Chapter 2: Meet the Almasys

Seifer glanced over at his companion as they walked through the airport terminal towards the baggage claim; the shorter male had been fairly quiet during the flight and there was something he needed to bring up before they got to the house. Mulling over his options, the scarred man waited until they were situated by the baggage carousel before breaking into Hayner's silence.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you about my family…" he began as Hayner looked over at him curiously. "My family is…well off."

Hayner looked slightly uncomfortable. "Just how well off are we talking here?"

Seifer shifted. "The 'I have my own set of rooms and a private balcony that overlooks a private lake' kind."

Brown eyes narrowed in thought and then widened. "Almasy…as in Almasy Industries? You're one of those Almasys?"

"Afraid so."

The younger male closed his eyes. "Oh my God."

"It's not that big of a deal, Hayner."

Brown eyes snapped back open and leveled a glare at the taller man. "Are you kidding? Your family is one of the richest anywhere; there is no way I would ever be accepted as your boyfriend." He ran his hands through his hair, clearly distressed. "This is never going to work."

Reaching out, Seifer trapped Hayner's face with his hands and forced the skater to look at him. "Calm down." He ordered. "Everything is going to be fine."

"But-"

"But nothing." Hayner looked unconvinced so the bully sighed and continued. "Look, you'll be accepted as my boyfriend because I say that's what you are…" Hayner opened his mouth to protest and Seifer glared at him until he closed it again. "…and it doesn't matter that you don't come from a rich family. If that was what I wanted, there are quite a few people that I could have chosen from; that isn't what I want though and I've made that a well-known fact." He dropped his hands and studied the blonde in front of him.

Hayner bit his lip and then pushed closer to the baggage circling the carousel. Spying his bag, he grabbed it and walked back over to Seifer, looking him in the eye. "And if someone claims I'm nothing but a gold digger after you for your money? You know aside from my brother that I have no family." He finished quietly.

Seifer blinked, momentarily taken aback since that wasn't something he'd considered, then his face hardened. "If anyone ever says anything like that to you I'll take care of it. You know I will, Hayner; I didn't bring you here to be insulted and that would be an insult to both of us."

The skater searched the blue eyed bully's face for a moment before nodding. Satisfied that he'd addressed the issue, at least for now, Seifer crossed over to the baggage and snagged his own luggage. The two didn't speak again until Seifer had hailed a cab and they were both in the backseat, on their way to the Almasy residence. Hayner looked as though something had just occurred to him and he looked over at the other blonde with a slight glare.

"You didn't tell me about this sooner because you were afraid I'd bolt."

The bully removed his beanie and ran a hand through his hair. "Well…"

Hayner reached out and hit the man in the chest with the back of his hand. "You ass, I gave you my word; I've never given my word and then broken it. If I even think there's a chance that I might, I won't make that kind of promise. Idiot." With that, he turned away from the scarred man to look out the window, clearly pissed. Seifer decided that in the interest of keeping the peace they needed in order to pull this off, that leaving him alone would be the best idea at the moment.

The ride home took about thirty minutes and Seifer watched as his family's home grew larger the closer they came to it. A glance over at Hayner showed that he had crossed his arms and his posture had deflated. Seifer felt a flicker of surprise; Hayner looked intimidated. He'd seen the smaller male stand up to others twice his size and not even blink but he was bothered by a house? Trying to look at things from the younger male's perspective, Seifer grimaced and then felt guilty; if he'd grown up in a small house without much money to get the things he wanted and was suddenly thrown headfirst into the opposite situation, chances are he would be uncomfortable too. Keeping this in mind, Seifer got out of the cab once it had stopped and went over to the younger male as their bags were unloaded by the driver.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Brown eyes looked over and then he nodded. "Sorry I snapped."

Bags unloaded, the bully paid the driver and watched him drive away before grabbing both of his bags and Hayner's. Returning to the teen, he then reached out and linked their fingers the way he did before boarding the plane.

"Everything will be fine, Hayner; just stay close to me."

Giving the older male a small smile, Hayner returned his grip and they walked up the front steps and in the door. Past the front door the room opened up into a large foyer with a double curved stairway leading up and splitting at the top for entry into the upper left and right wings of the house. Doors led off the main floor but at the moment Hayner couldn't see what lay past them and with as uncomfortable he was right now, he wasn't sure he wanted to explore. Dropping their bags to the side of the entryway, Seifer called out that he was home and within a matter of minutes, the sound of footsteps could be heard from upstairs. A girl with light blonde hair came running from the right wing to stop and lean over the railing, smiling at the pair below.

"Seifer! You're home!"

The blue eyed bully smiled and removed his beanie with his left hand; the right one was still tangled with Hayner's. "Hey Namine."

The girl quickly ran down the stairs and threw herself at Seifer who caught and gave her a one armed hug. Pulling away, the girl then turned to Hayner and smiled, revealing a pair of deep blue eyes. She held out a hand. "You must be Hayner; I'm Seifer's sister, Namine, it's nice to meet you."

Hayner took her hand with a small smile. "Thanks. I, uh…I'd say it's nice to be here, but…" He grimaced as he took in the entryway again and Namine laughed.

"It is a bit much, isn't it? Don't worry; you'll be used to it in no time."

The skater gave the girl in front of him another weak smile but remained silent. With an understanding smile of her own, Namine turned back to her brother.

"I figured that you would want Hayner with you so I didn't bother preparing a guest room for him."

Seifer nodded. "Has anyone else arrived yet or are we the first?"

"Well actually…"

"Oh look, the prodigal son has returned."

Seifer stiffened at the sound of the unexpected voice and turned to the left to face the speaker, releasing his grip on Hayner's hand as he did so.

"Leon."

The venom the bully said that single word with had Hayner looking over at the elder male with surprise; blue eyes were narrowed and there was a look of thinly veiled hatred on his face. Out of all the times Hayner had seen Seifer pissed, he'd never seen that particular expression and it shocked him. Curious as to the source, the younger teen leaned forward slightly to catch sight of a man, apparently Leon, with brown hair leaning negligently against a nearby doorframe, arms crossed. As he straightened and began walking over to the trio, Hayner found his eyes riveted to the stranger's face, not because he found him attractive (which he didn't), but because he had a scar the exact duplicate of Seifer's.

As the brunette came closer, Seifer shifted slightly in front of Hayner in an attempt to hide him from view and crossed his arms. "What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were off studying overseas."

Leon shrugged. "I came back." Brown eyes flickered past one white clad shoulder and narrowed as they zeroed in on Hayner. "And who is this?"

"None of your concern."

"Oh, I doubt that." He replied, shifting to get a better view.

Brown eyes traveled the length of the skater's body and Hayner stiffened in response; he didn't like the way he was being looked at. It felt like he was a prize bull being sized up at an auction, only in this case he wasn't sure if he would be kept and caged or sold and slaughtered. Both thoughts in regards to this man were uncomfortable and unwanted. Leon smirked as if he knew the effect his inspection was having but that quickly turned to a scowl when Seifer snaked an arm around Hayner's waist, pulling him close.

"Back off." The bully said quietly.

"You still haven't told me who he is."

"He's mine, which is all you need to know."

Leon glared in response and opened his mouth to say something else but he was interrupted by a voice from upstairs. "Squall? Squuuaaaaaallllllllll? I need your help for a minute, honey."

Seifer smirked as the brunette's face darkened. "You'd better run along, Squall, your mommy's calling you."

"Fuck you, Seifer."

"No thanks, you aren't my type."

Another shriek from upstairs, 'Squall, sweetie, I'm waiting!', and Leon stalked off up the stairs leading to the left wing. As soon as he was gone, Seifer turned towards his sister with a small scowl. "How long has he been here?"

Namine sighed. "He and his family got here this morning. No one else is here yet but I think Rinoa will be arriving later this afternoon and everyone else within the next couple of days. I got tied up helping Aunt Selphie and was just going to call and warn you…"

Seifer shook his head. "I appreciate the attempt; I'll just find a way to deal with him like I usually do."

"Well, at least this time you aren't alone." Namine replied, turning a smile on Hayner. "Come on, I'll help you carry your bags upstairs so you can get settled. Don't worry about Leon for the moment; his mom will keep him busy for a while."

The blonde trio quickly gathered up the luggage still piled by the door and hauled it up the stairway towards the upper right wing. Moving down a massive hallway framed by doors, most of them closed, the group continued towards the lone door at the end. Opening the door for the two males trailing behind, Namine was true to her word and, once she had dropped the bags she was carrying, left the two alone with a smile and a wave, closing the door behind her. Setting his own bags down with a sigh and a stretch, Hayner then turned to examine what was, apparently, Seifer's room. Although, calling a space like this a single room wasn't entirely accurate. While Seifer removed his trademark white coat and disappeared through a door on the far side of the room, Hayner slowly moved farther into the room, looking around with interest. This first room appeared to be the main living/seating area and was furnished accordingly. There was a two sided granite fireplace in the middle of the room surrounded by several plush chairs and a couch while the far wall held a rather large flat screen television with more seating. Arranged around the walls were various shelves and decorative tables with pictures, vases and other pieces of artwork as well as a table large enough for six in the space to the right of the fireplace. Trailing a hand over the back of a nearby chair, Hayner drifted through the room towards a glass door on the left. Opening the door, the teen stepped through and onto a stone terrace overlooking a good portion of the manor grounds. Moving to lean against the stone railing, Hayner just stood and took in the view; he had to admit, it was beautiful here. In fact, the young skater was so taken with the scenery that he failed to hear footsteps behind him until a hand in the small of his back made him jump. Seifer let out a snort of amusement as Hayner leveled a glare at him from over his shoulder.

"Could you perhaps make some noise next time?"

"I won't be able to sneak up on you if I do that."

Hayner just rolled his eyes and pushed away from the railing, turning to face the other male. "So, I don't remember you mentioning Leon when you talked about your family."

Seifer's face darkened. "I didn't think it necessary because he wasn't supposed to be here." He crossed his arms. "Leon and I don't exactly get along."

Hayner let out a snort of his own. "I figured that much out for myself."

The blonde bully was quiet for a moment before turning towards the door leading back inside, motioning for Hayner to follow. Curious, Hayner trailed in behind the older male and took one of the seats arranged around the fireplace as Seifer did the same. After a moment of patience, during which Hayner was attempting not to squirm at the knowledge that the chair he was sitting in probably cost more than all the furniture in his apartment, his patience was rewarded and Seifer began to speak.

"Leon and I are cousins and were born only a few months apart; because of that we were always being set up for play dates and shit like that. I guess it was fine when we were younger but around age seven we stopped getting along. I don't remember what started it all but I do remember what the last straw was." Seifer shifted as he thought and after a few moments of silence, Hayner's curiosity got the better of him.

"What?"

"Hmm?"

"The last straw, what was it?"

Seifer shook his head as Hayner's questions penetrated his line of thinking. "It doesn't matter. We fought over it; that's how I got the scar on my forehead and he his. Needless to say, we've hated each other since; we're barely civil unless our parents are nearby and even then it's a stretch." The elder blonde lapsed into silence for a moment. "Leon usually goes out of his way to cause me problems while I'm home and I'm sure it'll be worse this year since I didn't show up alone."

Hayner shrugged. "I'm sure he can't be any worse than Chase was."

A frown tugged at the corners of the bully's mouth. "I don't want to chance it; just stay away from him while he's here."

The younger blonde opened his mouth to protest but Seifer just cut him off. "I mean it, Hayner, if I'm not around just avoid him."

Brown eyes narrowed before the skater's expression grew thoughtful and then a little sly. "I assume that picking a fight with Leon won't sit well with your parents so I won't go looking for him but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to avoid him completely either." The skater gave his companion a sideways look before continuing. "If he were to start shit with me, however, I'm sure it would be less frowned upon if you were to start a fight in my defense…"

Blue eyes blinked a few times in surprise before Seifer laughed. "Helping me with my aunt and Rinoa was enough but making it so I can beat on Leon with impunity, too?"

Hayner stood and moved towards his bags, throwing a grin over his shoulder as he went. "What's a boyfriend for?"

Two hours later both blondes had finished unpacking and Seifer had given Hayner a tour of the house and immediate grounds. Hayner figured he'd probably get lost sometime in the next few days but Seifer would come looking for him sooner or later so it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal. Walking in off the back terrace, the duo was heading towards the kitchen in search of a snack when the front door opened and the sounds of excited squealing could be heard echoing off the walls of the foyer.

Seifer stopped and grimaced. "Sounds like Rinoa's here."

"I guess it's time for me to live up to my part of the bargain then, isn't it?"

Squaring his shoulders, Hayner walked back through the middle of the house towards the foyer, Seifer trailing behind. Reaching the entryway, the shorter male stopped and took in the scene before him. Standing near the door were two women, both jumping up and down, hands clasped together, squealing like pre-adolescent teenage girls. What Hayner found really disturbing, however, was that one of the above females was entirely past the age when behavior such as this was considered acceptable. He assumed that the two putting on this…display…were Rinoa and Seifer's Aunt Selphie. Turning to the bully next to him, Hayner couldn't help but notice the look of utter disgust on Seifer's face and if this is what he dealt with every time he came home for a visit the teen couldn't blame him.

"Ready to get started?"

Seifer straightened and assumed a neutral expression. "Yeah."

Holding out a hand for the younger male, Seifer linked their fingers and together they walked into the fray. At the sound of footsteps the two females broke apart and turned, Seifer's Aunt lighting up as she saw the scarred male.

"Seifer! Look who's here!" She moved to reveal Rinoa who, in Hayner's opinion, wasn't bad looking if you could somehow ignore the vapid expression she wore.

"Seifer!" Rinoa gushed. "I've missed you!"

Practically flouncing, the brunette quickly made her way over to the taller blonde, completely ignoring the shorter male by his side. As she opened her arms in what was probably going to be an attempt to fling herself around Seifer's neck, the bully yanked hard on Hayner's hand, pulling the skater in front of him like a shield. The sudden appearance of the teen had Rinoa stopping short, a look of confusion on her face; Seifer's aunt wore a similar expression as she looked at the two males.

"Aunt Selphie, Rinoa, I'd like you to meet…"

Selphie's face lightened as she cut her nephew off. "Oh yes, your mother did say you were bringing a friend home." Rinoa's face had lightened as well and as she brought her arms back up and took two more steps forward, Seifer looked straight at her and finished what he'd been saying.

"…my boyfriend, Hayner."

Rinoa stopped and blinked a few times as Selphie's face went blank. After a minute her expression cleared and she waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, we know he's a boy and that he's your friend." Seifer frowned and opened his mouth but his Aunt didn't give him the chance to say anything else before she turned her attention back to the now pouting Rinoa. "Come along, dear. Let's get you settled and unpacked."

Gathering up the sulking brunette's things, the two women began walking towards the stairs that led to the right wing when Namine suddenly appeared on the steps walking down towards them. "Oh good, I'm glad I caught you. We've put you in the left wing this year, Rinoa."

Hearing this, Rinoa stuck her bottom lip even farther out than it had been in the previous pout. "But I'm always in the right wing!" She turned to look at Seifer who was still using his younger counterpart as a shield. "I won't be near Seifer otherwise!"

Namine shifted and her face took on a look of mild regret. It almost looked genuine. Almost. "I know but I'm afraid it just can't be helped; I had started remodeling the guest rooms in the right wing but I just wasn't able to get them finished in time. I just can't, in good conscious put you in a room that's anything less than perfect. You understand."

The brunette's face fell but then she turned again and leveled a glare at Hayner. "Well, what about his room?"

"I think you misunderstand, Rinoa" Namine continued. "Hayner isn't staying in a right wing guest room either." Rinoa's face brightened slightly but then fell again as Namine continued. "Hayner is staying with Seifer in his rooms."

Selphie drew her eyebrows down as she thought. "Well, that's not really appropriate now, is it?"

Namine turned and raised an eyebrow at her aunt. "I fail to see why not; after all, they are dating; what would be inappropriate would be Rinoa staying there. Now," the petite blonde continued brightly, "let me help get you settled. You'll be staying in the third guest room in the left wing."

Taking charge, Namine began ushering the unusually silent group of women towards the left side of the manse. As they made their way towards the stairs, Rinoa looked back once more at Seifer with an expression that, Hayner guessed, was supposed to make the scarred male feel guilty…which completely failed as the girl instead ran into the support pillar to the left of the stairs. Hayner was forced to slap a hand over his own mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Once the group of girls was gone, Seifer sighed as Hayner continued choking on his own laughter.

"You see what it is I have to deal with?"

Leaving off with a few giggles and a cough, Hayner turned to the bully with a grin. "Don't worry about it; I got this."

Two hours later Hayner was beginning to rethink the ease with which he felt he'd manage his part of the bargain. Everywhere he and Seifer went, Rinoa was there; it seemed as though Seifer's aunt Selphie was doing everything in her power to get her nephew and the insipid girl together. Hayner could've sworn he'd actually seen her push Rinoa at the blue eyed man once. Clearly, this would be a bit more difficult than anticipated.

Sighing in frustration after having dodged the latest attempt to throw Rinoa and Seifer together, Rinoa had 'fallen' and was trying to get Seifer to pick her up and carry her, Hayner extracted himself from the bully's side. "I'm going to get a drink, you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." Seifer cast a wary look around. "Hurry back."

Smiling in sympathy, Hayner made his way to the kitchen and was about to push open the door when the sound of voices stopped him.

"But what if they really are dating?" Rinoa's voice.

Selphie scoffed. "Of course they aren't; how could Seifer ever resist someone as lovely as you?"

"But…"

"Seifer's just playing hard to get; he just wants to see how dedicated you are."

Hopeful. "Really?"

"Of course! Seifer could never go for someone who wasn't willing to stick it out no matter what; you just need to keep showing him…"

Hayner turned away from the door in disgust. Were they both idiots? Walking back to where Seifer was standing against a wall of the living room Hayner decided that a more direct approach was going to be needed. He sighed and steeled himself; the things he did for a bargain.

Seifer raised an eyebrow as he noticed the teen returning empty handed. "Not thirsty after all?"

Hayner shook his head. "Rinoa and your aunt were talking in the kitchen; there's going to have to be a slight change of plans."

"What do you mean?"

Hayner heard the door to the kitchen swing open and at the voices of the two women began coming nearer, he sighed again and looked Seifer in the eyes. "Don't hit me."

"Wha-?"

Grabbing a fistful of Seifer's shirt, Hayner yanked the bully down into a hard kiss right before the objects of Seifer's irritation rounded the corner. The shock of the kiss shot straight through the scarred male's system as he brought one hand up to cup the back of the shorter male's head and curled the other arm around his waist, pulling him closer. Seifer lost track of everything else as he changed the nature of the kiss, making it deeper, and he felt Hayner relax into it. He wasn't actually sure how long they stayed like that until a very loud 'EXCUSE ME!' brought him out of it. Seifer took a minute to take in the dazed expression on Hayner's face, hoping his face didn't reflect the same thing as he was feeling more than a little dazed himself, before raising his head to look at the outraged look on his aunt's face. Rinoa looked crushed.

"What?" he said somewhat harshly.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Kissing my boyfriend, you mind?"

"Of course I mind! You can't just.."

"Can't just what? Kiss the man I'm dating?"

"This is hardly the place for that, that…display!"

"You're right, we'll go to my room instead."

Keeping his arm around Hayner's waist, Seifer proceeded to ignore his aunt's continued protestations as he pulled the shorter blonde upstairs and into his room. Once there, he released his hold on Hayner who took a few steps towards the nearest chair and leaned his hands on it, face red.

Seifer crossed his arms and gave him a small smile. "Nice plan."

"Yes, well, I figured telling them wasn't doing anything so maybe giving them something else they couldn't ignore would."

Seifer's grin grew bigger. "I'd say it worked."

At Hayner's red-faced nod, the bully walked over to him and ran a finger down the side of the skater's face. "Why is your face so red?"

Hayner jumped away, flustered, and turned a darker shade of red. "It is not. I just, I'm, I'm…going to go take a shower."

Blue eyes followed as Hayner made his retreat, grabbing some clothes from the bedroom and practically slamming the door to the bathroom behind him. As the water began to run, the blonde bully took a seat in the chair Hayner had been using for support and began to analyze his reaction to Hayner's kiss. He hadn't minded; in fact, he'd say he'd quite enjoyed it. Thinking on it some more, coupled with the way Hayner had just been acting, the elder male felt his lips curl up into a slow smile.

Looks like things just got a bit more interesting.

A/N- Sorry it took me so long, guys! I had some family drama right after Christmas and it put me off my writing for a few weeks. -.- I do have partially done chapters of Across and Ruin that I'm still working at though so now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, hopefully I'll get them out in fairly good time. I wanted to thank you guys for all the reviews for this story; I was shocked and gratified! XD Oh, and if anyone was wondering, the theme for this fic is Mercy by Duffy; I knew it would be even before I started writing.