Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ UnComfortable ❯ The Last September ( Chapter 3 )

UnComfortable

By:Hankai

27.10.2002

>-------------x-x-x-x-x-x--V--x-x-x-x-x-x-------------<

I do not own Squall Leonhart, Seifer Almasy, Rinoa Heartilly or any of the other members of the Final Fantasy VIII cast. They are the property of Sony and Squaresoft and I am not making any profit from using them.

Special thanks must be given to Arty-san for one of the most thorough, comprehensive betas I've ever received. Thank you very, very much! I can't express how grateful I am for your hard work, diligence, and effort. ^_^

This story has YAOI and SHOUNEN-AI in it-Seifer/Squall pairing, no character bashing.

The song "Comfortable" was preformed by John Mayer and can be found on his album Inside Wants Out (track 7) from Columbia Records.

Please Read and Review. Thank you.

- Hanakai

>-------------x-x-x-x-x-x--V--x-x-x-x-x-x-------------< Chapter Three

The Last September

>-------------x-x-x-x-x-x--V--x-x-x-x-x-x-------------<

I sleep with this new girl I'm still getting used to;
My friends all approve, say "She's gonna be good for you."
They throw me high fives.
She says the Bible is all that she reads
And prefers that I not use profanity.
Your mouth was so dirty.

Life of the party,
And she swears that she's artsy,
But you could distinguish
Miles from Coltrane.

-------------------------------------------------------------- ---------

08:37

Seifer came to a dead halt in the middle of the hallway, his green eyes hardening dangerously.

Irvine pushed himself off the wall next to the door to Seifer's dorm. He smiled at the blond and tipped his hat slightly in greeting. "Seifer."

The edges of the taller man's mouth tightened noticeably. "Irvine."

"Where ya been?" He smiled, a stunning flash of white teeth, and lazily cocked his hip out to the side and looped his thumbs into the lower corners of his jean pockets. "'s a bit early to be startin' on the 'Rexaur population, ne? Unless you're our good ole Pussy-cat, 'course."

Seifer's expression darkened and he strode forward, nearly knocking the slighter man down as he pushed past him to get to the door. "I wouldn't know, Kinneas." He punched in the code and looked over into his unwelcome companion's eyes before hitting the 'Enter' button. "I'm not the one with Grat guts on the side of my boot."

The door slid open with a faint hum.

Irvine grinned. "Touché. And I'm not the one with Squall Leonhart's blood on my mouth."

The former Knight stiffened and his hand flew involuntarily to his lips. Blood . . .? His tongue darted out, tasting the mostly dried substance before he thought better of it.

He'd bitten Squall's lower lip sometime during their frantic kisses. He could still remember the spice, the heat, of the little Lion's taste in his mouth.

His eyes flickered to Irvine again, suddenly aware of how very close the man was standing to him, and he paled slightly.

"And I'm not the one with Squall Leonhart's blood on my mouth."

He knew. The goddamn, mother fucking cowboy knew.

Before the brunet could utter a single word, Seifer grabbed him by the collar of his long, tan coat and hauled him into the dorm room. An instant later, the door hummed shut behind him.

Irvine gasped as he was slammed hard into the wall, only vaguely aware of his hip hitting the corner of something followed by the shattering sound of glass hitting the floor. His cowboy hat fell off his head and coasted to the floor. Violet eyes opened and he couldn't help but smirk at the look of pure rage glittering in Seifer's jade eyes, barely smothering the anxiety there.

Such beautiful eyes, he thought almost absently as the blonde's hand tightened around his windpipe.

"What do you know, cowboy?!"

Irvine's eyebrow twitched slightly. How exactly did the idiot expect him to answer when he couldn't breathe?

Sensing his dilemma, the gunblader released Irvine's throat with a faint growl. The longhaired cowboy wasted no time in craning his neck across the small gap between them and pressing his lips against Seifer's mouth.

Hard.

And just what the hell is his tongue doing in my mouth?!

Seifer jerked back at the unfamiliar taste of Galbadian whiskey and cedar smoke and punched the cowboy, sending the slender body back into the wall again. He smirked in satisfaction at the satisfying crunch that came when his fist impacted with Irvine's nose.

Irvine slumped to the floor and his hands flew involuntarily to shield his bloody nose. Grinning like a madman, he licked his lips. "Yum."

Seifer's finger's twitched as he stared down at the other man in shock. "Are you fucking cracked, cowboy?!"

Violet eyes dancing in merriment, the Galbadian shook his head. "Sorry." His voice was muffled by his hand. "It's not everyday ya get an opportunity like that one . . . couldn't pass it up."

Seifer seemed to pull himself up slightly so that he loomed over the man on the floor. He smirked, an expression that would have sent most other people running for cover and his voice was a smooth purr. "What do you want, Irvine?"

"To help you." The brunet's eyes fluttered shut and he pushed himself to his feet, still holding his nose. "Cure." A soft blue light emanated from his hands and the scent of kiwis and cherries filled the air briefly as the other man healed himself. He lowered his hands grinned cheekily at the blond. "Got a towel I can clean myself up with? Selph and I are going to lunch this afternoon and she'll go nuts if she finds out I've ruined the shirt she gave me last week."

For a moment the other man simply stared at him, a dark light flaring in his green eyes. Then, without a word, Seifer turned and stalked out of the room, headed towards what Irvine could only assume was the bathroom.

While he was away, Irvine retrieved his hat and settled down into a chair with a grin. This could prove to be more difficult than he had originally thought . . . More difficult, but definitely more fun . . .

He heard the sound of water running.

Moments later the blond emerged from the same door he had entered, now holding a damp Standard Issue SeeD towel in his hands. He threw at the cowboy before settling down onto the couch opposite the other man. "Talk."

"You know what I love about you, Almasy?" the brunet drawled after a moment.

"My stunning good looks," Seifer snapped angrily.

Irvine grinned that cheeky grin again and Seifer barely resisted the urge to throttle him. He would not kill Irvine Kinneas. He would not kill Irvine Kinneas. He would not kill Irvine Kinneas . . .

Whether the Galbadian was oblivious to the blond's agitation or was simply more evil than Seifer had ever given him credit for was beyond the larger man, but he nearly screamed when his unwanted guest winked and said, "Well, there's that, but there's more to you than eye-candy, darlin'. Can you guess what it is?"

Twitch. No, killing Irvine Kinneas would not do at all . . . ". . . Enlighten me, cowboy."

The grin vanished and Irvine sat up straight, looking suddenly serious. "You always go after what you want. No matter what the cost."

Seifer shifted, uncomfortable with the other man's intense scrutiny. "So?"

Irvine leaned forward and his eyes glittered. "No matter what the cost." He settled back in his chair, never breaking eye contact. "I'm not going to beat around the bush any longer, Almasy: You fucked up. I know it, you know it, and anyone who's ever heard the name Ultimecia knows it. But…," he said sharply when Seifer opened his mouth to protest, "only I know how badly. Well, you, Squall, and I."

Seifer clenched his fists in an effort to curb his growing desire to harm the lanky man. Even beyond the legal hot water it would put him in, Squall seemed to have a rather bizarre attachment to the Galbadian that Seifer had no desire to test. The blond settled for grinding his teeth. "Congratulations, cowboy. You done gloating now?"

Irvine cocked his head to the side. "And just what makes you think I'm not here to blackmail you? Mr. Big Bad himself banging our very own Ice Prince, the Virgin Commander?" His lips quirked in what could have been a smile. "Mmmm . . . that sounds like quite the scoop. Timber Maniacs would have a field day. Imagine the headlines."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "You won't." he said calmly.

"And you're so certain of this that you'd risk everything?"

"No," the blond said slowly, shaking his head slightly. "It's no risk. Regardless of whether or not you like me, you'd never do that to Squall."

A single dark eyebrow lifted in mocking curiosity. "You think?"

"You got a busted face and damn near got strangled just to taste him on my lips," Seifer responded blandly. "I'd say that's some kind of devotion you've got there . . . Though I can't say I know why the hell you're playing these games with me . . ."

The cowboy tipped his hat in acknowledgement. "Perceptive, ain't you, Almasy?"

"When I have to be. Now get on with it, cowboy."

Irvine regarded him carefully for a moment and then nodded before continuing, "Listen to me, Seifer, 'cause I don't intend to repeat myself. I don't know you. And, honestly, I don't like what I've seen of you. You were an arrogant, overbearing, domineering brat of a child, and from everything I've seen you're an arrogant, overbearing, domineering brat of a man. I play with you because it's fun; because no one else can or will and quite frankly, you deserve to be on the receiving end for a while. You're self-centered, angry, confused, and a danger to everyone, including yourself." He paused, watching a muscle in Seifer's cheek jump madly.

"At least," he continued after a moment, "that's what I thought."

"So what changed your mind, Kinneas?"

"Squall, of course. Watching him as he tried to reach out to you. Watching him as you tried to pull away. And watching you in the hall this morning."

Seifer's green eyes darkened in confusion and Irvine growled at his apparent inability to comprehend this simple thing.

"He's in love with you, you dumbfuck!" he growled. "Whether he admits it or not, he's always been in love with you! I stuck by him during the war. I watched, Seifer. I listened. I know Leonhart like I know the curves of Exeter and I know what's been going on behind those empty eyes of his. He loves you. He misses you. He wants you. He needs you. And if you ever hurt him like that again, then so help me Hyne, I will kill you and bury you within the hour, Seifer Almasy. You know I can. You know I will."

Seifer pushed himself to his feet and started towards the door. His voice grated harshly out of his throat as though it had gone unused for a long time. "If you're saying that, then you don't know anything at all, cowboy."

He hit the door panel and stepped aside as the doors slid open, obviously waiting for Irvine to join him. His jade eyes seemed a bit too bright as the sharpshooter rose to leave, a slight sneer of disgust marring his pleasant features. The gunblader gripped Irvine's arm as he went past, forcing the brunet to halt, and drew him closer. He bent slightly, gently pressing the scarred curve of his forehead to the delicate slope of Irvine's healed nose. His eyes glimmered feverishly as they looked into the other man's violet depths.

"If I ever hurt him like that again, I'll finish the job myself. Because if I lose him again, push him away again, then I've got nothing left. The only reason I came here, became SeeD, was to get him back-to try and find where we were before all that crazy shit went down. And I am NOT walking away from him again."

Irvine smiled, not that slightly sadistic grin, nor that self-satisfied smirk, but a true smile. Gloved hands reached up and gently cradled Seifer's cheeks as he stared into the man's eyes. "And Rinoa?"

"What about her?"

"She loves him."

"Not like I do," the blond hissed fervently. His grip on Irvine's arm became painful. "No one ever will like I do!"

Irvine pulled back and gently laid a kiss against Seifer's scar. The blond shivered to feel the other man mimic what he had done to Squall just over an hour ago.

"Irvine-"

"Keep your word, Seifer." He pulled away and smirked slightly as he headed out the door. "Because I'll be keeping mine . . . to both of you. And watch out for Zell. I'm not the only one in Garden with eyes and ears."

"What?"

The cowboy shook his head and chuckled faintly at whatever joke he had just made, his footsteps unnaturally quiet in the hall. Seifer leaned heavily against his doorframe and stared after him long after he'd vanished.

"Starkers," he mumbled to himself as he stared down the empty hall. "Absolutely stark fucking raving mad."

>-------------x-x-x-x-x-x--V--x-x-x-x-x-x-------------<

She looked surprised when the door slid open, her dark eyes widening. "Zell?"

The tattooed blond bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, awkward and uncomfortable. "Can I come in?"

"I was just on my way to see Squall. He's being so silly-these arguments. Anyway, it's all Seifer's fau-"

"It's about Squall," Zell interrupted impatiently.

"Oh . . ." She blinked and her face tightened for a moment as though she had bitten into something sour. "Um . . . okay. Come in." She stepped aside and let him enter.

As the door slid closed behind him Rinoa looked at him speculatively, the smooth creamy skin of her forehead wrinkling ever so slightly. "So what's so important, Zell?"

The blond looked away, his eyes latching onto a picture of a large sunflower that adorned the wall of her dorm. He didn't understand why she had her own room anyway; everyone knew she slept with Squall.

"Zell?"

This had seemed like such a good idea when he hadn't been face to face with that little girl smile and her disarming, shuffling innocence. He turned away from her.

"Rinoa . . ." his voice trailed off, sounding small and scratchy.

She shifted impatiently, waiting for him to continue.

"Seifer," he started again abruptly. "I saw . . . This . . ." he stumbled over the words.

Rinoa's dark eyes narrowed and she looked down at the floor. "He's still in love with Squall then?"

Zell's head snapped up in surprise. "What?"

"Why do you think we broke up in the first place, Zell?" the girl demanded. She sounded tired. ". . . He shouldn't be here with us. He's not one of us."

"You feel threatened by him." It wasn't a question.

For a moment Rinoa didn't say anything, biting her lower lip in agitation. "I . . . Squall and I belong together," she said at last. "Everyone knows it. Things . . ." she appeared to struggle for a moment. "Things shouldn't be this way!"

He stared at her for a minute, his brilliant blue eyes boring into her; she turned away from him to stare out the window at the flat endless ocean.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't deserve to hurt this much," the petite Sorceress murmured at last.

Zell closed his eyes in pain.

It was a war, he wanted to say . . . as though that justified everything and could soothe the heartache he was about to cause. It was a war and we didn't know what to expect . . . what we were getting into on all fronts . . . And you, you're still a . . . an outsider . . .

But his mouth wouldn't form the words. Instead he found himself saying, "Do you love him?"

Deep brown eyes blinked several times and she frowned slightly as though she didn't understand the question. ". . . What do you mean?"

He looked over at her and pressed his lips into a thin, tight line. "Do you love him?" It was a war . . . You have to understand that.

"I . . ." The Sorceress turned away and walked over to a window, her arms wrapped tight around her narrow waist. "He's my Knight."

Zell cocked his head to the side and scowled slightly. "I'm serious, Rinny. Really. If you don't, just let go of him. For both your sakes."

She turned around halfway to face him, her long raven-black hair slipping down over her shoulder and casting the right side of her face in deep, almost sinister shadows. Her eyes glittered darkly, but her voice was soft and almost petulant-a child being deprived of a favorite toy. "Has he said something to you?"

"I saw him with Seifer." That should have been enough. If she knew about Seifer, then surely she had to know about Squall. Didn't she?

Rinoa blinked slowly as though expecting him to say something else. When he didn't she turned back to the window, clutching her sides a bit tighter as though cold. "He's my Knight."

There was a bite of anger in her voice now as well as something that sounded suspiciously like tears. "Do you think I don't hear what everyone says? I know I'm not a fighter, and I know I'm not clever like Quistis, or bold like Selphie . . . I know all that! But I am not a trophy to be paraded around on a golden pedestal or an attachment for cocktail parties. I was there along side the rest of you and I deserve a reward, too!"

Zell took a step towards her. He longed to wrap his arms around her and promise her that the Knight and Princess would ride away happily into the sunset, but he couldn't. She knew it was a lie-she'd probably known the moment he announced that he'd accepted Seifer back into Garden. That was when he had stopped talking again . . . when the fights and the arguments had begun.

"I fought too!" the girl whispered softly, her back still to him. "I didn't ask for these powers. I didn't ask for Time Compression. So why, then, don't I get a reward?"

"Rinoa . . ." He gently laid a gloved hand on her slender shoulder and felt her flinch beneath his touch. "You . . . He . . . He was never yours to begin with . . . never a prize to be given away . . . or stolen away."

"And I was?"

The blond cringed at the bitter tone as she continued.

"'Good job, Squall. You saved the world. And here's your reward!' And then you all just hand me over to him with a bow tie and I get nothing?!"

It was Zell's turn to scowl now and he jerked his hand off her shoulder as though she'd burned him. "Handed you over?" he snapped. "You running him down and hog-tying him, is more like it! Yes, you were there and yes, you fought, but were you paying attention at all after the fight with Galbadia? You were on the sidelines, Princess, begging to be rescued and damn near getting us all killed to be a tragic heroine. When you fell off of Garden after Galbadia attacked us, he fought like mad against the idea that he be the one to rescue you. Anyone of us could have done it, but we were all so determined to make him happy that . . ." he trailed off in obvious disgust and turned his back to her. "If anything we delivered Squall to you!"

". . . Get out, Zell."

For a moment they stood in the pale, glittering sunlight their backs to one another as the silence stretched into a thin, fragile thing.

Rinoa gripped herself so tightly that her long fingernails cut into her skin. "Zell-"

"It was a war," he said abruptly, cutting her off. "It was a war and it was horrid and ugly and . . . and it's probably better that you were there anyway. You gave him something else to worry about, someone different to care," he choked on the word, "for. Better you than Almasy, I guess. That's all I wanted to say."

His sneakers made soft whispers as he walked to the door.

"Animals," she spat suddenly.

Zell paused as the door slid open in front of him. "Rin-"

Rinoa whirled around, her long black hair fanning out beautifully around her as her delicate face twisted in rage in and pain. "You're nothing but animals, the whole lot of you!"

The martial artist clenched his jaw and then turned and stalked stiffly out of the room, heedless of her enraged shouts.

"You get back here! How dare you all stand aside and allow this to happen! You're all just animals!!"

She grabbed the closest object she could get her hands on, a delicate hand-blown crystal angel that Selphie had gotten her for her birthday, and hurled it at the retreating man just as the doors slid closed behind him. The expensive crystal exploded against the cold steel with a jarring popping sound that was far too loud and glass flew everywhere, hitting the floor in thousands of gold and rainbow shimmers where the light caught it. She slumped back against the window, waiting for Zell to return or for someone to come and see what all the noise was. The glass had shattered so loudly that surely the entire building had moved and surely the whole Garden would come running. They'd all come running into her room, weapons at the ready and see all the glass laying everywhere and-and-and . . .

And she couldn't stop crying.

So she waited. No one came.

>-------------x-x-x-x-x-x--V--x-x-x-x-x-x-------------<