Hyne. Since they were fourteen. Could they have disrupted fate if Squall had been a little bit braver? A little less bristly? His breath comes in sharp, a pained sound smothered in his chest, as shame burns through him under Seifer's gaze and the tenderness of the hand cradling his face.
"Very," he confirms. Squall knows annoyance is the bare minimum of what Seifer should hold against him for their unspoken mutual attraction. There's a myriad of secrets yet to be shared, but he owes it to them to muscle through the embarrassment of sharing.
"Longer. I think. The memory is...Fuzzy. We were getting fitted for a new year of uniforms and you'd come out, a big smile on your face," his words trail off a moment as Squall searches Seifer's face for the kid he'd been at the time. Both of them young. Gangly teenagers. Squall's expression pinches with the memory. "You caught me staring." He's certain Seifer knows how that turned out. How he'd flushed and rolled his eyes, blowing off anything that might have given him away. He's tempted to do the same now, but pushes the reaction down with a deep, bracing breath.
His expression is briefly hidden in the warmth of Seifer's palm, turning his face into it before exhaling and straightening himself to meet his eyes. "I loved that look on you. Like you could take on the world. You came back from town with the same look when you got your coat. Fujin and Raijin strutting beside you like they believed you could."
The vulnerability is its own gnawing ache as Squall remembers the accompanying emotions that had come with those moments. The jealousy and inferiority, how he'd always wanted more but felt like he couldn't compete against the everything Seifer was always chasing.
no subject
"Very," he confirms. Squall knows annoyance is the bare minimum of what Seifer should hold against him for their unspoken mutual attraction. There's a myriad of secrets yet to be shared, but he owes it to them to muscle through the embarrassment of sharing.
"Longer. I think. The memory is...Fuzzy. We were getting fitted for a new year of uniforms and you'd come out, a big smile on your face," his words trail off a moment as Squall searches Seifer's face for the kid he'd been at the time. Both of them young. Gangly teenagers. Squall's expression pinches with the memory. "You caught me staring." He's certain Seifer knows how that turned out. How he'd flushed and rolled his eyes, blowing off anything that might have given him away. He's tempted to do the same now, but pushes the reaction down with a deep, bracing breath.
His expression is briefly hidden in the warmth of Seifer's palm, turning his face into it before exhaling and straightening himself to meet his eyes. "I loved that look on you. Like you could take on the world. You came back from town with the same look when you got your coat. Fujin and Raijin strutting beside you like they believed you could."
The vulnerability is its own gnawing ache as Squall remembers the accompanying emotions that had come with those moments. The jealousy and inferiority, how he'd always wanted more but felt like he couldn't compete against the everything Seifer was always chasing.