Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are only used and abused for the sole purpose of an annoying plot bunny.

AN: Because this is AU, I ended up making Seifer, Irvine, Quistis, Rinoa and Selphie older than Squall and Zell. Laguna is also around mid-forties, I don't know what his age was back in the game, so please forgive. And just a side note, in this story Laguna has absolutely no family relations to Squall at all. There a few OC here and there but nothing to be turned off about. I'll put the necessary warnings on for each chapter since the later ones will be needing it. Anyway, hope you enjoy and if you do, REVIEW! Thanks all! And oh, I'll be doing my best to post as quick as possible. Thankies again!

Chapter Warning: None.

The Distance Between You and I

Chapter 1

It was the undeniably truth, that Seifer Almasy was a bastard. Fair enough he might be handsome, confident, successful by his own right and age, and capable of sweeping one off their feet, but these apparent advantages did nothing to detract his bastard rating. As it was, the word given to a child born of unknown parenthood, was currently being uttered alongside a string of profanities in both loud raging wails and teary gasps from various households. While it might have made the average population cringe to have bared witness to such crude exhibitions, Seifer was by no means ordinary or average. The rating of ten on the bastard scale of one to ten only made him smirk a little more arrogant and walk with a little more confidence. Some wonder if it was a healthy way to boost one's ego, but they'd soon found that this way only ever boosted the ego of one man.

At twenty-four years old, Seifer Almasy was having the time of his life. Admittedly, what he has achieved had a lot to do with coming from money, being the sole heir of the Almasy legacy wasn't easy, but it sure wasn't all that hard either. He was old enough to be taken seriously, young enough to attract women of all ages, and hovering on the fine line of time when no one harassed him in regards to settling down. Yes, currently the world was his oyster. And he was going to take it for all it was worth.

Having reached a certain level of Godhood, in his own mind at least. One can imagine the blonde's shock when three words, forming a very troublesome and clichéd reached his ears. It took a while for his higher function centres to process the words, a while longer to form a reply that consisted of more than opening and closing his mouth, then finally for his speech system to kick into first gear. Still, he managed to give a decent impression of a goldfish.

"Did you hear me?" The attractive woman asked. He focused on her painted lips and blinked several times. He wonders if it was healthy to use so much lipstick, but perhaps it wasn't the best time to be wondering about that.

"……" More stunned silence on his part.

She shook her head in defeat, clenched her slender fingers in frustration, and tipped her drink on him in anger. Somehow, even with the coldness of the liquid dripping down his face, Seifer couldn't manage anything more than a weakly formed 'yeah'. The woman rolled her eyes and pushed off her chair smoothly.

"I don't know why I bothered, Seifer." She muttered through clenched teeth, voice shaking as though she was repressing a tear. Without further ado, apart from a sweep of her raven strands, the attractive woman, formally known to Seifer as 'baby', 'babe' or Rinoa left the trendy bar.

Seifer sunk into the chair and breathed out. It probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation, but somehow it seemed to all work out. Honestly, what had she expected? It was common knowledge that Seifer Almasy changed his bed partners as frequently as he looked in the mirror. Was it really such a surprise that he'd be shocked beyond words when she decided to tell him she loved him? Surely Rinoa wasn't expecting him to get down on his knees and ask her hand in marriage, because that would have been ridiculous since they'd only known each other for about a week.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He should thank some higher power for not letting the situation escalate, but couldn't fate have let him sleep with her before dumping a bucket of cold water on him? Rinoa might have been immature, boring, overly prissy and annoying but she was excruciatingly attractive. Seifer spent the better part of the week taking her out and conceding to her every whim money can buy, surely his labour bore enough fruit for one night.

Still deeply in thought, Seifer jumped when something white and fluffy was suddenly in his scope of vision. Upon closer examination while uncrossing his eyes, he realised it was a towel of some sort, held in a pale hand. In the dimness of the noisy bar, the girl appeared to have an attractive figure. More lithe than voluptuous, with slender hips and waist. He could barely make out the short wild hair of dark colour and the filigree neck stretching from a torso encased in a black t-shirt. Seifer took the towel and flashed a smile. What he really needed now, was to satisfy his ego and brush away any bitter remanent of being dumped. He wiped at the spilt drink on his expensive suit half-heartedly while keeping a keen eye on his latest prey.

"What time do you get off?"

When the usual giggle then a coy reply failed to come, Seifer waited a moment longer, doubting the possibility that his question was lost in the noise. The lithe figure continued to wipe the table and clearing the glasses without a hint of acknowledgement. Having always been no less than the centre of attention, he grabbed a thin wrist and pulled the brunette closer.

"Hey! I asked--" And that's when he noticed his mistake.

The waitress was a waiter.

In an instant, Seifer noticed the subtle differences in sex. He saw the shoulders, narrow in its size but was sharp and shaped by taunt musculature of a man. Deceptively thin arms and fingers. The brunette's torso was all clean lines, tapering down to his hips in an enchanting V shape. Though hidden by a small apron, Seifer could imagine loose jeans, hanging dangerously along the hip bone and covering long shapely legs. Still, he couldn't be blamed for thinking the man to be a woman, especially in the dark.

In spite of the various tantalizing features of the brunette, nothing captured his attention more than the cold glaring eyes. A strange colour he couldn't pinpoint in the dimness, almost a blend between light grey and blue. It somehow reminded him of a stormy grey sky, streaked with the feint blueness of lightning. The blonde was mesmerised, hypnotised, almost sighed when he saw the light twitch along the clean jaw line before the wrist he held was pulled away roughly.

Without a word or further glaring even, the brunette turned on his heels and walked away, giving Seifer a nice view of his eye-catching ass. For a moment, all Seifer could do was sit and stare. How is it possible that he lost another chance to redeem his reputation? Regardless of gender, the blonde was always heralded to be a killer, capable of wooing men and women. Admittedly he's had far more women than men, but he had never failed at coaxing the fairer of his sex into his bed for a night of unrestrained lust.

A moment of contemplation later, Seifer was on his feet, chasing after the brunette who disappeared through a set of glass doors. It wasn't like him to chase after someone, but the seemingly cold man had piqued his interest. Following his whim, the blonde decided he must have the brunette. When he made it through the crowd and stepped into the staff area, the brunette was nowhere to be seen. A few moments of looking around, Seifer found the man in front of a locker, stripping off his uniform. As he imagined, the stranger was definitely a looker.

Forcing his breath to calm, Seifer leaned casually against the door frame and knocked on the wall. The brunette turned around sharply, half naked from the waist up with eyes cold enough to send icicles Seifer's way.

"Guess you're getting off now." He leered, closing the space between them with wide strides. Before the brunette could escape, he was caught between the cold metal of the locker on his back and the blonde's bright green eyes.

"Keep me company." he whispered in a pale ear, half hidden by thick chestnut hair. "I'll make it worth your while."

To further show what a great lay he could be, Seifer began nibbling a little on the slender neck that was begging to be marked. He felt the smaller body tensing against his but the man refused to move, that only urged him on. When he left the neck alone and looked up, the shorter man had closed his eyes with his head against the locker and cheeks flushed. Unable to resist the sudden image of the pale man writhing under him, Seifer leaned down and kissed the roseate lips.

When a sharp pain suddenly bloomed in his side, the blonde pulled back and fell to his knees. It must have been temporary insanity on his part to have tempted fate and kissed the smaller man. Said man dropped his clenched fists and glared.

"Don't touch me."

Three words, hissed through clenched teeth. Cold and blind with hate and disgust. It made Seifer cold, it was a strange feeling as he watched the brunette through a welling tears. He saw a burst of something in those pretty eyes, before darkness quickly swallowed up any escaping emotions.

"SQUALL!" Came a booming voice from the doorway. Seifer turned his head a little. A large man, the manager on duty came bursting into the change room poking a finger into 'Squall's' chest.

"How dare you assault one of our most valued customers?" Hissed the beefy man, also known as Marcel, Seifer cringed. Judging by the amount of spittle flying through the air, he was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of the ensuing lecture. Slowly, he got to his feet, the pain had faded to an annoying ache, confirming 'Squall' was more than meets the eye. When Marcel noticed Seifer on his feet, he turned around and gave his best apologetic face before nudging 'Squall' forward with a hard push.

"Apologise. Now!"

The brunette continued to remain silent. Seifer would have wondered whether the brunette was a mute had he not heard him talk, so it was probably stubbornness than anything as the brunette refused to respond. Feeling somewhat responsible for what happened, Seifer opened his mouth to try and smooth things over.

"Marcel, it's fine."

"I demand an apology right now, Squall Leonhart!" Marcel was getting visibly agitated, the rolls of fat began tumbling a little at his heaving breath. Seifer took another step closer to 'Squall Leonhart', placing one hand on the slim shoulders and another on a rather tubby one.

"It was all just a misunderstanding." He affirmed, flashing his most charming smile. Marcel looked at him, but before he could continue, Seifer felt the narrow shoulders tense.

"Don't touch me."

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity. Seifer watched intently as Marcel seemed to swell and turn beet red while Squall remained cold and indifferent as ever. A moment later, A loud wail erupted from the rounded large man.

"YOU'RE FIRED!"

Yeah, this was a really good start to woo the brunette into his arms.