One mistake's all it takes Who: Celes and her parents What: Brunch and other shenanigans, because they were in town for the play Where: Balamb Garden and Balamb When: Saturday, August 30 @ 11:30am for starters Warnings: Hungover!Celes is hungover
One second she remembered finishing off her drink. The next she was opening her eyes and glaring at her phone that was obnoxiously ringing.
Where the hell am I?
Celes was certain she was still at the cast party, but with a quick lookover, the surroundings confirmed she was now in bed in her room. No sign of her roommate anywhere. She grumbled while rolling over to try and grab her phone. Her head pounded out of control while a fresh wave of nausea greeted her. After swallowing hard, she tried to sit up to swipe the phone, only to collapse back onto her bed. Everything was spinning. To Celes, this felt worse than having Bio casted on her.
What the fuck did I drink.
The ringing stopped, but soon a bleep sounded off, indicating she had a voicemail. Celes lied on her back, trying to focus on her breathing while resisting the urge to vomit. After a few breaths, she attempted to sit up once more and successfully acquired her phone. Collapsing back onto the bed, Celes brought it to her ear to listen to the voicemail. Her mother left it with a perky voice, stating how she and Christophe were leaving Balamb shortly to pick Celes up for their day together. Once it finished, Celes glared at her phone to figure out the time, noticing it was now 11:30am and she had less than half an hour to get ready.
Curses spilled out of her mouth as she tried to roll out of bed, only managing to collapse onto the floor. The spinning persisted, as did the throbbing headache. All she wanted was someone to cast Sleep on her so she could put herself out of her misery, because spending the whole day with her parents wasn’t high on her priority list. Though before Celes could properly gather all of her items for washing up, she had to book it to the bathrooms to empty her stomach in the most violent way possible.
She never drank for a reason and this was it. Now she received the crash course on being hungover and was not taking it well. Celes couldn’t remember a damn thing, a feeling all too familiar to her. She didn’t want the other night to be a blank spot in her memory. That frightened the shit out of her. It was hard enough having to deal with that for the first eight years of her life, but for the cast party? Celes was scared, even if she didn’t want to admit it. No recollection of what occurred or what she did or said. Was this even malicious? Did someone… do anything to me? How did I even wind up back in my room? With all the questions swimming in her head unanswered, Celes made herself vomit over the sheer thoughts.
After wasting precious time curled up on the floor, Celes forced herself to wash up as best and quickly as possible. Ideally she liked having a full hour to get ready, which meant taking her time and never rushing. Now she had no option but to rush and did it while hungover as hell. And the fact she was meeting up with her parents meant she couldn’t exactly skimp out that much. All she wanted to do was throw on shorts and a tshirt and be done with it. Instead, Celes managed to put together a nice enough outfit that wouldn’t make her mother worried. Her make-up was left simple with a swipe of mascara and sheer gloss. As for her hair, Celes didn’t attempt to tackle that mess, pulling it back into a low bun in hopes that the trendy “messy” look would win her some style points.
By the time she finished, her parents were pinning her with texts. Celes was already running late by their standards and she was deeply regretting the other night. You shouldn’t have gone. You should have known better than to do anything stupid. As she mentally berated herself, Celes kept her pace on the slower side while heading out of Balamb Garden to meet up with her parents. And they were there alright, waiting for her.
Mariann was the first one to greet Celes, wearing her best designer skirt and top. Her hair was also long and blonde like Celes, making the illusion of them actually being related that much stronger. It made Celes sick just thinking of it. Her mother pulled Celes into a hug and she had to do her best not to throw up right there.
“It’s so good to see you, Celes! We were worried when we pulled up and didn’t see you here waiting.”
Celes looked past her mother and spotted Christophe standing by the rental car, complete with whatever chauffeur they brought with them from Deling City. He also had the same blonde hair and blue eyes, once more fitting the image of an actual father for Celes. And Christophe Chère had one of two outfits he wore at all times: his military uniform or his high-end, custom suit. He wore the latter sans jacket with the sleeves rolled up and his arms crossed against his chest.
Growing up, Celes knew he was loving and doting, but only when she performed well or did something to make him happy. Then she received all the hugs and kisses and gifts and attention that she wanted. The second she messed up and did something to displease him, he made sure she was aware of that, reminding her that he had higher expectations for her.
And he did not look happy right then.
Once Mariann was finished hugging Celes - and asking her what was wrong with her hair pulled back the way it was, because she clearly didn’t raise Celes to skimp out on an essential beauty routine - they entered the vehicle and drove off to Balamb. It was an awkward car ride, mostly because motion was the last thing Celes wanted to experience. Trying to maintain her composure and what was left of her stomach was easier said than done. At least Mariann filled the time with her chatter and didn’t ask much from Celes. When she did, Celes responded in simple sentences, ignoring the knot that lived in her throat. The whole while, Christophe kept quiet, another sign that he wasn’t happy. Celes already regretted agreeing to their Saturday get together.
In Balamb, reservations were made for brunch at one of the finer restaurants in town. They had a spot right outside overlooking the water and Celes was grateful for the fresh air at the very least. Though when she sat down and looked at the menu, nothing looked appetizing, not even the blueberry pancakes she would have pounced on in a heart beat. Her parents made their orders, but when it came turn for Celes, she asked for orange juice, toast, and scrambled eggs. It paled in comparison to the plethora of items her parents ordered.
Her gut reaction was to say no, she wasn’t, because for all she knew some creepy guys took advantage of her when she blacked out and left her in her room, like it was some sick joke. Nothing was remotely in the realm of being alright and Celes wanted to scream that outloud. The hangover was horrible, yes, but not recalling what happened? That was worse. Celes didn’t want to self-inflict that onto herself.
“I’m fine,” she ended up saying.”
“You’re being really quiet.”
Celes looked to her mother and managed to smile. “It’s… been a long week. You know, with rehearsals and we celebrated after-”
“Oh! You and your friends? That’s lovely! Did you all have a good time?”
She wasn’t sure which was worse: the illusion that her mother believed everyone was her friends or the fact Celes couldn’t give a straight answer. But once again she fell back onto lying, something she was never comfortable doing, but had no other option. “Yeah, we did. Was a late night.”
“Ah,” Mariann nodded, her eyes saying that she didn’t entirely buy what her daughter had to offer. “I see.”
Then it occurred to Celes that they had yet to say a thing about the play. No congratulations - and the flowers didn’t exactly count - no praise, no anything. That should’ve been a sign in of itself, but Celes couldn’t hold back her curiosity and she definitely didn’t want to spend all of brunch listening to her mother gab about the latest crap the rumor mill was churning out back home.
“...did you guys enjoy it?”
The silence was enough of an answer. She swore Christophe rolled his eyes while Mariann looked away in an attempt to reorganize her thoughts. As always, her mother spoke first, which made her father’s silence towards her even more worrisome. “It was… interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. I guess it had it’s charm to it, but….” She forced a polite smile. “You did well, Celes. I’m glad they didn’t have to cut off your hair just for the sake of playing a man. Christophe?” She looked to her husband, reaching out to pat his leg. “What did you think of Celes’ work?”
The way her shifted in his seat and aligned his eyes with his daughter’s had Celes cower ever so slightly. She was not prepared for whatever it was he had to say.
“I never in my life thought I’d have to sit through something as juvenile and idiotic as that.” He raised an eyebrow. “Is this what you’re spending all your free time doing? Fooling around with worthless drivel?” Mariann whispered something, perhaps to calm his anger, but he raised a hand and she silenced herself. “Did you honestly believe this to be a productive use of your time, Celes?” When she didn’t produce an answer in exactly two seconds, Christophe’s voice sharpened. “Answer me.”
“I didn’t think this was a waste of anyone’s time,” Celes found herself saying, despite wanting to curl up into a ball and vomit some more. “Everyone worked hard and-”
Christophe scoffed. “I didn’t raise you to be accustomed to low-class levels of entertainment. We didn’t raise you to be like that. You should know better, Celes. I expected far more from you.”
When he broke his stare from her, Celes allowed her stiffened muscles to relax enough to not warrant a panic attack. Christophe was an intense individual, thanks to his career in the Galbadian military, and when something didn’t go his way, everyone knew. He never sugar-coated anything for Celes and expect her to go about life the same way. So many expectations, including the one where he wanted her to follow in his footsteps. Since she left for Balamb Garden, their once sweet and loving father-daughter relationship was slowly crumbling. And that wasn’t an assumption; she witnessed first hand her father’s thoughts on her going to Garden. Mariann was there in Celes’ defense while Christophe threw slander around. Like the fact I’m not actually your daughter, so I’ll never amount to anything you want me to be.
Celes refused to apologize. Christophe refused to eye her. And their food hadn’t even come out yet.
It was Mariann who broke the ice, asking Celes how her classes were doing. That much Celes could answer truthfully. She spoke of her recent As on papers and the progress she was making with Auron in their private lessons together. Mariann smiled and showered her with praised and eventually Christophe chimed in, happy to see Celes was still working hard at something. And then brunch came around and they ate quietly, which Celes was thankful for. She barely touched her food, her stomach growling in disapproval over the fact she thought eating was a smart choice. So she stuck to her water and juice, taking slow sips to rehydrate herself.
With their brunch over, Christophe parted ways with the girls, exclaiming how he had calls to attend to. Even on a weekend getaway, he couldn’t pull himself away from work. But it left Mariann and Celes free to go about their usual spa treatments whenever they came to visit. If anything, it meant Celes could soak her feet in bath salts while having her nails done and not worry about a damn thing. Her bedroom still sounded more appealing, but this would do.
Halfway through her mani-pedi and facial treatment, her phone buzzed. Celes lolled her head up, half asleep when it happened, and looked around. Her mother was busy chatting off the ear of the poor woman massaging her feet and ignored the sound of any phone going off. With a groan, Celes reached for her handbag and looked for her phone. When she inspected it, she saw a single message: ’Hey. You doing ok?’
And it was from Setzer.
She almost didn’t respond to it. Seeing that it was from Setzer, someone that irked her beyond all belief and likewise wasn’t a fan of her, she was inclined to believe that them private messaging each other was a horrible idea. They hadn’t talked since his stupid game of I Never, the brilliant plan that was going to solve all of their stage problems, and Celes was almost certain they never would again. Not after the way Setzer drank on the last part and the look on his face when he told her. And while she was ready to ignore the message and delete it from her phone, there was still the fact that she didn’t know what the hell happened the other night. At that point, she was willing to grasp out to anyone if it meant she received a clue.
So she responded, keeping her guard up as best as possible to deflect any bullcrap he decided to fling her way. Instead, she received concerned messages that were anything but sarcastic or wise cracks. As she sat there messaging him back and forth, she quickly unveiled what happened the other night in a nutshell: her drink was spiked, two idiots - who were going to die the minute she wasn’t hungover - tried to take advantage of her, Setzer thwarted them, and he continued to keep an eye on her well into the night, which ended with him hauling her back to her room. To confirm the last notion, she sent her roommate a message inquiring about it. Ten minutes later she was told that yes, Setzer Gabbiani came knocking at ass o’clock in the morning to deliver a very drunk Celes Chère to her room. All done politely and without any ulterior motives.
Once again, Celes judged him, and once again, Setzer managed to prove her wrong.
The conversation could have ended there once she discovered what happened and she told him no, she wasn’t ok. Instead, their messages pinged back and forth, trailing off into other topics, even if for a short while. At one point, Mariann asked what she was texting so adamantly about. Flustered, Celes wrote it off as something completely different and not related to sending messages to Setzer. By the time their treatment was done, her trail of messages with Setzer died off. Even as they left, she double checked her phone to see if anything new was sent her way.
Why are you checking? Of course he didn’t send you anything else. It’s not like you two are friends. But he was also the one who stepped in and did something when Celes couldn’t. She was a feminist at heart - and anyone who followed her Rollr and Warker knew that on a daily basis - and she knew one of the many rules was to step in and help a fellow female if she were in a situation Celes was stuck in the other night. She also knew that men were as valuable allies as women, for if something was going to change, they needed to set an example for other men. And Setzer did just that. And as much as Celes still wanted to kick his ass in the Training Center, she owed a lot to him now and not just a fist in his face. He looked out for her when he could have easily looked away and deemed it as not his problem.
...I don’t think anyone’s ever done that for me before.
To end the day out, Celes was treated to a round of shopping. While she preferred to go back to Garden and sleep until Monday, she forced herself through it all, despite her body screaming at her to not take another step. Several designer boutiques were visited, but her favorite stop was the local bookstore. Celes and her mother met up with Christophe there, who then offered to buy Celes whatever she wanted. A strange offer, considering he wasn’t pleased with her at the moment. What the hell would you have done if you were happy with me? Buy me a chocobo?
She skimmed through to aisles, picking out several new best-sellers that she heard good reviews of. While she browsed, Celes came to a stop before the astronomy section. Everything was nonfiction, save for a couple mythology books, but it all tied into the night sky and the stars that glowed light years away. Celes plucked one out, one she had already read several years ago. And that was why she knew it was good enough to recommend to someone else. And that someone in mind had mentioned off-hand how they loved the stars and also didn’t have the time to go down to the library to get a book. And said someone also essentially saved her the other night. Celes didn’t do well with saying thank you, but if her parents taught her anything, it was that sometimes buying people material objects was better than uttering a word.
“Don’t you have that one already?” Christophe asked about the astronomy book while they were checking out.
“I spilled tea on it one night,” Celes lied, “so I want a new one.” She held Christophe’s stare until he gave in and allowed her to have it, along with the ten other books he purchased for her.
By the time they left Balamb, it was late afternoon. Celes’ head still throbbed and her stomach turned with each jerk of the car as they rode back to Balamb Garden. Before long, they returned and offered Celes a hand at bringing her new collection of books and wardrobe - yes, wardrobe. Mariann insisted she needed the latest fashion for autumn coming up - back up to her room. When they returned, her roommate was still not in sight, but it was evident that Celes made no effort in making her bed and picking up her clothing that must’ve been stripped off in her drunken stupor the other night. Both her parents scoffed at the sight of it, though quietly helped place her new belongings in her room.
Then good-byes were exchanged back at the front gate. Mariann kissed both her cheeks and gave her a tight hug. “I’m proud of you, Celes,” she whispered in her ear, though the words felt only partially sincere. “And I love you, sweetie.”
As her mother slipped into the vehicle, Celes was left alone with Christophe, who stood in front of her, quiet as ever. Celes knew it wouldn’t be a quick fair well with him.
“You know,” he began after taking in a deep breath, “I remember when you were accepted into Galbadia Garden and how much wasted potential that would be for someone like you. Your mother did a good job at convincing me that perhaps we should give you a chance. And now you’re here and all you have to do now is pass your SeeD exam and this can all be done with. Yet you can’t even do that right. So instead of working hard and letting that pay off in the end, you decide auditioning for that pathetic excuse of a play was-”
“I’ve been in plays in the past,” Celes dared to cut him off. “And you can blame mother for that, if you wish to, and you never had a problem with-”
“I never had a problem with you socializing and working with like-minded folk. From what I saw last night, that is not anywhere near the same category of plays you’ve done in the past. And what do you take me as, Celes? Hmm?” Christophe leaned in closer as she struggled to meet his eyes. “You think I don’t know what bullshit you got yourself into last night? And what do you have to say for yourself today? Are you proud of what you did with your friends, if you want to insist on calling them that? This isn’t the woman I raised. What I see before me is an absolute disgrace.”
It took every nerve in Celes’ body to hold herself back from screaming at him, but the thought shot to the forefront of her mind: Of course I’m not the woman you raised, because I was never yours to begin with, asshole! But Celes had to remind herself that if it wasn’t for him and Mariann, she’d have no family. She could be on the streets or in an orphanage of some sort. She had to be thankful for what she had. And Christophe still had his loving, softer moments; she simply had to be worthy of such attention. Right now she wasn’t.
He reeled back from her, straightening his suit as he continued. “I expect more from you, Celes. You know that. That is all.”
No hugs or kisses or I love you’s or anything. He simply walked past her to the car and left.
Torn between wanting to cry and wanting to vomit, Celes managed to return to her room in one piece. After kicking her shoes off and ripping out the elastic that held her hair together during the catastrophe that was their family outing, Celes collapsed onto her bed and rolled herself up into a blanket burrito. Finally relaxed, she took in a shaky breath before reaching for her phone again.
No new messages. Why are you still checking? Just.. stop it.
Her phone slipped from her hands and in seconds she surrendered to much needed sleep.