Yesterday - Final Fantasy VIII; Quistis and Ellone
Title: Yesterday
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Quistis/Ellone
Prompt: unexpected/dress-up
Rating: PG
Words: 500
Spoilers: None really - unless of course you don't know about the infamous Orphanage Gang.
Author's Note: Something just strikes me about this pairing, and I don't really know what it is. Maybe it's the fact that both women didn't seem like they got their happy endings. Or maybe it's just the thought of Quisty and Elle at the orphanage together. Sadly, though, this drabble contains unrequited love - but not for the reason you might think.
A few things:
1. Doesn't Quistis seem really preoccupied with the idea of love? Ie: during Rinoa's rescue from the Memorial, she casually comments that she wishes someone would do something like that for her. I wonder how different she would have been had she already found someone to fill that role? Someone other than Squall?
2. I'm not sure how plausible the ending is - I know Ellone needs to put someone's consciousness into a separate body in order to go back in time, but I don't know if that would make it impossible for Ellone to try to send Quistis back in time to view the event through Ellone's eyes.
Well, whatever. It's my drabble - I do what I want! ^_^
x x x
“Squall? Quisty?”
Quistis Trepe turned her wire-framed glasses over in her palm, deep in thought. Although she had never seen the brown-haired woman before, she still couldn't shake an eerie feeling of deja-vu resulting from the unexpected encounter. Who was she? And how did she know her name?
Had Shiva not shared a part of her mind and ravenously gobbled up her earliest memories, Quistis might remember afternoons spent snuggled in the lap of Big Sis and the artful hands that used to braid Centra daisies into her long, blond hair.
And though the memories played, they danced along without an audience:
Quistis was glad that Big Sis liked playing dress-up. It was hard enough being around 4 boys - sullen Squall, cry-baby Zell, Irvine, and Seifer. Selphie was the only other girl, but she was too busy pulling apart butterflies and sneaking off to light fireworks with Irvy on the beach. She had no desire to “play house.”
But Quistis loved trying on Matron's clothes with Elle, even if they were too big. They made her feel older - attractive - even if to everyone else she was Bossy, Bony Little Quisty. Because to Big Sis, she was a princess.
“You're not wearing your glasses today,” Ellone said suddenly, interrupting their game of make-believe.
She faltered, dropping a plastic tea-cup. Even though she was near-sighted, Quistis would rather have trouble making out words and faces than have Seifer call her “four-eyes” ever again. She blushed and offered the best excuse she could think of. “They're broken. I stepped on them.”
Ellone gave a wise smile and produced an unscathed pair from behind her back. “These belong to you, right?”
Quistis accepted them, long sleeves dragging along the dirt. But she did not put them on.
“Does Seifer still tease you?” Ellone asked, brushing a lock of golden hair from the girl's eyes.
She shrank from Ellone's well-meaning caress. “N-no. That's not it at all.”
“He's just jealous,” she offered. “You're pretty, smart, kind, and so grown-up. Your glasses are the only thing he can use against you.” Ellone took said spectacles from Quistis and unfolded them, placing them gently on the bridge of Quistis's nose. “But I think glasses are Quisty's best feature!”
She smiled genuinely.
Quistis blinked and pressed a single finger to the lenses, then quickly turned her head to hide beet-red cheeks. She saw Squall was sobbing all alone - Seifer's fault, probably. It was always like that. “Let's go help him, Big Sis!”
As Ellone watched Quistis stumble over matron's black and violet dress toward the lighthouse, she felt as if she was already staring at the precocious young instructor Quistis would soon become. If only somehow Ellone could express the way she felt in her heart, she could shield Quistis from approaching disappointment and heartache.
But Ellone couldn't change the future, and so Quistis turned her glasses over, but did not remember.