Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, standard disclaimer~


It was crashing down all around him and it was becoming the cage that held him here. Roxas was right, he would never get out. Now he would never be able quell the fire in his belly, his only way out had left. All the exits were closed now; he was stuck in this damn town.

Hayner was running down an ally, fast; untouchable. He stopped at dead end and dropped to his knees, arms out in front of him and pressing against the scratchy concrete. A small foreign sound released from him -- a sob. He really hadn't cried in a long time.

"Get up." He was tugged upward, his arm in a firm grip, his eyes closed because of the tears that had started to form. "You think that you're so pathetic?" They shook him roughly; he opened his eyes even though he already knew who it was.

Why was Seifer here? He shouldn't be here. Hayner slumped against the hold. "Do what you will," came the voice-oh, it was his own. Seifer threw him away as if he were acid. "Listen to yourself," the older boy hissed, anger in his face and worry in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you and why should I care?" There was that cold demeanor, but it felt so comforting at that moment. After all, it was the only thing he had.

Hayner lay on the ground, immobile from where he was thrown. A weak smile pulled across his pale lips. "You wouldn't."

Seifer looked surprised by the response - his expression didn't show it too easily - but he could tell. He'd known Seifer too long not to. "I'm here now, dipshit."

'He had a point.' Hayner pondered quietly. Where were his supposed friends? Was Seifer really the best he had right now? "He's gone, he's gone," Hayner whispered pathetically, his hands clutching at his face. Seifer understood now.

"Lamer left a while a go," The older boy said easily, despite knowing it was the poison running through Hayner's mind.

Hayner hissed icily, "Don't call him that."

Seifer sighed, "It's better than hearing his name, isn't it?" Hayner seemed to mull over these words before nodding curtly. Realizing that the younger boy still refused to stand, Seifer sat beside him. He didn't really want to deal with a clinically depressed teenager - certainly not his rival - but the fact that the aforementioned teen was his rival kept him there. Hayner was never like this, he was angry, he was outspoken. He wasn't pathetic, depressed, and weak. And, as much as Seifer swore the last one out loud, Hayner had never taken it to heart. It was wrong to see him like this; Seifer felt compelled to make it right.

"He was your best friend." It was an understatement, of course; Roxas was probably his only true friend. Then why did he leave? Roxas had been here one day and gone the next, without a word to anyone. Well, maybe to Hayner, but the boy wouldn't speak to a soul about it. Hayner obviously knew or else it wouldn't be eating at him like this.

"Was?" Hayner responded weakly, looking at Seifer in disbelief.

"A best friend wouldn't do this…" Hayner lowered his face back to the concrete. He agreed with Seifer, but he would never admit it- not aloud anyway. "What'd he do to get to you like this?"

"He left me for dead." Hayner didn't care that it was Seifer he was telling this to - Olette and Pence wouldn't listen. He needed someone. "He tells me he can't stay here, that he has to get out…and be true to himself. He said he could never do it here. He said that I would be stuck here forever, but I just can't go now! It's just, he doesn't understand me, and he has everything he's ever wanted out there. I, however, am bound to this place."

Seifer breathed in slowly, confusion swirled in his head. "What?" he said with an exasperated sigh, "Lamer, you're not making any sense."

Hayner grabbed Seifer's shoulders, his fingers digging into the fabric of the boy's shirt. "You know how prejudiced this town is?" Seifer looked at Hayner with a soft sigh. This is more like Hayner- angry.

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you know a single gay man?" Hayner asked with a mysterious tone. Twilight town was a great big melting pot of hate. No one would come out in Twilight Town even if they were gay. Oh, oh...mystery solved.

"Roxas was gay?" Hayner nodded slowly, Seifer stuck the pieces together, and it clicked. "Wait- then, you are too?" Hayner looked worried, but when Seifer did nothing he continued.

"Roxas was looking to leave this town, go and live somewhere else, anywhere else had to be better than Twilight Town- we both thought that. We were going to leave together and live free. We were best friends after all, right?" Hayner paused to give Seifer a weak smile before it fell and he continued on. "We had each other to lean on if things went wrong. He wanted to leave and come out of the closet; it'd work out because the boy he'd fallen in love with lived in the city." Hayner paused again, fidgeting before his gaze turned to the side.

"However, mine lives here. We fought about when we would leave- I wanted to wait, he wanted to go." Hayner reached up a hand to scrub at his eyes tiredly. "He finally got fed up, told me he was leaving and was gone by morning." A small and sad chuckle escaped Hayner, his fingers clasping together. "Looks like I needed him more than he needed me…" Hayner whispered hastily, his voice hoarse, as if the words hurt to say. Seifer looked and felt awkward, it wasn't because he now knew the boy's darkest secret, but the fact that he wasn't used to talking to the lamer like this.

Hayner looked expectant. "Are…you okay with this?" He looked ready to flinch, and the beanie-toting boy answered softly, "Yeah, I've never been into that prejudiced bull crap. I'm a protector of this town. I may beat up on you and your lamers - but that's because you're annoying and dumb."

The younger boy looked at him oddly. "I'd never figured you for an understanding type."

"I never figured you were gay." They shared a smile.

Hayner stood up and muttered awkwardly, staring at his feet with a sudden interest. "I've never met a straight person okay with…this." He dusted his shorts off, unwilling to look Seifer in the eyes. He was too nervous.

"Have you ever tried?" Seifer asked. He winced, regretting his words as they fell out of his mouth. Of course he wouldn't have, not here.

"You know why," Hayner grumbled, as if reading Seifer's mind. Hayner rubbed his arm idly - it felt good to be open with someone else.

"It's weird, y'know, talking to you instead of trying to strangle you." He laughed tensely.

Seifer chuckled evenly, a soft expression passing over his face. "It's different, not being at each other's throat."

Hayner suddenly looked unsure. "It's just going to go back to the same tomorrow though, right?" He asked. Seifer hesitated, would it?

"It would turn some heads, wouldn't it?" As Seifer spoke, Hayner nodded, though his face had contorted into a disheartened expression. This, in turn, made Seifer scowl. "Then, no. It's not going back to the same. Fuck 'em. We're meeting under different circumstances now."

"I don't think I'll be staying long enough for them to tell anyway," Hayner said, his voice clipped. It looked painful for him to say it aloud. The scarred teen's face went from angry to surprised in a half-second.

"Wait, but why now? Aren't you still in love with that guy?" Seifer asked, wondering why there was such a sudden change in the boy's mind.

"I think I left him on good terms. It'll help me sleep better at night, at least. I'll come back for him later... Maybe..." Hayner smiled secretively to himself, digging his hands into his pockets. He finally glanced up at Seifer, lips quirked. Seifer nodded slowly at the boy's words. At least it made sense.

"Not on good terms before?" At this, Hayner sputtered a laugh that burst suddenly from his throat, startling both boys.

Seifer quirked an eyebrow. "Eh, that bad then? Poor guy." Hayner opened his mouth to squeak an angry protest but Seifer laughed. "Calm down, I'm joking-I know you're not used to that quite yet."

An awkward minute floated by before Hayner sighed. "I think I told you all this for a reason." He breathed in deeply, "I need your help getting out of here."

Seifer felt like the spotlight had been turned directly onto him. 'Why me?' he wanted to ask, but the words died in his throat. "It can't be that hard to get out."
Hayner looked down. "I'd be running away from home, Seifer. I have a family at home. I can't just walk out with my stuff."

Seifer sighed in frustration, taking his beanie off for a moment to comb his hand through his hair. "I'll help, but only because you have no one else."

Grateful for this, Hayner ducked his head as a show of thanks. Seifer wasn't shameless - he had a language for certain situations, a language that Hayner had picked up from their fights and what little time he spent around the bully.

"Thanks, I owe you. Meet me outside my house at eight." His face taking on a serious look, Hayner nodded at Seifer. He almost didn't believe he'd be saying such a thing, but given that things between Seifer and himself had turned on its side,
Hayner felt confident in his words. Seifer was really the only one who could help him, given the situation, and that in itself was a foreign concept to Hayner.

Seifer nodded slowly. "Okay, good luck." he muttered, feeling that the boy at least needed the reassurance; he would be packing and leaving his family, and that couldn't be easy. Hayner gave him a look he understood - determination, and something swelled inside of him. Admiration? Who knew.


He stood outside the lamer's-Hayner's house, looking up at the second story window. He watched Hayner's shadow move along the other side of the curtains. For a moment, Seifer wondered fleetingly why Hayner bothered with such trivial decoration, but then dashed away the idea as some lingering nervousness that had gotten the better of him.

The window gave a soft creak, breaking Seifer from his thought process. He barely had time to look up when a bag was hurtled down at him. Silently thanking his Struggling for his grace, the blond bully leaned to the side to snatch the duffel bag before it hit the ground.

"Dammit, lamer! Warn a guy, would ya?" Seifer hissed, clutching the duffle bag to his racing heart.

Hayner smiled sheepishly before he lowered himself out the window, his feet grappling at the brick as he carefully climbed over to the side of the window sill. "Okay, catch."

Hayner jumped.

Seifer was never faster on his feet, dropping the duffel bag and hissing every obscenity he knew as he rushed forward. Hayner fell heavily into his arms and as soon as he had him, Seifer dropped him.

"Ow, shit-take it easy." Hayner rubbed at his sore back, a wince evident on his young face. Seifer gave the boy a flat stare, clearly unamused by his antics. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Hayner amended, holding out a hand in hopes of appeasing Seifer's displeasure. He saw the pale eyes roll before his hand was grabbed. Seifer helped him up, turning to grab the duffel bag and give it to Hayner.

"Thanks again for this," Hayner muttered shallowly. Seifer looked over, and stared for a moment before looking ahead. The lamer was really going to leave - he wasn't sure why it was just now dawning on him.

"It's going to be boring around here without ya," the older boy said nonchalantly, glancing down at Hayner, who gave him a surprised look before flustering and moving to fidget with the handle of his bag.

"Gonna regret losin' your punching bag?" he teased, giving an earnest laugh despite himself. Seifer tried, but he couldn't seem to even muster up a chuckle. They walked in silence for a few moments, traveling through the sandlot until they reached station heights. Hayner stopped and Seifer nearly bumped into him; it took him a moment to realize where they were.

"Do you have money to last you?" Seifer suddenly blurted out. Hayner was leaving- he was really leaving.

His stomach twisted uncomfortably.

Hayner nodded.

"Do you know where you'll stay?" Seifer was quickly becoming unnerved.
Hayner nodded again. "I figured I'd go to Roxas, I'll just have to work things out."

Seifer fell silent for a moment before nodding. They headed over to the ticket area and Hayner leaned into the small booth to purchase his ticket. Seifer sat down on a nearby bench, waiting as Hayner bought his ticket and came back to sit beside the taller blond.

"You know, for some reason, looking at you always pissed me off," Seifer commented, looking over at Hayner.

Hayner quirked an eyebrow, frowned, and turned to look the other way. "Maybe we were destined to be enemies."

Seifer scoffed. "Destiny, eh? I'm not going to live my life the way fate wants me to." He paused and laughed, "If destiny says we're enemies, then let's be friends."

Hayner laughed as well, and slid Seifer a soft look before smiling. "Yeah." He stuck out his hand.

Seifer stared at it for a moment, hesitating, before taking it. "Least we can say we had been friends for a moment." With Hayner leaving they would never really get the chance to be friends. He idly wondered if either of them were being serious about this.

Hayner laughed half heartedly. "Yeah…"

They both heard the squeal of the tram tracks. Hayner tensed and Seifer watched him blankly. They both stood and walked to the door, the younger boy dragging his bag along the ground. Seifer noted that he had temporarily drifted off to some far away place-or that was what he caught from the look that passed through the boy's eyes.

Seifer had been so focused that he nearly didn't catch Hayner say his name. "Hm?"
The boy leaned close and said carefully, "I'll come back for you, I promise." Before boarding the tram, not even casting a glance behind him-if he did he was assured to cry.

Seifer stood in front of the door as the tram slowly started to roll away, confused. Why would Hayner want to come back? Oh, well except for that guy he loved-wait.


Hayner looked down at his lap, his breath caught in his throat as he mercilessly crushed the tram ticket in his grip. "Least I told him before I left…" Hayner said weakly. A moment passed and he stood, throwing his bag across the isle angrily as he screamed, "Coward! Dammit!"

His face fell into his lap, his arms folded around him- encasing him in a temporary shield. He was crying again-damn. His bag rolled back and landed on his feet. He opened his bleary eyes, looking down through his arms at his bag. Another pair of feet rest in front of the bag. The asshole had kicked it at him. He shot up out of his seat, his jaw set- ready to attack. He was not in the mood for some smartass-

He was punched square in the jaw. It sent him reeling, but the person grabbed his arm and brought him back so fast it nearly gave him whiplash.

"You're right, you are a coward." Steel blue eyes were a foot from his brown ones. Hayner was still dizzy from the impact of the punch, but he would recognize those eyes anywhere.

"Seifer?" he whispered as he steadied himself, although his arm caught in Seifer's grip did help a bit.

"Don't just tell me and up n' leave, dumbass!" Seifer said before crashing his lips ruthlessly against Hayner's. The younger boy, despite being confused, melted into the kiss and Seifer's grip on Hayner's arm slid and held their hands together.

A moment passed before the already breathless Hayner pulled back and voiced his confusion. "W-what are you doing here? How?"

"Don't expect to 'fess up about something like that and just be able to run away from me. You always were a 'wuss," he said sternly, but there was some kind of tenderness to the tone of Seifer's voice, so Hayner knew things were okay. "Don't think I'm some romantic sap--I jumped onto the back. But I swear if you tell anyone your ass is grass, regardless of this love crap."

Damn, he loved this man. "Uh-huh, whatever you say," Hayner teased with a grin, before realizing what Seifer had failed to. "You romantic asshole, you jumped on this tram empty handed."

Seifer blinked and swore. He sat down, sinking heavily into the seat beside Hayner's. "You're right. Roxas's boyfriend better be taller than him."

Hayner suddenly broke into a grin, a mischievous look dancing across his face as dropped down into his seat. "Or y'know you could just walk around naked…."

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Remind me why I jumped onto this tram again?"

The younger boy smiled and leaned forward. "Okay, but only 'cause you asked nicely." Seifer smirked and met him half way for a fierce kiss.

And they lived happily ever after.

…at least until the ticket guy came and told them to break it up.

The End


A/N: Okay, so this one snuck up on me. My beta got me into the song by the same name as the fic, by Onerepublic, [I don't own their song.] and I sorely attempted a songfic—that didn't work out, but that was just fine! I believe came up with something much better.

I dedicate this fic to my beta, Blue-sama~ Thanks for being my beta [and my friend, but shhhh, no one must know!—waitshit.]

Thank you for reading, drop me a review if you'd like—I'd appreciate it a lot.

-Wahla