First Kiss

Rating: PG-13

Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII

Pairings: Irvine/Selphie, Squall/Seifer, hints of Quistis/Seifer and Edea/Seifer

Warnings: Contains Non-explicit Slash

Dedications: To Clo and Merc who DROVE ME TO IT.

"Wow!" Selphie exclaimed. "It's sooooo weird to find out there's stuff we don't even remember forgetting!"

You never stop, do you? Squall thought to himself as the girl bounced around him. It was true, though, Selphie hadn't stopped her excited rambling since they'd re-boarded Garden. She, and the rest of the team, had proceeded to ask Irvine all sorts of questions about what they were like when they were kids, and as he explained more and more of the past was starting to come back to them, just as it had on the basketball court at Trabia.

Squall was no exception to this rule. He could feel himself remembering bits and pieces of life back at the orphanage, things he'd thought that he'd maybe made up in dreams. Things that were making more and more sense as he listened to the cowboy talk.

"Do you have a favorite memory, Irvine?" Selphie asked.

"Well, of course I do!" he exclaimed. "My first kiss."

"Oooooh!" Selphie proceeded to bounce up and down again. "Could you tell us about it?"

"Why, of course..."

Selphie was sitting on the stairs outside the old house, looking at the ocean and trying to hold back her tears. Irvine found her sitting there, hugging her knees to her chest. "What's wrong, Selphie?" he asked.

She sniffed hard as she answered "We're never going to see each other again."

"Oh, don't be silly, Seffie!" He sat down beside her and smiled. "We'll see each other again, I promise!"

Selphie wiped her eyes with the back of her tiny hand. "You promise?"

"Of course I promise!" Irvine put a hand around her shoulder in a half-hug. "Someday we'll all get back together and have a big party!"

"Except Seifer," Selphie demanded. "He's mean. Who's going to stop him from picking on me when you're gone?"

"Oh, don't worry. Matron will stop him. And if she doesn't, you can just punch him in the nose. POW!" Irvine made a punching motion in the air.

"Quisty will tell on me," Selphie worried.

"Nah, Quisty would probably hit him herself." Irvine chuckled.

"I still don't want you to leave!" Selphie hugged Irvine hard. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

Irvine hugged her back. "Hey, like I said, we'll see each other again, right?"

"But what if we don't?"

"Well, just in case..." Irvine leaned into Selphie and kissed her lightly on the lips. She blushed and tried to pull away, looking embarrassed.

That's when they both heard Zell yelling "Matron! Selphie and Irvine are kiiiiiiiiiiiiising!"

Selphie was blushing just as hard as she had back on that day years ago by the time Irvine finished his story. "I...feel awful that I didn't remember that. It was really a sweet moment until Zell ruined it."

Zell looked irritated. "I was a KID! I didn't mean it!"

Quistis laughed at her friends. Then she grew silent. "Irvine was right, you know. I would have helped you punch Seifer. Especially after my first kiss."

"You remember it?" Zell asked her.

"Yeah. It's funny, but I didn't remember it until Irvine told his story. But now..."

Quistis was packing her bags diligently. She and Irvine were both leaving the next day, he was headed for Galbadia and she was heading for Balamb. Both of them were leaving behind the only family they'd ever known.

She was trying very hard to be mature and not to cry. She was honored to have been accepted to Garden years ahead of when she should have been, and she was trying to be brave about all of it. But ever since Sis had left, they'd all been terrified of the day they would have to leave their friends behind forever.

She suddenly became aware of someone standing beside her. She turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of Seifer who was apparently watching her pack.

"What do you want, Seifer?" she asked angrily. Seifer was almost impossible to get along with, and him being here could only mean trouble.

"I just want to prove something," he answered, coldly. "Something important."

"Seifer, I really have to pack. Could this wait for another time?"

"No. It really can't." Seifer took a step closer to her. He stopped, looked towards the doorway, then smiled. He leaned close into Quistis and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"There." He said. "That's all."

He smirked again and headed for the door, leaving her standing alone in the bedroom, stunned.

"To this day I have no idea what he was trying to prove," Quistis mused. "He was always a little odd, now that I think about it."

"He was strong, though," Rinoa remarked. "And really brave." She sighed. "But, I guess we just weren't meant to be."

Of course you weren't. Squall thought. Seifer wouldn't have liked you. Seifer certainly couldn't have LOVED you. Seifer could never love any...

Squall was sitting alone in the garden to the side of the house when he heard Zell yell "Matron! Selphie and Irvine are kiiiiiiiiiiiiising!" He tried to ignore the other boy's screams as he wiped his eyes free of tears again. He hadn't really been able to smile since Sis had left them.

He suddenly became aware of Seifer's presence. "Stupid chicken wuss," he muttered. Squall looked at him angrily, causing the other boy to respond, "Oh, not you, Zell. Making a big deal out of kissing."

"Maybe it is a big deal," Squall replied. "Maybe it's the biggest deal ever."

"Eh, not when you're kissing girls. I never want to kiss a girl." Seifer sat down beside Squall. "I don't see how you could like it."

"But you're supposed to like kissing girls," Squall pointed out. "You don't mind when Matron kisses you on the cheek."

"Matron's not a GIRL!" Seifer defended. "Matron's like a princess or something. You can like kissing them."

"I bet you'd like kissing if you tried it," Squall muttered.

"Oh yeah!" Seifer exclaimed. To Squall's great surprise, the other boy suddenly leaned in and kissed him full on the lips.

There was a moment of strangeness to it, a newness neither of them could really understand But there was something else. There was a feeling of rightness to it, a feeling of finally having found the person they were looking for without evening knowing they were looking. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Seifer finally broke the kiss.

"There," he said smugly, "how was that?"

Squall caught his breath for a few seconds before replying "I...liked it."

"Why?"

"Because...it was you."

Seifer paused for a few seconds. Then, he laughed. "Well, I thought it was nothing special. I could have been kissing Quistis-horseface and felt the same way." He laughed again. "Watch, I'll prove it."

"Squall? Squall?" A voice broke through Squall's reverie. He shook his head and looked up to see Quistis beckoning to him. "Where do we go from here?"