Black, White, and Cigarette Smoke

by Xerxies19

Seifer Almasy and Hayner Corneo live a life of deception and violence on two sides of a line. As a detective tasked with helping the son of the mob boss gather evidence to bring the crime ring down, Seifer learns the line can be blurred. Seiner. Slash.

7. Untold Strength

A/N 1: Chapter begins and ends with citrus. This is also completely unbeta'd. Side note: I've decided that Papa Roach's No Matter What is the official themesong for this fic. Listen to it if you get the chance.

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Nuzzling the neck of his boyfriend, he waited for Hayner to wake up, glancing at the clock and wondering how the fuck he'd managed to sleep past noon. He'd cast sleep on him when the smaller man had several consecutive nightmares. Given the opportunity, he decided to study his partner, who was always so guarded unless he was asleep. It was curious, how even asleep it was a struggle to see him as the age he really was. He looked young, yes, but definitely not as young as his biological age, the scars prevented that. Convenient considering he'd been made legally two years older and it would be really tiring to keep explaining that he just looked young for his age all the time.

There were a lot more scars on his body than Seifer had realized, most of them faint or covered by his clothing. The worst by far were on his torso, aside from the several marks around his heart, there were close to two dozen thin lines dotting his abdomen and back from knife wounds, as well as a few circular scars created by gunshot wounds. Hand ghosting over each one he could see, Hayner's skin tensed each time he made contact with it. Eventually he started stirring, batting his lover's hands away as he finally came to.

"Quit it Seifer, the hell are you feeling me up in my sleep for? At least let me be awake when you molest me so I can enjoy it," he grumbled, blinking his large brown eyes sleepily.

"Are you awake now?" The scarred man purred.

"I'd think that was pretty clear-" the rest of his sentence ended in a hiss as the older blond bit into his neck, instantly on top of him and pressing his body into the soft mattress.

"I do believe I have some bad behavior to make up for?" He asked in a smooth, low voice, pupils dilating seductively.

Not waiting for a response he knew wasn't going to come judging by the jumbled nonsense he was getting across their junction, he slid his tongue along the outer ridge of Hayner's ear. There was something unique about being able to sense his partner's reactions, it made it even easier to tell what the brown-eyed teen did and didn't like.

"You are going to drive me mad, you know that, right?" The man below him said, ending with an exhale of warm air that he hadn't quite let develop into a moan.

"That is entirely the point."

Letting his tongue rove over the younger detective's chest, he reached down the front of Hayner's boxers to grasp his already hardened cock, loving the way he gasped for breath. Stroking the length gently, he smirked when his partner wound his hand into pale blond hair and yanked impatiently. Sucking on his index and middle finger for a moment before pressing them into the man below him, he watched as Hayner's eyes slammed shut and a small moan slipped past his lips. Twisting his fingers, he hit the bundle of nerves that caused the smaller detective to shudder involuntarily.

Taking Hayner's dick into his mouth, he sucked gently while watching the other, something he knew drove his brown-eyed partner nuts. The hand in his hair tugged again, he supposed it was a signal to get a little rougher. Licking his way up the shaft teasingly, he paused and then swallowed the length to the base briefly before coming back up, enjoying the way it coaxed a low moan from his lover. Repeating this several times and continuing to rub the other's prostate, he could sense the exact moment when Hayner stopped being capable of thought and neared his orgasm. Swirling his tongue around the head one last time as the shaft stiffened, he swallowed the salty fluid that came out in short bursts as the cock in his mouth twitched.

"You…are a bastard, and I love you," the sandy-blond detective said as Seifer pulled his fingers out of him.

"I love you too, Hayner," he returned, leaning up to kiss him and trying to ignore his raging hard on, "I'm going to go take a shower, alright? Need anything while I'm up?"

Hayner shook his head and his counterpart left the room, stopping to wash his hands before starting the shower. A very, very cold shower. He could have made love to his boyfriend again, certainly, but the whole point was to try and make up for his admittedly terrible behavior earlier in the week, not get himself off. Although somehow he doubted he'd be able to resist for much longer, he had a lot of pent up sexual frustration to vent. Maybe he should just shaft all their other projects and tie his partner to the bed for the week or so of vacation they had left. Now there was an idea.

Getting out of the shower and drying himself off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked back into the room, finding the other much as he'd left him, if his boxers were back on. He laid down next to his boyfriend and they dozed together, eventually dragging themselves out of bed a few hours later. Seifer set about making breakfast while his companion showered, Griever sitting patiently at the door to the bathroom. At least the panther knew when he wasn't wanted, having left them alone all last night.

Coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around the older man's chest, Hayner planted kisses on his partner's neck before mumbling, "Do you mind if we help Zack with the arena today? I told him we'd try to get that taken care of as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure. So long as it doesn't involve getting shot at. Who's been taking care of them so far? I thought everyone was already arrested that was involved with the mob."

"Friends of mine, Xigbar and Larxene. They used to be in the mob, they're now mercenaries. I contacted them and offered them a large sum to keep the fighters fed and healthy until we could figure out what to do with them. You've technically already met both of them. You know those two people who shot at us during the dinner with the Don? That was them. Larx does her best to appear like a guy for jobs that require their identities to be kept a secret," the brown-eyed cop explained as he walked over to the table and sat down so he could pet their cat.

"So, wait, you paid them to shoot you and no one else that night? To what end?"

"News travels fast in the mob, and as you may have noticed, Luxord knew I'd been shot that night within the week. Since no one else was injured, it would look like I was their main target and that would immediately take the suspicion off me, because who the fuck would pay people to shoot them? Therefore the claim that all the evidence thefts were from rival factions would carry weight until I got them to the pier and told them the truth."

"You're quite cunning. Though using yourself as a pawn in your own schemes is foolish, I hope you realize that now."

"Of course, I don't really need to be as strategic as I was then. I'm not undercover, so there's not much reason to be."

"So what exactly is Zack planning on doing with a bunch of well-trained fighters with post-traumatic stress disorder? Hate to say it, but we can't just turn them loose on the world without some major rehabilitation."

"He didn't say much, except that Tseng had found a good place for them until they could be reintroduced to society. Basically all we have to do is safely transport them there, and there are too many of them for Cloud and Zack to do it by themselves."

"What time did you want to do this?" He asked, not quite satisfied with the incredibly vague explanation, but trusting his boss to know what he was doing.

"I was hoping to get going as soon as we're done with breakfast. It's not really fair to them to leave them where they are for much longer without a good reason, you know? This is the day Zack said worked best for all parties involved."

"So long as you're up to it, I'm fine with that."

They ate their breakfast and traveled to the arena in companionable silence, mostly because they didn't actually need to speak to convey their thoughts and feelings. It was actually quite surprising how often Hayner thought about him, he was pretty much on the other's mind constantly, and not because they shared mindspace. Not that Seifer was any different in that respect, but it was nice to know he wasn't the only one constantly preoccupied with his partner.

Descending into the dark underbelly of the building, they were immediately greeted by Cloud, Zack, and two people he didn't know whom he guessed must be the friends his boyfriend was talking about. One was a man with several scars, grey hair, and an eye patch, the other a woman in her late twenties with oddly-styled blond hair, green eyes, and a noticeable amount of magical ability. Larxene immediately advanced on the brown-eyed man, trapping him in a hug. Seifer felt a pang of jealousy at another person touching what was his, but he batted it down.

"It's been a long time since I actually got to talk to you, Hayner. Your mom would be so proud that you finally took the Don down, and you even became a detective," she said first, then stepped away from him and leveled a vicious glare at the other cop before entering his personal space in the most intimidating way a person half a foot shorter than him could, "And you, I swear to the gods if you don't treat him right, I will make you wish for the relief of death. Understood?"

Electricity arced between the two long strands of hair that stuck upwards from her forehead, and he could honestly say she probably would go through with her threat. Not the kind of person he wanted to piss off.

"Come on Larx, don't threaten to do terrible things to my boyfriend. Only I'm allowed to do that," the sandy-blond Turk joked, the woman visibly relaxing but still the promise of vast bodily harm danced in her eyes.

"Cloud, Zack, how have you two been since we last saw you?" Seifer asked, trying to include them in the conversation.

"Just fine, relieved you two finally got together. Ultima was getting tired of waiting and she has the patience of an immortal being. The rest of us were about to drive our heads into a wall," the spiky-haired blond responded, his tone making it hard to discern whether he was actually joking or not. The probability of Cloud Strife making a joke was so astronomically low that the scarred detective had to guess he was dead serious.

"We should be able to walk to our destination, it's about ten blocks away. Tseng described it as an underground factory, and in his typical fashion didn't go any further. I guess we'll just find out when we get there. I assume most of them will be well-behaved because if they're not on friendly terms with me, they're afraid of me," Zack said, normally cheery face becoming serious.

They went about opening the cells one at a time, each fighter debriefed on what was happening and falling in line with them. A few glared at Hayner, prompting his partner to edge even closer to him in the event they tried to take revenge on him for their mistreatment by the mob. Misguided or not, he'd kill anyone who got close enough to try, and it seemed in this he and the blond woman beside them were of a mind. It was only on the second to last fighter that they had an issue, the man immediately advancing on the brown-eyed blond. Of course, he found himself with two guns pointed at his head, a small throwing knife at his throat, and a hand on each of his arms.

"I assure you that none of us will hesitate to kill you if you take another step toward Hayner. He's not your enemy, he's the only reason I'm free and that we're here to help get you out. You should be thanking him, not trying to strangle him," The black-haired man explained, eyes narrowed dangerously.

The long-imprisoned man remained silent, still glowering at the youngest of them, but it seemed for the moment as if he valued his life over pointless violence. They were able to safely traverse the streets to the place the two spiky-haired mercenaries were told about, entering the building and descending into darkness single-file down a stairway to the left of the entrance. Once on the bottom floor, they approached a heavy black door, most likely several inches thick. It swung inward to reveal a woman in her mid-twenties with short hair of indiscernible color, a red bandanna covering half her face, and a deep scar that started above her eye and went down, interrupting the line of her eye and mouth. She was wearing nothing but urban camo cargo shorts, a white tank top, combat boots and a pair of dog tags.

"You must be the ones Tseng said would be coming today. Follow me, and whoever is last gets the fun job of shoving the door closed. Save your questions until we get to the barracks, I'll explain basic shit there," she said shortly, her voice slightly hoarse, as if from several days of yelling.

Following behind her into another room, the older detective couldn't help but look around them at molten metal being poured into molds by men in sweat-soaked army fatigues, creatures he recognized as Moogles flitting about at random. The woman leading them grabbed one such military personnel by the back of his shirt and shoved him roughly out of their way, shouting something at him that was lost over the din of smoldering steel and hammers. He didn't react much, apparently used to her callous treatment. The next room was much colder and quieter than the first, the Moogles working on crafting weapons ranging from a scythe, to a chakram, to a giant key, and just about everything in between. Traveling through a wide corridor lined with doors to darkened rooms, he was just starting to wonder how fucking big the basement of the warehouse was before they stopped at a set of large double-doors and walked in.

There was a decently sized mess hall, and on each side were wings that contained military-style barracks. It was well-lit, plants lining the walls and small decorations such as pictures and paintings covering the painted concrete. Overall it was about as welcoming as a place like this could be. The woman who was apparently in charge of the operation leaned up against a table and observed them, clearly waiting for them all to cease their looking around and pay attention before speaking.

"As you've already figured out, this isn't exactly a typical weapons manufacturing facility. You gentlemen, so long as you're willing, will work here with me and the boys to make weapons that will ultimately decide the fate of the world and everyone in it. If anyone wants to opt out, you may leave at any time. There are no schedules and no boundaries, and you will be compensated for your work here. If you would like accommodations above ground you are welcome to find a place, we will cover your rent. The rest of our human workers are in the army, but I assure you none of them are stupid enough to start shit with me around, so don't worry about that either. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why the hell do these guys listen to a girl, and why should we?" One of the arena combatants asked, drawing sniggers and glares from his peers.

"'Cause if you don't I'll lay you on your ass, same for them. Wanna try me?"

He walked up to her, and she gestured for him to go ahead. The brown-haired man swung a fist at her jaw, and immediately upon impact his head swung to the side and he found himself on the floor. A closer look at the mana surrounding her revealed she had some sort of charm that had the effect of reversing damage back onto the assaulter. It wouldn't work on everything, but it was more than capable of dealing with punches from cocky assholes.

"Anyone else want to punch themselves in the face? I assure you it is endlessly entertaining to me. No? Any other questions then?"

"What exactly are these weapons being used for? I saw molds for bullets, and then all those other weapons those things were messing with."

"That's on a strictly need-to-know basis, and only I need to know that. This place was commissioned by the Alliance of Cities, if that answers your question at all. Those 'things' as you called them are Moogles, and they are quite friendly and completely harmless. Anyone else?"

They remained silent this time, some shifting from foot to foot impatiently. Clapping her hands together with finality, she told them to go do whatever they wanted for the moment, and asked to see the four mercenaries and two detectives in her office. Leading them to one of the many completely nondescript doors in the corridor, she opened it and walked in, promptly sitting down roughly in an office chair and throwing her feet up on the messy desk. Surrounding the room were several towering columns of boxes and the single light fixture in the room wasn't really enough to brighten the space to the point of being comfortable.

"I assume all of you know about the Heartless, correct?" She asked, looking at them questioningly before continuing, "Then I guess most of you have realized by now the nature of this operation."

"You're preparing for war," Cloud answered simply, arms crossed over his chest.

"Precisely. I don't know a lot of the particulars, but the scientists researching the issue think that the ones we've seen so far are merely a scouting force intended to map out the locations of each of the cities, so they can infest them one by one efficiently. In other words, we're preparing to get swarmed by hundreds of thousands of these things, and we have no idea when or where they're going to strike first. With luck the Alliance will be prepared well enough to keep the casualties to the lower tens of thousands, but I'm sure we're all familiar with how luck tends to disappear when you need it."

Seifer's stomach went cold when she said the expected casualties, because that sure as fuck wasn't his idea of lucky. That was the entire population of some of the towns on the continent. He noted everyone else in the room grow similarly pale, expressions shifting darkly. The way she spoke so flippantly of that many deaths told him she'd seen projections that numbered far higher, that that was truly the best case scenario. She glanced up at the light as it flickered, and he noticed something odd about her eye. It was brown, so he didn't notice before, but her pupil didn't dilate in reaction to light.

"You're blind," he stated, curious as to how she was able to move around so well in a dynamic environment such as this.

"Congratulations on being competent after all, detective, most people don't notice. I'm not exactly a stranger to the Heartless myself, that's how I got this job, which I'm sure you were all wondering about. A year ago they overran a village near the southern coast that I lived in; there weren't a lot of survivors. What no dipshit in a white coat is going to admit to anyone is that the monsters have been doing this since then, raiding small settlements and turning their populations into more Heartless, growing their ranks. Based just on the civilians turned into monsters in the past year, there are at least fifty-thousand Heartless. The smaller cities and towns are so separated from each other and everyone else that most people don't notice that they're gone, and the Alliance has been keeping it quiet to avoid mass panic."

"So basically some assholes in suits that sit behind a desk in ivory towers all day long decided to cover up the deaths of thousands of people in order to prevent them from actually having to do something?" Xigbar asked, single eye half-lidded with disgust.

"And they put the two dozen or so survivors in warehouse basements and tell them to do something to prevent the loss of more lives whenever the government or the Heartless decide to get off their ass and really start shit. That's the world we live in, get used to it. Or not, depends on how the whole fight for the survival of the human race thing works out," the scarred woman added with a shrug, as if she didn't really care either way, "You're all junctioned to a summon, you should know about the war by now anyway, unless you're honestly stupid enough to think your dreams are just that."

"One of the weapons those Moogles was making belongs to a friend of mine," Hayner said, speaking for the first time since they got here, "I'm willing to bet a lot more are for people I know as well."

She nodded, cocking her head to the side a little as if thinking; then got up and opened one of the boxes nearest her desk, rummaging around it for a few seconds before pulling out a few smaller boxes and tossing them to him, and another package to Xigbar.

"Those are .45 caliber bullets made with light crystals mixed into the metal. Quite effective on the shadows. They're going to become much more common in Twilight in the next few weeks, so try to keep yourselves alive, you especially, Hayner. Now get the fuck out of my office and back to the surface, I have some new recruits to put fear into."

"What's your name?" Larxene asked, though why she wanted to know was really a mystery to him.

"Just call me Bitch, everyone else does," the brown-eyed woman answered with a wry smile that the questioner returned. Based on what little he knew of the female mercenary, those two would probably get along quite well.

They left as they were instructed, the sandy-blond cop remaining behind the longest, eventually turning and following his boyfriend out. There was something off about him again, he could sense it through their link. Prodding only got him shoved away, so he'd have to deal with it later. Larxene and Xigbar left immediately, out to seek more jobs, but not before the woman gave the lithe man a hug to say goodbye. The other two remained, Zack giving the detectives a mischievous smile.

"You know, that offer for free drinks at Tifa's bar still stands. Want to join us? Or do you have some important business to get taken care of today?"

"There cannot possibly be anything that needs doing that is more important than getting completely fucking hosed right now. Unless you had some protest, Seif?" The youngest blond asked, turning to his counterpart.

Still disturbed by the news the blind woman had told them, he agreed. At least while he was drunk he wouldn't quite have the mental faculties to keep trying to imagine what losing tens of thousands of people would be like. Or what losing everyone you knew and having the government deny their existence would feel like. Drinking until they passed out on the floor sounded like the best idea anyone had had all day right now. It was still kind of odd riding double with Cloud, especially now that he'd have to maintain their proximity for about a half hour to get to their destination. He could feel the consciousness of the man in front of him brush and mingle with his own at times through his junction with Ultima, and knew Hayner could feel it from Zack as well.

Blocking the others out, he tried to talk to Hayner over their link, "Hey, what's got you so upset?"

"You mean other than learning that we're about to get shoved into a massive battle with shittons of Heartless? Ultima told me a bit about the lady back there, she's junctioned to Odin, he acts as her eyes. His summon gem is actually inside the eye that's covered by that bandanna, her left eye was completely destroyed in the attack, along with the retinal nerve in the right eye, and the socket was sewn shut with the materia inside. She was twenty when the attack happened. That sort of shit has happened to dozens of people, and no one even fucking knows about it but them. I'm of half a mind to go to the seat of the Alliance and burn the place to the ground."

"I don't think our boss would approve of that, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I feel the same way. Chances are they won't even do anything about the impending Heartless swarm until it destroys a larger city, something they deem as important enough to bother noticing."

"If someone doesn't do something, we're not going to lose tens of thousands of innocent lives, we'll lose hundreds of thousands."

He suddenly felt physically ill, enough that the mercenary he was riding with brushed his consciousness to ensure that he was alright. The older blond floated there for a moment, the gesture an invitation to talk to him telepathically. Sending him the simple thought 'I'm fine', he felt the other back down.

It was kind of an odd dynamic he had with Cloud, now more than ever the troubled mercenary reminded him of an emotionally distant older brother, vaguely genial and protective toward him for whatever reason. In the past they never talked much, hardly ever saw each other and when it happened it was by chance, yet the man had saved his life three years ago during a particularly nasty run-in with a gang that left him unconscious and bleeding out on the sidewalk. It was pure happenstance that Cloud was even there that night, but he'd still healed Seifer and carried him somewhere safe, waiting around until the scarred man had come around before taking off. The other had stolen his number and sent him a text later that read 'Don't be a hero, you'll lose everything'. He got the feeling he reminded the older man of himself before life curbstomped him.

He let his mind go blank the rest of the ride to the bar, running a hand through his hair as they walked in. Reno and Rude were already drinking, which was kind of funny because it was three in the afternoon. Obviously they got started early on their days off.

"Well shit, if it isn't Hayner and Seifer. The fuck are you two doing here already looking like you're going to puke, yo?"

"The only reason people ever come to a bar with their significant other? To get drunk, Reno, you moron," the blue-eyed cop spat back.

"You're Hayner? The kid that saved Zacky? Omigod!" A young woman with a headband and bobbed black hair exclaimed before barreling into him, nearly taking them both the floor.

He recognized her suddenly as the materia thief he used to work with, only several years older and still no more mature. That jealous feeling returned, and he suddenly had a huge problem with the number of women that wanted to latch onto his boyfriend today. Seriously, did they all decide to take an interest in him as soon as he was taken or something?

"Yuffie, how many times do I have to tell you, it's not polite to just tackle people," an older woman said as she walked out from behind the bar and peeled the girl off Hayner.

"But Tifa," she whined, extending the last vowel of the bartender's name, "He saved Zacky and made Cloud less of an antisocial jerk!"

"That doesn't mean you get to molest him in front of his boyfriend who looks about ready to murder you, Yuf. I swear, how did you make it this far without any self-preservation instincts?" The long-haired woman sighed, shoving her back toward the bar before extending her hand to her new patrons, which they shook genially.

"Hello, my name is Tifa Lockhart, this is my bar. You're welcome here whenever you feel like making the commute, and of course all our drinks are on the house for you two. Like Yuffie said, you did everyone a big favor by bringing Zack back into our lives and making Cloud more tolerable to be around."

A disgruntled sound drew their attention to the blond man in question, looking rather put out by his friends talking about him. Tifa smiled and ruffled his yellow spikes affectionately, acting much like an older sister would. He rolled his eyes and gave her a small smile, walking with his other half over to the bar and sitting down on one of the many stools there. The other Turks joined their fellows at the bar, Hayner sitting in Seifer's lap just to be obnoxiously adorable. He kissed his partner, tasting the fear and depression in his mouth as easily as he could feel it. Everything was kind of fucked up now, wasn't it? They'd just have to deal with it the way they dealt with everything: in the most destructive way possible.

"So how did everything go, Cloud?" The woman with reddish-brown eyes asked as she polished a shot glass before setting it down next to the others that lined the back wall.

"I need a triple shot of something really, really hard. So do Hayner and Seifer," he said by way of answering, a frown creasing the establishment owner's features.

"That bad, huh? Well, in that case, let's get everyone as hammered as possible so that if you start drunkenly crying again no one will remember by tomorrow," she teased as she grabbed a bottle off the shelf and clinked several shot glasses on the table.

"One time, Tifa. One. Time."

The older mercenary clearly found this entertaining, Zack laughing a little despite himself. Leave it to him to be the first one to manage a smile after all that depressing bullshit dumped on them. By the time Seifer even had time to notice the shots placed in front of them his lover had downed his in a single swig. He had a feeling they'd all be passed out on the floor in two hours or less. Which was completely fine with him as he downed his own glass. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he'd actually gotten so drunk he lost consciousness. He'd ended up being one of those people who throws themselves into work to avoid thinking about all the terrible things that he'd witnessed rather than the ones who drink for the same purpose, but for the moment he couldn't work.

"Hey, Hayner, why don't we have a drinking contest? Last one to pass out wins. Tifa can referee, because neither of us are going to remember most of this," he suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood a little as the alcohol settled warmly in his stomach.

"Wins what?" He returned, dark eyes curious.

Smirking and wondering why his other half even needed to ask, he just sent him a few choice mental images and studied the way his pupils dilated as he blushed. And now the older man was both turned on and starting to get a little buzzed. It was going to be incredibly difficult to not drunkenly have sex with his boyfriend because after about three or four more glasses of liquor he wasn't going to remember why he shouldn't. Maybe he should ask the bar keep to mix things up a little bit so he could avoid making an ass of himself before everyone was too gone to notice.

"Did you typically drink straight when you went to bars, or did you prefer mixed drinks?" Hayner asked him before shooting back another like he was drinking water.

"Like I said, I usually had drinks bought for me rather than the other way around, so it was whatever. Typically mixed, but every once in a while I'd go to a dive and drink Jack and Cuervo straight until I passed out on the floor because sometimes you just have to. You? Probably straight, right?"

"Yep, typically just did shots of whatever the bartender threw my way. Despite being affiliated with the mob, most of them were fond of me, so they gave me whatever they liked best unless I specifically asked for something."

"Worst thing you ever tried?" He asked as he let another gulp of the liquid rush down his throat.

"Absinthe. And that's all I'm ever going to say about that night."

"Ouch, shit's nasty. Why did you even drink it? Did you honestly just hate yourself that night or something?"

"I was…ah, pretty fucking drunk at that point. I didn't really notice until I'd already downed it."

"Did you at least get back at the guy who gave it to you? That's not something you should do as a prank, especially not to someone who is already drunk. He coulda killed you."

"Yep. Soon as I got out of the ER I shot him in the leg and left him there. Street justice is the best, in my opinion."

"See, I knew you'd fit right in as a Turk, yo," Reno piped up with a bit of a slur, though his green-blue eyes were still sharp.

"Tifa, Reno isn't drunk enough to stop being obnoxious, please remedy this immediately. His existence is ruining my buzz," Seifer snapped, having always found the redhead more than a little irritating, even more so when he was just trying to get hosed in peace.

She smiled and complied with his instruction, clearly understanding his problem. The tattooed Turk was definitely one of those people whom raised the question of why their parents didn't drown them early on. At least his brother was more tolerable.

"So, that mercenary, Larxene? What's her history with you, she's obviously one of your biggest fans, yet seems ready to eviscerate everyone else on the planet at the drop of a hat."

Hayner laughed, "She's a cousin of Kairi and Namine's. Was orphaned and homeless before my mom took her in. Helped raise me and was in charge of making sure nothing awful happened while Mom was gone. Continued to do so after Mom was killed, up until she turned eighteen and started working mob jobs with Xigbar. She's eight years older than me. The only reason she's so cruel and violent is because life hasn't really treated her the best, but…Either out of a sense of duty to my mother for taking her off the streets or because she's had a hand in my life pretty much the entire time, she's kind to me. Sort of mothering, in her own way."

"Well that makes a hell of a lot more sense than anything I could come up with. I imagine she's also a fan of the way you've been taking care of her cousins."

"Yeah, of course, she'd known I was gay for a while before that point. Otherwise, if she thought I might present a threat to the twins, I'm sure she wouldn't have hesitated to kill me. Blood and water and all that. She watches over them as well, they have a tendency to get themselves in trouble out on the streets."

"Sounds like someone else I know," he quipped, giving the other a meaningful look, which got him nothing but a roll of the eyes in response.

Two shots later and he had completely forgotten about everyone else, annoying or not, and was very intently focused on finding every drop of alcohol still lurking in his boyfriend's mouth with his tongue. It seemed like the lithe cop was winning their game, he appeared still vaguely in control of his sexual urges, while his partner was quietly trying to convince him to have sex in the bathroom. Tifa had already had to carry Yuffie and Zack to the booths to sleep their drunkenness off, Reno she just left on the floor where he was. The bartender was having a muted conversation with Rude, and even in his current state of inebriation Seifer could see that they were either in a relationship or wanted to be.

Downing one last shot, he kissed Hayner again before resting his head on the younger man's shoulder and falling asleep.

---

Hayner blinked a few times, trying to stay awake as he contemplated the shot glass in front of him, wondering if he should ask the bartender to fill it or just try to sober up enough to speak again. His partner was sleeping in a booth behind him, Cloud also having reached his limit in the past ten minutes. Or hour, it was kind of hard to tell without a clock. This left Rude, Tifa, and himself as the last conscious occupants of the bar. He decided to just let himself sober up, because he really disliked passing out, even among friends. Too many bad experiences in the past.

"You know, you're going to burn through that alcohol a hell of a lot faster than you used to, now that you carry mana in your body. Learned that from taking care of Cloud for so long. Since the magic is there with the sole purpose of protecting you, it actively breaks down poisons in your body, including alcohol," the brunette woman informed him, dark eyes focusing on him after he'd sat there for about half an hour, toying with one of the round crystals he had with him.

"So I'm probably going to be sober in an hour or so? Guess that would explain why I can already think clearer."

"And the others will probably be up in about the same amount of time. Although it won't help much with the hangover, sorry about that. Is there a particular reason all four of you decided to get drunk? It's not like Cloud or Zack to do that unless something pretty terrible just happened."

"You know about the Heartless, don't you?" He asked, and she nodded as she walked over to stand across from him at the bar.

"Well, we just met someone running an underground weapons development facility who basically told us the Heartless are gathering forces to wage war on us. Speaking optimistically, a hell of a lot of people are going to die. Not something any of us want to really deal with right now."

She had paled a little, mouth drawn into a thin line, "I can see why not. I imagine it will be up to us to clean up the mess too."

"What do you mean?" He asked, not following her last statement at all, regardless of the alcohol clouding his mind.

"Oh, right. You're not a ranked mage, so you wouldn't have a reason to know. The draft system requires every mage that is a legal adult to join the military in times of war. It's obligatory. People like Cloud and Zack, high-level sorcerers with combat and weapons training, would comprise the top sections of the chain of command in the Mage Corps, beyond that military rank would be based directly on the mage rank of the person. So, if the Heartless start a full assault, we're going to be on the front lines, whether we want to be or not."

"Awesome. Today can't possibly get any better."

"Don't worry Hayner, if things come to that we'll take care of you. I may not look like much, but as far as hand to hand combat I can give anyone a run for their money. We won't let anything happen to you or your other half."

"Are you actually Cloud's older sister, or did you just assume the role when he lost Zack and became completely emotionally helpless? I've just been wondering for the past two or three or five hours."

"The latter. He's very important to me. For the longest time I couldn't get him to tell me what had happened after the last time we'd seen each other, it had been quite a few years. Then when I finally got it out of him, I just sort of…started to mother him, and tried every day to get him to smile again. Some days he would, others he wouldn't even speak to me. For several months he actually skipped town and lived in an abandoned building just to avoid dealing with people. He's a very difficult person to understand, but I knew why he was acting like that so I put up with it. When he brought Zack home he was honestly happier than I've ever seen him, one of the happiest days of my life too. I know you've probably heard this a dozen times, but you saved both their lives, Hayner."

"If Cloud was such a cold bastard up until recently, how did he and Seifer become vague friends? Because they are, and it doesn't appear to be a new thing."

"Seifer has been joined to Ultima about as long as Cloud has. They know things about each other through that junction that most of their friends probably don't. From the two dozen or so phrases he said about your boyfriend before he actually remembered how to string multiple words together into a sentence, he kind of saw Seifer as a younger brother. The kind too stupid to keep themselves alive without help. No offense, of course."

"No, you're absolutely right. It's a miracle that he's survived this long, though he's not stupid so much as arrogant."

"Well, he's obviously found a good home with the Turks, pretty much everyone there has traits that probably should have gotten them killed years ago. How about you, how are you feeling about joining them?"

"Well I already know most of them somehow, so I guess it won't be all that difficult to get along with them. Otherwise, there's really not much that I'm worried about. I've got Seifer with me and he's managed to keep me alive so far, I doubt there's much he can't protect me from if he's prevented my death at the hands of my own stupidity."

She smiled slightly before ruffling his hair affectionately, a gesture he was hardly expecting and didn't know how to respond to. He guessed this meant she saw him as an emotionally distraught family member now too, which wasn't all that surprising given her nurturing personality. He'd noticed a crayon drawing taped to a clear space on the wall behind the bar and he guessed she had adopted at least one child. Smiling a little at her in return, he wondered how he was lucky enough to fall in with such a large group of people who genuinely cared about him. Twirling the small stone at his fingertips, he knew they'd have to go home as soon as Seifer woke up, if not because they had shit they needed to take care of, but because Griever had no one to give him his dinner.

He was considering dealing with the kidnapper later tonight, sometime in the early morning. There was no doubt in his mind that he could find the people who were taking the children, and likely the missing persons themselves. At this point there wasn't much reason not to find them, other than not being on duty or having backup. He'd just call Tseng or Elena and ask them permission and maybe rope another pair into the operation. Though whether his partner wanted to deal with the added stress was up for debate, he really hated it when the blue-eyed cop agreed to do something only because he cared about Hayner. He got the feeling it happened more than he knew.

Coughing for a few minutes, he suddenly had the urge to smoke again, which for the past hour he'd managed to ignore. Earlier it was difficult not to bum a cigarette off Reno, because he'd really never gone drinking without smoking at least a pack of them during the night. Ultima was helping him, and so was his companion, but it was still going to be utterly awful for a month or more. Carding a hand through his hair to straighten it, he drank the glass of water offered him. Drawing a little bit of mana out of the crystal, he let it dance along his nerves until his body absorbed it, adding to the store already there.

"Be careful you don't trade one addiction for another. If you draw magic energy into yourself too often or in large amounts, you can not only get a high off it, but worst-case scenario your body can get mako poisoning. Cloud was rendered comatose for months because of it."

"I'll take care of myself, don't worry. Everyone is counting on me to stick around."

Resting his head against the smooth surface of the bar he waited for everyone to wake up from their stupor, wondering if they'd still be here in two or three months, if here would even exist.

---

Stumbling into consciousness much as he left it, the elder of the pair rubbed his temples against the headache behind his eyes and sat up. Hayner was immediately at his side, handing him a glass of water and some aspirin. Clearly he'd won their bet, not that Seifer really minded.

"You alright, Seif?"

"Just fine, considering I feel like I was hit by a truck again. You want to head home?"

"Yeah, Zack and Cloud are already getting ready, apparently they have a job in Twilight today so at least they won't be going out of their way by much. Also, what do you mean again? Have you been hit by a truck before?"

"Yes, I have. About five years ago. Yet another instance in my life when I was in a coma for more than a few days. I should probably qualify that it was a semi, and I wasn't in a car at the time."

"How did you even survive?"

"Not sure, doctors asked me the same question, as if I'd actually remember. If I had to guess, Ultima saved me, because there's really no other explanation for it. Why she would is beyond me."

Hayner's eyes glowed white briefly as he communicated with the High Seraph, who almost seemed to be using him as an avatar. It was getting to the point where everyone was a little worried about how close she was with the sandy-blond man. Maybe it was wrong to expect everything she did to have an ulterior motive behind it, but considering her personality it didn't seem unreasonable to think she might just take him over completely to summon herself or use him as a mindless puppet.

"She doesn't want to say much, just that we have a much larger destiny, and it's important we all make it there. Cryptic, isn't she?"

"Always. It's creepy how much she talks to you, she rarely if ever actually communicates with her summoners, and definitely not on a question-answer basis."

"Well she likes me better than everyone else," the younger Turk answered with a nonchalant shrug.

Shaking his head at his partner, he let the topic drop, because the smaller man would be the first one to be suspicious of someone helping him. He wasn't stupid and he wasn't naïve, not by a long shot. Getting out of the booth groggily, he combed his hair back with his fingers, knowing he was probably a complete mess.

"You're still absurdly hot, even completely hungover."

"Quit reading my mind."

"You just think really loud when you're not paying attention, I'm not actively trying to read your thoughts. Come on, our rides are ready to go and are not in the mood to be patient."

Drawing his consciousness into a section of his mind not easily accessible by the other, he considered the statement. He'd always been good at shielding himself from other junctioned mages, being around them on an almost constant basis had made it necessary. Of course the two of them were much closer than pretty much everyone else, but that didn't mean his boyfriend should be able to pick up on his thoughts without any effort, even if Seifer wasn't at his best. Following the teen, he resolved to try to sneak away and talk to the lead researcher at the center next to the station because there were a few too many things out of the ordinary for him to be comfortable not knowing. Ultima shifted through his thoughts briefly but didn't deign to comment, just muttering in an ancient language at the back of his mind.

Getting on the back of the blond mercenary's bike once again, he remained silent on the ride back through the darkness. Certain he didn't just imagine the dark energies shifting at the edges of his senses, he kept his eyes on the empty void beyond the reach of the headlights. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea, though out of them it was the youngest that seemed the most bothered. Probably because he knew they were out there but hadn't learned how to sense magical energy yet, so he had no clue where the Heartless actually were. To him they were just monsters lurking in the night waiting to jump out at the most inopportune moment.

"Nothing's going to happen, Hayner. Any one of us could down a Neoshadow before it even got within fifteen yards."

"Doesn't mean they won't set me on edge. They don't scare you because you can track them, and you don't have to deal with nightmares about them every night. I'm fine, I just want to get home."

The brown-eyed man's mind flitted away from the connection they shared, completely out of reach of the elder's questing. He hated that the other still pushed him away, but he didn't view it as a reflection on him personally. It was what the lithe blond was conditioned to do, build walls around himself to prevent others from harming him further. He'd made incredible progress toward getting his partner to trust him, but it would take months, if not years, for his other half to believe, without a doubt, that he was safe. Psychologically the fledgling Turk was the most disturbed, broken individual he'd ever met, and that was really saying something. Having three fully-realized personas existing at the same time in his subconscious was enough to get him committed by itself, ignoring his post-traumatic stress disorder, paranoia, anxiety, and depression. It was nothing he couldn't work around, but that he even had to made him wish there was time magic powerful enough for him to go to the past and rescue the younger blond.

They arrived at their destination without incident, which was lucky enough to make Seifer suspicious. Their rides left with a friendly goodbye, and he sincerely doubted it would be long before they saw each other again. There still seemed to be something on his boyfriend's mind, but he decided to wait to address it until they were alone and he'd fed Griever. The panther probably missed them, besides being hungry. Unlocking and pushing the door open after a silent ride in the elevator, he nearly tripped over the beast as he wound his way around his master's legs.

"Yes, I missed you too big guy. Now get off so I can get you some food," he commanded, the black cat obeying him and trotting over to sit patiently by the kitchen.

He pulled out one of the many packages steaks he had sitting in his fridge for the cat and tore open the shrinkwrap, setting the foam plate on the floor so his pet could devour it. Of course, the animal had already left its position in the kitchen to sit on the couch with the other occupant of the apartment. Hayner had buried his face in the sleek fur of the cat and was petting him gently, looking distraught. It was difficult to tell if there was some new reason for him to be upset, or if he was still trying to deal with everything. Approaching the pair, he was shocked when the golden-eyed creature snarled at him, teeth bared menacingly.

"No Griever, it's okay," the smaller blond reassured him, pushing him onto the floor so he could go get his dinner.

"Awesome, my cat officially likes you more than me. You're awful, you know that? Stealing a guy's cat," he joked as he sat down on the couch, pulling his boyfriend into his lap.

"Can't help that I am way more likeable than you'll ever be. Do you think we can convince one of the bosses to let us go on-duty to find those kidnappers? The longer we wait, the bigger the problem is going to get. Besides, I don't want to face Nam and Kairi in the event they found out I've had an idea where Amanda's brother is this whole time and didn't do anything about it."

"You're rather restless today. Trying to take your mind off things? You know it's not good to go into a situation without a clear head."

"I can handle myself, I'm not so stupid that I'll let myself be distracted in a firefight. A little more faith in me would be nice, asshole. And no, I'm just trying to get everything out of the way before we have to go to work. Would be nice to have something to show for our vacation other than a hangover and a bunch of information we can't share with anyone."

"Actually I think the point of a vacation is to have nothing but a hangover afterward. If you want to get those kids back, I'm in. It would be a good opportunity for you to get used to using magic against people in a serious fight. We'll need backup, Fuu and Rai would probably work best for this kind of mission."

He nodded as Seifer pulled out his phone and called the Chief, wondering if he would once again be told he didn't understand the point of a vacation He was supposed to be enjoying himself, right? Just because his idea of entertainment was beating the fuck out of terrible people and doing the exact same things he did at work didn't mean he wasn't using his time off correctly.

"Seifer Almasy, if you are calling me to ask to go on duty I am going to hang up on you," Elena answered, apparently having stolen her partner's phone from him to prevent him from overworking himself again.

"…Is that a yes then?"

She sighed loud enough for it to come over the phone, "What are you going to do, Seifer?"

"Hayner and I are going to go after those missing kids. We have enough information to lead a formal investigation and try to rescue them if they're still alive."

"You don't have a warrant, how do you think you're going to get in there without breaking the law yourself?"

"Already got that covered, the whole area is condemned and under the ownership of the city, they're going to 'doze it and put a park in. Public property, so we won't be breaking in, just investigating a building for squatters. I need Fuu and Rai though, if they're on today."

"They are, and you can have them. You and Hayner are ordered to go on duty starting immediately and locate the missing persons in question. You are authorized to use lethal force if necessary to protect yourself, your coworkers, and the children."

"Thanks Elena. Hopefully I'll call you in a few hours to come pick up the bodies and the kids."

"Good luck, detective."

The line went dead and he turned back to his companion, giving him a small smirk. He called his friends next, letting them know where they needed to meet him and when, guessing half an hour was enough time for both parties to get ready. He realized he'd completely forgotten to bring up the suits for Hayner that were currently contained within his closet, a gift from the altogether too enthusiastic Marluxia. He mentioned them, his boyfriend rolling his eyes and mumbling something about the pink-haired man always being fond of seeing him in a suit. Which did nothing for the current streak of possessive feelings he was having today.

"Is there a particular reason Turks have to wear suits every day? Most detectives only have to wear dress attire three or four days out of the week, and they sure as hell don't wear black suits."

"We're the most powerful police force in the world, operating with the sole purpose of destroying organized crime, arguably the toughest job there is. We have to look completely competent and professional at all times. You know, even if not all of us are."

"You're making a jab at Roxas, aren't you? What did I tell you about being friendly with him?"

"Hey, he's not here to be pissed off and I didn't say his name out loud. That's really all I can offer you."

Giving him an exasperated look, the other just followed him into their room, tugging off his clothes as Seifer laid out their respective work uniforms. As soon as the thought of molesting his boyfriend entered his thoughts, Hayner shot him a nasty look, warning him against it. Can't blame a guy for trying. It was fascinating watching the younger cop tie his tie with the indifferent grace of someone who didn't even need to think about what they were doing. He then turned, and with a small, shy smile, tied the larger man's tie as well. It was a sweet gesture, and he leaned down the inch or so difference in their heights to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Love you, Hayner."

"Love you too, Seif. Now let's go rescue some mages," he returned the sentiment, tucking his guns into his waistband and sliding the extra clips handed him into his chest pockets.

"Are you going to continue carrying your 'nine? Most situations we're going to find ourselves in aren't the kind you can solve by hitting someone with a rubber bullet."

"Just trust me Seifer, I know what I'm doing."

They met up with their coworkers shortly after, the eldest of them belatedly realizing his boyfriend had probably never met the two Turks in person, only hearing about them from others. Of course, they would instantly adore him, not only because for some reason most people did, but because they had to know the partners were together as soon as they saw them, because it was painfully obvious. Fuujin and Raijin knew that anyone worthy of their friend's attention had to be pretty fucking awesome.

"Hayner, this is Fuu and Rai," he introduced them simply, Fuu's red eye looking between them as if trying to figure out a math problem.

"Boyfriends."

"Uh, yeah. We're together, I was going to tell you, but it just happened last night, so…" He trailed off and she smacked him upside the head, which he was expecting for forgetting to tell them about it immediately.

"Idiot."

"What she means is she's happy for you guys, ya know? Good to meet you, Hayner."

"Same, nice to meet you both. I understand you've all been friends for a great deal of time, how the hell did you put up with him for so long?" The sandy-haired teen joked, ignoring the glare shot his way.

"Difficult," the silver-haired woman said, lopsided smile making its way onto her face to show she was joking.

Stalking toward their first target building in mock irritation at their antics, he couldn't help but let a smile tug at his lips. It was good that they were all getting along. Not that he was surprised, Hayner was the missing piece of the puzzle, in both his life and in the ranks of the Turks. It was inexplicable and everyone had tried to ignore it by not mentioning it out loud, but for as long as he'd been a member of the team everyone had been aware their family was missing a person, and it was more than just him not having a partner. He'd even noticed in group photos they occasionally had to endure for the newspaper they had unconsciously left a spot for the person, every single time. It was something he never understood until now.

"These people are likely armed and capable of using magic, so be careful and stay behind cover. We're looking for several mages in their teens, though whether they've been convinced to fight for their captors or not is unknown. As I'm sure you've all guessed, we can kill the kidnappers if we need to. I would suggest a shoot first, ask questions later approach."

"But that's what you always suggest, ya know?"

"It's worked for me so far," he answered the dark-skinned man with a shrug.

They entered the building through a door with a broken lock, the inside dark enough that for a few minutes none of them could see. Once their eyes adjusted they made their way down the narrow corridor to a larger room, it was difficult to discern what the exact purpose of this building was based on the architecture. The foursome continued into yet another room, with a two-story ceiling and ample space to move in. Hayner spotted some stairs and traveled toward them, the door having come off its hinges some time ago. They had the option of up or down, and after a second of deliberation the blue-eyed detective chose down, guessing if they were going to hold people hostage they would do it in a place without windows.

It was even darker in the lower level, if that was possible, and Rai tripped over something within a few minutes of them trying to traverse the first corridor. He recovered with more grace than he used to have, but the noise was still enough to fill the hallway for a few tense seconds. Muffled sounds came from one of the corridors that branched off of the left side and within a second all four cops had their guns at the ready. It quieted and at that point they knew whoever was down here with them was lying in wait. The black-haired man decided to take the point as he rounded the corner of the first threshold, normally Seifer preferred to lead but he'd really had enough of being shot up lately, he'd let someone else act as a human shield for once.

A few bullets whizzed past them and lightning arced to their source as Raijin shot off a thundaga spell. There were several people in the large room, most of them just now readying their weapons, perhaps shocked that they were being attacked by skilled magic users. He doubted they were used to going up against people that could properly defend themselves against guns. Firing off a couple shots toward the people to his left that were taking aim at himself and his partner, he watched their bodies crumple to the ground and realized he'd missed group raids like this. Speaking the words to a fire spell as quickly as he could, he let loose a few fireballs at two people trying to escape. Hayner skipped the spell and just speared one of the larger men with pure magical energy as he advanced on the female detective, something Seifer could honestly say he'd never seen before. Maybe he hadn't been paying enough attention to his pupil's burgeoning magical abilities.

Rai took a bullet to the chest and he went to a knee, his partner immediately on top of him healing the wound before he bled to death. The two blonds managed to finish off the last few combatants in the room, about to help their comrades when half a dozen more thugs came running in from an adjacent room about a hundred feet away. Minds sliding together, both men started reciting the words to a spell, managing to finish just before the enemies were able to actually aim in the darkness well enough to hit any of them. The wind and fire spells fed into one another, producing a serpent-like rope of fire that shot toward the kidnappers, encircling them. Their screams echoed in the underground space as they fell to the ground in flames.

"You alright, Rai?" The blue-eyed detective asked breathlessly once he was certain they weren't going to be attacked again.

"Yeah, Fuu took care of it, I'll be fine, ya know?" He answered as he stood somewhat shakily.

Nodding and lighting a flame in his hand to cast some light on the area, he moved into the room the other assailants had come from, immediately noticing the large cage that had been built in it, holding the children they were looking for. They were all silenced, something he would expect anyone with half a brain to do with magic-users, so he began casting vox on them one at a time, Fuu and Hayner following suit. There were about a dozen of them, most of them nursing injuries and all just generally looking bedraggled and frightened.

Instructing them to step back, he observed the metal bars that contained them, and decided he was just too lazy to go rooting through the bodies for the key to the lock, or to bother picking it. Instead he slowly melted enough of the poles to allow a person through, watching as the reddened iron bent, twisted, and eventually wept itself to the floor. His partner doused it, filling the room with steam.

"Is anyone seriously injured?" He asked, and upon receiving no response, assumed that was a no, "Then follow us, we're going to get you out of here. I'm Seifer, and this is Hayner, Fuujin, and Raijin. We're Turks."

"How do we know this isn't another trap?" The oldest of them said, standing in front of the others. He was tall for his age, with black hair and blue eyes that seemed terribly familiar.

"Do you have a sister named Amanda? About five foot four, chin-length black hair, blue eyes, and is a novice water-magic user like yourself?" The brown-eyed blond asked, crossing his arms and tipping his head sideways in an interrogational gesture.

"How did you know that? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, we found her a week or so ago out on the streets. Some friends of mine took her in for the time being. Amanda mentioned you, and that kids with magical abilities were being kidnapped. Honestly she's the only reason we're here right now. If you don't believe us, you can talk to her if you'd like."

He seemed apprehensive, but after a moment's pause responded that he would go with them, so long as he got to see his sister again. The rest of the group followed, cowed into obedience by their trauma. Smirking a bit to himself, he sent his old friends out to take the kids back to the station, saying they'd catch up as soon as they cleared the building. The silver-haired cop looked for all the world like she was going to punch him for trying to put himself in danger again, but she managed to hold herself back this once. Nodding and glaring at him, she turned back down the hall, following behind their flock of mages, her boyfriend leading them.

"You know it's going to be hard to take down a sorcerer-class magic user with just the two of us, right? Even if they aren't nearly as powerful as Cloud or Zack, it'll be a bitch."

The scarred man shrugged at his partner, knowing in any other situation he'd be going it alone right now, and would probably survive. He didn't want to put his boyfriend in dangerous situations, but that was their job, and also Hayner would kill him if he found out he was trying to coddle him. It was really in his best interests to avoid making him angry. Heading up the stairs and continuing up to the second level, he could begin to sense the energy of the other mage in the building, meaning the man had known they were here the whole time in all likelihood. He hadn't left, which meant he was arrogant, laying a trap for them, or both. Considering their average luck, he'd bet on both.

"Regardless of the reason why he hasn't made a run for it, he's an idiot. He should know that anyone capable of summoning Scions is going to kill him before he has a chance to defend himself. Most Spirits will never be able to stand up to Espers, and no Espers will allow him to command them."

"Seriously, stop reading my mind. How can you even do that when I'm not actively letting you?" He bit out, starting to find the way his companion plucked entire thoughts from behind his mental shields really disconcerting. As much as he didn't mind sharing things with the younger blond, it was annoying to never have a private thought.

"Dunno, just can. Clearly I'm just more awesome at this junction thing than you are."

His voice was off, like he was a little wary of his own abilities. He still didn't know a ton about magic, compared with someone who grew up using it and having to learn about it, so it wasn't unusual that he would be frightened of the damage he could do without thinking. It was already to the point where he could hold enough mana in his body to summon Ultima if he needed to, it was likely he would surpass Seifer himself in ability within a few years. Not that he really cared, considering how much trouble the teen attracted it would honestly be nice if he could defend himself against just about anything, with or without his boyfriend to help.

It wasn't till they ascended to the third floor that they found their target, immediately assaulted by spikes of ice. Ducking out of their path and wincing a bit at how far they dug themselves into the wall behind the two detectives, he fired off a shot that missed but managed to distract him long enough for them to enter the room and escape the deathtrap of a stairwell. Their opponent was fairly average looking, except for the white streaks in his mouse-colored hair that spoke of a massive overuse of mako. Would explain how someone so powerful had evaded the notice of the ranking system, he was probably just an adept before he turned into a junkie.

The sorcerer cast protect on himself, making their bullets fairly useless for the time being. Tucking his guns back into his waistband, he synced with his partner as they both dodged the next volley of frozen spears sent their way. Flinging a lightning spell toward the mako-fueled kidnapper, he wasn't surprised when it did little damage. Magic didn't typically work very well against high-level mages, and he'd heard at least three different explanations why, no researcher ever able to quite agree with another.

"He may be mostly immune to our magic, but that doesn't mean we can't take his away," Hayner whispered across their link.

"What do you mean? A silence spell is unlikely to work on him, and wouldn't last long besides."

"Not a spell, Seif. I can drain him, then he won't have the mana to use magic and he'll be completely fucked."

"No way in hell, Hayner. For one, you could never handle the magic you have stored up and his at the same time, and it's too damn dangerous to draw from another human, especially one hopped up on mako."

"You got a better idea? Don't bother answering because I already know you don't. Distract him for a few minutes and just trust me, okay? I promise it'll be fine."

Snarling to himself, he relented, breaking off their contact and running full-tilt at their enemy. Perhaps not the best diversionary tactic in terms of avoiding bodily harm, but it worked every time. Growling as a blade of wind managed to cut into his side as he moved out of the path of the cyclone sent his way, he wondered at the other's willingness to pull risky stunts with his magic. It wasn't anything the older man wouldn't have done if he had the ability, of course, but he'd never really known anyone else as careless with their life as he was. At least now it seemed like Hayner wasn't trying to get himself killed so much as trying to keep the both of them alive through rather dangerous methods. It was odd, but he felt proud somewhere under his worry.

A fire spell left his suit vaguely singed, and it was painfully obvious their enemy was a complete idiot, if he thought using a spell with the same elemental affinity as the person he was aiming at would do him any good. His boyfriend had finished…whatever he was doing and snapped at him to get the fuck out of the way, and he opted to do just that. The subsequent onslaught of magical energy left his ears ringing and he was pretty sure had just compromised the structural integrity of the floor they were on, maybe the whole building. Of course, what could one expect when someone unleashes all the magical energy stored in their body in one go?

The sorcerer was left smashed against the parallel wall, dazed and more than a little bloodied. That he even survived was a miracle, of course, but his luck was about to run out. The pure rage on the sandy-blond cop's face as he drew energy from the half-conscious junkie was really quite terrifying. It was a mystery what precisely he was angry about, but it was enough to make him tug some of the lifestream out of his victim as well, thankfully stopping before the man died. It would be difficult to interrogate a dead body.

The teen opened his mouth to say something but was drowned out by the sound of some of the support beams below and around them buckling. Fantastic. Locating the nearest window, he walked over to their now-prone target and grabbed him by the collar, gesturing to his partner to follow him. Shooting several holes in the glass and brushing the rest of it out of the way, he looked down before grabbing his lover's hand and dragging all three of them out of the opening. He may not make the best entrance every time, but grand exits had always been his forte. In the few seconds before they hit the ground his ever-vigilant companion cast a wind spell, lifting them up enough that they didn't break anything on impact.

Annoyed at having to drag the criminal quite a few blocks before they made it to a road where he could be picked up by someone to take him to the station, he started toward his goal, completely forgetting he was still holding the brown-eyed man's hand. Several loud noises could be heard from the abandoned building behind them before the top level collapsed, bringing the next two down with it. The youngest Turk looked on for a moment before turning back and smirking a little.

"My bad."

"Sometimes it's creepy how Turk-like you are without having been on the force as long as most of us have. How did you do that, by the way? Use non-elemental magic without a spell?"

"Ultima explained it as basically, when typical mages draw magical energy into themselves from the surrounding area and gaia itself, they only draw the streams their bodies are most accustomed too. Like, thinking of mana like particles, and each one has properties specific to an element. Since you have a fire-lightning affinity, you originally only drew those two particles into yourself, until later, when you surrounded yourself with artifacts that polarized your body into accepting other elements as well. Since I have to make a conscious effort to draw magic to fuel spells, I can pick and choose what elements I carry, and as such I've gotten some null crystals from the researchers and drawn from those primarily lately. Non-elemental magic can bend the rules a little, when you speak the words to spells you're calling on those specific elemental magics to manifest themselves in different forms, whereas with null magic, it's just pure energy, and doesn't need to be named to know when it's necessary. Err…That doesn't make a damn bit of sense, does it?"

"Not a great deal, but it's way more believable than most of the current literature on magic. 'Sides, I am inclined to trust in words straight from the mouth of one of the most powerful magical beings in existence more than I would from some twit in a lab coat."

"You clearly have something against scientists. Not all of them are idiots, in fact most aren't."

"If you say so. I just think a lot of them are corrupted, and that sometimes science has too strong a hold over our society."

"Nah, you just failed your biology courses in high school and college so you resent scientists for making subjects you couldn't just skip and pass."

"You're one to talk; I bet you've never taken a science class at all."

He said something in French, then Italian and Spanish, finally smiling at the glare he was receiving and translating, "No, like many things, I taught myself the basics of the sciences."

"You're hot when you speak in tongues. I expressly forbid you to do it around other people unless you have to."

"I think it was French that got me laid most often, though Spanish was a close second. Guys love it when you can roll your r's. Something about being good with your tongue," he returned with an irritating gleam in his eye that told the other he knew damn well that Seifer was possessive and saying things about other guys was a great way to get him pissed off.

"Don't push it, I'm not above throwing you on the ground and finding out just how talented you are," he growled, eyes narrowed to slits.

"Was that supposed to be a threat? Because really, all you're doing is turning me on."

Giving up on even the pretense of professionalism, he dropped the unconscious man, grabbed his partner by the shoulders and pressed him into the nearest wall, crashing their lips together rather violently. Sliding his tongue into the younger blond's mouth, he reveled in the tiny panting sounds he made as they kissed. Their tongues twisted around each other and Hayner blushed, brown eyes watching his almost shyly. It really should be criminal to be that cute, because it made him want to say stupidly romantic things.

"You're beautiful, you amaze me. I love you. Now quit teasing me."

"I love you too-"

A sharp pain at his side drew his attention to his boyfriend's hand, which had unintentionally slipped across the injury he'd completely forgotten about until now. Giving the older of the two a glare, Hayner healed the gash, clearly noticing the bloodstain that had traveled down his partner's side.

"Did you suddenly forget the words to a cure spell?" The sandy-blond Turk snapped, dark eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No, somewhere between you nearly pulling the life force out of our target and having to jump out of a collapsing building I managed to forget I was injured at all," it really wasn't his fault, as much as he understood why the other was annoyed.

"Well, try not to be so easily distracted, you worry me. Idiot," he added without any real force, giving the other a short kiss before sliding away to continue to their destination.

Sighing and retrieving the prone body once again, he hoped Elena wouldn't be too angry with them about the whole killing a dozen people and demolishing a building thing. They saved the kids, got the one criminal worth interrogating, and none of them had died or gotten so injured they slipped into a coma; in his book that counted as a success. Also, magically, his injury-prone companion had come out unscathed. Not a bad first mission together as Turks at all.

They finally met up with their fellows, who had apparently arranged for several police escorts to come pick the kids up, all of whom had only now arrived. The four Turks went ahead in Fuu and Rai's car, the small red-eyed woman driving. Their relationship had always been an odd one, even when they were kids. Rai always listened to her every command, and if he didn't do things right she'd kick him, and he'd be the one to apologize. They'd gotten past the physical part of that equation, but the dark-skinned cop still followed her lead on everything. Seifer knew he wasn't actually stupid, as best as he could guess Raijin only did it because his girlfriend was a proud, strong woman, and it felt wrong to him to ever try and take that away from her by telling her what to do.

He'd always known they were going to start dating, and probably eventually get married. When they were younger he figured as soon as they started going out he'd be pretty much alone, since in his mind once two people were dating they stopped giving a shit about their friends, since that had been largely his experience prior. But instead they made just as much time for their blond friend as they did for each other, for which he was terribly lucky. Not just that he had great friends, but because without them to guilt him into sticking around, he probably would have gotten himself killed doing something unreasonably risky.

They entered the building with the novice mages in tow, all activity in the normally bustling station appearing to cease when the occupants got a look at them. One person dropped their coffee cup, another, the folder they were carrying. Apparently in the past month or so they'd all managed to forget just how awesome Seifer Almasy was. He would be more than happy to remind them. His blond boss walked out of her office, arms crossed on her chest authoritatively.

"Hey 'Lena, we found the kids, and the guy who took 'em," he said with a small smile, jerking his thumb at the motley crew behind him. She actually enjoyed it when her subordinates called her by the nickname her boyfriend had given her, she was the kind of leader that preferred informality unless the situation called for something else.

"Oh really, Seifer? I just thought you grabbed a bunch of young mages off the street, punched them a few times, threw them in the mud, then found some junkie and knocked him unconscious. Also I've gotten several reports of a building collapsing in the area you were working in, I assume you're to blame?"

"Nope, that was Hayner's fault," his partner glowered at him and elbowed him in the ribs, "but everyone else in the building was already dead, so don't worry."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel reassured. I assume we're going to have to dig through the rubble to retrieve the bodies?" She rolled her eyes when he nodded, "Oh well, at least you found the missing children. Since you clearly had nothing better to do tonight than annoy me by asking to go on duty, you can enjoy putting them all through the paperwork and returning them to their parents or finding other accommodations for them."

Nodding, he gestured for the kids to follow him, Fuu and Rai tagging along because they knew just how much he disliked lengthy paperwork. Well, actually everyone did, except Zexion. They went into Seifer's office, pulling in several chairs for the kids to sit down in. He had a feeling this was kind of going to suck.

"Alright, first, who here is legally an adult? That means either eighteen or emancipated."

Two of them raised their hands, Amanda's brother and another, a short blond kid that couldn't possibly be eighteen, so he must have taken off on his own recently. That made things a tiny bit easier, but he still had the other ten to deal with.

"We'll deal with you two last if that's okay, the kids have to take priority here. Everyone else, I need you to write your full names and ages down on a sheet of paper, and we're going to report you all as found, okay?"

They did as they were told, and he handed it to his coworkers so they could figure out which of the kids still had parents, and which had been orphaned in the kidnappings. That was never fun news to relate, especially with the age of most of them. At least he was a little better at telling kids that their parents were gone, after having been orphaned himself. Oddly enough, it was Hayner who started asking them about themselves while the other detectives worked through the recent murder records. The youngest of them was a small brunette girl, she had just recently turned thirteen, the rest were fourteen or above. His one-eyed friend returned with the sheet he'd given her, several red x's next to the children's names; at least half of them were without parents now. Shit.

He read off the names of the ones who still had surviving parents and asked them to leave with Fuu, who would take them to the hospital for full medical examinations including a check for psychological damage. Given the option, the emancipated youth opted to go with them, since he was an adult he could choose whether or not to accept their services. The black-haired eighteen year-old remained behind with a dour look on his face.

"So I guess this means our parents are dead?" One of the older boys asked, voicing the thoughts on all of their minds. The lone girl looked like she was trying desperately not to cry, and two of the other boys did. The rest just looked shocked or angry, and he couldn't blame them for the latter.

"Yes, all of your parents were killed by the people who kidnapped you. Which means we need to get you into the system as wards of the Alliance of Cities as soon as you've been looked at by the doctors. I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Isn't it your job to prevent shit like this from happening?"

"Not me specifically, no. I was in the hospital or on vacation during the time you were kidnapped. In fact I'm still technically on vacation, I just went on duty because my partner had a fairly good idea where you were being kept. If you want someone to bitch at, the missing persons detectives are across the hall and I'm sure they'd be happy to explain why they didn't even know your cases were related until Hayner brought it up."

Normally he disliked passing the blame for something off on someone else, but it was ridiculous that four detectives with just one job to do couldn't manage to do it before one Turk who was off duty did it for them. No matter how awesome that one Turk was.

"So, what happens to us now?"

"If you have any surviving relatives, they'll be asked if they want to take you in, otherwise you'll have to deal with an orphanage until you're legal or someone adopts you. It's unfair, and completely shitty, but at least most of you won't have to be there long."

"Yeah? How the fuck do you know how it's going to be, it's not like you've had to go through-"

"He was orphaned at eight years old by members of Don Corneo's mob. So yeah, he has. I know it's difficult, but there's not much you can do about it now except try and become something your parents would have been proud of," Hayner said, dark eyes serious.

It surprised him that his boyfriend would be so bold among people he didn't know, but it pleased him nonetheless that he was starting to come out of the shell he'd so carefully remained in most of his life. His words seem to shut them up for the time being, at least. Rai popped his head in the door and announced that several of their relatives were already headed to the hospital, giving Seifer the perfect opportunity to shove them off on someone else. Not that he didn't want to try and help them more, he just wasn't good at dealing with kids and figured a child psychologist would probably have a bit more luck. They left, all except the oldest of the group.

"You know where my sister is, I'd like to see her, now."

His tone was demanding, but his eyes were uncertain, probably realizing he couldn't really force them into doing anything even if he wanted to. The lithe detective just smirked and pulled out his phone, calling the twins and asking them precisely where they lived. It was within two miles, not far to walk, and conveniently in the same direction as Seifer's apartment. Elena wanted a report on the operation immediately, and getting the black-haired teen to his sister was a fantastic excuse to avoid doing it. She glared at them on their way out, hands on her hips. He knew he'd catch hell from his friends for forcing them to do the paperwork on their own, but they were used to it by now.

---

It was difficult to get the younger man to speak to even tell them his name, Samson, much less talk about what had happened to him in the past few weeks. All he cared about was reuniting with his little sister, and any and all conversation seemed to equate to slowing that process down for him. Hayner couldn't really blame him, if Kairi or Namine went missing he'd move heaven and earth to find them, and they were the closest he could come to having sisters. Not that they were helpless by any stretch of the imagination, but even Elena could be overpowered in terrible situations, and she was made of the toughest shit there was.

They ascended the stairs to the third level of an average-looking apartment complex, and the door swung open shortly after he knocked on it. Both of the twins were there, of course in nothing but their undergarments and filmy nightgowns, because no one actually answered the door in normal clothes anymore. Then again, he supposed if he were straight this would give him enough pause for them to slam the door in his face or deck him if he was a stranger with less than good intentions. Clever. Speaking of straight, he glanced over at the black-haired teen and found him moving his mouth in an attempt to make words that didn't seem to be working out very well for him.

"Hi, nice to meet you," they said in unison, "Amanda, there's someone here for you!"

She walked out into the living room from what was likely her bedroom, wearing pajamas and looking like she had just woken up. Rubbing her face tiredly, she started when she looked beyond her temporary guardians and rushed past them to tackle her brother in the sort of desperate hug you only gave someone you thought was dead. It was quietly satisfying to give another person a loved one back, and he realized belatedly that maybe being a Turk wasn't going to be very different from what he did on a regular basis when he was still a mafia man. At least he was already good at it.

"Come on in everyone, before the whole complex sees men in suits talking to us in our underwear and thinks we're escorts or something worse," Kairi said matter-of-factly.

"As it is our landlord thought we were lesbians, apparently looking almost exactly alike no longer qualifies for the relation assumption when applying for housing," her sister added, smiling in a way that sort of tilted itself into a smirk. More like hoped and fantasized that they were, if Hayner had any idea how the mind of a straight man worked. He'd only slept with a couple "straight" men, and he couldn't honestly think of anyone he knew otherwise that was heterosexual, so he couldn't claim he had knowledge beyond them.

"Well, better to be assumed to be incredibly narcissistic lesbians than other things, I suppose. You should have just kept up with the idea, no one would hit on you."

"I suppose, but usually all it takes is a knife or a gun pointed in their direction and men fuck off like they're told," the blond girl said with that terrifyingly sweet smile of hers that spelled nothing but danger.

"So…These are the people you've been staying with?" Samson asked his sister, who was still clutched protectively to his chest, apparently coming to his senses at the mention of deadly weapons.

"They're actually all very nice. Kairi and Namine just don't like men who are bastards. …Occasionally kill men who are bastards," she added meaningfully, pushing him away enough to look up at him.

"So you've been staying with murderers? Better yet, complete strangers who are murderers?"

"Would you rather I was still out on the streets? If it wasn't for these guys I would have been killed or kidnapped by the same guys who took you away and killed Mom and Dad!" She hissed angrily, glaring at him, "They saved me and gave me a place to stay, and then the Turks saved your stupid ass. You could at least be grateful."

Their interactions were interesting to Hayner, he'd never really had the chance to observe the relationship between a brother and a sister that were actually related by blood. Thank goodness most of the Turks got along with each other better than they did.

"Samson, Amanda, why don't you two sit down and have something to eat, then head to bed. I'm sure everything will be easier to deal with in the morning when you're not pissy, hungry, and tired."

The older of the two looked like he was going to refuse, then thought better of arguing with them and followed his sister into the kitchen. As soon as they were out of earshot two sets of cerulean eyes pinned him down. Quickly think of what the hell he could have done wrong now, he couldn't come up with anything worthy of the twins scolding him over it.

"So when were you two going to tell us you finally started dating?" Namine asked, hands on her hips.

"It happened yesterday, and then we had to help Zack and Cloud find a place for the arena fighters to stay this morning, and rescued the kids later. Really, it's not like we've been hiding it for days," Hayner answered, holding his hands up defensively.

"You better not have been…Well, congratulations for realizing what everyone has known for the past month. If it had taken any longer we would have been forced to interfere, even though Tseng specifically instructed us not to. Something along the lines of 'it would be better if they figured it out for themselves, even if it will take longer than it should'."

"Seems odd that he would complain about how long it took when he told me to back off the last time I saw him. Unless…" He paused, thinking.

"He knew that if he told you to stop going after your partner that he would get pissed off at the sudden lack of attention and pull a stunt to draw you out, likely becoming so irritated with you that he would tell you he loved you in one last gambit before leaving, because if you didn't want him around anyway there would be no reason for him to hide it like he had been. Hayner is actually quite predictable once you get to know him, and I'd wager that things went exactly as Tseng planned, right?" Kairi explained with a small smile and a glint in her eyes, like she wished she had come up with it first.

"I'm right here, you know. Quit talking about me in the third person," the brown-eyed man said, eyeing his boyfriend, wondering why the fuck he'd heeded the Wutaian man's order to quit chasing him. It had worked exactly as the Chief expected, but regardless it pissed him off.

"I suddenly have the urge to punch my boss in the face again, that conniving bastard."

"Hey, it worked, so you really have nothing to complain about. You should thank him, everyone else would be been a lot less subtle about it. We probably would have just gotten you drunk, kidnapped you, and locked you in a room together until you admitted your undying love for each other."

It was funny that he could picture them doing just that without any stretch of his imagination. He'd gotten past being frightened of them some time ago, he knew they cared about him too much to actually murder him like they threatened to from time to time. Even if he was occasionally stupid enough to warrant it. He was honestly surprised they hadn't gotten angrier over the whole fiasco at the pier, maybe they had resigned themselves to his self-sacrifice complexes. It was kind of sad when everyone around you just accepted that you were going to end up getting yourself killed and there was nothing they could do to stop you. He had a feeling Seifer's friends and coworkers had about the same opinion on him.

"Well, we've got to get to work fixing up the mess you brought us. It's not going to be easy getting Samson and Amanda used to the idea that they're orphans, or working them through all the red tape of deciding Amanda's custody. You're an atrociously demanding friend, Hayner, I hope you realize that. First we have to babysit you for years and now we have to babysit a couple of orphaned mages too. We expect awesome birthday presents for this."

He snorted, finding it funny that they put up with him at all much less did so much to help him, "You'll get whatever you want, as always. Have I ever not given you two good presents?"

"We're just reminding you of your obligation. The same goes for you, Seifer. You're a part of the family now, so you have to share in the present obligations. Speaking of which, a month from now Roxas's cousin and his fiancé are coming to Twilight. You have a spare bedroom, so you're going to host them. Not negotiable. It's time you met Sora and Riku anyway, Hayner, they've been hearing about you for seven or eight years now," the redhead twin said firmly, eyes unwavering.

"Please tell me Sora isn't like his cousin, I don't think I could handle another Roxas," the blue-eyed man said, apparently knowing better than to argue with them outright.

"Nothing like him, really. They do look similar in some respects, but beyond that you'd never know they were related by blood. I'm sure you'll get along, or else," she added menacingly.

Whoever said females were the weaker sex was obviously murdered the next day. As would any poor idiot who tried to continue the myth be similarly dispatched by a disgruntled woman, if the women he knew reflected the general feminine population even slightly. He'd never met a woman who wasn't at least dangerous, if not downright frightening. Elena and Larxene could shoot someone in the head without batting an eye; Olette had shot a man in the knee over a serious domestic abuse case, thrown him down the stairs, and told him to tell the paramedics he'd "fallen"; Kairi and Namine had offed at least one person each to protect him from them, and from what he could tell after brief meetings with both, Tifa and Fuu were skilled fighters capable of doing much more than merely defending themselves. He wasn't sure about Yuffie, but she was a materia trafficker and that wasn't a job wimpy people got into or survived.

"We'll do our best to entertain them, it's only fair since we've asked you to do the same," Seifer said in his place, realizing he'd gone off on a tangent of thought and was no longer a participant in their conversation.

"Good then, that's taken care of. Now get home you two, I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around here," Namine said with finality, and it wasn't really a mystery what she was referring to.

"Thanks again, Kairi, Nam; try to stay out of trouble and give me a call if you need anything, alright?"

"Do us a favor, no more strays!" They called after the retreating men in unison, smiling.

---

Griever dutifully greeted them at the door and tried his best to avoid looking dejected when his master told him to bugger off to the guest bedroom for the time being. He was about to ask why Seifer was kicking his cat to the proverbial curb when he was yanked into a rough kiss by his tie. Apparently his partner had had enough of his teasing. Smiling a little, he threw his weight forward enough to unbalance them, ending up on top of his boyfriend on the floor. Blue eyes watched him curiously, waiting for him to do something. Biting down on his neck hard enough to make the older man hiss, he licked at the red mark briefly before pulling apart the tie he had knotted himself earlier, then unbuttoning the blood-stained white shirt.

Rolling them over, the scarred blond smirked down at him as the smaller of the two ran his fingers along the toned muscles of his abdomen. He would be irritated with how cocky his companion was if he currently had the mental faculties to think of much beyond how hot Seifer was, how much he loved him. The elder Turk leaned down and kissed him, biting his tongue the instant he tried to slide it past his lips, the bastard. Tasting his own blood, he sunk his teeth into the junction between the other's shoulder and neck, hard enough to puncture the skin. They were both rather violent lovers, and normally Hayner was not okay with that, but the unique thing about the man above him was that he knew his other half would never actually hurt him or do anything he wasn't fine with. Seifer Almasy was probably the only person on the planet who could make someone feel safe while armed and pinning them to the floor.

"You usually top, don't you? You're way too angry to bottom regularly," the blue-eyed blond asked randomly, voice rough.

"I've bottomed maybe three times before you, so yeah. I don't mind, if that's what you're worried about. I hope you're cool with bruises and puncture wounds, I'm not very considerate."

The predatory leer that settled on his face was answer enough, but to be honest he never actually entertained the thought that his partner would have an issue with scratches or bites. The scarred cop was as delicate as a reinforced steel girder. Pretty much the only person Hayner could be this physical with and not shatter, and really the only one he wanted to. Considering how shit Seifer was at words compared to his precise and often eloquent body language, he probably understood that his lithe boyfriend just wanted to tear him open and live inside him, or devour him, but didn't know how to express that in syllables. His thoughts were so fantastically insane when he was around his partner, it was a wonder he ever made any sense at all.

"You drive me crazy, and I mean that completely literally."

Eyes like shards of pristine ice flicked up to watch him from where the other was focused on sucking a mark into his neck that made his skin feel hot, "Good, that makes two of us."

He was really, really hard. Almost to the point he might briefly consider actually asking for his lover to do something about it. He never begged, he demanded, and it was exactly that kind of attitude that would make Seifer do something like ignore him for longer to spite him for it, because the larger man took orders from no one. Groaning when a warm hand brushed against his dick as if by accident, he glared at the muscular man atop him, daring him to actually do something productive. Laughter, a low, rolling sound, echoed above him. Finally he actually got to business and slipped his calloused hand under the waistbands of Hayner's pants and boxers, grasping him firmly.

Barely containing the moan that threatened to escape his throat, he swore under his breath and bit his lip. Slow, steady strokes sent small tremors of pleasure up his spine, but it still wasn't really enough to satisfy him in any significant way. He didn't want this to be a patient thing.

"I know you think of rough sex and lovemaking as mutually exclusive, but they aren't. Just because I want to tie you up, throw you against something and fuck you stupid doesn't mean I'm not going to mean it."

"For fuck's sake, why are you talking when there are millions of better things you could be doing with your mouth right now?" He said, voice sounding pathetically breathy and wet and it felt like a terrible betrayal to complain when the other had said something so arousing amid its contradictions.

A short hum of amusement, then, "Millions?"

"You're creative and you have a sexy mouth, I'm sure you could manage."

"I guess we'll see."

He shivered a bit to that, because yes, he really wanted to find out. Seifer kissed him deeply one last time, tongues sliding together roughly before he pulled away and smirked darkly. His eyes were dark with lust, pupils dilated enough to render the irises pale rings. His hair was a mess from fighting and there was a bit of blood on the left side of his face, but Hayner could honestly say he'd never seen anything hotter. A small growl escaped the smaller blond's throat when the other let go of his dick, only to be replaced by a puff of warm air from the scarred man's mouth. His slacks and boxers were tugged down suddenly and the hot mouth enveloped him. The shock of sudden sensation was enough to make him cry out and he bit his tongue to avoid making any more noise after that.

"I see you still have an oral fixation from when you smoked," he commented between pants, reaching behind himself to remove the guns that were biting into his back; they had slipped out from his waistband when his pants were removed.

Apparently the other took this as some sort of challenge, deep-throating his length once more before pulling back and taking his shoes and bottoms off completely. Seifer was the kind of man to go straight for the kill, so it was only somewhat surprising when he flipped Hayner over and traced his entrance with his tongue. Choking, the sandy-blond man slammed his eyes shut in response to the new sensation; it was only sheer force of will that prevented him from coming right then. Biting his lip, he tried to regulate his breathing to avoid hyperventilating into the carpet as the older Turk slowly licked his way into him. He whimpered as soon as calloused hands gripped him again, sliding along his slick cock in time with the movements of the other's tongue. It didn't take long for him to reach the edge, the older cop's name tumbling from his lips as he breathed heavily. Infuriatingly, that was when Seifer pulled away from him and clamped a fist around his dick, preventing him from reaching orgasm.

Growling darkly, he managed to sit up and whirled on the other, gun in hand. Maybe he was too violent, but he was really pissed off at the moment. Of course, his boyfriend seemed to find his rage attractive, smirking as he twisted the smaller man's wrist and forced him to drop the weapon. He pulled the tie from where it hung around his neck and restrained Hayner's wrists behind his back, only meeting with some resistance.

"Is this okay, Hayner?"

He almost laughed at the question, instead calming down enough to answer, "You play dirty, Seifer Almasy. But if you don't finish this I'm going to break those windows…with your face."

This seemed to give him an idea, and he dragged his partner to his feet and pulled him over to the giant windows that overlooked the sea. He was thrown against one pane, not hard enough to hurt, and in the next moment had his legs hiked over the larger blond's hips. Seifer pulled his pants down enough to free his length, supporting his lover with one arm while tearing open a condom wrapper with his teeth and putting it on. He bit down on the brown-eyed teen's neck while he slowly slid himself into the other, his spit providing a decent enough lube that it wasn't painful. The moan that he let out made the scarred man's dick twitch inside him, his breath hitching at the unexpected movement.

"I love you, Hayner," the cop with ice-colored eyes murmured into his ear, leaning in close.

"I love you too, Seifer, now move," he hissed back demandingly.

Happy to comply, he pulled out and slammed back into him, pale eyes facing off with dark ones. The muscular man adjusted his angle and thrust again, brushing against his prostate, the spark of pleasure making him jerk his head back, hitting it hard against the rather strong glass, head filling with stars. He knew precisely why Seifer had tied him up, if his hands were free he would probably be clawing at his back hard enough to draw blood. Four more strokes against the bundle of nerves inside him were enough to make him come, the delayed release intense enough that he screamed. The other swore at the way his muscles clenched around his dick, but managed to avoid orgasming quite yet.

Chest heaving, he waited until he could see straight before trying to think again. Fighting against the silk that bound his arms together, he quickly grew frustrated at his lack of mobility and glared at his partner. Or glared as well as he could when the other thrust hard enough to make his eyes close constantly. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about being completely dominated, it wasn't something he was used to, and the lack of freedom during sex was at times completely infuriating. However, with how utterly jacked up his life was, it was nice to have someone he could depend on to lead him in any situation, including in bed. It certainly helped that Seifer was by far the most attractive and charismatic person he'd met or slept with. Next time he was definitely going to cuff his boyfriend to something though, because he'd never completely give up his control complexes.

"I completely approve of that idea, just in case you wondered. Your mental shields go down after you've just orgasmed, I'll have to keep that in mind."

He meant to say something, but all that came out was a groan as his prostate was rubbed again, everything on his body oversensitive. Every movement produced too much sensation, drew filthy words from his mouth. It was difficult to decide whether he wanted more or wanted it to stop, but after the next thrust rammed into him hard enough to draw another scream he completely forgot what he was thinking about. For the next few minutes he focused on not giving the other the satisfaction of hearing him moan, and it wasn't really working that well. Seifer's pace grew more erratic, and shortly after he bit down on the side of his boyfriend's neck hard enough to make him cry out as the larger man came inside him.

Grunting as his partner slid out of him, he reveled in the sound of the blue-eyed cop panting breathlessly against his neck. He could vaguely feel a wet sensation slowly making its way down his neck to his collar, and he guessed the other had pierced the skin with his love bite. Not that he cared, but if he knew his partner worth a damn, the other would make him leave it there for everyone to see rather than healing it. At least it would be a fast way to let everyone know they were dating. A tongue dragged its way up his neck to lap at the tender wound then traced the curve of his ear. Finding himself getting aroused again, he pulled his lips back in a snarl and threatened his other half if he didn't untie Hayner right the fuck now.

"If you want to go again we're doing it in a proper bed, I'm limiting you to concussing me during sex only once a day. For my health and all," he drawled lazily once his hands were free.

"Ruin all my fun, why don't you?" He purred, before pulling the other into the bedroom and stripping off their remaining clothes.

Two hours later they received a call from Tseng, which Seifer was forced to pick up because it was their boss and he wasn't the kind of man you ignored. He set it to speaker because it wasn't like they didn't share thoughts anyway.

"What is it, Tseng?" The older blond asked, voice somewhat hoarse from their activities.

"Is Hayner there with you, and conscious?" He asked calmly.

"Yeah, he is…Why would he be unconscious?"

"I was concerned he might have passed out from exhaustion, since we've received roughly a dozen complaints about loud intercourse noises from your complex, and have determined it must be coming from your apartment, as you're the only ones who haven't called. I assume this means you've reconciled well enough to return to work full time?"

They couldn't help but laugh, because it was pretty fucking hilarious that their boss had found out about their new relationship due to noise complaints. He was sure the Wutaian was keeping it quiet too, to let them bring it up with their other coworkers on their own terms, so this would be a great story to impart to Roxas later just to get him to blush.

"Uh, yeah, we're definitely ready to be back in the station on a regular basis. We're also dating, if you haven't guessed."

"Excellent, if you were having relations with your partner without any promise of commitment involved I'd have to murder you, Seifer, I'm certain you know why."

The brown-eyed man looked at his companion for an explanation, but he didn't get one. He filed it away to ask about later, his curiosity peaked.

"Well since you're already bothering my second to go on duty, I'm asking you to report to work this evening for third shift. You'll be working on a case with Roxas and Axel."

"We'll be there sir, did you need anything else?"

"I'd ask you to be quiet, but I know you wouldn't listen unless you wanted to. Try to get some rest though, I'm not giving you another break."

"Understood, Tseng. Try to get a little sleep yourself."

The conversation ended and he tossed the phone onto the bed stand again, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend before moving to lie next to him. Curling up against him, Hayner laid his head on the other's broad chest and felt the rise and fall of it before closing his eyes. Even if the world was summarily falling apart around them, they had found something solid to hold onto in one another, and that was all they needed.

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A/N2: So that only took me three months. I am so sorry it's been so long since the last chapter. *brbkillingmyself* Yes, I'm aware this is quite short for something that took me so long, but I'm working full time and a full time student, and trying to deal with the stress of finding an apartment before the place I've been staying is sold out from under me. Also, I've got over 40k words of unpublished Seiner just chilling out in my word processor window, not including this chapter or the stories I've submitted since the last chapter. So it's not like I haven't been writing, I often write a thousand words a day...just on several different stories. Ugh. I guess watch out for those stories landing eventually, and with some luck and lots of insomnia I might get chapter 8 done in under three months' time. I appreciate you guys so much for putting up with me thusfar. I hope to see you all soon~ (I might not reply to reviews quickly, I won't have 'net at my new apartment for a few days to a week in all likelihood, I will answer any I can though!)