Chained to you
Chapter Four
Author's Notes: Slight AU, set before the seed exam but Selphie and Irvine are there and Quistis is still an instructor.
Chained to you
Chapter Four
The sun was up before us, so much for our head start. I woke up after being yelled at several times, fingers poking me and I groaned in annoyance.
The yelled stopped and I heard someone sigh in relief of course it had to be Seifer.
"What’d you do that for?" I muttered, still having my eyes closed.
"You scared the shit out of me chickie, who in their right mind can sleep through getting trodden on?"
"You trod on me?" I opened my eyes to see him standing up beside me holding my shirt, checking it to see if it was dry.
He threw it at me. "Hey put this on, it’ll help you keep warm."
"Why’d you tread on me?"
"It was an accident but when you didn’t wake up I thought you might be dead or something."
"Oh." I put on my now dry shirt back on, the sleeve getting a little caught on the metal hoop that still hung from my wrist with the metal chain hanging from it. I watched Seifer put on his trousers, socks and shoes, hugging his torso to keep the heat in.
"So I am dying?"
He shook his head. "You just worried me, that’s all."
Seifer? Worried about me? And pigs might fly.
I sat up and looked at my leg but it looked pretty much the same, it hadn’t dried or scabbed over, it just looked pretty horrible to me.
"How are you feeling?" He asked me.
"Okay, same as yesterday."
"Well good." He glanced back at my leg. "I want to get back quickly, I hope your leg doesn’t get infected."
I stared at me. "What? Will it?"
"How the fuck do I know chickie? I’m not a fucking medic."
I didn’t respond just lay on the ground looking up at him. "Do you want to get going?" I asked after a long silence.
He nodded but looked at me in doubt, probably wondering how this was going to work with me unable to walk and him unable to carry me.
I held out an arm. "Help me up."
"Chickie how are you going to walk anywhere?"
"Let me give it a go."
He pulled me up by the hand with me standing on one leg. He wrapped an arm around me to steady me and help me walk forward, he took the side of my bad leg so I could lean on him. I took a step forward onto my bad leg and I moaned as hot pain shot up my spine and the bad leg crumpled beneath me, I switched legs to stand on quickly being forced to lean on Seifer and he held me against himself tightly. The blonde nuzzled his chin into my hair, for comfort I guess. I froze, eyes widening maybe I imagined it and he only nuzzled his cheek into my forehead but I could have sworn he kissed me lightly.
I looked up at him in confusion but he just looked at me normally. "What?" He asked.
"Um- nothing never mind." Maybe I had imagined the whole thing after all my thoughts had been slightly Seifer-filled lately, maybe I wanted him to kiss me though I don’t know why I would.
"Um-Zell?"
I blinked, looking up at Seifer patiently waiting for to continue moving.
That was wrong for so many reasons, I didn’t think Seifer knew what patiently was and he called me Zell, the first time I’ve ever heard him say my name. This was just too weird to be true. Maybe I was dreaming but then again why would I dream about Seifer?
I took a deep for another step forward, trying to keep going this time and not stop and I think this one was worse and searing pain hit me, I cried out and floor disappeared from underneath me and I was in Seifer’s arms.
"B-But-" I saw him grit his teeth in pain as he carried me.
"Tell me a story."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"It’s hurts and I’m trying not to think of it."
"O-Okay-umm- once upon a time-"
He rolled his eyes. "A new story."
"…there were these two idiots that got lost in the woods…"
He chuckled, his chest rumbled under my head. "…both of them handcuffed together because of their idiot friend who was at the camp of- idiot."
I felt Seifer chuckle. "Nice story chickie, maybe you should go into the business of telling stories."
"Oh shut up Seifer, you’re the only one that wanted the stupid story anyways."
"Then just talk to me, tell me about the orphanage, my memory’s pretty fuzzy."
"Me too." I paused, trying to think of something, a memory that I could talk to Seifer about.
"Remember when matron put on that video of the little mermaid and we all acted it out in the garden." Seifer said with a chuckle.
I blushed. "No!"
"Oh come on chickie you made a real pretty mermaid in matron’s dress." He laughed. "You, Squall and all the girls were the mermaids."
"Well there weren’t enough guy parts, I was all up for playing the fish but Selphie said if I was the fish I’d have to sit in the sea cos fish need water."
He chuckled.
"You had to the play the guy didn’t you? Always have to be the macho man, huh Seifer?"
"I bet you just wanted to wear a dress chickie."
"No!"
He laughed and I folded my arms the best I could.
"Well how about when it thundered, not so much the macho man then were you Seifer?"
He opened his mouth to reply then snapped it shut.
I grinned. "I remember finding you hiding under my bed."
"Yeah until you invited me into it." He grinned and I think I blushed.
"I did not invite you, I think you would kick me out so I offered to share."
"Yeah, offered to cuddle up beside me and save me from the evil thunder."
My blush deepened. "I did not say that!"
He put on a childish voice to imitate me. "Oh Seify, Come and share my bed and I’ll keep you warm and maybe if you’re lucky you’ll get that blowjob you always wanted." He laughed.
"You asshole!" I yelled at him as he laughed. "You’re one sick fuck you know that?!"
"Aw but chickie you were a really cute kid, I’m not into child porn but in your case I would have made an exception."
I stared at him, face red, mouth open. He lifted a finger and shut my mouth that hung open. I jerked away from him and struggled in his arms. "That’s it I’m walking!"
He had to put me down as I struggled to much. "Oh come on chickie, I was only kidding."
I walked painfully away from him, not able to go very fast so he didn’t have to worry about keeping up with me, I dragged my leg behind me, probably hurting it more but I was not going to stay in Seifer’s arms to be humiliated.
"But chickie I was only playing, come here and give me a hug."
I sneered in disgust at him. I couldn’t believe I was actually surprised at his behaviour, I mean this was Seifer, the bully the guy who went out of his way to make my life was difficult as possible and in a couple of days of him being nice to me I had suddenly decided without noticed that I liked it when he wasn’t the bully and I liked him when he was friendly but it didn’t last very long did it.
I started to slow, it hurt more with each step and I stopped feeling a little dizzy, I stepped forward again and the world spun violently, I fell back against Seifer’s chest I guess he saw me start to sway.
I panted and leant back on his strong chest, he grinned, arms moving around me and suddenly I was back in his arms again.
He chuckled. "Come on chicken wuss, let’s get back to the camp."
"Asshole." I muttered.
Irvine watched the campsite being brought down. They were leaving but there was still not sign of Seifer and Zell. How could the instructor be so heartless? Shouldn’t they at least have another search in the woods, they got interrupted the first time with those blue dragons. He blamed himself, how could they survive if everyone disappeared, going back to Balamb. This was the Timber woods, Timber town wasn’t so far by chocobo but on foot it would take ages.
"Irvine?"
He turned to see the instructor walked up with some of Seifer and Zell’s things. "You and Selphie are the only two friend of the pair that came on their trip, what do you want us to do with their things?"
"Maybe we could leave a few things."
She raised an eyebrow.
"In case they survived."
"Irvine, that’s not very likely."
"I know but Zell’s tent was broken anyway so we can leave it and maybe some personal things."
"Don’t you think their families would like their person things?"
"Seifer doesn’t have family."
She sighed. "Irvine, I doubt they survived the fall and /I know you blame yourself but we cannot afford to leave equipment out here."
He slumped slightly and she softened. "Look maybe you should make a memorial for they, with some belongings of theirs." He grinned.
"But nothing valuable," she added before she walked away.
Well she let them off on one valuable item. Hyrperion was put in the ground with Seifer trench coat hanging from it with Zell’s gloves in one pocket and a photo Selphie had taken of the two blondes fighting over the last bread roll at dinner the night before they disappeared. Selphie secretly put her last potion in the inside pocket of the coat and the instructor added one of the standard in memory of… Seed cards. The names Seifer and Zell were scribbled on the bottom of it before they left the site for good.