| Author's notes: This section has been heavily revised.
I've broken Part 5 into 3 chapters. Parts 5b and 5c are completely new.
Also note I have a companion story to this one. Homecoming~ Second Chances is the story from Squall's point of view. Warnings: Yaoi, angst (always), foul language, possible graphic violence, and most importantly: Rinoa romance. shudder>
By Lady Tempest Part 5b: ********** Perhaps mere minutes or long hours passed. Which? Seifer was too dazed and numb to know the difference. A soft knock on his door stirred him from his groggy slump on the floor. Seifer curled tighter into himself, covering his head in his arms to drown out anything other than the misery in his heart. But the barrier wasn't enough and another knock broke through his fog of despair. With a helpless sigh and a unspoken curse, Seifer languidly pulled himself to his feet. using the aid of the wall. The slight cool of the smooth paint shivered an edge of clarity to his senses. Another knock, harder and more insistent, interrupted his sleepy stumble to the door. "Alright already. Don't get your panties in a bunch," he shouted as he fumbled for the door control, its faint red glow a beacon in the gloom. The door swished aside, pouring bright white light into the room. Seifer reflexively snapped up his arm to shield his eyes and stepped back into the soothing shadows. "Seifer," a voice fell from the light, low and curt. Squall. Seifer was certain, even if it was tainted by some strange quality he couldn't quite place. No one else he knew could sound both bored and like they had a big stick shoved up their ass. It was one of Pissy-boy's many talents. Along with stating the obvious. "Funny, how if you come knockin' on my door, I'm what you get," he smirked, but didn't feel it. He didn't feel much at the moment. Not even annoyed. Or pissed. As he should. Just a bit numb. Squall sighed. "Seifer, we need to talk." Seifer grunted a laugh. "Well, that's something I..." Squall ignored Seifer and stepped forward. Brushing against Seifer -- none too gently -- as he passed, he thwacked a gloved hand against the wall-panel beside the door. Suddenly, the room flared with a muted white light. Shit! Seifer's eyes narrowed to tense slits, stinging -- just from the shock of light, of course. Nothing else. Nope. Certainly not fickle, stab-in-the-back, wannabe princesses who profess their undying love and then rip one's heart to tiny shreds. Not at all. Nope. He winced. Shielding his eyes with his hand, his blinking lashes tickled his palm. Seifer slowly turned in place, and, peeking through the space between his fingers, watched his rival strut to the center of his room. And halt. Presumptuous little arrogant bastard. A wary scowl pursed Seifer's lips. "... never thought I'd hear coming from you," he finished in a low drawl. "Yeah, whatever..." Squall rolled his eyes but the stormy gray-blue held that same mysterious 'something' Seifer couldn't identify -- not in Squall, at least. "Sure," Seifer murmured dryly, flinging his arms wide and mock-welcoming. "Come on in, have a seat, make yourself at home, shall I get you a drink, a snack..." "This is serious, Seifer." Big surprise there! With Squall, it was always serious. Seifer folded his arms across his chest and arched a brow. Such a bundle of sunny good-cheer, that Leonhart. "O-okay, Gloom-boy, so what is it?" Seifer's foot tapped on the carpet, the tight weave scratchy to his bare toes. He forced the beat to seem casual, contrary to the erratic skips of his heart. And his skin itched. Kind of squirmy. Momentous as Squall initiating a conversation was -- he should mark it on his calendar, the one from the last Weapons Monthly he kept forgetting to hang up -- it made him nervous. Seifer half expected Squall to tell him the Doc discovered he's dying from some fuck-awful disease and had only ten minutes to live. Would figure considering how the past few days had been. Especially... Squall cleared his throat, his eyes darting to the floor then back to Seifer. "I... I know you've been through a lot over the past few we... uh... few days, and today...hasn't ... well.... whatever..." His eyes darted again. "...But too much has happened that you apparently don't know about." Squall took a quick breath and swallowed "Your safety could be at risk." Seifer's lips crept into a slow grin as he canted his head. "Aww, I'm touched. But what could possibly have happened that would threaten me?" The whole situation was surreal. Squall. Talking to him. First. No instigation. No challenge. Squall. Now truly his rival in everything -- who took Rinoa. From him. Who was concerned? For him? ...Then Seifer's eyes widened. Shit! "Shit! I did kill Deling, didn't I? That's not..." Squall shook his head, his ocean-blue eyes intense and unwavering. "No, you didn't kill Deling. But he is dead. The..." His gaze shifted with a flick of his dark lashes and just as quickly returned, the intensity of it, if anything, heightened. "... the Sorceress killed him." Sorceress? Was everyone fucking insane? Seifer resisted the urge to tear out his hair in frustration. Or bang his head against a wall -- which was more or less what he felt he had been doing for the last few days anyway. Okay, literally within the past hour or so. And it didn't help. But that was beside the point... Nutcases. That was the point. And they seemed to be every-fucking-where! Either the whole world was going insane, or... or.... "What? Sorceress?" Seifer laughed, a mask to his growing hysteria, and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "You have to be kidding me. If this is your attempt at humor, you may want to get new material. There hasn't been a sorceress in over seventeen years!" Squall was calm, arms folded across his chest, slender hips canted to a casual stance. Yet, his eyes... His eyes were dark like a stormy sky. "That's what we need to talk about, Seifer." "What? My vast knowledge of history? Or your need for a good joke. I'd offer to tutor you, but..." Squall sighed, his face impassive. "As much as I'd love to spend the thirty seconds it would take for you to enlighten me with your vast knowledge of anything, it's not that. It's ... " Squall sighed again, his lips pressing into a frown. For several silent moments he stared at Seifer. His brows quivered, like Squall was suffering an excruciating headache. Whatever was on his mind, it must have been bad because Squall almost looked worried. Or concerned. Maybe even afraid. Worse still, it was making Seifer afraid. Not that he'd ever admit it. But Squall's behavior since he showed up at Seifer's door was ... unsettling, to say the least. "It's..." Suddenly, Squall flicked his gaze away and focused well over Seifer's shoulder to the wall behind him. Nerves stretched thin, thrumming, Seifer's fingers dangling against his bouncing thigh twitched. What could be so bad Squall couldn't just tell him? His eyes narrowed. Why the hell wouldn't Squall just... "Well, fuckin' spit it out, Leonhart," Seifer blurted, his hands clenched into fists to stop them from shaking. He forced a teasing lilt to his tone at the end. Or so he hoped. It had sounded weak to his own ears, but maybe Squall was too distracted to notice. To Seifer's surprise, Squall's face blushed a bright red. The brunet ducked his head, the fall of his chestnut bangs fluttering under the breath of a coughed gasp. Not exactly the reaction Seifer had expected. Or dreaded. Although, in its own way, it made Seifer even more anxious than he already was. Squall quickly recovered, his head darting back upright. His smooth face was again expressionless and unreadable, although pink still tinged his pale skin. He arched a brow, a weird gleam in his smoke-blue eyes. "Not likely." Seifer's own brow quirked, confused. And that wasn't the response he had expected either. Squall always was strange. But usually Seifer understood his cryptic little looks and comments. At the moment he was clueless. Not that it was an uncommon turn of events the last few days. Squall continued, clearing his throat with a half-cough, the pink of his cheeks not fading. "Uh... We need to talk about what happened to you. Where you've been. Would have before, but we were kinda... interrupted." Seifer's expression darkened, the sadness over Rinoa's rejection dampening his mood. Strangely enough, he felt no anger towards Squall, although he had every right. After all, Squall had stolen his 'true love' from him. Seifer rolled his eyes at the thought of Rinoa and true love anywhere remotely related. He had been such a fool! Squall pressed on, like he hadn't noticed Seifer's shift in mood. But that would be typical, Squall never really cared about anyone else's problems but his own.
"So, what happened?"
tbc...
(End Part 5b) Hope you are enjoying the story and there is more to come. And remember, please let me know
what you think so far.
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