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[cross_swords]

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[vacantexpression]

[ The patented Leonhart eyeroll gives away exactly what he thinks of Seifer's theories. That flicker of annoyance gives way to something darker however. It's been chewing him up inside since he heard the words Galbadia and girlfriend which struck a chord in him to a tune he'd sworn to forget. Nothing good comes from recognizing its melody. ]

I'll make the best of it.

[ The crushing part is...Squall feels like he has. He's stronger than most everyone at the school, he has all the tools he needs to survive any life threatening scenario thrown at him, and he's been able to accomplish all of it because he's had Seifer.

And somehow that's not allowed to be enough? This is why he shouldn't want or rely on anyone. ]

Whatever.

[cross_swords]

[And there it is. The single word that Seifer knows translates into 'this conversation is over'. He knows better than to keep talking about it. He shrugs and starts down the road. It's a long walk back to campus after all.]

[vacantexpression]

[ Seeing Seifer's back fortifies Squall's resolve. This will be what it's like when they inevitably part ways. When Seifer passes the exam and decides he doesn't need their sparring to continue furthering his skillset. Or when he finally pushes himself to chase after that ineffable "more". Seifer will leave and Squall will be left behind. That's how it goes.

So he shoves his hands in his pockets and trudges along a few paces back, stuck in his own head where their disastrous conversation plays itself ad nauseam, aided by the strange twinge of guilt that settles in his gut over leaving the dog behind.

It takes the entire walk before he's convinced himself it wasn't his problem in the first place. It takes even longer until he shores up the courage to speak up, in the hallowed halls of campus no less just before the dorms: ] It's Garden's loss. If they don't pass you, it's their loss.

[ His gaze boldly flicks towards one of the roaming Garden faculty members then back to Seifer before Squall turns on his heel, abandoning their trajectory to head to the training center instead. He knows saying his piece won't amount to anything. It hadn't in the theater. But he'd spent the entire walk trying to bring it up between them only for it to blurt out at the last minute. The nerves of speaking up at all make the decision feel idiotic, but now the conversation can be over and he can pour all of his frustrations over how it went into the poor monsters that get in his way. ]

[cross_swords]

[By the time they are almost back Seifer barely even realizes Squall is still hovering around. But when the younger cadet opens his mouth Seifer turns to listen. For just a flicker of a moment he looks shocked. Then the normal arrogant smirk crosses his lips.

Everyone in the world is lesser when they lack Seifer in their presence, clearly.

But then Squall's making a tactical retreat, and Seifer snorts in amusement. Before shouting. Because who gives a fuck that he should speak at a respectful volume?]

Tomorrow morning. Usual spot. Gonna remind you just how much further you need to reach to be the best.

[vacantexpression]

[ The anxiety that had him strung taut lessens as Seifer bellows at his back. The familiarity of it outweighs whatever embarrassment Squall might have otherwise felt over such a display. This is the scales rebalancing and Squall clings to the promise of tomorrow like a life raft. They aren't done with this yet. They're not done with each other.

He suffocates the knowledge that he doesn't ever want to be done with this.

Instead he throws up a pair of fingers over his shoulder. An acknowledgment of the challenge. Then he drops his index so it's just his middle finger in the air. A parting shot and a wordless goodbye.

If he were the type of person to smile...this would have been the moment for it. ]

[cross_swords]

[Squall might not be the sort to smile. But damn, that one motion of flipping Seifer off leaves the man laughing. Loud and definitely enough to send a member of the faculty scurrying on over to chide him. Not Squall though. Because of course Squall doesn't get the risk of being yelled at for flipping Seifer off. Why would he? He's the 'good one' of the two gunbladers.

And honestly, detention doesn't bother Seifer enough to stop laughing either. Not when all this was too funny. The amusement does a lot to soothe away the lingering anger.

At least it does for the moment.]

[vacantexpression]

[ The best place to channel any lingering hostility is into their weaponry. That's how it's always worked and it's a wonder neither of them have needed to use phoenix downs on each other while navigating puberty. Now mostly on the other side of it, their gunblades have become a conduit of their anger where steel can crash against steel in a well timed ballet of brute force and violence.

They've had years of this and that familiarity has made it so that neither of them can rest comfortably on their laurels or rely on the same old tricks. The second one of them falls into any kind of repetition, the other is there to take advantage. So it goes the following morning when they meet up.

He's still in his head about yesterday and it shows in the way he parries or blocks. Usually when they spar, Squall can tap into the flow of their duel, losing himself to the rhythm of it that always leaves him feeling satisfyingly spent. Today he feels like he's on his back foot and by the time they've called the match with a gritted out "Enough" from Squall, there's nothing but exhaustion and an edge of having not quite gotten what he needed from their fight.

He knows his limits though. There's a clean slice across his shoulder, down through to his chest. The result of not blocking quickly enough which handicapped him for the remainder of their session. Now as they're winding down, Squall peels the wet fabric away from his skin to inspect the damage. It's too bloody to see how deep it is but since he can still move his arm, it can't be too terrible. ]

You could have pulled the trigger earlier. [ He points it out around his panting and the grimace that pinches his expression as he applies pressure to the wound. There was a split second before Squall had been able to get Revolver up and under Hyperion. If Seifer had wanted to, Squall suspects he could have ended things a lot sooner then and there. ]

[cross_swords]

And you could have not chosen a day so close to the exam to push yourself through an injury.

[The sparring had been great, until the injury. Frankly, it never should have happened. Seifer was absolutely certain of that fact. Squall was too good by this point for such a rookie mistake of leaving himself open like that. Hyne, Seifer still wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed as much as he had given Squall's two-handed style should have given him more protection, not less. But the injury is what it is and even Seifer had realized it was too much rather sooner than he liked to admit.

The thing was, there was no pushing Squall to stop. He had to do it in his own time. Now that it's done he sets his blade aside on a flat topped rock and moves forward.]

Do you have any cure spells stocked, or am I going to have to deal with this for you?

[vacantexpression]

[ That the exam is on the horizon is reason enough for Squall to push himself. He has no way of knowing if they'll be assigned to the same squad, but if they are, he wants to make himself formidable enough to be a clear equal to Seifer. Not just that, he wants Garden to acknowledge the fact that they make each other better. Why have a single gunblader on SeeD's roster when they can have two?

The inverse of that is if he can't get his head on straight, he might be a liability to them both.

He tries not to think of that as he props Revolver up against one of the larger rocks so that Seifer can get a better look at the damage. Squall knows he's better than this, but the nagging annoyance in the back of his head is second to the throb of the wound in his shoulder. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off it hurts like a bitch. ]

Just the one.

[ Which means...yeah, Seifer will probably have to help. Squall sucks a sharp breath through his teeth to brace himself for the first spell. It pumps through him with a crackle of frost that spreads briefly out from under his palm and into the torn skin. Using Shiva as his conduit for draws has always felt more natural than Quezacotl, especially when Cures are concerned. The chill of her trace magic numbs some of the pain and it's enough to stop the bleeding but not enough to fully close the wound.

He removes his hand from over it with a sigh before looking up at Seifer. ] Your turn.

[ It's probably an exercise in futility, but Squall hopes that by refusing to ask for the spell, Seifer won't try to make him grovel for it. ]

[cross_swords]

[While Squall's magic had the touch of Shiva to it, Seifer's had Ifrit for two years now, and his bond to the fiery summon was obvious in the roll of warmth as he cast the heal spell. His fingers hovered the whole time just above the skin, so close to being ready to truly touch.]

Damn idiot. If you were fighting someone less good than me, you could get seriously hurt. You need to keep more cures on you.

[vacantexpression]

[ The heat results in a gentle rush of steam beneath Seifer's palm and the effects of the Cure help to unwind the tension Squall's been carrying since arriving at the site. After pushing himself, he'll need either a long soak beneath the shower's spray or to work his fingers through the aches of newly healed skin and that thought makes the hover of Seifer's hand tempting.

He doesn't often get to feel the gentler effects of Seifer's magic (or the gentler effects of Seifer's anything) so Squall takes a moment to absorb and breathe through it before scoffing at the implication that anyone lesser could have gotten under his skin let alone his guard. ]

I'll restock.

[ There's no point arguing. Instead he slides his hand beneath the space where Seifer's is hovering so he can feel out the new tissue, fingers slipping through the torn fabric. ]

Fire Cavern? [ His brow arches, inquiring about the source of the heat from the Cure and its potential draw site, all while being hyper conscious of the minimal space between them that's common in their post-battle assessment of each other. ]

[cross_swords]

[Sure he will. Seifer doubts it. With a sigh he presses his gloved hand right against Squall's. The contact is all he needs to transfer a stack of ten cure spells across without consent. Then and only then does he pull away. Someone's got to make sure the only person fun to fight here actually stays on his feet.]

What about it? You done your test there yet?

[vacantexpression]

[ Being suffused with Seifer's magic has him briefly stiffening, brows knit as he stares at him until the Cures have been added to his stores. Does Seifer think he's incapable of drawing his own? Squall's mind turns itself over trying to make sense of it before he straightens and shakes his head. ]

I was asking for their source. [ He rolls his newly healed shoulder, still speaking of the Cures. Squall doesn't want to think about the fact that he still hasn't been to the Fire Cavern yet. Less because he doesn't think himself capable and more because he finds the thought of being alone with Quistis unbearable. ] The Fire Cavern is inevitable. Instructor Trepe is...relentless. I'll do it before the exam.

[ Now that he's healed, Squall turns away from the small space they were occupying to reclaim his gunblade. Once in hand, he presses his hand to Seifer's shoulder while passing him, pressing an Esuna into him. ] I found the draw point while you were away this summer.

[cross_swords]

[It isn't that Squall isn't capable. But Seifer takes care of his own. And whether Squall has ever realized it or not, there are only three people that are constants Seifer actually cares about in his life. Sure he needles Quistis and has for years, and yes he annoys SeeD Xu quite a bit. And irritating Dincht is fun. But only the posse and Squall have ever figured high on Seifer's list of concerns.]

Hardly. Not prone to trying to talk my way past the faculty to get back in there. Been doing some Glacial Eye culling in the plains in preparation for the exam.

[Because yes, he does want enough cure spells to keep his squad from dying on him. It would definitely hurt his marks if they passed out.]

Quistis often has been. Comes from being a know-it-all like she is. But you should get the exam done sooner rather than later. Ifrit's useful for junctions. You should take time to build him up.

[Though he is shocked as he goes to get his weapon again to find Squall stopping him just long enough to pass along the spell.]

Well that's a beauty for my next bar crawl. Where'd you find it?

[vacantexpression]

[ Seifer's inner circle is one Squall has always felt just outside of, through no fault of Seifer's own as much as Squall's inability to see himself beyond his use as a rival meant to keep them both in peak performance. It means that the kindness, the care, is lost on him and he'll chew on the possible meaning behind the stock for longer than necessary. Just like the thought of Seifer out on the town, relishing the night life. ]

Followed the train tracks to where the tunnel meets the sea.

[ Summers always left Squall with plenty of time for exploring. Unlike his peers, he rarely got off the island unless coerced by a rare issue of Weapons Monthly. He refrains from giving Seifer's shoulder a squeeze, that's too familiar, but his fingers twitch with the urge. All the sentiment of the other day, the normalcy of it until their blowup, it lingers in the same way he does for a moment before he continues on his way. ]

Ifrit is...tricky. I prefer to have Shiva junctioned.

[ The contrasting elements aren't likely to play well together and GFs are a safer subject to broach than any of Seifer's wild nights out or the loneliness of summertime when the other's absence is always acutely felt. ]

[cross_swords]

What, thinking of running away, Leonhart?

[The joke, of course, was based on another movie Seifer had seen. Just some kid trying to see the world by boxcar jumping and getting rides places. Not that he thinks Squall would have the kind of drive to do that. Not in this day.]

I suppose it makes sense. She suits you. And she's also got the strength junction. And the elemental junctions. But after that, I'm wondering if you shouldn't be packing health junctions too. To keep you going after some attacks.

[vacantexpression]

[ The eye roll will only be visible if Seifer is keeping stride with him. Weighed down by Revolver that's not exactly a difficult feat, especially since he's carrying it one-handed while his other works at the lingering stiffness in his newly healed shoulder. Running away on some grand adventure feels more like Seifer's speed, but Squall knows better than to open his mouth about that. ] I'd never risk you raiding my room if I did.

[ From anyone else it might have sounded like a joke, but Squall doesn't find it terribly farfetched to think that if he disappeared, Seifer wouldn't scrounge around in his room. Or maybe that's just because it's something Squall would consider doing. Hints for why and where Seifer had gone...

He clears his head of the thought, focusing on the junctions that have thus far been a reflection of his battle style: favoring strength and vitality versus health or defense. Shiva has been perfect for those exact things. ] Looking for help culling Glacial Eyes?

[ It isn't tacit submission but Squall recognizes Seifer's point. Glacial Eyes are better dispatched with fire and even though he thinks he can feel Shiva bristle with the thought of entertaining Ifrit, a single-pronged approach is no way to become the strongest. ]

[cross_swords]

[Of course Seifer's keeping stride. It's easy for him. He does have longer legs after all. And he's less winded from the fight given he hadn't been injured. Not to mention Hyperion, designed as a one handed weapon, wasn't nearly so heavy as the Revolver.]

Pretty presumptive, that, thinking I could get into your room. Why, you have an easy door code? Is it your birthday? My birthday?

[As for Seifer, well, his style didn't give itself to defense, to the health boost was vital to him, and the strength mattered. And, unlike Squall, he didn't care much about bothering with magic defense. Not like he let monsters live long enough to be a problem, and most humans couldn't do paramagic. He felt safe.]

You think I need more than Hyperion for it? I'm more than capable enough to take on a pack of them alone. And magic isn't my style. But you... I could see you needing the help I suppose. What do I get out of it? Other than my sparring partner staying alive?

[vacantexpression]

[ Those extra inches between them have always been a point of contention for Squall. Probably because it gave Seifer entirely too much satisfaction to be the taller of them. As they walk, Squall tries not to slow or disrupt his stride when Seifer casually guesses his door code. ] That would be too easy.

[ And apparently it is, but it wasn't as if Squall had ever anticipated having this conversation with Seifer when he'd programmed it. Better to move the conversation along and this feels safer than any possible sentiment that could be derived from the numbers 1222 besides the ease in which they allowed him to access his room. ]

We don't use magic with each other. I didn't realize you weren't using it in the wild. [ There's a flicker of admiration in the words but he tries to keep his tone neutral. Squall has been experimenting with paramagic since first junctioning, practicing its various uses and all the different ways he can draw from the wild and his opponents. It's felt necessary so far but here Seifer was using only blade and bravery.

...And unchecked bravado. Squall rolls his eyes again. ]

Showing off isn't enough incentive?

[cross_swords]

[Well what can Seifer say? He's just blessed with height and strength and charm and good looks.

Too bad it didn't get him very far in life.]

And it's not like you don't choose easy things. [And of course the words come with some degree of sarcasm. Yeah, Seifer's pretty sure it's one of their birthday's now. He's going to have to do some testing. Maybe leave a pack of candy to taunt over it too. But mostly he's just smiling to himself.]

Better not to be too dependent on it, right? If I don't make Seed I'm going to have to make my way by Hyperion alone. That and the occasional spell rock. So it's better to just know what I can do.

[He's not going to try and solo a Trexsaur without magic of course. But lower level things? It's not as much of a concern for him. And to him they are lower level. He beat the Fire Cavern two years ago after all. Everything since then has been the required courses, electives to fill his time, and training to push beyond what he could get as merely a cadet. Of course, it meant he was far less quick to throw it into an active battle than Squall and his summons came slower too. Seifer just wasn't going to be the same pinnacle of paramagic as Trepe, so he left it to the uses he felt were more important. Which in his case was junctioning.]

Oh, you think I want to peacock for you, Leonhart?

[vacantexpression]

[ All of Seifer's blessings have, of course, been noticed and have, of course, never been commented upon. Squall doesn't need to inflate Seifer's ego. That's what his posse is for.

Pointedly not continuing their conversation about his door code, Squall is instead content to ruminate on the juxtaposition of their styles. It seems strange now to see the cracks in Seifer's arrogance, how some of it is worn like a poorly fitted mask. To not use magic to its full potential because of the possibility that he might not have access to it in the future tells Squall a lot. It speaks to the same surety Seifer had yesterday about not passing the SeeD exam. About what it means to fail again.

Squall won't let him.

And he hasn't been lying: Garden would be fools to pass up the chance to have such raw talent within their ranks. Sure, maybe Seifer wasn't the most disciplined but surely that could be worked on. ]

And? What can you do?

[ There is an open curiosity in the way Squall cocks his brow, inviting Seifer to tell him just how strong he's gotten and what he's capable of alone. He wants to see it. He doesn't want to beg for it, but he does want to see Seifer in his prime taking on the elements with only his blade. ]

Maybe, maybe not, but it'll be good to see what I need to catch up to.

[ They've been rivals for years. If he didn't know how to play some of Seifer's strings by now, he wouldn't be worthy of the title. ]

[cross_swords]

[As if it would be Seifer's ego that would really need to be worried about if Squall ever had the courage to comment on Seifer's ample assets. And it wasn't like the posse bothered to say it either. Should it be any surprise that he went elsewhere for praise?

Stand as the top combat student at Balamb Garden, for one thing. Though I've had compliments in a wide variety of other areas.

[His smile there is a mischievous one, and accents it with a wink. Today he's not playing that game, Squall. He knows the other youth too well as well.]

Want to explain why you were so distracted today?

[vacantexpression]

[ Emotional maturity isn't something Squall's ever claimed. Avoidance and denial are far more predictable of him, but every now and then they find common ground upon which to stand. It doesn't always tip Squall's hand but sometimes there's just enough in his words to signify praise. ]

Such as?

[ Inviting Seifer to talk about himself instead of blushing has kept their playing field even all these long years however when Seifer flips the script and comments on his performance, Squall can feel the heat in his cheeks.

For a few long strides, he's silent. Then, after a long moment of trying to find the right words, he tentatively confesses. ] I was thinking about the exam and how I need to be better. Stronger. To keep up with you. To show them what we're capable of.

[cross_swords]

[Emotional maturity, a level of development they are in some ways on par in. Except instead of avoidance and denial like Squall has, Seifer was more masking and denial.

Still, when he catches sight of the red in Squall's cheeks, he smiles to himself. Now this was interesting to see. He wondered just how he could push that. What buttons were here that he hadn't known about before?]

You already keep up with me, Leonhart. Surely you know that, right?

[vacantexpression]

[ Neither of them are exactly the pinnacle of mental health but being orphans thrust into combat training to prove their worth probably did more of a number on them than Garden wants to take credit for.

It is exactly that self-worth that Squall scoffs at when Seifer tries to reassure him. Hyne, what is this feeling? The warmness in his cheeks, the flutter that comes from Seifer's praise... Squall scowls. ] I don't need the platitudes, Seifer.

You were right...about what you said yesterday. You're not like me. You might buck up against orders, but you know how to give them. And you have the strength to see them through.

[ What that means for Squall is left unsaid. He might be able to climb SeeD as a mercenary but he'll never elevate to any kind of position of authority. He doesn't have it in him. He doesn't want that for himself either. But he wants it for Seifer. ]