~Lightning~

Chapter, The Twenty-First: In Which Rubedo is Revealed.​

Irvine allowed himself to just sink into the last ten chapters of the book Rikan had leant him and he let the plot and Benjamin and Phillip's problems take over his mind instead of his own. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Rubedo since the moment he had woken up, but he had always been able to lose himself in a book, and this one was very sad.

He'd tucked the note with Rubedo's number on it at the very last page, and promised himself he would decide what to do when he got to it, but he knew, in the back of his mind, he had already decided to call and find out if the biker was alright, and tell him what he had finally realised, with Rubedo's help.

He rolled onto his back, holding the book above him, and rubbed at his eyes. Hyne! It was so sad.

The thingsss we do for love, yesss?

"We?" Irvine sniffed. "You're a GF. You don't fall in love."

There was silence from Leviathan and Irvine shook his head a little, reading onward. By the end of the book he was in tears - it hadn't been the happy ending books were supposed to have. Rubedo's note slipped from the last page as he was reading it and he picked up the slip of paper, hand fisting around it as he cried his way through the final paragraphs. He closed the book and ran his fingers over the back-cover, thinking about all that had happened through its pages.

Then he lunged for the phone and punched in a number.

:Talk to me if you're sex-:

"Rikan, you jerk!"

:Er... Irv...ine...:

"Why'd you give me such a sad book!"

:Oh...: Rikan laughed. :That. Did it make you cry:

"No," Irvine said defensively, sitting at his desk and smoothing out Rubedo's number, which he'd reduced to a ball. "Dammit!"

amn what:

"Nothin'. Anyway, did it make you cry?"

Rikan snorted, but Irvine smirked.

"It did, didn't it? Ha!"

:It made you cry, too! I can hear it. And why did you call me, anyway, if it wasn't to complain that I made you cry? Unless it was to confess your true feelings: Rikan finished dramatically, and Irvine rolled his eyes, then glanced at the note under his hand.

"Actually..."

Rikan went silent and Irvine shifted the phone to his other ear.

"You remember that day you got threatened by the guy in the bike helmet?"

:Hell, yes. Who the fuck is he anyway:

"He's... someone I care a lot about... I'm sorry, Rikan, but you gotta back off and stop tryin'... tryin' to do stuff... I, like, want to stay friends with you, but if you can't keep your hands to yourself, then we can't be."

:What d'you mean 'he's someone you care about'? You keep telling everyone you're not gay:

"I... were wrong... He made me see that."

:Then... I...:

"Sorry, but you gotta find someone else. And I gotta go. I need to call him. See ya."

:Irv-:

Irvine hung up, took a deep breath, and picked up the receiver again, dialing Rubedo's number.

- - -

"Zell. Your bed's vibrating," Seifer called. He was sitting on it, but Zell had disappeared into the bathroom to fix his hair after an amusing half hour of attacking each other with blankets, thanks to Zell's chocolate-crazed moment.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he called back.

Seifer fished around the mess they'd made of the fighter's bed.

"It's your phone, dumbass. Here it is!" He glanced at the caller ID. "It's Irv-"

"Gimme the phone!"

Both of Seifer's brows shot up to the vicinity of his hairline and he held the ringing phone between his thumb and forefinger, waving it a little.

"I'll get it," he assured Zell, smirking.

"Don't you fucking dare, Seifer..." Zell lunged at the gunbladist, who jumped to his feet and simply held the phone out of the far shorter man's reach.

"Or what?"

"Seifer!"

Seifer flipped the phone open, thumb hovering over the answer button. The smirk on his face was positively evil.

Zell's hair was half in his face, half gelled up, and he showed Seifer his fangs, a demonstration of his displeasure.

"No...?" Seifer teased. "I shouldn't answer?"

"Give. Me. The. Fucking. Phone!"

"Okay, okay. Geez." Seifer held it out and Zell snatched it, gesturing the gunbladist to silence. Seifer pulled a face at him, but flopped silently onto the bed as the fighter answered the phone.

- - -

"Rubedo...?"

Silence, but for the beep for yes. The sharpshooter sighed, relieved. He'd been an inch from hanging up, certain Rubedo wasn't going to answer.

"Are you alright? I mean, you left so suddenly... I... Did I do somethin' wrong?"

/No./

"Then why...? Why did you leave like that...? I wanted..." ...more... "Can I see you again...?"

There was only silence.

"...Please..." Irvine's throat was tight, tears threatening again. "Please! You... You made me realise... Rubedo... I... I'm... I'm the same as you! You made me understand... I'm gay."

Still silence.

"Please... I have to see you again..."

/Yes./ The answer came after another long silence.

"Thank you... When?"

- - -

You know I can't answer that... Try again.

:Today...:

Zell glanced at Seifer who was watching him in silence, highly intrigued by the silent conversation.

/No./

:...T-tomorrow...:

/Yes./

He could hear the pleased tone of Irvine's next word and his stomach flipped horribly. Hyne, he was terrified.

:Then, you'll pick me up? We can go somewhere:

/Yes./

:Then it wasn't my fault... that you... that you left:

/No./

:Will you... tell me? Will you explain:

Zell shut his eyes, swallowing.

/Yes./

:I... guess I'll see you tomorrow, then.:

/Yes./

:Alright. Pick me up out the front of Garden... about twelve:

/Yes./

:Bye, then. Take care, Rubedo... I... I...:

Please don't say it...

:I'll see you tomorrow.:

Zell let out a slow breath, closing his phone.

"I'm gonna tell him tomorrow..." he said without looking at Seifer. "Tomorrow... I hope... I hope he doesn't hate me..."

- - -

Irvine waited on the same flower box the next day, in a pair of faded jeans and his usual vest, his hat perched at a jaunty angle on his braided hair. He couldn't help grinning. He hadn't been able to stop since he got off the phone with Rubedo the day before. As if to echo his mood, the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun shone warm against his back.

He leaned his weight on his hands and looked up at the whispy clouds floating slowly across the blue expanse. The prospect of seeing the mysterious biker made his stomach flutter and his heartbeat quicken.

A car pulled up at the curb and a SeeD he didn't recognise stuck her head out the window and waved at him. Mystery was playing on her radio and Irvine grinned even more as he waved back, humming along with the tune.

It wasn't long before a group of girls came out of Garden, giggling and talking among themselves. They smiled at Irvine as they passed him and he tipped his hat to them, his usual lady-centered smirk touching his lips. They drove off, the last strains of Mystery fading with them, replaced by the rev of an engine Irvine recognised in a second.

He was soon wrapped around Rubedo, helmet in place and motorbike growling beneath them both.

Rubedo took him to the same place as Friday night and they sat down together in the grass. Irvine wanted the biker to hold him like he had then, but Rubedo didn't seem inclined to move. After they had sat in silence for a long while, Irvine finally spoke.

"Are you okay...?"

Rubedo shook his head a little, biting his lip.

/It's time/ he wrote suddenly, and his hand shook. /I can't do this anymore./

"What...?"

/I have to show you who I am./

Irvine's eyes widened and he stared at Rubedo, a slow grin coming to his face.

"Really...?"

Rubedo nodded.

Irvine's hands fisted against his thighs and his heart thudded in his chest. Finally! He was finally going to see Rubedo's face for the first time! He'd tried to imagine what the biker would look like but, just like he hadn't been able to imagine his voice, he couldn't picture anything that fit. Finally! Finally...

Zell's hands shook slightly. He gripped the notebook and pen hard, scribbling almost illegibly on the paper.

/I meant what I said… I care about you… I'm sorry./

Zell dropped the pen and notebook, lifting his hands to undo the strap of his helmet, then placing them to either side.

Irvine's eyes were too intently focused on Rubedo to even look at what he had written last. He'd get to see… finally, be able to see…

He lifted the helmet and rotated it off his head, still hiding his face from Irvine's eyes. He took a slow, deep breath and lowered the helmet to his lap. "I'm sorry…"

...And everything Irvine had built inside of himself for this man came crashing down. He shook his head, tears coming to his sky-blue eyes.

"No..."

"Irvine-" Zell started, but Irvine made a violent movement with his hand.

"No! You... You..."

"Please, Ir-"

"Even you... Even you couldn't be so..." He trailed off, tears running down his cheeks, and got to his feet in a hurried, stumbling movement.

"Let me ex-"

"You set me up! You made me care!" the sharpshooter shouted, then softer, a broken thing; "You set me up... I... hate you..."

Irvine turned and started to walk away, sobbing, but Zell grabbed his wrist.

"Irvine, please... Please, don't just-"

"I don't want to hear it..." Irvine whispered.

"I'm so-"

"I don't fuckin' want to hear it!" The sharpshooter wrenched free of his grasp and turned a vicious, terribly, horribly hurt glare on him. They stared at each other for a long, long time, then Irvine turned and ran, screaming at the top of his voice; "I hate you!"

I hate you...

 

Chapter, The Twenty-Second: In Which Seifer and Selphie do Their Thing.​

And then Zell cried. He curled up on the side of the hill, face buried in his hands and he cried. He had hoped with everything he had that Irvine would somehow forget what he had done to him in the past, and only remember his time spent with Rubedo. He was the same person, dammit!

Zell's fists slammed into the ground, denting it noticeably. He was the same. He was Rubedo. But all Irvine could see was the teasing, and tormenting of his past self. It wasn't fair… It wasn't fair! And he knew, deep down, he knew he deserved this.

- - -

Seifer had agreed to meet Zell in Balamb at 1500 hours. In one of Zell's nervous ramblings he'd mentioned the time he'd pick up Irvine. The taller man had done his best to calm the little blond down.

The thinking was, if it went poorly, Zell would have some time to himself and if it went well, the two would have some time together. For some reason unbeknownst to him he didn't want it to work out, didn't think it even could.

He glanced at his clock. He'd already had lunch and spent some time in one of the training rooms, just lifting some weights and making several dozen cadets and SeeDs drool as he did. If he walked to Balamb he should go pretty soon.

After changing into a jade turtleneck and a pair of black jeans, Seifer headed out the door, Hyperion at his side. He didn't bother with his trench coat today. It wasn't too chilly out, so he didn't think he'd need it.

Seifer headed down the street to Balamb, slashing at BiteBugs too stupid to know that attacking him was one of the most idiotic things they could do. BiteBugs really needed to get smarter, but considering the size of their brains, that wasn't going to happen.

He was about half way to the town when something metallic red and blue caught his eye. He stopped and turned. That was Zell's Sleipnir. But what was it still doing out here? Knowing Zell, he'd already be in Balamb, waiting for him to show up. Psycho little blond was adamant about being on time unless Seifer did something to make him late.

He turned off the road and headed toward the bike. Then stopped. But why was the bike still there? Had it gone well? Had it gone so well that they had lost track of time… were they…? Seifer started walking again, pace quicker than before.

He was nearly there when he heard the sounds, but they weren't what he expected. He didn't want to hear the sounds he expected but he didn't want to hear these sounds either. He ran the rest of the way, dropping onto the ground next to Zell and pulling the fighter into his arms.

They had met at noon, hadn't they? It couldn't have been more than half an hour by the time Zell had taken off the helmet. That left… two and a half hours for his crying to turn to choked sobs and his tears to run out.

Seifer cradled the shorter blond in his arms, whispering to him softly, trying to soothe him.

Slowly, very slowly Zell came out of whatever trance he had been in, moving against the larger body of Seifer and fisting his hands in the jade top. "Seifer…?" It was less than a whisper.

"Shh, shh, Zell. I'm here." He wanted to say it would be alright, but he didn't think the fighter would take it too well. "Tell me what happened?

Zell buried his face against Seifer chest, and was only held tighter. "He hates me…" he whispered. "He hates me…"

Seifer rubbed gentle circles on the fighter's back. "Zell, Zell, shhh. Let's get you back to Garden and you can tell me exactly what happened, alright?" Zell could only nod slightly.

- - -

"So… So, Seifer, you have to. Please, you have to be my partner for demonstrations. I have 6 more classes and I can't just ditch them in the training center the whole time. I'm his partner. If I have to demonstrate with him too… I just can't Seifer, please?"

"Zell, Zell!" Seifer grabbed the pacing blond by the shoulders and threw him onto his bed. "Yes, Zell. Yes. I already said I would. Calm down, please. Just breathe deep and relax for five fucking seconds."

Sapphire eyes looked up at the taller man then to the side. He really was flipping out and he couldn't even control it at all. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Zell. Just calm down."

"I'll try."

"Roll over," Seifer said, kneeling on the edge of the bed.

"What?" Zell blinked up at him.

Seifer shook his head, chuckling lightly. "Roll over so I can rub some of that tension out of your back, alright?"

"Oh." Zell did as he was asked, rolling onto his stomach. He folded his arms beneath his head as Seifer shifted his weight to settle over Zell's smaller body.

Large, strong hands worked their way over Zell's back and deep into his tight muscles. He was tense, very tense. It had probably been building up every since he'd made the arraignment to meet with Irvine and show him who he really was. Hyne, he was tight. Seifer was very tempted to just start beating the knots out of his muscles. Who knows, Zell might have even enjoyed it, being the little sadomasochist that he was.

- - -

How…? How? How, How, How!

Irvine mentally screamed again and again and again as he tore from the plains and back into Garden. How could the man he cared about, who made him see the truth in himself, who made him happy about that truth… how could his Rubedo be… be… be…

"Irvine?" Selphie blinked as Irvine strode by, fury emanating off him stronger than his trademark cologne. And she got nothing. She turned and headed after him. "Irvy?" Nothing…

The cowboy marched himself right back into his room, Selphie slipping under his arm and through the opened door, not being noticed. He fell onto his bed and started to beat the living shit out of his pillows.

"Irvine!" Selphie raised her voice a few decibels to gain the man's attention.

"Selphie? How did you get in here?" He turned to look at her, utterly flabbergasted.

She cocked a brow at him. "Through the door, under your arm."

He looked at his arm and at the door like it wasn't possible, then back to her.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've emptied your cartridge but still think you can take on the Galbadia Army." Two little fists came to rest on two little hips.

Irvine let out a long, suffering sigh. "Remember Rubedo?"

Not good, not good, not good. Don't say you know. Don't say you knew! You didn't know it was Zell! Selphie mentally prepared herself. "I think I remember you mentioning him, yea. What about him?"

"He were great. He were so great I opened myself up to him. So much I realized something' I'd, like, never known before. That I like men. That I'm gay." He smiled weakly up at Selphie. He knew she'd understand. She supported Seifer and Zell all the time, too much if you asked some people.

"Well, that's good isn't it?" She chewed nervously on her lower lip.

"You'd think… you'd think it would be, but it ain't. I got to see him. Finally got to after waitin' all this time, and I was, like, so happy, and then… and then everythin'… it was like I got hit with Time Compression again, right in my heart and gut."

"You found out…" Selphie lifted a hand to smack herself in the head, hard.

Irvine stared at her. "What did you say?"

"Nothing!"

"Did you just say "you found out"? I found out? Found out what? Did you know!"

Selphie started backing up, smartly, in the direction of the door. "I, uh… well, I knew… I knew Zell's middle name was Rubedo… I knew… that he drove a Sleipnir… and I… may have talked to him and Seifer-" She squeaked and ducked from his lunge at her, scurrying to the side.

"You were in on this too? You knew they were doing this to me?"

She dashed to the other side of the room, using her smallness to her advantage to get away from Irvine. "They said they'd stop teasing! They said they'd leave you alone!"

"And break my heart! Was that part of the plan too?"

Selphie stared, and narrowly avoided getting full body tackled. She yelped and grabbed Irvine's shoulders, pushing him back and pinning him to the wall. "You were so happy talking about Rubedo."

"Rubedo doesn't exist! He's Zell! I hate Zell!"

Selphie leaned her head down and hit Irvine square in the chest with it as her hands were busy. "Rubedo exists in Zell Dincht, just as the very name sits between the two. There's a thin line between love and hate, cowboy, and I think you're in the air and don't know where to land."

The hyper-gone-serious brunette let go of Irvine and left, only to hear the words 'I hate him!' ring out behind her, through the metal door and half way down the hall.

"I hate him…" Irvine whispered to himself, the room suddenly feeling very quiet. "I hate him… it was all a game… he used me… he fooled me… he played me… he probably had cameras, has pictures… he's going to make my life hell, I just know it…"

- - -

Why can't he understand? Why can't he see even the smallest, tiniest hint of what I was doing with him? Why couldn't he see I was genuine? That I wanted to be there, that I wanted to see him… Why couldn't he see that I care… why can he only hate me…?

 

Chapter, The Twenty-Third: In Which Zell Tells Seifer.​

Seifer didn't move from where he was until Zell had fallen into a restless, exhausted sleep. Then he slid quietly off the fighter's back and carefully removed his shoes, pausing every time Zell made a sound, so that it took him almost fifteen minutes per shoe.

"The things I do for you, Chicken Wuss..." Seifer murmured as he pulled a sheet up over Zell's broad shoulders.

Fuck, he looked awful. Seifer brushed damp bangs out of puffy, red eyes, then sighed and went to sit down, silently watching the sleeping fighter. Even unconscious, he didn't look happy. It wasn't just the red eyes. The curve of his mouth was downward, and there was obvious strain in the youthful features.

And all for the fucking Cowboy.

Seifer rubbed at his eyes, hunching down in the chair, and propped his cheek on his hand. He had half a mind to go and find Irvine and tell him just what he'd done to Zell. Maybe then he'd get it, and stop being a brat about all this. Then again, he reflected, some selfish little part of him was awfully glad things hadn't gone well, and damned if he could figure out why.

He growled and stood up again, stalking over to the little fridge to get himself a drink.

What the hell was wrong with Irvine anyway? People would kill to have Zell want them. Okay, so the fighter had been a bit of bitch to the sharpshooter, but damn! Surely he could see how sincere Zell was?

"I fucking need a cigarette!" Seifer hissed as he threw himself back down in the chair, but it was Zell's room and he'd been forbidden on several occasions to never, ever smoke in there, on pain of never being allowed back. And he didn't want to upset the fighter anymore than he was already.

Zell murmured in his sleep and made a sorrowful face, lips shaping Irvine's name and Seifer wanted to break something. Preferably Kinneas' neck. He entertained that thought for a long, long while. It helped him stop thinking of smoking.

- - -

When Irvine awoke Monday morning, he couldn't remember what he had done from the time Selphie left until he crawled, naked, into his bed and cried himself to sleep. He only knew he'd cried himself to sleep because his pillow and his hair were still damp. He shifted a little, utter misery making his breath catch again, and realized he held something in his right hand. He opened his fingers and found Rubedo - Zell - Rubedo's note there with his phone number.

"Rubedo..." Irvine whispered, tears coming to his eyes again.

He felt as though someone close to him, someone so important to him that his heart beat faster just at the mere thought of him, had died. He would never see Rubedo again. Those strong arms would never hold him again. That gentle mouth would never... never...

Hyne!

Ever since the kisses they had shared - had that only been a couple of days ago? - Irvine had been allowing himself quite the imaginative daydreams about certain other things they might do. It had been difficult without a face to put to the man, but it was by far more difficult to put Zell's face to him.

Zell.

Zell...?

Zell!

Fuck! He had class with Zell tonight!

He seriously considered just skipping the whole damn thing, but then he remembered Aki would automatically fail them and groaned. He didn't want to fail. He couldn't afford to fail.

The day seemed to past quickly after that realization, his other classes flying past in a blur, and he wasn't even sure what happened at lunch. Rikan, he thought, looked especially mournful, but he couldn't find it in him to care, since he couldn't find it in him to feel much of anything but pain.

His friends tried all day to find out why he barely talked, and looked as though "someone had run over his dog", as Hiro so delicately put it, but he refused to tell them. At any rate, they entered the Training Room in a protective cluster around him, which only tightened when they saw that none other than Seifer Almasy was leaning against a wall, foot propped up against it and arms folded across his chest. His eyes lit on Irvine, but the sharpshooter wasn't looking. Terry and Harada glared at the gunbladist, who only smirked and gave a small, derisive laugh through his nose that was little more than an exhale.

Irvine had eyes only for Zell.

The little blonde was running through several complicated moves, his face set and his eyes unreadable. But... he...

"He looks as bad as I feel..." Irvine whispered.

"What?" Terry asked swiftly, looking at him.

"...N-nothin'..." Irvine said vaguely, watching Zell's muscles flex beneath his shirt.

He'sss the sssame persss-

"Don't even bother, Levi..." Irvine muttered. The Cadets didn't even glance at him. They'd soon grown used to him suddenly saying something out of the blue, and knew what it was. But still, he couldn't stop staring at Zell.

Seifer narrowed his eyes at Irvine, and the second Zell stopped moving, he was at the fighter's side. Irvine hesitated after the role had been called while everyone else automatically found their partners and began on the stretching exercises. Zell didn't even look at him, so he put his hat aside and went through the stretches as well.

"Okay, everyone," Zell said after a while. His voice sounded softer than usual, and several of the students exchanged glances at the lack of his general exuberance. "We're going to be working on breaking holds today. Say you don't manage to get your weapon back, or you're a little slow to block, so you end up in someone's arms. And not in a good way, either."

There was a murmur of laughter, but even that line was delivered with far less enthusiasm than was typical for the fighter, so they didn't react as they usually did.

"Something's wrong..." Harada whispered to Irvine, who said nothing, because he knew she was right.

"Seifer..." Zell said, then he lifted a hand when Seifer moved towards him. "Oh, I almost forgot. For those of you who don't know him, this is Seifer. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn't bite."

"Unless you ask," Seifer murmured, showing his teeth.

Zell rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Seif. Enough terrorizing my students. Let's do this."

Seifer smirked and winked at the class, then shrugged out of the velvet jacket and tossed it aside before putting his arms around Zell from behind, pinning the fighter's own arms at his sides. Irvine couldn't keep his mind from taking a swift slide into the gutter. Seifer's eyes met his and the gunbladist smirked. Irvine flushed and looked away.

"Seifer and I are pretty evenly matched," Zell said, quelling the murmur of his class. "He's taller than me, but I'm stronger. He's faster than me, but I'm more agile and I know more about fighting without a weapon. However, none of that matters. It's about weak points. I'd figure most of you, especially the girls, will know where to hit. Any takers?"

"Groin!" one of the small girls piped instantly.

"How did I know that would be the first one? Anyone else?"

"Solar Plexis."

"Right."

"Neck or throat."

"Yes."

"Knees...?"

"You're right, don't be so hesitant."

"Instep," Irvine said after a long pause where everyone looked at everyone else. Zell just nodded.

"Right, all of you, but I'm not about to go bashing Seifer up."

He spent the next twenty minutes demonstrating how to break holds, then set the class to it. Irvine stood, looking at a loss, as Zell drifted through the class, correcting and assisting where it was needed. After about five minutes when it became obvious Zell wasn't going to approach him - for which Irvine forced himself to be grateful - he took a step forward, intending to go and remind Zell that, even though he hated him, he needed to pass the class. A hand fell on his shoulder.

"S-S-S-"

"The one and only. You can practice with me today."

The way he said it left no room for argument, and Irvine was too tense for the first twenty minutes to have any hope of doing what Zell had showed them all. But he became steadily aware that Seifer was being highly professional. Especially when, after the fifth time Irvine had made a sound of utter terror, the gunbladist told him flatly to stop being an idiot, because he wasn't about to fuck up Zell's class by doing anything less than teacherly towards a student.

He still found himself wishing it were Zell's arms around him several times before he could squash the wish.

Zell dismissed the class ten minutes before finish time with congratulations and a few final notes on what they'd done. Irvine was leaving when a hand touched his shoulder and he turned to find Seifer looking at him.

"In case you care," the gunbladist said lowly, glancing over to make sure Zell was occupied with the couple of students he had asked to stay back to go over a couple of things they hadn't seemed to grasp. "He spent hours crying after you left him out on the plains yesterday. And he-"

"Right. Like I'm goin' to believe anythin' you say. You were probably in on the whole thing!"

Seifer bristled, a hand coming to Irvine's collar and lifting him a little onto his toes.

"If you don't fucking-"

"Thanks, Zell!" one of the students said, and Seifer released the sharpshooter, since Zell's distraction would soon be gone.

"I can't tell why the fuck it is, Priscilla, but he cares about you. And you're stupid to throw that back in his face."

Irvine said nothing, eyes fixed on some point around the vicinity of Seifer's shoe. When it became apparent the gunbladist wasn't going to say anything more, Irvine turned on his heels and left, silent tears running down his face.

Zell didn't care. He didn't care. He didn't care. He didn't care! It was all just a mindfuck. It had to be. It was Seifer, for Hyne's sake! Of course he'd help the fighter fuck up Irvine's life even further.

I hate you! Damn you, I hate you! I'll always hate you! Always!

- - -

Zell lapsed into a thoughtful silence the moment they exited the Training Room and remained that way all through their dinner and their return to Seifer's room. They went over the class, but Seifer could tell the fighter was barely paying attention to what they were talking about. It was starting to piss the gunbladist off, but he couldn't bare to set Zell crying again, so he didn't say anything about it.

They were talking about the members of the class that were doing the worst when Zell suddenly slapped his thigh and snapped his fingers.

"That's it!"

Seifer blinked several times at him.

"What's it?"

"Lightning."

"Pardon?"

"That's the way."

"The way to what?"

"Irvine."

"Lightning?"

"Yes."

"Magic?"

"No, a chocobo."

"A chocobo? You mean Qu-"

"No!" Zell stared at him like he was stupid. "What the hell are you on, Seifer?"

"Me! I don't even know what the fuck you're going on about, Chicken! Talk sense, and it might actually mean something!"

The fighter sighed, then started to explain to him as though he were a two-year-old.

"Irvine had a chocobo called Lightning. He had to sell him, because he couldn't afford to feed him anymore. Our fault..." Zell trailed off briefly, then picked up again. "I'll get him back, then Irvine won't be able to... to hate me anymore."

It was Seifer's turn to stare.

"Zell, all damn chocobos look the same. How are you going to know which one it is? And where are you even going to look in the first place?"

"Well..." Zell considered. "He wouldn't have sold it to anyone who he didn't think would look after it, so most likely he sold it to a ranch, and a good one at that. Possibly it'd be close, so he could visit, plus he wouldn't have been able to take Lightning far away to sell in the first place, because then how would he have got back? If it's been called Lightning since it was a chick, which it most likely has, then there's no way they'd be able to change it's name. And, let's face it, how often does a six-foot, genuine cowboy with blue eyes and a long ponytail turn up wanting to sell a chocobo? Whoever he sold it to will remember. Then I can pay to house it and feed it... and... and maybe..." He trailed off, running a hand over his face.

"Zell-"

"Don't fucking try to talk me out of it, Seifer!" the fighter snapped suddenly.

Seifer backed off and stuck a cigarette in his mouth, getting pretty damn near to pouting.

"I get that you're attracted to him," the gunbladist said after a while, ignoring the sharp snap of Zell's eyes to him. "Felt damn good to hold him today, and he's pretty sexy, for a nancy cowboy, but is it worth all this damn aggravation?"

"Yes," Zell said simply, standing suddenly and heading for the door.

"Why? He's already kicked you in the guts."

"It doesn't matter." The door hissed open.

"Of course it does. He hurt you."

"I hurt him first."

"But you said you were sorry, and he didn't even give you the time of day!"

"It doesn't matter," Zell repeated, looking over his shoulder, eyes warm. "I love him."

And Seifer could only stare as the gentle admission hung in the air between them as Zell headed off down the corridor to his own room.

In that moment, Seifer hated Irvine Kinneas with a passion he hadn't felt since the day he realized Ultimecia had played and manipulated him only for her own gain. And the worst thing was, he was starting to realize why everything about this situation pissed him off, but it was too damn late.

 

Chapter,The Twenty-Fourth: In Which Zell Spends 85,000 Gil.​

Zell sat in front of a computer, several windows open displaying different search results. He also had the CaTS (1) on so that he could input the chocobo ranch information right into it. No need for pens and paper when you're a Garden student.

There were seven large ranches and a scattering of smaller ones that were used more as boarding stables for people that owned chocobos in the cities. Zell created a custom icon of a chocobo head to mark the main ranches and used plain yellow dots to mark the boarding stables.

He sat back, looking over the points on the CaTS map of Gaia. There weren't any ranches on Balamb or the Galbadian continent. They all seemed to be right around the locations of the Chocobo Forests that littered the less populated regions.

Zell immediately dismissed The Choco Loco which was located right by The Island Closest to Heaven. Somehow Zell doubted that Irvine would risk making his beloved bird Ochu dinner.

There were three located on Centra. Two of which were also crossed off, the other was a possibility. Lighthouse Ridge was right around the orphanage so it was possible Irvine took Lightning there. But it was a long way to travel for visits. Still, it had to be considered if he was going to find the chocobo.

The last three were Northern Hills, Mountain Coast, and Trabia Tundra. Zell checked his searches and clicked on the link for Trabia Tundra. It was owned and operated by Trabia Garden students and faculty. This looked promising. Irvine could easily go to and from the other garden almost regularly. It wasn't far away, and transports between the Trabia and Balamb Gardens were numerous.

Zell put a white circle around it and went to look at the other two. Mountain Coast, just to the west of Trabia Tundra also looked good. Northern Hills was run by Shumi, but mostly by Moombas. Well… they hadn't had the best luck with a particular Shumi, but the village had seemed quite nice.

Zell looked at the littering of yellow dots. Most of them looked after other people's chocobos, they didn't have their own. Irvine would have kept Lightning at one of them prior to the sale. The Choco Beach Boarding Stable was probably the one. It was on Balamb Island, just north of the city. It was close and they took good care of their birds. They even had a number of their own for a chocobo ride run out of town. Zell would have to see if he just went from boarding there to selling his bird to them.

Whatever the case it was time to make some phone-calls. Zell printed out his information and his map and headed back to his room to start the, most likely, long and tedious task of locating a single chocobo that went by the name of Lightning.

- - -

He loved him…? How could he love him? The idiot of a cowboy hated him with everything he had! How could Zell love that!

Seifer stalked around his room, throwing anything of minimal value against any hard surface, such as doors, walls and desk frames. He couldn't calm down. He had tried and it only got him thinking and then even more angry.

He was jealous. He was very, very jealous and he couldn't explain in. He had admitted to himself that he had feelings for the little blond, but they were just feelings right? Feelings would go away. It was just a little crush, wasn't it?

If that's all it was why did he keep shaking and throwing things around his room? Maybe it wasn't just a crush. What was it then? Love? Did he, Seifer Almasy, love Zell Dincht?

The thought brought a small smile to his face and a moment of peace in the room destroying. But in no time at all he was remembering who Zell loved and chaos was back in control.

As this very loud activity was taking place Selphie Tilmitt was making her way down the halls. She came to a halt in front of Seifer's door and checked the number to be sure. Yes, it was definitely Seifer's room. She jumped a little when something collided with the door. Were he and Zell fighting? She would expect a lot of screaming if they were… so what was going on?

Being the ever helpful and curious little brunette, she knocked on the door, loudly, to be heard over the racket inside the room.

Seifer stopped with a book in his hand, lifted above and behind his head. He frowned at the door and let the book drop. "Who is it?"

"It's Selphie. What's going on in there, Seifer? Are you wrestling a tornado or something?"

Seifer shook his head but headed over to the door and opened it. "Hello Selphie. It's nice of you to stop to see what was happening, but I don't really want any- hey! You can't just walk into my room."

"What a mess!" Selphie exclaimed. "What got you mad enough to destroy your room?"

Seifer let the door close and huffily moved over to a chair. "Zell," he said shortly.

Selphie bounced over to a seat opposite him. "What do you mean? You and Zell are best friends. You always get along now."

"Yea, well, things change, Selphie."

"What changed?"

Seifer cringed and looked away. "Irvine. Zell and Irvine."

"You're making them sound like a couple, Seifer."

"They will be a couple Selphie! It's just a matter of time. Zell already loves him-"

"What! Zell loves him?"

Seifer frowned deeply and Selphie caught the expression. "Oh, Seifer… you poor thing."

"I can't do anything about it. I'll just forget it. Move on from something that never even happened…"

"But you-"

"But I nothing, Selphie. He's in love. I won't take that away from him because of my own selfish feelings for him."

The brunette pouted. Seifer was angry and sad and hurt, and he was just going to bury it all up. Typical Seifer. "If you need to talk to someone, or destroy something, call me. We can chat or go beat up Grats, okay?"

"Yea, sure."

"Okaaaaay, Seifer?"

"Yes, Selphie. Okay. I'll call you if I need something. Happy?"

"No, but I feel a bit better. You take care of yourself, ya hear?" With that she left the tall blond to his sulking and possibly more room destroying.

- - -

"You're sure?"

: Of course I'm sure. We keep perfect records and no Irvine Kinneas has ever sold us a chocobo named Lightning. :

"Well, thank you for your time. Bye."

: Good bye, Mr. Dincht. :

Well, there went the first lead. Maybe he had his reasons for not selling to Trabia Tundra. It was possible that he didn't want people to know. Selphie could sure find out easily if she had friends on the ranch. She'd probably offer to help, but he'd be too proud or too far in denial of any problems to accept it.

"Oh, Irvine… I'm so sorry."

Zell crossed off the first ranch on his list. Mountain Coast was next. He picked up the phone and dialed.

:-Ring… Ring… Ring- Yyyyello? Mountain Coast Ranch, Demetri speaking, how can I help ya today::

"Hello, I'm trying to find a chocobo your ranch may have purchased some time in the last six months."

: Last six months? What kinda details ya got::

"The chocobo is named Lightning. He was sold by Irvine Kinneas. Ringing any bells?"

: Lightning? Oh yea, that name sure does ring a bell. Fast as a whip that one. He's a barrel racer you know? Damn fine one too. Amazing we got him so cheap- :

Zell leapt to his feet. "You have him?"

: Yea, we got him. Calm down there. What you calling about Lightning for::

"I want to buy him from you."

: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now, partner. That there's a fine bird. We ain't interested in selling. :

"That bird was Irvine Kinneas' and I plan to return it to him."

: Lightning's ours now. We bought him. It were fair and square. :

"How much?"

: How much what? How much would we sell Lightning for::

"Yes, what's your price?"

:He's a damn good chocobo. Doubt some kid like you could afford him. :

"The name's Zell Dincht, high ranking SeeD and one of the six to destroy Ultimecia. Still thinking I can't afford the bird?"

: Zell Dincht? No kiddin'. Well, maybe ya can afford Lightning. He ain't cheap. Not even for a SeeD with your pay. :

"I've been saving up," Zell commented dryly. He was about an inch from making this a confiscation mission and paying the arsehole zilch.

: I'd have to consult with management- :

"Just put management on the phone!"

:Al'ight, al'ight, hold yer chocobos. :

Zell waited patiently for Demetri to put the manager of the ranch on the phone.

: Hello, David, speaking. :

"The manager I hope?"

: Yes. You want to buy Lightning::

"Yes, I do. Just tell me how much."

: And you're a high rank SeeD? Demetri doesn't have as much tact as I would like him to have. It's common sense not to mess around with SeeDs, period. I can't let him go cheap. But I can sell him cheaper than I would. Normally I would refuse sale immediately, but again, you don't mess with SeeD. 85,000 Gil :

Zell had checked some prices during his searching. 85,000 wasn't a bad price considering they didn't want to sell. Good thing occupation and name dropping actually worked some places.

"Sounds good. 85,000 Gil it is. Now, I have this conversation recorded, so I don't want to find you spiking up the price once I get out there. I'll come for Lightning on Thursday. Is that good for you?"

: Thursday is fine, Mr. Dincht. I look forward to meeting with you. Good bye. :

"Good bye, Mr. Manager." Zell hung up. That had sounded lame. Mr. Manager? Well, the only name he gave was David. It wasn't Zell's fault he couldn't be completely professional with the info he had obtain from the conversation.

"Good thing I don't buy stuff for a long time, and then buy big things. I bought that bike a while ago so I should have more than enough for a chocobo and boarding it. I'll call the Choco Beach Boarding Stables tomorrow. If I have to hear one more idiot stable hand I'm gonna snap something." Zell rambled on about this and that to himself, almost as if he were talking to Seifer. Of course, Seifer was still busy sulking in his room.

 

Chapter, The Twenty-Fifth: In Which Lightning is Presented.​

Selphie was totally zoning out. She knew she was zoning out, even without Anasha and Harada having to keep poking her when they wanted to ask a question. She'd agreed to help them with their assignment on insect-type monsters, but she really wasn't being all that helpful. It got to the stage where she appologised and left them to it.

She didn't know what to do, for once in her life. Helping people and playing match-maker was fun, but this time... this time it was hard to know if she should be playing the game.

Zell had come and asked for her help earlier that day. Normally it would be simple. Of course she would help him! But this time she'd been reluctant. Eventually, she'd given into his pleading, but she still wasn't sure it was the right thing to do.

And it all came back to Seifer.

She knew he cared about Zell, and she was pretty sure she was the only person other than Seifer himself to know it. Zell obviously didn't know it, or things would probably be a whole lot different - or at least a whole lot harder - than they seemed to be for him.

She sighed as she walked along the corridors, deep in thought. But in the end she realised there was only one thing she could do. Irvine was just too miserable. She had to help reconcile him with Zell, and deal with Seifer after that. Though... just how she was supposed to "deal with Seifer", she had no idea.

- - -

"Irvine. Irvine. Irvine. Irvine. Irvine. Irvine."

Irvine plugged his ears with his fingers and did his best to ignore her, even going so far as to sing "Eyes On Me" at the top of his lungs, despite the strange looks he was getting from other students and SeeDs in the cafeteria. Selphie just kept on going.

"Selphie!" he growled eventually, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Why do you wanna go ridin' so bad anyway! You know I don't like to since I... since Lightnin's been gone."

"But you're still a cowboy! It's still in your blood! C'mon! Please...? Please, please, please!" And she made her eyes go big and round and pleading, in a manner she knew Irvine had never been able to resist. He groaned and turned his eyes away, but there was a resigned sigh on his lips already.

"Alright. But only 'cause it's you, and you won't, like, care if I maybe cry."

And he knew it was likely he probably would. He was already fragile, and going down to the boarding stables always gave him a feeling of sorrow now. But she was too cute for her own good, and he could never say no to her for long.

Selphie dragged him down the garage where she borrowed a car and they drove off to the Choco Beach Boarding Stables, the little brunette humming happily to herself and Irvine staring silently out the window.

He felt so lonely. It was like he'd forgotten to do something, or lost something, but he didn't know what it was, and a despondent kind of feeling had settled on him and seemed intent on staying. No matter what he did, he couldn't dispel it... Except when he saw Zell.

He'd done his best to avoid the little blond, but it wasn't that big of a Garden and besides, they'd had another class, in which he was partnered with Seifer again. But when he saw Zell, the empty feeling was replaced with a yearning so strong, he'd almost given into it several times. A yearning to just have those arms around him again, to feel those lips against his own - and more.

Hyne! He was even dreaming about Zell. He knew what the fighter had under his shirt, he'd seen it when they swam together or trained together - before Seifer came back - and a couple of times in class when Zell had got too hot to keep his shirt on. And he was hot in more ways than one. Irvine was man enough, now that he knew what he was, to accept the fact that the fighter was damn fine.

And you want him, yesss...?

"Shut up, Levi..." Irvine muttered and Selphie glanced at him, but he waved away the question as to what the Guardian Force had said.

Selphie pulled up with a screech of tires and plume of dust that made several chocobos out to pasture wark in fear and scurry to the other end of the fenced paddock. She piped an apology at them as she bounced out of the car and around to drag Irvine out.

He sighed and tugged his hat on, then walked with her as she continued bouncing into the stables. There was no one there. Irvine frowned and squinted into the dusty half-light, finally making out a shape in the difficult illumination. Selphie took a step back, and so did Irvine when the figure took one forward, showing himself to be none other than Zell Rubedo Dincht.

"Selphie..." Irvine said, meaning it to be accusatory, but it came out pleading.

At the sound of his voice, there was a soft "kweh", and Irvine's eyes widened as Zell gave a gentle tug on the lead rope he held in his hand, and a chocobo stepped forward. It had the tiniest of scars down the left-hand side of its beak, and Irvine had only ever seen one bird with a scar like that.

"Lightnin'...?" he whispered, voice choked.

The chocobo warked joyfully, dancing on the spot and tugging at the lead rope. Zell lifted a hand to stroke his neck, then let him go, and Irvine was already moving forward. He threw his arms around Lightning's neck and the bird instantly laid his head on the sharpshooter's shoulder, warbling contentedly when the half-gloved fingers of one hand smoothed through his crest.

Zell met Selphie's eyes and she lifted her hands, the silent gesture easy to read. It's in your hands now, Zell. And with that, she turned and left the stables. Zell's eyes slid back to Irvine's face and his breath caught in his throat as he was reminded all over again just how beautiful the sharpshooter really was. The sky-blue eyes suddenly opened to catch his.

"Z-Zell... How...? Why...?" He couldn't seem to form a complete sentence and he let go of the bird, which happily lowered his head to fish around in the straw layering the floor in hopes of finding a nice bug or two or some dropped greens.

"How...? It wasn't so hard. I called some places, paid some people. He's yours again, Irvine... like he should be. I'm sorry you had to sell him."

"But I..." Tears came to his eyes at the thought of having to give the bird away again, because he knew he couldn't afford to keep it. "I can't keep him here... I had to send him away before... because... because I can't pay... I still owe them gil from when they kept him as long as they could before..."

"No, you don't."

Irvine blinked at him.

"Wh-what...?"

"I paid your debt, and a month in advance. And when that runs out, I'll pay another month. And I'll keep paying."

Irvine swallowed, tears of an entirely different sort making his throat tighten and his hands tremble.

"Why? Why would you go to all that trouble to find him, and pay to keep him for... for me?"

"Because I love you," Zell said simply and Irvine could only stare.

There was nothing in those four gentle words that expected anything in return for what he was doing and saying. There was nothing that wanted to guilt Irvine into doing something he might not want. Just simple affection, tenderness.

"Because I love you," Zell repeated. "And I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry you had to sell your bird because I made you keep failing your classes. I'm sorry I hurt you when you found out I was - am - Rubedo. I'm sorry for everything. I just want to see you smile. That's all. You smiled for me when I was Rubedo, I want you to smile for me when I'm not. I'd do anything to see you smile again..."

Irvine tore his eyes away from Zell's, only because if he kept looking at the fighter, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist the little voice inside of him that cried touch him, touch him, touch him, touch him, touch him! TOUCH. HIM!

"Zell... I-I... I don't know what to say..."

"Thank you'll be enough, if you smile."

Irvine looked up again, falling instantly under the spell of those sapphire eyes, and he couldn't help but smile, which in turn made Zell smile, a tender light in his eyes that made Irvine's entire body feel warm. The sharpshooter shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, chewing nervously on his lower lip, then he flung himself at the fighter, unable to resist it any longer, and buried his nose in the choco-fuzz hair, silent tears running down his cheeks.

"Thank you... Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Zell hesitated, uncertain for the first time in a very, very long time, then carefully put his arms around Irvine's waist, letting out a sigh of relief when the sharpshooter relaxed against him, hands fisting in the back of his shirt.

"You're very welcome," Zell murmured, rubbing his back gently.

"I don't know what to do..." Irvine whispered after they'd stood like that for what seemed like an age.

"It doesn't matter," the fighter replied. "Don't think about it."

Irvine couldn't think straight and he knew it was because Zell smelled so good and it felt so good to be held by him... again. He pulled away suddenly and the fighter let him go, watching him as he went back across the stables to Lightning, urging the chocobo's head up.

"C'mon, darlin'. It ain't healthy for you to be rootin' around in there."

He led Lightning to the stall Zell indicated and supplied him with enough greens for his dinner. While he munched happily away, Irvine ran a brush through his feathers and plucked out the dead or ragged ones. The activity was just something to do and Zell knew the sharpshooter was using it as a request for silence and time to think. The fighter let him have it. It wasn't as if watching him was at all difficult or a chore. It made a smile dance around his lips.

Irvine finished what he was doing and put the brush aside, then turned to find Zell watching him intently. The close scrutiny made him shiver and he swallowed, wanting the fighter with a sudden intensity that took his breath away. He took a step forward and Zell straightened from where he had been leaning against the wall.

"Zell... I-"

"Hey! You fella's a'right in here?"

They both looked to the stable doors, the spell between them broken, and Irvine blinked several times. What was he doing? Even if... though... Even though he had forgiven Zell - and he realized he truly had - it was far too soon to... He needed to take some time, to get to know this Zell, before they took that step.

"Yeah, we're fine," Zell replied, smiling companionably.

"I've said it afore 'n' I'll say it ag'in, Mr. Kinneas, that's a damn fine bird yer got there. I'm glad yer got 'im back," the stable owner commented, sauntering bow-leggedly along the stable to where Irvine was just closing Lightning's gate behind him.

"Yeah, me too. I got Zell to thank for that," Irvine replied, throwing a warm smile in the fighter's direction.

"Anyways, we'll look after yer bird sure 'n' certain, Irvine."

"Thanks. I know you will. Anyways, we better get outta your hair. I'll come back my next day off and take him out."

"He'll like that fer sure."

The stable owner tipped his hat and waddled on out, Irvine following behind him. Zell stood where he was until the sharpshooter looked over his shoulder and arched a brow.

"You gonna take me out for lunch, or just stand there with Lightnin' all day...?"

Zell grinned and by the time he left the stables, Irvine was already sitting astride his motorbike, hat stowed and helmet on, waiting for him.

Damn, his bike was sexy!

- - -

They're probably together right now. His hands all over that smooth skin. His tongue tasting that warm mouth. His fingers tracing those tattoos. They're probably somewhere right now making love. Love! Zell loves him. Zell loves him! Fucking cowboy prat... Like he knows anything... I-

"Seifer! Are you even listening to me!"

Seifer literally jumped, head jerking out of his hand where it had been propped and jade eyes blinking stupidly at Quistis.

"No," he answered truthfully, highly amused when her pretty eyes nearly popped out of her head. "I'm not."

"This is important! I need to tell you now so you don't have a heart attack or something on the day."

"Tell me what, Instructor, dear?"

"...You really weren't listening. Okay, this time, listen."

"If you say so, beautiful."

"Oh, please, I know I'm not your type."

"You just never can tell."

Quistis sighed, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and she shifted uncomfortably. She didn't relish breaking this news to him, but since she knew him better than any of the other Instructors, it had fallen to her. They hoped he would refrain from killing her.

"The last however many Field Exams you've taken, you've been Squad Leader and, to put it bluntly, fucked up. You don't take well to leadership, because you seem to take that small amount of power as being a license to do whatever the hell you want, which it isn't."

Seifer arched a brow.

"And your point is...?"

"My point is, Seifer, that for the Field Exam, you'll be taking in two week's time, you won't be Squad Leader."

"Oh, yeah? What moop are you putting me under, then? Some cadet who'll make frightened bunny-eyes at me and do whatever I tell him or her to do anyway?"

"Hardly," she said dryly.

"Who, then?"

"Irvine."

And I thought this day couldn't get any worse... Fucking Hyne

 

Chapter, The Twenty-Sixth: In Which Zell Gets Wet.​

Irvine and Zell sat across from each other at a table inside a little seaside café. The cowboy nervously pushed his food around his plate, looking intently at it, feeling Zell looking at him and trying not to blush.

This is a date, he thought worriedly despite the fact he had actually been the one to suggest it. Zell and me are on a date. My first official date with another man…

Irvine jumped a little in his seat when he felt something brush against his calf. He glanced up at Zell to see him smiling and stretching.

"Sorry," the blond commented with a touch of mirth in his voice. "Didn't mean to do that."

"Like hell you didn't, Dincht."

Zell only grinned a little wider. "Got you talking and looking at me. Didn't know leftovers were so interesting."

The auburn haired cowboy blushed and looked back down at his plate, trying to hide it. "It ain't that."

"I know. And I know what it is, so don't worry. I'm nervous too, ya know?"

Irvine blinked and looked up at Zell. "You are? W-why are you nervous?" He wrung his hands together in his lap and chewed on the inside of his lower lip.

"I got a lot to lose here, if I screw up, and I don't want to do that. I don't want to drive you away anymore." Zell caught the sharpshooter's eyes, not letting them fall back to look at his plate or his lap. "You're too special."

Once again Irvine's cheeks were a bright shade of pink, but he couldn't break the spell of Zell's eyes. It was so easy to get caught up in their depths and see right into the mind and soul of the other young man. Zell was letting him see so much deeper into him than he previously had. Not that Irvine ever dared look him or Seifer in the eyes if he could help it.

Off to the side there was a quiet sound of rattling. Unfortunately for the two at the table, the noise was only quiet because they were off in their own little world, and the fact of the matter was, a waitress had unbalanced her tray and was seconds away from spilling several varying levels of finished drinks on one, Zell Dincht.

"Zell! Watch out!" another waitress called from a few tables down, causing Zell to look away from Irvine and up to see the even closer toppling tray. His eyes widened as he attempted to make a move, to help steady the tray or to leap to the side, it was not clear, and it was not effective.

The next second Zell was soaked in pop, juice, milk, and whatever else the patrons were drinking, sitting on the floor, chair toppled and looking up at the waitress.

The waitress who had been carrying the tray was staring down at Zell with both hands clasped over her mouth, pure dread all over her features. The whole café went suddenly silent and all eyes were on the table and the mess.

"Zell… I'm so sorry…" the worried waitress whispered through her hands.

Zell looked down at himself and then back up at the girl. He ran his hand through his bangs, pushing the ruined spikes back against his head. He coughed twice and got to his feet, setting the chair back upright before turning around to face the waitress.

"Good that all the glasses hit me and not the floor. Don't have to worry about paying for those then."

Irvine and the waitress both stared at him like he had said the strangest thing in the world.

"I… I… I…"

"Calm down, Rena. Breathe will you," Zell said, stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. "It was an accident, okay? Now, you pick up the stuff and get it into the kitchen."

She nodded and crouched down, hurriedly placing the now completely empty cups and glasses back on the tray before scurrying away with them.

The waitress that had called a warning to the fighter walked up to him after Rena had gone into the kitchen. She signed irritably and huffed, one hand on her hip. "It's her first serving job," she said simply. "Of course, your meal is on us for the inconvenience."

"Don't give her too hard a time, Michie, she knows she did something wrong already."

The waitress now known as Michie's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Don't call me that at work, Zell!" she hissed at him.

"Sorry, Michie," Zell grinned and he could tell she was holding back the urge to do something evil to him.

She pulled her lips up into a hugely fake smile and asked if they needed anything else.

"Two cheesecakes if you would. To go, since I don't think I'll be staying in these clothes for long now."

"Michie", whose nametag read Michelle, walked back into the kitchen to get the two desserts, head twitching at the nickname until she came back. "Thank you for coming, we hope to see you again. Have a nice day."

Zell smiled and pushed in his chair. He picked up the two clamshells(1) and went over to Irvine's chair, pulling it out for him with one hand.

Irvine eeped and sprang to his feet. "Do I look like a girl to you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Zell said, voice light and playful and Irvine just couldn't find it in himself to get even the slightest bit angry at what the comment had implied.

"You're all wet…"

"Refrain from making dirty comment in family café, and… let's go." Zell smirked and headed out the door.

Irvine scooped up his hat and dropped it on his head, grabbed his coat and followed Zell out the door.

"Could you take these for me, Irvine?" Zell asked, holding out the two cheesecakes.

Irvine nodded, sliding his second arm into his duster sleeve before taking them. "I ain't holdin' on to ya all sticky and wet."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Zell said, shrugging out of his jacket and working his shirt off right in the middle of the street.

"Zell! What are you doin'?" Irvine asked startled, eyes immediately scanning the fighter's body as it was revealed.

"You think it feels nice to be covered with all that stuff? Ick! I'm going to wash up and get changed."

"Where? In the middle of the main street?"

Zell turned and looked at the cowboy like he was crazy, also giving him a nice three-quarter view of his pecs and stomach. "Did you forget I live in a nice little house on the main street and I have a bathroom and clothes there?"

"I, uh… er… guess I did." Irvine looked down at his feet again.

"Well, come on. You can meet Ma while I wash up." Zell threw a smile over his shoulder before headed down the street, hearing Irvine's boot-steps following behind him.

"Couldn't you just wait to get home before you, like, started strippin'?"

"And pass up the chance to show this body off? Pu-lease!(2)" Zell chuckled, sauntering a few paces before sliding back into his normal pace.

Irvine blinked after he realized he'd been staring at the blond's arse and focused his attention back on the blond's head instead.

Zell walked down the steps to his front door and opened it, stepped inside and held it ajar for Irvine to step through. He turned his head to the side and called out to his ma. "Hey, Ma! I'm home!"

The brown haired woman came bustling in from the living room, smiling brightly, then stopped half way to the door. Her initial shock was the cowboy she had not often seen, but knew him to be Irvine. Only after she partially got over that did she notice her son's half naked state.

"Why are you topless?" She inquired, cocking a brow and loosely crossing her arms.

"Got some drinks spilled on me at the café," he answered shrugging.

"And you just had to take your clothes off?" she shook her head, small smile tugging at her lips. She knew he was a bit of an exhibitionist… a bit, ha.

"Woulda had to do it sooner or later, and sooner was less sticky. Ma, this is Irvine, Irvine, Ma. And you better call her 'Ma' too or she'll make a fuss."

"Right I will!" she said, coming over to the boys to take Zell's sopping clothes. She looked at them, both eyebrows nearly reaching her hairline. "How many drinks?"

"I dunno, a tray full."

"I'll get these in the wash. Irvine, make yourself at home. Can I get you anything to drink? Tea, water, milk, pop? Not from Zell's shirt of course."

Irvine was a little stunned at the conversation. They were really open with each other, especially considering the fact that Zell was a teenage boy. Well, actually he was considered an adult now, being eighteen. "Oh," he blinked. "Just some water I suppose."

"Alright, hun. Oh! Let me take those into the kitchen and put those in the fridge for you." She shifted the clothes and took the two clamshells containing the cheesecake into the kitchen, putting them away before continuing into the laundry room.

"How does she-?"

Zell shook his head. "Never ask how a mother does so many things at once. Your head will explode." He turned to smile at the cowboy. "I really need to have a shower. You can wait in the living room and watch TV until Ma comes to torment you. Little bit of advice… it's a lot easier to just answer the questions the first time around. She can even embarrass Seifer." Zell nodded. "Living room's this way."

"What kind of questions?" Irvine asked as Zell showed him the way to the living room.

"Well…" the fighter drew his lower lip between his teeth for a moment. "She knows what's been happening. She knows how Seifer and I treated you, and she knows about 'Rubedo' and my feelings…"

Irvine stared at the blond's back, startled and nervous about having to answer questions about all those things. "You told… her?"

"Yea," he turned to look back into sky blue eyes. "The first night we kissed and I left so suddenly… I came back here. That's when I told her."

"Why did you leave that night?" Irvine asked, past-worry in his voice.

"It's not really the time to talk about it. But we can, later, if you want." Zell patted the couch and Irvine took a seat. "I'm sure she'll be around in just a minute or two. I better go get cleaned up."

Irvine nodded and took off his hat, setting it in his lap and waiting for Ma to come in and start her questions. He tried to think up responses but he was too nervous even to do that.

"So," a gentle voice startled Irvine out of his thoughts. "You and Zell, no killing each other? When did that happen?"

"Oh… uh… today, pretty much…" he fiddled with the rim of his hat.

"Just today? Oh my. No wonder he didn't invite you up." She swept over to place a glass of water on the coffee table in front of him. Then she moved to take a seat in a comfortable looking armchair partly facing the cowboy, who was staring at her in shock. "Oh, please, Irvine, you'll have to get use to such comments if you come around here. I know what goes through teenage boys' heads, you know."

Irvine gave a little nod, his cheeks slightly pinked again. He lifted the glass and took a nervous sip.

"I really can't believe the way he and Seifer treated you." She shook her head. "If I had known even the slightest details Zell would have been in such trouble. You think Garden can dish out punishment? Well let me tell you something..."

"I wouldn't have thought he could be so different. From the beginnin', when we just, like, fought along side each other, then after… and now… he's like completely different people. I don't know if I should be rememberin' things about him, or, like, coming at it like I'm meetin' someone new…"

"Well, I can assure you that Zell in the middle. That mean one isn't my boy. He knows better than that and I can't say I know what brought him to do such things. Even Seifer should know better. Idiots for that, the both of them."

Irvine smiled softly at the words, whether it was because they insulted Seifer or because they made Zell seem like a better person, he wasn't sure.

"I think," she began, waiting for Irvine to look up at her from the rippling water in his glass, "that Zell, just as himself is more like "Rubedo" actually." Her hands lifted to do the air quotes around the name. "From what he told me anyway, that was more like the son I know. Of course, he's still the type to act first and think later and sure wouldn't pass up the chance to take his clothes off- I really don't know what that's about. But he's got a good heart, a big one and lots of emotion to go behind it."

Irvine hands continued to fiddle with his hat and the glass. "I'm a little embarrassed, Ma'am-Ma… that you know so much about what's been goin' on. Even I'm still pretty confused. It's been a real trip. Gone through hell, in my opinion, but now… I'm gettin' flooded with good things. Zell got me back my chocobo," he smiled. "I still can't believe he did that for me… I'm realisin' some things about myself that I weren't aware of before "Rubedo" came along." Irvine mimicked the air quote gesture.

Ma's head titled to the side very slightly at Irvine's grammatical error before she smiled wildly. "Oh, how cute! Do you always do that too?"

"I, er… do I do what?"

"You said weren't instead of wasn't. Do you always do that? Do you swap the two around?"

Irvine blinked at her. "I weren't aware I were doin' that." Irvine blinked at himself this time as he heard the words in his ears. "I s'pose I do. Guess I'm used to it like how I say 'like'. I tried to stop once, you know? But it was dangerous to my health."

"Well, you are a cowboy. Not just a show one either since it seems you ride and all." She brought her hand up to her lips as she chuckled merrily. She caught herself when Irvine gave her a confused look. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Living with Zell does have its side effects. I think the proverbial gutter took up residence in his room and some of the dirty stuff leaks into the rest of the house. Don't be so startled, I'm not that old, you know." She nodded and crossed her arms loosely.

"Ma, please, you'll scare him more than I have."

Both members of the living room looked toward the figure leaning against the door frame. Zell stood in a white, fitted shirt, which just meant very thin and tight material, displaying every muscle curve and dip, and a pair of butt-hugging black jeans. One hand rested on his hip as the other hung loosely at his side, his shoulder propping him against the frame.

Irvine gave a startled little gasp at the sight, forgetting Zell's mother was only a few feet away. Zell had that damp look about him, the one you get right after a shower and a good towel drying. And his hair… was un-spiked. His bangs all hung down his forehead, clumped in little points that cut in front of sapphire eyes and he had one of those little half smirks planted on his face, allowing just a sliver of white to been seen through his lips.

Another soft chuckle finally reached his ears and he turned his slightly widened eyes back to Ma Dincht.

"You were staring a bit there, dear."

"I- er…" Irvine ducked his head, eyes focusing on his hat.

"Ma, what did I just say, hm? Wanna head back to Garden now Irvine? Get you outta- Ma…" Zell warned. "outta the clutches of this evil woman?" He chuckled at her little gasp of feigned hurt.

"Zell, don't say stuff like that about your ma," Irvine said finishing the last of his water and getting to his feet. "It was really nice to formally meet you, Mrs. Dincht, but it is about time we headed back."

"Of course, of course. You boys just get on ready and I'll go get you those leftovers from the fridge." She smiled and rose to her feet, bustling by the boys and into the kitchen.

"Hope it wasn't too bad for you. I tried to hurry."

"Yea… didn't even, like, put your hair up."

"Nope," Zell smiled. "You don't look too worse for wear. Sorry if she asked anything she shouldn't have. Sometimes she forgets other people have bigger boundaries than me. I think I have a boundary deficiency disorder or something."

Irvine chuckled and reached out his hand for Zell's, then blushed when they came into contact. "I… um…"

Zell blinked too, but recovered quickly and curled his fingers around the sharpshooter's. "Hey, I told you not to think about it, right?" Another soft smile. Zell really did seem a lot more like the Rubedo Irvine had met.

The boys headed out of the living room and met a cooing, happy mother at the front door. Yes, she had spotted the hand holding. "Ma," Zell said shaking his head at her.

She did a little huff and pout, but handed over the desserts. They all said their little "good bye"s and "see you later"s before the boys left and Ma went back to her business.

Irvine and Zell headed back to the café where the bike was parked and got everything set before getting on and heading back to Garden. Desserts at the bottom of the compartment, Irvine's hat on top of those, the passenger helmet set on the auburn head, and the auburn-haired man sitting on the bike, arms wrapped around Zell's waist. He still had the shower-warm feel to him, and Irvine pressed close.

I don't know what you call them. But they're the Styrofoam things they put your leftovers in. Doggy bags have been out for a while, ya know.

Wooo! First time I used one of his in game comments in a fic! Hyne is he gay…

 

Chapter, the Twenty-Seventh: In Which Irvine and Zell Talk.​

Fuck him. Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him. Fuck. Him.

That felt mildly better, Seifer thought, staring at the computer screen full of "fuck him"s. Stupid make-up classes. He didn't need to attend anyway. He'd heard everything the instructor was saying a thousand times before, but it was a mandatory requirement for the Field Exam, just like the written test.

Seifer snarled silently. Just the thought of the stupid Field Exam made him want to wring Irvine's neck. How they could put him under the damn cowboy! It was just… just… wrong.

Maybe it was a good thing that he still had a couple weeks to cool off before the thing. It would happen only a couple of days after Zell's last class, but there were still four of those to go. He hated his life. He hated Garden. He hated Quistis. He hated Zell!

Well, no. He didn't hate Zell. He couldn't hate Zell. But he sure as hell could hate Irvine Pansy-Arse Kinneas. And he did. Hyne, did he ever. Just the merest sight of the sharpshooter was apt to make Seifer kill him, and he hadn't even heard from Zell yet how the chocobo thing went.

I hope it didn't work, he thought viciously, which he knew was selfish, but it would be his arms Zell came to for comfort. And if Irvine were out of the way…

Seifer scrubbed his hand over his face. He had to stop thinking so selfishly. He should just be happy if Zell was happy. But he was – he had discovered just recently – a supremely possessive person when it came to the man he realized he probably lov- had feelings for. He wanted Zell and he wanted Zell for himself.

Why hadn't he realized it before? If he'd only been smart enough to see what was right in front of his nose, then none of the business with Irvine would ever had happened, because Zell would already have been taken.

"Dammit…" he whispered, hitting 'clr scrn' before he got caught not paying attention. The last thing he needed was to not be allowed on the Field Exam at all. This time, he really had to pass.

But… he knew he could probably do that and still make the experience a horrific one for a certain sharpshooting cowboy…

- - -

Zell dropped Irvine off at his door – or he had been going to, but the sharpshooter invited him in to have their desserts together, and the fighter was rapidly finding himself unable to deny Irvine anything he asked for. It was fairly tidy, Zell thought, but he itched to pick up the couple of magazines and random gun paraphernalia from the floor.

Hyne, he was a neat-freak.

He ignored the tidying urge, and was just glad Irvine had made the bed, or he knew he wouldn't be able to have stopped himself doing it.

The sharpshooter settled cross-legged on the bed, leaving plenty of room for Zell, which the fighter gladly took. Then Irvine realized they needed forks and swore under his breath, slipping off the bed and going over to a little storage cupboard by his fridge. Zell liked the cupboard. Mostly because Irvine had to bend over to find what he needed, presenting the fighter with a particularly tasty view of his particularly fine arse.

Irvine straightened and turned, then blushed hotly when he realized what Zell must have been looking at.

"Whoever thought Mr. Sex himself would blush like an innocent, hm?" Zell commented, which only made Irvine blush harder, a fact which Zell found highly amusing.

"Well… It's different… 'n' besides… I…" Irvine trailed off, fiddling with the forks as he hopped back onto the bed.

"Besides what?" Zell took the forks from Irvine before he stabbed himself or something, and stuck them in the cheesecakes.

Irvine hesitated, then said hurriedly.

"I've… onlyeversleptwithSelphie…"

Zell stared at him.

"No way!"

Irvine looked away and Zell forced himself to quit the fastitocalon-out-of-water impression, blinking a few times.

"Really?" he asked, much more calmly.

Irvine nodded mutely and plucked embarrassedly at the bed covers. Zell couldn't help but grin a bit foolishly, Irvine just looked so adorable – And damn, damn fuckable… his mind added unhelpfully, causing stirrings deep in his belly. He forced his body to just shut down that area. There were definite pros to being totally in control of his body.

"Hey," Zell said, touching Irvine's shoulder gently. "Hey, it's not something you need to be ashamed of."

"I… talk a big game, I know, but… I guess… I guess Seifer was right when he said I… I don't do nothin' much with those girls… Even… with Selphie I…" He trailed off, shaking his head. He don't wanna hear your pathetic sex history, Cowboy. Shut up!

"You what?" Zell wondered, genuinely curious. He could almost see Irvine beating himself up inside. They must have put a huge dint in his self-confidence… "Hyne, I'm sorry, Irvine…" he blurted suddenly.

Irvine looked up sharply, brows furrowing in confusion.

"What…? I ain't even told you nothin' yet…"

"No, I mean… I mean for what Seifer did. For how we fucked up your life… and your self-esteem and all that. I… It's no excuse, but I didn't realize how much… how bad it was effecting you…"

Irvine smiled shyly.

"It's okay. Well… I mean… it's not okay, but… but I forgive you and…" The smile grew a little, but turned even shyer. "And I figure you'll, like, make up for it…"

Zell broke into a grin.

Oh, you have no idea, baby. I'll make it up to you like you won't believe. I'll make you forget more than how badly I treated you; I'll make you forget your own name

"I'll do my best," he said agreeably, deciding against going with what the eager, teenaged, libido-driven section of his mind supplied. "But… what were you going to say about Selphie?"

"O-oh… that… I don't know if you'll wanna hear that story…"

"Baby, I want to hear whatever you want to tell me."

The sudden blush that crept up Irvine's neck surprised Zell and he cocked his head.

"Surely it can't be that bad."

"No… yeah… I mean… You… you called me 'baby'…"

Zell blinked, then he grinned and remembered the cheesecake, plucking the fork out of his and using it to take a bite.

"Well, I guess I did," he said when he finished the bite, then the grin slipped. "I can… not call you that, if you'd prefer…"

"No…" Irvine smiled. "I… it's fine."

"Good. Now, tell me what happened with Selphie."

"Oh, geez, do I have to?"

"Yup. You started to say, so you've gotta finish."

"Or what?" Irvine dared.

"Or…" Zell snatched a forkful of cheesecake from Irvine's clamshell. "I'll eat your dessert."

"Hey!"

Irvine made a grab for the fork, but missed, making Zell chuckle. Then, the fighter offered the fork, holding the cheesecake against Irvine's lips. He was actually surprised when the sharpshooter opened his mouth and took the cake without blushing. He'd thought for sure that would elicit one. Maybe Irvine was relaxing more. That could only be a good thing.

"So," Zell said, sliding the fork out of Irvine's mouth and swallowing when Irvine 'mmm'd" appreciatively. "So what happened?"

"It were a near-disaster…" Irvine admitted, finding his cheesecake suddenly amazingly interesting. "It were only her perseverance that saved the evenin'. Hyne, she were good to me. She didn't laugh, or tease me, or anythin'… just… worked patiently until I could please her. And I did. I did please her. But it… it didn't really do much for me… Guess I know why now… It were after that we decided it weren't a good idea. I guess… she probably figured out what my preferences were before I wanted to admit it… She's smart… Smarter than anyone reckons… And… And I love her. But… not… like that, you know."

Irvine stopped abruptly, looking up and then back down in only a second, if that. He couldn't believe how easily he'd just spoken to Zell, told him something supremely embarrassing with barely a hesitation. Already he was finding it difficult to even comprehend that this man could ever do something as hurtful as he had. He liked this Zell a lot better.

"I know how you feel."

Irvine looked up again, blinking and Zell finished off his cheesecake with one final – and almost too big – bite.

"What…?"

"Same thing happened to me. Guess it happens to a lot of gay guys. We're so determined to fit in and not be different. Only I wasn't so lucky. She wasn't someone I knew well. Nothing happened. I mean, nothing. Mini-Zell just wasn't coming to the party." Zell caught a slight grin on Irvine's face, and he pushed for more, gesturing at the front of his pants. "It was a major flop, I tell you. If it could've crawled off and hid, it would've." The sharpshooter snickered and Zell looked sharply at him, mock-glaring. "You laughing at me, Kinneas?"

"No," Irvine said, though a laugh.

"I reckon you are. Laughing at my poor, woe-begone, limp Mini-Zell!"

"No!" the sharpshooter insisted, but he could barely form the word in his fit of laughter. What had been a supremely embarrassing situation to talk about had suddenly become hysterically funny.

"You are!" Zell accused, feigning hurt. "You'll hurt his feelings."

At that, Irvine was gone, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. And the moment he started to calm down, Zell stole his cheesecake, which was still barely touched, and he lunged at the fighter, still laughing.

"That's mine!"

"Well, actually, I paid for it," Zell reminded him, scrambling off the bed and darting across the room.

"But you bought it for me!" Irvine was still laughing and he leapt at Zell again. By putting one hand out in front to hold Irvine back, and holding the cheesecake out behind himself, the fighter prevented the sharpshooter from being able to reach it.

"Maybe, but you laughed at my poor Mini-Zell."

Tears were, by this stage, running down Irvine's cheeks from the mad laughter.

"I'm sorry!" Irvine cried, but he didn't sound it, since he was still nearly killing himself laughing.

"Aaare you…?"

"Yes!"

"Reeeally?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm… Gimme a kiss and I might give you the cake."

Irvine stopped trying to reach the cake and his laughter dropped back to a soft chuckle.

"Aren't you supposed to give me the kisses?"

Zell cocked his head again, blinking at Irvine. Here was something they hadn't broached yet, even though he knew what his tendencies were in bed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well…" Irvine went just a little pink. "Well… I just… I mean… you…" He was obviously struggling to find a way to say what he meant, so Zell supplied it gently.

"I'm the dominant one? The top?"

"Yeah," Irvine said, relieved. "I couldn't think of a way to say it without callin' myself a girl."

Zell laughed, handing the cake over.

"Well, of course there's others ways. You sure aren't a girl, Irvine." Zell eyed him. "Not a chance."

Irvine smiled instead of blushing, which made Zell smile in reply.

"I'm glad you mentioned that, though," Zell said. "I was worried it might bother you…"

"Well, it's true though, isn't it? You… You'll take care of me…" Irvine dropped his eyes, biting his lip. "Like a man takes care of a woman… but different… 'cause I ain't a woman."

"Yeah, like that," Zell agreed, knowing Irvine was trying to get his head around it. "I'll take care of you… if you let me… But…" He touched Irvine's face. "But not always. We'd still be equals, and sometimes I might need taking care of myself, you know. I have weak moments too, moments where I need someone to hold me and tell me it's okay."

"Your Ma…?"

"Sometimes, but there's still some things I'd rather not talk to Ma about."

"Seifer," Irvine said, with a bitter twist to his mouth that Zell really didn't like.

"I talk to him, yeah. Irvine-" he started, but Irvine was a step ahead of him.

"He's your friend. I have to learn to get along with him, if I want to be with you."

"Yes. If you want that."

"I want it… I can do it. If I can get along with you, I can get along with him, but… b-but not if he… keeps callin' me names… and… and…"

"He won't," Zell promised before Irvine could go on. "I swear, he won't. I won't let him. It goes both ways. You gotta learn to get along with him, but he's gotta learn to get along with you, too."

Irvine smiled.

"I like this you. I'm sure there's gotta be a Seifer I can like, too."

Zell smiled in relief as well. He'd actually been a little worried Irvine would flatly refuse to have anything to do with Seifer. Now all he had to do was convince Seifer.

"Zell?"

"Hm?" Zell snapped out of reverie.

"I got the cake, but you didn't get no kiss."

The fighter grinned and stepped forward, drawing Irvine into that warm, tender kiss the sharpshooter remembered so well from Rubedo. But it was so much easier, so much warmer and real now that he had a face, a voice, to put to the name – which wasn't really Rubedo either. But the feeling of being safe, closed away from the world and all that was bad in it was still there. And special! Hyne! The way Zell's tongue moved carefully, tenderly inside his mouth, tasted every inch and every hidden corner, made him feel as though he was all that mattered to the fighter, and all that existed. It was so good.

Still, niggling at the back of his mind was the knowledge of what Zell had done, and how he had hidden, and he couldn't let himself get too deep into the physical until he was satisfied he knew the real Zell. The intention to break away was there, his body just wasn't doing it. His body wanted to explore this new realisation about himself, and learn what it meant to actually be turned on without an insane amount of effort from his partner. It wanted more. Irvine pressed closer.

"Fuck!" Zell cried suddenly, snapping away.

"What…? Did I-"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's time for class."

Irvine glanced at the clock.

"Damnation! You're right." Irvine paused. "Zell… if anyone finds out… they'll… they might say something about my mark in the class… I mean… if I pass…"

Zell snorted.

"You'd pass, baby, my boyfriend or not. You're improving heaps."

That gave Irvine a warm flush.

"But still…"

"Yeah, you're right. It's okay. We'll keep it quiet for a while, yeah."

Irvine nodded.

"You go first. I gotta get outta my chaps anyway."

Zell nodded, but he couldn't resist pressing another quick kiss to Irvine's lips before he darted out. Irvine stood smiling stupidly for at least three minutes before he shook himself out of it and quickly moved to get ready for class.

 

Chapter, The Twenty-Eighth: In Which Zell Gets Slapped.​

Things had been going well between Zell and Irvine. The two were spending more time together, but still keeping it discreet enough that no one would assume anything. There were still two classes to go before they could come out as a couple, and even then, Zell wasn't sure if Irvine was ready to take that step.

This development was proving to have the opposite effect on Zell and Seifer's relationship. Time he would usually have spent with Seifer was being split between the gunbladist and the cowboy and this was causing some agitation in the taller blond.

Seifer's plan to get over Zell wasn't working at all. The more time the tattooed boy spent with Irvine, the more jealous he became and any time he got with Zell he had to continually keep his hormones in check. It just wasn't working. His feelings for Zell weren't going away and now he needed a new remote for his TV. He had been watching an episode of The F Word (1) when one of the leads said "you always want what you can't have" and he just lost it.

- - -

The second to last class was winding down and it was time to break it to the students that the last class would be both longer and shorter than the rest. Since it was Wednesday they were in the training center and Zell had to round them all up and into the entrance where none of the monsters were.

"Alright," he said as the group he was with at the moment finished off the two grats with their bear hands. They seemed pleased they could do it, which Zell found amusing. "Let's have you all head out to the front, get a drink of water if you need it, and wait for the rest of the class. I have an announcement."

The group nodded, some of them rubbing their hands against their shirts or pant legs to get rid of some of the grats' blood and other little treats you get covered in when fighting so close to an enemy.

Zell headed around the training center, gathering and instructing the students as he found them. Everyone looked like they were in good condition and no one had had to draw their weapons to battle a T-Rexuar, which was a very good thing. He figured they'd been practically cleared out by the group of heros and Seifer, but there could be one or two still roaming around.

The tattooed blond found the last group just to the right of the doors heading back into the entrance. He'd let Irvine go to the opposite side of the training center to look after the other cadets in case they did get into trouble. He wasn't stupid. He knew with Exeter slung across the cowboy's back, he'd be able to handle anything in the area.

Irvine smiled at the blond as he came over, a small one, as he ran his arm across his brow. "Come to see if we're not, like, dead yet, Instructor?"

Zell laughed and shook his head. "You're all doing fine. I know you can handle the grats without your weapons, Irvine. And don't call me Instructor." He looked to the rest of the students Irvine had been grouped with. "Time to head back to the entrance. Five minute water break, then I have something to tell everyone."

They nodded and headed back through the door. Irvine was last to exit, looking back at Zell, who he knew was checking him out, all hot, flushed and sweaty from fighting. "You coming over to watch TV with me tonight?"

Sapphire eyes moved up from the cowboy's arse to his face. "Yea, I'll be there. I'm going to do another run through, since I forgot to count students when I sent them back."

Irvine shook his head and smiled. "I'll go tell everyone you're an idiot. Hurry up."

Zell chuckled and ran through the training center lickity-split, coming back to the entrance just as the last few people were coming back from getting some water. "Alright," he said clapping his hands together once to get their attention.

Everyone stopped talking and looked toward Zell. It was funny how he acted nothing like an instructor and yet they listened to him far better.

"So, next time is last class. Everyone excited?"

The students cheered and whooped, clapping their hands and looking pleased with the idea. Even if the end of class meant they'd be getting their grade for it soon.

"Aw, now you hurt my feelings. I thought you liked me." He wiped a non-existent tear from his eye and continued on. "Because I have to test you all individually, I'm going to do you all an extra favor and have it so it's a private session. Don't have to worry about the rest of your class watching your every move, literally. Now, because I need about ten minutes per student, class will go over the usual two hours." He took a little pause to allow the students to groan and bemoan the fact until he cleared it up.

"But that means you only need to show up for about fifteen minutes. Five minutes before the test, and then the ten minutes of. Now, to make this easy, I have a sign up sheet and cards with your time on so you don't forget." Zell withdrew a stack of cards from one of his pockets that read 'Zell's Hand-to-Hand Demonstration'. The time was marked on each already. He was pretty darn prepared. From another pocket he took out a piece of paper and a pen. Alright, first off, all those people who have already made plans for after six this Friday, sign up first."

He handed the paper and pen to one of students who had stretched out an arm for it and went to lean against the exit door, cards ready to give out. After the students had written their name down they headed over to Zell, told him their time, and he found them their card, saying "don't lose it" in various different ways. When everyone was done, he took the list and put it back in his pocket along with the pen. Now it was back to his room for a shower before spending the night on the couch with Irvine.

- - -

"Zell!" Seifer called from down the aisle. He smiled and came over with his tray of breakfast.

The tattooed boy looked up from the plate of hotdogs he was in the middle of devouring while Selphie chatted at him and waved to Seifer.

The scarred blond smiled and sat down next to Zell, setting his tray down and resting his elbows on the table. He looked over at Zell's hotdog massacre and wrinkled his nose. "Zell, are you as much of an animal in bed as when you eat?" Oh, that wasn't a good train of thought. Bad choice of words, bad.

Zell stopped chewing and blinked up at the other boy, the hotdog in his mouth pushed to the side and making his cheek bulge out a little.

This caused Selphie to laugh even though she could tell there were some issues. She knew everything. That Seifer liked Zell, that Zell and Irvine were going out and that Seifer and Irvine still hated each other and spent as little time in the same room as possible. But Zell's cheek was funnier than all that at the moment.

"Are you doing anything the day after the field test?" Seifer asked, picking up his glass and taking a sip of his juice.

Zell swallowed then shook head. "I don't have anything planned."

"Want to come over? We can rent Pirates of the Kashenrahi (2) and have our own little celebration of me passing the SeeD exam." Did that just come out as dirty as I heard it in my head…?

Zell's eyes lit up at the idea. He hadn't seen that movie since it had come out in theatres, and he hadn't gotten around to buying it yet. He loved Fernando and Lonny (3). They were so yummy. "That sounds great! I'd love to." Zell smiled happily. "Can we pause it every time Jecht and Wes have a moment and make up what would really happen?"

"Zell! What would really happen did happen in the movie! Even though they are so uber gorgeous together…" she clasped her hands together and tilted her head to the side as she sighed dreamily. "Yum…"

Zell leaned closer to Seifer and whispered into his ear. "I'm scared to think about what's going through her head right now."

Seifer held back a shiver as Zell's breath brushed against his ear and rustled his hair. Uh, it was getting harder and harder not to just throw him down and have his way with him. Harder, but not yet impossible. "Then don't think about it, idiot."

Zell drew back and punched his friend playfully in the arm. "Well, you better pass this year, Seifer, or we aren't celebrating, ya hear me?" he gave the older boy a look that meant he was serious. Seifer needed to pass, and he was running out of chances fast.

"If I didn't pass why would we have anything to celebrate? Man, sometimes you really are an idiot, Chickie." Another glare and hit from his shorter almost-counterpart. He just grinned back at him.

- - -

Zell scribbled down a mark and some comments as his seventeenth student headed out of the training room. Things had been going well, and time seemed to be flying for Zell. Probably because the person he was fighting with kept changing and he had to keep track of everything they were doing so he could make his decisions.

So far he'd only run into two problems; one where the student was wearing something obviously for catching his attention, and another who flirted the entire time. Zell explained they lost some marks for overall appearance and composure, respectively, although he did give them the once over on their way out. What, he was still human.

He glanced at his sheet and smiled. Irvine was next. When the door closed he looked up to find the cowboy coming towards him smiling, and smiled in return. "Hey there, beautiful."

"Zell, shh," Irvine warned, holding a finger to his lips. "You don't know who might hear you."

Zell chuckled and set down the list, moving into the center of the room and taking up a stance. "Alright, Irvine, let's see how much you've improved."

The sharpshooter walked towards him, hands above and behind his head, tugging his ponytail tight before moving into a fighting position of his own. Less than two minutes in Zell had gotten his arms around the cowboy and was holding him close.

"Mm, got you," he said, pressing a kiss to Irvine's shoulder.

Irvine huffed and turned his head to look back at the martial artist. "No fair. You are so, like, usin' more of your skills on me than the others."

Zell just grinned and released him, letting him turn to stand face to face before they began again. Another minute and Irvine was on his back on the padded floor, Zell atop him, pinning his slender arms above his head. "Got you again," he whispered, shifting his body over the sharpshooter's.

Irvine panted a little, looking up into Zell's face. He was cheating. Short, little bastard. But he couldn't find it in him to be mad that his "instructor" was messing up his demonstration.

Zell moved Irvine's wrists into one hand and brought the other down to cup his cheek, leaning closer until their lips touched. He started soft, then pressed harder, running his tongue over the cowboy's soft lips until he allowed him entrance. Once he was allowed that, tasting Irvine for the who-knew-how-manyth time turned into his single goal, leaving the auburn-haired man squirming beneath him lightly and whimpering.

Eventually Zell found enough willpower to pull away and glance at the clock. Ohhhhhhhh crap. "Time's nearly up," he murmured, nuzzling the cowboy's neck.

"Then you better, like, let me go and get up, don't you think?" Irvine asked, breathing harder now than he had been from the fighting.

"Or not," the blond grinned and dove to capture his lips once more, but this kiss was far shorter. He knew he couldn't risk another student peaking in the door to see why their peer hadn't come out yet, only to find that peer and Zell doing who knows what by that time. The tattooed boy got to his feet and held his hand out for Irvine, which the cowboy took, and pulled him to his feet as well.

"So," Irvine asked, caught between nervous and cocky. "How did I do?"

"Since I only have pass and fail, you passed. But if I had grades, an A," he grinned and pulled the taller man against him. "Somehow I knew we'd end up in trouble during this little test. Damn you, being so sexy."

Irvine blushed and wished he had his hat so he could pull it down over his face. "Well, thank you, Zell…"

"Well, I only have three more tests to go, and they're all your friends. You guys are going out to celebrate the end of Evil Dictator Zell's Reign as Instructor tonight, right?"

"Just not in those words, yea," Irvine grinned at him. "I can't remember where we're going, but Anasha and Illo will look after everyone."

"Anasha's next," Zell said, leaning over to check his sheet. "And she's probably starting to wonder why you aren't out yet. Everyone else is getting out a couple minutes early."

"Then I better get going." Irvine placed a peck on Zell's cheek and hurried to the door, fixing himself up a little before heading out.

Zell turned his back to the door as he wrote his comment and mark for Irvine. He was passing everybody, so all that really meant anything were the comments. So what if Irvine's where actually describing his ability to kiss? With the right words it seemed like any of the others.

He heard Anasha coming in and turned, smiling, to greet her. It took about all of one second for Anasha's mouth to nearly hit the floor and her palm to collide with Zell's cheek.

"Ow…" he winced, hand automatically lifting to cradle his cheek. "Test hasn't started and slapping isn't allowed." He furrowed his brows at her as she scowled at him.

"Where do you think you get off molesting Irvine! He already can't stand you, and he has to be here, against his will, and you just take advantage of that!"

Now Zell's mouth hung open in utter shock. What in Hyne's name is she talking about? "Huh?" was all Zell was able to form into words.

"Somehow I don't think Irvine and your lips got bruised fighting!" She glared at him and raised her hand again.

Okay, this is where I grab her wrist and avoid being slapped again. He did just that, lifting his arm and wrapping his fingers around her wrist. So, Irvine hasn't even told them… "Anasha," he said firmly. She only glared harder. "We're a couple." And there goes her jaw again. Now she's a fish.

Open. Close. Open. Close. Well, nothing was wrong with her mouth, just her vocal cords. "Huh?" Amazing word, really.

Zell sighed. "You have to keep it a secret. I don't know if Irvine's ready to tell the whole school. In fact, I doubt he is. But he and I are a couple."

"How? When? Where?"

"Uh… How, cause I got him his chocobo back, when, well, did he ever talk about a Rubedo?" She nodded. "Hi, my name's Zell Rubedo Dincht." Gape. Wow, this girl was amusing. "Where. Well, at the stable if you go from the chocobo time, probably on the plains if you go with Rubedo." Now the big one. He knew it was coming.

"Why?"

"I'm not the jackarse I was to him. I swear. I love him, Anasha, and I'm going to treat him right for as long as he'll have me." Oh no, shaky fangirl happy eyes!

"You love him?"

"I do. I love him deeply and I'd do anything for him. But, well, he's sexy and I couldn't keep my hands off him." Zell chuckled lightly to himself. Then he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a little note on it. Folding it, he gave it to her. "Give this to Irvine when you all go out tonight. It just says I told you because, well, it avoided grievous injury to my person."

She chuckled at that, then stopped when she realized Zell had used such big words. Well, no time for that. She had a demonstration to give. "Okay, okay, now let's get me tested and outta her before you start getting behind schedule.

Well, just three more to go, and this class is finished. Zell grinned to himself and then got back to work. Six more hours of free, uninterrupted time a week sounded good to him.

1. Play on The L Word, which is about lesbians. The F in this stands for fags or fucking… or fabulous. Whatever, it's about gay guys, not lesbians. We love them. He thought there would be a lot more profanities though.

2. Play on… well I think it's obvious. The last part is taken from three regions in the Centra area: Kashkabald Dessert, Serengetti Plains, and Poccarahi Island. It's the body of water below the huge bridge, and between the two continents.

3. I'll just go over all the important people right now.

Johnny Depp – Lonny Dett

Capt. Jack Sparrow – Capt. Jecht Swallow

Not Jecht from FFX

Orlando Bloom – Fernando Bloon

Willian Turner – Wesley Tanner

Keira Knightley – Kyra Daily

Elizabeth Swan – Anastasia Turkey

We don't like her

PS

FUCKING GERETTE AND HIS "I be doing this" FUCKING BE! GET OUTTA IRVINE'S SPEECH PATTERN, GER!

 

Chapter, The Twenty-Ninth: In Which Seifer is a Bitch.​

"Oh, you cannot go now, Irvine! Party's just getting warmed up!" Terry cried, words just slightly slurred. But the guy was naturally hyper, so he didn't need to be really drunk to appear totally hammered.

"Accordin' to who?" Irvine wondered, knowing Zell was waiting for him at his Ma's place.

"Um… Um…" Terry looked around, then jabbed with his finger. "Selphie and Anasha!"

Irvine glanced over, following the indication of Terry's hand to find Anasha straddling Selphie's lap and the two of them rather busy with one another's mouths. He arched a brow, then shook his head with a snort.

"Well, I got early class tomorrow," Irvine lied, tilting his hat forward to a jaunty angle. "So I gotta go."

"You're not even smaaashed yet…" Rikan pointed out, looking smashed enough for the both of them.

"Ain't plannin' on gettin' that way, neither. I'm tipsy. 'S enough. I'm also goin'. Later, guys, congrats!"

Irvine waved and slipped out of SeaDrye before anyone else cold protest his leaving. He only felt marginally bad for walking out on the 'celebration' of their passing Zell's class, when he knew what was waiting for him. He'd promised he'd go out with The Cadets before Zell had suggested a mini-party at his Ma's place, so they'd decided he'd just leave them early, and go to Ma's after.

He tugged nervously at the hem of the tight, dark-green shirt that barely kissed the waist-line of his hip-riding faux-velvet pants and hoped Zell would be impressed. The line of dimenties up the sides of the pants had certainly fascinated Rikan, but the man's attentions only made Irvine chuckle now. He'd dressed knowing he'd be seeing Zell. He'd dressed to impress Zell. He'd dressed to make Zell want him.

The shirt's sleeveless nature showed off muscles bred to handle Exeter's powerful kick-back and Lightning's stubborn head, but it hugged his form, also displaying the gentle curve of his waist into his hips. It left no doubt that he was indeed a man, but softened some of the hard lines in a way he was fairly certain would set Zell panting. He'd gotten pretty good at judging the best ways to set Zell panting. And he liked it. He liked that someone wanted him that much, and that he, in turn, wanted that someone right back.

The hat, of course, was an accessory he simply couldn't go without. And besides, Zell really liked it.

Irvine grinned to himself and almost fell down the stairs to Ma's door. Maybe he'd had just a little more to drink than he thought… Oh well. He lifted a hand and rapped on the door.

There was a scuffle inside, a race for the door.

"Ow! Fuck, Ma!"

"Zell! That language is filthy!"

"You tripped me over!"

Ma didn't answer that, only flung open the door and engulfed Irvine in a huge, soft, warm hug. Irvine grinned and hugged her back, glancing over her head – not so hard when he was so much taller than she – to see Zell just getting up from the floor and glaring at the back of his Ma's head. The fighter wore a button-up shirt with short sleeves that clung to his biceps. The buttons must have been an optional extra, because the shirt hung open. He wore leather pants Irvine thought he might have seen on 'Rubedo', and those damn red sneakers stood neatly by the door, so that Zell was in sock-feet. Hotdog-print sock-feet. That kind of ruined the sexy picture the fighter presented, but Irvine could ignore it, especially since, as Ma waved him in, sapphire eyes devoured him and seemed to strip him naked without needing to remove his clothing.

"I had to greet him, because I knew the moment you two set eyes on each other, you'd forget I'm even here!"

"Oh, as if we could ever forget you, Ma, you delightful woman," Irvine said gallantly, sweeping his hat off to her.

"Pish!" she retorted, but she blushed faintly and smiled at him. "Go cuddle on the couch while I get supper ready."

"You heard the woman," Zell said lowly, snagging Irvine's hand and dragging him off to the next room.

Irvine's stomach fluttered at the sound of the fighter's voice. They'd fooled around a bit, of course, but nothing much more than a bit of touching, and a lot of kissing. The sharpshooter had quickly found kissing Zell deserved a place at the top of his list of favourite things to do.

"Are you nervous about the Field Exam?" Zell wondered as he sat and pulled Irvine down with him, so that the sharpshooter ended up half beside him, half over him. He ran a hand along a velvet-wrapped thigh, positioning Irvine's leg just so across his lap. Irvine let him do it. He wanted to please the fighter. "These pants are hot…"

The sharpshooter grinned.

"Thought you'd like them. And… a little."

"A little what?" Zell had completely forgotten his own question as his eyes ran over Irvine's form.

"A little nervous. About the Field Exam," Irvine reminded him, then accused with great amusement; "Horndog…"

"Well, look at you…" Zell purred, hand stroking up the underside of Irvine's thigh and over the curve of his arse. "So damn sexy…"

The blush wasn't yet entirely under Irvine's control and it washed faintly up his neck and over his cheeks.

"I hoped you'd, like, think so."

"Baby, I always think so."

Irvine smiled at that, pressing against Zell's side. He wanted more. More than fooling around, more than kissing. He knew Zell loved him – the man had proved it over and again – and he knew he wanted his first male lover to be this gorgeous person. But he also knew Zell was taking it slow, was afraid of frightening him, or hurting him again, and he did like the lazy pace they were taking with their relationship. He liked to just cuddle and be close to the fighter, smell his scent and feel his warmth.

But, Hyne, he found his thoughts plagued with fantasies of going further.

Zell curled a hand over Irvine's thigh, drawing his attention back to the fighter, and captured his mouth for a kiss the sharpshooter was well used to, but always craving. Irvine surrendered his mouth to Zell, parting lips and teeth and welcoming the exploratory tongue within. His hands slipped under the open flaps of Zell's shirt and the fighter hissed appreciatively as they stroked across his back. When Irvine's fingertips dipped in the back of his waistband, he broke from the kiss, eyeing the auburn-haired cowboy.

"Are you drunk…?" the fighter wondered, stroking the inside of Irvine's thigh.

"No," Irvine said, then when Zell arched a brow at him; "Tipsy." And he grinned, wriggling his butt in Zell's lap and watching delightedly as the fighter's lips peeled back slightly from his teeth in a faint groan.

"Naughty. What happened to the Irvine Kinneas who isn't gay?"

"He were taught a new lesson," Irvine replied, shifting to straddle Zell's lap. "I wish your Ma weren't in the next room…" he whispered, perching on the fighter's knees to look down at him.

"I thought you liked my Ma." Zell rested his hands lightly at Irvine's hips.

"I love your Ma," Irvine agreed, then leaned sideways to grab a brush from a low table. He began to brush the gel out of Zell's bangs.

"Irvine! What-ow!"

"Sorry." But he didn't sound it.

"What the hell're you doing!"

"I like how you look with your hair down."

"So now you've decided to start taking it down, even if I've put it up?"

"Yup."

"You are drunk."

"I ain't drunk! Hyne, what is this stuff…?"

Zell rolled his eyes, but stopped fighting. It was damn adorable anyway, and he was loathe to deny Irvine anything. Instead, he went back to the previous topic.

"If you love my Ma, then why do you wish she wasn't in the next room?"

Irvine concentrated on finishing his task, putting the brush aside when he was done. He ran his fingers through the fall of Zell's hair across his eyes. The fighter let him take his time, knowing whatever it was, the sharpshooter would say it eventually.

"Because I… I were thinkin'… I been thinkin'… what it'll be like to… when we… you know…"

Zell smiled gently, drawing Irvine's eyes back to his with a touch of his fingertips.

"You telling me you want to sleep with me, Cowboy?" the fighter murmured in an almost-drawl.

"Yes. I want that."

"Not tonight," Zell said, brushing auburn hair back from sky-blue eyes. When Irvine looked confused, he elaborated. "I don't want your first time to be at my Ma's place. She's a frickin' mental case. Seriously, she'll stand at the door and listen. Or, even if she didn't, you'd be worried she might come in, or anything. Besides that, you're not sober."

"I ain't drunk!" Irvine protested.

"I didn't say you were, but you're not sober either. Irvine…" Zell cupped his cheek, leaning up to press a fleeting kiss to his lips. "Irvine, baby, when I make love with you, I want it to be perfect."

Irvine smiled hesitantly, warmth suffusing his body at the very term 'make love'. He knew Zell was in love with him, but hearing it still made his breath catch.

"But… Zell… I-"

"Shush," Zell said, touching Irvine's lips with two fingers. "It wouldn't be perfect here, with my Ma downstairs and both of us trying to be quiet. Or… well… you trying to be quiet. I could care less what my Ma hears or doesn't hear, but I know it makes other men nervous. You're gonna be nervous enough. No matter how much you want to be with me, it's still going to scare you. And I'm not saying you're not brave, either, so don't get all offended on me. You've already told me Selphie's the only person you've ever been with, and I'm certainly the first man you've ever been with… which is such a turn-on, by the way." That devilish smirk flicked across his features and Irvine gave a small chuckle. "It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be amazing, I swear it. But it can't really be any of that here. And, baby, waiting will only make it the sweeter."

Irvine hugged Zell tight, nuzzling his neck.

"You're so good to me…" he whispered.

"I love you," Zell replied softly.

The sharpshooter leant back and opened his mouth. Zell's stomach flipped over and his skin tingled with the knowledge of what this stunning man was about to say to him.

"Alright, boys! Clothes back on, I'm coming in!"

For the first time in his life, Zell could have strangled his mother. Irvine blushed and buried his face in the fighter's neck again, losing whatever nerve had urged him to return the sentiment.

His mother breezed in with their supper and beamed at them, and Zell just couldn't find it in him to stay pissed off at her. The feelings were there, even if Irvine wouldn't say it yet, and that was enough for him.

- - -

The morning of the Field Exam dawned clear and bright and Seifer cursed it for being so cheerful when he was so damn pissed off with the world in general. He rolled out of bed with a muttered curse and dressed in his trademark outfit, but with the burgundy jacket instead of the grey-white. Shouldering Hyperion, he headed out, plotting the best way to make Irvine's Field Exam hell without failing either of them.

Zell would kill him if Irvine failed because of him.

As it was, Seifer thought he would probably get a fairly massive argument from the feisty little blonde once this day was done, but he was pissed off enough to just not care. He hadn't even told the fighter he knew Irvine was going to be his Squad Leader, because then Zell would have told him to 'be nice', and he would have been obligated to obey.

Crap! Since when did he, Seifer The-Great-and-Terrible Almasy obey anyone!

Since you fell in love, his mind supplied before he could tell it to shut up. He hadn't let himself think that word, but it had been popping into his head more and more often. Dammit. Damn Irvine Kinneas.

On his way to the classroom they'd been called to meet in, he caught sight of the objects of both his affections and his animosity secreted behind a screen of potted plants. Zell had Irvine against the wall, a hand to either side of him, and he whispered something in the damn cowboy's ear that made him laugh. Said cowboy saw him first, and offered him a hesitant smile which he felt obligated to return when Zell turned to look at him. Not that his smile was much more than a twitch of his lips, but it was something.

"Hey, Seif!" Zell greeted, stepping out of the plants. Irvine followed him and, aside from the occasional brush of their hands, there was nothing to mark them as anything more than friends. Of course, Seifer knew better.

Have they fucked yet? he wondered, then winced when Irvine looked away and Zell's brows shot into his hairline. He'd said that out loud. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"I'll just pretend you didn't say that, 'kay?" Zell muttered.

"Er… yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean…" Seifer trailed off. Since when did he apologise!

"Nevermind," Zell said, grin flashing across his face. "Good luck today, Seif. You better pass, or I swear I'm gonna beat you up so bad you won't be able to move."

Seifer smirked his trademark smirk, eyes sliding to Irvine, then back to Zell with malicious glee.

"Oh yeah, baby, you know I like it rough," he purred.

Ha. Irvine blushed like a prude. Zell just rolled his eyes and gave Seifer a shove, but his eyes sparkled amusedly. It wasn't like half their banter didn't revolve around sexual connotations anyway.

"Perv. Irvine. Irvine!"

The sharpshooter snapped out of whatever reverie he'd been in and blushed again. Fuck. What a pansy. But Zell smiled at him and glanced quickly around before pulling him in for a deep kiss that made Seifer hot just thinking about what it would be like if Zell kissed him. Stop it. Give it up, for Hyne's sake. It's pathetic, Almasy. Pa-the-tic!

They broke apart as The Cadets-plus-Selphie came around a corner, all converging on Irvine and showering good wishes and luck upon him. He smiled and managed to hug each and every one of them, thanking them wholeheartedly. No one wished Seifer luck. Except Zell. Oh, Zell…

The fighter patted his arm and winked up at him.

"You'll do fine. Just behave yourself, okay? Is it really that hard? They want to pass you, but you don't give them the chance. You'll be an awesome SeeD…" Zell trailed off suddenly, blinking at Seifer. "Shouldn't you be in your Cadet uniform…?"

"Quick, Chickie, real quick," Seifer muttered wryly and Zell batted at him.

"C'mon, they're sexy!" he cried, then lowered his voice. "Irvine looks fucking hot in his."

"Whatever," Seifer muttered, wincing at how Squall-like he sounded. "Got sick of wearing the thing. Makes me look like a fruit."

"You are a fruit," Zell pointed out.

"But I don't have to advertise the fact. Everyone knows Irvine's a fruit anyway. He's too damn pretty and girly-looking to not be."

Zell grew serious.

"Seifer… you're gonna have to get along with him, you know. I love both of you too much to give up either."

Love. Love, love, love. But you don't love me like you love him…

"Yeah, I know," was all Seifer would say, and he was saved from having to say anything else by the arrival of Quistis.

Zell patted Seifer's arm, repeated the gesture with Irvine, then zipped off. The Cadets, minus Anasha and Illo who were also taking the exam, weren't far behind him.

When Quistis read out their names and Irvine learned who was to be on his team, the scared-bunny look he cast in Seifer's direction was a classic. The gunbladist smirked viciously at the sharpshooter and Irvine looked away again, swallowing and nervously adjusting that damned hat.

Maybe this Field Exam wouldn't be so boring…

- - -

Seifer flicked some random monster's blood off the end of his gunblade and glanced around at the carnage his Squad had caused. There really couldn't be a simpler Field Exam, for he and Irvine. It was easy. Cull the monsters, find and kill the Queen. And it really couldn't be simpler to shake Irvine's control.

They were about an hour into the trees, their Squad one of three working its way through the monsters. The basic idea was divide-and-conquer, and it was working. It was also carefully timed, and Seifer was switching between moving almost too fast and almost too slow, so that Irvine was generally in a state of almost-panic.

Now, he was taking his time.

Irvine and the rest of the Squad were almost out of sight, but Seifer knew the sharpshooter wouldn't leave him behind, largely, he was sure, because of his allegiance to Zell. He wanted Seifer to pass, to make the fighter happy. It was sickening. But he wished it was him.

Sure enough, Irvine eventually came waltzing back, Exeter propped over his shoulder, and he looked about ready to use the thing on the gunbladist.

"What the fuck are you doin', Seifer!" Irvine cried, voice on the edge of hysteria.

It was funny. Seifer smirked.

"Cleaning my gunblade," he replied smoothly, indicating the shining, already blood-free blade. "Miss me?"

"No! In fact, a dart from one of those spider-things in your stupid head wouldn't, like, upset me at all. You're either draggin' your arse or runnin' off ahead. Are you tryin' to, like, fuck this up!"

"Not really," Seifer drawled in an eerily good imitation of the sharpshooter. "But you're, like, pretty fuckin' hilarious all riled up." He paused, casting his eye over Irvine. Zell was right, the uniform did him wonders. "And, like, you're purdy easy on the eyes, too, darlin'…"

Irvine glared at him, not blushing the way Seifer had thought he would. He had to commend the sharpshooter for that.

"Listen, will you just get movin'?"

"Whatever you say, Priscilla," Seifer said with a false smile, and headed off to the next checkpoint.

"Fuck you, Seifer," Irvine hissed, mortified when he heard the tremor in his own voice. The gunbladist was getting to him.

The rest of the Squad was starting to see it too, seeing his flinch every time Seifer called him a name, and how his hands shook when he checked the map. Thankfully, he could shut it off enough to kill the monsters with his usual pin-point accuracy, despite how many times the stupid gunbladist had thrown himself in Exeter's sight. He was sure Seifer was trying to get shot, just to shake his control that little bit more. But he was too good, and the blond had finally stopped doing that.

They caught up with the Squad and cadets glanced warily between the two of them, knowing there was a lot of tension there. Irvine pulled out the map and spread it out on the ground so his Squad could gather around it – well, all except Seifer who leant against a tree and just expected someone else to tell him where he was supposed to go.

"Let's go," Irvine said, standing and dusting himself off, then righting his hat as the rest of his people headed off in formation. "Come on, Seifer!"

"Or you'll what…?" Seifer wondered airily, sauntering off after the group.

Irvine snarled and stalked past him hands fisted at his sides.

"Shake that arse, baby…"

The sharpshooter ignored him, or pretended to, but the use of Zell's favourite name for him really did affect him. He glanced at his hands and they were shaking. He couldn't do it. He couldn't stand up to Seifer. Oh, he wished Zell were there.

When they came upon the Queen's nest some two hours later and took up hidden positions to wait for the other two Squads, Irvine was inches from falling apart. All that was keeping him from it was willpower. He would not let Seifer force him to fail. Nor would he let Seifer fail. He had ended up with the gunbladist in his team, and he owed it to Zell to do his damndest to help him pass.

He was crouching in the bushes, trying to gauge the ugly bitch's weak spots when there was a rustling behind him, and suddenly, warmth against his back, crouching over him. He's breath caught in his throat and lips closed briefly against the edge of his ear.

"Howdy, Cowboy."

Seifer. He swallowed, tensing, and his eyes fell shut.

"Seifer, rack off," Irvine muttered through his teeth.

"But you're so warm," Seifer purred in his ear. "I'm comfy."

"You're givin' me the shits." Irvine's voice trembled and Seifer smirked devilishly, nipping at his ear.

"I might be giving you something…" Seifer murmured, hand sliding slowly over Irvine's hip and down between his legs.

"Seifer!" Irvine hissed, breath hitching.

Seifer chuckled, pressing closer.

"Do you moan for Zell…? Or are you a screamer…? Hmm…? Maybe both…?"

But Irvine was only half-listening and he suddenly broke free of Seifer's arms, his Squad on his heels. Seifer swore, and leapt into the fray after them.

- - -

Zell tackled Irvine to the floor, kissing all over his face.

"You passed! You passed, you passed, you passed! I'm so proud've you!"

Irvine could only manage a smile, and when Zell lifted his weight a little to look down at the sharpshooter, those sky-blue eyes slipped away from him to linger on some point over the fighter's shoulder.

"Irvine…?" he murmured, brushing the sharpshooter's hair back from his face.

Irvine blinked and looked back at Zell, smiling automatically, but rather hollowly.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothin'. It's nothin'."

"Don't lie to me."

"It's nothin' you gotta worry about. I handled it."

"Handled what…?"

Irvine shook his head, but when Zell looked hard at him, he sighed and rolled his eyes slightly, but gave in.

"Seifer. He… He gave me shit the whole Exam. I were his Squad Leader, but… but he did everythin' he could to disobey me without actually disobeyin' me. But we both passed… so it don't matter."

"Yes it fucking does matter!" Zell growled, rolling to his feet. "He's gotta stop… He can't keep treating you badly. He's gotta get over it, because – hello! You're my boyfriend!"

"Zell… please… Calm down. We've got to go to the SeeD Ball. Don't get shitty at him there. Let's just… just enjoy it, okay?" Irvine smiled shyly. "You will go to the ball with me, won't you?"

Zell grinned and swooped on Irvine again, kissing him for all he was worth.

"Are you sure…?" the fighter whispered against his mouth.

"Yeah. I want everyone to know you're mine."

"Listen here, you. You're the sub. You're mine, not the other way around!" But he was teasing, and they both grinned.

Zell would behave with Seifer tonight, but tomorrow, the gunbladist was going to get the serve of his life. He just had to understand that Irvine wasn't going anywhere, and it was time to lay off. They could get along, if only Seifer would try. If only.

 

Chapter, The Thirtieth: In Which Seifer Gets All Dressed Up.
​

Seifer may have been an arsehole, but he wasn't stupid. He knew Zell's powers of persuasion and he knew Irvine wouldn't be able to act like everything was alright. Therefore Seifer was pretty damn certain Irvine would have ratted him out by now. What Seifer didn't know was if Zell would wait until tomorrow to confront him.

It was that uncertainty that had given the tall blond the extra incentive he needed to finally put on his SeeD uniform. Shock and surprise were very useful tools. He hoped that if Zell saw him wearing his uniform the initial anger might get set aside. The fighter had said they were sexy. And he knew he was sexy, so the combination must be damn near mind blowing.

That's right. Seifer Almasy had not only put on his SeeD uniform, but he was also going to attend the ball. How could he not? All those smug shits that mocked him and said he'd never pass. It was damn time they got their words shoved back down their throats, figuratively speaking of course.

He'd already decided to try to be on his best behaviour. The fact was, if Irvine hadn't entered the picture, he'd have passed with even better marks, he would have gone to the ball with Zell- as a friend probably- and he would have been good anyway. When he was around Zell he didn't need be to a total shit. Sure, sometimes he was, but he didn't need to be, and the little blond could command him swifter than she could. Seifer shuddered.

With his new appointment to SeeD he knew he would have even more chances to get closer to Zell. There was no way his feelings would dissipate on there own. He wanted Zell. He wanted the spunky fighter to be his again, and just his. Sure, in a different way, but what did that matter? Seifer had only realized he was possessive of him when he was taken away. How did that saying go? 'You never know what you're missing until it's gone'? Fucking sayings…

- - -

Zell sat on Irvine's bed kicking his feet back and forth while he leaned back on the cowboy's mattress. Said cowboy was currently in his bathroom trying to make himself look perfect for the evening.

"Irvine! You look amazing, I'm sure! Let me see!" Zell called/whined. He had gotten ready and headed over to Irvine's an hour ago. Now they only had- Zell glanced at the clock on the bedside table- fourteen minutes.

"I don't! This has to be, like, just right," the cowboy called back, checking his hair in the mirror again.

"Then let your boyfriend see so he can tell you it is just right and we can go. We're going to be late!" Zell called, sitting up straight again.

"I thought we agreed I was takin' you to the SeeD Ball," Irvine queried, opening the bathroom door and stepping out. He spread his arms to the sides a little and turned as he moved over to the blond boy.

Zell grinned, getting to his feet. "You look even sexier than you did for the field exam." He wrapped his arms loosely around the cowboy's waist.

Irvine squeaked and smiled down at him. "Don't molest me before we, like have to go. It took ages."

"You don't usually take ages."

"This is important. I have to look good."

"You always look good, Irvine!" Zell chuckled and leaned up to kiss the cowboy softly.

He smiled back at Zell. With the blond always telling him how beautiful he was, it was getting exceedingly difficult to deny it. That or it was just damn difficult to deny Zell, period. "You goin' to be good, Dincht? Not going to start anything uncivil with Seifer?"

Zell made a bit of a face, then relaxed and nodded. "Yea yea, I'll save his tongue lashing for tomorrow. You're going out with your friends again, right? Since I'm busy with Seif?"

"Yea," Irvine said softly smiling at Zell. "My life doesn't revolve around you, Dincht. Don't get too cocky or we'll really have to start, like, callin' you Mini Seif."

They both made faces at that then hurried out of the dorm and to the ball room. Didn't want to be late.

- - -

With the infamous Selphie Tilmitt as the main planner behind the look of the SeeD Ball, it had gone a little overboard. It was a good thing she didn't get to have control over procedures and only got to be on a panel for music selection.

The good thing about this overboard was it wasn't like Valentines exploded, or the Easter bunny switched from a basket to a grenade launcher. It was elegance to the extreme. There's a description you don't hear every day. Chandeliers filled with candles hung from metal chaining that ran from pillar to pillar in an almost web-like pattern. The room was warm and glowed softly with the light from the many tiny flames. The tables of drinks and food were covered in elaborately embroidered table clothes and every serving platter and dish was silver with etched designs. Sure, most of it was cheap knock offs, but it still looked good.

Upon entering the room Zell and Irvine both found it to be a little too dim compared to the standard florescent lighting in the halls. After squinting around the room for about five minutes their eyes adjusted perfectly and they could see from one side to the other with no problems.

They stopped to chat with the Cadets, though not all were cadets now. Illo and Anasha had passed their exam. After a little while of chatting it became clear how they were all there. Illo had brought Harada, Anasha had brought Hiro, Selphie had brought Rikan and Terry, even though that didn't work, and Terry was gay. But whatever, the whole gang was there. And no one really gave a damn anyway.

The Cadets, plus Irvine, Selphie and Zell sat at a circular table, nibbling at their food and chatting to each other. Rikan kept sending little looks Irvine's way and Zell kept glaring back. Fucking cadet looking at his boyfriend.

After Anasha had shown Irvine the note Zell had given her, and after he stopped blushing, she had begged for permission to at least tell Harada. After the girls it wasn't long before Irvine felt at least a little alright about telling the others about him and Zell. Illo and Terry had grinned knowingly, Hiro had made some joke about lack of straight people in their group and Rikan had just about cried, despite the fact Irvine had already told him to fuck off, just in nicer words.

Most of the group was in an intense conversation about how different little party hotdogs were compared to actual hotdogs. Who started that I wonder? When Illo noticed that Terry had not added anything to the discussion he glanced toward his friend to find him staring in the direction of the doorway with his mouth hanging open.

"What are you…?" Illo asked, turning to look in the same direction. His mouth also fell open and now they where both staring. "Oh, yum."

Harada, hearing this, hopped around in her chair to give him a swat. But she too caught sight of the eye candy and nearly fell off her chair. Illo's attention moved back to her and reached out his arm to stop her chair from toppling. "And you took ballet for how many years, Miss Graceful?"

She would have whacked him one for that too, but that would required her looking at him in order to get a good hit in. "Is that… who I think it is?"

Well, that was all the others at the table needed to stop their ludicrous conversation and all look toward the door, where a tall, handsome young man stood, still… eyes probably still adjusting.

"It's Seifer!" Selphie squeaked happily.

"In his uniform," Zell added. "I knew it would look good on him."

"Good is an understatement, Zell. I mean look at how much Terry is drooling!" Hiro laughed and leaned back to avoid a swat from the other young man.

"I'm not drooling. I'm appreciating," Terry said firmly.

"Well, here's your chance to appreciate close up, cause he's coming over." And indeed he was.

"Probably spotted Zell," Irvine said quietly, shifting his chair a little closer to Zell's and curling his fingers around his hand under the table. Zell smiled at him and then looked up at Seifer when he came over.

"Seif, you got all dressed up," he grinned up at the taller blonde from his seat.

"Glad you noticed. Don't I look hot?" Seifer grinned cockily at the whole table and winked at Irvine just to make him uncomfortable, but he did it so he could also have been winking at Terry or Zell. Had to avoid any possible pummelings from Zell later.

"I told you, you would. The uniform is flattering."

"Yea, even you don't look like so much of a chicken wuss in yours." Another cocky grin and a tilt of his head. "Dance with me?"

Zell chuckled at the comment then cocked a brow at the question. He looked to Irvine and tilted his head slightly, asking for permission.

Irvine blushed a little. Zell was the dominant one. Why was he asking if he could do something? Seifer was his friend, they could dance. He still wasn't sure if he'd have the courage to get out there on the floor with Zell. He gave two little nods and a soft smile. "Yeah, have fun."

Seifer felt almost sick at how they didn't even need words to communicate. He and Zell didn't need words either. Zell understood him. Zell was the only one that really understood him. Fucking cowboy.

The taller blond extended a hand for the shorter to take and pulled him up from his chair. He turned, the hand holding Zell's resting on his shoulder so Zell had to reach up a bit as he was dragged away.

Just as they found a spot on the floor the song that had been playing came to an end and the well known Waltz for the Moon began. Without even having to ask who would lead Zell set his left hand on Seifer's shoulder as the gunbladist set his right on the fighter's waist. Their free hands linked together and they began to dance.

Selphie chuckled. "Well, they're certainly better than Squall was. He was so clumsy! He nearly knocked Rinoa over a hundred times!"

"It wasn't even close to a hundred, Selphie."

The hyper brunette clasped her hands over her mouth and slowly turned to glance up at the Commander. "Hi, Squall! Didn't see you there!"

"Obviously not."

"How you doing?" she asked cheerily.

"I came to personally congratulate Miss Anasha Birch, Mister Illo Ditermin and Mister Irvine Kinneas."

"Please Squall. You don't have to be so formal," Irvine said, blushing a little. 'Mister?' Yeah right.

Squall rolled his eyes. "This is a formal gathering, and it's my job as Commander to congratulate the new SeeDs."

"You going to congratulate Seifer?" Selphie asked, grinning evilly.

The commander glanced out onto the dance floor, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Mister Almasy seems to be busy at the moment so I'll have to congratulate him later this evening."

"You're putting it off," the brunette girl said, poking at his uniform clad thigh. "You just don't want to tell your rival that you're happy he made SeeD."

"I am happy he made SeeD. Now other, qualified, SeeDs can watch his every move and I can stop having Zell do it."

Irvine blinked at the commander. "Zell doesn't watch Seifer for you, Squall."

"I know that. But it sounds better if it looks like I'm making some effort to keep him in line, even if I'm technically not."

"Shhhh," Harada giggled and Squall glanced at her like he thought she might be mentally ill in some way. "The Galbadian Spy Bugs might hear you."

So… he could cancel thought from his previous consideration of her. "Uh… yes… So, congratulations on joining the fine ranks of SeeD. In order for us to best dispatch you, we would appreciate it if you would make a list of other SeeDs you would both work well with and poorly with, and give reasons for each. These lists can be handed into Miss Tamitha Rapture. They will be kept as confidential as possible, etc, etc, etc."

"That was a lot of words, Squall."

He rolled his eyes again. "Speaking isn't difficult when you're practically reading from a mental script."

Selphie giggled and offered Squall a seat which he politely refused, mumbling something about business with the headmaster. Which was probably bullshit because Cid was over getting a couple of glasses of champagne for himself and Edea. But he could always drink and discuss business with Squall at the same time.

The rest of the evening consisted of more snacks, champagne, talk and dance. Selphie didn't even pester numerous people to join the Garden Festival Committee. Thankfully enough psychos- nice, charming young people had already joined. By the time the ball was over, everybody was more or less happy and pretty sleepy.

- - -

Zell sat on his bed looking up at the ceiling and contemplating how he was going to confront Seifer about the Field Exam. This was still suppose to be their little private celebration of him passing, but all he could think about was how upset he was that the taller blond was still picking on Irvine.

Considering that, he thought it would be best to just come out with it from the start. Once that was settled he could stop thinking about it and they could enjoy the movie. Mmm, Lonny.

But back to the problem. Would he be able to be rational about this, or was he just going to jump in head first and screaming… hopefully the former… or something in between. Didn't need Seifer getting defensive on him right from the get go. He was so much more difficult when he did that.

- - -

Seifer on the other hand was planning things out. Considering the fact that Zell hadn't said anything even remotely related to his behaviour at the Field Exam he was sure the tattooed fighter would be bringing it up tonight. Zell wasn't the type to just let something like this slide by.

But that didn't mean Seifer couldn't make him think it was absolutely nothing and forget about the whole matter. He smirked to himself. It would go perfectly. Zell was his best friend. He'd want to believe that Seifer hadn't done it, so it wouldn't be too difficult to convince him that he hadn't. As long as he didn't outright say Irvine was wrong/crazy/paranoid, then everything would be fine and he'd be curled up with Zell watching sexy pirates in no time.

He went about making snacks, also known as putting things in the microwave for however long it told him to and got everything ready. He set the movies by the DVD player, put the blanket over the back of the couch, moved the coffee table closer to the sofa, etc, etc.

When that was all done he went into the bathroom to make himself all clean and sexier, then into the bedroom to change. He chose a jade fitted tee, and a pair of black slacks. After he was dressed he admired himself in the mirror for a few minutes before doing one more check of everything.

He grinned when he heard the sound of his door sliding open. Zell had arrived right on time. He came out of the kitchen, smiling at the shorter boy but his smile fell a little when he saw the seriousness in Zell's face. So this was going to happen right now. Well, he was ready for it. "Hey Zell. What's up? Looks like you have something on your mind."

Zell looked up at him and cocked his head to the side a little. "I do," he said quietly, still trying to decided how he'd say what he was going to. "About the Field Exam, and Irvine."

"What about it?" Seifer asked breezily as he got the snacks from the kitchen and took them over to place on the coffee table. Hyne, could he sound believable no matter how much he lied.

The fighter gave a little sigh. "Irvine told me how you were treating him, Seif. I thought we agreed you weren't going to bother him anymore. You can't just go messing with my boyfriend."

Seifer made a disgusted little face while he was turned away from the little blond. "What do you mean?" he asked in a voice that sounded as if he really wasn't aware of what Zell was talking about.

Zell blinked. Did he really not know? "Irvine said you were doing everything you could possibly do to disobey him without actually disobeying him."

Seifer turned to face his friend and cocked a brow. "Now I'm confused. Was I or wasn't I actually disobeying him?"

Zell closed one eye and scrunched up his face. "Alright, forget that. He said you gave him shit the whole exam."

"Don't I give everyone shit? Hell, I still give you shit, Zell." He came back from the kitchen with the last plate of snacks.

The shorter blond made another face as he thought some more. "Well, yea, you do give everyone shit. But Irvine was so upset! It had to be more than just you being yourself."

Seifer turned to Zell, head cocked to the side gently, face soft, and one hand on his hip. "Hey now. I swear I wasn't doing anything special to piss him off. Just being me. Maybe I should have realized he doesn't really know me, and he's still jumpy from how we treated him before." That's right. Make Irvine sound like he was making a valid observation, but make himself off to be innocent at the same time. Add a bit of the fact that Zell had been the bad guy too, and bam, he was on the winning track.

"I know you care about him, Zell. Why would I still be acting like a shit when I know you'd come and beat me up for it? I'm blond, I'm not stupid."

Zell snorted and chuckled a little. "Isn't that an oxymoron?" He looked down at the ground as he thought for a moment more, then looked back up at Seifer. "So… You really didn't mean it? You were just being you, which granted, can be pretty bad by itself, and you weren't trying to make his exam hell?"

Hell yes I was trying to make his exam hell, and it worked. "Of course not, Zell. Tell you what. I'll even tell him I didn't mean to upset him next time I see him."

Zell brightened at that. "Really? I think that'd make him feel a lot better. And you better remember that he still remembers you as a huge arsehole, so you better act extra un-arsehole-y around him, got it?"

"Barely, considering your choice of words, Chickie," Seifer chuckled and ruffled the little blond's hair which caused him to yelp and grab at his arm. "Yea, I got it."

"Good! Or else I really would have to beat you up." Now Zell was happy, and Seifer was grinning with his victory.

The gunbladist wandered over to the couch and sprawled over it while Zell headed over to the DVD player. He was wearing a baby blue, sleeveless t-shirt with a low turtleneck collar- very queer- and a pair of white shorts that actually stopped above his knees, granted, only by an inch or two.

"Hey you got two movies," Zell commented and Seifer raised himself onto an elbow a little. He'd forgotten to put that second one to the side before Zell got here. Crap… "What else did you get?" the fighter asked, but he was already taking Pirates of the Kashenrahi off the top to see for himself, making the question null and void.

Seifer bit his lower lip a little as Zell's eyebrows lifted nearly to his hairline. "That one's, uh… not for both of us to watch…"

One of Zell's brows lowered while the other stayed lifted in question as he turned to face Seifer, still crouching by the DVD player. "Porn?"

"Like I said, not for us. For me, later. Remember, I don't have a boyfriend."

Zell's face hadn't changed. "Are these guys martial artists?"

"What? They have good bodies." Fuck fuck fuck.

Zell grinned a little and set down the movie on the floor. "Seifie likes to watch martial arts porn, does he?" he younger blonde rose from the ground and sauntered his way over to the couch, hopping onto the arm and looking over at Seifer.

The elder boy looked at him a little funny, and not just because he called him Seifie- ick. "Sometimes…"

"Seifie should have just asked," Zell teased, grinning and pretty much falling onto his hands and knees on the couch cushions before slowly crawling up and over Seifer's legs and body. "Since he has a little martial artist with a good body right… here." The grin on his lips widened as his face neared Seifer's.

"Zell, what are you…?" He was cut off as the fighter's lips hit his, hard and sweet. He moaned and wrapped his arms around the little blond's body. He didn't care why this was happening, but he was damn well going to keep it for as long as he could.

"Mm, Seifer…" Zell murmured again his lips. "Seifer, Seifer, Seifer…."

"Seifer!"

"Huh? Yea? Wha?" he jumped a little and looked around wildly. Awww, fucking…

"I said, 'don't all guys in gay porns have good bodies?' You perv. You were daydreaming about your little movie, weren't you?" Zell smirked and set down the DVD and picked up the one they were going to watch again.

Seifer was too busy trying to calm down after his little daydream. Fucking sexy Dincht… being all hot and provocative… okay, so that was just in my head… so good…

Zell turned on the DVD player and put Pirates of the Kashenrahi in. Grabbing the remote he headed over to the couch and looked down at Seifer. "Seif, move your butt over. Seif!" He swatted at one of Seifer's legs.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sorry." The gunbladist shifted onto his side and against the back of the sofa, resting his head on the small cushion on the arm of the couch.

"You are so out of it," Zell chuckled and sat down. He skipped all the adds and hit play when he'd reached the main menu. After that he set down the remote and curled up against Seifer, using the older boy's arm as his own pillow.

Seifer's breath was a little shallow, hoping Zell wouldn't notice his reaction to his little daydreaming episode. But he couldn't help the smile forming on his lips as he draped his arm over Zell's body.

As the movie played Zell grabbed at snacks and munched on them, sometimes grabbing one for Seifer too and trying to put it in his mouth without looking. He only hit Seifer in his nose and cheek about four times and in the eye once. He'd got swatted on the arse for the eye one. "Ner, sooorry. If you want it get it yourself, ya big baby."

"No, warm," Seifer said snuggling Zell tighter against himself.

"You and your warm. If you like the heat, pull the blanket down."

Seifer liked that idea, so he regretfully released his arm from around the shorter blond and reached behind him to yank the blanket down over the both of them. Then he snuck his arm back under it and around the little body once more.

Zell cutely snuggled the edge of the blanket under his chin and squirmed around a little until he was comfy again.

Seifer barely held back the groan. Stupid chicken wuss turning him on with such simple little things. He cocked a brow when the stupid little chicken in question gave a happy little 'mmmmmm' of his own.

"Captain Jecht Swallow. You can pillage my body any day."

"You little whore. You're taken, and you're top."

Zell snorted and elbowed Seifer in the ribs lightly. "First off, I doubt I'll be making it with Mr. Movie Star, Lonny Dett, and second, there are just some men you let have their way."

"Is that right? Well, I sure as hell ain't rolling onto my back for Lonny Dett, pirate or no pirate."

Zell chuckled. "That's cause you're one of the uber-tops." Zell could just picture the look on his face. "You know. Someone who's top all the time. Well, maybe not all the time. But the type that could top a top."

"You saying you'd bottom for me, Zell?" He knew this wasn't a good little path to be marching down, but hell did he want to hear the answer.

The martial artist chuckled. "You mean if I wasn't with Irvine and we were more than best friends? Well, if that's what you're asking, then ya. I'd let you fuck me."

Seifer stared at the back of Zell's head. He almost thought he was daydreaming again, save for the fact Zell had mentioned Irvine, so he knew he was actually in the wonderful realm of reality. "Shut up and watch the movie or else I might take you up on that offer." Oh, the truth… what a wonderful escape. Hell, Jecht had used it on the guards a little while ago.

Zell snorted and elbowed him in the ribs again. "You sleaze. You ain't coming anywhere near my arse."

Seifer decided to not mention the little fact that Zell's arse was pressed right up against him at that very moment, being practically as close as was physically possible. But thinking about that was an even worse path to stride down at the moment.

They continued watching the movie, commenting about Jecht and Wesley, about where, when and how they fucked throughout the movie and about why Wes was using Anastasia to make people think he was straight. He was at the very least bi.

Most of the conversations just had Seifer picturing himself as Captain Jecht and Zell as young Wesley Tanner. Fuck his over active, sex crazed imagination. And fuck that little body pressed up against his. Mm, that wasn't such a bad idea. Okay, yes it was, but he could still think about it.

Zell yawned a little as the movie ended, snuggling against Seifer and under the blanket. He closed his eyes softly and smiled. "You're right. Warm is good."

"You tired?" Seifer asked, even though it was a redundant question.

"Mhmmmm." Zell rolled over and wrapped an arm around Seifer's waist. "Can I stay the night?" He rubbed his face against the taller blond's chest and smiled again.

Seifer blinked a couple of time, then smiled down at the younger boy in his arms. "Course. You're always allowed. S'why you have a toothbrush over here."

Zell snorted and nodded, rolling back over to get up. He stretched up onto his tiptoes and reached as far as he could above his head.

The gunbladist took the opportunity to perv at the tattooed boy's arse and his visible muscles as they flexed.

Said tattooed boy turned around and took him by the arm, tugging him until he got up. "'me on, Seif. Lez go brush our teeth and go ta bed."

Seifer leaned down to grab the remote, turning off the DVD player and the TV before tossing it onto the couch and following Zell into the bathroom. The two young men brushed their teeth, then Zell brushed out his bangs and Seifer washed his face.

Zell moseyed out of the bathroom, tugging off his shirt, which got stuck for a few moments before he ripped it off. He tossed it in the hamper and took off his shorts, tossing them in as well.

The taller blond came out of the bathroom to find Zell stretching again, this time in nothing but his boxers, then crawl into bed. Hyne, was he a sight. How did he never notice? Zell could have been his. Hey had toothbrushes and a drawer of their things at each other's dorms. They slept in the same bed. They joked and played and wrestled. How had they not become more? Seifer mentally smacked himself, knowing it just had to be his fault.

He stripped down to his own boxers, tossing his clothes in the hamper after Zell's and joined the little blonde in his bed. He smiled at Zell, his eyes closed as he nuzzled the pillows and yawned again. "Go to sleep," he murmured, sliding in close to the fighter.

"'m trying. Quit talkin', Seif." Another yawn and a bit of snuggling up against the warm body of his near-nude best friend. "Mmm, good. Night…"

"Night, Zell. Sleep well." Seifer smiled again, moving so his chin was resting on the top of Zell's head. He slung his arms around the martial artist and fell asleep not long after, imagining this was how it really was.