Minna-san – as I promised, another chapter this week. It's my apology for being so late to update. As a few have noticed, Seifer is more than he seems. Come on now, the almighty Seifer only a teacher in my fic? That ain't gonna happen. I'll reveal more eventually – probably in the sequel? Ahah maybe.

Oh yeah, read my profile for some important stuff. (Especially if you are confused about some aspects of this fic.)

WARNING : sap sap fluff fluff and everything nice tra la la – haha get my drift?

Losing control / 20

White walls. The smell of alcohol. Individuals shuffling around, following their own paths. Amidst this array of movements, Seifer stood silently and motionlessly, waiting none-too-patiently for some sort of news. He had sent all those men back since he felt the need to be alone. Well, he also didn't want to draw too much attention either.

Soon, a doctor approached the blonde briskly, his glasses drawn up, magnifying his eyes.

"Ah, Mr...Almasy?"

"Yes. How is he?"

The doctor shuffled for a moment and glanced at the clipboard a few times before clearing his throat.

"Well, it seems that he has -"

"I know what happened. Is he going to be OK?"

The doctor looked offended for a moment, but upon seeing Seifer's genuine expression of worry, he decided to disregard the rude interruption.

"As of now, I don't see anything fatal. He will, however, need his rest. He's lost a lot of blood."

"So...he's going to be OK?"

"Yes. I would say so."

The tall blonde let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall. The doctor, after a few moments of silence, decided best to walk away and leave the man be.

"Wait. Can I see him?"

"I don't think you -"

"Please?"

"...only for a few minutes though. He's at room 304."

"Squall?"

Seifer barely let out a whisper as he slowly opened the door to Squall's hospital room. There was only the sound of the constant beeping of the machine by Squall's side disrupting the silence. The taller man stood silently, watching Squall breathing, his eyes closed and mouth parted open slightly.

"Are you awake?"

The blonde hit himself mentally for asking such a stupid question. Squall answered with silence.

Pulling a nearby stool towards the bed, Seifer situated himself near his beloved. It pained him to see Squall resting so silently in pain, his expression lifeless. Seifer stood up and tilted towards the brunette. Slowly, and almost timidly, he leaned over until his warm lips touched a pair of cold ones.

"You know...according to those fairy tales...the princess is supposed to wake up when the prince kisses her."

Seifer smiled weakly and brushed a lock of Squall's hair back.

"But...I guess this isn't like those tales, huh. If it was...then everything would be so much better. Shit...what am I saying?"

"Seifer? I thought you would be here."

Seifer whirled around at the familiar feminine voice.

"Quistie. How did you know -"

"Seifer, please. What am I? A detective. Being a detective has its perks, I guess."

The tall woman walked towards the two men. Seifer simply pulled out another chair for her to sit.

"Are you sure you want to let this off? I mean, this is some serious stuff."

"Quistie...you know that it's never my style to shove assholes behind bars. As long as they leave us alone, I honestly don't care." Seifer paused for a moment and grinned. "And plus, after me beating the living shit out of him, I doubt that he's ever going to come back."

"Ah, you silly boy. Whatever works for you. If you change your mind, let me know."

"I will."

A momentary silence.

"How is he?" Quistis asked quietly.

"The doctor says he's going to be OK."

"That's good."

Another moment of silence.

"Well...this is kind of awkward." The blonde inserted, scratching his head.

"Yeah...well, I should get going. Tell me how things go, OK? And don't stay up all night. It won't do Squall any good if you got sick, too."

"Yes, mother."

"Oh, shut up, will you?"

The blonde woman let out a light chuckle before exiting the room, leaving the two men to be by themselves.

Seifer, frankly speaking, did not see how Squall was going to be OK after being shot twice. He grimaced as those moments played in his head again and again – as if watching a scene from a horror movie over and over.

"You know...you know what really sucks? It seems like...all I do is screw things up for you. Sad, huh." Seifer whispered as he grasped Squall's cold hands. "Shit...I want to let you go, but I can't. I'm such a fucking coward sometimes – I'm afraid of not seeing your face...not holding your hands like this...when...I should let you go to be safe...

"Wake up, Squall...please? I look like an idiot doing this...but I don't care as long as you wake up. Come on...you can't hate me this much...

"I left things on bad terms, huh. I...I didn't mean to hurt you. I swear. I didn't even know what I was doing. Shit. This sounds so lame. I probably can't even say this when you're awake..."

Seifer rested his head against Squall's hands, and as if handling a delicate porcelain doll, brushed his fingertips against the brunette's hand gently. He exhaled deeply then closed his eyes - wishing that when he opened his eyes again, Squall would be awake again.

Ahahah what a drastic change from the last chapter. This arc is drawing to an end soon – wait for arc 2 – muahaha. Fear me.

And...review please bwahahaha