A/N: Ha! I'm finally over my writer's block, so now I can go on with the plot!
Reader - What? There's a plot?!
Me - Of course there is! Didn't you notice?
Reader - *Pause* No…
Chapter 22: Déjà vu
It was 6 a.m. when the first morning rays warmed the face of Balamb. Down at a beach in Rinaul Coast, the eight teenagers were sleeping peacefully. Around a smoldering fire, three pairs were lying down.
Squall was lying underneath a sleeping bag, wearing his pants only, as well as Irvine's hat. With one arm, he held Rinoa close to him. She had one hand on his bare chest, while the other went around his waist. Next to them, there were Zell and Shizuka underneath another sleeping bag. Shizuka was lying on her back, while Zell was sleeping heavily onto her chest. She held his head with one hand, her slender fingers tangled around his long spikes of blond hair. Her other hand was on his shoulder. Zell was holding her from the waist with both hands, resting his head on her chest. On the other side, lay Irvine and Selphie. Selphie had her back turned towards him, while he hugged her from behind. Irvine had one hand on her waist, while the other held the upper side of the sleeping bag they were sleeping in. His head was resting on her shoulder, sending his breaths right to her neck, warming it.
The fourth couple was lying inside a sleeping bag on the sand of the beach, quite many a foot below the place where the others were. Seifer was wearing his jeans only, not bothering to button them all the way up. His hair was messed from the sea's salty water, and was hanging around in weird angles. Quistis was wearing his black shirt on top and the bottom part of her bikini underneath. Her hair was hanging loose and still a bit damp, and was spread all over the pillow of the sleeping bag. Seifer was holding her close to him from the waist and her hands were on his waist as well. Their foreheads were touching one another, still a bit salty from last night's swim.
The rays of light soon stung Quistis' closed eyes, making her awaken. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her, with squinting eyes. Her head was spinning, but she could recall quite a few events from the night before. She turned and looked at Seifer, sleeping like a baby next to her; he looked so innocent and adorable in his sleep. Quistis smiled and touched his cheek with one hand, caressing it. Seifer squinted his eyes open and looked at her. A sleepy smile spread across his face.
- "Morning sunshine…" said Quistis smiling.
- "Morning…" he said rubbing his eyes "Slept well?" he asked. Quistis nodded "What time is it?"
- "No idea…" she said shrugging "How come we've got a sleeping bag here?" she asked.
- "I went up and brought it last night." Seifer replied.
- "D'you think anyone saw us?" she asked.
- "I doubt it… When I went up to get the sleeping bag they were all asleep. And even if they did see us, I don't think they had a mind clear enough to remember anything." replied Seifer.
- "I don't think I can remember anything either…" she said rubbing her temples.
- "Do you want me to remind you?" asked Seifer mischievously, pulling her close to him.
- "I'd be more than glad to… when you get rid of that awful vodka smell…" she said grinning. Seifer laughed.
- "Listen… I'm not the only one who remembers Puberty-boy stripping, right?" he asked.
- "Oh my Hyne!" said Quistis laughing like mad "No, no… I remember that one too!"
- "Good. One more thing to pester him about…" he said smirking.
- "Don't be so mean!" said Quistis lying on top of him "Meanie…"
- "If you're trying to get me excited by imitating Rinoa, it really isn't working…" he said grinning.
- "Oh yeah?" said Quistis raising an eyebrow "Strange, 'cause I heard that you two did… stuff when you were together."
- "Yeah, it's true… But that was before I got to explore the twin peaks and caverns of my lovely Instructor…" he said rolling over, getting on top of Quistis who giggled "Now, she's the only one who gets me mad with lust…" he added, leaning down to her neck, biting it while growling.
- "Stop, stop!" she said laughing, pushing him back "We've got to get back up before anyone else wakes up."
- "Here's an idea…" said Seifer getting up, pulling Quistis up in his arms along with the sleeping bag "We go up there like this, wake everyone up and confess our undying passion for each other!"
- "Hold it Romeo…" said Quistis grinning "First you gotta find the rest of our discarded clothes, button up your pants 'cause they're almost off and then we can see what we'll do."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fully dressed, Seifer and Quistis walked back up to the others hand-in-hand. Seifer held the sleeping bag around one arm.
- "They're all asleep…" whispered Seifer.
- "Good… Let's get back to sleep, before they notice anything… Quietly…" whispered Quistis.
Cautiously, they walked over to an empty spot and laid the sleeping bag down. They quietly slid inside it and lied down.
- "*Phew* We made it…" whispered Seifer "Sleep tight babe…" he added, giving her a peck on the lips, lying down.
He lay on his back, while Quistis turned her back on him, not to give any suspicions out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "BOOOOOOOYAKA!" came Selphie's scream, waking everyone up.
- "Wha-? What happened?" asked Zell startled, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth.
- "I'm eighteen! I'm an adult now!" she said throwing her hands into the air. Groans came from everyone.
- "Selphie, we already know that…" said Rinoa nuzzling her head back into Squall's neck.
- "Tee-hee, I know… I just wanted to share my joy with everyone…" she said grinning.
- "Oh shit…" mumbled Squall.
- "What?" asked Quistis.
- "Please tell me this was a dream…" said Squall rubbing his sore forehead.
- "Tell you what was a dream?" asked Irvine.
- "I didn't really… start stripping, did I?" he asked, afraid of their answer. Everyone tried to hide their laughter "Oh Hyne…" he said slapping his forehead with one hand.
- "If it's any consolation, I found it stimulating…" said Seifer smirking. All of them except for Squall burst out laughing.
- "It's not funny…" he said, but his lips twitched a bit upwards as well "It's you fault anyway. You fed us that frickin' Trabian poison…" (NOTE: I refer to Trabia as FF8's Russia, due to the climate similarities)
- "Right… Go ahead and shoot the messenger…" Seifer said grinning.
- "Well I dunno about you guys, by I had a blast yesterday! It was by far my best birthday ever!" said Selphie.
- "I'll have to agree. We did have a great time…" said Shizuka.
- "True, true…" said Zell.
- "*Sigh* Yeah, but if Squall had taken his pants off too, it would have been even better…" said Seifer, mockingly fluttering his eyes at Squall. Another fit of laughter engulfed the teenagers.
- "C'mon, knock it off…" said Quistis chuckling.
- "I say it's high-time we got back to Garden for a cup of coffee, don't you think?" asked Rinoa.
- "Yep. Cid gave us permission for some free time, but let's not abuse it…" said Squall, getting up "Let's pack it up…" he added starting to fold the sleeping bag.
- "Whatever you say Commander…" said Seifer following his lead "You can le-e-e-eave your hat on…" he hummed.
- "HYNE DAMMIT SEIFER!" yelled Squall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was sitting in his dorm room, smoking and listening to music. He'd spent the rest of the morning with the others at the cafeteria, chatting. It was now already 12:30 in the afternoon and he was feeling bored out of his mind. A knock on his door made him get up. He lazily walked towards it and opened it. He found Squall waiting outside, dressed in his usual attire.
- "Came here to finish your strip-tease?" Seifer asked raising an eyebrow.
- "Very funny Almasy…" said Squall crossing his arms "Listen… I finally got a chance to get away from all the paperwork and stuff and felt a bit like training. I haven't had any in ages. Care to join me?" he asked.
- "Sounds like a challenge to me…" said Seifer.
- "Take it whichever way you want. I just wanted to swash my gunblade around a bit and the only person I could think of that's close to my… caliber, is you. Are you coming?"
- "Give me a sec…" said Seifer, closing his door.
He came out two minutes later, wearing a pair of black sweatpants, a plain white T-shirt and his leather battle gloves. He had his Hyperion rested on his shoulder as always. Silently, the two gunblade masters walked towards the training center.
Once there, Squall took off his jacket, throwing it back on a nearby rock. He swung his Lionheart out of its usual place around his belts and swished it around a bit.
- "It's been a while…" he said, slowly tracing the cutting edge of his crystal blue gunblade with two fingers.
- "I guess I'll just take it a bit easy on you then…" said Seifer smirking.
Squall looked at Seifer and scoffed. He held his Lionheart in one hand, giving it a few twirls. He then brought it in front of him, grabbing it with both hands and looked at Seifer square in the eye.
- "Let's get crackin'…" he said.
Seifer's eyes glistened dangerously and a broad grin spread across his face. He held his Hyperion in one hand, pointing the sharp edge towards Squall, like he always did.
- "Straight fight, no magic, right?" he asked.
- "Right. And no tricks this time Almasy…" replied Squall.
- "Alright…" Seifer said smirking "Bring it on then!"
Squall rushed towards Seifer and launched his Lionheart down at him, slashing the air. Seifer raised his Hyperion and the two gunblades met in mid-air. A loud clattering sound was heard and sparks flew. The two men remained in their positions; no-one moved for what seemed like an eternity. *Matrix-like cam spins around them* Their eyes locked onto each other. Fire spat out from Seifer's emerald green ones, while Ice came out of Squall's steel blue ones. Eventually, Seifer backed out, retreating his gunblade underneath Squall's. He stepped backwards and extended his free arm towards Squall, motioning him to come forward.
- "Déjà vu Leonheart!" he yelled "What are you waiting for? Come and get your forehead slashed once again!"
Squall didn't move from his position. Instead, he held his Lionheart with both hands, smirking at Seifer.
- "Taking up my habits?" asked Seifer mockingly "Alright then…"
He made a run towards Squall, jumped up in the air, made a twirl and lowered his Hyperion straight down Squall's face. Squall swung his Lionheart at the rushing blade of steel coming on his forehead, sending it away. Swiftly, he swung it again, this time aiming to make a cut across Seifer's stomach. Seifer grabbed his Hyperion in both hands -something he rarely did- and placed it vertically, parallel to his stomach, blocking the other blade. He put his entire force forward, shoving Squall a few steps back. He then swished his gunblade around in one hand and made a harsh move to slash Squall's throat. Squall made his move just in time, blocking Hyperion only half an inch from his neck. He ducked and pulled his Lionheart back, sending Seifer's blade slashing the air. He swung his gunblade and hit Hyperion roughly, making Seifer lose his balance and fall back first onto the ground. Squall jumped up in the air and came down towards Seifer; Seifer's eyes shot wide open. He rolled on the ground the last minute, making Squall land on blank soil on his knees, his Lionheart cutting through some dirt, sending dust up. Seifer put his hand down on the ground to aid himself up. He made a backward twirl in the air and when he came face to face with Squall, he aimed his Hyperion down at him. Squall quickly turned around as well, still on his knees and blocked Seifer's hit. The two gunblades remained united for quite some time yet again. Both men were already sweaty and were breathing heavily, never breaking eye contact.
Suddenly, Seifer loosened his grip and stepped backwards. He stuck his Hyperion on the ground and wiped his sweaty forehead with one hand. Squall got up as well, following Seifer's lead in sticking his Lionheart on the ground. Seifer removed his wet from the sweat T-shirt and wiped his now bare chest with it, eventually throwing it on the floor. Squall took off his as well, wiping his sweaty face with it, then throwing it down too. Seifer wiped his wet upper lip with his palm and put a hand on his neck, rubbing it. Squall cracked his knuckles and yanked his arms backwards, making a cracking sound as his two shoulder blades met. He then put a gloved hand around his Lionheart's grip. He raised it up vertically, riding a hand down the smooth blade, then putting that too on the grip.
- "Had enough then?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
- "Not in your wildest dreams, Puberty-boy!" said Seifer, swinging his gunblade off the ground with one quick move, rushing over to Squall.
Seifer went into a frenzy of hits, which Squall all blocked, sometimes with difficulty. The last blow was way too hard though; it sent Squall right onto the ground, his back making hard contact with it. Squall momentarily shut his eyes, letting out a small groan of pain. Seifer ran towards him, ready to make his next move. Squall threw his legs onto the air, aiding his torso to rise from the ground. He landed on his feet, just in time to block Seifer's slashing Hyperion. The rough hit made Squall fall onto his knees again, but he quickly sprang up forcefully, making Seifer step backwards. Seeming to think alike in battle, both men swung their gunblades and aimed to slash each other's throats. The two moves happened simultaneously. They also stopped simultaneously.
Seifer and Squall were standing still, each holding their blades right next to each other's necks; they'd both stopped them right before they made skin contact. They stood there for five whole minutes, breathing fast, while rivulets of sweat ran down their faces and bare chests.
- "So." said Seifer eventually.
- "So." said Squall.
- "Call it a truce then?" Seifer asked raising an eyebrow.
- "Call it a truce." replied Squall.
They both slowly pulled their gunblades away. Squall put it back around his belts, while Seifer rested it on his shoulder. They both looked at each other without the slightest hint of emotion. Then Squall extended his arm towards Seifer, holding his palm out. Seifer looked at it raising an eyebrow.
- "Take it or leave it…" said Squall. Seifer smirked.
- "Take it…" he said and exchanged a firm handshake with Squall.
The two men gathered their discarded, now dirty clothing from the ground and went their separate ways, not saying another word to each other.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: OK, that last scene was written for the ladies mostly ^_~ and because I wanted to write a fight scene between the two for ages. Till next time, take care and review!
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
Seifer and Quistis take a walk on the beach at night, but a certain someone is on the watch…