Title: Soul of a Sinner

Authors: Redrum and In-the-Shadows (Shadows-Redrum)

severusxharry@yahoo.ca

Rating: NC17

Pairing: SeiferxSquall

Category: AU

Summary: Seifer arrives at his latest orphanage (having been kicked out of the last one for 'drawing undo attention to himself') shortly after Squall; a young man cursed to eternal loneliness. Squall would be perfectly content to remain alone in his curse but Seifer has other ideas.

Status: Complete



Soul of a Sinner
By Redrum and In-the-Shadows (Shadows-Redrum)


Chapter 1: Oh, How the Mighty have Fallen

Seifer stared up at the dark blue ceiling of the room almost without seeing. It had to be the only dark room in the place and he was glad for it. It’s not that he despised orphanages, he was used to them by now, but bright colors all the time kind of annoyed him. Dark was much more soothing. He’d moved in just today and apparently they were relocating another new arrival to be his roommate because his other room mate, who had only known him for three days, was scared of him or something. Whatever. Seifer knew his limits and there was very little that intimidated him.

With a smirk he traced his hand over his trademark choker, something that had caused much distress in most places he stayed. It was an ordinary rectangle chocker, but the rainbow pattern that went across it was thought 'too much' by many orphanage owners. That he was ‘drawing too much attention to an undesirable part of himself.’ Fuck that. He was gay and he didn’t give a damn about what the rest of the world thought of that.

This place seemed different though. Edea, the owner, had even given him a chance to pick which room he wanted. Given that the rest of it was all pastel, or just not a color he liked, this room was all but destined for him. Nice dark blue walls, dark gray carpet, and room enough for two.

Many people thought Seifer wasn’t a likable person because they couldn’t see past his cocky attitude; which was fine with him. He figured anyone willing to work hard enough to see past it was worth keeping around.

The opening of a door brought him out of his thoughts and he glanced over at the intruder. 'This must be my roommate,' he thought to himself. 'Squall? Did she say his name was?' He didn’t look so scary. He wasn’t short exactly, but he was far from tall and a little under a guy's normal height. 5’8" maybe to Seifer’s 6’2". He was very lithe in build, with long, choppy brown hair and pale skin that made him look almost ethereal. He glanced at him once as he began to unpack and Seifer caught a glimpse of piercing blue-gray eyes; more of a dark gray then blue at the moment. They looked almost like shields. “Need any help?” He offered, noticing the other teen struggling a little with one of his bags.

~*~*~

He didn't understand how people could be afraid of him. So he had a weird aura, who cared? If animals liked him (more like flocked to him) then why shouldn't humans? They were basically one in the same. Well, bearing in mind the complexity of the human mind and the many range of emotions and their ability to fuck – he really was quite vulgar. Usually only in his own head though. Although, sometimes he liked to piss off the others since they were so damn naive when it came to some matters – things up quite easily. They were really quite the same.

Hefting his bag up higher, 'why do damn clothes have to weight this much?' he thought, growling slightly. He only needed one set of sturdy clothes; he could wash it when he was done with it for the day. But no... they just had to give him a bag full of shit. At least they had thought ahead long enough to make him a little less of a stranger to the owners. He didn't know how they figured out how to write a birth certificate.

Squall sighed when he finally saw the door to his new room. It was painted a bright blue, making an otherwise nice color disgustingly sweet and girly. And did the rest of the damn hallway really have to be painted the same? Couldn't the owners have painted it black or something? The doors actually blended into the wall. The only distinguishing feature on each door was the bright red number. Said number was lucky thirteen. Not that he was superstitious. He didn't believe in the human's thought process on that.

Setting his bag down, he pushed the other bag he had been kicking along with his foot (it was filled with books written by various humans who thought they knew everything (They must have thought that he needed it to fit in. Ha! He could fit in just fine) to the side. Turning the blue (really, did they *have* to paint that too?) handle, he opened the door and picked his bag back up, kicking the other one further into the room.

Glancing up at the room, he tried not to take a step back at the rapid color change. At least the dark blue was easy on the eyes. He looked over at the other occupant, forcing the scowl that had automatically sprung up in his features at the sight of the human away. Struggling with his bag, he kicked the other one further into the room. He looked up again when the human asked if he needed help. Damn body... they just *had* to put him into some weakling. At least he had *some* muscles, but unfortunately, this bag was too damn heavy.

Seeing that the jade green (since when do human eyes go that bright? Must be those glass wears that they put inside their irises. He could never remember what they were called. Not that he cared, since he would never need anything to fix his own eyesight) were fixed on him still, he shook his head and muttered "no," before he continued to shuffle forward, kicking the door closed with his boot (Still squeaky clean since he'd just appeared in the lobby. Really, could they be any more obvious?). Accept help from a human? Squall snorted. 'I think not.'

Finally, he reached the small bed, twin sized he thought they were called... maybe they were called that because two people could fit into it? No, that was stupid. Then again... wasn't it stupid to name a *bed*? Yes, yes it was. Shaking his head, Squall set down the large bag. His shoulders were killing him (figuratively, obviously) and he really just wanted to go to sleep.

Not looking again at the other male, he toed of his leather (why were they so obsessed with leather?) military (some kind of cosmic joke probably, considering he was 'technically' a part of one) boots. He set them to the side neatly beside his bags and gingerly sat down on the bed. The last time he had slept in one.. Squall frowned and shook his head, banishing the unpleasant thought, and the reason he was here at all, from his mind.

Lying down on his stomach he closed his eyes and turned his head to face the wall, away from the other man. Preparing for much needed sleep.

~*~*~

Seifer arched an eyebrow at his new roommate. 'So he's antisocial huh?' Sitting up on the bed, Seifer stared at his back for a few moments before saying, "You know, there's probably an hour until dinner; why don't you show me around? You've been here for a few days already right?" Both questions received nothing but silence and clear, 'Back off,' vibes. But Seifer was never the one to really listen when he got something set in his mind, so he got up off the bed and padded around to the small space between Squall's bed and the wall.

"I gather you don't engage in conversation much," he said with his usual arrogance, "Allow me to enlighten you; generally, people face each other when they speak."

~*~*~

Was that human talking again? Sighing, Squall opened his eyes and glared up at the large blonde (what the hell was that shiny liquid in his hair? It looked ridiculous). The dark green shirt the human was wearing really set off his (probably fake) jade green eyes. And did it have to be so tight? The world didn't need to see how muscular the blonde was. Idiot. Flickering his eyes down, he frowned at the faded black jeans, almost a light gray from frequent use. The holes in the material were atrocious. There was one near his groin for goodness sake! No one needed or wanted to know that the dumb blonde went bare butt. (Wasn't there a name for that? Something to do with commanders.)


His frown deepened when he met the eye of the human. 'Stupid twinkling, he must have something in his eye, because he should definitely *not* find me amusing.' "I'm aware of your customs hu-." Idiot! Let’s stand out even more by calling the people on earth 'humans' directly to their faces. *Normal* people do not use that term when talking to another. Though Squall was definitely tempted to call the other an ape. It was only evolutionary correct, since God had mutated the apes until they walked on two legs and with their heads held high (then of course those humans that slouched ruined the whole scheme of things), there by, creating an army of humans. An army of unintelligent humans who were loud, messy, and primal.

Finally registering that the human was looking at him still, his head tilted to the side in a world wide gesture of confusion. He scowled and turned over again, facing the other human's bed. "I'm not aware of the lay out of this building; I have only been in three rooms." He said, hoping that would end their little conversation. The only rooms he'd been in was his old dorm room, the lobby and the rather small dining hall. The latter he especially hated since it ended up in him having to resort to a sickeningly human bowel movement. If it was up to him, he'd stop eating. But he'd already tried that the first day, and it had only left him with a rather large ache in the head and a stomach that made noises.

~*~*~

Walking around the bed, undeterred, Seifer crouched down beside it so that Squall would be forced to look at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve been through three roommates already?” He leaned closer to Squall, examining him, “You don’t look that scary.”

Squall sent him an icy glare which had frightened off all who encountered it before. Seifer just laughed and sat down on the floor with his knees drawn up and one arm around them. “Well anyway, since we’re going to be living together I think we should at least be introduced.” He extended his hand toward Squall, “My name is Seifer, and if I remember correctly you name is Squall, right?”

~*~*~

Three roommates? When did he say that? Sure, he'd been there for four days already, but he hadn't told the hu-Seifer (what kind of name was Seifer anyway?) that he had had other roommates. The man must be good at snooping. Squall had only been with two other people, though, now Seifer made three.

Giving a mental snort, he looked down at the out stretched hand. It looked like he was offering it, but why would he sake Squall's hand? They weren't settling an agreement or anything.

Sighing, he stretched out his arm, instinctively knowing that the blonde wouldn't leave him alone until he showed *some* kind of reaction. Putting his smaller hand in the others, he let Seifer shake his hand once before he pulled back. Wiping the human's sweat off his palm on the dark red sheets. Was the man nervous or something? No, the arrogant blonde didn't look like he even knew the meaning of the word. But really... ick. He hated the body's functions. Why couldn't humans just pant like animals did to regulate their body temperature? It was a lot more appealing then sweating.

"Your opinion of me differs from the others. Not everyone thinks the same way you do. To some, I am what you would call 'scary'." He finally replied to the man's earlier question. Though it had sounded like it was rhetorical, but what was the point of asking something you already knew the answer to? He sighed mentally. Humans.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled lightly, earning another icy glare for Squall. "Man, you don't get out much do you? Where were you raised to act so formal?" There was a thickness in the air after that question that led Seifer to believe he'd struck a big nerve. He'd heard some pretty bad horror stories in his day, so he backed off. Man this kid was stubborn; but Seifer was never one to back off from a challenge.

"Okay, different subject." Seifer paused, trying to grasp a neutral topic. He glanced out the window at the growing twilight and smirked. If curfew was as early here as it was in most other places, the window was the perfect place to escape from. "When is the curfew around here anyway?" he asked brining his attention and his gaze back to Squall.

~*~*~

He sighed again. Why wouldn't this human leave him alone? Surely he was uncomfortable with being in the same space as Squall? All the other humans were. Sighing again, he rested his hand against his cheek and looked at Seifer from his relaxed position. Like he was going to come to attention for some human! An arrogant one at that!

"10." He replied. His other roommates had also ended up sneaking out the window or the door, and he suspected this man would do the exact same thing. Stupid teenagers and their rebellion. What was the point? They should know when to fight their battles, and when to admit defeat.

~*~*~

"Tsk, always so early," Seifer murmured, basically talking to himself. "No matter though. Where there is a rule there is always a loop hole." He stretched his hands and cracked his knuckles. He was used to bending the rules to 'his own devious purposes' as it was so often put. Leaning back against the nightstand, he looked over at Squall again.

A lot of people would peg him for the stuck up type, but that didn't feel right to Seifer; and he had a knack for pegging people. Like that girl with the bright yellow room; Selphie was it? So was so definitely on speed. It was a pity Edea didn't have much help; she seemed like one of the owners that actually cared.

"So..." he said at length, "You seem like an adventurous person, Squall. What are you into?"

~*~*~

Adventurous? Him? Squall choked down the laugh that wanted to erupt from his throat. But... what was he into? Was that a new thing for teenagers? He wasn't 'into' anything. That didn't even make sense. Sighing, Squall looked down at the seated blonde. There was only one way to find out; he didn't want to ask though, he'd end up making himself look like an idiot. So instead, he said, "nothing." That sounded like a good answer to him. He was almost, *almost* being the key word, tempted to ask what Seifer was 'into.' But that would just continue this conversation. And really, did this man never shut up? He even talked to himself out loud! Sure, Squall liked to have monologues, but *inside* his head, not while conversing with another being.

Listening to Seifer crack the bones in his hands again, Squall surpassed a shiver. Did he *have* to do that? Didn't he realize how bad that was for his bones? They weren't made to be separated like he was doing while cracking his knuckles. Stupid human.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled again, earning another glare from Squall. “Nothing huh? Well that sounds interesting,” he said with a healthy does of sarcasm. “You couldn’t possibly have passed through life staring at the wall all day. Talking to one maybe, but not simply staring at it.”

He gazed down at the books peaking out from one of Squall's partially open bags (the one he had been kicking almost savagely before him) tipping his head to one side, he studied the authors names. “You read a lot?” he asked, glancing back at Squall.

He could tell the lithe teen was doing his best to shake him off but that only made things more interesting to Seifer. It’s not like he was out to humiliate the guy or turn all of his worst secrets into front page news. Besides, he was at least talking to him; that was a start.

~*~*~

Squall sighed at the mention of the cursed books. Frowning, he finally decided to sit up. Sitting cross legged on the hard mattress, facing the blonde, he folded his hands in his lap. He knew he wasn't going to get rid of this human unless he got sick of him, so he decided to humor the blonde instead. Maybe Seifer would see how boring and cynical he was and decide he was no fun, there by moving out. Yes, that sounded like an excellent idea.

"They are for me to study." He finally replied. At least he didn't have to lie about that. Besides being in his nature to avoid lying, he just hated to lie to other people. The truth ended up hurting more anyway. And sometimes, no one believes it. You walk up to a stranger and tell them that you have no parents, that you only have a father that is asexual and isn't really a man at all... well, they wouldn't believe you.

Squall shook his head, dislodging the troublesome thought. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone what he was. Then again, if someone found out on their own there wasn't much he could do about it. So long as he never actually said who he was himself, he'd be safe and he wouldn't have to go to Hell.

Sighing, Squall wrapped his arms around himself, a standard human defensive movement (as he'd already been forced to read up on) and leaned forward slightly. "Why do you wear that strange necklace?" He asked, almost genuinely curious to know why a person would be wearing something that bright around their neck. That and he wanted the human to stop asking questions. He learned enough from his brief time in this world that if you asked someone about themselves, they tended to prattle for excessively long times. At least he'd known one human like that...

Stopping his train of thought before it could go further; Squall looked down at the seated blonde.

~*~*~

‘Interesting,” Seifer mused to himself. He wasn’t sure whether Squall was actually asking or was just trying to change the subject. He couldn’t see why books would strike a nerve. Then again a lot of things seemed to strike nerves with this guy. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw some sort of emotion flash through his eyes, making them a little grayer.

‘Well, at least he’s talking back now,’ Seifer finial decided, running his hand over his choker lightly. “I’m gay,” he replied smirking arrogantly up at the brunet. There was a long silence between them, as though Squall was waiting for him to continue off on some long tangent. At length he just turned his palms face up in a shrug and said, “That’s all. I’m not an overly complicated person.”

~*~*~

Squall covered a snort with his hand. Right. A human who *wasn't* complicated. Not on this earth. He still didn't understand what being 'gay' had to do with a necklace. What exactly was 'gay'? The only time he'd heard of it was when someone had commented on how gay someone was looking today. Didn't it mean happy or something?

Sighing, Squall asked another question before the blonde could start up again. "Why the necklace then? And what do you mean by 'gay'?" He frowned, stopping himself before he could tilt his head in confusion. He would *not* resort to any other human response unless he was forced to (i.e. going to the bathroom). He didn't like it, but he was forced to do it, so there was nothing he could do about it. Although the aspects of showering were quite pleasant... He always did love water, no matter the form.

A thick strand of auburn hair fell over his eyes, making him frown again. Huffing, he tried to get the chunk of hair to go back to its rightful place. When that didn't work, he resorted to running his hand through his hair, flimsily securing the piece of hair back amongst the others. He wished he had his long hair back. Sure his bangs were choppy but they were long enough not to get directly into his vision.

His frown increased when the human started laughing. What the hell was so funny? And did he have to do that so loudly? Squall sighed. At least it was better then those damn giggles that the female species were prone to.

~*~*~

“Man,” Seifer said between bursts of laughter, “You *really* don’t get out much do you?” When he saw the blank look on Squall’s face he realized he wasn’t joking and his laughter quieted down. “Seriously?” he asked and received the same blank look. ‘Geez where has this kid been?’ he thought to himself, studying Squall for a moment.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” he said after a long pause. “The colors of the rainbow all together like this on the necklace is a symbol for people who are gay; you with me so far?” Squall gave him a sharp 'I-am-not-stupid look' and he chuckled; holding his hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright. Anyway, 'gay' is a slang term for homosexuals; people who are romantically interested in their own sex. Hence; I like guys. That explain things?” he asked, tipping his head to one side.

~*~*~

Frowning, Squall looked down at the necklace. "Why would you wear it though?" From what he understood about humans, they tended to hide things like that from society. Squall had nothing against it, since his old body had technically been asexual. He had the general physique of a male, but without the penis that led most men around. So he had never been 'attracted' to the others. In this body... he wasn't so sure. He hadn't found himself attracted to anyone. Then again, he didn't really know what attraction entailed. He knew the penis was supposed to get hard with excess blood if he saw or felt some kind of attraction to another person, but as of yet that had yet to happen.

Seifer was relatively handsome; he probably could be one of those models that populate the magazine covers that teenagers bought frequently with their excess money. But Squall didn't feel anything for him, besides annoyance that was. Besides, the human wouldn't enjoy being in his company for long due to the damn aura. There was nothing he could do about it of course. It was just part of the punishment. Eternal loneliness. Which was fine by him, humans were too loud and annoying to make good company.

~*~*~

Seifer shrugged. “Because I don’t give a damn what everyone else thinks. And I got sick of girls hitting on me. Honestly, some of them just need therapy or something; they‘re like dogs in heat.” Then he turned to Squall and grinned defiantly. “I have a knack for pissing people off by being too honest.”

A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation and they both looked up to see Edea poking her head inside. “You two seem to be getting along,” she observed with a small smile. “I just came to tell you that dinner’s in a few minutes.” Seifer nodded and she smiled and left.

Standing, Seifer stretched until his vision blurred a little from standing up too fast. He blinked a few times until his vision cleared and then turned to look over at Squall, “You coming?” He asked, offering the smaller teen a hand up.

~*~*~

Frowning, he gingerly placed a hand into the larger one. Squall grunted when Seifer pulled too hard, making him crash into the other's chest. Scowling, he stepped back and smoothed his hands down his white tank top and the black leather pants, erasing any winkles that had grown in the material. Looking up, he narrowed his eyes at the other's smirk. Damn arrogant human. The man was too tall for his own good.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, he stepped back; making it easier to look up then at the sharp angle he had been in before when he was inches away from the other's chest.

Seifer chuckled at his movements, earning another glare from Squall, they walked out of the room, both squinting their eyes at the sudden brightness. "Damn pastels, who the hell painted this building?" He mumbled. His eyes widened when he realized he had just asked a rhetorical question. God... if he was already acting like a human so early, imagine how bad it was going to get in a few years.

~*~*~

“I have to agree with you there,” Seifer mumbled unhappily as the meandered through the brightly painted halls. At least the dining room was a nice soft tan; Seifer could live with that. As they walked down the halls, Seifer studied Squall out of the corner of his eyes. There was something…different about him. He couldn’t really place his finger on it, but there was something different. He’d come here at the beginning of summer, so that left plenty of time for him to investigate.

They maneuvered themselves through the crowds and after gathering his food Seifer made a point of sitting next to Squall; despite the fact that others seemed to be avoiding him like the plague. “So,” he said, intent on keeping up communication, “How do you like it here? I mean, aside from those hellish pastels?”

~*~*~

Pushing the food around on his plate, still hesitant to eat *anything* Squall glanced at the large blonde beside him. He certainly didn't have any reserves about wolfing down his meal. The brunet snorted in disgust, turning his head away. Though the view that greeted him there wasn't any better. The few that weren't ignoring Squall, were either looking at him in fear or disgust. Just great.

He grunted when he felt a sharp stab in the ribs. Whipping his head around, he glared at the smirking human. How did he like it here? Well, it was certainly no Heaven. Loud, crowded, and too many rude humans. Sighing, he cast his eyes down onto his plate. "I'm sure you'll like it here." He said finally, avoiding the question. He didn't know everything, but he was pretty sure that saying it was too loud and crowded to someone else's face might insult them... he wasn't sure though.

"Hey!" Squall continued to look down at his filled plate. "Brown haired guy sitting next to the blonde!" 'Yes, thank you for pointing out my hair color. Though technically it's auburn, but I'll let you get away with brown.' Sighing, Squall turned his head, facing said blonde, but his eyes were on the figures behind him.

There were only three of them and they looked like the type of humans that would probably give everyone a hard time. He thought the term for that was bully, but he wasn't sure.

"Hey! Ya don't wanna be hanging around people like him," the tallest of the three jerked his head towards Seifer. "So, why don't'cha come with us and we'll show you the ropes, eh? How 'bout it?" Squall sighed and turned back to his uneaten meal.

"Damn it! I'm talking to you!" A large hand was placed on his shoulder, making Squall shiver in disgust. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed the sweaty (ugh!) hand and turned around slightly. Still gripping onto the hand, he stood up. Trying not to snort in amusement when he found that he only came up to mid chest. Still gripping the wrist, he tightened his grip, "Hey man! Let go!" Squall looked up and glared.

"Why?" The teenager looked surprised that he could talk. Idiot.

"I was just trying ta help ya! Ya don't wanna be hanging around people like him. He's disgusting and will probably end up doing something to you, surely ya don't want that?"

Squall narrowed his eyes and looked up. Not really knowing why the man took a step back when he looked down at Squall's face, but whatever. Gripping the wrist in his hand tighter, with a deft move of his own wrist, he snapped it.

"Fuck!" The teenager went down on his knees, clutching his hand. His two prone buddies finally came to his rescue, though one look at Squall's face had them turn tail and run, the taller boy held between them as they ran out.

Sighing, Squall turned back to the table and sat down. Hunching over his meal he sighed in disgust. Like hell he would eat this shit. Not that there was anything wrong with Edea's food, it was actually quite good, but he just didn't feel like eating all of a sudden.

Standing up again he crossed the room quickly with his long strides and was out the door in record time. Passing Edea, who gave him a confused look, but he didn't stop to chat; knowing that he would probably be disciplined if she figured out what he had just done. It was stupid really... he didn't know what had come over him. He just knew that he didn't like the other's touch so he sure as hell wasn't going to stand someone touching him when he didn't want them to or didn't even know them.

Running a hand through his already tousled hair Squall bowed his head and continued on; sighing when he finally reached his dorm. Closing the door behind him he tugged off his boots again and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth; hating the grungy feel to them. Even if he hadn't eaten they still managed to build up somehow. Relieving himself he made sure to wash his hands; his upper lip curled in disgust. Brushing his teeth he rinsed and spat into the sink. Running the water so the toothpaste and saliva went down the drain.

Going back into the room he shrugged off his shirt and pants. Naked, he bent down and searched his bag for undergarments to wear. He didn't hear the door open as he finally found what he was looking for and stood up. While balancing on one foot he put his foot into one of the holes, making sure the tag was at his back side. He repeated the procedure for his other foot; not even swaying slightly on his one foot. Shimmying them up he sighed and looked down. Snapping the elastic against his flat stomach he thought it looked like six small little bumps... maybe he had an illness he didn't know about?

Sighing he pulled the covers up and slid into them and pulled them up to his shoulder as he laid down on his side, facing the wall, one hand curled underneath the pillow, the other resting just underneath his cheek. Closing his eyes, he sighed again and tried to get to sleep; ignoring his growling stomach.

~*~*~

Seifer watched Squall leave the dining room with a look of mild surprise. He wasn't fooling himself into believing Squall stood up for any other reason than to get rid of whoever it had been that was bothering him but it was nice to know he wasn't homophobic. And damn he was really strong too. He'd have to see if he was interested in taking Kendo; it'd been years since he'd really been challenged in sparing.

Standing, Seifer started to make his way out of the room and all but bumped into Edea just as she entered. "Seifer, what's going on with Squall?" she asked in that polite, motherly voice she seemed to have.

"Oh, well the usual suspects were hassling him. I- uh, tried to tell them to go away, but they wouldn't listen and-uh, I think I might have hurt one of them," Seifer replied putting on his best sheepish act. If any one of them knew what was good for them they wouldn't deny the story.

"Is that so?" Edea asked, tipping her head to one side as if thinking it over. Whether or not she saw though Seifer’s act, she didn't seem to be too angry. Seifer gave a mental sigh of relief when she said, "Well I'll see how they are, but try to be careful Seifer; not everyone takes kendo you know." Seifer nodded obediently and once she'd turned the opposite corner he made his way towards Squall and his room.

He crept in just in time to get an excellent view of his roommate’s body as he changed and wasn't shy about taking a good look either. It's not like he was trying to be any great pervert or anything but he did appreciate a finely tuned body. Oh yes; if he could be convinced, Squall would be a great sparring partner.

He waiting calmly by the door until Squall was in bed to prevent him any embarrassment before closing the door behind him and walking over to Squall's bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand lightly on Squall's hip to gain his attention. From the way the other tensed he knew he was still wide awake, if a little tired. "Listen," he said softly since his roommate had been trying to sleep, "I know you probably didn't do any of that in there for me, but still I wanted to thank you for standing up to those creeps." Seifer gave a small chuckle, "Saves me the trouble and I don't think they'll be bothering either of us again. So thanks." Seifer paused again before asking, "Where'd you get that kind of strength anyway?"

~*~*~

Still tense, Squall fought the urge to do the exact same thing to Seifer that he had done to the other boy. Rolling onto his back he rested his head on crossed arms and looked down at the human. At least his hand was off now; even though now he was forced to face him.

He frowned, looking at the other's relaxed stance. Why the hell wasn't he scared? Any normal human would have run straight to Edea and requested another roommate to stay away from Squall. Sighing, he glanced up at the dark ceiling. At least the human understood he hadn't done it for him. Although... if he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that a small part of him had been angry (ugh, another human irrational emotion. God how he hated it) at the words of the dumb human. He didn't think it was right to discriminate against someone simply for their... what was it called? Preference? Whatever.

Looking back down at Seifer through half lidded eyes he frowned. Where did he get that kind of strength? From this measly body of course. Where else? His other body had been ten times stronger.. but at least he had found out he wasn't *that* weak. That, or humans were just so pitiful he could easily snap their wrists and not have anyone put up a fight.

"From my body, where else?" He finally said, said body still tense. The man was too close for his liking. Did humans have to radiate heat all the time? No wonder they sweated so much if their bodies were like a furnace. He frowned when the human started to laugh. Why did this man keep thinking he was funny? Stupid Seifer. The blonde was definitely the weirdest human he had the unfortunate chance of meeting. Even weirder then... no, he would not think about him. It was thanks to that one human that he was in this whole damned mess in the first place.

~*~*~

Shaking his head, Seifer wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, “Man, you are something else." Tipping his head to one side he studied his roommate in the dim light. For the first time since meeting him Seifer took notice of the fact that he seemed very sad. It wasn't like any of it showed on his face but... it was just intuition and Seifer's was usually pretty good.

Taking a deep breath he asked, "Have you ever thought of putting some of that to good use? Like in Kendo or something? I practice and Edea even said she'd let me use my swords if I was the only one in the gym at the time. I suppose she'd let you in too if we were training together though."

~*~*~

'You are something else.’ You have no idea Seifer...

Sighing, Squall finally sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Stupid human body, being tired was a weakness. Same with eating, sexual urges, and going to the damn bathroom too much. He frowned when he noticed the other's eyes on his chest. Looking down, his frown deepened to that of curiosity. What was so fascinating? Shaking his head, he looked back up, giving a mental shrug and a 'whatever' to the situation.

What the hell was 'Kendo'? Obviously it involved swords... now *that* he was familiar with. He was, after all, in a military. Well... he used to be. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work out the kinks. What the hell? It wasn't like he had anything better to do. His eyes briefly shot out the books lying in wait in the bag. Like he had previously thought, he had nothing *better* to do. "Yes, I will train with you." Maybe after watching the blond he could pick up on it. The others had always said he was a fast learner.

~*~*~

Seifer broke out into a grin. “That’s great! It’s been so long since I’ve had someone to train with who could challenge me.” As he grinned at the brunet, who continued to look at him blankly. Seifer had to notice there was something different about him. ‘He’s so naive and so formal…’ Everyone in an orphanage had a story as to exactly why they had ended up there and Seifer was bound and determined to learn Squall's.

Looking over him, he noticed the small bags under his eyes and decided to back off. “Well, I can see you’re tired, so I’ll let you sleep.” he said lowering his tone again. He pushed off the bed, placing a hand lightly on Squall's shoulder for a moment, and said, “G’night.”

Walking over to his own bed Seifer stripped down and put on some boxers before slipping in between the sheets of his bed. He was tired, but as usual sleep eluded him like the plague and after two hours it was starting to give him a headache. Throwing off the covers with a huff of frustration Seifer quickly shuffled into his nearest outfit and black hiking boots. He tried to be quiet but via his instincts he could tell Squall was awake.

He climbed up on a chair and bid Squall a brief, “Later,” before scrambling up out the window and onto the roof. It seemed like an awful lot of trouble to go through just to be outside but that’s the only thing that had ever really helped his insomnia. He lay back on the roof and watched the stars dance across the blue-black sky. It was one of his oldest habits. The only thing Seifer could ever remember about his parents was that, before his mother died, she’d taken him out at night and told him the myths that went along with the constellations. He could only remember a few now, but going over them and looking up at the sky had helped his insomnia every time it became particularly difficult. Soon he was fast asleep.

~*~*~

Frowning, Squall looked over at the empty bed. What the hell was that human up to now? It had been around two hours since Seifer had left, and Squall still couldn't get to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept having flashes of what could have happened to him if God hadn't been merciful. Infernos engulfing him, his long, strong wings being incinerated in the blazing fires, causing him to go down on his knees from the pain. And it only got worse when his wings kept growing back, stubborn to be airborne, but the fires were just too hot for him to escape.

Sighing, Squall turned over on his side, facing Seifer's empty bed. The human had obviously had trouble sleeping, but where had he gone? The brunet snorted. It wasn't any of his business. If Seifer wanted to go cause trouble somewhere that was his own business and if he ended up in prison, then that was his fault too.

Glancing over at the open window, he was tempted to shut it. Even though it was summer the nights here were incredibly cold. But he didn't want to lock Seifer out if he happened to come back. Sighing, Squall pulled the sheets up around his chin and huddled into a ball to keep warm. Maybe he should put on a warmer article of clothing? No; that required getting up and leaving the semi-warm bed.

'Fuck it.’ Shutting his eyes, Squall shivered and tried to go to sleep.

It was several hours before he actually managed to fall into a deep sleep. The brunet's lids twitching in a dream, his whole body shivering from the cold, but he did sleep. Even if it wasn't very restful.




Chapter Two: You are going to like me! You are going to like me!


Seifer came too when the first rays of dawn crept over the horizon and hit him in the eyes. Squinting, Seifer shielded the light from his eyes and took a few moments to regain his bearings. ‘Why am I on the roof?… Oh yeah.' He stretched and yawned rather loudly; enjoying the cool air of the night that still clung to the air. He never got why people always wanted to move to and/or vacation in warm places; the cold seemed a lot more inviting to him.

Shifting to crawl backwards on all fours, Seifer gingerly began to make his way back down the drain pipe. Not gingerly enough however as he acquired a nice size slash to his leg along the way. He paid it no mind however until he was inside.

Once he reached the window and slipped inside, closing it behind him, he bent down to examine the damage. Not too bad. One of those cuts that aren't too deep, but bleed a lot. He shuffled into the bathroom that came attached to their room and after washing he cut he wrapped some bandages around his leg and meandered back inside.

That was when he saw Squall. He looked awful. He was paler than seemed natural for his fair skin and shaking still from the cold even though the window was closed now. Furrowing his brow in concern, Seifer walked over to him and brushed his fingers over his forehead before pulling back sharply. He was as cold as ice! Seifer then started to feel guilty about leaving the window open, he probably could’ve gotten back in if it’d been closed...

Walking over to his trunk, one of his few actual possessions, he pulled out a thick comforter; another possession, (This one made for really cold weather.) and draped it over the lithe form of his roommate. Tipping his head to one side and studying Squall, who slowly stopped shivering, he decided he looked like the type who’d like chocolate. So for lack of anything else to do, and still feeling a little guilty about leaving the window open all night, he swung by the dining room and went to the hot chocolate dispenser and grabbed two cups.

He left Squall's on his nightstand and proceeded to drink his while sitting in a chair between their beds, not bothering to change his clothing from the night before just yet.

~*~*~

Snuggling into the warm blanket, Squall yawned, still half asleep as he slowly opened his eyes. Bringing his hand up, he rubbed the sleep out of his eye and blinked several times, trying to wake up. He sniffed and looked down, frowning at the thick blanket now covering him. Where had it come from? Yawning again, he jumped when he heard a quite chuckle. His vision finally clear, he looked over at the blonde sitting in the chair; too close to the bed for his liking. Now what the hell was this human laughing at?

Sniffling again, he frowned, attention drawn to himself for a moment. Why was his throat hurting? And what the hell was that tickling sensation in his nose? He scrunched his eyes up and automatically brought a hand to his mouth just in time to catch a rather loud sneeze (though luckily it wasn't too messy). Oh God... he was sick. Of all the...

This was definitely turning out to be a shitty day. And it was still early yet!

~*~*~

Despite how guilty Seifer might have felt about getting his roommate sick he was still grinning sheepishly; Squall had a rather cute sneeze. “I uh, seem to have gotten you sick,” he said at length. Shifting, he gently handed the hot chocolate to Squall. “Here, drink this. It should help a little. And maybe some cold medicine later,” he mused, tipping his head to one side and studying Squall. It didn’t seem like it was that bad a cold, but he probably shouldn’t get out of bed that day anyway.

Seeing Squall eyeing the cup warily he smirked but managed not to laugh. “Go on, take it. I swear I didn’t poison it or anything.”

~*~*~

Sighing to his fate, Squall scooted up until he was sitting with his back resting against the headboard, adjusting the comforter so it covered most of his cold torso. Taking the cup gingerly from the other man, tipping his head in thanks, he blew carefully, trying to cool it off. Wrapping his cold hands around the warm mug, managing to catch the relived sigh building up inside him at the warmth, he took a careful sip. Mmm...God this was good. He didn't see Seifer's eyes widen at the moan (not having realized that he had even said it out loud), he quickly took another sip, being careful not to burn his tongue with the hot, delicious liquid.

He finished the cup quickly, faster then Seifer, considering the man had started before him, he set it on the night stand beside his bed. Looking over at the human, he let a small (very small) smile curve his lips, saying quietly, "Thank you." He was still extremely hungry (considering he hadn't eaten much since he came), but he didn't really feel like getting up just yet.

He was tempted to ask the other man where he had gone to during the night, but figured that it was his business and if he wanted to share, he would. He probably just snuck out to meet some lover or something.

Squall sighed and leaned his head against the wall before he quickly righted it, discovering that tilting his head too far back made his throat hurt even more. Sniffing again, he ran a hand through his hair. A shower sounded good. Maybe even a bath... he hadn't had one of those yet. Maybe after? The idea of bathing in his own filth didn't appeal to him, so maybe after he had a shower it wouldn't be as bad.

~*~*~

'So he does smile,' Seifer mused to himself smiling back. He placed both his cup and the book he'd been reading on the nightstand. "You know it might help you relax if you took a hot shower. You might just want to stay in bed all day with that cold. How about you go shower and I'll go get us some breakfast. Sound good?"

~*~*~

The brunet snapped his head around, looking at the blonde. He didn't know humans could read minds. That could prove to be very dangerous. Maybe he just guessed? Hmm...

"Yes, it does." Sniffling again, he sighed and pulled back the sheets. At least it wasn't cold in the room anymore. Though he still felt oddly chilled. Standing up, he padded over to his duffle bag. Squatting down, he searched his clothes, trying to look for something that was decent. Finally settling on a pair of faded blue jeans, small tears in the knees from use ('who did they get to wear this until it was faded?), a navy blue tee and white athletic (why were they called athletic anyway?) socks. Standing back up, he tucked them underneath his arm and went into the bathroom.

Setting them on the hamper he grabbed a towel, set it on the clothes, and went into the shower. Adjusting the knobs and levers until he got it to the temperature he liked. Pulling off his boxers and tossing them, he turned the shower head on and gasped at the hot spray pounding on his face. Coughing, he bent his head down and let the water run over his head, soaking his hair flat against his skull.

Blindly grabbing the Pears Strawberry shampoo (he suspected it was Seifer's, since the orphanage usually just carried generic, which was donated to them) and poured a bit onto his hand before replacing the bottle back onto the tiny shelf. Lathering it up in his hair, he gave a soft smile at the pleasant smell. A sudden thought of smelling that exact same smell lingering in Seifer's hair caught him off guard. Why the hell was he thinking about him? Whatever. Shaking his head, he rinsed off the shampoo and started washing his body. Paying close attention to those... less then pleasant parts.

He shuddered again when he felt his bowels were full... ugh... Rinsing the soap off, he turned everything off and stepped out of the shower. Stopping at the toilet, he relieved himself, washed his hands thoroughly and towel dried his hair. He quickly passed it over his body, and put it in the hamper. Pulling on his clothes, he took a glance in the mirror. His hair was incredibly messy. Sighing, he looked down. Spotting a comb, he shrugged mentally and used it. It wasn't like Seifer had much hair anyway. He only needed his hands to press it back with that disgusting liquid stuff.

Finally getting his hair untangled, he set the comb on the sink again and walked out of the bathroom. Glancing around, he figured Seifer must still be at the dining hall, getting their breakfast. Sighing, he slid into bed and crossed his arms; leaning his head on the make-shift cushion. Shutting his eyes, he waited for the human to get back.

~*~*~

Seifer managed to get breakfast and some cold medicine for Squall without too much incident. Except running into that Selphie girl again. She was all hyper and shaking. 'It's a shame some people go down like that,' he thought to himself, still convinced the girl was on drugs.

Brushing those thoughts away, Seifer pushed open the door and found Squall dozing lightly. He shut the door behind him with a small smirk. 'He relaxes too it seems.' Clearing the nightstand a little, Seifer set the tray down and brushed his finger lightly over Squall's forehead to check his temperature and also to wake him.

The brunet's eyes snapped open and he made to move away, but Seifer's voice stopped him. "Chill, I just wanted to tell you breakfast is ready." He helped Squall into a sitting position and settled the tray over his lap. 'You know for the person who's looking after him, I feel oddly like a cricket under a microscope,' Seifer mused as Squall studied him. He did have a rather piercing gaze. "You're a little chilled but it doesn't seem so bad," Seifer explained, sitting down in the same chair he had a minute ago and starting in on his breakfast.

~*~*~

Squall frowned, pushing the cereal around in his bowl. Resigned to his fate, and the growling of his stomach, Squall took a few mouthfuls before he deemed himself full enough to function properly (though he hadn't even finished half of it). And picked up the strange bottle with red liquid inside. Reading the label, he discovered it to be some type of medicine that relived stuffed up noses, sneezes, and sore throats. Sighing, he put the recommended amount into the spoon and drank it. Twisting his face up at the awful taste. It said it was supposed to taste like cherries, if the label was anything to go by, but obviously it wasn't.

His frown turned into a scowl when he heard Seifer laughing. Stupid man. He needed to learn manners. Especially the respect your elders one. He was, after all, at least a hundred years older then the young man.

Setting the tray on the nightstand, he mumbled a quiet 'thanks' out of courtesy for the human for bringing him food (even if he didn't want to eat it) and medicine that was supposed to make him feel better.

Eyes flickering down to the bag near his bed he sighed and bent down slightly; randomly grabbing a book from the bag. He had to read them all eventually.

Great... this one was about human relationships. Just fucking great. Sighing, he opened the book and started to read. Though his eyelids felt extremely heavy...

~*~*~

Seifer, naturally, didn’t approve of the amount of food Squall ate, or lack thereof, but since he was sick he let it slide. He put their breakfast back on the tray and returned it to the kitchen. When he made it back to their room he made a b-line for the shower. He followed much the same routine as Squall except he kept his lose kaki’s rolled up on the leg he’d cut climbing down from the roof because he’d left the bandaging material in the other room.

Resuming the seat he’d occupied before, he bent to bandage his leg. He glanced up at Squall as he was doing so and noticed the title the book he was reading. “Relationship Troubles?” he asked in a snort of laughter, earning him another healthy glare. “What?” he asked with his usual arrogance. He straightened in his chair, being done with the bandage by then and turned to face Squall more directly. “You’re not going to learn anything about real relationship through that stupid thing.”

~*~*~

Squall frowned and glanced down at the bandaged leg. Obviously he had hurt himself sometime last night. Probably when he was getting back in the window. It didn't look serious, so Squall let it be.

He shifted his attention to the book. If a human wrote this, then shouldn't it be truth? Or did humans lie even when they publish their work? Pitiful...

Sighing, Squall looked back up at the blonde. "I told you; they're to study." He curled his upper lip slightly and said in mild disgust, "I'm not interested in a relationship anyway. And I never will be," he mumbled the last part. Even if, by some cosmic chance he was able to get into a relationship, it wouldn't be able to last long. Sooner or later, somehow, they would learn about his identity. Besides, who would ever actually like him? He wasn't 'handsome' by any human's means, and anyone he came into contact with automatically grew suspicious of him and either feared or hated him due to the damned aura around him. No, he wouldn't be getting into a relationship any time soon, or even off in the distance. That was his fate. Eternal loneliness. It wasn't so bad really, he had various things he could do to occupy himself.

He also naturally kept away from others (and that included his own kind). In general, both species were annoying and didn't seem to know what a 'comfortable silence' was. Instead, they were always trying to fill it. It could get very tedious after awhile.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled some more. “What sense does it make to read a book to study about relationships if you never plan to be in one? And furthermore, why don’t you plan to be in one?” Seifer paused and tipped his head to one side, studying Squall. When he spoke again his tone was a little more serious, “Were you abused before or something?”

Seifer wasn’t the most elegant in dealing with people, but he made valid efforts and he didn’t sense his questions would strike any great nerve in the brunet other than mild annoyance; which was fine by him.

~*~*~

Squall frowned and looked over at Seifer. What the hell was he going on about now? Abuse? By who?

Sighing, the brunet closed the book and looked at the cover. Scowling at the bald doctor on the front. Of all the idiotic pictures. He frowned, wondering if he should even bother answering Seifer's questions. On one hand, the blonde would never shut up. On the other... the blonde would never shut up, but at least he would stop asking about that particular thing. Hmm... So many choices.

Looking up at the closed door, Squall bit his lip, trying to think of something to say. He didn't want to lie... so... Letting out a small breath between his clenched teeth, he looked down at the book in his hand. "It's not about planning to be in a relationship... it's about being able to. And I am not." Seeing Seifer's confused expression from the corner of his eye, he elaborated, ticking off his fingers at each point.

"First, I'm anti-social. Second, I'm not what hum-people would call 'handsome.' Third, people automatically think negatively of me when they first see me. Fourth, people lie, and I don't like being lied to, under any circumstance. Fifth, I have a lot of secrets, which hu-people would not be able to understand when it came time to find out. Sixth, no one would want to be around me for a long period of time because I would bring them down with my cynical and sarcastic nature." He said this all with out a trace of self-pity in his voice, or even posture. It was just matter of fact. This was what he believed, and this was the way it was meant to be. There was nothing he could do to change it.

Thinking on the human's other question, he continued, "As for being 'abused', I can honestly say that I was not. Though...” he frowned, hesitating before saying, "I guess you could say I was threatened in a way to... fit in or face the consequences. Thus, I have to study," he motioned to the books with a sweep of his hand, "to fit in with the hu- the others." He really had to stop trying to say 'humans'. Seifer seemed to pull the words right out of his mouth, without his consent even. Sighing, Squall ran a hand through his hair and tossed the book back into the bag. He'd read some other time.

~*~*~

Seifer listened to Squall, fascinated more by his mannerisms than the point of his overall speech. He was so formal, and so ready to believe all those negative things about himself. He was…different from every other person Seifer had ever met. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, but out of everyone who’s skin he had set his mind on to crawl under, this guy was the most intriguing.

He watched Squall stare at the wall for a few more moments before reaching out, grasping his chin between forefinger and thumb and turning his head to face him. He smirked at slightly surprised look that crossed the brunet's face. Like he couldn’t believe Seifer had the audacity to disobey his silent offer to go away.

“Whoever told you that you weren’t handsome lied,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact, before leaning back comfortably in his chair and cracking his knuckles, smirking at Squall's small wince. “And besides, if you’re so unlikable why am I here?”

~*~*~

Rubbing his jaw to erase the human's touch, Squall looked over at the other man. He continued to reach out and touch him, even after witnessing Squall snap another man's wrist without exerting himself. He was either very brave, or very stupid. Squall was betting on the latter.

Running a hand through his hair again, the brunet looked over at Seifer. "As of yet, no one has had the talent of being brutally honest to actually say that to my face, thus I believe it myself. But whatever." Shrugging, Squall let the issue slide. He knew the human wouldn't let it go, so he may as well give up this lost battle.

"And the reason you are here is because you're new and you don't know anyone else, so you stick to the first person you know, unfortunately, that happens to be me." Squall added, rolling his eyes. "In a few days, you will make new friends, perhaps acquire a mate, and you will happily move to another location within the orphanage, away from me." 'And I can go back to sitting on the bed, trying to read and not think about my isolation and curse.'

~*~*~

Seifer rested his hand on his chin and studied his roommate silently for a moment. Just as Squall was raising another glass of hot chocolate to his lips (something Seifer had gotten while he’d returned their trays) he said bluntly, “You know, I’m starting to think you don’t love me anymore Squall.”

Through quick reflexes he managed to avoid the spray of hot chocolate that inevitably followed his remark and started to howl with laughter. Squall gave him a healthy glare, but he didn’t pay him much attention until he’d regained the ability to breath. Still chuckling, he wiped tears from his eyes and looked up at the scowling brunet.

“You know,” he managed between chuckles, “You seem to have convinced yourself really well that you’re damned to a life of eternal loneliness, but I’m betting, “and he punctuated this point by poking Squall in the chest, “that you can be happy. Don’t deny it; I’ve seen you smile.” Seifer took a deep breath to sooth the tremors of laughter still running through him. “And ask for the ‘I’m new here,’ comment; allow me to enlighten you: I’m not exactly Mr. Sociable myself. Mostly because I refuse to put up with idiots.” There was a brief pause before he returned his gaze to Squall and raised his eyebrow in an amused fashion. “Besides, if I got a boyfriend, I’d have less time to enjoy your charming company.”

~*~*~

Squall frowned and grabbed the finger still pressing into his chest. Twisting it back, being careful not to go too far, he waited for Seifer to grimace, before pushing the finger away. "Don't touch me," he hissed. He ignored the human's surprised look and crossed his arms over the thin material of his shirt.

"I said I don't like being lied to. I don't like half-truths either. If you're going to sprout them, then just stop while you're ahead and shut the fuck up." He scowled, his eyes a dark blue-grey. He didn't see the punch before it was too late. His head knocked to the side, his cheek was throbbing as he curled his hands into fists, his short nails digging into the soft flesh there.

Standing up, he glared and he looked back at the human, incredibly close to loosing his self control. He didn't register when Seifer backed off, his eyes alit with fear, and yet anger and confusion was also hidden in their depths. He didn't even realize the picture he made. Or the sparks that almost appeared to be coming off of him. Twisting his upper lip, he resisted the urge to growl, and instead sneered, then turned and walked out.

A fucking human had hit him. Hit him for telling the god damned truth! Sure, he could see that Seifer might have been angry with him for ordering him around or whatever bullshit, but that didn't matter. At the moment, he was too pissed off to really care about anything. But if telling the truth and admitting what he thought got him in this position, with his cheek throbbing and blood running down his palms, it was going to be the last time he fucking talked. Period.

~*~*~

Seifer watched Squall go with a mix of anger, confusion, and fear. What the hell had just happened?! One minute they were talking, then that had started heaving curses at him and ordering him around and after one fucking punch. .he looked like he wanted to kill...

Seifer shuddered with uneasiness and decided to go to the one place he could think things over without interruption. Pulling on some sweats, he walked out to the small gyms provided by the orphanage. 'What the fuck is he talking about: half truths?!' Seifer grumbled inwardly as he started out with a few basic moves against the punching bag. 'Just was the hell is his problem anyway?' Seifer beat harder and harder against the bag until it was almost shaking off its hook on the ceiling.

Maybe it would've been the wiser thing to back off for more than a few hours, but Seifer was known for having a bit of a hot temper on him. As strange...and mildly frightening, as Squall's behavior was, however, there was no way in hell he was backing off that easy.

After a good two hour workout that calmed him down enough to think things over rationally, he prowled the halls looking for the frustrating brunet, but came up with nothing. With a frustrated growl, he stalked outside into the gardens Edea had built around the place and to the path beyond.

The orphanage itself wasn't at all far from the sea and it seemed fitting that Seifer found Squall there, standing alone on the beach while the sea churned violently against the dark gray clouds above.

It was going to storm.

Picking his pace up, he quickly crossed the beach, closing the distance between them. Seifer had enough sense not to touch his roommate, but to call out when he was in hearing distance. "What the hell is you problem, huh?" This got no response so Seifer walked on and kept yelling. "What the fuck were you talking about in there: half truths?! I don't know about everyone else in this place, but I don't deal with, or put out bull shit! I don't have the time." Squall still was not responding. "I've known you for less than two days and you are the most fucking frustrating person I've ever met! You go on about how no one likes you and you will inevitably live your life alone and other stupid shit like that!"

By now he was close enough to round on Squall and step into his field of vision. "I don't know if you stopped playing 'Mr. High and Mighty', long enough to realize this, but I've made every attempt to be nice to you and you seem more interested in shoving everyone away! God, the way you talk you think you'd actually like to be alone for the rest of your life! News flash: You're a human being, just like the rest of us and everyone needs some sort of companion! I don't give a damn if you don't give a fuck about me; I can live with that! But god damn it, care about something would you! And as for all that shit about people lying and what not; people are flawed! Get over it or get on with it! God! If you stopped shoving people away so much you might actually like one of them!"

Seifer finished his little rant and stood in front of Squall; sweaty, flushed, and out of breath, but damnit, he was not moving 'till he got some sort of reaction. Even if it resulted in a broken bone.

~*~*~

All he wanted was some peace and quiet to calm down, and this human showed up. Just fucking great. Squall sighed. He normally would have continued to look out into the ocean, but the blonde was too tall for him to look over his head or even over his shoulder. Stupid human.

Squall stood silent, listening to Seifer having his little tantrum, barely blinking when the other man started yelling into his face. Crossing his arms and shifting back to rest his weight on his back leg, Squall tilted his head down, thinking.

Seifer didn't know about him, and he never would. But he didn't understand that Squall really was cursed for eternal loneliness. No one would want him, and anyone who did, would be driven away when they found out his secrets. There was no hope, so why bother wishing for dreams that have no chance of becoming a reality? Besides, he didn't need anyone. True, humans are flawed. So were Squall's people. But it didn't take much to just tell the truth. He didn't care if it hurt him, he wanted the truth.

What he didn't understand was how his shoving people away had to do with Seifer. Squall didn't want anyone to be with him, he didn't want to be in a relationship of any kind, be it friend or lover. So why wouldn't Seifer just accept that and move on to someone more normal then Squall?

And Squall did care about things. He cared about nature, he cared about animals. So he wasn't totally heartless. He just knew that there was no point in caring for something that could break your heart, or stab it from behind. Squall didn't want to get to know anyone on this earth. Even if he went into the most meaningful relationship imaginable, eventually, that human would die. And Squall would be left alone. Left alone to start all over again. He didn't want that. He didn't want to have to bend down and pick up the pieces of his own heart. Now that he was human, he knew he was more vulnerable to shit like that. He had to get used to feeling out of control emotions, like the anger he had experienced. But, that didn't mean he had to like it. Just be able to accept it as part of his forsaken life.

If Seifer could just understand, then both parties would be happy. Seifer would go on his merry way to find friends and lovers. And Squall... well, he could try to find something to occupy him for the next... never ending years.

The brunet sighed and looked up, glancing around the large human. It would be nice to be amongst the storm. He'd always had to watch it from above. And while it was beautiful and safe, he'd rather be amongst the danger and beauty. Squall licked his lips in anticipation, before turning around to head back inside, ignoring Seifer who was staring at his retreating back in stunned silence. Probably surprised that his little tantrum hadn't affected Squall. Whatever. It had given him something to think about, so he could thank the blonde for that. Not that he'd actually say that to the other man. He wouldn't be saying anything to the other man for a long time.

~*~*~

Any logical person would’ve given up and cut their losses when Squall walked away. Of course, however, Seifer was rarely logical to that point; especial when dealing with the most seemingly illogical person he’d every met. Flopping down on the sand with a huff, Seifer stared up at the darkening sky, muttering under his breath. Nothing seemed to be getting through to this guy.

“I’m not even sure why I care,” Seifer spoke aloud. “I’ve only known him for two days.” He gave an exasperated sigh. “I suppose I just thirst for impossible challenges.”

That was when he felt something cool and metal across his forehead. He opened his eyes and blinked owlishly until they adjusted. At which point the was confronted with a large black dog. A dog that had his choker hanging from it’s mouth. What?! Seifer’s hand flew to his throat. When had it fallen? Or more importantly; where was that dog going with it?!

The dog had apparently lost interest in Seifer and taken off towards the orphanage; it probably belonged to someone there. Rolling to his feet, Seifer took off after it. Seifer was fast, but the dog gave good chase. They barreled through the gardens, along the halls and darted into a room that, after a mangled summersault over the discarded book bag, Seifer recognized was his own. The dog had jumped onto Squall's bed and was handing the brunet his choker as he watched. Blowing at a few errant bangs that had stolen their way onto his forehead, Seifer said breathlessly, “Oh sure; he likes you.”

The dog hopped down once Squall had the choker, gave him a parting lick and trotted merrily along the hall. Back to it’s owner no doubt. Seifer glared half heartedly after it and shut the door. Turning to Squall he asked, “May I have my choker back please?” in a much calmer voice than he’d spoken in a few minutes ago.

~*~*~

Fingering the rainbow etched into the metal, Squall seriously debated throwing it out the window just out of spite. But since the human had asked so nicely, he tossed it at the blonde. Turning back to the book he had been reading, this one about the human's thoughts on evolution (which were all wrong, but he let it go for now).

He tried to resist the urge to sneak glances at the other man as he crossed the room and sank down into his own bed. This was definitely the longest amount of time that had gone by without the blonde's words to fill up the silence. Maybe he had finally given up and had talked to Edea about getting a move?

Squall didn't like the small twist in his gut he experienced at the thought. Then again, maybe he was just hungry. Scrunching up his nose, the tickling sensation inside warning him of an on coming sneeze, he pulled a tissue from the box that he had asked Edea for and left on the night stand, and covered his mouth as a harsh sneeze, followed by two others, erupted from his mouth. Stupid sickness. Hopefully it would get better by tonight. If not, he was still going outside to watch the thunderstorm if it came.

He frowned as he scratched his itchy shoulder blades against the wall. Damn it... it had only been a week at the most, he couldn't be missing them already! He knew he could still sprout them, he just didn't know how much pain he would receive for it. They hadn't exactly told him the level of pain it would cause. He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes tightly. He was damned to loneliness, was it too much to just want his wings back? Without the pain that would surely come if he decided to do it while on Earth.

~*~*~

Squall had looked mildly exhausted and it looked like his cold was working itself up so Seifer had opted to let him be and just relax a little. After going in for another shower, he picked at the fantasy novel he'd been working on, glancing up at Squall a few times as he fidgeted. There seemed to be a profoundly unhappy...for lack of a better word: aura, around him. Being the horribly curious person that he was, Seifer would not be satisfied until he found out why his roommate was the way he was.

A soft knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. Glancing once at Squall as he rose, he murmured, "Stay there, I'll get it." He trudged wearily to the door. On the other side of the door was a mildly furious Edea. She wasn't a woman to lose her temper, but she was also very strict about giving out proper judgment. His days had been too...strange for him to remember what he could've done to provoke her anger, but he braced himself for another confrontation. "Yes, Mrs. Cramer?"

"Seifer," she said tersely, "The boy you fought with yesterday is in a full arm cast now. Not only did you break his wrist, but you broke it at a vital growth point. As long as he needs that cast, that's how long you'll be confined to your room. You may come out only at meal times and if anything so drastic happens again, you'll be confined indefinitely; you will not see your swords again until you're a legal adult, and you're going in for therapy. Understood?" Seifer dealt with far more outrageous caretakers than her before so he took it all in stride. Besides there was always his nightly escapades.

"Yes Mrs. Cramer." Seifer said in a non-challenging, subdued voice. He'd learned log ago it was easier to get around punishments than to fight them head on. Edea turned and stalked down the hallway stiffly and Seifer closed the door behind her, turning to lean against the door frame. This was definitely not in his list of favorite days.

~*~*~

Wait a minute... when had Seifer gotten into a fight? Squall had basically been with him the whole day. Unless... no, the human would never have done that. Frowning, he looked at the slumped figure. Then again... he must have. Stupid human, sticking his nose into things that don't concern him. The man was new, so he shouldn't have even bothered to stick up for someone he barely knew. But it had saved Squall from punishment.

Sighing, the brunet frowned, wondering what he was going to do with this new found knowledge. He couldn't let the human take the blame for him and be punished to stay inside. If anything, it should be Squall. Hell, it wasn't like he didn't want to be confined to his room. Though he would miss the beach.

Firming his shoulders in determination, Squall got up and crossed the short distance to the door. He tried not to wince when Seifer quickly side stepped, as though expecting to get hurt. Of course, Squall was a monster. How could he have forgotten?

Eyes narrowing, the brunet opened the door and left, shutting it quietly behind him. Turning down the hall where Edea had went, he saw her just about to turn the corner. Picking up his pace, he quickly reached her and cleared his throat. She jumped, a loud gasp emitting from her lips and her frail hand pressed to her bosom in shock.

"Oh, it's you Squall. You nearly gave me a heart attack." Squall nodded and waited for her to catch her breath. When she looked up at him, he finally said,

"Seifer didn't hurt that boy, I did." Edea frowned and looked closely at him.

"You Squall? You're not just sticking up for Seifer are you?" Squall snorted and shook his head.

"Of course not. I snapped the boy's wrist after he touched me and said some vile things about Seifer's preferences." Edea's soft brown eyes creased at the corners in her concern. She folded her hands together, ringing the material of her long black dress in them.

"Oh... I just knew he would be insulted. Thank you for sticking up for him." She frowned suddenly, looking up into Squall's eyes. "As honorable as your actions were," Squall snorted silently, "I'm going to have to deal out the same punishment to you as I did to Seifer. You'll only be allowed out when the boy's cast is off, and when there are meals. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." He said with respect. He did admire the kind hearted woman; she wasn't like the other bastards that populated the world.

She pressed a motherly hand to his cheek, Squall tried not to wince. She may have been different from the others, but that didn't mean his aversion to being touched was any different for this frail human. "Thank you for sticking up for him. But promise me something like this won't happen again?" Squall frowned, not wanting to lie. He didn't know if it would come to that or not.

"It depends ma’am." He finally said, and turned on his heels to briskly walk back to his dorm. Ignoring Edea's small cries for him to come back and explain his answer. Sooner or later, she would appreciate his honesty. Until then, Squall continued to walk until he reached the blue door with the number 13. Turning the knob, he walked in. Ignoring Seifer's questioning looks from where he was seated on the bed, Squall went and sat on his own bed, picking up his books again to begin reading.

"You're no longer under punishment. You're free to leave when you like." He said, his monotone voice even and bland. Scratching his back again, he settled down against his pillow and started reading the incredibly boring book.

~*~*~

Seifer glanced over to Squall without needing to ask what he'd done. 'Idiot,' he thought with a small smile curving on his lips. "Thank you," he replied and went back to his book; not moving from his spot. He figured both he and Squall had had enough confrontation for one day. Right now he just wanted to relax, read his book, and whether the brunet liked it or not, enjoy the presences of his confusing and infuriatingly stubborn roommate.

~*~*~

Several hours passed, thankfully silent. Though Squall kept stealing glances at the blonde, so engrossed with his reading that he didn't really notice. Squall on the other hand, was bored stiff, to use a popular teenage expression. The book he was reading was incredibly dull and inaccurate. Really, humans evolve from fish? Squall shook his head and glanced at the clock. He was surprised that it was much later then he'd thought. 8 pm to be exact. If they didn't hurry, they'd miss out on the rest of dinner. It started at 6, and was kept on the tables until 8:30. Even if it was cold by that time, it was first come, first serve.

Sighing, he set the book aside, not bothering to place a bookmark between the thin pages. Standing up, he glanced at Seifer, nose buried in the book he was reading and sighed again. He knew that blonde would be hungry and since they couldn't eat after 8:30, he figured that Seifer would want to grab something to eat. Passing by the human's bed, he kicked the wooden base lightly enough to jar the bed, before quickly making his way out, not bothering to look back to see if Seifer had followed him or even felt the bed rock.

Reaching the dining hall, went along the line and grabbed what he wanted before seating himself at a table. There was only a few people scattered about, talking quietly amongst themselves. Squall let a smile show at the quiet, and looked down at his plate. Sighing in defeat of his grumbling stomach, he finally started to eat.

~*~*~

Seifer glanced up and followed a little behind the brunet, wanting to finish his page. Once he tracked down Squall and was seated across from him he found himself the receiver of another of Squall's icy glares. He paid him no mind and said simply, “Nice to see you too.” He’d been very tempted to say, ‘Well, I love you too gorgeous.’ just to see Squall's reaction, but he decided that at this particular moment, that would mean taking his life into his hands. So instead he ate contently in relative silence with his roommate while wondering if perhaps this was a better method of getting him to talk or at least proving to him that he came in peace.

~*~*~

Squall pushed around his mashed potatoes, finally full for once, though he really hadn't eaten all that much. The blonde was surprisingly good company when his mouth was shut. But he supposed that wouldn't last for long. Squall frowned and stared down at his plate, though his attention was focused on the human across from him. When Seifer got up, he glanced up from beneath his long lashes and sighed when he saw the blonde headed towards the line again, obviously for seconds. Sighing, he picked up his paper plate and crossed the room. Tossing it in the trash can, he exited the dining hall. He had been willing to wait, but he couldn't only wait for so long without being too obvious and drawing attention to himself.

Squall hesitated at his door, tempted to ignore Edea's warnings, but he finally sighed and went inside the room. He smiled when a flash of lightning lit up the room. It was too bad he was going to miss being outside in it, but he guessed inside wasn't so bad for now. There would be plenty of time to go outside in the rain. Plenty of time... before his spirits could dampen at the thought; he crossed the medium sized room and sat on the chair. Sitting on his knees, with his chin resting on his crossed arms, which were lying on top of the window shell. His smile grew slightly when the lights went out, and the sky lit up with lightning again, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Staring out into the night sky, he sighed and rested his cheek against his arm, enjoying the silence that was occasionally broken by the cracks of thunder.

~*~*~

The lights went out just as Seifer was putting away his tray; but no one seemed greatly bothered by it. Like a well oiled clock they broke out candles and flashlights and went about business as usual. Seifer smirked and strode to his room unaided by an alternative light source. His eyes were more than used to the dark after having insomnia for so long.

Without a sound, he crept into his room and found the charming sight of Squall gazing out the window in an almost childlike way. “Beautiful isn’t it?” he asked quietly, but the brunet still jumped. Undeterred, Seifer walked over and sat on the side of his bed, looking out the window as well. He smiled briefly with no smirk or arrogance in it and lighting split the sky just long enough for it to be clear in the dim light.

~*~*~

Looking over at the blonde, Squall's eyes widened in surprise. He really did have a beautiful smile... What? No! Shaking his head, Squall turned his attention back to the sky. Sneezing again into the crook of his elbow, he sniffled and laid his cheek back down. Trying not to feel uncomfortable with the other's presence now in the room.

Even if he wasn't outside like he had intended to be, it was still the first thunderstorm he had seen from this view point. And an aerial view definitely did not do this justice. Squall sighed at the reminder of his home again, and looked up into the dark blue-gray expanse of sky, broken by incredibly dark gray clouds, almost black. A bright flash of bluish, yellowish light touched down onto the earth, and Squall was completely lost again. Not aware of the other occupant of the room, or even the hard chair under his knees. He was completely focused on the raging storm outside.

~*~*~

Seifer glanced over at Squall and smiled at the far off look in his eyes. He seemed very much in his element watching the storm. It seemed fitting with it being his name sake and his eyes kind of matched the clouds. Lightning flashed again and Seifer was able to see Squalls eyes tinted a more blue than usual. Tipping his head to one side with an unconscious smile, he decided he liked them better that way.

When the brunet realized he was being watched and turned to look at him, Seifer met his gaze steadily. “How’s your cold?” he asked quietly. Despite the storm, Seifer still intended to go outside. He was addicted to it after so long; it was the only way he felt relaxed enough to sleep. He didn’t often fall asleep when he was out, just came back at really late hours and got a few hours of really deep sleep. That was all he needed. For some reason though, he had this strange urge to see Squall out in a storm; calm like he was now. There was something oddly appealing about it and if he hadn’t been sick he might have asked outright. But Squall was sick now and he didn’t want to make him sicker. The image would definitely stay with him though.

~*~*~

Squall sighed and tore his eyes away from the beautiful scenery outside. Looking at Seifer's faint image in the dark, occasionally brought into the light when flashes of lightning went off outside, he resigned himself to speak again. "Being my first, I would have to say it's fine now." He admitted, glancing one last time at Seifer before looking outside. God... he wished he could go out there. He sighed, resting his chin on his crossed arms, not aware of the somber blue overtaking his eyes, reflecting his emotions. Though if he had been aware of it, he would have found a way to hide them somehow. He didn't need people to know what he was thinking. To know when he was sad, even when his indifferent mask was firmly in place.

He jumped at the feeling of a large, warm hand on his shoulder. He glared at the offending hand, but Seifer paid no attention to that. He was looking into Squall's eyes, making him shift uncomfortably and attempt to hide behind his long bangs. The man was too close, his presence almost over bearing. Seifer shifted, leaning against the corner of the window shill, still staring down at Squall.

~*~*~

“I know you’re dieing to get out there,” Seifer murmured glancing out the window before looking back at Squall. Squall was the most infuriatingly difficult person he’d ever met and for some reason he found himself drawn to his roommate for all he knew because of that. “Come with me.” Maybe not the most logical choice of words considering the brunet's dedication to becoming a hermit and their horrid fight this afternoon, but to hell with it. Logic was overrated anyway.

~*~*~

Frowning, Squall looked outside again. Biting his lip, he glanced up at the sky, noticing that the storm was letting up, but it was also still going quite strong. Squall had no problem with going, since he knew he couldn't die unless he used some of his powers, and even then he'd only be sent down to Hell. But Seifer... well, he was human and he could seriously be hurt. Then again, it wasn't like Squall could stop Seifer from going outside. He'd already experienced what happened when one decides to order around the large blonde.

"Where?" He finally said, standing up from the chair, letting Seifer's hand slip away from his shoulder. Not really knowing why he suddenly felt cold all of a sudden...

~*~*~

“Up on the roof. It‘s got a great view and Edea won‘t catch you there,” Seifer explained while opening the window and crawling headfirst into the raging tempest outside. One he was safely on the drainpipe (which made for easy climbing) he reached his hand through the window for Squall, “Come on; I don’t bite,” he teased with a welcoming grin; water plastering the hair to his head already. He could almost see Squall debating his choices in his head before he finally reached for Seifer’s hand. Once Seifer had closed his fingers around the brunet's slim, hand he knew he had him. Still smiling, Seifer helped Squall out of the window and they began their climb up the drainpipe. He did notice Squall stop to close the window so the rain wouldn’t get in, but open just enough so that they’d be able to get back inside. ‘Clever,’ Seifer noted, ‘very clever.’

Once they reached the top, Seifer sat in much the same place that he had the night before, sweeping his gaze out over the powerful ocean and then back to Squall. “What do you think?” He asked, leaning in to be heard over the storm.

~*~*~

Squall shivered, wrapping his arms around himself, he looked out across the large expanse of ocean, rain pelting down from the sky making little winkles across the dark surface. It was raining pretty hard, and the large, flat roof was quickly filling up with water. Though Squall could tolerate just about anything to be able to sit out here longer and enjoy the view. He was still a bit worried about Seifer, but he figured they were safe enough. The storm was moving, so the lightning was going farther away.

Rubbing his arms with his cold hands, trying to warm up, he mouthed his reply instead, knowing Seifer wouldn't be able to hear him over the noises of the wind, thunder and rain combined. "Beautiful," he slowly pronounced, giving a small smile at the blonde's idiotic grin, made worse by the flatness of his hair. At least that disgusting shiny liquid had washed out.

Squall sighed and tilted his head up, parting his lips to let the large rain droplets fall into his mouth. He knew it wasn't sanitary, hell, he'd read all the books on it, but he still had an urge to do so, so he did. Not caring that he might get even sicker.

~*~*~

Seifer kept on grinning and alternating his gaze from the ocean to Squall. He seemed so at peace in such chaos. Seifer liked storms as well, but it was more of an adrenaline rush for him. Squall seemed to be simply more relaxed then he'd seen him so far. The storm wore on; giving impressive lightning shows the whole way. It wasn't until after two hours time that the rumbling had faded into the distance, and the wind and rain had grown soft enough to be heard over, that Seifer noticed Squalls lips were turning blue. At a glance he noticed his fingertips were as well.

Without a second thought, Seifer reached over and held Squall's hands between his two larger ones; trying not to smirk at the fact that Squall didn't tense at being touched, but simply looked at him questioningly. "Can't have you freezing to death," he explained and Squall snorted as if the very idea was impossible. Seifer paid him no mind however. Instead (taking note of Squall's more pronounced shivering), Seifer leaned in just a little so he wouldn't have to raise his voice and asked, "Do you want to go in now?"

~*~*~

Squall frowned and looked away, Seifer's face was too close for comfort. He knew they should be getting in now since it was well past curfew and Seifer was probably cold. So was Squall, but he could deal with it. It wasn't like he could freeze to death, as Seifer put it. He could burn to death, of course, but that was the only way he could seriously get hurt. Other wise, everything else would just leave a scar, no matter how deep the wound. Even if he somehow lost an arm, it would grow back eventually. And if he got run over by one of those large trucks... well, he better hope that no one planned on burying him until a week had passed, by that time, he would be good enough to walk around again. He couldn't even age for fuck sakes! That's why he wouldn't be able to stick around in one place for too long. There was only so much a little grey hair dye and drawn in winkles could do.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the depressing thought of never sticking close to someone long enough to really get to know them, Squall sighed and crawled on all fours to the edge of the roof. Swinging himself over, ignoring Seifer's gasp, he grabbed the drain pipe before he could fall to the ground (they were at least three stories up, the dorms and dining hall were on the second, the recreation on the first, and the extra set of dorms were on the third floor. Though for now, there weren't enough people to need anyone to move upstairs), and opened the window with his foot. Scooting down further, he jumped in. Moving to the side, he waited for the blonde to climb in a bit more carefully.

~*~*~

Seifer scrambled to the edge just in time to see Squall grasp the drainpipe and sighed with relief. Swinging over the edge himself, Seifer scrambled down as fast as he could; closing the window behind him. "Jeez Squall, you almost gave me a heart attack," he said good naturedly, sitting in the chair between their beds and looking up at the dripping wet brunet.

Standing again, he walked to his trunk and pulled out two towels, tossing one to Squall. "So," he asked softly, "Are you speaking to me again; or are we still on the silent treatment?"

~*~*~

Catching the towel with a nod of thanks, Squall rubbed his soaking wet hair with the towel, until it was just damp and sticking up all over the place. Wrapping the towel around his neck, he ran his fingers through his hair, making it a bit neater. Grabbing the ends of the towel, he looked up at Seifer, frowning slightly. He shouldn't speak to the human... but, then again... if it wasn't for him, Squall never would have been able to go out tonight and actually be amongst his first storm. Even if he was a little cold and very wet, it had still been worth it.

"Depends if you decide to punch me again." He said, arching a brow and twisting his upper lip faintly. Turning around, he went to his bed and unzipped his bag that he still hadn't unpacked, going through the clothes there. Finally settling on dark blue drawstring, pajama bottoms, he stripped, quickly running a towel over his wet body, before pulling on the comfortable pants. Tightening the string to keep it snug around his waist, he went into the bathroom and went about his night time routine. Throwing the towel in the hamper, brushing his teeth, relieving himself (with a small amount of disgust still clinging to him at the act) and washing his hands thoroughly.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he pulled back his sheets and got underneath, pulling it up until it rested underneath his chin, still cold from the long trip outside.

~*~*~

Seifer watched Squall start his nightly routine and started his own a little bit behind him. Towel off, grab boxers, brush teeth, and all the rest. When he stepped out of the bathroom glad in only black, silk boxers, he saw Squall curled up under the covers of his bed and shivering. With a small sigh, he walked over to his roommate's bed and flicked the warm comforter he'd place over him that morning back on the bed. It must have fallen to the floor sometime through the course of the day. As he pulled it up over Squall's shoulders he said, "Just don't accuse me of lying to you anymore and we have a deal," said with a smirk, before walking back to his own bed. He could tell he wasn't going to get much sleep at all tonight, but resting helped.

~*~*~

How can he not accuse him of lying when he kept saying that Squall was beautiful and that he eventually would be living happily with someone? Sighing, the brunet pulled the comforter closer to his chin, resting his cheek sleepily against the plush pillow. Maybe he just wouldn't call him on it the next time he said something like that. Though inside he would probably continue to seethe.

Squall bit his lip and looked over at the human. Even in the dark, with the faint ray of the moon coming in through the window, he could see the jade green eyes open to the night. Maybe he couldn't sleep? Thinking back on Seifer's familiar movements out the window and up the drain pipe, Squall figured that was were he went last night. Obviously to try to get to sleep faster. He was probably an insomniac, Squall had read about them in one of the books actually. He was glad he wasn't one. Although he still found it hard to sleep.

Sighing, Squall closed his eyes, trying to ignore the other occupant of the room that was resting his head against his crossed arms and staring up at the ceiling.

After several minutes passed, he finally fell into a restless sleep. Visions of fire and blinding pain greeted his nightmares.

~*~*~

Seifer didn’t sleep. He used to be able to, but since his parents died he hadn’t really been able to very well. And if he did, not long. There was this old fable that when humans had still traveled in tribes there’s been a respected few who stayed awake the night; guarding everyone else. It was said their descendants still were night owls. If he hadn’t found that fable in his mother’s library, he probably wouldn’t have given it another glance. Still it was a nice memory to carry him through any bad nights he had. And by now he’d learned to deal.

A rustling of sheets caught his attention and he looked over to his roommate to find him in a fit that was obviously a nightmare. Silently and quickly, he slipped out of his bed sheets and shook Squall gently to wake him. “Squall wake up! You’re having a nightmare!” he whispered/yelled. Piercing gray-blue eyes shot open and slowly Squall seemed to remember where he was. Sighing in mild relief, Seifer sat down at the edge of the brunet's bed. “Man, guess I’m not the only one that doesn’t sleep well around here. What was that all about?” he asked softly, knowing it was probably a touchy subject.

~*~*~

Squall frowned and sat up. The comforter slipping down his legs as he brought them to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees. Looking over at Seifer, he bit his lip and looked down again. He couldn't tell the human what the dream was about... not totally anyway.

He sighed and opened his eyes, staring straight ahead, not really seeing the room, but looking back on the nightmare. "Fire... pain." He finally said, still lost in his vision of red hot ambers smoldering his wings, burning them to a crisp, until the hollow bones were incinerated. Then the pain would end for a few minutes, until Squall's wings started growing back. Ebony with dark blue highlights. And each time, they grew back perfectly, no scars, no burnt feathers. Then the torture would begin all over again.

And this was his punishment if he used his powers or told a human of his identity.

~*~*~

Seifer caught the weight and familiarity of Squall's tone. The kind of intimacy people had with their worst pains that always rested at the back of their minds. The ones that stole innocence. The first wound never did quite heal. With a concerned look, Seifer scooted closer to Squall and slipped one arm lightly over his shoulders. He would’ve used both, but with Squall's adversity to being touched, he didn’t think that was wise.

Squall didn’t really tense in the sense that Seifer knew meant ‘get the hell away from me,’ but he did look strangely over at Seifer; as if he just couldn’t figure him out. Raising his free hand in mock surrender Seifer said, “Please don’t start glaring at me as though you hate me. I’m just trying to comfort you the only way I know how.”

~*~*~

Frowning, Squall looked up into Seifer's eyes, trying to find his motive behind comforting him. He only saw concern, and maybe a hint of curiosity. Sighing, Squall turned his head and rested it against Seifer's neck. Only for tonight. They'd forget about this in the morning, and would go back to the 'no touching' rule. But for now, for now, he could accept the comfort. The only comfort he'd probably ever get in his many years that he unfortunately planned to spend on the Earth.

Besides, no other human would have been bold enough to actually approach him, and not give up when he glared at them. Even his old roommate had stopped bothering to try to comfort him or wake him up when he had a nightmare. But Seifer never gave up.

Squall sighed, his breath tickling the man's flesh, making small goose bumps pop up over the skin. Smiling slightly at the reaction, he closed his eyes and was surprisingly soothed back to sleep with the gentle, small little circles being rubbed along his stomach.




Chapter 3: Did it Work?

Seifer woke slowly the next morning, the kind of wakening that come after a relatively long, deep sleep. He was smiling before he even fully opened his eyes; it was rare when he got to enjoy something like that. That was when his vision focused and the warm body beside him shifted slightly in sleep. All the happenings of last night came back to him. ‘I must have fallen asleep almost as soon as he did,’ Seifer mused, watching his roommate sleep with a small smile on his lips.

This was an important victory in getting to know the mysterious creature. He was starting to trust him. Seifer knew Squall would probably die before admitting it at the moment, but it couldn’t be denied. He looked very peaceful sleeping in his arms; like that night in the storm had given him some much needed venting. Still smiling, Seifer was content to lay their holding Squall, and watch him until he woke up.

~*~*~

Yawning, Squall licked his lips and opened his eyes sleepily. Still a bit dazed. As the outside world slowly came back to him, he realized he was oddly warm and strangely comforted. Blinking owlishly, he was met with a tanned neck. A quick succession of flashbacks from last night finally filtered across his brain. Shit.

Quickly moving away, he frowned and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up fully. Sniffling, he quickly got off the bed and rifled through his bag, trying to find some cool clothes for the hot day. After sneezing four times in a row, he pulled out a pair of dark blue, low rise jeans and a black, v-neck muscle shirt. Changing quickly, his back to the man still sitting in his bed, he slipped off his pajama bottoms, leaving him bare butt for a few seconds before he quickly shimmied into his pants. Pulling on his shirt, he all but ran into the bathroom.

Squall sighed and leaned on the closed door, taking deep breaths to calm him self. He couldn't believe he'd actually succumbed to letting the human hold him after waking up from a nightmare. It didn't matter if he had been close to tears, he shouldn't have submitted to his weakness like that. Now he wasn't going to hear the end of it from the blondee.

Sighing, he did his morning ritual, minus the shower, and went back out, pausing to take a deep breath before he opened the bathroom door. Looking at the ground, he went back to his bed, vaguely noticing that Seifer was in his own bed now, and pulled another one of his books out of the duffle bag. This one about the human illness and how they could get sick. It was too bad it was a late for that, Squall thought, sneezing into his hand.

~*~*~

Seifer took Squalls skittish reaction in stride. It probably unnerved him what had happened and Seifer knew not to push things. He waited patiently as Squall dressed and dashed into the bathroom before moving to his own bed; expertly concealing the small smirk of victory that was dieing to come out. When Squall returned he glanced up at him with a small smile and returned to reading his book, not wanting to pressure him too fast after such a big step.

He finished his chapter he made his way leisurely into the bathroom and when about his full morning routine. He emerged, as usual, with only a towel around his waist and began rifling through his cloths. He knew it was going to be a warm day, but Edea's husband, Cid, was taking a few of the kids shopping today and those stores were always so bloody cold. As temped as he was to stay with Squall, he decided it would be good to give him time to think things over. So with all this in mind, he pulled out some tight leather pants and a silvery silk shirt. Once he was dressed, he brushed his hair without bothering to gel it back; it always got annoying in the hot weather anyway.

Stretching briefly, Seifer made his way for the door, pausing at the handle. "I'm heading for the dining room. Want me to bring anything back for you Squall?"

~*~*~

Squall realized that trying really hard *not* to think about something usually resulted in him thinking about it. The same rule applied to looking at something. It was like road kill - you couldn't help but look. And glimpsing Seifer pulling on his tight leather pants without any underwear on... Well, it was doing strange things to him. For one, his penis was now filling with blood. That was *not* a good thing. No, definitely not. Especially when the man was a homosexual and would probably take advantage of it, by either teasing him mercifully (which seemed more Seifer's style), or just pouncing on him.

Squall sighed and looked up fully, trying not to look at the hard nipples peaking through the shirt (why did men have nipples anyway? Squall thought absentmindedly), he gazed into jade green eyes, dark with amusement. Scowling, he looked down, his cheeks feeling oddly warm. Maybe the blood was rushing from his penis to his cheeks? But wouldn't that make them puff out? No... that was the penis. So what did cheeks do when they were red?

Squall shook his head, clearing his very off track thoughts from his brain. "Porridge, maybe?" He finally said quietly.

~*~*~

Seifer’s expression was a cross between a smile/smirk and his eyes sparkled with amusement, but his voice remained mercifully calm. “Porridge it is then,” he said smoothly before slipping out of the room. ‘So,' Seifer thought to himself with amusement, ‘Squall might lean my way huh? That is interesting. Very interesting.’

He pushed the thought away for the moment however. Judging from the amount of blushing going on Squall's part, he was very self conscious and as sneaky as Seifer could be, he wasn’t cruel. He’d let the subject drop unnoticed. For now.

Striding elegantly into the dining room, Seifer paid no attention to the whispered reactions to this particularly attention getting outfit. Instead he paused only long enough for a tray with Apple/cinnamon porridge for Squall, an oversized chocolate chip muffin for himself and hot chocolate for them both.

Returning to their room without so much as a second glance at anyone else, Seifer slid inside with as much elegance as he had when he left and placed the tray gingerly on Squall's night stand. “Breakfast is served. Dig in,” he said quietly so as not to disturb Squall too much in his reading. Sitting down in the chair between their beds, he started in on his muffin with more tact than usual, not wanting to get his favourite outfit dirty.

~*~*~

Blending a corner as a make-shift bookmark, Squall set the book aside and scooted him, moving the tray over his lap. Taking a large bite of the steaming porridge, Squall smiled slightly at the wonderful taste. At least there were some human foods that tasted good enough to ignore the vile thing he had to do after eating.

Glancing up at Seifer, his smile widened slightly, showing a bit of white teeth. "I'm surprised you can actually eat something. And here I was thinking that you just swallowed things down without chewing and paid extra attention and effort on making a mess." He said, not really thinking before he did so, raising a brow.

~*~*~

Seifer glance up from his food raising an eyebrow to mimic Squall, a large smirk plastered over his features. “Well I happen to value these cloths a great deal. Getting them dirty would not be the wisest of choices,” he replied smoothly. His eye glistening with amusement again as he looked at Squall. It was good to see him opening up. Seifer knew it would be more than worth the effort. The harder it was to get close to a person, the more it was worth it. That was all but a proven fact in his past experiences.

~*~*~

Squall frowned and looked at the silk shirt. "Why would you value them? They're just clothes." Surely he could just get new ones? Then again, it probably cost a great deal of money. Maybe he was the type of person that took good care of his clothes and wore them until they were just threads. The ratty jeans that Squall had seen him wear were proof enough of that.

Squall didn't value any of his possessions, since none of it was really his. He didn't own a single thing, not even the clothes on his back. They just happened to come with the duffle bags handed to him by the others. He guessed if looked at it from a human's perspective, it could be viewed as sad or pitiful. But Squall didn't need a lot of possessions. It wasn't like he had any interests, so there was really no point in going out and getting something. That and he had no steady income at all. But he figured it would be hard to get a job when he was still learning the ways of the humans. Maybe after a year or so, he would try to find something. If only to pass the time.

~*~*~

Seifer smirked in Squall's general direction, tempted to comment directly on his reaction this morning, but thought better of it. “It… has certain desirable consequences,” he decided on at last, chuckling as Squall raised an eyebrow in his direction. Finishing off the last of his muffin and hot chocolate, he stood and began cleaning up his mess.

“Cid is taking a few kids to the mall today; I’ll be going with them.” Turning back to face Squall he smiled and said, “I should be back around six. Help yourself to my books if you want. No offense, but they look a lot more interesting then what you’ve got here.” He placed his hand lightly on the brunet's shoulder as he passed outside. “Later Squall.”

~*~*~

"Bye," he whispered as the door closed behind the tall blondee. Sighing, Squall looked down at his books and turned his gaze to the ones lining Seifer's shelves in his headboard. Standing up, he stretched before bending down to his books in the large duffle bag. Lining them up on the shelf in the headboard, he finished after about thirty books.

Turning around, he grabbed his clothes bag and walked over to their large closet. Pushing Seifer's clothes to the side of the closet, he grabbed the free hangers and started putting his shirts and pants on each of the metal wires.

Satisfied with his accomplishment, he closed the door and crossed the room, sitting on Seifer's warm bed (why was his so warm, yet Squall's remained cold?) he dragged a finger across the spines of the books lining the shelf. Seeing an interesting title, he pulled the book out. Looking at the back cover he read what the book was about, surprised to see that it was actually about homosexuals. Turning it back on its cover, he read, 'Rainbow Boys'. Hmm...

Opening the cover, he quickly became absorbed in the book, eventually shuffling onto the bed and lying down on his stomach, legs bent and in the air as he swung them back and forth absentmindedly.

~*~*~

‘If I have to sit through another one of those lectures I swear I’m going to steal Cid’s tie and strangle myself with it,’ Seifer thought with a sarcastic roll of his eyes and Cid finally let them off the bus. The man had wasted almost a half an hour going on and on and on about safety rules and don’t do this and don’t do that and if he had gone on for much longer, Seifer feared he would’ve gone insane and made good on that mental crack about the neck tie.

However, Cid had mercifully stopped and he was off the bus at last. He amused himself for the first three hours by going around his usual haunts: a bookstore, a music store, and of course a weapons shop. He wasn’t allowed to buy any weapons until he was a legal adult; the only reason he’d pulled it off before was because he’d looked older. As tempted as he was to attempt to do so again, he decided not to push his luck and walked out.

After grabbing lunch at the food court and catching a movie, Seifer decided to take one last round about the mall before it was time to leave. While passing by the weapons shop again, a jewelry shop on the other side of the hallway caught his attention. Moving over to it, Seifer found that this particular Jeweler specialized in a medieval kind of jewelry which intrigued him even more. He spent the rest of his time milling about the store and was just about to leave when a very unusual pendent caught his eye. It was some sort of lion with a heavy chain. The kind of pendant a guy could wear. And something about the lion reminded him of Squall. Elusive, strong and a male lion was basically a loner in its pride. Calling the sales clerk over he said, “I’ll take that one please.”

“Excellent choice Sir," said the middle aged, black haired man. “This particular lion style is called ‘Griever,’ in case you are interested,” he continued as he wrapped it up in a thin box with silver wrapping at Seifer’s request. The ride back to the orphanage was just as boring as the ride there, if not more so. However, Seifer managed to pass the time quite easily by dwelling on the subject of his roommate.

Squall was everything his name said. Unpredictable, possibly dangerous, alluring, and quite beautiful. Now that he’d by passed some walls, he was looking forward to what was behind them.

They arrived back at the orphanage at 6 as scheduled and the usual chaos of a post outing ensued. New CD’s were quickly torn open and placed in CD players, new books being read, and all over general buzz of excitement. Seifer wasn’t too thrilled with overactive crowds, so he pushed and otherwise shoved his way too his room; managing to enter relatively silently. The sight that greeted him brought another one of the completely genuine smiles to his lips. Squall was lying on his stomach, feet kicking absently in the air, and reading one of his books on his bed.

“Hey,” Seifer said softly, walking over to his bed and sitting down on the edge of it. “How was your day?”

~*~*~

Squall jumped and whipped his head around. He'd been so engrossed in the book, having almost reached the ending, that he hadn't even heard Seifer enter. Quickly shifting his body so he wasn't in such a vulnerable position, he sat up, facing the blondee, his finger inside the book; marking his spot. "Fine," he finally said. At least it hadn't been as boring as he thought it was going to be. "Quiet," he held back the small smile that tried to curve his lips when Seifer chuckled at the comment.

Frowning, he remembered proper human etiquette and asked, "And you?" Looking down at the shopping bag in Seifer's hand.

~*~*~

"Oh, besides the part where Cid went on and on about the rules and I was not-so-un-seriously considering strangling myself with his tie,” Seifer paused to appreciate the small smile that settled over his roommates lips at his comment, “I had a very productive day. I got a few more books - which you can help yourself to as well- and..." Smirking at Squalls raise eyebrow, he reached down into his shopping bag and pulled out the finely wrapped package containing the Griever pendant. "Here," he said quietly offering it to Squall, "I got something for you."

~*~*~

The brunet frowned and gingerly took the neatly wrapped box, holding it as thought it were a foreign object, although, it kind of was. He'd never received a gift before, but it wasn't even his 'birth date' or any of those other holidays that humans gave gifts. So why had Seifer given him a gift? Squall couldn't accept a gift from him. Giving someone a gift meant you were close friends, family or in a relationship. He and Seifer barely knew each other.

He frowned, slightly sad at the loss, though he would never admit it, and pushed it back towards the blondee. Shaking his head, he said, "I can't accept this." He wanted to state the reason why, but he figured Seifer wouldn't really understand. Squall didn't plan on getting to know anyone and he knew he was going to spend his very long life with deceiving others about his identity, so he couldn't accept the care that went into choosing a gift for him. He didn't deserve it.

~*~*~

Seifer patiently pushed the offered gift back in Squall's direction. He didn't know why he was so averse to forming attachments, but one way or the other he'd get him to open up more and then he would ask. "Take it," he said quietly. "I want you to have it." He added with a smirk, "I won't accept no for an answer."

He saw that look again that Squall tended to get at the oddest of times. Somewhere in between confusion, utter hopelessness, and longing. It was faint, but Seifer was damn good at reading people. Especially, although god knows why, this frustrating brunet. He always did love challenges.

~*~*~

Sighing, Squall looked down at the small gift in his hands. He didn't deserve this, but as Seifer already said, he wouldn't take no for an answer, and Squall believed him. Glancing up at the blondee, somewhat reassured by the small smile, he looked back down and carefully started peeling away the wrapping paper. Ignoring Seifer's sigh of impatience, he kept up the slow unwrapping, finally revealing a thin, black box. Running a finger across the smooth plastic case, he opened the clip and slowly opened the lid.

He gasped as he saw the lion pendent framed by the thick black cushion. Eyes wide in wonder, he gently pulled it out of the box, slightly surprised at the heavy weight. He couldn't believe that Seifer had given him something so... fitting. Surely he couldn't know that Squall was fascinated with large cats, lions in particular?

Looking up, he frowned slightly, at a loss for words. Biting his lip, he looked down, staring at the beautiful pendent. "Thank you," he said quietly, voice filled with gratitude and surprise. He still didn't think he deserved this, especially something this... beautiful. But Seifer had said he wanted him to have it, so it wasn't like he could give it back now. Besides, he really did like it, and he didn't really want to give it up now. This being his first gift. He’d definitely treasure it.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled, a genuine smile again, at Squall as he opened the box. (It was probably the longest he’d gone without smirking in years.) “You’re welcome,” he said, grinning softly, but managing not to laugh as Squall fiddled with the clasp to get it on. “Here,” he said quietly, reaching out and helping secure the pendant around the brunet’s neck. Sitting back slightly, Seifer took a good look at Squall. “I knew it’d be perfect for you," he murmured in appreciation; looking up to meet Squall’s eyes. He was almost taken back by the darker tinting of blue that had appeared in them. Yes, blue eyes suited him a lot better. “I’m glad you like it.”

~*~*~

Squall smiled shyly, looking down at the pendent resting against his chest, fingering it. Turning it over, he frowned at the inscription. "Sleeping Lion Heart...” he murmured. He looked up at the blondee, who was still watching him intently, making Squall's cheeks heat up. What the hell was that called anyway? "You had it inscribed?" He frowned, looking down at the necklace again. "What does it mean?"

~*~*~

"It's a saying from an old myth. My mother loved to read," he explained with a note of detachment. "My dad died before I could remember so I was very attached to her. Anyway, in this myth she used to tell me which had this one character, Boen, who'd lost faith in ever finding any good left in the world. His kingdom was ruled by an evil king he used to teach sword fighting to and he felt so betrayed when the king turned out to be evil. Eventually he’d find faith again and kill the evil king, but that’s not the part of the story that stuck with me the most.

"You see, when he was at his most bitter he met up with a Dragon. The first thing that Dragon ever said to him was 'you've a sleeping lion heart.' Basically that means that no matter how faithless or hopeless he saw things… somehow he still had enough in him to grasp courage and start living and caring again." Seifer paused for a deep breath making sure he remained detached from the issue of his mother; it was a really sore spot with him.

With a small smile, he continued, "You reminded me a lot of that story. You seem so averse to forming attachments, but I just can't see that being any kind of life for you." Seifer shook his head and chuckled ruefully, "I'll admit I'm something of a closet romantic, but I honestly think you deserve much better then a life of loneliness and one of these days you'll realize it and accept having friends like me isn't such a bad thing."

~*~*~

Squall frowned when Seifer told his tale. Something seemed off in his voice. Sighing, he listened to the human's last comment. He shook his head and looked down. He didn't deserve happiness or companions, but he wouldn't challenge Seifer on the fact, he didn't want a repeat of their previous fight yesterday. His cheek *still* hurt from that punch. At least it wasn't bad enough to bruise; it just left a light red mark on his cheek.

Squall frowned, fingering the pendent again, wondering what to do. He knew he should comfort his roommate... but would he get defensive and push him away? But hadn't Seifer just indirectly said he was brave? His body incredibly tense, Squall leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the man's neck. He'd read about people comforting others like this, it was supposed to help, but he'd also read that men didn't really deal well with hugs or any other big show of emotion. Yet if Seifer pushed him away now... he didn't think he'd ever get enough courage to try to comfort the man again, no matter what Seifer said about always having reserves somewhere inside of him. At the moment though, it felt right.

Though he was still tense as hell, every muscle in his body tense and ready to spring if the man pushed him away. But with the way Seifer talked indirectly about her, his mother seemed like a touchy subject. He imagined it would be hard to lose a parent when you were old enough to remember them and form a bond with them. But he would never really experience that since he technically, didn't really have any parents.

~*~*~

Seifer wasn’t used to talking about his mother (the first person he’d trusted with that information had mocked him with it. He’d basically shut up about it after that.), but there was a certain quality about Squall that made him easy to trust. Like any form of betrayal of a confidence was so far beneath him.

It took Seifer a moment to realize arms were coming around him. When he realized Squall was hugging him, he was more than slightly surprised. Slowly, not used to being the one comforted, Seifer slipped his arms around Squall’s waist and leaned into the embrace with a sigh almost like relief. “Thank you,” he murmured into Squall’s neck; not in the least bit disturbed by Squalls tenseness. He knew this was probably very new to him and that made it even more comforting that Squall wanted to comfort him.

It was nice to be comforted, he decided. It wasn’t like he was looking for an all out pity party or anything as stupid as that. It was just nice to have someone who, when he needed it, would say or communicate the message, ‘It’ll be okay,’ in one way or another. That was all he really wanted or needed. At length, Seifer’s lips curved into a small smile; partially at being comforted and partially because he found amusement in the sudden role reversal that seemed to be taking place.

~*~*~

Starting to feel slightly uncomfortable, Squall gently pulled back, but not before giving one final squeeze, trying to communicate what he couldn't say. Playing with the pendent again, Squall looked down, suddenly nervous for some reason. He didn't understand why he felt warm all over, or why his heart felt like it was being tugged, though oddly enough, it didn't hurt.

Looking down at the book by his side, he looked back up into Seifer's amused green eyes. "You have an... interesting selection of books," Squall changed the subject, though he was curious as to where the man had gotten them. They all looked to be about homosexuals and were all fairly interesting sounding. Especially the one book titled, 'Allan Stein.'

~*~*~

Seifer grinned at Squall, amused. “Thank you. I like keeping things interesting.” Glancing down, he noticed that Squall was almost done with ‘Rainbow Boys’ and ran his hand along the spines of his other books until he came to the one he was looking for. “I recommend this one next,” he said, pulling 'Boy Meets Boy' off the shelf, “if you like the genre. It’s a sweet story,” he finished holding to book out for Squall to examine.

~*~*~

Glancing at the back cover, Squall smiled slightly at the summary. It looked like it would prove to be interesting. Setting the book aside, he looked back up at Seifer. "I will read it once I'm finished the other book," pausing, he looked over at his own selection of books lining the shelf above his bed. "I have to admit though... they're a lot more interesting then the previous books I was studying." He admitted, flushing (from the book, he'd learned that it was actually called 'blushing') lightly when he thought about the scene in 'Rainbow Boys' where the two main characters kissed, he believed it was called a 'French kiss', because of the tongue. But he didn't understand why it was called, 'French kiss.' He was tempted to ask Seifer, but he figured that it was supposed to be a common word, so he would look pretty stupid to be asking that.

~*~*~

Seifer nodded in understanding as Squall set the book aside and watched his thoughtful gaze travel back to the first one. “Feel free to grab a book from here anytime, because, no offense, those other books do look a little boring.” There was a brief pause before Squall looked backed up at Seifer and Seifer tipped his head to one side and asked, “So what do you think of the book so far? First gay romance you ever read?”

~*~*~

Blushing faintly, Squall nodded. "First fiction book actually," he admitted, giving a small smile at Seifer's surprised reaction. "The characters seem realistic to real hu-people. I especially like Jason," he added, blush deepened only slightly. He'd liked how the author had described Jason's feelings towards Kyle, and the slow end to his denial about him being homosexual. It was actually all really sweet. Especially Kyle's infatuation with the other boy. His favourite part in the book was when Jason had held Kyle's hand in the theatre. It was sweet how the boy had been so nervous over something so small. Though, he guessed it was a big step for someone who had never admitted to himself that he was gay.

~*~*~

Seifer nodded, having felt much the same when he first read the book. “It’s a good book to start with for venturing into homosexual love stories,” Seifer paused, his grin widening marginally, “Or for your first time in fiction all together. Frankly a lot of characters in books are a lot more interesting and intelligent then most of the people you tend to meet.”

Seifer paused, brushing his fingertips over the cover of the book lightly. "It was my first homosexual novel too. The holding hands scene in the theater is my favourite. I’ve always thought little things in a relationship brought lots of meaning to it. Like holding hands, or just spending time together in a nice, for lack of a better word, ‘comfortable silence.’ That’s probably the ultimate test of whether or not you’re comfortable with someone, if you don’t need to fill up silence with words.” Smiling at Squall's slightly surprised expression, he tipped his head to the side and asked casually, “What do you think?”

~*~*~

'Impossible... maybe it really is possible for this human to read my mind.' Squall thought, frowning. "I think the same," he admitted, voice tinged with surprise. "But like I already said, I will never be in such a relationship." He believed in no secrets and the truth, but he couldn't tell anyone who he was. Thus, leading to secrets and lies. Something he never wanted to sink to. Even if it meant being lonely and miserable. It would be better then experiencing happiness and love and then experience heartbreak, made only worse by knowing what it felt like to be truly happy...

~*~*~

Leaning back against his headboard, Seifer looked over at Squall curiously for a bit before saying, “Well, that seems like an awful waste to me.” Seifer smirked as Squall’s head shot up from where he’d been studying the carpet with a look that demanded explanation and declared Seifer insane all at once.

Seifer smirked, but obliged by continuing, “I think you’d make someone an excellent boyfriend Squall. ….You’re infuriating at times, you're definitely frustrating, and your self esteem could use a lot of help, but whoever’s persistent enough to get passed all those walls will be anything from disappointed. …If, that is, you’re willing to take a risk on a relationship. I Mean, there’s always a chance the person could turn out differently than you expected, or that you do find someone great and (god forbid) they die before you.” Seifer shrugged nonchalantly. “I just think love’s worth having at least once in your life; whatever other shit the world puts you through before and after that time.”

~*~*~

Squall frowned, wrapping his arms around his stomach, he looked down again. "Love brings too much happiness. Once you've experienced it, you'll never feel like that again. You'll always be putting yourself out there to try to experience it again, but you never will. You'll end up lonely and heartbroken. Worse then you were before.

"Total happiness brings total sadness sooner or later. It's inevitable. I don't believe that there's any reason to go through that. I don't want to have to pick up the pieces of my own heart after it's been broken. At least if I'm alone, I can't hurt someone else directly.

"If I get into a relationship, I'll be responsible for that person's happiness, and I know eventually I'll let them down. Or they will let me down, and I'll be back to where I was before. Only now, I'll have experienced what love and true happiness feels like, and I'll always try to reach it again. Now I'll have something to compare my sadness too, to weigh against something else. And it'll just bring me down further." He finished, looking up at the other man, trying to make him understand.

He hadn't said that he'll have to carry around that feeling for eternity... the pain may get better over time, but he'll still have something to compare his sad existence to, where ever he went, he'd be eternally lonely, made worse by knowing what it feels like to be loved and to love. He didn't want to have to go through that.

~*~*~

“And a pessimist too,” Seifer mused, holding up his hands in surrender when Squall gave an indignant start. “Squall, I just happen to think there’s a reason bad things happen. I mean, how could you really appreciate any kind of light if you didn’t have darkness to compare it too? Recalling happier times doesn’t have to be bitter. When my dad first got sick, or so my mom tells me, they spent a lot of time together doing things like watching movies and reading to each other; things she could do alone afterwards to remember him.”

Seifer shrugged again. “I mean, if you want to go through life alone that’s your choice. I think all the risks involved make it more worth it.” A slow, victorious smirk crossed Seifer’s lips, making Squall look a little nervous. “And besides, you’ve already formed an attachment of friendship, however faint that is.”

~*~*~

Squall sighed and shook his head. Of course the human wouldn't understand. He was cursed to loneliness. If he formed attachments, then he would slowly grow more bitter and cynical as each person he loved died or left because they couldn't take his secrets anymore. Although... it was true that he had grown closer to Seifer. He hadn't wanted to... but the pull was just there, and he was almost helpless to stop it. He knew when it was time to move on, he would miss the human. However annoying he was, at least Seifer seemed to like him a little bit. And he was good company.

Squall sighed and shifted around until he was lying next to the blondee, flat on his stomach and head cushioned against his crossed arms. "Forget it," he said, sighing again, trying to ignore the man's closeness on the twin sized bed, his furnace-like heat was just wafting from him, chasing away Squall's usually cold temperature.

He frowned, trying to think of something to change the topic. Finally, he remembered the orphanage's outing, "Did you make any friends while you were out shopping?" He asked, generally curious. Although his stomach was twisting painfully at the thought of the blondee having another friend and wanting to move in with them...

~*~*~

Seifer smirked and amusement sparkled in his eyes at Squall's comment. “You’re jealous!” he said with a small chuckle. Squall of course opened his mouth to deny it, but Seifer cut him off. “No Squall, I stayed pretty much to myself. And even if I did find someone else here who I could be friends with, do you think I'd ignore you or move out? Like hell I could stand all those pastel rooms. Besides,” he added, brushing an errant chunk of hair, which Squall had been vainly trying to blow back into place, back where it belonged, “I like having you as a roommate. I’m not about to change that.”

~*~*~

Squall frowned, both at the accusing that he would feel anything so petty as jealousy, and that Seifer wouldn't want to move. "You only think that because I'm your first roommate in this place. If you made friends, you'd have more fun in someone else's room. And you wouldn't have to live with a..." he frowned, trying to think of the name that others had called him, both to his face and behind his back. "With an 'anal retentive bastard'." He recited, trying to forget the slight twinge of pain in his heart that he'd felt when someone had said that to his face.

~*~*~

Seifer raised an eyebrow at Squall, but he spoke patiently. It surprised him that his notorious temper and frustration didn’t make itself known at times with Squall. Again, he had to blame it on the odd quality the brunet seemed to have. “You’re hardly an ‘anal retentive bastard’ Squall. Frustrating to no ends about your insistence, which I don’t understand, to stay alone and miserable for the rest of your life yes, but not an anal retentive bastard. You’re actually quite good company once you relax a little.” Seifer paused before leaning down slightly as if to impact his next question. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I like you?” he asked, meeting Squall's piercing gaze with his own.

~*~*~

Squall sighed and turned his face away from the blondee's, turning it towards the bed so he was breathing in the strong smell of Seifer through the sheets. Sighing, Squall mumbled, "Because I'm not likeable. There are hum-people who you would probably feel more relaxed with and would feel happier around. I will just drag you down."

He didn't want the human to be sad or frustrated because of him. Strangely enough, he only wanted the blondee to be happy. Even if it meant being away from Squall.

~*~*~

Seifer placed his hand comfortingly on Squall's back. "I won't say you haven't tried to drive me away, and maybe I haven't been persistent in a good way all the time, but didn’t you ever think that being with you makes me happy? Initially it was just the challenge of getting to know someone so illusive, but now," Seifer shrugged, "it's just you,

"As much as you persist that you're not a fun person to be around, there have been moments when I saw you let your guard down. Out in the storm, last night when you had a nightmare," Squall winced a little at that, but Seifer continued, "and when I walked in and you were reading. Not to mention, once you can get out of here, I'd love to see what you're like when you spar." Seifer paused for a moment before continuing, "I don't know how long this will take to sink through that thick skull of yours, but as you should know by now, I'm stubborn enough to wait until it does." Seifer finished with a small, non-cocky smile.

~*~*~

Turning around, Squall sighed and looked up at the down turned face of the blondee, who's hand had slid from his back to his stomach when he turned around. Frowning, he thought over the last comment. He did want to spar... it sounded like it would be... fun. But he still didn't really know the basics. From the look of things, it seemed like the boy's wrist who he had snapped, wouldn't be healing for quite a while. Maybe. Squall's lips curved in a small mischievous smile. "We could always go up on the roof. You just have to find a way to drag the equipment up."

~*~*~

Seifer looked down at Squall and slowly his smile shifted to match. "That sounds like an excellent idea," he replied. Glancing out the window, he found the sky was clear and if he remembered correctly, there was supposed to be a full moon. Turning back to Squall he asked, "Would you like to practice tonight after dinner?"

~*~*~

"Sure," Squall answered. He was starting to feel a bit... odd with the way Seifer's hand was still on his stomach, and was even now rubbing small circles where his shirt had crept up to reveal the smooth flesh above his navel (which he had been surprised to have, considering he had never needed it). Was he doing it unconsciously? Or on purpose? Squall sighed. He was acting like a damn human now; making everything more complicated then it needed to be.

~*~*~

Seifer grinned at the brunet. "Great. I get the feeling you'll catch on quickly." There was a brief moment of silence between them before lingering voices in the hall signaled the start of the dinner rush. Glancing at the door and then back at Squall, Seifer tipped his head to one side and asked, "Do you want to grab something now before it gets cold?"

~*~*~

Squall sighed. It was going to be busy now, but at least the food would be warm and there would be more there. But Squall usually liked going after most people had already left. He assumed Seifer wouldn't be up to that idea though. "I guess," the brunet sat up, looking over at his roommate when the man gasped quietly. Maybe those bumps on his stomach really were abnormal and Seifer had felt them when he sat up? Whatever.

Shaking his head, Squall crawled off the bed and stood up. Stretching out the kinks in his back and neck due to lying in one position for so long, Squall went to the bathroom (this time not *that* disgusted about what he was doing. Though he still washed his hands quite thoroughly) and walked back inside their bedroom to see Seifer standing near the door, waiting for him. Ignoring the small twist of his stomach at the thought, Squall followed Seifer out to the dining hall. Trying to ignore the amount of people passing them and the loud chatter.

~*~*~

They got their food and found a vacant table near a window in the corner in a comfortable silence. It wasn’t like they’d have been able to talk much in the midst of all that loud clatter anyway. But still Seifer found it mildly amusing that he felt no urge to fill the air between them.

Here in the corner, however, they were a little more removed from everybody else, and it was thus easier to hear each other should either of them decide to speak. Glancing out the window for a moment, Seifer looked at the ocean. It was almost mirror still, compared to the large waves of last night.

~*~*~

Squall tried not to stare at the man's profile. Tried to ignore the way the setting sun sparkled in through the window and made the blondee strands shine with different golden tints. Tried to ignore the way the tanned face was illuminate by the light, making it look even richer and more tan. Like one of those models advertising beach cologne, with their hard bodies and trickling sweat and a rich, mocha tan. He tried to ignore the way the ocean seemed to bring out tiny aqua specks in the others eyes.

Unfortunately his ignoring didn't go to well, and Seifer caught him staring. Blushing hard, Squall looked down at the cheese covered macaroni in his bowl. Trying (once again) to ignore the other's amused stare, he continued eating the surprisingly good food.

~*~*~

As much as he may have been tempted, Seifer did not say anything when he caught Squall staring at him; he just let it rest with an amused grin, before returning his attention to his meal. They ate slowly, glancing out the window or at each other with quiet conversation here and there; mostly about books or what Squall would need to know about kendo.

Some time later, while in mid sentence to Squall, Seifer felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning around he came face to face with Edea. “Something wrong Mrs. Cramer?” he asked, tipping his head to one side.

She smiled kindly and replied, “No, there’s nothing wrong. I just thought you might be interested to know that the dining room is closing for the night soon.”

Seifer looked around him and sure enough, the room was all but deserted and it had suddenly become twilight. “Oh,” he said, surprised that time had run away with him so much. “Okay then.” Turning to Squall, he tipped his head to one side and asked. “Ready to go?”

~*~*~

The brunet nodded and they both walked to the kitchen again, dropping off their bowls on the side counter, before heading back to their dorm. Squall was surprised at the amount of time that had passed, and for once, he hadn't felt so uncomfortable in a room full of people with Seifer occasionally talking to him, or even just being there for when they didn't talk.

Reaching their room, they went inside, both sighing in relief at the less vibrant colour. Squall went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and came back out to see Seifer bending down in his trunk, getting various things. Turning his head reluctantly, Squall looked out the window and waited for the blondee to get what he needed from the trunk.

~*~*~

Seifer rifled under all of his things until he reached the false bottom of his trunk. Once he had he pulled it back and retreated two swords no one had managed to place in 'safe keeping' for him yet. Holding both swords in one arm, he maneuvered his way through the window with the familiarity of someone who had done this so many times before; with different windows of course. He paused about halfway up; making sure Squall was following him before climbing the rest of the way to the roof.

As he reached the top, he turned to help Squall the rest of the way up and then handed him one of the swords that had a griever like charm attached to the hilt; he thought it was fitting. "Okay, I think we should start out with the basics."

Leaving his sword off to the side, Seifer walked around behind Squall and grasped his sword arm with his own hand, proceeding to demonstrate the proper way to attack, score, and defend. Once he felt he'd covered the basics, Seifer turned to face Squall again and asked, "Do you think you have all that?"

~*~*~

Squall nodded, trying to get focused on the sword in his hand, instead of the way it felt to have the other man so close behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he cursed his own foolishness at thinking that Seifer would want anything to do with him in that way, even if he was homosexual. Squall shouldn't enter a relationship because it meant leaving the other person too soon, and he didn't want to break any one else's heart. The idea of hurting Seifer... he didn't really understand it, but for some reason it made his heart ache deeply.

A sudden idea came to him at that thought. "How do you avoid hurting the other person when you train? Isn't it kind of dangerous?"

~*~*~

"A little," Seifer admitted,"But it's the only way you learn. But there is a way not to hurt someone too badly when you score a point." Seifer explained, gently taking Squall's wrist in his hand and turning it so that the blunt side of the sword was facing him. "When you go for a point, turn the sword to the blunt side so that the worst they'll get is a bruise. That's if your not actually fighting for your life of course," he added the last bit with a small smile.

~*~*~

He really hoped he didn't end up fucking up and accidentally cutting the other man. A bruise wasn't too bad, even if it hurt. But it was better then actually creating a flesh wound.

Squall backed up, watching Seifer's hand fall from where it had been placed on Squall's wrist. Looking down at the Katana, Squall took an experimental slash with it. Amazed by the light weight feel and the ease with which it moved through the air. Looking back up at the blondee, he asked, "How long have you been practicing this sport?"

~*~*~

"Seven years," Seifer replied, picking up his own sword and unsheathing it. He looked Squall over, assessing him physically for what Kendo required before declaring, "I think you'd learn better by just jumping into it." He raised his gaze to meet Squall's with a challenging grin. "Think you're ready for a sparing match? I'll go easy on you I promise. It's really the best way to get a feel for things."

~*~*~

Squall was nervous, but he nodded his agreement. He trusted Seifer not to hurt him *too* bad.

Bringing the Katana in front of him with both hands on the hilt (though Seifer said he himself used only one hand), he readied it in front of him as Seifer had shown him to do and waited for the other to strike. The blondee moved slowly at first, so Squall could easily follow his movements, and was able to block each blow easily. But the taller man quickly picked up the pace, and Squall tried to keep up.

He lasted fairly well, even managing to get four or five points, before Seifer misjudged Squall's ability and moved even faster, hitting him hard in the side with the blunt of his blade. Usually, it wouldn't have hurt that much, but with the amount of times Seifer had hit his sides, it had kind of piled up until that final blow was too much and made him bite his bottom lip hard, stopping himself from crying out, but he did stumble to the right from the hit.

Seifer quickly stopped and put his weapon down on the cement floor. Concern in his eyes, he went up to Squall and tried to check for damage. "I'm fine," the brunet hissed between clenched teeth. Hating himself for looking like a weakling.

~*~*~

"You are not fine," Seifer said, leveling Squall with a look that brooked absolutely no argument. Laying his hand very gently over the one Squall was using to hole his side he said, "Let me see. Please." There was a brief, tense pause before Squall finally relented. Letting Seifer take the blade, set it aside, and gently move his shirt up to examine the wound. Seifer ran his fingers across it gently; it was a bad bruise, but it didn't look like much more than that.

"Here," Seifer said, pausing in his examination of Squall's wound to pull a small twist off jar out of his pocket. "I thought we might need this. It'll help heal the bruise faster," he explained while rubbing the healing balm gently over Squall's side. At length he pulled back enough to meet Squall's gaze and smiled at the way the moonlight was playing over his hair. It was a really nice combination, all the dark blues of night and Squall's eyes. "Better?" he asked softly.

~*~*~

Squall gulped and nodded. Not liking the way Seifer's face was so close to his, and his large warm hand was still resting lightly on Squall's side. Backing up, he bent down to get the two katanas, trying not to wince when he bruise at his side was pulled. Standing back up, he turned to Seifer, watching him for a few moments before looking up at the moon.

Still staring into the peaceful light, Squall spoke quietly, "are you going to stay up here? I assume you come up here to help you get to sleep.” 'and I don't want to be in your way, especially since I think you think about your mother while you're up here.' Squall thought silently to himself, tearing his gaze away from the moon and the beautiful blue-grey sky, to look into Seifer's jade green eyes, which were staring at him weirdly, making Squall flush faintly.

~*~*~

Seifer stood as well and walked over to where Squall stood; trying very hard not to think of how tempted he had been to kiss him a few moments ago. He was not used to walking on eggshells around people he was interested in, in that way... but things were different with Squall. That thought brought a smile to his lips. He didn't want to scare him off.

"Yes. I've had trouble sleeping since I was 15, being outside helps," he explained. He looked steadily at Squall for a moment, resisting the urge to put his hand on Squall's shoulder as he added, "I wouldn't mind if you stayed up here though. Like I said, I like your company. The stars are not half as talkative," he added the last part with a friendly grin.

~*~*~

Squall smiled slightly and snorted, "Not like I'm much better," he admitted, ducking his head. He froze when a finger tilted his chin up, making him meet Seifer's eyes. The blondee didn't say anything, just shook his head and eventually ruffled Squall's hair, making him frown and pout as he tried to smooth the strands down with one hand.

Seifer laughed at his antics, the brunet just rolled his eyes. Finally getting his hair to lie in semi-order, he placed the Katanas carefully on the ground and sat down. The other man followed his example and sat down beside him. Facing the beautiful ocean, made even more gorgeous with the way the moon cast its luminous reflection off the water, making it sparkle. Squall smiled and crossed his arms silently, not in a defensive position as he'd done so many times before, but rather relaxed.

~*~*~

They sat there for a long time, looking out at the ocean and the night. It was very much like dinner: filled with comfortable silence and quiet conversation. During one of their pauses, Seifer looked over at Squall. Seifer had no patience for artwork; he'd killed several innocent pieces of paper in his early attempts before foregoing the activity all together. Seeing Squall looking out over the horizon though, with the moon playing on his hair and pendant like that... it made Seifer wish he could almost. No camera was sensitive enough to capture all that.

When Squall realized he was being watched and turned to look at him, Seifer smiled and said quietly. "There's supposed to be another thunderstorm at the end of this week," he said casually, "Thought you'd want to know."

~*~*~

Squall's face lit up (well, really only his eyes changed to a slightly darker blue and his lips curved into a small smile), thinking about spending another night out on the roof amongst the storm. He wasn't really worried about a cold, since he had gotten over the other one fairly quickly. He'd discovered that while he could still feel human pain and get the common cold, it healed fast. So the bruise on his side, which would normally take at least two weeks to heal, would probably be gone in a day. He'd have to make sure Seifer didn't see it. That or he could just say that cream he had given him had worked so well it healed quicker then normal.

Shaking his head slightly, Squall looked out into the dark ocean again. Why did he keep thinking about Seifer's opinion? Who the hell cared? But... fuck. Squall cared, and he couldn't help it. He could only imagine what would happen if Seifer ever found out what he was. Maybe he would react in disgust? Knowing that he had spent all that time with someone such as him? Or maybe in hatred? Finding out that Squall indirectly lied to him that whole time.

Squall sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it look even more disorganized.

~*~*~

"Hey," Seifer said softly, putting his hand on Squall's shoulder when he saw the blue fade from his eyes and the gray start to take over, causing his roommate to start at being taken out of his thought so abruptly. "Is something wrong Squall?" Seifer watching the faint emotions play themselves across Squall's face, but the brunet remained sadly silent. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Seifer said at length, before reaching over with his free hand and grasping one of Squalls. "I just don't want you to be sad," he murmured quietly.

~*~*~

'I want to, but I can't. God... how I want to.' But he couldn't. He'd end up in Hell if he told Seifer what he was. But he didn't want his friend to worry about him or be burdened with any of Squall's problems. Squall sniffled, feeling a strange prickling behind his eyes, before his vision went blurry. What the..?

A warm trail made its way down his cheek, tickling him slightly. Rubbing a hand across the cheek, he stared in wonder. He didn't know he could cry (he didn't really remember the time he had shed a few tears after the nightmare).

He heard Seifer make a small noise before he tugged Squall closer, wrapping both his arms around the slimmer man. No. No, he couldn't do this! Too close... he was growing too attached. He would hurt Seifer eventually; he didn't want the blondee to be hurt by him. He didn't want Seifer to have to pick up the pieces of his own heart. Letting out a sob, Squall wiggled out from the other's embrace and quickly ran to the drain pipe, dangerously sliding down it without really using his feet to slow himself down.

Reaching their window, he jumped in. He debated going outside, but he knew that Cid covered the halls at this time to make sure no one was up past curfew. It was around 10:30 now. Squall sniffled and climbed into his bed, clothes and all. Curling up into a ball, he held himself as he sobbed. He didn't want to be lonely anymore... he didn't want to push Seifer away. But he had to... he had to if he didn't want to hurt Seifer.

~*~*~

Seifer watched, mouth agape, as Squall rushed away on the point of doing so dangerously. He remained there, stunned for a few moments, before grasping the two swords and sliding down the drainpipe almost as fast as Squall had done. All but throwing himself through the window, Seifer slid it shut and threw the swords to the floor in one motion before crossing immediately to where Squall lay curled up under the covers.

"Squall," he said softly, reaching out to him. Squall, however only tried to move farther away. "Squall..." he was whispering almost desperately now, his arms pulling back the sheets that hid his roommate. "Squall please talk to me. What's wrong?"

~*~*~

Squall clutched his stomach harder, curling in on himself even tighter. The sheets were dragged away as Seifer sat beside him, making the mattress dip and pulled Squall towards him by gravity. His back pressed against the blondee's side, Squall shivered and continued to sob.

How could he tell him what was wrong if Squall himself didn't really know? He didn't fully know why his heart felt like it was being squeezed or why his stomach was twisting painfully. He just didn't want to lie to Seifer anymore. But he couldn't help but lie if he stayed with the other man. But then again, he didn't want to leave... It was all so fucking confusing... God damn human emotions... if Squall had been in his old body, he never would have felt like this. He never would have felt anything because he had been completely emotionless. Now... now he was *too* emotional. Extremes on both sides of the spectrum.

~*~*~

Gently, Seifer turned Squall and gathered him into his arms. He rocked him gently and whispered encouraging words until Squall's wracking sobs reduced to simple tremors and silent tears. Through it all, Seifer continued to hold him and murmur encouragements like, 'It's okay,' and, 'I'm here.' He couldn't even begin to fathom what had caused Squall's breakdown, but he was going to do everything he could to help; even if all he could do at the moment was hold him.

~*~*~

Scattered tears trickled down his cheeks, but the sobs were at last over. Though his throat was sore, along with his stomach and chest from sobbing so hard. God... he must look so weak to this human. Having nightmares, getting easily beaten in their match, and crying...

Squall sighed and wrapped his arms around his friend's waist, resting his cheek against his broad chest. He felt comforted and safe in Seifer's arms. But he also felt weak and small... so many damn contradictions.

~*~*~

"It's okay Squall," Seifer whispered softly once more, running his hands up and down Squall's back, trying to sooth him. Seifer watched Squall whimper and cling to him, at a loss of what else he could do for him. Pressing a soft kiss to the brunet's temple, Seifer repeated again, "It's okay."

~*~*~

'No it's not...' Squall thought, sighing. Crying hadn't helped his predicament, so now he just felt stupid for overreacting. At least Seifer wasn't making fun of him in anyway.

He tensed when Seifer moved, ready for him to leave, but the only thing the blondee did was get more comfortable on the bed, lying down so he was still holding Squall to his chest, but this time his head was resting comfortably on the pillow. He relaxed somewhat. He gave a weak smile when his roommate pressed a kiss to his head, and took a deep breath. Was he... *smelling* him? Feeling the man take another breath, Squall quickly spoke, "please... don't ask." Sensing that Seifer was going to protest, Squall continued, "I don't want you to ask because I don't know how to answer."

~*~*~

Seifer really wanted to protest, but there was something in Squall's voice the last time he pleaded with him that stopped him. He took in a deep sigh, but relented with a quiet, "Okay. If you ever do want to talk about it though," he paused to kiss Squall lightly on the forehead, "I'm here."

There was a long silence between them where Seifer simply held Squall, stroking his back. At length, he decided to break the silence and shift the subject to something a little less intense for the man in his arms. "You've been into my shampoo I see," he said with a small smile. "It smells good on you."

~*~*~

Squall smiled gratefully at the subject change. "The generic shampoo was wrecking my hair. I figured you wouldn't miss it since you barely have any." Seifer chuckled and bent to smell his hair again. "You look better without that shiny liquid in your hair," he spoke up without thinking. Frowning slightly when Seifer started laughing. What did he say?

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled some more, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. Shaking his head in amusement, he reached out and cupped the side of Squall's face, gently threading his fingers into his roommates auburn hair. "You really are something else Squall," he declared, smiling down at said teen.

~*~*~

Tilting his head back to meet Seifer's amused gaze, Squall frowned. "Why do you keep saying that?" He didn't want to be something else... he just wanted to fit in and blend in enough that people over looked him. Maybe if Seifer told him why he was 'something else', then he could change that and fit in more. With the humans.

~*~*~

Seifer continued smiling down at him. "Because you are. You're so reserved and formal most of the time. But when you let your guard down you're," he groped for the right word, "perfect company. It's nice having someone to share my interests with, that's all."

~*~*~

Well... that wasn't something he could change. He couldn't help it if he didn't know a lot of the words that humans used for various things. Well, he could read. But he wasn't very tempted to. At all.

Sighing, Squall snuggled back into the warm chest. Breathing in the faint smell of Seifer's Irish soap. It was nice to finally be around someone that didn't bathe in their cologne or perfume. "You smell nice too," he mumbled out loud, Seifer chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around the other's chest.




Chapter 4: It's a Start


Ultimecia’s eyes narrowed as she watched the happy couple drift off to sleep. Well, maybe not a couple yet. *Yet* being the operative word in that sentence. Her blood red wings fluttered with a twisted joy. Her plan was working, and soon Squall would be where he belonged: in the depths of Hell.

“Rinoa,” she said, calling her loyal minion to her screening window. All it really was was a bit of magic, about the size of a window that allowed her to see her prey. “What do you think of that my dear?” She asked wickedly.

~*~*~

Rinoa walked over, standing beside her mistress. Looking down into the smooth as glass image, her light brown wings ruffled in disgust. Lying with a human... she didn't understand how Squall could ever sink that low. Feeling long, cold fingers on her shoulder, claw-like red nails extended until they sunk into her skin slightly. "It's disgusting mistress," she looked up at the tall angel by her side. "When will they finally be," she gagged out the word, "lovers?" The brunette looked down into the window.

They looked exactly like a Yin and Yang symbol. She curled her upper lip in disgust. She couldn't imagine what Squall saw in the human. He was loud and arrogant. Squall was too different to be with him. He should be with his own kind. Then again... it was due to her mistress that Squall was- she stopped her train of thought when the hand on her shoulder bit down into her flesh. It was only a wound that could heal in seconds, but it quickly reminded her that her mistress could indeed, read her mind. Rinoa wished she had that kind of power...

~*~*~

“Soon,” Ultimecia said quietly, but with a cutting edge to her voice the made it clear she was anything but kind. “I will not strike until this human has become everything to that abomination of a fallen angel,” she smiled wickedly, "the pain will be all the worse for him that way."

With a snap of her fingers, the screening window disappeared and Ultimecia turned her full attention to Rinoa. “Now Rinoa,” she began, “I know your powers are not nearly as vast as mine, but I want you to do anything in your power to help them along while I prepare what I’ll need to send Squall to Hell. Understood?”

~*~*~

"Understand." Rinoa replied, smiling brightly at her mistress. Ultimecia nodded and disappeared with a quiet 'poof'. Rinoa giggled and opened up her own screening window, this one a bit smaller and weaker then her mistress'.

She watched intently as their day progressed. Her feathers shivered in disgust when she kept seeing Squall look over at the human with a shy gleam in his eyes. The human was a bit more obvious about it. Disgusting.

She had to do *something*, or her mistress would be very angry at her. Rinoa shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time she'd displeased her mistress.

Looking down into the mirror, she finally saw her opportunity.

~*~*~

Squall leaned down, picking Seifer's various items of the closet floor to put it *neatly* up on the shelf. Cid was coming around in about an hour to check the rooms to make sure none of the kids had wrecked the room in the past week. Which didn't make much sense in their case, since Seifer and he were only here for a few days. Oh well. It would probably take a bit longer then an hour to come to their door, since they were number 13, and there were at least a hundred rooms.

Squall frowned when he felt a large presence behind him. Still bending down, he looked back to see Seifer standing right behind him, smirking at him. Squall rolled his eyes and turned back to what he was doing. Suddenly, the tall man behind him collided into him, sending them both into the closet, Squall cried out when his head hit the closet wall hard.

The door slammed shut behind them; an odd clicking noise was heard. Shit... since when does the closet have a lock?

~*~*~

Seifer landed with a quiet, ‘oomph,’ on the closet floor with Squall sprawled underneath him. He blinked rapidly, in complete shock, until his vision focused on the small bit of light coming through the bottom and sides of the closet door. “Squall?” He asked quietly, “Are you okay? … And what the hell just happened?”

~*~*~

Squall sighed and tried to sit up, but Seifer was too damn heavy for him to move. "Would you move? This is kind of uncomfortable," he complained. He was basically on his knees, with his head on the floor, Seifer was draped over top of him, and was really quite heavy. The blonde moved to comply quickly, mumbling apologies. With the closet being so small, there was only enough room for them to sit side by side, and even then, they were scrunched together with their sides pressing into each other and their knees drawn up. Squall almost felt sorry for the blonde since he was so large. But then he remembered that it was the human that was taken up most of the room, so he settled on frowning.

Rubbing his head, he winced when his fingers grazed a small bump. He was already experiencing a headache. Ugh... Feeling (since he could barely see in this place) Seifer's hand on his knee, Squall shook his head, "I'm fine, just a small bump." 'Caused by you,' he added silently.

~*~*~

Seifer winced slightly with guilt since he had basically crushed Squall to the floor. “I’m sorry,” he said, brushing his fingers over Squall’s forehead. “I don’t know what happened. I must have tripped, but… I swear it felt like I was being pushed.” Seifer looked around their small confinement before catching Squall's eyes in the dim light. “We shouldn’t be trapped long; someone will find us,” he said. Squall made a small noise to signify agreement and they fell into silence again.

“At least the floor's just about clean.” Seifer noted, smirking over at Squall, “thanks to you of course."

~*~*~

"And no thanks to you of course," Squall snapped, though he was smiling slightly. The brunet sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. This was definitely going to be the longest, most boring hours of his life. At least he had Seifer here to share his boredom with. The thought made him smile. If he'd been with any other human, locked in a damn closet, he'd be scowling so much his head would hurt. At least with Seifer, he was more relaxed. And the closet smelled nice since the man's smell was filling the room. He wondered what was in that Irish soap... it smelled kind of... springy. Almost like earth kind of...

God... he must be bored to be thinking of what the other man smelled like. Squall rolled his eyes and closed them, preferring the darkness behind his lids then the one in the closet with the shafts of light peaking through the cracks in the door.

~*~*~

Seifer was quickly as bored as Squall so, naturally, his gaze wandered over to his companion. He observed the pendant with a small smile. Squall had hardly taken it off since he got it and since he wasn't the type to hang onto things simply to please other people, Seifer knew he liked it. A flash of blue irises in the dark told him he’d been caught staring, but he just smiled. Knowing, rather than seeing it was returned. "How's your side?" Seifer asked quietly, brushing his fingertips over Squall's side.

~*~*~

Shit... he'd managed to keep it hidden so far, but he hadn't expected Seifer to ask about it so soon. At least he couldn't see it in the dark. "Fine," he replied, trying not to laugh when Seifer's fingers continued to brush lightly over his side. He assumed that spot was... what was the word? Tickish? No... Ticklish! That was the word.

~*~*~

A mischievous grin widened on Seifer's face as his fingers brushed over Squall's side. "Ticklish are we?" He asked. He only gave Squall enough time for his eyes to widen in realization of what was to come, before he attacked and held the brunet, laughing and writhing to escape, in his arms. Having caught Squall off guard, Seifer was able to keep his hold on him; laughing himself at a few desperate squeaks of laughter that came from his roommate.

~*~*~

Squall squeaked, panting hard from his desperate struggle to get away and from his laughing. "Stop! Seifer!" The blonde relented after making Squall squeal again in laughter. Holding the slim brunet in his arms, Squall pressed his face into the man's neck, trying to catch his breath. He was tempted to retaliate, but with his luck, he wouldn't be able to find the ticklish spots on the human.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled softly as he held Squall, practically in his lap, and waited for his breathing to return to normal. Squall shifted to get more comfortable and smiled up at Seifer. Noticing that he as being watched, Seifer turned his head to meet Squall's gaze and smiled back. "Beautiful," he murmured softly, brushed some of Squall's hair back behind his ear. Then, almost without thinking, which was admittedly like him, Seifer lowered his head a small distance and closed his lips over Squall's in a tender kiss.

~*~*~

.... What was he supposed to do? He knew this was called 'kissing', he'd read about it in the book he'd borrowed from Seifer. Yet…why was Seifer kissing him?

Feeling a warm tongue glide across his bottom lip, brining him back to the present, Squall closed his eyes and leaned up. His nose bumped into Seifer's, but he didn't really know what to do with it... how did they make this sound so easy?

The blonde placed his hands on Squall's cheeks and tilted his head, somehow making it all the more comfortable. Squall blushed and let the seeking tongue into his mouth. It was wet and kind of sloppy, but it was warm and it didn't feel as disgusting as he thought it was going to be when he'd read about it.

Bringing his arms up to wrap around the taller man's neck, Squall chased after the retreating tongue and slid his own across the warm muscle.

"Seifer...” he moaned quietly when the blonde wrapped his lips around his tongue and sucked on it lightly.

~*~*~

Seifer smirked inwardly, as his mouth was otherwise occupied, and continued to kiss Squall, pulling back only enough to catch a breath here and there in between. At length, he pulled away to nibble and suck across Squall's jaw up to the skin beneath his ear; skin which, to Seifer's amusement, was sensitive enough to make Squall whimper softly. Smiling, Seifer pulled back and met Squall's gaze again. For once, opting not to speak, but simply to smile down at Squall.

~*~*~

Blushing, Squall ducked his head beneath Seifer's chin. Avoiding the other's gaze. He was probably going to laugh at how inexperienced he was and-

His train of thought ended when Seifer wrapped his hand in his long strands and tugged lightly, until Squall was looking up at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a blinding flash of light. They both cried out and shut their eyes.

"There you two are! We've been looking all over for you!" Cid's voice rang throughout the room, making them cringe. Blinking away the spots before their vision, they both got up and walked out of the closet. "How did you boys get in there?" Squall sighed and walked over to his bed, lying on his stomach with his face cushioned in his arms. Leaving Seifer to explain.

~*~*~

"I tripped and the closet locked behind us." Seifer explained bluntly. "Squall was already in there straightening up." Cid looked from Squall to Seifer and back again, before running his hand forcefully through his hair and muttering, "fine," before walking out; obviously not having the best day inspecting rooms.

Closing the door after Cid, Seifer walked over and knelt by Squall's bed, gently laying his hand on the small of his back. "Hey," he murmured softly coaxing Squall to look at him, "what'cha thinking about?"

~*~*~

Turning his head so his cheek was resting against his arms, Squall looked down at the blonde. Frowning slightly, he asked, "why did you do that?" Why had Seifer kissed him? Said he was beautiful... Even after everything Squall had said about not wanting to be in a relationship. He didn't *want* to break Seifer's heart. And he knew he would if they went into a relationship. Sooner then later, he would have to move away once Seifer started commenting on his lack of aging.

It would hurt the both of them more if Squall left when they were lovers. If they were just friends, it wouldn't be as bad... it would hurt, there was no doubt about that now that Squall had gotten used to the other's company. But it wouldn't hurt as much.

~*~*~

"Because," said Seifer quietly, grasping one of Squall's hands gently, "I like you Squall, as more than a friend." Seifer looked up and met Squall's gaze steadily. He didn't think this would be easy, hell; nothing with Squall was ever easy. But that's what made it all worth it; as annoying and illogical as it might seem. Either way, Squall wasn't getting out of this that easily. If he wanted to push Seifer away, he'd better have a damned logical reason for it.

~*~*~

Squall sighed and turned onto his side, facing the kneeling man. "You don't know me though," he finally said, trying to make Seifer have second thoughts about this. Hell, Squall didn't even really know much about relationships, why would Seifer want to be with someone as naive as him?

Not to mention all the damn secrets... he understood now that people had their secrets, but the ones that affect the people they're with or have a very big impact on their lives should be told. And Squall couldn't.

~*~*~

"But I want to," Seifer said, caressing the side of Squall's face. "I'm not asking you to tell me everything, hell that'd probably take a lifetime. I'm just saying that what you do want to tell me... I'll listen." And as horrible curious as he was about Squall, Seifer meant every word. He could be patient, for once in his life.

~*~*~

Sighing, the brunet leaned into the large hand, his lips just grazing the man's calloused thumb. He knew it was hopeless. Seifer wouldn't give up. He knew enough about him to know that the blonde was definitely one to never give up if he wanted something. And Squall actually admired that.

Sighing again, he shifted and pressed his forehead to Seifer's. Looking into the jade green eyes, Squall smiled. "Why do you have to be so damn annoying and persistent?" He asked. Not waiting for an answer, he leaned down further and caught Seifer's bottom lip in his mouth, nibbling lightly on it, as he'd read about in the book. Ever since reading it, he'd always wanted to try it. It was supposed to be very pleasurable. And it certainly was, if the moans coming from Seifer were any indication.

~*~*~

At length, Seifer pulled away just enough so that his lips ghosted over Squall’s and murmured with a smirk, “because you’re worth it,” before pressing his lips softly to Squall's again, threading his fingers through his hair and delving deeper into his mouth.

~*~*~

Starting to get a kink in his neck from leaning down so much, Squall quickly slid off the bed and right into Seifer's lap, producing quite a loud moan. Wrapping his arms around the man's neck, he ran his fingers through the baby soft hair at his nape, scraping his nails gently along the sensitive skin; he made the man moan even louder. He quickly ran out of breath and broke the kiss off with a gasp, turning his head to the side. Seifer quickly took the opportunity to suck on his offered neck, creating a red mark that stood out sharply against the pale background.

The door suddenly opened. Squall's eyes widened as he saw Edea walk in. He pushed Seifer away, blushing slightly when the man disconnected from his neck with a slurping sound.

"Ma'am?" He asked politely, though he didn't think it was very respectful to be talking to the woman when he was sitting in the lap of another man.

"Squall?" The brunet frowned at the confused look on her face. Her brown eyes looked lost. What was wrong? Squall stood up and crossed the room to stand before her.

"Is something wrong?" She shook her head, as though just breaking out of a daze.

"Oh, no. I... I don't know why I'm here." The frown marring her beautiful complexion disappeared when she looked at the two men. "I'm glad you're together now. Just keep in mind there are no overly strong PDAs in this building."

"Yes ma'am." Squall answered, slightly confused himself. Edea nodded and left. Frowning, Squall crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground. What the hell just happened?

~*~*~

"God, it's about time. I couldn't stand to see it go on. Stupid humans. At least Edea was close enough that I didn't have to use a lot of energy to make her break the two 'lovebirds' up." Rinoa shivered in disgust, her light brown feathers ruffled as she flapped them uneasily. "Well, at least I got them together now. I know mistress will be proud of me," she smiled and shut down the weakening screening window. Taking off with a strong flap of her wings, she went off in search for her mistress to tell her that her orders had been carried out quite smoothly.

~*~*~

“Strange,” Seifer murmured, looking at the door after Edea left. “That’s the second time that's happened to us in less then an hour.” His gaze began to dart suspiciously, though jokingly around the room. “Are there hidden cameras or something I don’t know about in here?”

A snort of laughter brought his attention back to Squall who was wearing an amused smirk very similar to Seifer’s. Raising a curious eyebrow Seifer observed, “oh, I amuse you do I?”

~*~*~

“Excellent,” Ultimecia hissed after Rinoa gave her report. “Just a little bit longer. Squall is such a weakling and starved for affection. He’ll become attached to Seifer quickly.” Staring the lesser angel before her straight in the eye, she delivered fresh orders. “Keep me informed of their progress. Do nothing to hinder it. Anything you think might encourage it is approved. Let me know the instant Squall professes to love this human. That will make my revenge it’s sweetest!”

Too long. Too long she had scraped and served and bowed and followed her Father loyally only to have her chances at power taken away from her by that misbegotten waste of creation her Father had dared to call an angel. …But with him out of the way now, and her almost too good service, things were looking up. Soon she would have the full powers Squall once possessed and whatever powers he could fight her with on earth would be useless. She would send him to Hell once and for all and take her place as the high angel at last. She would lead her people to victory where Lucifer had failed and provide for her naturally superior race. She grinned wickedly as the bloodlust in her quickened and her powers hummed for battle. Soon, very soon.

~*~*~

Turning around to face the blonde, Squall's smirk grew. "Of course, that's what you're here for; my entertainment." He let out an un-manly squeal when muscular arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him up from the ground. Seifer swung him around before tossing him onto his bed.

Hair sprayed out across Seifer's fluffy pillow, the bottom of his shirt had rode up to mid chest and with his eyes a dark, smoldering blue, Squall had no idea how sexy Seifer was finding him now. Although the jade green eyes did hold a hint of lust in them.

One hand curled beside his cheek, and the other up over his head, Squall smiled softly, "trying to show your dominance now, are we?" Squall rubbed his back against the bed, trying to relieve the itch in his shoulder blades, though to Seifer, it looked entirely more seductive than just an innocent back scratch.

~*~*~

Seifer made a small noise akin to a purr, before claiming Squall's lips again with fervor, one hand threading through Squall's hair and the other trailing over his chest to come to rest on his hip. At length, Seifer pulled away slightly and trailed his lips up over Squall's neck to his ear; provoking more whimpering sounds from the brunet beneath him. Seifer just chuckled lightly, his breath running over Squall's skin, and continued his attack mercilessly.

~*~*~

Squall moaned, arching into Seifer's heavy body over top of him. What the hell was that? Why did it feel good for his skin around his ear to be licked and nibbled? Hmm... Maybe the others had given him a book about this kind of thing.

"Seifer!" He yelped, when the blonde bit too hard on the sensitive skin. The tall man moved back slightly, hovering over him with a smirk plastered across his face. Squall frowned and brought a hand to the mark. He could feel the other's saliva and... blood? Bringing the hand to his view, his frown deepened. Why had Seifer made him bleed? Now he was going to find it weird when it didn't scab and instead his normal pale skin just kind of... appeared over it over a short period of time.

Grabbing the man's shoulders, the blood on his fingers smearing into the fabric, Squall quickly flipped them so Seifer was underneath him, staring up at him with wide eyes. The brunet smirked and bent down, copying Seifer's movements on his neck. Paying attention to the way Seifer moaned at certain movements, Squall quickly found out that that the spot underneath his chin, just where it meets the neck, was highly sensitive. And Squall used that to his advantage.

~*~*~

Seifer clawed lightly at Squall's back as the brunet attacked his neck. Squall's lithe form was very deceiving, as Seifer all ready knew. If Squall truly wanted to keep him down, Seifer would have to put up a real fight to escape the brunet. But as things were, he was perfectly content to let the brunet hold him down.

At length, he felt a tight scrape of teeth and clawed a little harder on Squall's back, emitting a low hiss. Squall pulled back slightly, smirking, and there was a slight trace of blood on his lip. Trailing his hand up Squall's back to entangle his fingers in Squall's hair, Seifer pulled him down for a breathless kiss. When he'd pull away slightly he murmured jokingly, "my little Demon..." against Squall's lips.

~*~*~

Squall jerked back, frowning at Seifer's smiling face. Demon... Squall backed up completely, getting off the bed and turning away, wrapping his arms around his chest, the brunet looked down at the ground. He'd never been called a Demon before... and it had to be the greatest insult to people like him. To be like those vile, disgusting, blood thirsty and manipulative bastards... it was truly the lowest you could go.

Squall sighed and looked straight ahead, not really seeing the wall, but remembering his nightmares, showing him what it would be like to live amongst the Demons. The brunet shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself tighter.

~*~*~

Seifer watched with immense concern and confusion as Squall backed away and drew in on himself. Slowly, as if afraid to scare him off, Seifer approached him and stood in front of him. It scared him just a little the way Squall seemed to look right through him; like he couldn’t even see him. “Squall,” he almost whispered, putting his hand on the brunet’s shoulder, “what’s wrong? What did I say?”

~*~*~

A large hand on his shoulder shook him out of his stupor. Blinking and ignoring the slight watery vision from reliving those damn dreams, Squall looked into Seifer's concerned gaze. Shaking his head, the brunet answered, "it's nothing... just a flashback is all." Omitting most of the truth, Squall sighed and looked down at the ground. How would Seifer ever understand the insult it was to be called a Demon? Even in a joking fashion. Squall felt his shoulders sag. Just another reminder of the secrets kept from the other man... reasons why they couldn't, or shouldn't, be together.

~*~*~

Seifer didn't press Squall on this issue; already feeling horribly guilty for doing something that obviously brought back a very unpleasant memory for him. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around Squall, lose enough so that he could pull back if he wanted, but tight enough to be reassuring, and murmured, "I'm sorry."

~*~*~

Squall sighed, all tension leaving his body as he uncrossed his arms and wrapped them around Seifer, hugging him tighter. "Don't apologize for something you had nothing to do with," he mumbled into the blonde’s shirt. He felt protected, warm and safe in the other's arms. Even though he knew that he was a bit stronger then the other, it still made him feel safe to have Seifer almost wrapped around him, covering him and shielding him from the rest of the world.

~*~*~

Seifer sighed as he held Squall, worried over what could be bothering him so much. But he had promised not to pry too much and he would stick to that promise. At length, he pulled back enough to meet Squall's gaze, caressing the side of his face. "Hey," he said softly, "Edea and Cid will be busy all day with checking rooms. Want to go for a quick walk on the beach?"

~*~*~

Squall frowned, thinking about his punishment. Looking up at the blonde, at the large puppy dog eyes that only brown eyed people should be able to do, Squall finally sighed and nodded his consent. Seifer let out a 'whoop' and dragged him out of the dorms, looking around the corners comically, before running down the hall silently and finally they were out the door.

Seifer wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked down to the beach, not to far from the orphanage, but enough that the people inside couldn't really see any distinct shapes.

~*~*~

They walked along the beach a little ways, basically hidden by distance and also the gardens at the back of the orphanage. "Your name fits you, you know," Seifer murmured as they walked. "Way back in that thunderstorm when I brought you onto the roof with me; you looked so at home in it. Like you were born for it." Seifer glanced over at Squall, "not to mention your eyes kind of resemble storm clouds."

~*~*~

Squall ducked his head, blushing slightly. He'd never had anyone tell him that... even in his old body, his eyes had been the exact same colour. "I guess you could say... I was born under a thunder cloud," he gave a small smile at the blonde’s confused expression.

Technically, he hadn't really been 'born', in the sense of the word. But he knew he had come from some kind of storm. Every angel originated from some specific time period, or event. Squall happened to originate during one of the largest thunder storms during the history of Earth. Seifer of course, would never know that. But Squall's mysterious comment would give him some... what was the human expression? Ah, 'food for thought.'

~*~*~

Shaking his head, Seifer chuckled softly. "That does seem to fit," he murmured, running his fingers across Squall's hair briefly just to see him pout in mild annoyance, before returning his arm to his waist.

They walked on, meandering around the beach without any real destination. Just being together and talking occasionally. After one of their pauses, Seifer paused in walking and lifted his right knee to his hand, rubbing the muscle there for a moment. "Were going to get another thunderstorm soon," he observed softly, "maybe not tomorrow, but soon."

~*~*~

Squall frowned, supporting Seifer's weight easily as he balanced on one foot. "What happened to your knee?" He asked quietly, not really expecting an answer. It was probably a sensitive subject, and he'd probably get the brush off for asking it.

Seeing Seifer hesitate, Squall grabbed his hand and led him towards a dry spot of beach, overlooking the large expanse of ocean. Sitting the tall blonde down, Squall bent down and began massaging the obviously sore spot. Smiling softly at the other's soft groan.

~*~*~

Smiling down at the brunet, Seifer relaxed under his touch. "I broke it a few years ago," he said quietly after a minute or two. "It hurts now before it rains or snows," he explained. When Squall looked up at him questioningly, Seifer couldn't help but add, "I, uh, fell off the roof of the last orphanage I was at." He blushed slightly with embarrassment and looked down sheepishly.

~*~*~

Squall smiled and resisted the urge to laugh. He continued to run his fingers soothingly over the phantom pain that had plagued the blonde. "You're lucky that the roof here is flat," he said, smiling at Seifer's mock-hurt expression. "Stop with the puppy dog eyes," he grinned, reaching up to stroke a finger along the man's smooth cheek. A passing thought made him look into the other man's eyes. "Are those your real eye colour? I didn't know hu-they could be that bright.”

~*~*~

Seifer smiled warmly at Squall's question, leaning into his touch slightly. “Yes they are. I got them from my father, or so my mother told me.” Meeting Squall’s gaze, Seifer also raised his hand to the brunet’s cheek. “I could say similar things about your eyes. Not that they’re bright, but that they’re so bold, dark almost and they shift from gray to blue. That’s rare too.” Squall chuckled softly, “if you think about it, they’re like your own personal mood rings.”

~*~*~

The brunet shifted, pushing lightly on Seifer's chest to make him lie down. When the blonde was comfortable, Squall crawled over top of him and settled himself comfortably along the wonderfully masculine body. Feeling the hardness of muscle underneath him, and the soft breathing that made him move slightly up and down, like a gentle wave.

Crossing his arms over the man's chest, Squall laid his chin down on the bare flesh, looking into the bright green eyes, as the blonde had one hand underneath his head to hold himself up to see Squall, and the other was wrapped around the smaller man's waist.

Eyes curious, Squall asked, "what is a 'mood ring'?" He pouted unconsciously when the younger man started laughing, jarring the brunet that was sprawled over top of him. He didn't understand why Seifer kept laughing at the things he said. If Squall was anyone else (preferably a real human), he'd probably be offended.

~*~*~

"Sorry," Seifer chuckled at Squall's half hearted glare. "A mood ring is a ring with a rock or something in it that changes colour to indicate the person’s mood." Smiling up at Squall's thoughtful gaze he continued, "I think I've got your colour changes almost figured out. They're more gray when you’re angry, a watered down blue when you're sad, and a very deep blue when you’re happy." Seifer gave a contented sigh before adding, "almost as deep a blue as the walls of our room."

~*~*~

Squall looked up at the blonde, eyebrow raised. He hadn't known Seifer had been watching him that much too actually notice all that. He smirked at the last comment. "So, every time you see my eyes you'll be reminded of the beautiful paint colour. How nice," he said, giving a small smile when Seifer snorted in amusement.

~*~*~

"Think we should head back yet?" Seifer said after a few moments of simply laying with Squall. "I mean, I don't want to get you in trouble." Seifer actually didn't want to leave at all, but he knew if he got too comfortable, he'd end up falling asleep and then there would be a chance that Squall would too and he might get in trouble.

~*~*~

Squall smiled softly at the concern. Feeling bold, he wiggled further up the man's chest and swiped his tongue across the sensitive spot underneath Seifer's jaw, tilting his head slightly to nibble the soft flesh. Smirking at the man's moan, Squall took one last swipe and stood up. Offering a hand to assist the blonde in getting up, he watched, amusement in his eyes as Seifer adjusted himself un-self-consciously.

~*~*~

Grinning, Seifer slipped an arm around Squall’s waist and after a few, admittedly over dramatized darts around corners and suspicious glances for security cameras, they slipped back inside their room. Walking hand-in-hand with Squall to his bed, Seifer noticed a tension in Squall’s upper back. As they sat down, Seifer’s arm snaked its way around Squall’s shoulders; gently kneading the muscles there. Leaning forward so that his breath would wash over Squall’s ear, Seifer asked, “would you like a back rub?”

~*~*~

Squall sighed, leaning into the kneading hand. He shivered when the man's breath tickled his ear. A back rub? He assumed that was some sort of slang for a massage, which he had given to Seifer's knee. But... what about his scars? Would Seifer start asking questions? Maybe... maybe he could trust the blonde to leave well enough alone, if Squall didn't answer his questions.

He nodded his consent. Seifer, a large grin on his face (making Squall roll his eyes), tugged the brunet's t-shirt off, tossing it carelessly to the floor. He gently maneuvered Squall until he was lying face down on the bed, cheek cushioned against the comfortable pillow. The man behind him straddled his thighs, obviously to get into a more comfortable position. Squall tensed when Seifer gasped, obviously just noticing the two scars running in between his shoulder blades. Squall had easily changed in front of the other, not embarrassed about his nudity. But the lights had always been off enough that Seifer had never noticed the scars. The scars that frequently itched, burning, like they were trying to persuade Squall into letting his wings free.

~*~*~

Seifer traced his fingers down the scars lightly, watching Squall shift as he did so, but he did not look like he was in pain. Starting at the top of his back, Seifer began massaging Squall's shoulders until he heard a relived sigh escape his lips. He was tempted then, to ask about the scars, if they pained him and how he got them, but because Squall had tensed so readily at Seifer's gasp, he decided to let the matter drop. If Squall was comfortable with telling him, he would. Still, out of fear that the scars hurt him, Seifer did say quietly, "tell me if I hurt you, okay?"

~*~*~

Squall relaxed completely, relieved that Seifer hadn't asked any questions. Head turned to the side, facing the other bed, his eyes rested on the blonde behind him from underneath his lashes. He figured he could answer truthfully to that question. "They itch and burn sometimes, but you won't hurt them just by touching them." He said, smiling softly at Seifer's relived sigh.

Several, comfortably silent, minutes passed, Seifer gently, but firmly, working on the taut muscles, that were quickly becoming like jell-o (he knew the dessert to be particularly delicious after having it for one of their meals) under his hands. "Thank you," Squall whispered, so quiet, he'd have been surprised if Seifer had even heard him. But the slight pause in the massage told him he had.

~*~*~

Seifer worked all the way down the small of Squall's back before he stopped. Squall was breathing deeply with a half lidded gaze by that time; probably half asleep. Seifer smiled affectionately down at him and oddly enough, felt like joining him in a nap. Him, the insomniac, of all people. But Seifer was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so after a bit of shifting, which ended with him lying on his back and having Squall sprawled comfortably over his chest much like before, Seifer did just that.

~*~*~

They slept for several hours, until Squall woke up first. Glancing at the clock, he noticed it was 8:00. They should be getting down to the dining hall.

He turned around in the embrace, smiling softly when Seifer tightened his grip around the brunet. They'd obviously moved around sometime in their nap and had ended up spooning. A position Squall particularly enjoyed since he got to feel all of Seifer's warmth surrounding him.

Squall watched the closed lids flutter for several minutes, just enjoying the sight of the blonde resting peacefully; especially since he knew the man didn't often get to sleep peacefully. The brunet finally shifted slightly, and tilted his head. Capturing the other's bottom lip in his mouth, sucking on it gently until Seifer slowly came to.

~*~*~

Seifer came to with a soft moan as he pressed his lips against Squall's again. It was a brief, but tender kiss and when they pulled back, Seifer opened his eyes fully and smiled lazily down at Squall. "Hey," he murmured with a yawn, brushing a few strands of hair out of Squall's eyes as he did so, "what time is it?"

~*~*~

Glancing back at the clock over his shoulder, Squall returned his gaze to the sleepy eyes blonde. "8:05. Time for dinner." Seifer nodded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Still smiling softly, just a small curve at the corners, Squall ran a hand through the thick blonde strands, arranging it so it was some what presentable. Rolling over, he got out of the bed and stretched. Ignoring Seifer's lingering gaze on his back, probably still wondering about the mysterious scar, Squall went to the closet and grabbed a light blue shirt at random.

Frowning at the bright colour, he mentally shrugged, and slipped it on. Turning around, he crossed his arms over his chest in semi-impatience. "Unless you want to go hungry, you better hurry up. We're supposed to be having tuna sandwich, though I don't understand why someone would want to put a tuna in between pieces of bread," he mumbled the last part, brows furrowing in confusion at the idiotic antics of humans.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled quietly as he pushed himself off the bed and walked over to kiss Squall once more before dinner. Parting from his lips, Seifer replied, "You can say that after you taste them. They're not the best food in the world, but they're certainly not a strange as you make them out to be."

Linking his hand with Squall's, intertwining their fingers; Seifer led them out of their room towards the dining room. Once they had their drinks and sandwiches they sat down at their usual table, Seifer with a sleepy grin on his face while he ate. "I haven't slept that well in a while," he remarked casually, digging into his sandwich.

~*~*~

Squall lifted the bread, expecting to see an actual fish he frowned. Seifer looked over at him in question and he explained, "I was expecting a real fish," he said honestly. The blonde just shook his head, chuckling quietly and returned to his meal.

Finishing his sandwich, which was surprisingly good, Squall folded his hands, waiting for Seifer. This time not uncomfortable with actually waiting as he had been in the past. He thought about what Seifer had said, and whispered quietly, yet sincere, "I'm glad I can help you sleep easier."

~*~*~

Seifer, finished with his own sandwich and in the process of tossing out his plate, smiled over at Squall. Linking there hands together as they walked out, Seifer allowed himself some uncharacteristic sappiness. "I'm just glad I met you." As they walked out of the dining room, past people too afraid of them to stare, Squall looked over at Seifer in something akin to amusement and disbelief. "What?" Seifer asked smirking over at the brunet. "I can be romantic if I want to."

~*~*~

Squall just shook his head, mumbled about idiotic fools, and rested his head on Seifer's shoulder. After years (and years...) of never being touched (and pretending not to need it when he was in his other body), Squall was definitely making up for lost time. And he always felt warm and protected around Seifer.

They walked back to their dorm, Squall went to sit on his bed, but the tall blonde didn't let go of his hand until he was near the window. Squall sighed and waited for him to open it and climb out. Following silently, closing the window slightly behind him, Squall accepted the hand that assisted him in getting up near the top. Seifer sat down in his, obviously usual, spot and beckoned Squall to join him. Settling himself in the curve of the blonde’s side, Squall sighed and looked out into the beautiful ocean. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing this," he whispered.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled happily at Squall as he gazed out at the ocean. Turning his gaze to take in the large expanse of blue and gray and said, "neither will I," it would always remind him of Squall.

On a whim, Seifer started, "you know, I want to get a house right on the beach some day. Just like this with a flat, reinforced roof so there's no chance of falling off it..." Seifer paused to run his hand over an ankle that, while it never pained him, had once been broken. "Or through them," he added almost as an after thought.

~*~*~

Squall chuckled, leaning into the blonde. But he quickly sobered at the thought of the future. A future he would be forced to spend away from Seifer. He knew it had been a stupid idea to get involved with the human, but he couldn't help it. Seifer could never know though... well, unless he somehow took a wild stab in the dark about Squall being an angel, and deciding that it was the truth. Squall wasn't allowed to actually tell him in anyway.

A light pressure on his chin made him look up. Meeting a concerned pair of jade green orbs, Squall smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. "It's nothing," he mumbled, forcing his head back down and resting his cheek against the blonde’s chest, enjoying the steady heart beat drumming against him.

~*~*~

Seifer looked with concern down at his boyfriend, but let the subject drop. As persistent as he had been before, he could be patient now. He knew that Squall trusted him and would tell him when he was ready. Keeping his arm firmly around Squall, he released a contented sigh. It was really nice...the way Squall just seemed to fit together with him. It was a match he never would've thought of. Someone quiet and stubborn with someone loud and stubborn, but things rarely turned out exactly the way you planned them.

~*~*~

Squall shifted around until he was in between the blonde’s long legs and his back molded against the chest behind him. He sighed and rested his head back, right underneath Seifer's chin. He smiled softly when the muscular arms wrapped around his waist.

Resting his arms over top of the other ones, he looked out into the ocean, still struck by the sear vastness of it. From above, it had never looked that large. But up close like this... it looked like it went on forever. He wondered what it would be like to swim in it. Would it be really cold, or warm?

~*~*~

Seifer sighed contently as Squall settled against him. Smiling as Squall looked raptly at the ocean, Seifer dipped his head and trailed light kisses across the brunet's neck; said hair tickling his cheek. "Would you like to go for a swim?" He asked quietly, resting his chin on Squall's shoulder so that he looked out at the ocean as well. "Water does seem to be your element."

~*~*~

"How the hell do you always do that?" He asked, looking over at Seifer from the corner of his eye. The blonde raised a brow in question. "You always seem to know what I'm thinking... it's weird, stop it." Seifer laughed and pulled him closer. Placing a few more wet kisses on his neck, he stood up and pulled Squall up by his armpits. Pouting at the quick motion, he followed Seifer down the drain pipe into their dorm.

"I don't have any swim wear." He tilted his head, thinking. "I don't even know how to swim come to think of it." He'd wanted to learn, but he knew it would be dangerous if he'd tried to teach himself. Then again, he could have done it, since he wouldn't have been able to die by drowning. Though he would pass out for a few hours. He wouldn't be telling Seifer that though.

~*~*~

"You don't need a bathing suit to swim," Seifer explained, pausing just long enough so that his boyfriend looked at him incredulously before adding, "a normal pair of shorts will be fine. And I can teach you how to swim." Squall looked hesitant for a moment before shrugging off his shirt and going for their closet; which Seifer took as his consent and made his way to his trunk.

Seifer was quickly changed and turned around to find Squall finishing up as well. After a few moments, Squall turned around and Seifer took a moment to admire his form. And what a nice form it was too. Returning his gaze to those stormy eyes, Seifer tipped his head to the side and asked, "ready?"

~*~*~

Squall nodded and followed Seifer out the window again. They slid down the drain pipe this time, and landed on the ground with a soft 'thud'. Adjusting his dark blue, mid-thigh sorts, which had ridden up from going down the pipe, he caught up to the tall blonde, who automatically grabbed his hand, making Squall smile slightly.

Bare footed, they walked leisurely down to the shore. Squall felt a twinge of guilt for going against Edea's orders, but the feeling of Seifer's warm skin underneath his hand erased the feeling. Though the muscular thighs on display also helped a great deal...

When the reached the shore, Seifer turned around and grabbed both of Squall's hands, gently walking him into the water. He smiled at the feeling of the wet sand underneath his toes and the warm water swishing around his calves.

~*~*~

Seifer led them out until they were chest deep in the water. "The first thing you should know is just how to float," Seifer explained as he gathered Squall in his arms as though he were about to carry him over the threshold. His boyfriend let out a squeak of surprise and glared at him half heartedly, but otherwise did not appear that he was going to protest anymore. Swooping in for a quick kiss, Seifer murmured, "just lie back and get a feel for the water. Don't worry about floating away, I've got you."

~*~*~

Nervous and slightly tense, Squall did as he was told. Wincing at the feeling of water in his ear, Squall spread his arms out as Seifer instructed him to. He frowned when the man slipped his arms away and instead held him up by one hand on the small of his back. He trusted the other man, but that still didn't decrease his nervousness about suddenly going under.

~*~*~

Seifer waited patiently, holding Squall as he lay on the water until he felt his muscles relax. They remained like that for a few minutes, Seifer allowing Squall to get used to the water, before he gently lifted him out again; bride style. “There now," said Seifer, setting Squall on his feet and pointedly ignoring the small pout present on his lips. “That wasn’t so hard was it?”

~*~*~

The brunet wrapped his arms around the man's neck loosely, enjoying the sensations of the water around them, making him feel lighter and like he was back in his old body. "Considering I didn't really do anything, no, it wasn't hard," he said, smiling slightly.

Thinking for a few moments, Squall looked up, meeting the other's gaze. "Do all hu-people know how to swim?" He asked, generally curious.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled down at Squall. He looked very cute with his hair half plastered to his face and little droplets of salt water running over his chest. Looping his arms lightly around Squall's waist, Seifer replied, "well a lot do. Doggie paddle comes naturally to most people " admittedly the sight of his boyfriend half soaked was distracting, but Seifer decided to stay on task for the moment, "want to give that a try?"

~*~*~

Squall frowned, thinking about that term. "What exactly is a 'doggie paddle'?" He asked the other man. Pouting slightly when he chuckled. He still didn't understand why the human found almost everything he said to be funny when it wasn't intended to be. Maybe he just had a strange sense of humor. Then again, Seifer was strange, period. Squall grinned at the thought.

~*~*~

"Well," Seifer said as his chuckling ebbed, "it's basically swimming like a dog would." He paused for a moment before saying, "it's easier if I show you." Seifer kissed Squall briefly on the lips before pulling back and murmuring, "Just stay here and watch." At that he dove into the chest high water and did a few lopsided circles around his boyfriend before coming to a stop in front of him and standing once again. "Now you try."

Squall hesitated again before easing forwards into the water, kicking his feet behind him and pawing at the water to keep his head above it as Seifer had shown him. He padded along as Seifer had done, looking pleased with himself. Seifer smirked at him as he passed by. "Enjoying yourself?"

~*~*~

Squall grinned, somewhat proud of himself for accomplishing something that had looked impossible. Carefully righting himself, Squall turned to face Seifer. "It looks kind of silly though. I don't know what the point of a 'doggie paddle' is. It doesn't let you go anywhere fast," he said, thinking practically.

~*~*~

Seifer shrugged, "it's something easy to learn when you first start out. There are a lot of other ridiculous types of swimming, but I think freestyle is the only other type that would interest you." Smirking as Squall lifted an eyebrow in his direction, Seifer simply said, "watch," before diving into the water like he had before, except this time he lay completely flat with his face submerged. He kicked his feet and swung his arms in large circles to propel himself forward, turning his head to the side slightly for air when he needed it. He did a quick 100 meters out and then back to Squall, "your turn."

~*~*~

Squall hesitated before following Seifer's example. He caught on pretty quickly, but forgot to catch his breath during one of the strokes and ended up choking. The other man was quickly by his side, thumping him on the back until Squall coughed up the water and was able to breathe fresh air again. Grimacing, he mumbled, "who knew salt water could taste so disgusting," he smiled slightly when Seifer chuckled.

Looking up at the blonde, his smile brightened, showing a bit of teeth (which was rare unless he was laughing). "Thanks for teaching me all theses things. Kendo, swimming, why people come up with stupid names for things," he paused, waiting for Seifer to quiet down from his laughing, smiling all the while. "I really appreciate it." He frowned, thinking. "I wish I could repay you some how. But I don't know really know anything that you wouldn't know," 'not counting the whole time I wasn't on Earth...’ he added silently to himself.

~*~*~

Seifer hooked one arm around Squall's waist and used the other to lift his chin and gain eye contact. "Hey, don't even worry about it. Like I said before, I just like spending time with you." Seifer smiled and saw a small duplicate smile on Squall's face. Easily pulling his boyfriend closer through the water, Seifer kissed him briefly and then added, "as beautiful as you are in the ocean like this, would you mind if we went in now?" The last bit of his sentence was punctuated by a yawn.

~*~*~

Squall looked up at the sky, finally noticing that it was slowly getting darker. Leaning up to kiss Seifer on the lips after he finished his yawn, he pulled back and joined Seifer in swimming to the shore. When it was calf high, they started walking, keeping to the shadows incase Edea or someone else should spot Squall and get him in trouble.

They climbed the drain pipe easily and crawled into their window. They silently went about their night time routine, Squall changing into his drawstring pajamas, and Seifer into his dark green boxers. Watching the tall blonde sleepily climb into his bed, Squall stood uncertainly, before finally taking a deep breath and asking, "can I sleep with you tonight?"

~*~*~

Seifer looked up, both surprised and charmed by the shyness in Squall's voice. A warm smile spread itself over his lips and he gently pulled his sheets back to make room for his boyfriend before murmuring, "sure. I'd like that." A glowing smile crept onto Squall's features at Seifer’s answer and Seifer was helpless to it. It made him feel good to see Squall smile like that, probably because he was the only one who ever got to see it.

Without a moments hesitation, Squall walked over to Seifer and settled in his arms; spooning. Seifer smiled affectionately at his boyfriend, pressing a few soft kisses to the back of his neck before pulling him closer and settling in. "G'night Squall," he murmured softly, feeling more comfortable then he had at night for a very long time. Somehow, Squall made all the difference.

~*~*~

Safe, warm, protected, cherished... maybe even loved? But all this he felt when Seifer wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. The light snore coming from the blonde’s parted lips made him smile softly. He was glad the other man was sleeping so easily. He knew that Seifer had trouble sleeping. And if his words were anything to go by, then Squall was the one that helped him to sleep so peacefully.

The feelings he had for the other man... he didn't know how to explain it. Was it love? He'd never experienced it before. All these human emotions were so new to him... but Seifer had led him into them. Held his hand, and gently guided him through each emotion. Anger, sadness, grief, loneliness... well, the first one had been brought on by Seifer, but the others... Seifer had helped him to over come them. Even helped to sooth his nightmares, something he'd never thought possible.

Squall sighed and shifted to get more comfortable in Seifer's arms. Said arms tightened around him, holding him tighter against the man's strong frame. Squall smiled at the show of possessiveness. Once he would have thought it an insult for a human to posses him, or even be able to protect him and make him feel safe... but now...

Feeling a quiet mumble against his neck for him to go to sleep, Squall smiled softly and followed the sleepy order. "Good night Seifer."




Chapter 5: Something's Lurking in the Shadows


Seifer came to slowly, not even bothering to open his eyes when he felt the sun hitting them. He knew it was late in the morning, but Squall and he had been up so late last night talking, walking along the beach... making out, that he knew he wasn't in any danger of his boyfriend dragging him out of bed yet. Although he had resorted to that on a few occasions before. He'd even made a joke of him putting Seifer to sleep, but Seifer knew that, beyond dragging him out of bed occasionally, Squall was happy he was no longer an insomniac.

Pulling said boyfriend closer, Seifer pressed a few kisses to the back of his neck and heard him murmur sleepily. Seifer just smiled and snuggled closer to him. It had been the most amazing two months, well almost, being with Squall. They'd talked, read together, trained on the roof, just nearly avoided getting caught with last minute explanations; it had been heaven on earth. They still had a good three weeks before the start of their senior year in high school and Seifer was planning on enjoying every minute of it, just like he'd enjoyed his whole summer so far.

Today was Squall's birthday and, being newly freed from being restricted to his room, Seifer had made special plans for them later that day. A moonlight picnic to be exact. Okay, it was sappy, but he knew how much Squall enjoyed it and he loved the man; he would do just about anything to make him happy.

"Good morning Sweetheart," he whispered gently in Squall’s ear; being more prone to sappy endearments when he was half asleep. "Did you sleep well?"

~*~*~

Squall wrapped an arm around the man's neck, tilting his head up, letting Seifer explore his neck with his mouth. "You know how much I hate those nicknames or 'endearments' as you like to call them." Seifer just snorted and continued to feast on his neck. Squall, resigned to his fate, let the other man do just that. "You know I always sleep well. I still think this bed is more comfortable then mine," he answered the previous question, smiling at the little sucking noises.

The past (almost) two months had been... more then he ever dreamed. He knew it wouldn't last forever. He figured he'd have a good five years before Seifer started noticing that he wasn't aging. And then of course, he'd have to move. But he figured that the time they had together would be worth it. It wasn't that long ago that he'd thought the exact opposite. But he knew now that the whole saying, 'it's better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all,' was true. Sure, the pain would be tremendous, but at least he would eventually semi-get over it, and would be able to look back on the fond memories. Maybe... if he was desperate enough, he would stick around, but keep out of sight. Just watch Seifer live his daily life. Hopefully he wouldn't be sad for too long... Squall hated seeing the other man depressed. He'd rather take on all the other's burdens, and leave Seifer with just the good feelings. Even if it meant that Squall had to be cut from his life for that to be possible.

A warm tongue slipping into his mouth, stopping his down spiraling train of thoughts. Squall responded eagerly. Now completely used to the frequent kisses they shared. Squall could never imagine *ever* kissing anyone else, even when he eventually out lived Seifer. Or if he did, no one would be able to compare to Seifer. Not with the way he made him feel. As sappy as that sounded, it meant a lot to him, *he* meant a lot to Squall.

~*~*~

They kissed slowly, leisurely, savoring the moment. Then, on an evil whim, Seifer trailed his hand over Squall's side, tickling him suddenly. Said brunet squeaked into their kiss and pulled away to glare half-heartedly at Seifer. Seifer, in turn, grinned sheepishly, still chuckling slightly, and said, "sorry. You're just so cute when you squeak like that. I couldn't help myself." Squall looked for a moment as though he were going to continue glaring at his boyfriend, but then a small why-do-I-put-up-with-you smile spread itself over his features and he snuggled deeper into Seifer's embrace.

Seifer smiled contently and began rubbing his boyfriend's back softly; not having a care in the world, as they lay sprawled on his bed in the warm morning sunlight. As much as he would've liked to stay there with Squall all day, as he had done on numerous previous occasions before, he had other plans for Squall today.

"So," he said after a few more minutes of simply basking in the brunet's company, "would you like to go get some," he paused to glance at the clock on his nightstand, "lunch? Or would you rather wait until they send a search party to come find us?"

~*~*~

Squall sighed, but rolled out of bed, reluctant to leave the warm embrace. He quickly dressed in faded blue jeans, and a form-fitting dark red muscle shirt/hoodie. Straitening out the hood so it laid flat against his back instead of bunched up as it had been, Squall waited for the blonde to stop drooling and get ready. He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking slightly when Seifer's eyes trailed to his biceps, obviously enjoying the way the muscle bulged noticeably. "Hurry up and get dressed. Unless you want to go out there in just your plaid boxers," he smirked.

~*~*~

Seifer tipped his head to the side as if thinking about it and then said, “Tempting…but I don’t suppose Edea would be too fond of it.” At last Seifer also rolled out of bed, stretching lazily before meandering over to their closet. After browsing just long enough for Squall to give an agitated sigh he picked out a black muscle shirt and some gray kakis.

He made a quick stop at his nightstand to comb his hair, but left the gel out, as Squall has stated he liked him better without it. “Let’s get going then,” he said walking back over to Squall and leading him out by the hand. They went through their usual routine of picking out food and went to their usual table near the window. Seifer took a bite into his croissant, surprisingly there were some left over from breakfast, and smiled over at Squall. Gently he reached over and took his boyfriend's hand to gain his attention, “what would you like to do today?

~*~*~

Squall frowned, thinking it over. There were millions of things he still hadn't gotten a chance to do since becoming a human. One thing that stuck out in his mind from watching the children on Earth was the playground they went to. Or more specifically, the swings. They always looked like they had such a fun time on it, screaming out in joy that they could touch the sky. Squall was tempted, but then again, he'd be happy to do anything that related to the normal things that teenagers or children do. "What kinds of things did you do when you were younger that stand out in your mind?" He asked the blonde, turning his hand to link their hands together.

~*~*~

Seifer thought about it for a moment and then a smile came to his lips. "I liked going to the boardwalk carnivals a lot. There's one not far from here in fact. They have all sorts of rides, and games, and food." Seifer glanced at Squall's choppy bangs, picturing him windblown and smiled. "I think you'd like the roller coasters or the swing ride a lot."

~*~*~

Squall had absolutely *no* idea what Seifer was talking about, but he sounded like it had been fun for him. He was curious enough to want to ask what a 'rollercoaster' was and a 'swing ride', but he assumed that the blonde would just laugh at him for not knowing.

"Could we go to one then? I've never been there before," 'I haven't been to a lot of places before,' Squall quietly mumbled to himself.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled warmly at his boyfriend, "sure. Everyone should go to a carnival once in their lives at least. We'll just need to ask Edea first."

The finished eating quickly and, of course, got the go ahead from Edea to venture outside. They walked hand in hand down the sidewalk with the warm sea breeze ruffling their hair. They rounded a corner they came up on the board walk with its many booths, rides, candy shops and what not, flashing brilliantly. "Here we are," Seifer said with a grin as he paid their admittance fee and Squall gapped slightly at everything. Leading Squall a few steps inside, he asked, "so where do you want to go first?

~*~*~

Squall was amazed at the brightness of everything. And the amount of people jam packed into one big space! Starting to get a bit nervous, the brunet walked a bit closer to Seifer, slightly reassured by the warm hand holding his. Though they were attracting some attention from people near by... and not all of them were exactly nice.

Squall looked up at Seifer, biting his lip and frowning slightly. "I have no idea what is here, so you'll just have to guide me around," he finally said, giving a very small smile; still tentative from the amount of people pressing into him on either side.

~*~*~

Seifer grinned, sensing Squall's nervousness and trying to reassure him. "No problem. We can start with the Ferris wheel first, you'll be able to see everything from there." He gently lead Squall through the crowd, pointing out and explaining some of the game and candy booths that they passed; promising to return to them later. It didn't take them long to find it and the line was thankfully short. There were many people there, but most of them for a concert scheduled further down the beach. The person attending the Ferris wheel was nice enough, obviously not as close minded as a few others they'd passed, and as soon as they were seated the Ferris wheel began to turn. Seifer chuckled softly as Squall edged closer to him, and slipped an arm around his waist. "What do you think?"

~*~*~

Resting his head against Seifer's shoulder, Squall glanced outside. The mass of people looked like ants, but over all, the lighting of the place also didn't look as bright from up here, making it seem more 'out of this world'. Squall smiled when he felt the other man rest his head against Squall's. "It's nice. Very peaceful up here." His smile grew when Seifer chuckled softly. The Ferris wheel began to move again, occasionally stopping for those people at the top to get a good look.

When they reached the ground, Seifer thanks the man operating it, and lead Squall with an arm around his waist, making the brunet a lot more comfortable with the feeling of this many people. The small ride had taken long enough that most of the people were now gone, obviously down to the entertainment further down the beach, away from the rest of the carnival.

Seifer led him to a large metal contraption. Eyes wide, Squall looked up in surprise. It was huge!

~*~*~

"This," Seifer said, with what he wanted to be an innocent grin, but was really more devilish than anything else, "is a roller coaster," he explained, grinning at Squall's gap. "Come on," he said softly, leading Squall to the back seat, the one that just happened to go the fastest. They sat down next to each other and with some minor instruction on Seifer's part to Squall, they both managed to get buckled in and secured. Just in time too, for at that moment they pulled away and started up the initial climb of the roller coaster. Seifer gently took Squall's hand in his and chuckled mischievously as they neared the top. If this really was Squall's first time on a roller coaster, he was in for a rather interesting ride

~*~*~

Squall, tense and nervous, gripped Seifer's hand. The ride up wasn't so bad, it was actually pretty slow. But the feeling of being almost flat on his back as they climbed up the large hill was making him even more tense. A whispered, 'relax' barely registered to his mind.

The slim brunet didn't even get a chance to look over top of the hill before they plummeted down. A scream was caught in his throat. Squall clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth to stop himself from yelling out loud. The rushing sensation of wind flying into his face screams of laughter and fear, and the way his insides seemed to jump into his throat made flashbacks of when he was on Earth, visiting one of the humans in his care, and something had hit him, causing him to lose his balance and damage his wing. He'd plummeted to the Earth, nothing and no one around to stop his fall. He'd been hurt, severely, but he hadn't died. Though he had wished it was possible, just for the pain to cease. All he could think about was his plummet to the Earth...

~*~*~

The ride came to a halt rather quickly, as thrill rides tend to do and Seifer, who would've normally been laughing breathlessly was looking over at his pale, trembling boyfriend with great concern. "Squall?" He said softly, brushing his finger over said boyfriend cheek lightly, "are you okay? You look so pale, for you I mean."

~*~*~

Squall wrapped his arms around himself, trying to blink away the images that the ride had provoked. Feeling an arm go around his waist, and leading him into a quieter section, said arms went around him, bringing Squall closer to the other's chest. Squall sighed and laid his cheek against the man's broad chest. A large, warm hand rubbed up and down comfortingly on his back.

A few minutes passed, quiet words of nonsense whispered into his ear made Squall finally calm down. Wrapping his arms around Seifer's chest, Squall spoke hesitantly, not wanting to lie. "It reminded me of... it reminded me of when I fell from a long distance... I know it doesn't make sense... but the image and the feelings have stuck around for a long time. They're hard to get rid off."

~*~*~

"Squall, I'm sorry," Seifer murmured, holding him close, "I didn't know." Seifer remained like that for some time, his arms wrapped around Squall and murmuring comforting words until he stopped shaking.

Pulling back slightly, Seifer looked down at Squall with an extremely worried expression. "I'm sorry Squall. I'll try to keep away from rides like that. Are you alright?"

~*~*~

Squall smiled weakly, touched by the amount of concern and worry that Seifer was showing, but still a bit weak from reliving that moment of his life (or was that un-life?). "I'm fine, really," he added when the blonde raised a doubtful brow. "It's silly really, it happened a long, long time ago," 'more like a few months... but it *feels* like more.' Wanting to change the subject, Squall continued, "why don't you show me some of those games?"

~*~*~

Seifer was anything but convinced that Squall was fine, but sometimes changing the subject was the best thing for him. "Okay," he said softly, leading Squall through the rows of games that lines the board walk.

After browsing the various options, they ended up at the ring toss during which Seifer managed to accidentally hit the guy tending it three times and Squall cleaned everyone out, walking away with a small, gray wolf, stuffed animal. "You know, for someone who *claims* not to have done that before, you certainly were good at it," Seifer commented as they meandered through the carnival, passing the Ferris wheel again and coming up on a simple boat ride through a tunnel like ride.

~*~*~

Squall chuckled and hugged the cute (not that he'd ever admit it) toy to his chest, leaning into Seifer when he slung an arm around his waist. "I just have better hand to eye coordination then *some* people," Squall laughed when the blonde jabbed him in the side, hitting a ticklish spot directly.

~*~*~

Seifer grinned, but did not further attack Squall; he'd do that later. They meandered through the boardwalk a little longer, catching some street performers and trying a few more games. They didn't win any more prizes, but they had a lot of fun.

After some time, Seifer spotted a cotton candy vender and managed to steer Squall over. The vender handed him an extremely large bag of blue fluff and they started to make their way back along the board walk. Seeing Squall's confused expression Seifer explained, "it's a sweet," then, delving into the bag and holding some out to Squall, he asked, "do you want some?"

~*~*~

Hesitantly, Squall leaned forward and took the small little cloud from Seifer's fingers into his mouth. Leaning back, he grimaced as it melted on his tongue. How could anyone eat that? It was *too* sweet. Ignoring Seifer's loud laughter, he ran his tongue across his teeth, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. He mentally checked off 'cotton candy' (as the big bright letters stated over the stand) on his 'what not to eat or do' list. He'd also added roller coaster rides. He'd never do either every again.

Seifer handed him a small bag of hard candies (that he'd bought at the small place near the cotton candy stand) to get rid of the taste, he was still grinning as Squall quickly popped one into his mouth. Sucking on the candy, he was glad it didn't taste horrid. It was actually pretty good. It tasted like strawberries and was easily ridding him of the flavor of the other treat Seifer had given him.

Still sucking on the candy, Squall looked up at the other man, now munching on that horrid candy. "Warn me the next time something contains that much 'sweetness'." When Seifer just chuckled and leaned down to kiss him, Squall placed a hand over his mouth, "not when you're eating that. It's disgusting," the blonde mock-pouted, but shook his head in amusement when Squall ignored him.

"What other things did you do that stand out in your mind?" He asked. Hoping that this time it wouldn't be as crowded or noisy. But he was also curious as to what Seifer had done as a child and even now, for entertainment. He still didn't know much about the other's past. He wished he could tell him of what he'd done... but he knew he wouldn't be able to unless Seifer somehow figured out his true identity. Which was highly doubtful. By the time he did (if he ever did), Squall would be forced to move to another location where people didn't know him so he didn't stand out in a crowd for being so young looking when, technically, he should be older looking.

~*~*~

Seifer tilted his head to the side and thought for a moment. “Basically a lot of the same stuff I do now. Kendo, reading, sneaking around and breaking the rules,” he paused to grin at his boyfriend and Squall only rolled his eyes and continued munching on his candy. At that particular moment, they were passing the swing ride Seifer had mentioned earlier; it had just begun to turn. “Would you like to try that ride next?” Seifer asked gesturing towards it, “there’s no sudden drops or jarring movements like on roller coasters.”

~*~*~

Squall frowned, looking up at the big contraption. It didn't look too bad... though it looked like it was picking up speed. The slim brunet finally nodded hesitantly. Seifer wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him into the line. Squall leaned against him comfortably, and mumbled, "it looks like they're about to fly out of their seats...” while he frowned.

Seifer chuckled and tightened his grip around him. Soon, the ride was done and the line started moving. Seifer waved him ahead to find a seat while he talked to the perky looking girl controlling the ride.

Squall sat down on the hard seat, looking down nervously when people kept walking by, asking if they could take the seat, and he would keep mumbling that it was reserved. Seifer finally showed up and plunked himself down beside the older man. When he wrapped his arm around Squall's shoulder, the brunet leaned against him and wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist.

The ride went pretty smoothly, with Squall shutting his eyes, though not as tight as he had done on the rollercoaster ride. For one, he wasn't scared. And Seifer had been right; there were no sudden drops or jerks that reminded him of falling. Instead, he was reminded of the smoothness that could almost be compared to flying. The ride didn't seem to go as fast as the previous one, so he could only assume that Seifer had talked to the girl about slowing it down some. But it didn't take away from the ride at all. At least, Squall didn't think so. He was actually enjoying himself. It was nice to know that there were things out there that could stimulate the feelings he got while flying.

~*~*~

Seifer looked over at Squall and smiled slightly; his eyes were closed, but he seemed much more relaxed. Leaning closer to the brunet, Seifer placed a small kiss on his temple and whispered, "open your eyes." Squall hesitated slightly, but he did open his eyes after a few moments, almost smiling. 'Another place he looks in his element,' Seifer thought with a smile, 'in the air.'

The ride came to an end shortly after and Seifer and Squall meandered back to the games. After another half an hour or so, Seifer was smirking mischievously and he leaned closer to Squall to whisper, "would you like to get some dinner?"

~*~*~

Squall frowned at the smirk, it was obvious the blonde was up to something, but nodded. He *was* getting hungry. Seifer grinned and wrapped a loose arm around his shoulder, guiding him out of the carnival. They walked back to the orphanage at an easy pace. Occasionally stopping because Seifer had an urge to kiss him in the middle of the street. At least there weren't that many people around. Though the few walking along the streets either glared or ignored them. Though there were a few women that looked at them with interest and aww. Some even whispered nonsense about them being cute. Squall, cute. Ha! The two didn't go together.

Sighing, Squall leaned against the other man as they walked into the orphanage. Going into their dorms, Seifer went into the shower, while Squall grabbed a towel, form-fitting charcoal grey slacks, and a loose, crimson t-shirt. As he waited for the blonde to finish his awfully long shower. When he hard singing, he chuckled and shook his head. It wasn't that Seifer had a bad voice, since it was surprisingly good, but to hear him singing in the shower... well, it wasn't an everyday occurrence, that was for sure.

When Seifer finally got out, a towel wrapped around his waist, Squall went into the bathroom, passing his hand softly across the hard stomach, making it twitch, before slipping into the shower. He smiled when he heard Seifer's growl of frustration. Shedding his clothes, he stepped into the hot shower.

~*~*~

Seifer changed quickly into his familiar leather pants and lose fitting, black silk shirt; not bothering with shoes. After checking at the door once to make sure Squall was still in the shower, he sneaked into the kitchen and retrieved a picnic basket he'd been hiding, with the help of Edea, from Squall.

Smirking to himself, he snuck out onto the beach to a spot far enough away from the orphanage so they'd be able to see the stars and Edea wouldn't notice the bottle of rose whine he's slipped into the basket when she wasn't looking. He didn't know if Squall drank, but it was a very mild drink that tasted rich.

Seifer took great care in setting out the hunter green cashmere blanket, the basket, plates, food, two presents for Squall neatly wrapped on his plate, and-of course-a few candles (the ones in their own holders, not the long stick ones, since they would probably topple over).

Seifer stepped back for a moment to admire the scene, it was perfect and being in the fridge for so long the candles would burn very slowly, just what he wanted. With one last smirk, Seifer made his way casually back into their dorm just as Squall had finished getting dressed; except for shoes. Squall looked at him quizzically, but before he could question him, Seifer took his hand and pressed a finger to his lips. "Come with me," he said quietly, smirk as set in his features as ever, "I have something for you."

~*~*~

Squall frowned in a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. Seifer just smirked, and grabbed his hand, dragging him out the door and down the hall to the entrance. Looking over at the tall blonde, his curiosity grew. Why was he so dressed up? And where the hell was he taking them?

Squall sighed and decided he would just follow the younger man. He knew he wouldn't lead him into anything *too* embarrassing. Though he still didn't understand why he was dressed up.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind. Shit... he'd forgotten that this was his supposable 'birthday', the one written on the birth certifiquate. A wave of guilt washed over him, suddenly knowing why Seifer was doing all these things for him. Today wasn't even his real birthday... just some false date on a piece of paper. August 23rd... He didn't even know the exact date of his birth, since calendars weren't invented then and time knew no meaning.

The brunet sighed and hung his head, trying to get past the quilt that came when he was all but smacked in the face with the fact that he had plainly lied to Seifer. God... he didn't *want* to lie. He only wanted to tell the truth, or at least half-truths, to protect those around him. But could he really tell Seifer that he had been born centuries ago, before the human race even knew the meaning of deception? No. he couldn't.

~*~*~

As soon as they were outside, Seifer stepped behind Squall and whispered, "close your eyes." Once he had done so, Seifer lightly placed on hand over his eyes, the other around his waist and gently lead him down the beach.

At some point, he was temped to tickle or otherwise distract the brunet, but he reminded himself that he had other plans. He led him barefoot through the ankle high surf all the way down the beach until they neared the picnic sight. Once they stood before it, Seifer's hand fell away from Squall's eyes. Squall's small gasp and gap expression, caused a smile to curve over Seifer's lips. Pressing a gentle kiss to the curve of Squall’s neck he whispered, "happy birthday Squall."

~*~*~

A stab of quilt went through his stomach, but he was able to ignore it from the warm feeling of Seifer's arms wrapped around him and the sight of the beautiful setting. A light brown whicker basket sat on top of a hunter green blanket, two small plates rested on either side of the basket. White candles gave off the vague scent of vanilla, even with the sea breeze drifting towards them nearby. Squall suddenly wished that he had bothered to put on a sweatshirt, or that Seifer had warned him they were going to go outside.

Arms still wrapped around his waist, the tall blonde guided him to the blanket and sat him down. He quickly sat across from him, lying on his side so his curled knees brushed against Squall's where they were crossed.

Squall glanced out into the ocean, and then back at the glowing candles making everything seem softer. "Thank you," he said truthfully. Though he didn't deserve this... not for lying to the other man. Someone who cared for and about him.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled warmly up at his boyfriend; it was good to see him happy. “You’re welcome,” he said softly, catching Squall’s gaze before leaning over and taking the long, thin, neatly wrapped parcel that he’d place on Squall’s plate earlier and offering it up to him. Squall looked at the present in surprise, one eyebrow rising with obvious suspicion towards his hairline. Seifer just chuckled, “go one. If I was going to kill you off, I’d do it with a lot more class; I’d poison the food.”

~*~*~

"You can't kill me off," Squall mumbled distractingly, not seeing Seifer's dark blonde eyebrows raise in question. Picking up the gift and setting it in his lap, the brunet carefully ripped the dark blue paper off of it. He gasped in surprise when he saw the sword. He ran a finger along the handle, running his fingers across the small Griever pendent similar to his necklace (that he still wore everyday. He only took it off while he was sleeping and when he was taking a shower). He looked up at Seifer, frowning. "I can't accept this." He looked down at the sharp blade again. "This is your second favorite sword... you just can't give it away like this."

~*~*~

Seifer grinned up at Squall and gently covered his hand with his own. Sitting up, he used his free hand to raised Squall's gaze to meet his and leaned into kiss him languidly. Pulling back, he murmured, "yes you can. I've seen you when we spar, I know that you enjoy it; I couldn't imagine someone better suited for that sword. Besides," Seifer continued, caressing Squall's face lightly, "I really care about you, Squall. I want you to have it."

~*~*~

Squall sighed and leaned into the broad hand, enjoying the feel of the slightly scratchy calluses against his smooth cheek. Taking his hand out from underneath Seifer's, he wrapped his long fingers around the blonde’s neck and brought him down. Kissing him lightly on the lips, Squall murmured, "thank you," before kissing him a bit more fiercely, enjoying the rumble of a low moan that was building up in his chest.

Seifer broke the kiss off with a gasp. Squall allowed him to, breathing heavily himself. The blonde pulled a square package from the basket and handed it to Squall. Frowning, the brunet took it and unwrapped the blue-grey paper. His eyes widened at the picture on the plastic cover. Lightning striking down a tree, splitting it in half with a ferocious gleam. Squall looked up at Seifer and held the package up. "What is this?" He asked, looking down at the compact plastic questioningly.

~*~*~

Seifer smirked down at Squall and said simply, "it's a CD that plays the sounds of a thunderstorm. You seemed so at home in the first storm, and every one after it, I figured it would make an interesting gag gift." There was little chance of a thunderstorm that night, however. The sky was impossibly clear, and all the stars were portrayed beautifully sharp.

~*~*~

A CD... okay. That didn't explain much. But obviously, somehow, this plastic thing-no 'CD', somehow produced the sounds of a thunderstorm... he had no idea how.

"Thanks," he said uncertainly. Seifer chuckled and leaned in to kiss him again, more like brushing his lips over Squall's fuller ones, before retreating. The brunet set his 'CD' to the side with the beautiful sword, making sure it was placed carefully on the large blanket, before looking back up at Seifer. He tilted his head when the other man pulled various items from the basket and set it out on the plate. Squall reached out to pick the plump red grape off the vine, but Seifer smacked his hand. Squall frowned in confusion, rubbing his hand and mock-pouting.

~*~*~

Seifer glanced over at Squall as he set out their food and smiled, "wait until I'm done." Once the last bit of food was out, save for the chocolate covered strawberries and rose whine that was their dessert, Seifer turned back to Squall with a smile. "Now you can eat," he said, taking a grape and lifting it to Squall's lips with a smile.

~*~*~

Squall rolled his eyes, but parted his lips to let Seifer plop the grape into his mouth. Long fingers briefly ran along his lips before retreating to grab another grape and pop it into his own mouth. Squall licked his lips and swallowed, enjoying the sweet juices left on his tongue. He went to reach for another grape, but got another slap on the hand for his actions. Squall frowned and looked up at Seifer, who was waggling a finger at him. Squall just rolled his eyes and accepted his fate of being hand fed.

~*~*~

Seifer fed Squall as such for pretty much the remainder of the meal, although he was fairly certain that Squall snuck a few bites in edgewise just to spite him. Seifer just smiled however and kept on feeding Squall and himself until they'd eaten most of the food he'd brought along.

While Seifer put the food away, Squall looked over his shoulder, admiring the ocean. Seifer took this time to pull out the chocolate covered strawberries, with the green leaves cut off, and the Rose whine out of the basket. Leaving them within arms reach, he crept around behind Squall and gathered the brunet into his arms, smiling as said boyfriend settled back with a small sigh. Seifer nipped once at his ear before asking, "want some desert?"

~*~*~

Squall smiled and rested his head against one broad shoulder, tilting his head up to look at Seifer from the corner of his eye, while continuing to watch the dark ocean. "Depends on how you're serving it," he said with a small smile.

~*~*~

Seifer sighed dramatically, but smiled at his boyfriend, "okay fine, if you're so bent on not being hand fed you can eat yourself." Picking up the plate of chocolate covered strawberries, Seifer held them in front of Squall with a small smile. "I thought these would be appropriate, considering how fond you are of that strawberry shampoo."

~*~*~

Squall smiled and plucked a plump strawberry from the pile. Gripping the stem carefully between his teeth, Squall turned around in the embrace. Seifer's arms remained behind the brunet's back, still holding the plate full of chocolate covered strawberries.

Leaning forward, ripe fruit still hanging precariously from his mouth, Squall's eyes crinkled in amusement as Seifer finally caught on and opened his mouth, accepting the treat.

~*~*~

They pulled apart, both trying to keep the red juice from falling too far down their chins and Seifer laughing slightly as he finished the strawberry. When he was done, he placed the tray down within arms reach and asked, "would you like some wine?" While indicating the bottle and two glasses to the other side of the strawberries.

~*~*~

Pulling the stem out from his mouth, he set it down in the corner of the plate, and looked down at the whine. The last time he'd seen that, he had almost promptly been kicked out of heaven... damn human getting drunk. No, it wasn't his fault. Hell, he was dead now thanks to Squall.

The brunet sighed and tried to stop thinking of the human that had given the angels enough proof to think he had been condemning the other man. God... he didn't even want to remember his name. It just reminded him that he had failed in trying to save the man's life.

A tongue running up his chin brought him out of his thoughts. Squall frowned when Seifer licked the remaining juices on his chin away. The blonde pulled back, a small glimmer of concern in his eyes showed what his true intentions had been. Squall gave a small smile and quietly said, "thank you." Seifer just smiled and reached for the bottle and glasses. Squall tucked himself against the other man's body so he was less in the way. Enjoying the thudding heartbeat, Squall waited for Seifer to finish pouring the whine into the two glasses.

~*~*~

Handing one glass to Squall and keeping one for himself, Seifer clinked the two glasses together and murmured, "cheers," before taking a sip. It hardly tasted alcoholic at all; one of the reasons Seifer favored it so much. He wasn't a big drinker at all, but for special occasions, a very mildly alcoholic drink wasn't entirely out of the question. "Are you okay Squall?" Seifer asked quietly, placing his glass down, "you seem a little distracted."

~*~*~

Swirling the rich liquid in his mouth, enjoying the slight apple taste, Squall swallowed and shifted to sit between the man's legs, leaning back against his chest while they sipped the whine and watched the waves gently climbing up the shore.

Squall frowned, thinking about the question. He couldn't tell Seifer what had truly been bothering him. Thinking back on a conversation he had overheard while eating with the other man, Squall asked (hoping this time he wouldn't get laughed at for once at his lack of knowledge. Even though he liked Seifer's laughter, one could only take so much of being teased) hesitantly, "what does 'come' mean?" He frowned when a spray of liquid came out of the blonde’s mouth. At least he had missed spitting on him. Looking down at the blanket, he thought, 'well, hopefully the whine can wash out of the blanket. I don't imagine that it belongs to Seifer. It's probably Edea's...'

~*~*~

Seifer looked at his boyfriend with disbelief and for a few moments lost all his ability to speak. When he did regain the ability to speak it was a little forced. "E-excuse me?" Seifer understood that his boyfriend was fairly naive about a lot of things and that was probably because he was anti-social, but was he really so clueless about sex? If he was, then Seifer would have to teach him; after all, just because he didn't know that didn't mean anything, except that no one had ever bothered to tell him... oh, this was definitely going to be interesting.

~*~*~

Squall frowned and swallowed the last of his whine. Seifer motioned to pour him another glass, but the brunet shook his head. Leaning forward, he placed his glass back into the basket and leaned back against the other man's chest, snuggling further in when the blonde wrapped his free arm around his waist. Tipping his head back so it rested against the man's shoulder, eyes half lidded to watch the ocean, Squall spoke, "while we were eating at the dining hall, I overheard a conversation... they said a few words that I don't know, including 'come'. I know what come means, but in the context they used it... it didn't make sense. Do you know what it means?" Squall frowned, tilting his head up to look at Seifer's profile.

~*~*~

Seifer shook his head in disbelief, but smiled affectionately at his boyfriend. "Well," he said softly, leaning his chin on Squall's shoulder lightly, "knowing the gossip habits of the usual teen, they were probably talking about sex," Seifer began casually. He hated when people got all uptight or started giggling stupidly when it came to sex. "Come is a milky white bodily fluid emitted when any given person reaches orgasm. I honestly don't know exactly what it is in women, but in men their come is their semen." He finished, looking over at his boyfriend with a small smile.

~*~*~

Squall frowned, thinking about that. It would make more sense if he actually understood what 'semen' and 'orgasm' was. Placing his hands over Seifer's arms, absently running his fingers along the smooth material. He knew the vary basics of sex. When a man and woman join together, they create a baby. He only really knew two slang words, 'fuck' and 'screw', other then that, everything else they said went right over his head.

He didn't understand the *how*, he just knew that if a man joined their hips with the woman's, they somehow create a baby after a lot of grunting and disgusting sounds. He had accidentally saw the human he had been guarding have sex with his wife, before she died a week later, and hadn't really been able to figure out what was going on. But he knew that the woman had been talking about having a baby. It was too bad that she had died before giving birth to innocent life.

Squall mentally shook his head, ridding himself of the less then happy thoughts. Still running his long fingers up and down the silky material on Seifer's arms, Squall asked, "what is orgasm?"

~*~*~

Seifer raised his eyebrow near his hairline and looked at Squall with complete disbelief. Had no one ever told him anything about sex? Sure, school did some of it, but they never really filled in the gaps. And it really didn't help the way Squall was running his fingers along his arms like that. Was he toying with him? No... Squall hated lying and mind games...

Seifer again struggled to find his voice before he finally managed, "well... it's basically the climax of sex. It's when people come and it... feels very good," Seifer finished at last. He knew Squall wouldn't play innocent because that would be lying, but his imagination, and his hormones, were doing a very good job of filling in the different possibilities of where this could lead and his body was, well, reacting to those images. They hadn't gone farther then heavily making out so far; Seifer had seen for himself how skittish Squall would be and had decided, for the most part, that he could set whatever pace he wanted.

At that point, Squall's fingers ran down his hands and joined with his, and Seifer sighed, some of his nerves easing. Well if this was the path things were headed down, he certainly wasn't going to object. Pulling Squall closer to him Seifer began to trail slow, sucking kisses along the curve of his neck.

~*~*~

Squall moaned and tilted his head to the side, letting the heated kisses go higher up his neck to behind his ear. His fingers convulsed from where they were interlaced with Seifer's hands. "Seifer...” he breathed quietly, panting. Curling a hand back so it was wrapped around the other man's neck, his short nails digging into the flesh, Squall pulled a little until Seifer moved his kisses to Squall's mouth. He eagerly accepted the hot tongue into his mouth, relieved that it wasn't as... wet as their first kiss had been. Sucking lightly on the muscle, he closed his eyes completely, just reveling in the sensations.

~*~*~

Seifer moaned softly into the kiss, running his free hand across Squall's chest and smirking inwardly at the small shiver the movement produced. He broke the kiss with a twinge of regret so that he could move around to kneel in front of Squall, thread his fingers through Squall's hair and pull him into another kiss. Squall then proceeded to climb into Seifer's lap, shifting his balance so much that he had not choice but to lean back onto the sand with Squall on top of him.

~*~*~

Legs straight out behind him, in between Seifer's long legs, his bare feet curled around his ankles, sending delicious tingles up his leg whenever the bare flesh touched his own. Though he was pretty sure it was silly to get aroused by feet touching each other...

Squall moved down slightly, crouching on his knees and putting his weight on his hands on either side of the man beneath him, he trailed kisses along the blonde’s jaw until he reached the spot that made Seifer moan out Squall's name. Giving a small smirk, he suckled on the flesh just underneath the other man's jaw, giving occasional nips along the golden brown flesh that was slowly turning red.

~*~*~

Seifer arched up into Squall’s ministrations, moaning softly. He began running his hands down the brunet's chest, smirking inwardly at the appreciative sounds coming from his boyfriend. After letting his hands rest for a moment on Squall's hips, he slipped them under them hem of his shirt, and then ran his hands back up over his bare skin with a relish.

~*~*~

Squall squirmed when Seifer's large hands ran along his chest, long fingers brushing over his hard nipples, flicking them lightly. Squall broke off from nipping the red flesh, swearing quietly he rested his head against Seifer's collarbone. Panting when the calloused fingers rubbed roughly against his nipples, Squall tried to get his breath back, occasionally taking small licks of the thin flesh in front of him, strangely enough, enjoying the salty taste of sweat collecting in the hollow.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled affectionately down at his boyfriend as his hands continued their lazy exploration of his torso, occasional running over a particularly sensitive spot and causing a hitch in his breath. Smirking triumphantly, Seifer removed one hand from Squall's chest and gently coaxed his head up into a languorous kiss. When Squall pulled back for lack of air, they locked eyes and smiled warmly at each other. Lifting his hand to brush some of Squall's hair out of his eyes and caress his face, Seifer murmured, "I love you Squall."

~*~*~

... What? He... Seifer loved him? The first question that popped into his mind was, 'why?' But he shoved the thought aside. Seifer knew what he wanted, so there was obviously a reason as to why he would love Squall. But... how did he *know?* Squall felt things for the other man.. but he had no idea what those feelings were. How did Seifer put a name to those feelings?

Squall sighed and lay back down, tucking his head underneath the other's chin. Seifer lay tense underneath him, but he felt him relax slightly when Squall ran his fingers up and down the silky material covering his chest absentmindedly. How did Seifer know that he was in love? Squall knew that he really cared for the other man. More then he would ever care for anyone else in his endless life. But was it love? He was so confused...

The brunet sighed, looking out into the dark waves, growing darker with each passing minute. "How do you know?" He asked softly, smiling slightly when he felt Seifer jump.

~*~*~

Seifer tipped his head to the side in thought and chuckled softly. Such a Squall question. "I just do," he replied and after a brief pause continued, "love has never really been something I've had to think about; I just look at someone and it's there or it isn't. I couldn't imagine anyone else I'd rather be with, through good times and bad." Seifer smiled down at his boyfriend, "you're different from every other person I've ever met. You're withdrawn, but you share yourself with me, and that probably takes a lot of trust for you. You don't often see that kind of integrity in people."

With a happy sigh, Seifer leaned forward and placed a kiss to the tip of Squall's head. "That's it," he murmured, "I love you." He paused briefly before adding, "you don't have to feel pressured to say it back or anything; I just wanted to let you know how I feel."

~*~*~

Squall sighed and shifted until he was lying half on the man, and half on the blanket, so he could look into Seifer's turned face. Biting his lip, he frowned, thinking hard. "I *want* to say it, but I don't know if that's what I feel." He huffed in frustration. "I still don't understand how a hu-someone figures out they're in love. I like you, a lot." He glanced down, "more then I ever thought I would," he looked back up, "you're annoying, stubborn, handsome, funny, loud, hot headed, caring, empathetic, accepting, and you know how to speak your mind, even when everyone is too close minded to acknowledge it." He sighed and looked down.

"Maybe I love you... I don't know. I never thought I was capable of it... fuck," he frowned, "a few months ago, I *know* I was incapable of it." He felt, more then saw, Seifer's interest peak at the mention of his past. However slim it was. "Why is this all so damn confusing?" He whispered, frowning and looking down, biting his lip hard and swallowing the lump in his throat.

~*~*~

"Hey," Seifer said softly, gathering Squall in his arms and gently rubbing his back. "Any kind of relationship is confusing sometimes. People don't have a road map to their feelings and can mistake them as well as the next person. You don't have to figure everything out now, these things have a way of taking care of themselves." Leaning back, Seifer brushed a kiss across Squall's temple and pressed their foreheads together.

Even now, Squall rarely, if ever, mentioned his past. It was something Seifer was perpetually curious about, but he never pushed the issue. Judging from Squall's nightmares, even though they had faded some, it couldn't have been the most pleasant of topics. Whether Squall ever told him or not, he wanted to let the brunet know he was there for him, whatever he had to deal with.

~*~*~

Squall sighed, his breath ghosting over Seifer's lips as he closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the other man and the ocean around them. "They *should* come with a manual," he gave a small smile at the other's chuckle.

Leaning back so he could look into Seifer's eyes without getting dizzy, Squall said quietly, "I don't know for sure if I love you, but I really do like you. A lot." He smiled and leaned in to press his lips against the other man's. They molded their already wet lips together, not bothering with any tongue, just enjoying the sensations.

Squall thought back to what Seifer had done to him and set to repeating the move. Moving his hands down from where they had been curled in the soft strands at the base of the man's neck, Squall slowly undid the small buttons, fumbling slightly when Seifer rolled over top of him, separating their bodies by leaning on his forearms and fist, while his knees dug into the blanket on either side of Squall's thighs.

Finally managing to undue the silk shirt, the brunet ran his hands over the blonde’s bare chest for the first time. Exploring the hard muscles packed underneath soft skin. The soft, barely there, chest hair around the other's nipples and the thin trail leading into the pants beneath the other's navel.

Trailing his hands back up the broad chest, he ran his fingers lightly over the perk nipples, smiling as best he could into Seifer's mouth (it was kind of hard to do so with a tongue in his mouth..) when the man's breath skipped. Pinching the hard nub between his fingers, Squall broke off from the kiss and used all his strength to move Seifer higher up, so his face was level with the man's chest. Hesitating only slightly, he leaned in and ran his tongue across the apricot coloured nipple. Meeting no dislike to that, Squall became a bit braver and took the nub into his mouth, sucking and nibbling on it lightly. With his other hand, he flicked his short nail across the peak, scratching lightly and alternating with rubbing it with his thumb.

~*~*~

Seifer moaned softly as Squall attacked his nipples. Damn, for such an innocent, he was one hell of a fast learner.

Trailing his hand over Squall's shoulder, he hooked it under his arm and pulled him up for a brief, deep kiss. Seifer pulled back only long enough to shed his own shirt, and gently lift off Squall's before returning again to his boyfriend's mouth.

Slowly, Seifer worked his way over Squall's chin and down his collar bone with slow, sucking kisses. He very pleased to discover that the small dip in his collar bone made him whimper and claw at his back. Not letting up in his attack, Seifer continued downwards until he reached Squall's nipples and proceeded to attack them in much the same way Squall had.

~*~*~

Moaning, Squall dug his nails into the blonde’s back, trying to seek purchase over the long expanse of slick skin. "Seifer!" He yelped when said blonde tightened his lips around his nipple and sucked. Hard.

"Fuck," he whispered, turning his head from side to side while gritting his teeth. All his muscles felt like they had become stiff, almost like they were waiting for something. And his... well, his groin felt like it was going to explode. If this what orgasm felt like? His groin was starting to burn... along with his lungs from breathing so hard. And it hurt... but... yet; it didn't hurt in a bad way... if that made any sense. It wasn't like being engulfed in flames... though it felt like that was exactly what was happening, but without the pain. God... why did things have to be so complicated for the human body? God really should have provided an in dept manual for him before kicking him out of Heaven.

~*~*~

Seifer smirked to himself as he continued to make his way slowly down Squall's body, stopping at area's he found to be particularly sensitive. By the time he was assaulting his navel; Squall was shaking and babbling incoherently.

Moving his smoldering gaze up to Squall's face, Seifer slowly undid his pants and, seeing no objection, relived him of them. Smiling at the all-to-obvious blush that painted his cheeks, Seifer caressed the skin on his chest and murmured, "you’re beautiful Squall." Then, before the brunet had a chance to contradict him, which Seifer knew he was prone to do, Seifer lowered his head and took his entire length into his mouth (having had plenty of practice), sucking and licking leisurely to prolong the sweet torture.

~*~*~

"Sei-Seifer!" Squall screamed, pressing his fingers into the broad shoulders, trying to anchor himself to *something.* He moaned again and tossed his head back, gritting his teeth; he tried to stop the loud noises coming from his mouth.

In some distant part of his brain, the one that wasn't cloaked in stars and darkness from the mind blowing sensations, he wondered how anyone could take something like that in their mouth, and actually seem to enjoy it, if Seifer's enthusiasm for the job was anything to go by.

Unless he was just faking it... because he wanted to bring Squall pleasure (which he *definitely* was doing), but he didn't particularly enjoy going about it this way. He still didn't understand how someone could want to, or even attempt to put it into their mouth. It had taken several weeks for Squall to get used to even touching his own penis when he was just going to the bathroom. He'd never really imagined it for anything else. Except for creating a baby... but even that, he didn't really know the mechanics of it.

Then there was that conversation he had overheard... and Seifer telling him about 'come' and 'orgasm'. Some of it he was still not to clear about, but so far, it seemed like a pretty pleasant thing. Even if he didn't exactly know when the pleasure was going to stop, how, and.. what exactly happened afterwards.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled softly around Squall's length, provoking more cries of pleasure from him. One hand gently caressed the skin of Squall's lower abdomen, while his other hand gently massaged his balls. Meanwhile, his mouth continued sucking hard and licking every surface it could reach.

Looking up at Squall through thick, golden lashes, he smiled inwardly. For such a reserved, grounded person, his face seemed unnaturally open, contorted in pleasure. And through everything that was going on at the moment, he could only think, 'what a beautiful creature.' It was a little unlike him to sway so much towards sappy, but there was just no other way to describe it.

~*~*~

Squall cried out when Seifer pressed his testicles up against the base of his penis. Every muscle (including his toes, which curled) in his body tensed, a sensation like ambers dancing across his slick body prickled his senses. He felt his testicles tighten; pressing closer to his penis by them selves, without the help of Seifer's massaging hand. His stomach and thighs contracted, before he experienced his first orgasm, screaming out the blonde’s name over and over again. Fuck... who knew he would be so loud? Hell, who knew that an 'orgasm' could feel like that!

~*~*~

Seifer took in all of his seed with practiced skill, milking Squall’s orgasm to the last. When he pulled back at last he was licking his lips, almost purring, with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile.

Gently, he crawled up Squall’s limp form and gathered him into a lose embrace, both of them being on their sides. Pressing a kiss to Squall’s face he gently caressed his face and murmured, “liked that did you?” with a small chuckle.

~*~*~

"No, I absolutely hated it," he would have smiled at the husky chuckle, but he was too drained. "So that's what it feels like to 'come'," he whispered, almost to himself. He felt Seifer tense against him and try to move back to look down at his face. Squall tightened his grip and hid his head underneath the man's chin. He shouldn't have said that... the blonde would never believe that he had never 'come' before, and he was now eighteen years old. Definitely not.

Feeling some of his strength return, Squall tilted his head up slightly and started licking and nibbling on the junction between jaw and neck, producing a low moan from the man beside him. He briefly thought about repeating the man's actions and returning the favor, but the idea of wrapping his lips around that. Well, he couldn't do it. Not yet, anyway. Maybe while they were in a bath or something... so he would definitely *know* it was clean. 'Not that there was anything wrong with Seifer's hygiene regimen,' he thought, taking deep breaths to breath in the other man's soft cologne, sweat, and the Irish soap he used.

Running his hand down the long torso, he swirled his index finger around the navel, enjoying the hitch in breath. He hesitated, before timidly opening the fastening of Seifer's pants and sliding them down, using his foot to drag them off as best he could, with a little help from Seifer who lifted himself briefly to tug off his own pants.

Both naked now, skin pressed against skin, Squall continued to lick and nibble at the sensitive spot underneath Seifer's chin, while he continued his timid path down the man's groin until he brushed the wiry curls surrounding the penis. Running his fingers through that briefly, he moved on, admitting to himself that he was only stalling. He curled his long fingers around the mushroom shaped tip of the blonde’s penis and started stroking. He had *no* idea what to do, or what felt good, having never done this to himself. So he closed his eyes and focused on Seifer's moans, grunts, and change in breathing, quickly finding out what felt good to the other man, he changed his pace and grip accordingly. Using long strokes along the penis and gripping tightly, making a closed fist with the hard organ trapped within his hand.

It didn't take long before Seifer came, liquid (or come... whatever they called it) washed over his hand, coating it in its thick, white fluid. He gave one final lick to the blonde’s jaw, before resting against the arm underneath his head, enjoying the live pillow. He didn't know what to do with the fluid now covering his hand, since he couldn't exactly follow Seifer's example, since the other man had swallowed it all. That decision, however, was taken out of his hands (literally), when Seifer grabbed his wrist and brought it up between them. Squall tilted his head up to watch him lick his own come off of Squall's fingers... eww (to use a word he had heard the previous day). He guessed... in a way, it would make sense, since it belong to his own body. But that still didn't explain why he would swallow Squall's.

~*~*~

Seifer continued to lick away at his own essence, oblivious to the strange look Squall was giving him. It was only after he had finished, when he glanced up at him that he noticed. "What?" he asked tipping his head to one side and chuckling softly.

~*~*~

Squall just shook his head, but finally decided to ask. Hell, he'd already asked Seifer enough questions that, if he had been anyone else, would have embarrassed the hell out of him... and he sure did swear a lot when he was nervous.

"Isn't that...” it took several seconds to search for the word, "unsanitary?" He frowned when Seifer laughed. Now, why hadn't he been expecting that?

~*~*~

Seifer shook his head, still chuckling, and looped his arms around Squall to pull him closer. "Only if the person you’re with carries some sort of disease. I don't and you're obviously a virgin, so you couldn't possibly carry anything."

Seifer sighed contently and laid back, pulling Squall half on top of him and gently stroked his back.

~*~*~

Squall sighed and nuzzled his head against Seifer's shoulder, enjoying the gentle fingers stroking his back. He was glad they weren't tracing over the scars running, plain to see, down his naked back.

Wait a minute... naked... out in the open. Wasn't this... wrong? He'd heard about men (and woman) being arrested for public nudity... wasn't what they were doing just that? Even if it was night... and he was comfortable and no one was around... Ahh, fuck it. Squall thought, sighing. He was comfortable and warm and he didn't want to move.

Running his fingers idly through the thin hair scattered across Seifer's upper chest, Squall looked out into the water. The dark sky was merging with the waves, making the whole expanse look like a sea of dark blue, almost black. Like a black pool of nothingness...

Trailing his hand up to Seifer's neck, lightly curling his fingers around the junction between muscular shoulder and neck, Squall whispered, "I love you," with certainty. He knew now.. he didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he knew what he felt, deep in the pit of his stomach, or was that heart? Whichever. He knew that he felt a deep affection for the other man, he felt like he could place his life (even if he was immortal) in Seifer's hands and he would treat it with care, protecting him from the world, even when he didn't need protecting. But it was the thought that counted. And if Squall had been like any other human, he definitely would have trusted Seifer with his life. He wanted Seifer. With his body (though he had to admit it was with some nervousness), his heart and his soul (even if it was damned).

~*~*~

Seifer, who had also been gazing idly out at the ocean when Squall's confession registered in his head, turned and smiled brilliantly down at him. "I love you too Squall," he murmured, hugging him closer and pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. At that moment, life was perfect. Squall and he were in each others arms without a care in the world.

And thus it seemed only natural that a strange sense of foreboding should follow Seifer's contented sigh. He hadn't loved anyone (in any sense of the word) since his mother died, and it was a little intimidating, even for him, to make that leap. Of course it was different with Squall. Squall wasn't his mother and he didn't love him like that. But it was still a type of love. And he just couldn't shake off the feeling that he should treasure every moment while he had it.

Seifer knew it was silly to entertain such a thought. Squall and he were both young and healthy; they had their whole lives ahead of them. Still... the world was unpredictable and you never know what could happen. Even if they had their whole lives before them together, it never hurt to savor each moment.

Seifer ran one hand across Squall's back and the other combed his fingers through Squall's silky hair. A small smile crept onto his lips and as he looked down at Squall he murmured, "you really are beautiful you know that?"

~*~*~

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Squall mumbled, but he smiled softly and shifted to kiss Seifer. Pressing his lips lightly against the other man's before moving back. "I think we should get dressed and go back inside," he paused to look out into the black expanse. "It's getting darker and I'm getting colder," as if to prove the last statement, his body started shivering of its own violation. He didn't want to mention that he was also getting... anxious. Like something was going to happen, but he didn't know what.

~*~*~

"Alright," Seifer agreed, smiling up at Squall, "can't have you freezing to death after all." The parted and began getting into their respective clothes, lounging just a little bit as they packed away the whine and finished off the strawberries. Then, once everything was secure, Seifer picked up the basket with one arm and wrapped his other around Squall. Both of them smiling contently, they made their way, slightly sleepily, back to their warm bed.

~*~*~

Ultimecia watched them go through her screening window and smiled viciously. The blonde had proven much more efficient than she'd hoped. Even if she hadn't made him immune to Squall's aura, the two might still have ended up like this. No matter though, her goal was at hand.

Everything was playing right into her hand. Already the elders had pushed her through the ranks to Squall's former position. She was second now only to them and soon, like Squall might have been had he not 'fallen,' she would be among them. Then she would simply be the council and this kingdom would be hers for the taking.

"Rinoa!" She called harshly, summoning the lesser angel to her bidding. "The time is right. Use your powers to separate them tomorrow for however long it will take for you to kidnap that arrogant blonde. He will be our bait. There is an abandoned stone church twenty miles inland; I can't think of a more apt place for the once- perfect angel to meet his end!"

~*~*~

Rinoa nodded, "I will carry out your orders as soon as possible mistress," and with that, she flapped her wings once and went back to her screen window over the orphanage. She was tempted to speed up time, but she knew that would just call the attention of the elders, and mistress didn't want that. So instead, she waited patiently, waiting for the moment to strike.



Chapter 6: Judgement Day



Squall yawned, snuggling closer to his warm pillow. He frowned when his movement was met with a deep groan. Opening his eyes a slit, he looked down and smirked when he found the cause for the cry of pleasure. His thigh was resting against the other's groin, and really, it wasn't his fault that he had no control over the muscle and it twitched against the man's hard penis. Really, it wasn't.

Squall tried not to laugh as he tilted his face up to meet Seifer's down turned face. "Morning," he stroked the organ underneath his thigh, causing another groan to come out of the parted lips. Shifting so he was a bit higher up, Squall pressed his lips to Seifer's, but he broke it off before anything too... serious started up, leaving with a swipe of his tongue across the -now-pouting bottom lip.

Smiling mischievously, Squall stood up and stretched, pausing in mid motion to dodge the hands that tried to wrap around his waist to bring him back to the bed. Moving over to the closet, he pulled on the first thing he could reach, black leather pants and a short white t-short. Looking over at his roommate, he started in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?!" He yelped. Why was Seifer... touching himself like that? Was that what they called... masturbation? From what he had done to the other man last night, he could see how it could be appealing... obviously the blonde had done it before, hell, he had been living for a longer period of time on this Earth then Squall had. So he'd obviously had to find his own... release.

Blushing, Squall turned his back to the strangely provocative image of Seifer with the slit of his silk green boxers open, and his thick penis jutting out. Shivering, and not in any way cold, Squall took a step to go to the bathroom to complete his morning routine, but a loud groan and his name being spoken from those parted lips made him look back.

~*~*~

Seifer came fairly quickly with all the images of Squall and he that his vivid imagination could come up with. With a small sigh, he plucked a washcloth that just happened to be hanging around his nightstand and cleaned off.

After tossing said washcloth in the hamper, Seifer look up to find Squall looking at him oddly from the shower door. Smirking, he closed the distance between them and tugged Squall in for a brief kiss. “Have a good shower... Sweetheart,” he murmured before starting to gather some things for his own shower (he’d use the showers in the gym); pretending to be totally oblivious to the incredulous look Squall was giving him.

Seifer made his way through the halls, encountering little hostile traffic. Thanks to that girl Selphie, who was apparently not on speed, few people really bothered him and Squall anymore. She wasn’t so bad once you got to know her. A little like Santa Clause on Prozac, at Disney world, getting laid, yes, but not a bad person.

Stepping under the shower, Seifer set it to a phenomenally scalding temperature and simply stood under the stinging spray for a while, letting the hot water relax his muscles. He didn’t dally to long though; he didn’t want Squall to wait too long for him.

After he was completely dressed in black kakis and a storm gray sweater, Seifer bent down to tighten his boots, when that foreboding feeling came over him again. It was so strange… after all; nothing was going to happen to him and Squall.

~*~*~

Rinoa sighed, "now's a good time as any," she mumbled to herself, before sweeping her hand. The human fell to the floor with a 'thud.' 'It should be easier to transport that way,' she thought, before using her powers once again and made the man disappear with a quiet 'poof.' Dusting off invisible specks of dirt on her white dress, shuddering at being in a place that held a bunch of naked animals, and with a flap of her wings, she transported herself to the abandoned church. Hovering/sitting (she didn't want to sit in their filth) on the stone steps with the human at her feet as she waited for her mistress.

~*~*~

Squall didn't like this one bit, he was having the strangest feeling... like something was going to go wrong. He thought humans called it 'intuition' or 'gut instincts.' But his wings were also itching him. So much that they felt like they were starting to burn... fuck... what the hell was going on? And where was Seifer? Surely it doesn't take this long to take a shower? Or even to... do whatever he just did again in there? He ignored the warmth spreading through his cheeks as the image came back to him while combing his hair.

~*~*~

Ultimecia appeared with a small pop, a wicked smile set in place. "Awake," she commanded the human at Rinoa's feet, paying no mind whatsoever to her servant for the moment. Seifer woke with a start and looked quickly from Rinoa to Ultimecia in shock.

"What the hell?!" He sputtered, scrambling to his feet only to be frozen in place with the simple wave of Ultimecia's hand.

"Poor deluded human," she chortled, hovering just within his field of vision, "you have no clue what's going on do you?" She trailed a sharp nail painfully over his face, drawing blood. "Allow me to explain. Your little boyfriend? He's actually a fallen angel. He was one of the most powerful among us until he was sent to help a human and ended up fucking him instead; in both senses of the word."

Seifer's eyes widened and he struggled against the magical bonds fruitlessly. "Silly human," Ultimecia hissed, trailing her razor-like nail over his neck and chest, cutting through clothing and drawing more blood, "let me finish. He was supposed to be banished to Hell, but because of *someone’s*" she looked pointedly at Rinoa, "little bought of conscience, he was granted mercy. Instead he was turned into a human, with a special magical aura around him to drive off all company. He can never age and never die, except by fire. The only reason you didn't feel the aura was because I lifted it for you and you only."

With another flick of her wrist the church doors flung open and Seifer levitated with her, gliding into the church. "Stand guard Rinoa," Ultimecia called over her shoulder, "let no one in but Squall." Moving slowly down the aisle, holding Seifer in a break-back grip of magic, she continued. "You see, as stubborn as the whelp was, I knew he'd fall for the bait of human affection and love." With a dramatic shove of her arm, Seifer was pushed back and magically nailed up against the
old wooden cross above the alter where he continued to struggle. "Oh don't be afraid, my pet. It's not your life I want. I
admit it'll be painful, but your love will come to your rescue and save you," her voice dropped dangerously low, "killing himself."

With a flourish, she turned about and opened a screening window that could be seen on both sides in Squall's dorm. It was big enough to show both her and Seifer. Squall stumbled over his own feet and landed on his ass in shock. "Surprised to see me darling?"

~*~*~

Squall's eyes widened in horror... Seifer. He stared at the blood oozing down his arms from the nails imbedded in his wrists. Oh Seifer...

When someone cleared their throat, Squall jumped and switched his gaze to meet crimson red. He surpassed the shiver of disgust as he scrambled to his feet, "Ultimecia," he hissed, eyes narrowing, his normally grey-blue eyes turning a dark grey, almost so dark they merged into his pupils. He definitely wasn't unfamiliar with this particular angel. An angel who by all rights, should be in Hell. She was certainly devious enough to be. She was one of the few that had actually chosen to switch her male body for a female one. Most angels preferred to just remain males, since they were the better proportioned body type.

In the beginning of time, before humans, they had been animals. When everything was just molecules, they had been streams of light. Squall of course, had chosen to remain with his male body (though at the time he didn't have a penis, since they preferred to remain asexual so their lust wouldn't overtake them like it did with humans).

Shaking his head to rid himself of his wondering thoughts (it had to be something he'd picked up from the humans. He's always been able to concentrate before), Squall scowled up into the screening window (a popular magical viewer into the world of humans that angels often used. He had used it enough times to check in on the humans he was forced to protect). "What have you done to Seifer?" He growled, all but baring his teeth. He wouldn't show how much it pained him to see the fear in Seifer's eyes. Of him... or of the situation... he didn't know.

~*~*~

"Oh, nothing *too* painful." She paused to laugh at herself before continuing, "well I suppose that would be wrong now wouldn't it? There are few things more painful to a human than crucifixion. You could heal him of course, but since he's not technically close to death yet, you might survive that."

She smirked at Squall's obvious confusion. "You see Squall; a lot of things have changed in heaven. I've got your old job; and that's not all I'm after. I'm after the entire kingdom darling. My original plan was to set you up and have you sent to Hell, but things didn't work out that way. I was just going to leave you alone, but what better way to escalate myself into the ring of elders than to stop a rampant, once-angel, from killing an innocent young human?"

"Now," she continued, almost too calmly, walking to stand beside Seifer, she loosened the magical bind around him enough for him to start moaning in agony, "I think I should remedy the fact that crucifixion could take days to kill the victim." Glancing viciously at her victim she produced a large, spear-like crystal and shoved it *hard* into Seifer's chest; electing a piercing scream from the blonde. "I'd say he's a half an hour at best if you don't hurry Squally. I'm at the abandoned New Hope cathedral, twenty miles north. Hope to see you soon," another scream from Seifer, "or at least I think he does." And with that, the screening window blinked out of existence.

~*~*~

With Seifer's screams still ringing in his head, Squall frantically looked around, for what, he didn't know. Throwing the brush down, which he found that he had been clutching in his hand, Squall ran out of the bathroom and looked around the room. Spotting the sword that Seifer had given to him for his 'birthday' only yesterday lying on his bed; he grabbed it and jumped out of the already open window. Landing on the ground with a bone jarring, 'thud', he shook off the mild pain (while any other human would have broken a few bones at the impact...) and started running. Thinking back to what Ultimecia had said, Squall frowned, legs still pumping under him all the while as he thought. He couldn't make it that far by just running.

But the pain... fuck! It was for Seifer! Pain didn't fucking matter! Still running, he forcefully ripped off his shirt and concentrated. The constant burn quickly turned into all consuming flames, Squall screamed and dropped to his knees. Panting and moaning in agony, his wings finally sprouted, blood squirted out from the open wound. Making his already dark ebony wings even darker in areas. Gritting his teeth from the seer agony consuming him, he extended his wings and flapped, once, twice, before he finally managed to lift himself off the ground. Biting his lip so hard it bled, Squall beat his wings frantically, until the pain had subsided and he was in the air a good fifty feet above ground. Swiping his hand across his sweaty forehead, Squall took no time in enjoying the sensations of finally being able to fly and instead took off at full speed, flying across the ground a hell of a lot quicker then the fastest automobile.

In less then four minutes, Squall was hovering in front of the church steps. Holding the sword out to his side, Squall touched down to the earth and taking a deep breath to put on his indifferent facade, the slim brunet walked through the elegantly crafted doors, large ebony wings, shimmering a dark blue in places where the sun beat down on him, folded behind him, the long feathers at the tip just touching the ground.

~*~*~

Seifer jerked his head up as the church doors opened. He was in so much pain he could hardly see straight, but he could still make out Squall's impressive form as he entered. Everything was a little surreal...but it did explain a lot... and damn it, he didn't care what Squall's past was or what he was; he still loved him. That was the one clear thing in all this chaos. That, and if Squall helped him, he would die. He strained to try to call out and warn him, but the pain and Ultimecia’s magical grip on him made that impossible. He could just look sadly at his lover and pray that he would see reason and leave. Then again, Squall was anything but reasonable.

~*~*~

"Ah Squall," Ultimecia chirped at he entered from where she lay, lounging on the altar in front of the cross with Seifer's blood dripped slowly down to join the feathers of her blood red wings. "So nice of you to come and visit me."

~*~*~

Squall merely blinked and continued his long legged stride towards the seated angel. He avoided looking at Seifer, knowing that if he took one more look at the blood running down his face and the fear in his eyes... well, he wouldn't be as calm as he was now.

"What is this about Ultimecia? Seifer never did anything to you. He's just a human, just a bystander. You of all people, since you took over my job, should *know* that you should never intentionally harm a human." His eyes flickered towards the helpless blonde of their own violation. Like trying *not* to think about something, and the thought kept popping up. Squall's dark grey eyes narrowed as he returned his gaze to meet the crimson eyes that brought shivers of disgust up his spine. "And that's exactly what you're doing." He fought not to attempt to slice the other angel's head off with his sword, or even twitch, less he bring attention to the deadly weapon. It couldn't do much against an angel... but he could hurt her enough that she would be unconscious for several hours. And that was all the time he needed to grab Seifer and *go.*

~*~*~

"Ah, my darling Squall," Ultimecia hissed softly, "all I want is to rule over the kingdom of angels. And we both know there are only two ways to achieve that; either you must have been phenomenally wronged by the council in the first place, or an act of unheard of valor."

She stretched absentmindedly, her magic turning the crystal lodged in Seifer's chest and evoking more cries of pain. "Now a human has been harmed, and the elders will know it eventually, but what happens after that determines on who is alive and the story they tell. If you are in Hell, I can simply say you were responsible and you planed to summon up the devil through these horrible acts on holy ground and try to conquer the kingdom of heaven. Of course, you could always run away and turn me in. Even if you are human now, angels can still see and talk to you. But..." she gestured to the blonde and gave a few more agonizing twists of the crystal, "he's beyond all human help now."

Smirking, she sat up and spread her wings, Seifer's blood dripping from the feather tips, "it's in your control now," she said, before flapping her wings and coming to rest on the Church ceiling beams. "Take him now if you wish, I swear I won't stop you."

~*~*~

Still clutching the sword, Squall hesitated briefly, not totally trusting the angel's word. But another cry of pain forced him to move. Running towards the bleeding man, Squall dropped the sword and touched the nails embedded into Seifer's wrists... shit... what was he supposed to do?

Biting his lip, Squall took a deep breath, whispering, "I'm sorry," before he grabbed the head of the nail and yanked. Seifer screamed and passed out. 'Well at least he can't feel it anymore.’ Squall tried to rationalize, as he pulled out the other nail. The brunet caught him before he could collapse onto the hard floor. Lifting him up into his arms, he tried to push down the melancholy feelings that provoked when he remembered all the times Seifer had done the same thing to him, Squall took one last look at the smirking angel and flew out the Church as fast as he could. He didn't know exactly where he was going until he found himself setting Seifer down on the roof of the orphanage.

Running his fingers through the blonde strands, Squall whispered urgently, "wake up Seifer, please, wake up." Ebony feathers ruffled in nervousness and worry, creating a soft breeze as they quivered without Squall really knowing.

~*~*~

Seifer had never been a big fan of death, but it was beginning to look awfully tempting when he started becoming conscious. Then he felt the breeze and heard the ruffling feathers.

Slowly, painfully, he opened his eyes to meet Squall's watered down blue/gray ones. "Squall..." he rasped at a near whisper offering a weak smile, trying not to grimace or wince at the white hot pain lacing through his body. He tried to move his hand so he could touch him, but winced and realized very quickly that was a very bad idea.

Meeting Squall's gaze again, he tried once more to smile. It hurt like hell, but he was glad Squall was there. "Ho-how -a-are you a-angel?" he whispered. Each word was painful, but Squall was there, had risked probably a lot more than Seifer could understand to get him back and they were safe for now at least. Seifer bit back a whimper as another spike of pain went through him. Well... mostly safe. As long as Squall didn't give that other angel what she wanted and... die. No god, he couldn't do that.

~*~*~

Seeing Seifer in so much pain, Squall bit back the sob that was building up in his chest. Placing a finger over the man's parted lips, Squall whispered, "don't talk." Running his thumb along the other's face, he cleared most of the blood from the man's face. Fuck... he didn't know what to do.

Squall leaned down and pressed his lips to Seifer's. Only a light pressure, just trying to comfort the man in some way that *wouldn't* hurt every bone in his body. Looking down at his wrists, a single tear escaped to run down his cheeks. God Seifer...

Frowning, the brunet yanked off one of his longer feathers, the ones near the ground, and wrapped it around the man's wrist. Maybe it would be enough to stop the bleeding. Yanking out another long feather, he tied it around the other wrist. He didn't know what to do about the crystal though. He could sense the dark magic in it. If he removed it... well, he had a strong feeling that Seifer wouldn't live to even cry out with pain.

"I don't know what to do," he whimpered, totally out of control now. Fuck... if he wanted Seifer to live... he could try to heal him. But would he get the chance to heal him before he was yanked down to Hell? Would Seifer truly live? Or would Ultimecia just come back to kill him? He hated feeling so helpless!

~*~*~

Seifer looked up at Squall; oddly calm considering the fact that he was fairly certain there was no way he could survive this. He didn't care really, as long as Squall was okay. He only wished he didn't have to leave Squall. Said angel's hand happened to be resting over his at the moment and, with a small wince, Seifer interlocked their fingers loosely; trying to comfort Squall in some way. He doubted he could even speak much anymore, considering how hard it had been in the first place, but he wished he could tell his boyfriend that he loved him. It was starting to look like the last time he'd ever be able to.

~*~*~

With an elegant flutter of crimson and brown wings, Ultimecia and her servant settled themselves onto the orphanage roof. "Well, well, well Squall," Ultimecia hissed with a smirk. "It seems you have a bit of a dilemma on your hands don't you?" She sneered down at the slowly dieing blond; tapping her long nails against her hip pointedly.

~*~*~

Squall growled and leaned over Seifer' protectively, "you said you would allow me to take him without a fight!" Ultimecia just laughed.

Scowling, the fallen angel looked down on the wounded human. His anger quickly evaporated after seeing how much pain he was in. And all this because Seifer had gotten to know Squall... it was his entire fault, it was only fair he would fix it. Even if it cost him his life here on Earth...

Sighing sadly, Squall leaned over, all but ignoring Ultimecia and her servant, and cupped the man's face in his hand, the pale flesh standing out in stark relief against the tanned skin of the other. Leaning down further, he pressed his lips to Seifer's, who weakly opened his mouth, almost like he was trying to recuperate. Taking one last taste of the blonde's mouth, Squall moved back and rested his forehead against Seifer's, the blood on the other man transferring to his own forehead. "I love you," he whispered, lips just brushing Seifer's, before moving completely away.

His face a mask of indifference, Squall spoke to the angel, who by all rights should really be a demon. "If you promise on your wings, that Seifer will *not* be harmed, in *any* way for as long as he lives and after, I will heal him and I will go without a fight. If you can not agree to this... then you're in for the fight of your life Demon," he hissed the last part, getting a sick enjoyment from seeing even her wince at the insult.

If Ultimecia swore on her wings, the most sacred part of angels and God, even Demons, then she would have to keep her word, or her wings would burn off and never return and she would be sent down to Earth to live out a mortal life.

~*~*~

Ultimecia quickly recovered from the insult and resumed her usual poise. To swear on ones wings was very risky, but she cared not for this human, and if it would get Squall to cooperate...so be it. Fanning out her wings, they glowed red softly and she said with a piercing hiss, "I swear on my wings he will never be harmed again." The glow slowly dissipated and Ultimecia folded her wings behind her, looking pointedly at Squall. She'd fulfilled her part, now it was his turn.

~*~*~

Seifer looked up at Squall with fear, love, and tears in his eyes. He tried to work his voice several times during the conversation, but there was just nothing left. That bitch must have damaged his vocal cords or something similar to that when she'd clawed him. He met Squall's eyes and through all the haze of his injuries that made it hard to hear or see straight, he knew Squall was going to heal him and send himself to Hell. 'Squall you idiot,' he thought keeping his gaze locked with his, squeezing his hand regardless of the pain, 'don't send yourself to Hell! This isn't right! I love you...'

~*~*~

Squall gave the angel one more scowl before returning his gaze to Seifer. He bit his lip at the emotions pouring out of his wounded face. Oh Seifer...

Gently untangling his hand from the other man's, Squall hooked one leg over the man's waist, to put his hands into a better position (well, that and he just wanted to be closer to him). He extended his wings, partially to cover Seifer from view from Ultimecia and to lock into his powers more. Resting his hands on Seifer's chest, Squall closed his eyes and began chanting (it was more like a tune then actual words. But it was the song of the angels, and every one chant had a different pitch and tone, making it into incredibly beautiful notes. Even humans, with their limited hearing, could appreciate the song).

As his hands started to emit a soft white glow, a burst of pain shot through him, making him gasp and breaking off the chant. Determined not to stop, despite the horrible agony coursing through him and making him shiver, Squall continued chanting.

Finally reaching the peak of his powers (he wouldn't stand to use anything less on Seifer), his ebony wings flashed to a bright gold, before returning to their original dark color, but leaving highlights of shimmering gold amongst the long feathers.

Opening his eyes, wanting to stare into Seifer's eyes for as long as he could, Squall focused on the power inside him and sent it through his body, down to his arms, and through his hands until it seeped into Seifer. His eyes glowed ice blue as he changed the words and tone of the chant and started on a healing one. To fix every single wound. But, since he was using his full power, the human would have a few side affects from the amount of energy and magic being poured into him. *all* of his injuries, be it past or future, would heal quickly, becoming non-existent. He would be resistant to illness. He would age one year for every three years. Making his aging process incredibly slow and long. He probably wouldn't look old until he was in his late 80's. And even then, he wouldn't feel the effects of age, with thin, brittle bones and poor eyesight. Squall knew this was illegal, hell, just using his powers to save another human without asking God was against the rules, but to actually use *all* his powers and focus them on one human.. Well, it was beyond illegal.

~*~*~

Seifer's eyes locked with Squall's, memorized by the bitter sweet image before him. As much as he didn't want Squall to do this, it was an exhilarating feeling. His whole body tingled with Squall's energy and he could almost *feel* his presence inside him.

Seifer's wrists closed first, rebuilding seamlessly, and then the wound on his face; it didn't even leave a scar. Then, as the magic started to work on the crystal in his chest, which slowly started to dissolve, he started to feel the extent of Squall's power and it was almost frightening. It wasn't working on only his present injuries, but every little ache and pain that had come with various injuries he'd received from his life. And with every wound that healed, he saw Squall's pain worsen and his body weaken. Squall...

When the last bit of light seeped from Squall's fingertips, all the light around him faded and he collapsed, unnervingly cold against Seifer's chest. "Squall, Squall you idiot! Why did you do that?!" Seifer cried out, clutching the limp form to him and gently rocking Squall; tears spilling freely from his eyes in anguish with only Ultimecia's evil laughter ringing in his ears.

~*~*~

His whole body ached, even down to the very tips of his wings. All he wanted to do was fall into blissful darkness, become numb from the pain, but Seifer's voice was calling out to him. He should be with him as long as he could before Hell dragged him under.

Curling his hands into fists to try to focus his energy and clear his head, Squall winced when Ultimecia’s voice finally registered to his ears. Pushing up from Seifer, he stood shakily. The other man, now completely healed and spryer then he ever had been, surged up with him and wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting him as he faced the other angel.

"You've got your wish Demon," he hissed, "now leave and go join the high council." He spared her servant a scornful glance, "you and your little slave." Although he was still shaking from exhaustion, Squall's voice was detached and cold. Laced with venom that only those who knew him would detect. Though his eyes were just as hateful.

~*~*~

"So quick to get rid of me are you?" She pouted, but there was an evil gleam in her eye. The damned angel was right though, no sense in sticking around to watch Hell come for him. He was a goner anyway. "Well if you insist. See you in Hell flyboy," with that, Ultimecia spun around and opened a portal. "Come Rinoa; our work here is done."

"Yes mistress." As soon as the last feather disappeared into the portal, it closed behind them.

Squall's knees buckled under him shortly afterwards and Seifer sunk down beside him; cradling him close. He was relieved Squall hadn't died instantly, as he had expected, but he had the sinking feeling that he was dying now, slowly, as he had been. "Squall," he whispered softly in his boyfriend's ear, cradling him gently, "what's going to happen to you now?"

~*~*~

Squall sighed and rested his head against the other man's chest. He knew he should tell Seifer to go away, to go back to their room and forget about him. He didn't want him to be around when the Shadows came... but no... He was too selfish at the moment to push the blonde away when he needed him most.

Lifting his wings so they folded over top of Seifer's arm, instead of underneath (it was more comfortable then having his wings bounded to his back), Squall frowned and looked up, gazing once again, out into the ocean. "The Shadows," sensing Seifer's confusion, Squall elaborated somewhat, "Hell's minions. They're a bunch of demons that haven't earned their wings yet and take people, including angels if the need arises, down to Hell." He paused, not really wanting to, but knowing that Seifer should have the chance to make up his own mind and not be forced to stay with Squall out of naivety of what was about to happen, he continued. It was his fault, thus, he would try to right it.

"Unless you want to stay and... witness it, I would advise you to go back to our rooms and forget about me. Believe me, you *don't* want to be around when they come. They won't harm you, since you will never be going to Hell,"

'not with my powers in you. Besides, you're too much of a good soul to go down to Hell,'

"but they are rather... frightening to anyone that hasn't witnessed them before..." He paused, before quietly uttering, "I've witnessed them only once... carrying away the human that I was supposed to protect. But the man killed himself... and that was a sin that led him down to Hell," more to himself then Seifer, as he tried not to think about it. Even though Squall didn't believe in a lot of the rules from God, like not lying with the same sex, or fornicating before marriage, Squall would rather be in Heaven than in Hell. *Anything* was better then Hell.

~*~*~

"Squall..." Seifer strained out, holding his angel closer. It was just so surreal... This could not be happening. He had *just* found someone and he was about to lose him... "Damnit Squall, you don't belong in Hell! Is that why they sent you to earth? Because the person you were supposed to protect killed himself? That was *his* fault and it was that Ultimecia bitch who was trying to set you up to begin with." Seifer held Squall tightly to him. He doubted there was much he could do against a supernatural being but... "Isn't there anything I could do?" He asked in a weak, almost defeated voice. "Isn't God supposed to be all seeing? If he can't see how good you are, he's blind!"

Seifer felt so helpless just sitting there holding Squall in his arms, waiting for death to come and snatch him away. Oh God... if they took Squall from him, there would be some serious hell to pay when he got up to heaven. "Isn't there anything I can do?" He asked again, near crying, tough guy image be damned.

~*~*~

Squall sighed and tiredly turned Seifer to face him. The blonde turned willingly, even in the weak hold, and Squall leaned forward to press his lips against the others', his large ebony -and now gold tinted wings- wrapped around the larger man. They kissed briefly before the brunet pulled away. "There's nothing you can do," he said sadly. Stroking a finger down Seifer's cheek, sappiness be damned. He was about to die, he could be as sappy as he wanted to.

Dark blue/grey eyes widened when he heard it. Wailing moans of agony of the tortured souls of the Shadows. Turning quickly, trying to push the fear down, he spread his wings indifferently and waited for the Shadows to creep up the side of the building.

His facade broke when Seifer wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his chin on Squall's shoulder and waiting there with him. His feathers shifted in the wind, brushing against the other's bare chest, making him shiver.

Resting his cheek against Seifer's, he took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, holding back the tears that wanted to leak free. He would be strong. Showing weakness to these minions only encouraged them.

~*~*~

"I love you Squall."

And suddenly, the Shadows were on them. It was a cold swirling black that tore at your skin and near crippled your mind with the agonizing wails. They tugged fiercely at Squall, but Seifer would not let him go. 'No. Way. In. Hell.' he thought. He knew it was basically useless since they were on a higher plane then him, but he was still just as stubborn as ever.

Then, just when he felt Squall slipping from his fingertips, a voice broke through the darkness, "HOLD SHADOWS!" And as suddenly as they had appeared was as slowly as they receded. So slowly Seifer wasn't sure if it was actually happening. But then the light broke through and there was...a dog.

That dog that originally stole his choker and run off with it. Naturally, after being abducted, finding out he was in love with an angel damned to hell, and sort of being in the clutches of demons and then encountering the dog again, Seifer's only coherent thought was, 'WHAT THE *HELL* IS GOING ON?!' He didn't have to wait long though. The dog began walking towards them, shifting as it went into a female angel with short brown hair, brown eyes, hunter green wings and traditional white robes.

Why was she there? Was Squall still condemned to Hell? Was this an act of mercy? Was he going to Hell to now? Not knowing which question to pick first, he went with the obvious one. "Who are you?" Tired, he sank down to the ground, pulling Squall down with him, arms still around the other's waist.

~*~*~

Ellone of the High Council? What was she doing here? Surely she wasn't going to escort him down to Hell personally? Hell, if it hadn't been for Seifer, Squall would have already been down there, since he hadn't planned on resisting. He deserved to go for putting Seifer in danger like that and using his powers illegally.

"Ellone," Squall finally spoke up. Both addressing Seifer's question and the high priestess.

~*~*~

Ellone smiled calmly and knelt down beside the angel and man. "I have been watching you, Squall, these past two months. I did not believe you deserved to be thrown from Heaven and I wanted to see if there was foul play involved. I spoke of the doubt often to anyone who would listen; hoping that, if there was a guilty party, they'd try to finish you off. The evil were always so predictable." She stretched out her hand to caress the side of Squall's face with another small smile. A soft light grew from her palm as she wordlessly transferred some of her energy into Squall, to help recharge him after using his full power; a thing that would've knocked out most angels.

As she gave Squall energy, she continued to explain, "as we speak, Ultimecia is receiving the news that she will be cast into Hell for her sins..." Edea reached out with her telepathic powers too see how said confrontation was going, "...and she is really pissed."

When she sensed Squall was fully healed, she withdrew her hand and finished, "Squall, you were treated horrendously by several biased members of our council who swayed the vote and as the new ambassador of the high council, I would like to personally extend an invitation for you to return to Heaven and become a member of the high council yourself." She paused to glance at Seifer with a knowing smirk, "of course if you wish to stay here as a human, by all means do so. You'll be much the same as you were, except you'll be mortal and it won't hurt you to spread your wings; though I wouldn't recommend doing that in public, but I trust your judgment. The choice is yours."

~*~*~

Squall sighed and leaned back into Seifer's arms. Even though he was fully healed, he was still tired.

High council... well, it was definitely an honor. But Squall had never really liked being responsible for so many people... he didn't want to make decisions that would affect the entire otherworld population, or even the Earth. Staying here with Seifer sounded much better.

But if he was mortal, would he age faster then Seifer? He didn't want to die before Seifer and leave him alone... after all, it was *his* fault that Seifer was forced to live longer then everyone else. "Would I be the same as Seifer? Aging one year for every three, resistant to illnesses and other aches and pains that come with age?" Using some of his powers, now that it didn't hurt at all to use them and he was allowed to do so, he sent a thought to Ellone. 'I don't want to leave Seifer behind. It's my fault he's changed. I don't want him to be alone when the people he loves start aging and dying off.'

~*~*~

Seifer wrapped his arms protectively around Squall, but started a little at Squall's question. "What? I don't-"

"Those are the side effects of Squall using his full power on you, Seifer, when he healed you," Ellone explained. Then, with a little knowing smile and replied, "yes Squall. Considering the proverbial hell you've been through, I'd say we owe you big."

~*~*~

Squall smiled slightly, just a small upturning at the corners of his lips. "Thank you," he said simply, but he meant it completely. He knew that Seifer would probably be angry at him for taking a decision that affected his life right out of his hands.

Ellone smiled brightly and reached over to touch Squall's hand. 'I'm glad you've found someone to share your life with. Love is a powerful thing Squall, don't push it away because you think it is a weakness,' she sent to him with a smile. She had known Squall for a long time and knew his past feelings over love and other human emotions. She was glad that he had finally found it.

Standing up, the brunette smiled down at the pair, they really were beautiful together. "Take care of each other," was her final parting, before she flapped her wings once and disappeared with a quiet 'poof,' leaving Squall and Seifer alone to sit on the roof.

Squall; tense and nervous, waited for the outburst that he knew would come.




Chapter 7: I'm so Confused



Once Ellone was gone, Seifer pulled Squall tightly against him and murmured, "you are such an idiot, don't ever scare me like that again. You could have died!" Now that Seifer knew everything, the only thing that bothered him was that Squall could have died and he would have lost him. His past was actually pretty interesting and while he was sorry Squall had suffered, he knew they probably wouldn't have met any other way.

~*~*~

Squall sighed and turned in the embrace. Resting his head on the man's shoulder, he hugged him tightly, wings automatically following his movements and pulling the other man tighter against him while also shading them.

"But you would have lived," he said finally. He knew Seifer wouldn't understand, but he'd rather die saving Seifer, then let the other man die when he could have had taken the chance to go to Hell by healing him. Seifer's life was more important to him. But he also didn't want the other man to grow lonely and depressed when he finally realized that living for a long time meant seeing others around you die, so in the end, he was glad that he had received his request to have the same life span as Seifer. He wouldn't have it any other way. Now all he had to do was summon up the courage to put his wings back. He didn't want to let them go just yet, it had been too long since he'd last flown in peace, without worrying about having to rescue someone from death.

~*~*~

"You're an idiot," Seifer repeated, hugging him close, "but I love you. That will never change." Leaning forward, Seifer captured Squall's lips in a deep, slow kiss. Pulling back, he met his gaze and smiled, running one hand smoothly over his boyfriend's wings. "Beautiful wings you have there."

~*~*~

Shivering at the touch on his sensitive wings, Squall blushed lightly, ducking his head in embarrassment. Angels didn't often receive or give compliments on another's wings, since they had seen them all. Every angel's wings looked similar to the time period or event they had been created from. Squall's looked like dark storm clouds. Although for some reason, the tips of each feather were dusted with sparkling gold. Maybe they were the effects of using his full power on Seifer?

Folding his wings back self-consciously, Squall frowned when Seifer laughed. *Now* what was so funny?

~*~*~

"You're always shy aren't you?" Seifer chuckled, "even after last night?" Not that Seifer didn't like Squall the way he was, he couldn't imagine him any other way, but he was still amusing. Smiling, Seifer leaned in to steal another kiss from Squall before pulling back and murmuring, "so, you can actually fly with those?"

~*~*~

"Of course!" Squall cried, somewhat insulted. It was an insult to even suggest that an angel was incapable of flying. Of course, Seifer didn't know that. Stupid, Squall, real stupid. Shaking his head, he mumbled an apology. Seifer just laughed and shrugged it off.

Squall frowned, thinking... It would be a misuse of his power, but he knew that the high council would let him off since they owed him a great deal, for both his services, and the hell he had been through while down on Earth (although.. with Seifer, it wasn't so bad).

Standing up, Squall pulled the large blonde to his feet. Hopefully he trusted Squall enough to not drop him. "Would you like to try? It's not as good as flying with your own wings, but I assume its close enough."

~*~*~

"Really? Right here? Right now?" Seifer asked with excitement and absolutely no nervousness. Really he wasn't nervous... He met Squall's amused gaze and grinned. Well, he would've had to fly him back here from the church... Stepping forward, Seifer wrapped his arms around Squall's neck and left a quick kiss on his lips, "sure, I'd love too."

~*~*~

Smiling softly, Squall bent down slightly and scooped up Seifer, who gave a cry of surprise. Laughing, Squall said, "relax. I know it's not every day someone smaller then you actually picks you up without any strain, and it's definitely not every day when your boyfriend offers to take you up in the air, but you'll be safe. I promise. After all, I am stronger then I look," he smiled when Seifer laughed and nodded in agreement.

Extending his wings, he flapped them a few times before he finally lifted off from the ground. Seifer's grip around his neck tightened, but a whispered word of, "relax," had him loosening his grip enough to let the angel breath.

Squall, carrying Seifer 'bridal style' (as Seifer had once told him that's what it was called), flew up into the air. Using some minor power to make them invisible to others, the brunet flapped his wings leisurely, the strong appendages easily held him and Seifer up without any strain. He flew over the ocean, enjoying Seifer's pleased murmurs. It really was different to see the ocean from above. Swooping down, he skimmed the water, making the human laugh as his wings splashed water when they broke the surface.

Smiling, Squall flew back up, high enough that everything that was of medium height appeared to be a hell of a lot smaller then it was. Flying over the forest, Seifer expressed the urge to look down, so Squall quickly shifted his position, causing the blonde to let out a yelp. Easily holding the man up by wrapping his arms around his waist and chest so that he was level with the ground and could clearly see it, he smiled when Seifer finally relaxed in his strong hold, trusting that the angel could easily lift him.

The man pointed out the various animals, which humans often didn't see in their natural state since they always disturbed them. Since animals were naturally friendly around angels, the various deer grazing along the grass looked up, saw past the spell and looked back down disinterestedly. Squall smiled at the other's delighted laughter. He was happy that something so simple could bring such joy to the other man. He'd be even more surprised at the city's beauty when he saw it from above at night with only the city lights on.

~*~*~

After a bit more flying, Squall finally came to rest on a cliff near the orphanage that overlooked the sea. They stood, Squall hugging Seifer from behind, his wings partially wrapped around him, looking out over the sunset.

Turning slowly into the embrace to face Squall, Seifer smiled down at him, slowly sifting his fingers through his beautiful auburn hair. "It's hard to believe you're really an angel," he murmured, thinking out loud. Squall arched an eyebrow and gave a meaningful flutter of his wings before wrapping them around Seifer again. Seifer chuckled, "well, I mean I believe it, but it's never something I expected." Seifer paused for a moment then asked, "what was it like in Heaven? How were you born? When were you really born?"

~*~*~

Squall sighed. He knew these questions would come from the blonde sooner or later. Lightly pushing Seifer down so he was leaning against the smooth wall of the cliff, Squall took a deep breath and took his wings back within himself. There was a small bit of pain, but only enough to make him give the barest of winces. He'd grow them back when they needed to get back, until then, Squall wanted to go back to his favorite position, one that wouldn't be comfortable for either of them with his wings extended.

Sitting down so his bare back was flush against Seifer's naked chest, the small droplets of blood leaking out over the fresh scars smeared over the other's tanned skin. Obviously, he would always have those lines there, but he figured it wasn't a bad deal to be able to have his wings back without the extensive amount of pain.

Seifer wrapped his arms around the brunet's waist and laid his chin on top of Squall's head, waiting for him to start answering his questions.

"Heaven is like... well... it's loud and bright." Squall finally said, at a loss for words. Seifer snorted. There wasn't much else he could say about it. "It's kind of like the human world, only without the excessive violence and bloodshed. But as you just witnessed, there are those of us that are evil and really should be with the Demons in Hell, but for one reason or another, they stayed there in Heaven until their evil souls finally consumed them and made them fall from Heaven, all on their own. But mostly, it's basically a paradise. Everyone is happy and wears excessive white," he grumbled. Seifer laughed and nuzzled his head affectionately.

Squall paused, searching for how to describe being 'born.' "For your second question... Well, the right word for it is 'created.' Angels don't get 'born,' they are created from a specific time period or a major event. I can't fully explain how an angel comes to be, since that is in the hands of nature and God and only they understand the whole logical explanation behind it. But I do know that I came from the most major thunderstorm to ever grace this Earth. It unfortunately killed billions of people, animals, plants and trees, but it was still the most beautiful thing you ever would have saw. I know you like being amongst thunderstorms for the adrenaline rush; well this one definitely would have got you high." He gave a small smile at Seifer's quiet chuckle.

"So, somehow, during that storm, I was created. My wings show that. Kind of like a birthmark on a human, or even a scar. It comes from a certain event. Well, the color of my wings show a storm cloud, thus projecting the event that ended in my creation. The gold tips you might have seen on the tips of the feathers are a residue of using my full powers to heal you. I'm not positive in the 'hows' and 'whys', but that's not really important." Squall sighed, realizing he was rambling, even if Seifer was completely enraptured in the tale.

"Now... you ask *when* I was really born?" Seifer nodded against his head. "Well, I don't know the exact date, since back then; they had no months or time periods. People just lived in the moment. But I do know I was created before the very first dinosaur appeared." The man holding him gasped. "Yes, I'm old aren't I? Anyway, at those times, humans were around. They didn't have a lot of the qualities that people have today." Sensing Seifer's confusion, he continued, "they had no modesty, no sense of hate, love... well, really, they had no feelings at all. They were a mutation of the prime mate race. While gorillas are very intelligent and emotional creatures, humans didn't inherit any of those qualities. They had no personality, nor soul. But they were still animals, living and breathing. After the thunderstorm hit, it killed off many of those... drones, I guess you would call them.

"Shortly after that, Lucifer decided that humans should have souls too and be able to think and feel like any other animal. So, he went against God's orders, to not give the humans anything and let the animals live in peace, even if they were all but brainless, and gave humans souls, resulting in them getting emotions, and all that other stuff that comes with souls.

"Of course, later on, God got extremely pissed, to use one of your popular sayings, and sent Lucifer down to the Earth, well, really, he sent him to the depths of Earth's core, which is a lot bigger then most people think. With those actions, Lucifer changed as he was forced to take care of the humans whose souls had turned evil. God later came out with the whole thing about how he had created humans and all the animals, but he never did mention who had really created the souls for the humans."

Squall sighed and leaned back against Seifer's broad chest. He could almost *feel* how the other man was soaking this all up like a wet sponge, craving even more information that humans had never been privy to before. "That's all I'm going to talk about that subject. You're not even supposed to know about it." Squall murmured, turning his body around so he was sitting curled up against Seifer's chest. "You can go ahead and ask anything else. I'm sure you have a lot of questions. After all, it's not every day a human gets abducted by an evil angel, gets tortured, finds out why his boyfriend of two months is so weird because he's an angel, and gets to fly." He'd actually only been talking for that long just so Seifer wouldn't have the chance to yell at him for completely changing his life around without his consent..

~*~*~

"Interesting," Seifer murmured, stroking Squall's back softly while gazing out at the horizon. He then shifted his gaze back to the auburn haired angel curled up against him. "Not many really, there's some fun in not knowing for now." This caused Squall to look up at him strangely and Seifer just laughed. "All I really want to know about is you is what you're willing to tell me."

Hooking a finger under Squall's chin, Seifer brought their gazes level and added with a smile, "by the way, I don't think I thanked you for saving my life earlier. Thank you Squall, really. I don't think there's anyone one else who would've done something so brave for me. You really are..." He paused, tempted to fall back on his original phrase, 'Something else,' but decided instead to use, "...an angel."

~*~*~

Squall frowned in confusion. Why wasn't Seifer yelling at him? He knew how much the man hated being controlled. Maybe he was so traumatized by everything that happened, that he hadn't really been thinking about what Squall had told Ellone about the side effects of using his full powers to heal Seifer.

But he couldn't lie to him anymore... not even omission. He looked up intently, meeting the other man's gaze steadily. "Don't thank me. I've changed your life drastically, and without your permission. You don't have to thank me for saving your life, when I've only made it worse by making you different from the other humans."

~*~*~

“Squall,” Seifer said softly, gathering Squall’s face in his hands, “you healed me when I would have died and now I get to spend a long, virtually pain free life, with you. That’s all I care about.” Seifer smirked before adding, “and when has being different ever bothered me?” He asked, indicating his choker, a blatant advertisement of his individualism to whoever cared to notice.

“I love you,” Seifer continued, “nothing is ever going to change that. Ever."

~*~*~

Squall sighed, resting his head back against Seifer's chest. "I guess I should have realized that when you didn't scream when you first realized I was an angel," he gave a small grin when Seifer chuckled. "I guess you also understand why I'm not too... up to date on some things."

~*~*~

“Yes,” Seifer said, smirking down at Squall, "that does explain a lot.” Seifer did wonder exactly what that Ultimecia bitch had done to make Squall cast out of Heaven in the first place, but he wouldn’t ask. Considering the day they’d just had… well… they’d been through enough. As long as they were together and happy he really didn’t care. “A five billion or so year old virgin,” he mused allowed, “will wonders never cease?"

~*~*~

Squall laughed and smacked Seifer on the head, "shut up. It's not like angels are capable of having sexual intercourse." The brunet shuddered, "we wouldn't want to anyway. Too messy. Besides, almost everyone in Heaven has a male physique, but without the penis. Fornicating is between a human man and a woman." The angel paused, frowning, "that's why I never understood some human's fascination with homosexuality. Two humans of the same sex cannot have intercourse. It's not possible," Squall frowned when Seifer almost keeled over in laughter. Jeez... he was starting to see why all those humans made jokes at a blonde's expanse.

He raised an eyebrow when Seifer started rolling around, holding his stomach and laughing. Really, it wasn't *that* funny. And what the hell had he said?

~*~*~

"For a five billion year old being, you," Seifer paused to snicker and wipe some tears of laughter from his eyes, "are sure naive about the most random things." He waited until Squall had formed his trademark insulted pout, before leaned in to capture his lips briefly. Pulling back, he met Squall's eyes straight on with one of his more arrogant smirks. Trailing his hand down Squall's chest he murmured, "I guarantee you it is quite possible for us to have," his smirk widened a little bit, " 'intercourse,' as you call it. It just works a little differently than usual."

~*~*~

Squall scoffed. It wasn't possible for two humans of the same sex to have intercourse. Intercourse was to make babies. Homosexuals can't make babies, thus they can't have intercourse. Silly human. And did he really have to laugh at *every* *single* *thing* he said that made him look 'naive' (to quote Seifer's word)? It wasn't his fault that Squall didn't actually get involved in human's lives until a few hundred years ago? Really, how was he supposed to know how they had sex? It wasn't like he'd... well, there was the one time, but he had only stayed long enough to realize how messy it was and other then the whole hip thrusting movement, he didn't really know much else.

Turning away from the hand that was slowly trailing down his stomach, Squall sat facing the ocean, back rigid and pride slightly wounded. Stupid human qualities.

~*~*~

Seifer crawled up behind Squall and gently wrapped his arms around he stiff brunet. "Look," he said softly, but still with a slight smirk, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed... so much. I have no idea how much contact you've had with humans and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." Seifer gently, stroked Squall's arms and didn't relent at trying to make eye contact until he felt the brunet relax in his arms and saw him smile a little bit when he casually grazed a ticklish spot on his stomach.

"And it is true, Squall," Seifer added softly after a few more moments, pressing a light, sucking kiss to his neck. "We can have sex as easily as the next couple." He chuckled softly then, but it was not directed at Squall, "I'll prove it to you if you like."

~*~*~

Squall sighed and rested his head against one broad shoulder, allowing Seifer more room to suck on his neck. He felt stupid for letting his feelings get the best of him and actually allowing himself to be hurt by such an insignificant reaction to his words. But he did feel strangely better at hearing the apology, even if it wasn't entirely sincere.

Resting his hands over Seifer's, Squall sighed and glanced out into the ocean again, enjoying the quiet sounds of the waves lapping at the cliff's rocks several feet below them. The smooth expanse of rock was vaguely circular, with one half of it blocked off by a large jagged wall that lead up to an even taller clearing.

Coming back to the present moment, with Seifer sucking on the junction between shoulder and neck, Squall finally said, "if you want to," not overly excited at the prospect of getting sweaty and making a lot of noise. But if it was anything similar to what Seifer had done to him not that long ago, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Although he had gotten sweaty and been incredibly loud, it had felt good.

~*~*~

Gently, Seifer urged Squall to turn in his embrace so they could talk face to face. "Not unless you're sure; it's a big deal as far as humans and all of our screwed up emotions go. I may be an arrogant prick a lot of the time, but I don’t take advantage." He paused to caress the side of Squall's face and added, "and not here. Call me a romantic, but I think a bed or a blanket by the ocean would be better. Not to mention I don't make a habit of carrying lube on me." At Squall's look of confusion, Seifer smiled good naturely, but didn't mock. Instead, he simply started tracing the curves of Squall's face, “it's painful without it," he explained patiently.

~*~*~

Still a tad confused, Squall leaned into the caress, smiling slightly. He figured if he knew what lube and romantic meant, then he'd understand more. He didn't understand why they couldn't just have... whatever they would have, right here.

Sighing, Squall frowned, preparing for the pain of brining back his wings. He knew Ellone had said that it wouldn't hurt... but hell, he'd already been lied to and he *really* didn't want a repeat of what happened last time. It had hurt so much he'd almost passed out. The warm fingers caressing his cheek gave him the courage he needed. His large ebony wings sprouted from his back, the long feather tips still coated in sparkling gold dust. Flexing his wings, he was surprised that there had only been the same amount of pain as when he'd retracted them. There wasn't even any blood.

Smiling softly at Seifer's awed expression, Squall stood up and extended a hand down to help the other man up.

~*~*~

Returning the smile, Seifer pulled himself upright with Squall's help and, after wrapping his arms around Squall's neck, leaned in for a kiss. At least this time he wasn't as surprised when Squall picked him up in his arms and was more content to relax and enjoy the ride.

The flight back to the orphanage was smooth and relatively uneventful except for the occasional bits of quiet conversation that they were prone to and soon they were peacefully back on the roof. *Their* roof, as Seifer was starting to think of it.

Seifer smiled gratefully at Squall and slipped his hand over his boyfriend's shoulder and down his silky wings. "As much as I love these," Seifer commented, meeting Squall's gaze, "I really think it would be easier to sneak in the window without them."

~*~*~

Squall couldn't surpass the moan that came from his parted lips when Seifer ran a hand over his wings. Damn sensitivity. The blonde just smirked at him and continued to run his fingers through the thick fluff of feathers. Biting his lip to hold back the moan, Squall stepped back, away from Seifer's wandering hands and retracted his wings, not even wincing at the small pain now that he knew what to expect.

Smirking at the other man, Squall jumped off the roof and grabbed onto the drain pipe a little above the window. Hearing Seifer's angry yell, the brunet's smirk widened as he jumped into the still open window. He laid down on Seifer's bed, head resting on his crossed arms as he waited for Seifer to slowly climb down the drain pipe. Squall knew he couldn't get seriously hurt from the fall, since Ellone had told him he was mostly going to remain as he was. Meaning he could still heal, but he would also age. Albeit, slowly, but still. Seifer didn't have those qualities though, so he'd still have to be careful. Squall would watch over him though... he'd have to make sure the other man didn't get careless and start thinking he was invincible simply because he aged slowly, was resistant to illness and wouldn't suffer from the havocs of old age, but he was still susceptible to injury.

~*~*~

Seifer growled in mild frustration at his boyfriend and made his way expertly, albeit more slowly, down the drain pipe. He slipped easily inside the window, closing it behind him, and crossed immediately to Squall. Laying his hands on to brunet's hips and thus pinning him to the bed, Seifer kissed him deeply before pulling back, brushing some hair out of Squall's eyes and murmuring, "what did I say about scaring me?"

~*~*~

Squall feigned innocence, "not to?" He laughed when Seifer growled and started tickling him in spite. "It's not like-" he broke off in giggled when the man above him hit a sensitive spot on his stomach, "I-I can get hurt or anything," When another jab at his stomach made him cry out in laughter, Squall grabbed Seifer's wrists and held on to them, making sure that he couldn't tickle him anymore.

~*~*~

Seifer pouted and sighed dramatically when Squall held back his wrist, but, used the leverage to straddle said boyfriend's hips. "Won't you let me have any fun?" He mock-whined; fighting not to smirk down at Squall. It still surprised him what a lithe form he had and how strong he was. But, for him at least, it was a pleasant surprise during sparing and...other activities.

~*~*~

The angel sighed and let go of the other's wrists. He gasped when Seifer relocated them to his chest with a quiet 'thump,' taking all the breath out of Squall's lungs. Pouting, the brunet rolled over, almost dislodging Seifer's placement on his hips. “Is this where I complain of having a headache?" Squall said, thinking back to the past, "I heard that was the excuse most people come up with if they don't want to have sex. At least, that's what Laguna was always telling me... well, more like complaining...” He added, his mood dampening somewhat when he thought of what had happened to Laguna in the end.

~*~*~

Seifer saw the darkened look cross Squall's face and reached up to caress his face and bring his attention away from bad memories. "No, you can always be straight forward with me, Squall. As you saw yourself this morning, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself if you're not in the mood." He ran his hands lightly down Squall's arms and brought them to rest over his hands. "Not that *I'd* ever not be in the mood. I mean look at you; you're absolutely gorgeous.

~*~*~

Squall blushed and buried his face in the pillow, trying to hide the damn reaction. Seifer just laughed and laid out over top of him, his front flush with Squall's back. Feeling the blush start to fade, Squall sighed and turned his head so he was lying on his cheek and looked at Seifer's face from the corner of his eye.

"I want to... but...” the brunet huffed in frustration, "I don't even know why I'm nervous!" He exclaimed angrily.

~*~*~

"It's okay," Seifer said soothingly, gently rubbing his back. "That's human instinct; it's a very intimate thing, sex. If you don't trust you partner explicitly they could really hurt you." Seifer turned his head and pressed a kiss to the tip of Squall's nose. "I would never hurt you though Squall, not if I could help it."

~*~*~

Squall frowned, thinking about that. Seifer moved down from his back so he was lying beside him, half on top of him, while his face was incredibly close to Squall's. "Were you ever hurt?" He finally asked, wondering if someone had dared to hurt this caring human. If they had, then it only proved his thoughts that the Earth and the human inhabitants weren't worthy of having the souls that Lucifer had given them. Using their new found intelligence just to berate someone else. Using their strength and power and holding it over someone else. Squall sighed, waiting for Seifer's answer.

~*~*~

Seifer shrugged, "I've had my share of bad romances, but no one ever hurt me intentionally if that's what you mean." Seifer reached out and trailing his fingertips over Squall's cheek bones. "Humans may not be the greatest being in the universe, but we aren't all bad." He paused to lean in for kiss before pulling back and finishing, "the good ones of us can do some pretty amazing things sometimes."

~*~*~

Squall raised his brow in doubt. Shaking his head, he reclaimed Seifer's lips before he could say anything to doubt the other man. He'd seen enough hurt on the Earth for the last billion or so years, and he knew that not *all* humans were bad, but most of them were.

~*~*~

"Besides," Seifer added when they pulled back, still running his fingers over Squall’s skin, "I'm human and you don't hate me."

~*~*~

Squall frowned, thinking about that. Seifer was human, but he wasn't like the others. "You're not completely human anymore, so that doesn't count," he smiled softly when Seifer laughed, shaking his head at Squall's logic. "But before that... well, I guess it was actually thanks to Ultimecia that we even ended up together. If it hadn't been for her, you would have stayed away from me like everyone else because of my aura." Squall continued, somewhat sadly. Imagine... it was his due to his greatest enemy that he had gotten the chance to love someone. If it hadn't been for her... Squall would still be lonely, miserable and cynical of everything human. It was definitely ironic.

~*~*~

"That's not true," Seifer said, gently running his hands across Squall's back. "That bitch gloats an awful hell of a lot out loud and in the time it took you to find the church, she told me she hadn't been able to block your aura until after our first day together. You know how stubborn I am, I would've kept pursuing you."

~*~*~

So... even when his aura had been in plain sight, Seifer hadn't backed off... but why? What was different about this human then the others? The other roommates Squall had, ended up either being scared of him or found themselves being mad at him for no apparent reason. And just because of his aura. Most humans couldn't handle the magical signature. That's why Squall got along so well with animals, they sensed the magic, but they were actually attracted to it, rather then repelled.

Sighing, Squall shifted over until he was closer to Seifer and his large body was covering more of Squall's smaller frame. Curling his hands underneath his chin, Squall pressed into the broad chest, tucking his head underneath Seifer's chin. He gave a small smile when muscular arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to the bare chest. Oddly enough, in the warm embrace, Squall actually felt almost all the tenseness leaving him from earlier.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled warmly as Squall relaxed underneath him. Now that he knew all the things Squall had gone through recently, he was glad to see him relax so easily. Sighing contently, Seifer continued to gently run his fingers over Squall's bare skin, as though trying to memorize it by touch alone. He smirked at the occasionally small squeak on the part of his boyfriend, because he'd touched a rather sensitive spot, but he didn't start tickling him again. Right now he just wanted to hold him without worrying about angels, or homophobes, or any other problem they'd faced.

~*~*~

Smiling, Squall tilted his head up from the warm cocoon he had been wrapped in, and slowly started to lick the sensitive junction between neck and jaw, enjoying the small shivers it produced from the man covering him. He bucked his hips when a long finger grazed over the small of his back. Damn ticklish spots.

~*~*~

Seifer moaned softly when Squall's hips bucked into his and tightened his grip on the brunet slightly. As Squall resumed his attack on Seifer's neck, Seifer slid one hand up, over his chest, brushing over one light nipple. He smirked when he heard a hitch in Squall's breath and proceeded to slowly, slowly take the nub and roll it between his fingers.

~*~*~

Moaning at the small sparks of pleasure that shot down to his groin every time Seifer played with his nipples, Squall nipped lightly on the man's neck and finally moved away, pulling the large over top of him. Seifer smiled at the second show of strength and bent to take a nipple into his mouth. "Seifer!" Groaning, the brunet arched up into the mouth, seeking more contact. He would never fully understand why male's had nipples, but damn, they sure came in handy sometimes.

~*~*~

Seifer smirked inwardly and continued to suck slowly at Squall's nipple, tugging at it lightly with his teeth and drawing slow circles around it with his tongue. When he had Squall writhing beneath him, he slowly trailed kisses to his other nipple and treated that much the same as the first. His hand slid all along Squall's chest, assaulting the most sensitive spots before moving south and focused his attention on Squall's fly.

~*~*~

"Seifer," he whispered when the pants finally came away. Seifer tossed them onto the floor, leaving him in all his naked glory, withering and moaning for more heat from that mouth suckling on his nipple. Said mouth traveled south, prodding his navel with a wet tongue, before moving southeast to lick at the thin skin covering his hipbones, before exploring further, tasting the thick muscles of his near-hairless thigh, licking and nibbling on the inside, so close to his penis that Squall was whimpering at the heat of the other's head just being so close to him. Not to mention the thick strands of blonde hair brushing against the very head of his member.

Wait... why was Seifer going *under* his penis, stopping to lick at the testicles, before he moved underneath.. "Fuck!" He screamed when a sharp prod of Seifer's tongue poked at the sensitive skin behind his testicles. Who knew that spot would also be sensitive?

So focused on the suckling and nibbling on the skin behind his testicles, Squall almost missed the movement when Seifer pushed his legs up closer to his chest. Confused, the brunet held onto the underside of his knees, spreading them apart, with a small blush, when Seifer motioned for him to do so. Why was - shit! What the hell was he doing?!

~*~*~

Seifer glanced up at Squall when he felt him tense slightly. "Shh, I won't hurt you," he said, gently running his hand across Squall's side. With a reassuring smile in Squall's direction, Seifer gently lowered his head, his hands braced over Squall's hips to steady him, and poked at his entrance with his tongue again, bringing forth a similar reaction as the first time. Seifer just smiled and slowly pushed his tongue inside, withdrawing it, and pushing inside again; trying to be as gentle as possible.

Squall was bucking against his hands and mumbling incoherently, a thing Seifer was proud to have caused, but Seifer didn't relent in the slow, steady, sweet torture. Seifer, the impatient hot head that he was, was partial to long, slow love making more often then not. He wanted to give Squall as much pleasure as he could. After all, five billion years is a long time to wait, even if you could only actually have sex for about two months of it.

~*~*~

"Seifer!" Squall screamed when Seifer started thrusting his tongue inside him. *Inside* him! He couldn't believe why anyone would want to do that, but fuck... it sure felt nice. Even though he did feel somewhat disgusted to have Seifer... down there. It was less clean then taking his penis into his mouth. Sure, he washed, quite thoroughly if he did say so himself, but still...

His thoughts were completely swept from his mind when Seifer slowly pushed a finger inside of him, changing his tactic, instead, he was sucking and nibbling while thrusting a finger inside the wet entrance (that really should only be an exit), and why was Seifer doing this? Was this intercourse between two men? It didn't look like anything like the hip movement he had witnessed between Laguna and his girlfriend. Although, Squall's hips were moving an awful lot...

He winced when two fingers were added. Seifer saw the reaction and slowed down his pace, though he continued to suck, nibble, and do just about everything else with his tongue while slowing down the pace of his thrusting fingers.

The pleasure built up until Squall was almost yelling at the top of his lungs. God... he really hoped the walls were at least somewhat soundproof. That, or they had the decency *not* to interrupt. When Seifer curled his fingers and touched something inside him, the angel reached new heights and came with a loud scream of the human's name.

~*~*~

Seifer retreated from Squall's entrance as he came down from his orgasm, not wanting to overwhelm him, and began to slowly lap at his spilt come; making a noise akin to purring. When he was finished, he crawled up Squall's body slightly and pillowed his head on Squall's stomach, simply smiling up at him. Reaching up and caressing Squall's flushed face purred, "beautiful..."

He was tempted to kiss Squall again, but he knew of his adversity to certain aspects of anatomy, as he'd seen the disgust on his face when they both were using the bathroom and he didn't think anyone was looking. Instead, he just traced his hands across his torso and looked up at him with a smirk as he recovered from his orgasm.

~*~*~

Blushing as he caught his breath, Squall leaned into the hand caressing the side of his face. Some what glad that Seifer hadn't decided to kiss him, even if he did... kind of want to. He was still a bit disgusted by the fact that Seifer's mouth had been... well, *there* of all places. Even if it had brought him a lot... well, a hell of a lot of pleasure.

Blush deepening when he remembered his screams, Squall pouted when the man lying on his stomach started chuckling. Looking down at the shirtless man, Squall frowned, adding to the comical pout, making Seifer laugh harder. "Why are you still dressed? I shouldn't have to be the only one naked," he added, puckering his lips indignantly when Seifer kept laughing. Although he was shivering slightly from the cold, due to the sweat now cooling on his body, and because of the breath coming out of the blonde's mouth in gasps onto his stomach, tickling the fine hairs there.

~*~*~

Seifer's laughter died off into light chuckles and he smiled warmly up at Squall. "Well I guess fair is fair," he murmured, pulling back just long enough to rid himself of his pants before he lay down beside Squall and gathered him in his arms. "I must say Squall," he murmured, gently tracing the lines of his back, "I really enjoyed your...commentary."

~*~*~

The blush that had begun to fade, quickly came back, spreading all the way from his cheeks to the tips of his ears and fading as it ended completely at his shoulders. The hard member poking his stomach made him shiver with a short of anticipation. For what, he didn't really know. But it was there, burning away inside him.

Ducking his head to hide the blush, Squall breathed in the scent of the other man. Hesitating, before asking, "Why did you do.... *that*?" He shuddered involuntarily. Both from disgust and remembering how pleasurable it had been. He didn't understand why Seifer would want to pleasure him like that... using his mouth on both those... areas. It didn't bring *him* pleasure, though it sure as hell brought Squall pleasure.

~*~*~

Seifer smirked and pressed a gentle kiss to Squall's forehead before replying in a low, husky voice, "because I like to hear you scream in pleasure." Seifer's smirk widened as Squall's blush got all the more deeper. "And because," he continued, trailing kisses over Squall's neck, "when two men have sex, one of them must be stretched first; it hurts otherwise."

~*~*~

Blush still bright, but beginning to fade (again), Squall tilted his head back to look up at Seifer. "Why does one need to be stretched? And what does you doing... *that* have to do with 'stretching' me?" He asked, completely confused. What did Seifer's tongue in his... well, that place, have to do with 'stretching' him? And for what?

~*~*~

"Well," Seifer continued, gently sucking on Squall's neck, "putting my tongue in your arse is called rimming, that was just to give you pleasure." As he explained, he reached over to the nightstand, retrieved a bottle of lube, and coated his fingers. "My fingers," he murmured, nipping at Squall's nipple and inserting three to gently stretch Squall and assault his prostrate, "stretched you because when two guys have sex, one guy must put his cock up the other one's arse."

~*~*~

Squall broke off in mid moan, pushing against Seifer's chest to make him back up. Seifer looked up, frowning in confusion. Wide, dark grey-blue eyes met jade green. Shaking his head, Squall looked down in between them, before looking back up, eyes wider still. "That's impossible... that... it... it won't fit inside me, no matter how much you 'stretch' me." Squall could actually feel his heart speed up in his nervousness and slight fear.

~*~*~

Seifer saw the trepidation building in Squall and gently removed his hand so that he could gently caress Squall's hip and with his other hand caress his face; trying to calm him down. "Yes it will Squall," he said gently. "It might hurt a little because you're a virgin, but not long and not much." He pressed a gentle kiss to Squall's forehead, before continuing, "if you feel more comfortable with me being on bottom or simply waiting for now, that's fine, I won't pressure you into anything, but I promise you it will fit."

~*~*~

Biting his lip, Squall fought the urge to ask what 'bottom' was. He did want to wait, but he knew that was only putting it off. Sooner or later, he would have to go through it. And if he never did, well, it would be fair to Seifer. But if he said that it would fit... well, then it must. He had promised after all. Looking down again at the member jutting into his stomach, Squall finally sighed shakily and nodded. "Okay... now... now is okay." The large hand on his hip moved to caress his buttocks, making Squall moan softly. The slightly rough calluses on the blonde's hand added to the sensation as it rubbed up and down. And slowly, most of his nervousness disappeared, though certainly not all of it.

~*~*~

Seifer didn't enter right away, instead he lingered to caress and kiss his way along Squall's body a bit longer. Then, after lubricating himself when Squall was distracted, Seifer latched onto Squall's nipple and slowly, very slowly so as to cause the least amount of pain possible, he entered the angel. Once he was fully sheathed, Seifer remained very still, shaking slightly, lifting his head to meet Squall's gaze. Seifer smiled softly, caressing Squall's face and asked in a husky whisper, "alright there sweetheart?"

~*~*~

Through gritted teeth, Squall replied, "don't call me sweetheart." While Seifer had gone slow, trying not to hurt him, it still hurt... and he couldn't get over the thought that... something that... well, big, could fit inside... well, his 'arse' (to use Seifer's word).

Seeing that Seifer was straining to hold back, Squall sighed silently, hesitated briefly, before thrusting his hips forward. While the brunet bit the inside of his cheek from the stab of pain shooting up his back, Seifer moaned loudly at the pleasure.

Since Squall had initiated the movement, Seifer deemed that he was ready and started to thrust slowly. Gritting his teeth against the stabs of pain, Squall met the movement and tried copying it. He fumbled for a bit, before he finally got the hang of it. When Seifer changed his angle to hit his prostate, Squall gasped. The pleasure soon overrode the pain, even though there was still a burning sensation, probably because he was still semi-tense or nervous.

Moaning loudly, Seifer groaned out Squall's name before coming. The brunet gasped at the feeling of the hot rush of liquid inside of him. While only half-hard, Squall had enjoyed it somewhat, though he didn't seen the very big appeal in it. It was true the prostrate gave a lot of pleasure, but the initial pain had ebbed it somewhat. Maybe if he hadn't had been so tense, it wouldn't have been that bad.

Sighing, Squall tucked his head underneath Seifer's chin and breathed in the sweaty scent of the other man. He winced when the penis slipped out with a weird sound, but other then the heavy panting of Seifer's that was slowing down somewhat, the room was silent.

~*~*~

Seifer wrapped his arms around Squall and gently cradled him to his chest as the afterglow faded. "Are you alright Squall?" He asked softly. Seifer knew, by experience, that no matter how careful your other partner was, the first time always hurt. There was really nothing that could be done about that. His own experience had been too uncomfortable to be enjoyed too much; that's why he'd done things so slowly and thoroughly for Squall. He just hoped he hadn't hurt Squall too much.

~*~*~

Sighing, Squall followed Seifer's movement when he rolled over onto his back, wincing when a stab of pain shot through him, originating from his lower back. Lying his head down on the other's chest, Squall mumbled, "I've felt worse," avoiding the question. He didn't want Seifer to worry about him. He believed that the blonde had done everything he could to lessen the pain, so obviously, it was inevitable. It was probably his fault anyway for remaining tense and nervous.

The warm, slightly sweaty hand running up and down his lower back helped somewhat to ease away the pain. He found that if he just lay still, the pain wasn't too bad.

~*~*~

Seifer sighed softly and gently kissed the top of Squall's forehead. "I love you. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I can bottom next time if you like. I know it's uncomfortable the first time."

~*~*~

Squall's eyes widened at the realization, "So *that's* what bottom is!" He pouted when Seifer started laughing. He hadn't meant to say that allowed, since he knew the kind of reaction he would receive for admitting that he didn't know what it meant.

~*~*~

Seifer continued chuckling and smiled warmly down at his boyfriend. "I love you, don't ever change," he murmured, hugging him closely. It was a little odd knowing Squall was billions of years old and seeing him so innocent, but there was such an endearing quality about that, that Seifer loved. Squall was one of a kind.

~*~*~

Blushing lightly, Squall smiled and nuzzled the warm chest underneath him. "Technically, as the years progress I will change. I'll get to understand more terms, so I won't be as... naive as I am now." Squall looked up with a mischievous glint, "even the more vulgar ones that you seem so fond of using," he grinned when Seifer chuckled.

Not being able to resist, Squall leaned up and pressed his lips to the other's, trying to ignore exactly where that tongue had been, when it slipped into his mouth. It wasn't that bad really... Squall could barely taste anything abnormal on the blonde's tongue. Although it did taste slightly bitter, rather then the usual sweetness that lingered due to the blonde's sweet tooth (not literally of course, as he'd learned after an embarrassing session with Seifer).

He winced and pulled back with a small frown when Seifer moved him to get better leverage, causing a spark of pain to go up his back at the movement.

~*~*~

"Sorry," Seifer murmured settling back down quickly so as not to further jostle his boyfriend. After a few moments, he felt Squall relax a little and he decided he wouldn't be moving for the rest of the night. He didn't want to provoke any more pain. He resumed gently rubbing Squall's back, listening to his breathing slow as he relaxed on top of him. "It might be a little hard to walk tomorrow, just so you know," Seifer explained softly at length.

~*~*~

"Something to look forward to," he mumbled in reply. Seifer chuckled softly and continued to run his hand over his back, occasionally rubbing his arse, which amazingly enough, distracted him from the pain.

Curling his arm underneath his chin, Squall took a deep breath, taking a new liking to the musky smell of sweat and sex. "Love you," he whispered, breathing in the other's scent again, basking in the warmth. Heaven had always been so cold to him. It was nice to finally be warm.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled and, without moving Squall reached over to turn out the lights. "I love you too Squall."





Epilogue: Happily Ever After and a Bit of Kinky Sex



Running a hand through his wet hair, Squall sighed. Sometimes, he really hated his job. He smelled bad, since he spent almost the whole day washing varies animals to prepare them to go home. But the shelter wasn't always that busy. Actually, it was a good thing when it was busy; it meant more animals would get a home.

Only a year ago, Squall had started up his own business. Saving the animals that other shelters were going to put down due to lack of room, and caring for them himself. The Angel Shelter, he never should have let Seifer help in naming it, was doing surprisingly good for a new business. Maybe it was because of his bond with animals in general, but Squall was able to calm down and easily train the animals, making them more appealing to wanna-be owners. He had a crew of only four people, but they were all efficient workers, and often took the dogs and sometimes cats, out for walks. Hell, one of them was caring enough to take the hamsters for walks.

So, Squall, no matter how dirty, smelly, or tired he was, was still happy to have found so many animals good homes. His powers also helped him in the job, since he was able to clean a hell of a lot faster, and he was also able to sense the kind of person someone was as soon as they walked in. If he sensed that the owner had a bad temper or was prone to violence, Squall refused to give any of his animals away. So it all worked out in the end, and everyone was happy to be going home to a good family.

Sighing again, Squall smiled softly at remembering when Seifer had tried to work for him. It hadn't gone to well... the dogs seemed to have a thing for Seifer, and even the ones that were neutered could often be seen humping him, even with Squall's powers telling them to stop. It was definitely an amusing sight.

Smile growing at the thought of his boyfriend/roommate of three years, Squall continued his trek up the driveway leading to their house. It was of medium size, comfortably fitting the two grown men. The outer walls were painted a dark blue, and it even had a flat roof, per Seifer's request, which had cost more then either of them would have liked. The house was two stories, not counting the basement where Seifer's study was. Squall didn't even know why Seifer kept referring to the basement as 'his study,' since Seifer wrote just about anywhere. Although, considering the computer (to this day, Squall had yet to figure out how the concept of the internet worked) was down there, and he had to write his manuscripts on it, then it did kind of make sense.

Pushing the key into the lock, Squall opened the door and hung up his soaking wet, navy blue duster on the coat hanger and toed off his black leather army boots, carefully placing them in the white tray there. Picking up Seifer's dark red sneakers and putting them into the tray beside his own, much cleaner (considering he did work with animals) pair. Shaking his head, Squall called out a greeting, but receiving no reply; he headed down the hall and started down the stairs quietly.

Reaching the banister that out looked the entire basement, Squall smiled at the sight of Seifer bent over at the cherry colored, oak wood desk, tapping away at the sleek black keyboard. "You're not writing another scene with your main character fucking a guy with wings are you? Don't you ever get tired of writing the whole Fallen Angel series? You already have ten books in it." He grinned when Seifer jumped and the continuous tapping stopped as Seifer looked up at him in surprise, obviously, he hadn't expected Squall to be home so early. He stepped down the last remaining stairs and moved to stand in front of the wooden pillar holding up the platform connecting the stairs leading down from the doorway, and the ones heading right.

~*~*~

Upon recognizing his boyfriend, Seifer smiled warmly. “Can you blame me?” He murmured, standing up and stretching, “There’s just so much you can do with that story.” Walking over to Squall with a predatory smile on his face, he added, “and if you're going to complain about the sex scenes, you only have yourself to blame. You are very…inspiring, when you want to be.”

Finally having closed the gap between them, Seifer slipped his arms around Squall’s waist and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Pulling back, he smirked down at Squall, brushed some of the wet hair out of his eyes and murmured, “how was your day sweetheart?” He knew Squall never liked the name, but through the years, much to his boyfriend's chagrin, it had persisted. He put up with it well enough though.

He hadn’t expected Squall home this early and was glad he’d decided to set up for the evening he planed for them before he started writing; it had taken him a while to prepare the food and spread out the white and red rose petals. He’d had everything planned for a few weeks now; he’d just been waiting on the first thunderstorm of the season. Okay, so he was a romantic, so what? Squall just had that effect on him.

~*~*~

Rolling his eyes at the endearment, Squall replied, "very busy. A lot of animals got homes today though," he continued with a small smile. Seifer returned the smile, knowing how much Squall cared about the animals in his care and how he worried that some would never find homes. "I really need a shower, I smell like a wet dog, literally." Squall said, looking down at his white, long sleeve, button up shirt, now stuck to his slim frame, and his damp, dark blue jeans now sticking to his legs unpleasantly from the downpour outside.

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled at Squall's statement. He was very tempted to 'distract' Squall as they'd done before so many times, but he had plans for him. "If you insist," he murmured, swiping his tongue over the junction of Squall's neck, but pulling away before he could make a joke about not wanting 'that kind' of bath just yet.

Seifer plucked a dark blue towel from the coat rack, which he'd moved there just for this possibility, and handed it to Squall. "Just meet me in the bedroom once you’re done. I have something I want to ask you."

~*~*~

Frowning in confusion, Squall turned to head back up the stairs, mock-scowling back at Seifer when he smacked him on the ass. Smirking as he wiggled it more then he needed to while walking up the stairs, Squall went to the bathroom located near the basement door and shed his clothes before pressing a button on the very high tech (Seifer seemed determined to spend his money frivolously. Squall didn't deny him the indulgence though. Seifer made enough from all his books to buy just about anything he wanted. Including the very high tech computer downstairs) shower, he stepped in and was met with warm jets of water, exactly how he liked it.

After washing his hair with his favorite strawberry conditioner, Squall sprouted his wings (everything in the house was big enough for him to walk comfortably through with his wings folded behind him, since he often liked to just walk around with his wings out, and Seifer liked it too. With them living out near the outskirts of town, their closest neighbor was a few miles away, so Squall was able to walk around freely without endangering his secret) and washed them too.

Using the non-smelling soap that was for very sensitive scalps, he massaged the feathers in the sudsy liquid, trying not to pant at the very pleasant feeling of his wings been rubbed, even if it was by himself. Blushing at the small flashback from when Seifer had encouraged him to masturbate in front of him, Squall pushed the image aside and rinsed the soap off his wings, leaving them shiny and silky. Even to this day, the feather's tips were dusted in what looked like fine gold powder. It was obviously a permanent affect of using his full powers to heal Seifer, but it did make it look nicer, if he did say so himself.

Grinning, Squall pushed the button again, stopping the steady stream and stepped out of the cubicle. Drying himself off with the thick towel Seifer had given him, he tossed it into the hamper and grabbed the navy blue velvet bathrobe (a gift from Seifer during their first anniversary. He had it custom made so that the back dipped down until it reached just underneath the wings jutting out from his shoulder blades. The wings, when folded behind him, covered the small amount of bare flesh, so it easily minimized the chill that normally would have occurred if he'd wore it while his wings were retracted) he pulled it on, lifting his wings to make it easier to pull over his shoulders, before folding them back down again. The tips no longer grazed the ground, since he'd grown an inch or two since he first landed on this Earth; instead they rested just above his ankles.

Tying the velvet slash to close the robe, Squall padded out of the bathroom, breathing a sigh of relief when he reached the plush dark green carpet of the hallway. The bathroom was a black and white marble, very cold on the feet. Running a hand through his damp hair, making it more tousled then it had been, Squall sighed and headed up the stairs. Walking down the same hunter green carpet, Squall paused before hesitantly pushing the door open. His first thought was, 'where did Seifer get all those candles?'

~*~*~

Seifer, upon entering the bedroom, started to light the candles as he waited for Squall; he never took long when he showered. Seifer had lined the bedroom with candles, set at a safe distance of course, and sprinkled the large four poster bed and hunter green carpet with red and white rose petals. The dinner he'd prepared was under a tray cover on a cart by the bed, one ring was on his finger, and the other, meant for Squall, was in the pocket of his lose black kakis.

He didn't have to wait long for Squall to enter, with his wings out as usual, and once he had entered he gave him a moment to look around before whistling softly to get his attention and pushing him back against the door he'd just entered for a deep kiss.

Pulling back from the kiss, he smiled warmly at his boyfriend and ran his hands down Squall's velvet covered arms (enjoying the smoothness that could only be compared to the brunet's own flesh) until their fingers were intertwined. "Hey Squall," he murmured softly.

~*~*~

Smiling, Squall let his head tilt back against the smooth door, looking up into jade green eyes. "That's a nice welcome," Seifer smiled and tightened his grip around his hands, pulling him further into the candle lit room before turning and gently nudging Squall to sit on the bed. Following the silent order, the angel followed the other's movement with his eyes, watching him pull the silver cart closer to the bed and taking the lid off, revealing... what, he didn't know, since he couldn't see clearly through the dark.

Getting slightly nervous, Squall wondered if he'd forgotten their anniversary... or Seifer's birthday? No, that was in December. So what was going on? Used to asking questions by now, even when he did end up getting laughed at for his more naive questions, Squall asked, "what’s going on Seifer?"

~*~*~

Seifer just smiled mysteriously and said, "you’ll see. Eat first." With that, he sat down beside Squall and slipped an arm around his waist. "I made chocolate fondue," he explained moving one of the candles to the cart so Squall could see it better. There were lots of thing set up to be skewered and dipped in chocolate; sweet breads, soft nuts, and a variety of fruits (strawberries being the most numerous). Skewering one of the strawberries and dipping it in the chocolate, Seifer let it cool and then brought it to Squall's lips. "You must be hungry after that long day."

~*~*~

"Mmmhmm," Squall agreed, licking his lips. Seifer chuckled and held the fruit steady. Wrapping his lips around the warm fruit, Squall sucked the chocolate off first, backed off slightly to lick the chocolate from his lips before returning and sucking the strawberry off the stick. Closing his eyes, he happily munched on the plump strawberry, not even noticing Seifer's lust filled gaze

~*~*~

When Squall opening his eye, Seifer handed him his own Skewer and absentmindedly/on purpose, ran his free hand down Squall's wings again and again; knowing the effect it had on Squall. "Go on," Seifer urged doing an excellent job of acting perfectly calm, "eat." He punctuated the last word by skewering another strawberry and dipping it in the chocolate.

~*~*~

Moaning softly when the fingers gently ran through his feathers, and kept doing so, Squall skewered one of the sweet breads and popped it into his mouth. He chewed quickly, trying not to squirm and moan when Seifer moved his hand further up the wing, softly petting across the ridge protruding from between his shoulder blades. Damn it... the blonde *knew* what he was doing.

~*~*~

"Something wrong Squall?" Seifer murmured, leaning forward to nibble on Squall's ear. He chuckled softly as he watched Squall try to ignore the effects someone touching his wings had on him. After leaning forward for a lengthy kiss, Seifer withdrew and had mercy on Squall by returning his hand to his waist. "You know," he said softly as a bolt of lighting and a roar of thunder ripped through the sky, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a few weeks now."

~*~*~

Jumping slightly at the sudden noise, Squall leaned into the other man and laid his head down on one broad shoulder. Turning slightly so he could wrap his arms around the man's waist, Squall sighed and ebony feathers shivered when Seifer's breath ghosted over them after he laid his cheek on top of Squall's head, facing the large window and watching the beginning of the storm outside.

'Why is he so tense?' Squall thought to himself, unfolding his wings to press Seifer closer to him, hoping to make whatever he wanted to say easier. "Ask then," he finally whispered, the statement barely being heard over the loud crack of thunder.

~*~*~

Seifer leaned into Squall's embrace, his nerves easing somewhat. With another flash of lightning, he decided that now was a good time as any to ask. With a sigh, Seifer hugged Squall closer to him before pulling away enough to retrieve the ring, identical to the one on his own left hand, from his pocket. Then he took Squall's left hand in his and kissed him deeply as he slid the ring on. It was a brilliant blue stone, whose pattern looked very much like that of an ocean squall, set in a platinum band. Pulling back, Seifer rested his forehead against Squall's and whispered, "will you marry me Squall?"

~*~*~

Squall frowned at the feeling of the cool band being slipped over his fingers. Why was Seifer giving him a ring? Looking, somewhat cross-eyed at Seifer's closed lids, Squall replied, "Okay." He yelped in surprise when Seifer pulled him in for a hard kiss and pushed him down on the bed. Well... that was quick. But... "What does 'marry' mean?"

~*~*~

Seifer chuckled softly at Squall's familiar ignorance of human customs, but he'd become very accustomed to such seemingly odd questions over the years. Hovering over the angel and meeting his gaze steadily. Seifer replied, "it means to spend the rest of your life with someone and to love them forever." He linked his left hand with Squall's again and brought them up so he could see their matching rings. "Rings are generally worn to show the bond between the two people. And traditionally there’s a ceremony where you declare your love for each other. And then a vacation after that called a honeymoon." Seifer smiled down at his boyfriend and started caressing the side of his face. "So, now that you know what it means; will you marry me?"

~*~*~

Squall sighed and leaned into the touch, "in other words, it's another silly human tradition. You already know I'll spend the rest of my life with you, even when you grow tired of me," he added with a smirk that could rival Seifer Almasy's infamous smirk. "But, I assume you want me to participate in said silly tradition, so yes, I will 'marry' you." He said, looking up into amused jade green eyes.

~*~*~

Seifer smiled and leaned down to kiss Squall deeply. "Good," he murmured pulling back and smiling at Squall again. "And just because I know it will come up later: after we're married, we'll be husbands to each other; not boyfriends." That said, Seifer proceeded to leave a trial of kisses over Squall's neck and murmured, "I love you Squall."

~*~*~

Smiling at Seifer's ability to predict him, Squall whispered his sentiments back, once against the quiet words were almost lost in the crack of thunder. It looked like it was going to be really bad tonight. Wait a.. Squall snorted silently. Seifer had obviously been planning this for quite some time, and the romantic sap decided to ask Squall to marry him at the first thunderstorm of the season, to remind them both of the first time that Squall had opened up completely with him and the first time they truly bonded over a shared passion.

Smiling, Squall looked down at the human that had saved him from a life of eternal loneliness. Really, could he ever pay him back for that? He'd probably have to work it off for the rest of his life... the brunet grinned at the thought.

Entwining his fingers in Seifer's long blonde strands, Squall spread his wings on the bed, making it more comfortable to lie on. Spreading his thighs to allow Seifer to rest comfortably between the junction, Squall sighed at the pleasant sensations the other was invoking on his nipples. Really, the man had a thing for his nipples. Maybe he liked the taste of it? Squall pondered the thought.

When a year had passed, he had finally gotten over the whole disgust thing with his own body and the things Seifer was doing to him. It took him at least six more months before he worked up the nerve to suck Seifer off (to use his boyfriend, okay, *husband's* favorite vulgar phrase). He actually found it surprisingly pleasant after the first few times were over. At first, he'd hated it. But after doing it a few times, he found it to not be so bad. The taste was bitter, but he found that if he just focused on the other man's moans, he easily forgot the taste and was able to suck the penis (after two years he still refused to say 'cock' like Seifer used) with ease. He'd even managed to acquire the ability to 'deep-throat,' something that Seifer had never managed to master. Though the blonde often praised him for being able to do it. And quite nicely too.

~*~*~

Seifer slowly spread Squall's robes fully apart and began mapping out his torso with his mouth while his hands threaded themselves along Squall's wings. Not having any wings himself, it had always fascinated him how sensitive Squall's were, and how soft. Seifer had worked at a bird sanctuary as a young teenager and had handled many birds, but nothing he'd ever felt of feathers compared to Squall's wings. They were like silk.

~*~*~

Moaning loudly when Seifer's fingers deftly ran through the long feathers, Squall gripped harder on the thick strands. "I'm going to come very quickly if you don't stop doing *that!*" He half groaned and yelled, arching his back to try to get more of Seifer's mouth on him, while also trying to get away from the hands touching his wings.

~*~*~

Seifer grinned, but relented and moved his hands, instead, to caress Squall's thighs and lower abdomen as he continued working his was down his torso. He pulled away just for a second, prompting a frustrated cry from Squall, to grab the lube from their nightstand and, after coating his fingers, began to work his way very slowly into Squall's entrance. As much as he liked thoroughly fucking Squall into the mattress (after the first time, things had been much easier for Squall in that department), he loved going slow to the point of insanity just to hear him scream.

~*~*~

Growling and really not in the mood to get teased, Squall quickly switched their positions on the large bed, pinning Seifer down. Grabbing the lube (strawberry scented, per Squall's request) he coated two of his fingers and wiggling around slightly, while keeping his hold on the man beneath him, Squall stretched himself quickly. Knowing he was ready, he took the fingers away and spread his hands down on Seifer's chest.

Leaning up, he slowly sank down over the man's erection. Biting his lip at the slight sting, he waited a few moments before he deemed himself ready and started thrusting. His large wings helping him stay up right and allowed him to get stronger thrusts from his awkward position, with his lower back resting against Seifer's raised knees and his legs curled and thighs clenched beside him on either side of his husband's waist. He moaned when the man beneath him finally got his bearings back and gripped his hips with one hand, helping him to thrust, while his other one teased Squall's member.

~*~*~

They thrust against each other with abandoned fever for several minutes before they both came, near simultaneously; they're screams of passion drowned out by a loud thunderclap.

Squall sank down onto Seifer's chest, sweaty, sated, and blissfully exhausted; wings still spread out, covering both his husband's and his naked bodies almost entirely. Both were breathless and their limbs were hopelessly intertwined as the afterglow set in. "I love you, Squall." Seifer breathed, with a smile, wrapping his arms tightly around Squall's waist, pulling him closer.

~*~*~

Squall smiled and tilted his head to meet Seifer's down turned face, pressing his lips against the other's leisurely, both still tired from their earlier actions. Pulling back, Squall looked into jade green eyes, full of love and completely sated. "I love you too, always will," he added with a small smile, thinking of their very long future together.

Getting more comfortable, he rolled off of Seifer, who followed his movements by curling his body around him from the back, spooning him (Squall never really did understand the term, considering there was nothing cold, metal, or hard about it). Not yet comfortable, Squall retracted his wings so Seifer could hold him more closely. Wincing at the small pain, Squall snuggled back into the embrace, loving the complete skin to skin contact.

Looking out the large window at the beautiful storm that had started all this in the first place, Squall smiled. The man behind him rested his head on the pillow above the brunet's head, his long blonde strands tangling with Squall's own shoulder length hair.

Suddenly remembering something Seifer had mentioned, Squall asked, "What's a 'honeymoon?'" He frowned in confusion when Seifer started snickering. *Now* what was so funny?

~*~*~

Seifer continued chuckling softly and pulled Squall tighter against him. "Oh, you'll see Squall. *Trust* me; you'll see," he murmured, tangling his legs with the brunet's, just to get a little more comfortable.

Noticing Squall’s patent and adorable pout, Seifer relented with a small sigh, “basically it’s an excuse to fuck all the time.” Satisfied that Squall understood, Seifer closed his eyes and had just started to drift off to sleep when he heard Squall mumble something like, “...but we do that already…”



END