This fic was written for a contest in a seiner group on devART, the prompt was Family.

Biting his lip, he took a deep breath before entering the workout room that Seifer was currently occupying. It was an unreasonably cold day, so there weren't many other people at the gym today, and those who were exercising were in the cardio room. It was nice to have the room to just the two of them in the event their conversation ended with him bleeding on the ground. Also no one would notice the way he openly stared at the half-naked fighter's back as he attacked the sand bag. So what if he had an epic gay crush on the scarred blond, he couldn't be the only one. As he approached the other the blue-eyed teen finally noticed him and stopped what he was doing to turn and look at him questioningly.

"What brings you here, chickenwuss?" He asked as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair to slick it back.

"My mom and I are going to Icicle Inn for winter break, I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Hayner returned, managing to keep his voice from betraying his inner mantra of 'please don't punch me'.

It seemed he was lucky enough to catch the bully in a good mood because instead of clocking him outright, he just cocked his head to the side a little and quirked an eyebrow. He was likely wondering why the hell his rival was asking him to join him on Christmas vacation, which was really a valid question. He didn't know that the brown-eyed skater was stupidly in love with him, for one, and had never had the pleasure of meeting his slightly terrifying mother who had pressured him into asking for another.

"Are you serious, or did you wake up with a death wish and decide to piss me off today?"

"I'm completely serious, if I wanted to piss you off I would have just punched you or insulted you. That would have required a lot less effort. Look, if you don't want to, all you have to do is say no."

"Sure, I'll go. Spending winter break with you couldn't possibly be any worse than spending it alone. What time are you leaving?"

"We're leaving on the seventeenth at eleven; we'll be coming back on the twenty-fourth. Fuu and Rai won't be back until after then, right?"

"It's really creepy that you know that. But yeah, they're gone till the first, visiting family or some shit. Not sure how they can stand to be cooped up with relatives for almost three weeks, but then I don't have a real family, so guess I wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, I guess…pack warm clothes and whatever you need to entertain yourself. Um, you're really not going to hit me for asking?" He felt uncomfortable, like he always did when the older teen brought up the fact that he was an orphan with adoptive parents who gave him an apartment to stay in by himself and didn't even call on his birthday; he felt like he should do something to comfort him, but had no idea what.

"'Course not, it's the holiday season lamer, I'm required to be nice to you. Unless you wanted to go a few rounds in the ring? There's no one for me to spar with today, Cid's back is bothering him because of the cold and everyone else is too pussy to come in this weather."

Seifer had taught him how to box last summer, and had recently been trying to get him into mixed martial arts. He was learning a lot faster than most people because of his experience with struggle, but it was still difficult to deal with the muscular male on top of him constantly in their mock MMA fights. Then again, he doubted the sand bag was providing the blue-eyed blond with a good workout, and he could really use some sort of physical outlet for all the stress of the exams he had this week. He got the distinct feeling that something was on Seifer's mind and it was bothering him, so maybe it would be best for both of them.

"Sure, let me put my coat away and I'll spar with you. Just don't give me a black eye this time, you're only allowed to do that when we're fighting for real," he added before turning to head to the locker room.

"That was an accident and you know it."

It actually had been, but that didn't mean he couldn't chide the other teen about it. He shoved his coat into a locker and was suddenly grateful he decided to wear loose sweatpants here because it was really difficult to fight properly in jeans. It was also nice that he got to use the gym for free, because Cid had sort of taken Seifer under his wing as the orphaned male's replacement father figure, and according to the chain smoker, Hayner was 'the only little shit around here up to the task of trading blows with Seif'. He warmed up quickly before meeting his rival in the fighting ring, slipping into it and hoping this wouldn't be a complete wash. He didn't stand a chance of winning, but he'd rather not get his ass handed to him.

Three minutes later found him pinned and breathing heavily under the bully, a wide smirk on his scarred face. His eyes traced the path of a bead of sweat down his bare chest and he could feel himself start to get somewhat aroused. It happened quite often when they fought like this, either in the ring or on the concrete, and there was always a nagging voice in the back of his head that told him Seifer not only knew the effect he had on his younger rival, but enjoyed it. That was ridiculous though, even though the teen with ice-colored eyes seemed the type to swing both ways, he saw Hayner as a punching bag, not a prospect.

"I know I'm hot, but you don't have to stare, chickie."

Snarling, he used the opening the other's distracted state left to throw the older boy off him, punching him lightly in the jaw before getting up and stepping away to put some distance between them. Seifer got up and smirked at him, rubbing his chin. They grappled for a moment and Hayner overbalanced his opponent, bringing them crashing back to the ground, the lithe teen on top. His attempt at a pin, legs tangled with the other's and arms barely holding him down, didn't last long and he was quickly bucked off. His left arm was wrenched behind his back as the other immediately attempted to down him in return, putting his full weight on top of his smaller opponent. Grunting from the pain of having his arm twisted harshly, he stayed down this time, realizing the only way he could get free would be to simultaneously dislocate his arm and twist around to kick him off. This was just practice, there was no reason to seriously injure himself to avoid losing.

"I cede, now get off me," he spat, irritated that it had only taken the older boy this long to win the first round.

With a snicker, the muscular teen drew away languidly, backing away enough to avoid a sucker punch if Hayner felt so inclined. It always amazed him that someone as outwardly bulky as Seifer could move with such grace; a long time ago he realized that the leader of the Disciplinary Committee didn't just work out to get those muscles, he fought other people constantly. People who used their bodies to stay alive couldn't afford to move awkwardly like the smaller teen did. The only time he won matches was through rage and sheer force of will, he'd probably never obtain the kind of finesse his opponent had, but sometimes a brawler could defeat a skilled fighter if conditions were right.

The upside of MMA was that, at least to his knowledge, there wasn't a ton that was against the rules. They were just dicking around, so they didn't try to hurt one another, but beyond that pretty much anything was fair game. Instead of getting up and starting the next round normally, he made to stand and then proceeded to sweep the other's legs out from under him, bringing him down hard on the mat. Dragging him into a headlock, he was solidly wrapped around the blue-eyed blond who was making vague choking sounds. Two taps on the white ring signaled for his release when he couldn't breathe well enough to say anything.

"You're getting a lot better at this," Seifer commented as he rubbed his neck, deep breaths drawing his broad chest in and out powerfully.

"Why don't we finish for the day? I'm kind of worn out and we have school tomorrow."

"As if, you just want to stop while we're tied for once, chickie," the gang leader corrected with a knowing smirk, using the slightly more endearing nickname again. He kind of liked that one, it was better than lamer or chickenwuss at least. It was still his favorite when the bully actually referred to him using his given name, but that rarely happened. Usually only when he was seriously injured did that one come out, laced with worry and fear, sometimes regret.

"So? You're obviously just off your game for now; I figured I'd let you off early before I beat you again."

"Whatever you say, lamer. I'll see you at school tomorrow, try not to fall in the snow and die. Thanks for the match."

"I'm always happy to humble you a bit, Seifer. See ya."

He left the gym much more cheered than he entered it, not just because he'd actually bested his opponent for once. In less than a week he'd be headed north with his crush, to spend two weeks with him. Even if Seifer didn't like him, even as a friend, at least they could act as a pseudo family for him.

After two straight nights of studying with a little bit of sleep to help him memorize the information he'd gathered, Hayner managed to do well on his exams, with the exception of history which he was terrible in and got a C+. He'd have to ask Seifer if the bully could give him some help in it, for some strange reason in the two classes they shared, Hayner was in the top five of one and Seifer of the other, and each one was barely passing in their other subject. It would be convenient if they could get along well enough to study with one another. Not that he was looking for ways to spend more time with his crush; that would just be sad and desperate.

Their last day of class was Monday the twelfth, for some stupid reason they had to have that extra day in there before letting out for vacation. Then again they had three weeks off so he couldn't complain too loudly. So he'd suffered through some Christmas parties and getting the results of his exams, spent some time afterschool with the gang, and was on his way home at close to five in the evening. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but unfortunately for him, he was intercepted along the way. Two boys and a girl, people he vaguely knew from school and didn't really like, were standing in a group down the road he had to travel to get home. At first he thought it was a coincidence and walked past them, and then he heard one say something and felt a sharp pain in the side of his head. Blinking, he found himself face down in the snow without any recollection of falling, a throbbing ache where he'd apparently been struck. A few feet from his head lay a chunk of ice slightly smaller than his fist, clear color marred with flecks of red.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" He spat angrily, sitting up on his knees and glaring at them, dizzy.

"'Cause unlike all your gay friends, we're not fans of fags like you."

Oh right, he'd come out this week. Not very subtly either, he expected backlash when he wore a rainbow recruiter shirt yesterday, but he didn't really think people would start braining him with balls of ice. Some people were just assholes, he supposed. Struggling to his feet, everything started vibrating and he collapsed again, entirely certain he was at least moderately concussed, if not worse. Blood dripped from his chin into the snow beneath him, soaking into it and tingeing it pink.

"What's wrong, too pansy to even walk?"

He grunted, barely containing his anger as he found his feet and started trudging home again. It wasn't in his interest to get into a fight with them, for one he was outnumbered and already injured, and for another he didn't need to deal with the legal implications of assault. They were clearly whiny bitches, so he didn't doubt they'd try to report him. The group seemed to be following him, throwing taunts his way, or at least he assumed they were insulting him; he was ignoring them completely. Fast footsteps neared him and he was surprised to discover that they belonged not to one of his attackers, but to Seifer. He looked concerned when his eyes fell on the cut on the smaller blond's temple.

"Don't mind their homophobia, Hayner, they just wish they could be as cool as us," he commented before grabbing his rival's right hand and lacing their fingers together.

He blushed immediately, not entirely sure what the other was doing holding his hand, but not really disliking it either. The bully had even used his name for the first time in at least a month. And…Us? Was Seifer actually outing himself to strangers to take the flak off Hayner? Maybe he'd actually been hit harder than he thought and he was hallucinating, or still unconscious.

"The fuck, Almasy, you a fag too?" The second boy asked, disbelieving.

"Stop using that word or I'll shove your fist down your throat, fuckface. I'm more of an equal opportunity kind of guy myself, but for the sake of this argument, sure, I'm gay. If you've got a problem with homosexuals you can take it up with me, got it? Leave Hayner the fuck alone or I'll find out where you live."

The trio took off running now, apparently not finding their bullying fun anymore. He was tense, just waiting for this show of friendliness to end now that they were gone. There wasn't an audience to defend him against, so the scarred teen would just revert back to his normal taunts, maybe knock him down in the snow, definitely not keep holding his hand or anything of the like. Any time now…

"I'm taking you to the hospital, okay? Head injuries aren't something to mess with, you're brain damaged enough as it is."

A long pause followed his words, during which time the injured teen was mostly waiting for the whole friendly thing to fall apart. He wasn't actually offended, as far as the larger boy's insults went that one was downright tame. Maybe even kind of funny.

"I was joking by the way. Hey, say something to me, chickie. Otherwise I'm going to assume you've been rendered mute and start filling in your answers for you."

"Why did you do that?"

"Aw, I was going to have so much fun trying to imitate you too. As far as why, there are a multitude of motivations for that little show back there. I hate homophobes, it's beyond not okay to hit people with chunks of ice, and I wanted to help you. I'm the only one allowed to make fun of you, no one else. Are you feeling okay, by the way? Dizzy, nauseous, faint?"

"All of the above. I think I'm concussed."

"More than likely. Come on, it's just another mile."

They were within sight of the hospital when he felt a wave of dizziness more intense than the others wash over him and his knees buckled. Everything appeared to be vibrating again, so he closed his eyes before the movement made him any more nauseous than he already was. From there everything faded away, first Seifer's voice, then the feeling of cold snow on his legs, and lastly the pain in his head.

Swearing as he dragged the unconscious teen out of the snow and onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry, Seifer briefly considered figuring where those assholes lived regardless of whether they left his rival alone or not. If the bastards had caused Hayner serious harm he was going to make their lives hell. Entering the doors to the ER, he got some ridiculous looks, but one of the male nurses manning the patient registration booth came out to help him. They carried his charge away and told him to sit in the waiting room, one of the assistants going to page the brown-eyed teen's mother. She worked in the hospital, she was a lab technician and a radiographer or something like that, so at least it wouldn't be a long way for her to go.

An hour of half-hearted magazine reading in the waiting room later, a woman in her early forties with soft blond hair the same color as Hayner's walked out of the hospital proper, wearing a white lab coat and looking official. Her green eyes zeroed in on him immediately and she walked over to him, hands on her slim hips. He could definitely see where her son got his bone and facial structure.

"You're Seifer, right? The bully that for some reason my son wants to spend more time than usual with? Were you there when this happened?"

"Yeah, I was around for part of it, but I didn't do that to him. I know who did though," he replied, wondering if she would believe him.

"Of course you didn't, you've never hurt Hay that bad. That blow to the head could have killed him, as it is he's severely concussed and might not remember anything from today or even a few weeks back. I am going to the police station to file a report, and you are coming with me. Then you can come home with me and have a nice dinner and stay the night. I'd like to know more about the boy I'll be taking on vacation with my family than just what I've heard from Hayner."

He realized he had no choice in the matter and nodded before asking, "Is he alright otherwise, nothing serious? Do they have any idea when he's going to wake up?"

"He should wake up some time tonight or tomorrow, there's no real brain damage that we can see with just an MRI machine. He just needs to be kept overnight for monitoring. They'll call me right away if he wakes up, a friend of mine will be watching him so she'll take good care of him."

"If he wakes up, will you get me up before you come here? I'd like to see him too."

Maybe it was out of character from what she knew of him through Hayner to show concern, but he really was worried about his chickenwuss. It infuriated him to think that the smaller boy had been seriously injured, almost killed, just because he had the balls to come out of the closet. As soon as he'd seen the sandy-blond wearing that shirt yesterday, he knew there would be some kind of negative consequence, but this was way too much. He didn't deserve to be punished for being himself, and Seifer was going to hurt anyone that tried.

The ride over to the police station was somewhat awkward, mostly because he had no idea how to deal with older women. His mother died when he was a ten so he didn't have a ton of practice. He also knew very little about the matriarch of the Dincht household, just that her husband had died in a car accident when Hayner was five, she worked at the hospital, and she had a temper and stubborn streak only slightly milder than her offspring's. The scarred blond was automatically inclined to like her though, she reminded him a lot of Hayner, and he honestly got along with him better than everyone except Fuu and Rai.

"Thank you for bringing my son to the hospital, by the way. At first, I didn't believe him when he said despite all your fights, you weren't a bad person. I am more able to see his side of things now, you really do care. Sure as hell have an odd way of showing it though."

"Sorry about always beating up your son. Trust me, it's not as one-sided as it seems."

"Oh, I know. He's broken three of your ribs, your left arm once, right arm twice, and your lower right leg once. I'm a radiographer, I've seen all your x-rays from the ER. You two are pretty much even, so I can't really resent you for it. I know my son too well to think you threw the first punch every time."

"I've started dragging him to the gym to spar with me, it helps vent his aggression, and we usually come out in as many pieces as we entered. You know, since the doctor told me if I break my leg in the same place I might never walk right again. It's in both our best interests."

"I appreciate that. I really dislike coming home to my only child bruised and bloody."

"Why are you okay with me coming along for your vacation, anyway? It's already impossible for me to figure out why Hayner asked me in the first place, I have no idea why you'd allow it."

"He said he didn't want you to have another break without a family to spend it with, since your adoptive parents don't have any kind of celebration or get-together. I couldn't really argue with him on that one, and an extra person is hardly a strain since we get two rooms anyway. So for this one, you're an honorary member of our family. Hopefully you can put up with sharing a room with each other for a week, I'll be in the one next door trying to ignore you."

"I'm sure we can manage, we get along a lot better than most people think. It's just when outside influences piss us off that we're at each other's throat. I guess we're just one another's punching bag."

They arrived at the station and he dragged himself inside, cold and tired. He understood that it was his job to explain what happened to the cops so they could discipline the kids that were involved in this, but he really wanted to just curl up in a warm bed. Not his fault he hated the winter. After he gave his testimony, they made him show them where the incident had taken place, one officer taking a picture of the weapon that was left behind, the other putting it in a polystyrene container lined with icepacks. There was still blood in the snow, and their footprints as well. He guessed they didn't expect to get in trouble for it so they didn't bother removing the evidence against them. Hayner wouldn't have to deal with them for a while, they'd all likely get expelled for being involved.

The car was quiet on the ride home, though the driver did glance over at him with mild concern the one time he failed to suppress a shiver. As soon as they got inside she set to making him some hot chocolate to warm him up, explaining all the symptoms of hypothermia he was displaying. No wonder Hayner did so well in biology but was shit in history, his mother babbled to him about science constantly. He'd have to ask the smaller male to help him with his bio homework in exchange for getting him through history with a grade his mother wouldn't flip her shit over.

She made a quick dinner of macaroni and cheese while explaining the intricacies of epigenetics, apparently she was taking a few online courses every semester at a big university to get a second doctorate, this one in genetics. It was no wonder she was able to raise a child by herself and maintain a career at the hospital, she was tireless, and more than a little crazy. Their dinner was…okay, he guessed. It actually made him sad, that feeling of emptiness he got whenever he thought about his parents returning to dampen his already shitty mood. It was easier to deal with when he wasn't reminded of what he was missing.

"How old are you, Seifer? I know you're older than Hayner, though you're in the same grade."

"I'm seventeen, but I'll be eighteen soon. I wasn't held back, I just missed a lot of school because I was shuffled family to family for a while before one let me stay."

"How soon is your birthday?"

"Uh, three days before Christmas, actually. I hate this month, to be honest with you. My parents died on December thirty-first, hit by a drunk driver that was celebrating New Year's Eve hard and early. So it's a pretty shit time of the year."

He never felt sorry for himself, but he did tend to get depressed in the days leading up to his birthday and beyond. If it made him a wimp to get upset when he had to spend his birthday and Christmas alone, and then deal with the anniversary of his parents' death days after, then so be it. Just because he was tough didn't mean he didn't have feelings at all, just that he hid them from people better than others.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Seifer. My husband died on the twenty-seventh of this month when another driver lost control of their vehicle on the ice while he was on his way home from the store, Hayner was in the backseat. It's still a very difficult day for him, maybe you two could help each other out this year. Of course, we'll understand if you just want to be left alone, everyone grieves differently."

Shit, he never knew the other boy was there when his dad died, or what day it happened, "Does he remember any of the accident?"

"When I first got to the hospital to identify my husband's body and see Hayner, I was hoping he would be one of those people who forget extremely traumatic events and only have the faintest recollections of them ever happening. But he remembers everything clearly, down to the smallest detail. He didn't speak for six months after the accident. When he was eleven I took him with me to place flowers on the grave on the anniversary of his father's death, and Hay relapsed for seven weeks. Since then we've waited to do it until a few weeks after the date, by then he can handle it. He won't talk to me about it, but I know he still has nightmares."

He felt awful for his rival, it was bad enough to lose a parent, but to be there as a young child watching and listening to them die was just gruesome. They passed a good ten minutes in silence, both just staring blankly at the table in front of them while they thought. Seifer knew he'd have to come up with some way to comfort his smaller companion, he wasn't about to just ignore the other junior in favor of continuing to be an aloof bastard.

"You mentioned to the police the whole ordeal was caused by homophobic feelings, yet you still stepped in to help him; does that mean you're tolerant of homosexuality?" She changed the topic, dark green eyes level with his across the table.

"I'm more than just tolerant, Mrs. Dincht."

"Please just call me Lilia, Mrs. Dincht makes me feel old. So you're bi then? Hayner mentioned you having a girlfriend once or twice, but I've never met a man that wore a midriff who was heterosexual."

He snorted, because that was a hilarious but not inaccurate observation, "Yeah, I'm bisexual. To tell you the truth I've known Hayner was gay for at least a year. Doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

Especially not with the way the tan skater looked at him sometimes, most often when they were sparring. He'd get this dazed look and start swallowing hard like he was nervous. It was hard to tell if Hayner was specifically attracted to him or if the physicality of their fighting got to him. One of these days he was going to kiss the scrawny brawler just to find out, before his curiosity drove him up a wall. Seifer would have to make sure he was on his game enough to dodge the following punch before he attempted that though.

"I suppose it doesn't. It's good that Hay has friends like you and his little posse to protect him. I'd hate to think of what would have happened if one of you didn't step in during all the other fights he's had the past two years. I don't doubt it'll get worse before it gets better, as proud as I am that he came out, I know it's going to be hard for him. At least when Roxas outed himself he had Axel always on top of him to keep people from starting something."

"I'll keep an eye on him. I may be a bully, but at least I have limits. Other people don't, and I don't think there's an excuse for some of the things they do. Driving people to commit suicide never has a justification, for example."

She nodded solemnly, then got up from the table and offered to show him the guest bedroom. As soon as she left he undressed and cocooned himself in the blankets, cold and tired. He hoped the brown-eyed teen would wake up sometime tonight, but until then, he desperately needed some sleep.

Seven hours later he was roused by Lilia, getting dressed again and running a cursory hand through his mussed hair. It was pretty much a hopeless endeavor, it never looked right unless he combed it, and he was too uninterested in looking decent for the moment to want to. It was like three in the morning and he was going to the hospital, no one was going to judge him on his appearance. Except for the scar, but there wasn't a lot he could do about that.

The trip passed quickly, Twilight wasn't a huge town in the first place despite its city-like architecture and the Dincht household was close to the hospital as well. He supposed the matriarch of the family would choose a place close to her work, though he was willing to bet Hayner's penchant for getting hurt, either from his own clumsiness or someone else's fist, helped make her decision. When they finally got to the slight blond's room, he was already sitting up and looking pissed that he still had to be here. He was cute when he was mad.

"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?"

"I have a headache and I want to leave," he blinked in surprise when she stepped into the room and the bully followed her, "Uh, hi Seifer. What are you doing here?"

Ice-colored eyes rolled irritably, because really, was he that dense? Crossing his arms over his chest, he regarded the other for a minute and seeing that he was still confused, gave up.

"I wanted to see you, moron. To make sure you were okay, because the last time I saw you, you were unconscious and bleeding. That head injury clearly hasn't done you any good."

Looking like it still didn't make sense to him, he shook his head and looked back at his mother, "So, can I leave now, or what?"

"You're supposed to be held overnight for observation…but I can ask if you can be let go after they check you out since you're conscious and pissy."

"I am not pissy!" He returned irascibly, making his classmate chuckle.

The older woman left, leaving the two of them alone. Lacking a chair to sit in, he sat on the edge of the bed and watched the other, waiting for him to say something. It was obvious there was something on the smaller junior's mind; if he was patient maybe the other would vocalize it. A minute or two ticked past of them just staring at each other, so he gave up on waiting and decided to just force it out.

"What's wrong, chickadee?"

"Why did you come in with my mom, did she drive- Hold on, what did you just call me?"

"Chickadee. It's a tiny bird. Would you rather I call you chickenshit all the time?"

"No, chickadee is fine. Weird, but fine. It would be nice if you could actually call me by my name once in a while, you do remember what it is, right?"

"Yes, Hayner, I know your name. And yeah, your mom drove me over. She asked me to help her file a police report, and then made me come over to stay. It was not negotiable."

"She gets like that sometimes. I don't think she liked you much before, but she does now, I can tell. Think she'll convince them to let me go?"

"Probably. I mean, she is a medical professional. You'd think she'd be able to watch after her own kid well enough for them to release you. Don't get your hopes up though."

"Thanks for everything, by the way. I wouldn't have even gone to the hospital if it wasn't for you, and my mom would have found me on the floor when she got home hours later."

"No problem, I'm just glad you're okay. If you die I won't have anyone to throw around anymore," he added quickly, trying to act like he didn't really care.

The green-eyed blond returned, smiling at them. She explained that as long as he was feeling up to it and there was someone on hand to help him, Hayner could leave. The sandy-blond teen was all too eager to escape. For someone who spent so much time in hospitals, he certainly wasn't fond of them. Even Seifer grudgingly tolerated them, simply because if he continued to abhor them it would make his stays in the facilities interminably miserable.

The lithe boy drank some milk and took painkillers for his headache, the platinum-blond bully lurking near him in the kitchen. He just wanted to make sure the younger made it up the stairs without passing out and killing himself. Mrs. Dincht slipped back into the kitchen with a devious smile he'd grown to fear on adults. The last time he'd seen it was on his biology teacher, when she'd mercilessly assigned Hayner to him for their three-hundred point final project due at the end of the year. At least he found he minded it less and less each day.

"Oh, before I forget to mention…One of the conditions of your release was that someone be in the same room as you to take care of you if you needed help. So, Seifer is going to sleep in your bed with you tonight."

Her son choked on his spit and started coughing, while the scarred boy just stared at her blankly, not quite believing what she'd just said. He couldn't tell if she suffered from the same inability to read other's feelings properly as her progeny did, or if she was actually quite sharp. Seifer guessed the latter, she knew damn well he had a weird pseudo-crush on his rival, and that Hayner had trouble handling the physicality of their interactions. The elder male only knew three females, but all of them were meddling in their own way, even the quiet Fuu. She'd been trying to force him to tell his favorite sparring partner how he felt for months now, to little avail.

"Mom, are you fucking kidding me? Are you crazy?"

"Language, Hayner. For shame, I know I've taught you better insults than that. Big words are nastier; I believe we've had this conversation before…Now try again."

"Fine, are you really trying to coerce Seifer and I into sleeping in the same bed you perverse adulterous sow?"

"So much better, I've done such a good job raising you. To answer your question, yes, I am staunchly serious. You're the one that wanted out of the hospital so badly, sweetheart, deal with it. Have a good night you two, and try not to kill each other. Was lovely meeting you Seifer," she added as she slipped away into the hall and further to her bedroom.

Blinking, it took a moment for him to register what had just happened, and then he busted out laughing. It was hilarious. Not only did the injured teen's mother just force them to sleep together, but she apparently pushed him to come up with more creative phrases to sling at her than the standard swear words. Nowhere other than the Dincht household was this considered remotely normal.

"What the hell is so funny, Seifer? She was serious, you know. If we don't do what she says she will physically drag one of us into the other's bed, and I am speaking from experience."

"If you can't find the humor in this situation there's something wrong with you. Well, then there's more wrong with you than I originally thought anyway. If it means you'll be okay and I won't be attacked by your mom, I don't have a problem sleeping next to you. We're a little too old to be hung up on something that stupid."

Slowly the brown-eyed boy nodded, finding his logic sound enough. They went up to Hayner's room together, which wasn't nearly as messy as Seifer expected it to be. But then he expected full-on war zone, complete with holes in the drywall from thrown objects or fists. There were a few clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor and a lot of school books and supplies scattered on and under the desk, but it was otherwise clean and neat. Miracles did happen, apparently.

"So, uh…What side of the bed do you usually sleep on?" The shorter blond asked awkwardly, shifting foot to foot just inside the room.

"I always sleep on the side closest the door, so I guess in this case, the left side. You?"

"I usually sleep against the wall, actually. Less chance of me falling off the bed if I…" He trailed off suddenly, eyes widening as he realized he almost gave something away.

"Have a nightmare, right? Look, everyone has nightmares, nothing to hide or be ashamed of. You have an issue you can wake me up, okay? Won't judge you, I've been there before."

"Tch, I'm not a little kid anymore, I don't need someone to hold me after I have a nightmare."

"Fear isn't an emotion unique to children, you know. Neither is sadness."

"Quit it, Almasy. You're not a therapist and I didn't ask for your opinion on the matter of my shitty dreams and their possible effects on me. Just get in bed and go to sleep."

Dropping the matter like a hot coal before he got Hayner any more pissed off, he undressed enough to be comfortable and got in bed. It was silent after they bade each other a tense goodnight; it didn't take him long to fall asleep in the quiet of the winter night.

They survived a night with each other just fine, giving him slightly more hope that coming out sane after over a week basically alone with Seifer was feasible. Not probable, but possible. He spent most of the rest of the time before they left packing and sleeping, his mother lenient about his laziness because he was supposed to be getting bed rest to recover from his injury. The only homework he had to work on was their biology project, and he couldn't really do much without his partner, so he was waiting until some down days on their vacation together to get into that. He was hoping the older male wouldn't leave everything to him; the project was too big for one person to handle, even with several months to do it.

Before long his six-hour naps had eaten up the days until they left and he was shocked to find it was his rival that woke him up Saturday morning instead of his mother. The bully teased him for burrowing into the covers until they formed a cocoon, which he personally thought was completely logical since it was cold as fuck. Half-tempted to just ignore him in favor of going back to sleep, he glanced at the clock to find it was already nine-thirty and he'd have to get up to get ready now anyway.

"Did you walk here, Seif? Or did Mom pick you up early?"

"I walked. Not a big distance to cross, less than a mile. Guess I never realized how close you live to me."

"Well if you came over more often, you would. We seriously need to work on our project, I'd like to get a start on it over the vacation but you still need to spend more time here or invite me to your apartment for us to pass bio."

The scarred man scoffed, "It'll take a miracle for me to pass bio."

"You'd do a lot better in it if you actually showed up once in a while. You've missed more class than anyone but you still hold a C average, you could be getting a B or higher if you went more often. Look, I'll catch you up on the stuff you've missed, but you have to promise to go to class at least three times a week and help me with history."

"Sure, I can do that, if it'll get me a decent grade in that stupid science class. Besides, would be kinda sad if I let my friend fail a class we shared that I've got a ninety-five percent in."

There was a pregnant pause right after it sunk in that Seifer just described them as friends, as if neither of them could quite believe it. He didn't rescind the title, however, so deep down the scarred bully must have meant it. How cute, they were bonding already. Yawning and getting out of bed, he shoved the more muscular boy out of the room and got dressed. Slipping into the bathroom, he gelled his hair up loosely and brushed his teeth before packing his gel and brush away. Sliding down the banister as he typically did when his mother wasn't looking, he crashed directly into the older male as he walked by turning just in time to catch Hayner on his chest. He blushed at finding himself flush with his crush and slid away, only to find an amused smirk on the platinum-blond's face.

"How's your head, chickie? Forgot to ask."

"Still have a headache and I've been sleeping a lot, but I don't feel dizzy or sick. Mom says I should be fine to snowboard though. Do you board or ski?"

"I've snowboarded a few times before, shouldn't be too hard to pick it back up."

He realized it was probably kind of a stupid question to ask; of course Seifer knew how to board, even if he didn't he was good at pretty much every sport he attempted. It would be nice to have someone to do it with this year, the past two years Roxas couldn't come so he'd been by himself. His mother didn't ski much since she injured her knee a few years ago.

Hayner went about getting breakfast for himself, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes on his back. That was one of the many odd things about his rival, he watched the smaller boy constantly when his back was turned, tracking his every movement. It happened frequently enough for even his prey to notice it, but that didn't seem to make him want to stop.

"Good morning honey, did you sleep well?" His cheery mother asked as she whirled into the kitchen and grabbed another cup of coffee.

"Just fine, you seem happy this morning."

"Of course, I get a break from work, and you two should entertain yourselves enough to keep you out of my hair as well. Not that I don't love you sweetie, but dealing with a teenage boy is more than one person can handle after a while. I'm sure you'll understand one day."

"Mom, I'm gay, I'm not having kids any time soon, so no, I won't."

"There's always adopting. What if your husband wants kids?"

"I will give him a cat or a dog, problem solved. I don't like kids either, I would never be able to put up with them. 'Sides, it's probably not going to get easier for a gay couple to adopt any time soon."

"Don't be so down on the world, Hayner, things are getting more and more progressive. I'm sure by the time you're twenty you'll be allowed to marry the man of your dreams," and here she winked at Seifer, though luckily he didn't seem to get her implication.

"You are a hopeless romantic Mom. When I'm twenty I'll be in college and way too busy to marry anyone," he replied.

It was a lie, he wouldn't be too busy, he would be still trying to get over Seifer. Stupid bastard made it impossible to find anyone better, or even close to as good. Why he had to fall in love with the most untouchable person he'd ever met was a mystery to him. He could have been like Pence and crushed on a person who actually loved him back, Olette, but apparently he had shit luck, so he got his rival instead.

"Well you're walking down that aisle one day, mister, and I'd like it to be before I'm in the grave. So you better find a nice guy soon."

He ignored her and she left to go pack their bags in the car, Seifer automatically volunteering to help. Since he was already here and everyone was awake and ready, they were leaving earlier than expected. The drive itself was quiet, he dozed off for the majority of it and the blue-eyed male was either sleeping as well or doing a fantastic job of faking it. Traffic was decent considering how close to the holiday they were and they made it there after only five hours of driving. Stretching as he finally got out of the car, he watched the older blond surreptitiously as he did the same, sinewy muscles stretching under his shirt before he put his coat back on. Hayner really need a better hobby than admiring his classmate's physique behind his back. Maybe he'd join the fucking chess club.

"'Sup chickenwuss? You look particularly pissy, sore from the ride?"

"Seifer, my son has a name. Though I do like chickadee. You should call him chickadee, it's cute. Chickenwuss is just inappropriate, Hayner is anything but a coward and you should know that."

"I'm right fucking here, Mom, and stop bloody conspiring with Seifer," he hissed, glaring at her.

"Be nice to your mother, chickadee," the boy with ice-colored eyes said sweetly.

"Hey, so where's the peak of this mountain anyway?"

"The summit is about a mile away from the end of the chair lift, why do you ask honey?" The green-eyed woman asked curiously as she opened the trunk.

"Just wanted to know, if I'm going to throw myself off a mountain I might as well make sure I have the best odds of success," he grumbled as he grabbed some bags and went inside with them, hackles raised.

Quietly he knew precisely what his mother was doing trying to get the bully to call him the well-intentioned nickname instead of the usual taunt, trying to show the scarred male she wasn't going to tolerate his bullshit toward her child. It was nice of her, but he didn't need anyone to fight his battles, especially against his rival. He prided himself on being able to handle anything and everything Seifer sent his way, whether it be insults, fists, or even the open, smouldering stares he gave the easily flustered teen just to get him hot and bothered. Odd how eyes so cold in color could burn so hotly.

He managed to avoid talking to them for the rest of the time it took to get their things into the Inn, though he could feel pale eyes on him every time he walked past the older teen. Maybe they both needed better hobbies. Smirking at the thought, he opened one of his bags that he'd thrown on the bed closest to the window, effectively claiming it for himself. Pulling out some of his shirts, he hung them on a few of the hangers and put them in the closet, leaving an equal amount unused for Seifer because he was actually considerate. He turned to find the larger man in his personal space, faces inches apart. Heating up, he huffed out a heavy breath and skirted away, blue eyes following him before going back to the closet so he could put his own clothes up.

"Hey, did you want to check things out outside?" Seifer offered, uncharacteristically interested in whether he actually wanted to do something or not.

"Sure, would be nice to stretch a bit more after being stuck in the car for so long. 'Sides, we probably should know our way around before we go boarding. Knowing my luck I'd skid off into the woods and get horrifically lost if we didn't at least know some landmarks. Freezing to death is not on my list of things to do on this vacation."

"I'd be right behind you, idiot. I wouldn't let you freeze," the older blond corrected him as they locked and left the room, making sure they had the key.

They let his mother know where they were going and she smiled and sent them on their way, pleased that they were getting along so far. Shivering in his coat as soon as he stepped outside, he pulled his hood on and tromped out into the snow. He only sunk in a few inches, but it still slowed his progress considerably, though luckily his companion had the same problem and wasn't leaving him behind. Eventually they got to a point where they could view the ski slope, punctuated by a long chair lift. It was cloudy so at least they weren't completely blinded by the snow. It was fairly pretty country, thick stands of trees dominating everything but the section clear-cut for skiers and boarders, the peak of the mountain standing imperiously over all of it.

The more muscular of the two walked ahead of him a few paces, getting a better vantage point. Smirking and bending down to gather some snow in his gloved hands, he crunched it into a ball and flung it at his rival, hitting him smack on the side of his face. Pale eyes glared at him as the attractive teen turned to face him, mouth twisted into a deep smirk. Brushing a few straggling ice crystals off his face, he charged at the lithe blond, knocking him to the ground. Sinking down on his knees to straddle his younger classmate, he smirked and shoved him deeper into the snow by his shoulders, pinning him.

"You give?" He asked, clearly treating this like another sparring match.

"As if, this is a terrible attempt at a hold," the brown-eyed male scoffed before moving his arm enough to grab a handful of snow and stuff it up the scarred blond's shirt.

"You little bastard," he swore as he stood up quickly to brush it out.

Getting up quickly, he tore the obnoxious beanie off his companion's head and took off as fast as he could toward the trees, tucking it into his back pocket as he did. An angry shout could be heard behind him but he didn't have enough time to look to see how much of a lead he had on Seifer. He was only about a dozen yards into the trees when he was grabbed from behind and thrown down into the snow again. The bully didn't look angry, in fact he looked fairly amused as he pinned the tan junior's wrists above his head with one hand and supported himself with the other. Light-colored hair fell in his face as he leaned down into his friend's personal space just to intimidate him, mist ghosting out of his mouth as he breathed heavily from running through the snow. Immediately aware of their proximity he struggled to get free, succeeding in doing little except getting the other to shift to immobilize his legs as well.

"Give me back my beanie, chickadee. Before I have to hurt you."

"You wouldn't, unless we made this into a real match, and you have an unfair advantage since you jumped me."

"If I really had jumped you, you wouldn't be complaining nearly as much," he made the innuendo with a hot smirk that brought warmth rushing to his prey's chilled face before continuing, "Well, if you won't give it to me, I'll just have to take it."

Eyes widening as his breath caught at the implication, he squeaked indignantly as a hand reached behind him to tug the hat out of his pocket, resting on his ass for far longer than was necessary. Swallowing hard, he watched the bully shake the hat off before tugging it firmly over his soft-looking hair. Hayner's wrists were released belatedly and he pushed the other off him enough that he could sit up, though Seifer was still, stubbornly, half in his lap.

"Seif, seriously, get the fuck off me. You're heavy."

"You're one to talk, pipsqueak. You've gained like ten pounds since I last had to carry your ass."

"Yeah well I also grew an inch, asshole."

"Huh, and here I thought it was just your hair growing out. Maybe eventually you'll get tall enough that I won't be able to call you pipsqueak, I'll have to come up with other nicknames in case that happens."

"Oh how sweet, Seif, gonna to make new pet names for me? What's next after chickadee; bunny, sweet pea, or honeybun?"

"Not sure, but I like the sound of bunny," he returned evenly, a devious smirk on his face, "My favorite is still chickadee though, since apparently I'm not allowed to call you chickenwuss anymore."

Blushing, not expecting the other boy to rise to meet his challenge and now knowing he'd basically condemned himself to being called bunny on occasion, he growled and managed to shove the larger blond off him and get up. This was just ridiculous, why couldn't Seifer be just like every other bully and get pissed off at homoerotic jokes instead of playing along? The older teen caught up to him easily as they headed back to the hotel, stripping off their soaked outer layers and going down to have a late lunch. They were tired enough that they decided to go to bed at eight and just get up early the next morning to board.

"Night Seif, sleep well and don't do anything creepy to me in my sleep."

"You're just worried you're going to lose our game of gay chicken. Sleep well, chickadee."

"We're not playing gay chicken, you're just being an asshole and trying to tease me. Or turn me on, or hell, knowing you, it's both."

"And it's working, therefore you are losing at gay chicken."

"Oh my god, just go the fuck to sleep Seifer."

"Goodnight, Hayner."

He huffed and rolled over, realizing that technically he really was letting the bully get away with way more than he should. If it wasn't obvious enough that he had a crush on the guy before, it probably was now. It would take an idiot to miss it, and though sometimes the blue-eyed man missed obvious things, even he wasn't that dense. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to get to sleep quickly so he wouldn't have to overthink things anymore.

The next day they decided to walk the mountain for a bit before they hit the chair lift and went boarding, curious as to the depths of the wilderness around them. Half a mile to the east of the lodge the trees gave way to an outcropping of harsh rock. A closer inspection revealed a north-facing cave that they took a few cautious steps into. Hayner walked ahead of him, immediately tripping and if not for the elder's quick reflexes the other junior would have fallen face first onto sharp rocks.

"You alright, Hayner? Be more careful, I don't want to have to scrape you off the floor of a cave."

"I'm fine, thanks. Doesn't look like anything actively lives in here, don't see any traces of a bear or wolves. Probably got flushed out when they built the resort and the activity scared off all their prey so they never came back."

"Only you would have that as your first thought upon finding a cave, to check for evidence of a large predator."

"You're just jealous that I'm acing biology. Think it leads anywhere?"

"It might, but without a flashlight I don't really plan on finding out. If one of us gets hurt in here it's a ways back to get any help," the older teen returned, normally more daring, but he wouldn't forgive himself if the oft clumsy sandy-blond was seriously injured.

"Pansy, did your balls freeze off or something?"

Growling, he grabbed the smaller boy by the back of his coat and dragged him back out into the sunlight, tossing him in the snow. The ensuing wrestling match ended with him on the teen's back, one arm wrapped around his neck in a headlock and the other around his middle. His hand had somehow managed to find its way into the other's coat, where it sat splayed across a taut tan stomach. If he had the guess the shortness of breath and heat he found there weren't entirely because of their movements.

"You feel like taking that back, bunny?"

"Don't fucking call me bunny."

Tightening his grip around the notoriously ill-tempered blond's throat seemed to cool his head a bit; he started breathing slowly through his nose and gave up struggling.

"Fine, you're not a pansy, Seifer. You're just an insufferable asshole who needs to get the fuck off me. Are we seriously going to spend the entire vacation wrestling in the snow?"

"You don't seem to mind all that much, for all your bitching."

A blush spread across his face and he managed to headbutt his rival in the face, causing the larger blond to recoil and let him go, since he'd technically already gotten what he wanted. Smirking at how easy it was to fluster his companion, he walked off, beckoning Hayner to follow him. They went to rent some snowboards, the young owner smiling when he referred to the brown-eyed male as 'chickadee'. She giggled and he got the distinct feeling she charged them less than she had everyone else, but he didn't have a problem with that. If people thought they were lovers he wasn't exactly going to correct them.

"Hey, how about a truce? No more fighting for the rest of the trip, I'm tired of it and I just want to have fun. We can beat each other senseless any other time of the year," Hayner asked just as they were about to head down the slope.

"Sounds good, but you started most of them twerp."

"I hit you with a snowball the first time, you didn't have to attack me. Every other person on Earth would have thrown one back."

"Well I'm not like everyone else."

"I know, I like that about you," he commented before beginning his descent.

Following him after another minute to put some distance between them, he considered the words. If he were to take the obvious interpretation, Hayner meant that he liked the way Seifer was different from the majority of the population, but they were speaking specifically about the how easy it was for the bully to be goaded into pinning him to the ground. As much as his chickadee was a simple guy normally, their relationship was ridiculously complex and the obvious explanation was never the reality of the situation. Like why they fought constantly; the simplest reason was because they must hate one another, but neither had ever felt true animosity toward the other person, they just got under each other's skin. So chances were good the lithe boy had actually meant he liked their tussles.

To his credit Hayner didn't fall on the first trip down like his rival expected him to, though by the end of the day they'd both taken spills a few times. Tired, sore, and freezing, they headed back to the hotel shortly before nightfall. They ate together in comfortable silence, accidentally brushing shoulders on the way up to the second floor to head to their room. Neither brought it up or moved apart, so he took that as a good sign that the slight teen was getting more used to casual touches. Didn't mean he was safe to jump the kid any time soon, but it was better than the flinches he got just a few months ago. He stripped down to his boxers efficiently before getting into bed, not in the mood to stay up any longer.

They said their goodnights and he closed his eyes, hoping to get to sleep quickly tonight. It was awkward enough to experience random insomnia when he was at home and could do something for however many hours it took for his mind to decide to shut down, now he had an audience he could potentially wake up. Of course since he'd apparently used up all his luck for the day not killing himself every time he got too caught up in staring at his companion instead of paying attention to snowboarding, two hours later he was still awake.

Noise from the other bed drew him out of his thoughts and he sat up and looked over, eyes having adjusted to the darkness quite a while ago. Hayner was shifting and whimpering in his sleep; either he had really strange sleep behavior on occasion or he was having a nightmare. Concerned, he got up and went over to the other, shaking him awake and taking the shocked punch sent his way. Sighing and rubbing his jaw he grabbed the smaller boy's shoulders and held him down long enough for him to calm down, doing his best to ignore the way a few stray tears slid down the sandy-blond's face. Seeing Hayner cry was one of the few things that he couldn't handle; every time it happened he wanted to go jump off a very tall building. He should be able to do something about them, but he fucking couldn't come up with anything whenever it happened, so he generally just shirked away from situations like this.

"Hey," he started simply, voice dropping an octave as he attempted, for once, to be less abrasive.

"Go back to sleep Seifer."

"Wasn't sleeping in the first place, but if you insist," he returned evenly before laying down next to him.

"The hell has gotten into you? I meant in your own bed asshole, get away from me. I don't need your pity."

"Shut up and deal with it chickadee. Your mom already told me what these nightmares are about, so I'm not leaving. I don't pity you, I just actually give a fuck."

"I hate you," Hayner responded icily as he turned away, curling in on himself slightly.

"No you don't."

Sighing, the larger teen tentatively wrapped his arms around his companion, just waiting for another fist to the jaw. To his surprise none came, though the other was incredibly tense in his arms. Slowing his breathing, he waited until he was certain the brown-eyed boy was asleep before letting himself doze off as well.

In the morning neither of them spoke of the night before, just getting out of bed and getting dressed, Seifer leaving to take a shower. Collecting his thoughts, the younger of the two tried to find some rational explanation for what the bully had done. Sure it had helped calm him down enough to go back to sleep, but that wasn't something your sometimes-friend sometimes-enemy did for you. In fact, other than Roxas he was certain none of his friends would have done that. It was certainly annoying that someone who was normally so open about things was being this enigmatic with his motivations now that they were alone.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he got up from the bed where he was waiting, all ready to go boarding again and wrote a quick note to leave on his dark-colored pillow where the other was likely to see it. Slipping out quietly, he skipped breakfast completely and left to head up the mountains. If Seifer wanted he could meet him at the bottom, if he wanted to do something else it wasn't the sandy-blond boy's problem. Watching his breath puff out of his mouth he had the fleeting thought that it would be nice if life was just a tad bit simpler. Instead he was stuck here running around in circles with the guy he loved who never let him in enough to know how he felt.

It had taken them three more days to get the feel for snowboarding again before they were actually willing to try the expert slopes. During which time Hayner had, of course, fallen several more times than his counterpart. Already today he'd taken a pretty magnificent tumble that involved rolling sideways for a good twenty feet before finally coming to a stop, dizzy but uninjured. The terrified way the bully had said his name as he skidded to a stop next to him was definitely new, and he found he didn't mind all that much. Seifer had always been protective of him, despite their constant fights, only the scarred teen was allowed to hurt his chickenwuss and he beat the fuck out of anyone else who tried. It was nice, he guessed, considering how much shit his mouth usually got him in with other people. The boy with cold and piercing eyes had limits, he could feel fairly safe that he wouldn't be killed or left in the dirt if he was beaten unconscious, Seifer at least had the decency to take him to the hospital.

"Hey chickadee, how about a few runs before we head in? We've got a few hours of sunlight. Unless you wanted to run at night…"

"The fuck Seif, you know it's against the slope rules to snowboard or ski at night, besides the fact that one or both of us would probably kill themselves trying. Let's just finish up today and, I don't know, take a walk later tonight if you're really that bored."

"You gonna take me for a walk in the moonlight, bunny? How romantic."

He snorted at the man's new nickname for him, and their supposed game of "gay chicken", which he was so far losing terribly. The brown-eyed boy may have had the balls to fight Seifer, but definitely not enough to constantly hit on him like the other was doing. That just took a fucking deathwish, even if he was the one person on Earth allowed to do it, he didn't want to risk it. Besides the sad reality that it made him blush more than it affected his companion.

They took the lift back up the mountain, the harsh wind drying his nose enough that just as they were about to start the slope he got a massive nosebleed. Once his friend was sure he wasn't going to bleed to death or something absurd he decided to continue on by himself instead of waiting. Seifer was a more flashy snowboarder, and a lot of the things he did didn't really lend themselves to partner boarding anyway, it wasn't the first time they'd gone down separately. This time however, another boarder cut the tall blond off, close enough the asshole probably clipped him, and he lost his balance and tumbled headfirst into the snow. He rolled several times before coming to a stop, face up and arms splayed out. As Hayner took off to reach him he noticed the seventeen year-old wasn't moving and his heart raced.

Sliding to a stop next to him, he called his name a few times to no response and moved closer to shake him, half on top of the muscular male. He was just about to check for a pulse, on the verge of tears when the asshole grinned and his eyes opened.

"You were really that worried? You're adorable."

"You fucking douchebag, I thought you were dead!" He yelled as he punched the other in the face.

Hayner honestly wasn't sure what happened next except that he suddenly found himself kissing the man he'd feared had broken his neck just seconds ago, and Seifer looked just as surprised as he did, pale eyes wide. Pulling back and immediately getting up, he stuttered for a moment before turning his board and heading the rest of the way down the mountain, ignoring the other boy's shouts of his name. No matter what, he was completely certain he would either be murdered or summarily ignored for the rest of his life by his crush. Lost in thought, he went through the motions and ended up sitting in bed with his laptop open and his phone in hand to text his friends. It seemed prudent to let them all know what he'd done in the event he was strangled and never got to tell them in person.

Three hours of aimless writing on a story he'd just felt like starting over the break and he looked out the window, shocked to find the sky obscured by snow. Walking to the window he peered through the frosted pane and couldn't see more than a foot away from the building. Holding his breath against the mounting panic he felt at Seifer not being back yet, he left and went down to the main part of the lodge, finding several people gathered around a TV listening to a newscast about a blizzard predicted to drop two feet of snow on them in the space of the night. His mother jumped up to meet him, then looked around as if expecting someone else.

"Didn't Seifer come in with you earlier? I heard your door, I assumed you'd be together since you've been joined at the hip since you got here."

"No, we had an issue on the mountain and I left…So he isn't here?"

She shook her head and they both looked outside, Hayner immediately walking up to a man in a patrol uniform watching the door. Asking after the scarred teen got him nothing, and asking to go out after him got a nasty look and a warning. Apparently they couldn't risk a search for missing persons until the storm cleared up enough that the searchers wouldn't get lost themselves. Mouth set in a hard line, he headed back up into his room and grabbed his backpack. A look at the bedside table proved the elder teen had left his cellphone behind, probably to avoid breaking it in a fall. Stuffing a few things he'd need into the pack, he headed down to the main area and walked past everyone as stealthily as he could, he went up to the large fireplace. Sneaking a few small fire logs into his backpack, he started violently when another member of the ski patrol walked up behind him and cleared her throat.

"What exactly are you doing?"

Mentally swearing, he thought of an excuse as quickly as he could, "Uh, my classmate and I have a biology project to do, we're measuring the liquid absorption and evaporation rate of cold and warmer climate trees. I was just grabbing some samples."

The woman blinked at him several times before shrugging and shaking her head, waving him off. She probably thought he was batshit crazy or a stereotypical shut-in science nerd. Forgetting her immediately, he checked his pants for a pocket knife and a lighter he typically carried with him, not because he was violent or a smoker, but just because they came in handy more often than not. Going back up to his room, he made sure he had everything he needed before unlocking the window. Taking a steadying breath, he crawled out of it, feet finding purchase on the small ledge below it. He clung there for long enough to pull the window mostly closed, not wanting a shit ton of snow in his room whenever he made it back. If he made it back, he supposed; there was always the possibility he'd get lost and die in the snow. He had a good sense of direction though, so chances were at such a short distance he'd find his way. At least, he hoped so.

Shivering against the dropping temperature, Seifer continued to look around him, lacking much else to do. The snow didn't seem to be letting up any time soon, it was likely they wouldn't even risk a search in this weather. He'd have to wait it out for a while, but at least he had a shelter. A fire would be fucking nice, but the cave was better than nothing. Actually the whole situation could have been prevented if Hayner hadn't have taken off as soon as he realized he'd kissed his rival. The blue-eyed boy had left to clear his head, knowing the other would probably like some time alone too. So he'd taken a walk and eventually started heading for the cave when it started snowing since it was close by. He had no idea where the actual Inn was without being able to see it and it wasn't very safe to just take off in a random direction.

Noise at the entrance to the cave interrupted his thoughts and he looked up in confusion, startled to see a figure trudging through the snow toward him. Standing, he was and wasn't surprised to see his rival emerge from the blizzard; it was shocking that anyone would go out in this to find him, but if anyone was crazy enough to do it, it was Hayner.

"Hayner? Why the hell did you come here?"

"It seemed like perfect weather for a walk," he deadpanned at first, leveling him with a dull look, "What the fuck Seifer, I came here to find you, moron, why else would I be here?"

"Let me rephrase, why were you stupid enough to go out alone into a blizzard?"

"Because I was worried about you! Fucking hell it's like it's a crime to care about someone. You know you could have died out here, right? Don't answer that, just shut up and help me start a fire."

"You got bossy all of a sudden, I like it," he teased, and he honestly didn't think about it before the words left his mouth.

"Look, I'm tired of playing this stupid fucking game. Quit pretending to flirt with me," the brown-eyed blond snapped as he pulled a few chunks of wood out of his backpack and yanked a lighter out of his pants pocket.

"Who said I was ever pretending?"

He paused for a moment, then went back to trying to light some paper he'd brought as kindling. Once the infant fire had been started it was clear he was blushing, dark eyes pointedly not looking anywhere near the scarred male. Sighing and sitting back down next to the fire this time he decided to just keep on ignoring the issue until his friend brought it up himself. He wasn't going to let the kiss go, but he wasn't about to push the younger man either. A few tense moments stretched to many and he grew impatient, wanting something to do instead of continuing to just stare at random rocks or into the fire.

At least twenty minutes had passed before he couldn't handle the silence anymore, "So are we ever going to talk about this? I'm not okay with not dealing with it at some point."

"Can't it wait until we're not stranded in a blizzard?"

"Excuses. Sure, whatever you want Hay."

There was a pause before the other spoke, "Wait, did you just call me Hay? I don't think you've ever said that before."

"It's the nickname your friends use," he returned shortly, wondering why something like that mattered.

"I never realized you paid attention to that sort of thing."

Sighing, he gave up on the conversation. It wasn't going anywhere and honestly it was irritating him that they weren't dealing with the issue at hand. Things were going to be awkward until they did and there was no reason they couldn't make life that much simpler by just talking about it. Eventually he just decided to go to sleep; there was a fire now so he didn't really have to worry about freezing to death in the night, and even that would at this point be preferable than spending any more time trying to ignore the heavy air between them.

"You going to sleep Seif?"

"What do you think, bunny? Seriously, did you become an idiot since I last saw you?"

"No, but you sure as hell became more of a jerk."

Sending a mumbled 'whatever' over his shoulder he considered whether he'd actually be able to survive a full night and possibly part of a day with the younger junior if he was going to act like this the whole time. Asking obvious questions, making pointless statements, and just generally avoiding any important topic by making useless noise. This was his least favorite side of the other teen, when he was scared he was as flighty as a frightened cat.

"Happy birthday by the way. It's just past midnight."

"So it is."

"You don't care?" He asked disbelievingly, as if not giving a shit about your birthday was impossible.

"It's just a day like any other. I've spent almost every birthday I've had alone, why the hell would I get excited about it? It's just fucking depressing."

"Well I'm here, you're not alone this one," the brown-eyed boy offered, voice almost adding a question mark to the end of his statement.

"Might as well be," he replied quietly, not really intending to say it out loud.

The cave fell silent save for the crackling of the fire and the sound of the wind outside and he knew he was being cruel. It probably wouldn't matter come the morning though since it seemed like his companion was intent on just ignoring everything that went on between them and pretending nothing ever happened. No wonder most young relationships didn't last; it was impossible to deal with all this juvenile bullshit for long before losing your sanity.

Watching the fire as it slowly died down to embers he thought about what the scarred blond beside him had said. It had been bothering him for the past two hours, preventing him from trying to sleep and slowly making him feel more and more guilty. If he looked at the situation from Seifer's point of view it was easy to understand why he was pissed off. Without any kind of explanation it probably felt like he was just toying with the older male, something no one dealt with very well, least of all arrogant people like the bully. Either he had the patience of a saint or he really did have feelings for his rival to put up with Hayner when he was acting like this. Maybe he was being serious when he said he wasn't pretending to flirt, and the sandy-blond teen was just being an utter dickhead by trying to act like the kiss never happened and move past it.

God he felt like such a fuckup sometimes. He'd just have to try and work up the courage to address it, hopefully sometime before they had to head back to school. If he delayed it much longer the older blond would probably never talk to him again, and he really couldn't blame the guy. The fact that he was still talking to Hayner was pretty amazing by itself, a lot more than he deserved. Glancing back at the sleeping figure he decided to follow suit, quietly crawling over to him and curling up against his back. The position afforded him more comfort than warmth, but it was a lot better than sleeping alone.

The snow cleared up come morning and they set off for the lodge together, speaking very little. The pale-eyed man got the feeling Hayner was afraid of him for some reason and it didn't make a lot of sense. Sure he was in a shitty mood but he'd given no indication he was feeling angry or violent, he hadn't even touched the other since yesterday. Maybe he was just walking further away and being cold to distance them, make it clear the whole incident on the hill had been an unfortunate accident. That would also explain why he was trying to avoid the topic, it would be awkward to try and explain away something like that if he never wanted it to happen in the first place.

Today was definitely shaping up to be a terrible birthday, as usual. At least beyond eighteen there was only one birthday that anyone really gave a shit about, and he could get drunk enough to forget that one.

Hayner's mother was furious with him when they finally made it back to the lodge, apparently he hadn't even told her he was leaving last night. It didn't surprise the scarred man at all, the shorter blond had always been a person ruled by emotions and often didn't use his head when it came to the safety of his friends. At least he hadn't gotten lost, then they both could have died in the storm. After she was done explaining in detail everything that could have possibly gone wrong while he was out trying to find his missing companion she wished Seifer a happy birthday. He forced a smile and thanked her before heading upstairs, immediately going to his phone and checking for messages from his best friends. There were several, including one asking where the hell he was not to answer his phone for an entire day. It was hilariously surreal to send them back a text explaining that he'd spent the night sheltering in a cave while stuck in a blizzard.

It was relieving that they didn't send him birthday wishes, over the years they'd realized he really didn't enjoy any part of this month or the one after, including his birthday and Christmas. Maybe he was crazy to hate this time of year when everyone else seemed to think that birthdays and holidays were awesome, but they actually had family to share it with. The season just reminded him even more of what he didn't, and probably wouldn't ever, have. Shaking his head a bit to clear the negative thoughts before he drowned in them, he took off his outer layers and went on his laptop to start working on an essay that was due in a few weeks. He could do it at pretty much any other time but he needed to do something to take his mind off things.

Shortly after he started the other occupant of the room entered, looking nervous. Summarily ignoring him, he kept on working, eventually glancing over at the other bed to see the lithe teen watching him. Instantly set on edge, he decided to speak up.

"You know, it's not polite to stare, chickenwuss," he stated, surprised when he realized he'd used the old, more offensive nickname. How very passive aggressive of him.

"What are you working on?" He questioned, face failing to hide his look of disbelief at the insult.

"An essay for my philosophy class."

"Wait, you took philosophy for your elective? Seriously?"

"Not everyone is so short-sighted and narrow-minded as you, Hayner," he spat.

"The fuck, I am not short-sighted or narrow-minded, I just have better things to do with my time than talk about stupid shit like the meaning of life or whether there is a god."

"I'm sure you do, you seem so damn enlightened about everything else," he quipped back, rolling his eyes.

"At least I'm not failing a class because I can't be bothered to show up."

"No, you're failing a class even though you do go to it. A fucking easy class at that," he returned venomously, setting his computer down for the moment since he found it hard to write while they were fighting.

"It's only easy for you because all you fucking do is sit around reading history books like a shut-in because you don't have any real friends."

"Oh really? Well at least when my friends started dating they didn't abandon me like yours did. Have any of your stupid posse even texted you today?" As soon as he said it he realized they'd probably both gone a little bit too far.

"Fuck you Almasy," he swore before crossing the room to stand in front of him, fists clenched at his sides and eyes glassy with unshed tears; clearly the bully had struck a nerve.

"No thanks, you'd just pretend like that didn't happen either."

He caught the fist aimed at his face and snarled, jumping out of bed and tackling the other to the floor. Throwing his own punch he hit the brown-eyed teen in the nose, breaking it just as the furious boy below him brought a knee up hard into his ribs. Coughing broke his focus enough that he loosened his hold on the blond beneath him, allowing him to get an arm free and punch his rival straight in the jaw. Something warm ran down his chin and he guessed his lip was probably split, grabbing Hayner's arm by the wrist and pinning it back down like the other one.

"It's funny to see you play the victim, Seifer. Deep down you're just as pathetic as the rest of the masses, no matter how much you try to hide it."

"Says that guy who can't even own up to his own actions and prefers instead to play stupid mind games with people. You're way more pitiful than I ever will be."

"No way, I watched my dad die and I didn't let it rule my life like you do, just because your parents died doesn't give you a free pass to be a complete bastard to everyone around you. Get over it already."

He jerked back, letting go of his opponent as he tried to comprehend that his friend had actually said that to him. Feeling a numbness settling in his body he got up and grabbed his coat, walking out the door silently. He jammed his hands in his pockets and drew into the collar, hoping no one noticed the single tear that trailed down his cheek, too proud to bring attention to it by wiping it away. Seifer wasn't the kind of guy to cry, ever, through broken bones or cuts deep enough to scar, but this time of year he was in a particularly vulnerable state of mind. Any other time he would have just punched the other in the mouth and been done with it.

Walking outside and into the deep snow, he squinted against the harsh sun before walking over to a tree just a dozen yards away from the building. Sitting down under it and leaning against the trunk he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Otherwise he'd probably throw the kid out the window the second he went back into the room. As satisfying as that might be, he would eventually regret it. Even if he didn't, he wouldn't escape Lilia's wrath for injuring her son just because it was his birthday and Hayner deserved it.

Chest rising and falling heavily, he waited until he was fairly sure the older junior wasn't coming back before standing unsteadily. Blood dripped down from his nose and he grabbed a tissue so he wouldn't make any more of a mess on the floor before he went into his mother's room. She'd set his nose several times before and was a pro at it by now, regardless of her medical knowledge.

"Explanation, now," she said sternly the second she saw him, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Seifer and I got into a fight."

"I meant other than the obvious, Hayner," his mother replied tersely, surveying the damage more closely.

"We said some shit we shouldn't have, punched each other, and I said something bad enough to make him just up and leave in the middle of it."

She set his nose with minimal difficulty and gently wiped some of the blood off, leaving briefly to get an ice pack from the freezer downstairs. Once she returned he put it on his face to lessen the swelling and she lead him to sit on her bed. The matriarch of the family remained standing, looking down at him with a concerned expression.

"Now what exactly were you two idiots fighting about?"

"It was just stupid shit, we were on edge and let it get to us," he waved it off, not really wanting to get into it with his mother about fighting again.

"And what could you possibly have said that would get him to take off during a fight? He's never done that before to my knowledge."

"I, uh, sort of told him that being an orphan was no excuse to be an asshole and to get over the death of his parents already."

Her green eyes narrowed to slits and he could tell if she wasn't so strongly against physical punishment she would have slapped him. Now that he was no longer angry he realized it wasn't appropriate for him to say it, but he clung to the idea that the bully had it coming after the years of physical and verbal abuse. That he'd done exactly the same right back didn't figure in, because unless he justified it he'd have to admit that he was the most miserable and terrible person alive to do that to Seifer.

"I'm going to give you one chance to explain yourself, and if you fail to do a satisfactory job you will be grounded forever. I am not bluffing."

"I didn't mean to get that angry, but things have been kind of shitty between us since yesterday, before he wandered off and got trapped in the cave by the blizzard. Long story short, he played a prank on me and I thought he'd been seriously hurt or killed by a fall, and I don't really know why I did it but I kissed him…Then I left without saying anything, last night happened, and I've kinda avoided talking about it at all since then, which just seems to piss him off more. Then we just snapped."

"You know, sometimes all your romantic drama makes me wish I had a girl, no offense sweetie. If he's still talking to you he couldn't have minded the kiss all that much, why don't you discuss it with him?"

"Because I'm not fucking ready to tell the guy I'm in love with him!"

She sighed, "A girl definitely would have been easier. Look, you at least need to apologize to him for your fight, and it would be nice of you to let him know you'll talk about everything else later. You can't just toy with someone's emotions like that, intentional or not."

He sighed and bit the bullet, agreeing to go out and find the other man and try to ask for forgiveness. It was hard to believe the scarred blond could forgive him for saying something like that, especially on his birthday. Gradually it was hitting him that there really wasn't much excuse for his outburst and he was, quite simply, a complete dick. Walking out in his coat, it only took a second to locate Seifer and he slumped a bit as he crossed the distance between them.

"I know I was an utter bastard back there and I'm sorry, there was no reason for me to say that."

The man with ice-colored eyes shrugged nonchalantly and for the rest of the world he probably looked just fine, but the lack of eye contact with the speaker told Hayner that he was still upset. Frowning, he sat down against the tree as well, maintaining about a foot of distance from his classmate.

"Are we still friends?"

The taller male huffed disbelievingly, "A fight isn't going to change that. I know this is a tough week for you, I get it. I forgive you."

"He survived the initial crash," he said softly, staring at his hands.

"Huh? You mean you dad?"

"Yeah, the car flipped and he was pinned by the steering wheel and the dash from when the other car smashed into the front end. I was in the back, trapped in my seatbelt. He was conscious, and he spoke to me a few times, but I knew he wasn't okay. It took him ten minutes to die from internal bleeding and all I could do was hang there and watch. It's been more than a decade but it's still hard for me to deal with, kinda lame really," he ended, sniffing and wiping the moisture from his eyes.

"It's not lame, it's just human. There's nothing weak about having emotions."

"I guess I just said that to you earlier because you don't get upset or have nightmares like I do, you're dealing with things way better than I do and it just seems…stupid."

"It seems stupid because it's inaccurate. I do have nightmares about losing my parents, and I do get depressed near the anniversary of their deaths. It's why I don't give a fuck about my birthday or Christmas; my parents died on the thirty-first of December. I hate winter and wish I could just skip it entirely."

"So not only did I say that shit on your birthday, but it's nine days before the anniversary of their accident?"

"Yep, you've got the worst timing ever. I'm kind of impressed, you've been more of an asshole than me today."

"Honestly I thought losing you in a blizzard and having to sleep in a cave would have been the low point of this vacation."

The other snorted and stood, offering him a hand up. Taking it, he was jerked to his feet just hard enough to cause him to fall forward into the other's chest, though he wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. Blushing, he took a step back and looked away.

"Can I say something without you getting mad about it?" The blue-eyed blond asked, looking at him oddly.

"I think I'm done being ticked off for no reason, so yeah."

With a characteristic smirk, the muscular man grabbed him by the front of his coat and pulled him into a kiss. It only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled away and grinned, looking happier than he had in quite a while.

"That was all I needed to say," he explained simply before turning on his heel and walking back toward the Inn.

Stunned, the younger of the two just watched him go dumbly, trying to understand what the fuck had just happened. Maybe he really had been going at this from the wrong angle the whole time by assuming Seifer would never return his feelings. Swearing to himself, he trudged back in as well, convinced the world had ceased to make sense at all.

"Seifer, can I speak to you please?" The green-eyed woman asked as he walked down the corridor to the boys' shared room.

Nodding, he followed her into her own room, a little wary when she shut the door behind him. It wasn't like he thought she would honestly hurt him, but it was incredibly awkward to talk to her right after he'd broken her son's nose again. And kissed him, but she didn't know that yet.

"Are you alright?" Lilia started easily, sitting in a chair by the window and gesturing to the other adjacent to it.

"I guess I'm not sure what you mean," he replied as he sat down.

"Hayner said you two had a fight, I know he can lose his temper and do things he regrets later."

"It's fine, it was half my fault that we got to that point. Shit happens, he apologized, we're okay."

"This isn't intended to be offensive, but you don't really strike me as the kind of person to forgive someone for that sort of thing so easily. You're more the type to hold grudges, so why let it go just like that?"

"'Cause Hayner's special."

"You love him, don't you?"

"That's a dangerous assumption to make. But so long as you don't tell him, I'll admit it."

Her lips twisted up in a secret smile that he couldn't really puzzle out the exact meaning of, but it was plain to see that this pleased her. He supposed that was a good sign because he technically needed her approval to date her son, if he ever got beyond his romantic awkwardness. It was something even someone as patient with people as Seifer couldn't put up with forever, and he felt his calm fraying as it was. It was what prompted him to kiss the other junior just minutes ago, he had to do something before he lost his mind.

"Just give him some time, he'll figure things out," she said, apparently also capable of reading minds.

"Don't worry, I'm a lot more patient than I seem."

He got up then, sensing the conversation was essentially over. Any longer and his companion would get suspicious, chances were he'd recovered from his shock by now and was already in their shared room. Striding over and opening the door, he discovered that his assumption was correct, chocolate-colored eyes shifting to look at him as he entered. His attention immediately diverted back to his laptop, way too quickly for it to be anything but a forced attempt to look busy with something else. Still not ready to deal with this thing between them, but Seifer could live with it. Hayner was no more emotionally skittish than Fuujin, and the scarred bully had befriended her just fine. The other was silent and evasive, so he just sat down and got back to work on the essay that had started their whole fight.

The last full day of their vacation passed quickly, the fresh snow making snowboarding a lot more interesting. The activity was just enough to keep the lingering awkwardness between them from becoming unbearable. If he wasn't madly in love with the skinny blond teen he would have given up on him after nothing happened the entire day. Their brief exchanges were stilted and fairly pointless, if he had to guess they'd said maybe a hundred words to each other all day and he was certain Hayner wasn't even planning on saying goodnight when he laid down and went silent for several minutes after they'd turned out all the lights. Then he heard movement again and could faintly make out the wavy-haired boy walking over to stand by the older high schooler's bed.

"Hey Seif, do you mind if I sleep in your bed tonight? Don't ask why."

"No, that's fine, you don't really need to ask about stuff like that chickadee."

He pulled the smaller male into his arms as soon as he laid down, knowing there was something upsetting him if he wanted to share a sleeping space. The tan sixteen year-old had had yet another nightmare the night before, so maybe he just wanted the older blond there if he did again. Whatever the reason, Seifer was only too happy to oblige him, it felt nice to fall asleep holding his crush. Eventually Hayner settled enough to fall asleep, breathing evening out and slowing, and his rival followed suit soon after.

The ride back home was fairly relaxing, Seifer seemed to have given up on pressing him for the moment and he got some peaceful rest the night before thanks to the comforting contact of the tall teen's arms around him. He dozed for the vast majority of the drive and it wasn't until they were nearing home that he started to feel nervous again. They still needed to talk about everything and after today there wasn't much reason for them to get back together again until after the break.

"Hey Seifer, the gang and I are getting together tomorrow afternoon at three for Christmas, did you want to come?" He asked as the handsome man moved to get out of the car and head up to his apartment.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there. See you tomorrow bunny," he added with a smirk before leaving.

"Why did he suddenly start calling you bunny, Hayner?" His mother asked as she drove them to their own house.

Groaning, he rolled his eyes, "Just a stupid joke he decided to run away with."

"You two are so cute."

"Mom," he huffed irritably, "Seifer's an adult now, you can't get away with calling him cute."

There were a lot of words he could use to describe his crush, some negative, most positive, but cute had never been one of them. Seifer didn't trip or stumble, didn't blush, wasn't small or easily overpowered, and most definitely didn't squeak when poked in the side like he did. Sure someone might get away with calling the brown-eyed teen cute if he wasn't around, but if anyone seriously called the pale-eyed man cute Hayner would probably slap them.

"How are you holding up sweetie? Does your nose still hurt?"

"Only a little, doesn't really bother me," he answered, aware that his injury looked a lot worse than it felt. He had some bruising around his eyes from the excess blood and he just knew his friends were going to ask about it tomorrow. Explaining the vacation in general was going to be nigh impossible as it was. Maybe he'd just try to avoid it for as long as possible and they'd forget in light of the holiday. If only they were that easy to trick, would make his life so much easier sometimes.

All of his friends had shown up at least half an hour early for their get-together, Axel a new addition this year. They were gathered around the small electric fireplace in the living room and as he glanced at his watch again he saw that in roughly twenty minutes he could expect his last guest. Seifer was punctual to everything he bothered to show up for.

"The hell are you checking the time for, Hay? We aren't boring you, are we?" Roxas added with a joking tone, cerulean eyes pinning him down.

"No, that's not it. Just waiting for someone."

"But all of us are here," Pence retorted, confused.

"Yes, the gang is here, but I invited someone else too," he answered, rolling his eyes, "Sometimes you guys can be slow."

"So who did you invite?" Olette prodded, green eyes curious.

"They'll be here soon enough, you'll survive waiting. Until then, Roxas, how did meeting Axel's family go?"

A grimace was probably all the answer he needed to give, but the spiky-haired blond decided to explain, "Uh, Kairi was alright, I guess. Reno is insane, Axel's mom set dinner on fire twice and his dad is clearly the only normal person in the entire house."

"Hey, they're not that bad. Well, Reno is, but he'll grow on you."

"Like a parasite. Look, I love you enough to tolerate them, that's about the best I can do. By the way, have you told your little sister the guy she's crushing on is completely gay for his hot best friend?"

"Hold up Roxie, you're not allowed to call anyone but me hot. And yeah, I told her. To be honest I think she knew already and just thought it was hot when Riku got possessive of Sora. My sister, the little slash fangirl."

"Probably for the best considering everyone around her seems to be gay," Hayner commented, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from his best friend.

"So since we're talking about vacations, how did things with Seifer go, Hay?" The blue-eyed teen asked, spitting the name out bitterly. The two had always gotten along like fire and gasoline, but hopefully they'd both grow up enough to put up with one another in the future.

"Yeah, what happened to your face?" The lone female piped up.

"Seif and I had a fight over something stupid three days ago, but otherwise the vacation was fun. Uh, there was the one night where there was a blizzard and to make a long story short Seifer was stuck outside, I jumped out the lodge window to help him, and we spent the night sleeping next to each other in a cave."

"Wait, what? How the fuck does that happen in real life?" The other blond asked incredulously.

"Come on guys, you know anything is possible when those two are together for more than a few seconds," Pence explained.

"I'm just glad you're both alright. So, did anything else happen? Did you two talk or anything, I know you wanted to get closer to him."

"Yeah, because he's a fucking masochist."

"I don't know Roxie, I think Almasy has the hots for him. No one else could do half the shit Hayner does to Seif and live."

Blushing furiously, he completely ignored Olette's question in favor of leveling a deadly glare at the redhead. But, Seifer did kiss him, so maybe Axel wasn't completely wrong. He could hope, anyway, he was tough enough to handle a letdown. The doorbell rang and he spared a glance at his watch before jumping up to get it; apparently the scarred bully arrived early for Hayner, judging by him showing up before the designated time both today and when their winter vacation started. Opening the door, he saw his rival and crush standing there in his trademark beanie and a long white coat, though this one actually had sleeves, with red crosses on them. He looked…pretty awesome, actually, it was a good look for him.

"Hey."

"Hey, how are you? Come in it's too cold to stand around with the door open," he offered as he stepped back to let the other in.

"I'm here, so better than this morning I guess. So how have you been in the twenty-four hours or so since I last saw you, chickadee?"

"Just the same as I was before?" He answered, unsure of whether anything should have changed.

"So still emotionally confused and unwilling to discuss it?"

"Well at least I know for sure you're still a blunt jerk. I'm not confused, asshole," he huffed defensively, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Then what are you, Hay?"

"I'm in love you with, Seifer, haven't you fucking got that by now?"

"Yeah, I have, just wanted to hear you say it," he replied with a smug tone and a maddening smirk before shoving the smaller boy into the adjacent wall and kissing him roughly.

The younger junior was shocked into momentary stillness, but quickly gathered his wits about him enough to join in, hand going up to pull that ridiculous hat off and tangle his fingers in the soft blond hair beneath. Opening his mouth into the kiss he let it deepen for a few heartbeats before shoving the larger man off him completely, breathing heavily, flushed, and very much dazed.

"I love you too, Hay," kissing him once chastely before continuing, "You might want to explain this to your posse, it seems like Roxas is having an aneurism."

"Yeah, he does that sometimes," he replied shortly, not really giving a fuck about them right now, "So should I introduce you as my boyfriend?"

"Unless you think introducing me as the guy who throws you into walls and kisses you occasionally would really go over better, you probably should," he joked.

"Nope, I definitely prefer boyfriend," he returned with a grin, pulling him down by the collar to kiss him again.

"Good, 'cause I do too. Merry Christmas, bunny."

"Merry Christmas Seifer," he returned before dragging the older blond by the hand into the living room by the hand to join the rest of them around the fireplace, where he was immediately pulled into the muscular man's lap. Blushing, he gave in to it and leaned back instead of trying to get away, because by his count he'd done enough running lately. After a few hours the awkwardness between everyone passed and even Roxas started talking to his nemesis. By the time eight o'clock rolled around and they were getting ready to leave he actually wished the taller man a Merry Christmas and didn't make it sound similar to 'die in a fire'.

"So that went better than expected," he said as soon as everyone else was gone, turning to the teen with ice-colored eyes.

"Yeah, Roxas didn't kill anyone like he clearly wanted to. Hey, mind if I stay the night? It's kind of cold to walk all the way home."

"I don't mind, I don't think Mom'll care either when she gets back from work. So, do you still hate winter?" Hayner asked with a small smile.

"I'm starting to warm up to it," his boyfriend replied before leaning down to kiss him gently.