Finally! Yes, I took my sweet time, but then this chapter is twice as long as the others.

Enjoy!

Epilogue

Three years later…

A hazy orange sun cast soft, pinkish rays on a luscious, flower covered meadow. It was quiet, quiet like someone had turned down the volume. No clouds, no birds; only a gentle, warm breeze that rustled the tall grass without a sound.

It was an unnatural environment; a painting rather than a place. And maybe it was. How else can you describe what lies between waking and dreaming? At first, Seifer had considered it a place between realities, but after having spent so much time here, he had come to believe that maybe this reality of the mind was the only true reality to begin with.

Being inside your mind felt like dreaming without being asleep. Everything he thought of hard enough manifested itself: never tangible in the physical sense, but undeniably real nonetheless. Manifestations of energy that were volatile and yet incredibly strong, so strong they could interact with each other. So strong they could touch.

And so, Seifer found himself lying here, in the grass of his own imagination, with the face of his astral body hanging just a few inches above Squall's.

Above them, the sky darkened to a warm purple. Squall cocked his head slightly when he noticed.

'What are you thinking of?' he asked.

Seifer refocused his attention, gently stroking a few wayward sprigs from Squall's hair. He knew he didn't need to explain. Sharing a single consciousness meant they always knew what the other thought or felt. Conversation was essentially unnecessary, but human habits die hard.

'A million things,' he answered eventually. 'And then some.'

'You're worried, aren't you?'

Seifer sighed. 'Yeah. It's been months. They could be here at any moment.'

'And you get tired of looking over your shoulder all the time.' Squall smiled compassionately. 'Don't worry. When they find us, we'll find somewhere else again.'

'That's what I'm afraid of. I like it here.'

Squall reached up to wrap his arms around Seifer's neck. 'I know. So do I.' Then he lifted his head just enough to gingerly kiss Seifer's lips.

Eager to forget his worries, Seifer closed his eyes and leaned into the feeling. Every time it surprised him how much more intense Squall's kisses now were compared to anything he'd ever experienced with his physical body. Without skin and flesh in the way, every touch was like a miniature explosion of energy. Every contact, no matter how brief, ran into his core, into his soul. There was no way to describe that feeling: nothing in the world could compare to this.

Excited by the energy through him - and knowing that Squall felt exactly the same - Seifer kissed him back. True to his nature, it was a rough, passionate kiss that fired their profound bond even further with every new spark. Squall's form bucked forcefully against his, demanding more. Energy built up rapidly as they touched everywhere, stronger and faster. Within a fraction of a second, shapes were forgotten as their ecstasy exploded in a bright burst of pure white light.

The next moment Seifer was truly aware of, he pulled himself together into a more coherent shape. The mind likes clearly defined shapes. Ideas and thoughts may change often, but ideally all images should be clear-and-cut in between. Right next to him, Squall, too, looked like his old self again. Even the silent meadow had made way for a cushy king-sized bed on the Knight's initiative.

Seifer smirked. 'You like to get comfortable, don't you?'

Squall stretched lazily and turned on his side, supporting his head on his hand. 'Like you don't.'

'Ha, you know it!'

Squall smiled, and then crawled closer to steal another quick yet exhilarating kiss.

'Hmmm…' he mused, barely breaking contact. 'I love you, you know that?'

Seifer rose on one elbow and gently yet deliberately pushed Squall to his back. 'How could I not know…' he purred as he leaned closer.

But before he could renew their intimacy, a sharp shrieking noise penetrated the whole of his being. He resisted the shattering effect it had, trying in vain to keep the fragile moment from falling apart like broken glass. Only Squall's prompting, which interlaced the myriad of images that was his unfocussed mind, finally convinced him to give in.

The way back was as cold and dark as always.

It took seemingly incredible effort to get his body to respond. It felt cold, heavy, and all his muscles and nerves were numbed. He cursed silently. Apparently he'd been 'inside' for too long. Again. Squall had warned him often enough that while their time so close together was wonderful, his body still needed his soul if it was to survive.

Seifer had wondered more than once if he would really mind if one day it didn't.

His vision was blurry when he first opened his eyes, but his ears were already aching from the familiar hysterical shrieking coming down on his ears. He also became faintly aware of tiny hands pulling at his arms and clothes.

"Yeah, I'm up, I'm up," he muttered as his eyes focussed on two little green creatures staring bewilderedly up at him with big yellow eyes.

When they saw that they finally managed to wake him, the two tonberries began to gesture feverishly at the door, screaming excitedly.

As his physical brain finally kicked into gear, Seifer frowned. Tonberries were resilient and curious creatures. It took something really hefty to get them worked up like this. So he hoisted himself to his feet and stumbled the first few steps to the door. The circulation to his legs was coming back again by the time he made it to the balcony outside.

The upper balcony of the large tower that dominated the Centran ruins gave a wonderful view for miles around. From up here, you could see well beyond the trees and bushes that grew near the ruins. It was one of the reasons why he'd fallen in love with this place. On a clear day, you could even see the green hills of the Centran plains stretching all the way to the horizon.

But not today. Today, the wide view was obstructed by a massive grey structure that hovered on an inverted halo just outside the ruins.

"Fuck!"

The two tonberries, in their own squeaky language, agreed wholeheartedly. They were smart creatures with a good memory. They knew what that vessel was, and that it wasn't welcome.

Seifer uttered a long string of curses, which mostly consisted of a list of unpleasant places where a specific Headmistress should go stick herself and ended with an adamant "…I'm not giving in this time!". Seething with rage, he raced down the many stairs to the foot of the tower and onto the central courtyard, ready to show the intruders he wasn't going to run and hide anymore.

But one look at the courtyard broke that train of thought. The court by the old fountain was crowded, but not with humans. To his surprise, he found that the entire tonberry clan had assembled out here. Not just the adult fighters, but the females and their young as well. And all of them equally agitated. Confused by this unusual state of affairs, Seifer turned to the leader of the clan.

"What's everyone doing out here?" he asked the tonberry with the tiny crown on its head.

Squeaking defiantly, the Tonberry King pointed sharply at the top of Garden just visible above the trees, and then at the gathered tonberries. With a final sharp shriek, it thrust its knife up into the air. The gesture was mimicked by his clan and confirmed with an ear-piercing, unified shriek.

Seifer smiled despite his anger. "I appreciate that," he said to them in all honesty. "But I really think it's best you all keep out of sight for now. I've got no idea how many soldiers they'll send after this time, but in any case it's going to be one hell of a fight, and I don't want any of you caught in the middle."

The Tonberry King observed him for a while, probing Seifer's intentions as tonberries do. It had proved a useful way of communicating with his neighbours, especially since the magic amplified his intentions so strongly it had to look like neon-signs to them. This time was no different. Recognising the violence and carnage that Seifer's mental billboard was advertising for the upcoming battle, the Tonberry King nodded and began to squeak several shrill commands. Immediately, the gathered tonberries dispersed and disappeared. Less than thirty seconds later, the courtyard was empty and only a handful of watchful eyes glowed in the shadows.

Now all he could do was wait. Seifer hated waiting. But he had to. Sure he was one of the most powerful Sorcerers ever, and sure he could run circles around most armies. But he hadn't forgotten the purpose of SeeD. Ultimecia had been tough as nails and very resourceful, but they had cleaned out her clock all the same. So he wasn't going to fight them on their turf. Let them come to him. And if they were really that desperate to take a shot at him, then he'd be ready for them.

Time passed. Then a flock of birds scrambled in alarm from the trees below. Someone was coming…

Seifer actively tapped into his magic, keeping it so closely at hand that his fingers literally sparked when they touched. In his mind, Squall was getting ready, too. Seifer could feel his Knight settle into his usual combat position, which was much like the guy-in-back in a combat machine. Countless sparring sessions with the tonberries and an equal amount of fights with various others monsters had proved that like many things, a Sorcerer's combat abilities improve with teamwork.

The birds had begun to sing again by the time Seifer could hear footsteps echoing below on the path leading up to the ruins. The noise level surprised him. Either this was a very large group of SeeD moving very quietly, or…

'Sounds more like just a handful of people not being very quiet,' Squall concluded.

'Could be a ruse.'

'Doesn't feel like one.'

Seifer remembered the scrambling birds. SeeD knew better than to give away their position like that. 'Maybe,' he conceded reluctantly.

The tension in his body shot up another notch when the sound of the footsteps changed from shoes-on-stone to shoes-on-wood. Whoever was coming was now climbing up the Blue Heaven stairway. Energy crackled as he clenched his fists and held his breath. Seconds ticked away.

And then he had a visual. Surprisingly, it wasn't the barrel of a gun, and it wasn't a Guardian Force charging. It was the figure of a woman. Even across the distance, Seifer instantly recognised her. His lips curled into a snarl at the sight of the familiar stern face and the corresponding blonde bun. It was very tempting to blast her where she stood, but as she reached to top of the stairs, Squall pointed out something crucial:

'Hold on! She's not armed! The belt loop where she carries her whip is empty.'

Seifer reluctantly acknowledged this, but wasn't about to jump to conclusions. Quistis Trepe's Blue Magic was bad enough in itself. One aura stone was enough to ensure one hell of an 'unarmed' fight. He glared at her. However, while she looked his way, she didn't approach. Instead, she stepped aside and helped two other people up the last few steps.

This time, Seifer gawked.

"Matron?!"

His blurted exclamation drew the immediate attention of Cid and Edea Kramer, who had appeared beside Quistis. Edea's face broke into a bright smile the moment she spotted him. Without waiting for either of the others, she broke into a run.

Seifer caught her when she all but ran into him, and gave her a fierce hug. It had been three years since he'd last touched another person. Suddenly he realised that while his soul may not have been lonely, his body had been craving attention. And now it didn't want to let go.

It wasn't until Cid came to join them that Seifer forced himself to give Edea some room to breath.

"Hello, my boy," the old man greeted him warmly.

"Uncle Cid… Matron…" Seifer could not help but smile. "You've got no idea how good it is to see you again!"

Edea looked up with tears in her eyes as she gently stroked his face. "Or to see you! And in good health, too!" She embraced him one more time. "When we heard what happened in Esthar, we feared the worst. Without Squall… Oh, dear, I was so worried."

Seifer returned her embrace so readily he didn't think twice about what she said until Squall brought it to his attention with a proverbial clearing of the throat.

"Ah, yes, well…," he began, pursing his lips in thought. "You see, what happened that night wasn't entirely what it looked like. Squall is indeed dead, but not exactly gone."

Cid gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean? We saw his body and…"

But Seifer tapped his head. "Dead, he could protect me much better than alive."

There was a momentary silence. Then Edea's eyes grew wider and she clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Wha… You mean, you… you did…?" she stammered.

Seifer shrugged nonchalantly. "Turns out that's what junctioning is for."

For a moment, the Kramers were stupefied. Then Cid began to laugh.

"Amazing! Truly amazing! I had no idea that was possible!"

"Neither did I, until I was already half-dead," Seifer replied deadpan. "I'm glad Squall worked it out when he did. Half a minute more and he needn't have bothered."

Edea smiled a somewhat bitter smile, but then hid behind her hands and glanced over her shoulder at Quistis, who was still standing by the stairs.

"Squall was buried with all due ceremony," she said. "It's been a very hard loss to his friends. For them to hear about this… I think it is best not to tell them about your, well, highly unusual bond."

Seifer frowned and crossed his arms. "I can be sympathetic with their loss. No problem there. But fact is that Squall's my Knight, and that we're junctioned so closely that he can actually co-pilot my body. If I can't tell Garden that, how else can I convince them that I won't go rogue?"

Cid nodded gravely. "Quite an essential point. One I don't have an answer to, I'm afraid."

"Hmmm, there may be a way," Squall said, using Seifer's voice. The transition between him and Seifer appeared to have gone unnoticed to Cid and Edea, but he didn't see the point of informing them. Instead, he continued his reasoning. "I know Xu. She is stubborn and prejudiced toward Seifer. She will probably not want to listen to anything concerning him. But she will listen to Quistis. And Quistis is smart enough to understand the situation if it is explained understandably."

Cid arched a brow for a moment. Then he shook his head. "You have a valid point there, Squall"

Squall was genuinely surprised at the old man's quick observation. "You can tell?"

"It's the syntax."

Squall smiled. "Ah, yes. There is that."

"But your plan will not need to be as complex as you suggested," Cid continued, completely serious now. "You see, Xu isn't in charge of Garden anymore."

"What? How come?"

Cid eyed him solemnly over the rim of his glasses. "She… she died in a car crash a few months ago. Quistis has taken over her position since." He looked over his shoulder at where Quistis stood. "She's doing well, but it's been a hard time for her. Xu was a dear friend of hers, and a close companion since you… ehm, well, since you physically died."

Squall felt himself go cold, and he was grateful for Seifer's soothing presence wrapping around him. Perhaps Xu had not been a friend him as such, yet they'd been closer than mere colleagues. She had made life Hell for both him and Seifer for the last years, but that had never been reason to wish her dead. Well, he hadn't, at any rate.

"I understand…" he managed at last. "Xu would just send in the guns, but Quistis wants to talk. That explains why she took the risk of coming here unarmed."

Edea fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. "Unarmed, yes. Taking a risk, no." She bit her lip. "I don't think I was supposed to know, but I overheard her giving orders to a sniper team."

"Aaaaand so much for the vote of confidence," Seifer growled the instant he took back control. "I knew there was a catch when it was just the three of you coming up the stairs instead of a heavily armed special op assault force!"

"Yes," Cid smirked, "a distinct difference in syntax indeed."

"My compliments," Seifer retorted, putting on a posh accent. "So far the only ones who ever noticed and could tell us apart were the tonberries."

Cid and Edea stared at him in disbelief. "Tonberries?"

"Yup. They can look inside your mind. Don't know how, but they can. That's where their 'Everyone's Grudge' attack comes from." He glanced over at Quistis. She noticed and nodded politely. "So what's her agenda anyway?"

"Agenda?" Edea frowned nervously. "She didn't mention, really."

Seifer tilted his head to catch his matron's eye. "She takes you to visit an armed and dangerous bastard, and she didn't brief you at all? I find that kind of hard to believe, Matron, if you don't mind me saying so."

Edea blushed fiercely and looked at her husband for support.

"Of course she has an agenda," Cid admitted, "but not necessarily a bad one. We wouldn't have agreed to help break the ice if we didn't believe her intentions have merit."

Seifer glared. "She believed that Esthar's ideas of sealing me up in a cryo-seal had merit," he stated darkly. "Excuse me if I don't set much score by her good intentions." He glanced suspiciously at Quistis again, and was unpleasantly surprised to find that this time her reaction was to cross the courtyard and join them.

"Instructor," he greeted coldly as she stepped into the space Cid and Edea made for her.

She bowed lightly. "Hello, Seifer."

There was an uneasy silence. Quistis was nervous, he noticed. She held her hands folded like a timid schoolgirl and eyed him like she wasn't sure how to start a conversation without him torching her on the spot. Her face showed more lines and wrinkles, too, as if she had age a decade a year. He eyed her intently. This woman was at least indirectly responsible for many of the misfortunes in his life. But she was also his sister, and as she stood before him now, despite his anger and resentment all he could feel for her was pity.

"I'm sorry to hear about Xu," he said evenly.

For a moment she looked surprised at his choice of conversation, but then she huffed in contempt. "You hated her," she bit.

Seifer nodded. "Yeah, I did. But you didn't. And I'm truly sorry for your loss."

She looked away to regain her composure. Apparently, talking about Xu was still painful to her. She swallowed, but then looked him in the eye again.

"It's been hard," she said, "running two Gardens without her. And without Squall."

Those last words were a clear accusation, one he found hard to ignore.

"No matter what you believe, I didn't kill him."

She glared at him as if staring him down would make the truth reveal itself in his eyes. Taking up that challenge, he just stared back.

"You're right," she finally said. "I don't believe you. But Cid and Edea were determined to do so. I've always trusted them, and if they still believe in your innocence," she glanced at her foster parents, who nodded, "then I am prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Seifer sized her up. "Benefit of the doubt?" he repeated with biting sarcasm.

Quistis straightened like a cat bristling its back, but at that moment Seifer looked away at Squall's pressing request, standing down to avoid the otherwise imminent fight.

'She's come with a white flag, Seifer. Don't let your pride ruin this.'

'Easy for you to say,' he growled in the privacy of his mind. He was rapidly losing control over his anger. His eyes flared briefly in response to the rising emotions, but he flinched as Squall forcefully checked the rallying magic. 'Fine! You sort this out, then!' he screamed mentally as he retreated to rage out the storm in his soul.

On the outside, his contorted face could easily be attributed to confusion. When Seifer's body straightened again, the switch initially went unnoticed by all but Cid.

"This is a bit unexpected, to say the least," Squall told Quistis firmly, but without Seifer's highly emotional undertones. "You've hunted u--me for three years, forcing me into exile like a rabid dog. For three years. That's a long time, Quistis. What made you change your mind?"

Quistis looked a bit taken aback. Apparently she had noticed his change of demeanour, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Doing what she had always done best in such situations, she drew herself up and hid behind professionalism.

"What changed? Everything, really. The situation is completely different, most notably because of…" Her mask faltered again.

"Xu's death?" he finished for her.

She nodded and recomposed herself. "Esthar gave up quite quickly," she explained. "They preferred to commission the chase to SeeD, and they paid Garden handsomely for continuous services. But to Xu, it was also personal. You had betrayed Garden for the second time, while she had allowed you back in. She hadn't noticed Rinoa's instability until it was too late, and then you escaped her, too. Since she was Headmistress, she considered all that to be personal failures. Failures she wanted to correct at all costs."

"I see…"

"Xu always took her responsibilities very personal," Cid added softly. "It made her vulnerable, perhaps, but it also made her a damn good Headmistress."

Quistis nodded in agreement. "And that she was, until the responsibility became an obsession and she lost sight of almost everything else."

Squall began to understand how it had been possible that a conscientious and alert person like Xu could crash and burn the way she had. Obsession bordered too closely to insanity. He kept the observation to himself, although he was sure Quistis and the others had come to the same conclusion at some point.

But there was more to this. "Isn't Garden still under contract with Esthar to continued the hunt?" he asked.

Quistis shook her head. "No. Lagu… President Loire withdrew the contract over a year ago. His councillors didn't agree. They wanted to go on, but he put his foot down."

"He didn't want revenge?" Squall asked, for Seifer's sake more than his own. Personally, he had long since discovered that Laguna wasn't the vengeful type. Seifer, on the other hand, was convinced that everyone was the vengeful type.

But Quistis shook her head again. "No, he didn't. He said capturing or killing you wasn't going to bring Squall back. And that it wasn't going to solve our problems, either."

Squall smirked, hoping it was enough like Seifer's to be credible. "We could've told you that even before that night in Esthar, you know."

Against his expectations, though, Quistis seemed to turn in on herself. She wrapped her arms around her chest in a way that gave Squall the uneasy feeling that things had gone terribly wrong at the hunters' end of the chase.

"In hindsight, yes, maybe you could have," she said. "But I don't think we would have believed you, no matter how right you would have been. Who we should have believed, though, was Dr Odine…"

Edea gently put her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Please don't blame yourself, Quistis. Multiple Sorceresses are an uncharted field, even for Dr Odine. No one could know if what he said was right or wrong."

Squall frowned. "What did he say, then?"

Quistis looked at him. "He said that most multiple Sorceresses go rogue and are destroyed by their magic in a matter of days or weeks, regardless of whether they have a Knight or not. And that their death doesn't necessarily mean that their magic splits up to find separate hosts."

"True and true."

She nodded. "I was afraid so. And capturing you also posed a serious problem. Being sealed up had made Adel a time bomb with an invisible timer. It was impossible to tell what a cryo-seal would do to someone three times her strength."

"I'm glad you figured that out before putting it into practice." The sarcasm was his, but hearing it said with Seifer's voice gave it an extra cutting edge.

But Quistis ignored the comment. "In the end," she sighed, "Dr Odine advised both Esthar and Garden to make a truce with a Sorceress like that. There were too many variables, making it too dangerous not to."

Squall was beginning to get a good idea of what had happened. "Let me guess: despite the warning, Kiros and Xu weren't going to 'take that risk'?"

"Indeed. And so we ended up chasing you all over the globe until Laguna quit and Xu died. Three years…" She sighed. "I'm not proud of that, Seifer. Of none of it."

Squall looked away, making it seem he was considering what she had said while mentally testing Seifer's mood. To his mild surprise, his Sorcerer had already calmed considerably. This time, Edea, too, caught on to the shift as it happened.

"Apology accepted," Seifer finally replied. "To be honest, I'd probably done the same if I'd been in your shoes. It sucks, but what's done is done." He put his hands on his hips. "The million gill question, however, is 'What now?'"

Quistis shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "Now that circumstances put me in charge, I have been able to convince the Garden staff that following up on Dr Odine's advice is really for the best." She left a tentative pause. "Of course not everyone agreed, but in light of funding for the chase having dried up, we've got little choice."

Seifer eyed her warily. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that we will stop chasing you," Quistis confirmed. "We will help you settle somewhere safe, for you and for others. But we will need to monitor you continuously."

Seifer gave her feral grin. "If by monitoring you mean having those snipers lining up their crosshairs on me 24/7, then I'm out."

The expression became slightly anxious as she stopped herself from glancing over her shoulders and the bushes lining the courtyard. Then she licked her lips.

"I'm afraid it does. Or at least something similar." She saw his expression darken. "However, if you have another, acceptable suggestion…"

Diplomacy was looming on the horizon of this conversation, so Squall immediately stepped up to assist.

"Let me at least live here," he suggested as Seifer retreated.

Quistis frowned. "Here? In the ruins?"

"Yes. I've spent some time to make the place habitable since I landed here a few months ago. It's far from other people. And tonberries make quite good neighbours, actually."

She arched a brow.

Squall shrugged. "Apparently Odin practically terrorised them, so they were more than happy to welcome the one who killed him."

Quistis arched both brows now, but then nodded. "Okay, I can live with that. I take it you get your supplies by teleporting?"

"Your spies told you that?"

"How else could you have been sighted on three different continents in the span of one hour?"

"All I can say is that space-time bending becomes easier with practice. And I've got a lot of practice with you guys chasing me all over the globe. No, getting supplies won't be a problem." He cocked his head. "Not having to steal the money to pay for it would be an improvement, though," he added quickly.

Quistis smirked faintly. "I'll consider that," she replied.

"And as for the monitoring, I've got a suggestion. I don't think you'll like it, but please give it serious consideration nonetheless."

"Let's hear it then."

He took a deep breath. "Add me to Garden's training curriculum."

Quistis' jaw dropped. "What?! I can't do that!"

But Cid and Edea quickly understood Squall's intention.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Cid exclaimed in his usual enthusiasm. "Think of the possibilities, Quistis. Combat demonstrations, sparring sessions, field tests, the lot! Seifer has a lot of experience in all those fields. Besides, SeeD were meant to fight Sorceresses. What better preparation than to train against a real one?"

A variety of expressions crossed Quistis' face in quick succession. A few times she appeared to open her mouth to argue, but every time she stopped herself. Cid had a good point, but so did she. Pro's and con's, fear, frustration, indecision and determination alternated as she turned away, turned back, stepped away again, and finally ended up staring out at the horizon beyond the trees. For the longest time, no one spoke, until it was finally her voice that broke the silence.

"Seifer?" she called softly, without taking her eyes off the horizon. "When Dr Odine told us about the volatility of multiple sorceresses, he said that he had explained the same thing to Squall and you, not long before that battle."

Behind golden eyes, Seifer stepped up to answer. "Yeah, he did. So?"

"So why didn't you die on that rooftop?"

He snorted irritably. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Instructor."

"Nonono, I'm being serious," she said quickly as she turned to face him. "You looked like you were being torn to shreds. I thought, we all thought, that you were going to die there. That the magic was killing you like Dr Odine said it would. But then suddenly it stopped, and then you got up, very much alive, while Squall…" She looked deeply into his eyes. "What truly happened there, Seifer? Why didn't you die there?"

"Are you sure you really want to know?"

"Yes."

So he told her.

The sun was already setting by the time Seifer got back to his room at the top of the tower.

'I think she took that pretty well," Squall commented.

'I didn't think she'd actually believe it,' Seifer replied as he poured himself a drink. 'I know I probably wouldn't have if I'd been in her position.'

'Quistis isn't an unreasonable person. Strict, yes, and perhaps not easily convinced. But never unreasonable.'

'Yeah, well, I'm glad you were there to smooth things over, because she just gets on my nerves.'

Cradling a glass of cheap red wine, snatched from a Deling liquor store some time ago, Seifer sat down on the balcony to enjoy the sunset. It was a beautiful evening. The sky was orange and pink, with the first hints of nighttime purple here and there. Down below, Balamb Garden looked as if it had been set on fire. Yesterday, he would have been happy to realise that simile. But a lot had changed over the last few hours.

'Think she'll be able to convince the Garden Staff of that plan of yours?' he ventured.

'Don't know. I know she's in favour, though. Otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to even discuss it with them'. There was a laden feeling, one Seifer had come to associate with Squall getting lost in thought. 'Do you mind that I made that suggestion?'

'No. You know I don't.'

'You're a bit hesitant about it, though.'

Seifer chuckled. 'Of course I am! If Garden agrees, I'll be training my own potential killers from now on. And we both know training SeeD isn't always harmless.' He rubbed the fading scar on his brow. 'Chances are several of those students will take a serious swing at me. And only one needs to get lucky…'

There was a sense of shame about Squall now. 'I'm sorry. I think I may have been too preoccupied with getting you out of life as a recluse.'

'And that is much appreciated, believe me!' He took a sip of his wine and listened to the distant chirping sounds of the tonberries playing elsewhere in the ruins. 'I've lived all my life knowing that as a mercenary, I probably wouldn't live long enough to grow old. And in a way it's a good thing if I help train SeeD cadets, because one day, a bullet, a blade, or just plain old age is going to kill me.'

'And then Garden will be ready for whoever the new host or hosts are.'

'Exactly! So, it's a useful job.' He grinned behind his glass. 'And of course I get to fight.'

Squall laughed. 'You're incorrigible!'

'Ha! You ain't seen incorrigible yet,' Seifer replied while laughing out loud. 'How about getting reacquainted with other human beings?'

'Seifer, why are there images of bars appearing in your mind all of a sudden?'

'Because, as you may recall, Matron said Irvine resigned and is running a bar together with Fuu and Raijin these days. Somewhere in Dollet, she said.'

Squall smirked. 'And you want to pay them a visit.'

'No, I think we owe them a visit,' Seifer said sincerely. 'And a 'thank you'. I think it's safe to say that without either of them, things would've worked out very differently.'

'A lot messier.'

'My point exactly.'

The sun slow sank beyond the horizon. Seifer smiled as Squall reached out to him. Yes, he sometimes missed the physical touch of his lover, but what he received in return went so far beyond that…

Leaning back against the wall, he closed his eyes and let his consciousness drift to meet Squall on the astral reality of his mind. Once he regained focus, he found himself standing besides a mountain brook that came cascading down the grassy slope. The sky was clear, the white-capped mountains loomed in the distance and it was warm despite the patches of snow on the ground. Seifer smiled. Trabia in the springtime was one of Squall's favourites.

Next to him, Squall manifested himself in one of Seifer's favourites: nothing more than black leather pants and the cross sword pendant around his neck. Seifer smirked appreciatively and took a moment to enjoy the view.

'Ironic, isn't it?' Squall mused as his fingers played coyly with the pendant. "I got this because I missed you, and wanted to feel closer to you.'

'Is that so?' Seifer rumbled in a voice as he pulled Squall into his arms. 'They say you should be careful what you wish for,' he teased, nuzzling Squall's neck. 'This close enough for you?'

Squall chuckled. 'Almost,' he whispered. Then he took Seifer's face in his hands and kissed him, long and deep.

Seconds later, there was the bright, searing flash of a single white light.

Thanks for reading, people. I hope you all enjoyed the story! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

And a big thank you to LadyTwist for sticking with me as my beta-reader all the way to the end!