~~NOTICE~~

I do not own Final Fantasy, the characters or the plotline.

All aspects of this story are entirely fictional.

Enjoy!

Ok um…let's place this story right after the events of Galbadia garden, right after Rinoa became unconscious.

It was a rough day for Squall. Here he was sitting in the middle of the night, his light blue eyes staring at a seemingly lifeless Rinoa.

"You'll get better…I promise. Wake up…? Please…..?" Squall thought to himself. It seemed pointless. Why had he suddenly developed feelings for such an annoying girl? She constantly pestered him, always touching him and jumping around with her 'I don't care' attitude. She had endless energy, which Squall both hated and adored at the same time. And here she lay in the Infirmary. Squall stared at the immobile body in front of him. "She looks like a corpse…" he thought to himself. Feeling a sense of frustration, Squall began to leave the Infirmary. "Oh? Squall you're leaving already?", Dr. Kadowaki inquired. "I just need some air", Squall said.

He stepped down the hall and made his way towards the Training Center to blow off some steam. Perhaps it was the best thing to take his mind off the mysterious events that have been occurring lately. All this responsibility…all this pressure…it was too much for him. Squall's thoughts seemed to swirl around his head like a wild storm. He began to ponder about his future. Rinoa's future. Right when he began to start thinking the worst and familiar face crashed into him, knocking him backwards onto the marble floor of Balamb Garden. Squall rubbed his sore head, and looked up to see Zell doing the same. "Oops, sorry bro.", Zell said with a chuckle. "I must have been daydreaming". "It's cool…I guess." Squall replied, getting on his feet. Zell rose as well. "Heading out for some training are you? You realize how late it is? Old man Cid don't mind late night training…but don't go alone. You don't seem completely altogether anyways." Zell stated. No reply from Squall. The duo began walking down the hall into the Training Center while Zell continued: "So…I know this whole Rinoa situation has got you all stressed out, man. We're all stressed out. Even Quistis's uptight ass!" he said with a chuckle, trying to get a laugh out of Squall as well. Still no reply from Squall. "I figured that wouldn't work…as a matter of fact…I've never heard this guy laugh at all.", he thought to himself. "Come on", he said with a grin as he grabbed Squall by the arm and ran into the Training Center.

Squall and Zell were silent as they wandered the area, searching for monsters. Suddenly a wild T-Rexaur appeared out of nowhere! Squall unsheathed his gunblade and Zell cracked his knuckles as they began to battle the beast. Zell released quite a few heavy blows upon the creature and Squall got some good slices in as well. Feeling as if the battle with the T-Rexaur was taking too long, Squall reached into his mind and threw out his energy in the form of the Sleep spell. The T-Rexaur was fast asleep as Zell summoned Shiva, whom he borrowed from Squall a while ago, since technically Shiva belonged to Squall in the first place. Shiva raised her hands to the sky as she charged a beam of frozen energy and launched it at the sleeping T-Rexaur freezing him. The ice quickly shattered, and the signature Diamond Dust had yet again slain another fiend. Zell dusted off his gloves as Shiva was dismissed and then turned to Squall. "That wasn't too bad was it?" Zell said with a grin.

"…."

"Squall…man you need to lighten up."

"….Whatever."

"Come on…let's rest up a bit."

Zell grabbed Squall by the hand and led him to the secret spot within the Training Center so they wouldn't be attacked while they rested. Squall sat down and Zell sat right next to him. "So tell me…how do you feel about Rinoa?" Zell asked. "I don't know." said Squall.

"You seem really concerned about her regaining consciousness…maybe even more concerned than us."

"…Maybe." replied Squall.

"Are you in love with her…?"

"I…don't know."

"I see."

Zell started to scoot close to Squall. He wrapped an arm around him. Zell was so warm close to Squall. Squall could feel his warmth…he could feel his heartbeat. There was a long silence.

"….Zell?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I might just be lonely."

Zell was speechless as these words escaped Squall's mouth. Zell had always had unrequited feelings for Squall. Squall always seemed so reserved, so quiet, so worried about Rinoa that Zell thought he had absolutely no time for him. Zell's heart began to beat a little faster, and a bead of sweat ran down the side of his neck. "Squall…I never told you this…but…" Zell had a hard time speaking. "I-I kinda always had this thing for you…" he finally spit out. "Oh?" said Squall. "Y-yeah…" replied Zell. There was another silence, but it didn't last long. Zell wanted an answer out of Squall. "So…how do you feel…?" asked Zell. Squall said nothing as he quickly leaned up to Zell's face and pressed his lips against his. Zell didn't resist the kiss as he embraced the lonely Squall in his arms. A look of surprise spread across Zell's face as he felt a wet tongue slide into his mouth. Zell reacted with a tongue of his own. The boys sat there in the secret spot immersed in a circle of passion that neither of them had ever felt before. The kiss was finally broken; it was hard to tell who stopped it. "Does that tell you how I feel about you?", Squall asked. "Yeah…that pretty much sums it up", Zell said blushing. The boys left the Training Center and made their way toward the dorms. Zell looked at Squall once more. "Don't worry bro…we'll bring her back. And I'll back you up every step of the way."."You won't leave me…will you? You'll stick with me till the end?" Squall requested. Zell nodded.

"Till the end."

Okay…so…this was my first ever Fanfic! Please be kind with the reviews pleeeease….but don't be afraid to let me know if it needs any work! ^_^ THANKS FOR READING! 3