It's been two years since the sorceress war. Two long painful years of heartbreak, for two people in two different cities.

Seifer sat on one of the docks in F.H. as he cast his line into the ocean. He sighed as he reeled in his line after a few minutes without a bite.

"They just don't feel like being my dinner today." Seifer said with a sigh as he stood up and began to pack his gear away. He silently made his way back to the little house he had bought after the war. He stopped by a shop to pick up something for dinner before turning down the street to his home. He froze, though, when he saw someone pounding on his home's front door and heard them shouting. Someone he knew all too well. Everything he was carrying slipped from his limp hands as he turned and ran, hearing his name called and footsteps quickly following him.

"No." he whispered to himself as he tried not to let the tears fall. He turned down an alley and quickly hid himself. "He can't be here." He whispered as he sank into a sitting position against a wall. He held his breath as the footsteps neared him and sighed in relief as they quickly ran past the alley he was in. Deep down inside he knew that he wanted to be found, but right now, he was scared. Scared of the memories, scared of the requests to go back… Scared of knowing he could never have what he wanted the most, the one person he loved with all of his heart, the same person following him right now. He looked around and nodded to himself and quickly took the back way to his home. Within a few minutes he was climbing over a fence and walking over to his door. He froze again though and held his breath as he noticed that the items he had dropped were now sitting in front of his door. He quickly turned around and looked every way before picking everything up and walking into his house. He sighed as he sat down at the kitchen table and started to unpack his groceries. He then pulled a piece of paper out of the bag and stared at it.

"Hyne… please no…" he whispered as he opened the note.

Seifer. I know you saw me before, and I know why you ran. But I don't hate you. I never have, and I never will, no matter how many times you try and push me away with your teasing. I just wanted to let you know that I miss you. I would really like to see you again. Face to face. Please? I'll stop by again tomorrow and everyday after that until I talk to you. Just don't run again. And if you feel like finding me before I find you, I'm renting the room above the shop. I'll see you around.

Always,

Zell.

Seifer stared at the note before running a hand over his face and taking a deep breath.

"I can't see him. I just…" he paused as someone knocked at the door. He didn't move, not wanting to find out if it was Zell or not.

"Seifer?" he heard. And he nearly broke down, hearing Zell's voice after all this time. "Seif… I know you're in there. Just please… please talk to me!" Zell pleaded.

"I can't." Seifer whispered so Zell couldn't hear him. "You'll want me to go back." He whispered again. He heard Zell sigh outside and lean his head against the door.

"Seifer? I… Hyne damn it. You're still as stubborn as ever." Zell said with a lone laugh. "I can see you haven't changed too much. I'm glad." Zell said, and Seifer smiled at the fact that Zell was having a conversation with him even though he didn't know if he could hear him or not. "Seifer… I miss you." Zell said quietly, and Seifer stopped breathing for a moment. Hearing it was so much different than reading it. Hearing it changed everything. He realized just how much he was missed. When he heard Zell say it, he could hear the emotion, feel the pain Zell was feeling. Seifer stood up, but stayed where he was as Zell continued to talk. "I want to see you, Seifer. Not just your back as you run away from me. I think that's the only thing that's changed between us so far. Usually, I was the one running from you." Zell paused and Seifer could hear him take a deep breath. "Why did you do that before? I just… I just… I won't make you go back. That's not why I'm here. If you're happy here, I won't try and change that. I want you to be happy. I just… I want to be happy too."

"Then why are you here?" Seifer asked, loud enough so Zell could hear him. He heard Zell gasp.

"Seifer?" Zell said, but Seifer didn't answer. Zell sighed and he understood why Seifer wasn't opening the door. He didn't want to get hurt. "I'm here… because just seeing you again and knowing that you're happy… just knowing that would make me happy." Zell said, and after a moment of Seifer's silence he continued. "I… I care about you Seifer. More than I've ever cared about anyone before. I just… I need to know, Seifer. I need to know you're okay."

"That's not why you really came here though." Seifer said, and Zell chuckled.

"Not really."

"Then tell me. Why are you really here?" Seifer asked, and Zell didn't answer him. Seifer stared at the door. "Zell?" Seifer asked, but he didn't get an answer. "No." Seifer said as he quickly went to the door and flung it open, intent on going to find Zell. He didn't expect Zell to still be standing in front of his doorway.

"The real reason I came here was so that I could look you in the eyes and tell you that I love you." Zell said quietly. Seifer stared at him in shock as they both stood there in silence for a few minutes. Zell finally broke eye contact and turned around with a sad sigh. "And now that I've done that, I guess I should go."

"No." Seifer whispered as he gently wrapped his hand around Zell's wrist.

"Why not?" Zell asked sadly, still facing away from Seifer. Seifer spun Zell around and wrapped his arms around him and smiled down at him.

"Because I love you, too." Seifer whispered as he gently pressed his lips against Zell's. They pulled apart and shyly smiled at each other before Seifer slid his hand into Zell's and tangled their fingers together. "Want to come in?" And stay? Seifer asked, and Zell nodded his head and followed Seifer into his home.