Cowboy
Cowboy
By NightsDawne


Chapter 9: Sobering Up

Irvine skated to the boards, narrowly avoiding the prone Seifer. "You were lookin' for me?"

Quistis walked over, one hand on her hip. "You snuck out of the infirmary, stole a car, and vanished without telling anyone you were even leaving? Of course we came looking for you. Squall's been worried sick. We can't even get a 'Whatever' out of him."

Irvine pushed his hat back a bit, leaning his elbow on the boards. "Squall's worried?"

"Can't you say something besides parroting everything I say?" Quistis arrived within smell of Irvine, catching the whiff of whiskey. She drew back, eyes narrowing. "You're drunk."

"Sorta. Yeah, I think I am. Yup." Irvine gave her a crooked grin.

"Of all the--" Quistis broke off as a hand appeared, grasping the top of the boards next to Irvine, then a second, followed closely by Seifer's blond head. The color drained from Quistis's face as she fought to maintain her composure. "Seifer Almasy."

Seifer struggled to his feet. "Instructor Trepe. Nice to know I made enough of an impression that you'd remember."

"Remember?" Quistis took a deep breath, her jaw tightening ever so slightly. "Remember the idiot who single-handedly got my instructor's license taken away from me?"

"Hey now, don't blame me for that. You were the one who was a half-assed instructor to begin with." Seifer sneered, then slid to his knees, somewhat ruining his confident pose.

Quistis looked between Irvine and Seifer as if deciding whether to laugh, cry, or beat them senseless. "You're both pathetic! As if you have any right to criticize my teaching skills, Seifer, when you never bothered to try to learn anything. And you, Irvine, I knew you were self-centered, but abandoning your friends to party with this arrogant ass without even saying goodbye is the most selfish thing you've ever done."

Irvine leaned over the boards, his face only inches from Quistis's, the alcohol in his system only fueling the fire of anger her words kindled. "Self-centered?!" Quistis drew back a step, startled by the look on the usually easy-going cowboy's face. Irvine shook his head. "Who the hell are you ta call me self-centered? I fought beside y'all, I stuck with you and got you ta keep goin' when y'all were ready ta give up, I spilled as much blood as any of ya, and unlike the rest of y'all I wasn't gettin' paid one fuckin' gil for bein' there! I had ta shoot a guy who'd been like a brother ta me, even though it was like I was shootin' myself. But I did it. Why? Because the people I called my friends were in trouble, the whole world was in trouble, and I couldn't stand by an' let Ultimecia destroy ever'thing. And what did I get for it? Y'all treat me like I'm some kinda nobody, an outsider, a stranger, like ya let me hang with ya outa pity! One of ya, just one, treats me like I'm a person, like I got any feelin's at all. Well, excuse me if I ain't the best at comin' out and sayin' it, excuse me if I ain't what y'all think I should be, but I do have a heart, and it hurts same as the rest of ya when it gets trashed!" Irvine slumped, his brief tirade exhausted, but long-buried emotions still churning in him, making him feel sick.

Quistis looked away, silent for a moment. "...I'm sorry, Irvine," she said quietly. "We didn't mean to make you feel like you weren't one of us." She looked back to Irvine. "Come back to the Garden. We can all have a talk and work things out between us. We need you there. Squall wants you to test for SeeD."

Irvine set his jaw. "I ain't goin' anywhere without Seifer."

Seifer, having managed to get back to his feet, looked at Irvine, nearly falling again. "What? You moron, are you listening to her? Don't throw it all away, Irvine."

Quistis swallowed, but the steely look in Irvine's eyes said it wasn't the drink talking. "Let me make a phone call."

"And Fujin and Raijin, too." Irvine lifted his chin a bit. "They didn't do nothin' 'cept follow their Captain Seifer."

Quistis nodded slowly, then turned, pulling out her cell phone and walking into the bleachers. Seifer watched her as she sat down, tapping the keypad and putting the phone to her ear, her voice too soft to be made out. He looked back to Irvine. "What the fuck are you up to?"

Irvine glanced sideways, then pushed away from the boards, skating around the line of a face-off circle. "I ain't gonna go back there and face that shit without someone I know'll be there for me."

"And you think that someone will be me? Irvine, I fucked up big the last time I tried to be there for someone."

Irvine shrugged. "You can't fuck up any worse'n ya already have, so ain't no risk."

"What about Headmaster Cid?" Seifer turned to lean back against the boards, keeping a tight grip with one hand.

Irvine watched his skates as he made lazy crossovers, shoving his hands deeply into his coat pockets. "It may not be as big as Galbadia Garden, but Balamb Garden's big enough I can stay outa his way." He looked up at Seifer. "Hell, you and your posse gonna live in Fisherman's Horizon and hang out on a dock for the rest of your lives? Ya said you were bored."

Seifer shook his head, opening his mouth, but was interrupted by Quistis's voice calling from behind him. "Okay, Irvine, it's all set. All four of you can come back. The only caveat is that you'll still have to obey the Garden's rules."

Irvine gave Seifer a tiny bit of a smile. "You with me, bro?"

Seifer studied Irvine's face for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Hell, I can't ruin it for Fujin and Raijin. I'm in." He turned as he heard Quistis's footsteps, his skates betraying him again as he fell sideways to sprawl on the ice.

"First thing," said Quistis, taking charge with ease, "is to get you two sober before the Ragnarok gets here."

Irvine wrapped his hands around his third cup of coffee as Quistis refilled Seifer's mug. "I'm startin' ta feel like a Rexaur stepped on me."

Seifer grunted his agreement. "Not to mention, this coffee sucks."

"It doesn't suck, it's just double strength," Quistis defended herself, sitting down across from them in the cavernous cafeteria. "And you two would be feeling fine if you hadn't brilliantly gone on a crusade against what few brain cells were still working in your heads."

"Kiss my ass." Seifer forced another swallow down and made a face. "I've got half a mind to take you to bed right now, see if there's actually something you're good at, Instructor."

"Apparently you've forgotten how good I am with a whip, Seifer," countered Quistis, blue eyes flashing. "Maybe you'd like it wrapped around your neck."

"Threatening a student?" Seifer smirked. "That's against the rules."

Quistis dropped her head in her hand. "Oh God, why do I even bother? You're never going to be anything but Seifer Almasy."

Irvine frowned. "Look, it ain't helpin' my head listenin' ta you two goin' at it. Can ya please give it a rest?"

"You certainly have fine taste in friends, Irvine." Quistis tapped her slender fingers on the tabletop. "What were you two doing here, anyhow?"

"Got cold at the orphanage." Irvine grimaced as he took another sip of coffee. "Decided we'd visit Martine's private stock and warm ourselves up. Now if you'd been there with us, I coulda saved myself the trouble and kept you warm instead."

Quistis raised a brow. "You're starting to feel better, apparently."

"If I felt better I'da had ya in my arms by now."

Seifer leaned back in his seat. "It's not helping my head any listening to you two going at it."

"What am I going to do with the both of you?" lamented Quistis, shaking her head. "How can two people so good in battle manage to be such losers in everything else?"

"Talent." Seifer picked up his mug. "That and good looks that make everyone else hate us out of jealousy."

Irvine nodded and held his mug up. "Hear, hear."

Quistis groaned. "I'm going to kill Squall for assigning you two to me for private instruction."

"Not if I get to him first." Seifer rubbed his temple. "Isn't there any aspirin around here?"

Irvine halfway grinned. "I'm kinda partial to the idea myself. Just think, Quisty, you and me, long nights of studyin', stuck in the library together after everyone else has bunked down."

"I'm your instructor, Irvine. Keep in mind that I'll be in charge of your grades and conduct yourself accordingly."

Irvine propped his cheek on his hand. "Oh, that's no problem, darlin'. I'm A+ material."

Quistis rolled her eyes as she stood. "Finish your coffee. I'm going to the infirmary to find some aspirin. I'm beginning to think I need it more than you do."

Irvine watched her exit with a dreamy gaze, imagining himself at the SeeD Graduate Ball, waltzing with Quistis in his arms, her blue eyes fastened on his in mesmerized adoration. His smile only deepened as his daydream wandered into what would happen after the ball once he started easing Quistis out of her uniform. It wasn't even a matter of guessing to know that someone like her would wear satiny matching bras and panties, probably in some elegant pastel, peach, her favorite color, or maybe a pale pink. He pictured his thumb sliding slowly under her bra strap, easing it away from her fair and unblemished shoulder, exposing her flesh for his kisses as he pulled her close, hard enough to feel his growing erection, letting her thrill to the promise of what the night would hold.

Seifer elbowed Irvine. "You're drooling on your hand, moron."

"Huh?" Irvine pulled his hand away from his face and wiped it on his coat quickly. "Can't help it. That girl does somethin' to me."

"What girl doesn't do something to you?"

Irvine smirked. "I gotta give 'em what they want, which, of course, is me. But her, she's different. She's like a goddess."

Seifer looked sideways at Irvine. "She's a tyrant tightass."

"Okay, smartass, what kinda girl you want?"

Seifer tilted his head, setting his mug down as he contemplated. "I like them softer. But fun. You know, the kind of girl who's not going to reprimand you every five minutes and is ready for anything."

"Blond or brunette?"

"Brunette, definately. And just the right size to pick up and swing around. Long legs. And with a good rack."

"Oh, yeah, a rack's important. Asses are key, too."

"I'm more of a breast man. And eyes, I like big, beautiful, laughing eyes. Brown or green, so long as they're big."

"With lotsa lashes."

"Yeah. And no fat chicks. So long as they've got the chest, I like my girls small and skinny."

Irvine laughed. "You like it with the girl on top."

Seifer grinned. "You gotta problem with that?"

"Hell, no. I done it top, bottom, sideways, and once with a gymnast in some positions I had ta go to the infirmary ta get out of."

"Too much fucking information, Irvine. We were talking about my girl, not yours."

"You got anyone in mind?"

Seifer took a drink, then set the mug down, spinning it softly on the table. "I guess there's a girl that kind of caught my eye."

Irvine leaned forward. "Tell me!"

Seifer smirked. "Why should I?"

"No fair. You know who I like. C'mon, Seifer," wheedled Irvine.

Seifer exhaled slowly, opening his mouth, but shut it as Quistis walked back in, heading over to the table and setting a bottle of aspirin between her students. "The Ragnarok's here."