Great

Hayner's never been patient. Or calm. Or good with confrontation of any kind. In fact he distinctly remembers Pence telling him to "stop treating everything like it's a crisis." That's not what he does. Just because he expresses himself a little louder than most people does not mean he's overreacting. Every single time he's ever gotten angry or yelled at someone, or decked a guy at the carnival that one time, it was well deserved.

He believes The Cursed Quad Dynamic is to blame. Every group of four friends had these specific roles: the nice but uptight parent type, the laidback anime/gamer/computer geek type, the crazy hothead who always wants to fight, and the constantly confused one who wanted to be a singer or dancer or artist. Hayner's role was obvious from a mile away and he'd accepted it long ago. Someone had to.

His temper has only gotten worse ever since he'd decided to take a chance on the town cretin and got involved with him. His friends all say they expected it to happen, but he sure as hell didn't. It totally came out of nowhere. One minute he couldn't stand the jerk, the next he was agreeing to spending time with him. That somehow turned into spending time together. And thatwas…it was good.

He shakes his head and scoffs at himself. He's allowing himself to get distracted when he should be practicing what he's going to say.

Hayner's current problem is that the other teen can be so entertaining and fun to talk to, but only through text messages. He makes him lose track of time and says things that he wants to hide from his friends because those words should be for his eyes only. He makes Hayner paint this perfect picture of him. He makes him feel things that he doesn't quite understand, but isn't angry about it. But when they're together in person, he's like an entirely different guy and it infuriates him.

The way his significant other acts in person is the equivalent of texting someone something you're excited about, only to see "oh that's cool" in response. Sometimes he just wants to hit him repeatedly with a blunt object until he can find it in himself to say more than three words at a time. He's more than willing to try that method, but Olette told him that talking it out like a sane person would be a much healthier alternative.

If that fails, Hayner has a struggle bat hidden underneath the ugly green couch and he's just itching to use it.

At the sound of footsteps nearing, he quickly pulls out his phone and opened a random app. He doesn't want him to think that he was just sitting there waiting for him. It doesn't matter that he thought he wasn't going to come because he's eleven minutes late, Hayner refuses to look desperate.

He hears the thick tarp being moved aside and "casually" looks up from his phone as the other teen walks in. His mouth forms a straight line as he realizes this idiot is wearing a sleeveless plaid vest (with nothing actually under it; not to mention it was a size too tight), ugly brown baggy pants, that same raggedy beanie, and a pair of large shades. Not only is he terribly underdressed in the dead of winter, but it's also eight at night. Why does he have shades on?

"What's…what's wrong with you?" Hayner sneers in disgust. He himself isn't the most fashion forward person in town but at least he doesn't walk around looking like that.

The other teen frowns. "I just got here. What did I even do?"

"You're dressed like a serial killer, dude. What'd you do, pick out your clothes in the dark?"

"So you called me here to insult me? That's cool, I'll go."

Hayner facepalms. He's messing up already. The atrocious, disaster of an outfit doesn't matter. They can talk about that later. "No, I…just sit down, Seifer."

A couple beats of silence pass. Seifer heaves a deep, annoyed sigh and takes a seat on the couch facing Hayner; his left leg automatically tucks while the other remains planted on the floor. Hayner shuts his screen off and tosses his phone on the cushion between them as he turns to face the other boy. Now that he's here, what is he supposed to say? This would be easier if he hadn't gotten distracted earlier.

He hisses at his own stupidity as he props his arm on the back of the couch. Time to wing it. "I'm upset."

Seifer makes a face, but it disappears as soon as it appears. It looked like he was about to laugh and if that's true, Hayner will hit him. "I see."

Hayner's fingers drum against the worn material. "And I'm going to tell you why I'm upset."

"I assumed so."

His hand curls into a fist. It would be so easy to just bop! right in the nose. Lord help him.

"That," he growls between clenched teeth. "That is why I'm upset. You barely say a word to me unless we're arguing about something."

"I—"

"And for the love of God can you take those stupid shades off before I assault you…"

"Really?! You're gonna hit me over some shades?! What's your problem?! Are you on crack or something?!"

"I'm about to crack your skull open if you don't get those things off of your face!"

Seifer raises his hands in defeat as he quickly rises from the couch. "I'm not doing this with you. Not tonight. I have an exam tomorrow and I'm not gonna fail because I didn't get to sleep on time because you decided to sit here and yell at me all night."

Well…Hayner was pretty long-winded. He could admit that. And maybe he could be a little nicer about the shades. It just doesn't help that he's already riled up and ready to pounce.

"Sorry," he says as Seifer approaches the tarp. "Sit back down and I'll try not to yell."

The taller teen turns to face him. "No, I'm not gonna sit. Whatever you gotta say can still be said while I'm standing."

Hayner tries to understand that. He honestly does. If Olette were here, she'd tell him that Seifer has every right to be angry with him for the way he's acting. She'd tell him that it's childish and that he needs to calm down. So, to meet him half-way, he stands too.

"All right. Can you take the shades off now?"

"Why? They're not bothering you."

Hayner's mouth threatens to pull back into an ugly snarl, but he fights it for the sake of peace. "Is it too much to ask that you look me in my eyes when we talk?"

For a moment, he worries that he's being unreasonable. Just as he's about to tell him to forget it, Seifer takes the shades off and pins them on the front of his vest. Now for the words.

"Thank you," he sighs as he looks up at his significant other. He's surprised to fine that Seifer is making eye contact with him. He actually looks interested in what he has to say. It's comforting, if he's being honest. "I'm upset…I'm pissed because I feel like you're leading me on."

"What?"

"Let me finish," he growls impatiently. He doesn't need to be interrupted because then he'll get confused and say something wrong and probably ruin everything. "You're not the same person sometimes. When you message me it's like…your messages make me feel good. You always know exactly what to say and it's…i-it's good. Good is good. But in person, like right now, you barely say a word unless we argue. I have to go out of my way and dig for topics to get you to talk at length and it's—"

"Not good?" Seifer supplies, brows raised in amusement.

Hayner folds his arms. "So this is a joke to you?"

Seifer visibly scrambles for words. "Hayner, I'm trying. I just never know what to say to you or what to talk about."

"That doesn't make sense. How can you text it, but not say it?"

"Saying it is different."

"How?"

"I don't know. It just is."

He buries his face in his hands and groans in frustration. Not only is he doing it again, but this is going absolutely nowhere.

Should he just ask?

His heart skips some beats as he raises his head. He feels tired. "Do you even want to do this?"

"Do what?"

"This!" he hisses as he makes a vague hand gesture between the two of them. "The outings and the-the-the…being alone together and the good morning/good night texts and the k-ki…" He clenches his fists. "Displays of affection."

Seifer's face turns to stone as he blinks slowly. Hayner can't tell what he's thinking or feeling and that makes him uncomfortable. One deep exhale later, the former finally says, "Are you asking me if I want to date you?"

"I—yeah. That's what I mean."

He rolls his eyes and scoffs. A chuckle of disbelief slips past his lips. It's bitter and cruel, and Hayner immediately gets defensive. "You know what? This is why it's so hard to talk to you. I actually have no problem talking to anyone else, but you? It's nerve-wracking!" he laughs.

Hayner can feel his face getting warm. Not only is he angry, but he's embarrassed. He feels like an idiot."Then why even talk to me in the first place?"

"Because I wanna get to know you? Because, for some unknown reason, I enjoy talking to you?"

"You just said that talking to me is nerve-wracking so how the fu—?!"

Seifer quickly steps forward, never breaking eye contact with him. Somehow, even as he towers over him, Hayner doesn't feel threatened. He knows he's not in danger, but he also knows that he should probably shut up. "It's my turn to talk now," he says in a low, authoritative tone that makes Hayner's insides flip.

Still, he has to remind himself that this is only fair. He didn't want to be interrupted when he was talking, so it wouldn't be right to interrupt him.

"When I text you, I feel like I can be myself. I'm not nervous about anything, so I can crack all the jokes and tell you I think you're cute when you're half asleep." Hayner is about to lose it. "But when we're together, like right now, you blow your top at the slightest inconvenience. Not only that, but you act like you don't even want to be with me."

"That's not true."

"Oh it's not?" Seifer scoffs. "Then why is it that we always go on "outings" and not dates? Why do I always have to be the one to initiate kisses or the one to reach for your hand first? I don't know if this is some kind of weird prank or if you're just in the closet or something but freaks me out because I'm already nervous about this."

Hayner fidgets. His fingers wiggle restlessly at his sides as he tries to think. Seifer just opened up to him. In person. He deserves some kind of explanation for this admittedly odd behavior.

"I'm nervous too, I think. Y-You're my first…partner," he mumbles.

"There you go," Seifer groans. "Why can't you just say boyfriend?!"

"Because I mean partner, you dorkwad! There was no one before you! Not a boy or a girl or…anybody!"

Seifer doesn't respond. It doesn't matter because Hayner can't look at him anymore anyway. He's too ashamed. Seifer's probably going to laugh at him and tell him to quit acting like a child and get over it. Because he is acting like a child. He is one in the eyes of the rest of the world at that annoys him so much.

But then his face suddenly meets warmth, and his chain clacks against plastic. A pair of arms wrap around him in an awkward hug, and he feels even worse now. "Look…you're nervous. I'm nervous. Maybe that's okay as long as we want the same thing."

Hayner clenches and unclenches his fists exactly three times. He doesn't know what to do or say next. That's probably how Seifer feels all the time, and he only makes it worse by throwing a fit about everything.

"What do you want?" he asks, hoping that the other can't feel his heart going stupid in his chest. He probably can.

Seifer tightens his grip on him. "I want to know what's so different from last year. Why do I get excited about being around you? Why do I smile when you smile and want to know who's fault it is when you're mad? I want to try and see if this works. But you gotta calm down, dude. And stop threatening me."

Without thinking, Hayner laughs. Not because it's funny, but because they're so ridiculous. How could this have happened? Seifer and his little gang used to terrorize him and his friends at every opportunity, and now they're together? Okay, terrorize may be a bit on the dramatic side, but the point is that there was a mutual dislike before. Now all of a sudden they enjoy each other's company. It's strange.

Hayner backs away, but he doesn't go too far. Something about this doesn't quite feel real and he doesn't want to lose this…closeness with him. He wants to know why too. He also wants to know if this will work and how.

"I can't make any promises," he says with a weak grin. "You irritate me sometimes."

Seifer smiles. Hayner can't look at it directly without going red in the face. "I'll try to be less irritating if you try to be less irritable."

Hayner stares pointedly at his chest, but only to avoid looking at his eyes. "I could be a little less irritable if you…you could…never mind."

"Hayner, I can't read minds. Tell me what you want me to do and I'll try."

"No, I have to do it myself," he decides, squeezing his eyes shut. It's not that hard. If Seifer can do it, and in public, then so can he. It's not like he's afraid. He can do it.

He releases a short, nearly inaudible breath as he opens his eyes and looks up at his boyfriend, who looks kind of worried. The few nerves that he has left disappear in an instant. He really can't do it. At least not like this.

"Give me your shades."

"Wha?"

"Your. Shades. Give them to me."

Brow furrowing, Seifer pulls his shades off of his vest and hands them to him. Hayner quickly opens the arms and slides them over his eyes. There. Now he can probably…

"Hold up, you yelled at me for wearing them and now you suddenly wanna wear 'em? You're weir—"

Hayner steps closer to him and tries to hold his face the way Seifer sometimes holds his. He nearly too the other boy's eye out with his thumb in the process. He grits his teeth as he watches his boyfriend's eyes widen ever so slightly. Swallowing hard, he presses a single, slow kiss to his cheek.

The very second he steps away, Seifer smirks. "Cute."

"That's not what I wanted to do, but it works, I guess," Hayner mutters under his breath.

The taller teen laughs again as he leans forward and brushes his lips against his forehead. He doesn't kiss it just yet. "I think we just need to get used to each other. Probably."

"Yeah…probably."

"You still think I'm leading you on?"

He shakes his head slowly.

"Good."

Hayner shuts his eyes and lets himself be enveloped in another awkward hug. He returns it this time because it feels good. No, it feels…he can't think of another word to describe how he feels right now. But he enjoys this thing that they have.