Hey! Sorry I'm taking so infernally long with updates. Exam time, and nineteen exams. -- It's so futzing with my ability to write as much as I want to. That, and, well, I've lost my 'feel' for this fic. If it's OOC and whatever, just blame the muses - they aren't playing fair.

That said, only two more chapters and maybe an epilogue and I'll probably count this done. :)

And if you haven't read Stockholm Syndrome by me and Iliyana? Do. ;) We had loads of fun with that fic.

Seifer POV

Squall sits down on the bed that is going to be too small to share comfortably, and gives me a 'what are you doing in here?' look, to which I just shrug, sitting down beside him. He sits still and quiet for about a minute before sighing and letting me put my arm around him. "You know what is really fucking unfair?" I ask him.

"No," he says, plainly waiting for me to tell him.

"Medea is really a traitor… but people will still look on me as the greater threat, and I was under the control of the sorceress." I sigh, reminded of Squall's idea that, maybe, if I help SeeD win this battle, people will look on me as less of a threat.

"They'll still believe you're the leader of this rebellion, too," he hesitates, and then adds, "I'll do my best to get you cleared of all guilt. It might take a while though… maybe you should stay in Garden until this whole thing blows over."

I snort quietly, reaching up to catch his chin in my hand and turn his face to mine, pressing my lips against his and half whispering, "You think I'm going anywhere away from you now that I know you have some kind of feelings for me? I'm going to stick around and annoy you as much as I possibly can, princess."

"Don't call me princess," he mutters, nerves frayed from the day's work. I snort quietly and run a hand through his hair, teasing out the tangles as I kiss him again. He's always seemed to bring out the best in me. The best possible parts of my competitive, arrogant nature; making me a fighter to be feared as much as he is. Without him, I'd be nothing when it comes to fighting. Consciously or not, he's always challenged me, pushed me to be better. I'm sure it's the same in reverse for him.

And now, in these quiet moments between action, he's bringing out a gentler side of me. The side of me that has romantic dreams, though God knows they need squashing the minute they resurface.

Our kisses are only soft, few deepening beyond a quick taste of each other. When I feel him start to get a little more tired, a little more distant, I nibble lightly on Squall's lip until he does pull back, eyes opening a little hazily. "I'm tired."

"So get ready for bed," I say, knowing he wants me to leave, knowing that that's my dismissal, and honestly not giving a shit. "I'm not going anywhere."

He gives me a mild glare. Damn, he really is tired. "Seifer, just go."

"What if I don't want to?" I smirk at him. "There's enough space to share that bed."

"Hardly," he snorts, but to my surprise, he doesn't force me to leave, simply getting up and pulling away from my hold. At my curious look, he smiles slightly. "If you're staying, you'd better be going to sleep now, or you can get lost."

I don't need a second invitation, getting up and kicking my boots off, watching as he strips off his shirt and works on getting his belts undone. He raises an eyebrow at my look, "And don't try anything. The Ragnarok isn't the best place to be doing anything loud."

I just smirk at him, but with that said; a kind of awkwardness grows between us. We've seen each other naked before, of course, before this relationship started, even before the sorceress war, but how many clothes do we keep on when we sleep in the same bed?

Finally, he makes a decision, pulling off leather pants and underwear and immediately slipping into the bed, avoiding my eyes, turning to face the wall and shutting his own eyes. I finish stripping, turn out the light and join him, wrapping my arms around him, pressing my face into the back of his neck. He's warm, warm and solid and very alive. I guess I always imagined he'd be colder, with his icy personality.

I trail a hand down his side, finding the small scars marring the smoothness of the rest of his skin, tracing the larger ones. I can even remember when he got some of these marks. Most of them, probably. I wish… that we had been closer before this. It would have been… interesting. And maybe I wouldn't have been such a stupid ass. I kiss the back of his neck and he sighs softly. "Are you going to go to sleep anytime soon, Seifer?"

"Am I keeping you awake?" I ask, my fingers tracing the scar that I know must be from the icicle that pierced him.

He snorts softly, "No, but the opposite might be true." He turns in my arms and suddenly I'm reminded of how very naked we both are. "I thought I told you that the Ragnarok isn't the best place to be doing anything loud."

"I'm sure you could be very, very quiet if you tried hard," I say with a little smirk.

He rolls his eyes, "I was more worried about you being loud."

I tighten my arms around him and shut my eyes, "Nah, I don't want to try anything when we're so cramped anyway. Go to sleep."

"Alright." He buries his face in my shoulder. I can feel the change in his body as he drifts off; tensions easing off and new ones easing in, a shifting of his body from one mode to the next. Even in his sleep he's alert, but that doesn't stop me touching him. The darkness is sensory deprivation, and although I hate it, I have to admit; I'm scared of the dark now.

So once he's asleep, I touch him, reminding myself of my other senses, running my fingers through his hair and dropping kisses on his face. I have to be gentle, soft, barely there, else I'll wake him. I know that, and I'm extra careful, feeling his warm solidarity against me and relaxing, even as I hate the dark and the cramped space, surrendering to sleep peacefully, for once.

Squall POV

For just a split second, it's quite the surprise to wake up in Seifer's arms, but though I'm not exactly a morning person, realisation comes fast to me. Usually I'd be up and getting dressed immediately, my body trained to carry on without my mind until I get coffee and the slice of toast that passes for breakfast. This morning, I'm restrained by Seifer's arms around me, and too warm and comfortable to really consider moving.

I hear Zell banging about, knocking on everyone's door, and I figure out what woke me. Sighing, I resist the urge to burrow further into bed and instead answer when Zell bangs on the door.

"Yo, Squall!"

"I'm awake."

"Figured you would be. Where's Seifer? He isn't in any of the rooms…" I can just picture his face at that puzzle, scratching his head.

"He's in here."

Zell opens the door, probably assuming that if we're both in here, we're both up and dressed, blinks at the sight of us wrapped around each other, and shuts the door again. Damn the Ragnarok for not being properly private. "Whoa! I'll pretend I didn't see that and just assume that you'll be up soon."

Surprising. I thought he'd make more of a fuss about it. I poke Seifer, and he stirs, grumpily. Trust him to sleep through anything when he's comfortable. "Wake up, Seifer."

He lets go of me, but doesn't actually open his eyes or openly suggest that he's awake. I climb out of bed, rolling my eyes, and get dressed before attempting to actually get him up. "Get up, now, Seifer."

He cracks an eye open and smirks at me, "Gonna make me?"

"Yes. With a blizzard spell if necessary."

"You're cruel," he mutters, getting out of bed and pulling on his clothes. I turn away from him to sort out my hair, frowning at the typical mess of it. I see him in the mirror behind me a split second before his arms slip around my waist, saving him the elbow in the jaw he deserves for doing such a stupid thing unexpectedly.

"Do you think we'll end all this today?"

"I hope so."

He buries his face in my neck, silent, worried. "It's going to be quite the fight if they're as strong as they think they are."

"Yeah."

"Be careful, won't you?" He nips at my shoulder lightly, but he's completely serious, probably afraid that I'll manage to get myself killed today. Stupid idiot. If he couldn't manage to kill me, there's no chance I'm letting some other idiot kill me.

"I'm not going to die in a conflict as stupid as this one."

"Good. Don't." He pauses, nipping at my neck again and then straightens. "Just in case, there's something you should know." I let a questioning silence fill the room, waiting from him to speak and tell me, rather than leave me guessing. He sighs, reaching up to run his hands through my hair, his voice hesitant, "I love you."

I don't answer him for a long moment, and then, with a nod, I acknowledge it, pulling out of his embrace. "We should go and join the others now."

"Right," he agrees, maybe a little disappointed, running his hand through his hair and straightening out his shirt.

The truth is, I love him too. But saying that… just saying 'I love you too' doesn't feel as… meaningful as it should, somehow. So I won't say a thing. The moron should know anyway, or at least know that I care. I wouldn't… do anything meaningless. And a relationship with him would be meaningless if I didn't care about or love him, right?

I'll trust him to understand. Probably a stupid thing to do, but we can talk later.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Zell averts his eyes from us when we join the others, and Quistis looks a little pained, but the others still don't know about it. Probably better that way, although it won't last for long.

"Are you guys ready then?" Selphie is far too cheerful, as always.

"Yes," I reply, before Seifer can get some kind of snide comment in.

"Then let's go kick butt!"