Rivaling Cygnet
Chapter Six - it only gets deeper...
Ingredients: Miscellaneous pairings (S x Sq, S x Z, I x Sq and uh, more?), AU, OOC, angst, Shonen-Ai themes (maybe even June ^-^). For creaminess, mix in some adventure, weird fantasy themes, romance and gratuitous amounts of barely clothed hotties. Heat up via swanky sex, then serve.
Summary: Study buddies Seifer and Zell visit a museum. There they stumble through ancient ruins into a war-torn fantasy world with subservient guys in skirts. Fun huh? Now all they have to do is find a way out before they are sucked into a quest to save the world.
Author’s Notes: Woo hoo. Moving along, chalking out a crappy but fast chapter. Smack me, ppl… love deepens. Weeeell, more like love starts to grow. It's a weed! Pull it!
Disclaimer: Um, hopefully you know that I don’t own Squaresoft or their characters. If you don’t then, Seifer and Zell are NOT lovers. Seifer is actually Zell’s pimp and every other weekend Zell becomes some lucky person’s gigolo. There, that’s the truth… except for part about weekends. He’s pimped out by Mack Daddy Seifer 24 7 ^0^
Quick note: Thoughts are in (parenthesis)~! Hee hee, can anyone guess who the blonde babe with the whip is? Read on!
Rivaling Cygnet
Chapter Six - it only gets deeper...
The journey to the ports was mainly uneventful. Not much happened at all. Kinneas stayed clear of Squall, but sometimes teased and leered at the poor child. His `owner' caught the bard at times and an exchange of daggered glares would ensue.
Other than that, Seifer and Zell kept to themselves mostly. To find them, all one had to do was listen for obnoxious manly bantering and cursing. Often they helped with chores and tasks or whatever the caravan needed for maintenance and travel.
Great bird beasts of different colors pulled the wagons. They were called chocobos and some even took a shine towards Zell. His bully friend teased him endlessly over the fact that some of the chocobos mistook Zell for one of their kinfolk. It was a messy and sticky situation. Seifer would never let him live that down.
Squall sat in a silk adorned cart, spending most of his days with the whining Heartilly. The bonds placed on her wrists rendered her magick useless. Yet again Kinneas and his `beastie' foiled her. She had to point that out almost every day, every hour, and every waking moment. It was amazing to find that the child had not killed the mage.
Days went by so quickly and the pair from the other world had adapted to the point that this new world could almost be called `home.' That is, until they truly went back to the museum and to their own world.
Kinneas drove Squall out of his covered cart for rides on the chocobos. He claimed that the child needed fresh air daily and the rides would maybe lift his spirits. As expected, they did nothing but irritate Squall.
What further aggravated the child was the person he usually rode beside. Glances were hardly spared when Seifer and Squall passed each other. It was all coincidence. Fate would make Zell conveniently somewhere else. Perhaps being tackled by Selphie or a mate-seeking chocobo or talking to Kinneas about trade routes and the exotic lands to travel to.
The bird steeds would trot along, squawking and warking to each other. The men who rode them hardly spoke or made eye contact. With the exception a few shy glances or abrupt conversations, nothing was brewing between them. Until recently…
"Hey."
"…"
A typical conversation between them… nothing too out of the ordinary. Sometimes, Squall would even respond or plaster on a fake, small smile that held traces of bitterness.
"I'm just great, thanks for caring."
"… I'm not in the mood."
"What? Post PMS?"
"What does that mean?"
"You live in an predominantly female community and you have no clue what that term is?" Seifer tugged on the reins of over zealous chocobo. This one always reminded him of Zell… maybe that's why he usually chose it. "Ooooh, I get it. That word is from my world. That's probably why it makes no sense to you."
"Indeed."
"Score. I made you say over five words this week."
"…"
"Anyway, I'd like to say that… I can't get you out of my fucking head."
"…"
"Really, I can't. It's not like I want you there, no offense."
"None taken."
"Good. Continuing on… nowadays, I get vicious headaches and bad dreams with you in them. Not nightmares where all I get to hear are your non existent responses… but ones where I want to…"
"What."
"Never mind."
"…"
Squall was bored with whatever the other man had to say, so he looked at his surroundings. Was there a point to this babble? The source of the dribble looked stressed.
Seifer sighed and rubbed his temples. Images flashed like photographic negatives in his mind. He had to tell the one dubbed `child,' of what was eating him inside. Taking a deep breath, he continued…
"The days I was with Zell were fun. Felt like summer vacation. Sunshine and sand, but minus the ocean waves and barely clad hotties… you don't count."
"…"
"The days were awesome… but I couldn't stop thinking about your dreams and the dark dreams that plague me now. It's thick and foreboding. I want to be near you…"
"No."
"Hah, figured you'd say that. I wanted to be by you until I figure out what the hell the bond does to us."
"…"
"Something is tearing at my mind. Memories are becoming dimmer. I can only think of you. I want to…"
Where is this coming from? Where is this heading?! Stop talking!
His words were cut off… gusts of sand charged towards them. The birds struggled to stand. The sand underneath them gave in and sent both riders rolling down hill. Seifer rolled and hit the desert ground, getting sand in his mouth. Something had knocked them over. The sand would not stop coming. It surrounded him like a swarm of angry bees.
What had occurred was an avalanche of sand. Above them voices were heard. Did they fall that far from the caravan?
"Goddamit… Selphie, can you counteract it?"
Seifer would have never thought he'd be glad to hear that voice. The bard was near by… but where was Squall?
"Booyaka!"
"I don't think it's a sand storm, lord Kinneas…" an unfamiliar voice. It was probably one of the bard's lackeys.
"HOLY SHIT!"
Now there was a familiar squawk.
"What do you see?"
"Kin… Kinneas. There's an army and they're coming this way… what… what are we going to do?! Where the hell is Seifer?!"
"Calm down. Selphie, tackle him."
"Booyaka!"
"Eeeek! It's them!! It's them!! Weeeeee~!" a squeaky voice cheered. "Nooooo, actually… ignore the previous squeal."
"… What do you mean, dearest Heartilly?"
"Ah, weeeeeeell. I made a mistake… the ugly maroon banners are those of the lands that oppose Winhill. Their armies are led by…"
"Dude… what a babe."
"I see Dincht has calmed down."
"I see a blonde chick. She looks daaamn tough. Sweeet, she's got a whip. Hee hee… kinda reminds me of another blonde I like… DAMMIT, I gotta find Seifer. Leggo kitty, I hafta find him."
"Not now you aren't. Selphie, subdue him again. This time, make sure he's confined and can't escape until trouble is over."
"HEEEEY! You can't DO this Kinneas!! I gotta find him!"
His screams faded into the background. Seifer was near by, but not close enough. He could hardly speak with the sand muffling his mouth. From the corner of his eye… he could see a billowing cloth.
Squall? SQUALL! Move out of the fricking way… you're going to get trampled! An army is coming. SQUALL!! Fucking MOVE.
The in coming sand muted his screams. Squall lay still. His eyes and mouth were closed. The mount was nowhere to be seen.
Seifer angrily dragged himself closer to the brunette. (Damn storm, stupid shitty storm…Hang on, brat. I'll be there soon.)
The closer he got, the clearer things became. Squall was either sleeping or unconscious. Either way he was an inch away from a deep trench. That was probably where the chocobo had disappeared to.
(One wrong movement could send brat and me straight to hell…I can't go just yet… If I don't save brat now, I'll never understand what these feelings mean. Besides I still gotta give Dincht his daily sand wedgie and noogie…)
Eyes slowly opened and adjusted the site before him. Sand whipped his body and the clothes that barely hung on him. He squinted. There was someone crawling towards him.
"Seifer?"
"Thank goodness. You're up… this'll make my job easier. Don't move, yah hear?! If you want a swift death, all you have to do is turn around and go free falling. Problem is Mister Sociopath, there's a barrier to protect you…"
"Heartilly can't protect me. Her magick is gone… and I've no qualms about throwing myself off this ledge if you're talking about my conscience as a barrier. What barrier is there then?"
"Me, bastard. I am that barrier. Now stay still."
"…"
"You better… or I'll plunge through the depths of hell to haul your pitiful… flat…globeless ass outta there."
"Since you put is so nicely, I'll stay right he…"
The sound of the approaching army got louder. They were getting closer and closer to the caravan… but from where Seifer and Squall were, nothing but sand could be seen. The ground rumbled forcefully. Someone was casting magick…
A quick jolt sent the prostrate body into the air for only a second. In a blink of the eye, Squall was soaring downward into the oblivion of sand and stone.
"NOOO!! GODDAMMIT! SQUALL!"
Squall opened his eyes briefly to look at Seifer and smile. He looked happy, for once he smiled for real.
(Fuckfuckfuck… what's with me and falling into bad places?! I am NOT going to let you die, brat. If you go, I go too… it's a part of the bond shit in the ridiculous legend you hate so much…)
With that much in mind, Seifer touched the threshold of things to come. He got up and charged off the edge of the canyon… flying in headfirst.
Not even thinking of the consequences of his foolishness. It was purely heart-driven and the voices that urged him on commended his actions. Seifer could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he fell down the endless pit. He disregarded everything… with every thud his small organ made he had only one thought throbbing in his head…
(Squall…)
~ To be Continued ~