The final chapter ^_^ I'm really happy that I could complete another multi- chaptered story. I hope all my readers enjoy the ending, and the lemon that I enjoyed writing. As always, I appreciate any suggestions on how I can improve my writing, and definitely my lemon scenes. I'm still new at them, so I'm terribly sorry if there a little dull. This one does have a little different scenario compared to a lot of the other SeiferxSquall fics out there. You'll see what I mean when you get there. A lot of people have mentioned they don't see it done often ;) *hint, hint*

Thanks go out to my continuous reviewers, I really appreciate the time you take to review each and every chapter. And to those readers who read 'all' of my works, I'm eternally grateful. And a lot of thanks goes out to the people who actually comment intelligently on my fics, and try to help me improve.

I really hope you enjoy the last chapter. Hopefully it meets all your high expectations. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that there's a little bit of Rinoa bashing in here, and some mention of her and her dog ^^ But who doesn't enjoy reading about that? ^_*

A few notes for this chapter: * time passing ~* Flashback *~ Exactly what it says. Along with ~* End Flashback *~ There both pretty clear, so no one should be confused. When Squall says; "They came back." He means the memories. For those of you out there that can't take a subtle hint. And as always [...] is a POV switch.

Now, on with the fic ^_^

~* Redrum *~

Degrading The Lion

Chapter 12 - The Final Act to Cross Remaining Barriers

By Redrum

[Seifer]

The ride back to Garden was pretty uneventful. Squall remained unconscious during the whole trip, and only started waking up when I put him on our bed.

"What happened?" His gaze was blurry still and only a sliver of storm blue could be seen when he looked up at me. I climbed into the bed and wrapped my arms around him.

During the ride, Zell had used Curaga on the both of us. And now that Dylan had no connections to the Garden he wouldn't be healed by any means of magic.

Looking down at Squall I raised an eyebrow questionly. "What do you remember?" He frowned slightly, trying to recall what happened.

"We were dancing and Dylan showed up."

"Do you remember what you said?"

"Yeah... What happened after Dylan punched me?" He scowls at the memory the question produces. Trailing a finger along his previously broken jaw, I try not to get too angry at remembering what Dylan did to Squall, even if I did pay him back with all those bruises and cuts I'm sure he still has.

"Zell caught you before you could fall on the ground. I beat Dylan up and we made a run for it when the bartender came to investigate." Squall watched me for a second, some how knowing that Dylan had gotten a few punches in before we ran. Deciding not to comment on my omission, he snuggles into my chest. Tucking his head beneath my chin, I tighten my grip and close my eyes.

"They came back." Not opening my lids, I pull Squall closer to me. I don't pretend not to know what he's talking about.

"They'll always be there Squall. They'll come up when you least want them. But you don't have to be afraid of them. I'll always be here for you." I feel Squall smile against me and shift until he's level with me. He leans in and wraps his lips around mine, his tongue shyly exploring the heated cavern of my mouth.

I trail a hand up his lean back, pulling his shirt up along with it. He pulls back and peels his shirt off, throwing it behind him. Following his lead, I toss my own. I trail a hand down the curves of his muscular chest, stopping at his fly. I look up and meet his heated gaze. His arms snake down my torso and quickly undo my pants with ease.

I bring my hands down to find already unbuttoned and unzipped pants. Smirking slightly, I run my hands down (as far as I can reach without moving too much) his thighs and watch him shimmy out of his tight pants. He kicks them off while I clumsily toe off my own.

Both naked now, we take the vision of each other in. His body is lean and muscular, but with how small he is and how many layers he wears, you can easily mistake him for being weak. Which he is anything but. His chest and back have no hair (just the way I like it) and the hair on his arms and legs is so fine that it looks bare. His arms are firm and muscular, from carrying the heavy gunblade (his is actually heavier then mine, but he does use it for defense more then I do). His legs are rather long, considering his shortness (not that that's a bad thing or anything. I like how I can easily cover his body with mine), but their lean and and firm thanks to the daily run that he does every afternoon.

My admiration of his body is cut off when he suddenly gets on top of me, facing my erection. My eyes focus on a detailed image painted on one of his cheeks.

[Squall]

The firm grip on my hips make me stop and look back at Seifer. I frown slightly when I see him gazing intently at my ass. "What are you doing?" Is there something wrong with the way it looks or something? He glances up at me, then returns to his examination. "Why did you get this?" Oh! So that's what he was looking at. I give a small smile when I remember the day I got that tattoo. "I've always wanted to get a tattoo, except, I never knew what to get. But one day you gave me the idea." He raises a blonde brow, trying to recall when he gave me the idea. I smile slightly and tell him what happened.

~* Flashback *~

Sweating and panting, I fall to my knees. Resting my weight on all fours, I try to catch my breath. I can't believe I let a 'rex sneak up on me like that. I should be more aware of my surroundings, I'm always supposed to know what's going on around me. How am I supposed to make it into SeeD if I can't even remember not to get distracted by my own monologues and pathetic feelings? Your not supposed to think when you fight, your supposed to keep your senses open, always ready for battle. Always staying one step ahead of your opponent. I can't resist the urge to growl at my own stupidity.

"Hey Leonhart, you trying to imitate one of the beasties now? You'll never be as good as me if you spend all your time on your knees." I ignore Seifer's usual taunts and innuendos as I continue to try to catch my breath. Purposely loud footsteps make their way around me to face me directly. I frown at the odd silence that takes place.

Looking up, I'm stunned at the unusual fire burning in Seifer's jade green eyes. I've seen them overcome with anger, disappointment, pride, happiness, but never with something that almost looks like lust. And never for me. He squats down in front of me, tilting his head to the side. Bright jade eyes gaze at me intently.

He places a callused finger underneath my smooth chin, tilting my head farther up. "I guess those rumors are true. You do resemble a wolf." His eyes burn into mine before he abruptly stands up and walks away, not looking back. Jade green eyes never leave my subconscious. And his words hover around the back of my mind.

~* End Flashback *~

"So that's why the odd eye colour." I nod and smile back at him.

"It's funny how some moments stick out in your mind. Even when the G.F.'s decide to take away most of your memories." I gasp when I feel his tongue sweep across the wolf.

"Why are there so many scars around it? -wait, don't answer that. I already know." I tense slightly as the memories of Dylan paying 'special' attention to that spot over and over and over again, run through my mind.

He'd always hated it since it reminded him of Seifer. I also found that it made me remember him too. And I was always thankful of that. I cherish the few memories that I have now. The tattoo was almost like a trip down memory lane. Only, it's the memories of Seifer that came back to me when I got it. My facial scar lets me remember the bad memories between Seifer and I, while the tattoo represented the good memories we had with each other (few as they were at the time). The latter soon out weighed the former, and we became friends after awhile. Dylan never liked it of course. He didn't want me hanging around other people anyway. Especially the one person who made me realize I was gay. I'll never tell him that of course, since Seifer's ego is already too big as it is.

"Hey, what's wrong? We don't have to do anything you don't want to you know." I blink out of my daze and choose to answer Seifer silently. I lean down and take the partially hard cock into my mouth. He moans as it quickly hardens. I carefully take as much as I can into my mouth, wrapping my hand around the base. I hum in pleasure when Seifer presses his tongue into my anus (a pleasant if not unfamiliar sensation). The moist muscle stretches me pleasantly as I wrap my lips around the head and suck, my cheeks turning in wards.

Seifer groans, a very pleasant feeling when his tongue is still in my ass, and white hot liquid shoots into my mouth. I swallow almost all of it, only one or two drops escaping to drip down the corners of my mouth. I quickly turn around and kiss Seifer while he's still dazed. The tangy come in my mouth traveling to his own. He pulls back only slightly, trailing his tongue to the corners of my mouth, lapping up his pearly substance.

"You like that taste?"

"It grows on you." Seifer puts both hands on my shoulders, eyes darting to try to decipher exactly what I'm feeling.

"I didn't force you into anything did I? You didn't have to swallow." My lips curve at his nervousness.

"I wanted to Seifer." He calms down somewhat, though for some reason he still looks nervous. My eyebrows shoot up in sudden realization and surprise.

"You've never done this before." Not a question but Seifer answers anyway.

"I've done it with a few women, but since Rinoa-" he shudders, "I haven't really done anything. And... your the first guy I've ever been with.. or thought about." I smile brightly and hug him. He chuckles, but returns the hug.

I eventually break the hold and slide down his chest, his arms go behind him so he's reclining on his elbows, watching me make my way down. I lap at his belly button, the small piercing there twitching against my tongue. His stomach tenses from both pleasure and bubbling laughter when I reach his sensitive spot. Moving from his hip bone, I make my way further down, avoiding his now jutting member.

Using both hands, I gently push Seifer's legs up, bending them so they almost reach his chest (he's never been as flexible as me). He follows my lead and grabs his ankles. I use both hands to gently part his cheeks. Keeping my eyes on his, I push my tongue in the tight hole in front of me. He gasps at the unfamiliar (and pleasant if the drop of precome is anything to go by) feeling. Flicking my tongue up, I graze his prostrate after several tries. "Ohh.. fuck!" I swirl my tongue around a few times, deeming him stretched enough, I back up and spit on my hand (I'd normally use normal lube, but I don't think Seifer has any in his -now our- room, though I haven't had the time to move my own stuff in. Including my ride range of lubricants that I'm sure Seifer and I can enjoy).

Applying the makeshift lubricant on my cock, I position myself for entry, keeping one arm on the back of his thighs; making sure they stay up for the moment. Seifer looks up at me, trying to catch his breath for speech. "First of all, what the hell was that?" I smile. Quickly using the hand covering my cock, I press a finger into his anus. I curl it and my smile grows when Seifer's breath hitches.

"You mean that?" He nods breathlessly. "It's your prostate. It's similar to a girl's clitoris, though it has more then one purpose." I remove my finger and wait for Seifer's 'second of all'.

"Second of all-" I try not to snort at his predictability, "did.. uh.. Have you ever-" he makes a crude gesture, "to a man or women?" I shake my head in a negative. "Oh. Then how do you know what to.. do?" I look down, suddenly shy. None of the guys (though I haven't been with all that many, I can probably count them on one hand) that I've been with have ever let me fuck them. They always thought of me as too frail to do something like that to them. And Dylan just wanted to own me, so there was no way I was going to be allowed to enter him.

But before I actually started to experiment with guys, I used to just lay in bed and read those 'hot to' and several erotica books about homosexuality. "I used too read a lot." Seifer's face is blank for a second, before it changes into a leer and he smirks at me.

"So while the rest of us were studying for SeeD exams you were reading gay erotica?" I scowl at him.

"I did study. You know my marks, since you hacked into the system for it." He chuckles.

"Hey, I've always got to know what the competition is up to."

I hum softly and take my arm away from his legs. They fall to the mattress with a soft 'thump'. Seifer sits up and looks at me questionably. "What's wrong Squall?" I shake my head. Is that all I am? Will I always just be 'the competition' to Seifer? I look up when two large hands are placed on my slender shoulders.

[Seifer]

Shit... what did I say? I can't always tell what's wrong with just by looking at him. "Squall. What did I say?" His eyes are more grey then usual, but from his expression... I still can't tell what's wrong.

"Is that all I am?" I frown in thought, trying to go over everything I said-oh. That's what's making him depressed?

"You know we're not rivals anymore. But we're both competitive. So we'll always be competing over something." The grey in his eyes dull for a moment, replaced with a darker blue. He meets my gaze again and nods his understanding.

"Is there anything else that I said...?" I trail off. He looks uncertain for a moment, probably wondering if he should bother mentioning it. I slide my arms around him and pull him closer, letting him rest against my broad chest.

"You said you'd always be there.. but what happens when you don't want to be there and your just staying because of a promise?" Ahh, he's thinking of the 'Rinoa Fiasco.' Squall's the type of guy that keeps his promises, even if he doesn't really believe in it anymore. I admire him for the quality, but sometimes it can be a bit too much. Especially when he isn't happy keeping that promise (who could ever be happy with Rinoa? Besides her dog of course).

I always keep my promises; Knight's honor and all. But if I'm not happy then I'm not going to keep it, it's as simple as that. That's one of the many ways that I differ from Squall. I know I'll be happy with Squall. We'll obviously have our fights but we'll get through them. I just have to make sure to get Squall to tell me when he's not happy with something. Even when we were rivals he always told me the truth, and I'm sure in the future he'll make sure to tell me whenever I'm doing something annoying.

"Squall, I'll always be there for you. I mean it. This isn't going to be a repeat of your last relationship, or the one you had with Rinoa. I'm not going to hurt you -unless we're training of course- and I'm not going to try to change you." I gently push Squall back, enough to look him in the eye. "I'm happy with you, so I'm going to stay with you. We'll always have our arguments, but we wouldn't be us if we didn't. I can't promise that we'll always be in a relationship, but I can promise that I'll be there for you. Even if I die before you, I'll find a way to come back and annoy you." He smiles, storm blue eyes crinkling at the corners.

Squall leans forward, eyes closed, he presses his lips to mine in a simple kiss. "Thanks Seifer." He mumbles against me. With my free hand I reach into my nightstand's drawer and pull out the small bottle of blueberry lubricant. I'd bought it awhile ago, when I was having some fantasies about Squall and I wanted to try a few things.

Squall pulls back at the noise, looking at my hand he snorts. "I thought you didn't have any." Smirking, I hand it to him.

"I used it when I was having fantasies about a certain brunette and I wanted to try a few things out." My smirk turns into a smile when he blushes. Only a light rose high up on his cheeks, but he's so pale that it's easy to see.

I trail a finger along his heated cheek. "Are you sure this is what you want?" He grins and crawls backwards to sit between my tanned thighs.

"I'm sure." He pops the cap off and dips a finger in. Forcing myself to loosen up, I lie back and rest my head on my arms. I feel the odd sensation of something going 'in' a passage that's only meant for 'out.'

I gasp when he adds a second finger and curls them. He must have hit that spot again. I still can't believe he used to read those kinds of books. The sexy image of Squall sitting on his bed reading about two men fucking, and actual 'how-to's' (I didn't even know they had those kinds of books, I'll have to borrow it off him sometime) is almost enough to make me come.

The sudden feeling of being 'empty' makes me cry out in disappointment. My need is answered by a quiet laugh from Squall and a larger, warmer and... wetter object being gently pushed into my opening. "That's not your finger is it?" Squall laughs loudly, a husky and incredibly sexy sound. I'll be sure to ask stupid questions in the future just to hear that laugh.

"If you would open your eyes, maybe you'd know what it is." I frown and follow his suggestion. Reclining on my elbows again, I look down and arch my eyebrows at seeing the head of his cock in my ass.

"Are you sure that's gonna fit?" He chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.

"Yes Seifer, it's going to fit. I can't believe you don't know anything about this." I look up at his face, his dark brows are slightly furrowed in the strain of holding back.

Smirking, I clench my ass and hear him moan in response. Feeling a small stab of discomfort I look down again in unease. "It's not going to hurt is it?" Squall takes a deep breath, trying to get under control again. He places a slender finger underneath my chin, tilting my head up to meet his concerned gaze.

"It might at first, but if you relax, and stop clenching your ass-" he arches an elegantly shaped eyebrow in mock scolding, "it won't hurt."

With my nervousness calmed down somewhat, I fall back and part my legs wider. I watch Squall's face as he slowly pushes in. Intense pleasure written on every inch of his face as he finally enters me fully. Only a slight tinge of pain can be felt, but the pleasure of having Squall deep within me is enough to over ride it.

He stops all movement and leans over me to press his lips against the middle of my chest, I follow the natural instinct to wrap my lean legs around his waist and push him in as far as he can go. He moans against my chest and pushes himself up with with his hands braced on either side of my torso. "I didn't know it would feel so tight." Squall mutters breathlessly. A thought passes through my mind, causing me to chuckle. Squall looks at me, a small glimmer of hurt in his eyes.

"What?" I smile at him.

"You know that phrase, 'killing two birds with one stone'?" The hurt quickly leaves his eyes to be replaced with slight confusion. He nods for me to continue.

"I was just thinking that we basically did just that." His brows furrow as his confusion grows. "I meant we were both virgins in this area, and we both just lost it at the same time." Squall shakes his head, but a small smile of amusement at my antics plays on his lips.

"You think of the oddest things." I nod my head in agreement, causing a small chuckle to escape Squall's lips. He pulls back, the smile falls of his face when he experiences the wonderful friction of my inner walls pulling at his cock. He thrusts back in, we both moan in pleasure. My thighs quiver when we create a steady rhythm of hard, slow thrusts.

"Oh, fuck Squall!" He changes the angle of his hips, nailing my prostate with every thrust. Our rhythm becomes sloppier as we grind faster, trying to reach completion. He continues to grind, as he uses one of his hands to wrap around my leaking cock, pumping it in the opposite rhythm of our fucking. My hands go up to clutch at his shoulders, my nails digging in to the creamy skin with every thrust as I try to hold on to 'something'.

I scream his name as I finally come. Squall's quieter moans are lost in mine when he spurts into my ass (the weird feeling lost in the sensation of my orgasm). He slows his pace down to a lazy grind, milking his cock for the last drops. I untangle my legs from around him and let them fall flat on the mattress. Squall pulls out and bends down, lapping up the milky fluid covering my flaccid member and lean stomach. He crawls back up next to me when he's done. We wrap our arms around each other, not caring of the sweat or heat. Squall rests his head on my chest, darting a tongue out to lick my nipple.

I smile and kiss him on the head. Not feeling sleepy yet I turn onto my side, facing him. Squall turns also and curls his back into my chest. I smile again and curl my legs under his, wrapping my left arm around his stomach and letting him use my right one as a pillow, I let my eyes close as the full effects of heated sex finally get to me.

A few minutes pass, before I suddenly feel Squall tense in my hold. I bend the arm that's being used as a pillow and gently run my fingers through his moist and silky hair. Taking it as a silent urge to speak his mind, Squall bends his head down, letting me run my hand more freely through the dark locks. "Dylan never used to do this."

"What, hold you?" Squall gives a small shake of his head.

"No, he used to hold me. But it was different." I frown.

"How so?"

"It used to hurt. He used to hold me really tight. And when he tired of holding me, he would always tell me to go to my own room after we had sex; because he couldn't sleep with someone else in the bed." The image of Squall walking back to his room in rumpled clothes, covered in stale sweat and dried sticky come, limbs tired and sore, pained my heart.

I loosened my grip slightly, but Squall's hand on my bicep stops me. "Your not hurting me Seifer." My lips curve in a small smile and I retighten my hold. Squall gives a content sigh. I continue to brush his hair with my fingers while I close my eyes.

"Seifer?" A quiet voice pierces the night. Mumbling I turn my head slightly to see through blurry eyes, Squall; wide awake and hugging me from behind.

"Yeah?" I manage to grunt as I try to blink myself awake. Squall hesitates, but eventually decides to ask the question that's been keeping him up for several hours.

[Squall]

Several minutes pass until Seifer's warm breath tickles my neck in a steady rhythm. His warmth at my back is a drastic change from my past relationships. Anyone I slept with ended up having some kind of excuse that made either me or them leave the bed after sex.

Rinoa wanted to cuddle, but she snored so loud that I couldn't get to sleep. And she's the type of person that moves around a lot in her sleep. Whenever I did manage to get to sleep, I'd always wake up with bruises from her kicking in the night.

And Dylan... well I guess he was a bad decision on my part. I really thought he loved me. Maybe it was true, what Seifer said. He loved me, just in his own way. But... was that love? What I felt for him? I've read several books about it and they all say you should feel like your on a cloud (or something along those lines). I was just glad that someone could care about me and protect me.

And when he started getting rougher I thought it was because I was doing something wrong. But Seifer said that it doesn't have to be like that, and maybe it doesn't. I remember when we always trained together when we were rivals, and he would always point out my mistakes, making sure I corrected them. The only times he would hit me is when we both had blades or when things got heated and he would start punching and kicking me. But he never did it when I was injured (unless we were using our gun blades, then we would both stop if a wound became fatal). And that one time I was sick, he never bugged me once. It wasn't like he flat out ignored me, he was actually there almost all the time.

I'd always see him out of the corner of my eyes, sometimes watching me with what looked like concern. But the only time he came near me when I was sick, was when a bunch of guys were annoying me when I was walking to my dorm. Two bottles of cough syrup and Tynoel in my hand that I had just got from Dr. Kadowaki.

They were saying a bunch of shit, like 'how can the ice prince get sick when he doesn't feel anything?' Anyway, Seifer strutted over and grabbed the three of them and started yelling at them. Saying it was against the rules (he was the leader of the Discipline Comity at the time) to call underclassmen crude names. He basically just stalled them long enough for me to slip away to my room in piece and finally get rid of my pounding headache.

Looking back on it, I can't believe I didn't realize how much he cared for me even back then. He didn't show it in any obvious ways, but it was definitely there if you just looked for it. I wonder if he loved me then? And if not, does he love me now? I don't understand how I'm supposed to know if I love him. I know what it feels like to be angry, I can definitely put a name to that. Along with sadness, happiness (there's only a few times that I felt it back then, but lately I've found myself smiling more and even laughing), abandonment, and loneliness. But I can't put the name 'love' to anything I feel, since I don't really know. Maybe Seifer would know...

"Seifer?" When did he roll over? Turning over, I snuggle into his broad back. He mumble incoherently but eventually turns his head.

"Yeah?" He grunts. I hesitate when he tries to blink his way to full awareness. Maybe I should just wait? No, I'll just chicken out if I wait any longer. Thinking too much about something tends to make you a coward, at least that's what Seifer always said to me; 'If you don't come right out and say it, you'll always be hiding back and you'll be the lowest of cowards.'

"Seifer... What does love feel like?" His blonde brows shoot up in surprise; at least he's fully awake now.

"What?!" He turns around and sits up. I let my arms fall away and stay lying down, turning my face away from him. "Squall?" A pressure on my chin makes me look over at him. He cups my cheek in his large palm, forcing me to lock eyes with him. "What brought that on?" My gaze flickers from his.

"I was just thinking." I look at his face again and am surprised to find him smirking.

"You do that a lot I've noticed. So.. you want to know what love feels like?" I nod, feeling heat spread across my cheeks. Part embarrassment and part shame that I have to ask another person a question like that. Although... I guess Seifer isn't just anybody.

The mattress dips when he lies back down next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He starts speaking hesitantly, like he can't really put his thoughts into words, at least not the way he wants to.

"I guess... love feels different for everyone. Some people experience it like in those sappy romance novels. Others can have a bit of a.. twisted view on it." We both fall silent when we think of Dylan. "But if your trying to ask what ' I ' feel like when I'm in love... well, it's hard to put into words." I look up at him; his eyebrows are furrowed in thought and his eyes are slightly crinkled at the corners. I give a small smile when the tip of his tongue darts out to moisten dry lips.

"Hmm.. the only way I can explain it, is like an obsession almost. Their the first person I think of when I wake, and the last thing in my mind before I go to sleep. Sometimes when I'm working on something important, an image of them in certain.. distracting positions appear, even when I'm not even thinking of them at the time." There's a long pause as he tries to voice his thoughts logically.

"When I touch them, I feel protective. I feel like I want to keep them safe, I need to keep them safe. When they laugh or smile, I want to freeze the moment and relive it over and over again. Glad that I could bring them long deserved happiness." He puts his free hand to his head, pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"Hyne! I must sound like a fucking romance novel." I smile at him and turn in his loose grip, burying my nose into his neck. Although his explanation was a little corny, it did sound like something he would truly feel. Maybe I'll find out what love feels like to me in the future. Feeling Seifer's arms go around me, I pause to think; maybe it won't be too long into the future.

"I think I could love you too Seifer." He snorts, but I feel his smile against my forehead.

"Who wouldn't?" He leans down slightly, kissing me on my scar.

"Love you." I frown in mock seriousness.

"I already know that." He laughs, pulling me closer.

"Go to sleep Squall." I smile and follow his order, even if it did come out as more of a plea (probably to stop his embarrassment from continuing).

I'll be sure to tease him in the morning about his little speech. Right now, I'm too sleepy to bother with trying to get a rise out of him. But tomorrow is a new day. And for once, I'm really looking forward to it.

-Owari-

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