Angrily, Quistis tugged on the halter of the jumpsuit, then sighed and folded her arms, only to unfold them again and tug the halter back into place. Exasperated, Quistis threw up her hands, adjusted the top once more, and studied herself in the mirror.
     The leather of the suit slimmed her willowy figure even more and made her look taller. However.the top had barely enough fabric to keep her from popping out and exposing herself to the world. The fabric that fell tight against her back did not connect to the front, only at the waist, but at least it covered her back.
     "Thank Hyne for small favors," she muttered, and pulled on her boots- the boots that had randomly appeared in the bathroom as she was changing. Resigning herself to a life of whorish facades, Quistis adjusted the top once more and opened the door, saying," Don't you DARE-" She stopped short.
     Seifer stood with his back to her, hands on hips that were clad in tight black leather. He was shirtless and glaring at a wad of cloth in his right hand. "I don't think so," he said. "The pants are ridiculous enough, Rueday. There's no way in hell I'm wearing this shirt!" Struggling to keep a straight face-and not letting her admiring eyes drop below the back of his head-, Quistis leaned against the doorjamb, while Seifer continued to rage. "Never, Rueday! I'm not setting one foot-no, one TOE-outside this compound with that thing on, and I'm not leaving without a shirt! So I suggest you deliver up a REAL fucking shirt, pronto! Are you listening to me?!" Seifer spun around at the slight giggle that escaped Quistis' lips, and glared at her.     Slowly, his eyebrow went up and his mouth settled into his smirk. "Well, well, Instructor," he taunted in a whisper that was nonetheless sexy and frustrating. "There is a woman underneath that cold facade after all."
     Almost immediately, her blue eyes iced over and she stood up, arms stiff at her sides, and opened her mouth to let him have the most thorough tongue-lashing that any male had ever received. Quickly, Seifer raised a finger to his lips. "Keep it down, Rinoa, we don't want to give anything away through unwanted confrontation."
     "Who says they aren't wanted, Zell?" she asked through gritted teeth. She smiled sweetly. "For all you know, I could want to tear-"
     "My pants off?" Seifer interrupted neatly, jade eyes burning with challenge...and something else. "Most women do.  But that’s rather nasty for a cousin to want.  I'm surprised that a woman of your reputation has such human needs. You, after all, are the ice queen, second only to Shiva herself." He bowed. "Decide you need some heat in your pants-er, life?"
     Quistis stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't really think…She had heat! She wasn't an ice queen, she had…Oh, he's right, Quistis. You have nothing. Swallowing hard, she gathered her pride and snapped it up around her like a shield. She tossed her hair back, and rested a hand on her hip. "Put your shirt on.Zell."
     Seifer's smirk turned into a snarl, and Quistis allowed a mocking smile of her own to spread across her pretty face. Ah, the sweet taste of victory. Her blue eyes focused on the wad of fabric in his right hand. "Out of curiosity, what's wrong with that shirt?"
     Green eyes jerked up to meet hers. "You want to know what's wrong with it?" He gritted his teeth, and turned away, pulling the fabric on, before turning back to face her. There was silence for a long moment before Quistis simply couldn't resist.
     She burst into hysterical laughter.
     The shirt-if one could call it that-was merely a piece of leather that crossed the back, attached to two suspenders that connected to buckles on the leather pants. A large green eye was appliquéd on the stretch of fabric that strained to span his broad shoulders. "It isn't funny," he ground out. "I can't move my arms."   That only made Quistis laugh harder, as she slid to the floor, shoulders shaking with merriment.   "Rinoa. How am I supposed to handle Hyperion like this? And you, how are you supposed to use your whip? You'll fall out of your top!"
     Recognizing the desperate attempt at changing the subject for what it was, Quistis decided to ignore it and make him suffer a bit more. "Maybe we're simply supposed to make people laugh themselves to death!" Silence from Seifer. He tried to fold his arms and look mean, but the tight fabric prevented him from doing so, leaving him to glare daggers at her. "HAHA- it's the angry and voyeuristic-HAHAHA-Fabio-HAHA," she gasped out.
     "You have no idea how much I hate you right now."
     That made her break out into fresh laughter, and Seifer threw up his hands. A loud ripping sound echoed in the mirrored room, and Quistis only laughed harder. Seifer cursed, loudly and creatively, while Quistis stopped laughing to listen in amazement, a chuckle escaping her lips every few moments as Seifer swore up and down, trying to get his shirt off. He stopped, with one suspender caught on the wrong side of his head, and the strip of fabric preventing him from moving.
     "Rinoa…I'm stuck."
     The helpless way he said it made Quistis laugh, but she got up and went over to him. "Here, just move your arm…Yes, and now your head…Good, now unhook the suspenders…See, it's off!" She tossed the shirt on the bed, and grinned up at him.
     The look in his eyes had her smile fading as she felt herself sliding into a green oblivion. Her body disobeyed her mind as she moved closer to him. The intensity of his gaze made her burn up inside, and she involuntarily rose on the balls of her feet. Slowly, Seifer lowered his head, his emerald eyes never wavering from her azure ones, and he heard her breath catch in her throat as he got closer.and closer.and so close, almost touching.
     "Hey! I have a new shirt for, uh, Cell? Zell? Something like that."
     The pair jumped apart, and Quistis turned to face the wall, which really did no good, considering the wall was covered in mirrors. She watched as Seifer straightened his shoulders and settled a glare into place. "Yeah, it's open," he barked.
     A huge man, one that looked vaguely familiar to Quistis, entered and handed Seifer the shirt, his mud brown eyes straying to the tall blonde in the corner. He whistled through his teeth, and Seifer's eyes narrowed. "That's all I need," Seifer said, pointedly, and pushed the man through the door, slamming it behind him. His eyes met Quistis' in the mirror, and he turned to go towards her, before thinking better of it.  Abruptly, he marched into the bathroom and flung the door shut with enough force to make Quistis wince.
     Quistis let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and sank to the floor. "What's wrong with me?" she whispered to herself, leaning her forehead against the cool mirror.
     Another knock on the door sounded, and she lifted her head. "Yes?"
     "Got orders. Report to Mr. Rueday immediately."
     Orders.What kind of orders did Rueday have in mind?