He...
by Matt Locke

OK, this is a little disclaimer. These characters, they aren't mine. All of them belong to Squaresoft, and I'm just, ahem, borrowing them for the purpose of this story. But, if you want to do anything with this story besides read it, contact me. morpheus_draven@yahoo.com is the address.
OK, now for another slight disclaimer. For those of you who don't know what yaoi means, it is the Japanese for a relationship between a man and another man. Now, the reason why this fic is only rated R is because it doesn't go into detail-it isn't a lemon fic, or one with a lot of gratuitous sex. It is rated R because there are some people who still live in the stone age about these type of social issues, and rating it anything less would get me flamed to hell. I've thought about the idea in this story for awhile, and this is what I came up with. OK, now that that's out of the way, enjoy it. R+R, please, as always.



"Hey. Hey! Squall, wake up!"
Zell's voice pierced through the last pleasant dreams that Squall was enjoying.
"Squall, wake up! You're going to be late!"
That got his attention. Squall stumbled out of bed, fumbling for his clothes. He had always liked to be prompt, so any mention of being late was reason enough for him to get up.
"C'mon, boy. Let's get you to the cafeteria. You really need to start getting to bed sooner."
"Yeah, yeah I know," Squall said, avoiding the parenting gaze of Zell from across the room. "Just get me a cup of coffee and I'll be set."
" You and that coffee-man, how could one person be so obsessed?"
"Nobody ever asks about you and the damn hot dogs, so leave me and my caffeine alone."
Zell almost drooled at the mention of the cafeteria's hot dogs.
"See?"
"Alright, you win. But still, hurry up. There's supposed to be a big announcement after breakfast."
Zell and Squall walked into the cafeteria side by side. There, through the throngs of trainees and instructors, was Seifer. Zell shuddered at the sight.
"Can we, um, sit over here?"
"Why?"
"Why not!" Zell half dragged Squall to a nearby table before Seifer noticed the two of them.
"OK, now that we've got this table that you so desperately wanted, let's go get something to eat." Zell moaned, the possibility of a day without seeing Seifer fading in his mind.
"Ugh. I don't feel so good. Can you just bring me something back?" Squall suspected something fishy, but didn't say a word.
"Sure. Anything in particular?"
"I trust you."
Squall got up from the table and grabbed two trays, before getting in line. After waiting for an eternity behind two trainees who just couldn't make up their minds, Squall took his pick. First order of business, coffee. Squall reached for the largest cup there was-about half the size of his gunblade- and filled it to the brim. Just the smell awakened him, and he moved quicker through the line, grabbing some assorted prepackaged breakfast food and dumping it on his tray. As he moved back towards his and Zell's table, he noticed the reason why Zell had wanted so badly to stay there: Seifer. Squall glared coldly for an instant at his rival, but stopped when Seifer winked back at him. He's so damn hard to read, Squall thought. Well, that's no concern of mine now. As he arrived at the table, he tossed some of the food unceremoniously at Zell, and they ate their breakfast in complete silence.
As they were finishing up, an announcement came up over the Balamb Garden loudspeaker:
"Important notice to all students. There will be two expeditions led today. The first is to the Fire Cave-for magic training. This expedition is to be led by Raijin, Fujin, and Zell Dincht."
Zell breathed visibly, obviously relieved that he wasn't forced into any contact with Seifer.
"The second expedition is for general weapons training, and it will be at the South Beach. It will be led by Seifer Almasy and Squall Leonhart. Thank you, and have a nice day-this is Headmaster Cid."
Squall remained calm and cool as usual-on the outside. On the inside he was a boiling pot of emotions-all of them negative, and all of them directed towards Seifer. But, rules were rules-and Headmaster Cid had the last word. Squall got up and went back to his dorm room to get his gunblade and his Jacket.
When he had fully gotten ready-adjusting all three of his belts, and lacing up his boots to about the tightest possible, he headed outside. Right outside of the gates was the majority of the group that had signed up, and of course, Seifer, already starting off wrong.
"...And you know what else I heard about Instructor Trepe?" The enthusiastic listeners of the group waited for an answer from Seifer, but Squall cut him off.
"Cut it, Seifer. Nobody wants to hear about your daydreams about the instructor." That got a few laughs from the group, but Seifer managed to keep his cool.
"Oh, please! Like you haven't thought the same!" How did he know, Squall thought.
"It doesn't matter whether or not I have, it's just about whether it's appropriate. The last thing you want hanging over your head is one of your students getting their asses kicked by Instructor Trepe because they're repeating what you said."
"Fair enough. Alright, let's get going, then."
Seifer led the way out of Garden and towards the South Beach, keeping his lead all throughout the hike there. Squall carried up the rear, and he took the opportunity to keep to himself, lost in his own thoughts. Finally, they drifted to Seifer. I wonder what he's all about, he thought. A gust of wind blew, signaling the group's nearness to the ocean. The wind blew Seifer's trenchcoat up and over his head, and a part of his shirt with it. Whoa! thought Squall, staring at Seifer's muscular back. How can I hate that? Is it because I'm jealous? Or is it something else...
They reached the beaches shortly afterwards, and Seifer signaled Squall with a typical SeeD hand motion, although Squall was too lost in thought to recognize it. The students all put their things down, and sat, watching the two alienated group leaders. Squall stood with his back to the ocean, one hand absentmindedly fingering the pendant on his chest as he stared at the crashing waves. His gunblade was staked into the ground nearby, but he didn't pay attention. Perhaps that was why it was only the screams of the students that brought him back to attention, because when he turned, he saw Seifer running towards him, gunblade raised overhead...