Xerampelinae
Chapter One
Xerampelinae
Chapter One
It was black. Everywhere. No matter what direction he looked, there was the same black. It was swallowing him, everywhere. It wasn’t a silent black. It was noisy. He looked ahead of him, for there was a shadow, even within this darkness. It sounded like the flapping of a bird’s wings, strong and large. But the movement was the snapping of fabric. Why did it sound like birds. The cloth was so black, so dark. It looked like it was made of night itself. He slowly approached in, but found that he couldn’t find his center of balance. He tripped over his own feet, falling at the knees of the person garbed in such a cloak. The figure slowly turned, facing him. He was afraid to look, but did anyway. The face was obscured, except for the mouth. That mouth was smirking down at him, such a familiar motion. One hand reached out to him, offering an upturned palm. The hand was pale, so pale. The fingers were long and slender, much like his own, but more tapered, feminine. He wondered if he was looking at himself. This action reminded him of a moment long since vanished from time, one that he didn’t care to keep reliving. He closed his eyes momentarily, hoping that it all would go away, hoping the memory would be burned away like a debilitating fog.
His eyes snapped open when he heard a caw. It was sharp, and cut through the cool silence. A raven was sitting perched on the broad shoulder of the figure. He was surprised that he could see it. It was looking down at him over the sharp line of it’s beak. It seemed to have something wrong with one of its eyes. It looked milked over, and a thin scar cut through the silken black feathers of its face. He looked back at the face of the figure. They seemed so tall from his point of view. So tall, dominating. The mouth moved, but no sound came out. He wondered what was going on, but stopped all motion, even breathing, when the words whispered around him. The voice was everywhere, calling his name, whispering it in a throaty call, a mournful sigh….
Zell slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the dark ceiling. His clock said it was two in the morning. What had awakened him? That’s right… It sounded like someone had called his lover’s name. He rolled over slightly, looking at Seifer, who was tossing slightly in his sleep. The small blonde wondered if Seifer was having a dream about Ultimecia, or about the Soldiers who raped him. Seifer had so many nightmares. Zell curled up beside Seifer’s long body, nudging him gently, wanting his lover to snap out of his dream. Why had Zell heard someone whisper Seifer’s name?
The scarred blonde murmured in his sleep before opening his azure eyes. He blinked a few times, rubbing the sleep out, before he looked at Zell. “What time is it?” he whispered.
“Two.”
“What’s wrong, then?” Seifer asked, sighing as he closed his eyes. He instinctively reached out, pulling the smaller body closer to his.
“I heard someone….”
“Someone?” Seifer asked, kissing Zell’s cheek, moving his teeth over the bone underneath.
“They called your name.”
The taller man slowly opened his eyes. “What?”
“What dream was it this time?”
Seifer sighed. “The person in black. You heard it?”
Zell raised his eyebrows. He had woken up in the middle of the night on more than one occasion on behalf of Seifer’s nightmares, but this was the first time in their just over four years together that Zell had heard what Seifer had heard. “I did…. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. Maybe since I’ve talked about it before…. Since you made me talk about it so much, you’re starting to think about it, too.”
Zell frowned. “I guess… Hey! Since when do I make you talk about your dreams? I just offer a shoulder to cry on!”
Seifer smirked, pulling Zell’s small, nude body on top of his. “You can be such a brat sometimes.” He moved his hands down Zell’s back, finding the ticklish spot at the small of Zell’s back. The smaller man tried to hold back an annoyed shriek, but it came out broken and cracked, which caused Seifer to chuckle.
“Here I am trying to cheer you up, and you’re tickling me!!” Zell exclaimed breathlessly, trying to squirm away, which only caused friction between their nude bodies. Zell’s words were hitched from his giggling, and gentle moaning.
“Will you have sex a little quieter!!??” A muffled scream came from the next room. “Some people are trying to sleep!!”
“Yeah, Zell….” Seifer muttered, smirking at Irvine’s outburst. They had been living with the pseudo cowboy for just under two years. He proved to be a very good roommate, for he was always out at clubs trying to pick up women. Zell had thought that he and Selphie would wind up together, but it hadn’t worked out that way. They were more suited as friends rather than bed partners. They were all living in Balamb still, but away from the day to day life of the Garden. Zell and Irvine still went on missions, while Seifer went to school. It had surprised many that Seifer would go back to school, but he was actually flourishing at what he was doing. Seifer was studying Pathology, and was at the top of his class. Without the rigid rules of Army life, he was doing well, for he could do his own thing without reprimand.
Zell scoffed, muffling his own laughter by kissing Seifer. “You started it….”
Seifer slightly pulled away, frowning at his lover. “You actually heard my name being called?”
“Fuck…. Hmm, maybe it was the fact that we’re so connected. You know how twins are connected to each other….?” Zell reached for Seifer again, pulling the other man against him once more.
“I guess…..I saw more of the face, this time.”
“What did it look like?”
“Me…..” Seifer shook his head, looking down at Zell’s tattooed face. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.” Seifer repressed it again and smiled up at the other man. He rolled them over. “Tired?”
Zell squirmed happily under his boyfriend. “Not really…. Well, we do have that thing tomorrow…..”
“Oh, Cid’s party…. But that’s not until the evening….” Seifer gave Zell a frown. “I still don’t think I should go.”
The tattooed blonde looked up at Seifer. “You’re going.”
“You’re very determined about this, aren’t you?” Seifer asked, giving Zell a look. Cid Kramer, the headmaster of Balamb Garden was retiring, and there was to be a small gathering and banquet dinner to honor him. Quistis was to take over his duties. Everyone had been surprised that it wasn’t Squall, but the stoic SeeD didn’t seem interested in the position. He was too preoccupied with his life right now. Even though Seifer and Squall had had their differences in the past, they had gotten past it, and had learned to be friends. Seifer knew that Rinoa and Squall were having problems, and Rinoa had left for Timber, not telling her boyfriend about it. They had broken up and made up more times than either Seifer or Zell could count.
“I am determined!” Zell exclaimed quietly, winding his legs with his lover’s. “But, enough about that….”
Seifer sighed teasingly. “Fuck, Zell. Do you only think of me as a dildo with a body attached?”
Zell pondered that mental picture for a few moments. “Well, now that you’ve put that idea in my head….”
Seifer frowned, attacking Zell’s smirking lips with his teeth and lips. “I’m glad I’m seen as a lifelong companion, Dincht.”
“Oh, lighten up….” Zell stifled a yawn.
“You are tired….” Seifer frowned, a distant look passing over his features. He started thinking about the dream again. Why couldn’t he forget? If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. He knew that he was happy with Zell, more so than any human being deserved, especially him. However, he couldn’t forget….. He couldn’t forget the sound of Ultimecia’s voice in his mind, couldn’t forget the sound of the laughter of the Soldiers as they ravaged his body. Sometimes, it would still feel like Ultimecia was in his body, more than just a memory. He sometimes felt the distant sensation of her cold psychic talons, somewhere deep within his body. However, it felt different than so many years ago. It felt like it was a part of himself, rather than a distant, alien invader.
“Seifer?”
The scarred blonde looked down at his lover. “Huh?”
“Where were you?” Zell’s icy eyes narrowed with concern. He knew that Seifer still harboured so much guilt and self-hatred. Zell would try to get him to talk about it, but in never seemed to chase away the deep rooted depression buried so deep within Zell’s statuesque lover. Seifer could smile and laugh all he wanted, but it wouldn’t go away. Zell wished that he was enough to chase it all away. He knew that Seifer loved him, and would never doubt that, but Zell also knew that Seifer wouldn’t forget anytime soon.
“What do you mean?” Seifer asked as he pulled Zell’s body closer to his own, sighing gently.
“Why won’t you let me help?”
“You do help….” Seifer trailed off, pressing his forehead to Zell’s cheek. He kissed the tattooed flesh, and raked his teeth over the silver hoop that pierced Zell’s left nostril.
“Well, then tell me…..”
Seifer sighed, pressing his face to Zell’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I still feel her.”
“Who? Ultimecia?”
Seifer nodded against Zell’s chest. “It’s hard to explain. I can still here her voice… But it feels different. Like it’s my voice, too…. I don’t know. I…..” Seifer trailed off again, closing his eyes. “It doesn’t matter.” He was having a hard time understanding it all himself, let alone making Zell understand.
“She’s dead.”
“I know…..”
“What’s to debate?”
The taller blonde shrugged, feeling like he was about to fall asleep again. He just felt tired. Seifer always threw himself into his work, and it made him feel lethargic. If he could bury himself in lab work and endless knowledge on virus make-up, he thought that he could eventually forget. There were times where he did, but they didn’t last long enough. Seifer knew that if he were alone, or with anyone other than Zell, whom he considered to be his true love, that he would have failed in rebuilding himself, and would be in a shallow grave. He let his mind relax, wanting to get some sleep.
Zell held Seifer as they lay in silence. He hated when Seifer got like this, mainly because he felt useless, and like he wasn’t helping. “Seifer, do you think I help you?”
“Yes…..” Seifer whispered, his voice barely audible. “If I didn’t have you, existence would cease to matter.”
“Don’t say things like that!” Zell exclaimed, almost angrily. He placed firm kisses on Seifer’s pale cheeks and forehead. “Promise me you won’t talk like that… Ever….”
“I promise….” Seifer smiled gently at Zell. Even after growing out of his teenage years, Zell still possessed his impossibly cute looks. He looked much younger than his twenty-one years, and Seifer still felt warm every time he looked at Zell.
“Oh, that sounded sincere…” The small blonde muttered, rolling his eyes. He pulled Seifer closer, so that their foreheads were touching. “We should get some sleep…..”
Seifer nodded dully, already dozing off. He placed a subconscious kiss on Zell’s neck before falling asleep. Zell, however, found it harder to fall asleep. He held his body next to Seifer’s, his mind going quickly from thought to thought. He wished that there were some sort of switch he could flip to make Seifer truly happy. He knew that Seifer was happy in their relationship, but that sadness that Ultimecia had planted in him wouldn’t go away. Zell closed his eyes, feeling complete in Seifer’s embrace.
“I love you,” He whispered before drifting off.
“Irvine, what the fuck did you do to this?!” Zell exclaimed angrily from his bent position around the television. He wanted to use his PlayStation, but Irvine had done something to the cables to he could hook up his own VCR.
“I was trying to dub a movie from one tape to another…..” The brunette answered lazily, looking over the top of a gun magazine. “But, it kind of backfired.”
Zell picked up a vagrant cassette so he wouldn’t step on it. “Lactating Honeys?” Zell made a face. “Okay, I know I don’t see the appeal of females, but how can you possibly get turned on by that?!”
The cowboy shrugged, tucking his now chin length caramel coloured hair behind his ears. “It’s not mine….”
“Holding it for a friend, right?” Zell rolled his icy eyes. “I think you destroyed it.”
“Maybe I just made it better….. Did you even think of the possibility that we can now pick up transmissions from distant planets?”
Zell yanked all the cables out, deciding to just start over again. “Fuck…. Now why didn’t I think of that…..? Suck my dick…..” He muttered, mostly teasing.
“I think you got enough of that last night…..”
“We weren’t having sex…. Oh, sorry about waking you up.”
“I wasn’t sleeping. I was just being a prick.”
“I’m not surprised….. I bet you can’t wait until tonight…..” Zell raised his eyebrows in a seductive manner.
“Are you hitting on me? I don’t think Seifer would be too pleased….”
“I wouldn’t be too pleased about what?” The tall blonde asked, coming into the living room.
“Zell’s making the moves on me.”
“I am not!” The short blonde exclaimed, blowing up into his bangs, which fell in a blonde curtain over his forehead. He rarely wore his bangs spiked up anymore. He stood from his seated position on the floor, wrapping his arms around Seifer’s waist. He gave Seifer a gentle kiss on the lips. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Seifer asked, smiling down at Zell.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” The tattooed blonde pulled away, going back to his cables. “Why aren’t you at the lab? You did have it signed out, right?”
Seifer nodded, frowning darkly. For the final project of the semester, each student was to learn about a disease and work with it without the aide of an Instructor, showing their findings at the end of the term. Seifer had chosen Yellow Fever, which surprised many, since it was a very dangerous disease. Seifer would have preferred to work with Marburg or Ebola, which were passions of his, but the school thought it would be way too dangerous, even for Seifer, who was as capable as any of his teachers.
“I was supposed to be there, but some dicksmoke contaminated the lab!” Seifer exclaimed angrily, dumping his shoulder bag on the floor beside a black chair. “So, they have to decon the place, which means no admittance for a week, at least. If I find out who it was….” He aimlessly shook his fist, inspecting what Zell was doing. He knew that Zell didn’t really approve of him working with viruses and bacteria, and constantly worried, but Seifer was always careful, and loved his boyfriend even more for being so worried.
“But, you’re months ahead of everyone else….” Irvine pointed out, laughing as Zell disentangled some cables.
“I’m angry on principal. I could have been a semester ahead…. What are you doing?”
“Irvine fucked all the cables up so he could dub some stupid porno movie….”
“Lactating Honeys?” Seifer asked lazily, pulling a bottle of water from his bag as he sat in the chair.
“Yeah……”
Zell grumbled, hooking the cable back up. “Okay, one down. All I wanted to do was play Xenogears, but noooooo!!” The small blonde glared at his roommate.
“I don’t understand why you like that game! Who ever heard of jumping in an RPG?” Seifer asked. “Although, Billy made up for that…..” Seifer gave Zell a smirk.
“Have you guys ever wondered if our lives are a video game, and there’s some higher being controlling us? That we only move because someone hit the analog? Maybe we’re all predispositioned to say the things we do….” Irvine trailed off. “Kind of scary, if you ask me. Maybe we’re just all binary information burned onto a CD, and the player is wondering now ‘Who ever heard of Lactating Honeys in an RPG’……”
Both Seifer and Zell just stared at Irvine, blinking at him.
“I think that is the stupidest thing you have ever said….” Seifer trailed off.
Zell shook a cable at his lover. “Naw…. I can think of worse. Like when he asked ‘What would Selphie own that vibrates?’”
“So I had a mental lapse….. Do you have to throw it in my face all the time?” Irvine shook his head. “You don’t bring up that Seifer slept with Rinoa every day!”
The scarred blonde just rolled his eyes. “So, speaking of Selphie… Are you excited about tonight?”
“You were quick to change the subject…..”
“I’m sorry if I don’t like thinking about sex with Rinoa…. She just…. Lay there…… I don’t know what Squall sees in her. Now look who’s changing the subject…..”
“Well, why should I be excited?” Irvine had a blank look on his face.
“Give me a fucking break….” Zell muttered, hooking up the original VCR. “She’s been in Trabia for six months, and you don’t miss her?”
“Why should I? It’s not like she’s my girlfriend…. We broke up a long time ago….. Remember?”
“Maybe so…..” Seifer began to say, but stopped when he heard a knock at the door. He got up to answer it. “But, you still care about her. Even after all this time…..”
“We broke up three years ago!” Irvine exclaimed, trying to suppress the flush that was creeping up his neck. He and the perky brunette may have broken up a long time ago, mainly because of his wandering eye and inability to commit, but Irvine did miss her company and bubbly, uplifting personality. They had remained close friends, but all of Irvine’s relationships were compared to her, all the women were nitpicked apart because they weren’t like Selphie. She had gone to Trabia, her former school, to help with the training of new students, and he had missed her terribly. Irvine didn’t want to admit this to anyone, not Seifer or Zell, who were his closest friends, and especially not to himself. He was Irvine Kinneas. He didn’t get moony over a woman. Let alone one who was too cheerful, and couldn’t sit still. Her jade eyes were always full of childish mischief. She was too much of a little girl, too bubbly, too much fun, too warm, too beautiful…..
“You just keep convincing yourself of that….” Zell muttered, hooking up the PlayStation. “Voila!”
“The VCR clock is blinking,” Irvine muttered.
“I’m working on it….” Zell muttered.
Seifer just rolled his eyes as he opened the door. He gave a quizzical smile as he met Squall’s eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Do you greet all your guests with the same hospitality?” Squall muttered, rolling his grayish blue eyes.
Seifer ushered Squall in, closing the door behind him. He followed the slender SeeD to the living room. “Have a seat.”
Squall flopped down on the couch beside Irvine, looking at Zell. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to change the clock of the VCR……” Zell frowned. “I should just put electrical tape over it….”
“That’s something people with sock puppets do….” Seifer muttered, getting out of the chair. “Let me…..”
“I swear…. You can hook up various electronic hardware, but you can’t program a VCR clock?” Irvine muttered. He turned to Squall. “What brings you down to our level?”
“I’m hiding,” Squall muttered, shrugging out of his black crew neck sweater. He smoothed the front of his white T-Shirt. “There are too many people at the Garden. Plus, Rinoa’s being a bitch.”
Seifer gasped mockingly. “What?? I’m shocked and astounded!” He made a flourished motion to the VCR. “See… Fixed.”
“Thank you…” Zell leaned in, kissing Seifer.
Squall sighed. It didn’t bother him to see Seifer and Zell kissing, for he had seen it a million times. He wished that he and Rinoa could be that happy after all this time. They just seemed like totally different people. Squall wasn’t able to change overnight, and he knew that Rinoa sort of expected him to, to fall into the mold that she had made for him. Sure, over time, he had learned to integrate with people better. He still didn’t like a lot of people around, but he could talk to his core group with freedom now. The most surprising thing was how at ease he felt in Seifer’s company. He felt that Seifer was the perfect sounding board for his problems with Rinoa, and knew better about a relationship with the sprightly woman than anybody else. He knew that he cared deeply for Rinoa, loved her, but was it residual love? He wasn’t sure. Rinoa was his first real relationship, and Squall didn’t want to throw everything away just because of a few growing pains.
“So, are you coming tonight?” Squall asked of Seifer. He knew the elegant blonde wasn’t too keen on having to face his former classmates again, even if four years had passed. “You’ll get to see Raijin and Fujin again….”
Zell beamed. “He’s coming! Even if I have to tie him up!”
“Is that a promise?” Seifer asked, raising his eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m coming. I haven’t seen them in a while…..” Seifer hadn’t seen his friends in a year. They had moved to Esthar, and joined the Army there. He talked on the phone a lot with them, but did miss them. “Is your father coming?”
Squall smiled slightly. “Yes…. Although, I’m not looking forward to talking to him about Rinoa…. He’ll just blabber endlessly on the subject of love….” Laguna had always been a romantic, and Squall knew his father, who also loved to talk, would prattle on endlessly about trying to make it work. “I’m also kind of looking forward to seeing Matron….” Squall trailed off, knowing that Seifer might not be as eager. “Oh, I’m sorry….”
“It’s okay…” Seifer waved his hand. “I can’t avoid her forever.” Seifer hadn’t seen Edea since the dreadful incident at Galbadia Garden all those years ago. He was afraid to see his former Mistress again, afraid that it could bring up bad memories, bring up some sort of buried tendencies in him that Edea and Ultimecia had implanted in him. Was that why he was sensing a presence within his own body? Was he afraid of seeing Edea again? He knew that Edea wasn’t that dark Sorceress anymore, but part of him still felt dead at the thought of her. Whenever he saw a dog or a Galbadian Army uniform, he would be reminded of what Ultimecia had done to him through Edea’s body. However, Seifer also felt that there was something more about Edea, more than she had told him. Was there something about Seifer himself that Edea knew? Maybe he was afraid of discovering that there was some sort of hidden secret to his past, something hidden that was just waiting to be unleashed. Seifer shook his head when he felt Zell’s hand on his shoulder. He turned to meet the gaze of his lover.
“Seifer?” Zell had concern written all over his face.
“Huh?” Seifer looked at his lover, seeing the concern in his pale eyes. He waved a hand. “I’m fine. Really…..” Would he ever be ‘fine’ again? Sometimes, he felt like he would be, but other times, he didn’t even feel like himself.
“Well,” Irvine stood, rolling his periwinkle eyes. “You guys have succeeded in depressing the shit out of me…” He picked up his black cowboy hat, plunking it over his loose caramel hair. “I’ll see you guys tonight….” He scooped up his tan duster and sauntered out.
“So, Rinoa’s back, huh?” Zell asked, turning on the television. His cute face was mired in a frown when he was met with static. “Now what?” He stood, peering at the back of the television to see what he did wrong.
“Yeah,” Squall sighed, stretching out on the couch, his legs taking up the spot where Irvine had been sitting. “And the really fucking stupid part about it is that she was all kissey and lovey dovey, all acting like nothing had happened!” He peevishly ran his hands through his shaggy auburn hair. “I just don’t understand women….”
“Yeah, that’s why I sleep with men….” Seifer muttered, smirking at Zell.
“Men?? I sure hope that’s a joke,” Zell frowned, his body bent over the television.
“Stay in that position a little while longer…..” Seifer teased, eyeing his boyfriend.
Squall cleared his throat. “I’m still here….”
“Oh, you know you want me,” Zell cooed, teasingly. He wiggled his ass. “Come on, you both can have me.”
“No thanks. I think I’d date a man who knew how to hook up a VCR.”
“Prick….” Zell muttered.
“Anyway…” Squall sighed. “I don’t know what to fucking do about Rinoa, guys. What am I supposed to say to her? If I can say anything to her… She doesn’t really let me get a word in edgewise. Like today…. She kept talking about this chick that she saw that scared her. At the first of our relationship, I didn’t notice, but she’s such a clingy…..”
“Weakling?” Seifer offered.
“I guess. I mean, I still love her, I guess…..” Squall frowned. “But, I just think it’s stupid that she got so freaked just because this chick had yellow eyes….”
“Yellow eyes?” Zell asked, sitting back on the carpet. “Like amber, or actually yellow?”
“Like Ultimecia…..” Seifer whispered.
“Like Ultimecia,” Squall echoed. “But only for a second. Rinoa said she only saw the yellow eyes for a moment. The chick’s face was hidden beneath a cloak. Then, she kind of disappeared.”
“I think Rinoa should lay off the crack….” Zell rolled his eyes. “People don’t disappear into thin air. Besides, there are people with amber coloured eyes in the world….. Like that dude that we saw that looked like Fujin.”
“There was a guy that looked like Fujin? Why didn’t I see this?” Squall asked. He found Fujin very attractive, but wouldn’t dare say anything, for Raijin would rip his dick off and hand it to him.
“It was in Deling City. He was with some hot redhead….” Seifer trailed off, raising his eyebrows at Zell. “The eyepatch was even over the same eye. Except his eyes, or eye, was amber, not red.”
“Was he as hot as Fujin is…..” Squall clamped his mouth shut.
“You think Fujin’s hot?!” Zell exclaimed, raising his eyebrows teasingly. “Wait until I tell her!”
“You keep your mouth shut!” Squall threatened, pointing at his friend. “I’d like to have my body remain intact.”
“Yeah,” Zell replied, changing the subject. “He was hot. He had scars on his face. I like scars….”
Seifer rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips. “So, what did you tell Rinoa about this mystery woman?”
“Told her to forget it. But she kept talking about her. How tall she was, and how she was scared…..”
Seifer narrowed his azure eyes. “Tall……?” He trailed off, remembering his dream, remembering the tall, cloaked figure. There had been that time in Lunatic Pandora where he had envisioned a tall, cloaked woman, offering him the wonderful hand of death…. But, she had only been a figment of his imagination… Right?
“Seifer?” Squall asked, whistling to get the tall blonde’s attention. “Where are you?”
“Never mind….” The scarred man trailed off. “We should probably start getting ready soon….” Seifer couldn’t hide the apprehension in his normally even, calm voice.
“Matron wants to see you,” Squall said quietly. “She’s concerned. She wants to atone for what she did to you…..”
Seifer smiled, sadly and distantly. “Yeah…..”
Squall stood. “Look, I think I’ve successfully dropped your mood down. I’ll see you tonight. I should go… Rinoa’s probably looking for me….” He rolled his eyes, scooping up his sweater. “Later….”
After Squall left, Zell stood, walking over to the chair that Seifer was sitting in. He lowered his body into his boyfriend’s lap. “Why do you think that Squall stays with her?”
Seifer shrugged, running his fingertips over Zell’s muscled thigh. “Well, why do married couples who constantly yell at each other stay together? Because they’re in a rut and neither has the energy to make the move to end it…..” Seifer trailed off, his mind elsewhere.
“What are you thinking?” Zell asked, cocking his head. He wrapped his arms around Seifer’s broad shoulders.
“I was just thinking about that hot redheaded guy from Deling….” Seifer trailed off, smirking with mischief.
Zell let out a gasp of mock anger. “Bastard.” He covered Seifer’s lips with his own. After they broke apart, the tattooed blonde snickered. “Actually, that’s okay. I was thinking of the Fujin dude….”
Seifer sneered playfully, tickling the small of Zell’s back, which ripped a high-pitched giggle from his lover. Zell squirmed in his lap, which caused Seifer to become aroused. He stopped the tickling and kissed Zell again, gently pushing his tongue into the other blonde’s mouth. Zell responded by mewling gently, quickly getting aroused. He ran his palms over Seifer’s chest, chasing his lover’s tongue. The short blonde pulled away, giving Seifer a seductive look. Without a word, he slid off of Seifer’s lap, parting the taller man’s legs with his arms, and settling his body between Seifer’s long thighs, his knees sinking into the carpet. Zell pulled Seifer’s pelvis closer to him, so that he could feel Seifer’s trapped arousal against his collarbone. He teasingly raked his teeth over the fabric-covered bulge.
“Zell…..!” Seifer whispered, breathlessly and urgently. He squirmed with desire as Zell’s hands moved up under his shirt. Seifer did his small lover a favor and pulled off his own top. His hands worked off some of Zell’s clothes as well, while the tattooed blonde pulled impatiently at Seifer’s pants. When Zell had gotten rid of the bothersome pants, he looked up at Seifer. His lover’s eyes were closed, his head slightly tilted back in pleasure, his lips slightly parted as he panted slightly. A faint blush tinted his pale cheeks, and he looked actually innocent. This made Zell happy. Usually, even if Seifer was laughing or smiling, there was always something dark behind his eyes, something that nothing could chase away, not even Zell.
Zell lowered his head between Seifer’s thighs, nuzzling his cheek against the side of Seifer’s hardened cock. He moaned, arching up to the touch. Zell began to kiss a trail up Seifer’s cock, pausing as he reached the slick head. He breathed on the sensitive flesh, which caused Seifer to shudder. When Zell covered the head with his lips, Seifer mewed softly, throwing his head back against the chair. He wound his legs around Zell’s kneeling body, pushing himself further into Zell’s mouth. The small blonde pulled up slightly, just suckling on the head. He circled Seifer’s length with his tongue, gently lapping at the underside of the sensitive flesh. Zell pulled off further, so that his lips were only pressed to the hard flesh. He used his tongue to probe the slit. Seifer gasped, and tried to thrust up into his lover’s hot mouth, but Zell was using his physical strength to hold Seifer’s hips down, pushing them against the chair.
Seifer moaned incoherently as Zell pulled completely off. The tattooed blonde moved his tongue down the underside of Seifer’s shaft, and planted butterfly kisses over Seifer’s testicles. When he covered the slick head of Seifer’s erection with his mouth once more, Seifer let out a strangled cry, feeling Zell’s mouth surround him. He gripped the arms of the chair tighter, as if he were going to pull them off as he felt the muscles of Zell’s throat work his shaft. The deep-throating was sending him over the edge. He tried to thrust up further into the hot, wet velvet of Zell’s mouth, but the smaller man’s hands held Seifer’s hips to the cushions of the chair. He pulled up again, sucking on the head, as hard as he could. As he did this, he gripped the root of Seifer’s shaft tightly, stroking it in a slow rhythm. Seifer moaned, arching his hips towards the sensation of Zell’s tongue moving all over his leaking length, and exploded, his orgasm sending small sparks of light into his vision.
Zell drank down the slightly bitter fluid with relish, lapping at Seifer’s softening cock to get every drop. When he was done, he kissed his lover’s shaft a few times, then slowly rose to his feet. “We should probably get ready….” He offered a hand to his flushed lover.
Seifer nodded absently, taking Zell’s hand as he was led to the bathroom for a shared shower with his petite boyfriend. As they stepped under the stream, Zell brought his body closer to Seifer’s, holding his longer frame against his own, wanting to be close to him. Seifer’s mind began to wander as he stroked the muscles of Zell’s back. He thought of Squall, and what the SeeD had said about Rinoa, how she had seen a hooded woman with glowing amber eyes. It reminded Seifer of the figure always plaguing his dreams. There had been so many mental moments where images of the like had followed him. He thought of the day in Lunatic Pandora when he had been so close to touching the hand of death. That had been a hooded woman. The other times, it was hard to tell. The most recent dream had left Seifer perplexed. A hooded figure, which looked like himself? Briefly, he thought of a dream he had had over four years ago. It had been of Ultimecia, before he had even known of her existence. She had been sitting on a spined, pointy throne, more than likely made of bone. He had been kneeling on one side of her, while a hooded figure was on the other. What did it mean? Why was Rinoa’s mental delusion getting to him like this? People wore cloaks all the time…. Maybe Rinoa was just seeing what she wanted to, and maybe Seifer was buying into it for the same reason. He wanted to believe that he wasn’t going crazy or something. Was this figure the Grim Reaper, or something more, or something less, just a figment of the imaginations of ones who had been touched by Ultimecia’s cold hand?
“Seifer?”
The tall man looked down at Zell as he heard his name. “Huh?”
“Where were you? You look a million miles away….”
“Just thinking,” Seifer mused, kissing Zell’s wet lips as his lover ran soaped hands up his chest. “You know, maybe this party will be good for me… I mean, I have to face Edea sometime, right?”
Zell nodded, tilting his head away from the shower’s stream. “Yeah, and if it gets too uncomfortable, I’ll be there. And, so will Irvine, Squall, Fujin, Raijin and Selphie…..”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen Selphie in while, and Raijin and Fujin…… It’ll be good….” There was hesitation in Seifer’s voice, but he pushed it away. “And, maybe later, I can repay you for the living room…..”
Zell sighed happily against Seifer’s chest. He was glad that Seifer seemed in a good mood, or at least, a better mood than he could have been in. “I love you,” Zell whispered.
“I love you, too,” Seifer echoed, not even the running water coming between them.