AN: sorry I'm dragging out Squall and Seifer's bit - there's kinda two stories goin on here (if u haven't noticed), Squall, Seifer and Rinoa r in 1, + everyone else's in the other (they do meet l8r)

Rating: R (I tried to keep it lower, but it just wasn't destined to happen - unlike other things [which are responsible for the rating])

Disclaimer: SG characters are (c) MGM (thankie to Morrigan for that :p).  FF8 characters are (c) Squaresoft, original characters are mine – ask nicely and I might let you play with them, s'long's you don't break them...

Warnings: SxS - Yaoi (guyxguy) later - if u don't like, don't read.  Character death.  Maybe angst (I do like to torture my characters sometimes :p), language (prob nothin u aint heard b4, but still...)

~Chapter Seven: No Goodbyes~

Seifer swayed, his legs starting to buckle at the knees.  Automatically Squall moved to his side, grabbing an arm and looping it over his shoulder.  He was shocked to discover that there was almost no weight to Seifer at all.  He was barely skin and bones.  Only his muscles had provided an illusion of flesh, and the shadows had hidden the pallor of his face.

But there was a creditable amount of resistance when Squall tried to help Seifer towards the house.  He stopped, and found that Seifer was shaking his head.

"You have to help me get away from here before she realises I'm here."  Squall frowned.

"Rinoa's always saying she wishes she knew if you survived or not."  There was a harsh laugh.

"Yeah.  So she knows if she's gotta kill me or if killing Fujin and Raijin was enough."  Squall's frown deepened.  "I can't explain here Squall.  There's a hut a few miles away.  We can make it by dawn.  That should be far enough, for now."  Squall sighed.

"Why I should listen to you I don't know."  He paused, looking down at the moonlit ground.  His stomach was churning.  An impossible choice, to stay and protect Rinoa, as he had promised her he would, and to risk losing Seifer again, or to go and listen to Seifer, to steal a few precious hours in the company of the person he was now convinced had saved him in time compression.  "I'll come.  But first I have to at least leave a note telling Rinoa how long I'll be gone."  Seifer was shaking his head.

"No goodbyes.  She'll wake if you go back, and she'll know I'm here.  We'll both die."

Squall's heart was pounding.  He was torn in two directions.  Loyalty or...love.

Seifer waited, knowing that whatever decision was made had to be Squall's, and Squall's alone.  He closed his eyes, feeling the world grow colder as he came closer to death.  It had been a stupid plan, but the best he could come up with.  The GF he had junctioned, Hades, would keep him physically strong, but to hide from Rinoa and her child his life-force had to be as weak as possible.  He just hoped that Squall could make it to the 'hut' before dawn.

AN: Well, guess Fujin and Raijin didn't survive then...  Subtlety just went flyin out the window too, although I guess I could be really generous and say that people who missed the SxS yaoi warnings so far are just eager to get to the story :)