(a/n: Sorry, I'm late on the chapter upload. I had an IB poetry oral and midterms. Luckily, all that work actually paid off! This chapter does have some suggestive material. Indications of certain ... activities. So yay! It's about time! ( actually, I feel like a moron after having written it, but...whatever). Hee, and thanks for the carols! I never knew so many existed...And thanks for the reviews! I nearly screamed when I saw how many there were!)
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Chapter Ten: Ishq Kamina! (Love Fiend).
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" Restrain her!"
Two other men came, and grabbed Selphie by the elbows. She was breathing heavily, and staring angrily at Seifer, who was smiling rather pathetically.
"...There is no need to question the girl, then. You are both expelled from SeeD, 29:00 December 15, officially." The man began to walk away as two other men came and took Seifer by the elbows. Seifer shrugged them off, telling them acidly that he didn't want them touching him, or Selphie. Surprisingly, they let go of her, but she stuck close to them, and far from Seifer. Once outside, the officials abandoned them, and Selphie could honestly say she had never felt more alone.
The artificial light burned Selphie's eyes, and she squinted as she looked up at the tall buildings. She felt so small and inferior compared to them, and their finely crafted architect looked down upon her.
Seifer's hand lightly touched her shoulder, and she instantly spun around, her eyes wide.
"...Why?" No other words could come out, and to her, this seemed the only one available. The word hung in the air, and made her feel like an idiot. She took in Seifer's frown, and expected it when he turned his back to her.
"It's true."
Millions of things ran through her head, and it was impossible for her to grasp even one emotion, or a thought to reply back to him. Instead, she remained as silent as he, waiting for one reaction to overcome her. The bubbling of something great began inside of her, and she clutched one hand to her chest. It became difficult for her to breathe, and now she knew which emotion had won. Anger.
"You stupid, stupid, stupid idiot!!!!" She didn't care if she sounded stupid herself, her fists banging Seifer over the head did the talking for her. Seifer flinched, but didn't retaliate as she continued to hit him. " Was it so difficult for you to simply admit what you felt about me when I asked you to numerous times?" Memories of him turning her down with that aggravating smirk resurfaced and she hit him even harder. " But no, you can't tell me, but can tell to hundreds of people you haven't even seen before!" Her fist was about to pummel him one more time but he caught her wrist in his hand.
" That's just it," Seifer said, between clenched teeth. His green eyes flared and seemed as if the spell Ultima resided within. " Maybe I could lie to you, but not to them. I guess...it was a declaration of my love."
" Idiot," Selphie hissed, then slapped Seifer sharply across the face. He gingerly touched his cheek, and looked incredibly pissed off until Selphie grabbed his face and kissed him. For the first time, their kiss was filled not only with emotion, but a deep passion and love they had never felt before. It had been long since their lips had touched, and Selphie nearly cried as Seifer pulled her closer to him. It really was as if she had waited forever.
" I don't know what you've done to me, but whatever it is...you've won," Seifer whispered into Selphie ear when they pulled away from one another. Selphie pulled her head back to look into Seifer's eyes, making sure she got her point across this time. This man was so frequently confused about love that he made Zell on some occasions look like a genius.
"This was never a game," Selphie said, hoping that her smile would reassure him. "And even if it was, we both won. I...I love you too."
For a moment, Seifer Almasy seemed to be without words. He stared blankly at Selphie, as if expecting her to burst out laughing and tell him that it was all a joke. But she continued to smile, and when he didn't answer, she shrugged casually and nestled herself into his arms.
***
So this was what love was.
Seifer was still skeptical, wondering if he made the right decision in admitting to be in love with the dipolar munchkin. He guessed he had told all those people he was in love with her to convince himself. Everything had happened so fast that he couldn't seem to grip the reality that he was, in fact, in love. Hell, he didn't know what love was, but the dawning of it had harassed him since the day after that whole elevator incident. And it wasn't as if he wanted to be in love with her...in the beginning. She drove him up the wall, and he wondered what cruel trick Hyne was playing on him, having his fate bound to hers. Soon, this harassed feeling, something near being violated, grew to acceptance. He couldn't stop thinking about Selphie after that. Denial at this point was impossible.
He supposed that it was all of the stupid things that made him fall for her. She seemed so innocent on the outside, but in reality wasn't very pure. A devil in white. But this could be an affect from him being around her. There was less talk of bunny rabbits -thank god- and more of them. Together. Not a topic he had come across in a while.
Seifer leaned back on the hotel bed, taking in the crystal blue walls and clear marble flooring. She really did try to make him trust again, didn't she? He didn't know whether it was because of her solely that he changed that aspect of himself, but more that he matured. Different things became more important to him, and others were left behind with his childhood. He did want to make SeeD work, though the desire to attack authority didn't diminish. In a sense, he had adapted to everything he had hated. Commitment, a job, and Selphie. It seemed so strange, and although he thought that freedom was near gone, he was...happy.
Selphie had told him she was tired, and now she was sleeping soundly on the hotel bed he was sitting on. She had curled herself into a little ball, and her hair now was let down and slightly messy. Occasionally she would turn, or smack him with her arm, but was quiet. She had been through a lot, losing her SeeD position that she had worked years for...and now, never being let go by Seifer. It was a bit strange that he had actually initiated the relationship with her, and that she actually had the nerve to deny him. He laughed quietly to himself at this thought, but more to the fact that no one really could refuse him. It was a trait bestowed at birth -he was irresistible to women. And although there were times he questioned Selphie's commitment to him (he was slightly paranoid), he had known that they would be together. Another odd twist in destiny.
She loved him.
That was going to take some getting used to.
He sighed, running a hand through his spiky corn wheat hair, and his eyes never leaving Selphie. She began to stir, and suddenly said one word.
"Squall."
Seifer stiffened, wondering whether he had heard her correctly. He leaned over so that he was practically face to face with her. At that moment, she opened her eyes and grabbed Seifer by the shoulders. With apparent strength, she leapt up and pinned him to the bed.
"That bastard Squall!" she said, her eyes wide with rage. "I realize it all now!"
"That's great, but do you have to take your anger out on me?"
Selphie didn't care for his comment, and began to ramble off things that made no sense. Something about an elevator, commander, and Rinoa. She was speaking at such a fast pace that Seifer knew if she didn't stop, she would suffocate. Quickly, he put his hand over her mouth.
"Deep breaths," he ordered. Selphie closed her eyes, and her cheeks became their normal pale pink. When he was certain she would speak as a normal human being, he removed his hand. "Now speak."
"Squall tried to keep me away from you!" she said, hitting Seifer on the chest with her fists. "It all makes sense!"
"How do you know?"
"He never told anyone about the elevator, for one thing. Maybe he hoped that this was all a phase or something. Then, I remember the look on his face when I told him that...I thought I was falling for you. He seemed almost disgusted, and hesitant. That was when he started acting so strange around me. This was only whenever something happened between us. It was as if he was trying to put a wedge between us! Oh...that includes the Timlies...does he really think that I'll fall for anyone?"
As Selphie exclaimed about how ignorant Squall was, Seifer took in the information. It only took half a minute of thought, though, before he told the girl to get off of him. Once she rolled away, he got up and walked to where he had put his Hyperion. Swinging it, he was entirely serious as he said,
"Wait here, I'm gonna find where that bitch took that bastard and once I save him...I'm going to kill him."
"Wait!"
Seifer was about to walk out when Selphie grabbed him from the back. She locked onto him tightly, but he was still able to limp toward the door.
"Tilmitt, let go of me!"
"No way! I'm not gonna let you run off and kill the Commander of Balamb Garden because he tried to pull us apart."
"Are you defending him?"
"No." Selphie let go, but Seifer remained still, listening. "I care about you too much to let you do something so stupid. Besides, he never succeeded, did he?"
Seifer was silent, but he nodded slowly. He could feel Selphie's hand clasp onto his shoulder, but when he didn't turn around, she began to back away. She sat down on the edge of the bed and he could envision her swinging her little legs back and forth. Having an incredibly small attention span, Selphie suddenly bolted up and began to pace around the room.
"Well, that's all the past now, isn't it?" she asked, walking in pointless circles. " I mean, he never got anything from this, only managed to make a fool out of himself and get kidnapped, although I don't think that it was his fault and...And..."
Selphie fumbled, before her thought was driven away by the mere touch of Seifer's hands running down her arms, and the soft caress of his breath on the nape of her neck.
"You were so close to him," Seifer followed up, his voice unnaturally low and sending a shiver through her. "You didn't know how much you hurt me."
His hands descended around her waist and she realized by the pang running through her that he was the torturer, not her. She almost wanted to contridict him, but couldn't -she was already out of breath. Seifer kissed her, and she could feel his hands running up her shirt. When she kicked him in the knee, she felt him smile through their kiss.
A small noise of protest was let out by her but he refused to relent. His hand on the small of her back, he pushed her against himself roughly. Teasing him, Selphie tried to push him off of her, but as she had anticipated, that made him more persistent. Lifting her by the waist, he pushed her onto the bed, and although nervous and frightened, Selphie closed her eyes.
"This isn't right..."
There was no response. And if the truth were to be revealed, Selphie wanted to betray the rules. She wanted desperately to belong to Seifer, to be part of him. She could feel the pressure of his lips against her neck, but as his kisses traveled lower, he let out a laugh against her skin, causing her to giggle as well.
"What is it?" she asked, slightly annoyed that their moment was ruined. Seifer hovered over her, and then ran his fingers over the choker that still garnished Selphie's neck.
"It just feels weird to kiss my own necklace..." he muttered, a slight blush appearing over his cheeks. When he looked away, embarrassed, Selphie had to use everything she had not to grab him and hug him until he couldn't breathe. Unfortunately, her mouth couldn't be contained.
"You're just so cute!"
Quickly, his eyes were on her again, but this time his brows were arched in question. But instead of being insulted, he let out what seemed like a scoff and touched Selphie's face. His fingers ran across her bottom lip, and he seemed to be admiring her.
"You're so beautiful," he said, in a tone so low, she could barely hear him. Selphie felt her face flare, as this was the first time she had ever heard him say that. Although she was glad that Seifer fell in love with whom she was, that still never took away from the joy she felt to hear those words come from him. "So perfect."
"H-hardly..." Selphie managed to stammer, as Seifer finally lay on top of her. The weight of him made her gasp, and he smiled rather wickedly, proceeding to pull off her shirt. Their clothes seemed a restriction, something that was to be rid of, and Selphie managed to yank Seifer's shirt from him as fluently as he had done to her. Smiling with triumph, she grabbed the back of Seifer's head and ruffled his corn wheat hair before kissing him.
"Not the hair..." he mumbled, and as kissing her, he tousled her own.
I love you..." Selphie whispered, pulling away to look into Seifer's eyes. Never had they been so captivating, and she was certain that being taken away from those mystic depths would rip her apart. She waited for him to say the same, but he simply held her chin and pulled her toward him for another kiss.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Selphie cried out, pushing Seifer away. Unfortunately, she underestimated her strength and ended up knocking the aggravated and impatient man to the floor. Quickly, Selphie proceeded to hide behind the bed but Seifer was too quick for her and reached out to grab her ankle.
"Damnit, Selphie!" Seifer shouted, pulling her down to the floor with him. When her head collided with the carpet, she knew this was his form of revenge.
"I have carpet burn now!" Selphie whined, rubbing her reddened chin.
"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't attack me," Seifer responded, sounding quite annoyed. "Sadistic little..."
"Well, what do you expect? I'm not ready for this and...And..." Oh, it was too doubtful that Seifer would care for her small grievances. But it felt so wrong, and besides, she needed to hear it again, to make sure it was no spur of the moment banter.
"And I want to consummate this marriage..." Seifer muttered. Selphie took the one moment that Seifer weakened his hold on her leg to kick him in the chest. "Never mind. I have a prude for a wife. So tell me, when will we ever--"
"Say it again."
Cleanly cutting Seifer off from what she feared he would ask, Selphie proceeded to urge Seifer to let her get up, and after she sat on the bed, hoping not to repeat herself. Reaching to the side, she grabbed her shirt and pulled it on, waiting for what she said to sink into Seifer's mind. He didn't seem too happy having been ripped from his desire, and by his silence, she assumed he was too angry to speak. A small smile she gave finally made Seifer confused enough to say something.
"Huh?"
"You never said that you loved me directly. Just say it."
Seifer paused a moment, giving Selphie a quizzical look before saying," I love you." Seeming to be relishing his words, Selphie closed her eyes and leaned against him. Everything for that one moment seemed so serene, and it was as if he had achieved what he had been looking for in life. His arms wrapped around Selphie, and he mumbled those words again into her hair.
And then she laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"N-nothing!" she protested before bursting into a new fit of giggles. She struggled to muffle them into Seifer's chest, but ended up falling to the floor in apparent stitches. Seifer took a step back, slightly concerned about Selphie's sanity.
"So, I tell my wife that I love her, and this is what happens?" Seifer asked, shaking his head. "Remind me never to say that to you again."
"No, it's not that!" Selphie said, forcing herself to get up. "Well...actually, it is."
The laughter continued. This time she leaned against Seifer for support and hit his chest as she talked. "It's just that...It's you! Seifer Almasy! Evil, Sorceress's Bitch, heaped with issues Seifer Almasy! And it's me. It seems so weird but it's not...right?" When her laughed ceased, she looked up at Seifer and smiled. "It's not, is it?"
Seifer shrugged. "It's fucked up. I mean, how many guys fall in love with their wife after marriage?"
"And I never thought I would be hearing a revelation of love from you!"
"That's true. But I expected one from you, eventually."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Seifer took a step back and spread out his arms. "C'mon, don't tell me you didn't want a piece of this!"
"Well, I did want to kick your ass, if that's what you mean!"
"What, gnaw at my ankles?"
Giving a half smile, Selphie proceeded to kick Seifer in the shin, and watched in amusement as he shouted and began to hop around.
"Do you take comfort in other's misery?" he asked, falling onto the bed and rubbing his sore leg. Selphie shrugged and informed Seifer that she was going out to eat. As she began to hunt around for her socks, Seifer lay back on the bed, not caring to join her.
"What's the point of being married if your husband won't come with you out to eat?" Selphie demanded, hating going alone anywhere. For a brief moment she wished she knew someone in the hotel so that she could force them to come with her. When it came to Seifer, 'being forced' was non-existent in his case.
"And what's the point of being married if your wife will never sleep with you?"
Selphie groaned, and pretended to ignore Seifer's wolfish grin. She thought it was just a stereotype that all men had the same track in mind, but now she was reconsidering it.
"Maybe I'll cook something...will that make you happy?" Selphie asked. The smile faded from Seifer, and he almost looked afraid by the sight of his wide green eyes and pale skin. "I'm not a bad cook!"
"No one's saying you are..." Seifer responded, although it sounded awfully forced. Selphie suddenly remembered how at the last Garden Festival she had made a cake, and three people ended up in the infirmary for a week. Then a nauseating feeling came over her as she remembered seeing Seifer throwing up after eating her cooking. "I didn't know milk had an expiration date!"
"Listen, do yourself a favor and order something." A thin piece of plastic was thrown at Selphie, and she recognized Seifer's bank card. It almost made her laugh, not that she knew why, but she covered up her coming giggle by pretending to cough. That always worked to prevent making a fool out of herself.
"Do you have a cold?"
Shaking her head, Selphie pointed to the door and was about to walk out when Seifer told her to wait. Standing in wait while shifting from bouncing on either leg, Selphie watched him come to her with an expressionless face. When he was in front of her, he stared down and she anticipated what he would do next.
He put his hand on her forehead.
"You have a bit of a fever," he stated, then moved his hand to her cheek. Selphie smiled, and after putting Seifer's card in her back pocket, covered his hand with her own. The intensity ignited in both once more, Seifer leaned in to Selphie, but right when their lips were to meet....the phone rang.
"DAMNIT!"
Selphie jolted away from Seifer, now her eyes being the enlarged ones. She could see a vein throbbing in Seifer's neck, and decided that she ought to answer the phone. It would be hard to explain to room surface how the plastic melted, or why the phone was seemingly crushed beyond recognition. Making sure her husband was still seething, Selphie ran to the black phone, rather old and slim, and lifted it up on the third ring.
"Hello?" There was silence, until a familiar voice ran in Selphie's ear, and she was forced to hold the phone away at a half meter distance.
"Selphie, right? It's Vanessa."
More silence.
"Vanessa...?"
A high pitched sound of insult forced Selphie and Seifer both to wince.
"Like, the girl who totally kicked your and the hot blonde's ass!"
"What? Who are you calling hot? He's MINE!" Selphie clutched onto the receiver until her knuckles turned white, and wondered if she stared at it long enough, it would explode and send shockwaves into Vanessa's ears.
"Okay, okay, whatever. Anyway, I, like, have Leonhart here. If you, like, want him, tell the President to meet us at 25:00, Sorceress's Memorial. Toodle-loo!"
Never was Selphie more relieved when the sound of Vanessa disconnecting was heard. She let out a sigh before her eyes widened with remembrance of the Commander.
"Squall!"
"You know, it's really great how you keep calling out another man's name," Seifer said dryly, as he rolled his eyes. Swapping him over the head, Selphie informed Seifer of what Vanessa had said in the phone call.
"We're not really going to take Laguna there, are we?" Seifer asked. When Selphie shook her head, Seifer grinned. "Then you're thinking what I'm thinking."
"Yeah." Selphie straightened out her top, and fixed her hair. Running across the room, she retrieved and handed Seifer his Hyperion, then grabbed her nunchaku. "We've got a Commander to save."
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(a/n: Oh no...I have bad news. Well...semi-bad. It's good and bad...sweet...yet sour -okay, I'll stop, just don't start flaming my story based on my own mentalness! The next chapter is...the last! I would love to drag it out, but personally, I can't stand really long fics. I lose interest in them quickly, and like them to finish when they still have flair. That's just me, but I don't know about the rest of you. Anyway, I've run out of ideas o.O. On another note, to those who were confused in the last chapter, everything will be explained in the next one.)
Request: In your review, please place another coupling down that does not involve Seifer or Selphie. Thanks!