Day By Day
A Two-Shot by Ellipsis the Great
Summary: It's amazing just how little time it takes for your entire world to be turned upside down…eventual Seiner, Olette/Hayner, brief mention of past Larxene/Hayner.
DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts and everything affiliated with it belongs to SquareEnix and Disney. All I own is the plot…
Rated: T for language 'n stuff.
Everyone who had ever seen them interact knew that Hayner Duncan and Olette Jenkins belonged together. It was one of those whimsical romances that began as soon as they met and would still be going strong a hundred years later when they were surrounded by their great-great-grandkids and holding hands and slipping off into the great beyond together.
Hayner was the ace of Twilight High's Struggle Team. He'd led the team to the nationals in his freshman year, to the semi-finals in his sophomore year, and to the finals in his junior year. Now, in his senior year, he was expected to help them win the finals.
Olette was the Struggle Team's manager, the valedictorian of her class, and the school's sweetheart. She always had a kind word to say, was always the first to lend a helping hand to someone in need, and always had time to listen to someone's problems. Even people like Larxene, who always had a sarcastic word ready, had a hard time being mean to her.
They were the perfect couple.
Too bad Lady Fate doesn't believe in perfection.
(KNEEL,PAGEBREAK!)
…Monday's child is fair of face…
"Good job, guys!" Hayner said, wiping his sweaty face on the inside of his jersey. "Let's call it a day for now—see you tomorrow!"
"I have towels for everyone!" Olette exclaimed from her customary perch on the bench, stacks of towels sitting beside her. She stood and passed them out, beaming encouragingly at each team member as he took one. "Keep up the good work!"
"Thanks, Olette!" Sora said with a friendly wave.
Olette returned the wave, but turned to speak to Hayner as he approached to fetch his own towel. "Hayner, can I talk to—"
"Olette! I need your help with something!" Pence wheezed from the doorway to the gym, red-faced from his evident sprint from the computer lab (which was nearly all the way on the other side of the school from the gym).
"Okay, coming!" Olette said, giving Hayner an apologetic smile. "Can we talk later?"
"Yeah, sure." Hayner said, smiling back at her and hoping his blush could be blamed on the fact that practice had just ended rather than the way his heart sped up at the sight of her smile.
"So when're you gonna ask her out, lover boy?" Roxas teased gently, elbowing his best friend as Olette and Pence disappeared from the gym.
"Shut up, pipsqueak." Hayner said, shoving the smaller boy back. "I'll ask when I'm ready and the time is right."
"Talk about yer puppy love on yer own damn time!" Cid Highwind, the gruff Struggle Coach, said. "And get the fuck outta my gym! Scoot!"
"What's taking you so long?" Axel, Roxas' best friend and stalker (no one else understood it, either), asked as they went to the locker room to take showers. "Everyone knows you guys are head over heels, so just tell her already."
"Yeah. I'm getting sick of watching you guys dance around each other." Roxas said.
"Fuck you guys—it's none of your business anyhow." Hayner snapped, pulling off his shirt.
"Oh come on, Hayner!" Sora said.
"Shut up!" Hayner said. "I'm gonna tell her, okay? I just…haven't had a chance!"
"It's your senior year, dude!" Demyx said, words slightly muffled due to the sound of showers running. "If you don't tell her soon, she'll go off to college and you'll have missed your chance!"
"We're going to the same college, Demyx. I'll still have plenty of chances." Hayner rolled his eyes. "And I already said I'm gonna tell her, so drop it."
"Fine, fine, oh fearless leader." Riku drawled. "But I agree with everyone else—you should just go ahead and get it over with."
"Okay, I get it!" Hayner exclaimed, shutting the water off and drying himself off angrily. "Can we talk about something else, now?"
"Hmm…well, Nationals start next week." Roxas mused.
"Wonder if it'll be any different from last year?" Sora sighed, remembering how easy the first few matches had been up until the quarter-finals.
"I heard some teams have improved a lot since last year." Axel said.
"Yeah, but so have we." Hayner said. "We're gonna tear down the competition! And we're gonna kick SeeD Academy's ass this year!"
"Aw, man." Tidus groaned. "I hate SeeD. Arrogant bastards."
"Don't we all, mon?" Wakka asked.
"This year, we're gonna knock those jerks right off their high horse!" Hayner said confidently. "And then we'll be able to rub that asshole Almasy's face in it for an entire year!"
"Alright, ladies, hurry it up!" Larxene said from the doorway to the locker room. "I'm fucking hungry, and sick of waiting on you guys primping and preening in front of the mirrors!"
"We're not—" Sora began.
"Get the fuck out of the boy's locker room, Larxene, mon!" Wakka cut him off.
"Unless, that is, you're in the mood for sausages?" Axel asked, peeking out of his shower stall with a lascivious grin.
"Always. But sad to say, all I see right now is a bunch of pussy—and I'm not Chinese." She retorted, sauntering out before they could try to reply.
"I hate her." Sora said, one hand covering his bright red face.
"Why do you always encourage her, Axel?" Tidus asked.
"Because it's hella funny." Axel sniggered.
"She's kinda right, though—I'm hungry! Let's hurry up and get some food!" Sora said, throwing on his clothes without any further ado.
The rest of the guys nodded acquiescently and threw their clothes on, as well, following the ever-exuberant Sora out of the locker room, where they were joined by Larxene and Olette, who had evidently finished talking to Pence.
(KNEEL,PAGEBREAK!)
…Tuesday's child is full of grace…
"To Nationals!" Hayner said, lifting his Coke up high.
"To Nationals!" The rest of the team chorused, laughing as they toasted to their first victory of the Nationals. They were now in a hotel in Hollow Bastion, the huge city that sponsored the National Struggle Tournament every year.
"To kicking SeeD's ass!" Tidus added.
Everyone cheered and toasted again.
"And who says you're gonna kick our asses?"
The team all swiveled around to face the speaker: SeeD Academy's Struggle Team Captain, Seifer Almasy, who was flanked by the rest of his team.
"I do." Hayner said, standing up to give Seifer a defiant glare.
"Yeah, right, y'know?" Rai snorted.
"Losers." Fuu, the Vice-Captain, said.
"Let's save the fighting for the ring." Olette said in her usual pacifistic manner, putting her hands up between the two captains. "Okay, guys?"
"Better listen to your girlfriend, chickenwuss." Seifer sneered.
"Shut up, Almasy. No one asked you." Hayner snapped, lips pulling back into a snarl.
"That's enough, you guys." Olette said.
"Why don't you mind your own fucking business, bitch?" Seifer asked.
Hayner bristled immediately in Olette's defense. "Don't talk to Olette like that, you asshat!"
Oddly enough, Seifer didn't retort. Instead, his eyes narrowed, giving Hayner such an intense look that the slightly smaller teen actually moved back a little on instinct. Then, so suddenly that no one had time to react, his hand shot out and grabbed Hayner by the back of the neck. Pulling sharply, he led Hayner out of the side door of the restaurant—still before anyone had quite recovered from their shock to stop him.
"What the fuck?!" Hayner demanded, wrenching himself out of Seifer's grasp as they exited the restaurant. "What is your problem, man? Christ!"
"I like you."
Hayner reared up to make a comeback, but was stopped short as Seifer's words penetrated through his adrenaline rush and registered in his brain. "Uuh…" He shook his head. "Sorry, I think I'm hearing things. What?"
"I said I like you." Seifer repeated easily, crossing his arms over his chest and looking far too confident and intimidating for someone who was confessing to someone else. "And my problem is that seeing you and that Omelet bitch so close is starting to piss me the fuck off, especially since you don't even have the balls to ask her out."
"Her name isn't—"
"So I figured I'd confess before you actually did grow some balls." Seifer continued, cutting him off as if he hadn't even realized Hayner was trying to talk. "And hope I wasn't too late."
"Too late…confess…whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on just a fucking minute, Almasy!" Hayner squawked, holding his hands up defensively. "You can't…like me. We…we're both guys! And we're rivals! I mean…I mean, what the fuck, dude?"
"It's called homosexuality, lamer." Seifer said with a roll of his eyes. "It means I like the fact that we're both guys. And the rivalry thing…just think kids on a playground."
Hayner's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me that all of these…pissing contests we have are you pulling my fucking pigtails or some shit? Seriously?"
"…Pretty much, yeah." Seifer said. He finally seemed to have clued into the fact that he was, in all actuality, confessing—his cheeks darkened and he turned his face to the side a bit in an obviously embarrassed gesture.
"I don't even have pigtails." Hayner muttered. Then he shook his head again, blinking his eyes furiously as if to wake himself up from a particularly disturbing dream. "Wait! That's not the point! Look…you just…you can't like me. That's…weird. A…and anyhow, even if you really do like me, I don't—"
Seifer's hand shot up, covering Hayner's mouth before he could finish the sentence. "Shut up."
Hayner made a slight attempt to speak through Seifer's hand, but found that he really couldn't. He settled on glaring darkly instead (not realizing, of course, that at the moment it made him look rather like a pouting kitten).
"I realize that we don't exactly have the best history ever," Seifer said, blatantly ignoring the 'well that's the understatement of the year' expression on Hayner's face, "but…could you just…I dunno, gimme a chance before you turn me down? All I'm asking is for one date. That's all, and if you still don't like me afterwards, then I'll back off. Okay?" And he removed his hand.
"I don't know what one date'll do." Hayner said. "I'm straight, Almasy."
"I know that. You think I don't know that?" Seifer asked. An expression had settled over his face that made Hayner's heart do something funny in his chest…like he actually felt guilty for being straight, or something. "But just…even if nothing happens between us, it'd…give me some closure or bullshit like that."
Hayner shook his head. "This has gotta be a joke." He insisted. "You're probably gonna do something to embarrass me, and—"
"I'm not." Seifer said.
"Psyching me out for the Finals, then!"
"You think I'd sink that fucking low?" Seifer demanded, obviously furious at the suggestion.
Hayner frowned, eyeing the taller boy for a moment. "Well…no, I guess not. You're an asshole, but…no."
Seifer snorted contemptuously. "Whatever. So…look," he rifled through his pockets for a moment before pulling out a small scrap of paper and handing it to Hayner, "here's my number. Just call and…let me know when you've got time."
"Right." Hayner said, pursing his lips together for a moment as he stuck the paper into a random pocket. "I'll…see you later, then. I guess."
Seifer stuffed his hands in his pockets, not quite meeting Hayner's eyes. "I…well, bye." He said, turning away and standing stiffly.
Hayner nodded slowly, his gaze lingering on Seifer's back for a moment more, then turned and re-entered the restaurant.
And really, Hayner wasn't sure why he hadn't just thrown the slip of paper away as soon as he'd gotten out of Seifer's sight. But he hadn't.
Instead, a day and a (victorious) match later, he was still staring at it, lips pursed, and wondering why he wasn't throwing it away. And thinking that he probably should throw it away—there was no reason to do otherwise. He hated Seifer, whatever the other teen might have felt, so it wasn't like he had any sort of obligation to go out with Seifer or anything weird like that.
But…whenever his hand hovered near the trash bin, the image of Seifer's face would come to mind. Smirking, arrogant, as always…but in his eyes had been an emotion that caused Hayner to hesitate and, ultimately, draw his hand back. Finally, he had programmed the number into his cell phone and tossed the paper, easing a small bit of his mental anguish, but he was still torn over the prospect of…of dating his rival.
And wouldn't it be like…a betrayal to his school—his team!—if he dated the other man? Even if it was a sympathy date or whatever…why was he even considering this?
Every time his thoughts drifted back to that question, though, Seifer's eyes would come back to the forefront of his mind—even in Hayner's thoughts Seifer was an abrasive jerk—and make him consider the date again.
'Just one date couldn't hurt anything…could it?' He wondered to himself as he opened his phone and called the number. 'It won't change anything…it'll just to give him closure, or whatever he was babbling about. I don't want him distracted during our match—I'll beat the fucker fair and square!'
"The fuck do you want?" The voice on the other end of the line snapped.
"Do you always answer your phone like that, or am I special?" Hayner blurted out before he could think about what he was saying (because, he reflected, that had sounded an awful lot like flirting).
Silence for a moment. "Holy fucking shit…Hayner?"
"…Yes?"
"Fuck…sorry, gimme a second."
Hayner heard some shuffling in the background, then the sound of a door opening and closing.
"So…hi." Seifer said. "Sorry about that…I think somebody gave my number to a telemarketer or something, because they've been calling me at all hours…and I didn't have your number, so…"
"Oh…no, that's fine." Hayner said. "Umm…so, look…my match tomorrow ends at about three, so…if you're free around that time…"
"Seriously?" Seifer's voice sounded so surprised and…dare Hayner think it…giddy that Hayner couldn't stop a small grin from coming to his face.
"Yeah. Figured it couldn't hurt anything…" Hayner said, shrugging even though he knew Seifer couldn't see him.
"Okay, well…my match should be over at about the same time, so…you think we could meet up at the café across from the arena at half-past three? That way we have time to shower and get away from the teams without seeming too suspicious and all."
"Does that matter?" Hayner asked, frowning. How could Seifer ask him out, and then act like he was ashamed of the whole thing?
"I didn't figure you'd want your team to know you were going out with a guy, right?" Seifer asked. "And even disregarding that…two rival captains meeting up, regardless of their actual intentions, is like…an unspoken taboo, right?"
Hayner wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, that's true, I guess." A pause. "Do…you mind if your team knows? That I'm a guy, I mean, not that I'm a rival captain…"
"Nah, they know I'm gay." Seifer said. "And…dude, Marluxia's the fruitiest guy I know, so me being gay was never an issue."
Hayner laughed a little. "Yeah, I know the feeling…well, except the me being gay thing…I mean, Sora's practically shits rainbows, so…I don't figure they'd have a problem with it if I was gay."
"Olette might." Seifer pointed out.
Hayner was quiet for a moment. "There is that." He said slowly.
"It's cool, man." Seifer said. "I'm not really expecting anything to come from this, just…closure, like I said. Plus, Fuu's been bitching at me about it for weeks."
"…Isn't Fuu the one who only speaks in one word sentences?"
"You'd be surprised at all the shit she can get across using only one word." Seifer said dryly. "But anyhow…three-thirty okay with you?"
"At the café across from the arena." Hayner said. "South gate, right?"
"Yeah." Seifer said. "So I'll…see you then."
"Should I dress nice?" Hayner found himself asking.
Hayner was almost positive he could hear Seifer smirking.
"Street clothes are fine." Seifer said. He was definitely smirking. The bastard.
"Okay, then." Hayner said, suppressing his urge to pick a fight. "See you tomorrow."
"See you."
And they hung up.
(KNEEL,PAGEBREAK!)
…Wednesday's child is full of woe…
"Great job, guys!" Hayner congratulated the team as they made their way back into the locker rooms after a triumphant match against the Agrabah Sultans. "Let's keep up the hard work, and we'll definitely beat SeeD this year! We're in top form!"
"Hell to the fuckin' yeah!" Axel whooped, slinging an arm around Roxas, who rolled his eyes but didn't push the taller teen away.
"Alright, so…let's all get changed, and then…how's about a free day to celebrate?" Hayner asked.
"A free day?" Demyx's eyes sparkled with happy excitement.
"Yeah—we deserve one after that fantastic match!" Hayner said.
"Sweetness!" Sora giggled, jumping up and down.
"So let's take a shower and go, ladies!" Larxene sneered, snapping a towel at Tidus' rear before slinking into the girls' locker room.
"Hayner?" Olette stopped him quietly as the other guys practically skipped into the boys' locker room. "Can I…talk to you for a minute after you finish?"
Hayner's heart sped up a little and he nodded, flushing. "Y-yeah, of course." He sputtered.
She smiled, causing his heart to flutter a little. "Okay. I'll be in the front lounge, then."
He nodded, then went into the locker room to take the quickest shower of his life. He ignored the teasing jeers of his teammates as he threw on his clothes and scrambled out of the locker room to the lounge, where Olette was just getting a soda from one of the machines.
"Olette?" He said.
She jumped a little, startled, but was smiling again when she turned to face him.
"Sorry." He said with a sheepish grin.
"Wasn't expecting you so soon." She shrugged it off, motioning to the machine. "Drink?"
"I've got a Gatorade." He said. They settled into an awkward silence. "So…you…wanted to talk to me?"
She nodded jerkily. "Yes, I…" She looked around for a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "I just, um…" She squeezed her eyes shut, blushing a deep red as she blurted out: "I really like you, Hayner, and I was wondering if you would go out with me?"
His jaw dropped.
"I-I got you a gift!" She added, pulling a small package out of her pocket and thrusting it at him nervously. "It's a key chain. Because your key ring is…well, it's only got keys on it, so I thought you could use something to liven it up a bit, and oh my God I sound like such an idiot I'm so sorry—!"
"No, no, it's fine." He said, his cheeks almost as red as hers. He opened the little baggy, grinning stupidly at the Struggle Bat key chain inside. "I-it's awesome, thanks…but I don't have anything for you…"
"That's okay." She said.
"And I…of course I'll go out with you. 'Cause I…" He said, looking down and shuffling his feet. "I really like you, too. I have for a long time, but I didn't know how to…"
She cut him off with a kiss on his cheek that immediately turned his words into senseless babbling, and giggled. "S-so…since today's a free day…"
Somehow, he jerked himself out of his cloud-nine-stupor. "No, I…I can't." He said, the regret in his voice completely genuine. Frantically, he searched for an excuse—he couldn't tell her what he was actually putting her off for! "I…a f-friend of mine is in town for the tournament, so we…I'm gonna catch up with him some. That's part of why I decided to give us a free day today…I mean, it's because we won, too, of course, but…shit, I'm not making any sense…I-I can't reschedule, since he's only in town for the tournament…"
"No, of course I understand!" Olette said. "This is kind of last minute, anyhow! You should definitely go out with your friend!"
Inwardly wincing at her word choice—at the whole situation, really—he nodded. "Yeah, but…I will definitely find time to go out with you soon, okay? I really…really want to!"
She nodded vigorously. "M-me, too…"
He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when his phone alarm went off. "Oh, shit! I…I gotta go, Olette." He said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and turning the alarm off. "We're meeting at three-thirty…"
"Go, go!" She said. "And have fun, okay? We have lots of time to date!"
Her assurance caused a goofy grin to come to his face.
"Yeah, we do." He said. Then, before he could wimp out of it, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.
She flushed and waved. "See you!"
"See you." He said, and turned and ran (he just barely refrained from skipping) to the south gate to get to the café.
Seifer was already waiting, leaning up against the front wall of the café. He actually wasn't wearing his customary clothes, but instead a fitted pair of dark blue jeans and a nice white tank with a red cross on it. And the beanie was gone, making him look…well, rather naked, actually, for all that it had been replaced by a pair of sunglasses. But it allowed Hayner to finally see the wheat-blond hair that the hat usually hid, messy and a little wet just like Hayner's was.
"There you are." Seifer said, his usual scowl falling into place.
"Sorry." Hayner had to stop himself from snapping. "Got held up."
Seifer nodded wordlessly, pushing off the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. Seifer's light blue eyes swept over Hayner's body, and Hayner's eyes did the same to Seifer's body—and Hayner had a sudden, clear understanding of why he kept hearing girls swoon over SeeD's short tempered captain. Without the baggy pants and trench coat—or the bulky Struggle vest—to conceal it, Hayner realized that Seifer actually had an enviably handsome—and fit as hell—body. Hayner had to squash the errant wish that Seifer had worn his usual belly vest, horrified by the thought.
"You ready to go?" Seifer asked when the surprisingly brief moment had passed. Hayner wondered if he was imagining Seifer's voice as being deeper than it normally was.
"Yeah." Hayner said, and found himself going red when his stomach chose that precise moment to let out a defiant growl.
Seifer laughed—Hayner found it to be a much more pleasant sound than he had expected (he hadn't expected it at all, actually). "Good thing we met at a café, eh?" He asked teasingly.
"Is it okay to eat here?" Hayner asked as Seifer held the door open for him. "I-I mean, I can wait if you had something else planned…"
"Nah, 's fine." Seifer shrugged. "I didn't…really plan all that much. Besides, I'm starved."
Hayner found himself smiling. "Nothing like a good Struggle to work up a man's appetite."
Seifer eyed him thoughtfully. "A man's, maybe."
"Fuck you!"
Another laugh. "Yeah, sure. Besides, a good Struggle match might…mine was against the Atlantica Mermen."
Hayner winced. The Mermen were a notoriously weak team. "That bad?"
"As always." Seifer said, stretching back in his seat and running an irritated hand through his hair. "Wish I'd thought about that yesterday—I would've given myself time to run for a while before meeting up with you."
"Run?" Hayner's eyebrows rose.
"Can't fight here, or I could get kicked out of the tournament." Seifer's scowl returned. Hayner wished it would go away again. "Running's the next best thing to work off energy."
Hayner nodded, resting his chin on his hand. "Haven't they gotten any better since last year?"
Seifer considered the question. "I didn't…play against them last year, but…their stats have improved a little, I think." Then he heaved a sigh, leaning forward onto his hands. "I finished my match in three hits."
"Three?" Hayner exclaimed.
"Yeah. The entire thing was over and done with an hour ago—I got here at, like, fifteen 'til."
"You've been waiting here since two forty-five?" Hayner asked incredulously. "You totally could've run to the station and back!"
"That would not have been enough to run that farce of a match off." Seifer said, making a face. "And I'd rather not have to stop running 'til I did."
"You could've texted me."
"I didn't mind waiting."
Hayner wanted to keep arguing the point (why was arguing with Seifer so damn exhilarating all of a sudden? Usually it was infuriating) but the waitress chose that time to come and take their orders, which were given without much deliberation. Neither man needed a lot of time to decide.
"How was your match?" Seifer asked before Hayner could pick up where they had left off.
"Better than yours, but not all that challenging." Although he recognized the conversation change for what it was, Hayner let it slide for the time being. "It was the Sultans, so…"
"Eh." Seifer waved the team off. "I shouldn't have even bothered asking. The whole tournament knows our teams are the only two that're worth a shit."
"Not all of the teams are that bad…"
"Not that bad, but not that good, either." Seifer scoffed, nodding at the waitress politely as she set their drinks down in front of them. "A few of 'em could be really good if they had better coaches or captains—ones that actually, y'know, cared—but on the whole I'll probably be running a lot until we face you in the finals."
Hayner couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face at the unexpected (and probably unintentional) compliment. "Yeah, you're probably right." He admitted.
Seifer nodded as if he had expected the response (he probably had). "Then again, I guess I could get surprised." He said thoughtfully. "You guys surprised me last year."
"Oh?"
"Yeah." He said. "C'mon, Hayner, everyone knows Twilight used to be almost as shitty a team as the Mermen are, now."
Hayner made a face, but was forced to agree. "But that's partly because we're still a pretty new team."
"Didn't stop you from giving us a hell of a fight last year." Seifer said as he leaned back in his chair. "It makes me sick to see these teams who are obviously half-assing their way through the tournament, hoping to get a lucky break. I'd take a million new teams like Twilight."
"Yeah…but then again, Struggle's not even a hundred years old yet." Hayner pointed out. "And as popular as it's gotten, it's still nowhere near as popular as, like, Blitz Ball. We're still sharing members with the BB team. I think the teams will get a lot better and more competitive as the sport gets bigger."
Seifer snorted. "Sure, but that's not gonna happen while we're in school. Pisses me the fuck off."
"They're talking about making it Major League." Hayner added. "So we might have a chance—"
"By the time they've drawn up all of the bullshit paperwork and actually got the thing started, we'll be wasting away in the workforce." Seifer said. "And even then, there's no guarantee that'll help it get any more popular than it already is—the first few years will be just as bad as this, I guarantee it."
"You're such a fucking pessimist!" Hayner said. "Christ, man!"
"I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist." Seifer countered. "I'm also not Christ—piercings don't do it for me, thanks."
Hayner stared at him for a moment, and then choked on a laugh. "Dude, that's terrible!"
A shrug.
After that, a surprisingly comfortable silence settled over them, broken momentarily by the waitress as she brought their food and refilled their drinks.
"This…doesn't really feel like a date." Hayner said hesitantly as he ate.
"Should I ask for candles and a violin?" Seifer asked with a smirk. "Maybe go buy you some roses?"
"Don't be an ass." Hayner said, giving him a dry look.
"It's in my nature." Seifer said. "Besides, whaddya want me to do? We're having some sort of fun, right? Stimulating conversation, passable food…"
"But…but that's my point!" Hayner said. "It's so…I mean, I'm not nervous at all! Are all gay dates this…relaxed?"
"You're not nervous." Seifer said rather ambiguously. "And we're both guys—we relate better with each other than a chick. Besides…you still don't like me, so it's not like you're gonna have butterflies or some shit."
But then, suddenly, Hayner did have butterflies.
"Do you…have butterflies?" Hayner asked.
"A few." Seifer shrugged. "Not a big deal."
"And do you…date often?" Hayner asked.
"Not often, but every once in a while." Another shrug. "I dated a ton of girls in middle school, then just kind of realized one day that I didn't actually like any girls. Then, when I joined the Struggle Team in high school, I realized I really liked looking at the guys in the shower, so I ended up dating…ah, shit, what was his name?" He rolled his eyes "Some upperclassman or other. Obviously, he didn't leave much of an impression on me, and we only dated for, like, a month or something. I dated around for a while after that—slept around a little, too, I'll admit—and then just kinda…got so into Struggle that I didn't have time to date and all that. And then…" His cheeks colored. "Then we had that match against you guys last year and…and I saw you…"
Hayner's eyes widened, then he looked down at his plate. "O…oh." He squeaked.
"What about you?" Seifer asked in a rush of air, obviously frantic to get the topic of discussion away from himself.
"Oh, me?" Hayner cleared his throat awkwardly. "I…well, if you'd believe it, I actually dated Larxene in freshman year."
"You mean that catty bitch on your team?" Seifer asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
"Yeah." Hayner snickered a bit. "If you wanna know the truth, you'd have had a really good chance of converting me right after we broke up. I was scared shitless of girls for a while."
"Who wouldn't be?" Seifer asked. "She is one crazy bitch."
"She's not…that bad." Hayner said. "She just takes some getting used to…a lot of getting used to, actually…but…well, I won't go into that. It's her story, not mine. But she's justified in some of the stuff she does, to an extent. She's still batshit insane, don't get me wrong, but she's got reasons for that. And sometimes she's actually really cool."
"But usually she's a bitch."
Hayner laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I really did like her for a while. But we both decided we were better off as friends…or, well, as close to being friends as Larxene lets people get…so we broke it off." He shrugged. "She's…the only serious girlfriend I've ever had. I mean, I go on a dates every now and then, but mostly I just focus on Struggling."
"Except for the thing with Olette."
Hayner blushed as the statement brought to mind his earlier conversation with Olette. He smiled again, unable to stop himself. "Yeah."
Seifer didn't say anything for a while. "She's a nice girl."
"Yeah." Hayner said again, dreamily.
Seifer's lips curled up into a bitter smile that Hayner didn't appear to notice. "You guys confessed to each other, didn't you?" He asked, propping his cheek up on his hand.
Hayner did look at him, then, and was once again struck by the strange spark in Seifer's eyes usually angry blue eyes. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks, and for some reason suddenly felt deeply ashamed of himself. "I…well, she confessed to me right after today's match and I…said I'd go out with her."
Seifer sighed and began picking at his food so he wouldn't have to look at Hayner anymore. "It figures one of you'd grow a pair just after I confessed." He murmured, so softly that Hayner had to strain to hear him. Then, louder, "So what'd you come here, for? You should've just told me."
"But you…I couldn't do that to you." Hayner said, blinking in surprise. "I mean…didn't you want closure, or whatever?"
"You're such an idiot." Seifer said, but somehow it didn't sound like an insult at all. Instead, the statement was heartbreakingly affectionate.
"Well, sorry for being such an idiot." Hayner said with a frown, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest huffily. "You're the one who likes me."
Seifer snorted a little, as if in agreement. "So?"
"So, what?" Hayner asked.
"So, what happened?" Seifer asked impatiently, as if his question should have been obvious. "Your little girlfriend asked you out before you asked her—I gotta hear this."
Hayner's frown deepened, and he eyed the other captain warily, but finally he nodded and leaned forward again. "Yeah, okay. So right after the match I told the guys they could have a free day for winning, and she asked to meet me after my shower…" Oddly enough, as he went through the story, he couldn't quite feel as excited about it as he had when it had been happening. It probably had something to do with the carefully blank expression on Seifer's face, which couldn't quite hide the pain showing in his surprisingly expressive eyes (why had Hayner never noticed how telling Seifer's eyes were before?). It made him feel…guilty, which in turn made him feel confused. Why should he feel guilty about something he'd wanted to happen for years? "…And then she gave me this!"
He reached into his pocket to show Seifer the little charm Olette had bought, only to have his delving fingers come into contact with a hole in the bottom of his pocket. "Oh, shit!"
"What happened?" Seifer asked, the mild concern on his face the only genuine emotion he had shown throughout the entire telling of the story.
"There's a hole in my pocket! Oh, man, you've gotta be shitting me!" Hayner exclaimed, standing and searching all of the pockets he could find on his person (which was just the four on his pants). "Dammit!"
"Don't get your panties in a twist, chickenwuss." Seifer said as he stood, too, that oddly teasing tone back in his voice and on his face.
But his words caused Hayner to pause a little in his frantic searching. It took him a moment to realize what it was—Seifer hadn't once called him 'lamer' or 'chickenwuss' during their…date.
"You haven't been that many places since you got it." Seifer continued as he threw a tip onto the table, not having noticed Hayner's pause. "Let me pay the bill, and then we'll retrace your steps and see if we can find it, okay?"
"O-okay." Hayner said, not entirely sure why his heart was sinking in his chest. Was he actually feeling…disappointed that Seifer had gone back to calling him names? Then he realized what Seifer was doing. "No, hey, wait, let me—"
Seifer waved him off. "I asked you out, so I've got the bill."
"But I—"
"I said I've got it." Seifer said, giving him a no-nonsense look. Not that it really mattered, since he was already handing the cashier his money and getting change. "So what's this thing we're looking for?"
"A key chain. It's shaped like a Struggle Bat." Hayner said as they left the store, his eyes scanning the ground frantically. "Aw, man, I can't believe I lost it!"
"Calm down, lover boy." Seifer scoffed, although the hand he lay on Hayner's shoulder was reassuring. "We'll find it."
"Yeah, okay." Hayner said, taken aback by how effortlessly Seifer's assurance put him at ease.
Seifer nodded, and slowly retracted his hand—like he wasn't sure it had been welcome, and also wasn't sure if he wanted to pull it away. "Alright…so where all did you go?"
"Just from the lobby Olette and I talked in, to here." Hayner said, putting his hands in his pockets awkwardly. "I just don't know how I didn't notice—"
"Ah!" Seifer suddenly cut him off, looking both ways carefully before trotting out into the street and bending over to pick something up. Then he turned, smirking again like he always smirked, and held up something that Hayner couldn't quite make out clearly—he could, however, see that it was obviously a key chain, and that it sparkled blue in the sunlight (he shoved the thought about how it was almost the same color as Seifer's eyes out of his head).
And then, so suddenly that it seemed like it could only have come from some sort of twisted nightmare, the sound of hastily braked tires squealed through the air, and the next thing Hayner knew Seifer's body was flying through the air like a rag doll…
To Be Continued…
A/N: And now, a return to my one true love: cliff hangers! 8D With all of these one-shots lately, you guys have gotten a break from them…but no more! Teehee.
'Monday's Child' is a Mother Goose nursery rhyme, and as such doesn't belong to me.