Title—Raine's Bar
Author—Tysonkaiexperiment
Fandom—Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy VIII
Couplings/Characters—SquallSora, mentions of Raine Leonhart, Laguna Loire, Ellone Leonhart, Kiros Seagill, Riku and Kairi.
Warnings—Random Final Fantasy VIII information and spoilers if you haven't played.
Summary—COMPLETE, for Squall's birthday. Squall has come into possession of his mother's bar, among his only visitors is the boy he's had his eye on since they first met in Traverse Town.
Notes—Spoilers, obviously, if you haven't played Final Fantasy VIII some things might be a little confusing. If you need me to explain it just ask and I will.
Notes 2—This is un-beta'd, please ignore any mistakes.
Raine's Bar
When Squall first moved to Winhill he didn't expect much and he didn't get much either. The old man who now owned his mother's home didn't believe he was the same child given birth to in the upstairs room. Admittedly, Squall couldn't remember anything from there as the old man shipped him to the orphanage at such a young age, but whatever. Eventually, like a true angel of mercy, his older sister Ellone came and convinced the man that he was the son of Raine Leonhart.
So now, as he promised to the old man, Squall was re-opening the bar his mother once worked so hard to upkeep and he just knew he didn't have to do much considering Winhill was close to emptiness on the map.
Ellone had taken it upon herself to bring in his mother's favorite white flowers and place them in all the vases on the bar's tables, sprinkling a few across the bar itself to mask the polish of wood and fresh paint. She smiled and leaned across to fix his bow tie, having commanded him to wear a usual waiter's outfit while he worked. Squall didn't much care for the idea, considering he'd heard of his mother's casual but sophisticated outfit when she ran it, but he did it anyways to pay tribute to her.
Most of the time they were open on the nights and weekends, Squall spending most of his numerous hours of free time up the hill near Winhill—just above his mother's grave. Often he'd go there just to talk, about saving the world against Ultimecia, or dealing with the Keyblade wielders, or just how he got home—he always felt like he could tell his mother's grave anything. And sometimes he brought her picture with him, just to place it on the grave and let him pretend like his mother was there, lending an ear and keeping his secrets.
Sometimes Kiros stopped by, mostly to tell Squall his father would be visiting, and whenever Laguna Loire was in tow Squall tried to be as clipped but gentlemanly as possible. Even if he couldn't stand Laguna or his upbeat attitude, if it got his father out of there quicker, Squall would kill him with good manners. Other times it was just the local townspeople in there, from the old man who would drink and tell fond memories of Raine or the old lady who owned the flower shop that would always bring new ones to put in the bar, things were quiet and simple.
He'd left the Radiant Garden crew behind so suddenly, even if he did tell them he was leaving, he never expected any of them to show up. And none of them did, Aerith was spending some time with Cloud before he disappeared again, Yuffie was off to visit her father, and Cid was dealing with Tifa and trying to electronically protect the city at the same time. Everyone seemed to be busy lately, except him, and it was kind of bothered him to be so neglected even though it was something he always wished for. So when a brunet walked in Squall never expected to see again, he nearly dropped the glass he'd been cleaning right into the old man's cup of rum.
From under the hood of the Organization coat he'd been wearing, Sora had smiled his amazingly gorgeous smile and slid into another seat in front of Squall, leaving an empty seat between him and the old man. "Hey Leon, it's been a while."
"It has." Squall breathed out, grip unconsciously tightening on the glass he had stopped cleaning. Suddenly he pushed the glass away and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, "What do you need?"
"Got enough ingredients for a chocolate martini?" Sora tried, placing his elbows on the bar and chin in his laced fingers. Squall shook his head negatively and the younger sighed before choosing his next option, "Just a black magic then, got the things for it?"
Squall nodded his head quietly and pulled out a can of 7-Up from the fridge under the bar before he began the drink. It felt so natural as soon as Sora came into the building, after all this wasn't the first time Squall found himself making a drink for the keyblade barer. Hard times in their lives caused hard drinking and he had to admit Sora drank like quite a natural—not a heavy drinker, but knew his limits well enough.
"Aren't you a little young to be in here, young man?" The old man a seat over spoke up, his golden-colored drink forgotten as he eyed Sora—this type of conversation was never new when one was around Sora, he looked too young to do many things.
"No sir." Sora responded as politely as possible, he lowered the hood to run his fingers through spikes of chocolate brown hair, "I'm sure Squall wouldn't allow me in here if I was, right, Leon?"
His eyebrows furrowing, Squall said nothing but finished adding the grenadine to Sora's drink before he slid it onto the top of the bar. Fresh in his mind he could remember leaning across a table and handing a fifteen-year-old Sora a glass of vodka. It was not their first time drinking together, but the first night they shared their stories completely. Sora was the first and only to delve into his past as completely as when they did that night.
"You seemed to have made a good friend during your travels, Squall." The old man nodded, taking a deep sip of his alcohol, "Much better than Raine when she met that man."
Unfazed at the words used when mentioning his father, Squall just nodded and silently watched as the man put a few gil on the bar and made his way out after saying goodbye to the elderly couple sitting near the door.
"That man?" Sora questioned, raising his drink to take a sip. It seemed to serve its usefulness as Sora sighed appreciatively when it went down his throat, "I'm guessing Laguna wasn't exactly Winhill's hero?"
Shrugging, Squall grabbed the old man's drink and dumped its last few droplets in the sink before he began washing it, "He's not really anyone's hero."
Lowering his drink, Sora gave a bitter smile, "I'm sure he's your hero, Leon." Their eyes rose at the same time and met just as the older couple left money on their table and left. It was silent, as silent as Ellone said the day was when Laguna first helped Raine at the bar. "Don't deny it, even if Laguna left to save Ellone and missed Raine giving birth to you, you know there's still some spark in his story that interests you."
He was talking as if he'd met Laguna, and Squall couldn't help but feel slightly put off the younger was reading his emotions so well for barely knowing the story no matter how much he knew. Shuffling to the side, Squall put the glass in the sink and made his way to the other table on the other side of the room to grab those empty glasses. He pocketed the gil and made his way back, choosing to put the glasses in the sink as Sora sipped his drink. "So what are you doing here?"
"Just stopping by, I honestly didn't expect you here." Chuckling, Sora lowered his now half-empty cup to stare continuously at Squall. It unnerved him how focused Sora's gaze was, but he tried not to show the shivers of excitement running down his back. Sora had only given him that look twice, the first when they were back in Traverse Town after their first drinks together and the younger leaned across the table to place a firm planting of lips. The second was at Radiant Garden, one day when they were bored and sharing a cup of vodka between them, it had been another closed-mouth kiss and again it had ended with no more than a request for a refill. "Riku decided to travel, and it inspired Kairi to, so we're all taking our own solo-trips just to get adventuring out of our system."
"Adventuring, the fun," Squall muttered dryly, feeling his own lips curl upwards as Sora beamed at him, "How many more stops have you decided?"
"I'm not sure." Sora replied honestly, swirling his cup in a circle to let the ice clink against the sides of his glass, "I wasn't actually expecting to run into anyone I knew."
"Hmmm." Was the only response Squall could think of, he leaned across the bar and placed his elbows gently at the edge to meet Sora's stare, "How are you enjoying the drink, you lush?"
"It's perfect, as usual. Is there anything you can't do?" The younger teased, lowering his glass onto the table to re-focus all his attention on Squall. He returned to the position he had been in before he'd gotten his drink, elbows on the bar and chin in his hands. This time his eyes were half-lidded, they were still just as warm and inviting as ever, somehow calming him.
"M'not sure." Leonhart muttered jokingly, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to playfully think about it just to avoid losing himself in Sora's seemingly-never-ending eyes.
Sora smiled and arched skillfully across the bar hands still pressed together as his lips left a warm trail of heat across Squall's for the barest of moments, "I missed you, you never said goodbye to me."
Squall parted his lips against the warm puffs of air Sora's breathing was leaving on them. Sora was so close he could barely make out the blurry line that was Sora's mouth before the younger kissed him a second time. The wet sound rung in Squall's ears as this was the first time it actually had gotten this heated. He sighed into the contact and closed his eyes, tilting his head just so to get closer to the warmth being offered.
Sora placed three more kisses against his lips before Squall opened his eyes. He only met Sora's gaze once before his hands skipped across the bar and wrapped around his waist, hauling the younger closer to him. "I left a message." He offered, feeling Sora's purr as Squall's tongue brushed across his bottom lip for the barest of moments.
"You know I never check those." Sora whispered, his own tongue coming out to gently meet Squall's just when the older didn't expect it. "Are you staying forever?"
Squall leaned back to study Sora's face, the boy's eyes glowing brightly against his red cheeks, lips shinning as his tongue raked gently over them. "Do you want me to go back?"
"Would you keep me with you, if you did?" Sora questioned; eyes unblinking until Squall leaned in for another kiss, the younger welcoming it and reaching a hand up to press against the olders' cheek. "I'd miss this otherwise."
"You miss everything." Squall teased, moving to Sora's jaw to place light bites against the tanned skin. The boy gave a yelp of surprise but leaned into them, closing his eyes as he reached behind Squall's back to grab at his shirt. It was comfortably warm in the bar, considering it was on top of the hill and always had sunlight streaming through the windows, but Squall could feel heat rush into his stomach when Sora's fingers slid under his shirt.
"I miss you." Came the mutter, the younger fixing himself back into his seat to drum his fingers against the wood of the bar, "Are you going to answer me?"
Grabbing the keys from behind the cash register, Squall tugged Sora by the arm out the door and locked the bar. He hung the lunch sign on the doorknob before dragging Sora to the home next door. The younger simply stared in awe as they made their way past the small kitchen and up the stairs into Squall's room, the older falling backwards onto the bed in a huff.
"I'll miss you." He answered truly, not daring to look Sora in the eye from embarrassment as the younger shut the door.
Sora smiled—Squall could feel it radiate from there—before the smaller all-but-jumped on top of him and placed several kisses against his lips. "Mmmm, did you miss me when I was at Destiny Islands?"
"Shut up and put that mouth to better use." The older hissed out playfully, tugging the boy close enough so that Sora's knees hit the bed right near his thighs. The warmth spread at the thought, of how close they were so suddenly, and Squall found himself rather liking the feeling.
For a moment the younger grinned and wrapped his arms around Squall's waist, breathing in a sigh, "What would you think if I asked to stay here with you and help run the bar?"
Squall's fingers raked through Sora's hair, listening to the soft noises of content as he thought about it, "You wouldn't have much to do, but I wouldn't mind it."
Chuckling, Sora hummed against Squall's chest and listened to the pace of the olders' heart, "Does the bar have a name?"
"I called it Raine's Bar, after my mom." Came the confession, Squall closed his eyes and breathed in as he awaited Sora's response.
The younger laughed, adjusting himself to bury his face in Squall's neck and breath in the others scent, "So, the bar has been in the hands of the rain, and then the storm, who's now being helped by the sky. We're quite fitting aren't we?"
Vaguely, Squall closed his eyes and remembered the picture sitting on the downstairs kitchen counter. He could see Raine Leonhart's warm smile as she cuddled a young Ellone in her lap, looking so carefree and trusting, full of love. Suddenly he felt as if his mother approved.
And when Sora looked up at him and smiled, Squall could feel himself smiling back, content with the thoughts in his mind. He leaned over to kiss Sora again, knowing the lunch sign would be on the bar's door until the next evening.
Tke: I actually had this written for some time, and I never honestly planned to post it and it's un-beta'd. But here we are, on Squall's birthday, and at the same time celebrating Raine. I always loved Raine; she is to me, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous video game characters ever created. I would love to see Square Enix bring her into a different game, would love to hear her be given a voice and the respect she deserves.
This actually inspired another one-shot that might also be coming soon, of Squall using a GF in Radiant Garden; I always thought it'd be a pretty cool idea. I'll avoid spoiling the surprise and won't say which one.
Anyways, I will be posting a slew of Squall icons and wallpapers on my livejournal also, if anyone is interested in those too.
By the way, on the 9th I will be going to Distant Worlds in Los Angeles (the only day they're featuring FFVIII music and I must see Liberi Fatali) so there might be possible videos on my youtube if I can get my camera working. You'll possibly hear me singing along, hahahaha.
Well, uhm, please review for Squall's birthday!