![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
FFVIII: Another Life
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Quistis/Selphie
Warnings: Angst
Rating: G
Summary: Picking up the pieces, trying to move on. For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
10lilies.
Notes: This is intentionally vague about the disaster. I'd be interested to know if you could figure out what happened, to some extent.
The war feels like it was another life, now. Even the landscape has changed: the familiar contours of Balamb Garden gone.
Quistis gets up, pushing away the chair, and tries to avoid the cheerful eyes of the girl in the photograph on her desk. She goes over to the window instead, looking down on the training ground outside. Zell's there, today, with the new batch of martial artists. He's flailing his arms around, trying to make a point, and Quistis can't help but smile to see it. There are two other groups there -- gunblades and nunchaku, she thinks -- but no one else she recognises. She pulls back from the window.
"Commander?"
She glances at the door. Nida stands there, looking awkward and uncomfortable in his most formal uniform. "Yes?"
"I wanted to discuss my rank," he says, fidgeting. "I mean -- I was a pilot, before the -- before we lost Balamb Garden. But Esthar Garden isn't mobile."
Quistis sighs, running a hand through her hair and nodding. "Of course. Is there anything you'd like to go into now?"
"I was thinking -- " He looks down, not meeting her eyes. "I was thinking that since Xu's place is vacant now, and I used to help her, I could..."
"You used to help her?"
"Yes," he says, his ears turning a deep pink. He stammers a little. "She and I were -- we were close. Once I convinced her I wasn't useless, I managed to help her quite a lot. I'm... I'm good at organising things."
"I remember. You always got your work done on time, and it was always neat and well organised. It seems like years ago." Quistis turns again, looking over at her desk, though from this angle she can't see the photograph. "But, what happened... It's made it all seem so far away."
"Yes," Nida says, quietly, and Quistis shakes the thought away, remembering herself.
"Sorry. I should concentrate on today. We still haven't got everything sorted out." She tries to smile. "It's a good thing Esthar Garden was nearing completion when it happened, or it would all be worse. We'd even started transferring records over. Squall always intended me to be in charge of this Garden, too, though he expected me to have Selphie's help... Taking Xu's job will mean that you have to meet people. Brief instructors and cadets. Are you sure it's what you want?"
"Yes," Nida says, a little more resolve creeping into his voice. She realises, with some surprise, that he really is more confident. "I owe it to Xu, I think."
Quistis nods. "Come by tomorrow and I'll sort out some preliminary duties. We'll see how you do before we make it definite, of course."
Nida nods back. He looks about to say something else, but then shakes his head and quickly leaves, shutting the door behind him. Quistis slowly goes over to the chair, sitting down, running a finger along the mended arm. It's one of the few things they retrieved from the wreckage -- she keeps it mostly as a link to the man who sat in it before her. "How did you do this, Squall?" she asks, quietly. "Even after what happened to Rinoa, you..."
She trails off. The photograph on the desk looks up at her, laughing.
"I miss you, Selphie," she says, softly, but she reaches out to tip the photograph forward onto its face. Today, she can't think of the past. There's still work to be done.
Pairing: Quistis/Selphie
Warnings: Angst
Rating: G
Summary: Picking up the pieces, trying to move on. For
10lilies.Notes: This is intentionally vague about the disaster. I'd be interested to know if you could figure out what happened, to some extent.
The war feels like it was another life, now. Even the landscape has changed: the familiar contours of Balamb Garden gone.
Quistis gets up, pushing away the chair, and tries to avoid the cheerful eyes of the girl in the photograph on her desk. She goes over to the window instead, looking down on the training ground outside. Zell's there, today, with the new batch of martial artists. He's flailing his arms around, trying to make a point, and Quistis can't help but smile to see it. There are two other groups there -- gunblades and nunchaku, she thinks -- but no one else she recognises. She pulls back from the window.
"Commander?"
She glances at the door. Nida stands there, looking awkward and uncomfortable in his most formal uniform. "Yes?"
"I wanted to discuss my rank," he says, fidgeting. "I mean -- I was a pilot, before the -- before we lost Balamb Garden. But Esthar Garden isn't mobile."
Quistis sighs, running a hand through her hair and nodding. "Of course. Is there anything you'd like to go into now?"
"I was thinking -- " He looks down, not meeting her eyes. "I was thinking that since Xu's place is vacant now, and I used to help her, I could..."
"You used to help her?"
"Yes," he says, his ears turning a deep pink. He stammers a little. "She and I were -- we were close. Once I convinced her I wasn't useless, I managed to help her quite a lot. I'm... I'm good at organising things."
"I remember. You always got your work done on time, and it was always neat and well organised. It seems like years ago." Quistis turns again, looking over at her desk, though from this angle she can't see the photograph. "But, what happened... It's made it all seem so far away."
"Yes," Nida says, quietly, and Quistis shakes the thought away, remembering herself.
"Sorry. I should concentrate on today. We still haven't got everything sorted out." She tries to smile. "It's a good thing Esthar Garden was nearing completion when it happened, or it would all be worse. We'd even started transferring records over. Squall always intended me to be in charge of this Garden, too, though he expected me to have Selphie's help... Taking Xu's job will mean that you have to meet people. Brief instructors and cadets. Are you sure it's what you want?"
"Yes," Nida says, a little more resolve creeping into his voice. She realises, with some surprise, that he really is more confident. "I owe it to Xu, I think."
Quistis nods. "Come by tomorrow and I'll sort out some preliminary duties. We'll see how you do before we make it definite, of course."
Nida nods back. He looks about to say something else, but then shakes his head and quickly leaves, shutting the door behind him. Quistis slowly goes over to the chair, sitting down, running a finger along the mended arm. It's one of the few things they retrieved from the wreckage -- she keeps it mostly as a link to the man who sat in it before her. "How did you do this, Squall?" she asks, quietly. "Even after what happened to Rinoa, you..."
She trails off. The photograph on the desk looks up at her, laughing.
"I miss you, Selphie," she says, softly, but she reaches out to tip the photograph forward onto its face. Today, she can't think of the past. There's still work to be done.
no subject
no subject