Plot? WTF did I think I was doing introducing a plot? Ah, well. I've fixed what I didn't like about the way this story was turning (at least I think I have). And remember - all of this has a purpose. Else I wouldn't bother.

Enough of the plot. On to more Irvy goodness!!





Chapter Twelve

distraction



He woke up to the smell of coffee and a new outlook on life.

Surprising how one night could turn one cowboy upside down.

Irvine stared at the ceiling, wondering at the strange sense of happiness that had invaded his senses, taking over his cowardly brain with one swift move - checkmate. It was astounding. None of the questions or weaknesses or awkwardness remained. He was happier than he'd been in - well, years, really.

And she - the authoress of his smile - had made him coffee.

He crawled out of bed and went over, putting his arms around her and smiling. "Morning, Seff," he said gruffly.

She looked surprised, but turned to hug him back. "Morning, Vin. I made your coffee already."

"I can smell it." He didn't move; simply rested there, his arms around her thin waist, looking at her with a silly smile. Selphie.

This was no longer about protection, separation and secrets and hesitation. It was only about Selphie. Only about making her happy. She had smiled last night. It was about devotion.

She was looking at him, a humorous smile on her face. "You have to let me go if you want your coffee," she said gently.

"Do I have to?" Irvine said slyly; Selphie rolled her eyes, grinning, and he released her. She went and filled two mugs with the delicious brown warmth and brought them over to the small table. Irvine pulled his chair around to sit beside her; she looked delighted.

Good. Delighted.

They turned the pages of the newspaper, seated so close that arms brushed hands brushed elbows. Glorious contact. Selphie scanned the front page; Irvine stole the comics. She took them away; he rolled up the entertainment section and bopped her with it. Smiles all around.

No more questions. What had happened had happened and it was wonderful.

They finished their coffee in comfortable silence. Selphie went to take her shower and Irvine cunningly took the opportunity to put pancakes on the stove. They weren't hard - dry mix, milk, egg. Butter in the pan, cook until they bubble around the edges, flip carefully. Not a lesson one would learn in SeeD, but a good one nonetheless.

The surprise on her face when she walked out of the bathroom was all the reward he needed.

She opened the door and laughed immediately, the delicious smell wafting through the air. "What are you doing out there?" she asked, her voice happy. "What smells so good?"

"Take a guess," he called.

Selphie walked into the kitchen and squealed. "Pancakes!" She gave a little hop of excitement and turned - the table was already set. "You're making me breakfast?"

Irvine smiled at her. "Why not?"

She was amazed. "I didn't know you knew how to cook."

He stuck out his tongue. "Be nice, or I'll spit in them."

She shook her head as he set the first plate before her. "Vin- you didn't have to do this."

"I know," he said as he turned for the batter. "That's why I did."

Selphie ushered him into the shower before he could do all the dishes. Irvine caught himself humming and chuckled, the sound echoing in the rushing water. Was this all it took? That one step - that little bit of courage - and all problems were solved?

No more qualms, no more questions. It was all or nothing, and Irvine was out to show Selphie what sincerity was really like. All or nothing. Last chance.

The target had vanished. He hadn't even had to take aim.

But what to do today? They'd have to meet with the SeeDs. But even the mission had paled in comparison. Perhaps he could take her out tonight? Let her know that it was for real - not the womanizing cowboy, not Vincent and Fiona, but pure Kinneas, from the heart.

He toweled off his hair and pulled it back into his familiar ponytail. Dancing, perhaps?

Selphie was tapping on the computer when he came out; Irvine bent down to kiss the top of her head and asked, "Whatcha working on?"

She blushed. "Trying to see if there are any new operatives from Balamb. Checking all the vid lines. What are you working on?"

"Watching you," he said simply, his fingers stroking her hair.

She blushed again, but leaned back, resting her head on his warmth. This was so thrilling to her - comfortable nervousness.

"Let's go out tonight," Irvine said suddenly.

Selphie lifted her head and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"C'mon. Let's go out, you and me. Selphie and Irvine. Night out on the town. I promise you, baby, it'll be a great time." His mind was already whirling with plans.

"But we're not - we have to be Vincent and Fiona," she reprimanded him gently.

"Then Vincent and Fiona will have a night out," he said firmly. "Come on, Seff. It'll look perfectly natural."

Selphie wanted badly to give in - it would be so much fun just hanging out again, out on the town with Irvine, dressed up and having fun. She racked the sensible part of her brain, trying to find reasons why she should refuse; none came to mind. The sensible part of her brain seemed to be out for lunch.

"Okay," she said, and his entire face lit up.

"You look excited," she teased him.

Irvine laughed. "Well, I was expecting to have to resort to the puppy-dog eyes," he admitted. "I hate that."

"You don't do puppy dog eyes," Selphie said to him.

Irvine chuckled. "Not exactly. They're more like cute-little-Irvy eyes."

"Whatever," she snorted. "I can resist you."

She turned back to the computer, trying to keep the smile from spreading across her face. Irvine vanished around the corner; she heard him rustling through some of the drawers and covered her mouth to suppress the giggle. He reappeared around the corner. Selphie kept her eyes glued to the computer screen, summoning forth all of her willpower to not look at him. And not smile.

He sauntered over to her; she could see him from the corner of her eyes, around the edges of the screen. A hint of a grin tickled her lips - stop it! She felt him pause right beside her, arrange himself, and then gently cough.

"Not looking," she murmured, eyes still locked on the screen.

"Oh yes you are," Irvine said playfully. "We'll see who gives in first."

"Hah!" Selphie turned, her eyes sparkling with the challenge -

He sat there, chin casually resting in one hand, the famous handsome smirk spreading across his handsome face. His beautiful eyes were sparkling beneath the famous cowboy hat - he had the hat? - and fixated on hers immediately. Silky tendrils of hair framed his fascinating smile. Selphie couldn't get away from the eyes, however - beautiful deep violet and blue, shimmering with desire and genuine sincerity. His entire face was focused on her, hinging on her every word. Selphie suddenly understood how Irvine Kinneas had earned his reputation - one look like this, and he could have had any woman. She suspected even cold Quistis would have melted eventually. Pure physical beauty was a strange primal power in itself.

His mouth twitched into that genuine smile she recognized, and with his eyes still so soft and desperate he asked: "Selphie, will you go out with me tonight?"

He was such a tease.

She turned back to the computer, finally letting the smile spread across her own lips. "Of course."

He stood up then, straightening the hat. "You haven't said anything about the puppy dog eyes," he pointed out.

She sighed with a grin. "You're right. There's no way I could resist that. Looks like you've been practicing for quite a while."

"Savin' it all up for you, darlin'," he said, and adjusted the hat.

"You brought the hat?" she exclaimed then.

He actually blushed. "I love this hat," he said sulkily.

"You just be sure to put it away before we have company," she chastised. "I'm sure someone would recognize the Galbadian Cowboy wearing such a famous hat."

He took it off and turned it over in his hands. "But - but Selphie..."

"No buts." Briskly she stood up and nabbed the hat from his hands. He pouted at her. "And don't you dare try to get out of this by turning on the charm. You read the orders. No hat!"

"You're so mean!"

"You sound like Zell."

Irvine stuck his tongue out at her; she set the hat on her own head and struck a pose, hands on her hips, a smirk on her face. It was a silent symbol, a connection: this girl belongs to that cowboy. And he belongs to her.

There was a knock on the door.

Selphie gave a squeal of surprise and bolted away to hide the hat; Irvine tried to sober up and opened the door.

The four SeeD cadets were standing there; he must have looked guilty, for Astra's eyes narrowed. He gave them a weak smile and opened the door: "Come on in."

Darik entered the room. "I hope you don't mind we're here early," he said loudly. "We were going to meet anyway, and we thought this was an appropriate place to do it."

Vanesa gave him a glare. "How are you two," she greeted Selphie and Irvine.

"We're alright," Selphie - Fiona - said. "Any news?"

"Bits and pieces," the redhead said. "We wanted to get together and plan out a strategy for getting to and into the Desert Prison."

"We thought we'd just work over here so that we can check our actions with you guys," Dall added.

Irvine glanced at Selphie, grinned, and then glanced back. "You guys know that we don't have any sort of experience with this kind of thing, right?"

Darik gave a slow smile. "Of course," he said. "We just thought that this would be a nice, private place for us to work out our own details."

There was some sort of emphasis on his words that made Irvine pause; but Darik was acting normally otherwise (normal, of course, meaning noisy and arrogant), and Irvine calmed down. There was no way the boy could have figured things out.

He saw Selphie watching him from across the room, trying to read his mind; he walked over and gave her a quick kiss. She blushed.

He turned around; four sets of eyes suddenly averted. "What do you need from us?" he asked.

"Nothing yet," Vanesa said cheerfully. "We'll let you know as you go."

"Would you care for some coffee or something to drink?" Selphie offered.

"Coffee would be great," Dall admitted.

Selphie put on a pot, cheerfully humming; Irvine followed her into the kitchen, putting his arms around her waist and squeezing. Soft giggles floated out to the four SeeDs trying diligently to focus on their planning.

They were there all day, an odd mix of relaxation and diligent focus. Not that Selphie and Irvine noticed. They went and played on the computer; they sat on the balcony and ate sandwiches while watching the people pass by. They laughed, they snuggled, they teased. It was their own separate world. Irvine's entire day was focused on making Selphie happy; and Selphie was lost in the realization that Irvine was treating her like gold. It would have been confusing had it not been exhilarating.

The SeeD squad left for lunch and came back in twos; Vanesa and Dall had eaten close-by while Darik and Astra apparently had returned to the hotel. The Galbadian SeeDs came back shortly after and they got back to business, drawing up a little map of the Desert Prison and finalizing their plans.

Had Irvine been watching, he would have finally been impressed by their professionalism. The team of four was quickly consolidating into a close-knit operative - though Dall was still the outsider and Astra was still silent and cold - and were finally being efficient. It was a shame that they were under suspicion, because they truly were good SeeDs.

But Irvine wasn't watching. He and Selphie were playing pinball on the computer and trying not to laugh out loud.

A voice called out: "Hey, we're done, want to take a look?"

Selphie and Irvine looked at each other and tried - unsuccessfully - to sober up. "Sure," Selphie replied, and eagerly jumped from the chair. Irvine followed more slowly.

She was bending over the map eagerly, taking in every inch of this plan. It honestly looked as if her entire life depended on understanding this, and Irvine had to admire her resolve. She was dedicated to the cause, certainly; he was a little giddy.

The SeeDs detailed their plan; Irvine was only half-listening, but it all sounded genuinely good. Selphie was paying a little more attention, nodding intently.

They finished explaining and she clapped her hands. "I'm no judge of military matters," she said softly, "but you speak with so much confidence that - I believe - you're finally giving me hope."

She reached up and squeezed Irvine's hand. "I trust you - I have faith in you. Best of luck."

Irvine nodded at them. "Thank you for being so dedicated. I'm sure everything will work out."

They stood up and stretched; Selphie wandered off into the bedroom. Irvine gave them a shy smile and offered: "That's the first time she's smiled in forever. She's been so worried ...it's all I can do to keep her happy. You've given her hope. Thank you."

Vanesa smiled broadly. "It's the least we can do," she said.

"Your trust is not misplaced," Astra said.

Darik even said, "You should take her out tonight - get her mind off of things. We'll start the plan tomorrow, and she'll be worrying once we're gone."

The kindness was so uncharacteristic that Irvine blinked, and then grinned. "Maybe I will," he said. "I think that's what we both need."

He closed the door behind him, smiling. They could pass the afternoon in relaxation and then head out for the evening.

He took out his guitar and started picking through a couple songs; to his delight, Selphie joined him, and they sat on the couch together, trading songs and stories.

Finally, Irvine stretched and headed for the kitchen. "Good gracious, look at the time," he drawled. "Fee darling, you should get ready - we're going out tonight!"

"Vinny dear," she called from the bedroom, "I'm already there."

Selphie could hear the soft strains of a folk song through the bathroom door as she changed. She had dug out - didn't even know why she brought it - an old favorite dress of hers: a soft navy-blue silk affair, long and swirly. It flared when she spun, like her hair, and her old Trabian friends had always teased her about the "flippy dress and the flippy girl". Selphie always did a lot of spinning when she went out. It was fun.

She had put the dress on and was pleased to find it still fit; the neckline was much like that of her favorite yellow jumper, pretty but nothing indecent. She wore her favorite silver locket and a couple bangle bracelets. Not a lot of makeup. Her hair was in its special curls.

She looked into the mirror; a sad-faced but lovely girl looked back at her. The dress was full of memories - the first Festival she had been a part of at Trabia. Friends who were gone. A ballroom that no longer existed.

Why did all her memories bring her pain?

She felt Quezacotl stirring in her mind; the thunder-bird paused, and then brought forth a different memory: Selphie, having her picture taken in the dress with her laughing friends. Many of them were missing. Gone after Trabia fell.

Why are you showing me this?

Quezacotl paused, and the image became clearer: Selphie, smiling.

She understood. Memories are not there to hurt: they are meant to heal.

Thank you.

The thunder bird buzzed slightly in response, sending tingles over her skin, and faded back into her subconscious.

She opened the door and gasped.

"You're wearing - real - nice clothes!" was the first thing that came to mind. You are the most gorgeous man alive was the second, but she decided not to blurt that one out.

Irvine laughed at her.

He was wearing black pants and a soft gray button shirt with a long black coat much like his old tan duster, trimmed in soft creamy fabric. His hair was pulled back in its loose ponytail. His eyes twinkled.

"You can clean me up," he drawled, and came forward to take her arm: "But you'll outshine me."

Selphie gave him a genuine smile.

The evening was fantastic. They went dancing all night, much to Selphie's delight; she had never been able to find a man who could out-dance her, but Irvine Kinneas definitely came close. They spun from club to club, ending up in the place beneath the hotel where Julia Heartilly had played long ago. They bought drinks when they wanted a break and then headed back to dance the night away.

Selphie had more fun than she had ever had. She had never really trusted Irvine to take her out, but he was all attentiveness. Her closest friend. He smiled when she smiled and laughed when she laughed. And he was quite a dancer.

Finally they made it back to the apartment. Irvine held the door for Selphie with a wink; she headed in and flopped down on the bed. "I'm exhausted, Vin!"

"C'mon, Seff. Just change into your stuff and we can go to bed."

She stood up and cautiously headed over to him, putting her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his chest. 'Thank you, Irvine," she said softly. "That was fantastic."

"I've got plenty more if you're interested," Irvine replied.

They stood in the darkness of the first room, breathing in slowly. Then Irvine said in a funny voice: "What's blinking?"

Selphie turned. "Oh, the computer. Wait ...?" She ran in to check it - clicked a few buttons. "Oh, crap," she said, and looked up at him sheepishly. "We forgot to report."

Irvine rolled his eyes. "Do we have to do it now?"

Selphie scrolled down on the screen. "Oh, bloody Ifrit," she said under her breath.

The note from Quistis read:

Hey you two. We haven't received your report, and it's pretty late. If you get this, send us a notification as soon as possible. If we don't hear from you by midnight we're going to assume something happened to you and initiate the rescue plan. So get your butts back here and send me something.

Selphie wasted no time, her eyes narrowing. She initially sent a response and then checked the time: 11:49? There was a chance that nothing would process by then. And if they had to go to rescue the entire thing would be blown. Mentally berating herself for being so absentminded, she logged into the Balamb system and began searching for a way to deactivate the automatic initiation.

"Fee," Irvine whined from the bedroom. "Do you need my help?"

"Nah." Her concentration was only on the computer, trying to fix her mistake. There - current missions. She double-clicked on her name and read quickly, trying to find mission status. "I'll be done here in a second. I have to do something, and then we can report and go to bed."

There? Selphie flew through a couple screens and finally found the urgent command. She double-clicked again, entering her name, SeeD ID and network pass-code. The status of their mission dropped from unknown to benign. 11:51.

Selphie sighed and called up the camera files for the living room. She watched as they loaded - one, two, three, four ...five?

We only have four. Her heart stopped.

She tried it again. Five. Where was the other feed coming from?

With a little difficulty she traced it. A little ...common-issue vidnet feed ...from under the couch?

Now her heart was pounding.

Hands shaking, she loaded the main camera and scanned through the day. Skipped through breakfast ...the SeeDs coming in ...talking ...leaving for lunch ...back ...wait.

She watched, her eyes wide, as Darik and Astra sat down on the couch. Waited a couple minutes. Then Darik nodded at Astra subtly; the pale girl casually and quickly reached down and tucked something under the couch.

Shit. Double shit.

"Vin," she called, her voice quaking, "come here?" Just don't call me Selphie, please...

He came in and froze. "You're completely white," he said slowly. "What happened?"

"Come look. I think we lost the connection."

He looked at her concerned and she put her finger over her lips firmly. She typed softly and carefully on the screen:

We have a problem.

Irvine looked at her. "Let me see," he said.

She replayed the video image of Astra sticking the small camera under the couch. Irvine said nothing, but she could see his face paling. His fists clenched.

"What do we do?" he asked her softly.

She typed:

I don't think they're getting very strong/good video - mostly audio. But we can't really take it down or they'll wonder how we found it.

Irvine bit his lip. Carefully he reached down and pecked out on the keyboard:

How did we not notice?

Selphie wouldn't meet his eyes as she typed slowly:

I think we were kissing.

The world slowly faded for Irvine as he realized what he had done. The distraction had been so powerful that he had literally compromised their security - the security of their mission. Selphie had some first - but she shouldn't have come before her own safety! If only he had been paying attention, he would have noticed, they could have done something. Now they were both in danger - obviously the Galbadians suspected something, else this never would have happened.

He closed his eyes. He could have shot himself right now, literally. Shot himself in the foot. How stupid was he? If this was really the girl he cared about - shouldn't he be trying to protect her as well?

And then a chill ran down his spine.

He recalled Darik's voice: You should take her out tonight - get her mind off things.

And he himself responded like an idiot: I think that's what we both need.

Oh, dear Hyne. They were really in trouble now ...