Zell knocks twice before slipping stealthily through the door into Seifer's dorm. "I came to visit ya," he announces; Seifer, sprawled across the sofa with a book, doesn't even look up.
"I'm surprised you have the time," he replies coolly, "being a big important SeeD and all…"
"Don't be like that. What do you think?" Zell asks, and he does a little turn to show off his uniform, which is so new that the creases are still sharp. Seifer does look up at him now, and his eyes roam up and down Zell's figure with a sense of appreciation.
"You look good."
Zell beams, and trots over to settle down on the little patch of space on the couch not being taken up by Seifer's too-long form. "I gave Instructor Trepe the slip," he says with a mischievous look. "I won't be missed for a little bit. Thought I'd come and check on you."
"Do I need checking on?" is Seifer's reply, and he shuts his book and drops it to the floor. Zell leans down, a little closer to him.
"Just thought you might want some cheering up. Plus, that party's god awful boring without you there."
Seifer lets a grin steal onto his face at that remark. He reaches up to hook his finger through the chain that runs across the front of Zell's uniform, pulls the other boy toward him a bit. "The same way you cheered me up last time I failed the SeeD exam?" he murmurs before tugging Zell closer until their lips meet.
When they part, Zell is smirking, looking devious even with flushed red cheeks. "Not sure I've got time forthat," he says, but the look on his face says he wishes it were otherwise. Then he moves in again, stealing Seifer's lips before he can say something smart-assed.
Seifer wonders if he should say something. It is, after all, a year - almost exactly to the hour - since the first time they'd fallen together, after months of back-and-forth, sometimes flirting, sometimes fighting, always dancing around each other. Seifer remembers vividly the smell of exhaust and oil in the deserted back of the garage, not quite strong enough to cover the scent of Zell's skin as Seifer buried his face in the other boy's neck, Zell's hands threaded through his hair. The quiet sound of Zell breathing his name as Seifer pressed kisses over his bruised cheekbone, thinking that maybe failing the exam wasn't such a bad thing if it meant he could stick around for another year with Zell.
"Gonna try again next year?" Zell asks, leaning over Seifer with his hair falling into his face. Seifer reaches up to brush a golden lock away from his eyes.
"Doesn't Garden kick you out after you fail three times?"
"Maybe SeeD's not for you, Seif," Zell suggests.
"You mean I'm not good enough?" Seifer says bitterly, and Xu's words from that morning rattle around his head for a moment. "Yeah, that's what everyone's been telling me."
"No, I don't mean that," Zell replies sternly. "What I mean is maybe you're better than SeeD. Meant for something… y'know… bigger."
"Bigger?" Seifer repeats, and Zell nods with a little grin. If it weren't such a stupid, romantic notion, Seifer might be touched by Zell's faith in him. He's too naive. But he's right about one thing: clearly Seifer isn't cut out for SeeD. He'd regrouped after the first failure, but this time it was starting to sink in.
"As for me," Zell continues in his cheerful tone, "I'm fine with being a grunt. But you're smart. I think you could do a lot better than this place."
"If you think you're cheering me up, you're wrong," Seifer says, sitting up and pushing Zell off his chest. Zell's smile crumples.
"Well, if you're gonna be that way," he mutters. Seifer immediately feels disappointed in himself. He doesn't want to push Zell away - but it's hard not to be bitter, watching Zell get ready to head back to the party that's being held in his honor, smoothing out the wrinkles in his brand-new SeeD uniform. It's hard not to feel like he's let Zell down even more than himself, because Zell is childish enough to still completely believe in him.
"I'll come back after the party's over," Zell says.
"You don't have to…"
"Stop being an ass. I want to. We're leaving first thing in the morning for assignment so I won't be seeing you for a while," Zell goes on, and he bends down to press another kiss to Seifer's lips. Seifer grabs his sleeve and holds him there for a long while. This silent apology is accepted by Zell with a smile. "Wish you could come to the party," he adds after a while. "This stuff is so boring. And I think Squall's gonna make a speech."
"Parties aren't really my thing," Seifer replies.
Zell grins at him, and then heads for the door, waving back at Seifer over his shoulder. The sound of the door shutting behind him seems too loud in the quiet room, and Seifer wishes he'd tried to persuade the other boy to stay. Then he lays back on the couch, and spends a long time thinking about bigger things.