Only in My Dreams
Part 1
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters but I do own the Seiffy-kun doll! *hugs her dollie*
Thank you so much Miko for helping me think out the plot. *hugs* it helped a lot!
Only in My Dreams
Part 1
“Hey commander!” a baritone voice rang out through the door of Squall’s room. He turned from the mirror and walked over to open the door, which was being banged upon. Seifer stood in front of the commander in his SeeD uniform, and frowned as he crossed his arms. “We’re going to be late.”
Squall shook his head. “We’ll be there in time. Laguna had to delay it for some meeting anyway.” He walked back to the mirror, straightening his jacket.
“Well I want to be there early so we don’t get caught in a rush.” Seifer stepped in and leaned on the wall. Squall glanced at the taller man. He always looked great in his uniform. Squall felt like so confined in his but his blonde counterpart seemed to be comfortable anywhere. After two years of being friends, it felt like they had been so their whole lives. Like the whole Ultemicia thing had been a dream.
Squall looked back into the mirror. “Stupid thing,” he muttered. “Fine, lets go.” He turned to the grinning blonde and followed him out to the directory where everyone was waiting. Everyone sure had changed after two years.
Quistis and Selphie were standing closest to the directory, chatting quietly about something trivial. Irvine was sitting on a bench, flipping his hat on and off in little flourishes. And the lovebirds were trying to get their baby to walk. Yes, Zell was holding baby Julie, and Rinoa was trying to coax her the three feet that stood between them. Poor little Julie had no idea what was going on and kept turning around and trying to get Zell to pick her up. At long last the couple sighed in defeat and the blonde daddy picked up his daughter. “Yo guys!” Zell waved when the two men approached.
Rinoa picked up a baby bag and smiled at them. “Nice of you to finally join us.”
“Pussy boy here was being all faggy with his mirror.” Seifer jabbed a thumb in Squall’s direction.
“Isn’t that a paradox?” Selphie asked as Squall fumed.
“What do you mean?” Seifer asked, with an eyebrow raised.
“Well he cant be chasing pussy if he’s a fag now can he?” The little girl giggled and Seifer frowned. “I know you were joking, I was just pointing out the problem with it.”
Seifer shrugged. “Damn, girl. You’re too picky.”
Irvine chuckled. “She just wants to go see President Laguna.”
“Lets go!” Selphie trotted off in the direction of the parking lot, leaving everyone to follow her.
“You’re right. Sure, she wants to see a new SeeD Garden built in Esthar but if the president isn’t there, it’s totally not worth it.” Seifer muttered.
Squall chuckled as everyone gathered his or her things to follow the bouncing brunette. “Well, look at it this way. At least we can make fun of someone behind her back.”
“Oh, yeah.” Seifer grinned wolfishly. “You’re damn good at ideas for fun Leonhart. I’m glad we became friends when I returned.” He glanced sideways at Squall. “You’re a cool guy. I like you.” Squall snorted. “No, I mean it.”
“Whatever.”
“Squall!” Laguna gave his son a great big bear hug. “I’m so glad you came!” The group had come to see the ribbon cutting ceremony on the land that would be a new Garden someday. The groundwork had already been laid and the ceremony was to show the press how much of the building was already standing.
“I’m sure I’ll be glad too, as soon as you let go of me and give Selphie a hug.” Squall grinned as the president released him and turned to the bouncing girl behind him.
“Now me?!” Selphie glomped onto the president and he laughed.
“Nice to see you again too Selphie!”
Seifer rolled his eyes and made a blowjob motion to Squall, who tried not to snicker too loud. Quistis smacked the blonde and he shrugged with a grin. “Why do you have to be so damn vulgar all the time?” she muttered.
“What? I’m not being vulgar! Am I?” he asked Squall.
The brunette put his hands up. “Oh no! I’m not getting in the middle of one of your brotherly/sisterly fights again.”
“WHAT?!” They both shouted at him. The heavy machinery around them drowned out some of the words they spouted at him and he laughed.
“What’s up?” Selphie’s voice over the equipment stopped them in mid-sentence.
Quistis rolled her eyes. “I give up!”
Zell set Julie on the ground to play with the rocks and laughed. “You guys are so predictable.”
“What?” Seifer asked.
“You say something, Quistis rebuts, Squall gets stuck as ref and it goes on until one of us stops it.”
Rinoa nodded. “Yup, that’s about how it happens.”
“I totally agree with that.” Squall crossed his arms.
Irvine knelt down to play with Julie and her rocks. “Why don’t you two just get legally adopted as brother and sister?”
Selphie giggled. “Yeah, you guys so totally look alike!”
Everyone began to yell their opinions and laugh at each other’s. Reminiscing on the fights the two blonds had had, they tried to rope Zell into the group and make them triplets. No one saw the little two foot tall brunette stand slowly and wobbly start to take tentative steps.
Suddenly shouts began to come from the structure. The group’s conversation came to a screeching halt as the cable holding a steel beam on the crane began to swing and snaps could be heard.
Seifer gasped. “Julie!” He pushed through everyone, throwing Squall and Zell down in the process. He sprinted forward, trying to beat the steel beam that plummeted from the sky, to the little girl standing below it.
As Seifer’s arms pushed Julie out of the way, the steel beam made contact with his upper back. A horrible thump rang through everyone’s ears as silence entombed the site.
Squall stared open mouthed at his now crushed friend, his own feelings crushed. He had no idea what to think, no idea what to do.
Rinoa took a tentative step forward. “Seifer!” She ran to the fallen man with Squall hot on her heels. They both vaulted over the beam to get to his face, to see if he was breathing. Rinoa covered her mouth and Squall sighed in relief as they both knelt. But then Seifer coughed up some blood and it didn’t look like his breathing was all too easy.
“Oh god…” Squall breathed, grabbing one of Seifer’s hands. As he said this, life returned to the site; or to their minds, all of a sudden sounds blared in their ears. Men shouted and tried to assemble some order so as to save the young SeeD. Then a screech of cries could be heard. Seifer opened an eye and said “Julia…”
The two turned to see the 18 month old lying on the ground sobbing the life out of her. “Oh no,” Rinoa crawled to her child, who was only five feet away. The others finally entered Squall’s field of vision. Zell knelt beside Squall, checking on Seifer’s injuries as Rinoa checked their child. “She’s fine,” she said in a shaky voice.
Squall turned to Zell who looked up from the trapped blonde, who was now wheezing audibly and wincing, trying not to show his pain. Zell bit his lip and shook his head slowly. Squall stared at him. “No…” he breathed.
“The Gf’s…” Zell trailed off as tears leaked from Squall’s eyes and Seifer began to sob openly in pain. The GF’s had been sealed after the fight with Ultemicia. Squall knew what it meant; they couldn’t do a damn thing.
Rinoa held the crying Julia to her chest as silent tears crept down her face.
“Oh Hyne.” Seifer gasped. “It hurts…” He coughed again, blood staining the ground again.
“There has to be something,” Squall tried but he knew. He knew his best friend was going to leave him. “No!” He squeezed Seifer’s hand, who squeezed back with what little strength he still had. He kneeled down farther to look into those sea green eyes. What he saw didn’t help. Fear, fear of death consumed their murky depths, and made Squall shut his in agony.
“I don’t want to watch you die,” he whispered. “Not now, not when we’ve become such good friends.”
“I meant what I said,” Seifer hissed back. Zell crawled over to Rinoa, leaving the two alone, but still with friends.
“I know, I just…” Squall put his other hand to his face. He couldn’t stop it. He was one of the most powerful men in the country and he couldn’t save his own friend.
“I’ll miss you.”
“Don’t say that.” The brunette opened his eyes. Happiness shone through Seifer’s. “Please…”
Seifer let his head drop, trying to save the last of his strength for what he wanted to say next. Everyone thought he was gone. Selphie fainted with Irvine catching her, and then lifting her, to cradle her small body. Quistis began to hyperventilate and went into shock. She fell to her knees and began to shake uncontrollably. Laguna kneeled beside her to try to calm her. But Squall knew, he could hear Seifer’s short breaths.
“I… I love… you…” Seifer managed through the pain.
Tears coursed down Squalls cheeks as he put his forehead against the top of his ex-rival’s head and put his hands to each side of Seifer’s face. “I love you too,” he whispered. He could feel a smile on Seifer’s face, then fade as his life drained.
Squall let his hands drop and kissed Seifer’s blonde hair, then sat back. He ran his hands through his hair shakily and looked at his father, who was holding the trembling Quistis. “He’s gone.” Squall stated numbly. “He’s gone…” His voice cracked and he began to sob aloud as a few ambulances finally reached the desolate location from Esthar. The medics treated the baby, Selphie and Quistis as the construction workers labored to retrieve Seifer’s body.
Seifer’s body… no longer Seifer. Squall stood staring at what used to be Seifer. He frowned and walked back to it. Laguna tried to stop him, but he pulled his father along. The workers stopped to watch Squall pry something from the dead man’s hand. His necklace.
Somehow Squall knew; he knew that he should take it. Seifer was holding it for a reason, whether it broke or if he took it off, Squall needed to keep it.
He stepped back as the workers finally levered the heavy beam off of the fallen man. Squall looked away and cried into his father’s shoulder. Blood had absorbed into Seifer’s uniform, making it look all the more ghastly.
He glanced above his father’s shoulder at his friends. Selphie was awake. She and Quistis were hugging, crying. Zell and Rinoa were staring sadly at Julia. She was saved, but at what price?
Squall sniffled and stood back from his father. “I loved him.”
“I know.” He smiled wryly. “I’m glad.”
Laguna led his son to his friends and they all came together. The group hugged and cried, knowing that they would be forever changed, never the same.
* * *
Anno…. *runs and hides* I go post more!!
~Elise Maxwell~