Squall knows Seifer's right even if he doesn't want to admit it out loud. Rinoa had parted the heavens to bring him back...There was no intention for her to let him go, not if she had a say in it. The only time Squall has known clarity has been the times when she's away, when there's enough distance and distractions to keep her from putting the impressive magnetism of her focus on their bond. But he's fresh and alert and here. Grounded in a way he hasn't been since being pulled out of Time Compression. The thought of being pulled under the riptide of her influence again makes him cling ever closer.

"Then be my knight," he whispers with a voice that's rough from the vulnerability it takes to ask. "If anyone can get through to me, Seifer, it'll be you. And if you can't..."

He doesn't want to think about it. Doesn't want to go back to the half life of being puppeted by Rinoa's charm. "It was always going to be you." He's not sure if that makes it easier for Seifer to hear. That he's giving him permission to do what he couldn't when Ultimecia had had her hooks in him, but how can Squall go back to a world that doesn't allow him to live in it with Seifer now that they've finally found their way back to each other? "But there's still time. Still options. I won't give up if you don't."