8DChapter 8

AN: Woot aren't you happy there's another chapter?! XD I kid. I fail at updating on time now… ¬_¬' Sorry 'bout that. Unbeta'd so far, will be replaced with beta'd version later.

Hayner woke up and stretched, pulling himself into a sitting position and running a hand through his mussed blonde hair. A warm arm slipped around his waist and a familiar voice murmured into his ear.

"Good morning, Chickenwuss." He jumped and froze, before turning to look at his… Boyfriend. Boyfriend. He… had a… Hayner shrugged off his silent marvelling and leaned in to kiss Seifer again. Seifer tasted like mint and coffee; a sure sign that he'd woken up, had a drink and brushed his teeth before slipping back under the covers next to Hayner. For some reason, it made the younger boy feel warm to think that the taller male hadn't just upped and left before he woke up. He lay back down and closed his eyes, unconsciously snuggling closer into Seifer's body.

"You ok?" the quiet whisper was accompanied by a soft brush of his boyfriend's (he really was going to have to get used to that word) lips against his ear.

"Yeah…" he yawned. "I thought I'd have a killer hangover, but it's pretty mild…" All he could really feel was a throbbing ache behind his eyes, which he could live with.

"That's good…" He felt the older blonde yawn and let himself drift off again.

A few hours later, he woke up a second time to an empty bed. Hayner sat bolt upright, only to hear the sounds of a shower from the next room. Oh. He swung himself around to plant his feet on the ground and stood, rubbing his eyes. Catching sight of the clock, he swore and hastily found his clothes and pulled them on (he was still wearing his boxers, thankfully; Seifer had stopped him from removing those the night before, no matter how much they had both wanted to).

"I've gotta go, Seifer! I told Pence and Olette I'd meet them three hours ago!" he called through the bathroom door. Just as he was dashing down the hallway towards the front door of Seifer's apartment, a hand grabbed his arm and spun him into a warm, albeit wet, embrace. There was a brief meeting of lips before Seifer released him and Hayner realised that his boyfriend was wearing nothing but a towel. His eyes travelled over the tanned and smooth expanse of skin, taking in the perfectly formed, but not bulging, muscles and slender waist, the hipbones just barely showing over the top of the fluffy, white towel, the almost delicate-looking collarbone and broad shoulders.

"Go on, then, Chickenwuss. I'll see you later." Hayner shook himself free of his admiring of Seifer's bare, wet chest and turned to leave.

"See ya, Seifer."

Hayner ran into the Usual Spot, panting for breath.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry I'm late, I was-"

"With Seifer, we know." Olette cut him off, sounding mildly annoyed.

"That… Wasn't what I was gonna say." He winced at his own weak protest.

"But it's the truth." Pence chimed in. The blonde boy sat down on the yellow water cooler and ran a hand through his hair, not meeting either of his friends' gazes.

"We saw you. Last night, down that alley." Olette informed him. He tensed.

"Which bit?" he asked warily, looking up to meet her eyes at last.

"Do you really want us to say it?" she asked playfully, chuckling. Hayner blinked. She wasn't… mad? "No, I'm not mad." She said, easily reading his thoughts in his face. "But you did kinda give us a shock. Seeing your best (male) friend kneeling in front of his supposed arch nemesis… doing that, is kind of… shocking."

"Yeah, I really didn't need to see that, for the record." Pence added, grimacing. "Mental soap, anyone?" Olette chuckled.

"Count me in." Hayner just rolled his eyes, happy that his friends didn't seem to mind that he was now… dating their enemy.

But really, come to think of it, it had always been him. Olette never liked them, and Pence had held a grudge against Rai ever since he stole his pants from the locker room, leaving him to grow mould in the damp room, but Hayner had always been the one that started things, if Seifer didn't.

"I see you're beginning to work out that you've liked him for a while?" Olette asked. "You've been doing everything but screaming it in his face, y'know. No wonder he snapped and kissed you." Hayner blinked.

"… I thought it was seeing me almost naked and saving my ass that did it." He grinned amusedly.

"He saw you naked?! No wonder he jumped you!" Olette exclaimed. Hayner shook his head.

"No, he didn't. I… fell out of my window… And he… caught me." He mumbled the last part; the story was embarrassing enough, without adding the fact that his old-worst enemy-come-now-boyfriend had been the one to catch him.

"He… No way. What was he doing outside your house at night?" Pence enquired, leaning back. Hayner frowned and scratched his head.

"That's what I was wondering when I lost my balance. I think he was on his way home or something; he only lives a couple blocks away." Olette nodded.

"That's probably it. Anyway, how long since you two actually got together?"

"Um… Last night." Hayner admitted, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Hang on, last night?!" Olette burst out. "You were… doing things with him last night and you only just got together?! Then what happened when he randomly made out with you? And when you got him to leave just by looking at him?" Hayner held up his hands in a surrendering position.

"Whoa, whoa! Yeah, he was the one who 'randomly made out' with me the day after I fell out of my window, but… We've… Kinda… We actually made it official last night, ok? Before that it was just… Random hook-ups. And no, that does not mean I've slept with him."

"Thank God for that." Pence chuckled. "I was getting worried." Hayner smirked.

"Doesn't mean I won't." The brunette grimaced.

"Thanks so much for that mental image, Hayner."

"Hayner, stop traumatising Pence and go get some ice cream." Olette commanded, pointing to the curtain that cut off the Usual Spot from the back alley. Hayner snickered and nodded, jogging out of the small space, heading towards the Sandlot where the ice cream stand was usually to be found.

AN: Ooohhh… . I hate the end of this chapter. It's, to steal a fun phrase, 'like an ugly, hairy nipple in the mouth'. DX. I like the start, though. XD.

I'm so sorry that this has taken so long… Months… DDDDDD: I'm horrible and should be stoned. *Sets up stone-selling stall* there. Now people can stone me but they have to buy the stones :D!!