Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The one I wanted ❯ Part 4 ( Chapter 4 )

"The one I wanted"

Part 4

"How's he been while we've been gone?"

Rinoa looked up from the computer she was using, amazed that Irvine had come right out and said that before even greeting her. "Be right back…have a cowboy on my butt," she typed in the private chat channel. Hitting the "enter" button, she turned to face the sniper, who had seated himself in the chair beside hers.

"Well, I've been busy, but I've got contacts. Nobody's seen him in the nightclub since Cid called him to the office."

"Cool. So, has he been out at all?"

Rinoa's dark, elegant eyebrows drew together in a frown. "I don't know, Irvine. I'm not his keeper. I've tried to watch his drinking, but other than that, I don't have anything to do with him anymore." She tilted her head and studied him. "You're really worried about him, aren't you?"

He shrugged and looked down. "Well, yeah. I'd be just as worried if it was you or any of my other friends."

She smiled at him. He was really cute when he was embarrassed. "Awww, that's sooo sweet! Papa Irvine, to the rescue."

He glanced up at her from beneath lowered lashes, and a rogue-ish grin curved his mouth. "I'll be your Daddy anytime, darlin'."

Rinoa groaned and shook her head. "Same old Irvine." A beep from the computer caught their attention, and they both looked at the incoming message from the person Rinoa was chatting with.

"Irvine, stop flirting with Rinoa, and get off her ass!" -S.T.

Irvine burst into laughter, and Rinoa soon followed. "May I?"

"Be my guest."

Rinoa moved over and allowed the sharpshooter to take her place at the chair. He typed quickly, unlike most of the other boys-who typically typed with one or two fingers.

"Hey, Sweetheart. You getting jealous over there? There's plenty to go around." - I.K.

The reply came quickly, and he could almost picture the petite brunette girl on the other end sticking her tongue out at him. "Behave, you! Besides…cowboys aren't her type…hehe."

Irvine raised his eyebrows and looked at Rinoa, who was giggling and blushing madly. "Oh, really?" he said out loud. He was grinning, but there was something going on here that he couldn't put his finger on. Turning back to the keyboard, he typed; "Cowboys, or just boys in general?" The question wasn't really directed at Rinoa. He hesitated to hit the "enter" key, wondering if he could handle hearing what he had begun to suspect. Selphie and Rinoa had grown very close since the raven-haired beauty's relationship with Squall had ended, and Selphie had told him that he wouldn't understand her real reasons for turning him down. Sighing, he hit the key and waited tensely.

It took a moment for the response to come, and he imagined the girl on the other side of the world flushing and stammering as she tried to formulate a response. "She's just got good taste, that's all! ;-p"

Irvine laughed again and shook his head. "Oh, fine," he tapped out, "I suppose you're gonna say I'm a lousy catch?" He couldn't help it…the pain was coming back, and the events of his latest mission made him more sensitive to it.

There was more hesitation on the other line, and Rinoa shifted uncomfortably. "Irvine, maybe you should go check on Squall-"

"Nah, I want to see this."

The computer beeped again, and he read the response with narrowed eyes.

"You're a great catch, Irvy. You know that. We've already been over this…don't want to do it again. Just look after Squall, okay? I'll be coming back to Balamb next month…we can talk in person then."

"Yeah, whatever." With a heavy sigh, Irvine stood up. "It's all yours, darlin'." Ignoring the sympathetic look Rinoa gave him, he walked out of the classroom.

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

"Just a minute!"

Irvine glowered at the door that he had just knocked on. Squall's voice sounded uncharacteristically anxious. "I don't feel like waiting a minute, Leonhart."

Angry that he had been forced to shoot a man, angry at Selphie for hurting him, and angry at Squall for confusing the hell out of him and making him worry, Irvine lost his temper. He whipped out the rifle that was slung over his back and took aim at the doorknob. "Open this fucking door right now, or I'll blast it open! I've got AP bullets loaded, Squall. Don't test me today."

Inside the room, Squall mouthed; "SHIT!" and he spilled whiskey all over himself as he rushed to hide the glass and bottle in the cabinet that his television rested on.

"Hold on, dammit! I'm not dressed!" Thinking quickly, Squall yanked his muscle shirt off and tossed it onto the bed, and then he popped the button off of his pants in his haste to pull them off, too. "Fuck," he hissed.

"I'm gonna count to three, and then this door is gonna be all over the hallway," Irvine's voice called ominously.

Squall cursed and wriggled out of his pants, leaving them pooled on the floor. Now clad only in his boxers, the brunette hollered, "HOLD IT! I'm behind the door, man!"

He twisted the lock and yanked the door open…and for a moment, he was staring down the barrel of Irvine's devastating, silver rifle. "I surrender," Squall said dryly, holding his hands out.

The weapon lowered, and Irvine slowly replaced it in the holster on his back. Without saying a word, the sniper brushed past his nearly naked friend and shut the door behind him. He then leaned against it and crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at Squall expectantly. "Where is it?"

Squall's heart was in his throat. Irvine hadn't been joking about shooting the door to pieces. There was a dangerous gleam in the taller boy's eyes as he scanned the room. "What the hell are you talking about?" Squall managed, "Have you lost it?"

"No, but you have. Where'd you hide it, Squall? I can smell it on you."

~ How did he know? He couldn't have…he's just guessing. Who the fuck does he think he is? ~

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was getting out of the shower when you showed up and started threatening to blow my door apart." His voice was much calmer than he was.

Irvine smirked and reached out to ruffle Squall's disheveled hair. "Oh yeah…you took a shower, but you're totally dry. How'd you manage that, Squall?" He noticed drops of liquid on Squall's arm, and he ran a finger over it and brought it to his lips. "Hmm. You shower in liquor? That some kind of ritual you SeeDs have that I didn't know about?"

"I used a showercap," Squall lied, not commenting on the liquor remark.

"Bullshit. Grandparents use caps. Where's the whiskey? I need a drink."

Taken aback, Squall jerked his thumb over his shoulder grudgingly. Irvine glanced at the cabinet, then scanned the brunette's form with his eyes. "You sure got undressed fast," he muttered, snickering softly.

Squall was speechless. He had no idea what Irvine's motives were, but he couldn't read the man for shit. He watched warily as Irvine went to the cabinet and retrieved the hastily stashed bottle of whiskey and the glass that Squall had been drinking out of. The sharpshooter measured out a shot and downed it, shivering and grimacing from the bite. "Smooth," he commented sarcastically, and he poured himself another.

"What the hell is going on here, Kinneas? You're acting crazy."

Irvine drank the shot he had poured, and then he set the glass down and walked to the bathroom. "I figured I needed a little dose, before I get rid of this shit."

"What? Hey! Don't do that…you've got no right!" Squall pounced on Irvine as the taller boy upended the bottle over the sink, pouring the liquor down the drain. Squall couldn't stop him in time. The bottle was only a pint, and it was half-full when Irvine had turned it over.

Irvine left the bottle in the sink and turned, shoving Squall off of him with a fury that surprised both of them. Squall wasn't drunk yet, but he had enough of a buzz that he couldn't catch his balance. The unexpected push made him fall backwards, and he hit his head on the opposite wall on his way down.

Irvine gasped and went to his knees before the stunned SeeD, who was clutching his head and groaning. "Shit, I'm sorry, Squall…I didn't mean to do that! I'm just so sick of seeing you tear yourself up…" he kept muttering as he pushed his fingers through Squall's feathered, brown locks and searched for the lump that was surely forming.

Squall glared at him, and his bottom lip was poking out petulantly. "Get away from me." His brown locks straggled over his pale eyes, making him look young and almost girlish, with his fine-boned features flushed angrily. He couldn't seem to focus his sight well, and he blinked dizzily.

Irvine couldn't help it…he smiled. "I can't. I did this, and I'm gonna fix it." Ignoring Squall's weak attempts to push him away, the sniper reached inwards and used one of the curaga spells that he still had junctioned to him. Squall sighed, relaxing in his arms, and Irvine stroked the tangled, chestnut hair soothingly. "There now…better?"

Squall nodded, and his gaze dropped. His cheeks were still flushed, and damned if he didn't look pretty. Irvine cupped his chin, not quite aware of what he was doing, and he brushed his lips over that pouting mouth. "I'm sorry, Squall."

~ Oh god, he's kissing me…I'm not mad anymore… ~

Squall's thoughts were in chaos as Irvine murmured apologies against his lips. He seized his chance and returned the soft caress, not caring at this point what Irvine thought about it. He might never, ever get to do this again. With that thought in mind, he clutched Irvine's leather trenchcoat and slid his tongue past the sharpshooter's lips.

Now it was Irvine's turn to fight an inner battle.

~ Ah, hell. Look at what I started…I know he's gay, and now I'm encouraging it! He…he's really a good kisser, though. Works his tongue just right, uses good pressure with his lips…he's not like a girl. He's not timid. ~

Irvine decided he had to know if these feelings were real, too. Instead of panicking, as his instincts told him to, he allowed the kiss to continue. He stroked Squall's probing tongue with his own and continued to run his fingers through the brunette's hair. Squall groaned against his mouth, and Irvine was chagrined to feel a hard-on forming in his jeans. He allowed his hands to slide out of Squall's hair and move over the brunette's neck and shoulders. Here, he hesitated. Usually, he would slide his hand round back and start unhooking a bra at this point, but the naked chest waiting for his touch was hard and flat, and no bra was likely to appear.

Squall broke the kiss this time, but it was only to gasp, "I'm sorry, Irvine…don't run away…please, don't go."

Irvine closed his eyes as Squall's lips pulled on his earlobe. "I…I won't leave, Squall. I just don't know…where this might go."

"I don't care. I just want…I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing," Squall pulled away and averted his eyes, looking miserable. "I've never done this before."

Irvine laughed breathlessly. "And, you think I have? I'm not gay."

Squall sighed, and when he looked up, Irvine could see the agony in those normally shuttered, gray eyes. "I know. We should just forget about this-"

"Squall…I'm not gay, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm bi." There, he said it. And amazingly, he felt a weight lift from his heart. It didn't feel wrong or strange or disgusting at all. He wanted Squall, as much as he had ever wanted Selphie. It just took a couple of kisses for him to admit it.

It took Squall a moment to register what Irvine was saying. He looked at the young man crouching before him. "Y-you're…"

Irvine nodded ruefully. "I've gotta be. You're not a girl, but I got just as turned on kissing you as I would with a girl. So, maybe I'm not as gay as you, but I'm at least a little gay."

Squall snorted. "I didn't think there was such a thing as being `a little gay'."

"Sure, there is. If anything, I'm the one that's the weirdo, here. People understand `gay' or `straight', but eating the grass on both sides of the fence is a big no-no. I guess you'd have to have some gay friends to understand it. I know a few from Galbadia. They'll probably burn me at the stake, if they find out."

"That's stupid."

"Yeah, I guess it is. So, what are we going to do about this, Squall?"

~ Hell if I know, ~ Squall thought as he stared at Irvine and felt his arousal growing, ~ I know what I'd LIKE to do…at least, what I'd like to start doing, but are you okay with that? ~

"I think we should take it slow," Squall finally said, reluctantly. "I…I don't have any experience except with Rinoa. None of it is with…er…" He flushed and looked down, humiliated at his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"Squall, are you a virgin?"

"Yeah…so?"

"Hey, don't be offended. I just wanted to know, so I don't rush you."

"I'm not a girl, Irvine. I'm just as horny as you are."

Irvine's eyes lit up, and he laughed.

~ God, I love his laugh. ~

"All right, point taken. It's just, like…we're both new at this. I'm as much of a virgin as you are in this case, so I don't know what the hell I'm doing, either. I've never seen this side of you, and I don't know what's good and what's too fast. If we're gonna try this, you've got to communicate with me."

Squall allowed a tiny smile to surface, and he looked up at his friend. He swallowed when he saw the way Irvine's gaze was traveling leisurely over his body. "We can just play it by ear."

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

-The End