Notes: Dedicated to Race because it's only through agreeing to share these ficlets with her that I got the guts to join in, and I wouldn't have written this otherwise.

SeeD training, adverse weather condition: snow.
Location: Trabian mountains and surrounding areas.
Team: Seifer Almasy, Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht.

Zell scrabbled backwards on the snow as the creature reared up, drawing back a great clawed paw to strike at the prone martial artist. With a roar that shook the very ground beneath them, it swung the huge limb down in a deadly arc. Hampered by snow and unable to dodge, Zell covered his head with his arms and waited for the inevitable blow...

It never came.

Bone hit metal with a ear splitting whine as the creature’s talons found not Zell but the hardened steel blade of Squall’s revolver. Scarcely daring to breathe, Zell peeked through his fingers and then hid his eyes again at the sight of the brunette facing down a bear-like monster three times his height. Fangs longer than his legs dripped with saliva and hovered barely a foot from his head; so close Zell could smell the fetid breath that was stirring Squall’s hair.

“Dincht, move.” Squall hissed through gritted teeth, somehow managing to summon the strength to deflect the next blow, darting beneath the thick furred belly of the beast to hack at the monster. The hide was so thick, so substantial even the hefty gunblade would not cause more than a light gash in the fur. Another attack, the bear-like monster clawing at Squall, forcing the brunette to dodge, the light wound barely even phasing it. “Dincht!”

“’Kay, Baby.” Zell scrambled to his feet and moved out of reach of their opponent.

In the few seconds that followed, none of them could say for sure what happened. Distracted by the movement of Zell, or blinded by the sunlight on the snow, Squall never saw the blow that knocked him sick, or the one that followed. He was tossed into the air like a child’s toy, landing with a sickening crunch thirty feet away, his head striking a glancing blow off a rock dusted with snow. As he sat up, he didn’t notice that the snow had turned red.

As the beast closed in for the kill, bringing its slavering jaws down upon the wounded brunette, Seifer darted up behind the creature from seemingly no where, leaping onto it’s back to bring down Hyperion hard upon it’s neck. He hacked through the leathery hide, clinging to the thick fur when it tried to shake him off.

As the drooling jaws snapped at Squall, the brunette forced the blade between its teeth. “Back off.” He hissed, and pulled the trigger.

Seifer would claim he’d softened the monster up later, but as the body slumped to the ground, he was just relieved to see Squall reasonably safe after the awkward battle. He turned his head to shoot a glare at Zell, righteously angry for the danger the tattooed blonde had put his team mates in. For the danger he had put Squall in. “And that Dincht...” He hissed. “Is why we don’t go bouncing off ahead on missions where we don’t know the terrain.”

“I didn’t think...”

“That was the problem.” Seifer cut him off mid-sentence and offered Squall a hand to his feet. “You okay Leonhart?” Zell bounced from foot to foot, longing to respond but unable to.

“Fine.” The brunette took the offered hand and stood with Seifer’s help, but stumbled against the blonde, biting back a murmur of pain. His ribs ached enough to make him feel nauseated and the world spun around him slowly.

“Yes, fine.” Seifer drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That’s why you’re paler than usual and your head’s bleeding, of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” Sheathing Hyperion, the taller blonde pulled one of Squall’s arms around his neck to support him. “He’s injured Dincht, where’s the map?”

“Almasy... I’ll be okay, let’s just finish the mission.”

“Like hell.” Seifer squeezed the hand that rested on his shoulder. “We need to regroup and check you out anyway.”

Pulling a hand held computer from his pack, Zell rocked on the balls of his feet lightly. “There’s a cave formation north of here.” He examined the map and eyed the surrounding landscape critically before shouldering his pack and pointing to a ridge in the distance. “Just beyond that. We can make it in twenty minutes.”

“Better get going then.” Seifer headed in the direction Zell had indicated, easing the brunette along with him carefully. He was painfully aware that Squall was being quiet even for him. He hardly protested being man handled which could only mean one thing – he was hurt a lot more than he was letting them know.

They reached the caves after twenty minutes just as Zell had said they would. Even with a short break for Seifer to pick Squall up despite the brunette’s weak protestations and carry him the rest of the way.

Squall was barely conscious as the tall blonde set him down on the soft mossy floor of the cave.

“Shit, Squall I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.” Zell hovered over Seifer and the silent, pale brunette.

A leather gloved hand waved the apology away as a scowl formed on Squall’s lips. With his usual mantra of “whatever”, he noticed his voice was faintly slurred and silently cursed himself for showing such weakness. He wouldn’t get the full marks for the mission having allowed himself to be injured, even if it was to save another cadet’s life.

Seifer examined Squall’s tender ribs gingerly, poking and prodding at him until he winced. The taller man earned another scowl when he ruffled Squall’s nutmeg brown locks and offered him a potion.

“Couple of broken ribs, a concussion... I don’t think the skull’s fractured but I don’t want to move him anymore tonight without a medic or an instructor looking at him.” The jade green gaze never faltered from Squall until Seifer was sure that he had taken and swallowed the entirety of the potion, he knew Squall would refuse the healing magic in favour of retaining the points towards his grade. Every potion or healing spell used was taken into account when their final marks were awarded. “Gonna have to fetch an instructor I think.”

“Let me.” Zell placed a hand on Seifer’s arm, his bright blue eyes pleading with the taller man.

“You wanna run all the way there on your own?”

“I’m faster than you guys.” He stated, bouncing lightly from one foot to the other. “An’ you know more about me than potions an’ all, you can keep him alive better than I can.” They both ignored the quiet insistence that Squall was fine.

Seifer hesitated before nodding and offering Zell a few spare potions. “Just in case. I have enough left to keep him stable and you might need them more than us anyways.”

A feral grin curled Zell’s lips and, tucking the potions safely into the inside pocket of his winter jacket, he backed off for the door. “I’ll be back before you know it baby! Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

“Get going already.” Seifer sat down beside Squall, facing him to watch him worriedly.

And with a skittering of gravel as Zell scrambled down the icy side of the rocky face, he was gone.

Casting a quick glance toward the entrance, Seifer shot a smirk at the sleepy brunette. “Fifty gil says he’s bear food within twenty minutes.”

Squall shook his head very slowly and carefully, trying not to make it ache any worse than it already was. “No.” He smiled faintly. “It’ll be at least thirty minutes.”

It had been three hours since Zell had disappeared.

The blizzard had been raging on for some twenty minutes.

Seifer had ventured out to collect firewood from the rocks and ledges around the cave mouth where wind weary trees and low bushes grew in sparse numbers, almost breaking his neck three times at least in his effort to ensure that they would be safe and warm within their temporary shelter. Squall had tried to help but when he’d suggested it, Seifer had shot down the offer faster than he could say whatever. He didn’t need Squall falling off a ledge when a dizzy spell hit him.

The snow was falling so heavily, he could barely see a foot in front of his face. He’d only made it back to the cave mouth by the sound of Squall’s voice.

“Looks like we’re stuck here for the night, Leonhart.” Seifer grumbled as he built some of the wood he’d found into a fire by the light of a torch. “How are you feeling now?”

“Better.” Squall admitted hesitantly.

“So you weren’t as fine as you made out?” Seifer said, placing a hand on his chest and filling his voice with mock horror. “What a shock!”

Squall rolled his eyes in the darkness, glad Seifer wouldn’t be able to see the gesture.

“I know, I know. Whatever, right?” A brief flare illuminated Seifer’s face as he struck a match, holding it against the tinder and blocking it from the cold draught of air that crept into the dark cave to accompany them. It caught, and with some gentle coaxing, the flames rose and began to lick orange and yellow tongues around the damp bark. The fire consumed the wood greedily, the dry snaps filling the air easily in the enclosed space. He added larger logs, when he was sure they would not smother the fire and returned to his place at Squall’s side.

The brunette leant against him without needing to be prompted.

Seifer tipped Squall’s chin up and pressed a shy tender kiss to the waiting lips. They’d been more than rivals for a while, since shortly after Squall had turned fifteen. Seifer had started their relationship just as he had their rivalry. It was as much a way to fight and prove dominance as it was a comfort to them both. They had spent nights together, curled in narrow garden cots, holding one another to ward off the doubts and combat the inherent and abject loneliness, but as yet, they had not engaged in sex.

Squall’s mouth was willing and waiting to be plundered, another sign that he was feeling worse than he let on. Usually, he fought against Seifer almost incessantly, until the blonde pushed him onto the bed – or whatever surface was most convenient – and forced him to submit. However Seifer was not about to complain about it, and simply enjoyed the tender caress of Squall’s lips to his own.

It was Squall who ended the kiss a little abruptly. He turned his head from Seifer, murmuring “did you hear that?”

Seifer grumbled. “Hear what?”

Squall motioned for him to wait and seconds, minutes passed by. “That. There it is again.”

However, all that reached Seifer’s ears was the crackling of the wood burning and the howling, whistling melancholia of the storm outside. “Must be your concussion.”

“No. I heard something.”

The taller man was about to comment further when he heard the softest of voices whisper “Lion...” The voice was rather like Squall’s, yet a little more feminine and with a haunting quality that sent a shiver down his spine and made goose bumps prickle over his lightly tanned skin.

Beside him, the leather clad brunette rose, bracing one hand against the damp rock face of the cave wall. “Are you coming?”

“Are you nuts?” There was a part of Seifer that didn’t want to go. The young, scared part of him that remained unaffected by the SeeD training, by GF’s and magic and potions. It was overridden by his egotistical side and his concern for his companion.

They crept deeper into the cave, the mossy surface giving way a rocky surface sprinkled with sand.

Squall moved as though enchanted, drawn ever onwards, ever deeper into the cave by the soft voice. He looked as relaxed as Seifer had ever seen him, his eyes half closed in reverence.

“Leonhart, maybe this isn’t...”Seifer’s voice died in his throat as they rounded a corner and were confronted by a woman. Her skin was the palest shade of violet-blue, her modesty barely covered by scraps of sapphire fabric. She had the sweetest, most beautiful face Seifer had ever seen.

It took a few minutes for him to realise that she was a GF when it should have been obvious. The way her perfect form reclined on a throne of ice, the small cavern she was waiting in lit impossibly by torches of ice that burned with a faint blue sheen, there was no other explanation that he could think of for this goddess to be hiding in such a silent and cold place.

Seifer reached for his gunblade but Squall’s hand caught the wrist.

“We don’t have to fight.” He whispered before turning back to the guardian force. Squall crept closer, and when he was just a few feet from the throne, lowered himself to one knee, bowing his head in veneration to the ice goddess.

“Hello little Lion.” She purred. Her voice was cool and soft, like the first flakes of snow. “Have you come to claim me?”

“No.” He only looked up when the cold, cold hand brushed against his cheek gently. “Not to claim you.”

“Then what?”

“To serve you.” Squall smiled, kissing the offered hand as the goddess laughed. It almost sounded like icicles ringing in the winter winds.

“If you can keep me junctioned little lion, then you can serve me and summon me as you wish.” She took Squall’s hand gently, her ice-cold fingers wrapping around the leather clad hand. “My name is Shiva.”

“I...”

“I know who you are little Lion. There is no need for your introduction.”

And with a flash of light, she was gone. And she had taken the torch light with her.

“Leonhart?” Seifer found his voice at last. He turned the torch to the brunette and found him shivering violently, his deep blue grey eyes paler, almost silver in colour as though they had been frosted over. “You junctioned her?”

He nodded dully.

“You idiot.” Seifer hauled Squall to his feet and back to the meagre warmth of the fire, feeding it to make the flames burn higher and hotter. “You keep plugging raw GF’s into your head and you’re going to wind up a vegetable. Probably a frozen one.” He looked back at his companion then, dismayed at what he observed. Squall’s dusky pink lips had turned blue grey with the cold and he was shivering worse than a hot dog when Zell was first in line in the cafeteria. “Cold are we Leonhart?”

“It’s a test.” Squall whispered. “If I live, she’ll stay.”

“Is she worth it?” Seifer dug in his pack and pulled out a sleeping bag.

“I think so.” The brunette nodded.

Laying his own sleeping bag out first, Seifer dug Squall’s out too and zipped them together. “Get your clothes off Leonhart, and get in.” at the delicate arched eyebrow Seifer rolled his eyes in exasperation. “We need to warm you up, sharing body heat, remember that lecture?”

“Oh... yeah.” Hesitantly, Squall pulled his jacket off, fumbling over the belts, his fingers too clumsy and cold, numb from the effects of the hypothermia bought on by the new guardian force taking up residence in his mind. Seifer made a noise of annoyance and brushed Squall’s hands away from the strips of tough leather, lined with ammunition for the Revolver, and stripped them from his body quickly and efficiently. He’d bought Squall the damn things, he knew how to get them off.

Squall soon followed his orders and slipped into the sleeping bag. Curling his naked form as tight as he could to conserve what little warmth remained in his body.

He watched the figure curled beneath the thick protective material of the sleeping bag. Seifer worried. Even with the extra warmth of the sleeping bag, Squall seemed to be trembling more and more violently.

Keeping one eye on his companion, the pale figure looking even paler, the blonde prepared the rations they’d bought along in case, finally slipping out of his clothes and into the sleeping bag with Squall as quickly as he could. He helped the trembling younger man to take a sip from the mug of the hot broth he had cooked.

“Better?” Seifer asked softly, his concern all too prominent in his manner and expression. Squall found it strangely comforting when at any other time the compassion and nearness would likely make him feel stifled.

“Much, thank you.” Squall murmured, wrapping still shaking arms around his companion and closing his eyes.

“How does she feel?” Seifer whispered, brushing his fingers through the soft coffee and caramel mane to push Squall’s hair back out of his beautiful eyes.

Squall was silent for a long time, before he finally decided on the best way to describe Shiva’s presence in his mind. “She feels... Familiar.” He replied softly, an uncertain smile alighting upon his lips. “Sort of..., comfortable.”

“She suits you Leonhart.” Seifer arranged Squall against him as they lay back on the soft moss, ensuring the cold body lay positioned between him and the fire. “Ice goddess for an ice princess.”

“Whatever.” Squall murmured, tightening an arm around the blonde’s waist.

“At least you’re not shivering any more.” Seifer cupped Squall’s cheek and brushed his lips over the still blue tinged mouth. He knew that the cessation of Squall’s trembling was not necessarily a good thing, that the stillness could be a sign that he was simply slipping deeper into the grip of hypothermia. However, since he seemed to be responding to the warmth a little better with each passing moment, he assumed that this time it was a good sign.

It wasn’t until Squall’s fingers sought out his length and teased it that he realised he was growing hard. The proximity of Squall’s warming body, his quiet voice that never ceased to make Seifer want to hear Squall screaming his name and the sweet way Squall’s fingers played nervously against his back even as his other hand wrapped around Seifer’s cock and worked him languidly all quickly outweighed his concerns.

“To warm me up, hm?” Squall teased as the backs of his fingers brushed along the hard length slowly, a little hesitant though not inexperienced, clumsy with the effects of the cold.

They kissed, soft and slow, lips barely meeting as Squall’s fingers curled around the curve of his hard cock again. Seifer closed his eyes, relaxing as the cool fingers worked the heated flesh and the brunette’s lips worked their way along his collar bone.

With long, indolent strokes, Squall manipulated the hard sex, his own swelling against Seifer’s thigh in response. He was used to this, used to dealing with Seifer’s need before even considering his own. And he liked it. The known enemy and comfort rolled into one it made it easier to react and deal, no emotional connotations though he supposed deep down in the Shiva touched recesses of his own mind he did feel something for Seifer that he could term “love”. He knew if the arrogant blonde were to transfer or leave he would miss him, but they weren’t yet close enough for Seifer to affect him as ... as someone had long before.

They were alone. But they were alone together. It made it seem easier somehow.

Seifer rocked into his hand eagerly and grumbled when the touch was removed. “What now?”

“Do you want me?” Squall wasn’t sure why he was offering himself so easily in that place. Perhaps the comfort was effecting him more than he was admitting to himself, perhaps it was as simple as the fact that he was ready, he wanted to feel Seifer inside him, warm and hard.

“You... you want to fuck?” The older man leant up on one elbow to look at Squall. “Why here? Why now?”

“I... I just want to.” Squall shrugged. He knew Seifer wasn’t a virgin although he wasn’t sure how long Seifer hadn’t been one or who he had been with. They had agreed to only go as far as the other was comfortable with at the start, or rather, Squall had told Seifer he wouldn’t go further than he felt at ease with and there would be no point in pushing him. Squall had no misconceptions about Sex and Love but at the beginning, some months, the intimacy of sex had been too much for him. Now... he wanted more than just a quick finger fuck and a hand job.

Seifer dragged his pack closer and retrieved a bottle from a hidden pocket. He always carried something these days, fully aware that Squall’s moods were very temperamental and could changed at a misconceived word so they had to be taken advantage of as quickly as possible. Even their duels could turn the brunette on, and Seifer had quickly learnt to get the blowjob first and tease his lover later.

Pulling one of Squall’s legs up over his and rubbed a finger lightly over his opening. “Certainly going to be especially memorable for a first time Leonhart.”

Squall pulled Seifer down into a fierce kiss, sliding his tongue into Seifer’s moth and filling it just as he wanted to be filled. “Please...”

With a smirk, Seifer pushed the finger deep into Squall, watching him squirm in surprised at the dull, tingly heat. “You want that?”

“Fuck... Seifer, what is that?” Squall arched his back, driving his hips onto the finger that probed inside him, the touch only serving to make him hungrier as it stretched him a little.

Seifer allowed Squall to sniff the tiny bottle, breathe in the cinnamon scent. “Something else to warm you up.” Twisting and hooking the finger to brush over the spot that made Squall’s hips buck and his hands clutch at his lover, Seifer whispered “I’ve wanted to do this for so long Leonhart. I’ve wanted to feel you hot and tight around my cock.”

Whether it was the words or the husky tone of voice that made the young man shudder so violently, Seifer neither knew nor cared. . He simply revelled in the fact that he could affect the quiet young man like that, where no one else could.

As the second finger slid into him, stretching him, Squall moaned into Seifer’s mouth, rolling his hips to encourage the invasion to slide deeper into him. He was used to this, to coming with only the fingers forced inside him, and Seifer already knew just how to manipulate him, how to make him beg for more, beg for release.

Then the fingers were gone, and Squall felt so heartbreakingly empty, longing for the intimate touch to fill him again.

“Squall, tell me.” Seifer whispered, rolling him onto his back and spreading his legs as much as the sleeping bag would allow. His fingers traced a slick path along the inside of Squall’s thighs; the tingling burn of the lubricant made his skin feel alive, warm again. Seifer’s thick cock lay against his hip, a heavy weight. “Say what you want for me.”

“I want to be fucked.” The brunette whispered softly.

The hot fingers ghosted over his balls, the lubricant covering them still making him squirm with need. “Say what you want Leonhart, humour me.”

“I want your cock.” Squall arched up, already hungry for release, trying to rub himself against Seifer, but finding no peace or purchase. “Please, Seifer, I want you in me.” He pleaded, his voice a soft groan of need.

Seifer positioned himself and pushed against Squall carefully, groaning with pleasure as he slowly filled his lover’s body. He could never have imagined Squall being so tight, so hot around him. Stretching out over his lover, he nuzzled at one pale ear, tracing his tongue over the shell of it lightly and whispering, “Fuck, Leonhart, I knew you’d be good but damn...”

He was answered by a soft whimper. Squall’s fingers kneaded the soft flesh of his ass as Seifer rocked deeper slowly, stretching and filling him in ways he’d never thought possible. Squall was used to having the fingers inside him, making him writhe like a whore on the bed sheets as Seifer teased him about how he looked even more like a girl when he was begging to come, but this... this intense slow pleasure of being filled was like nothing he’d never dreamed. When Seifer paused, buried to the hilt in Squall’s body he whimpered. “Oh fuck...”

“Like that?” Seifer chuckled huskily, grinding his hips to Squall’s ass and nibbling at the shell of his ear.

“Yes... oh fuck, move Seifer...” Squall could stand the stillness no longer, he wanted to feel everything, feel Seifer move, feel the friction of the thick cock filling him and fucking him. He didn’t care if the elder man would tease him for his husky pleas later, if Seifer told him he moaned like a girl he would deal with it then, he just wanted to feel.

Seifer pulled back slowly, watching the pleasure on Squall’s pale features, his blue tinged lips opening in a husky moan that would make a lesser man come at the wanton and lust filled pleasure of the sound. He’d fucked boys before, he’d fucked girls before but never had he seen someone react so beautifully. He was glad he’d waited, glad he’d not pushed the small brunette into sex too soon, to see him so relaxed and at ease with his pleasure was just what he’d wanted.

To turn the ice prince of Balamb into his own personal slut. Squall was so touch hungry at times it had been easy, but he’d never dreamed of being actually able to fuck him. Even if Seifer had dreamt of fucking him, imagined it in the showers with one fist wrapped tightly around his own cock, pleasured himself at the thought of that pale body beneath him and eager for a good fucking.

The angle of Seifer’s thrust back into his body rubbed against that spot inside him and it was all Squall could do not to buck up against him, whimpering in pleasure and lust. The fingers had stretched him enough to take the length with only the faintest tinge of pain, and he was used to that. The pleasure surpassed that easily.

Strong fingers wrapped around Squall’s length, stroking him in just the way he liked to be stroked, in perfect time with the thrusts.

Throwing his head back and whimpering, Squall almost wanted to brush the touch from his cock, to keep that sensation of being filled in him longer, he didn’t want to come yet, he wanted to keep that deliciously distracting friction inside him forever. “Oh gods...” He husked, digging his nails into the tender flesh of Seifer’s ass lightly and rocking with the movements of Seifer’s hips.

“Fuck, Leonhart... Squall...” Seifer kissed along his lover’s pale throat and began to move faster, driving deeper into the hot sheath of Squall’s slick body. He wanted to come inside him – to claim the younger man as his own so no one else would ever feel this, know this utter and complete pleasure that was fucking Squall Leonhart. That was seeing Squall Leonhart flushed and writhing, lost in his own pleasure. To see him was almost as good as the sex itself.

He knew he had to have Squall like this again. And again. And again.

“Seifer... I...” The pleasure was too overwhelming now, the hard friction, the touch to his cock and if Seifer didn’t stop he was going to find his release. He didn’t want it to stop, he wanted to come but in the same breath he wanted to do this forever.

Seifer brushed his lips over Squall’s lightly and whispered “Come for me, Baby” before claiming his lover’s mouth again, forcing the brunette to accept his tongue and suck on it.

A tremble shivered through Squall’s body violently and he bucked up, his seed spilling over Seifer’s fingers as the velvet heat tightened impossibly around Seifer’s cock. He almost screamed Seifer’s name into his mouth as Seifer fucked him as hard as he could, coming inside him with a hot rush and freezing as the final few pulses of orgasm rocked his body and Seifer’s voice joined his in a moan of pleasure.

When the bliss of their combined release had passed, Seifer slid his softening cock from Squall’s body and lay half over him, almost purring in pleasure.

Squall murmured a complaint at the loss and snuggled into his lover’s arms when they slid around him, tightening with a possessiveness that made him feel wanted. When he found his voice again, Squall asked, “Can we do that again?”

“What, now?”

“Not unless you want to...” Squall’s silver-blue eyes lifted to watch Seifer. “I meant back at Garden.” He tried to sound nonchalant, he didn’t want to cling and drive Seifer away, he just enjoyed the sex and wanted more.

Seifer chuckled softly and kissed his lover gently. “You think one time’s going to be enough for me, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Squall squirmed, he could still feel the sensation of being filled and fucked, a slight soreness – not uncomfortable in its presence, just ...there. Making him remember what it had been like to have the length inside him. “Not the only thing that’s sore.”

“Didn’t mean to hurt you.” Seifer wrapped his arms around Squall tightly and nipped at his lips.

“You didn’t. I like it.”

Surprise registered in the green gaze of Seifer’s eyes, and he smirked at the smaller man. “Well, I guess it’s true what they say about the quiet ones.” He cupped Squall’s cheek and brushed a thumb over the now normal flesh of Squall’s mouth. “She calmed down now?”

“Yes... I think we passed.” Squall snuggled sleepily against Seifer, his contentment and release as well as the events of the day making him drowsy.

“Good. Get some sleep Leonhart, soon as the blizzard stops we’re gonna need to head for the camp.”

But Squall was already asleep.

Deep inside the quiet recesses of her Lion’s mind, Shiva couldn’t help but feel content. She was once again settled within the one place that had always felt comfortable for her, the only place she could truly call home aside from the frozen wastelands of the Trabian snowfields.

She had done this before, just as Squall, and Seifer and the other orphanage children had. Time was a circle for the humans – Squall would face the sorceress, go back in time to see the sorceress give up her powers to Edea and the whole thing would begin anew with the child that would be with Edea.

Time was not a circle for the guardian forces. She knew what would happen, and though each life time she spent with Squall was slightly different, she enjoyed them all with her chosen boy.

~I don’t know why you even bother to test him anymore.~ Quezacotal whispered to her, aware that their temporary master was asleep.

~Don’t be foolish dear. I have to test him, how else would I be sure he will survive what is yet to come?~ Shiva smiled, stretching out and making herself comfortable for what she hoped would be a long time to come. ~You’re just jealous because you have to wait two years for your boy to carry you.~

The silence from the thunderbird informed her she was right.

~He’s started with Ifrit’s boy earlier this time. Good, he needs it.~

~It’s about time, they’ve been fooling around for months.~ Shiva couldn’t help but laugh at the annoyed tone to the other female voice in the silence of Squall’s mind.

~Frustrated are we?~

~You know I am.~ Quezacotal liked Squall. When he found his release he shared it openly with the guardian forces, even though he was not aware of it. However, he was not her favourite, Shiva had claimed him long before hand.

~And you’ll be complaining about how much they go at it within a month. Enjoy it dear, I have a feeling I’m going to like this life time.~ Though she silently hoped her chosen lion wouldn’t end up with that Hyne damned annoying female again for too long. She much preferred it when he spent his time and seed with one of the boys.

They were so much more ...fun.

And Squall needed that as much as he needed her.