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A Break in Character	By : Resting-Madness Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Irvine/Squall Views: 919 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or setting of the Final Fantasy VIII universe and make no money from this work of fan fiction. It's all for fun.

Chapter List
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'Drifter' by Metal-Ifrits played into the quiet bedroom of the barracks apartment. The owner of the cellphone drew in a breath to wake himself, before reaching for the glow coming from the bedside table. Accepting the call, Irvine mumbled. "Hmm?"
"Are you asleep, or, did I wake you?"
Irvine shot up in bed at the sound of Squall's voice. "No. I mean, I was, but I'm up now. What's going on?"
"I can call back..."
Irvine stifled a yawn. "Really, it's fine," he stated.
Squall quieted then figured he should say something since he not only woke Irvine but has likely set the sniper up for a struggle back to sleep. "I talked to Rinoa."
"Just now?" He moved the phone to check the time. 1:12 am.
"No. Once I'd gotten back to Garden after leaving your place."
"How'd that go?"
Squall sighed. "Interestingly."
Irvine chuckled, leaving on a small smile when hearing Squall's light laugh brought on from his. "Is she doing ok?"
"Personally, yes, but between her and me... there might be some hostility." It was an honest answer. He couldn't lie about it. Rinoa will be around through the weekend, they'll know something is wrong. If anything is wrong, by now she might have come to understand his feelings in the matter. "She wants me to accept and return her feelings for me."
"Why does she have feelings for you?"
"Because I'm heroic, and she decided it was all for her." Even he winced at that.
It was cruel to mock a person's suddenly feelings. He certainly wouldn't want someone to do it to him, as thanks to Irvine he has experienced the out of the blue rush. But why does he have to be accountable for misguided love? He didn't do anything special from anyone else in that time of confusion and violent ill-will. And he's not an actor on television or in the movies where viewers have free reign to get crushes or fantasize a situation where they can meet and fall in love. This is real life, and real life is a hard truth on many levels, especially dealings of the heart.
"I can't blame her for it, I like you suddenly." Irvine openly admitted.
"You're just as weird then."
"What about you towards me? You kissed me first pardner." It wasn't accusing in tone, just a light tease.
"..I'm unique."
Irvine laughed out loud but lowered his voice to avoid waking up Seifer. "But, you weren't cruel when you turned her down, right? Why the hostility?"
"It was because of her, Irvine, that the mission was a failure."
Irvine got out of bed and wandered into the kitchen to the fridge. He grabbed a bottle of pineapple orange juice and set it down on the counter then went for the bread on a need to make toast. "The mission wasn't a failure, it was more like extended."
"Unnecessarily. If she hadn't alerted sorceress Edea that we were there..."
Cutting in, Irvine corrected. "We'd still have had to fight her head-on. My bullet missed."
"Your aim was fine. She knew it was coming."
"True, but to be honest it wasn't Rinoa's fault. She alerted her that something was going down that night, yeah, but that could have been seen as the end of it... Some useless bracelet of Odine's. The gate closing gave away the real giveaway. It was fault on everyone's part because the plan was made too hastily. General Caraway didn't know what he was doing when he thought of trapping her in place. That bullet could have come at anytime after Rinoa interfered. But it came when it was made obvious.."
Squall sat in a silence as the events played over in his head. It happened many months ago to now, but for someone who's been in a coma it was a short few weeks ago. Irvine was right. 'Damn. Maybe I was too hard on her?'
"It's ok." Responded the listener as if Squall's thoughts had run down the line and out of the receiver. "Best part of being wrong is you're allowed to square it up. Rinoa will accept your apology, she's a nice girl."
"Yeah... I just hope it doesn't encourage further seeking of emotions from me."
"It won't. Just be open and sincere about whatever was said, let her know it's an apology and not an staging for more." Irvine shrugged. "You're good with friendship, right."
"Yeah."
"Okay then. All will be well." He grabbed his bread after the toaster finished with browning it. He took out a jar of apricot jelly from the refrigerator, and with a hunk of bread torn from his slice of toast he dipped it inside the jar then used it as a tool to slather the condiment over the larger portion of bread.
"What are you eating?" Squall asked.
"Toast. You want a bite?" Irvine knew how that must have sounded and went on. "Close your eyes, just taste it with your sixth sense. The bread is crispy but only a little bit now that the jelly is on it. Think more firm."
Squall, with his eyes open, still envisioned eating the offering. He could see Irvine in his room, seated at the desk, a hunk of bread extended out towards him. "What flavor?"
"Apricot." Replied the voice on the phone but so vivid in imagery in Squall's room. "It's sweet, but not the kind that coats. The underlying tartness takes care of that."
"It's nice."
"I like it." Asking, because wondered. "What do you like on your toast?"
"Butter."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Finishing his early morning tide-over, Irvine drank his juice while Squall remained silent on his end. "Are you tired?"
"No. You?"
"No."
Squall smiled. "Good night."
Glad Squall was intuitive to his fib, Irvine nodded. "Night."
They ended the connection.
The weekend emerged cold, and silver in the sky. Colder as Balamb is an island. The cadets all bunched in their uniform padded coats crunched along in the thick snow. There's field training today, so the cadets are tramping through the forest and field for free-roaming monsters. Normally cadets would fear a T-Rex attack, but the monstrous beast retreat to caves inside the mountains for survival, and only if a student would like to go beyond the reach of a Life or Phoenix Down recovery would the go into a den of dinosaurs just for battle experience. That's a one-in-a-lifetime moment. Because there would only be the one time.
Six teams of four all spread out about the area, each included an instructor. Squall was surprised he was on the same team as Seifer, most instructors know about the infamous scaring session and prefer to keep troublesome situations from occurring too often, but they don't realize that the pair are fine together. Just as long as a certain blond doesn't try to push Squall's buttons.
Irvine was admiring the scenery as he searched for battle. It never stopped amazing him the cold beauty of snow. Like most Galbadians, and anyone from the West and South hemisphere, the cold weather was obnoxious and cruel. But as days passed he began to like it.. somewhat. He, and the others, still sought out something scalding to down once ten minutes have passed outside in the season but the time spent making snowballs, angels, and winter men was irreplaceable as a means of mindless joy in their memory. And Irvine liked it decidedly more when seeing Squall. He was grace walking over the hidden dips and bends.
Stealing glances, he wished he could trade places with one of the cadets on Leonhart's team. Then they could fight side by side.
A normal person wouldn't understand the life of a soldier or mercenary. You're all you have out there whether hurting or helping the population. You do it together. No marriage or friendship can match the comradery. Breathing together, thinking together. It's better than sex. To be that close with someone is invaluable to the heart. He's felt it with all his friends during the war. A loner placed on a team for the first time is either a disaster or the blossom of something new. For him it was almost both, if he'd kept up his facade of Mr. Cool-tones, Irvine would have been an outcast whether they had a past with him or not.
However, Squall saw right through him, but he didn't call him on his eccentric persona as a playboy with too much bravado towards his ability as a sniper. He figured Irvine must have a reason and let him be. Unlike Zell, who hated him, and the girls who were exhausted by him. Squall's accepting the lonewolf left a ghostly touch that lingered to this day.
Irvine blinked as a snowball exploded in his face. Looking for the attacker he spots Weston Ardley laughing hard enough to topple back on his rear.
"Very funny." Irvine retorts to the laughter.
"You asked for it!" Weston clapped his broad hands. "Why were you looking at Leonhart's group when you're in ours? We're the ones who are gonna win this thing."
"What "thing"?" Irvine stopped walking when he reached the snow thrower.
Sniffling back snot lured out by the chill, he replied. "Come on, we're Galbadians, we have to kill more monsters than Balambmites."
Irvine scratched the side of his head. "Think we should?"
He meant challenging them and letting them know about it rather than keeping it as their own sort of "macho headgame".
Weston tugged on his leather gloves and withdrew his Katana from its sheath. "Yeah! Then not only will we show off our body count prowess, they'll know how formidable we are when the Garden Games come up."
The Garden Games was something started after Balamb turned into two more Gardens, Trabia and Galbadia. The cadets compete in physical competitions: climbing, throwing, casting technique, quizzes, and a Garden wide game of capture the Garden Emblem. Trabia won the year before. Last year the games weren't even up for preparation thanks to the war that broke out.
The ground began to move, like something large was walking underneath it eroding footprints up at the side. Irvine and Weston leapt out of the way of a Glacial Eye! Its large red eye skimmed over the pair then blasted out a long red laser beam that burned through the snow revealing grass that was quickly torched black.
Irvine fired off two bullets at the long spiny creature. It swung around to face him catching his leg with a whip of it's tail. He removed a survival knife and swiped at it until it released him. Weston circled with a side step and lunged when he was behind it. The length of his blade made it inside the monster but not through completely as the sharp tip 'tinked' against the back of its bulbous eye.
The monster casts out a chunk of ice at the swordsman than another. The blow to the head almost knocked him out. A female member of their team casts a Firaga spell then lobbed throwing stars into the jellyfish-like flesh of the creature. It writhed in pain but did not go down without first splitting open the ground with a Blizzaga in a desperate attempt to take out it's opponents along in defeat.
Battles erupted all over the island most of them a gang of Glacial Eyes, others Bite Bugs. Seeing green clouds of fart gas bursting into the cold air was something worth posting to the school message board. But who has time for Social network when you're under attack. Even the Funguar wandered in a dance from the forest. The Caterchipiller are cacooned for the winter; however, the cadets inhabiting the forest let loose on them.
Sasha, who works part-time in the school library, beamed a grin at Zell as she watched him pound the living daylights out of a horde of Bite Bugs. It wasn't easy for combative cadets to fight flyers, but he handled them with ease.
"Aah!" She cried out when getting hit by sticky webbing, her movement slowed considerably.
"I'm on it!" Zell casts Haste to free Sasha of the spell.
"Um.. I.. Thanks." She stammered, but whether or not Zell heard was anyone's guess as he was casting a Stop spell then he used a simple, but effective, fire.
The exercise of the day went on for two hours. The time went unnoticed by the dueling crowd. It was nice to get their blood pumping in the times of limbo. This separated school or that separated school it stopped mattering. Out there they were as one. Cadets of Garden.
"Alright everybody, let's head back in!" Instructor Moses called out through a bull horn.
...
"Right through there," Selphie pointed. "Glad you could make it!"
Irvine snickered. He wondered if Selphie knew she didn't have to play hostess to the event, none of the Quad committee have to. But they are. Each young man and woman steered and hyped up tonight's event like they were at home seeing to invited guests.
"Donuts!" A girl's eyes widened. "Ashley, buy me one."
Ashley scoffed. "Bring your wallet next time, babe," she kissed her girlfriend's cheek. "I'm not an ATM. Go get us some seats together."
Saluting, she smiled. "On it. I want chocolate iced. And a popcorn." She called over her shoulder before objection could be heard.
"How much?" Ashley asked.
"A gil. Popcorn is a gil and two silver." Replied the concessions tending sharpshooter.
Although Irvine had no idea why they bothered writing price tags when everyone who bought snacks kept asking the price. If it's not electronic how would they know? He supposed. Price of a digital world, very few want to read from paper anymore.
"The counter is almost to an end, which means... Mama's gonna load up." States a dark-skin girl, helping with the snack distribution. Nudging Irvine she points. "I brought a 'snatchel', its a snack satchel.. get it?"
It was kinda hard to miss. He nodded. Taking a peek into the opening, he noticed she'd already helped herself to a candy bar and a box of raisins. Neither items were for sale from them so she'd gotten them from the cafeteria earlier. He looked over the display mentally selecting his choices. The seat counter was five left, and once those cadets showed they could shut down.
Irvine broke into an easy grin when seeing Squall walk in with Zell and Quistis. Squall, he noted, glanced his way, hiding a smile of his own. If Irvine could confess, it's awkward hiding his feelings. He likes openly liking someone when he wants to. There are times in life, such as now, when public relations are sweet and obviously going to expose themselves, the girls who were just at the stand proved that, and then there are times when one doesn't want to be so obvious, like personal dates. One wouldn't go around the school announcing every location, step, or planned conversation. It's just unnecessary.
"What'll ya have?" Asked the female employee, greeting the arrivals first.
"Umm, what's good?" Zell asked, eyeballing.
Confused, the girl replied. "It's snacks, I'm gonna venture that everything is good."
Zell grinned. "You might be right." Looking it over again, he asked for popcorn, a pretzel, with mustard, a box of red hot candies, and a chocolate bar.
"Hey boy-Blondie," the girl started as she handed him his selection. "You know the difference between a chocolate bar and a candy bar?" Zell shook his head. "A candy bar has filling, a chocolate doesn't." She looked satisfied that she blew his mind.
Irvine heard that three times today, he was no longer mystified. "It's for a good cause, buy something." He said to Squall, who looked but seemed to turn away. "It helps Trabia continue to afford the engineer's help from Fisherman's Horizon."
Squall looked again at the option. "Here." He handed over his card to be swiped. "I'll take the most expensive thing ten times. But keep it, I'm not hungry."
"My man!" Zell pat his friend on the back. "I'll take three of his castaways."
"Comin' up." He handed Zell three orders of nachos, though he put them into a popcorn bucket since the normal box was too small and Dincht's hands were already full.
Quistis got a small box of Maltese and a cup of punch.
"Be sure to find us," Squall says quickly to the employed sharpshooter. Two people left before Irvine and Trinka could leave their post to watch the film as well with the other cadets, Irvine nodded, pleased at the informal invite to sit beside his friend.
Their final customers strolled in together without being together. And one of them is Rinoa Caraway.
"A hot chocolate aaand... A couple glazed donuts." Asked the guy.
"Hi, Irvine."
"Hey, Rin'," he replied. "How's it going?"
"..Fine." It sounded a bit strained.
"You want one of Squall's nachos? He ordered seven."
Rinoa laughed. "Somehow I can't picture Squall eating nachos. Too messy to get past that pinched facade."
Trinka laughed along with the well-known war hereon. She doesn't know Squall personally, but she's seen him around the school. Hot guy with a permanent scowl, as are most attractive people, in her book. She should try that, she figured. She considered herself at least an eight, which could upgrade to ten if she lost some of her friendly personality.
"Haheh, yeah," Irvine steered the situation back to more civil topic. "What would you like?"
"A popcorn, no salt, and a Sprites."
Irvine got her items for her, then placed some money into the metal box before selecting a large popcorn, Galaxy candy bar and a box of Drops. Trinka took a few candy bars and a donut, hesitated over the popcorn but grabbed a small bucket as well. And as if the intention was to balance out the sweet intake she took a bottle of water. After locking the mobile store, the pair entered the screening area.
Irvine sought out his friends. Squall looked over his shoulder with a shrug. The row was completely filled with cadets. As well as the seats behind them. The sniper cocked his head then gave a nod. He understands. It only made sense since they were the last in, although he couldn't help notice that the seat beside Squall was occupied by Rinoa. It had been saved then taken. Another time then, perhaps more privately located. Irvine found a seat in the center row. Trinka was back row.
The movie that won the draw was a thriller. Something to do with a woman who wanted her neighbors to move away because she suspected them of being shady, they found out and are now out to get her for being nosy. It had most on the edge of their seat, others were just glad for the break of hum-drum of the learning days. At some point there was a sex scene which had the viewers whistling and cheering.
Selphie's sheepish laugh was heard somewhere through the cat-calls. She should have screened it first. Good thing this wasn't age mixed, the younger cadets had their movie day earlier in the day around lunch. They sold a ton of hot dog bites, which tapped the cafeteria, and they had to serve chicken strips instead.
Squall got up from his seat and walked out. Irvine was about to follow but stayed put when seeing Rinoa heading out after him. Zell looked ready to go but then decided to just rest his copious amount of snacks on Squall's empty seat.
"Squall?" Rinoa called out once they were in the hall. "What happened? Are you ok?"
"Bathroom." He stated quickly then disappeared into the men's room. After a moment Squall emerged to find Rinoa had waited around for him. "Rinoa, I'm glad you're here."
Surprise showed on her face. "You are?"
"I wanted to apologize for before, I shouldn't have said what I said,"
"No." She held up her hand to quiet him. "You said how you felt, and even though it hurt.. that's how you are. I don't wanna change you."
'You tried to recruit me as your lover even after I'd refused. I'd say that counts as changing me.' Thought Squall. "Then accept my apology for blaming you for what happened that night. It wasn't all on you, it was just a cluster of impulse and little preparation beforehand. When we helped you with your job, it was all planned out to the last detail. That assassination job just fell in our laps. I shouldn't have blamed you for that."
Rinoa felt relief from Squall's words, he sounds and looks sincere.
"Rinoa, you're not a bad person. And I'm not uncomfortable around you." He looked towards the Quad where the movie goers just shouted at the screen in a scatter of indistinct dialogue. The movie must be reaching it's peek. "Can we be friends? Just friends." He remembered Irvine instructing that.
"Just friends?"
He shrugged his hand in silent confirmation that that was all he planned to offer. Rinoa drew in a breath then gave a single nod.
"Friends. Okay. It's good to have friends."
"It is."
Rinoa leaned towards the Quad then pointed. "We better get in there, Maurice might get killed, don't wanna be the only people asking "What happened","
"Right." He followed her back inside.
Rinoa returned to her seat, but Squall was snatched aside before he could acknowledge that someone had upgraded and taken his chair.
"Lucky for us, huh?" Irvine whispered as Squall took a seat which now beside the sniper.
"Yeah. I can't believe someone stole me seat."
Irvine tilted his head with an intone. "I may have suggested that you might not come back to the guy beside me."
Squall's fondness towards the unasked favor was hidden by the shadows. "I spoke to Rinoa, I apologized. She accepted."
"Good." Irvine rolled his eyes when the people around them shushed their distracting murmurs. Leaned closer, he whispered. "There's a free day tomorrow, can I call you?"
Squall closed his eyes almost missing what Irvine had said as the warmth of his breath brushed his ear, the soft tickle of the sniper's tress brushed his cheek. He can smell his shampoo. It's a light scent like winter rain.
"Squall?"
"Yeah. Do you have my number?" It was awkward to ask it, but he doesn't recall ever having a phone conversation with Irvine.
Zell calls and texts, Quistis does sometimes, he almost blocked Selphie, she can really get going on either form of communication. He'd accuse Seifer of having forgotten it, but he got a text from him three days ago telling him about some vitamins he takes that he, Squall, should get in on. Since he's so puny after the coma. The jerk. But, as his friend, Leonhart knows it's Seifer's warped way of caring.
"I saved it after you'd called earlier."
Squall nodded. Glad the closeness came to an end, anymore of that and he'd embarrass himself once the lights were back on.
The movie came to a climax, Giselle lived, of course, the shady neighbors threatened a sequel by not dying in the fall from the cliff. And the cadets stretched their backs and stomachs, then drifted out into the main of the building and back to the dorms or wherever they wished to go.
"Bye you guys," Rinoa said to them. "I'll call or text when I'm not too busy."
"See you, Rinoa." The others waved goodbye along with Selphie.
Her glance lingered on Squall, it seemed as though there was something more she wanted to say, but deciding against it she walked away.
Squall returned to his dorm room. And after a good daydream of Irvine encasing him in his arms, capturing him with his lips lasting for thirty minutes, Squall cleaned himself up then turned in for bed. Who knew friendship could be such hardwork.
X x X
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A Break in Character