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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.

Chapter List
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Four - Seifer POV

When we made it back to Balamb, I was greeted by Fujin and Raijin. The two were relieved to see me all in one piece. I didn’t bother to tell them that my good fortune had come in the shape of a stormy-eyed brunette who seemed to know what was going to happen before it happened. I was certain Squall didn’t know half of the tells he had, otherwise he’d be harder for me to read than he was already.
He’d lied to me about the communications tower.
When I’d asked him if there was anything worth it up there, he’d said nothing, giving the barest of non-verbal ‘whatever’s he could. Yet his eyes hadn’t left mine. Squall is a terrible liar, but I’d never called him on it. Since Selphie and Zell hadn’t argued too much, I’d let the matter drop and let the Ice Prince take the lead. I’d meant it when I told him we were going to talk. Now it was just a matter of finding the time to do so.
I put on the show of bravado for my friends’ benefit, and I didn’t miss the way Squall’s blue-grey eyes slightly narrowed when I mentioned being a leader and how hard it was.
“Seifer,” Fujin said lowly, “are you all right?”
I looked at the silver haired woman and nodded. “Yeah, I’m all right. Things just got a little strange, that’s all.”
Her crimson gaze traveled to Squall, and her lips pursed for a moment before she relaxed and resumed her normal stoic expression. She looked back at me. “Is he all right?”
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. I knew Fujin was an observant girl, but I hadn’t expected her to pick up on the change in Squall so quickly. “What do you mean? He’s the same old Squall he’s always been.”
“Liar.”
“Hey, Seifer,” Raijin draped an arm about Fujin’s shoulders and leaned on her as he grinned at me, “there’s a car waitin’. Let’s go back. I’m gettin’ hungry.”
Fujin rolled her eye and shoved Raijin off her before she focused on me once more. “He’s different. He carries himself differently.”
“Hey, when I know, you’ll know.” I motioned toward the car Raijin had indicated and headed that way. We got in, and it was without regret that I drove off, leaving behind Squall and the other two. I glanced into the rearview mirror and watched Zell chase us halfway before giving up. Squall’s eyes never left mine, even though I was sure he couldn’t see me.
We didn’t remain separated for long.
I was waiting for him back at the Garden, watching him stop and talk to Quistis, Xu, and Headmaster Cid. Squall did nothing but listen to what was being said, but he didn’t seem surprised by the news. Since I’d arrived back here before him, I’d already heard the news. It had shocked me that all of our effort at getting to the tower had been worth absolutely nothing, since apparently the SeeD didn’t even know Galbadia had been after the communication tower. It also pissed me off because our effort to free Dollet from Galbadia’s occupation had been worthless, as well. Galbadia had agreed to leave Dollet alone, so long as the tower remained operational and stayed in good repair.
“Seifer.” Squall had approached me while I was lost in thought. He stood at an arm’s length distance from me, careful not to intrude on my personal space. His use of my name had been to warn me he was there, because he’d known I hadn’t sensed his presence.
“Hey. I take it you heard about the tower?” I asked because it looked like he expected the question. When he only inclined his head, I bulled ahead. “But you already knew about it, didn’t you? You purposely forced my hand and then stopped us from going further once we got there.”
Squall was silent for a long while, watching my face. I could almost tell what he was thinking; he was debating something with himself, something he wasn’t sure he could talk to me about. I’d learned early on to speak Leonhart - he didn’t talk much, but his body tended to give away what he was thinking - so I knew it was only a matter of time before he made a choice.
Then he tensed. Quickly he said, “Whatever happens between now and the party, you figure out a way to get out of it. Meet me at the training center ten minutes before midnight.”
Before I could ask him what he meant, Quistis and Xu approached us. Maybe it was Squall’s message that made what the two of them said that much easier to bear. I was going to be taking the responsibility of leaving the courtyard, despite Squall’s attempt to take the blame. I didn’t say anything about that, which shocked Quistis. She had been expecting me to say something arrogant, or maybe even fight the accusation. And there was still that pang of hurt when Xu told me I would never become a SeeD. After they left, the Headmaster approached us, but his words didn’t make me feel any better.
I noticed that Squall hadn’t left the immediate area. He was still standing nearby, with his back half turned to me. I knew he’d been listening, because his fists were clenched tight by his sides. I recognized the emotion of anger in him; coupled with what he’d asked of me earlier, it only piqued my interest more.
What was it he wanted to talk about? What was it he knew that the rest of us didn’t? Why was he acting so strangely?
I was going to find out. Ten minutes before midnight, I had to somehow get to the training center. I wasn’t going to let Leonhart go until I had all the answers I wanted.
Until then...
I wasn’t surprised that Squall, Zell, and Selphie achieved the promotion to SeeD. Despite Squall’s obvious disregard for the orders given to our squad, he had still acquitted himself well. There was an odd glint in his blue-grey eyes as he saw me standing in the hall clapping for him. I only smiled at him, giving my own non-verbal agreement to our meeting. His head tilted slightly to one side, and his eyes flicked down the hallway past Quistis’ classroom. His entire demeanor changed then, his body tensing and his expression becoming unreadable. I wondered what he was thinking about to make him react that way. I filed it away for later, intending to get my answers from Squall one way or another.
I spent my afternoon locked in a room being lectured about the qualities of a good leader. I barely paid attention to what was being said, instead focusing on what I knew about Squall and what Fujin had observed about him over the past few hours. I trusted her powers of observation better than I did my own sometimes. I tended to focus too much on one aspect; she was able to see and study everything. By the time I was released from my obligatory penance, I was already running late for my first appointment of the night. I made sure I looked presentable, then headed down to the front gate of the school. I prided myself on keeping my promises, and I owed her at least this much.
“Seifer!”
Rinoa was dressed up for the occasion. I waved at her as I approached, taking my time to look her up and down. She wore a yellow dress that accented her olive skin and dark hair and made her look the part of a princess. She was grinning brightly at me, looking ready to burst from excitement. I’d promised her I’d introduce her to Headmaster Cid, so she could pitch him the idea of getting SeeD to help her and her little group in Timber. I didn’t think he’d go for it, but I hadn’t told her that.
“Hey, princess.” I almost choked on the words as she caught me in a rough hug. I’d been seeing her for some time now, but after tasting the forbidden fruit, she’d revealed that she wasn’t the ditzy freedom fighting princess that she pretended to be. It had been enough for me to decide it wasn’t worth my effort, but she hadn’t let me go until she’d wrangled this promise from me. At least it was just a promise... “So, you ready for this?”
“Of course!” She beamed up at me once she let me go, holding up both her fists in her best ‘I’m game!’ pose. “I’m going to convince Headmaster Cid to help us! Price isn’t an issue for freedom!”
I laughed because I couldn’t help myself. “Come on then. We have a party to get to.”
She hooked her arm in mine and I escorted her into the school and to the ballroom. I could hear the music before we even reached the room, and it was even louder inside. I left Rinoa to her own devices as I went to find the Headmaster, intending to convince him to see her. As I wandered around the ballroom looking for Cid, I realized that, out of all the SeeD that were here, Squall wasn’t. No one seemed to notice that he wasn’t around, but as I passed by Selphie, I overheard her saying to Zell, “...waiting for him, but he didn’t show up! Then I realized that he’d already been and gone! I wonder where Squall went... this party is for us! We’re supposed to be having fun! ...And I wanted to ask him about joining the Garden Festival committee...”
I frowned. It wasn’t like Squall to skip obligatory functions. He was a stickler for the rules, followed every last order to the letter. It only reinforced the fact that he was acting different than before.
I spotted Quistis and managed to avoid her sight somehow. She looked like she was looking for Squall too, and seemed disappointed that she couldn’t find him. I finally found Cid, and he was only too happy to agree to see Rinoa. As soon as I collected the princess and delivered her to her appointment, I slipped out of the ballroom and headed for the training center. I was five minutes early, and he was already standing there, leaning against the wall, waiting for me.
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One (Last) Chance