Protecting the Lion

Chapter Twenty
Unknown Danger

“Beautiful,” a husky voice uttered on the other end of the phone.

Governor Charles Fenrir furrowed his thick white brows. “Why did you want the direct feed so badly? What is this all about?” the old man asked. For ten years, he’d been in office as the Governor of Dollet, and in all those years he hadn’t had so much trouble as he had in this single night. Not even when the last war began and his city had been invaded.

The night before, he’d been roused with an emergency call from Balamb Garden and forced to call for a citywide evacuation. Then, only a short while after Commander Leonhart froze the onslaught of catastrophe, he received another call. His mind hadn’t even absorbed the entirety of all that had transgressed. His adrenaline had still been running, threatening to give an old man like himself a heart attack, when The Reaper called. An old man could only take so much.

As Governor, he answered to no person of higher position, since he was the highest authority in his state of running the government. However, this was no man he was speaking with. His heart had leapt into his throat when the caller identified himself. Quickly he’d scrambled to do as he’d been bid. He was again at a loss of what to think when he’d been ordered to upload the satellite recording of what had happened with the wave.

“You ask too many questions,” the deep voice replied.

Stirred from his musings, Fenrir jumped slightly in surprise. “Yes, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” The last thing he needed was to bring this man’s wrath down upon himself.

“Thank you Charles.”

“Not at all.” Fenrir ran a shaky hand through his head of white frizzy hair. He had much to do before the day ended. There was a whole city full of confused and frightened people.

The voice exhaled audibly. “So beautiful,” it exclaimed.

Confused, Fenrir commented, “I’m sorry?”

“Stunning, the way he moves,” was the only reply.

Frowning, Fenrir questioned the powerful man’s sanity, though he never let on to such thoughts. “Are you watching the video?” By all means their conversation should be over, but he couldn’t very well hang up without the go ahead.

“I must have him.”

Fenrir opened his mouth to voice his confusion when his office doors suddenly burst open. “Hey!” he cried out. He was paralyzed with shock as a woman dressed from head to toe in black stalked in. The woman, whose face he couldn’t even see behind the high collar and low riding hat, was the last image he ever saw.

While the phone clattered to the desk, the man on the other end listened to the gunshots and grinned. In silence he waited. When he heard the phone being hung up, he knew the job was finished. Fenrir was an old sod unfit for office anyway, he was doing Dollet a favor.

This man, known as The Reaper, continued to grin as he shut his cell phone. The room he sat in was dark, except for the lone screen hung on the wall before him. The screen held a paused image of his favorite little lion. The brunet was fighting stubbornly to aide the Ice Queen. Such a pained expression on that delicate and perfect face. It would seem his lion had gone through quite the struggle.

His mind filled with the different expressions he’d make the young man have. Pain, lust, want, need, and ecstasy. He’d make the lovely creature feel them all.

“Beautiful,” he muttered again, shifting as the bulge in his pants became too uncomfortable.

**

Briefly, Squall opened his eyes before shutting them again. The light was unbearable. For that matter, so was the pounding in his head and the sharp stinging in his fingers. He’d never woken up before and had a migraine. Now he wished he could go to sleep and wait out the pain in his skull.

Keeping his eyes shut he flexed his hand, working blood to his fingers. It was then a warm hand grasped one of his. Instinctively, his eyes opened, but he regretted the movement with a painful groan. His headache flared and he could see lights flash even with his lids closed.

“What’s wrong?” It was the familiar voice of Seifer with an unfamiliar tone of worry.

“Cut the lights,” Squall ordered, turning and smothering his face in a pillow. The blonde complied swiftly, dropping his hand. He could hear the knight’s footsteps retreating before the world dimmed with wonderful darkness.

It was few minutes before the nausea and flashing subsided. During that time, he’d curled up slightly and remained as still as possible. He was most thankful that Seifer kept silent.

When he finally did open his eyes to the dimmed area, he was surprised to see a vacant chair by the bed he was in. Looking futilely around the small space, which consisted of three walls and a partially drawn curtain, he found no blonde knight.

Mentally he scoffed. It figured the only way Seifer could only keep his mouth closed was when he wasn’t there to speak.

Looking at his hand he flexed it again. It wasn’t a painful sensation necessarily, just odd. The nerves in his skin didn’t seem to be responding so well. His sense of temperature was dulled.

For a moment, he was confused by being back at Balamb. After concentrating, most of it came back to him. There had been the beach, running on the coarse sand and wanting to move faster to the water’s edge. The dark water that slowly covered the starry sky. And then there had been Shiva’s forest with snow. He had summoned and waited with rising fear. Inside that world he had no way of knowing what was happening in his reality. After he had waited longer than usual, he’d begun to feel the cold seep in, as it never had before. While dreaming and visiting with Shiva, or while summoning previously in battle, the snowy world had never affected him with its low temperature and chilling winds.

It hadn’t been long before he was digging snow from the trunk of a tree and furrowing near the bark and trying to keep warm. It had felt like an eternity. But, then he’d returned suddenly, just like in a normal summoning. However, Shiva was still beside him. He didn’t have the time to question how it was possible. He could see ice flying nearby, chunks sliding dangerously close while crunching sounds filled his ears. Shiva seemed to be attacking again and as soon as she began to draw energy he had felt cripplingly weak. He hadn’t been ready for it and fell to his knees. Seeing the solemn look on her face, he’d done the only thing he could think to do, which was to help her out. Stocked to the brim with Blizzagas, he just started to cast left and right. He wasn’t able to get many out before everything went dark. That was undoubtedly when he’d passed out.

Scornfully, he threw the blankets back. If he’d been in better condition he would have been able to last longer. He wasn’t sure whom he was angry at, since he only had himself to blame, but he was angry nonetheless.

The curtain rustled aside. “Lay your ass back down Leonhart,” Seifer commanded. Pushing the curtain all the way back he revealed Dr. Kadowaki just behind him.

“I’m fine,” Squall grumbled, making to stand up.

The action had been a huge mistake. Between the head rush and increased tempo of the drumming in his head, Squall saw dark spots. Gripping the back of the chair that was nearby, he tried to steady himself.

Striding forward, Seifer pulled Squall to him before the brunet could stumble and fall down. “Don’t make me get legal on you now. Lay down and stay put,” he whispered into the stubborn fighter’s ear.

Pulling back as much as he could within the blonde’s arms, Squall glared up into green eyes. “Legal?” he questioned.

Grinning broadly and returning the smaller man’s glare, Seifer replied, “Trepe had a few sketchy sections in that contract. If it concerns your health and well being, I call the shots.” When those gray-blue eyes narrowed dangerously he added, “You can argue all you like, but you signed the paper, and right now I’m telling you to lay back down,” he paused for a moment, “So, lay back down.”

Clenching his jaw, Squall restrained his desire to lash out. Lionheart wasn’t holstered anyway, which was another matter of concern. “My blade?” he asked with a tone that was dangerously low.

“Oh, did I anger the kitten that much?” Seifer goaded.

Making a noise that was very near a growl, Squall tried to shove back, but his attempts were easily thwarted within the blonde’s hold.

“Please,” Seifer spoke earnestly, “For once, just listen to me.”

Squall eased up for a moment, more for lack of strength than relent. He stared into Seifer’s eyes. Frowning, he found the serious concern within those jade depths to be troublesome. “I’m fine,” he reassured again. Seifer was really worried about him, and it sort of threw his whole angry mood off kilter.

“So you say, but let me be sure.” Pleadingly he regarded the brunet.

Breaking their gaze, Squall turned his face away and frowned at the wall. “Whatever,” he eventually spoke softly. He winced slightly at his continued migraine.

Gently Seifer ruffled the brunet’s hair, noting how the delicate features of Squall’s pale face contorted in pain. The look was gone quickly though. “Your head hurts?”

“Just a migraine,” Squall replied.

Moving his arms away and gripping the brunet’s slim shoulders, Seifer pushed back a little. “Sit back down.”

Still standing by the opening, Dr. Kadowaki felt strangely out of place. It was as if she didn’t belong there when the two rivals exchanged words. Briskly, she walked forward as soon as the Commander was sitting on the edge of the bed. From her lab coat pocket she pulled a small white container. Setting her bag down she reached in for a small plastic pouch of liquid. Handing both to Squall, she waited.

The Commander didn’t seem to have any trouble with his motor skills while opening the container for his migraine pills or opening the electrolyte water pouch.

Squall popped a couple pills into his mouth, willing them to work instantly, and took a sip of the water. His throat was parched, but other than that he didn’t feel dehydrated. As the doctor took his blood pressure he asked, “When will I be discharged?”

“A few days of rest would do you good,” the older woman responded, listening with her stethoscope pressed against a pale arm.

“I don’t have a few days to spare,” Squall replied immediately.

“You haven’t suffered any major damage from hypothermia, but even before that you were in poor condition. Malnourishment and exhaustion. I’d say a few days rest and a better diet, but I know you won’t listen.” Sighing, she stood up and packed her equipment back up. “You never listen.” Looking briefly for some sign of remorse or resignation, she shook her head. “I’d say stay until tomorrow at least, but I know you won’t settle for anything less than right now.” Huffing with indignation, she stood up straight and turned to the blonde. “If you can, get him to rest today.” With that she left the two alone. It was frustrating to deal with either of the pair. And in all the time that had passed, nothing had changed.

“Stubborn fool,” Seifer chastised Squall as Kadowaki walked from sight.

“That missile came from Esthar, I don’t have the time to rest.” Squall rubbed his temples soothingly.

The blonde’s eyes widened. “What?” he asked incredulously.

“Heh” The brunet shook his head slightly while rubbing his tired eyes. “This is going to be hell,” he murmured quietly. Just a day after he signed an alliance agreement with Esthar and they send a missile to Dollet. There was no excuse that would get him out of this one.

“Are you sure?” Seifer asked, wondering when Squall had discovered this.

“Pretty sure. It wasn’t one of ours, and Trabia is far from operational. That only leaves Esthar,” he answered while raising his head to look at Seifer.

“Galbadia,” the knight suggested.

Squall shook his head, stopping abruptly. He really had to stop doing that. Cursing silently at the throbbing of his head, he explained, “It detonated early, not late. Besides, we would have heard it over head before it reached the water.”

“You don’t know for sure. I mean, we didn’t hear it coming at all,” Seifer reasoned.

Placing his hands on the mattress, Squall readied himself to stand back up. “Then call it a hunch. It’s just my luck that something like this would happen.” In his gut he knew it came from Esthar.

Wrapping an arm around Squall’s lower back, he helped the brunet stand up. “Yeah, well, that’s what you get for having that cat of yours around.”

“Careful,” Squall warned with underlying mirth. “I’m beginning to like Gabriel.”

“Beginning? Why have it in the first place if you didn’t like it?” the blonde asked, walking slowly forward with the brunet at his side.

Squall answered evenly, “Rinoa found Gabriel in Timber. He isn’t my cat.”

Seifer’s eyes narrowed suddenly in serious thought. “Did you love her?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. Mentally he cringed as he felt Squall’s body stiffen in his hold.

Standing straight, Squall kept his eyes trained forward. He was a little embarrassed at the obvious conclusion he’d come to regarding his recently ended relationship with Rinoa. Biting the bullet, he admitted, “I thought I did, at least I thought I was in love….” he trailed off as he steeled himself to say the last bit, “I don’t know what it is to be in love, I was confused.”

As Squall’s words set in, Seifer felt his mouth open slightly. The pale man was looking intensely forward and a very faint blush dusked those smooth cheeks. The brunet was embarrassed at his lack of experience. The demure admission was one of the most endearing things he’d ever heard. Unable to stop himself, Seifer reached out and turned Squall’s pretty little face towards to the side, facing him. Leaning down he pressed his lips against the brunet’s. Knowing he couldn’t start anything with the younger man in such a condition, Seifer mumbled his words against those soft lips, “Do you have any idea how cute you are?”

Not pulling back from the blonde’s kiss, Squall wondered what Seifer had in mind. Then it suddenly occurred to him that they were standing in the middle of the Infirmary where anyone could waltz in. “Do you have any idea how close you are to a painful death?” Squall hissed back.

Soft chuckling filled the air as Seifer pulled back. A simple kiss was far from quenching his thirst, so to speak, but it would have to suffice. Then again, if he was to be around the brunet all day he could grope the weary man to no end. A playful smirk crossed his face as he resumed their walking. The faster they reached the apartment, the sooner he could have some fun.

“Where’s Lionheart?” Squall asked as the doors swished open.

“It was on Ragnarok, but I asked Tilmitt to take care of it a bit ago, so I’d imagine it’s in your room.”

As the doors closed behind them, Squall could hear the usual bustling of the Garden. A quick glance at his watch told him it was seven. ‘Great,’ he thought with dread. Just in time for the students to be finishing their breakfast and heading off to class. Before they moved out into the open, Seifer held him back. Quirking a brow questioningly, he waited for the blonde to explain his actions.

Looking apologetically at Squall, he said, “I should warn you, that little stunt you pulled earned another year worth of muckrakers and fangirls.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose he wondered whether he’d ever be able to live a quiet life of solitude. “Wait ‘til they hear about Esthar,” he replied cynically.

Seifer hummed in agreement while motioning for Squall to wait in place a moment. The brunet defiantly stood on his own. Rolling his eyes, Seifer moved along the corridor towards the gushing sound of water. Nearing the fountain, he stepped from the secluded hallway and into the circular domed room that each main room was branched off from. There were indeed many students and young cadets mulling about, mainly near the cafeteria, which was unfortunately close by.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Squall thought. He wasn’t afraid to walk around in his own Garden. Biting his lip against the pounding in his head as the sounds intensified, he strode forth to meet Seifer. The blonde turned unexpectedly and moved back to his side. “No, I can walk fine.” Squall shook the knight’s hold off.

Frowning, Seifer let the stubborn man have his way and opted to walk closely beside him instead.

As expected, every set of eyes turned their way. The chattering died down only to be replaced with not so hushed whispers.

Groaning, Squall easily ignored the attention and focused his mind on keeping each step balanced. The walk was short, and soon they were standing outside the elevator.

“Commander!” a voice shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

Both of them turned to see who was calling. It was Rui, with his dark hair looking unkempt and a blanched look of worry on his youthful face. In a quick blur, the boy sprinted up the stairs and leapt forward at Squall. Easily intervening, Seifer caught the thief and swung him away from Squall.

“Ah, brute! Let go!” Rui yelled in defiance. The sorceress’ knight was holding him aloft like he was a baby in need of a diaper change. Wriggling frantically, he managed to escape the man’s grasp and land on the ground. “Commander!” he cried again, moving forward.

Seifer thwarted the thief’s attempt again, this time with one arm. He looked to Squall for concession to throw the kid down the stairs, but the brunet simply shrugged his shoulders innocently. Frowning Seifer felt a little angry that Squall didn’t seem as opposed to the kid’s actions as he thought he would be. “Fine,” he grumbled, releasing Rui.

Once released, Rui pitched forward and wrapped his arms around the Commander’s lean torso.

Seifer almost laughed at the wide-eyed and flustered expression that crossed Squall’s face. It seemed the brunet was slow on the uptake and hadn’t been expecting that. His anger melted away as he realized that the pretty boy hadn’t known what the thief would do.

“Uh, Rui….” Squall trailed off feeling terribly awkward and more than embarrassed as everyone within sight froze to stare.

“I heard what happened and I was worried,” the dark haired boy explained with his face pressed against the Commander’s chest.

The elevator dinged open at that moment, and Seifer ushered the pair in. Rui was effectively glued to Squall, who was rendered helpless in such a rare instance.

Furrowing his brows, Squall fought to reason out the right thing to do. No one would ever have dared to hug him like this, except maybe Seifer or Selphie… or Laguna. He’d never had to deal with little kids or anyone younger than himself. Even after he’d stepped back, Rui walked with him, never easing up on the vise grip.

Finally, Squall came to the conclusion that Rui wasn’t going to let go unless he gave the boy some sort of consolation. “I’m fine,” he stated while hesitantly patting the dark hair atop the boy’s head.

The only response was a muffled question, “Do you promise?”

“He’s still recovering you little thief, so back off before you make it worse,” Seifer growled, folding his arms in an intimidating manner.

This seemed to work, at least to remove Rui from Squall, since the kid backed away and stuck his tongue out at Seifer. Turning his contorted expression of annoyance from the knight, Rui looked up at Squall.

“I’m going to become a SeeD,” he stated proudly, as if the fact would help heal Squall instantly.

Squall couldn’t help but chuckle at the annoyed expression on Seifer’s face. It seemed that Rui affected Seifer just as the blonde had affected Squall when they were still cadets. “Is that so?” he asked with as much good nature as he could muster under the slightly straining condition he was in. “I’m glad to hear that.” He even offered a small smile.

Seifer watched with, as the thief’s eyes glazed over with what could only be adoration for the brunet. He kept his arms folded, but now it was more for a pout than intimidation.


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