Drunk.

Balamb only had the one club, being a small town, and it didn't always have that. Before everyone had to travel to Deling or Dollet and even then there were only 18+ clubs with doormen who are too used to spotting a fake ID…. Unless you made the trip to Esthar.

Anyway at this particular club where everyone went to, Zell sat staring at his drink, noticing how the room looked a different colour through the glass and even without the glass it wasn't very clear anymore. He had his head rested on his arms and let out a long sigh.

The others were off somewhere… probably on the dance floor. Zell only came to drown his sorrows, he got dumped yesterday by his "girlfriend". The one who never meet his friends, whom he had to sneak off to Balamb to visit. Selphie teased him about the invisible girl he was seeing, the little blonde insisted she was too shy to meet his friends. Irvine suggested that she was imaginary.

Well 'she' was really a 'he' and a friend of his mother, a thirty year old friend of his mother so he hadn't told her either.

A thirty year old with issues, it all started off fine they kissed and groped fine and then his "boyfriend" decided it was like cradle robbing so they never went any farther than that. He had been keen… someone must have said something to him.

Not that he thought his friends would mind the gay thing, the age thing might be more an issue, an opportunity for more teasing both from his friends and…. Other people who he wasn't going to mention.

His male friends definitely wouldn't mind the gay thing he thought as Irvine came back to the table alone.

"Hey Zell…."

The blonde groaned.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I don't….feel so…good." He tried to burrow into the table, then leant back in his chair and almost fell off it.

The cowboy laughed. "God how many of them have you had?" He picked up Zell's drink. "Well no more for you."

"Okay." The blonde mumbled back to him.

"Anyway have you seen Squall? He disappeared a second ago and he didn't come back."

"He…. Escaped again?"

The cowboy frowned. "He better not have."

Zell opened his bleary eyes, feeling suddenly very tired and glanced at the chair. He remembered Squall being there a second ago, the brunette also drunk a lot to block out the fact that he was in a club.

"He... Was here.. Maybe…. Maybe he…."

There was movement from under the table. Zell shifted back a bit. "Found him." He announced.

Irvine laughed at poor Squall lying on the floor under the table. "Darlin' what are you doing down there."

The brunette glared at the chair. "I fell." He stated, still sending hatred towards the chair as if it was its fault.

"Okay well-" Irvine got his arms under Squall's dragging him out from under the table and then lifted him to his feet. "-Up you go." He sat Squall down in one of the chairs.

Zell turned his legs to the side of his seat and tried to get up… it took him three tries to get up and then he had to hold onto the table for dear life to stop falling over.

"Irvine I'm gonna…. I'm… I'm-" He rubbed his head to clear it and then tried again. "I'm gonna go k?"

"Go? Zell you can hardly walk, wait till I go get the others and then we'll go together okay?" Irvine wasn't drunk he had spend all night dancing that he had only had time to drink one bottle of beer.

Zell shook his head. "I'm fine…I…. take care of…." He swallowed as he suddenly felt very ill. "…of myself."

"Uh huh." Irvine replied doubtfully. "I'll go get the others, you two stay here and I'll be right back okay?"

Zell watched the cowboy leave. Who was he to tell Zell what to do? He could get home alone it wasn't that far.

"I'll go now okay Squall? Squall?!" He asked, the brunette was leaning very precariously and then…. Fell off his chair again.

Zell shook his head. At least he wasn't that drunk.

The little blonde made his way to the door, wobbling every time someone knocked into him and every jolt went straight to his stomach.

He made it out into the fresh air and took a deep breath, he felt a little better now that he was out of that stuffy place and without the pounding music to make him feel worse.

iiiiiiiiii

Seifer was having a terrible night, he had just come back for a mission to the southern end of Esthar where there had been an outbreak of disease so he and the rest of the Seeds had had to be inoculated with regular injections. As he came back this morning he had had an injection before he left and rule number one was do not drink within 24 hours of getting vaccinated.

So he really hadn't wanted to go to that club but bloody Fujin had wanted to cheer him up so he had gone.

They all got a table and the other two sat with him and stared at the dance floor but didn't want to leave Seifer on his own.

"Oh for Christ's sake just go!" He yelled after five minutes of watching the couple fidget.

They shared a look and got up and left the table.

Seifer sighed. Great he was alone, single and he couldn't drink anything.

After humouring his friends for about an hour he got up to go, catching a glimpse of that little yellow annoying girl dancing terribly and Rinoa looking a little worse of wear…. No sign of the guys they usually hang around with though.

He shrugged and headed out before Fujin noticed and dragged him back for more "fun".

He exited the building grimacing at the drunken couples hanging off each other in the alleyway outside.

After stepping over a guy lying on the floor he started on the road to garden, which was pretty quiet so it was easy to spot the lump lying at the side of the road, the figure started to then crawl up the road as Seifer neared him.

The frown turned into a smirk though when he recognized the tattoo and that spiked blonde hair.

A groan fell from those lips that he had thought about a few times more than he should have done.

"Chickie?"

Zell's head lifted slightly and he fell over on the grass again. "Oh great…" He mumbled sarcastically. "Seifer…. What…g-go away…"

The taller blonde chuckled. "Aww Chickie are you feeling rough?"

"Go…'way."

"That's not very nice… not when I'm the only one out here to stop you getting eaten from any passing monsters that eat chicken."

Zell didn't open his eyes, he lay on his back with one arm over his eyes.

"Chickie?" He asked again, peering closer.

"Chickie you better not have passed on me here?! Zell!" He shook him, which wasn't best thing to do. The little blonde sat up quickly and promptly threw up on the grass.

"Urgh god Chickie what the hell are you doing out here on your own anyway?"

Zell wiped the back of his hand over his mouth.

"Where are those friends of yours?" Then he remembered seeing the girls 'trying' to dance back there.

"Okay-" He reached down and took hold of Zell's upper arms and lifted him to his feet. "We'll go back to garden." He pointed at Zell's unfocused eyes as he spoke to him.

"If you puke on me Dincht you'll be paying for my cleaning bill got it?"

The little blonde nodded… or at least he inclined his head, Seifer wasn't sure if that was nod or not.

The taller man swung Zell's arm around his shoulders and helped him walk. Zell leant heavily against him but managed to stay conscious for a few steps and then his body went limp.

Seifer sighed and glanced around.

"You better damn well hope no one I know sees me like this Chickie." He said to the unconscious boy before hoisting him up into his arms, one hand under his legs and other around his shoulders.

Zell's limp head leant against his shoulder.

iiiiiiii

Irvine frowned as he neared the table not seeing either of the guys there, when he was nearer he spotted Squall on the floor again.

"Squall, where's Zell?"

The brunette blinked at him blearily.

"Are we leaving?" Selphie asked, she supported Rinoa who wasn't as bad as Squall but not too steady on her feet either.

"Yes we are." Irvine got Squall up again.

"Where's Zell?"

"I don't know he had wanted to leave earlier, but he told him to stay here maybe he didn't listen."

Selphie chewed her lip as she followed the guys out into the air. "Shouldn't we look for him? He could be injured or dead or-"

"Or he could be home by now, I'm sure he can manage."

Selphie frowned. "We'll look for him tomorrow right?"

"Of course but I'm sure he made it back to garden… or maybe we'll see him on the way."

Once outside Irvine hoisted Squall into his arms and Rinoa managed to walk with support from Selphie.

iiiiiiii

Zell groaned as the morning light assaulted his eyes and he realized he had a huge head ache. "Oh… my…. God…"

"So you're finally awake then?"

Zell jumped out of his skin, head turning round wildly to see Seifer sitting at his dining table with a newspaper open in front of him.

"S-Seifer?"

The blonde put down the paper and swivelled to face him. "How you feeling this morning then Chickie?"

The short blonde glanced around the room, suddenly noticed that this was not his room. "Is this your dorm?"

Seifer nodded. "Well done for noticing that."

"How…." He stumbled to sit up on the sofa. "How did I get here?"

"I found you sitting at the side of the road remember?"

Zell shook his head.

"Well anyway you were very drunk and I'd rather you didn't mention to anyone that you were here."

Zell wrinkled his brow. "Why not?"

"If people were to find out about my sudden act kindness they might start to think I've gone soft or something."

Zell scoffed. "You, soft?" He chuckled and then frowned. "Is that all you're worried about? You precious reputation?!"

"Well…. Yeah."

"Ugh." Zell mumbled in disgust. "Can I- Can I use your shower before I go?"

The tall blonde seemed to consider it.

Zell rolled his eyes. "Oh my god's sake, it's not like I'm going to pollute it!"

"Fine, have a shower, take some pain killers then get your little chicken ass back to your own dorm okay?"

"Tch fine." He grumbled, stumbling into the bathroom.

iiiiiiii

Selphie stood outside Zell's dorm chewing her lip nervously. Irvine hammered on the little blonde's door repeatedly calling for him.

"I told you!" She said. "We should never have left without looking for him, he could have been eaten with the condition he was in."

"I know I know." The cowboy replied guiltily. "We'll ask around, there were loads of people from garden at that place last night someone must have seen him."

"Must have seen who?" Quistis asked.

"Zell, we can't find him."

"Still?" She asked. "Rinoa told me, he left without you guys. I'm sure Zell is capable for looking after himself."

"Not with the state he was in last night. Quisty you didn't see him, he was drowning his sorrows all night and got completely plastered!"

"We can put an announcement out over the speaker system and ask everyone to look for Zell."

"Good idea!" Selphie agreed. "And if that doesn't work we can-?"

"What's going on?"

They jumped at the familiar voice from behind them. Zell stood rubbing his forehead a little. He was wearing the same clothes he wore to the club.

"Zell!"

"Ugh not so loud Selphie! I still feel like crap today."

"We were about to send out the search party for you darlin'" Irvine told him. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Been? I've been here, I got back last night… though I can't remember much."

"But we looked everywhere for you, in your dorm, the cafeteria, the library, everywhere."

"Oh…. Yeah…" He suddenly remembered the not being in his dorm thing. "I err was with… a…. friend." Not that Seifer was a friend, at all, he was a complete shit but he had promised not to tell anyone that the older man had taken him in.

"A friend?" Selphie's interest increased, if she had been a puppy her ears would have stood up.

"Yeah a friend let me sleep on their couch."

Irvine smiled. "And what friend would that be then?"

"Oh…. No one you know." He started to walk past them.

"But I thought we knew all your friends."

"No… I have friends in Balamb too."

"But you said you spent the night here in garden."

The little blonde frowned. He did say that didn't he? Oh dear. "I um well… I haven't had breakfast yet so I really should be…."

Irvine had pushed off the wall now with that damned knowing smirk. "It's just that with you disappearing on us and then turning up this morning wearing the same clothes as you did last night from your stay with your "friend", how could we not think that you….you…." He grinned.

Selphie grinned and jumped up and down. "Zell got laid!!"

The blonde gaped, flushed and flustered. "I did not! I-I was drunk and I passed out and a… person helped me back to garden and I slept on their sofa, that's all!"

They were still grinning at him.

Quistis gave him a smile. "You've got to admit it looks bad Zell, maybe if you told us who you were with…?"

They all looking expectantly up at him.

He opened his mouth and then shut it again. "It's none of your business!" He glared and turned to walk away to get breakfast. With them all 'whoo whoo-ing' behind him.

iiiiiiiiii

Zell bit into his hotdog trying to ignore the grinning Selphie who sat opposite him begging for clues to what happened the night before.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Ohhhhhhhhh why not? I'm a friend, I won't tell anyone."

He scoffed.

"I won't!" She insisted. "Not if you don't want me to!"

He studied her, she did look sincere.

"Well….Maybe I could-"

She went back to full grin mode again. "Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!" She started pawing at him like an impatient puppy.

"Alright alright!" He pulled away from her. "I really, really did just sleep on the sofa though."

She nodded in a doubtful way. "Of course you did, and who were you staying with?"

"It was…." He looked up when Seifer walked in. "Urm…. It was….err…. No one."

"What?!" She shrieked "But you were just about to…" She jumped when a hand landed on her chair from behind.

"What do you want?" She frowned at Seifer.

The tall blonde was glaring at Zell. "I have to talk to the Chickie…. Alone, get lost!"

She put her hands on her hips. "Anything you have to say to Zell, you can say with me here."

Seifer glanced between the squirming blonde and the mean looking brunette. "I'll come back later." He went to move away.

"You know…." Selphie started to say. "I'm starting to think you're turning over a new leaf, with all these good deeds you're doing lately."

"Good deeds?" He glared at Zell. "You told her didn't you?!"

"No! I didn't!"

"Told me what?!" Selphie glanced between them.

"What good deeds?"

"Oh, Quisty said you volunteered to help set up the kids equipment in the quad for the junior class."

"Oh that yeah… I was "ordered" to volunteer by commander frostbite."

"Why?!

"He said he'd overlook a complaint about me if I did."

"A complaint about you? Never!" Selphie added sarcastically.

Seifer frowned.

"Anyway…" She leant on the back of her chair with a smirk. "Told me what?"

Zell grimaced. He had hoped she's forget about that.

"I helped out the little Chickie last night, that's all."

She grinned and then laughed, turning round to point at Zell. "You were with Seifer!"

"It's not what you think!" He started to shake his head constantly.

"You two!"

Seifer looked confused.

"I didn't know you two were…. You know-ing."

"We're not Selphie!" Zell insisted.

"We're not what? What's going on?!"

"They think we slept together."

"WHAT?!" Seifer shrieked.

"I mean they think we had sex."

Seifer grimaced. "I heard you the first time, please don't repeat it, it's too horrifying!"

"Horrifying?!" Zell frowned. "Hey, it's worse for me you know? I don't want to be linked to you!"

"Same goes Chickie!"

Selphie glanced back and forward between the you of them grinning. "Aww a lover's tiff."

"Will you stop saying that!" They yelled together.

"Wait till I tell Irvy!"

"Wait! You can't tell anyone!"

"You promised you wouldn't tell them if I told you!"

"But it's different now, everyone else knows!" She gestured around to the packed cafeteria, where all the tables were now giggling, whispering and looking at them.

Seifer paled. "Great." Raijin and Fujin would have a field day with this.

The tall blonde pushed off the back of Selphie's chair and stalked away quickly.

Zell hid his face in his arm.

"Why didn't you tell me it was Seifer?"

"He made me promise not to, didn't want to hurt his reputation."

Selphie frowned. "That bastard! You'd think he was ashamed of you or something! Please tell me you're not going to see him again are you?"

Zell whined. "Oh Selphie, we did not have sex! And we're never ever, ever going to!" He pushed his chair back hard enough for it to fall over and then he walked out.

Garden was much more unbearable since everyone started obsessing about this affair he was apparently having with Seifer. Girls would ask him things in the corridor, guys would drop Seifer's name into conversation and then look at Zell and snigger.

He wasn't sure he could take anymore of this.

He jumped when Selphie walked up to him from behind and nudged him in the side. "Hey stud, where's your loverboy?"

"Don't call him that."

"Sorry." She smirked.

"I don't know where he is and I don't care."

"Awww did you two have a fight?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Listen…." She grabbed his arm excitedly. "I- Well- We were thinking this weekend maybe you'd like to like to ask Seifer to join us."

"What? Why?"

"Well when Squall and Rinoa were still together she got him to come, we thought you could do the same."

Zell sighed. "Selphie we've been over this, Seifer and I are not a-"

"Not a couple I know." She smiled. "You do like your little secrets." She giggled.

"Anyway do you think he'd come, if you know you asked…. As a friend of course."

"No I don't want him there! And he won't want to either!"

She pouted. "What's wrong honey? You seem upset."

"Upset?! Of course I'm upset you're making my life hell!" He started to walk away and she tried to keep up.

The blonde started to jog and then run, Selphie was surprisingly quick on her little legs. A crowd was coming up so he ducked around a group of girls and run along the edge next the wall, seeing an opportunity he run for the closet going up on the right.

He opened the door and disappeared inside, the door swung shut behind him. He sighed in relief.

"What the hell are you doing in here Chickie!?"

The blonde jumped. "W-What the--- Seifer?! What are you doing in here?!"

"What do you think I'm doing? I was hiding, thanks to you I've been stalked all day by little fan girls!"

"Thanks to me?!"

Seifer was leaning on the wall, his arm cuddling a vacuum cleaner, which threatened to fall forward if he wasn't holding it.

Zell stood with his back against the door, half a step from Seifer as the closet was only a small space.

"This is not my fault! If you had left me to get home myself this wouldn't have happened!"

"Left you? To get eaten by some monster?!"

Zell bristled. "I can take care of myself!"

"Oh yes and you were in such good shape on that night weren't you?!" He frowned. "All I asked was for you to keep that big trap of yours shut but noooo that was too difficult for you weren't it?!"

Zell gaped. "I didn't tell Selphie! You did!"

"I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

Seifer frowned. "I'm not staying in here if I have to listen to you whine!" He stepped forward and shoved the little blonde out of the way to get to the door.

Zell grabbed Seifer's coat to stop himself falling and gave him a light slap on the arm. "You asshole I could have fallen!"

Seifer ignored him and grabbed the door handle, which came off in his hand.

Both blondes stared in horror.

"Look what you did asshole!"

"Me? I was fine when it was just me in here you must have done something!"

"Why would I do that?!"

"I don't know maybe to get some quality time in here with me, I know I'm irresistible and all." He smirked at the short blonde.

"Asshole, I would never want to-"

"Yeah yeah we both know you're hot for me Chickie!"

Zell sputtered angrily. "I am not-- I bet you're hot for me, you're the one who "rescued" me that night. Very unusually kind act for you Seifer, sure you didn't have any other intentions?"

The tall blonde rolled his eyes. "Yeah right I think about kissing you all the time, probably like snogging a wet fish."

"Fish?! Hey at least I'm only just single, when was the last time I ever saw you with anyone."

Seifer didn't say anything.

"I think there's got to be a reason for that right? What's the matter? Are you no good in bed is that it?"

The tall blonde's head snapped up and he pushed the short man roughly against the wall.

"Did I touch a nerve? Hit too close to home?" Zell smirked at him.

Then suddenly the older man grinned at him wickedly, which was very worrying.

"Well…. why don't you tell me?"

Zell frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

With that grin firmly in place the tall blonde sunk to him knees.

Zell's eyes were wide. "S-Seifer what the hell are y---"

Seifer worked to get into the other man's pants.

"Seifer!" He hands moved up to weakly push him away, his confusion making him slow. He wasn't sure if Seifer was being serious or not.

Then a hand moved into his boxers and he jumped. "I-I-I didn't mean f-f-for you to prove a-any- anything…."

His boxers were pushed down his legs and hand wrapped firmly around his erection. He shuddered and leant back on the door, hoping it would take his weight, the last thing he wanted was for the door to give way and have him sprawled in the hall with his pants around his ankles. That would not help people believe that he and Seifer were not a couple.

Zell almost yelped at the strangeness of the situation when lips brushed over the head of his cock, light and teasing breathing over him.

The little blonde sighed as Seifer took the head into his mouth, fingers starting to move into the taller man's hair.

He moaned when Seifer took more of him into his throat and those smug eyes flicked up meet his own.

Zell was flushed but still tried hard to glare at him, arrogant smug bastard.

Those eyes seemed to laugh at him.

A hand moved up to grip the base of his erection and pump in time with his lips and that damned tongue traced invisible lines of his flesh.

Zell's fingers gripped harder in blonde hair, relaxing his weight on the door.

He jumped out of his pleasure haze when the other man started to circle a finger at the entrance to Zell's body, a surprisingly wet finger. He must have missed something because he couldn't remember the other man's lips leaving his body long enough to lubricate his fingers.

He parted his lips and cried out a little when a finger pressed into his body, not really in pain just at the new sensation.

Those eyes were looking at him again in…. concern.

Wow that was a first, Seifer Almasy concerned about someone other than himself.

The digit moved all the way into the knuckle then pulled out almost all the way and was joined with a friend.

Those fingers pressed in deep and hard something that made the short man jerk forward, thrusting up to meet the digits.

That smug look was back again in Seifer's eyes and he quickened the pace, taking him in short fast thrusts, his fingers barely leaving his prostate.

Zell shut his eyes and thrust forward, arching off the door as he came into Seifer's mouth.

The taller man paused to lick him clean before he started to gloat. He pulled back, grin firmly in place.

"Oh shut up!" The little blonde snapped, struggling to pull up his pants before he fell over them.

"So?" He asked.

"What?" Zell snapped back.

"Any good?"

The little blonde glared at him. "I never said anything about blowjobs remember? I just-"

"Accused me of being bad in bed." He grinned. "If you want to we can-"

"No!" He turned to the door and grabbed at where the handle used to be before he remembered why he was still in there anyway. "Oh crap!" He shoved at the door.

It was time he was going. He looked over his shoulder as Seifer loomed over him, he looked down and his eyes widened seeing the other man's bulge in his pants.

It was definitely time he was going!!

He tugged on the door, a hand came over his shoulder and landed heavily on the door stopping his attempts at opening it.

"Chickie." A voice breathed in his ear, tickling his skin.

A deep chuckle rumbled behind him. "You know you're looking really cute today Chickie."

The little blonde turned around to try and defend himself. "Now look Seifer."

The tall blonde was… almost draped all over him. He squatted at a hand that tried to get too friendly. "If you help me get out of here, you can go and relieve your-" He glanced down quickly again. "Urges…. On someone you really want."

"I want you."

"Because we're the only two people here."

"Well somebody turned me on, so now it's your problem." He chuckled and closed the gap.

Zell 'eep-ed' before he was caught.

iiiiiiiiii

Zell marched into the cafeteria and straight up to the table where his friends sat, they all whooped at him as they usually did since they thought he was sleeping with Seifer.

"Guys! I did not sleep with Seifer that night I got drunk! I swear on all of our lives, we did not have sex! I slept on his couch before I was too drunk to remember my door code but that's it!"

They all blinked at him silently. "You didn't? Really?" Selphie asked.

"Really! I swear I never touched him."

"Oh." She looked at Irvine, who looked at Quistis. "I guess you really did sleep on the couch then."

He sighed in relief and slumped into the chair.

"So…. You're not sleeping with Seifer?" Selphie asked slowly.

"No….Well…. I didn't that night no…." He covered his face with a palm. "But I am now."

Selphie grinned. "What? Really?"

Irvine and Quistis just stared at him. "But I thought- You said you-"

"I know… I didn't mean to, there was a cupboard incident."

"But that's great!" Selphie grinned.

"No, no it's not, there is no great here!" He slumped. "Now I have to put up with him being forever smug… for the rest of my life!"

His friends all looked up and Selphie wolf whistled so he knew he was in trouble.

"Chickie." Seifer greeted when Zell looked over his shoulder.

"What do you want?" He glared at him.

"That's not a very nice way to greet me Chickie."

"Did you ask him?" Selphie asked.

"Ask me what?"

"Zell was supposed to ask you if you wanted to come with us this weekend, we're going on Friday coming back on the Monday to Esthar, Squall's going to see his daddy and we're going clubbing and stuff."

Zell shook his head. "I'm sure he wouldn't want to Selphie."

The tall blonde grinned. "Actually…"

Zell turned and glared at him. "You don't want to come."

"I do want to come!"

"No you can't come, there's not enough room for you."

"I can share your room." He smirked.

Zell glared at him. "No you can't…. and anyway we only have six train tickets."

"I can buy another."

"Too short notice, you'll never get a seat."

"I can have yours and you can sit on my lap."

Selphie giggled. "That's settled then."

"What?!" Zell turned to his friends. "You can't seriously want to take him with us, he'll ruin everything!"

An arm draped over him and Seifer leaned in to grin at him. "I'll promise to behave myself Chickie."

"You better!" Zell frowned at him. "And you're not sharing my room."

"We are staying at the palace I'm sure Laguna will be able to find him a room of his own." Irvine said.

Selphie clapped her hands together. "That's that sorted out then."

Zell hid his face in his hand. "This can't be happening to me."

Seifer sat beside him. "Now I'll be around for a long time Chickie." He grinned at him.

"Great." He muttered, half heartedly.

iiiiiiiiii

THE END

Zell loved Seifer really, he's just being difficult!"