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One (Last) Chance	By : RotSeele Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Seifer/Squall Views: 3719 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8. I do not make any money from this story.

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Twenty-One - Squall POV

I guess I hadn’t been expecting Seifer to go that far, especially since what we had done was a new experience for both of us. Although, after I had thought about it for a little while, I guess Seifer had some experience in tasting his own essence, considering I was pretty sure him and Rinoa had done what he and I had done, and quite a bit more. I had brought Seifer back to my room after the concert and while I hadn’t initiated anything more after that, Seifer seemed more than content to hold me while he slept. Still, I could sense some disappointment in him. I knew he had hoped that my bringing him back to my room would lead to more than just handjobs in the dark. I was slightly surprised he didn’t try to argue his case with me, if I had to be honest. Continuing with the honesty, I didn’t know why I was being a prude, as he called me. I wanted to go further... I wanted to know what it felt like when he...
I was glad the elevator was empty so I could get my blush under control. I’d left Seifer sleeping in my room, knowing he’d come looking for me when he woke. If he didn’t get attacked by Rinoa first, that was. Of course I wanted to make him mine in every sense of the word, to be his, but... but I didn’t want to cross that line so fully and then have it all taken away from me. I still didn’t know how Time Compression would go this second time around. If I had to wander that wasteland again, I wanted at least one regret to carry with me. Maybe it was holding onto a regret was what had send me back here in the first place.
I entered the bridge, startling Quistis, Xu, and Nida. The three seemed sheepish and that look grew more profound as my eyebrow steadily climbed higher on my forehead. Quistis recovered fastest, giving me a SeeD salute.
“Greetings commander!”
Xu grinned. “We thought you should have a title. So Quistis and I decided on commander.”
“Sorry to carry things out on our own, but Xu and I assigned duties.” Quistis continued.
“That’s fine.” I said, stopping Xu before she could tell me her assignment. “Do what you need to do. Quistis, make sure Selphie gets some good rest. She deserves it, after all she’s done.”
Quistis and Xu looked at each other, then back to me. “Um,” said Quistis, “all right.”
“I have some reports for you,” Xu started.
I nodded, silently indicating I’d be with her in a minute. I looked toward Nida. “Did those technicians teach you everything you need to know about piloting the Garden, Nida?”
Nida’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Hey! You actually remembered me! We passed the SeeD exam together, but I didn’t expect you to remember me.” He gave me a nervous grin as I continued to stare at him. He gestured to the Garden’s controls. “The Garden’s ready to go anytime. Just let me know where you want to go.”
“Any suggestions on where we should go?” Quistis asked.
Balamb was the obvious answer, and I knew Xu was going to suggest it. There was no reason for us to go there, really, only because I knew it was under Galbadia occupation while they looked for Ellone. We had run into Fujin and Raijin there in the Before, where we learned that they were following Seifer, not Edea, and would always be right there to support him because they were friends and they believed in him. Other than learning information I already knew (but the others didn’t, obviously) there was no reason for us to head to Balamb.
I held up a hand to stop Xu and said instead, “Let’s head for Trabia Garden.”
“What? Why? We could find out what’s going on in Balamb!” Xu protested.
“And do what?” I asked, pinning her with an icy stare. “If we return to Balamb, and it’s under Galbadia occupation, we could ignite an already tense situation. If it’s not, then we’re simply assuaging our own desire to make sure our home is safe.”
“But what if it is under occupation?” Quistis asked, twisting her hands against her stomach.
“Then, believe it or not, the people there are safer if we stay away.” I said, my tone leaving no room for any more arguments. “Trabia was targeted by those missiles, remember? They no doubt have wounded in need of medical attention. Their supplies must be running low. Besides, Selphie will want to see what happened to her home.”
“That’s a terrible surprise to give her, Squall.” Xu said, scowling at me.
I was tempted to say ‘That’s Commander Squall to you’ just to piss her off, but I kept my face and voice neutral as I replied, “Why don’t you go ask her what she wants, Xu? If Selphie says she’d rather go to Balamb, then I’ll gladly give you the title of Commander. If not...” I let the sentence hang, noticing how Xu had suddenly stiffened and her eyes had narrowed. I looked at Nida, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from the two of us. “Nida, set a course for Trabia. And you can take your time.”
“Uh, yes, sir, Commander.”

I’ve come to the conclusion that both Rinoa and Seifer share the same uncanny ability to find me no matter where I choose to hide. Both of them found me in a secluded corner of the training grounds, which proved my earlier theory that Rinoa was waiting to pounce on Seifer after he left my room to hunt for me. I looked up at their approach, Seifer leading with a confident step and Rinoa a half-step behind, and watched Seifer take in my countenance, Lion Heart, the dead T-Rexaur lying in a pool of its coagulating blood about fifty yards away, and saw his lips twitch into a knowing smirk. Rinoa made a face at the blood and the mess, then tapped Seifer on the shoulder and pointed to a flower blooming on a vine that was slowly strangling the tree it had curled around. Seifer nodded and continued to approach me.
I didn’t bother to get up. Seifer plunked himself on the ground beside me, pointedly not looking at me. I appreciated that. I didn’t know how - and probably never would know how - he was able to read me like an open book. Eventually, Seifer turned his head enough to look at me, indicating that I had been silent long enough.
“It’s getting to you, isn’t it?” Seifer asked, keeping his voice quiet. Rinoa was still out of earshot, still studying the flowering vine, but it was quiet in the training ground. “Knowing, I mean.”
I nodded.
“You skipped over something, didn’t you?”
I nodded again.
“What was it?”
“Balamb.” I replied softly. “I skipped over it. We’re heading to Trabia. Xu is an insufferable bitch.”
To my surprise, Seifer burst out laughing, drawing a concerned look from Rinoa. “You’re just realizing that now, Leonhart? The way she acted during our exam didn’t tip you off?” Seifer dissolved into a laughing fit, practically roaring. I watched him, waiting for him to sober. It was long minutes before he did, and he reached for me, cupping my chin and pulling me closer to kiss me. “Squall, I love you, but you’re awfully dense sometimes.”
“...Thanks, I suppose...”
“I didn’t mean it as a compliment. It’s true. You were always such a stickler for the rules, always so emotionless, that now that you’re finally expressing yourself, you’re noticing everything you were so apathetic about before, and it’s getting to you. That, and not sticking with the timeline exactly.”
I frowned. “You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”
He grinned, the irritating bastard. “Immensely.”
“...”
“So why were Xu’s panties in such a twist about Balamb and you being supreme Commander and not taking us there?”
I sighed. “Because Balamb is under Galbadian occupation right now, but since Fujin and Raijin are here, last time I checked, I figured there’s no point in throwing fuel on a fire. Besides, Trabia could use our help more than the people in Balamb.”
Seifer frowned slightly, lines creasing his forehead as he scowled in the direction of the dead T-rexaur. “You fought them, didn’t you? Fujin and Raijin.”
I nodded. “You were still the Sorceress’ Knight at the time, and they were watching your back. Raijin was screwing around, of course, but...” I shrugged. “They never gave up on you.”
“At least until the end.”
I lifted my shoulders and let them fall.
Seifer blew out a breath. His gaze traveled to Rinoa, who had suddenly found that flower immensely interesting, which told me she had been staring at us for some time without us noticing. I hated myself in that moment, because I was forcing her into this again, and knowingly this time. Rinoa didn’t deserve what was about to happen to her, but I needed it to happen. If I wanted to save Seifer... if I wanted to stop Ultimecia... to protect Ellone... the entire goddamn world.
“Do you want me to tell Rinoa to go away?” Seifer asked.
“No.”
“We could spar. Violently.”
I looked at him with a steadily rising eyebrow. “What?”
“I haven’t gotten to face this you. And don’t you dare mention our fight while I was under that bitch’s control.” He grinned widely. “I want to see what you can do. It’ll be good for you. Blow off some stress. I know you never relax unless you’re in battle.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Who says you’re going to hurt me?”
“I do.”
“Not fucking likely.”
“You have no idea what I’m capable of, Seifer.”
He smirked, his green eyes glinting with a dangerous light. “And you don’t know what I’m capable of.”
“I know enough.”
“Gee, that stings, Leonhart.” Seifer surged to his feet and unsheathed Hyperion. He swung the blade toward my head, pressing the edge of the blade against my pulse. “You can fight back, or I can beat the shit out of you. Your choice.”
“Hey!” Rinoa called, hurrying over. “You said you weren’t going to fight him! That’s why I helped you find him!”
I slowly got to my feet, becoming acutely aware of Seifer and the blade pressed against my throat. “It’s fine, Rinoa.” I said softly.
She turned her glare on me. “No, it’s not. He promised me he wouldn’t fight you.” She stepped between us as I backed away from Hyperion’s edge and bent to pick up Lion Heart. “This isn’t the time to be fighting each other.”
Using the flat of Hyperion’s blade, Seifer gently pushed Rinoa toward what would be the sidelines of our arena. He said, “This is the perfect time to fight each other. You’ll learn in time, princess, that the longer Squally-boy goes without participating in wanton violence, the more uptight he becomes. Stand there. No, right there. Yeah.”
Rinoa folded her arms over her chest and glared at both of us. “If you two don’t stop when I call time, I’ll beat the crap out of both of you.”
I couldn’t help my smirk at that. Seifer let out a belly laugh at it, making Rinoa turn up the volume on her glower. He sobered quickly enough as I moved into position, gripping Lion Heart in both hands as I fell into stance. Seifer lifted Hyperion and though his eyes became suddenly serious, there was a playful quirk to his lips that told me he’d gotten his way and was immensely pleased about it. Minutes passed as we watched each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. I studied the lines of Seifer’s body, looking for any indication of what his intent might be. I knew he was studying me the same way. Time didn’t matter to either of us.
Seifer charged, shoving off with his left foot. As I’d expected him to, he struck from the right, slicing Hyperion toward my throat. I ducked low and danced back, moving on the defensive. Seifer obliged by chasing me, striking fast and hard for my side. Hyperion was a blur of flashing silver, and I keenly felt the vibrations of the impacts with Lion Heart through my fingers and forearms as I parried and defended myself from him. I knew Seifer hadn’t gotten serious yet; he was still trying to figure out if he could create an opening in my defenses without giving me one. The longer I stayed defensive, the more serious he would become.
I caught Hyperion on Lion Heart’s edge and angled my body to let the blade slide right past my shoulder and arm. My heel hit the ground and I pivoted, throwing Seifer’s larger weight off balance. As he stumbled, I attacked, forcing him to defend himself from my assault. That haughty smirk of his vanished instantly as he felt the first heavy blow, and he started to realize that maybe I had been right after all. But he surprised me when he retaliated with faster, harder strikes, and the training area filled with the sound of our gunblades crashing together. Footfalls, breathing, and grunts from repeated impacts became the background symphony to the clash of metal against metal as we each fought to gain the upper hand against our opponent. I caught Seifer grinning wildly as we came together, our blades shaking as we fought to unbalance each other. Seifer would - and did - beat me there, because he was heavier than I was, but I was faster. I was able to slide out from under him as our blades slid and sparked against each other and spun around behind him.
Seifer whirled faster than I had thought he would and struck for my spine. I flung Lion Heart behind me and caught Hyperion, turning my body to deflect the brunt of the attack to the side. Seifer allowed Hyperion to swing wide and spun his body with it to avoid Lion Heart’s edge. His fist came in for my face as he came back around, and I ducked under the swing and punched him in the ribs. He grunted and staggered backwards, but he didn’t stay back for long. He lunged at me, thrusting Hyperion forward and then changing the thrust to a slash at the last second. I barely had time to adjust Lion Heart to catch the attack and didn’t expect the kick that came at my knee when I was unbalanced. I fell and nearly lost my grip on Lion Heart as I hit the ground. I rolled quickly to the side as Hyperion crashed into the ground where my body once lay and swirled to my feet, lunging toward Seifer as he was recovering from his failed victory strike. I cut Lion Heart across the space between us but missed, as Seifer threw himself into a roll away from me.
“Time!” Rinoa yelled.
Seifer ignored her. He charged at me, then threw his left hand forward and released the fireball that he had charged up. I had two choices that I could make in this split second moment: I could dodge it, and leave myself open for an attack, or I could block it and make a counterattack while he was trying to recover. Of course, that meant I would have to ignore Rinoa as well.
I brought Lion Heart up and sliced through the fireball, holding my ground as Seifer came right at me. He was close enough for me to see the whites of his eyes before I moved. I ducked under Hyperion’s swing and got past Seifer’s guard. I punched him hard in the stomach, then twisted away as he doubled over. I caught his arm and pulled it behind him, kneeing him in the back of the legs to push him down and win the match. Instead, he used his height and weight against me, flipping me over his shoulder before I was set and nearly throwing me to the ground.
“Damn you both, I said ‘time’!” Rinoa screamed again.
We both ignored her. I pulled away from Seifer as hard as I could and set myself for another attack. Seifer did the same. A distance of perhaps a hundred feet separated us now, and both of us were panting hard. Seifer was still grinning, but it was dangerous. He knew that if he didn’t end it now, he wasn’t going to win. He’d taken my measure the moment he tried to throw me. He charged, Hyperion held low for a diagonal strike that drew strength from the waist and hips and followed through toward the shoulder. I would have to turn into the strike in order to block the attack and after I stopped Hyperion’s motion, I could hook my foot behind his ankle and pull to get Seifer off balance and to the ground.
I didn’t get the chance.
Suddenly Rinoa was between us, her arms spread wide. Her back was to me; she was facing Seifer and I was sure she was glaring death at him. She was pissed with us for ignoring her. There was no way Seifer could stop himself; he’d already committed to the swing when she appeared there. He would cut her in two before he could stop his momentum. I saw it in his eyes; he knew Rinoa was dead.
I lunged for Rinoa and grabbed her around the middle, hauling her out of the way of Hyperion’s blade. I heard her gasp as she was suddenly lifted off her feet and she grabbed my arm out of fear. I spun her, swinging her out of harm’s way and into relative safety. I bared my teeth in pain as I felt Hyperion bite into my side and tear a rent in my flesh in a diagonal across my back and shoulder. Seifer cursed loudly and colorfully as he finished his follow-through and I collapsed nearly on top of Rinoa.
“Oh, Squall!” Rinoa gasped, her eyes wide. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I gave her a slight smirk to reassure her, pulling myself away from her so she wouldn’t get any blood on her. “I’ve had worse.”
“Fucking Hyne, Squall!” Seifer snapped, kneeling by my side where he could hover over my wound. “The fuck were you thinking, huh?! I could’ve killed you!”
Rinoa wriggled out from under me and turned a little green when she saw the injury. I wasn’t sure if she turned green because she couldn’t handle the sight of blood and rent flesh, or if she turned green because she realized that she would’ve had that wound herself, and wouldn’t be alive right now. “Squall,” she breathed, her hand reaching out to hover over my shoulder.
I closed my eyes and ignored the sensation of blood seeping from the wound and soaking into my clothes. I cast a Curaga, stopping the blood-flow and sealing up the flesh. I cast another one to make sure the wound scarred over quickly, leaving just a dark line across my pale skin. “It’s nothing.” I said. “I’m fine.”
“This is your fault, Seifer.” Rinoa growled, an odd tone to her voice. Seifer looked up at her, his green eyes narrowed in anger. “You should’ve stopped when I said so!”
“It doesn’t work that way!” Seifer snapped back. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved! What the hell were you thinking, anyway? You don’t just run into the middle of a fight!”
“I-“
“Enough.” I put enough force into the word to make them stop arguing and look at me. I pushed myself up to stand, rotating my shoulder to make sure my healing hadn’t made me stiff. I sheathed Lion Heart and chose to deal with Rinoa first, since her temper was more volatile than Seifer’s. “Rinoa, Seifer has a point. You can’t just run into a fight and expect someone to be able to stop on a dime. Fights don’t work that way, especially between Seifer and I. You could’ve been seriously injured, even killed. But you’re also right.” Now I turned to Seifer. “When she called time, you should’ve stopped. It’s my fault too, though, since I didn’t back down before you rushed the final attack.”
Seifer sheathed Hyperion and ran a hand through his blonde hair. “Hyne, Squall, you don’t need to be apologizing.”
“Yeah.” Rinoa agreed, wringing her hands before her. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s not your fault.”
I blew out a sigh. “As the leader of our group, and the Commander of the SeeD, you’re both my responsibility.” I caught Seifer’s eyes and felt heat rush to my face as his green gaze bored into mine, like he was able to see my very soul. “Especially you.”
I would never be sure if Seifer had done it on purpose or he simply didn’t care (it might’ve been a healthy mix of both) but he hooked his hand against the back of my neck and kissed me hard. Rinoa squeaked in surprise and I could almost imagine her expression. Wide eyed, red cheeked, probably. I wanted to push him away, but Seifer pulled me closer to him and trapped my arms to my sides as he wrapped his other arm around me. He deepened the kiss, forcing me to accept it. So I reciprocated it, kissing him back and biting his lower lip as he pulled back to breathe. I managed to wriggle out of his hold at that point, moving a fair distance away from them both. It wasn’t lost on me that Seifer had let me go, either.
I turned to face them and found that I had assumed right - Rinoa was red in the face, but she was also smiling in a strange way. Her confirmation smile, that’s what it was. Then she pointed at me and said, “Just because you’re the leader and the Commander doesn’t mean you can just throw yourself at the world and hope it catches you! You need to take better care of yourself. You’re not invincible.” She gave Seifer a playful shove then. “You’re not invincible, either.”
Seifer cracked a grin, accepting her shove without retaliation. “I’ve got to agree with her this time, Squall. And I’m not saying that just because I want to appease her. It’s because I love you.”
I couldn’t help it. My cheeks flamed red and I looked away from them both. I felt terrible, because I was about to sacrifice Rinoa - who was proving to already be turning into the person I counted as my best friend - in order to ensure that the timeline remained intact after I had changed so much of it. Seifer knew it was coming because I had told him, but I had left out many important details. I looked back at him, unsure what he was seeing in my face. I wanted to say the words, but I couldn’t make myself do it. Instead, I turned on my heel and walked away, leaving Seifer and Rinoa behind me.
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One (Last) Chance