Chronicles of Valentine

a/n: Wahh, you guys are so supportive. It makes tears come to an author's eyes. We're nearing the end here. So sad, but also so exciting, much the way Vincent feels I imagine.

Much love to everyone who read and reviewed for me! Thanks to Soyna, Nelleh, Kuromei, MyValenwind, Mint, and DarkSacrifice!

Warnings are the same as usual: hints to boysmut, language, spoilers, loose playing with both universes, oh and self-beta

Enjoy!

Chronicles of Valentine
Chapter Thirteen

-- September 14, 4013 --

Hellmasker chose to vanish when I was in the middle of cooking dinner for Seifer and myself. It took my greatest effort not to fall forward into the hot oven, and had only a few seconds of lucidity to slap off the dials before I crumpled to the floor. My legs had lost all strength, becoming like jelly beneath me.

The pain wasn't as nauseatingly agonizing as before. Instead, it trickled over me like a furious heat, searing at my skin and stealing my breath. I didn't even cough this time. Instead, it stole my breath until I gasped for air, twitching on the floor, my vision fading in and out. I flopped around like a fish out of air, desperately reaching for something to steady myself and finding nothing.

I ended up on my back somehow, not that I could remember, and my entire body bowed as something pulled free of my chest. I couldn't see anything, but I felt myself jerk as an invisible entity broke out. There was no blood or gore, but the accompanying pain was enough to make it feel real.

I gasped, bit down on my lip to contain my cries, and told myself to hold on. That it couldn't last any longer than the other times. That my straining muscles would relax in just a minute. All I had to do was hold on.

The frantic clenching of my body eased after what seemed like an eternity later. Except that I had lived for millenia and I truly knew what forever felt like. I gasped like a dying man starving for breath, my body collapsing against the ground. In the five minutes or so since the fit hit me, I had broken into a sweat which covered every inch of my body.

Weakness prevented me from doing anything more than rolling my head to look at the clock. I had twenty minutes before Seifer was due to arrive, eager to taste one of my concoctions. I hoped I could move before then.

I let myself lie on the floor, the smell of garlic teasing at my nose. Luckily, I was mostly done cooking. The pasta needed to drain, but otherwise, I was done. Still, this was rather inconvenient.

Only one presence remained in my mind, the strongest of the four and easily three times as powerful as Hellmasker. I wondered how much longer it would be before his grip on me faded as well. Were they leaving me of their own volition? Or was something else removing them? I suspected it had something to do with whatever binding agent Hojo had used to trap the demons in my body.

I drew in slow breath after slow breath, calming the frantic beat of my heart and the lingering ache. My chest was sore, as if someone had punched me. I had the feeling that had I the energy to lift my shirt and check, there would be a bruise there.

Time was running out. I needed to tell Seifer. Or someone. Irvine was getting relentless in his urging to explain to everyone. And I couldn't hold out for long. Not with my coughing fits becoming more frequent. Blood was a taste so familiar to me that I barely noticed it anymore.

My arm dragged over my forehead, blocking the bright overhead light from beaming into my eyes. I wasn't looking forward to that conversation in the slightest. I sighed, dreading the time when I would have to tell Seifer the truth.

I waited for my body to recover. And by the time Seifer arrived twenty minutes later, I was up and moving about, setting the last of the necessities on the table. If I walked slower than usual, and with great caution, my lover didn't seem to notice. Thankfully.

An enthusiastic kiss served as a greeting, Seifer's attack of affection more suitable to something lecherous rather than a simple salutation.

I should tell him now.

“Damn, Vincent,” Seifer said, breaking away from the kiss to sniff the air much like a bloodhound scenting its prey. “When you said cook, I didn't know you meant cook.”

“What did you think I meant?” I returned with a wry crook of my lips. “That I was going to order pizza?”

The large blond shrugs, dragging fingers through his hair. “That's what happened the last time someone said they were going to cook for me. I arrived to find a kitchen full of black smoke and a box of pizza on the table.”

One eyebrow raised. “Who, pray tell, was that?”

“Back when I dated Rinoa,” he said dismissively, already heading into the kitchen/dining room with eagerness dogging his steps.

Aside from the fact that he had dated Rinoa before the war and then she latched on to Squall, it irked me that no one had cooked for him since. But then, Seifer was the Sorceress Knight. The epitome of evilness, second only to the Sorceress herself.

Funny how so many people seemed to miss the fact that Squall was a Sorceress Knight, too. Then again, his Sorceress didn't go on a rampage to destroy the world and time and everything as we know it.

“Consider the source,” I teased, following him into the dining area.

I watched as he settled himself down, staring boggle-eyed at the lasagna and garlic bread and salad. I really should tell him.

“Damn, this looks good,” he grunted, and started digging in with gusto.

Maybe after dinner...

Except, after eating, Seifer wanted dessert and cornered me somewhere between the bedroom and the small bathroom. His kisses tasted like tomato sauce, garlic, and ranch dressing, heated and hungry. My body was too eager to respond to that warmth, to the comforting feel of another human being when echoes of desolation still coursed through me. It bothered me how empty I felt without those demons inside me.

I tangled my fingers in short strands of blond hair and deepened the garlic-laced kiss, feeling Seifer's rumble of encouragement through his body. He pressed against me, all heat and passion, and I forgot about the important things I was supposed to be saying. Instead, I focused on finding the nearest flat surface, pushing him down onto it and latching teeth and lips on his throat, an action which never failed to make his back arch and a sexy groan pass through his lips.

I would tell him later.

--December 21, 4013--

The air was crisp and clear, the sky a light blue despite the clouds marching on the horizon, determined to bring more of the wintry weather that Trabia seemed to attract like metal to a magnet. I breathed in deeply, letting the cold infiltrate my lungs, doing much to ease the near-constant clamping.

I could hear Selphie's excited shouts as she all but raced towards the recently rebuilt Trabia Garden, Irvine following after her at a much more sedate pace. Balamb Garden had parked nearby, joining Trabia to celebrate their annual Snow Festival. Any reason to celebrate in Selphie's opinion, though how she had convinced Squall I was never going to ask.

“Hey Vince!”

I turned, and got a faceful of cold, wet snow. Stunned, I reached up to wipe the sodden mess from where it clung to my cheek, the heat of my glare searching out the perpetrator.

Zell was laughing his ass off, cheeks tinted scarlet with amusement. Before I could so much as stalk his direction, a snowball went flying through the air, beaning Zell in the side of the face. The martial artist squawked, flailing in surprise. And I traced the trajectory back to Seifer, who looked a little too full of himself.

“Seifer! You asshole!” Zell shouted, shaking a fist in the gunblader's direction, even as he dropped to scoop an armful of snow from the ground.

“You threw the first one, chickie!” Seifer retorted, tossing something up and down in his hand.

I didn't even blink before Seifer chucked it at Zell, too, striking him squarely between the eyes and causing Zell to drop his bundle of snow. The martial artist's arms pinwheeled as he fell backwards in the snow, legs flying up in the air.

Seifer turned towards me, jade eyes incredibly amused. I quirked a brow. “What did you think you were defending my honor?”

“I thought something like that would be beneath you,” he said, wading through the snow towards me.

Only to be struck solidly in the side of the head with another snowball, one compacted enough that it collided with a dull thud and didn't immediately dissolve into mush.

“Snowball fight!” A voice declared cheerfully, hopping up and down as a bright yellow blur in the corner of my vision. Only Selphie could be that enthusiastic.

Jade eyes swung her direction, a playful growl swirling in the gunblader's throat. “Why you....”

Selphie squealed in surprise, ducking behind Irvine who served as a rather tall target for Seifer's return fire.

“Oy! I wasn't even in this!” Irvine protested, spluttering at a mouthful of snow.

“Too late, Kinneas!” Seifer retorted, already packing another good snowball.

He never noticed Zell sneaking up behind him.

The moment Zell dumped the handful of snow down Seifer's shirt, the playful fight degraded. Seifer tackled Zell, Selphie joined the fray with a war whoop. Irvine sauntered their direction, nonchalant, only to smush a handful of snow in Seifer's face.

Meanwhile, I stood on the sidelines, refusing to be dragged into this childishness. Apparently, so did Quistis and Squall as the former just watched with increasing amusement and the latter shook his head, stalking towards Trabia Garden with something muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately for the both of them, their lack of participation wasn't appreciated by the four fools already rolling around in the wet, freezing snow. Someone, I couldn't tell who from the tangle of limbs, threw a ball of snow in Quistis' face. Another, I could only guess Selphie by the girlish giggle, egged her to retaliate.

And just when Squall seemed about to escape, he was attacked by a yellow, snow-encrusted blur, Selphie grinning and declaring loudly that Squall was “on her side”.

I turned on my heel and made for cover, determined not to witness any more of this ridiculous nonsense. Even if it was incredibly amusing, and well, heartening to see the children act like children for once. If I had to guess, I would say it had been years since they had acted as such. Camaraderie blossomed behind me, a sense of broken things merging again, laughter ringing in the crisp air. That Seifer was included without an ounce of hesitation warmed me.

A rocky outcropping covered in a thick layer of snow served as ample protection. One piece of stone jutted out further than the rest and provided a wonderful place to sit and rest as I listened to the epic battle take place. Laughter and shouts and shrieks and roars of anger (along with a hefty dose of curses, mostly from Seifer's end).

At this rate, we would arrive in Trabia long after the celebration had started. Not that I minded. Large groupings of people had never been my forte and I only attended because Selphie had requested rather politely.

Something warm abruptly collided with me, driving me to the ground and out of my thoughts. I fought back on instinct alone, my palm popping against a jaw as I dug an elbow into the softness just below the ribs. There was a grunt of pain before my wrists were grabbed and pinned to the snow, a larger body straddling me.

I had a moment to recognize my attacker before lips descended over mine, a tongue aggressively pushing into my mouth. I half-considered biting Seifer as payback for the sudden attack, but settled for returning the kiss with equal fervor, forcing Seifer to meet me on equal terms. He always attempted to dominate at first, until I turned the tables and showed him how useless such a venture truly was.

My teeth nipped at his lip, the feel of the cold seeping through my clothes and into my skin. I fought off a shiver, determined not to show my weakness.

Seifer's hungry mouth broke away from my lips to trail a string of nipping kisses along my smooth jawline. The sound of shouting and laughter pierced the fog of warmth that Seifer's touch cascaded over my chilled skin.

I jerked my head back, away from his lips. “Seifer!” I hissed, body tensing as I prepared to throw him off me.

“We're behind a snow drift,” he reminded me with a huff. “No one can see us.” And his head dipped, trying to seek my lips again.

I turned my head, wondering if it was just my imagination that the voices were getting closer. “That's not the point.”

It wasn't so much that we had hidden our relationship from the others, but that I didn't feel it necessary we announced it either. I wasn't an exhibitionist by nature, even if Seifer was, and I knew he annoyed me on purpose. Seifer showed his affection by getting a rise out of others and more often than not, Squall and I were his favorite targets.

A mouth wandered to my throat, nibbling over the pale skin there. “Aw, come on, Sunshine. Let me do you.”

Aside from the ridiculous nickname, of which origin I still hadn't derived, I wasn't really surprised by the request. “Do me?” I repeated, hiding my amusement. “How elegantly put.”

Seifer lifted his head, tossing me a rakish grin. “It can be an early birthday present.”

I blinked. “It's your birthday?”

He shrugged, as though it didn't mean much to him at all. “Tomorrow. Yeah.”

“I didn't know,” I replied quietly, because usually, birthdays around here were celebrated by huge parties and hoopla thanks to Selphie. They were planned for days and everyone looked forward to them. And yet Seifer's was tomorrow and I hadn't heard so much as a rumor about it?

Seifer grunted in dismissal. “It's just a bargaining chip, Sunshine. So... you gonna let me?”

I sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “Let me up. There's a rock digging into my spine.”

The blond leered, shifting his knee forward. “Just a rock?”

I purposefully held back the lusty groan that bubbled in my chest, unwilling to let Seifer see how much he affected me. Seifer was handsome and he knew it, his ego nearly on par with Irvine's.

“We have a festival we are supposed to be attending,” I reminded him, attempting to sound stern but failing miserably. Seifer knew I didn't want to go to that celebration anymore than I wanted to fall asleep here in the snow.

He nosed into my throat. “Hmmm. Cold, happy-go-lucky festival with a bunch of people I don't know or a warm bed with bare skin and someone I know very well. Choices, choices.”

“Seifer...” I sighed.

Jade eyes looked at me innocently. “Yes, Sunshine?”

“Let me go,” I replied, putting as much seriousness into my voice as I could muster.

Hurt flashed over his face before he abruptly released my wrists and drew back. I sat up, rubbing at my wrists and listening to the snow caked on my back fall off with loud clumps. Seifer attempted to rise to his feet, but I grabbed the front of his shirt with my hands and jerked him towards me.

I was treated to the sight of his surprised expression before I kissed him thoroughly, my tongue sweeping past his lips and into his mouth. He made a sound of surprise before greedily returning the kiss, trying to turn the tide back to his favor. But I had been alive for far longer and I knew far more tricks.

Seifer made a sound of pleasure in his throat, and I held back on my smirk. I would be more than happy to show him more, back in the room. Let the others have their festival, I had something far better.

-- December 22, 4013 --

“Surprise! Happy – whoah!”

I jerked awake, in much the same manner as Seifer did, the excited giggling pulling me from a hazy sleep. I blinked, peering through a half-awake fog to see Selphie standing slack-jawed in the doorway to Seifer's quarters, her hands raised mid-air and hanging there. Bits of confetti fell slowly to the ground like multi-colored rain.

Seifer grunted, eyes peeling open from where he lay sprawled on his belly, splayed across the bed like someone collapsing on the mattress from an all-night binge. “Who...?”

I patted his bare shoulder, right over a highly visible red mark that showed faint impressions of teeth. “Just Selphie. I think we broke her.”

Said female finally blinked, moving into action like a toy whose gears had finally been wound. “I'm not broken!” she said indignantly, stomping one foot against the ground. She pointed one finger at us accusingly. “How dare you keep such a hot secret from me!”

“For exactly this reason,” I said with a sigh, noticing her nearly gleeful expression. She looked as though she were going to tackle us both here on the bed, despite the fact we were obviously nude beneath the dubious concealment of our sheet.

Selphie jumped in place, her lips stretched in a wide grin. “Oooo, you naughty boys! I oughta--”

“Didn't you have a reason for barging in here uninvited?” I asked mildly, too old to be embarrassed by this situation. And Seifer didn't appear to care, his eyes closing as though he fully intended to go back to sleep.

Selphie frowned briefly, her hands planted on her hips. “I was trying to invite the birthday boy to his party! But I see he's having one of his own.” She giggled.

“Tilmitt, get the fuck out,” Seifer growled without opening his eyes.

“Awww, but Seifer...”

He lifted a hand, flicking it in her direction with a rude gesture.

Selphie pouted. “Fine. But you better come tonight! I spent all week planning this.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“And Vincent, you have to come, too!” Selphie added with a firm look my direction that would have made Squall proud. Honestly, the brunette would make a wonderful dictator someday.

I nodded, knowing far better than to argue with her. “Of course, Selphie. Now, if you would please... a little privacy?”

She brightened, though she seemed interested in lingering. “Yeah, sure. Enjoy!” Selphie grinned, throwing a hand over her shoulder in goodbye.

The door slid shut behind her with a cheerful chime.

Seifer stirred, making a disgusted face. “Ugh. Why am I in the wet spot?” he complained, trying to shift over but finding he didn't have much else where to go.

“Because you fell asleep and refused to be moved,” I replied logically, leaning over to drag my fingers down his spine, watching as bumps raised in my wake. “More importantly, how did Selphie get your door code?”

“Sunshine, it's Selphie,” he replied, as though that explained everything, arching his back into my touch much like a cat would. “It wouldn't surprise me if she knew everyone's door code. She's the best hacker this side of Gaea.”

I made a noncommittal sound in my throat and pressed my lips to his shoulderblade, feeling his muscles flex beneath my touch. “I told you they wouldn't forget.”

Seifer snorted. “I hoped they would,” he muttered, hips shifting restlessly.

I had to smile to myself. I knew Seifer and he would have stayed in bed all afternoon if he could. But I planned to give him incentive to rise.

“Liar,” I accused, my lips traveling to the nape of his neck where I knew Seifer to be particularly sensitive.

Seifer chuckled, tilting his head to grant me more access. “Never can get anything past you.”

“Of course not. I am both older and wiser after all,” I retorted, my fingers skating down the length of his back to brush over a well-muscled buttock.

He shivered, a throat purr vibrating in his throat. It was all the invitation I needed.

-- March 12, 4014 --

It felt good to hold a weapon again, especially for more than training and instruction. Even if my body couldn't bear the Dirge of Cerberus' recoil anymore, the Outsider worked just fine. However, I required myself to be more alert than usual. I couldn't just absorb attacks like I had in the past. With Hellmasker and Death Gigas gone, I was not only open to magic but to status effect changes as well.

Never would I have expected to reconsider their loss as I was at this moment.

With a muttered curse, I leapt backwards, avoiding the sharply spiked tail that whipped through the air. It stabbed the dirt where I had just been standing, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Eyes narrowing, I fired several rounds at the red-armored creature that pinned beady eyes on myself and my companions, considering us a tasty meal.

“Pay attention, Vincent!” Irvine shouted, echoing gunshots signaling that he had taken an opening. Fire exploded against the creature, an odd cross between a land-dwelling lobster and a scorpion.

A keening screech split the air.

I shook my head. I was paying attention. It wasn't my fault that my body didn't respond to my commands like it used to. I could already feel the fatigue pulling at my limbs, trying to drag me down.

A shouted “booyah!” joined the noise of battle as Zell danced around carapace-covered legs, ducking towards the soft underbelly of the strange beast.

We had been hired to dispose of the beast terrorizing the shores of Dollet, and I had volunteered to go on the piddly mission because I was half-desperate to leave the confines of Balamb Garden. I felt like my skills were getting rusty. Obviously, I was right.

My skin prickled and I sensed the magic before I knew it was being cast. I quickly threw up a Shell, bathing my body in the bright pink light, but I wasn't prepared for the strength of the magic that this creature threw out. A brutal twist of wind and water shot out in all directions, forcing all three of us to duck for cover. I dove behind a rusting old truck, detritus from the abandoned part of town.

The metal creaked and groaned under the attack, and salt water sprayed my face. I gritted my teeth. This thing was taking longer than it should for being a simple monster. Was it my imagination or were they getting stronger?

“Zell! Vincent! Hit the deck!” Irvine shouted, and I felt the breath-stealing force of a larger magic being summoned.

He had called one of his Guardian Forces, and Siren by the feel of it. I could hear her musical melody already pouring over the makeshift battlefield. Water splashed in a brief, but eclipsing wave, and the beast shrieked as the acid-like liquid poured over it.

I dove from behind my cover to throw out a defining blow, knowing that Siren's attack wouldn't be enough to kill it. I lifted Outsider, aiming for a beady eye, when the lance of pain shot down my spine. I couldn't even gasp, much less make a sound, as Outsider dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers.

It felt like something were trying to rip itself free from my body and I dropped to my knees, not caring that I struck something hard enough to pierce my clothes and shove through my knee. Blood spilled, the smell bitter, and I scrabbled at my shoulders as though trying to keep them attached to my body.

The sound I heard had to have been my own breathing – ragged and desperate – and when I looked, my own blood dripping was an eerie cadence. My awareness faded, focused inwards where Chaos clawed and bit and howled to remain. Only then did I realize what their disappearances meant for them – an erase in their existence.

His wings shot out, the webbed tips brushing the corners of my conscious. I watched him snarl, archaic words bursting from his lips, eyes gleaming a fierce ocher. I didn't need a translator to know what he meant. He refused to leave, his claws and talon digging into the fine grain of my inner conscious.

Outside my thoughts, more pain lanced my body. I jerked, spasming uncontrollably, fanged teeth biting down into my lip until I tasted blood. No coughing this time, small favor.

Chaos shouted, roared, the smell of sulfur rising stronger and stronger. His muscles heaved, chest straining with exertion, and then it felt as if his eyes caught mine. Narrowed and angry. As though he blamed me for what was happening. Not that I could do anything to stop it, nor did I want to. I was more than ready for this nightmare to end.

He began to vanish, the edges of his appearance rippling like a heat mirage, before Chaos dissolved like dust in the wind. Until nothing remained but a small pile of sand grains on the floor of my inner conscious, swept away by an invisible wind. But it couldn't sweep away the pain. It increased, if that were at all possible, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

It was an agony more than the human body could contain, and I, for one, was grateful when darkness slid over me. I fell into it gladly.

I never even heard the death throes of the beast, or the worried noises of my companions.

* * * *

a/n: Bwa ha ha! How could I resist the cliffhanger? How could I? The answer: I could not. So you'll have to wait until next week for the answer, my kiddies! In chapter fourteen, when the truth comes out.

I hope you enjoyed. I would absolutely kill for a Vincent/Seifer picture. So now I'm off to hunt someone to commission. Thanks for reading!