Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Be friendly ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: Be friendly

Author: Yorda

Rating: R

Status: WIP

Couples: Seifer/Squall

Warnings: Yaoi, AU, OOC, fluff, stupid school bullies

Disclaimer: Some of the characters belong to Squaresoft.

Summary: AU fic, takes place in a normal senior high. Squall's the bullied one, and Seifer the popular one. A story about the
two of them forming a relationship of some sort ^_^

Chapter: 12

"That's my dad's room." Squall pointed with his finger as they came out from his own room. "And that's-"

"Let me guess, your sister's." Seifer interrupted with a smile on his face as he peeked into Quistis' room. "You should see
Rinoa's! The amount of pink and frill could drive anyone crazy!" he chuckled. The comment made Squall laugh, but as soon as
Seifer turned to face him, the smile faded. Seifer noticed this and narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked and leaned against the wall. Squall blinked his eyes, slightly confused.

"W-what?"

"You have a beautiful smile...there's no reason to always hide it. You're allowed to smile...and even laugh." Seifer told the
younger boy with a soft voice. Squall went speechless, his otherwise pale cheeks turning red. The blonde smiled inwardly as he
watched Squall try to regain his composure. Seifer usually never had troubles expressing his feelings or voicing his thoughts,
his downright behaviour now upsetting Squall.

"...O-okay.." the brunette boy stammered, stroking his long strands nervously.

"Okay what?" Seifer smirked and kept his eyes on Squall as the boy eyed him from under his brows.

"I'll smile for you..." the younger boy agreed. Seifer took a step forward and brought his hands on his chest.

"For me! Oh Squall, I feel so privileged!" the blonde jeered and laughed. Squall narrowed his eyes and shoved Seifer against the
wall.

"Dumb-ass! You know what I mean!" Squall chuckled and was about to hide the smile once again, but instead, met Seifer's eyes
and kept smiling.

"That's it Squall." Seifer gave him a pleased nod and returned the expression. Squall looked the older boy straight in the eye, his
face now serious.

"No one's ever been as nice to me as you have Seifer...I mean except my family." The brunette spoke. "...You make me feel like
I'm something special, and not a skinny loser who looks like a girl, like Mike and the others always tell me."

Before Squall could continue, Seifer lay his hand on the brunette's shoulder, a serious look on his face. "That's because you
*are* special, Squall. Don't let those morons make you think otherwise." Squall gave the blonde a faint nod and watched him
walk down the stairs.

"...You're special too, Seifer!" the younger boy called after him, causing Seifer to stop in midway. He blinked his eyes, a wave
of happiness rushing through him, even if Squall's words probably had no such meaning he hoped they would. The blonde took
a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down, then turned around to face Squall.

"Of course I am! After all, I am the Great Seifer Almasy! And don't you forget that." he laughed with a cocky smirk on his face.

"I won't." Squall chuckled and followed Seifer downstairs. "I'll get that coffee going." He informed and walked into the kitchen.
Seifer just nodded, a frown spreading onto his face as he looked out of the kitchen window.

"Dammit...still raining..." he sighed. "And my smokes are in the car." Seifer narrowed his eyes as he saw the pleased look on
the younger boy's face. "I know what you're about to say Squall...but don't." The blonde grumbled and leaned against the
counter.

"But it's true, smoking is unhealthy Seifer." Squall said, not respecting the blonde's wishes. Seifer just narrowed his green eyes
and bit his fingernails nervously.

"Now would be a good opportunity to quit..." Squall noted and filled the coffeemaker. Seifer immediately shook his head at the
brunette's suggestion.

"But I think-"

"No, Squall. I won't do anything unless I, myself want to!" Seifer informed, sounding unyielding. "...And I don't wanna quit, it's
as simple as that." He stated and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh...well forget about it then..." Squall sighed and turned his back on Seifer, the look on his face purposely broken-hearted.
The blonde however, thought he had actually hurt Squall's feelings and felt his conscience blame him. Seifer opened his mouth
to speak, but hesitated. After thinking it over, he cleared his throat to get Squall's attention.

'I can't believe I'm doing this...I've become way too soft...' the blonde cursed in his mind.

"I-I guess I could try..."

Squall narrowed his eyes, the look on his face sceptical. "What? Seifer I thought you didn't want to quit smoking?" he asked,
the tone of his voice teasing.

"Yeah, but...you're right about it being unhealthy...and you don't like it either so..." Seifer mumbled, meeting Squall's eyes.
The look on the younger boy's face went serious.

"What? Really Seifer? ...You serious?" he had to make sure, before he could rejoice.

"I'm always serious." Seifer stated and already felt good about his decision, seeing the happy look on Squall's face.

"B-but I can't make no promises!...I only said I'd try Squall." The blonde reminded. "I've been smoking ever since I was 13 or
something like that...so it's not gonna be easy." Seifer sighed, feeling the urge to give up.

"You can do it. We'll just take your mind elsewhere." Squall encouraged. "Maybe seeing more of my embarrassing baby
pictures will help..." the brunette chuckled and lead Seifer into the living room.

'Oh I know something you could do to get my mind elsewhere...' the blonde felt a blush cover his cheeks and forced himself to
think of something else.

"What? You're really gonna show me pictures?" Seifer asked, giving Squall an incredulous look, but followed him onto the
sofa.

"Yeah, if you like." The brunette motioned for Seifer to sit down while he rummaged through the cabinet on the opposite wall.

"...Or is that s-stupid or something? I mean we don't have to-" Squall turned around but was interrupted by Seifer.

"Oh no, no! I do wanna see!" the blonde shook his head and motioned for Squall to continue the search. He leaned back on the
sofa and looked around.

'This is probably what normal living rooms usually look like...cosier than ours...' he though as he eyed the room. In addition to
the sofa, there were two arm chairs and a matching coffee table. On the opposite wall was a black, wooden cabinet, combined
with a bookshelf. The shelves were covered with framed diplomas, earned from good success in studies, obviously belonging to
Squall. On the walls there were some paintings and family pictures.

"Ok, here! I've found them." Squall said and finally came to sit beside Seifer. "I'll just hand them to you one by one."

Seifer nodded and moved to sit closer. Squall handed him a picture, showing the younger boy and his sister, wearing some
goofy outfits.

"I was six when that was taken. Me and Quis had this really cool hut in the basement, all made from pillows and blankets."
Squall explained, sounding excited. Seifer observed him from the corner of his eye, a slight smile tugging his lips upwards.

'Damn that I like him!' he sighed happily and took the next photo. Each picture Seifer saw helped him to see more and more
what Squall's childhood had been like. Deep inside he felt jealousy, until they finally came across the picture of Squall's dead
mother.

'Oh shit...this isn't good...' Seifer remained silent as he saw the look on the younger boy's face grow sorrowful. Seifer could feel
Squall's body stiffen against his side, as the brunette stared at the picture in his hands.

'...He's clearly not over it yet...didn't he say she died only six months ago...?' Seifer could hear Squall's breathing get uneven and
realised it wouldn't be long before he'd start crying. '...Shit! W-what am I gonna do...I don't know what I'm supposed to say to
him...' Seifer blinked his eyes nervously when he heard the little whimper Squall let out, followed by a single tear, dropping
down on the picture.

"I-I...ahh...are you crying Squall?" the blonde stammered and tried to see the look on Squall's face. The younger boy didn't
answer, only continued to stare at the picture in his hands as more tears began to gather in his eyes.

"D-do you wanna be alone?...I can go if you like..." Seifer asked, watching Squall with questioning eyes. The brunette remained
mute, but shook his head.

'I guess I take that as a 'no'.' Hesitantly Seifer brought his hand on Squall's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"It's ok to cry...after all, she was your mother..." the older boy whispered, not really knowing how he should act or what to say.
Again Squall said nothing, but finally let the tears fall.

"...I--I miss her so much!" he wailed and let the picture fall from his hands. Without thinking, Seifer took Squall in his arms and
waited for the younger boy to embrace him. After a moment of hesitating, Squall finally gave in and pressed his face against
Seifer's chest.

"I-I don't know ...w-why I'm doing this now...!" the brunette cried, his voice partly smothered in Seifer's shirt. Hesitantly the
blonde brought his hand up and sank his long fingers into Squall's brown hair.

"I already told you, it's ok to cry..." Seifer whispered with a soothing voice. Squall leaned back and shook his head.

"N-no! You don't understand!" he exclaimed, his eyes red from the tears. "This is the first time I cry!"

The look on Seifer's face was a confused one. 'What is he talking about? He didn't cry when he was a baby?'

"...I-I didn't cry when dad told us mom had finally passed away...a-and I didn't cry at her funeral or afterwards! ...I didn't cry,
period." Squall sobbed, the tears finally petering out. Seifer remained silent as the brunette continued.

"She was my mom, and I didn't cry!...And now after all this time, I do it, just by looking at some old photo with you!" Squall
spoke with a quivering voice. Seifer leaned closer and lay his hand on Squall's thigh.

"...Well, better late than never." He noted and received a faint nod from Squall.

"Yeah, I guess so..." the brunette mumbled and wiped his face, starting to feel better already. "...Sorry...I ruined your shirt..."
Squall chuckled and pointed at the wet spot on Seifer's game shirt. The blonde glanced down and gave Squall a soft smile.

"It'll dry." he whispered. Squall let out one final sob and eyed Seifer from under his long strands. The older boy decided to give
Squall time to calm down and remained silent. Seifer could feel the brunette's eyes fixed on him and met his gaze. He had no
time to react, when Squall suddenly leaned closer and planted a little kiss on his cheek. For some time, all Seifer could do was
stare in disbelief. Instead of hiding the slight blush, covering his cheeks, Squall kept staring back.

"...What was that for?" the older boy asked and finally broke the silence.

"I don't know...I just felt like doing it." Squall explained with a shy smile on his lips. Seifer narrowed his eyes and leaned
against the arm rest.

"Well...that's the second time you've done that...I thought friends weren't supposed to kiss each other..." the blonde teased and
gave a little smirk, trying to hide the fact that he was actually quite bewildered.

"I-I know that!" Squall stammered and lowered his gaze as the blush on his cheeks deepened.

"Maybe you wanna be more than just friends, eh?" Seifer continued with a teasing voice, the look on his face telling he wasn't
actually being serious. When it came Squall's turn to give him a witty reply, Seifer realised the room was silent. Slowly the
younger boy raised his face and met the blonde's green eyes, giving him a meaningful look.

By and by the smirk disappeared from Seifer's lips, the look on his face serious, as they kept the eye contact. Seifer could feel
his pulse quicken and by now, both knew what was going to happen. The older boy raised one brow in question, and received a
faint nod from Squall. That was all Seifer needed. Without any hesitation, the blonde leaned closer and pressed his lips against
Squall's, his secret wish finally granted. Seifer could feel the younger boy twine an arm around his neck, this encouraging him
to finally let his feelings have dominion. He sank his fingers into the silky mass of hair and lowered Squall down on the sofa.
But as Seifer tired to deepen the kiss, he realised that once again, the younger boy was unresponsive.

'Oh no!...Did I miss-read the signals??' the blonde cursed in his mind and leaned back from the kiss. Before he could say a word
however, Squall pressed a finger against his lips, preventing all the questions.

"Seifer...I've never really done this before..." the brunette whispered with a shy voice. "I-I mean that when you kissed me in
your room...t-that was my first time...so I don't know how to-" Squall didn't have to say anything else, for Seifer understood
what he meant. He gave the younger boy a reassuring smile and ran his fingers through his silky hair.

"It's ok. I'll show you how." Seifer whispered and leaned down to kiss Squall once again. He decided to do it slowly, and only
used his lips at first. Using his other hand to support his weight, Seifer used the other to place the younger boy's hand around his
neck. With his lips pressed against Squall's, Seifer brought his own hand around the brunette's neck and finally urged Squall to
part his lips. Seifer could tell Squall was nervous, feeling the brunette's eyelashes flutter against his cheek. Slowly he pressed
his tongue into Squall's mouth, waiting for the brunette to fully grant permission. The hand around Seifer's neck moved when he
began to massage his tongue against Squall's, but quickly returned. He used his own hand around the brunette's neck to get
Squall join the kiss, and by and by, the younger boy began to respond.

After a moment of practising, the kiss that had been hesitant at first, was starting to flare up. Almost unintentionally, Squall
twined his legs around Seifer's taller frame. He realised he was enjoying the feeling of Seifer's warm body, pressed against his,
and that the now fervid kissing was starting to show its effects. Squall clenched Seifer's blonde strands in his fist and let out an
involuntary moan as the blonde moved on top of him. Seifer realised they were both starting to get a bit too excited. He broke
the kiss and met Squall's eyes, his breathing ragged.

"D-do you...wanna go to your room?" he asked, but before Squall could answer, they heard the front door open and close.

"Hey! It's me! ...Squall, you home yet?" a voice called from the hall.

"Oh fuck!" Squall hissed through clenched teeth and pushed Seifer aside. "It's my sister!" he straightened himself up and leaned
against the back rest. Seifer did the same and moved to sit on one of the arm chairs. He sat there as rigid as a board, not a single
clear thought in his mind.

"I'm here!" Squall informed.

"Who's making coffee? ...You don't even like coffee Squall..." Quistis' voice sounded from the kitchen.

"Your lips are all swollen!" Squall noted while he tried to get his own hair in order. Before Seifer could answer him, Quistis
marched into the living room.

"Do you have a friend or-" the blonde girl went silent in the middle of her sentence when she lay her eyes on Seifer.

"Yeah, Seifer came over." Squall answered, keeping his gaze on the white carpet. Seifer eyed Quistis from under his brows and
noted the frown on the girl's face.

"...I see Squall...Umm, would go and unpack the foodstuffs in the kitchen? I just came back from the store." she asked, her eyes
still fixed on Seifer. Squall just gave a nod and motioned for the older boy to follow him. Before Seifer could join Squall in the
kitchen however, he was stopped by Quistis. She grabbed him by his shoulder and forced him to listen.

"I know exactly who you are, and don't know if this is just another way to hurt my little brother. But I swear, if you bullies do
anything to him ever again, I'll make you pay! In fact, I suggest you leave now." the blonde girl hissed, giving Seifer a
menacing look, then walked upstairs.

"Seifer? What's taking you so long? The coffee's ready..." Squall came back from the kitchen.

"Listen, I think I'll have that coffee some other time." Seifer walked to stand before the brunette.

"What? But I thought-" Squall was cut off when the older boy gave him a quick kiss on the lips, first making sure Quistis was
nowhere to be seen.

"I gotta go. But I'll call you tonight, I promise." Seifer spoke and put his shoes on, giving Squall no time for questions. The
blonde opened the front door, but before stepping outside, he turned to face Squall once more.

"And I gotta say; that's one gutsy sister you have there Squall!" Seifer laughed and waved his hand, then started to run towards
his car. Squall just stood still and blinked his eyes, feeling dumbfounded. He watched as Seifer waved his hand from inside the
Porsche and then drove away.

'W-what went into him?' Squall asked himself as he walked upstairs and into his room. He closed the door and sat down on the
bed. The brunette quickly noticed Seifer's damp shirt was still on his bed and picked it up.

'And he left his shirt too...' Squall brought the garment up and inhaled the scent. 'Smells like washing powder...and like Seifer.'
he sighed, a slight smile on his lips. Squall let himself fall down on the bed and squeezed the shirt in his hands. 'I hope I can
give it back to him soon...'

::::::::::::::::::::To be continued:::::::::::::::

**AN: A little foretaste of the upcoming chapters ^^ I hope you liked the kissing part. I tried to make it sound like it really was
someone's first time doing it. And don't be angry at Quistis for breaking up the promising kissing scene ^^ There will be more
of that! And Quistis too will soften when she gets to know Seifer's not one of the bad guys anymore ^^ I hope to get reviews.
Pretty please?

-yorda