Warning!!! This is a lemon yaoi fanfiction starring Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy from Final Fantasy VIII. This story will contain graphic sex scenes between two males. If you have a problem with male homosexuality or are under the age of eighteen, please do not read this. I refuse to be responsible for your mental disorders, because I'm still on medicine for mine. If rated, it should be a NC-17 rating, 'cause I got a little carried away there again... This is my favorite couple of all time, so be prepared for a long story. For those of you who read "A Midsummer Knight's Dream" or "Rapunzel", this story has nothing to do with either. For those of you who read "Black and White", this story does fall into that continuity, but does not deal with that story. This story is set seven years after the defeat of Ultimecia. Please remember not to get your computer sticky... and you know what I'm talking about, too. >giggle< ^_^

Meant for Each Other

The brown haired girl ran quickly to catch up to her long-legged lover.

"Donovan! Wait! I have something for you!" she panted as the handsome blonde-haired man turned around.

The tall blonde took off his hat and wiped his brow, setting down his duffel bag. He grinned at the petite brunette girl. "Raine! You came to see me off!" he said happily as he lifted her slight form into his arms and spun her around, grinning ear to ear.

The pretty brunette grinned despite herself. She planted a kiss on the young man's face, that was just recently a boy's face. "I wanted to give you this before you left, Donnie..." she said as she pulled out a necklace.

The muscular blonde blinked his electric blue eyes and took the necklace from the young woman, grinning even wider. "Wow! Raine, you shouldn't have! This must have cost you a mint!" he said, pulling the girl into a passionate embrace.

The pretty young woman smiled softly and rested her head on her lover's shoulder. "It was worth it for you, Donovan Almasy... I love you, and I don't want you to forget about me when you leave..." she said, doing her best not to cry.

The tall man rubbed his cheek against the pretty girl's hair. He managed not to cry when he said, "I won't ever forget about you, Raine... I love you, too."

Squall Leonhart rang the bell of the boarding house again, looking annoyed. He rubbed his temples when the incessant pounding on the roof would not go away. Why am I here? he asked himself.

Oh, yeah, that's right. I have nowhere else to go. Well, I could go to Esthar and watch my father and his "friend" paw each other... but I feel out of place in his life, Squall sighed as he thought to himself. He began to tap his foot in impatience, wishing whoever was pounding on the damn roof would stop.

"Oh, there you are, sweetheart..."

Squall turned around to stare at the person who spoke, seeing a withered old woman wearing a blue dress and a shawl smile up at him.

The old woman patted Squall on the shoulder affectionately. "And you look so pretty today, too, dear. Donnie will be pleased... But take off those sunglasses, dear... don't cover your pretty eyes..."the old woman cackled, reaching up to pull Squall's sunglasses off.

Squall looked annoyed and tried to snatch his sunglasses back. "Who the hell are you, lady? And where the hell do you get off stealing my shades?" he said in an irritated tone.

The old woman looked nonplussed, and her blue eyes sparkled with delight. "You're such a pretty girl, Raine," she said as she walked over to the rocking chair by the window and began knitting what could only be surmised as some sort of quilt.

"Raine? You knew my mother?" Squall said quickly, rushing over to old woman, not even noticing when the loud banging on the roof was replaced by a screech of pain and a stream of curses.

The old woman blinked her eyes, and Squall noticed that they seem to clear up. "You're not Raine. My goodness, young lady, you look a lot like her. Mother, you said? So you must be the child Raine gave birth to... Although I could have sworn she gave birth to a boy..." the old woman said thoughtfully, rocking back and forth in her rocking chair.

Squall blinked his eyes in frustration. "I am a boy, ma'am. You knew my mother?" he said, trying to get the old woman's attention, who was now focusing on her "quilt".

She looked up at him, her eyes clouded again. "Who are you, dearie?"

Squall sighed deeply and rolled his eyes. This elderly woman was obviously senile. "My name is Squall Leonhart and I'm looking for a room here for about two months. Do you know where I can find the owner?" Squall relented, realizing he wasn't going to get anything else out of the old woman.

She blinked her eyes. "My grandson owns it now, young lady. He's fixing the roof. He'll be down in a little while. Would you care for some tea?" the old woman said politely, getting up and hobbling over to the kitchen.

Squall sighed and followed her, deciding to try and question her further later on, and realizing that convincing her of his masculinity was an exercise in futility. He sat down at the kitchen table and looked morose. Squall watched the old woman putter around the kitchen and fixing tea for the both of them.

Squall heard a loud banging and watched a pretty red-haired man stomp through the kitchen, flouncing more than even Selphie Tilmitt. The red-head stopped in front of Squall and gave him a disgusted look.

"Great," he said in a high-pitched voice, "Just great. He had a new one already lined up. Aren't you pretty..." The pretty red-head sneered at Squall and flounced away, but stopped when a large figure threw open the door, the noise resounding throughout the entire building.

Squall looked over and his jaw dropped when he saw a tall, muscular blonde man, with a scowl spread across his scarred face.

"Madison, you rotten rat bastard! Come back and say that shit to my face!!" the blonde man screamed at the huffy red-head.

Madison put his hands on his slim hips. "Alright, asshole. You are a low-life, egotistical, rotten-tempered, LOSER!!! You are going NOWHERE!!! And I refuse to stay here and be subjected to your sorry, provincial, little life!!!" the pretty man huffed back.

The handsome blonde sneered. "Fine then, get the fuck outta here, ya jerk!!! Who needs ya?!!" the hot tempered blonde yelled.

The effeminate red-head gave the masculine blonde a positively malicious look. "You do... But too bad... I'm already gone..." he said as he picked up his suitcase and flounced out of the house, leaving the blonde man seething in anger.

Squall watched "Madison" huff out and turned his gaze on the seething blonde, who hadn't noticed Squall was there yet. The blonde went over to the freezer and pulled out an ice pack which he wrapped around his bruised hand.

The tall man went over to the old woman who was pouring the tea calmly, having not noticed the angry exchange between the two men just a couple minutes ago. He leaned next to her, looking extremely unhappy. "Well, Grandma, I hit the hell outta my hand with the hammer on the roof, tripped on the ladder and fell five feet, and Madison just left me... My day can't get any worse..." he said grumpily, still nursing his bruised hand sulkily, not having noticed the beautiful, scarred brunette sitting at his kitchen table yet.

The old woman looked up happily at her grandson. "We have our first boarder. See? She wants to stay for two whole months," she grinned cheerfully, handing the handsome blonde a cup of tea.

The blonde sipped his tea and calmly shifted his eyes to see his new boarder. He spit his tea out in shock, when he realized who the new boarder was, shock registering across his chiseled face.

Squall managed to look even more disgusted than ever as he took a napkin and wiped the tea off his face. "Hello, Seifer. Nice to see some things never change," he said bitterly, glaring at Seifer.

Seifer Almasy's jaw dropped open, still staring at Squall. "What the fuck are YOU doing here?!!!" he shouted.

Squall gave him another disgusted look. "None of your business, Seifer. But don't worry, I'll find somewhere else to stay," Squall said as nastily as he could.

Seifer blinked his eyes and smirked at the smaller man. "There ain't no other boarding house in Winhill, Leonhart. You wanna stay here? Fine, long as you can pay the bills, I don' give a flyin' rat's ass. Jus' stay the hell away from me an' we won' have a problem," he growled.

Squall grimaced, because he knew that. He took out some of his gil stash from his days in SeeD and slammed enough money on the table to pay for a year. "Fine. And don't flatter yourself, Almasy. I don't want to have anything to do with you.," Squall said in his coldest voice.

Seifer gave Squall his patented sneer. "Feeling's mutual, Leonhart. Your room is upstairs, first one on the left. Key's on the dresser. Meals are at 9am, 1pm, and 6pm. Laundry is every Thursday. No loud music, parties, or orgies. Got it?" he asks hotly.

Squall rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he says.

Seifer sneered. "You are so predictable, Leonhart. This here's my Grandma. You'll call her Mrs. Almasy and if you mess with her, I will kill you. Simple as that," Seifer growled. The old woman didn't seem to notice the two men posturing before each other and cheerfully handed Squall his cup of tea.

Squall took the cup and gave the old woman a thoughtful look. He looked at her hard, noticing the physical similarities between Seifer and her.

The old woman smiled at Squall. "Isn't she the loveliest sight you've ever laid eyes on, Seifer?" she winked at her grandson.

Squall winced as Seifer burst into riotous laughter. The blonde was practically on the floor in hysterics. Squall gave both of them a dirty look before heading off to his room.

Raine stared at the letter her childhood sweetheart had sent her with a look of sadness. She shouldn't have been surprised.

Dear Raine, it started, I hope everything is going alright for you in Winhill. I've been stationed in Timber. I have something to confess to you... I met this girl here, named Mary Anne... She's been telling me all about a resistance movement against Galbadia... She's very passionate... I believe her words, her drive... She and I have become very close, over the past few months... I... think I love her, Raine... I'm gonna ask her to marry me tomorrow... I know that you are probably very angry at me right now, but... I'm sorry Raine... I feel like such a jerk. I don't like being alone... For what it's worth to you, I'll always love you, Raine... I'm so sorry... Love, Donovan.

Raine let the letter fall to the floor, a tear sliding down her cheek. She wasn't surprised. She almost knew that Donovan wouldn't stay hers when he left... He was far to much of a skirt chaser to resist temptation when she wasn't around. She buried her face in her arms and cried into the kitchen table.

She didn't stop crying until the guns opened fire on the house next door, and she heard the sounds of a little girl crying.

Squall woke up the next day to the sound of children squealing outside. He blinked his eyes and sat up, glancing at his clock. It was almost noon. I can kiss breakfast good-bye. At least lunch will be coming up soon. Providing Seifer doesn't decide to piss in my soup or something, he thought as he started up his shower.

He had been surprised that his room was actually nice. Nicer than his dorm room at the garden. Squall quickly took his shower and dressed in a black button down shirt and black corduroy pants. He combed his hair and put on his necklace, the silver lion's head complimenting the black. He completed the outfit by putting on his usual three belts, deciding to leave the other eight off for now...

Squall headed downstairs and walked outside. He stopped and stared at the spectacle before him.

Seifer Almasy, formerly known as the Sorceress' Knight, had a child hanging off of both his arms. He had his arms spread out from his body, and the children were trying to pull his arms down. One was a little girl wearing little boy's clothes and sporting a blonde ponytail. The other was a small black boy with glasses. All three were laughing.

"Come on, ya rugrats," Seifer cheered to the children, "Put yer backs inta it! You can do it!"

The little girl grunted and pulled as hard as she could, looking determined. The little boy couldn't put as much effort into it, as his small form was not even touching the ground. Seifer laughed, and managed to hold his bearing, neither of his arms being pulled down.

Squall watched, an odd expression creeping across his pretty face. Seifer is playing with kids... SEIFER ALMASY is playing with KIDS!?! he thought.

Eventually, Seifer burst into laughter and reached around and grabbed both kids by the waists, spinning them around. The children burst into giggling fits as he did this.

Seifer stopped after a few minutes and then pretended to be dizzy and fell over. The two kids pounced him and he leapt up, tickling the children and chasing them past Squall.

Squall went back inside. He saw Seifer's gray-haired grandmother in her rocking chair, hard at work on her "quilt". She looked up at him happily.

"Raine!" she cheered, rushing up to Squall and hugging him fiercely, "Did you come to see Donnie? He should be back soon, dearie."

Squall blinked his eyes. "Raine? You knew my mother?" he asked incredulously, hoping the old woman wasn't gonna spaz on him again.

Seifer's grandmother smiled at him and forced him to sit. "Really? My goodness, Raine. No, no, I'm sure Donnie will agree. He loves you so much... You're such a cute couple... I can't wait for the two of you to tie the knot," she cackled at Squall, handing him a brownie. Squall noticed the old woman was wearing a bright blue dress with her gray shawl, and had two different slippers. Her socks didn't match either.

"Donnie?" Squall asked, trying to figure out who this person was.My mom was gonna marry somebody else other than Laguna!?!

The two children held up their hands. "Me!!!" they called out simultaneously. Seifer grinned at them.

"Me," Squall said drolly, looking at Seifer who turned and scowled at him. The children glanced over at Squall as well, their curiosity piqued.

Seifer sighed, not wanting the children to see him upset. "Lunch is in the kitchen. Molly, Tamar, this is Squall Leonhart. He's staying here for a while. He's sick, so don't talk to him too much, 'kay?" Seifer said, not wanting the children to get too close to his bitterest rival.

The girl giggled. "He looks like a girl, too, Uncle Seifer... Where's Aunt Maddie?" she asked, her big blue eyes glinting up at Seifer. The boy giggled softly, still looking shyly at Squall.

Squall watched with confused amazement as Seifer blushed furiously, something Squall had never seen Seifer do before. "Uh, Uncle Madison, had to, um, leave, because, um, his... mom, was, um, sick," Seifer said, reaching desperately, "He, uh, probably won't come back."

Squall raised an eyebrow, but Seifer ignored him and hurried to kitchen, children in tow. Squall sighed and shook his head and looked over at the old woman. She was smiling at Squall maternally. "Isn't Donnie sweet, Raine? He loves kids so much..." she cackled, returning to her "quilt".

Squall sighed and looked annoyed. "Who the hell is Donnie? How was he connected to my mother, Mrs. Almasy? Please tell me..." Squall said in frustration.

The old woman blinked her eyes. "Is it lunchtime already, dearie?" she said dreamily as she headed off for the kitchen.

Squall sighed and headed into the kitchen as well...

Squall Leonhart sniffled and wiped his nose on his Charlie Brown shirt. The blood quickly soaked into it. He cried now, that Seifer was gone, and couldn't see his tears. The taller boy's cruel laughter could still be heard, even though Seifer was inside and Squall was still sitting by the beach.

Squall brought his knees to his chin and rested his cheek against him, still sniffling. Why won't he leave me alone? Always bothering me, picking on me? I hate him... wish he would go away... Squall thought angrily.

After a few hours, Squall went back to the little stone cottage. He looked around and noticed the matron was removing the bedsheets to Seifer's bed.

"Matron?" he asked tentatively, "Where's Seifer?"

The beautiful woman looked over at Squall a little sadly. "He went off to the Garden, Squall. I had to send him there, his tenth birthday is tomorrow, and no one would adopt him.," she said in her usual quiet manner.

Squall's eyes grew wide, having an emotion he never thought possible. He missed Seifer.Who's gonna pay attention to me now? He was the only one...

Edea Kramer blinked her eyes, noticing Squall was crying. "It'll be alright, sweetheart," she soothed, "What's wrong?"

Squall sobbed, feeling confused. "I... " he choked. He turned and ran away, as fast as he could.Seifer's gone... The only one who tried to play with me... Who noticed I was alive...

Squall moped back to the beach, his hands stuffed in his pockets, tears streaming down his face. He didn't really understand why he missed the bully who tormented him day in and day out.

He heard a loud groan off in the distance. Squall headed over to the surf and saw a tall, blonde man with a scar on his face lying on the ground. Squall crept over and stared at him, thinking how much the scar reminded him of the one on the man who came last week, dressed in black, wearing Squall's necklace. He stared at the battered blonde, noting the blood-soaked and torn trenchcoat.

The handsome blonde man looked over at Squall, his jade green eyes blinking rapidly. "Squ... Squa-all?" the man choked out, reaching his hand out to the boy. His face was covered in blood, not all of it his.

Squall stared at the man in fascination. He looked so much like Seifer but he was old.. and big... Squall stared at the hand and tentatively reached out to touch it. The blonde man smiled, almost with content, curling his long fingers around the boy's small hand.

Squall looked startled and stared at the man in fascination, sitting next to him on the wet sand, the tide coming in around them. The man stroked Squall's angelic face. "How I... loved you, Squall... So much...," he croaked, his eyes closing and his chest not rising and falling as it once was.

Squall looked horrified as the fingers lay limp against his hand and the man's eyes closed. "No... don't leave me... please..." Squall begged, unsure why the thought of this perfect stranger dying, who had just confessed his love, bothered him.

The man did not respond.

Squall began to cry again. "Please... let there be at least one person out there who loves me... I miss you, Seifer... Please come back," he whimpered, burying his face into the man's now still chest, calling for the cruel boy who gave him the attention he did not want, yet desperately needed.

The man breathed.

Squall lifted his head and stared at the man, whose pale green eyes were fluttering open. The blonde blinked and looked over at the beautiful brunette child that had been crying on him.

Squall tentatively managed to smile at the man. "You came back?" Squall asked as the fingers tightened about his small hand again.

The blonde smiled and stroked Squall's face gently. "You... missed me?" he said slowly, his life slowly returning to him.

Squall looked confused. "I... Who are you?" he asked, touching the hand that was stroking his face thoughtfully.

"My name is Sei-" the man started to say before he vanished into thin air, leaving young Squall Leonhart all alone.

He eventually got used to that.

Squall ate his dinner in his room thoughtfully. Seifer was a surprisingly good cook and the spaghetti was very good, even if Seifer had put tons of cheese in it.

The past few days, Seifer had been more civil than he had ever been in Squall's entire life. He was almost polite to Squall, and did the laundry, worked on the house, and even served the meals without picking a fight.

Squall kept trying to question Seifer's grandmother about Raine and this "Donovan", but got little or no answers to his questions. And if he pressed the old woman too hard, Seifer got angry.

And Squall's thoughts kept returning to his memories of the man he met as a young boy. By the beach, near the Matron's house. He kept thinking about the man, almost constantly. The GFs had taken away a lot of Squall's childhood memories, one of the many reasons Squall had left the Garden. He couldn't quite remember the man's face...

But he was so familiar.

Squall sighed and finished his dinner. He brought the dishes downstairs, noting that the old woman was asleep in her rocking chair. Something about the bright yellow dress and the gray shawl made her look adorable in her lack of fashion sense. He wondered once again why Seifer was in an orphanage when he had family.

When Squall put the dishes in the kitchen sink, he noticed a ladder against the house in the backyard. He went outside and saw that it was pushed so someone could reach the roof. Squall decided that he would like to sit on the roof for awhile and climbed up the ladder. When he reached the roof, he realized that apparently Seifer had the same idea.

Seifer was sitting on the roof calmly, watching the sunset. He turned slightly at the sound of someone climbing up the roof. "Who's there?" he called.

Squall sighed, picturing Seifer losing his temper and pushing him off the roof. "Just me, I didn't realize someone was up here already. I'll leave," Squall said dryly, starting his descent down the ladder.

"You don't gotta leave jus' 'cause I'm up here, Leonhart... Yer a payin' customer. Do whatever ya like jus' as long as you don't break my rules," Seifer said, turning back to watching the sunset.

Squall climbed back up on the roof, and sat down a few feet away from Seifer, noting that the tall blonde was chain smoking cigarettes. He turned his attention to the sunset, which was quite lovely. How romantic... I'm watching a sunset with my childhood rival... he thought, a sardonic smile playing about his lips.

Seifer saw the smile, something he hadn't seen on Squall's face since they were children. "Man, Rinoa musta done a number on you, Leonhart... Smilin' an' everything..." Seifer said tactlessly, "Where is she anyways?"

Squall winced at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. "Last I heard, she went back to Timber. Dating Zone now, or so I heard..." Squall sighed.

Seifer started to cough on his cigarette. "Yer kidding, right? You two looked like you was gonna get hitched or something... You dumped her?" Seifer asked incredulously, remembering how close Squall and Rinoa were after Ultimecia's death.

Squall sighed, wondering why he was even bothering to answer Seifer's questions. "No... She dumped me... Said I wasn't appreciating her... that I needed to work on my attitude... express my feelings... that it wasn't working out... The usual, I guess," Squall sighed, remembering Rinoa stridently telling him where to go and what to do with himself when he got there.

Seifer stared at the smaller man seriously. "That's rough, man. But what do you mean about 'the usual'?" he asked, now staring intently at Squall.

Squall looked at Seifer sideways. "Didn't she give you the same speech when she broke up with you?" Squall asked carefully.

Seifer gaped at Squall then burst into laughter. "Broke up with me? We were never dating, Squall... Just friends..." Seifer said as he wiped the tears out of his face.

Squall blinked his eyes in confusion. "But she said... I thought..." he started before Seifer cut him off.

"Rinoa said that? Oh boy, did she have me all wrong..." Seifer chuckled.

Squall just blinked, trying to digest this information. "What do you mean, Seifer?"

Seifer looked over at Squall. "You don't know?" he asked, amused.

"Know what?"

"I'm gay, Squall."

Squall Leonhart blinked rapidly. "Know what?" he asked weakly.

Seifer smirked at his former rival. "You heard me," he said simply.

Squall coughed and felt faint. "You're... You?" he asks incredulously.

Seifer shook his head. "What, the fruity red-head didn't clue you in? Yeah, man, me," Seifer said calmly, waiting for Squall to freak out and run away, like most people do when they found out.

Squall just stared at Seifer like he was one of PuPu's people. "You don't act gay," he said in a disbelieving tone of voice.

Seifer chuckled. "So? That has nothin' to do with it, Squall..." he said.

Squall still looked incredulous. Finding out that Irvine was gay would have been easier to swallow than Seifer. "Um, how long have you, um, been...?" Squall asked, letting the question trail off.

"For as long as I've been interested in sex, I guess. Never liked girls..." Seifer smirked, noting how well Squall was taking this.

Squall nodded his head, trying to digest this. "Right..." he said, edging a little away from Seifer.

Seifer shook his head and looked annoyed. "Jus' because I like to fuck men, doesn't mean I wanna fuck you, Squall... Don't flatter yourself... You're not that cute. And it's not catching," Seifer said bitterly, hating the way people edged away from him.

Squall sighed, realizing that Seifer just confessed something profound to him and he was acting like everybody else. "I'm sorry... I've never talked to... or known... you're..."

"I'm the same guy I was before, only now you know what my sexual preference is. Don't worry, Squall, I'm not gonna jump your bones... Are you attracted to every girl you see?" Seifer asked surlishly.

Squall sighed. "Of course not, Seifer... I, uh, just... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overreact..." he said softly, staring at his hands.

Seifer gave Squall an odd look. "You realize this is the longest we've ever spoken without getting into a scrap?" he asked, studying the pretty brunette hard.

Squall looked at Seifer with the ghost of a smile playing about his pink lips. "Yeah, I guess so, Seifer. You're not so bad when you act civil," Squall said.

Seifer grinned. "And yer not so bad when you act like you gotta personality, Leonhart..." Seifer smirked.

Squall chuckled at that, causing Seifer to chuckle as well. Soon, both men were laughing hard, finding their mutual social problems extremely amusing.

Squall looked Seifer, a bit curiously. "You attacked the Galbadian President for Rinoa. Some friendship..." he quipped.

"You people make an awful lot of assumptions about me," Seifer chuckled, "I did that for me... I was born in Timber, ya know. My parents died 'cause of their rebellion... for their freedom."

They both quieted down and watched the sun finally set, the night sky covering Winhill. They became quiet, silently enjoying the other's company for the first time in their troubled lives...

Two people ran through the mud, one a large man and the other a small female. Both had glorious blonde hair, caked through with mud. It was a rainy night.

The woman carried a small, shivering blonde boy, who strongly resembled the handsome man. The boy was whimpering.

Bright lights appeared behind the family, shining over all three. The woman tripped over a branch, and the small boy flew from her arms, landing in the mud several feet away.

The man ran over to pick up the small boy first, but before he could reach the beautiful woman, harsh voices rang out from the same direction as the bright lights.

"Halt, rebels!!! In the name of Galbadia we order you to surrender!!"

The man reached his arm out for the woman to crawl towards him. "Get up, Mary Anne... please..." he begged, still holding the crying little boy.

The woman looked up and reached for the man's hand.

Gunshots rang out and riddled the woman full of bullets. The man stumbled back in shock. The woman collapsed to the muddy ground, now still.

It began to rain harder.

The man started to shake and put the boy down, shoving the boy behind him. The boy backed away, fear coursing through his pale green eyes. "Mommy..." he sobbed quietly.

The man turned back to the lights and put his hands behind his head. "I surrender..." the man said dully, his electric blue eyes full of sorrow and regret.

The little boy's eyes went wide when the guns fired once again and he watched his father's body shake as he was pumped full of bullets.

Blood splattered on the small blonde boy, mixing in with the mud and rain.

The man's body slumped to the ground, next to his wife.

"Daddy..." the little boy sobbed when the lights closed in around him.

Squall Leonhart dumped his breakfast dishes into the sink, actually looking forward to when Seifer would return from the grocer's. He glanced out the window and then gaped, shocked.

Seifer's elderly grandmother was gardening completely nude, humming happily to herself.

Squall grabbed the partially complete "quilt" and ran outside, throwing the material over the woman. "Mrs. Almasy, please... you're not dressed..." he said, rushing the old woman inside before the neighbors could see, or worse yet, Seifer came home.

She looked up at him amicably, her cheerful smile never wavering. "You really are a sweet girl, Raine. You'll be good for my Donnie," she said.

Squall blinked. "Who is Donnie, Mrs. Almasy? What did he have to do with my mother?" he asked impatiently, taking her to her bedroom, so he could find her clothes.

The old woman's eyes cleared a little. "Donnie... Donovan Almasy... my son. Raine was his childhood sweetheart... They loved each other so much. But he left to fight the war... married some other girl... broke poor Raine's heart..." she said sadly.

Squall blinked his eyes and turned to rummage around in her dresser drawer, pulling out some clothes for her. And then he saw the picture.

It was his mother hugging a man who looked almost exactly like Seifer, only with blue eyes and no facial scarring. They were both in their late teens.

Squall turned and looked at the old woman, handing her the clothes he found. He looked down at the picture again.My mother... and Seifer's father!?!

The old woman, now dressed, came up beside Squall and looked at the picture with fondness. "I loved Raine like my own daughter... You look so much like her... And my Seifer looks just like his daddy..." she said.

Squall turned on the old woman. "How could you? Seifer grew up in an orphanage! By himself! Why didn't you take him!?!" he shouted, angry at her for Seifer's sake.

She stumbled back. "I... didn't know he had a son... Communication from Timber was cut off after the take-over... I..." she said before bursting into tears.

"What the fuck are ya doin' to my grandmother, Leonhart?!!!"

Squall turned at the sound of Seifer's angry voice. Seifer shoved Squall roughly aside and took his grandmother into his arms, comforting the sobbing old woman.

Squall regained his footing. "I... I'm sorry, Seifer. I just..."

Seifer glared at Squall dangerously. "You hurt the only person who ever loved me, Squall. Now get out of my sight. Leave this house, or I'm gonna kill ya," he said, pain filling his jade green eyes.

Squall left and headed to his room, clutching the picture to his chest. He felt guilty about making the old woman cry, and wondered why he felt so sympathetic to Seifer's pain all of a sudden.

He sat down on his bed and stared at the picture. Squall felt hurt that Seifer no longer wanted him around. But Squall had hurt the only person that ever loved Seifer.

But what about the only person who ever loved me?

Squall lay down, the picture still resting on his toned chest. He closed his eyes and he began to remember...

The man's face...

His clothes...

The way he touched Squall's young face...

His eyes...

His scar...

Squall sat bolt upright, ignoring the fact that hours had just passed.

It was Seifer!

When time compressed... the man who said he loved Squall was Seifer! He knew it now!

Seifer loved him!?!

Squall left the room, holding the picture in his hand, looking for his former rival. He found Seifer sitting in the dark kitchen, smoking a cigarette.

"Is she alright?" he asked tentatively, his eyes straining to see if Seifer had his gunblade nearby.

Seifer looked up sullenly, his face half lit up by his cigarette. "Fine... she already forgot 'bout it... Why are ya still here, Leonhart? I tol' ya to get the hell out..." he said gruffly, strands of blonde hair falling into his pale green eyes.

Squall sighed and walked in, shoving the picture under Seifer's nose. "Look at that, Seifer," he said calmly, turning on the lights.

Seifer blinked. "That's my dad... Who's the chick with the headband?" he asked.

"My mother... Your grandmother said they were childhood sweethearts. I was pushing her too hard, I... I... didn't understand why you had to grow up alone, if she was alive..." Squall said quietly, sitting across from Seifer.

Seifer looked up at him. "She didn't know... until I came looking fer her a few years back," he said quietly, setting the picture aside to stare into Squall's deep blue eyes.

Squall gazed back into Seifer's jade green ones. "I just remembered something, Seifer... about you..." he said quietly.

"Wha's that?" Seifer asked.

"Where did you go after Elle compressed time, Seifer? To a beach? With a little boy wearing a Charlie Brown shirt?" Squall asked, looking deeply into Seifer's eyes.

Seifer's eyes widened in shock. "How did you...?"

Squall looked down and studied his folded hands. "You said you loved me, Seifer... I want to know, now, as an adult... Did you mean that? Do you now?"

Seifer just stared at him and then turned away. "Why, Squall? So you can laugh at me? Or have more fun when you push me away?" he said bitterly.

Squall sighed. "You have somebody who loves you, Seifer... Maybe I want to have somebody, too," he answered calmly.

Seifer stood up angrily, shoving his chair back. "That's bullshit, Squall! Ya have a father, yer 'Sis', ya had Rinoa till ya screwed THAT up... Ya always had everything I wanted... You just never wanted it!!" he screamed.

Squall stood up and looked evenly into Seifer's face, fire lighting up his eyes, feeling more emotion than he had in a long time. "Maybe I want it now, Seifer! Maybe I don't know how to handle my dad and never bothered to learn! Maybe I want you to love me!" he shouted back, just as heatedly.

"Why?" Seifer snarled.

Squall looked away. "How can you expect me to ever love anybody back, when they try to force me to act the way they want me to?! You never give me a chance... Laguna... Rinoa... You..." he trailed off, hot tears spilling down his cheek. Squall turned and walked away from Seifer, unsure of why he was even saying this to Seifer of all people.

Seifer grabbed Squall's arm, forcing the younger man to turn and face him. "Yeah, I love you, Leonhart... Always have... Ever since I was little... Why do you think I always picked on you?" Seifer said gruffly, not liking having to bear his heart.

Squall went stiff and pushed Seifer away from him. "You'll get what you want, Seifer... I'll leave... And you won't have to deal with my 'attitude' anymore..." Squall said angrily, feeling uncomfortable at Seifer's confession.

Seifer let go of Squall's arm abruptly. "Yeah, yer so predictable, Leonhart... Figgered ya was gonna say that," Seifer snarled before turning away and sitting back at the kitchen table.

Squall ran out of the house. He ran and ran and ran... but couldn't escape the ache his heart was feeling...

Seifer was in a field of flowers.

He felt horrible. His body felt like someone had hit him with a mac truck, and then backed over him again, just to be sure. Seifer stumbled to his feet, his trenchcoat torn. He looked around, for once not concerned about his precious clothing.

And then he saw them.

Rinoa held Squall in her lap, and a ray of sunshine passed over the couple. Squall stirred and opened his eyes, blinking at the small Asian woman. He smiled at her, as she burst into tears of joy. They held each other, both grateful to have made it.

They didn't notice the blonde man off in the distance, whose silent tears poured down his face. Squall had smiled, actually smiled for Rinoa.

Seifer's heart broke when he realized that Squall cared about Rinoa. No matter how hard he tried, Squall would never love him...

He eventually learned to live with that.

Squall was huddled against a tree, by the cliff. He had been crying for hours and was half asleep. It was dark, very dark, and was raining hard. Squall didn't notice.

He had tried to love Rinoa the way she had wanted him to, but they were too different. There was no common ground for them. She loved Squall for the way she wanted him to be, not the way he really was. After a couple years of trying to make a social, friendly person out of him, she gave up and left him to return to Timber.

Now he had managed to forge something close to a friendship with Seifer over the past month, and bungled that relationship up as well. And Seifer loved him...

Seifer loved him?

But how did he feel about Seifer? Why did this make him feel so strange...?

Squall was so wrapped up in his angst, he didn't notice when the ground became muddy in the rain. He didn't notice when it slipped off the edge of the cliff, until it was too late.

Squall screamed as loud as he could, realizing he was about to tumble off the cliffs to his death. He flailed desperately for something to hold, but found no purchase.

He slipped farther with the mud, and slipped right off the cliff.

And someone grabbed his wrist... someone strong.

Squall was dangling off the cliff. He looked up to see his savior and saw Seifer, wearing a bright yellow slicker, holding onto the tree with one arm, and Squall with the other, trying desperately to pull him, but the mud kept causing him to slip.

"Seifer..." Squall said, looking down and swallowing at the cliff bottoms, far away from the other side, where the pier was. "Let me go, Seifer... or we're gonna both die..."

Seifer gritted his teeth. "Unlike you, Leonhart... I... don't... give... UP!!!" he yelled loudly as he pulled Squall up with all of his strength, defying the mud that was beneath his feet.

Squall fell on top of his former rival and stared in shock at him. "Th-thanks..." he said quietly, rain pouring down on both them.

Seifer dragged himself and Squall away from the mudslide, coming to his feet when he reached the road. He didn't answer Squall at first, and stared back at his house.

"....." Squall said.

Seifer started to head back to his house. "You should stay in the house until the rain stops. It's storming bad enough to close up all the trains. You can leave after it blows over," he said gruffly.

Squall followed his rescuer silently, emotions tumbling around him like the rain itself. Both men soon reached the house, and Seifer began to climb the stairs, intent on taking a hot shower and crying himself to sleep.

Seifer felt Squall grab his arm. He turned to look at the mud-stained brunette. "Whaddaya want now, Leonhart? We said what needed to be said. We can move on with life..." he said calmly, removing his arm from Squall's grasp. "You don't owe me nothin'. So ya can do whatever ya like wit' yerself."

Squall sighed and looked hard into Seifer's eyes, discovering pain similar to his own. "I... don't want you to go away like you did when we were children. You were always there... the only one who ever paid attention to me and didn't try to change me... even if you did constantly pick fights with me... I missed you, Seifer... And I'll miss you again if I leave... I came to Winhill to sort things out and discover myself. Instead... I discovered you," he breathed.

Seifer stared at Squall hard. "That's the most you've ever said in yer entire life, Leonhart..." he said quietly, taking the brunette's hand gently.

"Would you please knock off the tough guy talk, Seifer? It annoys the crap out of me..." Squall said, curling his fingers around Seifer's hand, not looking at him anymore.

Seifer leaned over to Squall, his hot breath hitting Squall's cheek and ear. "Since you asked so politely..." he quipped, before softly kissing Squall's cheek.

Squall jumped, but didn't push Seifer away. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the feel of Seifer's soft lips on his cheek.

What the hell am I doing? Have I lost my mind? Now I'm gay, too?

Seifer chuckled and pulled away. "The way I see it, Leonhart, is that you gots two choices. You can go to your room and take a hot shower by yourself and remain forever locked away in your closet of heterosexuality. Or you can come to my room and take a hot shower with me, exploring the unique possibilities of homosexuality and all the interesting things I could do to you," he said calmly, still pressed up against the smaller man.

Squall swallowed, feeling his body temperature rise. "I... could learn to be... unique. Hot showers are more fun with two..." he said quietly, feeling like he did on his first time.

Seifer chuckled again, and took Squall by the hand to his room, closing the door and locking it when they got inside. He took off his slicker and stared at the muddy Squall, smiling like a chesire cat. He walked over to Squall and wrapped his arms around the delicate man. "Are you sure, Squall? I don't wanna get halfway there and you get sick and run away..." he said into Squall's ear.

Squall closed his eyes and tentatively put his arms around Seifer. "I'm sure, Seifer. If I was going to be ill, I would have done it when you kissed me," he said, looking at Seifer's face again.

Seifer chuckled, sounding like a rumbling tiger. "That wasn't a kiss, Squall. This is a kiss," he said, brushing his pink lips against Squall's soft pale ones before engulfing the smaller man's mouth with his own, sucking gently on Squall's tongue.

Squall's eyes widened, and then closed, kissing back, letting his tongue play with Seifer's. Being the submissive one was far more intriguing than he had thought. There was no pressure on him, no expectations.

Seifer began to strip off Squall's muddy clothing, leading him to the shower, moving his lips to kiss Squall's entire face. Squall moaned and began to shiver as his clothes were removed, feeling the cold now. Seifer pulled away from Squall to turn on the shower, beginning to strip off his own muddy clothing.

Squall shivered, naked now, wrapping his arms about himself, feeling like a virgin all over again. At least he wouldn't be expected to do everything this time. In fact, I think Seifer might enjoy taking charge a little too much.... he thought ruefully, admiring the handsome blonde as he stripped his wet clothing off.

Seifer grinned over at Squall. "You still good, Squall? You not gonna freak out, right?" Seifer asked, not wanting to be teased.

Squall shivered. "Either warm me up, Almasy... or I will leave," he said through chattering teeth.

Seifer smiled and brought Squall back into his arms, kissing him passionately again. "I'll see what I can arrange," he purred as he drew Squall into the steaming hot shower with him.

Squall gasped, the sudden change of temperature almost erotic in of itself. Seifer began to rub Squall's shoulders and reached out for the soap and a washcloth. Squall smiled softly and leaned against Seifer's strong body, massaging Seifer's broad chest. The hot water ran muddy rivulets down both their bodies, quickly becoming clear as the mud washed away.

Seifer gasped when Squall's delicate fingers brushed against one of his nipples, sending tingles of pleasure throughout his body. He massaged Squall's smooth, almost feminine form, with the soapy washcloth, taking time to wash Squall's growing arousal.

Squall moaned throatily and found Seifer's hardened nipples again, delicately fondling them. He pressed his body against Seifer's toned form, nuzzling Seifer's pectorals, as his erection grew to Seifer's gentle cleansing. Seifer finished washing the rest of Squall, caressing every inch of him.

Squall closed his eyes, surprised that Seifer was even capable of this gentle massage. He opened his eyes when Seifer finished, and took the washcloth away, resoaping it. "My turn," Squall purred, smiling coyly at his former rival.

Seifer grinned as Squall began to wash him, purring like a cat. He watched Squall intently as the smaller man ministered to him, stroking every part of Seifer, but not attending to Seifer's groin as much as Seifer had attended to his. Seifer looked a little disappointed, but took the washcloth and threw it aside, taking Squall into his arms and kissing him, not wanting to let the pretty brunette escape him.

Squall kissed back, and leaned his head back for Seifer to kiss his throat, which Seifer happily complied. Seifer maneuvered his buff thigh between Squall's thighs, rubbing against the underside of Squall's shaft and scrotum. Squall moaned loudly, the shower pouring water into to his open mouth. He arched back and then leaned forward, kissing Seifer again, letting Seifer slip his tongue in his mouth to wrestle with his own tongue.

Seifer lifted Squall off the ground a little, bringing the smaller man to his own level, bracing Squall with his strong arms. He slid his hand down Squall's back, slipping it past his buttocks to reach between his legs and stroke Squall's scrotum with one finger and his entrance with another. Squall squeaked a little, not used to this.

"Sshhhh. Won't hurt if you relax, Squall," Seifer whispered in Squall's ear, licking it gently. Squall squirmed, but let Seifer continue to stroke him, beginning to find his erection painful at this amount of pleasure.

Squall gasped when Seifer slipped a finger inside him, and increased the pressure on Squall's scrotum. He found this sensation alien, but pleasurable still. He rolled his head onto Seifer's shoulder as Seifer abruptly picked him up in his arms and carried him to the bed.

"Need to take this to the bed..." Seifer groaned, laying the brunette on the bed and pushing him down. He kissed his way quickly down Squall's neck and chest, going slow when he reached his belly button, licking it out.

Squall moaned, his head rolling to press against the pillows, discovering how soft Seifer's bed was. Seifer licked Squall's navel a few more times, before dragging his tongue to Squall's pubic hairline, and then through it. He then slid his tongue up Squall's shaft, from base to to tip, eliciting moans from Squall.

Squall cried out loudly when Seifer licked the tip, playing with it with his tongue. Seifer began to suck lightly on Squall's penis, slowly engulfing it with his warm mouth. Squall thrust into Seifer's mouth a little, moaning loudly.

Seifer began to suck harder, reaching up to stroke Squall's face. Squall arched backwards, his hips thrusting up, dripping into Seifer's mouth. Seifer lifted up as well, continuing his suckling, bracing Squall's rear end, so the brunette wouldn't fall back down.

Squall cried Seifer's name and climaxed into Seifer's mouth, arching up even more, before going limp. Seifer swallowed everything that Squall gave him and gently lowered the pretty brunette down. Squall lay panting, looking at Seifer through half closed eyes.

Seifer grinned and stretched out to lay out next to Squall. He wrapped his arms around the younger man and pulled his quilt about them. Squall smiled at Seifer and wrapped his arms around the striking blonde as well, nuzzling Seifer's neck.

"Warm?" Seifer purred, massaging Squall's back and kissing his eyelids.

Squall grinned. "Yeah... I feel bad... You're still hard..." he whispered, pleased that Seifer had not only been gentle with him, but accommodating as well.

Seifer smiled, a little mischeviously. "You wanna take care of that for me?" Seifer purred, pressing even closer to Squall.

Squall rubbed his face softly against Seifer's. "Yeah... what do you want me to do?" Squall asked, feeling inept.

Seifer chuckled and wrapped Squall's legs around his waist. Squall looked a little confused as Seifer moved up to rub his erection against Squall's opening. "Think you can handle it, Squall?" he whispered, caressing his former rival's face.

Squall squirmed. "Thought you people did this sort of thing from behind..." he whispered back.

Seifer chuckled again. " 'You people'? Nah, man... you don't know too much about this sorta thing, do ya, Squall? Use your imagination... I want to look into your eyes and kiss your face..." Seifer said, studying Squall's deep blue-gray eyes.

Squall smiled, a bit whimsically. "Guess it's not so different then, huh? Yes, Seifer... I can handle anything you dish out... as always..." he said quietly, studying Seifer's own jade green eyes.

Seifer rubbed his face against Squall's as he pushed his way through the brunette's tight entrance, letting a groan of pleasure escape his lips. "Glad... to... hear it..." Seifer moaned, thrusting gently into Squall. Squall cried out, adjusting quickly to this new sensation, true to his word.

Seifer rubbed Squall's shaft, causing it to harden quickly to his touch. Seifer closed his eyes and his pace quickened, his thrusts becoming deeper as his pleasure mounted. The two men's cries and moans were matched.

Squall reached up to stroke Seifer's cheek, causing the handsome blonde to open his eyes. Seifer leaned down, still not slowing, both men gazing into each other's eyes. Seifer bent down and gently kissed Squall's lips, their lips lingering as they climaxed simultaneously, their bodies having found the perfect rhythm. This did not slow their soft kisses, only seeming to heighten their affections.

Seifer lay down beside Squall, still inside of him, who turned to face him, their lips never parting. Squall drew up the quilt around them, to keep out the cold. They spent hours like this, touching each other's faces, and kissing each other's lips. They finally parted with a deep sigh, resting up against each other, still joined as one, bodies entwined, making it difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. They fell asleep like that, as one.

Squall woke to the sound of the door opening and watched Seifer's senile grandmother shuffle in, holding breakfast for two on a tray.

He squeaked and drew the covers over his head. "Seifer! Wake up! Your grandmother is here!" he hissed, shaking the blonde roughly.

"Wha-What!?!" Seifer hollered, sitting bolt upright, causing Squall's side of the quilt to slip off.

The gray-haired woman's bright blue eyes sparkled. "I thought you lovebirds might want some breakfast..." she giggled, and placed the tray between the shocked men. "You really have such a cute girlfriend, Seifer... I'm so proud... She's a sweet young lady..."

Squall looked annoyed beyond compare. "Look, Mrs. Almasy, for the last time... I... am... NOT... a-" he started to say before Seifer clamped a hand over his mouth.

"A bacon person!" Seifer finished, grinning sheepishly.

Squall glared evilly at Seifer, crossing his arms and frowning deeply.

The old woman nodded. "Thank you for telling me, dearies... I'll be sure to not bring bacon next time... Enjoy your breakfast!" she called out as she shuffled out, closing the door behind her.

Seifer nudged Squall gently, grinning at him insanely. Squall tried to look sour, but cracked a small grin at Seifer's foolish one. Both men burst out into laughter.

When their giggle fit subsided, they remained staring at each other, smiles still on their faces. Seifer leaned over the breakfast tray to kiss Squall.

Squall kissed back, and looked shyly up at Seifer. "You asked me yesterday why I wanted to know if you loved me, Seifer... Well I think I have the answer..." he said quietly, brushing the unruly strand of golden hair that fell in Seifer's face.

"Wha's that, Squall?" Seifer said, just as quietly, holding Squall's hand and rubbing his fingers.

"I think I wanted to make sure I was loved back..." Squall said.

It took a few moments for that to sink in, but when it did, Seifer snapped his head up and grinned. "Guess this means that what Gran'ma told me was right..." he said as he kissed Squall, knocking orange juice all over him.

Squall looked down and frowned at the sticky juice that was on him. "And what's that, Seifer?" he grumped as he attempted to clean himself up.

"That we're meant for each other..." Seifer grinned as he began to eat, ignoring his mess.

Squall just sighed and began to eat as well... already forming plans on how to get Seifer to lick the juice off him. "Can't argue with senility, now can we?" he quipped.

"Nah... we can't..."

The Beginning... ^_~

J. Marie Author Pairing Rating Subject