Author: Lipstickcat
E-mail: [email protected]
Pairing: Irvine/Zell, Nida/Squall
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: Not mine at all
***
Zell lay with his palm and cheek resting against Irvine�s chest. The sun was still quite low in the sky even though it was mid morning, but it shone through the window, casting a warm glow over the two figures. Zell watched specks of dust dancing in the yellow stream of light and sighed contentedly.
�So.... What now?� he asked at length.
Irvine stirred and gently pushed himself up on his elbows. Zell moved so that he was lying on his side, staring at the nude cowboy.
�I don�t know. Like, maybe we should see how things go between us before we tell anyone else. We don�t want to go around outing ourselves if this doesn�t work out.... If that�s OK with you.... I mean, if you want to see me again, that is....�
Zell beamed toothily at him.
�Of course I do. But, I meant do you want to go get breakfast, or something? I�m starved!�
�Oh... OK.�
Even as Irvine replied, Zell was levering himself out of the bed. He leapt over him to reach the floor. Then he seized Irvine�s hat from the chair and put it on. Posing for a second, he gave Irvine opportunity to fully enjoy the sight of his muscular body. Zell twirled for him. Yes, Irvine mused, he�d been right. Zell�s ass was fine. Zell stopped and tipped the brim of the hat over his eyes mockingly.
Irvine laughed and crawled to the edge of the bed. He swiped out, grabbed Zell�s arm and jerked the small blond forward so that he nearly lost his balance. As he fell, Zell braced himself against the bed. Irvine moved in and crushed his mouth against his, then pulled away, snatching his hat back as he did so. He put it on and sat back. Zell�s eyes widened and lit up. A hungry look of lust covered his face as his baby blues roamed over Irvine�s body.
�Mmmm..... Do you have any cowboy boots?�
Irvine nodded.
�With spurs?�
Irvine continued to nod.
�Do you think you could maybe put them on for me? Just them and the hat.� Zell raised an eyebrow at him suggestively.
Irvine crawled to the edge of the bed, causing Zell�s gaze to wander over the smooth curves of dark muscle. He moved in for a kiss, but Irvine pulled back teasingly.
�Sure. But later. Lets get some breakfast first. Then we can go back to my room and see if I have any other accessories that you approve of.�
Zell grinned. He�d never wanted to get a meal over and done with so fast before in his life. He flung Irvine�s clothes at him and began to hurriedly climb into his own. On his first attempt, he managed to get both legs into one trouser leg. After he corrected that mistake, he realised that he needed to put his underwear on first.
�Slow down,� Irvine laughed as he put his top on, �we have all weekend.�
�Squall Leonhart, report to the bridge immediately...� Xu�s voice enunciated clearly over the tannoy system.
Irvine raised his eyebrows at Zell as he pulled on his trousers. Zell shrugged back and picked up his top from the floor.
�Nida Nomura, report to the bridge immediately...�
�Sounds serious,� Irvine stated.
�As long as they don�t want us,� Zell replied as he collected his trainer from the doorway and started to hunt for his other one.
�Zell Dincht, report to the bridge immediately...�
�Aw man!� came the anguished cry from under Zell�s bed.
Irvine chuckled to himself, before getting up to retrieve the missing trainer from beneath Zell�s window. He crouched down and held it out for the blond.
�Irvine Kinneas, report to the bridge immediately...�
�Damn! Bang goes my weekend!�
�You�d think she�d get bored of repeating herself and change the record,� Zell smiled, as he put on his trainer. �At least we�ll still be working up a sweat together.�
�Not the same though, is it?� Irvine replied as he shrugged into his coat. �Guess we should go.� He sighed.
Zell unlocked his door and started to open it. He halted as Irvine shoved something at him.
�Put your jacket on. You might catch a chill.�
�Yes mum,� Zell joked. He paused as he heard the door next to his open. �Well, look at that...�
Irvine peered over the smaller man�s head, through the crack in the doorway. He was surprised to see Squall leaving Nida�s room. Squall tugged on the collar of his jacket and dusted it down as he strode away. Shortly afterwards, Nida ran out of his room, slamming his door behind him, and headed in the same direction as Squall had gone.
�I didn�t know Squall and Nida were friends,� Irvine muttered.
�No, me neither.�
With one last check to make sure that no one would see, they left Zell�s room and headed towards the bridge. Although they didn�t say it to each other, they both hoped that whatever had come up, it wouldn�t take too long. They had far more important things to be getting on with.
***
Squall�s hand shook as he placed the grat card down. He didn�t understand. Why was he feeling like this? After overhearing Irvine and Zell next door, he felt strange. It wasn�t that the pace of his heartbeat had increased, it just didn�t feel like it was beating the same. It seemed to send butterflies to his stomach. He didn�t think that he had a problem with the idea of them being together, although it was a surprise. Nida hadn�t seemed as surprised as himself. Was he missing something? Should he have known? And what was this feeling?
�...�
If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine them. He fought against the sudden compulsion to picture them. He didn�t want to. Why not? It wasn�t as if he had a personal problem with them being together, he didn�t think that it was very professional, but it wasn�t a personal problem. So what was his problem? He just couldn�t get his head around it.
�...Zell........Irvine.....� he didn�t even realise that he�d said anything out loud.
�Do you want to talk about it?� the question came out as a sigh. Nida wasn�t even sure why he was bothering to ask. Politeness, probably. He wasn�t surprised when Squall shook his head, but he couldn�t resist the temptation to push further. Squall needed to talk. �Do you have a problem with them being together?� he asked, against his better judgment.
�Its none of my business.�
�But, they�re your friends. You must feel something about it.�
�I don�t think that it�s very professional, getting involved with someone that you work with. It could cause complications in the field.�
�Never mind that. How do you actually feel about it? As your friends, not as your colleges?� Nida�s voice was getting harder. He was determined to get Squall to admit that he had emotions, that he wasn�t as cold and empty as he pretended to be.
�That�s not my concern.�
�Oh for crying out loud, Leonhart!� Nida stood up from the bed, his voice growing gradually higher. �Why don�t you just pull out that stick that you�ve got firmly wedged up your ass?�
His voice petered out as he realised what he was saying and who he was saying it to. Squall was glaring at him, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but he was as silent as ever. Nida�s hands began to tremble as unreleased adrenaline thumped through him. He felt sick. He�d really blown it now; he�d stepped out of line and insulted a higher rank. He�d be demoted at least, he was sure. Worse than that, Squall wouldn�t speak to him again. Not that he actually spoke to him that much anyway, but he was just getting to be something like a friend, now he�d fucked that up.
Squall shifted uncomfortably and began to stand up. In a split second, Nida decided that if he was going to screw everything up, he might as well make it worth his while. He stepped forward, gripping Squall by his shoulders and firmly pushed him back in his seat. Then he stooped down and pressed his lips against Squall�s.
Squall didn�t respond, but Nida hadn�t expected him to. At least he wasn�t pushing away. Nida supposed that the day had been full of too many surprises; this one was taking a little while to register. Nida resolved to take advantage of the situation for as long as possible, he wanted to ingrain every single moment into his mind so that when he was trapped in a dead end job piloting some pedestrian craft, he would remember that it was all worth while.
Squall�s slack lips were soft and cool. Nida could feel the fuzzy warmth radiating from Squall�s skin against his cheeks. Their noses were pressed side by side, and somehow, Nida found the feeling the most sensual feeling in his life. He wanted to move his hands from those stiff shoulders, through the silky fur of Squall�s collar and run them through Squall�s hair, then down to caress his face, but he knew that he shouldn�t. It was beginning to become an effort to restrain himself. He didn�t want to restrain himself.
Faint breath tickled the inside of Nida�s mouth, a sigh or a gasp? Nida breathed it in, savoring it, feeling like he was taking part of Squall into himself, to keep forever. Then he realised that Squall�s lips were parted. He could easily slip his tongue into Squall�s mouth.....
�Squall Leonhart, report to the bridge immediately...� Xu�s voice cut through the hazy silence of Nida�s mind. �Nida Nomura, report to the bridge immediately...�
Nida pulled back slowly, he kept his head bowed, avoiding Squall�s eyes. Squall�s lip trembled briefly, then his jaw set and Nida knew that his mask had been lowered again. He stepped backwards as Squall stood up, almost as if no one else was in the room.
�We�re needed on the bridge,� Squall stated blankly.
Nida raised his head, still not quite able to met the other�s gaze. He was aware of other names being called over the tannoy. He realised that whatever was happening, it was pretty serious, but at that moment in time, he couldn�t bring himself to give a shit. He�d be quite content if the whole world just stopped there and then. He�d achieved everything that he�d wanted in life, he was an accomplished Seed pilot, he�d made his family proud, and he�d finally kissed the cause of many sleepless nights. His life would be perfect if it ended now, but it didn�t and he knew that he�d have to suffer the consequences of his impulsive actions.
�We�ll discuss this later,� Squall�s voice was emotionless.
Nida�s shoulders slumped. A silly little part of him had hoped that Squall would suffer from selective amnesia, but he had no such luck.
He heard the creak of Squall�s leather jacket as he shifted in his pose in front of him. Fine hair brushed across Nida�s cheeks making him jump, but before he could move away, soft familiar lips were pressed against his own. The tentative kiss was snatched away too quickly. It had barely touched him, but it had happened. Eyes wide, Nida looked up. Squall�s face was as blank as ever. Then he nodded, the tinniest smile turning up at the corners of his mouth.
�...Later...�
Before Nida had time to think, Squall had turned around and was letting himself out. Nida watched as he left, subtly rearranging his jacket, as if to get himself back into the right frame of mind for the job ahead. Nida touched his lips, not entirely sure of what had just happened. Then he switched off his stereo and ran after Squall, slamming the door behind him.
He hoped that whatever was going on wasn�t too serious. He didn�t think that he could wait too long to find out what �later� meant...