Author's Notes: I recently fell in love with this pairing and it makes me sad that there is a lack of them here on FFNet. So, here's my little contribution. Enjoy!
Summer holidays. The one thing every kid in Twilight Town looked forward to for the whole year, yet the one time where every kid in Twilight Town would be bored out of their minds for days on end.
Everything had been exhausted in the first two weeks. The beach wasn't as fun, now that it was clogged with people. It was too hot to play Struggle, and no matches were scheduled for weeks anyway. Shopping had little appeal, and study wasn't an option.
That was how Hayner, Pence and Olette eventually found themselves resorting to children's games for entertainment.
Board games had been their first idea. Trivia games, dice games, anything and everything they could get their hands on. But after Pence's many half-arsed attempts at cheating, Hayner's temper losses and Olette's multiple wins no matter what the boys tried, it was time to move on.
Next on the list was tag. They went to a nearby park, decided who was it first, and began to play. After about ten minutes they were dripping in sweat, but they didn't care. They only stopped after getting in trouble from an official because Pence had jumped in the duck pond to cool down.
I Spy had been a long shot, but it worked for a while. The game lost its shine after a debate erupted over the existence of Olette's panda-pig.
Hide and Seek! An obvious choice! Yet it proved to be too repetitive for Hayner, who eventually resorted to hiding behind a pole three metres away from the Finder, then when getting in just buying an ice cream and sitting around, cooling down whilst he waited with surprising patience for his friends to show themselves.
Then they realised; they were creative, weren't they? Why not play Truth or Dare? At first they were tentative, mostly picking Truth over Dare, but then they gained some confidence. They egged each other on, and as a result the dares became more and more imaginative and ludicrous as the game went on.
And that was how Pence found himself dancing in a frilly pink dress and bright, thick and colourful makeup, singing The Good Ship Lollipop for bewildered shoppers.
Upon watching its completion, Hayner and Olette managed to make it back to the Usual Spot before collapsing into fits of laughter. Their sides were splitting when Pence trudged in five minutes later, looking hot, sweaty and extremely pissed off.
"Hayner," he growled, pulling off the dress and blonde wig before flopping onto the couch. "You're going to pay for that one."
"I have no idea what you mean," Hayner replied, sitting up and wiping tears from his eyes. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself, sweetie-pie!" He and Olette began to laugh all over again.
Pence growled. "How do I get this stuff off?" he asked, rubbing at his face.
"Here, Pence," Olette said, still laughing. She got up and rummaged through her bag before pulling out some wipes. "Makeup remover. Stay still." She began to wipe his face clean.
"Don't see why you want it off," Hayner said, sniggering. "It suits you."
"Dead!" Pence snapped. "So dead!" He spluttered as Olette began to wipe his mouth.
"Stay still," she ordered. "Or it will stay on." The corners of her mouth began to twitch again. "And I don't see how you'll be able to top that one," she said honestly. "I think Hayner pretty much won this game with that dare."
"Yeah, face it, Pence," Hayner agreed. "I just whooped your arse. Now you're the town's pretty boy!" He started to laugh again, and Olette soon joined in.
Pence looked thoughtful for a few minutes, staying silent as Olette continued to remove the heavy makeup. Then, suddenly, he got a twinkle in his eye and a sly grin crossed his face as he looked at Hayner closely.
Hayner blinked. "What?" he asked, slightly unnerved. When Pence got ideas, they were usually absurd.
Pence pushed Olette aside gently, so he had a clear view of Hayner. His face was still half-covered in the makeup, and accompanied with the cunning grin he looked rather comical. Hayner began to snicker again.
"Truth or Dare?" Pence asked wickedly.
"Dare," Hayner said immediately, knowing Pence couldn't possibly think up anything to beat the previous dare.
"Excellent," Pence's smile grew larger. Olette rolled her eyes.
"Pence, give it up," she said flatly. "Hayner won. Now stay still so I can get this stuff off!"
"No, no," Pence said, waving her away. "I think I've got a better idea."
Hayner snorted. "Let's hear it then," he said cynically.
Pence nodded, still grinning widely. "I dare you…" he trailed off and peered at Hayner. Hayner sighed loudly.
"Hurry up!" he snapped, in no mood for Pence's melodramatics.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were in such a hurry to get owned," Pence said dismissively. He chuckled. "Hayner, I dare you to kiss Seifer."
Olette's jaw dropped and Hayner's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Oh, hell the fuck no!" he exclaimed, horrified. "You did not just say what I think you said!"
"If you think I said 'dance on the rooftops naked', then you heard wrong. If you think I just dared you to kiss Seifer, then you heard correct!" Pence roared victoriously, eyes gleaming.
"Are you nuts?" Hayner exclaimed. "He'll beat me to within an inch of my life!"
"Well, if you're lucky, maybe his two lackeys won't be there," Pence said, smiling sickeningly sweetly. "I heard Rai's parents are forcing him to study these holidays, so he can actually pass school for once. Who knows, maybe Fuu will be helping him."
"Wow…" Olette looked at Hayner, stunned. "I think you were just beaten!"
"It… no way…" Hayner spluttered. "That's disgusting – it's Seifer!"
"It was The Good Ship Lollipop!" Pence mimicked Hayner's tone mockingly. "Pucker up Hayner. Would you like to borrow some of my lipstick?" He grinned as Olette started to laugh.
"You're bat-shit crazy," Hayner said, desperately hoping Pence was joking. Because if he wasn't…
"I'm bat-shit crazy and covered in makeup, Hayner. You should know better than to mix the two." Pence continued to smirk at him, sealing his fate.
"Hayner," Olette said, sounding almost reasonable. "I don't see why you're arguing when you know you're going to do it anyway. We all know you want to keep your reputation and avoid being labelled the Biggest Chicken-shit in the Universe."
"I… I…" Hayner sunk back onto his hands, thoroughly defeated. Chickening out of a dare was a big No-No in his books, but then kissing Seifer wasn't only a No-No, it was an Unthinkable. He gnawed at his bottom lip as he stared blindly up at the ceiling, struggling with his options. If he said no, his friends would never let him forget it. If yes, Seifer would probably taunt him for the rest of his days.
…Come to think of it, the latter outcome wasn't very different from the norm anyway.
"This is gonna land me in hospital," he muttered. He looked up at Pence, whose eyes were still gleaming.
"So you're gonna do it?" Olette asked, grinning.
Hayner nodded, knowing he was signing his death warrant. "I accept the dare," he said listlessly.
"Yes!" Pence hissed in triumph, jumping up and doing a little jig of victory. "This totally makes the sing-song worth it!"
Olette was grinning widely. "We'll find him as soon as Pence is de-prettified." she said, forcing Pence to sit back on the couch.
"Yeah, great," Hayner said dryly.
"I bet you'll chicken out at the last moment!" Pence said gleefully. "I bet!"
"I'll show you!" Hayner hissed, refusing to let on that he was actually thinking about doing exactly what Pence predicted.
After many makeup wipes and much impatience from Pence, they were finally ready to begin their search for what Hayner considered his doom. They peeked around every corner, so that if Seifer was there he wouldn't see the group. Hayner's body was shaking from nerves and dread, and he hung behind Pence and Olette almost timidly, half-thinking about running off when they found Seifer.
He was almost regretting daring Pence to put on a drag show for all of Twilight Town. Almost.
Finally, after skulking around many corners and earning themselves a few strange looks, they reached the deserted Sandlot. Hayner tugged on a loose thread in his shirt absently as he waited for Pence and Olette's report.
"He's there!" Olette suddenly hissed excitedly, pulling Pence back around the corner and grinning at Hayner. "Over on the other side, reading!"
Hayner froze. His mouth went dry.
Pence peered cautiously around the corner again, scanning the area.
"Yeah," he whispered finally. "Over in the far corner. It doesn't look like his friends are with him." He looked at Hayner and grinned. "Ready to shine, lover boy?"
Hayner swallowed as his heart sped up. He was determined not to show his anxiety, however, as he nodded and stood up straight.
"You'd better be prepared to shout me a huge lunch, Pence, coz I'm about to win this game," he said, the composure of his voice surprising him as he brushed past his two friends and made his way across the Sandlot.
When he was about halfway across, Seifer suddenly looked up from his book. His eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything as Hayner approached him. Hayner remained casual despite his racing heart, but he couldn't look Seifer in the eyes. He was trying to work out what to say, if anything, when he reached Seifer. They were there, Seifer sitting and Hayner standing in front of him, in silence for what seemed like an eternity, until Seifer finally spoke.
"Do you actually want something, or are you just here to piss me off?"
Hayner started. He took a deep breath, hoping it would stop his body from shaking as he answered calmly, "A little bit of both, really."
"Where are your wimpy friends?" Seifer inquired carelessly, his mouth curling into a smirk.
"Where are yours?" Hayner shot back, trying not to let Seifer get him angry. Hell, the guy already had him anxious.
"Studying, I believe." Seifer said lazily, "Rai needs it. Now answer my question."
"I don't know," Hayner lied, saying the first thing that came to his head.
"Aww, the dweeb's all by himself," Seifer smirked at him and stood up. He seemed to tower over Hayner at the moment. "Well, get out of here!" he hissed. "I'm in no mood to entertain a little brat that likes to run his mouth off."
Hayner licked his lips nervously, and suddenly decided to be honest.
"I've been dared to do something." he said vaguely.
"So you do know where they are," Seifer snapped, still smirking. "Well, what it is? Think you can beat me in a game of Struggle?" He jerked his head towards the blue bats that were lying abandoned nearby.
Hayner shook his head, knowing his face was going bright red. This was it. Time to either kiss his enemy and be punched for it, or run off and be mocked for the rest of eternity.
He wet his lips determinedly. A punch wouldn't hurt forever.
"This," he said, and he quickly wrapped his arms around Seifer's neck and pulled him down, pressing their lips together.
Seifer froze, dropping his book in surprise. When Hayner pulled away, Seifer was staring at him in disbelief.
"Lamer," the older boy snapped. "That's not how a kiss is done!" To Hayner's shock, Seifer pulled him into another kiss, his hands holding Hayner's face in position. Seifer's tongue probed at Hayner's lips, requesting entry, and instinctively Hayner parted them, and manoeuvred his arms around Seifer's to wrap them back around Seifer's neck.
Hayner had no idea how long they were kissing, he lost all sense of time. A small part of his mind was shouting at him to pull away! Pull away! before anything precarious started to happen, but he ignored it. He was enjoying himself too much. He was almost forgetting that it was Seifer he was kissing.
Seifer's groan seemed to jerk them both back to reality, and Seifer jumped away so quickly that Hayner was shocked by the loss of contact. Seifer fell backwards over the bench he had been sitting on, as Hayner stumbled back. They both stared at each other, completely dazed, unable to think clearly, let alone form a coherent sentence.
"You…" Seifer stuttered, slowly climbing to his feet.
"Yeah…" was all Hayner could reply, as his nerves and heart began to calm down.
Seifer stared at him for a few more moments, before he suddenly snapped back to his usual self.
"You brat!" he yelled, his face flushing brightly. "You're lucky I'm late getting home for lunch, otherwise I would beat you black and blue!" With that he pushed past Hayner and ran through the nearest egress. "Later, wuss!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"Arsehole!" Hayner yelled, an automatic response. He was still gathering his wits when Pence and Olette reached him.
"You did it!" Olette exclaimed excitedly. "And not once, but twice!"
"And you got rid of him!" Pence added, just as excited, and looking a little shocked. "I think I owe you two lunches for that!"
Hayner didn't answer. He was still staring in the direction Seifer had gone, his head reeling. He needed to go home and sort out his thoughts, before anything dangerous developed from them.
"Hayner?" Olette asked hesitantly, now frowning slightly.
"I don't want to play this anymore," Hayner said suddenly, clenching his fists. "I'm going home, I've… got some study I need to do." Without another word he left his perplexed friends, ignoring their shouts to come back. He had a sickening feeling he had lost the game after all.
That's all! Please review, thank you!