Protective Custody, Part 1 (Final Fantasy VIII AU, Seifer/Squall)
Title: Protective Custody, Part 1
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Seifer/Squall
Author: Pyren aka gryvon
Recipient: Dash aka knw
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Seifer is working as a detective and encounters rent-boy Squall Leonhart.
Author's Note: Still working on the rest of the story, I'll try to have it up this weekend. >.<
Seifer Almasy stared curiously through the one-way glass. "This the kid?" He half-turned to look at Officer Raijin, half his gaze still stuck on the kid in the other room.
"Ya. That's Cid's boy. He ain't tellin' ya nuttin' though. Had 'im 'ere before. He don' talk, ya know."
Seifer arched an eyebrow. "Don't talk or won't? Either way I can see why the kid's so expensive." He wondered which would be more valuable in the mob world, a mute prostitute or a discrete one. For his money, he would have gone with the former.
"Won'," Raijin answered.
At least that made questioning him a bit easier. Seifer's brow furrowed in thought. "Can we hold him?"
Raijin's braids danced across his shoulders as the cop shook his head. "No charges. Kid's good, discreet. Can' get nuttin' on 'im. Just got 'im in fer questionin'."
"Right." Seifer sighed and tapped the folder in his hand against Raijin's chest on the way out the door. The dark-skinned man took the folder from him without a word.
Seifer paused at the door. "Any word on Cid's location?"
"Nuttin'. He's a ghost."
There were better way to start out a case. Like actually knowing where the suspect was, or even if he was still in the state. Knowing that would have made Seifer's day a whole lot brighter. An image of the kid stuck in Seifer's mind - brown hair haphazardly cut, pale skin marred by a thin scar running diagonal across the kid's face in an almost mirror image of the scar on Seifer's face, thin body covered by black jeans and a fur-trimmed leather jacket that had seen better days.
There were worse ways for a case to start.
The kid was already looking him when he walked in. He didn't flinch, barely even blinked as far as Seifer could tell, just continued to lounge in his chair with his feet propped up on the table.
Seifer smiled widely. He'd always considered his natural charm to be an asset to his investigations. "You're Squall Leonhart?"
The kid - man, now that Seifer got closer he could see that Squall was a lot older than Seifer had originally thought. He probably wasn't much younger than Seifer.
"You already know that." The brunette's voice was quiet, smooth. This kid was no idiot.
"I do," Seifer confirmed. He flopped easily into the chair across from Squall and leaned his elbows on the table. "And I bet you already know what I'm going to ask?"
Thin lips quirked upwards in the barest of smirks. Squall regarded him with a single raised eyebrow. "And you already know what I'm not going to say."
He couldn't help it - he had to laugh. This kid - man, was great. "Yeah," Seifer admitted. "I heard you don't talk to the police." He gave the man opposite a very obvious once-over. "Your reputation in that area precedes you."
Squall's smile quirked a bare fraction higher. "My reputation always precedes me." He brushed the bangs away from his face with one hand. Seifer's attention was momentarily distracted by the ring on Squall's index finger. A lion's head roared from a thick silver band. There was something... "And you're wrong."
Seifer forgot about the ring as he looked straight into brown eyes opposite him. He smiled and leaned closer. "You do talk to the police?"
Squall didn't bother hiding his smile. The look was one of pure, untouchable self-assurance. Squall leaned across the table to whisper into Seifer's ear.
"I don't talk to anyone. You're wasting your time."
Seifer's smile disappeared and he leaned heavily back into his chair. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. So, can I go now?"
A wicked idea formed in Seifer's head and he pushed back his chair quickly. Squall said nothing as he left, just continued smiling. Seifer wasn't sure what bothered him more, the fact that Squall wouldn't cooperate with him or the fact that the brunette had so easily played him.
*****
Squall stared around the room with a critical eye. "This is it?"
Not for the first time, Seifer doubted the brilliance of his plan. "Yes," he muttered crossly. "This is it. Sorry if I'm not exactly rolling in money." He'd used to think that his apartment was actually fairly upscale. That was before he'd had the bright idea to bring a high-class rent boy in to stay with him as part of the case.
Squall didn't respond, just continued to stare around the living room. The man's gaze was casual but Seifer doubted Squall missed much. He was sharper than he let on.
"There's no locks. You're not worried about me leaving?"
Seifer already had an answer for that. He dropped Squall's bags in the spare bedroom and waved away the other officer that was helping him.
"You know Vinzer Deling, right?" Seifer asked as he leaned against the door frame. "Word is he's teamed up with the Black Matron, and they're both real interested in finding your man Cid."
Squall shrugged easily. He hovered in the middle of the room, his curiosity sated for the moment. "They've always been interested in Cid. He's their biggest rival in town."
"Well, it seems they're a bit more interested this time. Word is he has something they want real bad, got it hidden somewhere. They're not gonna give up until they find Cid."
"And all of that has nothing to do with me," Squall insisted firmly.
Seifer stepped away from the doorframe, stopping three paces away from the brunette. "It's no secret that you're Cid's favorite. No one, not even Cid's managers, know where he's gone to roost. The police aren't the only ones that have been watching you, Squally boy." Squall's expression immediately darkened at the nickname. Seifer barely held back a grin. "I bet Vinzer won't be as nice as the police have."
"So this whole thing is to protect me, huh?" Squall flopped down on Seifer's couch, spreading his arms over the back and crossing his legs at the knees. "Here I thought you were just looking to get laid."
There was an invitation there but Seifer knew better than to give in. "No offense," Seifer drawled with a smile, "but I know where you've been."
The punch to his gut took him completely by surprise. Seifer hit the floor hard, scrambling to his feet breathlessly as soon as he saw Squall start towards the door.
"Wait," he wheezed. The brunette didn't stop.
Seifer stumbled to the door as Squall had his hand on the knob. He leaned on the door with one hand, using all his weight to keep it shut. The second punch he expected. Seifer caught Squall's fist in his own, halting the hit inches from his gut.
"I'm sorry." The words came out almost before he'd thought them. Squall froze. Apparently they were the right words. "That was rude of me," Seifer continued. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it."
Squall stared at him silently, not taking his hand off the door.
"If you go out there, you're dead."
Squall was smart enough to let go of the knob. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Seifer.
"Look, it's just for a couple days," Seifer pleaded. "You lay low here while we look for Cid. I promise to behave, or at least to let you punch me whenever I say something stupid."
"So I can't leave?"
"Not unless you particularly enjoy death." Seifer couldn’t resist trying one more time. "Of course, this would all be over real quick if you just told us where Cid's hiding out."
"That's not going to happen."
Seifer took his hand off the door and stepped back. "Fine. I respect that. So, do we have a deal?"
Squall glanced once between Seifer's smile and his outstretched hand before reluctantly extending his own. "Fine."
For some reason, Seifer had a feeling he'd just signed himself up for a whole load of trouble.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Seifer/Squall
Author: Pyren aka gryvon
Recipient: Dash aka knw
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Seifer is working as a detective and encounters rent-boy Squall Leonhart.
Author's Note: Still working on the rest of the story, I'll try to have it up this weekend. >.<
Seifer Almasy stared curiously through the one-way glass. "This the kid?" He half-turned to look at Officer Raijin, half his gaze still stuck on the kid in the other room.
"Ya. That's Cid's boy. He ain't tellin' ya nuttin' though. Had 'im 'ere before. He don' talk, ya know."
Seifer arched an eyebrow. "Don't talk or won't? Either way I can see why the kid's so expensive." He wondered which would be more valuable in the mob world, a mute prostitute or a discrete one. For his money, he would have gone with the former.
"Won'," Raijin answered.
At least that made questioning him a bit easier. Seifer's brow furrowed in thought. "Can we hold him?"
Raijin's braids danced across his shoulders as the cop shook his head. "No charges. Kid's good, discreet. Can' get nuttin' on 'im. Just got 'im in fer questionin'."
"Right." Seifer sighed and tapped the folder in his hand against Raijin's chest on the way out the door. The dark-skinned man took the folder from him without a word.
Seifer paused at the door. "Any word on Cid's location?"
"Nuttin'. He's a ghost."
There were better way to start out a case. Like actually knowing where the suspect was, or even if he was still in the state. Knowing that would have made Seifer's day a whole lot brighter. An image of the kid stuck in Seifer's mind - brown hair haphazardly cut, pale skin marred by a thin scar running diagonal across the kid's face in an almost mirror image of the scar on Seifer's face, thin body covered by black jeans and a fur-trimmed leather jacket that had seen better days.
There were worse ways for a case to start.
The kid was already looking him when he walked in. He didn't flinch, barely even blinked as far as Seifer could tell, just continued to lounge in his chair with his feet propped up on the table.
Seifer smiled widely. He'd always considered his natural charm to be an asset to his investigations. "You're Squall Leonhart?"
The kid - man, now that Seifer got closer he could see that Squall was a lot older than Seifer had originally thought. He probably wasn't much younger than Seifer.
"You already know that." The brunette's voice was quiet, smooth. This kid was no idiot.
"I do," Seifer confirmed. He flopped easily into the chair across from Squall and leaned his elbows on the table. "And I bet you already know what I'm going to ask?"
Thin lips quirked upwards in the barest of smirks. Squall regarded him with a single raised eyebrow. "And you already know what I'm not going to say."
He couldn't help it - he had to laugh. This kid - man, was great. "Yeah," Seifer admitted. "I heard you don't talk to the police." He gave the man opposite a very obvious once-over. "Your reputation in that area precedes you."
Squall's smile quirked a bare fraction higher. "My reputation always precedes me." He brushed the bangs away from his face with one hand. Seifer's attention was momentarily distracted by the ring on Squall's index finger. A lion's head roared from a thick silver band. There was something... "And you're wrong."
Seifer forgot about the ring as he looked straight into brown eyes opposite him. He smiled and leaned closer. "You do talk to the police?"
Squall didn't bother hiding his smile. The look was one of pure, untouchable self-assurance. Squall leaned across the table to whisper into Seifer's ear.
"I don't talk to anyone. You're wasting your time."
Seifer's smile disappeared and he leaned heavily back into his chair. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. So, can I go now?"
A wicked idea formed in Seifer's head and he pushed back his chair quickly. Squall said nothing as he left, just continued smiling. Seifer wasn't sure what bothered him more, the fact that Squall wouldn't cooperate with him or the fact that the brunette had so easily played him.
*****
Squall stared around the room with a critical eye. "This is it?"
Not for the first time, Seifer doubted the brilliance of his plan. "Yes," he muttered crossly. "This is it. Sorry if I'm not exactly rolling in money." He'd used to think that his apartment was actually fairly upscale. That was before he'd had the bright idea to bring a high-class rent boy in to stay with him as part of the case.
Squall didn't respond, just continued to stare around the living room. The man's gaze was casual but Seifer doubted Squall missed much. He was sharper than he let on.
"There's no locks. You're not worried about me leaving?"
Seifer already had an answer for that. He dropped Squall's bags in the spare bedroom and waved away the other officer that was helping him.
"You know Vinzer Deling, right?" Seifer asked as he leaned against the door frame. "Word is he's teamed up with the Black Matron, and they're both real interested in finding your man Cid."
Squall shrugged easily. He hovered in the middle of the room, his curiosity sated for the moment. "They've always been interested in Cid. He's their biggest rival in town."
"Well, it seems they're a bit more interested this time. Word is he has something they want real bad, got it hidden somewhere. They're not gonna give up until they find Cid."
"And all of that has nothing to do with me," Squall insisted firmly.
Seifer stepped away from the doorframe, stopping three paces away from the brunette. "It's no secret that you're Cid's favorite. No one, not even Cid's managers, know where he's gone to roost. The police aren't the only ones that have been watching you, Squally boy." Squall's expression immediately darkened at the nickname. Seifer barely held back a grin. "I bet Vinzer won't be as nice as the police have."
"So this whole thing is to protect me, huh?" Squall flopped down on Seifer's couch, spreading his arms over the back and crossing his legs at the knees. "Here I thought you were just looking to get laid."
There was an invitation there but Seifer knew better than to give in. "No offense," Seifer drawled with a smile, "but I know where you've been."
The punch to his gut took him completely by surprise. Seifer hit the floor hard, scrambling to his feet breathlessly as soon as he saw Squall start towards the door.
"Wait," he wheezed. The brunette didn't stop.
Seifer stumbled to the door as Squall had his hand on the knob. He leaned on the door with one hand, using all his weight to keep it shut. The second punch he expected. Seifer caught Squall's fist in his own, halting the hit inches from his gut.
"I'm sorry." The words came out almost before he'd thought them. Squall froze. Apparently they were the right words. "That was rude of me," Seifer continued. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it."
Squall stared at him silently, not taking his hand off the door.
"If you go out there, you're dead."
Squall was smart enough to let go of the knob. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Seifer.
"Look, it's just for a couple days," Seifer pleaded. "You lay low here while we look for Cid. I promise to behave, or at least to let you punch me whenever I say something stupid."
"So I can't leave?"
"Not unless you particularly enjoy death." Seifer couldn’t resist trying one more time. "Of course, this would all be over real quick if you just told us where Cid's hiding out."
"That's not going to happen."
Seifer took his hand off the door and stepped back. "Fine. I respect that. So, do we have a deal?"
Squall glanced once between Seifer's smile and his outstretched hand before reluctantly extending his own. "Fine."
For some reason, Seifer had a feeling he'd just signed himself up for a whole load of trouble.