Something Worth Having

By Fyre Byrd

Zell Dincht was lonely. He'd left Garden a year ago, when they'd started teaching the kids calculus instead of battle tactics. Zell just wasn't cut out for the more diplomatic, academically focused Garden. Instead he'd started his own personal martial arts classes for students who felt they needed some self defense. As the monsters left over from the Lunar Cry had died out or been killed, it was human monsters that people needed protection against and Zell was happy to oblige. He also took occasional jobs escorting people through the parts of the world that were still inhabited by monsters. Right now though, business was slow in general and Zell was at leisure to consider that he missed his friends who had all left Garden and gone their several ways. He was sitting on the steps of the building where he taught self defence classes when who should approach him but Squall Leonheart.

"What the hell? Squall! Hey man good to see you," Zell shouted as he ran up to give his friend a hug. Squall just laughed and hugged him back, a lot had changed since they'd defeated Ultimecia and although Squall and Rinoa weren't together anymore Squall was a lot more open and friendly. "What brings you here?" Zell asked, knowing that it was probably more than just a fun visit. Squall was helping to run Galbadia Garden now and this meeting was unfortunately probably mostly business.

"You know me too well," Squall said. "I wish I was here just to visit you, although I hope we can do some of that too, but I do have a job for you."

"What's up?" Zell asked, gesturing for Squall to sit down beside him on the concrete steps, which he did.

"We've been getting some pretty strange reports abut the orphanage." Squall said, clasping his knees." Apparently people who go by there after dark have been attacked and forced to give up the most valuable possession they have with them at the time. It's mostly fairly well off clients we've heard these rumours from and while I don't think it is anything too serious I'd like to have someone look into it just in case."

"And I'm the man for the job, eh?" Zell rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I'm not busy now. I'll go take a look at it for you if you like."

Zell and Squall had lunch together and caught up on each other's lives a bit. Then they went and caught a movie at Squall's suggestion. He had a train to catch not long after that, so he walked Zell to his apartment.

"No I don't still live with my mother," Zell said punching his friend lightly. "I didn't want to live too far away though so I stayed in Balamb. Think you have time for some coffee before you go?" Zell asked hopefully.

"Sure thing," Squall said, sitting down in Zell's little kitchen.

"I really miss you guys, in case you couldn't tell," Zell said as he made coffee. "There isn't much to do here in Balamb when I'm not working. I really liked all the action we got when we were crazy renegade SeeDs."

"You only miss the fighting because it's not happening now," Squall said with a smile. "I think all of us think about it with a bit of nostalgia, but peace can be good if you have someone to share it with." Zell looked at Squall questioningly and he blushed a little. "There's this girl at Galbadia, I've been dating her for a while now. Her name's Sara." Zell grinned.

"Way to go, Leonheart! I'm glad you're over Rinoa, she was way too cheerful for you." Squall gave him a menacing glare as he got up and poured their coffee. "Oh, uh I mean I wouldn't have you any other way," Zell said quickly, but Squall just smiled.

"What about you Zell, seeing anyone?"

"No, I think that's part of the reason why I miss the old days so much. Just a little lonely you know."

"Yeah I know," Squall said, frowning slightly. "Don't hesitate to drop by Galbadia Garden some time," he said. "I'd like to see you." Squall checked his watch and got up. Shaking Zell's hand firmly across the table he said "Thanks for taking the job, Zell. I know I can count on you."

"See you later, man," Zell said. "I'll give you a call or a visit once I've checked things out." Squall waved as he closed the door behind himself and shook his head as he walked down the hallway. He really hoped that Zell could find the thing that would make him happy. He deserved it.

The next day Zell informed his current students that he'd be taking a short trip, no longer than two weeks, and that he'd call them when he got back so they could resume their training. Then he stopped by his Mom's place to let her know he'd be gone for awhile on business. After that he went home and packed his stuff into a backpack and bought himself a ticket on a ship that would drop him off on the north side of the island where Edea had built the orphanage. Zell walked aboard the ship, bouncing with every step. Whenever he had an excuse to travel and maybe get into a little bit of trouble he was excited. He settled himself by the railing at the back of the ship and watched Balamb disappear. The churning wake behind the ship mesmerised Zell for awhile then he went inside with his backpack and read a magazine. It took a few long dull hours before an announcement came on saying that they'd be docking soon. Zell sighed and got up, hoping that he'd manage to see some action this evening since he'd come all this way.

Zell shouldered his back pack and walked ashore, noting that it was about 3 o'clock and there was plenty of daylight left. He headed towards the orphanage, noticing that there were more signs of human habitation out here now. Probably mostly rich folks with a taste for the isolation this island could provide. That would explain why there were actually people complaining about this attacker hanging around the orphanage ruins. Zell enjoyed his walk, since it was a beautiful day, with bright sunlight and fluffy white clouds racing through the sky like flocks of frightened sheep. He smiled as he walked and hummed a little tune, practising a few fighting moves as he went. He only ran into one ruby dragon when he passed too close to the edge of a forest, but the thing was half starved and Zell took him out easily and was almost disappointed.

Pretty soon he was at the ruins of the orphanage. Zell took some sandwiches out of his pack and headed down to the shore by the lighthouse to perch on a rock and watch the sea while he ate his dinner. It was pretty damned quiet out here and he'd had too much time to think about his loneliness and looked like having a lot more. Zell poked around in the orphanage later and noticed that it was indeed inhabited, but no one was home. There were only a few rooms that looked to be lived in, but someone was actually doing some pretty neat repairs around they place and looked like they'd be staying for awhile. Zell felt a little bit like Goldilocks poking around the place without an invitation. He didn't look through any drawers or anything, just took note that someone was living there and then went back outside. For all he knew the person living here had every right to be here and he certainly had none. So Zell sat out on the steps reading his magazine until the sun started to set. Then he just sat there and wondered if those rich folks were nuts or something. There didn't seem to be anything untoward going on here, unless living in an abandoned building was a crime.

Zell thought he must have dozed off when he suddenly awoke at the sound of someone climbing the steps. By the time he was on his feet however it was too late. Zell felt hands close around his throat and a voice grate in his ear. "All right pal, I'll let you go if you give me something that makes it worth my while not to kill ya."

"Seifer!" Zell managed to choke out, "What the fuck?"

"What the hell are you doing here, Chickenwuss?" Seifer asked, still breathing on Zell's neck. He eased up on his grip a little, but not much.

"Squall was getting reports of people being attacked out here. I guess I don't have to ask if it's you who's the cause of these attacks," Zell said wryly, trying to gauge Seifer's reactions in the dark and failing. "Are you going to let me go now?" Zell asked flatly. "You're practically strangling me here."

"Now I can't go ruining my reputation, can I? The same stakes hold for you as for everyone else. Now what have you got to offer me Zell?" Seifer asked.

"All I have is my gloves," Zell said, grabbing his wrist and starting to take them off. Seifer took a hand off of his neck and stopped him.

"Not good enough," he shook his head. "I've got Hyperion. Try again."

"I've got this cross my Mom gave me," Zell said, pulling it out from beneath his shirt to show to Seifer.

"Even I'm not that heartless, Chickenwuss. What else have you got?"

"God, could you at least stop with the name calling if you're going to kill me because all I've got is the clothes on my back, my gear and my shoes and I just know you won't want them."

"Right again," Seifer smirked, just standing there leaning against the wall with a hand on either side of Zell's body.

"All that's left then is me," Zell said, gazing defiantly into Seifer's eyes. They both knew that this was partially some kind of game since Seifer had not drawn Hyperion and Zell was just standing here. Neither of them could be quite sure why they were playing or what kind of game it was, however.

"You?" Seifer said, letting his hands fall to his sides.

"Yeah, me. It's my last offer, because, frankly, I don't have anything here that I value more than my own two hands."

"Fine. I accept." Zell's mouth dropped open at Seifer's words. Seifer grabbed his arm and pulled him through the front door. "Come on in and close your mouth before I find a use for it, since it's mine now."

Zell just blinked at Seifer and rolled his eyes. "I see you've been fixing this place up, Seifer," he said. "What are you doing out here anyway, man?"

"I bought the orphanage from Edea," Seifer said casually, removing his belt and gunblade and propping them up in the corner of the one room that had been completely repaired. It had been the kitchen of the orphanage and was large enough that there was room in it for the bed that was in one corner and the two chairs of different sizes. Clearly, Seifer was living in here until he could make the rest of the place liveable. "There didn't seem to be much else I could do. To get a real job you have to tell people who you are, and although they may not know me to see me, most people know who Seifer Almasy is. So I kill monsters during the day for the bounty in the little quaint town that's been built near here," he indicated his weapon where it now lay against the wall. "And at night I sometimes steal things from fat, rich guys. Now you," Seifer pointed a finger at Zell suddenly so that his light blue eyes crossed as Seifer almost touched his nose, "were a surprise. Not fat." Seifer pinched Zell's stomach.

"Ow! You stupid . . ." Zell started to say, but he was interrupted by Seifer's hand coming down over his mouth.

"And decidedly not rich," Seifer added grinning. Zell licked the hand over his mouth in an effort to get Seifer to remove it. Seifer's grin faded and he quickly moved his hand away, giving Zell a strange look.

"Now that you know what I've been up to, why don't you tell me how you've been whiling away your time? I hope it's been more pleasant," Seifer added as he got some food from the fridge and set it up on a cutting board.

Zell watched as Seifer turned on the gas stove on the floor and started cutting vegetables. "Its been dull," Zell said flatly. "You must have noticed that the monsters are all but gone, and there hasn't been much going on so SeeD has started changing gears. They're becoming more academic. I left when that started. I've been teaching defence classes in Balamb and doing odd jobs for people."

"It does sound dull, and you don't seem happy," Seifer observed, putting a pot of water on to boil.

"Neither do you," Zell offered.

"I don't deserve to be happy," Seifer said darkly. "Look at me. I'm still a bastard. Still breaking the rules, although you should see the looks on some of those idiot's faces when they hand over their stupid trinkets."

"What do you do with it anyway?" Zell asked curiously.

"Sell it and use the proceeds to fix this place up. My only good memories are here anyway."

"Seifer, no one believes for a minute that any of that shit you did for Ultimecia was your fault. It's obvious she controlled your mind."

"Is it obvious?" Seifer asked, hands so tightly clenched that his knuckles were white. " I know that you believe that, Zell, otherwise you wouldn't continue being so civil to me. The thing is, I'm not sure I believe it. I remember everything I did and I remember my mind making justifications for it as I went. Just like I've been justifying taking stuff from these rich dick-heads. I was going to pay them back, after. I just have to get this place fixed up before winter . . ." Seifer trailed off staring off into space.

"Seifer," Zell placed a hand on the blonde-haired man's shoulder. "You just have to keep living, right? We're survivors, that's why we're here. Now, I'm your slave for the two weeks I told everyone I was going to spend here and we'll get this place fixed up for you and then we'll see about self-recrimination and all that shit, okay?"

Seifer smiled and stirred the stew he was making. "It'll be a while before this is done," he said and then turned around, "Oh and Zell, who said anything about only two weeks?" Zell winced at the feral light in those shining green eyes and began to look around for escape routes.

When dinner was done, Seifer set down a plate in front of Zell, he'd also procured some bread from somewhere. All in all it was an odd meal, sitting with Seifer and eating with their plates in their laps. Seifer kept looking at him strangely too. It was unnerving, but in a pleasant sort of way. Seifer picked up their dishes and put them in the sink. "I'll get those in the morning," he said "right now, I dunno 'bout you, but I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Zell watched, fascinated as Seifer began taking off his shirt and pants, revealing his sleekly muscled body inch by inch.

"Ahhh, where can I sleep?" Zell asked as he shook himself out of his reverie, realizing that he was drooling over his very male, very insulting friend. Seifer shrugged, an amused smile on his face.

"With me," he said as he climbed into bed. "Hurry up," he added as his hand hovered by the lamp and his green eyes focussed intently on Zell's body, which remained immobile with shock. At Seifer's admonishment, Zell quickly began to strip out of his clothing, ending up in only his blue boxers. He was very aware the whole time that Seifer was watching him intently, probably only waiting for him to be finished so he could turn off the light, Zell thought. Little did he know that had Seifer had to restrain himself from licking his lips at the sight of the nearly naked fighter. Zell got into bed beside Seifer and he turned out the light.

"Ahh, good night, Seifer," Zell said quietly to Seifer's back.

"'Night Zell," Seifer replied softly. Zell shivered quietly at the sound of his name from Seifer's sleep husky voice and closed his eyes.

Zell woke up feeling very good. He was enveloped in warmth and his eyes just didn't want to open. Zell moved a bit and realized that he could feel breath on his cheek. He squinted an eye open and remembered where he was when eyes the colour of glass washed up on the beach looked back at him. Seifer's arms were around him and he was pressed up against Seifer's chest.

"You cuddle in your sleep," Seifer said, smiling and yawning and closing his eyes again. Zell started at the realization of his current circumstances and attempted to untangle himself from Seifer, but he was prevented when Seifer tightened his embrace.

"Where're you going?" Seifer asked sleepily, getting that hungry look Zell had seen last night in his eyes again. "I'm comfortable. Stay here."

"But I . . ." Zell began.

"No talking, Chickenwuss," Seifer said, laying a hand over Zell's mouth again. "You're mine remember and I want to sleep now, and I say you do too. So sleep," he finished and closed his eyes once more. Seifer loosened his grip on Zell to a less constraining degree, and sliding one arm down, settled Zell closer to his warm, smooth, scantily clad body. Zell squeezed his eyes shut tightly and tried not to think about those things. Unfortunately, he was enjoying their closeness and Seifer's recent adjustment of their position had brought their hips into contact. Position, there were those words again.

Zell's mind began to conjure up more naughty images and gasping and struggling he said, "Seifer, I'm sorry man, but I . . . I have to use the bathroom, uh now!" Seifer groaned and let go of him, if reluctantly. Zell quickly made his escape into the bathroom, grabbing his clothes on the way. Seifer's groan only fuelled his desires as he extrapolated from it the sounds Seifer would make as Zell licked his way down his lean, strong body and teased him before finally sucking on him good and hard. By now Zell was quite hard himself and had to use the bathroom for real, if only for the privacy it afforded. As he cleaned up after having desperately jerked off thinking of Seifer's long, flushed, naked body, Zell reflected that he had better finish helping Seifer to fix the orphanage up soon, or he'd be cleaning his own remains up off of the floor after he tried to molest the golden-haired sex god.

When Zell walked through back into the main room, Seifer was making coffee. He turned around at the sound of Zell's entrance and said, "you know how cook to eggs without fucking them up?"

"Yeah, what kind of idiot do you think I am?"

"Well, stop jabbering then, and make some." Seifer indicated the skillet he'd set out on the counter. Zell frowned, his blue eyes, clouding over, as if to warn of a coming storm. He couldn't figure out quite what Seifer was playing at and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"You're really taking this ownership shit seriously, aren't you?" Zell asked.

"Listen," Seifer sighed. "I'm not going to make you do anything I wouldn't do okay, but yeah, you made a deal with me, and I'm still enough of a bastard to make you follow through, so get to it!" he said and squeezed Zell's shoulder, forcing him over towards the stove.

"All right, all right, sadist," Zell muttered as he turned on the stove and cracked some eggs into the skillet.

"I heard that," Seifer breathed in his ear, so close Zell could feel the heat of his body suddenly, "be careful or you might end up finding out it's true." He laughed a ringing laugh when Zell jumped, nearly burning his hand on the stove. Seifer poured some coffee and handed Zell a cup. He'd also set plates on the counter nearby and made some toast to go on them. Zell had to admit that it was really quite a fair arrangement all in all. It was just kind of strange being told to do things by Seifer.

After they'd eaten breakfast Seifer had Zell wash the dishes while he went outside to set up their repair operation for the day. When Zell finished up and walked outside into the sunny heat of the day he realized that they'd be fixing the roof first. Seifer had a ladder up against the building and was standing up on the roof, with his shirt already off.

"Hey, c'mon up," he called out. The two set to work on the hot roof, setting down tar and shingles over the areas where the roof had been caved in before Seifer had repaired it. He had obviously done a lot of work already and Zell was quietly impressed by the way he was sticking to this project. Seifer moved past Zell carefully and climbed down the ladder. "I'll be right back," he said, disappearing below the edge of the roof. Zell continued working for a few minutes until he heard Seifer shout for him to come down.

He climbed carefully down the ladder and joined Seifer where he sat on the ground with a pitcher of water and two glasses. "Don't want you to die from heat exhaustion, before I'm done with you," he explained handing Zell a cold glass of water, beaded with condensation. Zell took several long gulps of water, while Seifer watched, then Seifer re-filled his glass.

"Thanks," Zell gasped. Then he put the glass to his forehead and trailed the cold, wet glass down his neck. "God that feels good," he said, not even noticing Seifer's intent green-eyed gaze that carefully followed the trail of the glass. Seifer could imagine his tongue following that same meandering path down Zell's body. Zell drew the glass across his chest, making his nipples stand up in reaction to the cold. That's when Seifer snapped a little, reaching over, he grabbed Zell's hand and tipped the water over his surprised head, causing his ever-spiky hair to stream down into his eyes. Zell gasped, his blue eyes opened wide with surprise. Seifer laughed heartily at the sight. "You look like a dying fish, Chickenwuss," he managed to gasp out between peals of laughter. Zell calmly got to his feet, an unholy light in his eyes and the half full glass pitcher in his hands.

"Crap!" Seifer shouted and started running across the sun-warmed grass. "You wouldn't, Chicken, would you?" he said pausing enough for Zell to gain on him, even overburdened as he was with the heavy container. Zell kept advancing on him grimly. "Zell? I own your ass, remember? Zell? Zell!" Seifer had started to run again, but tripped over a rock and fallen on the ground and now Zell stood overshadowing him like a forbidding stone gargoyle. Zell's grin widened as Seifer was drenched in water. He carefully spilled it in a quick head to toe motion so that every inch of Seifer was running with at least a little water. A leg came up and hooked Zell behind the knee and he came crashing down on top of his fallen foe, getting rather wet himself in the process.

"Oof! You're not as light as you look, Chicken," Seifer said, wincing.

"Well no one asked you to pull me down on top of you," Zell said, lifting himself on arms and knees and trying to get up.

Seifer squinted up at Zell, as the sun illumined his dripping blonde hair. "No, you're right," he said, grabbing Zell's shoulders and flipping him over. "I would never ask you to be on top," he leered down at the wet, bare-chested Zell.

"Seifer?" Zell asked, blinking. "You're joking, right? All of this owning me business, and the other stuff," he continued quickly. "It's just a joke, right?" Zell sounded rather desperate by now, and Seifer misconstrued it and got off, grabbing his hand and helping him up.

"Yeah, a joke," he said, rubbing his forehead, "If you're still going to help then let's get back to it."

Zell's face fell at these words. He didn't know what he'd wanted Seifer to say, but this wasn't it. Zell supposed that it was just Seifer messing around, he'd thought that perhaps he'd been flirting with him, but no. Seifer always threw sexual innuendoes around like that anyway. Zell guessed he should have known better. He climbed back up the ladder, his shoes making squishing noises with every step.

Neither of them talked much for the rest of the afternoon. As the sun climbed higher in the sky Zell wiped his forehead wearily and looked over at Seifer where he was working stoically, showing no signs that they were on a hot roof slaving away.

"Seifer?" Zell ventured meekly. A pair of dazzling green eyes regarded him silently. "I'm going to go make us something to eat okay? You should probably come take a break with me. It isn't good to work in this heat for too long."

"Getting soft, Chicken wuss? Is the heat too much for you? I'd almost think you cared, the way you're carrying on." Zell shot Seifer an angry look from the edge of the roof as he started down the ladder. His cool blue eyes radiating in icy glare that made Seifer shiver even in the sun, although he continued to feign indifference.

"I do care. That's why I'm here." Zell's head disappeared from the edge of the roof. Zell stormed furiously into the orphanage and surveyed the contents of Seifer's fridge. Taking his anger at Seifer's sheer arrogance out on a head of lettuce, Zell made a rather shredded salad. Chopping tomatoes was also incredibly satisfying. Thwack! It was hard to believe that even after Seifer had been defeated and humiliated he was still as rude and annoying as ever. Thwack! Where did he get off flirting with Zell anyway and making him want something that he hadn't worried about since his short-lived relationship with that girl from the library. Thwack! Then again, Zell lowered the knife and paused. It wasn't as though he wanted Seifer to be ruined and defeated. It was good to see him doing so well and it wasn't Seifer's fault that Zell had taken the teasing to be more than just teasing, but still. Thwack! Zell was mad and wasn't going to let his emotions allow him to forgive that obnoxious, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, lean, muscular . . . Thwack! A piece of tomato flew across the kitchen and landed at a startled Seifer's feet.

"Zell, are you okay?" he asked, looking suspiciously at the mutilated vegetables on the counter.

"Just fine," Zell said, baring his teeth and putting the murdered salad into two bowls. "What kind of salad dressing you want?" he asked sharply.

"Ahh whatever you're having is good. Thanks for making lunch, by the way."

Zell sighed, pouring Italian salad dressing into his bowl. It was hard to stay angry at someone who was being so polite. He darted a glance across the counter at Seifer, who had hopped up onto it and was eating salad and using his lap as a table, his forehead still beaded with sweat, skin looking golden in the light from the window behind him. He almost looked angelic with sunshine slanting in onto his face, although the scar rather ruined the overall effect. It took a moment for Zell to realize that Seifer was looking back at him peculiarly again, his emerald eyes confused.

"So, how much more work would you say we have ahead of us?" Zell asked, feeling his face turn hot. Seifer had to have noticed the blush because he was still gazing at Zell intently, looking for something, but he made no comment on the redness of Zell's face. He shrugged his tanned shoulders absently, finally glancing away at the floor. "I dunno. Probably a week at the most. I guess you'll be leaving after that." Zell ate a piece of lettuce and imagined for a little while that he could stay. He and Seifer, living together in this pretty little house by the ocean. Of course, they'd have to get into another line of work besides attacking travellers, but . . . Zell sighed as he let the fantasy dissipate. "Yeah I guess I will," he answered, "that is, if you feel our contract has been satisfied," he added trying a smile.

Seifer dropped his fork and slid off of the counter in a sinuous and disturbing manner, coming quickly to stand beside Zell.

"Listen, I didn't mean to scare you with that weird little game. You probably think that I'm a freak now. Who would have guessed that the almighty Seifer Almasy was gay too, right? I just . . . don't want that to be the thing that makes you leave. I don't have too many friends now and I don't want . . ." Seifer choked off the rest of his sentence and turned away, a hand pressed to his forehead.

Zell put down his bowl and placed a careful hand on Seifer's shoulder. "I wasn't scared that you were serious. I was worried that it was all another joke to you." Seifer faced him, his brow furrowed with doubt.

"You wanted me to be coming on to you for real?" he said, grabbing Zell's shoulder's as if to steady himself.

"Hell, yeah," Zell said trying not to get too excited at the prospect of those strong hands on his arms.

"If that's the case, then why did you run away this morning?" Seifer asked, punctuating the question with a slight tightening of his grip. Zell flushed immediately.

"Ummm, it's a little embarrassing. Are you sure you want to know?" Seifer raised a dark eyebrow and Zell sighed and muttered something unintelligible.

"What?"

"I had a hard on!" he yelled, then put a hand over his mouth and turned even redder. Seifer let go of his arms and turned away, making suspicious noises.

"Hey! Are you laughing at me?" Zell asked, angrily, his hands on his hips.

"Mpphh! No, no. I'm not laughing at you. It's just, you should have seen the look on your face." Zell couldn't help but smile at the beauty of Seifer's toothy grin. It was so different from the lopsided smirk which was the closest to a smile Seifer usually displayed.

"So, basically, what you're saying is, you're laughing at me," Zell said and advanced on Seifer menacingly. The tall blonde was still incapacitated with giggles.

"Hey, hey Chicken wuss? What do you think you're going to . . . Argh!"

Seifer Almasy fell down on the ground laughing hysterically and trying to squirm away from Zell's bent fingers. If you had asked him yesterday, Zell could never have guessed that Seifer would be so ticklish.

"Just think," the tattooed man mused aloud. "All this time the Head of the Disciplinary committee and all around tough man at the Garden could have been defeated with just a little tickling." While Zell was busy amusing himself with these thoughts Seifer, tears streaming relentlessly from his glistening green eyes managed to grab both of Zell's wrists. "I'm going to get you for this Zell. Now that I know that you want me and you know that I want you . . ." Seifer trailed off with a predatory smile. Seifer pulled the shorter man down into his lap and swiftly separated the wrists and held them behind Zell's back. "There is still a little matter of our initial arrangement," he said.

"Hmmm? What arrangement?" Zell asked suspiciously, distracted by Seifer's declaration of desire and his grip on his wrists.

Seifer noted that his captive wasn't struggling much and reached behind him into a drawer. He grinned when he came up with just what he'd been looking for. There was a distinctive click and Zell felt cold metal around one of his wrists. Seifer picked him up quickly before he'd had much of chance to react, deposited him neatly on the bed, and extending Zell's arms over his head fastened the other cuff around Zell's wrist, securing him firmly to the headboard. Belatedly, Zell thrashed about, discovering that he was indeed well fastened to the bed.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing? And where in Shiva's name did you get handcuffs from?"

Seifer climbed on the bed astride Zell's tense form and leaned over to breathe in the spikey-haired man's ear, "I think I'm finally going to claim my ownership of your body, under our deal, the way I've been wanting to since you first got here." Seifer gently ground his erection into Zell's thigh for emphasis on that point, his whole body undulating against his captive's as he continued speaking breathily in Zell's ear. "The handcuffs were a gag gift for the Head of the Disciplinary committee. Apparently someone thought it would be funny to suggest that I was on the Disciplinary Committee because of my sexual depravity, at least that was the gist of the note that came with the cuffs." Zell groaned suddenly and jerked his wrist forward as though he'd like to hit himself. "You wouldn't know anything about that little gift now would you Zell, luv?" Seifer asked, his eyes sparkling like the sea in the sunlight. "I thought the handwriting looked a bit like yours coincidentally."

"I'd forgotten about that," Zell said licking his lips nervously. "Ummm Seifer, let me go? I'll be good. I promise."

"If you can look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you want no part of this, then I'll take off your cuffs and let you go, no questions asked." Seifer said and traced a finger down Zell's tanned chest. Sliding his hand into Zell's loose jean cut-offs, Seifer rubbed his palm against Zell's not inconsiderable erection and said, wickedly, "if, on the other hand, you're actually enjoying yourself, and only protesting over the little matter of a bit of bondage, then the answer is, no I will not let you go because you owe me one sweetie." Seifer continued to palm Zell's erection inciting gasps from the smaller blonde man. Zell's eyes were shut and his head thrown back from the force of the pleasure that was singing through his body, mixed with a little bit of apprehension. It was a heady mixture of fear and lust and he found himself enjoying it more than he'd care to admit. So, when Seifer removed his hand abruptly and tilted Zell's chin up, the tattooed martial artist strained uselessly against his bonds and whimpered at the loss.

"Well, come on Zell, speak up." Seifer said, smiling into hazy blue eyes. "Speak now or forever hold your peace," he added.

"D-don't stop, please," Zell gasped out.

"What? Maybe it isn't me, who's sexually depraved after all. Are you saying you want me to pleasure you, dominate you and fuck you through the wall?"

"God," Zell said, his eyes widening. He had enough give on his wrists to lean forward and capture Seifer's lips in a torrid kiss. Seifer pushed Zell up against the headboard as he returned the kiss feverishly, his tongue darting between Zell's lips as though he meant to devour the lithe blonde. "I take that as assent," Seifer managed to gasp once he'd pulled back for a moment. Seifer removed his captive's shorts and boxers and stroked Zell's hard length, reducing him to a quivering, pleading mess. "More, more, please, don't stop." Zell chanted, prompting Seifer to cease his stroking and suck his prisoner's errant tongue into his hot mouth.

"I didn't give you leave to speak, slave," Seifer said an unholy light in his bright, green eyes.

"I'm sorry," Zell breathed cautiously, his heated brain supplying him with a way to get his tormentor to touch him more. "You own me Seifer, I'm your slave, I'm your whore. I'll do whatever you say and you can use my body any way you want."

Seifer groaned at the words and swiftly removed his own jeans and briefs. "You said the magic words," he told Zell who was wriggling desperately beneath him, trying to achieve some kind of friction against his heated hardness. "Relax, Sweetheart. I'm not a tease. I always deliver." Seifer grasped both of their erections in his hand, Zell moved desperately against him and they took their pleasure together for awhile, thrusting as one in the circle of Seifer's hands. "Mmmm that's too much," he said and got up off of the bed, leaving Zell bereft and unable to do anything for himself.

"S-Seifer?" he moaned watching his sleekly muscled captor search through another drawer in his dresser.

"Here it is," Seifer said, coming back to the bed while hastily opening a container of massage oil. Kneeling between Zell's legs, Seifer smoothed some oil onto his fingers before gently easing them into Zell. The spikey-haired blonde arched his back at the unusual sensation, gasping a little with the pain. Seifer slid up to rest on Zell's chest and hungrily kissed his gasps away.

"Oh God, just please, fuck me Seifer! Do it!" Zell said hoarsely.

"With pleasure," Seifer withdrew his fingers and spread oil along his throbbing cock. He ran his hands along Zell's legs and looked down at his slave's beautiful body. From the delicate black tattoo that sprawled across his cheek, to his slim, muscular calves, Zell was a feast for the eyes. Seifer shuddered, fully realizing the gift that he had been given when Zell appeared right on his doorstep. Lifting Zell's legs over his shoulders Seifer slowly eased himself into the blue-eyed beauty's body. The symphony that their bodies played together in Seifer's bed was full of gasps and sighs. Zell's bound wrists rang against the headboard, which he gripped with all his might. Seifer leaned in to lick at the little blonde's lips and reached down to squeeze Zell's erection. It wasn't long before the tattooed man came, nearly weeping with pleasure. Seifer joined him in release, leaning against his spent, sweaty body and kissing him again, drinking deeply of Zell's lips as though they contained some draught that would prolong his life. Seifer then slowly and reluctantly pulled away from his lover, which caused Zell to make little distressed noises, like a lost kitten.

"I'm not leaving you silly," Seifer said softly, ruffling Zell's damp hair. "I'm just getting something." He soon found what he was looking for and sat back on the side of the bed, while Zell tried to grope for him, but could only manage to press his cheek against Seifer's thigh. The taller man unlocked the handcuffs and gently rubbed at Zell's slightly bruised wrists. "I'm afraid I might have put you out of commission for awhile in the fighting department," he said ruefully. Zell smiled and pressed wet, sucking kisses along Seifer's neck. "Want to try me again later and see?" he asked.

"Ooo is that a threat?" Seifer said smiling and laying down beside his willing captive, he enveloped Zell in arms, looking for a bit of reassurance. They lay there for a few moments, half-drifting into sleep. "Zell," Seifer whispered softly.

"Hmmm," Zell turned his bright blue eyes towards his lover in question.

Seifer's expression was blank. It was the face that he had worn for most of his life, but now Zell could see that it was worn expressly to hide a particularly deep emotion. "What's wrong?" Zell asked taking one of Seifer's hands and cradling it close.

"Zell, will you . . . Can you please stay? Or I'll go live with you. I don't care." Seifer said in an unprecedented rush for the generally calm and collected mercenary.

"But Seifer, I couldn't ask you to come with me, you've put a lot of work into this place."

"It means nothing." Seifer sat up, his eyes full of a heat Zell had never seen in them before. "All of this is worthless to me, it was just a place to stay, alone. None of it is any good without you." Zell buried his face in Seifer's neck and sucked in a breath, trying to hide the tears that were gathering in his eyes making them glisten.

"I'll stay here with you Seifer," he said, looking up and letting Seifer see the tears at last. "I'll stay here as long as you want me to."

And that was a very long time indeed.

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