Hayner Duran always heard Sound in his head. Always. Whether it was music, a voice, a speech, or sounds from long ago, he always had something.

On this particular night he had a play list of songs going around his head to fit the situation he was in. But whether the sound would help or not was up for speculation.

He grabbed the neck of his bottle more tightly before bringing it to his lips and taking a swig, hearing the tell-tale sounds of a brawl about to begin behind him. The beer tasted bitter in his mouth, and felt cold all the way to his stomach, and the yelling was getting louder and louder.

He heard the shatter of glass but didn't move. "Not yet" he told himself, "Not yet." He took another drink and felt the cold spiral down until it hit his stomach. "Not yet"

Then, as he went to take another drink, he was crashed into from behind, causing his drink to empty into his lap.

"Now" he mumbled as he turned around. He stared at the men blankly for a few moments before picking up his bottle by the neck and smashing the bottom off. The other men stared drunkenly at the bottle before trying to rush him.

The Sound Started.

Chairs thrown and tables toppled, hands armed with broken bottles, standing no chance to win but, we're not running, we're not running

Hayner easily dodged the messy punches thrown his way; he didn't even have to use the bottle. Soon the whole bar had erupted into a massive fight. Hayner dropped the bottle and began throwing punches instead of blocking, no longer caring about the pain because it was something he could feel.

Although we have no obligation to stay alive, on broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive, break out, I won't be left here, behind closed doors.

Slowly, one by one the drunks fell and didn't get back up, either too drunk to stand or beaten until they could no longer move. Hayner didn't care. He wished he could stay in that blinded state forever. Where the only things were the smell of alcohol on him and others, the feeling of hitting and being hit, and the Sound in his head. Anything to escape the thoughts and images that the Sound kept away.

Time out, let's stop and think this through, we've all got better things to do, than talk in circles, run in place, answers inches from our face

And then, when Hayner was the only one still standing, he walked over the piled bodies to a new bottle of beer and took a long drink. When he finally put the drink down he noticed that he was in fact, not the only one still standing. Eyes stared back at him. Eyes he knew very well. Those eyes were the reason he knew how to fight. The reason he was in this shit hole.

The Sound Paused.

Hands roamed over his sweat-slicked chest while a mouth worked its way along his neck, biting, licking and sucking.

"Say it."Aa voice whispered in his ear as one hand reached down to caress and cup him. "Go on Chickenwuss. Say it." A shudder passed through him as he tried to control his moans enough to get out the words.

" I-I wa-"

Hayner shook his head clear of the memory, turning his face from the steel blue staring at him and taking a deep breath. He thought of the sound; the lyrics, the words, the melodies, the pattern, the rhyme and soon the familiar buzz in his head returned.

The Sound Began

Black eyes, broken fingers, Blood drips and I let it run down my lips into my swollen hope is non-existent, Our instincts all scream "Run", We never turn our backs or even bite our tongues.

Hayner nodded to the man once he felt he was calmer and took another drink. He decided that tonight he'd drink until he couldn't think anymore, and it would be damn worth the headache tomorrow. He wouldn't let those eyes see that he knew them, that he remembered them. He turned his back on the eyes.

But the eyes-man had other ideas, it seemed. He cleared his throat once... twice... three times. Finally Hayner turned around but didn't lift his gaze from the ground.
"Chickenwuss." Hayner's head rose, and for the first time since the eyes revealed themselves, Hayner saw the face with them, and felt the familiar rush of pain that came with it.

"Seifer." He was proud his voice sounded steady. He wasn't sure what would happen next, but the sounds buzzed a song along to comfort him so he was sure he wouldn't care.

The man – Seifer - just smirked and picked up a pool cue. His entire stance resonated with the ringing sound of the unspoken word, 'challenge'.

Hayner put down his bottle and picked up a pool cue. 'Accepted'.

The Sound Changed

If you're blue and you don't know where to go to why don't you go where fashion sits. Puttin' on the Ritz.

Hayner gripped his cue tightly in his hand. This was no simple bar fight, no brawl that could be won by brute strength and a slightly smaller alcohol level. No, this fight - this dance - was about who was faster, and who wanted to win more.

They side-stepped each other for awhile, remembering the old days when they used to fight, remembering their opponent's weak spots and openings.

Different types who wear a day coat pants with stripes and cutaway coat perfect fits. Puttin' on the Ritz.

But this was different than what it used to be, something higher was at risk-and somehow that made this more sophisticated, more than just a pointless fight in a bar stuck in God knows where. They made one last side step before Seifer went after him.

Parry, duck, slash, counter, jab, block.

Repeat.

It was the same as when they where children.

The Sound Flickered

For a moment the cue became a blue bat, the bar around him his old street, and the drunks lying on the floor were his friends laughing.

"Come on Hayner!" A face smiled at him "One more go!"

-walk with sticks or um-ber-ellas-

Hayner returned to himself, the sounds buzzing as if it never became static. But it was too late; in that moment he lost himself, Seifer pounced. There was the unmistakable noise of wood hitting and breaking, a pain in his head.

Puttin' on the Ritz. Puttin' on the Ritz. Puttin' on the Ritz.

"Hayn, jump! The tram is gonna leave!

And then, black.

The I.V. and your hospital bed. This was no accident. This was a therapeutic chain of events.

Hayner groaned as he sat up. His head pounded like no other - he really should have been used to hangovers by now.

"So you're awake." A voice came from the corner and Hayner looked around wildly, making his head throb more and his vision dance. He felt his body fall forward and he was glad he was on a bed and would hit soft mattress rather than cold ground. But the feeling of flesh hitting padding never came. Instead he felt two arms catch him and help him lay back down. "Cool it, Lamer" Seifer said.

Hayner just looked away and moved his hands to his face. He'd meant to rub his eyes, but once they reached their designation, they brushed against something foreign. Hayner felt the soft, familiar fabric of bandages wrap around his head all the way. So that was the cause for his headache, not the booze.

This is the scent of dead skin on a linoleum floor. This is the scent of quarantine wings in a hospital. It's not so pleasant. And it's not so conventional. It sure as hell ain't normal. But we deal, we deal.

"What do you want?" Hayner said tiredly. He didn't want to play Seifer's games anymore. He'd been played enough.

"What do I want?" Seifer sneered at him. "I want to know why you're fighting drunk at a bar when you aren't even fucking twenty one yet. I want to know why it looks like you've crawled inside a beer bottle and decided to stay! I want to know why you and Roxas just took off!" He got close to Hayner then. "But most of all, I want to know why you ran from me. I want to know why I woke up to an empty bed that morning." He was maybe an inch away, staring at him intently.

Just sit back, just sit back. Just sit back and relax. Just sit back, just sit back. Just sit back and relapse again.

"Why do you care?" Hayner pushed him away. "This was a chance meeting. Don't even pretend you care about what happened to me!" He snarled back at the other before lifting his hand to hit him. He threw a blind punch, not even caring if it connected, and the bigger male caught it easily.

"Goddamnit Lamer! How can you be so fucking stupid? I did care! Do you think I lied when I said I cared about you before we had sex? Do you think it was just a ploy to get you into bed? This was no damn chance meeting either! I've spent every second of my life since you and Blondie left trying to find you!" He didn't give the other time to reply before crushing his lips to the smaller's.

Can't take the kid from the fight, take the fight from the kid. Sit back, relax

Seifer pulled back and looked into the younger's brown eyes. "God damnit Chickenwuss, I loved you then and I fucking love you now!"

The Sound Stopped

Hayner froze when the words reached his ears, and panicked when the buzz of sound stopped. Without the sound anything could happen, and he would feel every painful moment of it.

"I-I'm sorry." He stuttered without thinking. "Roxas asked me to leave with him, said we needed to start a new life. You could never feel the same about me. Not ever, and the people in… that town would have killed us if they found out we were gay. So I followed him. We jumped onto the back of the tram the night after I slept with you. I left right after you passed out. Roxas and I went all over, and ended up staying here for a night. And… when I woke up he was gone with a note that said 'sorry'." Hayner felt tears in his eyes and bunched his fist against the bed sheets. "Two years running with him and all I get is a fucking sorry."

Seifer touched his back slowly, moving in calming circles. "How long ago was that?" he asked. Hayner could hear his anger in the words - anger at Roxas for leaving him here.

"Two years..." Hayner threaded a hand though his hair and moved to stand up. "Anyway, I've gotta go." He started for the door on unstable legs.

"Oh no." Seifer grabbed his arm, "I am not letting you go again." He pulled the younger to his chest. "And you are going to fucking deal with it." Hayner didn't move for a long moment; simply stood still in Seifer's hold. He knew he should pull away but without the buzz of sound he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he gently laid his head on the others chest.

He missed the sound. It was always there, coaxing him, pulling him, letting him see the right way. The buzz created in his head kept away all the emotions and memories he didn't want either. The sound was good, the buzz was good.

But so were Seifer's arms. They were warm, and strong and he felt he could just let all his weight go and lean on the other. And then there was that noise.

Wait.

Thump

What Noise?

Thump

Hayner held his breath as he listened closely. What was that noise he was hearing?

Thump

Thump

Thump.

"Your heartbeat..." Hayner said, trying not to smile as the realization dawned on him and the memories of the last time he heard that noise came back.

Seifer looked at Hayner through half-lidded eyes glazed over with the need to sleep. "You look tired Seif." Hayner had smirked down at the older.

"What's your point lamer?" The name held none of the menace it once had so Hayner didn't mind when Seifer pulled him into laying on his chest. "Chickenwuss?" the smaller of the pair had to strain to hear his tired voice.

"Yeah Beanie Boy?" he said, brushing back some strands of the now beanie-free hair from his lover's face.

"I love you." Hayner's eyes shot up to find Seifer's closed and a soft expression on his face.

"I… I love you too Seif..."Hayner whispered and kissed his cheek before laying back down. He'd allow himself these few minutes before he left. He'd spend the time memorizing Seifer's heartbeat.

"What about it?" Seifer asked with all the general aggravation in his voice.

"Nothing, I'd just forgotten what a wonderful sound it was."

The songs are Rise Against-Behind Closed door, Shiny Toy Guns-Putting on the Ritz, and Panic At The Disco-Camisado. I hope you guys like it! Review please! And thanks to my wonderful Beta cause she is just so cool :)