Chapter Eight: Hallway Havoc

Author's Note: There's no need to fear, Dear Matron Raenee, I have the hits thing and people are reading it, just not taking the time to review. So just knowing that people are at least stopping by to see what's up is enough for me.

As for an actual author's note, this chapter is going to be a little different than the others. This is Squall and Seifer's (final?) fight. All throughout this story I have been putting in little glimpses into the character's pasts. In this chapter, the italicized paragraphs are something that happened in the past, and regular script is going to be what is currently happening in the hallway. Got it? Yippee.

Squall rose from his squatting position next to Zell. He lifted his sword to the ready, waiting.

Silence filled the spaces between the two men as they stood there, perfectly still. Not another word was spoken, not another breath taken. Squall silently prayed that Zell and Quistis would be fine, that he would be able to settle this and save them. Zell he knew should be fine, but Quistis… tremors shook his steady arm from the rage he felt thinking about her. How could this animal before him do something so wretched?

"It's been-"

"-a long time," Seifer spoke quietly, letting his voice ring across the empty spaces between them. They took another step closer to each other.

"I won't let you win, not this time," said Squall with vehemence in his voice. "There is no excuse for what happened here tonight."

Without any further warning Seifer slammed his blade against Squall's, sending sparks showering the both of them. It caught Squall off guard and his center of balance shifted, sending him staggering backward. His back slammed against the wall and the sword in his hands began slipping. When Hyperion sliced through the air again, he barely had enough time to dodge, sending the blade into the wall an inch from his ear.

The two of them circled each other, eyeing the other, sizing them up. "You don't want to do this," Squall said. "This isn't how this is supposed to happen."

"We all have our reasons," Seifer exclaimed, moving yet closer.

"What are you doing?" Squall yelled. "What happened?"

"More than you know," Seifer said with a small chuckle. With a burst of speed he had Squall pinned to the wall.

"What happened to us?" he asked. "We used to be so…"

Recovering from staggering, Squall swung his sword in a blind arc toward his foe. "How could you do that to Zell and Quistis?" he screamed, bubbling with rage.

The taller man caught the sword flying towards him with his own. Squall planted both feet firmly on the ground and pushed with all his might, fueled by his own anger. How could he have been so blind as to let him stay behind a locked door? Did he really think that Seifer had changed?

"I did nothing to them," Seifer replied through gritted teeth. "They did it all to themselves."

Squall wanted out, wanted to not be pinned by Seifer, wanted so many things. All he needed was one burst of strength, one final surge to get out of this situation, but he knew that it was futile.

With Seifer's warm breath easing along his cheek, Squall felt something give way inside him. How could they fight, after all that had happened? He looked both ways down the darkened hallway, and when he saw no one swim into his line of sight, he leveled his gaze with the blond. "Why now?"

"Now is the only time we have," Seifer said, pressing his body tight to Squall's.

"How am I supposed to believe that?" Squall shouted, breaking the hold they had been in. "What the fuck happened here then? And where did you just come from?"

"None of your business. Are we going to finish this?" Seifer said, almost casually, sending chills spiraling down Squall's spine.

It was that moment when Squall realized that this was it. One of them was not going to walk away from this hallway. One of them was going to have to die, one of them was going to finally be victorious. After so many long years of petty rivalry, one of them was going to die.

And he was determined for it not to be him.

"Seifer, I tried… so much," Squall said, just loud enough for the other man to hear him. "I tried to let you back in, I tried so hard to let you back into our lives, and you ruin it. You ruin everything you touch, like a cancer."

Flames licked around the edges of Seifer's gunblade as he lunged back at Squall.

The taller, blonde man had one hand pinning the smaller man to the wall. Staring intently into each other's eyes, each trying to read what the other was all about. There was always something deeper between them, something more than rivalry that got in the way of their almost friendship.

Squall had always wanted it to stay hidden, he always tried to suppress his feelings for his rival. Both of them knew how the other felt, all along, but neither ever tried anything.

Before now.

The passion that had built between them promised to explode, and soon.

Squall barely had time to steady himself and raise one hand for a counter-spell before Seifer slammed into him.

They fell together, colliding in a spiral of lust. Squall leaned his head back as Seifer eased kisses down his neck. As soon as he got to the baseline of Squall's shirt, a fire erupted between them, and without realizing what was going on, they found themselves in a tangle of limbs on the ground, their shirts off.

One hand roughly in Squall's hair, the other exploring lower sections, the blonde wanted nothing more than to drown in his eyes. Squall threw his head back and let out a surprised gasp of ecstasy.

Ice flicked out at Seifer's blade, freeing the steel of the flames, freeing Squall of searing pain.

They continued to battle, swinging blades and shouting. In the back of his mind Squall wondered if anyone was going to notice, if there was anyone left in the area this late at night, or if Seifer had killed them all already. The fight was draining them both, and neither knew what to do about it. If one stopped, he was dead.

"Love me, fuck me," Seifer said quietly.

"I don't know if…"

"Just shut up and do," Seifer said, the usual sarcastic tone, but this time spoken with an overtone that was almost… joyous.

Squall let down his defense for one second and that was all it took. The other blade sliced cleanly through the air, not connecting with more metal. It sank into his upper arm, cutting neatly through his jacket.

Unleashing a cry of agony, Squall dropped his blade and fell to his knees. Zell was still unmoving about ten feet from him.

The only thing Squall could think of was if he didn't win this fight, which now it seemed unlikely, he wouldn't be able to help those he loved. Zell looked so pathetic, so lifeless, but alive. He would not remain so much longer if Squall wasn't standing between them.

As blood seeped down his arm, drenching his clothes and splattering on the ground, Seifer took one more step towards him and stopped. "This is the way the world ends," he whispered in a sing-song voice. "Not with a bang, but a whimper."

Kneeling before Squall, the sword tip poking into Squall's stomach just enough to hurt, Seifer used one hand to tip Squall's head up towards him.

His tear-stained eyes met Seifer's bold, confident ones. "Will you whimper for me?" he asked softly.

"Fuck… you," Squall choked out.

The room heated up as the two figures rolled on the bed in extreme bliss. Neither wanted this night to end, but as soon as the sun came up they knew what would have to happen. "This is real, right?" Squall asked in a small voice.

"This has to be real," Seifer assured him. "What else could this be?"

Author's Note: Ok, sorry this took so long! A lot of things came up, and I know that is no excuse. This also took awhile longer because I'm really not very used to writing action scenes… But I got through it. Who will come out on top! Poor Squall