A/N: Well, I read this chapter through many times but still it feels like I forgot something... With my luck it's something majorly related to the advancing of the plot, or a tinylittle detail that ruins something I've written in previous chapters :D Anyway, thank you for all the support, my dear readers!

7: Action

Finally, it was time.

He stood at a crossroads, leaning against a tree as a cigarette that was supposed to calm his nerves burned off between his lips. He leaned backwards against the tree casually, crossing his arms across his chest as he watched the movement near one particular building – or rather, the lack of it. Glancing at his watch, he held back a sigh and then turned his attention back to the building.

A passing elder lady gave him an odd look that he saw from the corner of his eye, but didn’t acknowledge in any way. The people walking past the Kramer Manor made absolutely no difference to him; his gaze was fixed on the guarded gate.

Suddenly the large doors of the manor opened and his cigarette dropped to the ground, unnoticed. As he had anticipated, the gates soon opened as well and the guards let through a smiling young woman who carried a basket. She engaged the guards in a brief conversation and then continued on her way, smiling even though there was no one to smile at anymore.

After she had left the yard the gates closed again, but they no longer held interest for him – what he wanted was already nearly in his reach.

“...oranges, pears, and... oh, cherries, don’t forget the cherries. And the most important thing is—”

“Whipped cream, yes, I know,” Selphie told Rita with a smile, but rolled her eyes the second she turned away from the elderly maid. While Selphie was a maid in the manor, she was also Zell’s best friend and she knew what her friend needed when he was feeling down.

With a sigh, Selphie stepped out of the living room, her thoughts returning to the previous day which had caused Zell’s sudden surge into depression. Selphie’s plans to show Zell around the manor had gone extremely well, better than she had imagined, even. The maids had been playfully flirting with the ‘sooo handsome young lord’, which had made Zell feel a bit more confident about his sudden change – though it also became public knowledge how easily the sorceress blushed. It also seemed that Lady Edea was not present, improving the mood even further... but it was Sir Cid’s reaction that had made Zell wish he had never believed Selphie and let her dress him up like a man.

Without a question both Zell and Selphie had expected Sir Cid to scold them for playing around like that and then promptly order Zell to go and change into appropriate clothes, but the nature of his reaction had been nothing like they had thought it would be.

Zell fidgeted nervously in the living room, Selphie standing at his side with a hopeful expression, his father staring at him as though he couldn’t recognize him at all – Zell wouldn’t have been all that surprised if he really couldn’t. He had already received comments that he looked nothing like ‘himself’, but he supposed that with those comments the maids had meant he looked nothing like a woman.

It was silent for a long time while Cid only stared at Zell, who couldn’t bring himself to look at his father. Cid then stood up from the couch and approached Zell, drawing him into a tight hug, whispering, “My son...”

Tears sprang into Zell’s eyes at hearing those words that he had heard some times in his life, but never with so much affection and love in them. He squeezed his eyes shut, making the tears fall, and hugged his father back just as tightly as he was being held. “Dad...” he managed to choke out, not quite sure why he was crying.

When had been the last time his father had hugged him? When he had been seven? Eight?

Cid released Zell from the tight embrace and cleared his throat, turning away to hide his reddened eyes from his son. “Your mother won’t be happy,” he said quietly, but the tears were evident in his trembling voice.

“I... I know,” answered Zell. He looked down in shame, but his father turned back to him, raised his chin up and smiled through his sadness.

“I bet this was Selphie’s idea.”

“Y-yeah... it was... Sorry...”

Cid shook his head with a sad smile and said, “You have grown into a fine young man, even though I haven’t been able to...” Cid frowned and pursed his lips.

“To what?” Zell asked when his father paused awkwardly.

But Cid didn’t continue anymore. He simply shook his head again and turned to leave the living room. “Nothing. You should go and change, your mother will be back any minute now.”

Selphie had excused herself from the scene as soon as she had noticed that it was turning too personal, but afterwards, Zell had told her what had happened and for some unknown reason she had felt like crying as well. After that Zell had thanked her for the suit, telling her he would pay her back, and then asked her to leave him alone. No one had been allowed to enter his room for the rest of the day, not even his parents or Rita.

It wasn’t even a question that Selphie was worried for her best friend – that was why she was going shopping now, to get ingredients for Zell’s favourite dessert: juicy fruit salad with whipped cream. If someone asked Selphie, she would have gone and bought Zell tons of chocolate, but as Lady Edea specifically ordered the people working in the kitchen to check everything that Zell ate, it was an impossibility. Zell was not allowed to eat anything like that, and whipped cream with the salad was a rare occurrence as well.

Selphie let out a sigh – she could be glad she was only a maid and there was no one telling her how she should live her life.

She shook her head and stopped to wait for the passing cars to move on before she could cross the road. Before she could, though, her eyes fell on something – someone – that caught her attention. “Oh!” she exclaimed loudly enough for the person to hear her and turn to look towards her direction. “Sir Seifer!” Recognition swept over the man’s face before he raised his hand in a wave, and Selphie was on the other side of the road in a flash.

“Good day, Miss Selphie,” said the knight, bowing to her slightly with a charming smile.

Selphie waved a hand of dismissal, trying to ignore the blush that rose to her cheeks. “Alright, stop that,” she laughed, the thought of addressing Seifer formally never even crossing her mind. “So, how have you been?”

“Quite good, actually.”

Selphie couldn’t help grinning. From what Zell had told her... “Yes, yes, I bet...”

Seifer lifted an eyebrow at the girl’s behaviour. “Excuse me?”

Selphie gave a slight shrug and started her walk towards the supermarket, expecting Seifer to follow her since it didn’t seem like the knight was in a terrible hurry. “Well, I kind of heard that you had been in Balamb a few days ago...” When there was no answer, Selphie turned to look back at Seifer, whose face had gone pale. She let out a slight laugh that startled the man out of his thoughts. “It’s not like I was gonna tell anyone!”

“Good...” mumbled the knight, but then snapped his eyes back to the grinning Selphie and said, “Wait, tell anyone what?”

Selphie merely grinned devilishly as she entered the supermarket. She smiled to the worried-looking man and then said, “You don’t have to worry! I swear I won’t tell anyone about you and Ze—” Seifer cleared his throat rather loudly, making Selphie chuckle and lower her voice, “Sorry.” She then let out a giggle, studying a plastic box of strawberries before gently placing it on the bottom of her basket. “You do make a cute couple.”

“We’re not a couple,” Seifer answered instantly, following after the girl.

“You kissed him, though.”

Seifer’s eyebrow twitched as he stopped next to Selphie who was comparing pears. He then sighed, deciding that he had no other choice. “Yes, I did.” All of a sudden the girl’s green eyes lit up and Seifer regretted saying anything. She did, however, turn back without a comment, which made the knight suspicious. He didn’t say anything about it though, in an attempt at distracting Selphie from the topic. “So, what are you going to make?” he asked, noticing all the fruits and berries in the basket.

“A juicy fruit salad!”

He could almost have guessed. “Oh.”

“Kind of obvious, isn’t it?” Selphie asked with a grin as she moved forward to her next destination.

“Thought I’d ask anyway. So, planning an evening all to yourself?”

“No, these are for Zell,” Selphie replied, “He’s feeling down, so I thought I’d cheer him up.”

“With fruits?” Seifer asked dully. “I would’ve bought...”

“Chocolate,” grinned Selphie. “I know, but you know how Lady Edea is about Zell’s food.”

Seifer frowned. He remembered Zell trying to refuse the pastries back in Balamb, claiming that Edea wouldn’t be happy about it. Truth be told, Seifer thought the boy could really use some meat on his bones. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back,” he then told the girl, who was left staring after him with an orange in hand.

A moment later, he came back and handed her a brown plastic bag. “Here. Think you could smuggle this in? You said he was feeling down, yeah?”

Selphie smiled knowingly and took the bag from the knight. “Alright, I shall deliver your... courting gift.”

Seifer cleared his throat and asked, in the most passive tone he could manage, “Courting gift?”

Selphie only put the bag in her basket with deliberate slowness and waggled her eyebrows at the knight, not saying a word as she bounced off again.

“Miss—”

“Oh I think we’re past that, Seifer,” Selphie grinned at him over her shoulder. Then, it seemed that she suddenly got some kind of extraordinarily bright idea as her eyes lit up and a slight smile stretched her lips. From the look the girl then gave him, Seifer got the impression that he was involved in this particular idea. “I suppose, if you really wanted to court him...” Selphie said, drawing each word out slowly.

Seifer hated to admit that there was a pang of irritation in him when the girl did not continue like he had expected her to, merely shook her head and proceeded to walk to the end of the queue. Naturally, Seifer followed the girl – he had been accompanying her, after all – and stepped in line after her.

The silence seemed to affect only him, as Selphie chatted with people happily, telling people who asked how the Young Lady was doing that he was extremely fine. Seifer had to snort at that. Not that he expected Selphie to tell Zell’s business to outsiders. Their turn at the queue came soon and the energetic girl set her items on the line, smiling at the woman. Seifer noticed the woman looking at him suspiciously, and he answered her stare with an indifferent look. When the woman turned back to serve Selphie, Seifer shook his head and walked past Selphie to gather her groceries.

“Thank you, Sir Seifer,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him as she reached to take her basket.

“Oh, please let me, Miss Selphie,” Seifer said with just as pretended sweetness and politeness as the girl had, noticing that she was having rather a hard time trying not to giggle aloud. He then offered his arm to her, which she took, and then started to lead her away from the supermarket. The woman who had served Selphie stared shamelessly after them, but Seifer didn’t mind, not even if she went and told everyone she knew about it – it would only take people’s minds off his imaginary relationship with Zell.

They walked slowly in silence, Selphie waiting for Seifer to reveal his interest in Zell, Seifer refusing to approach the embarrassing subject. Some steps later they both sighed at the same time. “Why won’t you just ask since you so want to?” Selphie groaned.

“Why won’t you just tell since you so want to?” countered Seifer.

“Ooh, so you are interested in him!” Selphie exclaimed, unable to contain her happiness. She then slapped one hand over her mouth and mumbled a sorry through it. It wasn’t supposed to be said aloud. “So,” she then giggled, “Wanna hear some of my advice?”

“I suppose, if I have to,” Seifer answered in an indifferent tone.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to, really.”

The corner of the knight’s eye twitched but he made no sound. He should have just said yes, to spare both time and himself from complete humiliation. Though he couldn’t exactly know what this ‘advice’ was like... But if he wanted to know, he just needed to swallow his pride and... “I, uh...” Yes, do go on. “I would rather like to hear this advice... if it was no trouble.”

Another giggle escaped Selphie before she nodded enthusiastically. “Well for one, Ze—ahem, he, is a sucker for romance.”

Seifer lifted an eyebrow at this information. Maybe listening to Selphie’s advice actually was a good idea.

“Once, there was this man who wanted to become his knight, and while he never admitted it, I know he loved the way the man brought him flowers and other gifts and took him to candlelit dinners...” she paused when she noticed the sour look on the knight’s features. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to make you jealous.”

“I’m not—”

“Anyway, while he never really cared about the fancy jewellery or dresses, he always appreciated the gesture enough to blush for fifteen minutes straight. He also likes it if his hand is held, makes him feel more secure, but you shouldn’t exactly fling yourself at him or else he’ll think,” she rolled her eyes, changing her tone into a bored one, “that you only want to sleep with him because of the virginity thing, you know, blah blah blah...”

“Yes, I do know,” Seifer mumbled. He supposed he couldn’t really blame Zell for that, though he wasn’t exactly sure if many people would bother to seduce a sorceress simply for their virginity. They had to be either extremely superstitious, or then missing some of their marbles.

Ignoring Seifer, Selphie continued, “As you probably know, he loves sweet things, doesn’t get much of those in the manor. Also, he’s not really the wine-type like most men seem to think.”

Seifer hmm-ed as he decided that this information would really be useful later on. “Is there anything he absolutely won’t eat?” he asked casually.

Selphie grinned at him before she started to think. “Hm. I think he’d eat just about anything if he himself got to decide. Otherwise it’s just healthy food, I’m afraid,” she said, “though I’m sure he would appreciate it if you ordered him something good but low-fat in a restaurant...”

“It seems you suspect I’m taking him somewhere?” Seifer asked, but then regretted his choice of words in his mind. Now he had more or less confirmed it...

“You wouldn’t have to,” Selphie said in a slightly wondering tone. “I’m sure he’d love a quiet picnic, as well.”

This was something Seifer was ready to consider. He didn’t really want to be seen in public with the sorceress, but he supposed a private meeting in a place where there were no others would do. Wait, was he actually considering something the girl was suggesting? “Really? I’m afraid there wouldn’t be very many good places since the ground’s wet from all the rain.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Oh, one thing!” Selphie held the index finger of her free hand up. “He hates to be called lady, but that’s probably not so important since you’re already on first-name basis.”

Seifer gave a look to the maid, but then simply said, “Well, I could have figured that piece of information out myself.”

Selphie stopped walking and looked up at the knight. “You’ve noticed it, too?”

“The... nose?”

“Yeah!”

Seifer let out a chuckle and nodded. The slight scrunching-up of Zell’s nose whenever someone called him lady seemed to be so obvious to the two of them and silently, Seifer wondered if anyone else had noticed. However, he supposed that even if someone had noticed, they wouldn’t comment on it in any way. “It’s kind of cute, actually.” And he didn’t just say that aloud.

Selphie giggled. “Yeah, it is. I bet he doesn’t even notice he does it.”

“We all have habits like that.”

Selphie tilted her head as she looked at the knight. “Habits like what?”

“Habits that we aren’t aware of,” Seifer explained, gesturing with his hand.

“Really. So what are your habits, then?”

Seifer opened his mouth to answer, but then chuckled and said, “I wouldn’t know.”

“Oh, right,” giggled Selphie. “So, how about him? Other than the nose?”

“Well, he fiddles with his clothes when he’s nervous.”

“I’ve noticed. And he blushes easily.”

Seifer chuckled and gave a nod. “That he does.” He had come to notice that he didn’t have to do anything but look at the sorceress for a few seconds when a pale red colour was already creeping up his cheeks. When Seifer turned back to the suddenly silent Selphie, he found her staring at him with a very slight smile on her lips. “What?” he asked, but Selphie only shook her head and continued walking. Seifer frowned – what had happened to the girl who had just a while ago been teasing him about trying to court Zell? “Uh, Selphie?” he called as he caught up with the girl.

“It’s nothing, sorry,” Selphie said a bit too quickly for Seifer’s liking.

“I bet it’s something,” he observed, but the girl didn’t answer. Seifer noticed that they were getting closer to the manor, and so he stopped walking and asked, “So, were you willing to share some more advice with me?”

Selphie stopped as well and turned to look at the knight curiously. “Really?”

Seifer nodded, though for the love of Hyne he could not understand why. “I’d be happy if you could do that.” He tried not to grimace when the girl giggled and jumped up and down excitedly, and then took his hand to lead him right from a crossroads, to a path that led to the park.

“Okay,” said the girl as she let go of Seifer’s hand and turned to face him. “So you wanna meet him?”

The knight hesitated for a moment and then said slowly, “I thought he was under house arrest.”

Selphie grinned, clasped her hands behind her back and whirled around. “He is.”

“I’m... not sure where you’re going with this...” Seifer admitted, jumping slightly when Selphie whirled around again.

“You’re going to meet him, of course!”

Seifer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I thought you just said...”

“That you’re going to meet him,” Selphie said, grinning when realization dawned on the knight. “That’s right, you’re gonna sneak into the manor!”

“I am not,” Seifer instantly denied. He wasn’t crazy, for Hyne’s sake, in spite of the fact that he had been willing to let Selphie share some of her advice with him.

“I know what you think,” said Selphie, “You think it’s impossible because the manor’s security is supposed to be ‘top-notch’.”

“Supposed to be?” Seifer asked.

Selphie nodded and bounced a few steps towards the knight, who in turn backed away from her. “If,” she started, raising an index finger up, “the manor’s security was oh-so-great, then why...”

Seifer raised an eyebrow, urging Selphie to continue, but when she didn’t, he asked, “Why what?”

Selphie’s grin once again made Seifer sigh, but she did finally continue, “Why would there be a hole in the fence?”

“A hole in the fence?” repeated Seifer. She couldn’t be serious.

“Yeah!”

“Why... is there a hole in the fence?” Seifer asked when Selphie once again remained silent after her exclamation.

Selphie let out a giggle and bounced next to Seifer, taking a hold of his arm as she more or less forced them to start walking again. “We made it with Zell, when we were kids. There’s a bush of roses in front of the fence, so we thought that it could hide our escape route.”

“How in Hyne’s name did you--”

“SEC-RET!” exclaimed Selphie, but then added more quietly, “Well we did get some help...”

Seifer chuckled. “I see. You two were a bit wild children, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, always giving trouble to adults,” Selphie chuckled. “But anyway, the point is that the hole is still there.”

“Why?” frowned Seifer. “Why hasn’t anyone fixed it?”

“Hello-o!” Selphie rolled her eyes. “The rose bushes!”

Seifer nodded slowly. So there was a hole in the fence surrounding the manor, and it was hidden, so no one could fix it... It sounded a bit weird, to tell the truth. Was there something Selphie wasn’t telling him? “And you expect me to crawl through a hole in a fence to be able to see Zell, who is under house arrest.” When Selphie nodded her yes, Seifer asked, “What if I get caught?”

“Why would you?” countered Selphie. “Surely you did a bit of sneaking around when you were a kid.”

“It’s been some years since that,” Seifer mumbled.

Selphie looked at him in amusement and said, “You’re not all that old, you know.”

Seifer shrugged, leading Selphie to a bench on which they then sat. “I was forced to grow up early,” he said, but then quickly continued on their previous topic, “So, suppose I did sneak to the yard... how could I get in unnoticed?”

“Oh, um... there’s a fire ladder under the balcony of his room...”

“Which gets me to the balcony,” observed Seifer. “I’d think he keeps the doors locked during the night, which is when I’ll try to sneak in.”

Selphie fell silent for a moment as she thought about it. How indeed...? She didn’t want to be in the room when Seifer came, that would totally ruin the moment. There couldn’t be anyone else there to open the doors, either, since Seifer would be caught if that happened... and Zell himself was too paranoid to keep the doors open, even if the manor’s security really was supposed to be superb. “Oh,” she finally let out, and Seifer turned to look at her. “Just knock on the doors!”

Seifer’s expectant expression fell and he sighed. That was Selphie’s master plan? “Wouldn’t he get frightened and call the guards?”

“Oh... right,” Selphie mumbled. She supposed that she could always tell Zell to expect somebody, but it would ruin the surprise and make Zell curious, and in the worst case even reveal the whole plan. “Oh, I know!” she then exclaimed, snapping her fingers. “I’ll visit his room just before you arrive and leave the curtains open! Or, or the doors!”

“Won’t he close them?” Seifer asked suspiciously. He didn’t want anything to go wrong if he wished to try this foolish plan.

“No, if there’s something he can busy himself with...” Selphie said in a wondering tone. But what could that something be? “I could... break something, or no, mess with food or something else so he’ll have to clean it up. That’s something he would do without delay, he’s a bit of a neat-freak.”

Seifer nodded distantly. “So, supposing we would carry this out, when should this take place?”

“Whenever you’ve got time,” Selphie beamed. “How about tonight, I’m gonna have a talk with him anyway!”

“Hey,” Seifer protested, “I thought you said whenever I had time!”

“Oh but I can’t wait!” Selphie whined. “It’s so romantic, you know!”

Seifer sighed in defeat. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do, but it came a bit too soon for his liking... “Well, I... I suppose...”

“Great!” Selphie exclaimed happily and stood up from the bench. “Okay, so it’s got to be before ten, the guards will do their rounds around the manor at ten o’clock, and we really don’t want you to get caught. If you’re planning to take him out, you’d better have a watch with you and time your return so that the guards won’t be on their rounds.”

“And how should I know when they are and when not?”

Selphie gave a slight shrug as she picked her shopping bag up. “Maybe I’ll tell you.”

Seifer stood up as well, but didn’t follow the girl. “Will you?”

“Of course!” Selphie giggled. “They’ll go on their rounds every half an hour, so be careful,” she said and turned to look at the knight over her shoulder as she curtsied. “Good-bye for now, Sir Seifer.”

Seifer gave a slight bow, though he wasn’t sure about the reason of the sudden politeness. “Good-bye, Miss Selphie, and thank you.” Selphie only giggled as she finally started to make her way back to the manor, the knight staring after her. When she disappeared from his view, Seifer sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself into...

There was a knock on the door, but Zell didn’t acknowledge it in any way. He merely sighed and turned onto his other side on the bed. He didn’t really want any visitors, and that seemed to be his mood quite often nowadays. There was the sound of a key turning in the lock, and Zell knew who it was. When the door had opened and closed, he asked, “What do you want this late, Sefie?”

“Now that’s not a way to treat a friend with a gift,” was the girl’s answer. Zell heard her approach the bed, and then felt her weight settle next to him. “Come on, turn around. I’ve got something for you.”

Zell sighed, but sat up on his bed and turned to face his best friend. When he saw the fruit salad that Selphie was holding to him in a glass cup, he let a slight smile stretch his lips. “Thanks,” he whispered as he took the cup. “Heh. Whipped cream and all.”

“Of course!” Selphie said happily. “I know how you like it!”

Zell smiled more widely to his friend and then said, “I know, but why this late? You always to go the market in the morning, so why wait this long?”

Selphie shrugged, glancing at the clock on the wall before settling her gaze on her friend again. “I had a lot of chores today, so I wanted to come when I knew we wouldn’t be interrupted.”

Zell paused in putting the spoon in his mouth and instead asked, “Was there something special you wanted to talk about?” When Selphie didn’t answer, Zell raised his gaze from the pear he was about to eat to Selphie, who was biting her lip to contain her obvious excitement. He put the spoon down, observing his friend with a curious frown. “What? There is something, isn’t there?”

Zell noticed how Selphie glanced at the clock again, and then answered, “Later,” with a wink.

“Why later?” Zell asked. “Selphie, what is it?”

“Shush, eat your fruits!”

Zell pouted, but did as Selphie told him.

A long moment was spent in comfortable silence, Zell wondering what it was that Selphie wanted to talk to him about while eating the fruit salad, Selphie barely containing her excitement, unable to resist glancing at the clock every now and then.

When the clock started to get nearer to ten, Selphie finally moved, gaining Zell’s attention. “Oh, almost forgot,” she said with a giggle as she lifted the paper bag that she had put on the floor when she had arrived. “Here. It’s a gift.”

“A gift? What is it?” Zell asked when Selphie handed the bag to him and then promptly bounced away to the direction of the balcony while he wondered what he had done to deserve such a wonderful friend as Selphie. “T-thank you... you shouldn’t have...” he mumbled in embarrassment. Selphie was always trying to cheer him up when he was down, this made him wonder what he himself did for his best friend when she had one of the rare bad days.

“I think you’ll know when you open it,” Selphie said with a wink as she wandered to the door that she then opened, exclaiming a happy “Good night!” before exiting in a hurry.

Zell stared at the closed door for a moment before shaking his head at his best friend’s behaviour. He could only wonder what she had come up with this time... Swallowing the last spoonful of fruit and whipped cream, he put the now empty cup aside and took the paper bag into his lap. “Ookay...” he mumbled as he put his hand into the bag, taking out a once-again paper-wrapped, soft-ish object out.

Frowning, he opened the wrap, letting out a slight gasp when he saw what it revealed. With shaking hands he slid the heart-shaped pastry onto his other palm while the other dropped the paper wrapping onto the bed. “Hyne,” he whispered. The pastry was exactly like the one Seifer had bought him in Balamb, pink colouring and all. How had Selphie known?

While he stared at the pastry in his hand, he heard the sound of a door handle pressed down, but thought nothing about it until he realized that it was coming from behind him – from the balcony! With the pastry still in his hand he turned around, letting out a scream, muffled by his own hand that he slapped over his mouth in shock when he noticed that there was someone in the room with him. His beating heart did nothing to calm down even when he recognized his late-night visitor, which only made him wonder if he was seeing things or if it really was real.

“Hi there,” said the surprisingly real-sounding Seifer, who also looked very real as he closed the balcony doors quietly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and then nodded towards the pastry on Zell’s hand. “So you got my gift. I hope you like it.”

“Uh, um, yeah...” Zell mumbled, looking down in embarrassment when he didn’t manage a single sensible sentence. He felt the mattress dip and looked up again to see the knight sitting next to him. “Why... are you here? N-not that I mind, I, um... Ah, I’m sorry,” he whispered, burying his burning face into his palms.

“It’s okay,” Seifer chuckled, glancing at the door before standing up and offering his hand to Zell. “Come.”

“C-come? Where?” Zell asked, falling silent when Seifer gently pressed a hand over his mouth.

“Shh. We don’t want anyone to hear us, right?” Seifer asked in a whisper. “Come on, I’ll explain outside.”

Zell didn’t protest further, only left his pastry on the fallen paper wrapping on the bed and grabbed a pair of slippers that he hastily put on before he followed after Seifer. He noticed the knight glancing at his wristwatch somewhat nervously, and he immediately thought of Selphie who had been looking at the clock often, as well.

“We can make it if we hurry,” Seifer mumbled and grabbed Zell’s hand with a smile. “Let’s go.”

Zell nodded and waited for Seifer to open the doors so that they could exit before letting go of the knight’s hand to close them just as quietly. When he turned around, Seifer was already going down the ladder and so he went after him. Climbing down the ladder was somehow unnerving for him because he didn’t exactly love high places, and especially because he couldn’t keep an eye on his surroundings, so he was extremely happy to finally feel Seifer’s hands on his waist, helping him down. “Thanks,” he whispered, grasping Seifer’s hand the moment it was off his waist. “So...?” he asked quietly and Seifer nodded, starting to lead them towards the rose bushes along the fence.

When Zell noticed that the rose bushes were exactly where they were headed, he opened his mouth to ask if his suspicions were true and Selphie did have something to do with this, but a ray of light on his left gained his attention.

“Shit,” cursed Seifer, realizing that they must have taken too much time and it was already time for the guard’s rounds. Without much waiting he pulled the paralyzed sorceress with him and knelt behind the rose bushes. Zell fell unceremoniously into his lap and he was forced to sit down on the slightly wet grass. “Hyne,” he heard Zell whisper as the sorceress buried his face into his chest, gripping the fabric of his jacket tightly. He shushed Zell quietly while wondering what kind of punishment there was for dragging a sorceress – willingly, but who would listen to him – out of his room using the balcony like a thief, and at such a time.

Then again, Seifer got to thinking, he supposed that he wouldn’t even be able to drag the sorceress out unwillingly, not if the sorceress wasn’t unconscious or someone hadn’t disabled his magic... which he was afraid to use, he then realized.

With a quiet sigh, he decided to concentrate on hiding rather than planning to get caught and wonder about his punishment. “When the guard’s past that corner,” he said to the trembling sorceress quietly, “you’ll go through the hole, OK?” Zell nodded against his chest, though the hold on his jacket tightened. He ran a hand through the sorceress’s – shorter than before! – hair while keeping an eye on the guard’s flashlight and said, “Think of this as a game. One you and Selphie played when you were kids, yeah?”

“Sneak past the guards,” was the mumbled, somewhat amused reply.

“Exactly,” Seifer whispered, but wasn’t sure whether Zell heard it or not since his tone was so quiet – the guard was getting closer.

They both held their breaths when the guard walked slowly past the bush they were hiding behind, paused for a moment – Seifer could have been sure the guard could hear his heartbeat and stopped because of that – before rounding the corner.

Seifer waited for a very short moment before ushering Zell to the hole in the fence, all the time keeping his eyes firmly set on the corner the guard had disappeared behind. He grimaced at the sound of rustling, but when the sound stopped and there still wasn’t a horde of the manor guards after them, Seifer followed the sorceress as quickly though probably not as quietly as he could.

Zell was waiting for him on the other side, and they paused for a while before hurrying away from the fence and into the park from where they could not be seen.

After a moment of silence, Zell burst out laughing, which at first startled Seifer, but then the knight couldn’t help chuckling himself. “I can’t believe what we just did!” Zell grinned, stopping to hold onto his sides as he laughed at the thought. A while ago, he had been confused and maybe even a little frightened that Seifer had managed to get to his room so easily, but now that he was over the shock that the security in the manor was so lax – he would have to get the topic into a conversation with his father, somehow – he couldn’t help laughing at it.

“Well I didn’t think Lady Edea would have invited me inside if I had come through the front door,” Seifer shrugged, “Then again, she just could have offered me a cup of tea, as well. I would have preferred that, since it was hell of a lot of work to find the exact rose bush where the freaking hole was, since I didn’t have the map of the garden with me at that moment.”

The image of Seifer wandering about the outer side of the fence in Zell’s mind made him laugh only harder, and at that moment he was glad that he wasn’t wearing any make-up like usually, for his eyes were watering because he was laughing so hard. His laughter soon died, however, when he noticed that Seifer was watching him with a slight smile. He wiped his eyes and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“You, obviously,” answered Seifer and continued walking now that Zell was over his laughing fit.

Zell rolled his eyes at the answer but didn’t comment further. They spent another moment in silence, and this time it wasn’t full of anxiousness, there was a calm air around them that made them both relax and enjoy the chilly evening air. Zell bit down on his lower lip and glanced at the knight from the corner of his eye, hesitated, and then sought Seifer’s hand into his, making sure that he wasn’t facing Seifer when the knight turned his head to look at him. The blush on his cheeks did nothing to help his embarrassment, but the feeling of the knight squeezing his hand back did. He smiled slightly and dared to step a little closer before asking, “So, was there a specific reason for this visit?”

Seifer gave a slight shrug. “I guess I just wanted to see you.”

“Aw, so you missed me,” Zell cooed teasingly. The knight only laughed and shook his head, but didn’t comment. Suddenly Zell remembered that there was something he had meant to tell Seifer about, and he cleared his throat before starting, “I... actually wore a shirt and trousers yesterday.”

Seifer looked up from the ground in surprise. “Really? And I meant to say this earlier; I noticed you’ve cut your hair.”

Zell shrugged and raised his free hand to run it through his hair. “Yeah, well, it’s still not as short as I wanted it to be.”

“It’s a lot shorter already,” Seifer pointed out, “And besides, it looks good.”

“You think so?” Zell asked with a grimace. “I think I look bald.” When the knight burst out laughing, Zell took his most offended-looking expression and said, “Well I’m not used to this short hair!”

“Trust me,” Seifer said, “It looks good. So, what about those shirt and trousers?”

“Ah... well, Selphie made me wear them,” he said, “though it was my idea... Edea wasn’t at the manor at that moment, but Selphie just had to show me around to other servants,” he told the knight with a roll of his eyes.

“And? What did they say?”

“They told me I looked... handsome,” Zell said, frowning slightly. “Not that I mind, of course, but it was somehow... awkward, maybe.”

Seifer nodded in understanding. “So, what did Sir Cid say?” He regretted his words when Zell’s confused frown changed into an expression of sadness. “He... didn’t approve?” he asked carefully, but when Zell still didn’t answer, he pointed to a bench a few steps away and said, “Let’s go sit.”

Once seated, Seifer didn’t say anything since Zell didn’t. It seemed that Sir Cid’s reaction hadn’t been very positive, and he regretted putting that thought into Zell’s head at all. He should have known that the emotional sorceress couldn’t take criticism on anything – especially not from his parents who he had tried to please his whole life.

Seifer turned his head towards the sorceress when he heard a sniffle. The sorceress hid his face in his palms and shook his head, mumbling out a barely-heard apology. Where this sudden burst of emotion had suddenly come from Seifer didn’t know, but it seemed that it was his responsibility to make it go away. He put an arm around Zell pulled him closer, glad to find that the sorceress didn’t put up much of a fight. “Hey,” he whispered, placing a kiss on the side of his head. “What’s wrong? Did I do something bird-brained again?”

Zell shook his head. “No. No, sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

“It’s okay,” Seifer told him. “You can cry if you feel like it.”

Zell laughed and gave a slight nod before sitting up straight and wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Thanks, I guess. It’s just that...” he took a deep breath and released it slowly to calm himself down. “Dad... Dad cried when he saw me, actually looking like a man.”

“Cried?” Seifer asked in confusion. “It’s not that big a deal, is it?”

“He... said something about me growing up into a fine young man even though he had never...” he kept a pause. “He didn’t say what he had never, but the point was that I made him cry.”

Seifer thought about something to say, but found that he had absolutely no comment to that. He couldn’t have known what it felt like to make one of one’s parents feel so bad they’d cry – though he supposed it was not a good feeling. “I...” he tried, but found no appropriate words. “I’m afraid I don’t know what to say to that.”

“It’s okay, I understand. I’m sorry I told you all this.”

“No, no, it’s alright,” Seifer said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll be only glad to listen.”

Zell smiled to the knight. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome,” Seifer smiled back and took the sorceress’s hand into his, placing a kiss on the back of it. “I’m happy to be of help.”

Zell rolled his eyes and pulled his hand back. “That’s nice...” he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry, sometimes I forget you’re not a fan of formalities,” he said in a mocking tone. Zell let out an indelicate snort at his words and he had to laugh. “Well...” he started, taking the hand into his again. “Maybe I don’t do it out of formality.” Zell gave him a look and he only barely kept himself from laughing. “But... because I like touching you.”

“Oh shut up,” Zell mumbled, not quite sure whether he should be embarrassed or amused. “And give me my hand back.”

“No,” stated Seifer, placing another kiss on the back of the hand. He was going to continue, but Zell pulled his hand back again and whacked him lightly on the head.

“Idiot,” the sorceress laughed and moved further on the bench for emphasis. He laughed at Seifer’s pout, but couldn’t help feeling a bit flustered at the way Seifer seemed to want to touch him all the time. “So, um...” he decided to change the subject, “Did you remember to tell Mike I said bye?”

“Of course. He was a bit angry at you, though,” the knight told him with a grin.

Zell gave a sheepish smile. “I know, tell him I’m sorry. I really hope I could go back to Balamb soon,” he sighed. He really had had the time of his life with Seifer and Mike, but he doubted he would be allowed to leave Deling City in a while. And he was under house arrest... He stood up abruptly, not facing Seifer when he said, “I... I should go. I’m not supposed to leave the manor, if someone finds out...” He took a deep breath in the end of the sentence, leaving it unfinished. He wasn’t sure how he had been going to end it, anyway.

Seifer nodded as he stood up as well. “I understand,” he said even though he did not. Why did the sorceress agree to go with him in the first place if he then left almost the moment they got out... No, he didn’t really want to know. He offered his arm to the sorceress who took it after some seconds of hesitation.

The walk back to the manor was completely silent. The next time he’d see Selphie, Seifer decided, he would tell her that she didn’t exactly know her best friend as well as she thought she did... and he was back to square one.

When they started to get nearer to the manor, the sorceress seemed to hesitate. Seifer knew there was something he wanted to say, but for some reason couldn’t. He checked the time from his wristwatch and found that they had returned at the perfect time. He walked ahead of the sorceress and went through the child-sized hole in the fence – wincing as a thorn in the rose bush scraped his arm – and then held the twigs while the sorceress scrambled through.

Wordlessly, after dusting some dirt off his clothes, the sorceress approached the fire ladder and started to climb up. Seifer stood on the ground helplessly for a moment, wondering if he should follow and say something... He shook his head and hurried up the ladder just as the sorceress stepped on the balcony. “Zell,” he called, leaning against the railing of the balcony. The sorceress stopped walking but didn’t turn to face him. He sighed. “I’m sorry if I did or said something that upset you. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s alright,” interrupted Zell and turned around, smiling slightly. “You just... confuse me. Nothing more serious.”

“I suppose I am a bit confusing,” Seifer admitted with a smile of his own.

Zell nodded, clasping his hands in front of himself. The silence that followed was somewhat awkward, as neither of them knew whether they should say something – and if so, what? – or just leave... which didn’t seem like a good option. “So, um...” Zell started, looking back at Seifer again. “Good night, then.”

“Night,” replied Seifer, but when the sorceress started to walk towards the balcony doors, he called, “Wait.” Zell turned around, tilting his head curiously. Seifer smiled a bit nervously. “Come here.”

Lifting an eyebrow, the sorceress did as asked. The knight just didn’t seem to be able to make up his mind... Seifer rose on a higher step on the ladder, and supporting his balance on one hand on the railing he brought the other to take support on the sorceress’s shoulder as he placed a chaste kiss on his lips. The slight blush that was evident on the sorceress’s face when he pulled back was enough of a reply for him. “A good night kiss,” he explained, smiling.

“I bet,” chuckled Zell as he stepped back. “Now then, good night,” he wished again and finally made it inside without being called back.

With a victorious grin, Seifer climbed down the ladder, congratulating himself for saving the night. “Almasy, you stud,” he grinned at himself and then proceeded to leave the yard of the manor.

Perhaps things weren’t going as badly as he had first thought.

tbc...