Minute by Minute
Fembot Axel
Cloud punched the boxing bag in front of him one last time before wiping the sweat from his brow. "What a day…" The blond collapsed onto the couch, a sigh escaping his dry lips.
"Are you thirsty?" Cloud jumped a little at the unexpected voice, but took a deep, reassuring breath as he noticed who it was.
"Yeah, could you get me something?" Cloud started untying his boxing gloves as the brunet stepped in front of him.
"Already got it." The blond smiled at the unusual thoughtfulness his best friend expressed at that moment. He was never this nice.
"Thanks..." He quickly finished untying his gloves and grabbed the glass of ice cold water and laid back, closing his eyes as it refreshed his dry throat. Cloud flipped the switch on the arm of the couch and moaned ever so softly as it began to vibrate, relaxing his sore muscles. He loved that couch. The blond looked to his left to find his friend in deep thought, a sad expression upon his face.
"Squall? You ok?" He took another drink from the glass and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
"Hmm?" Squall looked at his best friend for a minute before relaxing his shoulders and laying back in his chair. "Yeah, I'm fine." The blond looked over the tan body of his roommate, long brown hair and intelligent gray eyes that you could lose yourself in. But here lately his eyes had been distant, far off, and filled with sadness.
"Really now? You've been a little aloof the past couple of days…" Cloud sat up, turning off the vibration of the couch.
"I've just been thinking."
"About?" Cloud looked at the brunet, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Persistent much?" Squall took in a deep breath, trying to think of what he could say to distract Cloud from the current conversation.
"When something's bothering my buddy.. Yeah."
"Well, I think I'm just a little jealous. Tidus has Yuna, Sora has Kairi, and you had Aerith. Who's left for me?" Squall shook his head, trying to get the thoughts out of his head. Lately he had been noticing how happy everyone was around him. All his friends were madly in love. But him? It seemed like he was never going to meet the 'one'. The blond's heart dropped at the sound of his past lover's name. He missed her. Cloud leaned back and let out a deep sigh. This was going to be a long talk.
"Well, Squall. I had Aerith, that doesn't mean I still have her. And.. Didn't Sora tell you? He left Kairi about a week or two ago."
"Are you kidding me?" His brows furrowed in confusion.. Why didn't Sora, or anyone, tell him this sooner?
"Not a bit.. He fell in love with someone else." Cloud's eyes rolled a bit at the thought of Sora's new 'lover'.
"Who? Naminé? Or.. Please don't say Selphie."
"Actually.. It's Riku." Cloud smirked a bit as he mentioned Riku's name. Squall was always a little fidgety when it came to anything dealing with homosexuals. Look at his face! He looks so.. Wait. That's not right.. Is he smiling? What the hell?
"If you think about it, they're actually kind of cute together."
"But you're against that stuff, right? Gays, lesbians.. You know?" Cloud couldn't even attempt to hide the shock he felt. His bright azure eyes were as wide as ever.. And his mouth was slightly open in awe.
"Well, that's going to have to change. Sora and Riku are my friends.. And I can't just desert them because they love each other now can I?" Squall looked at the blond with a sly smile until it faded into a lost in thought smirk. If Sora found love in Riku.. Maybe that's a sign. Maybe I should stop looking for the perfect 'woman' and start being more open. I can't seem to stay with a girl anyway, so it's worth a try. And I need to move on from Rinoa.."Rinoa.."
"Who? Oh yeah.. Rinoa. What's she up to lately?"
"Not sure. I gotta go.. I'll be back in a bit."
"What..?" Cloud watched the brunet as he grabbed a jacket and left. What's he up to? The blond grabbed his own jacket and keys and quickly ran after the brunet. Who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into this late at night! He scanned the snow covered streets for any sign of the retreating brunet. There he is.. Cloud got into his car and slowly followed his best friend. Better not let him know I'm following him.. He'd be pissed.. Probably more so than the last time I tried to follow him.. The blond shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying hard to stay awake. It's too late for this..He stopped the car as Squall reached a small apartment building.
Squall walked up to the front door of the building and knocked once.. twice.. An older lady answered the door, an annoyed look upon her face. "May I help you, sir?"
"Yes, I'm looking for Rinoa Heartilly?" He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm up as the wind picked up around him.
"Oh.. Yes, well she got married and moved out. I'm sorry."
"Married?" His eyes widened with shock at the thought of his one true love finding happiness in someone else's arms.
"Yes.. It was a beautiful ceremony. But I'm sorry.. That was a good few months ago. I have no idea where she moved to. If you leave your name and number I could put it in with the stack of mail she has waiting for her." Squall shook his head, a kind smile gracing his features.
"No, no it's fine. Thank you so much for the offer though, and I do apologize if I woke you up. I didn't realize how late it was. Take care, ma'am.. And thanks again!" The brunet walked down to the steps and took a seat. I should have known. She got over Seifer quick and me even faster. Whatever.. I'll find a nice girl.. One day. He got up and walked down the sidewalk until he got a glance of a familiar black car parked across the street. Cloud? Not again.. Squall walked over and looked in the driver's window. Is he.. Asleep?He started tapping at the dark glass, and for once, a real smile graced his features. That smile was the effect of Cloud jumping up out of his seat, yelling something about being innocent, and then hitting his head on the steering wheel.
"Let me in, blondie." Cloud massaged the newly forming bump on his forehead as he unlocked the doors. Damn.. I got caught. The blond looked at the brunet as he took a seat. Hope he isn't mad at me. He pouted at the stern look on the older man's face.
"I did it for your own good!" He had a look of shock on his face as the gray eyes across from him started to fill with happiness as the sweet sound of laughter escaped the brunet's lips.
"What's so funny? Stop laughing at me!"
"You should have seen your face! Were you trying to do that pouting thing Sora does? Major fail, Cloud."
Cloud tried to keep a smile from forming, but soon gave up into a fit of laughter. The two laughed like that for a while until Cloud's phone rang. He answered it as best he could without laughing.
"Hello?"
"Cloud! I can't take it anymore! Can you please come pick me up from Riku's house?"
"Sora?"
"Duh! Of course it's Sora! I need to stay with you for a little while, too, if you don't mind. Just come and get me.. Please?"
"Ok.. Ok.. We'll be right there."
The blond took a deep breath and started the car, giving Squall a worried glance as they started down the icy road. I wonder what's wrong.
"Who was it and where are we going?" Squall bundled up in his jacket as he reached for the dial to turn up the heat, his wide smile turning into a slight frown.
"It was Sora and we're going to Riku's house to pick him up. He said something about needing to stay with us for a while."
"Man, I don't want another roommate."
"You're going to have to deal with it, and I'm sure it won't be for too long." At least I hope not.. They continued on down the street until they finally reached the outside of an apartment building where a spiky haired brunet was holding two duffel bags and a silver haired boy was trying his best to convince him into staying.
"I said I'm sorry, Sora.. Now please come inside!"
"No!"
"Fine, have it your way!" Riku stopped nagging him and just stared at the car coming their way.
"I will!"Sora perked up as he saw the car pull up in front of him. He got in the back seat and shut the door in Riku's face. The older boy walked up to Cloud's window and started talking.
"Don't worry 'bout it Cloud, he'll come around. And I'm sure he'll tell you all about it on the way to your apartment. And Squall.. Be easy on him once you find out, okay?"
"Oh, Riku.. Squall already knows so don't worry. He thinks you two are cute together, heh."Riku nodded his head in agreement but frowned as he heard the brunet speak up from the back seat.
"Cute? Ha! To him I'm only cute in bed!" Everyone rolled their eyes and looked at the silver trussed teen. Please don't tell us Riku, don't tell us this is all about..
"Sex.."
"No.. We're gonna have to put up with him rambling on about his sex problems?"
"I wouldn't say they're problems.."
"Ha! No problem for you! But for me? What about me?" Once again the older teen flinched as his lover spoke up.
"Oh my God.. Please, Cloud.. Just take him before he cries again. I can't take it.. It almost makes me cry.."
"Shut up, Riku! You don't care about me! I'm just here for your pleasure.."
"Sora, you're getting me all wrong.." Cloud took the hint when Sora kicked his seat, and they drove off. Riku looked at the disappearing car once more before he turned to go back inside.
xoxo =^.^= xoxo
Fembot Axel
This is a rather old story that I decided to edit a little. I hope I'm able to fix the minor grammar problems here and there and the occasional other issues. All in all, I hope everyone enjoys reading this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it! It's a pretty decent story.. And although I'm used to primarily writing AkuRoki fics, I'm madly in love with Squall and Cloud parings as well X_X Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!
DISCALIMER
All characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
I only own the plot!