A World Apart

Chapter 17

Welcome to the Family

Squall and Seifer walked slowly home along the darkened street. Seifer put his arm around Squall's shoulders urging his body closer to his. He hated the fact that he had played a part in upsetting Squall in the first place. Even though Squall said he was just defending himself, it did little to assuage the feeling of guilt he felt in the pit of his stomach.

Seifer knew that another confrontation was inevitable. Zell had already displayed his willingness to fight him, and he had to admit, the kick he had so expertly delivered to his chest had hurt a lot more than he was willing to let on. Given the right circumstances, if Zell were able to keep him at a distance, he might actually be able to kick his ass. Not that he would ever actually admit that out loud to the obnoxious blonde, or anyone else for that matter. He decided that it would be better to avoid physical confrontation at all costs. Less chance for humiliation on his part. So, he was left with only two options. He could either ignore the whole mess and let Squall deal with it, or he could get involved and try and talk it out. Neither option made him very happy.

Squall was furious. How could Zell do this? Choose? There could be no choosing. He loved Zell for his friendship and his courage to even try to be his friend, but asking him to leave Seifer just when everything seemed for once to be going his way was both cruel and unthinkable. He didn't want to think about it any more. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to go punch Zell straight in the face, just on principle. He had spent so much time agonizing over what he was enduring with Shane that he was blindsided by Zell. He had always thought that they would remain life long friends.

Squall let out a ragged sigh. This had all gone so wrong, so quickly. Better to just let it go for now and concentrate on what was right in front of him. Seifer.

Seifer's arm left Squall's shoulder causing his thoughts to shift back to the moment. They were standing outside his house. He let a small smile lift the corner of his mouth seeing Seifer's hesitation about just opening the door and walking in.

He looked up into Seifer's eyes. His smirk blossoming into a full blown smile. Leave him? He could no more leave him than cut out his own heart. He wrapped his arms around Seifer's waist and offered up his lips to the tall blonde.

Seifer couldn't help responding to Squall's silent request. His arms brought Squall in closer as he lowered his lips to the softness of Squall's. Nothing seemed more right than this one perfect moment. All thoughts of Zell and what he should do about him melted away as Squall's lips parted and his tongue met his own. Electricity hummed through his veins in a shocking display of desire as passion consumed every thought except one.

Squall broke the kiss reluctantly, and leaned his forehead against Seifer's, his eyes closing as the meaning of the phrase, kissed breathless, came to full understanding. He had always thought that particular phrase was construct of writers and poets, but now, having experienced it for himself, he couldn't help but wonder how much more of what they wrote about was true.

He fumbled with the doorknob and finally managed to open the door. His limbs didn't want to work. They felt as if they were made of somewhat less substantial stuff that quivered and quaked. Yet every nerve ending hummed with power, quickening his heartbeat and his step. Reaching down he caught Seifer's hand in his own, pulling him through the open door and up the stairs.

Quistis stood on the driveway, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, not really ready to believe what her eyes told her she was seeing. She had wanted her suspicions confirmed, but never thought that it would happen like this. Her normally reclusive and secretive little brother announcing to everyone who had a

care to be watching at that moment, exactly what his sexual preference was.

Recovering from her shock, she cleared her throat and straightened her skirt. She wondered briefly if Dad knew about this. Probably not considering how close to the vest Squall liked to play things. Allowing the moment to pass, she decided that it wasn't her news to tell. Dad would just have to figure it out for himself. Not that it had any real chance of happening. He stood a better chance of noticing a full blown nuclear attack than Squall having a boyfriend. The corners of her lips tugged upward at the thought of dear old Dad sitting at his desk lost in some daydream while bombs were dropping all around the house.

Seifer and Squall stumbled into the bedroom, closing and locking the door in haste. Hands fumbled with restrictive clothing, pulling and tugging them until they fell into a heap onto the floor. Seifer's breath came in ragged gasps as Squall unleashed the full fury of his passion. Seifer's head spun with the dizzying sensations that threatened to overwhelm him.

Squall didn't want to think anymore. Zell had broken something in him. All he wanted to do was feel this powerful rush of lust driving him to the point of near frenzy. It loomed above him like a tsunami and when it finally crashed over him, it took his breath away. He gave himself over to the waves of desire and allowed them to carry him to heights he never knew existed.

Seifer roared in primal heat as Squall's cries of unbridled passion drove him over the edge of existence and straight into the white hot scorching light of the sun and back out again into the deep blackness of space. He knew his eyes were open, but it was quite some time before his eyes could focus on anything besides the all consuming darkness that blocked his vision. He wrapped his arms around the sweat soaked body of his lover and trembled in awe and a little fear, that someone was able to have such a profound effect on both his body and mind.

Squall's muffled sobs caught Seifer by surprise. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do, so he wrapped his arms a little tighter around Squall and stroked his hair. It was all he could think of to do.

"Shh, it's okay, baby. I'm here," he murmured softly against Squall's ear. "I won't let you go, not now, not ever,"

The emotional wall Squall had built to protect himself had broken. The intense feelings of loss, fear, sadness, and rage that Zell had so carelessly instilled within him had been like a well aimed missile, effectively shattering all of his defenses, leaving him naked and exposed with nothing but Seifer's softly spoken words to clothe and protect him.

Seifer gently rocked Squall as he wept. Each tear that fell on his broad shoulder burned another hole in his soul and seeped into the cracks of his wounded heart. Much to his chagrin he felt the prickle of tears sting his own eyes. At first, he was shamed by them. The hated words of his father still echoing in his mind, "What's the matter dummy? You gonna cry? Well, let me give you something to cry about!".

He squinted his eyes and tried to force back the tears, but then Squall's arms snaked their way around him and held him close, nuzzling his tear streaked face into Seifer's neck. The tenuous hold he had on his emotions were swept aside. It didn't matter any more, Squall wouldn't judge him or mock him for his tears. His wounded heart began to swell, filling his chest with a gentle warm glow. He would die to protect Squall and if he had to, he would kill just to make that elusive smile appear again.

For the first time in his meager existence he suddenly knew what love felt like. This warmth spreading through his chest and into his limbs. He was in love! These weren't tears for his own pain. They weren't selfish or bitter nor were they to lament the loss of a childhood he never had. He was done shedding tears over those things. He slammed the door on his past, blocking out the words his father had so cruelly spoke and shed bitter tears for Squall and all that he had endured. He vowed never again would any harm come to Squall.

Squall felt Seifer's tears mingling with his own. It was as if they were magic, and were working to stem the flow of his own tears. He sat up on his elbow and softly brushed away Seifer's tears that clung to his cheeks. "It's okay Seifer, I'm better now," he whispered.

"Are you sure?" asked Seifer quietly, still holding Squall loosely in his arms, not wanting the close contact to end. "I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked, suddenly afraid that he had misinterpreted Squall's tears.

"Yeah, I swear, I'm okay and no you didn't hurt me," he said through his plugged up nose making him grimace with distaste.

Seifer smiled a little, pulling the brunette back into his embrace. "Then can we talk about what just happened?" he asked, once he had Squall settled onto his shoulder.

"What about it?" asked Squall, trying to act nonchalant. As if it hadn't been the best, mind blowing orgasm he had ever experienced.

Seifer smirked a little. "I don't think we were very quiet. In fact, I know we weren't. I'm pretty sure even the neighbors heard us."

"Think so?" asked Squall coyly. "Well, then perhaps we shouldn't make a habit of it."

"Wait! That's not what I meant!" Seifer exclaimed hastily, not wanting Squall to get the wrong idea.

Squall chuckled softly, "Oh, so you do want to make a habit of it, do you?" he teased.

Seifer's smirk broadened. "Yes, I want to make a habit of it. Happy?"

"Immensely," said Squall, as he stretched out against Seifer's naked body. He sighed in content as he trailed his fingertips over Seifer's chest, lightly exploring every hard muscle he found there.

Seifer smiled when his fingers brushed his side. He didn't want Squall to know that he was extremely ticklish there, but he couldn't help jerking a little at the slight touch.

A light tapping on the door stopped Squall's further exploration. "Yeah?" he called out, not wanting to remove himself from Seifer's arms.

"Dinner will be ready in about half an hour if you guys are hungry," came Quistis' voice through the door.

Squall groaned. If Quistis was home, then that meant she probably heard everything. He felt color rising in his cheeks. "Fine!" he shot back with more force than he had really meant to.

Seifer raised an eyebrow. He could see the pink flush staining Squall's cheeks and he supposed he should be a bit embarrassed too by what her presence in the house meant, but he wasn't. All he could feel was the warm glow that lay centered in his chest.

"Lets take a shower before we go have dinner," said Squall, "It's bad enough she probably heard us, the last thing I want is her making some comment about us smelling like a porno or some shit."

"Do you really think she would?" Seifer asked seriously.

"I don't know," sighed Squall, "I just don't want to give her the chance. I swear if she makes one comment or so much as hints that she knows, I really will stuff her down the garbage disposal!"

The pair showered quickly even though Seifer would have preferred to linger a while longer. His back was still sore as hell and coupled with the earlier strenuous activities, he ached something awful. While Squall finished dressing, he opened the medicine cabinet to see if he could find some aspirin. He thought he was in luck, after fishing a bottle from the back of the shelf, only to discover that it was empty.

Sighing heavily he closed the cabinet door, grimacing from the movement. If he didn't find something soon, by morning it would be hell trying to get moving.

"You okay?" asked Squall, pulling his t-shirt over his head. "Your back hurting?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, though I really could use an aspirin, or ten. Or maybe a quick shot to the head with a cannon."

Squall smirked, "Okay, I get it. Lets go find some. I'm pretty sure that Quisty will have something, and if not, my Dad usually keeps a bottle in his desk drawer."

"Thanks," Seifer replied, grateful that he didn't have to complain about being in pain.

In the dining room they found Quistis and Laguna already seated at the table, both of them reading. As they sat down, Laguna lowered the newspaper. "Hey guys! Glad you decided to join us. There is something that I need to discuss with everyone."

Squall's head shot up and immediately glared at Quistis. Dad was usually Captain Oblivious unless someone pointed things out to him, and Quistis had a bad habit of doing the pointing.

Quistis closed her text book and met Squall's glare with a small knowing smile.

"I have spoken to my lawyer, Kiros, about your situation Seifer, and he has advised me as well as he could on the matter without having all the details. What I need to discuss with everyone are the options that we have available to us," he began. "First and foremost, I want you to understand that you are welcome here and that I will do all that I can to ensure that your needs are met, but I need to know what it is that you want to do. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, but we do need to do something and soon."

Seifer wasn't sure how to respond. No one had ever asked him what he wanted to do about anything, much less what he wanted to do about his home life. He certainly didn't want to go back to it and hearing Laguna say that he was welcome here and that he wanted to help was a little overwhelming.

"What are the options?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well, the first option involves Social Services. If we call them, there will be an investigation both into your home and into ours. I won't lie to you, if we take that route it will be a long process and in the mean time, you will be placed in either foster care or a group home. Probably the latter considering your age."

"No!" Squall interrupted, "I don't want him to leave here, isn't there some other way?"

"Well," Laguna sighed, "there is the second option which is less that legal, because you are technically a runaway, we can simply hide you here and hope that your parents don't turn you in. If they do, and you are picked up, you will be taken to Juvenile Detention until your parents come to pick you up."

"I'm not liking these options," said Seifer, "is there a third option?"

"How long until you turn eighteen?" Laguna asked.

"Just a few months," Seifer replied, "four and some change to be exact."

"Do you think that your parents will turn you in as a runaway?"

"Honestly, I know my Dad won't, but I'm not so sure about my Mom. If she does, how hard will the police actually look for me?"

"Well, if you are being reported as a runaway and not as a missing person, they will do a cursory search starting at school. Sometimes, if the reported runaway is still in school, they simply don't bother picking you up. Especially those that are close to being of legal age. But if for any reason you get arrested by the police, it's back to your parents house."

"So basically if I stay in school and avoid the police, I should be fine, right?"

Laguna's brow furrowed in thought. "Yeah, I hate to say it, but it looks like that may be your best option. Quistis? Do you have any objections to Seifer staying with us?"

Quistis shook her head. "Not really Dad. If Squall wants him to stay then I don't really have much of a say in the matter. I will be headed back to college in a couple of weeks anyway."

"Okay then, it's settled. Welcome to the family Seifer, now lets eat!"

Squall was tired after the dishes were done and put away. It had been a grueling day emotionally and he felt drained after all of the ups and downs he had gone through. He was going to end it on a high note though. Seifer was going to stay with his Dad's blessing and he couldn't be happier. He wiped his hands on a dishtowel and retrieved the aspirin bottle from his Dad's desk drawer for Seifer and they both slogged up the stairs to his room.

Squall set his alarm before pulling off his clothes and snuggling in beside Seifer. He still didn't know what he was going to do about Zell, he hoped beyond hope that Zell would somehow see that Seifer wasn't a threat to him or their friendship. He sighed heavily, that was tomorrow's problem. Tonight, there was only Seifer and the comfort and safety that his arms provided.

A/N: Hello everybody! Remember me? It's been nearly eight years since I updated this fic. (yeah, I did the math…) And I just wanted to say, I am so very sorry that it took that long. I would love to say that I have been on vacation but these last eight years have been anything but fun. It's been a long, hard, emotional road for me, but I can finally say, I'M BAAACK!

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and I promise that it won't be another eight years before I post the next chapter. I'm sorry if this chapter reads a little differently from the rest of the fic. I literally haven't written a single word in eight years, so it will take a chapter or two before I find my groove again. If anyone notices any plot holes, feel free to let me know. You can email me at 420zenden .

As always, Praise will receive the full spa treatment, Flames will get the F-U makeover kit

Many Thanks and Much Praise goes out to my good friend Leonhartslover. Thanks for helping me stretch my literary muscle and for pulling me over the humps and out of the mud when I got stuck. Those first few paragraphs took 14 hours to pull out of my ass but it was all well worth it!

Zen