The Mountains Win Again

A/N: Hey, time for another update. The last one was really short, so I'm going to make this one a bit longer. I think you'll like the twist I'm about to introduce. This chapter, and probably the next one, will really build on Seifer's relationship with Zell.

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Seifer weakly grunted, awaking to a glorious sight. Peacefully standing over him was Quistis, although she looked much more ragged out than normal. Her hair, normally either in a bun, or combed out straight to perfection, was a bit of a mess.

"Hey." She smiled.

"How long was I out? He groaned, remembering everything up to the moment he had lost consciousness.

"You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for the lest few days." She said, happy to see him awake. "The doctors said it was the anesthesia, and not a coma."

"What about my arm?" He asked, too scared to glance over himself.

Quistis dropped her gaze, having mixed feelings over the matter. "They successfully reattached it, but they said it could take months of therapy to recover, and even then it's only likely to work halfway. Not to mention you'll have a hell of a scar."

Seifer chuckled. "At least it's there." Scanning the room, he realized where he was, and who was in the next bed. He had been given the same room as Zell.

"I'm exhausted." Quistis sighed, even though she didn't really have to say it, since it was evident by her appearance. Seifer didn't dare point that out, though.

"Go home."

"What?" She asked, surprised.

"Go home. Get some sleep. I'll be fine here with Chicken-Wuss." He said, gesturing to Zell, who was fast asleep on the other side of the room.

"Alright." She replied, reluctantly. Although she was surprised, she knew exactly what Seifer's intentions were. Gathering her things, she bid Seifer farewell and headed for the door. Just before she stepped out, his voice halted her again.

"Hey." He beckoned.

"Yes?' She cocked an eyebrow.

"Thanks." He said, almost shyly.

"For what?" She asked.

"For everything." He replied.

"Any time." She replied, smiling caringly once more before finally leaving.

Laying his head back onto his pillow, he sighed lightly, his eyes wandering to window. Of all the places he expected to be, this wasn't one.

Hours went by, and the daylight waned. Finally, Zell awoke from his slumber. Taking a look around the room, he realized Seifer was coherent.

"Hey!" He said, enthusiastically, before groaning from the pain associated with talking.

"Hey." Seifer replied.

"You're awake." Zell observed.

"No shit." Seifer nodded.

"Bastard…" Zell muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Just kidding." Seifer smiled slightly.

"You almost didn't make, you know." Zell said, looking toward the end of his bed.

Seifer struggled to hold in a laugh. "No shit." He said again.

"God-damnit!" Zell yelled, before groaning again.

Seifer let go a laugh, seeing Zell hurt himself through his own frustration. Seeing the humor in the situation as well, Zell laughed lightly as well. Before the two knew it, they were actually getting along.

"So where's Messenger Girl?" Seifer asked, scratching the back of his head.

"She's at the Garden, as far as I know. She came to visit yesterday, but I haven't seen her since. I kind of expected her to visit more, being that we're sort of a couple now…" Zell trailed off.

Seifer looked astonished for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak. "So you mean you're not homosexual?"

"No." Zell said, obviously not amused.

"Sorry." Seifer laughed out loud.

"You know, before you made that joke, I actually felt bad about the way I've treated you for the past seven years." Zell said, straight faced.

"Really? I couldn't tell." Seifer replied, as the conversation began to turn sour.

"I'm tired of everyone making gay jokes about me…" Zell trailed off.

"Zell, grow the fuck up." Seifer was about to fold his arms, but then he remembered he couldn't move one of them.

"Grow up? GROW UP?" Zell yelled, ignoring the pain in his stomach and back. "Since when do twenty-five year old men make gay jokes? What are you, in junior high or something?"

"Uh…" Seifer paused. "Shut up, Chicken-Wuss."

"Same old thing." Zell shook his head.

Seifer snickered, shaking his own head as well. "We're just like siblings."

"Unfortunately." Zell smirked, doing a perfect impression of the taller blonde.

"Frickin' hell…" Seifer retorted with his own impression of Zell.

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A/N: And there you have it. It was a little longer than normal, but hey. Review, people.