Esthar Relations (Final Fantasy VIII, Seifer/Squall)

He blinked into the early morning light and stared out the window at the bright green forest below them. For once, the alarm clock hadn’t pulled him grudgingly out of sleep and he’d actually been able to get a full night’s sleep in what felt like forever. He didn’t have anything that required his attention until after noon. He was pretty sure Seifer and his secretary, Anya, had arranged it to be that way. While Seifer’s official position at the Garden was as the envoy from Esthar, he acted more like Squall’s secondary secretary and his right-hand man, taking care of the paperwork that didn’t require Squall’s actual attention and making sure Squall did things like eat and go to sleep at a normal hour.

Lately, Squall had not only been going to bed at an hour increasingly approaching normal, but he’d also not been going to bed alone. It was wonderful enough that he overlooked the fact that Seifer was reporting back to Laguna every time Squall missed a meal or didn’t get enough sleep or came even close to catching cold.

He had no idea how he’d managed so long without Seifer’s help. It was surprising that he hadn’t died from malnutrition and exhaustion.

“Stop thinking and go back to sleep,” Seifer muttered next to him. A heavy arm landed over Squall’s chest.

He shifted back against Seifer’s heat. Naked skin brushed against naked skin and he held back a shiver. “I can’t.”