how to keep Shiva from disappearing the next
time she’s summoned?”
Rinoa got a serious look on her face, and said, “I’ve been trying to
come up with an idea, but so far I’ve only been able to think of one
thing that may work.”
Quistis looked Rinoa right in the eye, and said “What? What were you
thinking of doing?” “Well,” Rinoa started, “I would need to borrow
Shiva’s orb from you. Then, I summon Shiva. When she appears, I’ll try
to concentrate all of my powers into her. If everything goes well, she
should be here permanently.”
Quistis looked at her friend again, and gave her an appreciative hug.
“Thank you so much for doing this for me,” Quistis said. “I won’t ever
be able to repay you for this.”
“Ahh, don’t worry about it,” Rinoa said, waving her hand in a
dismissive gesture. “Just invite Squall and I to the wedding.” The two
smiled and made small talk as they returned to the blanket where
Squall was sitting.
**********
Meanwhile, back at the Garden, Selphie sat in her room, trying her
best to figure out how she could help Rinoa with summoning Shiva
permanently. I may not be able to help with the actual summoning of
Shiva, Selphie thought to herself, but there must be something that I
can do! She paced back and forth across her room, thinking of and
discarding ideas with each step. Suddenly, she realized something that
she hadn’t even thought of before. Shiva’s going to need some clothes,
Selphie realized with a start. She can’t very well go around looking
the way she does when she’s summoned! Selphie, glad that she had
finally found some way that she could help Quistis and Rinoa with
Shiva, began to search through her closet for something that might fit
Shiva.
Selphie still had her head stuck in her closet when there was a knock
at the door. “Come in!” she yelled, still searching through the
closet.
The door opened to admit Selphie’s boyfriend, Irvine. “Hey, baby,” he
said, with his usual cocky tone of voice, “what are you up to now?”
Quick, think up a lie, and for Hyne’s sake, make it a good one!
Selphie thought to herself before she answered. “I’m… I’m looking for
clothes I don’t need anymore to give away,” she said quickly. Good,
Selphie thought to herself. And it’s the truth, too.
Irvine, typical to his nature, said, “Well, what about those clothes
you’re wearing? I don’t think you really need them anymore…”
Selphie gave an exasperated sigh, turned around to face Irvine, and
said, “Irvine, enough with the innuendoes already.”
Irvine held his hands up in defeat, knowing that Selphie was getting
angry. “All right, all right,” he said, “I’m sorry. I’ll be good, I
swear.”
Selphie silently thanked Hyne as she turned back around to look
through the clothes in her closet. “What did you come here for,
anyways, Irvine?” she asked as she tossed an old dress over her
shoulder. Irvine almost made a crude joke after Selphie asked her
question, but thought better of it and said instead, “Quistis and
Rinoa just got back to the Garden with Squall a few minutes ago. They
told me to tell you to meet them outside the Training Center as soon
as possible.”
“Oh, all right,” Selphie said, knowing right away what the two women
wanted to talk to her about. “Well, I’m not really getting anything
done right now, so I may as well go and meet them now.” She walked
towards the door, pausing to give Irvine a light kiss before she left.
“Thanks for delivering the message, Irvy.”
“Any time, Sefie,” Irvine said, using the childhood nickname everyone
had used for her. “See you later.”
“See ya,” Selphie said, waving goodbye as she walked off towards the
training center.
**********
Quistis and Rinoa were standing outside the entrance to the training
center making idle small talk when they saw Selphie coming from the
direction of the dorm rooms. Selphie waved at them when she saw them,
and Quistis and Rinoa waved back in acknowledgement. When Selphie
finally got near enough to them so that they would be able to hear
her, she said, “Hey, there. What did you guys want?”
Rinoa answered. “We’re going to go through with the summoning of Shiva
on the next full moon, which is one week from today.” Rinoa motioned
for the other two women to follow her, and she began walking into the
training center, keeping her voice low so that no one could hear what
she said. “We’re going to do it in a small clearing I found in the
forest right in front of the Fire Cavern.”
“What about the monsters that live there?” Selphie asked.
“I’m going to borrow Diablos from Squall and use the Encounter None
ability,” Rinoa said. “That way we won’t have to worry about being
attacked by any monsters before we can finish summoning Shiva.”
“All right, what then?” Quistis asked.
“Like I said before, I’m going to need to borrow Shiva’s orb from
you,” Rinoa went on. “I’ll summon Shiva, and concentrate all my power
into her. Hopefully, with the amount of power she’ll have in her,
she’ll be able to break the hold the orb has on her, and she’ll be
free to live in our world just like any other normal human.”
“Will there be anything I can do during the summoning?” Quistis asked.
“No,” Rinoa said. “But after Shiva is summoned, you should make sure
she’s as comfortable as possible. I imagine that after the summoning
is over that she’ll be completely exhausted.”
“I can bring a cloak or something to cover her up for when we bring
her back to the Garden,” Selphie said. “Wouldn’t do for someone to see
us walking into the Garden holding up a barely conscious GF.”
“Good idea,” Rinoa said.
“Wait a second,” Quistis said as a thought popped into her head. “Will
she be able to stand the warm temperatures around here? I mean, she is
an ice-based GF, after all.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Rinoa said. “Once the summoning is
complete, she should physically be just like any other human… except
for the blue skin, of course.”
Both Selphie and Quistis giggled at that. “I wouldn’t have it any
other way,” Quistis said. “What do you say we go to Balamb City and
get something to eat? My treat.” The other two women agreed
immediately, and they all walked out of Garden and headed towards the
city.
**********
After spending a few hours talking and laughing over their meals,
Quistis, Rinoa, and Selphie decided to call it a night. Once they
returned to the Garden, they all said their goodbyes and went to their
dorm rooms. When Rinoa walked through the door to the room that she
now shared with Squall, she was surprised to find that Squall was
still awake. “What have you been up to?” Squall asked as soon as Rinoa
walked through the door.
Rinoa nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Squall’s voice. She
hadn’t thought that Squall would have waited up for her. “Nothing,”
she said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Quistis, Selphie and I just
went out for dinner, that’s all.”
“That’s not all you three have been up to lately,” Squall said. “What
are you planning?”
“What makes you thinking we’re planning something?” she asked, trying
to keep her voice level. At the same time, though, she was thinking,
Oh, Hyne, what does he know? Did he overhear us talking this
afternoon?
“Quistis was more depressed than I’ve ever seen her in my entire
life,” Squall said, getting up and starting to pace across the room.
“Then, you take her into the washroom of a restaurant, talk to her for
about ten minutes, and she’s suddenly acting like a kid that just got
some extra dessert after dinner.”
Squall stopped pacing and turned to look Rinoa directly in the face.
“No one comes out of a depression that deep that fast without a really
good reason. I just want to know what Quistis’s reason was.” Rinoa
stood there with her head bowed for a second, trying to figure out if
she should tell Squall the whole truth. Well, she eventually thought,
he’s going to find out sooner or later. May as well be now. “Squall,
you may want to sit down before I tell you this.”
Squall sat down in a nearby chair, and Rinoa pulled up another one so
that she was sitting directly in front of him. “All right, I’m sitting
down,” Squall said. “Now what are the three of you planning?” Rinoa
cleared her throat, and said, “We’re going to summon Shiva.”
Squall looked at her like she had just said that she was going to eat
breakfast tomorrow morning. “You’re going to summon Shiva?” he asked.
“What’s with all the secrecy then?”
“Well,” Rinoa said, sounding more nervous by the second, “we’re going
to summon Shiva… permanently.”
Squall looked at her, confusion etched on his face. “Permanently?” he
said. “What do you mean permanently?”
Rinoa then launched into the story of how Shiva had come to Quistis in
a dream, and all about the plan to summon Shiva so that she could stay
on their plane of existence permanently. When she finally finished,
she sat back in her chair, drained from the telling of the story.
“Well,” Rinoa said, “what do you have to say on the subject?”
Squall ran a hand through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts and
let what Rinoa told him sink in. “Well,” he began, “I think that you
already know that I’m going to say that I don’t like the idea of you
trying this. One or all of you might end up getting hurt.”
“I know that, Squall,” Rinoa said, “but I made a promise to Quistis,
and I intend to keep it.”
Squall saw the determined look on Rinoa’s face, and realized that no
matter what he said to her, there would be no talking her out of the
course of action she had chosen. “Fine,” he said finally after a long
silence, “go ahead and do it. But I don’t have to like it.”
Rinoa jumped out of the chair she was sitting in and nearly knocked
Squall over with a hug. “Thanks, Squall,” she said.
Squall didn’t say anything. He just returned Rinoa’s hug, knowing that
she would be as careful as she possibly could while fulfilling her
promise to Quistis. When he was sure that she was asleep, he gently
put her into their bed, and crawled in beside her, following her into
sleep.
**********
One Week Later… Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis were all gathered in the
clearing that Rinoa had found in the forest near the Fire Cavern.
Selphie had an old blanket to wrap Shiva in once she had been
summoned. Rinoa had been preparing herself all week by resting, since
the she knew the summoning would most likely completely exhaust her.
Quistis was almost biting her fingernails in anticipation of Shiva
being summoned. I hope she’ll be all right, Quistis kept on thinking
over and over. After walking for what seemed like forever to Quistis,
the three women finally reached the clearing.
“All right, here we are,” Rinoa announced. She turned to Quistis and
said, “Quistis, I’m going to need Shiva’s orb now.”
Quistis took Shiva’s orb and handed it over to Rinoa, who junctioned
it right away. “Is there anything else that I can do?” Quistis asked,
anxious to see Shiva soon.
“No,” Rinoa replied. “Just stand back while I’m summoning Shiva. As
soon as I’m done, you should take the blanket from Selphie and make
Shiva as comfortable as possible.”
Selphie put a reassuring hand on Quistis’ shoulder and said, “Hey,
don’t worry. Everything will turn out all right.”
Quistis smiled at Selphie, glad for her friend’s reassurances.
“Thanks, Selphie,” Quistis said. Rinoa then moved to the center of the
clearing. “All right, you may want to stand back now,” she said to her
friends. Quistis and Selphie backed up to the edge of the clearing,
giving Rinoa as much room as they possibly could while still being
able to see what was going on. Rinoa then assumed her usual stance for
summoning a GF, and concentrated.
As Selphie and Quistis looked on, the air in front of Rinoa began to
shimmer, and Shiva began to appear. After a few short seconds, the ice
GF was fully visible. Rinoa then began to concentrate even harder, and
a light began to emanate from her, growing to surround her and Shiva.
The light kept on growing brighter and brighter, becoming so bright
that Selphie and Quistis had to look away.
Rinoa kept on concentrating, pouring more and more of her power into
Shiva. Eventually, Rinoa felt something change in the GF, and realized
that she had been successful. She cut off the flow of power from
herself to Shiva, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
Quistis and Selphie, suddenly realizing that the light that had lit up
the clearing a minute before was now gone, removed their hands from
their eyes and turned around to look where Rinoa was. When they
looked, Selphie immediately noticed that Rinoa had fallen to the
ground, apparently completely exhausted. The first thing Quistis
noticed, however, was Shiva, laying on the ground beside Rinoa,
apparently in the same condition.
“Shiva!” Quistis yelled, running over to the GF’s side. Quistis
kneeled on the ground beside her, and cradled Shiva’s head in her lap.
Quistis brushed a hand against Shiva’s cheek, being as gentle as
possible. At Quistis’s touch, Shiva’s eyes fluttered open.
“Q…Quistis?” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Did it work?”
Quistis gave a hoarse laugh, and kissed Shiva lightly on the forehead.
“Yeah,” Quistis said, barely able to hold back the tears of joy that
were threatening to overwhelm her. “Yeah, it worked.”
The next few minutes were a blur to Quistis. She only vaguely
remembered Selphie casting Curaga on Rinoa and Shiva, and could barely
recall Selphie handing her the blanket to wrap up Shiva with so they
could sneak her back into the Garden. She felt Selphie touch her
lightly on the shoulder, telling her that they should all get going
before they were missed. Quistis got up, and held an arm tightly
around Shiva’s shoulders to support her as they walked back to the
Garden, Selphie doing the same for Rinoa.
Quistis was fairly surprised when Shiva spoke up as they walked back
to the Garden. “Quistis,” she said, “I hope you don’t mind me sleeping
in tomorrow morning.”
Quistis just smiled and tightened her hold on Shiva a little. “Don’t
worry. You can sleep as long as you want.” The four walked the rest of
the way back to the Garden in silence, Quistis and Shiva with a
content smile on their faces.
**********
Epilogue
With a little luck, Quistis, Selphie, and Rinoa managed to
sneak Shiva back into the Garden without arousing anyone’s suspicion.
Quistis went back to her room with Shiva, and Selphie helped Rinoa
back to her room. When Selphie and Rinoa walked in, they found Squall
waiting.
As soon as he saw them walk in, Squall got up and helped Rinoa,
thanking Selphie for bringing her this far. He walked her over to the
bed, and she immediately fell over, still feeling completely drained.
“So, how’d it go?” Squall asked, brushing some hair out of Rinoa’s
face.
“Perfectly,” Rinoa said, giving a weak smile. “Quistis took Shiva back
to her room as soon as we got back.”
Squall smiled, and said, “I’m glad everything worked out.”
Rinoa looked up at him, and said, “You hardly ever smile. You should
do it more often.” “I hardly ever have a reason to,” Squall said.
“Well, I guess I’m going to have to change that,” Rinoa said. She
grabbed Squall by his shirt and dragged him down onto the bed beside
her. She wrapped her arms around him and they eventually fell into a
blissful sleep.
**********
Meanwhile, back in Quistis’s room, her and Shiva were lying in bed
together, Shiva staring intently into Quistis’s eyes. “I feel like
this is some sort of wonderful dream,” Shiva said. “It’s like I’ll
wake up when it gets to the best part.”
Quistis reached up and lightly pinched Shiva’s arm. “I’m still here,
aren’t I?” she said.
“Yeah,” Shiva said, smiling. She pulled closer to Quistis and kissed
her gently on the lips.
“You know,” Quistis said, more seriously, “we’re eventually going to
have to explain this to everyone.”
“Yeah, I know,” Shiva said. “But let’s not think about that for now.
Let’s just relax for now.”
“I like that idea,” Quistis said. The two women got as close together
as they possibly could, so that not even air could fit between them.
“You know,” Quistis said, “I’m going to be saying this a lot now, so
I’d better get started.”
“Going to be saying what a lot now?” Shiva asked, running a hand
through Quistis’s hair. “I love you, that’s what,” Quistis answered.
Shiva smiled, and said, “I love you, too, Quisty.” The two women
kissed passionately, not wanting to ever stop. They eventually fell
asleep, not caring that tomorrow they would have a lot of explaining
to do. They didn’t care what people would think about them. They were
in love, as deeply in love as any two people had ever been, and that’s
all that really counts.
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