AUTHOR'S NOTE: All characters from Final Fantasy VII/VIII are property of SQUARE software and their subsidaries. Please don't sue me. I don't have any money. I'm just a poor college girl who drools over video game bisien. All things in reference to sexual expertise manual and color levels are inspired by and expanded upon an original idea by Seiya Kou. If you haven't read "The Reclaimation" by now, do it!! This level contains limey and probably lemony scenes. You have been warned. Arigato, Seiya-kun!!

Squall had finally ceased crying. Vincent had managed to calm him enough to allow him to get up and gather supplies from the bathroom. Squall clutched himself into a ball and Vincent hestitantly went into the bathroom. He found a washcloth, some bandages and the ointment from the nurse, and a clean towel. Vincent filled the washcloth with warm water and wrang it out slightly. He gathered the rest of the items and returned to the bed. Squall didn't want to uncurl, but Vincent very softly convinced him.

"Let me clean out your hands."

Squall forced himself to sit up. He rested his body against the metal headboard and tried to calm his trembling so that Vincent could properly attend to his wounds.

Vincent very gently used the towel to wipe some of the blood that still rested in Squall's hands. He then dabbed away the rest with the warm washcloth.

"They're not too bad. I think we won't have to worry about taking you to the nurse."

He then applied the ointment. Squall winced but didn't pull away. Vincent very gently wrapped the bandages around Squall's hands.

"I'm sorry there isn't any gauze. You'll have to get some from the nurse tomorrow." Vincent quietly stated.

Squall glanced down at his bandaged hands that had been tended to with such care. He looked back up at Vincent and saw how much concern was in his eyes.

"Thank you, Vincent."

Vincent nodded and then arose from the bed. He went to the door and began to exit.

"Vincent, please don't leave."

"I'm sorry, Squall. I have to go and see what Cid has done about your attacker."

Squall leapt off the bed and pressed himself against Vincent's back. The raven haired man bit his lip. His hand was still on the door, but not as firm any more.

"Please, don't go. I don't want to be alone."

"I won't be gone for long. I just want to see Cid about..."

"No!" came Squall's desperate plea. "Don't you see, Vincent? I need you! I need you to be with me!"

"You can't know what you're saying."

"I do! When Seifer had his hands on me...it...it felt so wrong, so dirty. But when you touch me, I feel like nothing in the world can harm me. Am I only a student to you, Vincent? If I am, then open that door. If I'm not, then please, stay with me."

That final request broke Vincent. He let out a soft moan and turned around pulling Squall tightly against his chest. Squall immediately buried his face into Vincent. He breathed in the warm cologne and the musky scent that Vincent always smelt like.

Very carefully, Vincent slid his one arm behind Squall's back and the other under his legs. He picked him up in a threshhold carry, and placed him down on his bed. He stopped for a moment to pull off Squall's boots and socks and kick off his own. Crawling onto the bed, he laid his weight on top of Squall for the first time.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Vincent asked. He had come to know not to hope for too much. Especially when it came to these kinds of situations.

Squall responded by pulling Vincent down and trapping his mouth in a sensual kiss. Vincent gladly opened his mouth, letting Squall taste inside deeply. He drew back and let his tongue slide over Vincent's bottom lip, before pulling it into his mouth. His teeth slid across the skin and Vincent couldn't repress a soft moan. Squall released his lip as soon as he felt Vincent carefully moving Squall's bomber jacket off him.

Vincent pulled Squall up just enough to get the jacket out from under him. He felt Squall stiffen and stopped after the jacket hit the floor.

"Squall..."

"I don't want you to stop, Vincent. It's just...do you want to touch me after Seifer's had his hands all over me?"

Squall's question pulled at Vincent's heart. With exquisite tenderness, he kissed Squall's lips, his cheek, and then began to kiss his neck. Squall softly groaned and he wrapped his arms around Vincent's slender neck. He laced his fingers through the rich ebony hair, enjoying the feel of it.

Vincent frowned for a moment when he saw the state of Squall's t-shirt. The way it was torn, Vincent was suprised the Squall's pendant chain had not also broken. He pulled the torn garment upward over Squall's head. The young man's chest was bare and Vincent could clearly see the bruises that Seifer had placed on his skin.

Squall blushed and felt tears beginning to pull at the corners of his eyes. He reached for the sheet to cover himself, but Vincent gently prevented him from doing so.

"No, you don't have to be ashamed. You showed me that whatever marks are upon our bodies are pieces of us. You wished you could have healed my wounds. I have the chance to do it for you, if you will let me."

Squall smiled weakly and nodded still feeling concerned about Vincent seeing his bruises. Vincent gently began to kiss the purplish-blue marks where Seifer's hands should have never been. Squall shivered and he could feel his skin tingle. Vincent slid his lips over and very gently teased one of Squall's nipples with his lips. The young man arched slightly. Vincent was pleased to see that his mouth had such a profound effect on Squall. He covered the flesh with his mouth and began to just graze the nipple with his teeth. Squall writhed from his body's sudden response. He could feel the ache between his legs and the pants that seemed too tight right then.

The pale man pulled back long enough to rid himself of his clothing. He could care less about making a performance out of it. Now that Squall had shown him a new way of seeing things, he didn't care about being naked. But, he wanted to undress Squall slowly, and savor the feeling.

Squall reached out one of his bandaged hands and gently let it slide down Vincent's chest. His skin was so soft and almost white. He had fine lines and a wonderful muscles tone hidden underneath his thin frame. Vincent shivered just feeling Squall brush his chest. He couldn't recall the last time, even with Cid, that he had been more interested in pleasing his partner than himself.

Vincent let his hands wander down to the two belts that Squall always wore. He fumbled for a moment with the first one, but finally managed to get it undone. He quietly cursed as he realized he still had the second one to undo.

"Don't you like my belts, Vincent?" Squall somehow had managed to crack a small joke despite the situation he had been in.

"Couldn't you just wear your pants?"

"What challenge would that be?" Squall teased.

His teasing was soon silenced as Vincent slid his hand into his pants. He hadn't undid the button or zipper as he had in the atrium. He used the constriction to his advantage, barely letting his fingertips brush Squall's growing erection.

"Vincent..." Squall responded breathlessly.

"Are you done teasing now?" Vincent responded jokingly.

All Squall could do was barely nod. Vincent continued to torment Squall by shifting his hand in the tight material. He would completely encircle him, stroking for only a moment or two, and then release again, returning to just brushing Squall's length. Squall let out a cry and desperately wanted to undo his clothing. His hands were injured though, and it hurt for him to clench his fingers together to grip anything. Vincent had complete control.

"Please, Vincent, I don't want to come in my pants." Squall pleaded.

"I have no intention of letting you, my beautiful Squall." Vincent responded seductively.

Vincent withdrew his hand and finally undid Squall's button and zipper. Squall felt immediate relief as his hardening erection was freed from the material's constraints. Vincent pulled off the pants and savored the moment of seeing Squall aroused and begging for him. He looked into Squall's eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Vincent asked silently.

Squall's eyes responded 'yes.' Vincent laid on his side and Squall almost instinctively did the same. They returned to the positions they had achieved earlier that evening. Things were different now. Neither were driven by manuals or level achievement. They were driven by the need to fulfill one another.

Vincent slid his hand down Squall's side. His hand caressed the young man's backside and for a brief moment, Vincent pressed the tip of his finger into Squall's tight opening.

Squall let out a sob and moved closer into Vincent. He could feel Vincent's growing arousal pressed against his stomach. He longed for him to complete what they had begun.

It was taking all of Vincent's training to keep in mind that things still had to be done by steps. The bottle of ointment that he had used on Squall's hands rested on the nightstand. He reached over Squall and retrieved the bottle.

"Are there any chemicals in here that could cause discomfort?"

Squall understood what Vincent meant. He shook his head.

"It's all natural ingredients. It doesn't even have a scent."

Vincent unscrewed the lid and poured a small amount into his hand. He covered his fingers carefully, until they glimmered in the light of the room. He slid his oily fingers down Squall's back, tickling nerves that Squall wasn't even aware that he had. Very gently, Vincent pressed one of his fingers into Squall's tight opening.

It was a sensation unlike any the young soldier had felt before. He let out a sharp cry. Vincent almost relflexively went to withdraw, when Squall reached behind him to stop him.

"Don't...don't stop." came Squall's breathless request.

Vincent paused for a moment longer and then began his caress again. Moving his finger in and out carefully, he became a little more bold and pressed a second in a little ways. Seeing that Squall seemed to be all right, he pressed both of fingers in completely and began to move them gently.

"You are so tight, Squall." Vincent whispered. He then placed a kiss on Squall's forehead. Squall reached downward and began to caress Vincent's erection. The motion made Vincent gasp and he pushed in fingers inside Squall even farther.

"Vincent...please..."

Vincent found himself almost aching. Squall continued to manipulate his length by letting his hand encircle his flesh and stroking with more force than Vincent would have thought Squall was capable of. Vincent withdrew his fingers and lifted Squall's bandaged hand from his aching muscle. He poured a large amount of ointment in Squall's bandaged palm.

"Cover me. Make sure you get enough on. I don't want to hurt you."

Squall took the ointment and began to coat Vincent's erection. He grew even harder and had to breath to control himself. Squall finished applying the last of the ointment.

"Lay on your back."

"My, my back?" Squall looked at Vincent confused.

Vincent smiled, a hint of wickedness appearing in his eyes.

"Level Red, Squall. There are more than one way to do this. You don't always have to be on your stomach."

Squall found himself curious. Vincent took his legs and secured them under his armpits. He watched his teacher, his friend, his lover...HIS lover position himself under Squall.

"Are you ready for this?" Vincent was concerned.

"Please, Vincent, just do it!"

That was all the invitation he needed. Vincent eased into the hot tightness of Squall's body. The muscles almost immediately contracted around him. He looked up to see that Squall was watching him enter. Just seeing that made Vincent ease in even more. Squall gripped the sheets tightly. There was a small amount of pain, but mild compared to the feeling of having Vincent so intimate with his body.

"Squall, you're so hot." Vincent breathlessly said.

He pressed himself in completely, enjoying the hot, wet feeling. Taking his good hand, he wrapped it around Squall's erection. Squall gasped at the acute sensation and tightened his grip of the bedsheets even more.

Very slowly, Vincent began to rock inside of Squall's body. He used his training to keep himself from going too fast. He wanted desperately to make the feelings last between the both of them. He watched Squall open his eyes, they were filled with tears, but not from pain. Vincent leaned forward, still stroking Squall in rythmn with his own thrusts. He kissed his lips and felt Squall tremble.

"Harder. Please, Vincent, harder. I only want to feel you." came Squall's request.

Vincent groaned and moved in Squall with more force. The heat began to increase and he stroked Squall harder with his hand. Squall could feel the wounds in his hands open again from holding onto the sheets so tightly. He didn't care. He only cared about Vincent and knowing that it was his body that was giving Vincent such pleasure.

Squall began to sob as Vincent's hand gripped even tighter, pulling sensations out of him that he didn't know were possible. With one final pull, Squall arched upward. He half sobbed, half screamed Vincent's name. Vincent moved in much faster, feeling his peak coming. Within moments, he shuddered as his muscles stiffened and his essence came flowing out into Squall's body.

Squall felt Vincent relax inside of him. He looked at his lover with adoring, tear filled eyes. Vincent was enthralled by Squall's gaze. He reached up to touch his young lover's face with his claw. Squall kissed the metal hand.

"You are so incredible when you come." Vincent softly said.

"You feel incredible inside of me." Squall whispered back.

Vincent withdrew from Squall carefully. He saw that the sheets were stained with blood. Frantically, he reached his hand underneath Squall's backside. Realizing that there was no blood, he understood that Squall's hands must have reopened.

Vincent laid down beside his beautiful Squall and pulled him close to his chest. He could see that Squall's hands had indeed reopened, but were not bleeding as severely as they had only a little while before.

"We need to do something where your hands don't bleed."

Squall let out a small laugh and Vincent delighted in it.

"Vincent?"

"Hmm?" Vincent's voice was becoming heavy with the need to sleep.

"I know it wasn't supposed to happen because I'm your student, but Vincent, I love you." Squall stated softly. He waited then. Waited for Vincent to release an exasperated sigh or something to state that Squall had hoped too much. Instead, he felt a kiss placed on his lips.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I love you too."

"You, you do?"

"Yes. I think the moment that I laid eyes on you in the classroom two days ago, I loved you. I was just afraid that you would only see me as a teacher and nothing more."

"But, you'll be done training soon, and then you'll leave." Squall could feel his throat constrict from the onslaught of sudden emotionalism.

"Actually, I was going to talk to Cid about getting a job as a specialized gun trainer here at GARDEN. I wouldn't do any more manual expertise training, but I would still be here. You think that I'm going to just pick up and leave now that I've found happiness?"

Squall felt tears slide down his cheeks and onto his smiling lips. He pulled Vincent's head down and caught him into a deep kiss. Vincent sighed and pulled Squall a little closer.

"And you also passed Level Red."

"I don't really care any more, Vincent."

"Just thought you'd like to know. We can work on Level Black whenever we decide to. No need to rush any more."

Squall agreed and nuzzled Vincent's neck. He felt sleep pull on his body. His eyes closed and he relaxed into Vincent. Vincent also yawned and soon rested his head on Squall's. The new lovers fell asleep, content to be with one another for the rest of their lives.

________________________________________________________________________

Seifer cursed again as he looked at his bruised visage in the mirror. He was grateful that Cid had somehow not broken his nose. But, the purplish bruise indicated the impact of Cid's fist.

"Some professor," Seifer growled.

He had been so close to achieving his moment with Squall. The way the young man had fought him had aroused him more than anything else. He would've had him if that damned vampire hadn't interrupted. He didn't know how he knew, but the man did. Seifer grit his teeth thinking about the vampire with Squall and not himself.

Seifer stripped off his clothes and stepped into his shower. He had been put on barracks arrest by Cid until further notice. Laughing to himself as he turned on the water, he found it humorous that Cid actually thought he could control Seifer. Seifer was the second most powerful student other than Squall. He also had money and knew people in high places, unlike his scarred counterpart.

The water beat down on Seifer rinsing off the blood from his nose and the blood from Squall's hands. He lingered on the image of Squall, sweating and panting underneath him. Groaning, he reached down and gripped himself, bringing himself to a climax under the steaming shower. When he had finished, he slumped down against the shower wall. A thought drifted into his hazy mind.

"If I get rid of the vampire, Squall will have nowhere else to turn to for achieving Level Black. He'll have to pair with me."

Seifer felt an evil smile pull at his mouth. He arose from the floor and used the shower to clean himself off yet again. He wondered how much force it would take to remove the vampire from Squall's side.

________________________________________________________________________

Vincent opened his crimson eyes to see Squall looking at him. His young lover smiled at him and brushed a few more strands away from his eyes.

"Hello." Vincent softly said.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"Mm, better than ever. Just a little stiff."

"Your lower back?" Vincent asked. He was concerned about potentially pushing Squall's body too much.

"Yah, but it's not too bad. My hands hurt more than anything. I think I'd better get them cleaned out."

Squall arose stiffly and carefully slid out of the bed. He turned to Vincent who still was lazily relaxing among the sheets.

"So, are you going to help me get clean, or are you going to make the wounded attend to his own pains."

"Well, when you give me that kind of offer..."

Vincent arose and followed Squall into the small cubicle of a bathroom. There was barely enough room for two people. Squall adjusted the temperature of the shower water and slipped in. Vincent followed and the two stood almost chest to chest in the small shower.

"They don't make these showers for comfort, do they?" Vincent laughed.

Squall shook his head and began to wash out his wounds. Vincent very gently turned Squall around and ran his hands down Squall's back and began to massage his lower muscles. Squall almost purred from the feeling.

"That's nice, Vincent."

Vincent's massage continued until he let his hand slip forward and grip Squall between the legs. Squall sucked in his breath and slowly reached behind him, wrapping his arms around Vincent's neck. Vincent stroked until Squall was trembling and his body ached. Finally, Squall released and slumped back against Vincent. The water slid down their bodies, erasing Squall's essence into the shower drain.

"You should stop doing that, Vincent."

"I can't. You have me addicted."

The two finally turned off the shower and stepped out. Taking their time, they dried each other off and then returned to the barrack bedroom. Squall sat on the bed, but Vincent proceeded to dress. He hated to get his clothes on, but he knew it was a necessity.

"I'm going to see Cid about Seifer's penalty. I want you to stay put until I come back with news. Can you trust me?"

"Of course. I know better than to wander out."

Vincent confirmed Squall's intention with a strong kiss. He then opened up the door and closed it, making sure the lock took. He quickly headed down the hall and to the main corridors. He heard something as he made the first corner to the main hall.

Vincent turned around for a moment to see a heavy glinting object with something black come straight at him. Before he had time to react, the handle of Seifer's modified gunblade impacted his head. Vincent saw multi-colored spots and then nothing.

Seifer couldn't help but grin. Knocking the vampire out had been much easier than he had anticipated. Getting out of his room had been a breeze, since he easily had knocked out the two guards at his door. He picked Vincent up and threw him over his shoulder. For the kind of strength the vampire seemed to possess, he was light.

Seifer headed down to the basement doors. He walked down a couple flights of steps and into the service elevator. He pushed the button for basement level four, the very bottom of GARDEN.

________________________________________________________________________

Squall sat up from the bed suddenly. He knew without knowing why that something had happened to Vincent. He got up and dressed, only pulling on his bomber jacket instead of bothering to get another shirt. He left the room, even though Vincent had told him not too.

He ran out of the barracks area and down the main corridors. He picked up his pace when he reached the first flight of stairs. He flew up them and made a sharp left. Professor Highwind's office was around the corner. Squall didn't bother to knock. He threw open the door to see Cid and Shera engaged in intimate activities.

"Mr. Leonhart, if you would mind knocking..."

Squall cut Cid off.

"Something has happened to Vincent. I don't know what, but I know it has something to do with Seifer."

END OF LEVEL RED