Author : Lipstickcat
e-mail : [email protected]
Pairing : Irvine/Ward (Unusual, huh?)
Rating : G
Sub-Category : Romance
Warning : Yaoi
Summary : Irvine and Ward get trapped in a storeroom. Irvine talks. A lot.
Disclaimer : FF8 has never belonged to me, even the copy that sits next to my PS actually belongs to my best friend ;)
Notes: This was written a while ago for a fanfic contest: had to write a romantic story with the most unusual pairing. Oh, and they have to be trapped somewhere. Didn�t win anything, but I�m very pleased with something I would never have dreamed about writing otherwise.
***
�Great! That�s just perfect!� Irvine stomped the short distance from the door to where Ward was sitting against a shelving unit. He dropped down beside the larger man, causing the flimsy shelving to rattle threateningly. �This is a mighty fine way to spend a Saturday night.�
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�Yeah, well if I�d known that the one convenience store in Esthar that sells Laguna�s favourite brand of chocolate was gonna get robbed, I would have brought Exeter,� he took his hat off and flung it at the floor, it skidded a few centimetres, sending a dust cloud up around it. �If I was Zell, I�d have tried to take them on, but I�m just not cut out for hand to hand combat.�
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�Yeah, I guess it would have been dangerous anyway, what with them having guns. But still, if I could have provided you with some back up, we would have had a chance. If we could sneak up on them��
He got up again and tried the door handle for the second time. It was locked, same as it had been moments before. He hadn�t expected to find it any different, but it made him feel like he was at least trying to do something. He ran his hands over the door, feeling the grain of the wood beneath his fingertips, then he dropped down and peered through the keyhole, but all he could see was a fuzzy blackness. �Damn! I can�t even see what�s going on. I hope the shopkeeper�s ok. He won�t try to pull anything stupid, will he?�
Ward shook his head with certainty.
�It looks like we�re stuck here for a while then. That door�s pretty flimsy, you could easily break it down, but it would make too much noise. It�ll be best to wait until we�re sure they�ve gone. Itchy trigger fingers can be dangerous things.�
He sighed heavily and flopped back down next to Ward. Drawing his legs up, he rested his forehead against his knees and linked his hands around his ankles.
�I didn�t really want to go back yet anyway,� he muttered quietly.
Ward managed to make a �huh?� sound in the back of his throat. He turned to face the cowboy.
�Ohhh�� Irvine straightened his legs and rubbed his face with his hands. �It�s not like I�m not enjoying myself. Its always great fun to visit Laguna, but everyone�s so loved up it�s making me feel sick. Rinoa�s walking around like some beached whale,� he paused as Ward snorted in amusement, �Squall obviously can�t do enough for her at the moment. Quistis and Selphie can�t keep their hands off each other, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but� And Zell won�t shut up about Seifer,� Ward looked mildly surprised. �Yeah, that one is a pretty twisted kinda love, but I�m fairly sure it is love,� Irvine admitted.
Shifting so that he was facing Ward, Irvine hugged himself and sighed again. Slowly releasing the hold on his midsection, he glanced at the door.
�Kinda makes a guy feel left out, you know what I mean?� he turned back to see Ward nodding slowly to himself. �Yeah, you do, don�t you?�
Ward looked startled. He backed up a little and knocked the shelving with his shoulder. There was a �swoosh� sound as something slid from where it had been precariously balanced and a box worth of chocolate bars rained down onto their heads. Both were briefly stunned before Ward picked up one of the bars from his lap and held it out in front of Irvine�s nose. Irvine smiled.
�Heh. Laguna�s favourite chocolate. It figures,� he took the bar from Ward and began to unwrap it. �But you don�t get out of it that easily. Laguna and Kiros are an item, aren�t they?�
The older man paused. Slowly, thoughtfully, he picked the bars out of his lap and placed them by his side. After some obvious soul searching, he nodded.
�Don�t worry, it�s hardly the best kept secret in the world,� Irvine assured him around a mouthful of chocolate. �They may not go in for public displays of affection, but they act like a married couple. I bet you feel pretty left out.�
Again, Ward paused, before nodding. His gaze followed Irvine as the younger man stood up and began to root through a box on the one of the shelves.
�Yeah, I know how you feel. Just because I talk like I nail everything that walks, they think I�m fine. �Sure, Irvine don�t need love, so long as he gets laid once a week�,� he turned around and rolled his eyes. �Like that�s even close to the truth. And they�re too wrapped up in their own love lives to even care if I have one or not. No, I understand what its like to be lonely.�
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�Don�t beat yourself up about it. Its not like you�re unattractive, and believe me, I�m an expert in these areas,� he grinned before turning back to the box, �I mean, you�re very rugged, there�s plenty of demand for your type. You have a good face structure, nice masculine shape, the scar is on the same level of cool as Zell�s tattoo, in my opinion� Ah!�
He turned around grasping something Ward couldn�t quite make out, so he stood up, getting to his feet in a gradual, purposeful movement that had been developed over years of banging heads and breaking things. Irvine craned his neck to look up at his face.
�And you have the height advantage, no arguments about who gets to take charge, plenty of people out there need to find a place under someone�s wing. Once again, I know,� he held his hand up for Ward to see; between his first finger and his thumb he held a hairgrip. �Useful places, convenience stores, they sell everything.�
The longhaired cowboy returned to the door and knelt down. He poked the grip in the keyhole and began to twiddle it around.
�If we can get out of here without them knowing, we could take them by surprise.�
Ward approached the entranceway silently, his footsteps barely making a sound on the floorboards. Irvine glanced up at him, then continued to pick the lock.
�You have nice laughter lines too. I always think being able to see a good life lived is attractive in older men,� he muttered lowly, half to keep his voice down, half because he was concentrating. Ward smiled broadly, the lines on his face creasing with the emotion. �No, I�m afraid we just drew the short straws. That�s the problem with having one circle of close friends; everyone starts pairing off and someone somewhere is gonna get left out.
�Oh, for Hyne�s sake!� Irvine threw down the bent hairgrip in disgust. He stood up and sat back down in the spot he�d been in before. �Looks like we have no choice but to wait until they�re gone,� the corner of his mouth quirked up wryly. �Don�t really know how to pick locks anyway.�
He pulled at the hem of his coat and fished out a battered packet of cigarettes from the inside pocket. Tapping the bottom of the packet with his finger, he shook one out, plucked it from the packet and put it in his mouth, before screwing up the now empty packet and discarding it carelessly. Then he began to rummage through his pockets, cursing mildly under his breath.
Ward searched the shelves, he found what he was looking for and crouched down in front of Irvine. The sound of flint grinding against metal clicked in the small room, and a flame sparked into life. The fire bathed each face in an amber glow as Irvine took Ward�s hand and guided it to him so he could light up. He took a long drag on the cylinder, and then pulled it away, releasing Ward�s hand as he puffed out a billow of smoke. He looked considerably calmer than he had done moments before.
�Yeah,� he watched the smoky wisps curl in the air, and then smiled softly at Ward, �the smile lines suit you, frame your eyes.�
Ward graced him with another smile, watching intently as Irvine drew on the cigarette again, causing the end to glow cherry red. Irvine took it out of his mouth and held it out in front of him.
�You smoke?� Ward nodded in reply. �Huh, never have pegged you as a smoker. It�s my last one, but I don�t mind sharing.�
Ward took it from the younger man gratefully. As he did so, his fingers brushed against the cowboy�s.
�You know what I miss the most?� Irvine asked as the big man settled down by his side and took a drag.
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�Just having someone to talk to,� Irvine stated as Ward passed the cigarette back to him. �I can take or leave all that lovey dovey stuff, but I miss the company.�
He paused as he passed the half smoked stick back to Ward. He was torn whether to continue or not. He�d got this far; he may as well go the whole way now.
�I get scared. Of the GFs,� Ward paused at this confession and raised an eyebrow. �Well, not of the GFs exactly, more of losing my memory. The others don�t seem to care; they don�t miss what they don�t remember. And they can tell each other the important stuff, so they can remind each other. I want to be able to tell someone about things, like, this beautiful sunset I saw over Timber; I want to describe it in every detail so that they feel like they were there with me. I want to be able to go out and not be afraid that a GF is going to take that memory away from me, because there will always be this person who can remind me. The memory won�t just get lost like it never existed in the first place. I want someone to keep my memories safe for me,�
Irvine took a final draw on the cigarette and stubbed the end out on the wood floor, thoughtfully grinding it into the grain.
�That just sounds dumb, doesn�t it?�
Ward shook his head with the same certainty that he had that the shopkeeper had enough sense to keep his life.
�You know, you�re a good listener.�
Suddenly, there was a loud click from the direction of the doorway. Both men clambered to their feet and prepared to defend themselves. The door opened and a cheery face appeared around it.
�Hey guys! You can come out of hiding now, we caught them,� laughed Laguna. He bustled into the storeroom and enfolded both of his friends in a hearty hug. �You had us worried for a moment there.�
Squall and Kiros followed the President in, but after a quick check that both the missing men were unharmed, they left the overcrowded room again. Laguna followed, after stopping to pocket some of the chocolate bars at his feet. Ward and Irvine hung back. In the background they could hear Laguna asking Kiros to pay the shop keeper for the contents of his pockets and Kiros telling him that he couldn�t eat that much chocolate in a week.
Irvine picked up his hat and dusted it down. Then, on impulse, he turned and fleetingly pressed his mouth against Ward�s.
�So, like, would you keep my memories for me?�
Ward nodded as Irvine put his hat on and walked out the door.