Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Homecoming ❯ Part 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Part 4:

A muted buzz tickled Seifer awake. With a soft groan he rubbed his sleepy eyes as they fluttered open. Light, although dimmed, assaulted him, his lashes blinking in a frenzy. Through the blur of sleep only pale greens and grays and their darker shades wavered in his lazy gaze.

Where was he? Seifer swallowed and took a deep breath, clenching his eyes to banish the haze. Waking in strange places was really starting to irritate him. And unnerve him, but he wouldn't admit that, even to himself.

The buzzing returned, closer, louder. Suddenly, he sensed a presence beside him, looming over him, like the weight of its shadow was a tangible thing.

"Seifer?"

Seifer reopened his eyes and turned his head. A long dark shape quickly focused into Squall Leonhart. Squall, gazing down at him with actual concern in his usually impassive blue-gray eyes.

Home? He had made it home? Finally? Darting a glance around him, he realized he was in a room, one in the Garden infirmary from the all too familiar looks of it. Home! Seifer grinned and tried to rise, but his aching body stilled him. He felt like one big bruise, sore everywhere, even his teeth.

Well, no one could ever accuse Seifer Almasy of doing anything half-assed. His grin became a wry smirk. Why single out one part of his body for a little hurting when every inch of him could join in the fun? At least sore was better than the fiery pain he had so enjoyed the past few days or... than... He shuddered... death.

"Seifer..." Squall began, when a movement behind him interrupted his smooth voice. Without turning to whomever was with him, he tilted his head slightly towards their whispering, narrowing his eyes into his trademark glare.

"Whatever..." Squall muttered.

Seifer had to smile. Nothing ever changed, least of all Squall Leonhart. Squall stepped towards him, arms folded over his chest. Anything else the aloof brunet did was lost to Seifer as his gaze was immediately drawn to the vision which had given him the strength to return home, the sweet angel who warmed his thoughts and dreams since last summer.

"Rinoa," he whispered, his voice thick with the love pounding in his heart. Rinoa. The one, only one, who listened to him, really listened and understood him, his hurts, his frustrations, his jokes, his heart, his dreams. Always smiling, always understanding, always loving.

Ignoring the aching protest of his body, he reached towards her, wanting to once again touch her soft, warm hands. But she flinched and backed away from him, her sweet brown eyes wide, like a skittish rabbit.

"See!" she cried, clutching her hands to her breast.

Seifer attempted to lurch upright, hurt and confusion freezing his smile, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Don't, Seifer. Just rest," Squall said softly, urging Seifer back onto the pillows with light force.

"But..." Rinoa. Why was she acting so strangely? Surely the Doc fixed him up well enough there was no need for concern? Seifer flickered a glance down at himself. Shirtless, pink splotches and lines were scattered across his bare chest, evidence of healing from Cure or its variants. His wounds would continue to fade over time, only the worst leaving scars. Obviously, he was no longer in a condition that would worry anyone, even his tender-hearted girlfriend.

"I told you," Rinoa said, her lovely voice quavering. Was it in fear? Anger? Both?

Seifer was confused. What had he been told? He couldn't remember anything important enough to have her mad or even afraid of him. "Rinoa, I don`t know..."

The hand on his shoulder tightened, almost as a gesture of comfort if Seifer hadn't known it was Squall. "Rinoa, calm down. We are in the infirmary," Squall muttered. His hand didn't move.

Seifer's gaze flickered to Squall's, searching his ocean blue eyes for... what? He didn't know, just anything to ground him, to explain why Rinoa was so upset with him, to tell him what was wrong. But what he found only disoriented him even further: Relief, worry, guilt, a pinch of wonder.

Seifer looked back to Rinoa. She was staring at Squall with a pout, a gesture Seifer always thought cute, her lower lip, soft and deep pink, pushed out and quivering. Seifer wished they could have had more time together, more than their three weeks, then he might be able to read what was bothering her. Letters may have revealed her heart, but he longed to see their love on her face.

However, finally before him and still beautiful, her love was hidden. Her sparkling eyes held something unreadable, something closed.

"Rinoa, what's wrong?" he said quietly, tenderly, trying to mask the rising fear of something dreadful. Squall`s hand twitched as it again tightened.

Whatever was the matter must be horrible. Seifer had usually been able to read Squall's feelings, even if the rest of the world seemed clueless, however, at the moment it was too easy. And that was damn unsettling enough. But Rinoa, who had always been so open, was a complete mystery to him. Could he be dying? Had someone else died? Nothing made any fucking sense!

"What's wrong? What's wrong! How can you be so cruel?" She took a step back, her angelic face twisting into an expression of horror, and anger.

What? Cruel? Him cruel? How could she think such a thing? "Rinoa love, I don't understand. Please, tell me."

"I can't believe you! After all that you've done!" she shrieked. "After all that you've done to me!"

Squall suddenly jerked away from him and rounded on his girlfriend. Seifer`s world plummeted from under him, the loss of his rival`s hand on his shoulder a loss of some stabilizing force he hadn`t realized.

"Calm the fuck down! It wasn't his fault, " Squall growled.

Seifer`s mind felt as queasy as his stomach, knots and aches pounding between his temples. The dread grew. His warrior's instincts heightened.

Squall`s cold voice only sent vague syllables to Seifer's dazed ears, words meaningless except that they were angry and directed at his love.

"Hey, I know you're a pissy little bastard, but I don't appreciate you talking to my girlfriend that way," Seifer snapped.

Squall blinked, his mouth falling slightly open. A pained look melted his icy storm-blue eyes; A look Seifer had never seen from him before, almost like a puppy kicked for pissing on the carpet. Squall turned away, his lips in a tight frown, but said nothing.

The three were silent for what felt like hours. Seifer's gaze darted between Squall and Rinoa, neither of them willing to look at him. Rinoa's anger had drained. Her head was bowed, her streaked bangs hiding all but her pouty lips, and the flashes of white teeth nervously chewing them. Her delicate hands fidgeted at her waist, absently rubbing her palms against her thighs as if she rubbed sweat onto the powder-blue knit of her duster..

Something wasn't right. The sense of dread still clung to him and thickened with each passing moment.

"What's going on?"

Rinoa flinched.

"What did I supposedly do?" Seifer pressed, leveraging himself to sit completely upright and ignoring the soreness which ached to his bones. "Does it have to do with Deling? Is he dead?"

Squall sighed, an almost relieved sound. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

Squall was again silent, threading gloved fingers through his chestnut hair, brows furrowed in thought.

"I'm sorry..." Rinoa said quietly, still not looking at him.

Seifer smiled. "It's okay, love. You can get mad at me all you want..." He arched a golden eyebrow seductively with a grin to match. "...as long as we get to make up."

Her cheeks flushed a bright pink but the rest of her cute face paled to near white. "No, you don't understand. Seifer... I'm... I'm with Squall now."

Blinking only once, he stared blankly at her. "What?"

"I'm with Squall," she repeated with more forcefulness.

Seifer laughed, almost in hysterics, waving his hands to stall any interruption. "Wait a sec. I can't be hearing you right. It sounded like you said you were dumping me for pansy-boy here?" He jabbed his thumb in Squall's direction, his narrowed eyes following with a glance..

The dark-haired boy stood quietly, gazing intently at the wall. He was the image of cold calm, except for the hands at his side, leather creaking as they clenched and unclenched.

Rinoa's dark eyes darted away. "I did," she replied guiltily. "I'm sorry, Seifer. I didn't mean to hur..."

Seifer slashed his hand through the air to cut her off. Lips pressed tight, he was silent for a moment, then chuckled coldly. "No worries, Princess," he sneered. "...that would assume I gave a shit in the first place." Throwing off the sheet, he stumbled to his feet, careless of his near nudity, and looked around him frantically. "Where the fuck are my clothes?"

Not saying a word, Squall brushed past him and gathered a bundle of clothes from the chair next to the bed. "You shouldn't be out of bed yet," he said flatly and handed Seifer his clothes.

"Yeah, well lounging around in the infirmary isn't on my list of fun things to do. So I'm out of here."

Squall nodded and stepped aside, letting Seifer escape his living nightmare once he had dressed.

(End part 4)
(tbc)

Author's end notes: Before this chapter, Homecoming had been a breeze to write. This one stumped me and honestly made me sick. Torture, suicide, graphic violence, I have little problem writing, but any nice-nice sappiness towards Rinoa makes me ill <smirk> . However, it was necessary for the premise of the story. I hope I haven't turned anyone off to reading the rest of the story. This should be the last of any heavy Rinoa sap and what remains is more Seifer fun. <grin>