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Hullooooo It's been a while, eh?

So how's everyone going?

I wanna thank everyone who's reviewed even though there are very few of you… you still matter alot to me!

Please enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 5

You wear too many fucking belts, you know that?

He spent nearly ten hours lying on his bed, unanswered questions swarming his mind like ungrateful parasites trying to drain him of his sanity. It was only when an unbearable migraine crawled its way into his head that he decided he had had enough.

Night had long since fallen, but the place he wished to go was always available every hour of the day; the Training center.

Pulling out his Revolver Gunblade, he admired the shimmering silvery metal as it glimmered under the lone stream of moonlight which fell through the window of his bed room.

He always liked it best this way, in his quarters, when they were dark and silent, bathed in the hoary light of the moon. It made him feel comfortable, safe from people's scrutiny; no one could see through his barriers in the darkness.

Slashing his weapon through the shadows, he flung it over his shoulder, laying the sword against it as he walked out of his quarters, the hydraulic doors swishing open before him and sliding closed behind as he passed the door frame.

His steps echoed loudly though the halls as he made his way through Garden, towards the Training Center.

A strong tropical scent filled his nostrils as the large steel doors slid open mechanically, the heavy metal roaring loudly. He loved the exotic odors and sounds found in this area; when you ventured deep into the center, you felt lost… alone… like you could only rely on yourself. He loved the feeling, the way it made his blood boil as the adrenaline rushed through out every single vein of his body.

Walking deeper into the replicated tropical forest, Squall took a defensive stance, holding his Gunblade firmly before him as he sharpened his every sense, slowing his breathing as he listened carefully around him, scanning his surroundings intensively with his sharp, stormy eyes.

He whirled around quickly, hearing a loud crack erupt from behind him, but found nothing. His eyes shot to his left as another crack was heard in that direction.

Something was moving through the trees and was obviously trying to confuse him as many cracks began moving from random directions all around him, but Squall was not so easily fooled… closing his eyes he concentrated on the sounds carefully… there was one out of the many others that seemed louder… heavier… it was getting closer… and closer…

Squall tightened his grip on the Revolver. A loud crack erupted right behind him and the brown haired man instantly whirled around, swinging his sword forcefully with his movement.

"Holy Shit, Leonhart!" a deep throaty voice exclaimed after a few seconds, making Squall's eyes shoot open quickly.

Seifer Almasy now stood before him at the edge of his sharp Gunblade. His body slightly bent backwards as the jagged tip of Squall's blade brushed the tall blond's neck dangerously close.

"I don't think our Headmistress would appreciate it if her lil Commander decapitated one of her students, now would she?" Seifer stated mockingly, smirking, yet not moving from his position.

Squall's eyes flared menacingly. In one jagged movement, he pushed his weapon against Seifer's neck, making a thin stream of blood dribble down his softly tanned skin.

"Are you so sure about that, Almasy?" Squall asked, quirking his eyebrow defiantly.

Seifer raised his hand and pushed the Revolver away from him, glaring furiously at his former rival.

Squall sheathed his Gunblade, eyeing Seifer suspiciously, before deciding to remove the belt which held his weapon, letting it fall on the ground with a soft, thump.

"Didn't you have enough of scarring my face?" Seifer grumbled, caressing his mildly injured neck before brushing away the small amount of blood from it with the back of his leather gloved hand.

"You scarred mine first… and maybe that'll just remind you not to sneak up on me."

Seifer simply smirked proudly at the words.

"So…" the tall blond man began, swinging his Hyperion over his shoulder, cocking his head to the side, cockily. "What's our precious SeeD commander doing up at at such a foul hour?"

Squall rolled his eyes, sighing impatiently. "Look, Seifer, I don't have time for one of your stupid games. I had to endure them all my life and I'm not going to go through it again." His glare made his intentions ever more clear, as he glowered viciously up at the much taller and larger man.

Something strange then happened. The once proud, arrogant man's broad shoulders slumped miserably as he let the arm which held the Hyperion against his shoulder fall to his side ungracefully. The blond then let his head fall, almost shamefully, sighing dejectedly.

Squall's eyes widened in shock and he almost began to feel bad for the despondent sight Seifer was.

"Heh… I'm not doing a very god job, am I?" he mumbled, staring down at his feet.

Squall frowned in confusion. "What are you going on about?"

Seifer looked up slowly and Squall had to force a gasp down his throat to keep it from escaping his lips as he saw the defeated expression on the blond's face… the guilt in the emerald eyes…

"I said I wanted to prove everyone I wasn't what people thought of me, and so far, I've been proving the complete opposite… to you, anyways…" a hopeful look passed through the man's aquamarine eyes, before being filled with awful remorse.

Squall desperately wanted to wipe away such a defeated look on the older man's face. Seifer Almasy was arrogant, cocky and loud… not pitiful! This concerned Squall more than he would have ever allowed himself to admit, which only caused to unnerve him ever more… why should he even care?

"What are you playing at, Seifer?" was the only thing Squall could say.

Seifer smiled weakly, yet it was genuine, which only resulted into confusing Squall further… if that could have even been possible at this point…

"I'm not playing at anything, Squall…" he answered calmly, staring more intently into the shorter man's eyes as if to pour his every emotion into one gaze.

"You think I'm proud of what I've done? You think I'm happy of living with the memories of my fucking actions?" he hissed through clenched teeth, never dropping the intense stare he shared with the stormy eyed man. "All my life I've lived with this intense dream to prove myself to everybody! Prove that I was somebody, yet, it resulted into being hated by everyone around me in the end… I followed the Sorceress – she was able to control me - because of this fuckin' dream o' mine…" regret filled his every syllable as he recounted the horrifying events of his resent past.

The two men fell silent as Squall simply gazed into the taller man's eyes, searching curiously through the emerald pools - trying to comprehend all this display of strange emotions. They stayed the same way for several moments before Seifer suddenly took a hesitant step forward, letting his precious Hyperion fall to the ground and reached his hands out to grab Squall's shoulders firmly.

The brown haired SeeD flinched at the touch, uneasiness rushing through out his body at the physical proximity but he held the taller man's intense green gaze none the less, forcing no emotion to trace his face and eyes.

"Do you know how it felt to kill those people and thinking that I enjoyed it? That I took pleasure into seeing the blood flow from their bodies, of feeling their bones cracking under my fingers?" the blond haired man whispered, his tone dangerously serious. "'Cause that's what she did to me, Squall… she made me enjoy things – terrible things - that I never would have enjoyed doing…" Seifer's grip on Squall's shoulders tightened as he frowned deeply… tears seemed to be forming in his usually arrogant aqua-marine eyes.

"'Cause I didn't enjoy those things! I didn't!" he shouted hysterically, his face grimacing in pain, a sob gurgling inside his throat as he began shaking Squall's shoulders, desperately trying to convince the younger man of the honesty of his words… trying to convince himself…

"Seifer!" the chestnut haired man yelled, alarmed. His body began trembling weakly in fear. He didn't know what to do… he felt lost in his own mind… confused…

Tears had now begun falling down Seifer's high cheeks, which only frightened Squall further. People were not supposed to confide in him! People weren't supposed to rely on him!

Panicked, he grabbed Seifer's forearms, his blue stormy eyes gazing around frantically.

"Seifer, stop this… snap out of it!" his voice sounded more like a low shriek as his panic finally betrayed his cool.

"Sorry…" Seifer mumbled, looking down at his feet once more, but never letting go of Squall's shoulders, as if the tall man depended on his hold not to fall.

"Why have you told me all of this? Why me?" Squall whispered, appalled. "I can't… I can't do this…" his grip tightened around Seifer's strong arms, attempting to calm his panic, as if he too needed Seifer to support his own weight, support his sanity from drowning into his extreme state of anguish.

"Because… because I can't take this fuckin' guilt anymore! It's tearing me apart! Everyone thinks I'm proud of my doings and to see the hate and fear in their eyes kills me even more!" the tall man stuttered between light sobs.

"You've come to see the wrong person, Seifer… don't rely on me… if you want comfort don't expect to receive any from me…" Squall warned, his panic more and more evident.

Seifer's head shot up, his watery green eyes gazing deeply into Squall's stormy ones.

"That's not what want…" he inched his face closer to Squall's, causing the brunette to tighten his grip on the blond man's arms painfully, warning Seifer not to come any closer.

"You're the only on who doesn't look at me with fear tracing your eyes. You're the only one who doesn't look at me with genuine hatred no matter how much I taunt you," he whispered, his tear-filled eyes at Squall in near admiration.

"You don't judge… you don't pity… you were the only one I could have said this to, don't you see…? I've told you what I've done and not once did you flinch from my story…"

As he listened to the older man's words, Squall felt himself relax for a strange reason as they both stood still, huddled close together in those strange positions. Seifer then, slipped his hands away from Squall's shoulders. Slowly, he lowered his head to Squall's shoulder, laying his forehead in the crook of his neck, as he attempted to slow down his ragged breath choked with sobs to a normal pace.

The brown haired man felt no malice in the taller man's actions and so he stayed motionless as the blond's breath brushed the skin of his neckline softly and his own hands remained gently closed around Seifer's upper arms. He had never yet experienced such a strange situation. He felt utterly bewildered as to why someone took comfort from physical contact of his body, reassured by his warmth, yet he did not feel the need to push the taller man away.

And so he stood perfectly still, his fingers wrapped safely around Seifer's arms even as they slowly encircled his waist.

His eyes suddenly widened in realization; Seifer Almasy, arrogant bastard of Balamb Garden, his former rival and the one who had taunted him his entire life, was hugging him, nuzzling his face in the crook of his neck. Squall began feeling extremely awkward once more, no matter how warm and comfortable the body pressed against him felt. His hands tightened around the sinewy arms in alarm.

"Seifer…" Squall said, his voice cracking weakly.

"This is fuckin' weird…" Seifer suddenly said bluntly, his deep voice sending strange shivers down Squall's spine as he spoke in his ear and his chest vibrated against Squall's body.

"You're the one holding me…" Squall stated matter-of-factly, forcing a calm emotionless tone into his voice.

"I don't see you pushing me away…" the mock and arrogance had suddenly crawled its way back into Seifer's voice and Squall could almost feel the smirk against the sensitive skin of his neck. Just as Squall was about to push the man away from him violently, he felt Seifer's arms leave his waist and his body straightening up. Seifer moved away in front of him, avoiding his eyes as he took another step backwards before turning around, picking up his Gunblade from the ground and propping himself down in the grass. He put Hyperion at arms length to his left, laying his arms against his raised knees.

A heavy silence fell over both past rivals as Squall stood motionless, standing a few feet away from the former Sorceress's knight as he stared down at him, still lost in his own confusion.

"This is fucking weird…" Seifer repeated, shaking his head in disbelief as he chuckled bitterly. He then raised his lowered head from between his knees, glancing at Squall over his shoulders.

"I never actually thought I'd ever say this to anyone…" Seifer chuckled louder. "So now you'll be able to use this against me, huh, Leonhart?" the question had been more of a statement as Seifer obviously did not expect an answer, turning his head away and letting it fall between his knees once more.

It shot up slightly as Seifer heard footsteps coming slowly towards him. The next thing he knew, a very preoccupied looking Squall Leonhart had propped himself on the ground next to him, laying his head backwards as he stared up at the sky, his arms laying in the grass behind his back as he supported his upper body.

"Is Squall Leonhart actually… relaxing?" Seifer raised a mocking eyebrow at him, but Squall paid no attention to it as he continued staring at the stars through the transparent force field, which served as ceiling for the training center.

"Laguna's my father…" the words left his lips so strangely that he wondered if the voice vibrating in his throat had even belonged to him. He looked away from the starry night sky, just in time to see Seifer's green eyes widening in shock.

Squall did not even understand it himself, why he'd revealed the truth to Seifer, but perhaps it was his own way to assure the blond that he did not have to feel ashamed, to share things that bothered him deeply, just as Seifer had done… to show him of moment of weakness, just as his former rival had done…

Why he even cared if Seifer felt embarrassed, was still a complete mystery to him and so he decided not to think about anything anymore, for once, and just let whatever had to happen, happen.

"Is that why he was…?" the childish curiosity in Seifer's voice made Squall want to burst in laughter, but of course, his reflexive emotional restrain made it impossible … so he did as usual and kept his face blank.

"That's why he wanted to see me today; he wanted to tell me the truth… and I just… freaked… that's why you found us the way you did in his office…" the words kept rolling on his tongue as if they had a will of their own. Never had he felt so free, so comfortable at uttering words before in his life. His body felt numb, his mind so… light… He wanted to stop the words, but they would not… and perhaps he even felt relieved that for once, his barriers for once, held no power over his mind and body…

Seifer simply stared at him, as if silently voicing Squall to continue talking… assuring him that he was listening… that he cared…?

"I have a fucking blabbermouth as a father…" Squall sighed miserably, raising his knees and laying his arms on them. Seifer sniggered lightly.

"I've always thought I had no parents… that was my life; being an orphan… and then suddenly… I'm no longer alone… I have family…" Squall shook his head irritably. "…this is pathetic… should this really be affecting me this way?"

Seifer shrugged. "Beats me… I've had the same life has yours, 'cept I'll never have parents…" he looked towards the sky, a pensive look blurring those bright emerald eyes.

"That's what I always told myself… and look at me now; I ended up being the son of the most hopeless guy in the God damn world…" Squall smiled bitterly to himself as he watched Seifer lowering his head between his knees miserably.

"My parents are dead…" Seifer smiled sullenly, looking up at Squall as he brought his hand towards his neck, holding his chocker between his fingers.

"This is all I got left of them. Matron gave it to me before leaving the Orphanage; said my Dad had entrusted it to her when my parents left me, only to die weeks later in the War."

Both men stared absorbedly into each other's eyes for several moments; there was no pity in their stare, only unspoken understanding…

And then Squall was smiling at his former rival and the latter found himself unable to do the same, too dazzled by the alluring sight. For the first time in his life, he had seen such an expression on the quiet brunette's face… he felt as if a weight itself had lifted from his tattered soul, like the friendly gesture was the key to unlocking the door which held the guilt in his heart. Squall was forgiving him, was allowing Seifer to forgive himself…

"This has been the weirdest night of my whole fuckin' life…" Seifer muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Squall then stood up slowly, holding up the belt which hoisted his Gunblade and buckling it safely around his waist.

"You wear too many fuckin' belts, you know that?" Seifer mocked, smirking up at him. Squall looked down at him over his shoulder.

"Whatever…" he looked in front of him and began walking away, disappearing behind the cover of the exotic trees as he made his way back to the Training Center entrance.

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TBC…

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Author's note: Yeah… I know, a very emotional chapter that one was… but don't worry, Seifer and Squall won't become all buddy buddy after this… ooooh no… quite the contrary! They might have shared 'moments of weakness' together that night… but everything will stay the same, because I suppose that's how both characters would have wanted it to be.

I'll try to right more as soon as possible!

Thanks for reading! Please review!