Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Playing it by ear ❯ Part 3 ( Chapter 3 )

"Playing it by ear"

Part 3

The rest of the week went by quickly, and Irvine and Squall didn't get many chances to be alone together. They didn't trust themselves to spend the night together yet, without breaking their promise to take things slowly. Honestly, there wouldn't be a need to do so if they weren't both so new to the kind of relationship they had. In any other situation, they would have just let things happen as they would, since they had known each other for a while before letting things move to a new level.

Irvine was terrified inside, though he didn't show it. He considered himself somewhat of an expert when it came to women, but intimacy with Squall was so different from what he was used to that he feared he would make a mistake. He contented himself with a few heated kisses whenever he got the chance, and he told himself that all good things come to those who wait.

The waiting was the hardest part. He awoke sweating and panting most nights, on the verge of orgasm from some erotic dream about Squall. This surprised him. He would have thought it would take time for Selphie to fade from his dreams and be replaced by the young commander, but it happened quickly. He could only conclude that the reason had something to do with his finally accepting that Selphie would never be his girl, and he had a lot to look forward too with Squall.

He considered looking for some kind of book about sex between men, but immediately discounted the idea. With his luck, all he'd be able to find would be porno, and if anyone found him staring at pictures of men having sex with each other…well, he wasn't ready to come out of the closet, just yet.

Squall was having his own problems coping with things. Everytime Irvine kissed him, he grew more desperate. Being a virgin sucked, because he had to rely on the other young man's experience to guide him. He was too afraid to touch Irvine the way the sharpshooter had touched him in the fire escape that day…he didn't know how he would react. He knew how to jack off, and was fairly confident that he could give Irvine a good orgasm that way, but he didn't want to assume too much and push the sniper. Irvine was used to women, and Squall knew it must be a little more difficult for him to adjust to being with another male.

Both young men welcomed the weekend with relief. The beach party gave them an excuse to stop worrying about their relationship. Squall drove Quistis and Rinoa to Balamb in his convertible, Irvine rented a truck and loaded it with two kegs of beer, various wine coolers, and a few mixers and hard liquors. Zell and Xu rode with him. They reached the beach side parking lot just as the sun was setting, pulling in beside each other.

"Maybe you should just drive the truck down to the beach," suggested Quistis as she got out of the convertible and approached them, "it will save us some time and hassle."

"Good idea, Quisty. Wanna hop in the back and have a ride?" Irvine was grinning with excitement over the whole thing.

She looked at Rinoa with raised eyebrows, and the dark haired girl smiled. "Sure, why not?"

"Because you could both fall off if he takes a sharp turn, that's why not," Squall interrupted as he got out of his car and approached.

Quistis chuckled. "Good to see you're starting to act more like yourself, Squall."

"We'll be fine, Daddy," Rinoa said with friendly sarcasm, "compared to some of the other things we've all done in the past, hanging on in the back of a pickup truck should be cake!"

Squall smiled quietly and looked at Irvine with a faint expression of accusation. "See what you've started?" he mouthed. The sniper winked.

"I agree with Squall, but you guys are just going to do what you feel like anyway," Xu said within the truck, "Just let it be known that we both warned you, so that if either of you fall off and get hurt, we won't be held responsible."

"Aw, lighten up, you two," Zell sighed, "between Xu, Squall and Quistis, it'll be a miracle if we can do anything tonight without getting safety lectures."

The three in question pursed their lips as one, and Irvine laughed.

~*********************~

It wasn't a huge gathering. Squall had already let the Balamb security know they were having the party, and as a result, only two under aged people attempted to join. They were politely turned away by Quistis.

For a while, Squall thought that Seifer and his little gang wasn't going to make an appearance. He was somewhat relieved, for even though he had a childish desire to see how Irvine would react to him talking with his old rival, he wasn't sure that he could get along with the other gunblade specialist for very long.

~ And then, there's Rinoa, ~ he thought as he walked towards one of the kegs, ~ She's got reason to hate him. He did offer her to Adel, after all. ~

Irvine came up beside him, and their eyes met in a brief, silent caress. "So, I'm not gonna have to worry about you tonight, am I?" Irvine said. His violet eyes flicked meaningfully from the keg to the plastic cup in Squall's hand.

Squall flushed. "No. I'm going to stay away from the hard stuff." Seeing that Irvine also held a cup ready to receive beer, he became inspired. "I'll only drink as much as you do."

Irvine grinned at him. "Really? What if I drink faster than you do?"

Squall snorted. "You don't do ANYTHING fast, Irvine." He remembered how the taller boy had taken him by surprise in the fire escape two days ago, and his slight flush deepened. "Well, most of the time, you don't do anything fast."

Irvine laughed softly and almost put his arm around the brunette's waist. He remembered where he was and refrained at the last minute, turning the movement into a lazy stretch, instead. "Good. I know you keep your promises, so if I see you acting like you're getting too buzzed, I can cut you off. I like that."

Squall rolled his eyes and tapped the keg, filling his cup to the rim with the amber, foamy liquid. He stood back and waited for Irvine to fill his own cup before taking a swallow. They both watched as Xu started the bonfire, and Zell came up to them. "You guys aren't going to go surfing with me, are you?" the blond said hopefully, though his expression said he already knew the answer.

"Nope. Sorry, Zell. It's already starting to cool down, and by nightfall that water's gonna be colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra." Irvine tipped his hat apologetically to the streetfighter.

Zell shrugged. "No problem, man. If you change your minds, I brought three extra surfboards, and there's wetsuits of all sizes in the beach house." He jerked his thumb back in the direction where the beach gave way to a road. A small building stood there.

"Just don't get drunk before you go in," Squall cautioned, "the last thing I need is for you or anyone to drown."

"I don't drink, man. See you guys later…I'm going to suit up and go out." He waved and took off.

"I wonder if we were ever that hyper," Squall mused as he watched Zell go.

~*********************~

Fortunately for Zell, Nida showed up just as he had changed and was about to head out to ride the waves. After a few moments, both of the young SeeDs were gleefully rushing towards the water with surfboards in hand.

Rinoa sat cross-legged beside Quistis and Xu on the blanket that she had thoughtfully brought with, and she smiled at Zell and Nida. "Those two are so boyish…it's cute, really."

Her companions followed her gaze, and Xu smirked. "I can think of one or two things that are cute about them."

Quistis choked on the martini she had made for herself, and Rinoa burst into laughter. "Oh, really? Are you on the prowl tonight?"

Xu shrugged with good humor, but her hazel eyes sparkled. "Possibly."

Quistis caught sight of Squall and Irvine, standing very close to one another beside one of the kegs. "It looks like two of our boys are getting to be good friends."

Rinoa followed her gaze, and the black-haired girl stared at her ex and the sharpshooter thoughtfully. "Yes. It's weird to see Squall hang out so much with one person. Normally, he'd be off on his own somewhere, by now."

"Maybe Irvine's just shadowing him," suggested Xu, "I know he's been worried about Leonhart. He's probably just keeping an eye on him, so that he doesn't go overboard with all the alcohol available."

"True," agreed Quistis, "though, it's not like Squall to put up with someone staying that close to him all the time. He gets annoyed when any of us try to keep tabs on him. I wonder how Irvine manages to pull it off?"

Rinoa's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she watched Irvine lean over and say something in Squall's ear. Her ex actually BLUSHED, and he lowered his gaze in an uncharacteristically shy manner and occupied himself with pushing some sand around with his boot.

The only thing that sprang to mind was that Irvine must be trying to set Squall up with some girl at the party. It didn't occur to Rinoa that Irvine might be flirting with the young commander, simply because the sharpshooter was such a notorious womanizer. She sighed. Well, there was nothing to be done about it. She never should have thrown herself at Squall like that…god knew, he had avoided her enough until Ultimecia's defeat. She had other things happening in her life right now, and it wasn't fair of her to expect Squall to become a miser and never date anyone, when she herself had become at least mildly involved.

She was about to respond to something that Quistis said regarding the upcoming Garden Festival, when she spotted a familiar and unwelcome group of people heading towards the bonfire from the road. "Damn, I was hoping they wouldn't show up," she muttered.

Quistis saw what she was referring to, and the blond SeeD squeezed Rinoa's shoulder supportively. "Just play nice for tonight, Rin. Nobody's here to fight. If any of them start trying to pick one, we'll have them thrown out."

~*****************~

"Well, looky who showed up after all," Irvine muttered.

Squall followed his gaze and saw Seifer, Raijin and Fujin walking towards the gathering on the beach. Rinoa, Xu and Quistis had stood up and were moving to greet them. "Keep it cool, Rinoa," he whispered. To Irvine, he said; "Come on…I want to make sure a fight doesn't start."

"That's the only reason you're so eager?"

Squall stopped and looked up at Irvine incredulously. He relaxed when he saw the teasing grin on the taller boy's face.

~ He sounded so serious, but he looks like he's about to laugh. I swear I see something in his eyes, though. Does he really think I've got a thing for Seifer? ~

"Just come on," Squall muttered, and he resumed his walk towards their new guests. Irvine followed silently behind, and as they drew near, Squall could hear some of the conversation.

"Greetings! You're looking good, Rinoa."

Rinoa scowled up at the blond gunblade user. "No thanks to you!"

Raijin shifted uncomfortably. Of all of them, he seemed to have the biggest conscience. "We're sorry, ya know? We brought some stuff for the party."

Squall almost smiled. The big fighter still tagged that annoying "Ya know?" onto the end of just about every sentence. Raijin sometimes reminded Squall of Zell, with his youthful innocence coming out at the most unpredictable times. Fujin, as ever, stood silent in the background.

"I hate to say it, but I'm kinda glad to see these guys," Irvine whispered, "it's been a long time."

Yes, it had been a long time, and though they had spent most of their time as rivals, the threesome was a welcome sight. He just hoped that Seifer could keep his snide remarks to a minimum while he was here, or both Rinoa and Zell might lose their tempers. Thinking of this, the brunette was suddenly very glad that Zell was out on the water with Nida. This was awkward enough as it was, without the spiky-haired martial artist having his temper tested by Seifer.

~***********************~

-To be continued