Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Lightning. ❯ Chapter, the Fortieth: In Which There is Snow. ( Chapter 40 )

Kitty: Oooo! There's snow in this chapter! I've never seen real life snow...

Eoko: lawl, that's right. You've never experienced the wonderful, freezing water.

Kitty: We went up Mount Wellington in Tasmania, and there was stuff that was supposedly snow, but it was more like muddy slush 'cuz there wasn't much of it.

Eoko: lol, I know much of snow. I am Canadian. XD

Kitty: Eh! -giggles-

Eoko: -_- Eh.

Kitty: Wheee! Seven sleeps until Manifest! -jumps around excitedly-

Eoko: Lucky lucky. Still busy as hell- Oh right! We're starting a KH2 yaoi RP. If you're interested it's an MSN Group called KH2 LIVE YAOI RP... XD

Kitty: Stupid Australia and it's slackness... KH2 isn't even out here yet. -tears-

Eoko: Which is why we're recruiting prior to starting. Since we have to wait for the vice-president to play it through.

Kitty: And pick her char.

Eoko: I reserved the 2 I think she'll wanna pick between. ^^ So, check that out, and read the fic!

Kitty: What if I want a different char to the two you think I'll want?

Eoko: Then we'll have to hope no one else wants it. lol

Kitty: We should really shut up now... Anyone going to Manifest in Melbourne, look for a Reno running around with a Vincent! That's ME!

Chapter, the Fortieth: In Which There is Snow.

Zell sat out in front of Garden with Irvine in his lap. The blond was currently checking over all of his junctions. The defenses were insane.

“What did they give you?” Irvine asked, his head resting on Zell’s shoulder and the wool of his scarf tickling the fighter’s neck.

“Man, it’s crazy. You have to wonder how dangerous the missions are when we’re loaded up like this. I’ve got Ultima, Flare, Full-Life and Shell for elemental. And I have Pain, Reflect, Esuna and Life for status. And 100 Holies on my elemental attack.”

Irvine’s eyes widened a little. “A hundred of all those? Seifer too?”

Zell nodded. “Yea, except he has Death equipped to Hyperion and Holy instead of Life in status.” He stroked his fingers through Irvine’s hair. “And four GFs each. I don’t think Quetz gets along with Diablo and Cerberus.”

The cowboy chuckled softly. “Why’d they want you to take lightnin’ bird anyway? I get the whole Ifrit, fire, melting ice thing for Seifer.”

“I think I’m a secondary summon. After the ice melting, water plus lightning is a nice little super charged blast.”

“Shoulda sent Seifer with Quistis then. Quetz likes her more than you.”

“But I like her less than Zell, so I’d kill her too quickly into the mission and then no lightning bird anyway,” Seifer said, coming up to the two and glaring at Irvine before either of the cuddling boys had turned around.

“Seif, don’t joke about killing Quistis,” Zell scolded and Irvine chuckled.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to joke, but I don’t feel like going to jail or anything,” he said, moving around to stand in front of them, wearing a thick, dragon hide, mesmerize-fur lined, dark blue trench coat. The collar had longer, bushier fur and far outdid Squall’s little bomber-jacket ruff.

The only problem Zell was having was deciding whether to tell Seifer he looked really hot, or really gay. Because the collar was really screaming fag. “Hot much?” Zell asked. He was only wearing some heavily insulated pants and a sweater. He wasn’t about to sit on transports all day and fry to death.

Seifer smirked and threw the trench open, revealing a singlet and a pair of normal black trousers. “Nah, I’m good.” He wrapped himself back up in the trench and smirked.

Irvine had been staring for a while, but he all but lost it as the long fur collar wound around Seifer’s jaw line and pretty much hid his near permanent smirk. “You look so gay!” He burst out, clinging to Zell and laughing very, very hard.

Zell wound his arms tighter around Irvine so that he would not go toppling over the ledge and onto the cold concrete walk. Sapphire eyes lifted to glaring jade ones that softened at the look and shrugged. He knew it looked gay, but one, he was gay, and two, he still looked incredibly sexy.

“I’ll let you two say your farewells. The barcoche is here.(1)” Seifer turned and headed off, slipping into the large, multi-purpose vehicle and finding a place to sit. He spread his legs a little and rested his arms along the back of the bench. This would be a good mission.

- - -

Irvine’s laughter diminished and be clung tighter to Zell. He didn’t want him to leave, especially not with Seifer. Honestly, anyone but Seifer. There was just something off about the gunbladist when it came to him and Zell and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Don’t worry, Irvine. I’ll be back safe and sound in no time. That monster can’t stand a chance against me, can it?” He ran his fingers slowly through Irvine’s long hair.

“No, no it, like, can’t. You’ll kick its arse and come home to me.”

“Of course I will, as quickly as I can.” He smiled and held the sharpshooter tight against him, then shifted and set him down on the edge of the barren flowerbox.

Irvine smiled as best he could and waved to Zell when the blond turned to blow him a kiss from the transport. He wrapped his arms around himself and watched the barcoche until it was out of site.

- - -

“When’d you get this?” Zell asked, dropping to sit right in Seifer’s lap and pulling the winter-trench around himself. “Cozy.”

Seifer jumped slightly, having not really expected that, and having also be daydreaming rather lovely things. “Recently,” was the simple, short and to the point answer.

Zell squirmed around and turned to the side, slipping off Seifer’s lap so that his legs still rested over the gunbladist’s thighs. “You know, considering you aren’t a very high ranking SeeD, I’m surprised you have so many of these things. Your grey one, the velvet, the tanned ruby dragon hide, and what’s this one? Blue dragon? Aren’t they pricey?”

“This from the guy that bought a Sleipnir and a prize chocobo,” Seifer retorted, snorting and earned himself a whack in the arm. “What? I don’t think my trench coats compare to that useless motorcycle of yours.”

“Useless??” Another smack. “My Sleipnir is not useless. It’s sleek and sexy and a total boy magnet!”

“Can it make your little chicken arse look sleek and sexy too?” Seifer asked, smirking.

Zell leaned back on the bench and twisted in order to see his own arse. “You don’t think it’s sexy anyway?” the shorter blond asked, running a palm over the curve of one cheek.

Oh, you fucking little bastard… just you wait… Seifer clenched his fists tight and bite down on his tongue. Zell seriously had to start thinking before he spoke.

Said idiot shifted back, resting on his elbows and pouting up at Seifer. “Should I take your silence as a no then? I don’t have a sexy arse?”

“What does it matter what I think? For one, you’re a dom, so your arse isn’t what’s important, and secondly you’re with Irvine, and if he thinks your arse is all that, then isn’t that all you need to know?” Okay, so that came out a little more rushed and harsh than he’d meant for it to. It wasn’t his fault Zell was so stupid and fuckable around him… all the time.

Zell slid his legs off of Seifer’s, sitting properly on the bench and hunching over a bit. “That thing that’s bugging you, it’s still there isn’t it? You haven’t fixed it yet, have you?”

“Yea, still here,” the scarred blond replied, turning his head away from Zell. He was upset now and he didn’t want to see the shorter boy upset when he couldn’t give him the comfort he deserved.

“Still not going to tell me?” Zell asked, tilting his head up slightly to look at Seifer out of the corner of his eyes.

“No, not yet,” was the reply. Seifer turned towards him, lifting his legs onto the bench and opening his trench a little. “Come on, let’s nap until we get there. It’ll be a while.”

Within seconds Zell was curled against Seifer, soft mesmerize fur and a warm body keeping him toasty. He wound his arms around one of Seifer’s, trying to offer comfort to whatever his problem may be.

The gunbladist breathed in the scent of the marital artist and sighed. How could Zell not feel what he felt? How perfect, and right, and gorgeous it felt to be this close to one another? How had he not seen all of Seifer’s hints and damn near confessions? Blond, he was blond(2).

The pinging sound of the intercom woke the two boys, but they missed the first part of the message. Thankfully, as was protocol everything was repeated at least once. It turned out they would be arriving soon. Cold, snow, isolation, and dangerous monsters, here we come.

Zell reluctantly got up and moved away from Seifer and all the very nice and comfortable warmth he had to offer. He stretched and headed over to get bundled up in the rest of the clothes they’d be wearing.

The first piece was a full bodysuit that each of them already wore, over that Zell wore very thin, heated gloves, then Ehrgeiz, a cotton turtleneck, wool sweater, thin, waterproof and insulated coat, and the previously mentioned pants. His normal runners were replaced with waterproof boots, very flexible at the ankle and traveling about halfway up his calves. Thick wool socks kept his toes warm, as well as the fact that the boots really didn’t “breathe”, allowing no cold air in and no hot air out.

Seifer had the same footwear, and a pair of pants similar to Zell’s to wear under his trousers. They were those ever useful spill-proof trousers, so Seifer had a feeling they were pretty waterproof. Over his singlet he wore a jade, tight fitting polar fleece and his newest and sexy trench.

By the time they were dressed, they were hot and glad that they had arrived. Zell literally ran out the back of the transport and onto the snow blanketed beach, glad of the cold air hitting him for that moment.

Seifer merely went over to his vehicle and subtly enjoyed the Trabian air flowing through the open back of the transport. He adjusted his sleek earmuffs, making sure they wouldn’t be going anywhere and got on the back of his snowmobile.

But these weren’t just any snowmobiles. These were the army-edition Sleipnirs of snowmobiles. Their frame was wider and longer, allowing for more cargo space. The domed front pushed soft, new snow away from the vehicle, preventing the fluff white coldness from hitting the driver and most of the snowmobile. The tall, wide screen also prevented the rider from being chilled to death when traveling at high speeds.

Despite the fact that is would still be a fucking cold way to travel, everyone knew it was a far easier way to track something on one of these rather than a heavy duty, loud, noticeable truck/jeep/tank.

They were ready to go. The snowmobiles had been packed, checked and rechecked. Everything that had been required was there. Each of the mission members had their two emergency transmitters, and their communication transmitters, set to the proper frequency, etc, etc.

Zell came bounding back into the ship and hopped on his vehicle. He grinned over at Seifer and snapped his headband down over his ears. “Ready, babe?”

Arsehole… “Ready, Chicken.” Seifer smirked and started his snowmobile first, backing it out onto the snow covered ground and setting down the skis. He waited for Zell to join him.

After Zell got his own vehicle out onto the tundra he whipped out the transmitter and made a quick report. “Arrived at drop point at 1324 hours. Mission officially starting. Next scheduled report, tomorrow evening.” He hit the release and waited a few moments.

“Thank you, Zell. Good luck.”

“Thanks, but we don’t need it.” He beamed and put away the transmitter, revving his engine at Seifer before the two of them headed off to where the mutant ice-creature had last been seen.

- - -

It was starting to get dusky. The sun, which had provided little, but some heat, was now gone and Seifer could not be happier that these vehicles had heated seats and handles. Somehow knowing Zell’s arse was nice and warm was a much happier thought that it being ice cold. I think we all know why too.

“Seifer,” his transmitter crackled and he glanced over to see Zell holding his to his lips. He took out his and pressed the button that allowed only their two communicators to link.

“Yea?”

“It’s going to get dark soon. I want to set up camp.”

“Sounds like a fucking brilliant idea to me.” He could see Zell’s frame shakes as he laughed lightly.

“See that overhanging ridge over there? To the left?”

“Yea, natural wind blocker, I see it. See you there, chicken.” Seifer put his transmitter away and turned his vehicle sharply, almost too sharply, and sped off toward the ridge.

Zell rolled his eyes and followed after the taller blond. Stupid Trabia with its early nights. Then he brightened up a little. Longer time to sleep. Niiiice.

Seifer was just getting out the sub-zero-temperature tent when Zell came to a stop alongside his snowmobile. He smiled at Seifer and climbed off the vehicle and headed over to help. The faster the tent was up the faster they could toss everything they needed to inside and then stay in there and out of the really, really cold.

It didn’t take long. These things were designed for quick set up. No one was going to buy a tent that required over 10 minutes to get up in freezing weather. Honestly, Seifer had no problem tenting anything these days.

Once the tent was up, the two blonds grabbed all the sleeping gear and that oh so yummy, dehydrated mission food for dinner and breakfast and tossed it, as well as themselves into the tent.

Zell immediately got to work setting down the thin mats that were designed to keep the icy tundra from getting to them. They weren’t very comfortable, but it was better than laying on the frozen ground.

“Hey,” Seifer suggested, tearing his eyes away from Zell’s arse as he finished with the first mat. “Why don’t we put the other mat on top of that one? They’re wide enough that we could both easily fit on one, and it would be a lot more comfortable, don’t you think?”

Zell grinned up at him widely. “That’s a great idea, Seif! These silly mats may keep the cold out, but they’re still hell on the back.” He went back to spreading the second mat over the first. “That means we can have two blankets, too.”

The gunbladist was exceedingly pleased that Zell was all too eager to snuggle up with him. Not that it was any different from them napping and sleeping together, but still, it was nice to see the enthusiasm.

While Zell set up their sleeping area Seifer found the heater-lamp and placed it near the head of the mats. It wasn’t a very strong heater, but it was enough to keep the bite of cold away. They’d still be chilly, there was no stopping that, but every little bit of warmth helped.

Once everything was ready and dinner was picked out, the two blondes took off their boots and slipped under the covers, removing all but the body suits. They chuckled and laughed every time they elbowed each other trying to get undressed.

They bundled up their clothes and set them at the top of their mat, closest to the heater-lamp so that it would hopefully keep them from being icy when they had to dress the next morning.

Seifer wrapped an arm around Zell and lifted his little packed pouch of whatever it was and knocked it against the fighter’s. “Cheers,” he said, causing Zell to laugh. They ate their dinner quickly, mostly because then it would be over and they could talk, or go to sleep.

Zell shifted closer to Seifer and rested his head on the older blonde’s shoulder. “It’s not so bad really. The cold I mean.”

“It’s not even night yet, Zell. You know the coldest time of night is right before the sun rises.”

“I know, but you’ll keep me warm, right? And as for the sun, we’ll have to get up after it rises then. We’ll get that monster in no time.”

“Yea, I’ll keep you warm. Your own personal hot water bottle.” Seifer’s mind decided to go down a far more dirty little path right then and instead of trying to speak and probably saying something that wasn’t appropriate, he simply wrapped his other arm around Zell’s waist.

Zell bundled up the two covers around them and snuggled in close. Tomorrow they could find that thing, kill it and go home. How hard could it be? It couldn’t move that fast, could it? (3)

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1. Although I have taken Spanish and won the senior Spanish award in high school, that was a couple years ago and I went off to freetranslation.com. Barco = boat, coche = car, so, very very simply, much cooler name for boat-car. And because I say so, it’s bar-koh-sh. I just hope, like me, you all highlight the line you’re on, check the explanation at the bottom then go back up to the fic. Not that it really matters.

2. No offence to blonds.

3. The mandatory overly cocky assumption that jinxes the entire thing. Bravo Zell, bravo.