Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

One (Last) Chance	By : RotSeele Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Seifer/Squall Views: 3721 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Nineteen - Squall POV

I wasn’t surprised to find Irvine waiting for us after we got off the lift. I knew what he wanted to ask, but as I studied his face, I was somewhat surprised to see nervousness written across his features. I looked up at Seifer and tilted my head to one side. Reading my non-verbal cue, Seifer shrugged and walked past Irvine, leaving the two of us alone on the walkway. I was sure he’d want to know what Irvine had in mind, but it was something I could tell him about later. Irvine didn’t need an audience right now. Frankly, I didn’t need one either.
“The headmaster gave the okay to let the technicians in the Garden. They’re in there right now.” Irvine said, his gaze following Seifer’s back.
“Okay.” I responded, moving past him.
“Say...”
I paused, looking back over my shoulder at Irvine. “Yeah?”
Irvine rubbed the back of his neck and refused to meet my eyes. “Uh... I was wondering. Those technicians seem very handy. So like... would it be all right if I asked them to fix some other stuff?”
Fix what, exactly? The stage isn’t broken. Figuring I didn’t really need to know, I shrugged as noncommittally as I could. “As long as it doesn’t interfere in anything else, go ahead. Don’t ask for too much. They’re here to service the Garden, not build elaborate contraptions.”
Irvine grinned widely. “Yeah, of course.”
I nodded and headed toward the Garden. Irvine fell in one step to my left and behind, since the catwalk wasn’t wide enough for us to move side by side. I knew his eyes were focused on my back, boring holes into it, as he waited for me to address him. I don’t know why Irvine just wouldn’t come out and say what he wanted to say, especially since he cared about Selphie so much. My duty as the group’s leader and SeeD Commander ended after the battle was won; what they all did after hours was their business. Of course, I wasn’t the SeeD Commander yet. That was coming shortly. I glanced at Irvine, hoping he would take the clue I was trying to give him, but he continued to smile as densely as ever. Ironically, it made me appreciate Seifer even more.
In the end, I allowed Irvine to take me down the quad and Selphie. Even after all this time, I still didn’t know the best way to comfort her. I pointed out that the stage wasn’t a complete mess and still looked functional. That earned a lip quirk from Selphie before her eyes watered, and I was left trying to make sure she didn’t actually start crying. I had to finally give up and allowed Irvine to do what he was supposed to do, which was to cheer Selphie up and hatch the nefarious plan to get a band together to play in concert later that evening.
It was a concert I wasn’t looking forward to.
For obvious reasons.
When Cid called me, I headed up to his office for my talk with him. I wasn’t surprised to find Seifer waiting for me by the elevator, and I didn’t dissuade him from following me, though I stopped him from following me into the office. I didn’t need him staring at me while Cid made the announcement that would change my entire life. I made my report and prepared myself for what was coming. Cid took a minute to look me up and down, head to toe, before he began to speak. I barely listened. Before, I had felt he was being unfair. Before, I had wondered what had possessed Cid to think I could handle being responsible for hundreds of lives. That I wouldn’t be affected terribly by those losses. That I wouldn’t hate myself for making decisions that could potentially get someone killed, decisions that had gotten people killed. That I would have the strength to kill his wife. To kill Seifer. But after living it once already, I know why Cid was giving it over to me - he thought I was strong enough to live with the consequences of my decisions and actions, because he certainly wasn’t.
I didn’t know then, and I didn’t know now, what Cid was expecting from me. He was watching me with carefully guarded eyes, as if he was measuring each word before he spoke them. I remained achingly apathetic, and I’m sure that was giving him cause to worry. Even when he spoke of this being my destiny, I remained emotionless. I remembered how I had reacted the last time. I had flown completely off the handle, yelling until I was red in the face. In the end I had accepted it without much fight. But, now that I knew, and in a strange way, it was my destiny. It had been me who had given Edea the idea of the SeeD and the Garden. I had started the whole thing, in trying to defeat Ultimecia the first time. The Time Compression had sent me back to the orphanage when I was five and I didn’t know any better that I shouldn’t meddle in fate’s plan.
It was the soundest warning anyone could get, and I had blatantly ignored it.
I thanked Cid for my promotion, said that I hoped I could live up to his expectations, turned on my heel, and headed out of his office to the elevator.
Seifer followed me back to my room without a word. I was tempted to slam the door in his face, but that wouldn’t solve anything except maybe get him wrangled by the rest of the group into “helping” with the concert. So I let him inside and pointed to the bed. He sat and I locked the door, ensuring that the two of us would be left alone. Then I leaned against the door and stared at my feet.
Seifer leaned back on his hands on my bed, his emerald eyes focused on my face. “So.”
I tilted my head. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say anyway.
“Back to the silent treatment already?”
I rolled my eyes and folded my arms over my chest. “When I first heard Cid’s speech, and when I first got promoted, I freaked out on him. I yelled. I thought about quitting. But what would I have if I quit? And now I think, if I don’t do it, who will?”
Seifer blew out a breath. “Cid dumps a whole shitpile in your lap, and you’re just going to be the good Commander and take it, huh?”
“And who would you nominate to take it? No offense, Seifer, but I wouldn’t vote for you.”
“I wouldn’t vote for me either.”
“And no one would be able to do anything with the sort of conviction that I have.”
“Of course not. No one knows what you do. Besides, you’ve already figured out what you’re going to do. You’ve told me. Several times.”
I inclined my head, and squeezed my arms tighter around myself.
Seifer’s lips split into a lazy grin as he recognized the gesture for what it was. He shifted and pushed himself forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. He gestured for me to come closer, and I did. When I was in arms’ reach, Seifer wrapped his arm around my hips and pulled me close. I set my forearms on his shoulders, locked my fingers together behind his neck, and looked down at him. For a while, we just stared at each other, and then Seifer moved one of his hands to reach up for my neck to pull me down for a kiss. Our lips touched, and I resisted his urging to let my knees buckle and collapse atop him. I pulled back and sighed.
Seifer frowned. “What is it?”
I looked up at the ceiling. “This isn’t the time.”
Seifer chuckled somewhat darkly, disappointment clear in his green eyes. “When will the time come, Ice Prince?”
I sighed. I didn’t have an answer for him, and he knew it.
Seifer pulled me down to sit beside him on the bed. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I leaned my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes and breathing in his scent. I expected him to pull some sort of sneak attack, but he just kept stroking my hair in slow, gentle motions. Despite myself, I began to relax and my eyes began to close against my will.
“You know,” Seifer said softly, bringing me back from the edge of sleep, “even if you did quit, you’d just get drawn back into it. You couldn’t walk away now even if you wanted to. Your sense of duty wouldn’t allow for anything less. Besides, everyone - and by everyone, I mean the Orphanage Gang - is counting on you to lead us through this. Besides, I think there’s something you haven’t taken into consideration.”
I looked up at him. “What’s that?”
“Two Knights are better than one.”
I shook my head and sighed. “That’s not something I’m worrying about right now. Our status as Knights doesn’t matter if we don’t have a sorceress to serve.”
“But we will.”
“If everything goes as planned, yes.”
“Do you see how ironic the whole situation is now? Cid hands you the reins to everyone’s fates, and you’re manipulating events to suit your own designs.”
I glowered at him and looked away.
Seifer resumed running his fingers through my hair. I knew he wanted to kiss me. He wanted to go further than that, too, if I would only let him. But I couldn’t think about that right now. I couldn’t indulge that selfish desire. There was too much I needed to focus on right now than him. Than that. If it happened, and I lost him... “If I could stop everything from happening... I’d do it.” I said, hoping the words would distract him, or at least convince him to curb his own desire for the moment.
“I know.” he replied, accepting my meaning but not liking it, and clearly intending to revisit the subject at some point. “But it’s that responsibility thing. That thing I’m not very good with.”
“You’ve done fine so far.”
“Hate to break it to you, Squally-boy, but your opinion doesn’t count.”
I scoffed. “You say that now. Just wait until tonight.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
- 18
- 19
- 20
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

One (Last) Chance