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If it's legal for you and you like more smut to your story, the uncensored version is on my website, www.scribblemoose.co.uk.

Feedback very welcome, on any version, here or by e-mail.

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Chapter 8 – Watching

Irvine arrived at the quad before the others. Casually dressed in jeans and his favourite purple T-shirt, he oozed the calm confidence that might be expected of someone who'd saved the world (and won the girl) more than once in his young life.

He got himself a drink and leaned against the wall, watching as the new graduates arrived, greeting each other with over-excited hugs and squeals, feelings exaggerated by the elation and relief of graduating.

"Hi Irvine."

"Hey Squall, man."

"Great night, huh?"

OK. That's not Squall-like. That was small talk. Squall doesn't do small talk.

Irvine did a mental check-list of Squall's appearance for any evidence of derangement or possession. Black jeans, check; blue shirt (new?), check; enough belts to tie up a behemoth with one left over to whip it with, check; dark hair (freshly washed) kinda messy and falling in eyes, check; broody, sullen expression, ch… Hang on. No. He's grinning. A lot. Of course. Rinoa.

"It worked out for you then, man?"

"What?"

"Rinoa and you… sorted stuff out, right?"

"Oh. Yeah. We really did."

"That's great," said Irvine, and meant it.

"Irvine… can I ask you something?"

"Of course, anything."

"Do I look OK?"

Irvine swallowed hard, trying not to burst out laughing.

"You look great, man. Sex on legs, as always." He meant that, too. "What's up?"

Squall coughed, stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets.

"I'm on a date."

"A date?"

Squall nodded. "With Rinoa," he added.

"Well, that's good, Squall. It would've ruined her evening if you'd turned up with someone else."

"Don't tease, Irvine, this is weird enough as it is."

Irvine was almost relieved to hear Squall sounding more like his usual grumpy self: he felt his world view had shifted enough for one day.

"Sorry man. Look, you've been on a date before, right?"

"Well, before Rinoa, when I was younger… girls always liked me, you know?"

"Well, dating's pretty much the same as it was then. Just the girls seem to get prettier, and between you and me," he leaned towards Squall, conspiratorially, "they're more likely to put out, if you know what I mean."

Squall flashed him an icy look. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Irvine grinned. "Squall, you and Rinoa were born to date. It'll be a great night and the two of you'll make the rest of us throw up with the perfect datiness of it all. Trust me. Anyway," Irvine had spotted Rinoa approaching, wearing a slinky blue dress that clung in all the right places, "it's too late to panic now."

"Hi Squall, Irvine."

Irvine watched Squall's reaction with amusement, saw the frostiness and nervousness drain away.

"Rinoa," said Squall, and she kissed him briefly on the cheek, chaste affection. But Irvine noticed how easily Squall's hand brushed her waist, how comfortably she pressed herself against him, even if just for a moment. He began to suspect that Squall hadn't told him everything. By a long way.

"Irvy!" Selphie ran up, Zell close behind her. She cannoned into Irvine, flinging her arms around him. "How's your nose?"

"Sore, thanks," he said, very conscious of her soft body against his, "I need you to kiss it better."

"Bad Irvine! Insatiable boy! That's what got it hurt in the … first… place…" Selphie tailed off guiltily, spotting Squall and Rinoa, suddenly realising Squall might not appreciate her making light of his feelings. "You look great, Rin," she tried to recover, "that dress is so hot. Did you get it in Balamb?" She looked pleadingly at her friend.

"No, I got it in Deling, last visit home," said Rinoa.

There was an awkward pause; Irvine shifted uncomfortably.

"Squall," Selphie began, "I'm…"

"~Cure~" said Squall quietly, making a tiny gesture towards Irvine. Magic fizzed from his fingertips, momentarily bathing Irvine in sharp blue light.

Selphie sighed with relief; Irvine and Squall's eyes met.

"Thanks." Irvine said.

Squall simply nodded.

"Using magic off-duty, Commander?" Squall found himself starting guiltily at the sound of Quistis' disapproving voice.

"Hi Quis." He decided not to explain himself. He outranked her, after all. At least theoretically, even if she did seem tapped straight into his conscience.

"Hey Quis," bounced Selphie, "lookin' good!"

"Yeah," Irvine added smoothly, "great dress, Quisty. Red really suits you."

Quistis smiled, almost girlishly, smoothing her short skirt over her hips. "Thank you, Irvine. Nice of you to say so."

Gods, Irvine, thought Squall you really are good at this.

"Well," said Irvine, "I'm glad they decided not to go formal this year."

"So you can ogle women better, you mean?" said Zell accusingly.

"Well actually," said Irvine, slightly offended, "I was going to say the collars get kinda hot and itchy, and it's so warm tonight." He looked wistfully at Selphie. "I quite like a girl in uniform, actually."

Selphie hit him playfully on the arm.

"Come on, Squall," Rinoa slipped a hand in his, making him jump: he hadn't even begun to get used to the idea of physical contact in public yet. "I ought to mingle."

"OK." He allowed himself to be led off towards the gaggle of new SeeD graduates, casting a somewhat helpless look over his shoulder at Irvine.

"What's that all about?" asked Quistis.

"A date," said Irvine, trying not to laugh. "They're on a date."

"Well, fuck me and call me Mrs Happy Ever After," said Selphie.

Irvine opened his mouth, but whatever he'd been about to say, he thought better of it. He sneaked a look at Zell instead to see how he'd handled the news, but he seemed OK. Happy, even.

"Well, not before time, if you asked me," said Quistis. "So long as it doesn't get in the way of work."

"Oh, I think it's so cute." Selphie hugged herself. "Look, she's introducing him to her friends from class."

"I think they already know him, 'Elf. He is their Commander, after all."

"Yes, but it's different if he's her date," Selphie tried to explain.

"I wonder if that's what he's been waiting for all this time," murmured Quistis, "to make sure she'd qualified and everything, wasn't his student anymore."

"I don't think so," said Zell. "After all, he never taught her, and he's still her commanding officer."

"Mmm…" Quistis seemed lost in thought.

"Well, I think it's sweet," said Selphie.

"Yeah," said Irvine. "Now, who's up for another drink? I'm sure the last thing Squall needs is us gawping at him across the quad."

They had just left for the bar when an over-excited young woman backed into Irvine so hard it almost knocked him off balance.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, and blushed as she realised exactly who she'd bumped into. "I mean, sorry, Sir."

"At ease," said Irvine. "No harm done."

"Thank you, Sir," and with an embarrassed half-smile, she fled.

Zell snorted. "They're throwing themselves at you tonight, Kinneas."

"Well, you know," said Irvine, "some of us have a magic touch."

It's just a pity they always seem to run away, he thought.

* * * * * * *

Squall felt better once he had Rinoa to himself on the dance floor. A combination of the impracticality of talking over the loud music, and the need to keep in close physical proximity to each other made it a bit like being in battle together, which felt far more familiar to Squall than socialising.

That's kind of sad. We've probably spent more time fighting together than anything else.

Still, dancing was good for other reasons: the feeling of her soft warm body pressing into his, the light oceanic smell of her hair. He brushed her ear with his lips, and was rewarded by her tightening her hold on him, a kiss to his neck.

He considered taking her in his arms for a long and passionate kiss, but decided that it might not be considered appropriate in such a public place.

"If you keep doing that to my ear," said Rinoa, "we're going to have to leave the party early."

"Mnng.." he replied.

"And then people will really start talking."

He pulled back, grinning.

"Let them talk," he said. "This is your night. We can dance all night or fuck all night, I don't care."

She grinned back.

"Well, maybe a bit more dancing," she said, "for now."

"Whatever."

Meanwhile, Irvine sat at a table with Selphie and Zell, watching Quistis talking animatedly to a firearms instructor at the bar. As usual she was being closely monitored by a small gaggle of Treppies; for some reason she always seemed to attract groupies, more even than Squall. She was beautiful, of course, and clever, and had a sort of aloofness about her. She was very strict about fraternising with students though: Irvine admired the way she dealt with the ones who developed serious crushes on her. Always firm but never unkind.

"Quis looks great, doesn't she?" said Selphie. "I think it suits her, working with Xu."

"It would drive me up the wall, all that paperwork," confessed Zell. "I'd have too much energy and nothing to do with it."

"It's not the same without her, though," pondered Selphie, "on missions. When she has to stay behind, it's always as if something's missing."

"Has she said anything about the crystals?" Irvine asked.

Selphie shrugged. "Not really. I don't think they know much. Why?"

"Just a thought. With Rinoa and everything, I'd forgotten, but Squall said something weird: he couldn't remember collecting them."

"What, the whole day?" asked Selphie. "It was only yesterday."

"No, just the bit where they got the crystals. Odd."

"His mind was probably on other things," said Zell, nodding towards the dance floor.

"He said not," said Irvine. "But, I guess these things happen." He suddenly didn't feel like pursuing the topic any further. "Fuck, listen to me, I'm talking about work. Don't tell Quistis or it'll ruin my reputation as a slacker."

"Oh, I think it'll take more than that," said Selphie. "Oh, there's Xu. There was something I wanted to ask her. Won't be long." And she was gone.

* * * * * * *

Irvine wasn't surprised when Zell left the table shortly afterwards, claiming to have seen one of his students who needed congratulating. He hated the idea, but Zell was clearly still mad at him, and he didn't understand exactly why.

Irvine put his feet up on the stool Zell had vacated, and settled back to watch the party develop. He noticed Squall and Rinoa leave the room, saw Quistis rest a casual hand on her colleague's arm from time to time. It was an innocent enough gesture, but anyone who knew Quistis well would have been surprised to see it. She wasn't normally the touchy-feely type.

Selphie was dancing with Xu and Xian and Nida; Irvine cringed somewhat, as moving to music evidently wasn't one of Nida's strong points. Steering a ship clearly came more naturally to him than navigating his way round a dance floor.

Irvine was starting to feel lonely.

"Captain Kinneas."

He hated it when people called him that: it sounded like a comic book character. He raised his eyes to see the girl who had bumped into him back in the quad.

"Call me Irvine, please. We're off-duty."

She looked all pink and pleased at the idea.

"Irvine. I just wanted to say sorry. Again. I don't usually go round bumping into people."

She was pretty, Irvine noticed. Rich red hair tied back in an elaborate kind of braid, blue-green eyes and a sweet smile.

"What's your name?"

"Frila, Sir. Irvine."

"Well, Frila," he smiled lazily at her, "consider your apology thoroughly accepted. Now," he swung his legs off the stool, "d'you want to join me? Or have you got lots of friends you need to be with?"

His look could only be described as predatory.

"Okay," said Frila cheerfully, "if you don't mind." She plonked herself down. "I've always wanted to meet you. Oh shit, I sound like a groupie. I'm not. Really. I just… well, you are a bit famous round here."

"I should warn you that I'm not that interesting when you get to know me," purred Irvine. "I have been known to go for whole days at a time without saving the world or even slaying dragons of any kind."

She laughed, a deep, throaty chuckle that made Irvine feel warm inside.

"Anyway," he said, "what about you? Slayed any good dragons?"

"Not lately."

"What weapon do you specialise in?"

"Gunblade."

Irvine whistled. "Serious stuff." Now she mentioned it, he noted the strength of her arms and shoulders, lean, toned muscle, steady hands. "Don't know how you cope with it, myself. Weight feels all wrong to me. And the speed… spend all your energy moving the damn thing like a sword, then have to hold it still to fire. Still, can't beat it in a fight. Good for you, hotshot."

"It's hard work. Gets to me sometimes. It can be lonely."

"Yes. That's true of any weapon, though. If you want to be as good as you can be."

"Well, there are ways. Guardians, f'r instance."

"Guardians give you power. They can't give you skill. That's got to come the hard way."

She shrugged, seemed unconvinced. But then Guardians would be new to her; if she'd only just graduated chances are she'd had a Guardian of her own for less than a day. He remembered the heady power of his first junction; it had felt like he could do anything.

"Anyway, that's work stuff," she said. "If I'm going to convince my friends that I really did have a conversation with the great Irvine Kinneas, I need to find out more about you."

"Fire away, hotshot. I'll tell you anything."

"Well." She picked up a beer mat from the table and started to peel the printed layer off the top. "What was time compression really like?"

"Pretty scary," said Irvine, honestly, "confusing. Dangerous. Necessary."

"Would you do it again?"

"Of course," although he shuddered inwardly at the thought. "It's what we do."

"When we're not studying and training and having parties."

"Of course. Which reminds me," Irvine leaned forward, looking into those adorable green eyes, "would you like a drink?"

* * * * * * *

Squall pulled open the door and dragged Rinoa, giggling, inside. It was suddenly pitch black.

"Shhh," he said, struggling not to laugh himself, "someone'll hear."

"Squall, we're in a cupboard in a corridor. Who's going to hear us?"

"I don't know. Anyone passing, I guess."

"They're all at the party."

"Oh, I don't know. Someone else might decide to come and make out in a closet."

"Well," he felt Rinoa's body suddenly very close to his, "they can't have this one." She pushed him, none too gently, so his back was against the door. "Now, kiss me."

He didn't need asking twice. Holding her soft and warm in his arms, darkness focusing his sense of touch, he felt an escape from thought he'd been hungry for nearly all his life. He sank into desire completely, letting his body's feelings subdue his mind.

* * * * *

Irvine was at the bar when he became aware of a disturbance outside. His first thought was to ignore it: it was a party, after all, there were bound to be high spirits. But something told him it wasn't just that; his trained senses kicked in and he looked automatically across to Quistis. She was already moving.

"Trouble?" He slipped Ether into junction, just in case.

"I don't know," said Quistis, "let's go see."

As they approached the door a young man Irvine recognised as one of Rinoa's classmates rushed up to them.

"It's Risha," he panted, the name meaning nothing to Irvine, "she's completely freaked out!"

Quistis frowned. "Risha? Chet's student?"

The cadet nodded. "She was fine a moment ago and then she started screaming. I don't know what's wrong with her."

"Okay, where is she?"

"In the quad." He had already turned to lead the way. They followed him down the steps and towards the far end of the quad, where a small crowd had gathered. They shouldered their way to the centre, and found a small, wretched figure sat on the ground, knees hugged to her chest, sobbing, rocking back and forth. Irvine's breath caught in his throat: he'd rarely seen anyone look so frightened, so vulnerable.

"Risha…" Quistis knelt next to the girl, holding out a hand but careful not to touch her first, "Risha, it's Quistis. What's the matter?"

At first it didn't seem as if she had even noticed Quistis' presence, but slowly she reached out trembling fingers, clasped Quistis' hand.

"Help me… oh gods, please help me…"

Irvine reached for Ether. ~What's wrong with her?~

There was a pause before the Guardian answered him. ~ She is frightened, Sniper. She has seen something she did not wish to see. She is in danger. Her mind is breaking. ~

"Quis," said Irvine, "the Infirmary. Now. This is bad."

Quistis nodded. "Risha, can you stand? I'd like you to come with us. We'll go somewhere quiet."

Risha nodded, but made no attempt to move. Quistis gently pulled her to her feet.

"Irvine, can you carry her?"

"Of course." He lifted the fragile form in strong arms, Quistis still holding one trembling hand. Irvine realised that Zell was there, reassuring people, dispersing the crowd. Always a team, he thought whatever we think of each other, the instant something happens, we click together like a finished puzzle.

Risha burrowed her face into his neck, crying quietly now, moaning softly. Irvine held her close and broke into a run.

Xu was right behind them by the time they reached the Infirmary.

"What happened? Zell paged me. Is she okay?"

Irvine shook his head, laying Risha gently on the nearest bed. She whimpered as he let her go, stretching out a hand, panic in her eyes.

He sat next to her, held her hand, stroked her raven-black hair back from her face. Quistis pulled a blanket over her quivering body.

"Shhh…" Irvine soothed, "you're okay." ~Ether, can you make her sleep?~

~I will try.~

Irvine felt the familiar surge as Ether's power flowed through him. He caught a glimpse of Risha's mind as Ether willed her to unconsciousness, tasted the chaotic, churning, writhing fear inside her. When Ether withdrew she was asleep, but Irvine realised he was trembling.

"She'll sleep now," he said, "while we decide what we can do to save her." He continued to stroke Risha's hair. Something about her pale face surrounded by that dark mane reminded of a younger Rinoa, when they first met and she seemed so naïve and helpless.

"It might have been useful to question her," said Xu gently.

Irvine turned on Xu, rage flashing in his eyes. "If we'd done that she would be fucking dead already!"

Quistis had never seen Irvine that angry. Ever. "Irvy," she stepped between them to command his attention, "it's okay."

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath. When he opened them Quistis was relieved to see his usual calm, steady gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said, "it was… intense."

"Is she alright?" came a voice Irvine didn't recognise at first. Then he realised Risha's friend was standing next to him, his face anxious and scared.

"Yes," said Irvine, hoping it was true. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"She was fine… she'd just been cleared by the Doc, she was so pleased because she didn't want to miss the party, even if she hadn't graduated, and then she just started screaming and screaming…"

"Did she say anything," asked Quistis, "anything at all that might tell us what frightened her so much?"

He shook his head. "All she said was that she wanted to forget: she kept repeating 'forget, forget, forget' over and over. I've no idea what she meant."

~ Ether? ~

~ He speaks truth, Sniper. She saw something she did not wish to see. ~

Sometimes Irvine fervently wished Ether wouldn't talk in riddles, but he knew from experience there was no point in trying to get him to extrapolate.

~ Words are not easy for me, Sniper. They are strange. They confine feelings, trap thought. ~

~ I know. Sorry. ~ Irvine wasn't quite sure what he was apologising for but it seemed the thing to do.

"There was another thing," Risha's friend said. "She said something about the Dia. I couldn't make it out, and we were talking about them just before she started screaming, so it might just have been that. But it seemed odd. Are you sure she's going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine," said Quistis, "we'll take care of her."

Irvine was aware of a gentle hand on his shoulder. It was a nurse; he shook his head, trying to focus on his surroundings, but the echo of Risha's fear still resonated in his mind.

"Irvine Kinneas again? Twice in one day?" the nurse was saying, "yet another damsel in distress?"

Irvine smiled weakly. "They're just throwing themselves at me today," he mumbled.

"It's okay. We'll take it from here," she said, more gently. "I'll need to get her changed and settled into bed," she explained, when Irvine failed to move. Suddenly realising what she meant, he gave Risha's hair one last stroke and got up.

"She'll sleep for about twelve hours, according to Ether," he said. "It's really important to keep her sedated after that. Until we can find out what's wrong."

"We'll do that."

"Take care of her," said Irvine, softly, "she's so frightened."

The nurse nodded, busy with sheets and a drip.

Irvine joined Quistis and Xu in the visitor's area as the curtains were drawn around Risha's cubicle. He realised that Risha's friend had gone, and wondered briefly when that happened; shit, but time compression fucks with your mind. Quistis handed him a glass of water; he drank gratefully.

"I've sent for Squall," said Xu, "but no-one knows where he is." There was frustration in her voice: Irvine realised she was really worried.

"He left the party with Rinoa," he said, "I expect they've gone to find somewhere to make out."

Quistis arched an eyebrow.

"Well, they are on a date," he said, weakly. Fuck. Squall's going to kill me for that.

"What happened to Risha today, at the Fire Cavern?" asked Quistis.

Xu shrugged. "You read Chet's report, Quis. You know as much as I do. She tried to summon a Guardian in the forest near the Cavern, it didn't work and she bolted, leaving Chet to sort out the mess."

"Could that be it? It's pretty scary, when a Guardian won't summon. And she's only young. 14, isn't she, Xu? Youngest ever to take the exam."

Irvine shook his head. "It wasn't that. And anyway, she was fine just before. They wouldn't have let her out of here if she'd been traumatised."

"No." Xu tapped her pencil on the table next to her with uncharacteristic impatience. "Funnily enough, Squall was asking about Chet earlier. Oh come on, Squall," she jumped up and went to the window. "Where the fuck is he?"

* * * * * * *