-Seifer's POV-

After two hours alone in my bed, I'm convinced Squall is mad at me and he won't be coming here for the night. Since I can't sleep anyways, it's redundant to just lay awake, staring at the ceiling, so I get up, get dressed and get out.

I wander around the Garden for an hour or so. No one else is awake, the place is quiet as... well, some place really quiet. I take my car and drive around, finally ending up in Dollet. There seems to be at least some life going on.

There's seven people in the bar. The woman who's trying to find a young rich guy, the two men hanging at the counter 24/7, two young girls and a middle-aged couple. I take the table in the furthest corner, but as I predicted, I'm not granted with solitude.

"Hi there."

"Hmph."

"My name is Arna, and my friend here is Elan."

"Congrats."

The girls glance at each other. "What's your name, then?"

I look at them for a while, then back into my bottle. "What do you care?"

They sit on both sides of me, so there's no way to escape.

"We were thinking that the three of us... we could have a reeeally good time together."

"Don't bother."

They glance at each other again. "Well.. ugh.."

"Listen kids, why don't you go hit on that woman over there? She's actually a man."

The girls look a little horrified.

"For real, she is. A friend of mine tried to hit on her and found it out."

The blonde one, probably Elan, sighs. "Listen dude. Are you interested or not? Because... I know for a fact that there are a lot of guys out there, /dying/ to hook up with us, so..."

I raise my head to look at her. "I thought I've made it pretty obvious that I'm not the least bit interested in you. Or your kind."

"What is /our kind/, then?"

"Women."

The girls look at each other and leave, quite mad and quite fast.

I chuckle to myself, until a shadow casts above my head. "What now?"

The man/woman is standing before my table. "Did I hear correctly what you said to those girls?"

I stand up. "Oh no, no no no. I didn't mean that, I mean... I already got a boyfriend."

She looks disappointed. "Oh? Well where is he then?"

I frown. "Ugh..."

"Trouble in paradise, I presume?"

I sit back down. "It's none of your business, ma'am. Ugh.. mister. Ugh.. Whatever you are."

Despite me, she sits next to me. "I know what you're going thru. I---"

"No you don't, and even if you do, I don't wanna hear about it, okay?"

Without finishing my beer, I make my way out back into the street.

As I've sat by the fountain for some time, I'm starting to get cold. When I'm rumbling thru my pockets to find my car keys, I hear a familiar voice.

"S-Seifer?"

I look up, into Quistis's surprised eyes. "Hey Quistis, whatcha doin' here?"

She glances behind her back. "I ugh... I'm here to ugh..."

I smile a bit. "You came here to see a man, didn't you?"

She blushes and sits next to me. "Yeah, I did.. Can you offer me one of those?" she asks, pointing at my cigarette.

I offer her one and light it. "Since when have you smoked?"

She sighs. "Since I... started coming here."

"For the man?"

"No, actually I started coming to the bars here to /find/ someone in the first place. I went to all the bars and.. all the guys who bought me drinks, also offered me cigarettes, and then I just started accepting them.."

I nodd.

She looks at me. "Nobody knows about this. Promise me it'll stay that way, Seifer."

I put my hand on my heart. "I promise, Quis."

She nodds and looks away. "I know it's sad, but I just..." Pause. "I can't help it." Now I can hear and see the tears. She wipes her cheeks. "I'm sorry Seifer, I know I'm not a very good role model, but..."

"It's okay, Quis," I say and wrap my arm around her shoulder.

"I know my life is pathetic and all..." Suddenly she straightens up and stops crying. "It started before this whole Sorceress thing. I just felt my life so.. so empty, so lonely... There was no one I could talk to, no one who'd hold me when I felt down. So I started to seek closeness in random affairs, one night stands..."

"Nothing permanent?"

She shakes her head. "No... I've never seen them since.."

I nodd and we sit in silence for a minute or two.

"Here I am, rambling 'bout myself only," she says then. "How're you doing with Squall?"

I jump back and look at her. "Wha.. how.. who..."

She smiles, the tears long gone. "I know, Seifer, of course I know."

"How.. long?"

She shrugs. "Week or two."

"Does... Squall know you know?"

She shrugs again. "I haven't told him. I kinda figured out he'd come talk to me if there was something to talk about.." She looks up at me. "But I never thought of you, Seifer."

I look at her, kinda surprised. "Huh?"

She shakes her head. "I never thought that the relationship, any relationship, has to have two sides, two people involved. I always thought.. how's Squall taking this, how are you treating him, is he happy... I never saw the other side."

"Yeah, well.. that's common. Squall's the one everyone sucks up to, I'm just the necessary evil beside him."

It's so quiet I hear Quistis swallow hard.

"Yeah. Forever beside him. Beside him till the bitter end."

She looks at me, her eyes filled with... compassion? "Oh Seifer, I had no idea that's how you felt!" she says and suddenly hugs me.

"Yeah, who would've thought the mean guy has feelings, huh?"

She lets go of me and looks into my eyes. "You're not.. bitter, are you? I mean.. I don't know what I mean.."

I shake my head. "Nah, I'm fine. If I wasn't happy in Garden, happy with him, I'd leave. It's that simple."

Is it? Is it really that simple?

Loverman, till the bitter end While empires burn down Forever and ever and ever and ever Amen I'm your loverman Nick Cave/Metallica