A/N: This chapter is a bit longer than the first chapter. Also, Seifer and Squall get a bit more intimate. So much so, that this story now merits an M rating.
- Thoughts are italicized. In this chapter, all thoughts belong to Squall.
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII or any of its characters. They belong to the Square Enix Company.
Rating: M for language and sexual situations. There is hard yaoi in this chapter of the Seifer x Squall kind. So if that offends you, please leave now.
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A Twist of Fate
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His eyes were burning with tears he had promised himself he would not shed. Breath was hitching in his throat as he tried desperately to keep his composure. The sounds of his running footsteps echoed all around him, seemingly mocking him, as he ran in a haze toward the elevator. Jabbing his finger angrily at the down button, Squall now felt the tears streaming down his face. Against the heat of his cheeks, the tears felt like ice numbing his body. "Why? Why didn't I make it?!"
When the doors finally opened, Squall slammed himself up against a wall and started pounding on it in anger and confusion. "I don't understand! Why?!" The sound of banging metal reverberated on each wall. His fists were throbbing, knuckles pulled so tight they were white, but he ignored them. Still in a rage, Squall failed to notice that Seifer had followed after him.
Still pounding on the walls of the elevator with frustration, Squall was startled when Seifer had put his hands on his shoulders. Turning around violently, Squall gazed directly into Seifer's eyes. Filled with a passion Seifer could not read, Squall's eyes seemed to look past him and into his soul. Startled, he released his grip on Squall. However, Squall was still angry and pounded into Seifer's chest. Leaning against the wall for support, Seifer let Squall continue his assault. If it would make him feel content, Seifer didn't mind. The doors of the elevator closed with a dull click.
"I don't," Squall chocked out between hits, "I don't understand." His anger quelling, Squall leaned into Seifer's chest and cried. The tears ran down his face and made the shirt Seifer was wearing damp. Holding Squall close to him, Seifer stood silently and waited for the brunette to talk to him before he said anything.
When Squall had visibly stopped shaking, Seifer could hear his cry dying out in small sobs and whimpers. But neither of them moved. Squall clung desperately to Seifer's shirt and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry," he said after what seemed like an eternity. Patting Squall's back, Seifer answered, his throat dry, "Don't worry about it." When Squall finally looked into Seifer's face, Seifer felt a new surge of emotion overtake him. Squall's eyes, usually so full of ambition and drive, were frightening empty. It seemed as if all the life had gone from his body, and it scared Seifer to think that Squall was this dead inside. "Squall," he whispered, holding Squall's face with both hands, "It's gonna be all right." Pressing his lips lightly to Squall's, Seifer vowed to take his pain away. He never wanted to see those lifeless eyes again.
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Tongues battled for dominance as both men tried desperately to taste the other. Somehow or another, they both ended up in Squall's room; although neither remembered the trip from the elevator to the bedroom. Moaning into Seifer's mouth, Squall gave up the fight and let Seifer take control. The vibrations from Squall's mouth made Seifer's whole body shake. Grabbing Squall's butt, Seifer held Squall extremely close to him and began rubbing against him. Squall's erection showed obviously through his tight leather pants, and Seifer pressed his throbbing member against Squall's, their clothing creating an uncontrollable friction between the two teens. Gasping loudly, Squall arched his back at the feeling Seifer was causing.
Pushing Squall back on the bed, Seifer looked down at the sexy brunette. Lips slightly puffy, hair in disarray, clothing a mess. But the look on Squall's face was incredibly sexy in itself. And, Seifer noticed, the eyes that had been filled with pain and emptiness now help an undeniable sign of lust. Delving his tongue into Squall's mouth once more, Seifer took this time to run his hands all along Squall's body. Tracing his stomach, Seifer's fingers traveled upward until they found Squall's nipples. Gasping, Squall broke the kiss and tilted his head back against the pillow.
As Seifer ran his tongue along Squall's ear, his hands were busy pinching and lightly squeezing Squall's nipples until they became hard. Removing Squall's shirt with haste, Seifer ran his lips down Squall's neck, to his chest, and, finally, to his nipple. Licking it lightly, Squall arched his back even more and grasped his soon to be lover's hair in one hand. Traveling down further, Seifer undid Squall's belts and proceeded to remove his pants from his waist.
"Sei-Seifer, n-no. Stop, please, uhnnn!" Squall moaned into his hand. Ignoring him, Seifer slipped Squall's pants off completely. The cool sharpness of the air suddenly on his exposed form, Squall turned his head to one side with an inaudible gasp and tried to shield himself from view by placing his hand over his erection. The heat of his cheeks on the cool pillow was almost painful. "Squall," Seifer said with a little laugh, "Hiding from me will do you no good," and he lowered his head to Squall's erection, removing his hand in the process, and licked at the tip, "No good."
Moaning into the emptiness of the room, Squall closed his eyes tightly together as Seifer began running his tongue along his shaft. As his tongue worked its magic, Seifer managed to elicit more gasps and moans from Squall's throat. Squall's eyes widen suddenly as Seifer took the whole of Squall's member in his mouth. Biting his finger to suppress another moan, Squall's eyes closed again. Feeling so close to completion, Squall's body thrust eagerly into Seifer's mouth. Holding Squall's hips down with both hands, Seifer looked up into Squall's face, eyes shining with newly formed tears, and breathed, "Just be patient, Squally."
When Squall came, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. A flash of white blurred his vision as a moan rang out from his throat. Breathing deeply, Squall opened his eyes to see Seifer licking the cum off his lips. Leaning toward him, Seifer bent low to kiss Squall again. The kiss was soft and sweet. However, Squall began to feel something at entrance that he was not ready for. "Seifer, no," Squall gasped roughly, "Please, I'm not . . . ready yet. Please." Retracting his fingers, Seifer leaned back on the bed and whined, "Fine. I won't rush you." Standing up, Seifer stretched a little and turned to look at Squall. "That will do for now, I suppose," he said to Squall as he started making his way to the bathroom. Noticing Squall's questioning look, Seifer turned around and smirked, "I gotta take care of something." Following Seifer's gaze, Squall immediately became aware of what he meant. "Oh," Squall whispered, embarrassed. Just before Seifer closed the door to relieve himself, he turned to Squall and winked, "You know, I love hearing you scream my name, Squally. Nice set of lungs you got there, among other things." Laughing, Seifer closed the door with a quiet snap as Squall sat blushing ferociously from his position on the bed.
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"What will you do now?" The question had come so suddenly that Squall was caught off guard. "Huh," he said looking tiredly at Seifer. "Well," Seifer began, "What are you going to do now that you're not a . . . well, a SeeD?" Putting a hand to his forehead, Squall breathed heavily. "That's right. I completely forgot."
"I'm not sure yet," Squall said hoping to drop the conversation. However, he was not so lucky. "You know," Seifer continued, "You could always try again or something." Sighing, Squall looked out the window. The sun was setting and painting the sky with streaks of orange, gold, and pink. Squall didn't want to think about what happened now. It had already been a rough enough day as it was, why add to the complexity? And besides, the will to try again seemed so pointless. If he hadn't made it the first time, after training and working so hard for it, who's to say a second time would improve him? He would always fight the same, always proceed in the same way, so a second time would just serve as a joke. Smoothing his hair slowly, Squall turned back toward Seifer and said, "I really don't think that'll make a difference. I already failed. It's done."
Crossing his arms, Seifer laughed, "You could always join the Disciplinary Committee." Giving him a defeated look, Squall remarked, "Heh, no thanks."
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The students pouring into the halls alerted that it was dinner time. Seifer had left Squall a few minutes earlier in search of Raijin and Fujin. "They're completely lost without me!" Squall remembered him saying after a goodbye kiss on the cheek as he departed from the room. Grabbing a pillow, Squall hugged it tightly to himself and flopped back on the bed. "I 'm kind of hungry, but . . . I don't feel like facing everybody," he finished aloud. Mulling over the possible options in his head, Squall decided he would go get dinner after everyone had headed back to their rooms. Maybe if he pleaded a bit, the cafeteria attendants would give him a little something. Tossing the pillow off to the side, Squall placed his arm over his eyes and breathed heavily into the darkening room. "It's not like I can ignore them forever. I don't want it, but an encounter is inevitable . . . unless I stay in my room for the rest of eternity." Squall's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
"Squall," the voice of a woman said timidly, "We'd like it if you came to dinner." Glancing toward the door, Squall recognized the voice belonging to Quistis. Ignoring her, Squall turned on his side and closed his eyes. "Please Squall," she said a little desperately, "We just - I just want to talk." Sitting up angrily, Squall scratched his head. "Hm, do they really think I'm that depressed? I guess that little display I did earlier didn't help much. Ah, whatever." Getting to his feet, Squall walked over to his door and opened it.
Surprised by the door opening without a prior response from anyone inside, Quistis jumped back a bit only to settle down when she realized Squall was standing in the doorway. Laughing nervously, Quistis recovered her composure and said, "I'm so glad you decided to take me up on my offer. Are you hungry or anything?"
"Not really," Squall sighed locking his door behind him. "I just . . . didn't have anything better to do."
On the way to the cafeteria, Quistis tried to comfort Squall in his rejection, but Squall, showing very clearly that he did not want to talk about such things, silenced Quistis by disregarding her questions and looking away in anger. "I don't need anyone to comfort me. It's not like it will change anything, anyway. If they really wanted to help, then they'd go do something instead of just feeding me empty words. Ha, there I go again. I'm getting too angry about things that can't be helped. Fate decided what should be and . . . I suppose that's good enough." Feeling a nudge on his shoulder, Squall looked over and saw worry etched in Quistis's face. "I'm fine," Squall said quickly, "Don't worry about me." He didn't want to be near her anymore. Her eyes held that pity for him that he never wanted to see. It was engulfing him to the point where he felt as if he might drown in it. Speeding up his pace, he moved away from Quistis in order to make the rest of the trip alone. "Squall," Quistis called from behind him, "You know you can talk to us right? Zell, Selphie, myself . . . we're always here for you."
"I doubt that," Squall whispered to himself as he disappeared around a corner and out of sight.
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All eyes were looking at him. Their pity was overwhelming and it was hard to stomach. "Just stop looking at me." But curious glances followed the young man wherever he went. Silent conversations took place in tiny groups; all discussing the outcome of today's SeeD exams. Pity. That's all anyone had for him anymore. No more would people look to him as a strong, silent, perfect embodiment of everything that made up a SeeD. No longer would people be rest assured in his decisions or feel comfort in his words. All they would feel now, all that he would be remembered for, would be the pity directed to the hollow shell of a man who couldn't achieve his dream. It was sad, really.
Anger rising, Squall sat down at an empty table with his back turned toward the unwanted crowd of people. Cursing himself for leaving the sanctity of his room, Squall pulled his hands into tight fists and bit his lower lip in frustration.
The silence of the crowded room was suddenly interrupted by the entrance of Zell followed closely by a few people that Squall deemed to be fans of his. " – so I was all, "No way! We're not really gonna jump down there, are we?" But we totally did end up jumping! I thought that was going to dock me for sure!"
"Oh, Zell!" swooned one of the girls hanging from his left arm, "That's so amazing! Were you hurt?!"
"No way, Baby!" exclaimed Zell pounding on his chest to emphasize.
Laughing, Zell turned his gaze to the inner workings of the cafeteria. To his embarrassment, the whole room was silent. Blushing slightly, Zell's heart stopped when he noticed Squall sitting off to the side at a lone table. "Oh," he whispered softly, "Squall . . ."
Standing up suddenly, Squall pushed his chair back into the proper spot and made for the exit. Passing Zell without so much as a glance, Squall gripped the door handles and was in the process of opening them when an angry voice shouted, "Just because you're not a SeeD doesn't mean you need to be bitchy to the ones who actually had the talent to make it!" Trying to ignore the comment, Squall's hands tightened significantly around the handles on the door. "Cut it out, man!" Zell shouted back, "Don't talk about things you don't understand."
"Seriously, though," the malicious voice continued, "Who do you think you are, oh mister high and mighty Squall Leonhart? You're no hero. You're no leader. This act of grief you put on isn't fooling anyone! You walk around like no one else matters! Well, I'm gonna have to break it to you, Princess, life isn't all about you! The sooner you get your head out of your ass and realize this, the happier we'll all be." The inhabitants of the room remained completely silent after the outburst. The only sound that could be heard was the steading ticking of the clock hanging on the wall.
Shifty eyes went from Squall, to the floor, to each other. Breathing seemed to stop all together, and then, the person who started this scene made his way over to Squall repeating much of the same things he had said not a minute earlier. "Hey!" the voice continued, "Did you hear me? Do you even understand?!" Grasping Squall's arm tightly, the man yanked him roughly back into the cafeteria. "Well?!"
The cracking of the man's jaw echoed sickeningly throughout the silent room. When he hit the floor, blood leaked from his nose and mouth. Breathing hard, Squall looked down upon the man he had just punched and hissed, "Don't you dare touch me!" The sound of screaming and gasping reawakened the noisiness of the cafeteria and people were standing up quickly, knocking down chairs, just to get a look at what had happened. Quistis broke through the large crowd and rushed to the fallen man's side. "Oh my God! Are you all right? Someone get Doctor Kadowaki!" Seething, Squall glared malevolently at the man and breathed raggedly through his teeth. Wiping blood from his face, the man stared at him angrily and sneered, "I hope punching me makes you feel more like a man, you girly prick." Anger rising again, Squall lunged at the man only to be pulled back by Seifer.
Holding onto Squall tightly, Seifer questioned, "Well, what the Hell is going on here?"
"TROUBLE," said Fujin, stating the obvious.
"Indeed Fujin," Seifer said nodding, "Now, do you have a problem with Mr. Leonhart here? 'Cause if you do, I would probably keep it to myself. Or, if you haven't noticed, this "girly prick" just knocked you a good one. Drew blood and everything." Shaking his way from Seifer's grasp, Squall calmed down and stood composed at Seifer's side. Leering at both Squall and Seifer, the teen tore his gaze away from both of them suddenly and scoffed at the floor. As Seifer started to usher Squall out, the man decided to make one last comment: "Heh, two worthless candidates for SeeD who never made it sticking up for each other. How appropriate."
The crunching of a skull did nothing to improve the mood as students shrieked from behind tables and overturned chairs. Holding his fist steady in the air, Seifer turned on the man violently and said through gritted teeth, "I think it'd be best if you just shut the fuck up." However, the unconscious man did not hear Seifer's powerful words of wisdom.
The room in a panic, the only thing that became audible over the chaos was the voice of Headmaster Cid over the intercom: "Seifer, Squall. Come to my office immediately."
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The room seemed awfully un-welcoming. No warm greetings had been exchanged, no salutations; the only thing that had greeted the two teens was a very perturbed Headmaster. When the two had entered, Cid had stood up slowly from his chair and turned around so that he had his back facing them. Not saying a word, Seifer and Squall stood just inches apart, patiently waiting whatever the Headmaster had called them in for.
"It's no surprise that we're standing here. I suppose we do deserve some sort of punishment, but surely that asshole will get what's coming to him as well." When the Headmaster cleared his throat and finally turned around, Squall cut his thoughts short and stood silently at Seifer's side. Breathing heavily, Headmaster Cid looked up into the faces of two of the best students he could have ever hoped to ask for and said, "Boys, as of right now, you are no longer part of this Garden. I'm sorry, but . . . you need to leave immediately."
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End of Chapter 2
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A/N: There's chapter two! I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated. And thank you so much for reading.