Unrequited

[Seifer]

Hn, so Squall wanted him here. Well it wasn't love but it better then nothin-

Wait, love!? Where the fuck did that come from!? He must've been hit harder then he thought.

Love. He wasn't in love with Squall...right? Hyne he almost sounded like Rinoa; he was thinking like a chick. No, he wasn't in love, he was...what was the expression again? Oh yeah, he had fallen in lust. He just wanted to bang Squall, feel the lithe brunet withering beneath him crying out his name as he-

"SEIFER!" A Shrill voice shocked him out of his thoughts and partially out of his bed. Hissing in pain, he welcomed the pair of hands that carefully eased him back in his somewhat agreeable position. Giving him a sympathetic look, Selphie stepped back and allowed his dream-boy's girlfriend to rush forward.

"OhmyHyneseiferareyouok!?" Rinoa's splitting whine (because everything that came out of that surprisingly small mouth was a whine) bore into his already pounding head and made him wonder just what he had done to deserve this.

Oh yeah, the war.

Sighing in defeat, he allowed the drama queen to fuss over him, jostling his broken body in an attempt to make him more comfortable. And here I thought she still hated me, wait maybe she does. That would explain her sudden motherly edge, oh that and the elbow that his body conveniently seemed to get in the way of.

"Once we heard about what happened, we came straight here, didn't even finish eating, nope came right here." With a half-hearted attempt at fluffing his pillow, she shoved him back down. "Oh, the-"

"Rinoa, why don't you go see how Squall's doing, I think he went to his of- uh I mean room." Selphie interjected, lightly pushing the sorceress away and not so subtlety towards the door. Seemingly uninsulted by the sudden dismissal, she nodded and left the two alone. Finally able to relax, Seifer wondered what he would do without his hyperactive angel. With Rajin and Fujin gone -working in Deling now- she had become one of his closest friends at Garden. Always keeping him company, she was part of the reason he hadn't already transferred out of here. With the news out now and no interdiction on her part, he wondered if she realized he was serious about it.

"Oh Seify, she really doesn't like you today." Patting his head lightly, she busied herself with fixing the mess the ditsy sorceress had made. Straightening his blanket, she touched on his wandering thoughts. "You're not actually considering a transfer, are you?"

Lifting his head up, he waited patiently as she re-adjusted his pillows. "I don't know. After all this maybe..uh..." Catching a warning glare from the brunet, he gave her a small smirk. "I mean, how could I think about leaving, with such a wonderful girl like you pampering me here."

Rolling her eyes, she shot him a relieved look. "Yeah, yeah. Leave the sappy sentiments to Irvine."

His retort was interrupted by Dr. Kadowaki and what (thankfully) appeared too be a high potion. Grinning, he realized he'd have to thank Squall for that later. Following closely behind the doctor was a student nurse and a tray full of medical supplies. At what was going to be an obvious dismissal, Seifer regarded his friend.

"Sel, you mind running to my dorm and grabbing me a change of clothes?" With a clear indication of disgust over his hospital gown, he waved her over to the plastic box containing his belongings. Nodding, she grabbed his key card and after giving him an consoling smile, left for his room. After she'd gone, Seifer immodestly stripped and resigned himself to an hour of prodding and whatever else the good doctor had in store for him.

[Selphie]

Slipping the small key card out of her pocket, Selphie drew it through the reader and entered the small SeeD dorm. Cringing at the mess, she concluded that, if anything, it was still cleaner then Irvine's. Moving around a half open box, she made her way to the over flowing closet. Pushing a dirty shirt and boxers out of the way, she was suddenly very glad that the three of them chose her dorm as he designated hang out.

Speaking of which, tomorrow was Friday; movie night. Every Friday, Seifer, Irvine and herself would mosey on down to Balamb and rent a few movies. Then they would spend the all night drinking and poking fun at them. It hurt that Seifer wouldn't be joining them this weekend; so far, none of them had really missed it. It was sacrilege to do so, even if they were sick they dragged themselves over. Except that one night when Irvine had the stomach flu, but that would've just been gross. Smiling, she recalled the cowboy actually trying to join in. Seifer picked him up, tossed him over his shoulder and carried him back to his room, keeping him there with threats of greasy pork sandwich's and hotdogs.

Slipping on... something silk, she deduced that, irregardless of past or personality, it would seem all men were incapable of using a hamper. Sifting through the clothes hanging in the closet, she grabbed a blue dress shirt and a pair of black pants.

Huh, wonder if he needs clean underwear too. Wandering to the small dresser and almost tripping over a pile of magazines, she blindly grabbed for a pair of boxers. Hyne, these had better be clean.

Glancing at the alarm clock, she saw it had only been ten minutes. Not wanting to spend the remaining time waiting in the hall, she went about straightening out the mess her friend lived in. Tossing the clothing onto the unmade bed, she started kicking the dirty clothes into a pile. Grabbing a candy wrapper off the ground, she went to toss it in the trash when an unopened envelope caught her eye. Picking it up, the only thing on it was some crude scribbling across the front that read 'Fucking Knight'. Immediately suspicious, she opened it. Eyes widening, she rushed out of the dorm and headed straight for the commanders office, completely forgetting about the clothes.

Squall and Quistis wanted proof that it was an attack, well they've got it. Stupid Seifer, why hadn't he said something. Oh, I'm going to kill him once he gets better.

[Squall]

Once he'd gotten to his office, his first priority, after calling Dr. Kadowaki, had been to investigate why no one had come to the blonds rescue. The training center was monitored 24/7 by security personal as a measure to keep fatalities to a minimum. If a student appears to be in danger, the SP's were to contact a SeeD immediately. The fact that no one had been contacted at all, even after Seifer had been there for hours was alarming. Alarming but unfortunately, hardly surprising. Few people had approved of the ex-knights return and although he had earned the respect of some of the older SeeDs, many of the students were still quite wary of him. But still, it hurt to know that they would disregard his life so casually. Unfortunately that also brought up the sensitive nature of this investigation. He would need someone with an unbiased or at least, positive view on the blond.

Irvine and Selphie are the only of his friends I'm aware of...

Reaching for the phone, he called Irvine away from his class.

Sitting back, he took a moment to sort his mind out. He wasn't entirely sure what it was that he felt for Seifer, but the feeling was overwhelming. It had hurt him more then he thought possible when the ex-knight had spoken about leaving; second only to the sneaking suspicion that it was his fault to begin with. Seifer had already left him twice before and even though the blond had come back, he didn't think he could handle loosing him again.

A quite knocking shook him out of his reverie.

"Come in."

The cowboys familiar hat caught his attention first, followed by the rest of him. Still dressed in the wild west outfit from the war, Irvine still kept an authoritative air about himself. Now in charge of the Marksmanship Training coarse, he had earned the awe and respect of most of Garden; along with that, he was a good friend of Seifer, making him the perfect candidate for the precarious investigation.

"You called?"

"Yes." Shuffling a few papers on his desk, he avoided the cowboy's eyes. "You've heard about the attack on Almasy?"

His expression turned grim, but otherwise, he maintained his composure. That was the main reason why he'd chosen Irvine. He retained a cool head despite the personal aspect of the problem.

"I have." Cocking his head at the commander, Squall had the distinct feeling that he was being studied. Uncomfortable and unsure under the man's gaze, he moved the briefing along.

"The circumstance of the attack is highly suspicious, requiring further investigation and I'm assigning you to the case." Handing the medical and unfinished incident report over, he allowed Irvine a moment to sift through the files. "The first order of business will be investigating the obvious problem that has arisen in security as well as obtaining any footage of the attack.

Irvine, this investigation is a P5-673 and thus will be kept under the table until the, if any, culprits have been identified and a punishment determined, understood?"

"Yes sir." Despite the lack of obvious emotion over the assignment, the use of formalities was enough proof that the man was upset. Feeling as though he should be offering some type of consolation, he struggled to find the right words for the situation.

"Irvine, I..." His voice faltered as someone knocked impatiently on the door. A short nod from him and Irvine opened the door to a red faced Selphie. Hardly sparing the cowboy a glance, she stomped over to his desk and slammed her hand down.

"Selphie, what-"

"It's proof Squall. Read it!" Huffing she moved her hand away to reveal a crumpled envelope and a letter. "I found it in Seifer's room."

A quick glance at the envelope told him all he needed to know about the contents of the letter. His eyes hardening, he grabbed the unlined paper and began to read.

'Fucking knight, you should have died. You shouldn't be here no one wants you here. For every kid you killed we'll make it a scar on your back. You might as well just kill yourself spare the pain but you're to much of a coward for that aren't you...'

The rest of the letter was much the same, but making it plain that this was not the first. A spark of anger and something infinitely darker flamed to life inside Squall. Although most was directed at the attackers, and even just the general populace of Garden, he held a small amount for the arrogant blond. The man knew something of the like was coming, yet he blatantly ignored the threats, not so much as mentioning it to anyone. Unable to handle the onslaught of emotions, he quickly shoved the paper at Irvine, before grabbing Lionheart and heading out of the oppressive office.

Stopping next to Irvine he hissed out, "Just find them," before storming off to the Training Center. In the back of his mind it occurred to him that he'd be able to spend his day just as he had planned. With a few setbacks.