Fatality IV: Open Wounds

Disclaimer: The characters and places still belong to Square Enix, not me. And the song is Skillet’s. I just like it a lot.

A/N: There will be het in this chapter. Some people are bothered by that; if you are one, go away. There’s also mild violence.

I would rather rot alone
Than spend a minute with you
~ Skillet – Open Wounds
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We both stop when we hear the voice – Rinoa’s – and I try to get out from underneath Seifer. I’m sore, bleeding from my face and side, and confused about what happened moments ago. I can’t fight him anymore without risking serious injury.

A sharp kick to his side sends him sprawling and gives me the time to get to my knees and fix my pants, but he knocks me down again before I can go towards her. Seifer’s elbow digs into the middle of my back while I reach out for Lionheart. Don’t wanna keep on fighting him, I wanna see why Rinoa’s here, but I don’t have too much of a choice.

Before he can do anything else to me, I feel the same kind of twinge that I’d noticed at Irvine’s grave earlier, hear a sizzle, and feel my rival fall off me and onto the beach.

“I didn’t want to do that to you, Seifer, but I didn’t have a choice.” Rinoa hates having to using her powers to do anything bad to people. I’m thankful she did this time, though.

She steps closer to us, so I grab onto her for support and stand up, legs wobbly as I once again become aware of how much my side hurts, how much blood has my shirt stuck to my side. And I’m unusually tired – like a Drain spell has sapped most of what energy I had before all of this. It’s too much for my mind and body to take. Rinoa’s attempt at bringing Irvine back, the short conversation and kiss, Hyne’s words, the whole Seifer incident. I wish parts of it weren’t real.

My knees crumple beneath me and I see first stars, then blackness, the instant I try to walk away with her supporting me.

Seifer’s body, with Ultimecia’s transparent body behind him, no, in him. My own body, brushing up against that dual figure and making her laugh maniacally as a non-corporeal hands reaches out and plunges into my heart. White-hot pain shoots through my veins, but nothing comes out when I try to scream.

I can only watch as he laughs at my agony, whispers in Rinoa’s ear, wraps his arms around her waist, and smirks the same predatory look I used to see on his face before sparring me. He wants to win something, but what? If he wants her, I’ll make sure that never happens.

The ground gives out beneath me while everything dissolves into swirled bright colors and more pain. Ultimecia’s laugh rings in my ears, Lionheart appears in my hands, and I slash out at the vague figure near me, hoping that it’s her and that I can get rid of this blinding hurt. But when the shapes become clearer, it’s Rinoa’s body that I see in a bleeding heap at my feet.

I sit up, gasping and shaking while the images from that dream refuse to fade away, especially the last one. I killed Rinoa. And even though it was a dream, the thought of doing anything like that to her makes me sick.

It only takes a moment to figure out that I’m sitting in the Infirmary. After collapsing like that, where else would they take me? But where did they take Seifer? They better have him locked up in a holding cell so the fucker can’t get out and keep killing people. The mayor of FH said we could take care of him as we saw fit, though he wouldn’t look very highly on Garden if it imposed the death penalty.

I don’t want Seifer to die. I don’t know where those earlier thoughts came from. I want him to sit and suffer for the rest of his damned life.

The sound of the door opening startles me and I jump a little, looking up to see who’s there. Laguna. Not really at the top of the list of “people I want to see”, but he’s certainly better than nobody.

“You’re finally up. Been waitin’ with Quistis and Rinoa for a few hours now. Had us all worried,” he says with a relieved smile on his face as he takes a seat on the other side of the small room.

A few hours? That dream felt like it only took minutes to whip across my brain and scare the hell out of me. I’m still shaking a little from the thought of it and my eyes widen when I feel arms wrap around me lightly. Laguna’s hugging me and right now, that friendly touch is enough to help calm me down.

After a long silent moment, I take a slow breath and look at him, hoping the words don’t stick in my throat. “When I was out, I dreamt that I killed Rinoa…among other unpleasant images.” He doesn’t need to know what exactly went on between me and Seifer on the beach. If Rinoa couldn’t see enough to tell everyone, I’ll keep it to myself as long as I can. Nobody needs to know that I wasn’t in complete control of my body.

He runs his hands across my back lightly, still being the reassuring parental figure. “Rinoa’s just fine, Squall. She helped keep you stable while Kadowaki worked on your side. Damn lucky nothing vital got hit. Oh, and your face is gonna be pretty bruised for a while. They didn’t want to risk overloading you on healing magic to clear everything up.”

I’m alive and Rinoa’s safe right now, so I don’t care about how much my face is hurting. Bruises are nothing compared to what else I’ve dealt with.

Laguna pulls back from his hold after another silent moment. “They decided to just throw away your clothes because of how much blood was on them. But I got you some other things from your room. Just ask Kadowaki for them.”

Before he can touch the knob, I ask softly, “Where’s Seifer?”

“Quistis and Xu took care of having him minimally healed and locked up somewhere. I think Rinoa just left to talk to him,” he says simply, then steps out and leaves me alone in the room again.

Rinoa talking to Seifer isn’t a good idea. He’s dangerous and she’d be dead before she could even think of using her powers for self-defense. I’ll be able to tell if she’s in trouble, but I want to check on them so that prospect can’t even become reality.

Kadowaki insists on looking me over before giving me the clothes Laguna left me. I comply and let her examine the nearly-healed stab wound on my side; a quick Regen spell ensures that it’ll be nearly gone shortly and will also help my face.

When I look in the mirror, I decide that I’m not seeing more people than I have to until it’s safe to use a Cura or two. Both of my lips are swollen from being split open, my right cheek is bruised nearly black, there’s a small, stitched cut beneath my left eye, and my throat bears purple-blue finger marks. Seifer got me worse than I thought at the time.

The clean clothes – boxers, loose jeans, and a T-shirt reading “I’m not antisocial, I just don’t like you” that Zell felt I needed to own – are comfortable enough to not rub against any of the places my body still aches. I mentally thank Laguna for that before I go in search of Rinoa and Seifer.

There are only a few places that are secure enough for an unrestrained Seifer to be kept without us having to worry about him breaking out, so it won’t take me too long. I know he’s not in the Infirmary’s padded cell, though he might end up there if he starts self-destructing. And it only takes a moment of looking at security cameras to confirm that he’s not in any of the unused windowless classrooms.

That leaves only one place. I make sure that Lionheart’s at my hip, Shiva’s in my head, and that I have a decent supply of magic to use in case he wants to hurt me again. This time, I’m not even trying to play fair against him. If he tries to hurt either Rinoa or me, he’ll end up regretting it. I don’t look at or say anything to anyone as I stroll towards the weapons rooms we converted into holding cells when it became apparent that SeeD would have to serve as a neutral area for prisoner exchange between Galbadia and everywhere they invaded during Ultimecia’s reign.

I decide to take a moment to look through the observation window before stepping in. If everything looks good, I’ll just look and listen in on them. But if it looks like Rinoa’s in any kind of danger, I’m going in to break things up.

Nothing could prepare me for what I see when I enter the connecting room and look in at them.

They’re against the wall, Rinoa’s shirt halfway unbuttoned, her eyes mostly closed, and her arms wrapped around Seifer’s back as he kisses her neck and holds her hips. I can’t make myself look away, even though I have to sit down so my legs don’t get wobbly from the absurdity of the sight. What in the hell is going on? I know they were together for a summer and that Rinoa used to think she loved him, but he’s a murderer now; not the cocky student he was then.

As I keep watching, her shirt falls to the floor and her bra follows shortly after. I don’t want to be watching Seifer nibbling her breasts or Rinoa weaving her fingers through his hair. What’s even worse is having to hear their heavy breathing and her small moans. I almost want this to look more like rape so that I’d have a good excuse to walk in and pry him off of her. But she’s not fighting back; I’ve got no reason to do anything other than leave and come back later.

That is, if I were anyone other than her knight.

Another look in at them shows me that Seifer’s now missing his shirt, letting me see the bruises and healing cut I gave him earlier, and he’s working on Rinoa’s pants. Anger at some other knight, especially a failed one, touching my sorceress mixed with a twisted form of arousal and pleasure that the one I’m bound to is enjoying herself flow through me and I pound my fist against the wall, forcing the anger to come out on top.

It takes an amazing amount of willpower to remove Lionheart and set the blade aside before opening the door to the holding cell. They both notice me almost at once, Seifer glaring while Rinoa just looks at me, not even bothering to grab for her shirt. It’s not like I haven’t seen her naked before, but her lack of embarrassment is a surprise. The buzzing from earlier is back, quietly starting in the corner of my mind, and I grumble under my breath at it as I look at them both.

“Explain. The only person I hate was going to enjoy himself with the person I’m bound to protect and defend. I could understand Seifer trying something to piss me off, but Rinoa, I can’t see why you’d let that happen.”

She looks up at me, a bit of hair in her eyes from the way her head’s tilted, and shakes her head slowly. “I don’t know what happened, Squall. I came in here, ready to turn him into a giant ice statue or something for what he did to Irvine before and you today. He looked at me and started talking about needing to try and prove something. Then he kissed me and it was like I couldn’t have denied him even though I wanted to. I couldn’t really control myself and I started enjoying it. Well, my mind was hating every moment of it but my body was liking it.”

I listen, now even more confused than I was earlier. Seifer’s just looking at both of us, an unreadable look on his face. Both of the people that have gotten in close contact with him today have started acting strange. Does he know what’s going on? If he knows, will he tell us?

As soon as she gets her shirt and bra back on, she moves over towards me and holds my hand tightly, which makes the buzzing stop. I still haven’t completely figured out how us being bonded as sorceress and knight works out, but right now, it seems to be keeping us from whatever is going on with Seifer.

“Prove what, Almasy? You better have answers for what’s gone on today. I wasn’t exactly myself during that fight earlier and now Rinoa’s had a similar experience,” I nearly growl at him as my hand moves to wrap around her waist because she’s trembling slightly.

He starts snickering, which turns into outright maniacal laughter after several moments. I’m not completely sure what’s going on with him, but I’m not going to risk having another one of those abnormally malicious moments by touching him.

Instead, he’s the one that touches me. He springs from his place on the ground, knocking Rinoa to the side, and I hear the buzzing again as he glares down into my eyes, both wrists firmly in his grip, and presses his hips against mine. Seifer’s voice is almost pained when he whispers roughly in my ear, “Even though it’s none of your damn business, Puberty Boy, I needed to prove that girls could still turn me on as much as you always have. That’s all you’re gettin' from me.”

My eyes widen as I hear that. I stomp on his instep and bring my knee up into his groin the instant he relaxes a little, wanting to get free so I can check on Rinoa. He swears, doubles over, and backs off enough to let me get away. Rinoa’s on the other side of the room, looking less than pleased, and an unseen hand slaps my already bruised cheek. I can hear Seifer hiss at the same time as I do.

“Can’t you two stop trying to kill each other for a few minutes? Squall, I know he killed Irvine and you have every right to be mad about that. But even if he gets put to death, you won’t be the one to carry it out. And Seifer, get your head in the present. Ultimecia’s dead. You can’t change that by getting revenge on the people that did it. If we’re going to figure out what’s going on, you boys will have to call a truce.”

I’m not sure how she knows that’s what Seifer’s intentions are, but I can trust her words because she’s speaking with the stronger voice I’d heard earlier at the graveyard and that means it’s probably Hyne talking, not Rinoa. As much as I don’t want to make a truce with Seifer, it’s the only option that doesn’t have us constantly trying to kill each other as a future certainty.

Surprisingly, his is the first hand to extend. Seifer’s glaring at both of us, but there’s something unreadable in his gaze, different from the anger and hatred I’ve seen all day. I’m not going to wait for a name to come to it, though, so I shake it slowly.

After Rinoa looks satisfied, I step out of the room with her; again keeping one arm firmly wrapped around her waist to reassure her that whatever happened is over and that I’m here to keep her safe.

Rinoa rests her head on my chest and stretches her arms around my shoulders, her muscles still a little shaky under my touch. “I saw what you did to him on the beach earlier. And I knew even before you said anything that you weren’t really the one doing that. There are some things you really aren’t capable of, but he is. It was like you acted like him and Seifer was acting like you would have before things changed,” she whispers.

“Sounds about right. But it doesn’t make any more sense of what happened when he got close to you. Don’t let him touch or come near you again, at least not unless I’m around to keep you safe.” I know that Rinoa loves me, I know she knows that my heart is elsewhere, but right now, all I can think about is trying to make her feel safe and getting what happened with Seifer out of her mind.

I kiss her gently and smile inwardly as I feel the trembling almost instantly stop. Her hair brushes against my neck when I kiss her again and she returns it lightly, one hand sliding up to the back of my head to hold me closer and make it last longer.

It’s been a couple of months since I kissed anyone and nearly five since I did this with Rinoa. But it’s nice to have her against me right now, warm lips pressing against mine while my tongue brushes across the slight gap between them. Her breasts are soft against my chest; completely different from the way Irvine’s ghost felt just this morning. No, no thinking about that right now. This isn’t even about me; it’s about helping her relax.

She pulls back, takes a slow breath, and smiles at me while fingertips ghost across the back of my neck. “You don’t need to do anything if you’re still thinking about him,” Rinoa whispers as she kisses the hollow of my throat. I can feel just how relaxed against me she is. I’m sure she can notice as well as I can that I wasn’t completely unaffected by that simple kiss. And I can almost hear Irvine inside my mind, telling me to just go for it, act instead of think.

“Irvine’s probably looking at this and cheering me on. I just want you to relax, Rinoa, and it looks like this is helping,” I whisper back and start walking with her towards the dorms after kissing just below her earlobe, which makes her sigh softly.

The walk takes longer than it usually would because we keep pausing for slow kisses. I care about Rinoa, I want nothing more than for her to be happy and safe, but it’s not the same kind of caring I had for Irvine and I’m sure she knows that. But we can talk about it in the morning. Right now’s not the time for talking.

Once we reach my room and lock the door behind us, I hold her against me, just stroking her hair and back for a moment before kissing along her neck. When I get to her earlobe and suck on it, she whimpers softly and lets her head fall to the side. Even though it’s been a while, I can still remember just what to do to make her feel good. I nip the bit of skin between my teeth, which makes her get a little louder, then begin to undo the buttons of her shirt, exposing the soft skin of her chest.

She tugs my shirt over my head and drops it on the floor before kissing me again. It’s still gentle, so I just make it deeper as I slide her shirt off and run my fingertips up her spine, feeling each little bump on my way towards the clasp of her bra. I don’t undo it right away, though; I’m too busy focusing on every little sensation that I haven’t experienced in what part of my anatomy thinks has been too long.

“You don’t have to go so slowly, Squall. Just do what you feel like doing,” Rinoa says with a small sigh when we again pull back to catch our breath.

I just nod before I kiss her chest and rest my hands on her hips, gasping when one of her hands rests on my ass and she rocks against me. I can’t help but rock back, which makes us both groan before she steps back, takes her bra, pants, and underwear off, and lies on the bed.

The sight of her lying there is enough to make my erection get even more noticeable and I get on top of her a moment after I see the hard to read mix of emotions in her eyes. She reaches for my zipper, but I shake my head and kiss her once more so that she can’t complain about me not wanting to get anything from this.

Our chests rest against each other when I lower myself and she sighs into my mouth at the contact of skin on skin, better this time because of her nudity. I shift my weight a little to make supporting myself with one arm easier and run my other hand across her slender hip and down towards the dark curls between her legs.

Rinoa lets her legs fall apart a bit, smiles at me with her eyes half-shut, and gasps a little at the first touch of my fingers against her wetness. I groan as well as memories of past times come back to better remind me of just what she likes and my lips rest on her collarbone before I slide my thumb across her clit a couple of times and slowly push two fingers inside her.

She rocks up against my hand in time with my careful actions, brown eyes completely closed now, and squeaks when I press against that sensitive spot a little firmer than before. It makes me chuckle and move my fingers a little faster at her barely spoken encouragement. I can feel the faint tingle of magic around us both, but it’s nothing unusual because it’s happened before at times like this. I think she said once that it’s a sign of her not being able to think enough to prevent anything odd from happening.

It gets harder to deny my own desire for more the longer I keep making her feel good. Her hips rock sharply into my touch now and the muscles around my fingers tighten up a bit, making me groan again. “Squa-ll…please….” Rinoa whimpers when I start sucking at one nipple and squeaks again the instant before I feel her orgasm. She arches up and trembles while I keep stroking her clit gently, not letting up until she’s stopped and lies there, panting and smiling at me.

We kiss yet again while I wipe my hand off on the sheets. I’m not expecting her to reach down and undo my fly, but she does just that, tugging my jeans and boxers down to around my knees.

“Told you, Rinoa. Just wanted you to feel good and relax. I don’t need you,” I whisper, breath hitching when her soft hand wraps around my cock and starts stroking it.

“But you want me, Squall, and I don’t want you denying yourself anything,” she says with a smile. She knows she’s right and it’s just a matter of time before I give in. It doesn’t take long, just another few motions of her hand, before I playfully sigh, quickly look through my nightstand drawer, clumsily open and roll on the condom I find there, and carefully rock into her.

I’ve almost forgotten what this feels like, so completely different from being inside a guy and yet there’s that same feeling of being surrounded by warmth. I groan under my breath a few times as her arms wrap around my shoulders and we begin moving at almost the same pace without having to say a word to each other. At some level, we’re always in each other’s minds, able to pick up on little things silently. I really like it at times like this so we don’t have to ruin anything by speaking.

All I can think about is the sound of her little moans, the feeling of her body around me, and the way it makes me rock my hips over and over, no worries in my mind. I get the feeling that having Rinoa will always be an option as long as we’re bound to each other and that makes me smile against her neck as I get faster. She wraps locks of my hair around her fingers and tugs lightly, which makes me wince a little but I get the point and thrust harder, giving in to both her silent demand and my body’s own wishes.

And I wish I could last longer, but months of abstinence mean that it doesn’t take long for me to reach my own completion, her name on my lips as I come inside the condom. Sorceresses are supposed to be able to control if and when they get pregnant, but I don’t want to put that theory to the test anytime soon.

After my head stops spinning and I stop panting, I pull out, toss the rubber into the trash, move under the soft covers, and hold her against me lightly. We’ve got a lot to think and talk about when morning comes, but right now, we both need sleep.
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A/N: *Headwall* I wrote NC-17 het. *Headwall* I wrote Squall/Rinoa. I once thought I’d never write either of those. Oh well, there’s a first time for everything.