Haha! I'm not dead! Here it is, as promised: the sequel to Fire Storm. Or at least the start of it…

First of all a few notes from the author:

Summary – It's been six months since the war and Squall's getting used to his new life as Garden Commander. Still, something is missing. And while the new pendant around his neck symbolizes that void, it doesn't fill it. On the other side of the world, Seifer hopes to solve his guilt and his lack of a future by confronting his past, a task which is difficult enough without having to deal with his rival's unexpected reactions.

Disclaimer - puts up a fake French accent> Listen carefully, I shall say this only once: I don't own the characters or the world, Squaresoft does. Only the plot's mine. I don't make any money with this, and since I'm over my ears in debts as it is, please don't sue me. It's pointless anyway.

Rating – Nothing too serious in the first chapters, but this story will feature a male-male relationship in later chapters (hey, that's the whole purpose of this fic!) and graphic scenes are not out of the question. No like no read. Don't come complaining to me.

Like I said before, Closer To You is a sequel to Fire Storm, but it can be read as a separate story as well.

I'm experimenting a lot with style and plots before posting anything, so updates will slow on this one. My apologies. Please let me know if the new posts are worth the wait. Your criticism, positive and negative, is valued. (Pointless flames, however, will be dealt with by Shiva as per usual.)

Many thanks to LadyTwist, who is kind enough to Beta for me!

The corridors were quiet. Most of Balamb Garden's residents would be in the cafeteria for dinner at this time, or in their rooms studying for the upcoming exam round. It was life as usual and after today's meeting with a particularly fussy prospective client, 'life as usual' was all Squall Leonheart wanted to deal with.

While walking down to the dorms, Squall undid the buttons of his uniform jacket. He didn't mind wearing his dress uniform on occasions: being the Commander of Balamb Garden, decorum was just another part of the job. But after a long day in a smoke-filled conference room, the outfit was ready for the dry cleaner's and he himself was in desperate need of a shower.

Rounding the last corner, he nodded to a few nervously saluting cadets. Then he reached his dorm. Leaning against the wall, he punched his access code in on the console next to the dorm's door, praying silently that the door was locked because Rinoa had gone out. After today, he really needed a few minutes to himself before facing anyone. His friends insisted that he had become so much more open and sociable, but that kind of behaviour still didn't come natural to him.

The door sprang to life. He all but let himself fall through the door opening before the sliding door shut again behind him. The small apartment was blissfully dark. That meant he had at least enough time to jump into the shower and clear his head before venturing anything else. Peeling off his uniform, he resisted the urge to kick the clothes in a corner but hung them on a coat hanger instead, ready to be sent off for cleaning as soon as he would remember to.

He closed the bathroom door behind him and let the shower run to warm up as he stripped himself from his underwear. The only thing he didn't take off was the small silver pendant around his neck, which had replaced the Griever head not long after the war against Ultimecia. He had tossed his namesake signature out the same night he'd come back to Garden after Time Compression. Knowing who and what Griever was had made the symbol lose both its appeal and its significance. But since he had this one made, he had never taken it off. His hand would sometimes reach up to feel it, almost to make sure it was still there. The action took him by surprise every time he caught himself doing that.

As he stepped in the shower, which was now nothing short of scalding, and got himself comfortable under the cascading water, he willed himself to forget today's events as well as the ones that tomorrow might bring. He squeezed an indecent amount of shampoo from the bottle and lazily washed his hair.

Soap bubbles trailed down his body, onto the tiles and into the drain. It felt pleasant and comforting, but at the same time it made him observe his body, his skin. His scars. The largest one was no doubt the ragged circle on his right shoulder, where a magic icicle had run him through. He still didn't believe he had managed to survive that one.

He let his fingers trail elsewhere, considering each scar as he touched it. Size says nothing about significance. The scar that definitely meant the most to him was the line between his eyes. To him, scars were reminders of memories he shouldn't forget, regardless of what Guardian Forces did to his mind. And Seifer Almasy was one person he never wanted to forget about.

His hand was on his pendant before he realised it. Holding the silver symbol in front of his face, he observed it closely as he had done so often. It was a small cross. Seifer's cross. Custom-made at his request by a silversmith in Dollet. He would have asked Zell to make it, knowing the martial artist's skill with metal, but that would have raised a lot of awkward questions he didn't feel like answering. No one knew he had this, let alone that he wore it all the time. Not even Rinoa knew, which was saying a lot about their love life these days...

So much had changed since the war that it was hard to believe it was the same lifetime. Although he was officially still on active duty, he was stuck behind his desk organising the missions more often than he performed them himself. Not that being the Commander of Balamb Garden gave him time for much more. Ever since Cid retired a year ago and made Xu Headmistress, he had been swamped. Not because she didn't like him, but rather because she trusted him to get things done right. Like leading today's meeting. He growled to himself. He hadn't wanted to think about that.

'Still', he thought as he closed the faucets, 'things could be worse'. He could have been made Commander of both Gardens when Balamb and Galbadia were merged into one legal entity after reconstruction. Xu had the questionable honour of heading both Gardens. But she managed, travelling from one site to the other while her local staff took care of things while she was away. Not the life he'd want to lead, should he even be suitable for the position in the first place. Leading an army was one thing. Running a school was a completely different ballgame. Besides, Xu seemed to enjoy her new job doing just that.

After drying off, Squall hoisted himself into a more comfortable outfit. The shower had been refreshing, if not quite as relaxing as he had hoped. His own fault for thinking too much when he promised himself he wouldn't. And right now he had other things to attend to. Rinoa wasn't home yet, but that could never take long now and his stomach was rumbling. Time to get a bite. Since he didn't feel like cooking himself and Rinoa hated the cafeteria food, they'd have to eat out. Searching through his coat's pockets, he found his wallet. If he was going to take her some place for dinner, it would be practical to be able to pay for it.

He was just checking if he had enough cash on him to cover a dinner for two when the dorm door opened and Rinoa hopped in. She halted, looking at her boyfriend with a mix of surprise and accusation on her face.

"Oh? Are you done up there?"

He looked at her, not sure how to behave since she was obviously less than thrilled to find him home 'early'. "At least for tonight," he finally answered. "Did you have dinner yet?"

She looked like a little girl caught with her hands in the cookie jar. "Em, yeah, kinda. I didn't think you'd be home before ten or something, so I went to the cafeteria with Selphie."

"Ah. I see."

"And we also had plans, more or less, to go out to town tonight." She chewed her lower lip. "I'm sorry?"

"No, don't be," he said, half-agitated and half-relieved. "It's not your fault, you couldn't know."

"You wanna come with us?" she asked half-heartedly.

A frown creased his forehead, knowing she rather had he didn't. He couldn't say he minded that.

"I don't think that's such a wonderful idea. I'm really tired. I'd hold out for dinner, but a night on the town is a bit much."

She nodded. "I understand. It's not easy, managing the SeeD force almost by yourself." She paused, shifting her weight nervously. "Do you want me to stay here with you?"

"If you want to. But don't let me stop you if you have plans."

A smile appeared on her face. "You're such a dear. I'll just go get my stuff, and then you can enjoy a quiet evening to yourself." She raced into the bedroom, grabbed a dress as well as a few things which she was still stuffing in her purse by the time she came out. "I'll change at Selphie's. And I'll be real quiet when I get back," she promised. Slipping into her coat, she tip-toed, gave her boyfriend a quick kiss, and then disappeared out the door, leaving Squall gazing at the walls.

"So much for eating out, then," he muttered to himself as he put his wallet back in his coat.

Enjoy a quiet evening, she said. He didn't have a problem with that, only it was a quarter past eight and there was never anything good on television on Thursday nights. He looked around the room, deciding what to do now. Go out for dinner alone? Not a good idea. After a day like today, the last thing he wanted was people breaking in on his personal time to discuss trivial business. And there was no question they would if he went for dinner in the cafeteria. Considering his other options, he remembered there was still a microwave meal in the fridge. Not the most sensible nourishment, but it beat getting hijacked by the Garden staff between bites.

That decided, he got the foil wrapped meatloaf out of the fridge and into the microwave, programmed the machine and waited for it to go 'ping'. When it did, he shoved it on a plate and started eating. He chewed the meal down without too much thought of it. Taste wasn't important, as long as he had enough sustenance to keep his energy level up. What was more important was what to do with the rest of the evening. He hadn't found a book worth reading in years -unless he counted weapon magazines-, he was never one for computer games, and he had seen Rinoa's DVDs more often than he cared for.

Having finished his meal, he shoved the plate and utensils in the sink and made himself a cup of coffee. There really wasn't anything he could think of to keep himself busy except go to his office, but that was for once not a very appealing idea. He had come to the point where he was seriously considering turning in early when someone knocked on his door.

"It's open," he called, not bothering to answer it himself.

The door slid open with a hiss, admitting the Headmistress and the Chief Instructor.

"Good evening, Commander. Sorry for the intrusion. Can we come in?"

He looked up at the two women in his doorway and arched his brows. "Of course," he replied, not ungrateful for the interruption and mildly curious about the reason Xu and Quistis came to see him at this hour. He made an inviting gesture at the couch, playing host like Rinoa had taught him.

"Coffee?"

"No, thanks."

Quistis merely shook her head in reply, allowing her superior the field.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Xu continued, "but we need to discuss a strictly confidential situation that cannot wait. Are you alone?"

Squall frowned, but nodded. In response, both women sat down on the couch opposite of Squall.

"There is no easy way of telling this, so I'll come straight to the point." Xu paused for a moment, suddenly looking more nervous than he had ever seen her. "You see, our agents trailing our…em, charge in Galbadia called in an emergency."

Squall straightened in his seat. Eyes wide, he shook his head in disbelieve. "Don't tell me he…"

"No. No violence or personal injury," Quistis cut in. Squall visible relaxed.

"However," Xu continued, "the situation is serious. The agents have been discovered. What's more, he has contacted them to relay a message to Garden."

Squall paled. He took a deep breath to let the information sink in. Involuntarily, his hand went up to his chest, feeling the pendant underneath his clothes. Then he looked at the Headmistress. "What's the message?"

Both woman exchanged glances for a moment, clearly expecting a big reaction. Finally it was Quistis who answered his question.

"He wants to come back to Garden, Squall. And he said he'd be arriving tomorrow."