Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Lightning. ❯ Chapter, the Epilogue: In Which There is Reflection. ( Chapter 60 )

Kitty: This is the re-write of this chapter!

Eoko: Not that a whole lot of it was rewriten.

Kitty: No, but it's much better. And, yes, people. This is the end. A nice, round sixty chapters. Hooray!

Eoko: It's finally come to a nice tidy end.

Kitty: Yes. But luckily for you lot, we're ready to start our new one! ...Or maybe unluckily.

Eoko: The next one is good! Hush, Kitty. Let them go read the last chapter.

Kitty: But then it will be over! T_T

Eoko: That's the intention.

Kitty: Yes, I suppose. -sigh-

Chapter, the Epilogue: In Which There is Reflection.

In the few weeks that followed that fateful night, Seifer came to a conclusion. He actually came to a great many conclusions but this was by far the most important of any conclusion he had ever come to before and possibly any one he’d ever have to make, at least for a long, long while.

Originally he was worried about what Irvine had said in the heat of the moment. He was unsure if that declaration of love had been one of truth, or one of blissful passion. How could Irvine love him? Especially when it was only a few nights before that they’d laid down arms against each other to partake in the adventure their little blond lover had thought up with the help of Miss Sugar- I mean Selphie Tilmitt.

It made far more sense that Irvine had simply not been thinking clearly due to the overwhelming pleasure he was receiving. It also boosted Seifer’s confidence and made him grin.

But if he had in fact meant it, it made him think, and often when he thought, he frowned. The question that followed that of ‘does he really love me?’ was inevitably ‘how can he really love me?’ which did nothing for his self confidence.

Instead it forced him to reflect on all the things he had done to Irvine. It made him remember the names, and the teasing, the SeeD exam they’d both managed to pass, and- Hyne above- that episode with the gunblade in the cafeteria. If he could go back, he’d gladly do so, especially for that particular stunt, and run himself through.

Seifer just couldn’t see what would make Irvine forgive him for all of that. Sure, having unbelievable sex for the rest of your life was a pretty nice perk, but even that couldn’t just erase the memory and hurt from months upon months of abuse.

- - Recent Past - -

That morning after, Irvine had been the first to wake. He felt so warm, and safe snuggled in between his two lovers. He nuzzled softly at the broad chest before him, not even caring at this point in only half alertness if it belonged to Seifer or Zell. In fact, even in full alertness he wouldn’t care who it belonged to.

He sighed contentedly and let his mind wander back to the night before. It had felt so damn good to be touched, taken care of, satisfied so completely by not one, but two lovers. More over, remembering Zell was the one that had taken Seifer sent shivers down his spine. He chuckled in his mind, reasoning that it had also probably caused a similar, if not more intense, feeling in the gunbladist.

Eventually his mind wandered to his confession. He lifted his head and his weight, resting on an elbow as he regarded the sleeping blond and spoke the words to him in his mind. A smile touched his lips. He didn’t regret those words. The feelings were there. As strange and sudden as it was, they were there.

At the feel of a hand sliding over his hip his smile spread wider. Zell. He had to have a lot to do with it. Irvine supposed that he’d always known that if the fighter could love Seifer and be happy with him, he couldn’t be that bad. There was no way Zell would allow himself to be in an abusive relationship, physically or otherwise. There was no chance in hell Seifer’d get away with so much as a nasty name if the purpose behind it was actually vindictive.

Not only that, but the more he came to understand Zell, the more he felt he could understand the scarred man. They weren’t so different. Hell, they were both blond, strong, arrogant, and dominant. How much more was there to understand? Seifer’s arrogance was a touch more intense than Zell’s, as were his values of pride… and he had a tendency to use nicknames, pet names, and insult names far more regularly than given names, but that was what made up Seifer.

Irvine could remember stories from Selphie, Squall and especially Quistis, who had supervised their detentions, that in the past even a whispered ‘Chicken wuss’ could set the little fighter on fire with rage. Squall noted that on several occasions the name had not been meant as an insult at all, and was only used through force of habit. He’d said that Zell hadn’t even noticed the tone, and went straight to his “angry place” which involved much yelling.

The cowboy paused to imagine his reaction if Seifer were to whisper ‘Priscilla’ into his ear while he was wrapped up tight in strong arms. He imaged he’d smile cheekily and nip at Seifer’s nose, but when imaginary-Seifer ducked his head to kiss and suck at imaginary-his neck he had to derail that train of thought.

He smiled at the still sleeping gunbladist and decided that he did know him, did love him. Certainly not as deeply as he knew and loved Zell, but in time, in time he was sure he would. Another month, maybe, and it would be impossible to say which he loved more than the other.

- - Present - -

Seifer shook his head and looked out his window. He knew Irvine was smart. Intelligent, beautiful, damn fine in bed… mmm. He wouldn’t have allowed himself to say something so profound without meaning it. The thought of it the day after had made his heart race and his blood boil. He had wanted to return the words, but didn’t have a strong enough belief in them to do so. He would not tell Irvine he loved him only to take it back. That would be worse than anything he’d ever done in the months following the Neo-Sorceress War.

He thought it would have been awkward after that, but it wasn’t. Irvine had always just been himself, smiling warmly at both him and Zell, that look of love about him, in his eyes, curling up the corners of his beautiful lips.

Seifer could see why Zell had wanted this, why Zell had needed it so badly after he’d had a taste. It was intoxicating being around both of them, being with both of them. If it had been him in Zell’s place, he knew we would have killed himself before giving either of them up.

- - Recent Past - -

Zell woke up to see Irvine watching the taller blond. He slid his hand over the cowboy’s hip and smiled to himself. He felt elated. Things had not only gone beyond perfectly, but they had done so much faster than he had thought they would.

A week ago he wouldn’t have dreamt it would have been possible to even get the two to talk to each other, let alone touch, kiss, move together. It had been so beautiful, so amazing to watch them.

From his vantage point to the side he could watch Irvine in ways he never could when it was him in Seifer’s place. He could see all his reactions, imagine the way each shift of his legs and each arch of his body felt against his own from so many times before.

And with Seifer it was the same. He could watch the man that had so often lain him down and taken him to heaven and back again. It was perfection, watching his two lovers. Hyne it was more than that. Their scent had encircled him, their warmth all around, every sounds found its way to his ear.

It had been the greatest experience of his life, up until eight, maybe nine hours ago. And the only thought that made it even better, that was just the icing on the cock- cake!- was that it didn’t have to end. It never, ever had to end.

- - Present - -

Seifer could believe that the combined insanity of Zell and Selphie had concocted the plan. What he couldn’t believe was that it worked, and so well and so completely. The scariest part of the whole thing was Selphie’s role in it.

She’d always been there. Zell talked to her, Irvine talked to her- fuck, even he had talked to and confided in her. She had known everything that was going on. She’d known about it, and she’d helped and worked it into what it was today.

That specific thought caused the blond to shudder. Omnipotent Selphie was just a horribly terrifying idea. So was the idea that she’d known of all their feelings and- Seifer’s eyes widened as he remembered, walked in on him. Maybe Selphie was omnipotent if that sight had done nothing but cause her to occupy herself until he had finished. Seifer made a mental note to look into the question of Selphie being some odd sort of Goddess of Giggliness… or… something.

Seifer turned away from his window, getting rather fed up with his thought process and simply how much he thought when he was alone with nothing and no one to do. He glanced over at his clock and smiled. Grabbing his original trench he threw it on and headed to the door.

Minutes later he was in Irvine’s dorm, actually having known the sharpshooter would be in there this time. “Hey,” he said, walking up behind the auburn haired man who sat as his desk, writing a report.

Irvine turned in his chair to look up at Seifer and smiled. Zell, who was reading on the cowboy’s bed, also paused to greet the taller man with a show of white teeth and pointed fangs.

The gunbladist came to a stop behind Irvine’s chair and leaned down, bringing a hand around to tilt Irvine’s chin back a little. He smiled, looking into sky blue eyes then leaned in further to press him lips against the sharphooter’s.

“Mmm… what was that for, darlin’?” Irvine asked after the kiss had ended and they’d both pulled back a little.

Seifer smiled warmly down at the seated man. He glanced to Zell a moment to see he’d forgotten his book and trained his eyes on more interesting things, then brought them back to Irvine’s.

“Do I need a reason to kiss you?”

Zell chuckled and shook his head. “If I’d needed a reason for every kiss, I’d have run out of them by now.”

“Actually,” Seifer said, “I did want to apologize.”

“For what?” Irvine lifted one slender brow in question.

“For taking so long.”

“Eh?” one of Zell’s eyebrows arched as well.

Seifer smiled first at Zell, then at Irvine. He leaned down again to kiss the cowboy before pulling back just enough to speak softly against his lips. “I love you. I can say that with absolute certainty.”

Irvine’s eyes lit up. He’d always expected that one day Seifer would tell him that, but hearing it from his lips, against his own, was better than any way he’d imagined it.

Zell let out a little snort. “Bout damn time. Now we can finally live happily ever after.”