Moving In

"Fucking... bastard," Zell muttered, walking as slowly as possible to their newly appointed dorm. The way he saw things, it was entirely Seifer's fault. Why did Seifer have to be such a prick? And why couldn't Zell just let him? Everyone else seemed to have slipped into a sort of rhythm around him- listen to the shit he deals and take it. No one ever fought back anymore, except maybe Quistis. Even Squall seemed to take it- not that Seifer had targeted Squall even once since they had returned together.

They'd even become friends.

That had to be the worst part for Zell. Squall never spoke to anyone, really, but Zell could almost swear he'd heard Squall laugh once, when he and Seifer were supposed to be alone. Zell had always thought that if Squall ever had a best friend, it would've been *him*. But once Seifer returned from Time Compression, it was almost as if they were inseparable. At first, Zell had chalked it up to aftereffects of their trip together; Seifer was a prick and Squall was a bastard. The two had been duking it out for years- why would they suddenly become friends? But then, as the months had worn on, Zell had realized something. Time Compression wasn't any finite amount of time... They could have been stuck there for years before Squall had pulled them out. They could've walked eternity together. That would probably make anyone forget their differences.

Except Zell and Seifer, of course. Zell was sure he could share the same space with Seifer for a few millennia and still be incapable of having a decent conversation with him. But what manner of hell had the two of them gone through? It must have been quite the story, because more than with anyone, more than with Rinoa before she left, Squall confided in Seifer as if they were two parts of a whole. And Seifer always knew what Squall was thinking- now more than ever.

It was enough to make anyone jealous, least of all Zell. He'd always looked up to Squall, and he'd always thought he was a nice guy under all that ice. He'd thought that maybe if Squall really *had* changed after what they'd all gone through, then he and Zell could become good friends. And in the beginning, that was the way it looked. Squall was being nice to Zell, and listening to him, and they would do things together on a regular basis.

That was before Squall started having dreams.

Squall had told Zell about it, and no one else. Zell had thought it was a compliment at first, because Squall was talking to him, and telling him things he wouldn't tell anyone else. As the dreams kept coming, however, Zell realized that this was something more important than that. Squall was having reoccurring, obsessive dreams about Seifer. And of course, he got jealous.

Weeks came and went, and Squall kept dreaming of Seifer. Each time, they were walking together through Time Compression, talking. Seifer was telling Squall things- things Squall didn't want to discuss. And as the time went by, finally Squall began to believe they were real. Of course, Zell thought that Squall had, maybe, gone insane. This was particularly strange behavior. Dreams are never real! Then again, Zell had never had a bond with a sorceress; he didn't know sorceress magic could make anything seem real.

"The next time he tries to contact me, I will tell him to bring me to him," Squall said softly as he and Zell sat in the Cafeteria. "I wanted you to know. In case I am not here in the morning."

"Squall," Zell answered, dipping a ketchup in some fries, "are you sure these dreams you are having are more than dreams?" Squall looked at him stonily for a moment. "I mean," Zell said quickly to make amends, "I know we've seen some pretty crazy stuff. But maybe you're just worried about him and you're having dreams about it."

"...I wouldn't worry about Seifer," Squall replied. "Unless he gave me a reason to." Zell nodded, quiet. "He is trapped in Time Compression. And he does not expect to leave." Zell shook his head. He couldn't imagine Seifer giving up on something, let alone something big like that. That was a place he had left as fast as he could- he and the others. Only Squall had spent any amount of time there worth speaking of. Maybe Squall *would* know better. "I'm going to go to him. I can't leave him there." Squall said. "I just wanted someone to know. In case I didn't return."

"I bet Rinoa could find you again," Zell said. Squall didn't reply, and he continued. "I mean, you're still bonded, aren't you? That whole... Knight thing? If you got lost in Time Compression again, I bet she could help you. She's got a lot more control over her powers now." Squall nodded, quiet.

That night, Seifer did come to see Squall once more. And as soon as Seifer arrived in his dreams, Squall picked up on the thread of Seifer's mental call and followed it the way he had followed Rinoa's so many times. It was her sorceress abilities that had shown him, through their bond, how to work with magic the way he did now. And as Seifer was a fellow knight, at least, at one point, he and Squall had much the same air about them of pure, if second-hand, magic. Once Squall had found the thread of him, he was in Seifer's personal representation of Time Compression. Hell.

At least, it would have appeared hell for anyone other than Seifer himself. The ground was hard and rocky, and yet it flowed and moved like a bed of lava. The sky was made of fire, and jets of fire rose and fell around them. Seifer looked more than a little surprised to see Squall appear before him, and even a little happy.

'It would figure,' Squall thought to himself as he looked around, 'that Seifer would choose fire to represent this part of himself.' The two simply looked at each other for a few moments, Seifer's pride and Squall's silence keeping them locked together in silence.

Afterwards, they began talking. And while Squall assured Seifer that they could leave as soon as Squall could find a thread to the outside, having felt Rinoa do the same once before, it took quite a while before that chance ever arose. "Quite a while" in Time Compression can last thousands of years.

When they had finally escaped their fiery prison, Seifer had collapsed. It was very difficult for anyone to sustain an entire world based on their memories, and what lied in their heart- Squall would know first hand. It was draining, it was terrifying. And while the compression had stretched forever and for no time at all, it had taken it's toll and the already much weakened Seifer. His body was frail from the work and malnutrition that working for Ultimecia had provided him, his mind tired from the many ordeals he had faced. Squall carried the larger man in his arms, walking through Garden with soot on his clothes and sweat in his eyes, because Seifer had always been far more suited to flame than Squall. He took the other gunbladist to the Infirmary, walking through without answering any of Dr. Kadowaki's fast questions, and placed him on the bed.

And then, exhausted from his own travel and the use of reserved sorceress magic he had siphoned through his small link with Rinoa, he collapsed into a chair.

When they were both considerably "healthy" once again, they were nearly inseparable. Even though no one saw them speak for the first few months, they were always together. Squall pulled a few strings to get Seifer put back into the SeeD program, and even though his body was weakened almost immeasurably, Seifer aced the test without lifting Hyperion- he would merely call magics reserved for the highest-ranking fighters on the planet, and all challengers would fade away.

When Seifer responded to any of the other "orphanage gang," it was with his usual insults and sarcasm. However, when he and Squall spoke, it was usually softly, and with the deference of equals. And of course, that only made Zell more jealous.

As the time had gone by, weeks, months; their relationship had come to a head. Between Seifer's scathing replies to anything Zell said, and the way Seifer had "stolen" Squall from him, it was only a matter of time before Zell resorted to violence.

Which is why, when he entered the already-occupied dorm room, he didn't say anything to his fellow prisoner.

Everyone knew that Seifer didn't need to lift his gunblade any more. Now, magic was all that he needed to fight. But when Zell had lifted his fists, Seifer had lifted Hyperion. That alone was insulting. If Seifer had become such a magician now that he never needed his weapon, why did he use it against Zell? Why didn't he use his strongest magic? It was an insult! And now, neither of them had weapons, though Zell was willing to bet good gil that just because Cid had taken Seifer's known magic, that didn't mean Seifer didn't have some hidden somehow. He was a Sorceress' Knight, after all.

Zell unpacked in silence, trying hard not to look at the other prisoner laying on his back in the bed on the left, eyes closed, head pillowed by his arms. Zell couldn't help but wonder how they would survive.

***
Yay!

I like telling stories where not all anger is derived from sexual tension. Those stories are far too plentiful for me. And besides, Zell and Seifer have always gone at each other with weapons and words- I doubt they've had a *chance* to give each other the once over.

Um. I hope this didn't skip around too much. I was trying to do some back story, but I had to take away from Zell to do it, and so far he's been the character we're following. It was a really difficult thing to maneuver. >< Hope it turned out all right.

Anyways, thanks for all the reviews so far! I hope to receive more. And sorry this chapter was so long in coming. >< Poor singed Squall....


Lion