Spatters of Love

Very rarely does love come easy for any two people. There are many obstacles and problems that stand in their way, which they must overcome hand in hand. Adversity most often strengthens the bond between two lovers, if handled appropriately. And for Selphie and Irvine, it never came easy. Even the moment in which they had revealed their true feelings for each other had happened only after months of each struggling with their feelings and thoughts about the other. Selphie knew she loved Irvine, but would their relationship be cohesive?

After all, he did have a bit of a reputation behind him. Women seemed to flock to him like birds, begging for scraps of love, which, by rumor, he offered so willingly. He had a smooth voice and a strong grip, which, by rumor, snuck him into the pants of many women. Could Selphie handle a man with such a history? After all, she herself was the mirror of innocence, a blushing virgin. She had yet to even be kissed. Her main focus her entire life had only been to be happy to be herself, to work hard, and always believe that the sun will come out. She had never been in love before, or given much thought to love or a relationship. Until she met Irvine, and became addicted to him, that is.

And now here she was, wrapped in his arms, drowning in his kisses.

"Irvine..." She whispered into his neck, her fingers tightening on his.

"Yes, Seffy?"

"Tell me again how much you love me?"

Irvine's hand slipped from her grasp and touched her jawline gently. He kissed her lips of honey and smiled in the warm sunlight. "Baby, I love you more than life itself. If it had came down to it, I would have given my life for you during the Sorceress War. And I still would, if need be. You're different from every other girl I've known." He kissed her again and she sighed in content. The words came easy, but would their relationship be just as easy as their love?

The days passed and it was never easy. Women were spiteful and hateful of Selphie for snagging Irvine, and they spit words of fury, both to her face and behind her back. All too many times their words cut like daggers, leaving Selphie in pain and in tears. Lies filled her ears from all too many people, trying to convince her that Irvine was unfaithful, unloving. And she would run back to his arms, and he would whisper away her pain and kiss away her tears. He always swore they were lying, but sometimes the black bug of jealousy bit at Selphie, leaving her red and raw.

And Irvine was facing his own bits of conflict. He had always been used to blatant, obvious women. Women that put it out in the open what they wanted, how they felt. And never were these women as innocent as Selphie. He wasn't used to having to figure out how Selphie really felt, what she wanted, or just how far he could go with her. At nights he would kiss her and she would push him away, and he would be left trying not to feel bitter. He really did love her, he just wasn't used to being in love.

Their love came in splatters, messy and unsure. They fought hard to be together, left in the end exhausted and worn, but feeling victorious. Eventually the world learned to leave them alone, that their words no longer cut as deep in toughened skin. And then the only adversity left to fight was each other.

"Selphie! Why'd you do that?" Irvine snapped, outraged as he soon realized that most of his gun magazines had been replaced by cuter, girlier magazines and his torn, old clothes had vanished from their hangers. She flinched at the sound of his anger, and doefully looked up from her card game. She watched wide-eyed as he angrily flung her magazines to the floor and ripped through the remaining clothes in the closet. He mumbled words of anger and her cheeks burned from his wide vocabulary of slander.

She hadn't meant to make him mad, but since he had moved into her dorm, the place had become a pigsty. The place she had so cozily lived in had soon become a shadow of its former self, replaced by a grungier, manly persona. She could barely navigate through the place without tripping over weapon parts or dirty clothes. She felt like she was being smothered and her only comfort was to return the place to some of its former glory. Apparently Irvine didn't feel the same.

"So what did you do with all of it?" He snapped again, whipping around to glare at her. She hugged tightly to Mr. Bear as she whispered that she had thrown his items out. He growled in frustration and disappeared into the kitchen. She sighed in dismay as she realized he was searching for his one remaining vice: alcohol. She scurried out of bed and stood in the doorway, her eyes full of desperation.

"Irvy, I'm sorry! I just felt like the place needed to be cleaned up a little bit... And the magazines were sooo old, like months old! So I thought it'd be okay to just get rid of them... And you just went shopping and bought all new clothes, and you hadn't even worn the dirty old stuff is sooo long... I thought you'd be okay with it..." She stuttered and fell short, clinging only to her love for him and the worn out teddy bear in her arms.

He slammed the bottle of liquor down and glared at her, the sparkle gone from his amber eyes. "So it would be okay if I threw that damn bear out then? How many other new damn bears do you have? And look how dirty and old that ugly bear is!" His words were fire that danced around her and burned her. The bear had been his first gift to her, the only remnant she had of their childhood together. Tears spilled from her eyes and she threw the animal to the floor.

"Fine, Irvine. Throw it out." She ran back to the bedroom and dived beneath the covers, sobbing her sorrows into her pillows. She missed the days when their love was new and fresh, when they were merely two new lovers, stumbling and caressing, and discovering each other. Before they knew each other's faults and weaknesses, before those same things could be used as weapons against each other. She missed the days when he could never say a cruel word to her, much less yell at her. She missed the days when he was the one thing that could truly make her smile...

An hour passed and she tossed and turned in bed. She could still hear Irvine in the kitchen occassionally, and every sound caused her to hold her breath. Her feelings of anger and bitterness soon melted away until all that was left was her feeling of hopelessness. She silently prayed that he would come back to the bedroom and kiss her and apologize and make her laugh. Or was it too late? Was this their falling out? It couldn't be, their love had been so strong, so beautiful...

"Seffy? Baby, are you awake?" She froze at the sound of his voice. It had startled her from her thoughts. She heard his footsteps approach the bed in the dark and felt the bed sag as he sat on the edge next to her. She expected the smell of alcohol but only smelt bread and honey. His hand grazed her face and she couldn't help but to smile. "There's my pretty girl..." He whispered, and his tone told her that he too was smiling. "I just want to tell you I'm sorry Selphie... I have to remind myself that you aren't like the other girls I've dated. You're my little ray of sunshine, and I hate to be that stupid little black cloud that ruins your day." She giggled at his analogy and flung her arms around him.

"Irvy, it's okay! I forgive you! I just feel so close to you and sometimes I don't think things through, I'm sorry! I wish I could replace everything I threw out.." He laughed and hugged her tighter.

"Just replace all the kisses we've missed out on this past hour or so that we've been apart, my little sunshine." He pressed his lips against hers and drank in her sweet taste of innocence and happiness. Their love came in splatters, an adversity that only made them stronger.