This is the Last Time
Part 1
By Sukunami
This is the Last Time
Part 1
By Sukunami
Hitching up the backpack for better placement on his shoulder, the young brunette opened the glass door and quickly stepped inside. Stormy eyes scanned the cafe as he walked forward, relieved to note that the afternoon rush had yet to really begin. Looking ahead, he saw the top of a head as the person reached for something in a lower cabinet.
"Leanne. Sorry for being late."
"Squall?" The woman stood up from behind the counter and brushed a length of platinum aside from her face that had just barely begun to wrinkle in her age, laugh lines strangely being her pride and joy. "What are you doing here already? I thought you had a makeup exam to take."
"It took longer than I thought."
She spared a glimpse at her watch. "You do realize it typically takes students hours to finish a mid-term, not twenty minutes."
He frowned. "It took twenty-five."
Leanne simply smiled and shook her head. "Go change. Your fans should be in at any moment."
His face neutral, he walked into the back room to leave his bag and take off the school uniform in exchange for jeans and a loose black long sleeve shirt. Running a hand through thick brown locks, Squall returned to the front to grab a tan apron just as the door opened with the sound of giggling. Ignoring the older woman's grin, he poured several glasses of water to take to the table of regulars.
"Hey, Squall." It was said at various times by equally high pitched voices.
He looked coolly at the young girls. "The usual?"
After hearing the four affirmatives and one 'not today', he strode back to the counter as the sound of squeals ('he knows our usual!') and chatter followed him. Squall was determined one of these days to discover exactly what he did to cause such fans and immediately break that habit. Unfortunately, he was coming to the conclusion that he could flip them off and they would faint in joy at the 'offering'.
"Well, have you gotten any responses about college yet?"
He grabbed three large glasses and a bowl from the rack to start making the desserts. "I never applied."
"What? Sweetie, I told you that with your grades you should be able to get scholarships easy enough. I thought I talked you into at least submitting a few applications."
"My time can be better spent. Anyhow, it's not like a bachelors automatically gets you a better job these days."
"You can't fool me. I know you enjoy learning those random subjects, and what better place than college?"
"The public library will suit me fine."
"I'd just hate to see you wasted here. You have such a good mind--"
"No, memory. There is a difference."
With a sigh, Leanne gave up the battle with it heading into one of their unending arguments. No matter what the woman thought, Squall actually had a vague plan in mind for the future and college just couldn't fit into those plans. Once school ended in a few months, he would take a second job and spend his time saving up money until he could potentially become part owner of this small cafe. Squall always managed to find comfort in this one place and he wanted to make certain it would always be around for him.
After quickly delivering the group of girls their desserts, he turned to take an order from a recently seated couple.
"Go ahead, dear. I'm still trying to remember what I had last time."
"It was the roast beef special."
The man looked up at the brunette in part surprise. "You know, I think you're right. Give me that."
"And I'll have a Caesar salad."
Squall nodded and walked back to the counter. His memory was his pride and bane. It was certainly useful both here and at school, but it typically made other people believe him intelligent while he knew that wasn't the case. He could repeat every written word of Shakespeare, for instance, but he didn't have the ability to explain the meaning of the those words. Luckily cliff notes generally helped him writing essays covering such topics to replace whatever he didn't catch from class. But in the end, it annoyed him that he couldn't find his own words.
The day went smoothly into night as the customer flow was a bit larger that evening despite it being a weeknight. By the talk, it appeared to be due to the opening night of some play. Squall silently found it a bit amusing to see a relatively large number of people in fine dress coming into the cafe along with the regular group of college students, all of them sharing the need for a boost of caffeine to make it through the night.
With her typical brisk walk, Leanne came up from the farthest corner. "You've got another admirer, sweetie. The guy at the end of the row wants to try and con some coffee secrets out of you."
Resisting a roll of the eyes, Squall pushed up from the counter to make his way to the booth. It was another bane in his existence - he couldn't cook or bake anything beyond a bowl of ramen, but his coffee was somehow worthy of worship according to many. He hated coffee.
In the dim light, he first set eyes on the man's date for the night. She was wearing a lightly colored dress, simple but perfect on her slim form. A barely touched piece of chocolate cake sat in front of her as she played with her necklace, giggling at whatever comment the man had made. Dark eyes shifted to the approaching man as she straightened in curiosity. Used to the not so subtle look over, Squall ignored it and stood in front of the table.
"I was told you wish to speak with me."
And then he was staring into light green eyes filled with amusement. Just after registering short blonde hair and a conniving smirk, there was a flash of white as his chest suddenly throbbed with pain. Images appeared before his eyes that may or may not have been opened. The pictures would last long enough to identify the shapes as a face or a creature or a scenery, but then gone again with the same painful white flash before anything could be potentially recognized or understood. The haphazard slide show was hurting him in a way Squall couldn't relate to, only wanting it to end before...
That's when he realized the fear raking his body, causing his heart to constrict. He didn't want to see any of this, didn't want to understand it. But despite the increasing speed of the images, he could feel himself somehow putting the random pieces into a kind of order. Into a story.
He yelled for it to stop.
Trying in vain to look relaxed, the blonde leaned back in the chair with his arms crossed to hide clutched hands. He was alone in the room except for the unconscious boy that was currently stretched out on a ratty couch. Seifer wasn't happy. Here he was enjoying excellent coffee with his date after a well done play, ever so close to convincing Rinoa into spending the night with him, and this boy has some kind of attack right in front of their table. Unquestionably the mood had been shattered. After sending the dark-haired beauty home in a taxi, he tried to convince the cafe owner to let him take the boy to a hospital. She refused, stating that 'Squall' would have a fit if he woke up in a strange room.
"Not like he didn't already have a fit, or anything," he muttered into the room.
And so Seifer decided to stay until the kid woke up, just incase there could be a possible lawsuit in this somewhere. Like hell he needed another 'situation' for his father to rail on him for.
Watching the sleeping boy, Seifer was continually catching himself admiring some finer points of the body - the lean figure, lightly darkened skin, lush lips - before digging nails into the palms of his hands. A steady mantra of 'male jailbait' formed in his head. Attempting logic, he decided it was only because his night of physical pleasures was interrupted that he held any sexual notions concerning this kid.
At the sound of a quiet moan, Seifer refocused on the boy's face. Eyelids fluttered open as blue-gray orbs were revealed into the bright light of the room. Abruptly he sat up and seemed to stare at a point through and beyond the large man in front of him. Seifer cleared his throat before he was about to start into his mentally rehearsed speech. He was interrupted.
Long fingers raked into blonde hair as Seifer was pulled closer to the brunette. The same lips that he had stared at for a ten minute stretch at one point were suddenly against his in a soft but forceful press. There was a soft call in his head to break off the kiss, but then it was silenced when moist warmth sneaked its way into his mouth. As the teen drew in the upper lip, his tongue angled up to stroke the bit of skin connecting lip and gum. Shivers of pleasure traveled along Seifer's spine as the brunette attacked the sensitive point. It was as if he knew exactly what made him crazy.
With that thought, Seifer finally jerked back from the teen and took a couple deep breaths. "Have we met?"
His eyes narrowed in thought, and then a haze seemed to lift from them. "No."
With the curt response, the boy stood up from the couch and made way for the door. Seifer grabbed an arm as he passed, but was unable to force him to sit back down. He made a mental note of that the lean body was rather deceiving in its strength.
"Listen, I think you should go to the hospital. You had a pretty bad attack out there and you've been unconscious for almost two hours."
"I'm fine."
Instinct told Seifer not to believe him. "What, are you afraid of doctors or something?"
He eyed the blonde a bit, then yanked his arm from the grasp. "It's none of your business."
Realizing his appearance, Seifer took a guess. "Is it the money? I can foot the bill for you."
That earned a glare in response before he restarted his exit.
"The name is Seifer, by the way."
He paused in the opened doorway. "Squall," and he left, letting the door close on its own.
Still sitting, Seifer leaned back in the seat and licked his lips - they tasted faintly of chocolate and coconut. He couldn't resist a smirk in the empty room at the idea of finding new prey that appeared deliciously contrary in his actions and words. While his rare of experiences with men left much to be desired, he felt something different this time around. Some kind of... comfort with this teen. He frowned as his thoughts continued to the reaction of the boy. Squall obviously knew him, but for the life of him, Seifer couldn't imagine how he could've gotten involved with a male at least six years his junior. Well, a little mystery can only add to the boy's attractiveness.
*
Hands covered in gloves rub lightly up my bare arms, the scent of leather filling my senses. Gripping the narrow waist hidden by belts, I pull him closer to me, making him breath a quiet chuckle. Only I can do that. One hand remains on my shoulder as the other continues its journey to my neck, angling such that his thumb rubs my lower lip and then finds a resting place on my cheek as fingers stroke lightly behind my ear.
"Would you try something for me?"
A dark eyebrow rises in question.
"I want you to tongue just above my teeth. You know, that piece of skin there."
He smirks. "It's called a frenum."
"I thought that was on the dick."
"That, too."
"Is that the result of anatomy people attempting a blowjob joke?"
He doesn't reply and instead nibbles on my upper lip while slowly drawing it into his mouth. His tongue slides upward with an awkward feel, but then it comes in contact with the loose flesh. I read somewhere about the potential hot spot, but fuck, I didn't expect this. I wrap my arms around him more for support than closeness, my body suddenly feeling out of control and weak. My thoughts scatter except for one - I'm going to be pissed if I come from only this.
Taking a long sip of cooling coffee, Seifer tried to find a more comfortable position in the cushioned chair. After his dream from the night previous, he held the vague hope that his latest fantasy wasn't as young as he thought. They seemed to be nearly the same age in the dream, but apparently it was just a simple mind game his brain decided to play on him. Squall was still at school and should arrive for work in, a glance to his watch, another fifteen minutes at the soonest.
"Can I help you?"
He looked up at the woman, recognizing her from the night before. "No, thank you. Just waiting for somebody."
She frowns. "What is it you want with Squall?"
"I do believe that is a matter between us, miss."
Brown eyes harden instantly as Seifer realizes the flattery approach won't work on this woman. "It's Mrs. Richards, and I think it would be best for you to leave."
"I just want to make sure he's okay. Is there something wrong about that?"
"He came in this morning and I assure you that he is fine."
"I prefer hearing that from the source, if you don't mind."
Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the sound of the door opening, Seifer unable to resist a grin at the appearance of the topic of discussion. He immediately came to the conclusion that Squall looked stunning in uniform, even if it did just solidify the fact he was still in high school. His face was neutral as stormy eyes met green, and then he strode forward with a graceful air that demanded attention.
"Leanne, is something wrong?"
Almost reluctantly, she shook her head. "No, sweetie. Let me know if he bothers you."
A glint of light entered the stormy blues. "He won't. Give us a minute."
She obliged the brunette and went to impatiently waiting customers. Meanwhile, Seifer examined the lean figure before him. The boy was hiding it well, but his color was a bit paler than the night before except for vague rings under his eyes. No wonder the owner got on his case - Squall seemed a bit rattled and she could only assume it was the blonde's fault somehow.
"Are you okay, Squall?"
"Hn. Why are you here?"
"Just checking up on my favorite coffee maker. Speaking of which..." He waved the empty cup.
"What do you want?"
"Be creative. You seem to have a knack at knowing what I like."
Stone faced, he nodded and left for the backroom to probably change out of the stiff uniform. Resisting the urge to follow the teen's every move, Seifer instead replayed their rushed kiss in his head. It's been years since he held such a crush-like reaction to any person, and the slightly giddy feeling through his veins was refreshing change.
"Here."
Bright green eyes opened to find a steaming cup of heavenly scented liquid. Making certain their fingers brushed, Seifer took hold of the large mug. A blonde eyebrow raised at the reddish tint to the coffee, but he dared an experimental sip anyway. He didn't bother hiding his surprise.
"Better than the one last night. What is it?"
He shrugged. "No name to it. Just threw some ingredients together. No one else would care for it."
"Are you implying I have bad taste?"
Again, a glint appeared in the blue-gray depths as he smirked then left to do his job.
Watching him walk off, Seifer whispered quietly, "Only I can do that."
"Can do what?"
Quickly hiding any signs that he felt caught in the act of something, he looked up at the dark-haired beauty leaning over him. "Rinoa. What are you doing here, doll face?"
With a smile, she sat on the armrest of his chair, a leg placed none too subtly on his thigh. "Well, I was going to surprise you at work, but your secretary said you had taken the afternoon off. Looks like I made the lucky guess that you would want to check up on the kid from last night."
"Hmm, and what are your plans now that you've hunted me down?"
She took the cup from his hand. "I believe our date was interrupted last night. Care to try again this evening?"
He hesitated, which bothered the blonde. He never hesitated when it came to an offer of some romancing and sex, especially when it involved a lady he had already placed money into with wining and dining.
"Ugh, what is this?" Tongue sticking out, she practically forced the mug back into his hand.
"It was made especially for me. Don't care for it?"
"Too bitter. Now I need water or something."
With a smirk, he waved Squall over for her order. Having both current desires close to him, Seifer made the decision to postpone his plans for Miss Heartily. Frankly, his primary motivation to pursue Rinoa was directly related to her cash flow and business possibilities through her daddy dear. It helped that she was dim enough for Seifer to spend his attention elsewhere for a time and then return to her if things didn't pan out well with the boy.
"Sorry, lovely. I already made plans for the night."
She pouted. "Oh, I see. Well then, I have plenty of daylight left for shopping. Call me." She graced his cheek with a parting kiss.
"I will. Don't give your father a heart attack with the bill."
She winked and walked away with a regal sway. That woman could cause car accidents and never know it.
"I take it she didn't want her order." Holding the colorful drink in one hand while the other fisted on his hip, Squall watched Rinoa leave.
"Since I'm paying for it anyway, why don't you take a break and have the drink for yourself."
"Whatever."
Squall turned and made way for the counter, probably to dump the glass full into the sink. Seifer had the suspicion that the brunette preferred water over anything, especially compared to highly sweet, sugar filled drinks. While it could make him easy to please, it also was a setback in finding something to treat him with. But he had plenty of time to observe Squall and discover the little details about him to even up on the knowledge that the teen seemed to already know about Seifer. His lips curled around the rim of the mug as he made vague plans for winning over the young man.
Author's Note - This idea is based mainly off of two sources, and if you guess them... you can buy your own cookie. ^_- It should be highly interesting to see if I can somehow manage to make this story work. Anywho, if you haven't assumed it already, I've been in a kind of writing slump. I just haven't been in the mood to write much (I blame 'Game Restart'!). Gomen. With that being the case, no promises on when future chapters of any of my stories will appear.