Life at Balamb Garden carried on as usual, but an unexpected magical mishap would soon disrupt the peaceful routine. Rinoa Heartilly, eager to practice her sorcery, decided to experiment with a new time spell.

"This shouldn't hurt, Seifer! It should only put you in reverse for a few seconds, then fade," she said giddy.

As Rinoa's consciousness had intertwined with Adel and Ultimecia through Ellone's mysterious power, something extraordinary occurred. Though the transfer was meant to be temporary, a trace of both sorceresses' formidable abilities lingered within Rinoa's very being. Time manipulation from Ultimecia was one such power.

"Whatever, just get on with it," Seifer huffed, standing there, waiting. He had a shitty day and was ready to go fight something. He had tried to sweet-talk Zell earlier, but his pride and nerves got the better of him, and he ended up arguing with him instead.

Rinoa's heart pounded with determination as she focused. A blue aura surrounded her as she unleashed the time spell, a dazzling cascade of shimmering energy soaring towards Seifer, hitting him square in the chest with a small poof. At first, nothing happened.

"Are we done he-?" But before Seifer could finish his sentence, he vanished.

"Shit! Seifer?" Rinoa called out. Where had he gone?

Seifer groaned as he woke up, feeling disoriented. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his head and make sense of his surroundings. It seemed like he was in his dorm room at Balamb Garden. Confused, he got out of bed and went about his morning routine, but something felt off.

As he went through the day, Seifer experienced moments of déjà vu, as if he had done this all before. The feeling was unsettling, but he tried to brush it off, thinking it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Seifer decided to take a walk to clear his head, and he found himself in the training center. He spotted Zell practicing his martial arts techniques in a secluded corner. Taking a deep breath, Seifer approached him, determined to address the tension that had been building between them.

"Hey, Dincht," Seifer called out, trying to sound casual.

Zell turned around, looking a bit surprised to see Seifer there. "Seifer...?"

Seifer hesitated for a moment, then decided to go ahead with what he had planned to say. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about earlier. I know I let my pride get the better of me, and I ended up arguing instead of, well, talking."

Zell furrowed his brow, genuinely confused. "Earlier? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Seifer's confusion mirrored Zell's now. "You know, earlier? We had a little disagreement, and I just wanted to say sorry for how I acted."

Zell scratched his head, still not recalling any recent altercation. "I have no idea what you're talking about. We didn't argue today. Wait are you messing with me?" Rolling his eyes

Seifer's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation. "But I could swear we did. I remember everything so clearly."

Then a thought hit him. Rinoa! He clenched his fist in the air, waving it as he thought about her. "A few seconds she said, try the whole day!"

"Seifer?" Zell asked, a little worried. Seifer looked angry with his fist in the air, staring off into nothing. Zell's voice snapped him back to the situation at hand. Well, since she sent him back, it wasn't completely bad; he could redo this moment at least.

"So, Dincht... You look... nice today," Seifer said, almost shaking, his voice trembling a bit, but he wasn't going to screw up this time!

"H-huh?" Zell turned red in seconds. "Seifer... You can stop messing with me now..." He said, looking away and wringing his hands.

"My bad, not just today, you look nice every day," Seifer said with a bit more confidence, slicking back his hair a bit.

Zell bit his lip, still wringing his hands. He looked up at Seifer shyly, immediately looking away again, embarrassed.

"Thanks..." He whispered, still looking away, afraid Seifer was messing with him in the worst way.

Seifer noticed Zell's embarrassment and hesitancy, realizing that his sincerity might be making the situation even more awkward for the usually energetic martial artist.

Seifer took a deep breath and softened his tone, trying to be more reassuring. "Hey, I'm not messing with you, Zell. I mean it. You always bring this energy to the room, and it's hard not to notice you. You look good. Really good."

Zell's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red, and he fidgeted nervously. "I... I don't know what to say. That's not the kind of thing you usually say, Seifer."

Seifer chuckled softly, trying to ease the tension. "I am a bit unpredictable, I guess."

Zell glanced up at Seifer with a mix of surprise and curiosity. "What brought this on? Did something happen?"

Seifer paused for a moment, contemplating how much he wanted to share. He decided to be honest with Zell, considering they were starting to have a genuine conversation. "Well, let's just say I got a chance to... relive some moments, and it made me realize that I haven't been the best version of myself."

Zell's face still red, looked even more confused. "I don't understand..."

Seifer chuckled. "Rinoa tried a spell on me. It worked, I guess, and restarted my day."

Zell started to piece together everything Seifer said. "So... We argued last time then?" He nodded. "And this time you decided to..." Zell, turning red again, smiled. "Say I look nice."

Seifer nodded, turning red himself. "Yeah... I wanted to say at least something but got nervous last time."

"Why?" Biting his lip, looking down, not convinced he knew what Seifer was trying to do.

Seifer groaned, putting his hand over his eyes. "Do I have to say it?"

Zell looked him in the eyes, still smiling. "Kinda..."

Seifer looked down, and Zell's smile gave him a bit of encouragement. "Because I like you. A lot, actually. Your energy, your smile, how reckless you can be, how you never back down from me." He took a step closer to Zell, who seemed to smile even more after his confession. "I want you, Zell, always have, even back then before... everything. How does this make you feel?" He was a bit unsure, but Zell was smiling, so maybe...

Zell looked him in the eyes, his smile still evident. "D-did Selphie tell you something?"

Seifer smirked, understanding. "No, but if she did, I'm guessing I had no reason to be nervous before?"

Zell nodded, a hint of playfulness in his eyes. "So, what happens now?"

Seifer closed the distance, wrapping his arms around Zell, who was shocked by the action but immediately wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck.

"Will you be mine?" Seifer whispered in his ear. Zell's heart was pounding so hard. Seifer could feel it against his own chest.

"Of course..." Zell replied, a mixture of excitement and disbelief in his voice. He never would have imagined this would ever actually happen between him and Seifer.

Seifer took the necklace from around his neck and put it on his new boyfriend, kissing him on the cheek. Zell was in a state of shock and excitement.

"You're mine now, then. Behave for a while; I need to find Rinoa." He gave his boyfriend another kiss on the cheek as he began to leave.

"I will..." Zell whispered, smiling and watching his boyfriend as he left. How was he supposed to refocus on training after that? He grabbed the necklace that was around his neck, still not believing what the hell just happened.

Seifer walked through Garden with a goofy smile on his face. He felt naked without his necklace. He smiled even more. "But it's on Zell now... My boyfriend has it now."

As he rounded a corner, he saw Squall talking to some new recruits. Seifer leaned against a wall, not wanting to interrupt the headmaster. He still felt a bit foreign addressing Squall as such. Squall finished with training orders and assignments for the recruits, sighed, turned around, and noticed Seifer standing there with a smile on his face, lost in thought.

He sighed again, walking up to Seifer. "What do you want, Seifer?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm looking for Rinoa. Know where she is?"

Squall's eyebrow raised in suspicion. "In the library, researching some magic she wanted to look into."

"Of course!" Seifer laughed.

Squall looked at him, a bit shocked by the out-of-character behavior, but not caring enough to investigate further. "Whatever. If that's all you needed, then I'll take my leave. I have a lot of work to do."

"Right. Say hello to Zell for me!" Seifer said with smugness. Squall just grunted and left Seifer. Oh, how he wished he could see Squall's face the next time he talks to Zell, knowing his hyperactive boyfriend would tell Squall about what happened.

--

To be continued