It started with her visiting him during his spars. After each session, he chatted with her until one of his friends from Balamb collected him. Rinoa learned of his gunblade and life on the other side of the world. He spoke of pristine beaches and the best seafood ever in between gagging on how bored out of his mind he was with Balamb Garden.

"I should be a SeeD by now," he told Rinoa.

"Well, what's holding you back?" she asked.

Turned out the same things which held her back from her studies. Seifer excelled outside of lecture halls and learned better by experience, hence why he and a few select others were sent out to Deling City. Apparently, another student used a gunblade, but Seifer never uttered a name. The disgust in his eyes was enough for Rinoa.

And Rinoa breathed life to her struggles. The military academy was more of a cage than an opportunity. She wasn't sure what to expect from Seifer in terms of a reaction.

"I'd be suffocating if I had to go to school here every damn day," he finally replied with a scoff. "Fancy and all, but no one wins on being pretty or having more money. How the hell does anyone learn anything here?"

"Are you trying to tell me you haven't learned anything yet here?" Rinoa teased.

"Tch, far from it! I don't have to take the boring ass classes you're taking right now. It's all field prep for me. Kind of feel sorry for you."

Rinoa shrugged her shoulders. I feel sorry for me, too. "Don't. I put myself in this position. Just... trying to make the most of it."

"By shoving your face in a book?"

A snort shot out of her. "Books aren't that bad! At least in general. When it's pages after pages of mundane text... then yeah, it's a bit boring."

"You'd think they'd be more about hands-on learning around here or something."

"That's reserved for the upperclassmen, I believe. Even then, we'd have to wait until the actual military before we can learn the real stuff."

Seifer tilted his head while his mouth turned into a straight line. "You sound so pumped about all of this."

"That obvious?" The two snickered over the dry sarcasm before Rinoa continued. "Like I said; I'm trying to make the most of all of this."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were forced to attend here."

Rinoa didn't answer.

"And regardless if that's the case or not," Seifer went on, "I think you're in a serious need for something to liven up your life. Well, at least I am, so this is my official proposal for you to tag along with me."

His proposition was a curious one which tugged at the corners of Rinoa's lips. "And what would you suggest we do?"

A wild grin met her. "How about we ditch this shit hole and find something way more interesting?"

It was freeing to hang out with Seifer. The last time she socialized with a friend felt like a lifetime ago, let alone a firebrand such as Seifer. His smile was contagious, but his spirit left a lasting mark within Rinoa. Together, they ventured past the campus and out into the city with nothing to hold them back, save for their imagination, curfews, and wallets.

Seifer claimed to have never set foot in Deling City or any urban sprawl before. As proud as he made himself out to be, he gazed at the towers in awe and marveled upon wonders Rinoa took for granted as a city-dweller. He even waited for the lights to instruct him to walk at busy intersections, despite his rebellious nature. Rinoa laughed at him and ran across the moment no cars were in sight with Seifer at her heels.

She basked in his stories of Garden along with his dreams to become something more than a SeeD. There was determination in both his eyes and tongue. She envied it, in a way. It didn't matter if he spoke to Rinoa or his superiors; Seifer never compromised himself for the sake of appearances.

"How do you do it?" she asked him while sipping on a milkshake.

Seifer perked up an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Do you. I don't think I've ever seen you trip over yourself in any social situation. You're just so cool about it."

Seifer failed to hide his smirk. "Eh, must be in my blood. Some things you're born into. Can't really teach someone to grow a pair of balls."

Rinoa snorted, almost choking on her milkshake as they walked down the glittering, night-lit streets of Deling City.

"I like it," she commented after a pause.

"What? My balls?"

"Stop!" Smacking his arm, Rinoa contained her laughter before going on. "I meant your fearlessness."

"Mmm? That so?"

She nodded and hummed. "I wish I could be like that."

"Like you're not now?"

"Not like you."

"Pffff, Rin, you got more balls than half the guys I know back at Garden. Your problem is you don't know you have it in you."

No one ever phrased it to her like that before. Her steps slowed and her eyes widened as she looked over Seifer. Images of all the times she and her father fought surfaced.

I'm not as strong as you think I am, she kept to herself. It's still touching for you to say that. I wish I was. I'm just... not strong enough to fight against the one who's holding me back.

"Hey, you doing alright?"

Fluttering her eyes, Rinoa found herself standing still with Seifer looming above with a puzzled expression. "Y-yeah. I'm fine."

"I say something wrong?"

"No." She shook her head with a smile. "No, you're saying everything right, actually."

That smirk of his softened for an instant. A girl could get used to that look of his.

"Well, come on, Princess." Seifer beckoned for her to follow. "Let's get you home before you turn into a gyshall green."

She snickered at the thought, rushing over to catch up with Seifer before looping an arm around his. "You're quite the valiant escort."

"I know. That's why they keep me around."

And she laughed all the way back to the mansion. They both did.

Rinoa returned well past dinner time and her eyes widened. Shit, I lost track of time. But Fury was nowhere to be found in the estate, much to her surprise. Rinoa released a breath and settled into her bedroom. A smirk crept onto her lips. When was the last time she arrived at such an hour without a care in the world?

Every night, Seifer returned her to the mansion, wished her sweet dreams, and wandered off. Every night, Rinoa inched closer to him. She memorized his face: the sharp edges of his cheeks and jaw, the brightness in his blueish-green eyes, and the fullness of his lips.

Seifer never left her thoughts when she slipped inside and retreated to her bedroom. Moments later, Fury returned home, just in time to find Rinoa slaving over homework she neglected for hours in place of a boy.

"Classes going well?" he would ask while passing by her open door.

"Yup," Rinoa replied, eyes glued to her notebooks.

He never said another word. All that mattered to him, in the end, was that her pages were filled with lectures instead of drawings.

Once he left, Rinoa's enthusiasm for her assignments vanished. She chewed on her pencil and stared blankly while Seifer overwhelmed her mind.

The fantasy of kissing him surfaced. His lips tempted her many nights, yet she restrained herself, biting her lower lip when he walked away, hands stuffed in the pockets of his trench coat and head held high. Close to everyone at the academy had a special someone in their life, whether it was a steady relationship or a distraction. Maybe Seifer could help her escape from her mundane life. Perhaps not literally, but enough where she'd sit between bliss and reality.

Rinoa groaned and buried her face in a pillow. I should be focusing on my stupid studies before I get caught. Besides, he probably doesn't even like me like that.

Lies and she knew it. Why else would Seifer spend his free time with her every night? He tolerated her enough to never push her away when she leaned into him or jokingly clung to his arm or rested her head upon his shoulder. And yet he sufficed with a mere goodbye when they parted ways and never thought twice.

Someone as bold as Seifer had to make the first move. It was in his blood, or so he claimed. Maybe his confidence faltered in the presence of women. He also never mentioned a girlfriend—current or past—though his jokes straddled the line leading into the gutter more often than not. If his mind was there, then there had to be interest. Maybe not in Rinoa specifically, but in general.

His words echoed in her busy head as she rolled onto her back: Your problem is you don't know you have it in you.

"And ever since then," Seifer wrapped up with a chuckle, "we've been best friends."

Rinoa laughed with him. "They sound like good people."

"Yeah, Raijin still hasn't forgiven me for pushing him into the pool like that, but it's been one of the few times I've seen Fujin smile. Worth it, if you ask me."

"Wish I could've been there to see it!"

"I mean, they shut down the pool ever since then. Something about safety or lack thereof, I don't fucking know. Kind of sucks. Adults just don't let kids be kids these days. Everything's a hazard or—"

Seifer rattled on and the smile on Rinoa's face vanished as they took a corner and came into view of the mansion. No lights emitted from Fury's office or bedroom. Still, Rinoa didn't breathe easy.

He won't find out, Rinoa repeated in her head like a mantra.

She lost track of Seifer's tales as they crawled to the front gates. His voice faded with the city's ambiance as she replayed imaginary scenarios of Fury raining his rage and disapproval down upon her. Rinoa balled her hands into fists, furrowed her brow enough to tempt a headache, and clenched her jaw.

"Hey." Seifer nudged her. "You're home, Princess."

Rinoa remembered to breathe. She steadied her shaking hands.

"Um..." Seifer rubbed his neck. "You okay? Did I say something weird?"

She chewed her lip and closed her eyes to focus.

"Tch, yeah. Okay." Seifer groaned and pivoted to leave. "You're welcome—"

Rinoa lunged out to latch onto the lapels of his coat. She jerked him towards her and silenced him with her mouth on his. Seifer melted into her, arms rapidly embracing her to mirror Rinoa's actions.

He won't find out, she thought while Seifer tangled his hands in her hair. He won't find out, she reminded herself as he sucked her lip. He won't find out, she believed when his hips rocked into her.

They reluctantly broke away for air, gasping and clinging onto one another for stability. His cyan eyes flicked over her while he licked his lips, almost brushing over her own.

"You're welcome," Rinoa teased, her voice a succulent purr.

His lips were on her before she finished. Again, she tasted him. Again, she sunk into his body, his heat, his scent, his desire.

"Make me forget," she whispered into his mouth.

His eyes lit up like the endless colors illuminating Deling City. "Forget what?" Still cocky, despite his whispering words. She loved it.

Looping her arms around his neck, Rinoa nuzzled further into Seifer. "Everything."

There was something to be said about the romance tales concocted in the novels Rinoa once read—it was all garbage. Every step and word was a fabricated lie meant to rot the hopes and dreams of those wistful souls hoping for true love.

Rinoa didn't yearn for any of that. She ached for clumsy hands and sloppy kisses to numb her from reality. Seifer was far from a fumbling idiot drooling before a first encounter with a naked woman, but neither was perfect. At least not perfect in the way written words illustrated intimacy. Seifer was perfect for her, though. He never stopped touching her and moaning her name. He laid eyes upon her as if she was his patron goddess. He simultaneously pampered and tested her. Rinoa loved every second.

That was what mattered. The cocky, handsome, blond boy above her, between her, inside of her. His heart thrumming out of time with hers. Unsteady breaths upon trembling lips. Claw marks scrapped down backs and thighs. Absolutely, utterly insatiable. All of it leading to an ecstasy—a mutual one, at that—she never tasted before.

He grinned against her lips and she laughed into his as they tangled themselves up in the bed sheets of his tiny boarding school dorm. Sweat slicked their bodies, glistening in the scattered neon lights pouring in from the crack claiming to be a window. Seifer occupied her mind, from his snarky banter to his energetic spars to his rare displays of chivalry during their nighttime walks to now. She forgot the world around her, though she couldn't possibly forget him. A grin overcame Rinoa as she nuzzled into Seifer and basked in the afterglow.

That night she never returned home and Rinoa didn't care.