FIC: Zyxt ~ FFVIII ~ Seifer/Squall ~ Chapter Five

[batsutousai]

Title: Zyxt
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison/tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhir
Chapter: 5 of 10
Rating: T
Pairings: Squall/Seifer
Warnings: AU, minor canon-fuckery, slash/yaoi
Summary: Alone in Time Compression, Squall sets out to make them all a happier ending.

Disclaim Her: Shara demanded snuggling. Since Shara owns my heart, I had to comply. (That, and she buys me food. XD)

A/N: This chapter sort of got away from me. It's a lot of filler, really, but... meh. Whatever. I got to include one of my favourite characters. *goes starry-eyed*

Since Shivani pointed it out: I know Julia died when Rinoa was five, but it worked so much better this way. XD

-0-0-0-
Stars Shedding Tears
-0-0-0-

Seifer woke with the very strange sense that he was holding something both freezing cold and warm. It took him a moment to recognise the birds nest buried against his chest as the top of Squall's head, but once he'd placed that, the differing sensations made a lot more sense. Squall, himself, was warm, but his magic was resting over him like a second skin, and it was cold.

Seifer smiled in memory at what had happened the night before. It had been completely unexpected, and yet it seemed somehow... right, like Squall had said. Like the world had been waiting for them to come together, just like that.

Their magic certainly seemed to approve, if nothing else. His fire magic was quite happily curled around both himself and Squall, keeping them warm in spite of Squall's own ice magic. It was the calmest Seifer's magic had been since he'd received it, and he wasn't completely certain if that was because he was calm, or if it was because Squall was there to help balance it.

"Nnn..." Squall shifted and Seifer shivered as the smaller teen breathed out against his chest. Sleepy grey eyes blinked up at him from beyond the brown mess atop his head. "Mmm...Seifer?"

"Good morning," Seifer whispered, not wanting to break the peaceful moment.

"Mornin'," Squall murmured, burying his face back against Seifer's chest.

Seifer smiled a bit more at that and tightened his arm around Squall's waist, happy to rest for a bit longer.

Squall managed to doze for another ten minutes before his mind finally woke him, already sorting through everything they were intending to do that day. "We were gonna go to Hell," he muttered against Seifer's chest, blearily blinking at it. 'He's really toned...'

"We don't have to," Seifer replied quietly.

Squall shook his head and pushed away enough to look up at Seifer, who was watching him with a faint smile. "We do," he insisted.

Seifer sighed. "I suppose. But, first, we should figure out your clothing situation."

Squall made a face. "I'm fine with what I've got."

"Squall, you have one set of clothing. It's going to need to be cleaned eventually, not to mention, it's probably going to be destroyed if we're off hunting down monsters left and right."

Squall was silent for a long moment before he looked off to one side and admitted, "I was A-Level, when we went to fight Ultimecia."

Seifer sucked in a breath at that; A-Level was the highest SeeD rank, and he'd never doubted that Squall was good, but there was a difference between assuming that someone was a really good fighter and hearing proof that they were, in fact, the top of the list. There was only one A-Level at the moment, and she was so busy running missions that Seifer had only glimpsed her once in the two years that she'd had that title.

"I'm not used to... I always had money, before. Plenty of it. Too much, even." Squall leaned forward, resting his head against Seifer's chest again. "I don't like asking others for money."

Seifer sighed, understanding the sentiment, even though he knew it was unrealistic in their current situation. "Squall, Laguna's your dad. He's going to want to spend money on you, especially if he's got anywhere near as much money as you did before, and he probably does. He doesn't have to pay rent or food or any of that, so all that money he's being paid to smile and sit behind a desk all day is just piling up, going nowhere. Let him spoil you; that's what parents do."

Squall clenched his eyes shut, fighting with himself. Money was one of those things he hadn't really thought about until he no longer had any. Before, he never would have been required to ask anyone for money, especially not Laguna, but now...

"If you're not comfortable asking for it, then just mention that you don't really have any clothing and he'll handle it," Seifer suggested. "And if it's still bothering you once the Council gets their heads out of their collective asses, you can try paying him back, though I guarantee he won't take it."

Squall considered that, absently tracing an old scar on Seifer's abdomen. "Maybe."

Seifer moved his hand from Squall's waist to capture the hand on his stomach. "That tickles."

Squall flashed him a rare smile, then rolled out of bed, only stumbling a little once he was standing. "Come on," he said to Seifer's pout, "I'm hungry, and I still need to collect my jacket and boots from my room."

Seifer sighed and sat up, pausing to watch Squall stalk into the bathroom and close the door, Seifer's sleep trousers riding dangerously low on the narrow hips. With another sigh, he got out of bed and hunted down some fresh clothing. He considered waiting until Squall was done to take a shower – or just walking right in – but decided against it. They were going to go out and kill things today, so there wasn't much sense in showering now. He could wait until they returned and shower before dinner.

Squall, evidently, had the same idea, because he came out looking as sleep mussed as he had going in, though he'd splashed some water on his face. "I'll meet you in the dining room," he announced, heading for the door.

"Wait, wait," Seifer ordered, placing a hand against the door before Squall could open it. When the shorter teen scowled up at him, Seifer leaned over and, cupping Squall's chin with his free hand, drew him into a long kiss. When he pulled back, Squall looked a little dazed. "There you go."

Squall shook his head. "What was that for?" he demanded, eyes bight with happiness in spite of his quasi-scowl.

"It's called a kiss, Squall," Seifer informed him patiently. "People exchange it to show their mutual attraction to one another, especially when one is leaving or just returned from somewhere."

Squall raised an eyebrow, then grabbed a fistful of Seifer's vest and dragged him down the ten centimetres or so separating them and returned the kiss with a great deal more force than Seifer had employed. When he let Seifer go, there was a distinct smug gleam in his eyes as he announced, "I'll meet you in the dining room," and slipped from the room.

Seifer chuckled to himself and grabbed his boots to slip them on. "Cheeky little bastard."

-0-

Squall did, with much reluctance and prodding from Seifer, mention his lack of clothing to Laguna over breakfast.

"We can go by one or two of the clothing shops downtown," Laguna suggested.

"Do they sell anything but robes there?" Seifer wondered drily.

"Some of them, sure."

"What about leather?" Squall asked, eyes narrowed.

Laguna blinked at that question, then turned to Kiros. "I have no..."

"They don't," Kiros replied. "Estharians don't believe in wearing animals."

"More the pity," Seifer decided, shrugging. "Well, I suppose we could always take the Ragnarok outside Esthar and go shopping in Deling, or wherever."

Laguna frowned. "I have meetings all day–"

"Fuck the Council," Seifer declared. "The lot of them need to get those sticks out of their asses, anyway. I think you should stand them up and play hooky with us naughty Garden kids."

Squall snorted while everyone else around the table looked at Seifer like he'd lost his mind.

"What? What did I say?" Seifer wondered, looking at Squall.

Squall snorted again and very firmly focussed his eyes on his porridge.

Seifer looked over towards Laguna, who was chuckling. "You're suggesting we give the Council the impression that you are, in fact, bad examples?"

"I haven't been denying that," Seifer declared, "and I'm pretty sure all those pretty words Squall likes to spout weren't saying any differently, either."

"Pretty words?" Raijin interrupted, giving Seifer a disbelieving look.

Seifer grinned. "Not only did Squall suddenly grow a sense of humour one night, he also managed to learn some diplomacy skills."

"I had diplomacy skills," Squall informed him. "Unlike some people who failed that class."

"Three times, ya know," Raijin agreed.

"Traitor!" Seifer hissed, tossing a napkin at his friend. "And it was only twice."

"You bribed the professor the third time, ya know."

"Really?" Squall perked up at that. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you, Ice Queen, are not as awesome as I am."

Squall shot the older teen an unimpressed look. "Call me that again and I'll shoot a Blizzard at your favourite part of your anatomy."

"My nose?"

Squall stared at him.

Laguna chuckled and shook his head down the table. "Kiros, are you okay handling the Council for the afternoon? It would be nice to get out of the palace. For once."

Kiros sighed. "Yes, I should be fine. What sort of excuse am I giving them?"

"Mmm... Tell them I'm spending time with my son. That should shut them up."

Seifer glanced at his posse and asked, "What about you two? Coming?"

Fujin and Raijin traded looks before both shaking their heads, Fujin announcing, "EXPLORING!"

"Fuu and I wanted to get a proper feel for the city, ya know. See if we can't find our own little niche."

Seifer nodded in understanding. "Okay, then. I won't stop you, if that's what you want." He received two grateful smiles in response.

"Sis?" Squall quietly asked of Ellone while Seifer was sorting out his friends.

Ellone nibbled on her bottom lip in indecision for a long moment before saying, "I would like to get out of the city, but it's not really safe for me–"

"You say that like you think we won't protect you," Squall interrupted.

Ellone shook her head. "Even from the White SeeD? They're going to be looking for me."

"And if we run into them, we'll explain that you're being protected by us," Squall insisted.

"And if they want a fight, Squall and I can take them," Seifer announced, dropping an arm around Squall's shoulder and grinning at Ellone from behind the slighter gunblader.

Squall's left eyebrow twitched, but he calmly stated, "You let us worry about the White SeeD, Sis, if we even run into each other. I'm just asking if you want to get out of the city and go shopping with us."

Ellone considered that, glancing down the table at Laguna, who smiled at her. "Okay," she decided, smiling back before turning to Seifer and Squall. "Yeah, let's go out together, then."

"Excellent!" Laguna clapped Kiros on the shoulder as he jumped to his feet. "Kiros, Ward, I leave everything in your capable hands! Let's go play hooky!"

Kiros and Squall let out similar sighs while the others laughed.

With Laguna's urging, Seifer, Squall and Ellone eventually got up and they all returned to their rooms long enough for the males to collect their weapons and Ellone to find her shawl, which she didn't wear around the palace.

"The Council's going to love that we've got you carrying around a weapon," Seifer commented to Laguna as they met up by the palace exit.

"I do occasionally get some training in," Laguna replied with a smile, patting his gun. "It makes them a bit nervous, but since I was elected for winning a war, they make do."

"Hm." They all settled onto the transport and glided out onto the main street.

As soon as they were up and heading out, a handful of guards fell in around them, making the two ex-cadets frown, though they didn't complain. Laguna just looked a bit resigned, but when they reached the Airstation, he gave the highest ranked officer a stern look and said, "You won't be required to follow us any further, Major."

The major shifted, nervously eyeing the two gunbladers. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think it's wise to let you alone with–"

"My son?" Laguna suggested, amused.

The major flushed and glanced at the two teens, earning him an unimpressed look from Squall and a smirk from Seifer. "Uh, well, no, sir, but..."

Laguna chuckled and dropped a friendly hand on the soldier's shoulder. "Your concern is appreciated, Major, but unnecessary." Then he turned to the three behind him. "Shall we? Which ship are we taking? The Ragnarok? Can we take the Ragnarok?"

"We can take whichever one you want," Seifer replied agreeably as they left the group of guards in their dust. "What's with the infatuation with the Ragnarok, anyway?"

"I like the name," Laguna explained, nodding politely to the members of the Airstation staff who waved at him or called his name.

"You are disturbingly popular," Seifer noted.

"He defeated Adel," Squall pointed out drily. "Even the people of Esthar were sick of her."

Squall hit the hanger door controls when they reached the Ragnarok and everyone climbed aboard, Ellone looking around with a smile while Laguna bounced a bit.

Up in the cockpit, Squall slid into the pilot's chair while Seifer took the co-pilot chair and the other two hunted down their own seats. "Airstation, this is Ragnarok, requesting permission for take-off," Squall called, flipping on the radio and checking through the controls.

"Ragnarok, this is the Airstation. You are clear for take-off."

Squall nodded and hit the engines.

"Take good care of our President up there, you hear?"

Laguna snorted from his seat behind Squall's chair.

"Understood," Squall agreed drily before slowly lifting them from the landing pad, manoeuvring them around the Qiyamah and Armageddon with what seemed like practised ease.

Seifer turned his seat to face the other two as Squall concentrated on gaining enough altitude to get over the OCS and mountains. "So, where are we headed? There's Balamb–"

"No," Squall immediately refused. "If there's one place we're almost certain to run into the White SeeD, it's there."

"Does that mean Dollet's out, too?" Ellone wondered. "It's a coastal town, and I know we docked there, once or twice."

"That leaves Deling and Timber," Seifer decided.

"Not. Timber," Squall ground out.

"Afraid of running into the ex?" Seifer teased.

Squall shot him a look out of the corner of his eye, smoothly turning them towards Deling. "Do you really want to run into Rinoa?"

Seifer winced, imagining the girl clinging to him as soon as she recognised him. "Ah, no. No, I really don't."

Squall nodded. "Thought not." He set the auto-pilot, then leaned around to look at the two passengers. "Any problems with Deling?"

"It would be nice to see my old stomping grounds, I suppose," Laguna replied, shaking his head.

" 'Stomping grounds'?" Seifer wondered.

"Laguna was in the Galbadian army during the Sorceress War," Squall explained, turning his chair away from the controls since he didn't need to change them.

"How'd you know that?" Laguna wondered. "Did you research me when I wasn't looking?"

Squall snorted and shook his head. "Before, Sis sent me and some of my friends back to you, Kiros and Ward in the past." A sly look entered his eyes, though his expression remained neutral. "I know all about your crush on Julia, for example."

Laguna jerked in his seat. "Wha–! That was–! It–"

Squall snorted, amused, while the other two laughed at Laguna's expense.

Laguna sputtered for a moment, then choked, "I'm not going to go looking for her!"

Squall nodded. "It would hardly matter; she died three years ago when a particularly nasty strain of the flu was going around Deling." He shrugged at the other's surprised looks. "Rinoa told me; Julia was her mother."

Laguna's eyes lit with recognition. "That's right, you mentioned that her last name was Heartilly. She didn't take her father's name?"

"Rinoa hates her father," Seifer offered. "That, and he's a general of the Galbadian army and she's a member of a resistance faction in Timber. I think she took her mom's maiden name to both cut all ties with him, and to protect him from any potential political back-lash." He glanced at Squall, who shrugged and nodded.

"Small world, though," Laguna commented, smiling. "Seifer, you dated the daughter of my old crush."

"So did Squall," Seifer insisted. "Didn't you?"

Squall shrugged again. "Not officially, but, sure. I was her Knight, and if I hadn't got stuck in Time Compression, we probably would have ended up together."

Laguna perked up at that and he glanced between the two teens at the head of the ship. "That reminds me, whatever happened about that thing we talked about yesterday, Squall?"

Squall and Seifer traded looks, Seifer flicking his gaze quickly towards Ellone in question. Squall grimaced faintly, but nodded, so Seifer turned to Ellone and announced, "When we destroyed Adel's Tomb we sort of... ended up with her powers."

Ellone blinked. "Oh." She turned to Laguna. "Is that even possible?"

Laguna shrugged. "Apparently." He looked back at his son. "Was that a yes?"

Squall grimaced again. "Yeah." He waved his hand between himself and Seifer. "We're Knights."

Seifer leaned over and draped an arm over Squall's shoulder. "Are we ever," he agreed, waggling his eyebrows.

Squall casually formed a ball of ice in one hand and held in up to Seifer's face. "Your nose, you said?"

Seifer removed himself with all due haste and slipped back into his chair. "I'll behave!" he promised while Laguna and Ellone laughed at them.

"No you won't," Squall deadpanned, turning his chair back around. "We're about ten minutes out from Deling. I'm not sure I want to park particularly close to the city, but there's a tomb where a GF resides a little to the east. Does anyone have any complaints about walking?" He glanced over his shoulder at Ellone, specifically.

Ellone shook her head. "I'll be fine."

Nodding, Squall turned off the auto-pilot and turned them towards the Tomb of the Unknown King. "Seifer, can you let me know when we're above the tomb?" he asked, motioning to the radar in front of the other teen. "I'd rather wait to leave the cloud cover until we're well out of range of the city."

Seifer turned his own chair and pulled up a map on another screen to help him judge where, exactly, they were. He knew the general layout of Galbadia – learning the layouts of the various countries had been a part of their training – but he'd only been to this side of the continent once, and it was years ago. "You're going a bit too far north."

With Seifer navigating, they were able to land outside the Tomb without a hitch. They all made their way down to the hanger, Laguna saying, "If you two wanted to take a run through this tomb, Elle and I will be fine on the ship."

Seifer turned to Squall with a raised eyebrow and the shorter teen shrugged. "You're sure it'll be okay?" Squall asked the eldest two.

"We'll be fine," Laguna assured him, Ellone nodding at his side.

"Okay. We'll be back in ten minutes." Squall led the way outside, Seifer hurrying to follow him. They managed the labyrinth easily enough, with Squall's memories of the place, and the monsters were ridiculously easy. They didn't bother with their real weapons until they faced off against Sacred and Minotaur together, and even then they probably hadn't needed to, but they'd agreed it was sort of like cheating if they faced the GFs with their magic.

Seifer junctioned Brothers on their way out, Squall having waved the GF away. Back at Ragnarok, they found Ellone and Laguna playing Go Fish, Laguna's machine gun just within reach. There were a couple Geezard carcasses laying around the end of the ramp and Seifer idly flicked a fireball at them to reduce them to ash.

"Ready to go?" Laguna asked, getting to his feet while Ellone picked up the cards and slipped them into a pocket.

"We are," Squall agreed, reaching up to help Ellone down, who smiled at him.

Once everyone was clear, Seifer hit the door control and they made their way to the city. There, Squall suffered himself to be led around to various shops, occasionally making threatening gestures at Seifer when the older teen suggested something for Squall to try on. Laguna and Ellone seemed to think that Squall's wardrobe was too monochrome, so they would occasionally pull out something with a bright colour and he would have to glare them down, which only worked about half the time, much to Seifer's unending amusement.

Squall was attempting to glare Laguna down for the umpteenth time when they heard Ellone call, "Irvy!"

"Sis?" Irvine's voice wondered, shocked.

Squall, completely forgetting about Laguna, started towards their voices, hoping Seifer wasn't...

"Well, if it isn't the Little Miss," Seifer added teasingly.

'Damn.'

"I'm gonna shoot ya where the sun don't shine, you bastard," Irvine snapped.

Squall took that as his cue to get between the two of them before violence actually broke out. "Seifer, I told you not to call him that," he snapped before turning to the cowboy, eyes shining with a smile. "Hello, Irvine."

Irvine grinned. "Hello there, Squall. Fancy meetin' you lot in Deling." His eyes flickered up towards a smirking Seifer. "Though why you're travellin' with that bastard is beyond me."

"They wouldn't take him back when I asked for a refund," Squall deadpanned.

Irvine burst out laughing while Seifer shoved Squall's shoulder. "I'll force you into the shirt Elle found for you," Seifer threatened.

Squall glanced over at a smiling Ellone, who was holding the most terrifying orange shirt yet, and grimaced. "Sis, please."

"You wear too much black," Ellone informed him.

"I like black. It doesn't show stains."

Ellone considered him. "Maybe something blue..." she decided before offering a wave at Irvine and disappearing back into the racks.

Squall dropped his face into his hands and moaned.

Chuckling, Irvine asked. "Clothes shopping?" When Squall nodded helplessly, the cowboy shrugged. "Good luck."

"Thanks so much." Squall glared at him.

"Hey, where’s Laguna?" Seifer wondered, glancing around.

"I left him back there with some purple and pink trousers," Squall replied, waving his hand in the general direction he'd come from. As Seifer laughed, he turned to Irvine and asked, "How have you been?"

Irvine grinned, looping his thumbs through his belt loops. "Been pretty good. My adopted parents are real nice folks, but I don't see much of them anymore. I attend Galbadia Garden, now. My father's in the army and he's hoping I'll follow in his footsteps."

Squall blinked a few times, realising he'd never asked, in his last life, what Irvine had been up to since getting adopted. He hadn't asked any of them, though he'd met Zell's adopted mom and Quistis had said that her new home hadn't worked out... 'I wonder what Selphie's adopted parents were like. They must be from Trabia, for her to have ended up there.'

"What about you two?" Irvine wondered. "Clearly, you found each other. And Sis." He shot Squall a knowing look.

Squall scowled at him. "Shut up, Irvine."

Seifer snorted. "Squall and I never got adopted. We ended up at Balamb Garden together." He paused, then added, "Quistis and Chicken-wuss are there, too."

Irvine coughed. "He still lets you get away with that?"

"He throws a spectacular fit every time Seifer does it, but he isn't quite daring enough to make him stop," Squall announced drily. "Sis has been travelling with Matron since she left. She happened to be at Garden a couple weeks ago and I, ah, sort of kidnapped her–" Irvine burst out laughing. "Shut up."

Seifer snickered and reached out to mess with Squall's hair, side-stepping the knife Squall threatened him with in retaliation. "Squall and I sort of quit Garden," he offered to Irvine, who was shaking his head at the two of them. "We're staying with Squall's birth father in Esthar."

"You found one of your birth parents?" Irvine wondered, surprised. "How's that feel?"

"It's taken some getting used to," Squall replied drily. "It doesn't help that the Estharian Council doesn't like us."

"We're Garden," Seifer explained when Irvine frowned.

"Ah. Yeah, that would do it."

"They're just afraid you'll kill someone if you get bored," Laguna commented as Ellone brought him over to join them. He held out a hand to Irvine, offering, "President Laguna Loire of Esthar."

Irvine returned the handshake with an awed expression. "Irvine Kinneas. You're, like, in charge of Esthar? Seriously?"

Laguna smiled absently. "I'm just the pretty face who signs the paperwork. The Council makes all the decisions."

Irvine gave Squall and Seifer a disbelieving look, silently asking, 'Is this guy for real?'

Squall and Seifer nodded solemnly.

Ellone clapped her hands together, excited. "I know! Irvy, why don't you come have lunch with us!"

"I don't know..." Irvine murmured, eyeing the gleam in Seifer's eyes warily.

"Oh, come on, Little Miss–"

Irvine had barely touched the butt of Valiant, his gun, when Squall had spun and held an icy knife against the crotch of Seifer's trousers. Seifer's hands immediately went up in surrender and they took and moment to stare each other down, Squall's gaze icy while fire danced in the irises of Seifer's eyes.

After almost a minute of silence, Seifer nodded and Squall backed off, slipping his knife away. "Sorry, Irvine," Seifer offered.

Irvine raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Don't worry about it. You two never made SeeD? Seriously?"

"Seifer doesn't take orders well, and I never cared to take the exam," Squall answered absently as he turned to his father and sister, both of whom had been watching the altercation with worried frowns; if anyone knew how dangerous it would be for Seifer and Squall to actually get into a fight in the middle of a city, it was Laguna, who had fought against Adel. "Does this mean we're done with the shopping?" Squall asked, just barely refraining from pleading.

"Just one more shirt!" Ellone insisted.

Squall rubbed wearily at the bridge of his nose. "...Whatever."

Ellone pressed her lips together and held out the shirt she'd been holding behind her back. "Here! It's Griever!" she declared.

Squall looked up at it, only for the blood to drain from his face. It was, indeed, Griever; Ultimecia's Griever. He turned and hurried from the shop, feeling sick.

Back in the shop, Ellone looked hurt while the others looked worried. "But he loves Griever," she whispered.

Seifer shuddered at Squall's magic, which was writhing against his skin unpleasantly. "I doubt it was you, Elle. I'll go talk to him, okay?" He glanced up at Laguna. "We'll meet you at that café."

"Go on." Laguna waved him off, moving to hug Ellone.

Irvine reached out to stop Seifer. "Do you want–"

"Stay with Elle and Laguna," Seifer ordered, voice sharp. "If you go after Squall, you'll only end up hurt." Then he turned and hurried after the other teen, trusting Squall's magic to lead him in the right direction.

Seifer found Squall not far outside the city limits, emptying the contents of his stomach behind a shrub. When Seifer approached, icicles formed in the air and rushed towards him, warning him away. He waved fireballs at the ice and knelt next to the other teen, resting a hand on his back. "Hey."

Squall turned and buried his face in Seifer's chest, his magic desperate and terrified.

Seifer left his own magic to handle Squall's and focussed on the teen leaning against him, wrapping his arms around Squall's back. "Squall," he whispered, "I'm here. You're safe. You're okay."

It took a moment, but Squall started to calm down, his magic relaxing against Seifer's own. When he spoke, his voice was ragged, "Ultimecia summoned Griever. That Griever, the one on the shirt, not my–" His hand grasped at the pendant he always wore. "Not my Griever. And it, it almost killed Irvine. It–" He choked and gripped both hands in the edges of Seifer's coat. "It flew, and Irvine and Rinoa were the only ones who could hit it, so we left it to them. And by the time Rinoa's shouting caught our attention, it had Irvine and he was limp and–"

Seifer closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Squall. 'No wonder.' Sometimes, it was all too easy to forget that Squall had memories of a war that Seifer couldn't even begin to imagine.

"...I thought he was dead," Squall whispered.

"He's not dead," Seifer insisted, reaching down and lifting Squall's head so he could meet the broken grey eyes. "We were just speaking to him, remember? I called him 'Little Miss' and he threatened to shoot me. And he told us about how his adopted father is in the army and wants him to follow in his footsteps."

Squall nodded, his eyes clearing. "Irvine's okay," he whispered.

"Irvine's just fine. And this Irvine has never even seen that Griever. This Irvine doesn't even know who Ultimecia is."

Squall nodded again, his hands dropping away from Seifer's coat and moving to pull out a bottle of water for him to rinse his mouth with. "Yeah. I... Is Sis okay?" His brows furrowed with concern.

"Elle is fine," Seifer assured him. "I left her with Laguna and Irvine. They're going to meet us at that café we passed this morning, on the way into town. The one with the cake that Elle wanted to try."

Squall spat out his mouthful of water and pulled away to stand. "We should go, then," he decided.

"Hey." Seifer stood and grabbed Squall's hand, refusing to let him go until the younger teen looked at him. "You okay?"

"I'm fi–" Squall's mouth snapped shut at Seifer's raised eyebrow and he silently cursed his magic for giving him away; it was still churning inside of him, not quite recovered from the shock and memories. "I'll be fine," he amended. "I'm... I should be okay to go back into the city." He winced at that, because he could very well have killed someone with his magic. If anyone other than Seifer had come after him...

Seifer cupped Squall's face in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead. "Look at me, Squall. Deep breaths."

Squall realised that he was breathing hard, panicking at the thought of hurting someone, and he took a deep breath, focussing on the calm green eyes staring down at him. 'Seifer wouldn't have let me hurt anyone. That's what he's here for.'

"Better?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah."

Seifer leaned down and kissed him properly, in spite of the faint aftertaste of vomit, smiling when Squall kissed him back, hands grabbing at his coat again. "Ready to go back?" he whispered.

"Yeah." Squall pulled away, smoothing out the creases he'd made in Seifer's coat. "I should apologise to Sis."

Seifer shrugged, turning back towards the city. "She's a big girl."

Squall fell into step with Seifer, huffing. "That doesn't mean she doesn't deserve an apology. Jerk."

"Diplomat."

"Fuck no. Little brother."

Seifer laughed. "I suppose." He started when he felt something brush against his hand and looked down to find Squall's hand unusually close to his. The shorter teen was determinedly looking towards the city and Seifer smiled as he took Squall's hand in his. "I'm not leaving," he commented.

"I know that. Idiot," Squall snapped back, even as his fingers slipped comfortably between Seifer's.

"Not even if you attack me with icicles again."

"I did no such thing!"

"Your magic did."

"You can't hold me responsible for something it did without my consent."

"Sure I can."

"Don't make me freeze your balls off," Squall threatened, his eyes sharp with his usual temperament.

Seifer just grinned at him and squeezed the hand in his. "There's the café," he pointed out.

Squall seemed to consider that for a minute, eyes flickering towards their hands, before tightening his grip once and speeding up a bit, dragging Seifer behind him. As soon as they reached the others, who had chosen a table outside, Squall gave Ellone a half-hug, startling her. "Sorry, Sis. I didn't mean to run off like that."

Ellone smiled up at him. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Have you ordered yet?" Squall asked, slipping into the open seat between Ellone and Irvine, hand dropping from Seifer's.

Seifer rested his hand on Squall's shoulder for a second while Ellone rattled off some of the options from the menu, then moved and sat on Ellone's other side, next to Laguna.

"How is he?" Laguna whispered.

Seifer shrugged. "He should be okay. We might want to cut the shopping trip short, though."

Laguna sighed and nodded. "I had figured as much." Then his eyes sharpened and he gave Seifer an assessing look. "Do I need to be an overbearing father?"

Seifer snorted. "Do you really want to suggest that Squall can't make his own relationship choices?"

"Hmm..." Laguna looked over at where Ellone and Squall were listening to Irvine expound on the deliciousness of something the café sold. Squall looked a little more tired than he had earlier, but there was a definite gleam of amusement in the blue-grey eyes. "Just use your discretion," he suggested. "Elle, Kiros, Ward and I won't care, but there are members of the Council who will, and you two already have more than enough enemies there."

"You don't have to tell me that," Seifer muttered, scowling faintly. "Pricks."

"Seifer, do you know what you want?" Ellone asked, turning to look at him.

Seifer blinked and looked up at the food list on the inside wall. "Erm..."

"What were you two whispering about, anyway?" Irvine wondered, looking only a little suspicious.

"The Council," Laguna sighed.

"And how far up their asses those sticks go," Seifer responded, still trying to read the list.

Squall snorted and held out a laminated sheet with the menu on it. "Idiot."

Seifer grinned as he took the sheet. "Right. Give me a minute..."

Once Seifer had decided, Irvine went in to give their orders. They kept their conversation light both before the food got there and during the meal, trading stories about the two Gardens while Ellone offered up a couple of stories about Matron and the White SeeDs. Squall also mentioned that Selphie was at Trabia Garden, which seemed to perk Irvine right up.

When Laguna had paid the bill – waving away Irvine's money with a grin – they traded message service names and went their separate ways. Seifer and Squall ended up dropping off Laguna and Ellone back in Esthar before Squall flew them out to the Island Closest to Hell to get some training in.

That night, after dinner, Squall paused outside his own room, hand on the doorknob, for a long moment before looking over at where Seifer was leaning against his own doorframe, waiting. "May I..." Squall swallowed and looked away, a faint flush shading his cheeks.

Seifer smiled and held out a hand. "Come on."

Squall let himself be drawn into Seifer's room, eyes smiling.

-0-0-0-

-0-0-0-

A/N: I feel like Squall is getting more and more OoC the longer I type. Murrrr...
Blame it on PTSD, I suppose. You can't go through a war like that without gaining some mental scars.

I sort of wanted more time with Irvine – I adore him, can you tell? – but Squall had his panic attack and I wasn't all that certain I wanted to involve Irvine in their mad plot against Ultimecia, especially since Squall didn't really want to get the others involved. Meh.
Irvine might show up again. Might not. We'll see.

~Bats ^.^x

Chapters:
1 - Won't Make It Alone ||| 2 - Give Up Everything
3 - Fly Over Me ||| 4 - Stars Collide
5 - Stars Shedding Tears ||| 6 - Never Felt So Far From Home
7 - Voice From the Past ||| 8 - Hold Me Without Touch
9 - Diebus Fatalibus ~ Fated Day ||| 10 - Never Let You Go

..

Comments

[hangebokhan.livejournal.com]

So, do we have any word on the future of our darling 11 and Harry? Since the most recent season just ended and all XD

Your most ardent fan,

Han (aka AM on FF)

[noagirl.livejournal.com]

Hrm. I'm working on it, but I've been having a bit of trouble figuring out where to fit Harry in. And all. And my muse is distracted by the shiny that is FFVIII right now and only reluctantly leaving the controller behind when a particularly impressive bribe is offered. (And I'm too broke for bribes. ;.;)

Anyway, yes. Working on it. If nothing else, it'll be up before the Christmas special. Even if I have to tie my muse to a chair and make him re-watch the season 'til his eyes bleed. Actually, that could be a lot of fun... XD

[hangebokhan.livejournal.com]

Well, I could see how it could be difficult, if nothing else, he fits in well right after/during/before he ditches Rory and Amy. He would be snugly involved in Demon's Run, while it is just the Doctor, Harry could be by his side, making the TARDIS shake XD

If I ever get around to it (read: don't count on it) I might make you a clay version of the leaf pendant...

[noagirl.livejournal.com]

LOL. Really, I just need to figure out how to fit him around the whole 'River murdering/marrying the Doctor' bit. Everything else is just gravy. XD
I need to re-watch the season, I think... Hmmm...

That would be awesome! I promise not to hold my breath, though. ^.^"

[hangebokhan.livejournal.com]

OMG, the power ranger Daleks.... I think for the River marriage... well that is going to be hard to deal with. I really did not want to find out she was actually the doctor's wife. Maybe ret con? Either that or it was not actually a marriage but a type of courtship ritual, for instance Rory and Amy were giving their permission for her to be courted and deliberately mislead River? The Doctor always lies... Or, going on that thread, he made it up just to convince River to make contact. Not only that, but his 'lay low' plan leaves it wide open for 11/Harry since he is laying low XD *ahem*

[noagirl.livejournal.com]

Aren't they kinda cool? XD
I've had a couple ideas for it chasing each other around in my head, but I'm gonna have to re-watch that episode a couple times before I know which one, exactly, I'm going with. Should be fun.
Not.

He is laying very low. And Harry's not so low 'cause he's totally on top. XD

Ahahah... Yeah, you're not so bad as some people. I've got a couple fans of this series who started in on me to update as soon as the first episode had aired. Those people make me homicidal.

[hangebokhan.livejournal.com]

No, I asked you once when it started airing and you informed me that you only write at the conclusion of the season so I waited.

Man, I totally take Harry as a bottom. Then again, with those two, they could switch adn I would so not care XD

Good luck with getting around that marriage thing. I despise River... then again, she should have known, in all her mysteriousness that it was fake and that while they had a fake ceremony, Harry is the doctor's Hubby XD

[batsutousai]

Mmmm... You must have been one of the early ones, then. I started carving names into my heart round about the seventh person. (Then, a couple came back during the season break... Let's not get into that.... ^.^")

LOL Harry makes a good bottom. But I also have this great mental image of a 900-year-old Doctor being too embarrassed to be on top. XD

Mmmm... You know, I'm off and on about her. I love her sense of humour, but I dislike what her character seems to be turning into in canon. *sigh*

[hangebokhan.livejournal.com]

Oh, and by the way? Shinies are overrated when they are video games XD

In all honesty though, the only reason I harass you so much about this is because this series is the story that is what crossovers should aspire to, a masterful weave.... aaah crap, I am starting to wax poetic.

Point being, this is my most favorite crossover ever, hands down.

[noagirl.livejournal.com]

Muurr... Tell that to my muse. I don't think he got the memo. *sigh*

LOL. As long as you moderate your harassment, that's all. Otherwise I get super grumpy. ^.^"

[hangebokhan.livejournal.com]

I am extremely moderate, I only ask once after the season is over. I try my best not to pester.