Hey guys! Jasmine here. I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far :) Alice - this is totally dedicated to you! :D
Hope you all like it!
We don't own KH/FF.
XXXX
Hayner pulled open the door, grinning at Roxas and Pence. "Hey."
"Hi." Pence said, making his way inside.
"He here yet?" Roxas asked, smirking.
Hayner rolled his eyes. "No."
"Who?" Pence asked.
Hayner closed the door and herded them into the living room. "I invited Seifer to come over, too."
"Ah, the guy who punched the idiot making fun of you guys? Nice." Pence said, nodding and taking a seat.
"He's also the guy Hayner has the hots for." Roxas teased.
"No way!" Hayner snapped.
"You like him?" Pence asked.
Hayner blushed. "He's just a friend, okay?"
Pence held his hands up. "Okay, okay. Where's Olette?"
"She has a big science lab or something that she's working on with her group in the labs on campus." Hayner shrugged.
"Poor 'Lette." Roxas winced.
Pence nodded. "Yeah. Hey! That means we can watch the really good gory horror movies, since she won't be here." He smiled.
Roxas punched him before sitting down, too. "You know Hay and I don't like that stuff either."
Pence rolled his eyes. "It's all fake!"
"Still creepy." Hayner muttered.
"Ooh, don't want to be scared in front of Seifer?" Roxas teased. "Where's his jacket? Still smell good or did it wear off?"
"Ass!" Hayner hissed, blushing.
"You have his jacket? Whoa, you really do like him!" Pence exclaimed.
"Shut up, both of you!" Hayner snapped.
"Hay loves Seif's cologne." Roxas told Pence.
"Ah." Pence said, studying his embarrassed friend.
"It smells good, okay?" Hayner muttered.
"Sure. I'm gonna go make the popcorn." Pence said, standing and heading to the kitchen.
Roxas opened his mouth but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Ooh, that must be him!" He squealed.
Hayner threw the nearest pillow at his laughing friend before yanking the door open. "Hi."
Amused, Seifer nodded, "Hey."
Hayner held the door open wider to let him in, closing it behind him and leading him into the living room.
"Hi Seifer." Roxas grinned. "Nice to see you again."
Seifer nodded at him, "Hey."
Pence walked in with a bowl of popcorn. "Oh, hi." He said, setting down the bowl and offering his hand to Seifer. "I'm Pence. You must be Seifer. Thanks for watching out for these two hotheads." He grinned.
"Hey!" Roxas and Hayner protested in unison.
Seifer chuckled, "No problem. Nice to meet you."
Pence grinned.
Roxas smirked at Hayner before asking, "So, Seifer. Did you bring Hayner another jacket to replace the other one of your's he has? I'm sure the smell wore off, huh, Hayner?"
"Roxas, you're a dick." Hayner growled, blushing brightly.
Seifer chuckled again, but decided not to answer, having his own secret plan to enact.
"So did we pick a movie yet?" Pence asked, deciding to take pity on Hayner.
"Nope! What're you in the mood for, Seifer?" Roxas asked, gesturing to the only available seating left, the couch, smirking at Hayner. "Why don't you two sit and get nice and cozy? Oh! I bet he smells better than the jacket, Hayner!"
Hayner pulled Roxas into a headlock. "Shut the hell up!"
Roxas jabbed Hayner's stomach, forcing him to drop his hold. "Make me."
"Gladly!" Hayner snarled, yanking Roxas up by his shirt.
Roxas kicked his shin and they both fell to the living room floor. Hayner managed to get a solid punch in to Roxas's gut, but Rox also hit his shoulder.
"Guys! Knock it off!" Pence yelled.
Seifer had been amused when the arguing had started (I mean, really, his frequent squabbling with Leon was almost identical) but when the two began to pull punches was when he refused to let it go on. Grabbing Hayner's arm, he pulled the blonde sharply backwards away from Roxas. "Stop it."
Hayner glared at him, jerking his arm to try to get the taller blonde to let go. "What the hell?"
Roxas grinned and sat up on the floor. "Gee, thanks Seifer!"
Pence rolled his eyes. "Don't start again. Let's just pick a movie already."
Hayner glared at Roxas before reluctantly nodding.
Seifer tugged Hayner towards the couch, silent.
"Okay, okay. You can let go now!" Hayner snapped, flushing as he sat on the couch.
Roxas snickered. "You two are so cute."
"For the love of god, we aren't dating Rox! Get that into your freaking thick-ass skull! God, how does your boyfriend stand you?" Hayner yelled.
Roxas smirked. "Sure, Hay. And you know Ax loves me."
"That's right. Great. Movie?" Pence asked, waving a handful of DVDs in the air.
Seifer let go of Hayner, ready to grab him again if he made any move to lunge at Roxas, and nodded at Pence, "Just put something in before they destroy something." he suggested.
"We're done fighting, Rox is just a dick." Hayner muttered.
"Yeah, Hay's an oblivious ass." Roxas grinned.
Pence smiled at Seifer. "They're always like this, sorry."
Seifer shook his head, "I'm the same way with one of my roommates." he shrugged.
"Really?" Hayner asked, looking at him curiously.
Roxas snorted. "Hanging onto his every word, are we? You've got it bad."
"I do not!" Hayner yelled, blushing. "Pence, put something on already!"
"Well, I want to watch the horror movies, but you guys don't like them... What about you, Seifer, you like horror? Rox and Hay both get scared."
"We do not!" They snapped together.
"Then why not the horror movies?" Seifer shrugged. "I'm fine with it."
Pence grinned. "Great!" He put one on and sat back, grabbing a handful of popcorn as the movie started.
"I'm gonna grab some sodas." Roxas said, standing and heading to the kitchen.
Hayner leaned forward and grabbed a huge handful of popcorn. "Want some?" He asked Seifer, gesturing to the popcorn bowl.
Seifer shook his head, "Later." he nodded.
Hayner shrugged, leaning back and eating, watching the movie.
A few minutes later, Roxas came back and set several drinks onto the table before curling up into his chair.
"Ooh, here it comes! What a slow buildup." Pence commented, on the edge of his seat and excitedly watching the introduction of the monster.
"R-right." Roxas said, paling.
Hayner focused on the clock hanging above the TV.
Seifer glanced at him, "You all right?" he asked.
"Yeah." He nodded, reaching for a drink. He had just picked it up when an earsplitting scream resounded from the TV and he jumped, dropping the drink.
"Fuck!" Roxas yelled, covering his eyes and watching the movie from between his fingers.
"Shit!" Hand shaking, Hayner picked up the drink and set it back on the table.
Pence snickered. "It's so fake!"
Seifer hesitated, not really creeped out by the movie in the slightest, but not wanting to freak Hayner out either. Baby steps were always the best methods in changing someone's sexual orientation, and comforting was not a baby step in this situation.
Abandoning the drink, Hayner leaned back, trying to watch the movie while repeating 'it's not real' over and over in his head.
"Ah, I love it when they do this! Hurry up and open the door!" Pence grinned.
"For the love of god, do not open that fucking door!" Roxas snapped.
"Holy shit, don't do it!" Hayner agreed.
Both Hayner and Roxas screamed when the door opened onscreen and Pence laughed. "Look at that! It's so horribly done! You can tell it's just plastic and makeup!"
Seifer moved so that his arm was on the couch above Hayner but not *quite* over his shoulders, just to be available since the boy was already screaming and they were only twenty minutes into the two hour movie.
Pence reached for the popcorn, watching the movie happily. Roxas was cowering in his chair, still watching through his fingers, and Hayner was sitting stiffly on the couch, trying not to scream anymore.
"Oh, there's no more popcorn. I'll get some more." Pence said, standing.
"I'll get it!" Roxas said, shooting up and out of his seat, fleeing to the kitchen.
"Good, because the best part is coming up!" Pence declared, sitting back down.
Hayner paled. "Best part?"
"Yeah, you'll see." Pence laughed.
Hayner swallowed loudly.
Roxas came back with more popcorn, placing the bowl on the table but didn't sit down. "I forgot I have to... check in with a group for a project at school! I'll be in the kitchen talking to them. Call me when it's over."
Pence laughed. "Scared, Rox?"
"Yes!" He yelled, fleeing.
The characters one by one were dropping like flies in the movie. As one of the last survivors wandered the forest alone at night, Hayner muttered, "Please stay alive."
"Not gonna happen!" Pence said cheerfully.
The monster jumped the character, and the chase began, the music building.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Ahhhh!" Hayner screamed with the character when they got caught, blindly reaching out and grabbing onto Seifer, heart racing, eyes clenched shut.
Seifer dropped his arm to be around Hayner's shoulders as a comfort, figuring that if Hayner grabbed him first, it was okay. "You all right?" he muttered.
Hayner jumped when he felt Seifer's arm go around him, peeking at the screen just in time to watch the character's slow death begin. Screaming again, he whirled to face Seifer, eyes wide in terror.
"Hay, you're missing the best part!" Pence chuckled, watching intently.
Seifer pulled him closer, "Just close your eyes, I'll tell you when it's over." he suggested, resisting the urge to smirk.
Hayner gulped and nodded, closing his eyes tightly and trying to block out the sounds. He relaxed once the sounds died down, but kept his eyes closed, just taking deep breaths and trying not to panic any more than he already had.
"Oh, wow! Did you see that, Seifer? Amazing!" Pence said.
Seifer just chuckled.
Hayner peeked at Seifer, flushing a little. "Is it over?" He whispered.
"Almost." Seifer promised.
Hayner nodded.
"And... wow! That was pretty good." Pence said, sitting back and grinning, noticing how close the two on the couch were but deciding not to comment. He'd leave the teasing to Roxas.
"You can open your eyes now." Seifer told Hayner.
Hayner sighed, opening his eyes. Blushing a little, he muttered, "Thanks."
Seifer shook his head, smirking a little, "No problem."
"Rox! It's over!" Pence called.
Hesitantly, Roxas walked back in, pocketing his cell and relaxing once he saw the credit rolling onscreen. Then he glanced at Hayner and smirked.
"Wow, Hayner. Comfy?" Roxas teased.
Hayner's blush deepened and he pulled away from Seifer. "Shut up, at least I watched the damn movie instead of running like a scared little girl!"
Seifer chuckled, leaning back on the couch.
Pence turned off the movie, replacing the DVD in its case. "As fun as that was, I should go. Need a ride, Rox?"
Roxas snickered. "Yeah. You two behave now, you'll have the house all to yourselves! Use condoms and lube, kiddies."
Hayner's fists clenched and he jumped up. "Shut the hell up!"
Roxas grinned, waved at Seifer, and dashed for the door, yelling to Pence that he would meet him at the car.
Pence stepped in front of Hayner before he could give chase. "This was fun. Nice to meet you, again, Seifer. Don't let Hayner's blood pressure kill him."
Seifer chuckled, "Nice to meet you too."
"He was kidding, Hayner, chill out. See you later." Pence waved, leaving.
Hayner shook his head, taking a deep breath. "Roxas is such an asshole." He muttered.
Seifer chuckled again, "Yeah, so is Leon, and yet I manage to live with him somehow."
"I think I'd kill Rox if I lived with him." Sighing, Hayner plopped back down onto the couch.
Seifer nodded, "Probably."
"Ah, so now what? You have to go? Or do you want a tour or something of more than just the living room?" Hayner asked.
"I can stay for a little while if you want." Seifer shrugged.
"Okay." Hayner nodded, light pink dusting his cheeks. "Tour? Another movie? Awkward staring contest?"
"A tour is fine." Seifer chuckled. "Your parents home? I'm guessing not, since they didn't get mad about the shouting." he commented.
Hayner shook his head. "Nah, they're hardly ever home. Their jobs are really demanding, so it's mostly just me and my sister, Olette."
Seifer nodded, "Ah..."
"Yeah." Hayner stood. "So... follow me, I guess." Waiting for Seifer to stand, Hayner nodded and led him out of the living room. "Right, so... hallway. Bathroom's that door, that's a closet, kitchen's back here." They walked through the kitchen. "That goes to the basement, which is mostly storage." He led Seifer back to the hallway and up a flight of stairs. "Ah, bathroom, parent's room, Olette's room, and this is my room." He opened the last door and stepped inside, moving out of the way so Seifer could enter. He glanced around, relieved it wasn't too much of a mess - his desk was a stack of books and papers, and Seifer's jacket was slung over the chair. His bed was made, thankfully, and no dirty laundry littered the floor, although his closet door was open, which he hurried to close, blushing a bit. "Yeah... Nothing special." He shrugged.
Seifer shrugged, "I like it." He pulled off the jacket he was wearing and held it, before stretching a little, "Read a little?" he commented.
"Yeah, I guess. Mystery, mostly." Hayner gestured to his small bookcase. "But usually, I'm playing soccer or doing homework. Not much time for reading. What about you?" He asked, sitting on his bed. "Oh, sorry, you can sit at the desk or something." He muttered.
Seifer nodded, sitting down on the desk chair, "Yeah, sometimes, but mostly schoolbooks." he shrugged.
"Yeah. At least my history books are interesting. I think I'd go crazy with just business texts like you." Hayner grinned.
Seifer chuckled, "Yeahhh..."
"Don't you do anything besides classwork and regular work? Hang out with friends? Have a weird hobby? Something?" Hayner asked, curious.
"Mostly work." Seifer shrugged, "Unless you count arguing with my roommates a hobby."
"If you don't get along with them, why live there?" Hayner asked.
Seifer laughed, "They're my best friends." he shrugged, "But Leon and I argue like... well, Xigbar calls us an old married couple." he said, "But still, I wouldn't trade 'em for anything." he shrugged again.
"Ah. Well, that's cool then." Hayner smiled.
Seifer smiled back, "So, what are you planning to do after school? Live here for awhile, or are you gonna try and find your own place?"
"I don't know, I guess it depends if I can find a good job or not." Hayner shrugged. "I want to eventually be a museum curator, but it's not like it's a popular field. I'll probably have to take some crap job for a while to save up for my own place unless I can find a roommate or something." Hayner shrugged again.
Seifer nodded, "Well, things have a tendency to work out, so I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Thanks." Hayner smiled. "What about you, do you want your own place eventually?"
"Eventually, yeah." Seifer nodded, "Both of my roommates have pretty serious significant others, so they'll be house shopping before any of us know it."
"Oh. Well, that kinda sucks for you." Hayner frowned. "You have two roommates, right? So there's probably no way you could just keep your current apartment once they leave..."
Seifer shrugged, "I'll find my own place by then. Besides, we're not talking next week. It'll be a few months at least."
"Right." Hayner nodded. "Well... good luck."
"Thanks." Seifer nodded.
Hayner smiled. "Sure."
Seifer stood up, "All right, I should get going."
"Oh... right." Hayner stood, too. "Ah, I'll walk you out, I guess." He said, moving to his bedroom door.
Seifer nodded, grabbing one of the jackets that were draped over the back of the chair and following him.
Hayner led him back downstairs and to the front door, standing there awkwardly as Seifer pulled on his jacket. "I guess I'll... see you around?" He asked, trying not to blush.
Seifer nodded, "Probably, yeah. You have my number, anyway, feel free to text me or call me or something." he shrugged.
"Okay. Yeah." Hayner nodded, smiling.
Seifer nodded again, "See you later." he waved, heading out the door.
"Bye." Hayner said, watching him walk towards his car before shutting the door, sighing. He headed upstairs to text his sister to see how far she was in her project. Entering his room, he paused, frowning at the jacket on his chair. It was draped across the left side, and Hayner usually put it on the right... Striding over to it, he picked it up and was surprised to find it not the same jacket and still warm. Eyes widening, he ran downstairs and threw open the door, but Seifer was already gone. Running back upstairs to his cell, he texted him, telling him he had grabbed the wrong jacket.
Seifer's response was simple. 'No I didn't.'
Hayner snorted, dialing Seifer's number, prepared to yell at the idiot for texting while driving. And then call him on the jacket thing. Idiot.
Seifer didn't answer.
Hayner left him a message. "It's Hayner. You're an idiot for texting and driving - do you want to die? Asshole. And you did too take the wrong jacket! I'll bring this one to school or something. Call me or something later so I know you're not bleeding on the side of the road somewhere. Bye." Shaking his head, he hung up and fell onto his bed, still holding the jacket.
XXXX
Seifer walked back into his apartment holding the jacket he'd stolen back from Hayner (completely on purpose, despite what he was trying to convince Hayner) and tossed the jacket onto the couch before plopping onto it face first.
Xigbar walked out of the kitchen holding a drink, heading for his room but detouring into the living room when he noticed Seifer. He sat down and just waited, taking a drink.
Seifer turned his head towards his roommate. "Yes?"
"What happened?" Xigbar bluntly asked.
Seifer just groaned, "I have a problem."
Xigbar snorted. "Since when has your hand become not enough for the 'problem'?"
Seifer snatched one of the couch pillows and chucked it at his face, "Fuck, Xig, you have absolutely no sense of what a problem is."
Xigbar caught the pillow, laughing. "Okay, okay. What's up?"
"As you no doubt remember because I've had too many people threatening me over it, I'm in the process of attempting to convert Hayner Dicicco." Seifer said bluntly.
"Aw, not going so well?" Xigbar asked, trying his best not to smirk.
Seifer turned face down on the couch again, groaning, "Going too well."
Xigbar paused, setting down his drink. "How can it go too well? You want him to fall for you, right? So, if he is, mission accomplished."
"Yes, he is supposed to fall for me." Seifer said, gesturing with his hands as he turned to face Xigbar again, "I, however, am not supposed to care in the slightest about him."
"Yeah right." Xigbar snorted. "Are you seriously trying to tell me you care for this kid? Quit the bullshitting and tell me what the real problem is."
"Why do I have the feeling that Leon would be more helpful than you in this situation as he tries to butcher me with kitchen knives?" Seifer responded.
"Because you're deranged." Xigbar said seriously. "C'mon, Seifer. What's the problem?"
"I've already told you the problem."
Xigbar rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's pretend that the problem really is that you actually care about Hayner. Why, exactly, is that a bad thing? Maybe it'll stop you from breaking him and getting your ass kicked by me and Roxas, to name a few of the people who would kill you over this."
"Because I don't care about people, Xig." Seifer informed him, "I mean... besides you and Leon, dare I admit it, I care about no one."
"I don't know whether to be grateful I'm on that short list or to just laugh at your patheticness." Xigbar smirked. "I still don't get why you're freaking about this... Unless... Are you actually worried about screwing it up?"
Seifer groaned, burying his head in the couch again, "Not worried about screwing it up. Worried that I don't want to eventually screw it up."
"Wait, wait, wait. Are you trying to tell me you want to have an actual, steady relationship with this guy?" Xigbar asked, incredulous.
Seifer groaned in response.
"A real relationship. That lasts for months instead of weeks. Maybe even years. Seeing no one else. Flirting with no one else. Curling up on the couch or in bed with him, going on dates with him. You want all that with him?" Xigbar asked, forcing the issue, trying to make sure he was understanding.
"Fuck, I don't know, Xig!" Seifer said, "All I know is that for some reason, I don't want to hurt this kid, and that's not supposed to happen."
"Hmm..." Xigbar sat back, thinking. "Maybe it's your survival instincts finally kicking in? You know you really will get hurt if you break this one?"
"I have no doubt you'd murder me, Xigbar, but when you and Roxas threatened me I can honestly say I wasn't the least bit scared." Seifer rolled his eyes.
"So then... why? What's so different about Hayner?" Xigbar asked. "Assuming you are getting attached and not lying to me, of course."
"I don't even know." Seifer sighed.
Xigbar sighed. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing you don't want to hurt him - maybe when you finally break it off it'll be more amicable than your other 'relationships' and he can find a nice guy to fill your place and treat him right."
Seifer sighed, "Tell me the truth, Xig. Should I just back off now before something starts?"
Xigbar's jaw dropped. "Are you scared? Holy shit, you're scared! You're scared of getting attached and actually fucking feeling something! Damn, I gotta meet this kid!"
"Ask your dessert god, I'm sure he'll set up a meeting." Seifer rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, you're definitely spooked. Damn." Xigbar shook his head. "You really want my advice? Stick with it and see how it goes. You might actually learn what a real relationship is like."
Seifer groaned again, "I don't want to know what a real relationship is like, I want to continue to be as fucked up as always."
Xigbar snorted. "I doubt it'll be all that much fun now that you're hooked on him, though. All you'll be able to picture is him." Xigbar nodded wisely.
"Hayner is not Kairi, and I am not you." Seifer reminded him, "Just saying."
"No shit, sherlock." Xigbar rolled his eyes. "But for you to worrying about something like this means you're a goner."
Seifer just groaned again.
Xigbar laughed, standing up and grabbing his drink. "If you're going to brood, I suggest moving to your room before Leon gets home. I don't need to mop up blood tonight, thanks."
"Where is Leon, anyway?"
"With Cloud, probably. Or working. Or... who knows." Xigbar shrugged. "It wasn't my turn to watch him."
Seifer chuckled, "Sure as hell wasn't mine either."
Xigbar rolled his eyes. "Regardless, don't let him catch you brooding. You know you'll fight over it, don't try to deny it. So just go to your room or something? It'll be better for your neck, anyway, than that piece of shit couch."
Seifer chuckled again, "Yeah, probably." he stood up, stretching his neck out, "See you later."
Xigbar nodded. "Hey, Seif? Keep me posted, all right?"
"Yeah. Will do. Thanks." Seifer said, before vanishing into his room and shutting the door.
Xigbar stared at the door. Slowly, he blinked. He took half a step towards it, shook his head, and went to his room, muttering about everybody going insane.
XXXX
I really really really love Hayner. And Seifer. And Roxas. And Xigbar. :D They are all so hilarious!
Let us know if you liked it and please review!