title: It's Been Awhile
author: Isabel DeVore
rating: R (v, l, sc) oh the good ole' R rating...haven't written one of these in awhile....
dedication: this one's for Lime. yes, I agree there aren't enough Saifuu's out there.
disclaimer: I own squat yet again. oh big surprise there!
other: please R & R. don't kill me or sue me for anything that you see fit to do so and uh...enjoy.
also this is in POV. it switches between Fujin and Seifer. yes this is a Saifuu. I've decided that if I can't have Seifer that Fujin is a good successor. ^_#
e-mail: Sodapop363@hotmail.com
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IT'S BEEN AWHILE

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=Fujin=

#it's been awhile since I could hold my head up high. it's been awhile since I first saw you.#

it wasn't hard for us to get back into Balmb Garden. with the help of Matron we three students known as the Disciplinary Committee were admitted back in by the headmaster. it was rocky at first. we had never really been the most popular people at Garden, but now if there had ever been a chance at such a thing, it quickly went down the drain. but after awhile we were accepted, well as accepted as we were before, and everything went back to the way things were before. and Seifer never shone so bright.

=Seifer=

#it's been awhile since I could stand on my own two feet again. it's been awhile since I could call you.#

it was a couple of months before I could really say that things were 'back to normal'. the Disciplinary Committee was stricter than ever and we all had just passed our SeeD exam...finally.
for the first time in a long time I felt like my old self again. everything was just coming together. the most amazing thing though that was Raijin actually got a girlfriend! Raijin. with a female. it took me awhile to even process the information but after awhile I finally got it. she was actually kinda perfect for him. she talked like him after all. she was kinda like a female Raijin.... but since he'd got a girl Raijin didn't really spend a whole lot of time with the posse. so most of the time it was just me and Fujin. but I didn't really mind that much.

=Fujin=

#and everything I can't remember. it's fucked up passing on machine.#

I was happy that Raijin had gotten himself a girlfriend, it gave me more time with Seifer all to myself. it reminded me of the time before Raijin joined us. back when it was just Seifer and me. it's funny how I can remember every second that I've lived since I've known him but anything before that is a big blank. they say that the human mind remembers the 'bad' things before the 'good', but I'll never believe that my life with him has been bad. he might have been lead astray but I made a full conscious decsion to follow. maybe it's because of the GF's, or maybe it's because I didn't really live before I met him. I guess I'll never know, but I don't really need to.

***Balmb Garden***

=Seifer=

#the consequences that I remember. I stretched myself beyond my means.#

it was a year to the day since I had been under the Sorceress' spell and I felt good. Cid had given Fujin and me a mission, we were to go to Dollet and put a stop to a potential uprising. it wasn't a big job so there was just the two of us. nothing that we couldn't handle. right?

"hey let's get a move on, Fuu!" I called out to Fujin as I ran down the hall to the exit.

"COMING." she yelled back, gasping for air a little when she met up with me at the gate.

"hey Fuu, you feeling okay?" I asked her, she was looking a little flushed.

"FINE. GO NOW." she answered and headed off to the Rajanork. (sp?)

***Dollet***

=Fujin=

#it's been awhile since I could say I wasn't addicted. it's been awhile since I could say I love myself as well as.#

I have to admit that I wasn't really feeling that great that day but I wasn't about to show weakness in front of Seifer. and besides it was our first mission in along time. the mission objective was to cut down a miniature uprising that was being held in an old pub some where in the Dollet slums. easy enough, right?

as soon as the Rajanork landed we headed right into the Dollet slums and began looking for the pub.

"Fuu, over here." Seifer called out to me, motioning for me to follow him as he entered the darkened pub.

"ABANDONED?" I asked.

"shhh...no. listen." he held his finger up to silence me and that's when we heard the noise of rioters down below our feet. "there's got to be a door around here somewhere... ah ha!" Seifer exclaimed as he found the door that lead down to what looked like a cellar. "come on, Fuu." he said as he jumped down into the black hole of a tunnel.

"THROUGH THERE?" I asked pointing down one of the four tunnels that had light coming from it.

"yeah, let's go! get ready, Fuu, this could get rough!" he smiled his famous smirk at me and rushed down the tunnel to the awaiting riot.

=Seifer=

#it's been awhile since I've gone and fucked things up just like I always do. it's been awhile but all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you.#

I ran down the tunnel to the under ground meeting room with out looking behind me to see if Fujin even was behind me. when I got there I turned around and saw her there and proceeded with my awaiting speech.

"well, well, well, what have we got here?" I laughed in there faces. "a bunch of bums with out anything to do, right? well that's all I see. how 'bout you, Fuu?" I taunted, barely getting a reaction.

"AFFIRMATIVE." she backed me. evidently when a man insults a man it's considered nothing, but when a woman insults a bunch of big, drunk, men, all hell breaks loose. I had underestimated their numbers and strength. before I knew what was happening three large men were on me and I had to fight them off before I could even reach for my Hypieron. after the three were knocked off two more came at me, and that's when I heard Fujin scream.

"Seifer!!!" she screamed my name like it was the only thing in the world that could save her, and at that moment I was. when I knocked the other two guys out I turned around to find Fujin being held out by two men while a third was punching and cutting away at her like she was a voo doo doll. I took out the one that was hurting her first and then quickly knocked out the other two bastards.

when Fujin was finally free of her captors she fell forward and I caught her just before she hit the floor. bending down I scooped her tiny body up into my arms and ran out of there as fast as I could. damn it, I had screwed up again.

***little shack in Dollet slums***

=Fujin=

#and everything I cant remember. it's been passing on machine. the consequences that I remember. gone and fucked things up again#

the last thing I could remember clearly was falling forward but not hitting the ground. after that everything was a blur. drifting in and out of consciousness I would see Seifer watching over me and then I wouldn't see him anymore, then I would see him and then I wouldn't. it was all very confusing.

"Seifer..." I croaked out during one of my conscious moments.

"shh...Fuu...save your strength." I heard him speak.

"thank...you...for...........saving me." I managed to get out before slipping back into my comatose sleep.

Seifer had saved me again. he's always saving me. I remember the first time we met he saved me from death. I was about eight years old, some how I can't remember how I was out on the Balmb Plains when a group of monsters attacked me. I was screaming and kicking frantically at the monsters. and just when I thought the monsters were going to finish me off my golden god came and vanquished the evil demons. he then picked me up and took me to his Garden where he stayed with me until I was better. I was lucky, the only thing I had lost was my eye. and when he offered his friendship I took it gleefully. and when he told me that I had a pretty voice I vowed then and there that he would be the only one to ever hear my true tone. and when he asked my name and I told him that I didn't have one and he gave me the name Fujin Athens whoever I once was existed no more because he willed it so. and now, ten years later he was doing it all again.

=Seifer=

#why must I feel this way. just make it go away. just one more piece will do.#

I had never been more scared in my life right then, then when I had first found Fujin half dead on the Balmb Plains. I knew that I had to get her somewhere safe and fast, so I ran to the only place I knew of. my home before the Orphanage. I laid her down on the tiny bed and ran across the street to call Balmb Garden. I told them the mission was a success but Fujin got hurt in the process and I didn't want to move her. they told me okay and not to worry and then hung up. the bastards. didn't they care about Fujin? was this the price she was paying because she followed me into hell and back? I had never felt so bad in my life.

***two days later***

=Fujin=

#it's been awhile since I could look at myself strait. and it's been awhile since I said I'm sorry.#

the thunder crashed and I woke with a start.

"hey Fuu, calm down. it's okay. it's just a storm." I heard Seifer coax from somewhere in the dark room.

"WHERE?" I asked, not being able to see in the darkness of the room.

"I'm over here." Seifer spoke as he came out of the shadows holding a candle. "I had to find a candle." he said as he came over to the bed and sat down on the side. "you doing okay?" he asked putting his hand on my cheek.

I don't know if it was the ruminants of the fever or if some spirit possessed me but something screamed out in me to grab his hand and I did. I expected him to pull his hand away but he didn't. instead he did the one possible thing that could have scared me senseless. he kissed me.

=Seifer=

#it's been awhile since I'd seen the way the candles light your face. it's been awhile but I can still remember just the way you taste.#

I don't know how I didn't see it right in front of me. there in front of me was the woman who was perfect for me and I went ten years with out noticing it. when she grabbed my hand and I felt her icy touch I couldn't resist any longer.

slowly ever so slowly I bent down to capture her lips with mine. and when I did, my fire melted her ice. I don't know if it was the way that the candle lights played on her face or what but at that moment I wanted her more than I had ever wanted a woman before. And thing is, that she was the same way to me.

***next morning***

=Fujin=

#and everything I can't remember. is fucked up passing on machine. to me I know it's greed. I can't blame this on my father. he did the best he could for me.#

I woke up the next morning to a mix of bird's chirping and to Seifer's soft snoring. I lifted my head to look up at the god lying next to me and smiled. I laid my head back down to it's previous position on his chest and nuzzled him a bit. smiling into his warm skin I whispered, "I love you." and as I fell back asleep I felt his arm tighten around me and his lips on my head and I knew his silent reply.

=Seifer=

# it's been awhile since I could hold my head up high. it's been awhile since I said I'm sorry.#

I heard her soft confession that she whispered to the wind in that soft pretty voice that she used only for me. I tried to answer back but I couldn't. and she knows that I can't. they say that actions speak louder than words so I let mine do the talking for me. I held her icy body closer to my fiery one and kissed the top of her silver hair. Fujin knows more about silent words than anyone. and that morning she heard mine loud and clear.

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so what do you think? e-mail: sodapop363@hotmail.com R&R! ~ Isabel