Authors Note: I rewrote the end of the last chapter because something didn't fit right. ^_^ Just thought I'd let you know.

Chapter Two:

A Flash Of Passion

Squall breathed deeply in the fresh morning air and stretched leisurely. Without opening his eyes he rolled onto his side and cuddled the opposite pillow and blankets. Since this was a morning habit with Squall, who would've thought that our favorite Lion was cuddly in the morning?, he was able to detect that something was off right away. When he took in another great breath, face half buried in the sheets, the familiar scent of the fabric was not their. Instead it was the heady, comforting scent of something familiar…but what? With a casual yawn he opened his eyes only to discover that he had not, indeed, been cuddling his bed sheets and pillow, but Seifer's trench coat.

"Didn't he put his cloths over my chair?" Squall thought to himself, looking up to find the rest of Seifer's clothing gone. "Must have not seen him put it here… Yeah that must be it…. Need to return this to him later." He thought to himself taking a moment to admire how nice the coat had smelt. Squall immediately colored when he realized where his train of thought was heading. It wasn't a great surprise, he'd thought of the blond in that manner before, but it was still unnerving. There were certain times when they were together when he thought it might be something deeper that the simple desire to kiss him, but he'd never allowed himself to dwell on it much longer than that. Seifer was straight, and as his friend he had to respect that. Besides, after all those years of rivalry it was nice to have him as a friend again.

With a small sigh Squall released the trench coat, letting it fall among his other tangled bed sheets, and rose to go about his morning routine. Quick stop at the bathroom, wash face, brush teeth, and other mundane activity. It wasn't until he was walking out of his bathroom, clad in only his boxer shorts and a black silk robe, that he heard some noise coming from the kitchen.

Being the high commander Squall got a very nice apartment. Bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. The bathroom was connected to his bedroom, just on the right side of his bed, the other two doors leading to his walk-in closet and living room, respectively. The living room had the usual couch, TV, library, ect.. As well as the exit to the hall and the whit swinging door to the kitchen.

Squall walked, with the air of sleep about him, into the kitchen to find Seifer, fully dressed, minus the trench coat, manning the stove. He stood there, watching his friend make the two of them breakfast for a moment. Then he was suddenly overcome by a horrible pang of loneliness and want. It was hard for him, though he never said it, to watch everyone else hook up with wonderful people that were so perfect for them and he was still alone… He didn't want to be so alone anymore.

"Something wrong?" Came a concerned voice from the left. Squall lifted his gave from the floor it had drifted to, to meet Seifer's steady Jade gaze. He shook his head, sending chocolate locks of hair cascading even more haphazardly down his face. Seifer had to laugh at the sight. It made the big, brave commander look like some cute puppy when he did that, and the way his hair was always a little messed up… Seifer bit his lip to stop his train of thought. He'd always been confident in all of his other love pursuits… but this was different… Squall was different… He didn't know if he liked guys for one, and two he didn't want to cause hid friend any more distress. The supposed 'rock' that everyone made him out to be was not really as emotionally strong as he would like to admit. With the trademark Almasy smirk Seifer piled the omelet he'd been making onto two different plates. "Well breakfast is up. Come on, don't need you any thinner."

Squall rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion when Seifer mentioned his size. Okay, so he was a little thin for a guy, but Zell was a little short and lord knows he had more than enough muscle to back up his attitude. This another big yawn Squall settled himself in the chair opposite of Seifer and dug in. "Mmh, this isn't bad Seifer. When did you learn to cook?"

Seifer glanced up, a little surprised at the complement, but smiled anyway. "Well do you expect me to survive on that garbage hot dog nonsense the cafeteria serves? Honestly, I'm surprised that Zell isn't radio active by now."

Squalls lips tugged in a smile and, much to Seifers utter shock, he began to laugh. It wasn't much more than a little chuckle but that, combined with the fact that he was still smiling at him afterward, a genuine smile, rendered Seifer momentarily dumbfounded. "A full sentenced, a laugh, and a smile. Don't wear yourself out now Leonhart."

Squall just chuckled again, shook his head, and went back to eating. Seifer took a moment to admire his friend before he went back to his breakfast. Squall really was beautiful… especially when he finally got comfortable around you. Seifer had heard many people compare his movements to those of some big cat, like a lion… or a panther. … Seifer shook his head to clear it of it's current train of thought and immediately returned to his omelet. If he was going to act on these… feelings… he had to do so slowly, and carefully. This would be difficult, considering his shoot first and ask questions later attitude, but... for Squall… he would have to try.

They finished eating within seconds of each other and stood to put their dishes in the sink. Squall's silk clad arm brush against Seifer's bare one as he made to walk away, but Seifer's arm was around his waist before he could even gain a step. Squall turned into his arms with his browns knitted together in confusion which quickly shifted to shock as Seifer wrapped his other arm around Squall's shoulders and closed the distance between their lips. "So much for slow and careful…" Seifer chuckled to himself. It only took a breath of a second for Squall to respond. With a little sigh he slid the rest of the way into Seifer's embrace and pulled him closer, hands fisted in the back of his shirt. Seifer had often fantasized Squall as a good kisser, who wouldn't be with those lips, but it never prepared him for the impossibly tender impact of this… The overwhelming emotion in Squall's kiss… There was innocence there, no denying that, but also undeniable natural talent… The gentle caress of his lips and tongue, his hand fisted in the back of his shirt, their hearts beating fast against each other… it was so sweet Seifer almost wanted to cry.

When they at last pulled a breaths space apart, noses and foreheads still together, Seifer was a little frightened. Never, in all his life had he felt that sort of pang deep in his chest when he kissed someone. Although he stubbornly refused to explore it further he had a sinking feeling that, for once, he might actually be risking hurt by pursuing this…

"How long have you wanted to do that?" Feeling Squalls breath from that simple question brush over his face Seifer opened eyes he hadn't realized he closed.

"A while I suppose… maybe a little longer."

Squall pulled his head back a little, so they could look at each other properly and smiled again. There was something so incredible about Squall when he smiled like that. It was a side he reserved only for those he really trusted. Seifer was so preoccupied with that thought that he barely heard it when Squall whispered, "Me too…" Without much coherent thought in the process Seifer pulled Squall close to him again, in a breath stealing hug. As Squall nestled his head comfortably in the curve of Seifer's neck both could help but think how strangely right this felt. Both were more than comfortable about being gay, they'd established that around the same early age in their lives, but they never thought they'd have a relationship with each other. Squall was pretty sure that he was the only one of the two that remembered how far back their relationship really went, but it didn't matter to him. All that mattered was that they both knew Seifer was the only one he'd trust to let him get this close.

"So…" came Seifer's voice in his ear, a little unsure for the first time, "Where do we go from here?

Squall shivered a little from the foreign feeling of breath running over his neck. "Whatever feels right I suppose…" Seifer chuckled a little as he ran his hand up the back of Squall's neck to cup his head, ran his lips across Squall's jaw bone before roughly pressing them against Squall's mouth. Squall gasped at the impact, still unfamiliar with this type of intimacy, but wanting more all the same. As he clutched Seifer closer to him he was vaguely aware of Seifer hands sliding the silky material of his robe off his shoulder. "Seifer…." Squall barely managed to gasp out as Seifer turn his attention from Squall's mouth to the curve of his neck. "Seifer… I… I have to….. Quistis will… mmmmh…."

"You think you can play hooky just this once?" Seifer whispered in a deep throated voice as he nibbled on the outer shell of Squall's ear.

Poor Squall was having an increasingly hard time keeping his legs solid under him during Seifer's assault Seifer, f course, used this to his advantage and with a quick sweep of his arm he placed sultry brunet on the kitchen counter. "Seifer…" Squall whimpered almost pleadingly with the emotions the blond invoked in him, nearly clawing at his back in the desperate desire to get him closer. Seifer chuckled and nuzzled the side of Squall's face whispering, "You know, I think Quistis was more correct than she knew when she compared you to a panther…" in his ear. Squall just let out a low rumbling sound of pleasure, almost like purring, as Seifer continued to run his hands along his sides. Squall was running his hands across Seifer's chest, working on the buttons as he went, when his fax to the left suddenly went off.

"Leave it…" mumbled Seifer, still attacking a particularly sensitive spot on Squalls neck, obviously not planning on letting Squall get away. Squall had just leaned over and picked up the paper when Seifer renewed his attack. His vision began to un-focus and he was about to let the paper fall to the floor when the words "…explosion…" and "…parking lot," caught his eye.

It was Squall's little gasp of fear that stopped Seifer in his tracks. "What's wrong?" he asked, lifting his head to meet Squalls eyes. Squall hastily shoved him the paper and strode off to his room to get dressed.

Squall,

As you know Rinoa was scheduled to arrive yesterday, but was unavoidably delayed due to Quezicotal migration. When she arrived late last night Xu was sent to escort her to her room, under your orders. Unfortunately there seems to have been a massive explosion of some sort shortly after Xu arrived at the parking lot. Rinoa and Xu seem oddly fine, considering the fact the parking lot is now almost leveled. They've been placed in the infirmary for a few days, for observation, just in case. You may visit them after you meet me in my office to discuss what can be done about last night's incident, which I believe was an attempted bombing.

Sincerely, Headmaster Cid

Seifer quickly scanned the page, his eyes narrowing dangerously with anger when he finished. He and Rinoa had come to terms and friendship a while ago. Although he would never admit the mushy sentiment the entire orphanage gang, Rinoa, Fujin, and Rajin included, were his friends. He didn't give his friendship lightly, and no one messed with his friends if he had something to say about it. He quickly rebut toned his vest, ran a hand through his slightly messy hair, (nothing compared to Squall's) and strode into Squalls bedroom (without knocking) to retrieve his jacket.

Squall was just pulling on his trademark jacket when Seifer walked in. As Seifer shrugged on his own trademark garment Squall took the time to stretch out his shoulder muscles, raising his hands far above his head, in case they'd have and unexpected battle with whoever rigged a bomb in the parking lot. Unfortunately he did not account for Seifer's blanket from the previous night being left on the floor. This miscalculation lost him his balance and the next thing he knew he was sprawled horizontally on his bed, hands above his head still, gazing up at Seifer with a look of utter confusion. Seifer eyed him hungrily for a moment then growled softly, "So you want to get out and investigate this incident or not? You just gave my imagination more input then I think I can control."

Squall chuckled and pulled himself up head first, taking a moment to nip at Seifer's bottom lip on the way up. "They'll be plenty of time for that later." he said suggestively before pushing off the bed and striding out of the room. Seifer watched him growl and let out another low growl. "Not if you keep swinging your hips like that…" With much self restraint on Seifer's part they finally managed out of the room heading, of course, towards the Infirmary first.

Authors note: *Evil Grin* Enjoy the fluffiness now but be prepared for major angst latter on! ^_^