(a/n: "seize the day" is a song by default, although the lyrics don't apply)

Seize the Day



Fujin hated days like this.

She was sitting calmly under one of the awnings near the dock, belonging to some shop she'd never been in, watching the rain pour heinously from the sky. She hated rain; she liked sun and sea-breeze, where she could lay out and just soak it up greedily.

But, it was raining, so she was crouched miserably under some stupid shop- awning. What a great way to spend the day.

They said rainstorms at Balamb came so fast you barely had time to get inside. Now, she didn't doubt it: she'd seen a few dreary clouds in the sky, but she headed to the shore anyways, to do a little fishing and dip her feet in the cool water. She had been about three-fourths of the way, the clouds then looming overhead, when all of a sudden the bottom fell and it just poured. The rain fell so hard and so fast she thought she would probably drown if she didn't find some shelter.

So, here she was, hair matted and soaked, her clothes so damp they stuck to her and her boots squished when she walked.

Seifer had already been at the shore, she remembered, while Raijin snored up in their hotel room. She wondered what Seifer would be doing: he absolutely loathed water, besides the mild ocean water. It wasn't hard for her to imagine him skulking and stomping, his bangs slicked down across his eyes and his face a mass of rage.

Some motion on the street caught her eye, and she was suprised to actually see Seifer.

He was exactly as she had imagined: he was absolutely storming through the streets, snarling, his fishing pole dragging behind him. It must have been making noise, for he jerked it forward and gave it a vicious shake.

It took all the will Fujin had not to laugh. She was able to resist, standing to her feet -- after shaking a little water from her hair -- and flagging him down by yelling his name and waving her hand. He stopped slowly, reluctant to stand any longer than he had to in the pouring rain, but then he saw her and stomped over to take shelter beneath the awning.

"I fucking hate rain," he snapped, dropping the fishing pole and kicking it disgustingly to the side.

She sneered, wringing out the bottom of her t-shirt and watching the water trickle lazily down the cement. "I can tell. Damn, you don't even have time to run when it starts raining here." She struggled with her mirth, only cracking the tiniest of smiles. "You should see yourself."

Like a petulant boy, he sat down bitterly, glaring sharply at her. "Haha, fuck you." After a moment, he added, "You don't look any better."

She flipped her hair condescendingly, throwing loose raindrops at his face. "I've had more time to dry," she teased, "So I think I do look a little better, nee?"

There was a puddle gradually pooling with cold, muddy water, just beneath the curb; Seifer saw it out of the corner of his eyes, the raindrops making a wet chime as they fell. "I think so," he answered her question mildly, subtly shifting forward. "But not for long."

Before Fujin had time to realize, let alone react, Seifer had scooped up two handfuls of water and slung it all over her. It was in her hair and on her face, sluicing muddy and freezing down her arms and shirt. Wide-eyed, she snarled, grabbing her own handful and throwing it all over him, her momentum carrying her straight into him and knocking him over.

From thence on, it was war: they scrabbled and fought, rolling out from beneath the awning, kicking and clawing and doing anything they were able to do. He grabbed her arms and she bit him, then sprung forward again, pushing him farther out into the rain and across the slick sidewalk. She forced him onto his back, looming over him like the rainclouds hung in the sky above.

He wasn't about to give up that easy.

Being stronger, he was able to arch his back up just enough to get her off balance. She scrambled at his shoulders, but it was futile; by then, he had flung himself to the side, rolling her onto the street as he laughed in her face.

Fujin was furious, her back scratched from the concrete and stinging, thanks to the rain. She was about to get back to her feet, but he was agile enough to pounce on top of her, his hands holding down her spread arms and his knees on either side of her abdomen. He sneered and her wrist flinched, wanting very much to punch that sorry look off his face.

Struggling, she spit various curses and obscenities straight into his face, jerking her knees in attempt to push him off. Throughout the whole time, his face only changed slightly, drifting from damnably smug to something.. kinder, almost, thoughtful.

She slowly stopped her struggling, staring into his eyes, unable to move. She looked at his face, his fine hair slicked back against his forehead; she looked at the sharpness of his features; she looked at angle of his eyebrows and his mouth; and, finally, she looked at his eyes, green like magic. She shivered, thinking of the sorceress.

His arms were creeping from her wrists to her shoulders, passing over her neck to hold her face. She couldn't move; she was almost entranced, falling into the placidity of his eyes. She was vaguely aware of him moving closer, his breath hot and heady on her face, and her hands straying to his sides. She didn't know what she was doing.

But then, his mouth was on hers, so rough and lusty she couldn't stop it if she wanted to. He tasted like oregano, spicy and warm and making her head spin. His hands pushed back her hair, moving back down over her neck, one remaining there as the other slid down to squeeze her shoulder. She arched her neck, responding, drawn into the sweet tang of his mouth and loving it.

They didn't stop until they had to, panting in the rain, their clothes soaked and their faces wet. Her mouth moved, but she didn't know what to say. What were you supposed to say, after you'd been kissed?

He stared at her, deadly still. It was very long before Seifer spoke, his voice quiet and lacking its glory. "Sorry," he mumbled, placing his hands on the cement and pushing himself up. "I.. I didn't know what I was doing."

"Okay," Fujin said awkwardly, sitting up and accepting his hand as he offered it. He pulled her to her feet, plucking some grass from her hair absently.

"It's too cold out here," he said suddenly, breaking the awful silence and taking off his sweatshirt as he saw the goosebumps forming on her arms. "Take this."

She nodded slowly, allowing him to help her pull the navy sweatshirt over her head. She kept her hands inside the too-long sleeves, wringing them nervously and refusing to look him in the face. She was blushing, she knew; she felt like a little school girl.

Looking at him, Fujin realized he had sacrificed his warmth for hers. His arms were wrapped around himself, and he was shivering just enough to make her notice. He looked at her, with a small smile, and she wrapped her arms around his waist -- not in a romantic way, she told herself hastily -- to help him stay warm. "Share?"

He nodded slowly, sliding one arm around her and murmuring, "Thanks," into her hair. They began to walk: he pressed his fingers into her hip affectionately, and she turned her head up to smile, sloshing some puddle- water onto his feet.

Seifer caught her smile with his mouth, and this time, she was not embarrassed.

It wasn't such a miserable day afterall.