So, I found this picture on Tumblr (though, I think it came from Pixiv originally), and I love it with a burning passion. It depicts Squall holding a crying Bartz in a hug, and he has this scared look on his face. There's something about Squall's expression that really gets to me, so I decided to make a story to this picture.
Hooray for one-shots! o3o

We've done it. We were able to defeat Chaos. We were allowed to return to our home worlds.

Why did Bartz look miserable then?

He stared up at the trees, not saying a word. As the wind brushed his hair, he didn't express anything on his face; Not even that stupid grin I thought was glued onto him. I stood there, unsure of how to react.

"We did it," he suddenly said. "We get to go home. We get to be happy now, right?" Bartz glanced at me, showing an apathetic smile. "To be honest, I've hated this entire trip. I may have never shown it, but it kept tugging at me every step of the way."

"Bartz..." I began, but then he interupted me. "Even after getting my memories back, I still held on to what I had in the present, even knowing I was going to lose it all. I'm pretty selfish, huh?" He looked down at the ground as the clouds casted down a shadow. "I've made friends here. I've met you, Squall. I'm not ready to leave..."

That was when I noticed something forbidden: Bartz's smile began to quiver. His eyebrows curled upward, and his eyes began to glisten. Hoping that I could do some good, I approached him and sat my hand on his shoulder. Bartz refused to look up at me, but as I made contact with him, his face cringed more.

He rested his forehead on my opposite shoulder, surprising me a little. "We'll probably return to our own worlds, thinking we woke up from a dream," he said, his voice shaking. "I don't want to forget... I don't want to forget you..."
His tears crashed down on my boots, and he tried to choke back his tears. Refusing to see him like this, I placed my other arm on him and held him tightly.

A light blue particle broke off of Bartz. In that moment, more and more broke off. It didn't matter what he wanted - he was already dissolving back to his own world. In my arms, he began to glow a light lavender. He noticed this too, so he began to cry even harder. I simply looked directly in front of me, trying to not face him in this condition.

"I won't forget you..." I murmured. I tightened my grip on him, trying to keep him in place. I know it was stupid to even try to, but I couldn't stop myself from trying.

Just like that, he was gone.