Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ One in a Million ❯ Disaster ( Chapter 6 )

Title: One In a Million

Author: I_nv_u50

Pairings: SquallXZell

Warnings: Shounen Ai, badly written semi angst? Actually, not really angst as such …. Whatever …

Disclaimer: Well. They're not mine.

Chapter Rating: PG13 for lack of other, more original rating.

Squall: (snorts) And it's all your fault we can't raise the rating.

I_nv_u50: Aww, poor baby. Live with it.

Zell: Hmph. You're just jealous 'cause I get the cutie.

Squall: (warningly) Watch it, Dincht.

Zell: (sniggers) Ooh, I'm so scared.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Don't really have an excuse, but if you want to blame someone, blame the muses. It's all their fault. It always is.

Laguna: I resent that!

I_nv_u50: Laguna!!! (glomps)

Laguna: Eep!

Anyway (eyes Laguna) Hope you enjoy it. I apologize for the sucky written almost angst. What can I say. Che, I don't write angst well. I hate seeing my muses sad.

Zell: (to Squall) Think if I go into depression she'll let me have you quicker?

Squall: I'm willing to bet on it.

Zell: (tears up)

Damn. He's really good at that. Anyway, enjoy, and please review!! ^^

For Squall, there was no more doubt. At first, he had reluctantly agreed with his wayward heart, and had allowed it to carry on loving Zell. Then he himself had fallen for the blonde singer, all too suddenly for his mind to comprehend, and now he fell deeper and deeper each day. Unfortunately, Zell couldn't see this.

Even as Squall loved him, so he hated him, not only because Zell made him feel something against his will, which he resented anyway, but also because the stupid singer was too blind to return the feelings he had induced in the younger boy.

But Zell, fool that he was, only considered himself to be friends with Squall, not really noticing how different Squall was around him than with the others. Rather, he thought it was Rinoa the boy had fallen for; they spent a lot of time together. Had he known it, Squall considered Rinoa an annoying extra sister that he did not need.

Zell refused to react to Squall any different, keeping the relationship quite platonic on his part.

It was driving Squall mad.

Squall was in love. And to further complicate matters, Laguna noticed. He teased Squall more than a little, prompting Squall to tell him who 'she' might be, which further emphasized the fact that Squall had not told anyone he was gay.

Even after that first feverish kiss, which Squall, to his utter mortification, remembered with what threatened to become a lovesick schoolgirl manner, not even Zell had any idea. Squall assumed that Zell thought him merely curious, or, pushing it a little, bisexual.

The fact that Rinoa was around often, under the pretext of visiting her sister, only screwed matters up more, with everyone, including Zell, guessing she was the one, as she was the only female, besides Selphie, that Squall actually talked to outside of his family. Rinoa, had they asked her, could have told everyone otherwise, she was content to keep the relationship between Squall and her platonic. She knew there was someone else.

Quistis Squall considered as part of the family, ignoring her status as journalist to talk to her as he did to Ellone. She took a sisterly interest in him, and tried to coax out the information everyone was curious to hear.

But he kept his love life, or painfully obvious lack thereof, strictly to himself.

When Squall came home from his annual clothes shopping spree with his mother, which he only went to under a great deal of protests, and found out that Zell had to rush to Balamb as soon as possible, he was understandably startled.

Further enquiries made light of the emergency: Zell's mother had had a stroke. She was stable, Selphie told Squall as he fled to Zell's room, but Zell still wanted to go.

It was understandable, Squall admitted, yet he felt a strange sense of foreboding about letting Zell go.

In the end though, he had to, as he really didn't have any importance in deciding the matter. He hatefully considered this hurtful little thought, but Zell had only packed the bare minimum in a flurry of frustrated activity, so he would have to return, if only to pick up his remaining possessions.

Dreading Zell's departure and feeling it was more than just the concern love pushed upon him that caused the curious drop his heart had made to his feet, Squall offered half heartedly to go along with Zell.

This offer caused the longest pause Zell had made since he had heard the news, caught up in staring at Squall dazedly, still not believing that his healthy mother had had a stroke.

Then he was hugging Squall so tightly that Squall thought he heard his ribs crack. Squall savored the feeling, even though he knew it was just a comforting gesture, although whether for Zell or himself, Squall couldn't decide.

A few seconds later, Zell was gone, leaving a lingering scent that smelt solely of 'Zell', as Squall heaved the deepest breath he could manage through his nose, to hold it longer, positive he could still feel arms around him. The dread still lay heavy in his gut, and his heart refused to be lifted.

A few hours later that same night, Laguna received a call. Squall, hoping desperately that it was Zell saying he had arrived safely, hung around by the door, as he had been leaving when the phone rang.

When Laguna hung up, he had an uncharacteristically grim face, and he turned to face the assembled group who had been having a triple triad tournament when the phone had rung. Squall stumbled over to the nearest vacated chair. He didn't want to listen, but something wouldn't block his ears.

"Zell's plane crashed on the abandoned railway, halfway between FH and Balamb. Seifer and him are both still missing, but they've been searching for the past two hours, and they're confident of finding them."

Out of all the distressed, concerned and worried people in the room, it was Irvine who clued in on Squall shell-shocked state first.

"Squall?" he murmured softly, bending down in front of Squall's chair to get better eye contact.

His murmur, as quiet as it had been, alerted everyone else in the room, and Squall, in the midst of self-loathing and stricken worry, only vaguely registered their concern.

They all knew how close Squall had been to Zell, and now Ellone finally realized just how close Zell really was to her brother.

It didn't shock her to find out that Squall was gay; it just shocked her because she hadn't noticed before how low Squall's defenses had actually gotten with the superstar. It also didn't bode well that it was under such serious circumstances as well, because Squall was a worrier, and even if he hated to admit it, he cared very deeply for those who had found a way past his multiple barriers and masks.

She stepped closer to Laguna, and leaned up to whisper something in his ear, making his worried gaze grow sympathetic and even more concerned as he fixed it anew on Squall.

Then Squall dimly felt arms encircle him, and he leant away from the touch as a force of habit obliged him to, but the hold continued, and he was finally startled back into the touch when Laguna hugged him tighter than Zell had earlier that same day.

Zell…

His eyes suspiciously moist, he woodenly allowed himself to be escorted out of the room by his mother, who gently guided him to his bedroom, took his shoes and jacket off and tucked him in. Raine was made more worried when Squall allowed it all, not reacting to such treatment the same, predictable way he had reacted ever since he was ten.

She hugged him tenderly, and he accepted the contact without a second thought, his gaze focused somewhere on the wall over her left shoulder.

And Raine, as she left, could see the shadowed form of her son as he stayed sitting upright in the bed, staring straight ahead, the light from the city only lighting the edge of his profile. As she shut the door quietly, a glittering tear trailed its burning way down his cheek, unnoticed.

Laguna met Raine on her way to the drawing room.

"How are the others taking it?"

"They're sad … but Selphie's optimistic, and it's a little contagious. How's Squall?"

Raine paused, and looked up at her husband. "It hit him hard."

"At least now we know who he loves …"

"We should never have found out like this."

"No. They'll call us as soon as they find him. They just found Seifer."

"How is he?"

"Broken collarbone, dislocated shoulder, fractured wrist. He seems to have landed on his arm and chest. Plus multiple bruises and scratches, and a few burns."

"Quistis must be happier…"

"I think she is, really, she just can't show it much now…"

"We're all relieved about Seifer, it's just that…"

"Zell…"

"Yes…"

Selphie bounced out of the room happily. "Laguna! They want to talk to you! We think they found Zell, but they won't tell us!" Selphie pouted with indignation, and Laguna grinned at her before rushing into the drawing room where Irvine had the phone, and was apologizing profusely about his girlfriend's language.

Laguna took the phone and listened. "Yes?! Yes… Uh huh … No… Yes… I see… Ok… Ok, thank you… Yes… Thank you!"

He got pounced on as soon as he hung up.

"Well?!"

"How is he?"

"Is he ok?"

"How dare they not tell us!"

"Hold on, hold on, yes they found him, yes, he'll be fine."

Everyone backed away a little. "Yes?!"

"He broken a few ribs, and a few vertebrae in the small of his back, and he has a few minor injuries as well, along with scratches and bruises and burns. But he came off lucky, and there's a good chance he'll be fine a few days."

Selphie whooped, and there was general happiness going on before Ellone stepped up to Laguna.

"Dad, how's Squall?"

Laguna smiled at her. "He'll be fine now, I think. I'm going to go tell him, want to come?"

Ellone smiled back and shook her head. "No dad, it's ok. One person seeing him in weakness would be enough for him."

Laguna paused, considering. "Then maybe you should go."

Ellone laughed outright. "Dad! Don't be so silly! You go! Tell him, he'll listen to you."

Laguna paused at the door and looked at her. "Sometimes I get the distinct feeling he thinks I'm an idiot."

"Well, you are sometimes." Ellone laughed again at the look on his face. "But there's no denying he doesn't listen to you."

"True…" Laguna nodded, and headed down the quiet corridor until he got to Squall's room.

There were some noises filtering through the thick wood, and light from under it, and Laguna cautiously opened the door.

The first sight that met his eyes was his 15-year-old son, stripped to the waist and attacking the air blindly with his gunblade, the room in a messy chaos that was as unlike Squall as the furious expression he wore.

When the door opened, Squall whipped away, putting the gunblade point on the floor and leaning a little on the hilt, angrily wiping his face with the back of his hand where sweat and tears intermingled with each other.

Then he brought it up again, and faced Laguna, a threatening but defensive stance. Laguna easily backed out of range of the gunblade, understanding even as he was puzzled.

"Squall!" There was a rare crack of authority in his voice, used when he was captain in the army. It had the guaranteed and satisfying effect of getting Squall to freeze in mid strike.

"Squall…" Laguna kept his distance slightly, not used to seeing Squall like this, and unsure of what he was capable of. "Squall, Zell's fine. They found him. He's ok, Squall, Zell's alright."

Laguna sighed quietly, guessing by the dazed and confused look on his face that Squall only vaguely accepted the fact. Ignoring the gunblade, he stepped forward to hug Squall, gratified when Squall, with a choked sob, clung to him, an action as rare and unusual for Squall as a power failure for Estar was.

"He was… and he… and…"

Laguna couldn't make heads or tails out of the mumbled sounds Squall was mumbling into his chest, but he slowly inched over to the bed, coaxing an agreeable Squall with him.

Squall, ordinarily hating to be cuddled or touched in any form at all, detesting liberties and disliking contact at all costs, caught hold of Laguna's arm as he turned to go.

"Dad…" Squall's voice wobbled a bit, but they both ignored it. "Dad, Zell… is he… really?"
"Yes, he's fine."

"Please…"

"They found you a little after your mother put you to bed… He's got a lot of minor injuries, but the most serious ones are a few broken ribs and a few broken vertebrae."

"In his neck?"

"No, the small of his back I think they said. In any case, he'll be fine in a few days with the magic."

Squall didn't say anything more, just lay back down and stared blankly at the ceiling, plainly thinking of something.

Laguna sat back, leaning on his elbows as he watched his son. "Squall, do you love him?"

"I…"

Laguna didn't rush him, let him take his time to choose and find the right words.

"I… think…"

"It's hard, isn't it?"

Squall looked at his father, a little surprised. "…?"

"Trying to discover if you're in love or not."

"But I already know!" Squall blurted out, blinking in astonishment and blushing as he realized what he had just said unintentionally.

Laguna just smiled at him. "It took you less time than it did me. I remember with your mother-"

"Da-ad…" Squall interrupted, moaning and blushing, hiding his face in his hands.

Laguna laughed and stood up to leave, waiting by the bedside for Squall to look up at him again.

When Squall did, Laguna smiled at him. "I'll book some seats for a flight to FH tomorrow."

Squall smiled a small smile. "Thank you."

Laguna grinned back and winked at Squall unabashedly and Squall flushed, moaned in embarrassment and ducked his head.

Laguna shut the door.