Disclaimer: Still not mine. shock That's right, people, nothing has changed! Everything still belongs to Ruth and Square Soft (Enix . . .whatever. They're all a bunch of Squares either way).

Warnings: Language, attempt at humor situations, and basically a whole lot of nothing .- Just kidding.

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(7 hours later, still Seifer)

I growl out a curse and pull on the Dog's leash to the point where I think I'm choking him. The Monster takes his time coming back to my side, and then gives me an incredibly hurt look. I scowl back at him . "Oh fuck you. If you don't want to get dragged around then don't fucking stop." And so we continue our walk.

I'm in the worst mood I've ever been in, and this is the worst day I've ever been in. I was going to have Selphie make dinner at the old beach house and invite Squall, but apparently Selphie has some sort of awful cold, and Irvine doesn't think she can make much of anything. Then Squall went to visit Laguna, and when he came home it was obvious from the look on his face that he now knew who his daddy was, and to top it all off, he and Rinoa went out on the town to celebrate. Celebrate what? Their Hyne-damned butt-screwing engagement.

Yeah, exactly. Apparently at some point while I was out Squall asked Rinoa to marry him, and I don't guess that it took her more than about a second to give him the affirmative. So she's now sporting a ring bigger than the Hyne damned Hope Diamond, as I found out upon having it shoved in my face at my arrival. Then Rinoa told me all about it, how romantic it was, how perfect, how she was already planning the wedding. And Squall just stood there the whole time, a vaguely happy look on his face. I imagine that this is the best day of his life, as he knows it. So of course I congratulated them, as best I can.

And you know what else? Squall didn't even like the shampoo that I bought. Not that he said so, but I could tell by his face.

And to add icing to the cake, I get to babysit his stupid dog while they're out. I yank on his collar again, not out of a mistake on his part, but just because I'm pissed and he's handy. I don't think he really minds, and for some reason that really rankles. I look at my watch. Three in the afternoon. Damn it . . .

For some stupid reason I decided to take the Dog on a walk, and for yet another stupid reason I decided we should go on a long walk. I assume that some greater power must really hate me; the minute we had gone two miles the air turned incredibly chilly, and I'm standing here in a T-shirt and long shorts. So while I'm freezing my ass off, the dog is perfectly fine under his coat of dense hair. And, just to piss me off, he's stopping and checking every telephone pole and tuft of grass that he sees. The going is made even slower by all the children who want to run over and pet the 'huge pretty doggy'. People ask the most ridiculous questions, such as 'does he need a saddle', and 'isn't it illegal to walk a deer'? Even sadder is it was the grown ups asking these things. I think the best comment I've heard so far is 'that's a really pretty collar', from a five year old girl. Argh . . .

We only have about two blocks left when some higher power decides to take pity on me. A cat, more like a little kitten, sees me, and for some reason begins to follow us. I start to kick it away, when I notice the Dog. His ears are pressed tightly against his head, and he's giving a wary look at the tiny kitten. As the kitten advances, the giant dog backs away. I look at him. "Hyne, don't tell me you're afraid of a three pound kitten." The cat comes closer, and the dog whines. I start to roll my eyes, but stop as they get about sky level. An idea starts to form in my mind. I stare down at the little furbag, and nod.

Just then a little boy comes running up and snatches the kitten from where he's terrorizing the Dog. The boy gives me a quick 'excuse me Mister', before squeezing past me and running away with his prize. I glare after him, and then sigh. There are other cats in this town, I just need to find one. The dog, probably sensing my plot with his hypersensitive doggy senses, whines pitifully. Right, Master Plan. . .

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(Squall)

I think this has been one of the best days of my life, that I can remember. That man that Irvine sent me to, Laguna, not only knew who my father was, it turns out he is my father. At first I didn't believe him, but then when I looked really close I noticed the similarity of our bone structure, which is enough for me. Plus I don't see how that man could possibly tell a lie. When I left I felt better emotionally than I had in quite some time, albeit quite weary. I think that the man, my father, somehow drains energy from those around him and uses it to his own purpose. A weird thing happened though: on my way out, he asked me to bring Seifer in some time. He then turned a peculiar shade of red, and wouldn't tell me how he knew Seifer. He was suddenly very busy, 'official business and all', and told me stop by again so we could chat. I take that to mean, I would drop by, and he would chat. He's like the thing that never shuts up.

Then Rinoa agreed to marry me, which I couldn't happier about. She is really a lovely person, somewhat naive, and of course she has her dense moments, but for the most part I really love her. I can't remember ever feeling about anyone else the way I feel about Rinoa, the way her eyes light up when I tell her I love her, the way the sun hits her hair just right, causing the light to shine off of it in soft waves. And the sex is nothing to sneeze at, either. I sigh as I remember the goodbye kiss she gave me as I dropped her off. It's too bad I couldn't stop in and stay the night in her house (her father paid for it, in full) with her, but I promised Seifer that I would be home at a certain time, and I would hate to have a repeat of what happened the last time I left my dog waiting. I'm also worried about leaving my roommate alone for too long; he seems the type who could cause trouble out of boredom. If he had been born one of Mr. Caraway's purebred dogs he would have probably been shot long ago. Almost a pity he wasn't

I set my jaw as I think about the arrogant blond. He's obviously known me for some time, before my amnesia. I can tell just by the way he acts. It upsets me that he won't tell me how he knows me, but I'm sure not going to ask. Maybe he was a bully in whatever school I went to. He seems the type: loud, annoying, the list goes on. It's like he goes out of his way to annoy me. I can't imagine how else I could have known him. And the way he looked when Rinoa flashed that ring at him, he looked like he wanted to kill her. Literally. But there's something else about him, something I can't put my finger on. I think that if I dig deep enough, maybe I'll find it. But I also think that in his own way he's as good at hiding his feelings as I am. Which doesn't help.

I slip the key into the lock and turn it, blinking at the slight resistance. I'll have to remember to oil it in the morning. Walking into the apartment, I throw my coat onto the kitchen counter, and look around, frowning. Seifer is know where to be seen. I groan, imaging several worse case scenarios involving my roommate losing him 'accidentally on purpose' or even getting him killed. I quickly go through the sparse rooms, and I have to admit that I was quite shocked at discovering his new hiding place- wedged in the shower stall, behind the shower curtain. I frown at him. "Seifer, what are you doing?" He licks my hand, but doesn't move. I'm too tired to try to coax the two hundred pound dog out of the stall. Instead I go off to find the other Seifer and figure out what's going on.

I find the man sitting on his bedroom floor, assembling some kind of plastic box, surrounded by various shopping bags. He seems to be too absorbed in his work, as he doesn't seem to notice my entrance. I step back and knock and the door, giving it three loud bangs. He doesn't seem startled by the noise. Instead he finishes his immediate task at hand, stretches, and then turns to me with a smirk that screams 'Guilty!'. I repress the urge to ask him what he's done, and lean against the doorframe.

"So," I start, "care to tell me why my dog is holed up in the shower stall?"

Seifer raises an eyebrow. "The shower stall?"

I nod. At least I know his hearing is fine.

His smirk deepens. "I don't suppose you have a camera handy?" I raise an eyebrow at him and shake my head. He frowns. "Too bad. This just seems like one of those 'kodak moments' you're always hearing about."

"Whatever. Why is he in there?"

Seifer's smirk lights up again, but he doesn't say why. Instead he rummages around in a large box I hadn't noticed before, and then delicately lifts out an object. I stare for a moment, and then blink. "It's a cat."

Seifer chuckles. "Damn, can't get much past you." He doesn't seem to be put off by my glare. "Righto. Anyways, I thought it would be nice to have one of these little furballs around."

He points the face of the small orange cat towards his own and smiles at it, talking some weird baby talk to it. Obviously my roommate is very pleased with his new buddy. I roll my eyes towards the Heaven, then drop them back to the man.

"They don't even do anything."

He shrugs. "Sign of intelligence."

"They stink"

Another shrug. "Not with my special but way too expensive odor blocking kitty litter."

"The dorm doesn't allow them."

He shakes his head. "I talked with the man in charge. He said it's fine as long as there's no dookie on the lawn."

" . . . I'm allergic."

He looks at me, amused. "Is that honestly the best you can do?"

I bare my teeth at him slightly, then shut my mouth. "Seifer is afraid of them."

His smirk turns into a brilliant smile. "I know. Isn't it great?"

"You . . .know?"

He nods, hugging the cat close to him. "Obviously. Why else would I purchase this little furball of death? Although, I must say that he's grown on me. Oh, right. Your mutt hid in the shower right after meeting Cat."

Well that solves a lot of mysteries. My mouth quirks. "'Cat'?"

He looks at me. "Uh huh, that way we have Dog and Cat."

I frown. Is this guy for real? "The dog's name is Seifer."

He snorts. "To you, maybe." Then he looks at my face. "Fine, what should I name this little kitty of questionable background?"

Well, shit. He would have to ask me that. I stare at the little cat that Seifer is holding up to me. I think about it for a second, then step forward and take the cat. I haven't held a cat since I woke up, so as far as I know I've never held one. Looking around me, I'll have to say that's a good thing.

I'm no longer in Seifer's dorm. Instead I am sitting on a familiar couch that I know I've never seen before. A large grey cat with a squashed in nose in sitting on my lap with his eyes closed. As I stroke his back large rumblings emit from deep within him. Only I can make him do that. The thought is there and then gone, but somehow I know that only I can make the cat purr. While affectionate, he is silent around everyone else. I feel his tattered ears, look into his green gold eyes. I can hear somebody, a female, calling behind me, "Where's Griever?"

Then I hear a deeper voice saying, "Check with Squall." The voice is followed by a deep chuckle. The cat jumps off my lap, and suddenly I'm in Seifer's room again.

He gives me an odd look, but I thrust the cat back at him before he can ask any questions. As I turn I just say, "Griever." He asks me to wait, but I leave. I walk quickly to my room, lock the door, and flop onto my bed, ignoring the man's knocking. Instead I bury my face in my pillow, trying to block out all external feelings. Who was that girl? And why was Seifer's voice in my flashback? If that's what it was. I curse Seifer for nothing in particular; ever since he has arrived I've been completely out of sorts.

He stops banging on my door eventually, and then shouts something. A few minutes later I hear the front door open and close, and roll over onto my back. I don't want to think about this anymore, about my past. Instead I think about Rinoa and my upcoming wedding to the woman I love.

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(Seifer)

I pull into the driveway of the old beach house and kill the engine, and then sit for a minute. The kitten mewls from its box in the seat next to me, and I reach over and tenderly life it out. It tried to crawl up on my shoulder, and I give up after a few attempts to stop him, then get out of the car. I know they'll be awake -the two of them require hardly any sleep- so I don't bother being quiet. A light is on in the house, so I know I'm not disturbing them too much. And, with Selphie being sick, I don't have to worry about them having sex. Thank Hyne.

It takes Irvine a minute to answer the door, and when he does he's clad in a robe and slippers. His confused look dissipates at the sight of me, and he smiles his classic cowboy smile. "Well hey there Seif, come on in." Then he notices the kitty, who happens to be quite at home on my shoulders. "Nice pussy."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks."

He shuts the door behind me. "No problem."

I walk into the living room, and wave at Selphie, who is buried under blankets on the couch. She lifts her head slowly, and smiles as brightly as someone with watery eyes and a red nose can. "Hey Seif!" I wince at her cold induced accent, then walk over and plant a kiss on her forehead, accidentally brushing the kitten's tail against her nose. The ensuing sneeze is explosive, leaving a fine covering a snot on my face. She looks at me apologetically. "Sorry."

I shrug, grabbing a handful of tissues. "Don't worry about it." I once again thank whoever it was that decided to give me a natural immunity to colds and viruses as I wipe the slimy stuff off my cheek.

I drop into one armchair, and Irvine sits on the couch, positioning Selphie's feet so that they rest in his lap. He begins to automatically massage them. The little kitty curls up on my shoulder and yawns widely. I get the sneaking suspicion that he'll grow up to be a classic fat lazy cat.

Selphie looks at him, her obvious love for animals shining through. So is her frustration over not being able to cuddle the animal. "So," she says, "what have you decided to call the little angel?"

I snort. Her love for animals is a little bit way over the top sometimes. She's got to be the master of sweet talk, spending hours with her 'cuddly bundles of love'.

"Ah," I clear my throat. "It's Griever. Or, I guess it would be Griever the Second, right?"

Selphie looks at me, shocked. "You named your cat after mine?" Then she squeals. "That is so adorable! Thank you Seif, Grieve will love it!"

I look down. "Actually, Squall named it."

Irvine whistles. "So this is the second cat he's named Griever? Sounds like a personal problem . . ." He trails off.

I shake my head. "Third actually." They both look at me. "He used to have a stuffed cat named Griever when he was younger." They 'ah'.

It's true though, after Squall named Selphie's gray rescue cat Griever, I just had to ask. After weeks of prying I finally got him to share the fact that he had a stuffed animal named Griever when he was five. Apparently it met a bad end in a Garbage compressor. Or so he said. While the original live Griever tolerated everyone, it had a real soft spot for Squall, something my ex-boyfriend hated to admit. He pretended to loath the cat, but more than once I caught them napping together, or just playing around.

Irvine starts again. "So what, he just said to name it Griever or something?"

I shrug. "I asked Squall to name him and then let Squall hold him, and then he went into this weird trance type thing. Where he was looking at me, but it was like he was seeing something through me." I shake my head. "Then he just shoved the cat back at me, said 'Griever', and ran to his room. What do you guys think?"

Selphie bites her cheek, and Irvine offers a suggestion. "Maybe he had some sort of memory recollection, and didn't like it. I mean, he's been gone for three years, maybe he's settled into his new life and doesn't want the drama of trying to remember anything before hand anymore." He looks around at me. "I mean, you know how Squall is."

I shake my head again. "I think that he wants to remember some things." Their expressions go from questioning to thoughtful as I tell them about Laguna. They think for a while, while I debate telling them about his engagement. Finally I just come out with it. "Then again, maybe he is ready to move on. With his soon to be wife."

It takes them a moment, but they finally get it. Irvine stares at me slack jawed, whereas Selphie jumps off of the couch, showing the world that she's wearing nothing but a T Shirt, and starts to rage. "That man! I'm going to march over there right now and tell him exactly what I think of him, and that hussy! When I'm through with him he'll regret the day his mother first laid on eyes on his freaking father! And then . . ." As she continues ranting, Irvine just thinks on it.

Finally he says, "maybe you should just tell him about your relationship." He shrugs defensively. "Couldn't hurt."

I give him an incredulous look, and he shrugs again. The fact of the matter is, it could hurt, a lot. For both Squall and I. While I'm not happy about his current life, I'm not exactly some monster that wants to destroy him or anything. "I don't know, Irvine." I sigh. "I'll think about it, but I just don't know."

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BS: And here it is, my first update in, well, a long time. Sorry Ruth! I just sat down and wrote this in one sitting, over three hours. It is now two in the morning, and I'm tired. So I'm blaming that as my sucky excuse for this chapter .- Anyways Ruth, I hope you're not too bored!

Also, sorry for the cat's name. I just suck at naming animals, so here you get stuck with yet another 'Griever'. I wonder how many characters are actually named Griever in the FF8 fandom?

Also, about the scene where Squall discovers Laguna is his father- I didn't put it in here because I started to write it in, and it was just long and boring, and it's nothing we don't know. I mean honestly, how many tearful scenes have you read where Squall discovers his father? Maybe I'll put it in a flashback or something later, after I figure out a good way to present it. I think it helps that I'm not very good writing Squall- Seifer is more my forte.

Oh, another thing. I may be updating few and far between, more so than usual, because my mom and step dad are fighting and she might leave him, which leaves me internet-less for a while. Sorry all.

Right, I'll shut up now .-

Wind chime Bells: Thanks for sticking with me here .- Eh, Laguna, what can I say, I was in a mood

Redrum: What can I say, the formatting God's hate me .- Nope, I made that shampoo up. Copyrights are mine . Now I just have to trick someone into using the name so I can sue .- . . .How is it hard to play two person Clue? My sister and I do it all the time, it's just less noisy and takes less time. Anyways, thanks for reviewing again I love your reviews .-

A Happy Little Bumble Bee: Thank you very much! Eh, I hope I didn't scare you off earlier ;

None: thankies And it wasn't soon, but it is an update .-