concoursec

Entry tags:

001

Characters: Irvine Kinneas (

gunite) and Quistis Trepe (

whiplashings)
Location: Lobby → B208
Rating: PG
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed
Summary: Following an offer over the BBS, Irvine and Quistis take a walk.

Irvine barely gave the monitor a second glance as he left the room in relative haste. He wouldn't risk being late: He'd been the one to arrange the meeting, after all, and it was rude to make a lady wait. He would arrive first.

Despite this his strides, to say the least, appeared casual. Sauntering down the lobby his thoughts traveled to what recent happenings he'd been informed about. At the same time, what Quistis had told him about having "a bit on her mind" gave him something else to ponder. The bulletin board had been too public a place to go deeper into the matter, so he would venture further in person. Irvine wasn't one to pry -- he simply wanted to make sure. If all was well, he would enjoy a walk with a fine woman; if all wasn't, he would respond accordingly.

This was precisely why he came to a stop when he neared the front of the lobby.

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Due to the fact that her dormitory was located on the second floor of Garden, the ride down the elevator delayed Quistis' arrival to the lobby for just a few minutes. The blond wasn't surprised to find that the Cowboy had reached the rendevouz point before herself, and upon seeing that familiar hat and trench coat, she couldn't help but smile.

"Irvine." Quistis called out as she made her way down the steps which lead to the directory. Though the smile she wore brightened up her complexion somewhat, it was obvious by the sallowness of her under eyes that the SeeD hadn't been getting much sleep lately. "Glad to see that you made it here in one piece."

Vision obstructed by the hat's rim, he lifted his head when he heard the familiar voice calling out his name. A smile graced his features, and upon sighting Quistis he gave his trademark wave. Taking a couple steps in her direction, it was at that moment Irvine better saw the telltale signs of her lack of sleep. Still, her smile was a treat.

"Hey, Quisty," he said with the tip of his hat, opting to use her old nickname for the occasion. Tempted as he was to humor her in his usual ways -- On the outside, sure, but I lost my heart and I think you have it -- he let the chance pass. "I could say the same about you."

She closed the distance between them, and with an arm stretched out, Quistis pat his shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Being thrown through time and space? Hardly something to worry about-- I'm stronger than that." Quistis joked, the corners of her lips curled into a small smile. Her eyes swept over his features, and as she took in that familiar smile and the slight twinkle in his eyes, Quistis felt a small surge of relief, his actual presence soothing her mind from the other sight of him she had to endure the past several days-- bloodied, trapped under debris, lifeless eyes.

Fuelled by the realization that he wasn't dead as she had imagined in her nightmares, Quistis curled her other arm around his shoulder into a small, brief hug, before pulling away just as quickly as it was initiated.

"I'm glad you're here, Cowboy."

Similarly, he felt a tug on the corner of his lips at the joke, though the urge to widen his grin subsided as Irvine opened his mouth to respond. His words failed to come, however, for the hug initiated by Quistis left him, if only for a fleeting second, marginally stupefied. His mouth snapped shut. The chance to return the gesture was missed by the time he recovered, and Irvine found himself vaguely disappointed -- he made sure it didn't show.

Both his hands twitched. Irvine shrugged away the spastic jerks and the disappointment, after which the giddiness from the show of intimacy settled in. "After a reception like that, I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't, either."

Then he himself seemed to settle, his grin becoming less curved and more straight until it was gone. "Though I can't say I feel the same about you losing sleep."

At the comment, Quistis immediately lifted a hand to press to her cheek, the smile she wore waning down into a half-hearted attempt.

"Is it that obvious?" The question was meant to be light, though there was a twinge of worry in her tone. She had tried her best to cover up her fatigue, loading up on coffee and even resorting to a touch of cosmetics-- but repetitive nights of odd sleep patterns was a hard thing to cover up.

"It seems like most of the student body has been hit with sleepless nights-- I'm not sure why, though." Quistis mused, tilting her head as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

As she mused Irvine took the time to reach up and flip his ponytail, both out of habit and to give them a moment. The pieces fit thus far, from the supposed cause of sleepless nights and Quistis' own lack of rest (which, coupled with her need for distraction in the form of work, was probably doing a number on her). He figured if he was wrong, she would correct him and he'd continue from there.

Hand dropping back to his side, Irvine again focused his gaze on the woman before him.

"Let me guess. Bad dreams?" It wasn't so much a guess as a question directed at Quistis. "That's what I hear."

For a moment, Quistis considered lying-- bad dreams seemed to be such a juvenile reason to be losing sleep over, something that a full grown woman like herself shouldn't be succumbing to. But when her eyes flickered upwards to catch his expression, she decided that perhaps talking about these nightmares would help ease her mind. As flirtatious as Irvine could be, she noticed that he could be an attentive listener when someone had a heavy mind-- and Quistis realized that it was a comfort she needed at the moment.

"Yes-- nightmares, really. The same one has been plaguing me for nearly two weeks now." She replied with a small sigh. Her posture wasn't so rigid anymore, shoulders slightly sagged as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

It was a good thing, Irvine thought, that there was the considerable lack of students roaming the lobby this evening. But the fact remained that it wasn't exactly an ideal location for a personal conversation. Quistis would not want some random students to hear -- Irvine knew he didn't want them to. For a good measure he took one step closer to her, careful to allow Quistis space despite his purely innocent advance. He was still concentrated on her, and he absorbed every one of her words like a sponge.

No wonder she was tired. She had endured nearly two weeks of torment.

"Listen." He leaned forward. "Let's go somewhere less intrusive. I'll hear you out there."

Quistis glanced up at Irvine when he voiced his suggestion. There was a moment of contemplation-- it was true, despite the lack of cadets around the lobby area, there was no telling where prying ears might pop up. And Quistis hardly wanted to appear as someone who wasn't able to cope with a bout of bad dreams, especially when she was supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the student body.

Her mind was quick to filter through the possible places they could take their conversation to-- the Secret Area was out, as there were always students lurking around on the balcony. The Quad, Library and Cafeteria were also too public of places to carry out their talk. It seemed as though one of their rooms would be the only fitting place to have a little heart-to-heart, where they were guaranteed privacy.

"Alright. We can talk in my room." She shot him a look then, as if to warn him to bite back any comments.

He resorted to chewing on his lower lip when a comment made its way up his throat. Now was not the time. Irvine would respect Quistis by sparing her his silly remarks for the moment. With a nod he motioned for her to go on first; one, because ladies should go first; and two, he honestly had no idea which room hers was. After all, he had spent most of his times in Garden in the classroom, not where people within it resided.

A small smile touched his face, and he stretched an arm.

"Lead the way."

Quistis was rather impressed that Irvine managed to hold back whatever comment threatened to spill out his lips. As he indicated for her to lead the way, Quistis gave a small nod and a smile before guiding them over to the elevator, the door sliding open in an instant once the 'up' button was pressed.

"Have you met with anyone else yet?" She asked as she entered the elevator.

"Not yet." He slipped in after her. "Of the gang, you're the first."

Irvine supposed this made the interaction between them that much more significant. He'd decided to give her priority, and with what he decided was good reason. So there he stood by her, looking straight ahead at the door as the elevator headed to the upper floor. As expected, it didn't take very long.

That little piece of information earned him a smile. As the doors slid open to allow them access to the second floor, Quistis made to exit the elevator compartment, knowing that Irvine needed no indication to follow her.

"The first? I'm flattered." Though the words were said with a small hint of teasing, Quistis really was warmed to know that he had put her at the top of his priorities. It was strange, and perhaps the first time that she had ever been in such a position-- she was so used to being pushed aside, having to deal with her problems on her own because no one ever bothered to give her a lending ear. A new appreciation for the cowboy stemmed inside her.

They neared her dorm room, and with a quick swipe of her keycard, the door slid open with a small 'swish'.

"Make yourself at home." It wasn't much-- a modest-sized room with a bed to one side, a desk and bookshelf to the other.

Quick to oblige, he headed to the desk and leaned against its edge with his arms crossed, in a similar fashion to how he'd positioned himself back in Trabia Garden. The room was like how Irvine had envisioned it: Bland and without grandiose extravagances. As a result, one glance over was more than enough to take in the room as a whole; which, on second thought, felt rather cozy in its roomy way.

"Nice place," he drawled with a characteristic wave. He crossed one leg over the other, relaxed, then continued to speak as he normally did.

"So, this nightmare . . . It's been haunting you for almost two weeks?"

A smile quirked her lips at the compliment of the room. "Please, I've done none of the interior decorating-- you should be complimenting the Garden staff." She said with a small wave of her hand.

As Irvine leaned against her desk, Quistis promptly took a seat on the bed, ankles crossing and hands folding over her lap. It took a moment for her to relax the default rigid posture, and when her shoulders finally sunk a fraction of an inch, the obvious fatigue of her body resurfaced.

"Yes-- it started just at the beginning of the month, and it hasn't let up yet. It's always been the same dream; it's gotten to the point where I just dread going to sleep, and try to avoid it. I don't know how many hours I've been up."

Irvine, for his part, listened with his gaze to the floor. He'd noticed how tired Quistis looked. He didn't need to look again, at least for a while.

"You know that's not good for your health." His tone was far from condescending or chastising, but even. Irvine couldn't blame her for trying to skip out on sleep when it was clear the experience would be an unpleasant one. And though it was indeed unhealthy to stay awake for hours, even days, at a time, it wasn't any better if resting itself caused problems.

"You're going to have to sleep at some point."

Quistis couldn't help but give a small sigh at Irvine's words. She was well aware that sleep was required to keep a body fully functional, but the thought of the nightmares resurfacing... she was willing to remain a zombie for a little while longer.

"I know-- I'm hoping that I'll tire myself out enough that I'll just fall into a dreamless slumber. I haven't tried it out yet, though." There was a slightly wry smile.

She lowered her eyes then, fingers gently tugging and twisting the blanket she sat on. She debated telling him the contents of her dream-- would that even do any good? Voicing her concerns, even though she knew it was all just a dream, no matter how realistic it felt? Deciding to bite the bullet, Quistis' voice was soft when she finally spoke.

"In my dreams, I watched all of you die."

"At the rate you're going, you'll be trying it out sooner than later."

Although he had up until this point maintained his position, his posture subtly changed when he heard Quistis' next words. Short but to the point, the conciseness of her explanation allowed the revelation to sink in quickly. He had expected something intense, something potent enough to force sleep out of the woman, but he had childishly not considered death. If he had been willing before, Irvine then didn't want to try fathoming what she'd experienced.

He looked up. For now, he would offer simple assurance.

"The dreams are lying. I'm alive." He hastily added, "We're alive."

She couldn't help the sigh that exhaled past her lips, but at Irvine's affirmation of his state of being, Quistis looked up and gave the cowboy a small smile. Having him back and seeing him in the flesh definitely helped keep the fear of her nightmares at bay.

"I know-- it's silly for me to get so worked up over a nightmare, but it just felt so real. It almost feels like I'm being thrown through the Time Compression again; one scene happens, then the world seems to tilt and I'm somewhere else. It's just very... unsettling. But hopefully they'll stop in due time."

"They will," assured Irvine. For a good measure he added in a wave of his right arm as he was prone to doing. Then his left arm dropped to the side, followed by his right, until the palms of his hands rested against the desk's edge. He put on a mild, encouraging smile, meant to be more tender than his usually severe grins.

"It's unsettling. But they will."

It was exactly like the Time Compression, he thought. The startling experience had come and gone and the nightmares, too, would surely fade with time.

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