Summary: Lust is a strange and powerful thing, having the ability to draw two people together within its entrapment or pit them against one another in jealous rage over something both parties desire, but neither have yet attained. SLASH Love-Triangle
CHAPTER ONE: A FESTIVAL, FRIENDS, AND A FIGHT
"Hey guys!" Selphie cried enthusiastically as she approached the group, bouncing with excitement. Quistis and Zell turned to each other, giving one another questioning looks before turning back to Selphie inquisitively, waiting for her to explain what she was so ecstatic about. Though knowing Selphie, she had probably just consumed too many Pixie Stix again; she was almost as addicted to those things as Zell was to his hotdogs.
Irvine cut in, asking the question that was on everyone's mind. "What's up, babe?" Well, most of them would probably have phrased it a bit differently, but that was just Irvine for you; always the charmer and an incurable flirt.
Selphie looked pleased that someone had asked about what was going on; she seemed very eager to tell them all something. "The Garden Festival is this Friday! Only four days away!" she blurted out, bouncing on the balls of her feet causing her hair to bob up and down.
Rinoa patted a patch of grass beside her, where she had reserved a spot for Selphie in the group's little circle. Selphie came over, plopping herself on the ground and crossing her legs Indian style. "So, where's the Commander and Mr. Almighty?" she asked, referring to the two missing members of their party, namely Squall and Seifer.
"Squall had some papers he had to finish with before he could meet us," Quistis supplied helpfully, accounting for the brunette's absence. She was about to comment on where Seifer might be, but Zell cut her off before she had the chance to.
"'Mr. Almighty' is late as usual. Probably off terrorizing some poor, little cadets or something," Zell commented, rolling his eyes and laying back on his elbows casually. Little did he notice the subject of his complaint approaching from behind him.
"Hey, Chickenwuss. Did you miss me?" Seifer asked sarcastically, like a true smart ass, even going so far as to send Zell one of his patented eat-shit smirks for good measure.
Zell merely shrugged noncommittally, rolling his eyes once more. He had finally learned not to let Seifer rile him up and merely let his remarks slide. Seifer didn't really mean half of the shit he said anyway.
"So, where's the Ice Prince run off to?" Seifer questioned, raising one of his blonde eyebrows. "If he isn't going to be forced to attend this little meeting, then I'm not going to be either," he announced, stuffing his hands into his trademark gray trench coat as a sign of his annoyance.
"For your information, I had work to do," Squall replied to Seifer, walking up to the group calmly. "And I have no more say in this than you do," he finished with a slight sigh before huffing lightly in a vain attempt to clear his vision of a stubborn lock of hair. Selphie giggled at this action, making him huff for a different reason.
"Sit down you two," the yellow clad President of the Garden Festival Committee commanded of them, pointing to an empty spot next to where Irvine was lounging. Squall obediently sat down next to the cowboy, leaving room enough for Seifer, who took his time taking his spot in a typical display of defiance. Squall shook his head slightly and Irvine rolled his eyes; Selphie, however, seemed not to notice or simply did not allow herself to be phased. "Okay, now that everyone is here, I'd like to discuss the itinerary for Friday. I've already gone ahead and booked the band, Centra Contraband. Rinoa, you and Zell have the food all sorted out, right?" Upon receiving a nod from both Rinoa and Zell, Selphie continued: "Quistis, you have the schedule and such all taken care of, correct?" One nod this time. "Okay, now Irvine, Squall, and Seifer, I need you three to take care of the security and making sure that everyone arrives safely," Selphie finished, clapping her hands in conclusion.
"I have to work with these two?" Seifer complained, sending a scathing glance towards Irvine and Squall. Selphie's smile faded for a split second before returning full blast.
"Well, if you don't want to work with those two, then you can be in my group, Seifie!" she exclaimed, watching as Seifer's face broke into a look of abject terror before he quickly replaced it with his usual lofty arrogance.
"No, that's okay. I doubt these two could handle the security detail without me," Seifer announced, trying to save himself from being stuck with Selphie without seeming as if he actually wanted to work with the Cowboy and Ice Prince.
"Great! That means Fuijin and Raijin can help me with the decorating. Right, guys?" Selphie finished her speech, turning to the two in question.
"AFFIRMATIVE," Fuijin assured her, nodding her silver haired head in acceptance.
"I can take care of all the heavy lifting and stuff, ya know?" Raijin pitched in helpfully, making Selphie beam.
"Okay! Meeting adjourned. Alrighty then, I believe everyone knows what they're doing, and most of you are pretty much set for Friday, although you three," here Selphie paused to nod her head in Irvine, Squall, and Seifer's direction: "need to make assignments for security and make sure any and all guests are taken care of." That said, Selphie plopped back down on the grass and proceeded to discuss decorations with Raijin and Fuijin, as everyone else broke into conversation amongst their respective groups, Seifer, Squall, and Irvine noticeably absent from this trend.
"Umm…yeah, I guess we should start making some plans on what we're going to do about security on Friday, or Selphie will skin us alive," Irvine spoke up at last, nervously rubbing the back of his neck and incidentally causing his cowboy hat to be knocked so that it covered his eyes. Seifer gave a derisive snort.
"I say we assign the task to some of the cadets—Hyne knows those little brats will do anything to get recognition—and call it a day," Seifer pitched, seeming perfectly pleased with himself as he spread out across the grass in a lounging position. Squall glared icily at him.
"Do you really want to trust security to cadets?" Squall asked, trying not to show any emotion though seeming a tad irritated at Seifer's proposition. "We'll just have the SeeDs take the shifts and try not to make them too long so that they can still attend most of the Festival if they wish to," Squall proposed, having no qualms as to ordering his two partners around, since neither of them seemed to have any better plan. "I'll set up a timetable detailing the shifts and make sure that everyone is informed of their task. I already know that President Loire is arriving Thursday afternoon and should have his own security detail. I don't know about the rest of the guests; we'll have to get a list from Selphie and go through it to make sure that everyone is taken care of. Are we done here?"
"Aye-aye, Capitan," Seifer remarked sarcastically, even going so far as to offer a fake, and rather sloppy, salute. He smirked as Squall gave him an unamused glare.
"Sounds like a plan," Irvine agreed, diffusing the situation. "As long as we're done…" he trailed off, leaving the question open as if to await any objections. When he received none, he easily lifted himself from his relaxed position upon the grass and, tilting his hat in farewell, headed back inside the garden.
Seifer watched Irvine go before taking off as well, Hyperion swishing slightly from its spot strapped to his side. Squall assumed he was heading towards the training center. Well, he could use a training session too, and who better to train with than Seifer?
Standing swiftly, he called out to Seifer's retreating back: "Hey, Almasy! Off to the training center?" He waited for Seifer's nod of affirmation before continuing, though he was sure that Seifer already knew what he was about to say. "Up for a sparring match?"
Seifer was never one to back down from a challenge and quickly accepted Squall's offer. After all, fighting Squall was a lot more fun and challenging than the grats or even the rare T-Rex could be. After visiting the islands closest to hell and heaven, even T-Rexaurs, which had been the bane of his existence during his time as a cadet, seemed like a walk in the park. Speaking of parks and the like…
"Leonhart, maybe we should take this outside or something. There's really no point in going to the Center if we're going to be fighting each other," Seifer commented, receiving a brief nod from his partner.
They walked at a leisurely pace to the front gate, Squall taking three strides per every two of Seifer's. They didn't talk, though they did manage to share a companionable silence. If nothing else, they had always respected one another…at least as far as fighting was concerned.
By the time they made it out of Garden and to the rolling plains of Balamb, they had inadvertently attracted quite a bit of attention. Everyone knew of the almost legendary matches between the two long-time rivals, and to see them walking so placidly side by side, gunblades in tow, made everyone sit up and take notice. If there was going to be a fight between the two most infamous gunbladers in history, then the rest of the Garden attendees certainly weren't about to miss it.
It had been a long time since Seifer and Squall had sparred. Sure, they'd fought in the Sorceress War, but that was different, which both of them were distinctly aware of. It was almost as if they were rewinding the clock, going back three years to a time when neither of them knew what was in store for them and had been striving towards the common goal of becoming one of Balamb's elite mercenary recruits, the elusive SeeD.
Things had been so very different then. And, although things had returned to 'normal' as best they could, everyone knew that you couldn't unring the bell no matter how hard you tried. Despite the fact that Seifer had been brainwashed, no one would ever forget the fact that he had joined up as the Sorceress's knight, Seifer least of all.
He could see now how foolish he had been to place his trust in a Sorceress, even if it was for something that he desired so much and seemed unattainable without the aid of magic. How could he have even thought about using spells to coerce…no, it didn't matter…it was over now…he had lost…
Squall watched with mild concern as Seifer's typically flippant continence became clouded and reserved, more like how Squall's own expression usually looked. He wondered what Seifer was thinking about and might have asked him in not so many words but for the spectators crowding around, waiting for the fight to begin.
Both of the opponents cleared their heads of their respective line of thought before positioning themselves. After a quick, concise bow with neither of them letting their eyes leave the other, the match begin.
They remained stationary for a moment, sizing one another up and recounting strengths and weaknesses, the latter of which could be used to their advantage. It was Squall who struck first, lightning quick, aiming for Seifer's chest, a blow which Seifer easily blocked, Hyperion coming up to meet Lion Heart and connecting with the clash of metal hitting metal. The crowd collectively held its breath, hypnotized by the scene before them.
It was now Seifer's turn to play offense, twisting his blade so that it disconnected from Squall's before bringing it down in a furious arc aimed for Squall's clavicle, only for their blades to meet once more. They held tightly onto them, pushing with all of their strength to keep from giving up ground to the other, their blades remaining stationary as a testament to their balanced strength.
Caught up in the power struggle, Seifer didn't notice until almost too late as Squall's booted foot rose in an attempt to kick him in the groin, Seifer managing to block the 'fatal' blow at the last second by raising his shin to take the impact. It still hurt, but it was tolerable, nothing to really worry about.
Both having given up somewhat on trying to overpower one another in their blade lock, they brought their blades apart in mutual agreement. Seifer then took the offense again, delivering Squall with an onset of blows, all of which he successfully countered. They continued on like that for a few more minutes, one striking and the other parrying the blow, before things started to really heat up again.
Their blades once more locked, Seifer managed to kick out, connecting with the side of Squall's knee and causing his legs to crumple beneath him. Not one to be easily defeated, Squall took the opportunity to strike out with his blade from his low vantage and aimed to slice a substantial blow to the bottom half of Seifer's legs. Seifer was too quick, however, dodging the blow in the nick of time by jumping up to let the blade swish harmlessly beneath him. When he landed once more, Squall lashed out with a vicious kick, toppling Seifer to the ground in retribution.
Both literally floored, they glanced at one another and smirked, their eyes lighting with mirth and coming as close as they ever had to actually having a laugh together. Both rising to their feet, they shook hands, finishing the match and declaring it as a draw, happy that neither of them had sustained more than a few harmless scratches and bruises that could be easily healed with a simple Cure.
The onlookers seemed satisfied with the display, though somewhat disappointed that it was over. They clapped enthusiastically, letting out loud cheers for both participants, though some shouted various comments such as: "You had him!" or "Do you really have to end it there?"
One onlooker in particular seemed oddly affected by the display. He frowned as he saw the odd sort of friendship that Seifer and Squall shared while sparing and realized that perhaps the two didn't really hate each other as much as they would have everyone assume. He was glad, yet somehow disconcerted as well. Was there something more going on between their resident Arrogant Asshole and the 'Cold-hearted' Commander?
Did this mean that someone else had already laid claim to what he hadn't even had a chance to win over yet? Or could it simply be that his own unrequited lust was causing him to become paranoid in regard to Squall's love life—or lack there of at the moment, at least that's what he hoped. Perhaps it was time that he actually go so far as to make a move. After all, it's not as if Squall was bound to make a move on him…especially since he had led everyone to believe that he was the ultimate 'ladies man' for fear that they would discover his untimely crush. Yes, it was about time that he made his intentions known, if for no other reason than the fact that Seifer was the last person on earth that he wanted his beautiful Ice Prince to end up with.
Author's Note: Yes, yes, another story. I know I already have more than enough others that I should be working on, but this idea just popped into my head and wouldn't go away, so I figured I should just write it down and get it over with. Anyway, I hope you like it so far, and yes, I will eventually be finishing my other stories, I'm just a little…slow, to say the least. Btw, constructive criticism is welcome. ;)