The frozen wind whipped across the heroes' faces as they stood in line. Rinoa babbled incessantly, Selphie leaned against the wall of the ticket booth, talking with Quistis and ignoring Irvine's flirting. Zell watched Squall as he bought the train tickets, standing right behind the stoic leader, his hands propped on Squall's shoulders. He bounced in place impatiently.
"Can we go now? I'm freezing!" the blonde whined.
"Zell, shut up already." Squall shoved a ticket in the boy's hand and pushed past him to hand out the rest. "I'm sick of listening to you complain." Zell pouted. "Besides, we're just about to leave." The group boarded the train.
Inside, Zell ran to the guys' room and dived under the blankets of the nearest bed. To his dismay, the blankets were worn thin, so he shivered as he tried to force himself to sleep.
Squall walked in, taking no notice of Zell's suffering. He plopped down on the sofa, picked up and began reading an old issue of "Timber Maniacs".
"Dammit!" Squall glanced up to see Zell tossing and turning in bed.
"Zell, shut up," he grunted. Ignoring his companion, the blonde jumped out of bed and stole the blankets from all the other beds, dragging them all at once onto the bed in which he had been trying to sleep.
"Gotta be so damn cold here," he mumbled to himself as he attempted to layer the covers. He snuggled in underneath, hoping he had defeated the cold. Within moments, he realized that the pitifully thin covers were just as useless piled together as they were alone. "UGH!"
"Zell, seriously. Stop whining." Squall glared at Zell, whose only response was to continue complaining as he tried to lie still and forget about the cold.
"I'll stop complaining as soon as I stop freezing to death!" he grumbled to himself. "This is exactly why I hate Trabia." His complaints continually rose in volume.
"I get it. You're cold. What the hell do you want me to do about it?" Squall finally snapped, throwing the magazine at Zell's face. Dodging the dangerous projectile, Zell answered with a grin:
"Well, sharing body heat is a good way of keeping warm." He arched an eyebrow suggestively at the gunblade wielder before him. Squall sighed.
"If I do this, will you shut the hell up?" he asked.
Zell's eyes widened, this response was unexpected. He had his suspicions as of late, as he and Squall had slowly become like best friends. Regardless of their obvious differences, they seemed to suit each other perfectly. Zell's heart skipped when the idea that this could become more than friendship flashed through his head.
"Um, yeah," he agreed, sitting up. He watched breathlessly as Squall ambled over. Squall moved him aside and lay down, facing the wall. "Ya know, all that fur's gonna get in the way," Zell joked. Squall pulled off his jacket and threw it carelessly across the room.
Zell grinned to himself as he lay beside Squall, inching closer, just close enough to touch. Cautiously, he reached up one hand and let it fall on Squall's shoulder. The motion elicited a near-silent gasp from the brunette. He retreated for a moment as Squall turned over to lie on his back.
"Zell?"
"Yeah?"
"We're gonna be on this train for 7 hours."
"What's your point?" Zell folded his arms over Squall's shoulder.
"Do you expect me to just lay here the whole time?"
"I'm sure there's plenty we could do to pass the time."
Squall suppressed a small blush as he snapped into a sitting position and nearly threw Zell off the bed in the process.
"Just what are you suggesting, Zell?"
Zell hesitated for a second. blushing deeply. He turned to sit facing Squall. Resting his hands again on the brunette's broad shoulders, he playfully pushed his friend onto his back, grinning widely. Squall stared in shock at the shorter boy, who had begun leaning down slowly. When Zell's face stopped just an inch from Squall's, the two men hesitated.
Who made the first move will never be known. Both boys pressed their lips to the other's, their mouths crashing together passionately. Zell wrapped his hands around the back of Squall's head and ran his fingers through his silky auburn hair. Squall hesitated a bit more, waiting a moment before taking Zell into a strong embrace. When they realized they needed to breathe, Zell and Squall broke the kiss reluctantly.
Still on his back, Squall looked up at Zell, seeing him in a new light. He reached out to touch him, maybe his chin, or his lips, maybe even to trace the tattoo emblazoned upon his face. Reaching out, something banged against the door and it slammed open. Squall froze and saw Zell's soft smile become a mixed expression of shock and fear.
"What the hell are you two doing?" Irvine asked, standing at the threshold, a quizzical expression plastered on his face. Zell immediately gripped Squall's hand, still hovering by the blonde's face, and threw it down. Squall waited, not knowing what Zell was planning. He didn't have long to wonder as Zell proceeded to bitch slap Squall across the face. He stood up, looked at Irvine, who still didn't know a damn thing, and stormed out of the room.
"What did you do to him?" Irvine asked as he walked toward Squall, whose only response was staring at the ceiling and blinking. He sat up and rubbed his cheek. Grumbling, he left to find Zell, who was sitting on a bench near the exit.
"Brilliant plan, dweeb," Squall growled, glaring at Zell as he sat down beside him.
"I'm sorry." Zell leaned toward Squall and kissed his sore cheek. "But I'll bet Irvine doesn't suspect a thing." He grinned and kissed Squall a few more times. Sighing, Squall smiled and hugged Zell.
"Don't you ever do that again." Zell only chuckled.