King's Heart (part 20 of 31)

Love, Really

Xu fidgeted nervously. She wasn’t sure what to do or say in his presence. Quistis was right by her, holding her hand. Seer paced back and forth, shaking his head.

“It would be nice if you didn’t mention it to anyone.” Xu said meekly.

“I’m not going to, it’s just a bit of a shock. I mean…here I was about to kiss you and this girl runs in and steals that kiss from me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that!” Xu defended.

“Well, shocking in the least.” Seer sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and sat down. “I’m sorry if I tried to take your girlfriend.” Xu hung her head. In fact, it was probably the other way around. Quistis saw the look on her face and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” The blond said apologetically.

“It’s fine…it’ll just take some getting used to.”

“We’re trying to keep it under wraps.” Xu interjected. “I mean…you’re the second person to know and we want to keep the number as minimal as possible.”

“Reputation?” Seer asked.

“More like Quistis’s career at stake.” Seer cocked an eyebrow.

“I thought laws protected you from this kind of thing?” He asked.

“They do.” Xu replied. “But we had this one teacher a few years ago, very nice young man, well liked…until they found out he was gay. Suddenly all sorts of things started to go wrong…students started to claim molestation, a ‘discipline problem.’ Cid hated to do it, but he had to fire him.”

“Ah, sabotage.” Seer nodded. Quistis sighed.

“You, dear, need to let me worry about that.” She said. Xu pouted and Quistis laughed, kissing her on the check. Seer coughed to signal that he was still in the room and still a little sore from the rejection.

“You know…you’ve got to tell your friends one day or another. I mean, your friend Irvine told me that we were engaged.” He laughed. “That guy…sure knows how to fool someone.” Xu’s left eye twitched visibly and she smiled crookedly.

“Really, Irvine you say…?” Quistis realized what was going through Xu’s mind and placed her hand on her shoulder to steady her.

“Easy does it, hun.” She whispered. “Be good. Remember what happens when you’re good.” Xu remembered back to the day after Quistis’s birthday and shivered at the thought of something more. “It’s getting pretty late, that old guy at the gate hates it when people come through at ridiculous hours.” The two of them stood up.

“Do you want me to walk you back?” Seer offered.

“No, Xu’ll protect me, won’t you?” Quistis teased, scrunching up her nose and sticking her tongue out. Xu returned the gesture and the two of them said their goodbyes to Seer and walked out the door.

“Quis?” She whispered.

“Yeah?” The Instructor replied. Xu stopped walking. If she didn’t ask now, she would never be sure, and she wanted to be sure, she wanted it to be reality.

“Is it real this time? I mean…no more doubts, no more anything? I don’t want to sound selfish but I just want you so much that it hurts.” She couldn’t stop tears from. Quistis walked over and hushed her, holding her close.

“It’s real, I promise, no more doubts.”

“What about him?”

“He’s not the same person, Xu. And even if he does return to the Arik I knew, I’m not the same person. I’ve changed, I’ve moved on. And right now, I don’t want to lose you so just please believe me.” She smiled at the brunette and kissed her on the mouth in the street, slowly and affectionately. Xu broke apart, her face flushed and her pulse escalating. Now or never.

“I want you.” She hissed. Quistis jerked back a little and Xu winced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. Well…I mean I did but…”

“It’s ok.” Quistis replied, getting over the initial shock and blushing. “I want you too." The two smiled nervously at each other, knowing where they wanted this to go, but unsure of how to get there. The blonde broke the silence first by grabbing Xu’s hand. “Come on.” She said and the two of them ran back to Balamb Garden, ignoring the old gate keeper’s raspy shouts at them for being late and setting a bad example for younger students. Xu didn’t care who saw them but no one did. The two of them rushed to Xu’s room, hearts beating until it felt like they were going to burst. Xu fumbled with the key to her room.

“Damn, just unlock!” She hissed. It took a moment, a moment of eternity it seemed to unlock the door and the two of them tripped over the welcome mat at the door and both of them fell in a frenzy of kisses, even before they hit the ground. The impact accidentally made Xu bit down a little, causing Quistis’s lip to bleed.

“I’m sorry!” She apologized but Quistis said nothing, pulling her in for another kiss and Xu could taste the blood. The two of them got up and Quistis pulled Xu’s tie off, throwing it onto the shoe rack. Xu attempted to unzip Quistis’s top but only succeeded half way before she zipped her own finger.

“DAMN!” She cursed as the finger began to bleed. The two of them began to laugh.

“Look at us.” The Instructor giggled. “We’re going to kill ourselves before we get to bed." But the two didn’t seem to mind as Xu finished what she set out to do.

“Black lace…Irvine?” Xu commented with a sly smile.

“Just for you.” Quistis replied, kissing her now bare shoulder. And when the two finally made it to Xu’s bed, they toppled over onto it.

“As much as I like it.” Xu said in between kisses, “It has to go.”

“Only if you take off that hideous leopard prints…” Quistis wrinkled her nose in mock disgust. Xu balked.

“It is not! That’s it! You know what? I’m leaving.” She said, moving to get up. Quistis grabbed the collar of her open shirt and pulled her back down on top of her.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Xu had never known love. All her life, except for Becca, she had never been loved and she had never loved as she should have. This new experience was something that frightened her. She and Quistis were finally getting to each other, not just physically but spiritually. Sex with Quistis was a spiritual act for Xu, something that one could not do without his/her complete soul. It was more than just stripping down the cloth barriers that separated them, it was also stripping down the walls both of them had put up to protect themselves. For the first time in a long time, Quistis and Xu lay themselves bare to each other, the person they cared about the most. When Quistis’s hands found Xu, memorized every patch of skin on her body and then dipped down past her waistline to where Xu had never been touched before, Xu closed her eyes and buried her face deep into Quistis’s collarbone and bit down on her lip.

“You ok?” Quistis breathed. Xu nodded until her body seized up and she cried out a little in shock, unaccustomed to such a feeling, such bliss. Quistis used her other hand to stroke Xu’s hair softly, planting kisses on her head. “I love you.” Xu nodded again, her entire body still numb and tingling. Xu took a deep breath and turned to face her.

“My turn…” she said mischievously.

-

-

Night seemed to go by quickly for the two. Exhausted, both of them drifted into sleep, well past the morning. Their clothes lay scattered all around the room haphazardly, proof of just how frantic they were to get to bed. But their absence did not go unnoticed, at least not Quistis’s.

“Where is she? She’s not in her room.” Selphie sighed, biting her fingernail. Rinoa slapped her hand.

“Stop that! That’s a bad habit!”

“I can’t help it.” Selphie whined. “Where’s Quistis?”

“I know where she might be.” Irvine said with a grin. “Have you checked Arik’s place?” Selphie stomped on Irvine’s foot.

“You pervert!” And then she stopped. “But maybe…” It was at this moment that Ayane and Zell walked in. Zell immediately bustled off to the cafeteria line for his daily hour of waiting for hotdogs. Ayane sat down.

“Grab me something!” She shouted to him and turned to everyone. “You guys look worried, what’s up?”

“Quistis isn’t in her room and no one’s seen her since last night. Usually, she meets us here for breakfast and it’s not like Quistis to break a schedule.” Selphie explained. Ayane thought for a moment. Quistis wasn’t in her room and last night, she was with Arik. But…

“XU!” She said aloud. Everyone stopped and stared at her and her face went pale. Oh shit, think of something…come on…

“Xu?” Rinoa asked curiously, looking behind her. “She’s not here…what?”

“Uh…Xu might know where Quistis is! You know, the two of them are close…” She stopped again. Just give it away, why don’t you, Aya? Just go ahead and say it, you’re practically there.

“Yeah, maybe.” Selphie said. “I’ll go ask her right now. I haven’t seen her so maybe she’s in her room signing papers or something.”

“NO!” Aya stood up and blocked her way. “You…uh…go check Quistis’s room one more time. I’ll go to Xu. Besides, she’s real cranky when you disturb her.”

“Ewww, you’re right. One time, I woke her up and she practically took my head off…”

“Great! We’ll meet back here.” Aya ran as fast as she could towards the dorms. When she got to Xu’s room, she took a deep breath and knocked.

Inside, Xu and Quistis were still dozing when Aya’s knock woke them up. They both sat up and looked around.

“What? What’s going on…?” Quistis asked sleepily. Xu was the first to realize.

“CRAP! Someone’s at the door!” She stood up and slipped on a shirt and some shorts. Quistis buried herself under the covers and hid, laughing. “There’s nothing funny about this!”

“Sorry, sorry…” Quistis apologized. Xu walked cautiously over to the door and gently slid it open.

“Hi!” Aya said cheerfully. Xu sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness it’s just you.”
“Why? Is Quistis in there with you?” Aya said grinning evilly. Xu blushed.

“Hey now! That’s a pri…”

“HI!” Quistis shouted from the bedroom. Aya giggled and Xu slapped her forehead. Quistis ran up, a blanket wrapped around her body and trailing behind her. Her strawberry blond hair was a mess and she couldn’t stop giggling.

“I take it you two made up?” Aya asked with a smile. Quistis kissed Xu’s cheek. “I’ll take that as a yes. It’s so great that you two are back together!”

“I think she’s more trouble than she’s worth.” Xu muttered, rolling her eyes. Quistis balked and frowned.

“So…what about Arik?” Aya asked.

“We told him the truth and he’s fine. A little shocked, yes, but fine.” Quistis replied. Aya nodded and then remembered.

“Hey, uh, Selphie and the others are going into a fit looking for you. I think you two should get dressed because they’re bound to visit this place next.” She warned. The two lovers looked at each other and sighed.

“I guess you’re right. Oh well, there’s always this evening.” Quistis replied with a smirk. Aya and Xu blushed at the same time.

“We’ll be right out.” Xu said, shutting the door. Aya could not stop herself from smiling. It seemed like everything would be alright after all.