Author: Lipstickcat
E-mail: [email protected]
Pairing: Irvine/Zell, Nida/Squall
Rating: Pg
Disclaimer: Not mine at all
***
Squall sighed heavily as the lift carried him to the uppermost level. The CC group had completely ignored him when he had tried to challenge them. He�d tried both Jack and Club, but to no avail. They�d been polite to him, but had denied any knowledge of the card game. Why? He�d done his research; he knew that he�d picked the right people. Didn�t they consider him a big enough challenge? His ego felt bruised.
He glanced up as he neared the end of his ride, taking in the two pairs of boots just a few meters away from him. His gaze continued up the pair of trousers and bare legs, and over the uniform shirts. The lift whirred to a halt as he came level with their heads. Xu and Nida were deep in conversation. They both glanced around and smiled at him, before returning to their previous topic, gesturing flamboyantly to each other, completely absorbed in discussion.
�Nida,� Squall snapped sharply.
The lean man stopped talking and turned on his heel to face Squall. He stood to attention, his feet together, shoulders square, hands by his side.
�Sir,� he said, looking directly at Squall.
�Why aren�t you at your position, steering the Garden?�
�The course set is a straight line through the ocean. It�ll take at least a day to reach any kind of obstacle, Sir.�
Squall wasn�t sure if he liked Nida calling him �Sir�. It reminded him how much pressure he was under, but at the same time, he liked the respect the phrase showed.
Nida relaxed slightly, dropping his gaze so that he could appreciate Squall�s muscle tone, his chest softly outlined under his white top. He smirked to himself.
�There�s not much steering involved in going in a straight line.�
He was pleased to see that Squall smiled briefly at his joke.
�Squall? Are you OK?� Xu asked gently.
Nida felt slightly resentful that she had drawn his attention away from him. She wouldn�t get an answer from him anyway.
�Huh? Oh, yeah, I�m fine. It�s just that I wanted to play the CC group, but they�re ignoring me.�
�Oh,� she couldn�t mask the surprise in her voice that Squall was interested in something like cards. �Well, they probably didn�t think that you�ve played enough other people yet. Your name probably hasn�t got back to them as a worthy challenge. Try playing other people in the Garden first.�
Squall�s posture seemed to sag further with Xu�s advice. Nida watched as he forced a polite smile and nodded his thanks. His jagged hair fell forward and then bounced back into place with the motion. It was spell binding.
Nida thought for a moment; he was quite a good card player. Maybe if Squall were looking for a game, he�d play him. It would get him to relax for a while and it would be a good chance to spend some real time with Squall. He stepped forward, swinging his arm up and pointed at Squall.
�I challenge you.�
God, had he just done that? Could he have been any camper? Squall didn�t seem to notice though. His eyes sparkled for a second, betraying his indifferent mask as he shrugged non-committally.
�Whatever....�
�OK. I just have to get my cards, they�re in my room. Xu can keep watch, just in case.�
Xu opened her mouth to protest, but Nida shot her a warning glare. Her lips formed a silent �oooo...� of realization. As Squall began to walk towards the elevator, she winked and performed some crude hand and mouth actions behind his back. Nida pointed at her and mimed choking her, before smiling and following Squall.
***
Meanwhile, in his room, Zell was showing Irvine the cuddly Moomba that they had received from Grease Monkey. Zell was sitting on his bed, holding the orange teddy out to Irvine, who was sitting opposite him. After he had got over the brief disappointment of not being face to face with a live Moomba, Irvine began to find the doll just as fascinating.
�And when we go back to Shumi Village, we have to give it to Artisan as a present,� Zell concluded as he wiggled the toy energetically.
�So like.... It reacts to people who have been there?�
�Yeah. Watch.�
Zell bent down to put it on the floor in front of him. Then he sat up and whistled. The flame like toy spun around, climbed up his bed sheets and jumped up and down in front of him squeaking. Zell�s face lit up with a huge beam, so that all his pearly white teeth shone. The toy still amused him greatly, despite the fact that he had already been playing with the work of mechanical genius all the previous day.
Irvine�s heart melted to see the childlike joy in Zell�s face. They�d all grown up so fast in their Gardens; they�d had no other choice. It was hard enough to remember childhood as it was, never mind having GFs ripping out huge chunks of their memories in order to nest in their heads. He silently shifted from his seat, his smile echoing Zell�s, to sit next to the blond on his bed.
�That�s a mighty fine piece of work,� he said, removing his hat and lazily tossing it onto his previously occupied chair.
Zell had been distracted by the toy and hadn�t seen Irvine move, but he whipped his head around as his bed sunk to one side, only to find himself face to face with Irvine. He quickly backed up slightly, turning back to pick up the teddy. He held it in his lap, studying it hard.
�I wish I could figure out how it works,� he muttered, his voice a little shyer than normal.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Irvine moved back a bit, sitting up straight. His attention also shifted to the now still toy in Zell�s lap. The cowboy sighed sadly.
�Don�t you think that sometimes its better not to know how things work?�
Zell half turned to answer. Irvine swooped in close again. Zell could feel his breath grazing his lips as he continued to speak.
�To let the magic just be....� he moved closer still, his last word a breathy whisper, �....magic?�
Zell jerked backwards, almost losing his balance. He shoved the cuddly toy in Irvine�s face desperately.
�It....It also contains a voice message..... Especially for Artisan...............From Grease Monkey.....I......�
�Zell.�
The Moomba squeaked as Zell suddenly squeezed it tightly. He had never heard his name spoken like that before. It sounded so exotic, it sounded like red wine and silken sheets. Like the most powerful magic ever uttered. As if his name could change the world, stop time, satisfy a hungry man�s needs...
�Y-Yes?�
Irvine gently pushed Zell�s arm, which was holding the toy, away from his face. He gazed deep into his icy blue eyes. A small smile played on his lips.
�Do you want to play games all morning? Or do you want me to kiss you?�
Zell squeaked. He sounded a lot like the Moomba.
�Thought so.� Irvine muttered as he leaned in close.
The Moomba slipped from Zell�s hand, and landed on the floor, forgotten.