Irvine walked through the streets of Balamb, window-shopping for something
to get the boy back home.
My boy back home ...
He grinned at the thought. He passed the video store and decided to grab a few flicks for the night. He realized when he got inside that he had no clue what Squall liked. He winged it and grabbed a couple new comedies -both looked totally dumb, but fun nonetheless; an action, slash-'em-up sword fighting flick (which Squall was bound to love); and an old black and white. Irvine loved old movies. They were so dramatic and corny.
He grabbed some microwave popcorn and candy at the counter. He whistled as he headed toward the house.
Irvine, growing more excited as he neared the house, passed a flower vender hawking her wares on the corner.
"Hey, Cowpoke! You look like you've got a pretty lady back somewhere! Why don't ya buy her something, huh?" She leaned foreword and smiled.
"Hmmm ..."
"You do have a girl, yah?"
Irvine smiled. "Yah. Something like that ..."
Irvine leaned over an arrangement of dark red flowers, breathing in their scent as the vendor giggled. "Do you really think he'd like being called a girl?"
Irvine looked up at her in shock, looking at her for the first real time. "You!" he exclaimed, recognizing her vibrant auburn hair and dusky eyes. "What're you doing here!" He leaned foreword in her face, close enough to kiss her and growled, "What did you do?"
The girl laughed. "I'm sorry! Is this not what you wanted?"
"What do you mean?" Irvine asked cautiously, taking a baby step away from the girl, but staying close enough to keep their conversation quiet. "Then you did do ... um, whatever you did to me? What did you do?"
She nodded. "Yes. Remember last night?" He nodded and motioned for her to continue. "You told me, or no - you asked yourself where you had gone wrong. All I did was send you to where you would figure out where you had gone wrong to make your life right, how it was meant to be."
"So where am I?"
"Balamb. But it is not quite the Balamb you knew before today." She waved her arms around her body, motioning at everything in their sight. "This is an alternate universe. It's one where you did something different than what you did in your universe. One where you did something that changed your life forever."
"W-what?" Irvine was still confused.
The woman continued easily. "You woke up to a new life this morning. I know that, but what you woke up to was completely up to you. Last night, you knew where you had messed up, even if it was not in your main conscience. Deep down, you knew what you should have done. You knew that one choice you had made had changed your life for the worse."
Irvine nodded slowly. "So this is the better," he said simply.
She nodded. "Is it better?"
The cowboy blushed deep. "Yah. I think so. But how did you get me here?" His voice softened. "Is this forever?"
"No. This is not forever." Irvine looked downtrodden and swallowed thick. She continued, "I brought you here with magic to help you found where you had gone wrong. It was buried deep in your soul. I dug it out, to say, to let you explore."
"That must be some strong magics you're packing, missy," Irvine joked.
With a friendly nod, she said, "Yes. I'm a sorceress."
"But I thought there was only one at a time? Did something happen to Rinoa?"
"No. There are a few sorceresses around at any given time," she said, returning the grin Irvine had given her earlier.
Irvine's mood darkened again as he said, "So I can't stay here. What'll happen? What's happened in the ... universe ... I'm from?"
The woman bit her lip in thought. "Well, back in your land, it's like it's on pause. No time has gone by in the time you have been here, nor will it as you stay. As for going back - when you're goal is reached here, when your questions are answered, you'll just go back to where you belong, exactly at the time I brought you away. What you do when you get back ... is up to you.
"While you've been here, you've taken the place of the long-tressed, purple- eyed cowboy who belongs here. Like you took over his conscience, almost, but every you in every universe is all part on one single you."
Irvine's face looked blank.
"Confused?" She asked with a smile.
"Yah!" Irvine laughed. "But I think I get the gist of it ... maybe ..."
The girl grinned and started to rearrange the abundance of flowers in front of her. "So do you think you'll buy some of these for Mr. Makes-Your-Life- Perfect?"
"How'd you know it was ... him?"
"Well, I dug enough out of your feelings to know that much. But not much else." Irvine just gave her his best Squall-inspired glare.
"Well?" the flower girl egged, friendly but still trying to make a sale.
Irvine shook his head and grinned, looking cluelessly at the flowers before him. He finally gave up. "I donno. What flowers are good for guys, huh?"
The girl carefully picked out a few of the full dark red ones Irvine was so entranced with earlier, some green sprouts and a spattering of gentle Baby's Breath. On a second thought, she added a single royal violet bloom.
Irvine took the bouquet happily from her and paid what he thought to be the rather exorbitant amount. He only had a few Gil left to rattle in his pocket.
Oh well; he's worth every Gil ...
He lingered, still carrying curiosities and worries. The flower girl butted in before he could, though. "I'll be around. If you need anything, you'll find me. I promise."
"You sure?"
She nodded and grinned at Irvine. He nodded farewell and walked home.
He got to the door and habitually shifted his goods into a one-armed grip and searched his pocket for keys. He had none.
Crap ...
After checking the door again, he heaved a sigh and sat down on the curb.
Squall'll be back soon.
Maybe.
Better be ... I miss 'im ...
Setting the bag of videos on the ground next to him, he twirled the bouquet between his hands, carefully as not to disrupt the gentle balance of blooms.
He was distracted with the flowers bundled in his hand when Squall's boots entered his vision. He looked up to see the other boy looking down at him, grinning.
"What are you doing, luv?"
"Waiting for you," Irvine answered.
"On the street?" Squall asked as he squatted down to Irvine's level, gently brushing a strand of loose hair in place behind the boy's ear.
"Yah ..."
Squall brushed his lips gently against Irvine's. "Why?"
"No keys," Irvine said simply, allowing Squall to kiss him slowly. The boy pressed harder on him, playing their tongues together between their mouths.
Irvine moved his free hand to the back of the boy's head, pulling him closer. Squall rested his knees on top of Irvine's crossed legs and wrapped him in a gentle hug.
Squall sighed with content. Irvine, just a touch embarrassed to be quite this intimate on their doorstep, cleared his throat nervously. Squall took the hint and released his grip on the boy, but still squatted in front of him, grinning.
"Oh!" Irvine held the flowers out to Squall, feeling his face turning pink slowly as he did so. "These are for you."
Squall took them and looked them over. He looked very amused as he kissed Irvine gently in return. "They're beautiful. Thank you." His eyes were warm, touched by Irvine's gesture. "Now c'mon," he stood and offered his free hand down. "Come inside, luv." Irvine took his hand gently and followed Squall to the doorway, hands still wrapped together.
Squall threw his keys on the coffee table as Irvine shut the door behind him. The cowboy was dragged to the kitchen - he tossed the bag of movies on the table as they passed.
"What's that?" Squall motioned to the bag, face buried in his bouquet.
"Movies. Thought we might watch a couple tonight."
"Perfect." Squall kissed him and pushed him away against the counter on the far wall. He grinned as he dug through a cupboard and finally produced a tall glass. He filled it with water and arranged the flowers in it.
Irvine watched, bemused, as he shimmied up backwards and sat on the counter. Squall smelled the flowers again and set them on the windowsill above the sink. He changed his mind, taking them down and walking from the room. Irvine was about to leap down and follow him, but Squall told him to find something to eat.
Irvine nodded, realizing that he was starving. The clock said it was past two in the afternoon.
No wonder.
He peeked into the cupboards, pulling out a half-empty bag of corn chips and a tub of cookies. He found bread and looked in the fridge for sandwich stuff.
Squall came back and took over the job of making lunch. Irvine stood back and watched him, nibbling a cookie. Putting things back in the fridge, Squall purposefully gave Irvine an alluring view of his behind. The cowboy found his hand pulled to touch Squall, but patting his ass seemed really crude, so he slid his fingers suggestively under the boy's shirt instead.
Slowly standing and shutting the fridge door, Squall handed Irvine a six- pack of soda. "Make those hands of yours useful," he teased.
Irvine followed him out to the living room, throwing his weight heavily down on the couch as Squall went to put the first movie in. He held up the first comedy for approval and popped it in. He snuggled up close to Irvine on the couch and they ate their lunch.
The movie sucked, as so many tend to, so the two filled in all the boring parts with tender kisses and exploring hands. Irvine had lost his hat and Squall his belts in the process.
Irvine's lips felt bruised and abused oh-so-well by the time Squall leapt up to pop the next movie in the player. He had chosen the action to see next. Irvine had been right in the store - Squall totally loved it. His attention was fully on the screen across the room, so Irvine just held the boy as he lounged in his lap.
He liked the movie too, but ninety percent of Irvine's attention was held by the beauty he held in his arms. He studied the boy's face and body carefully, following the turn of his jaw with his eyes to where it met his neck, and down his smooth skin to the neckline of his tee shirt. Irvine wanted to lick the tender skin and yank his shirt off and lick all that, too.
Later ...
Instead, Irvine gently traced the scar on Squall's forehead with a single finger. His hand must have been blocking Squall's view, though, as the boy promptly grabbed his hand away. He kissed Irvine's fingers lightly and held his hand to his chest. Irvine smirked.
It was about seven o'clock when the movie ended. Squall sat up, exhilarated.
"That was so cool! 'Specially when that guy ..." He swung his arms around as if he held his blade. "I want to try that!"
Irvine grinned. "So we'll go to the training room tomorrow," he said. Squall smiled and kissed Irvine rough, pulling him down. He untied the cowboy's hair and let it fall around them like a curtain.
Squall sighed and stood, reluctantly freeing the hand he was gripping through the film. He threw the second comedy on and leaned back into Irvine's embrace.
This movie was better than the first, but Squall still leaned up to kiss Irvine hungrily during all the boring parts. You know, all the ones with dialogue and plot and all.
They were so wrapped up in each other's mouths that they didn't notice that the tape had ended until the loud static fuzz at the end told them. Squall moaned and reached for the remote without parting from the other boy. The static ended and Squall dropped the remote and re-wound his hands in Irvine's loose hair.
He sat back on Irvine's lap and looked at him with gentle eyes. Genuine compassion and love showed through. He licked his lips lightly and stood to swap tapes again.
He is so different right now.
Do I do this to him?
Am I really as good for him as he ... apparently is for me?
Irvine watched as Squall yawned and curled up in his lap again. The clock high on the wall above Irvine's head said that it was about nine o'clock.
Squall's kisses became softer and softer until his lips barely fluttered against Irvine's, feeling like delicate butterfly wings.
Would have never thought of 'Squall' and 'butterfly' in the same sentence before. Dude.
Squall turned his face up in Irvine's lap as he drifted off to sleep. Irvine ran his hand through the boy's hair as he watched the rest of the movie.
He grabbed the remote from the floor where Squall had dropped it earlier and turned the VCR off as the credits stopped rolling. He popped open a can of soda and drank it slowly, finishing off the cookies.
Squall was sound asleep, mouth a tiny bit open. His breathing was quiet and even, the only sound in the dark room. Irvine soon felt his eyelids droop as he too was falling asleep. Before he nodded off too, he crawled off the couch, carefully not waking Squall.
He gathered the sleeping boy gently in his arms and picked him up.
Wow. Thought he'd be heavier.
Squall half-woke up and wrapped his arms around Irvine's neck as the boy carried him to their room. He laid Squall out on the bed, managing to yank the covers down so that his weight would not anchor them to the mattress.
The room was lit gently by the moon, so Irvine did not have to turn on the light to remove Squall's boots and shirt. He stripped himself down to his boxers. He would have taken Squall's pants off too, but they were too tight to do it comfortably without waking him.
Irvine lay down next to Squall and yanked the covers up around them. Squall sighed and snuggled up against him. The cowboy wrapped his arms around the boy and gently kissed his forehead before sleep overcame him too.
My boy back home ...
He grinned at the thought. He passed the video store and decided to grab a few flicks for the night. He realized when he got inside that he had no clue what Squall liked. He winged it and grabbed a couple new comedies -both looked totally dumb, but fun nonetheless; an action, slash-'em-up sword fighting flick (which Squall was bound to love); and an old black and white. Irvine loved old movies. They were so dramatic and corny.
He grabbed some microwave popcorn and candy at the counter. He whistled as he headed toward the house.
Irvine, growing more excited as he neared the house, passed a flower vender hawking her wares on the corner.
"Hey, Cowpoke! You look like you've got a pretty lady back somewhere! Why don't ya buy her something, huh?" She leaned foreword and smiled.
"Hmmm ..."
"You do have a girl, yah?"
Irvine smiled. "Yah. Something like that ..."
Irvine leaned over an arrangement of dark red flowers, breathing in their scent as the vendor giggled. "Do you really think he'd like being called a girl?"
Irvine looked up at her in shock, looking at her for the first real time. "You!" he exclaimed, recognizing her vibrant auburn hair and dusky eyes. "What're you doing here!" He leaned foreword in her face, close enough to kiss her and growled, "What did you do?"
The girl laughed. "I'm sorry! Is this not what you wanted?"
"What do you mean?" Irvine asked cautiously, taking a baby step away from the girl, but staying close enough to keep their conversation quiet. "Then you did do ... um, whatever you did to me? What did you do?"
She nodded. "Yes. Remember last night?" He nodded and motioned for her to continue. "You told me, or no - you asked yourself where you had gone wrong. All I did was send you to where you would figure out where you had gone wrong to make your life right, how it was meant to be."
"So where am I?"
"Balamb. But it is not quite the Balamb you knew before today." She waved her arms around her body, motioning at everything in their sight. "This is an alternate universe. It's one where you did something different than what you did in your universe. One where you did something that changed your life forever."
"W-what?" Irvine was still confused.
The woman continued easily. "You woke up to a new life this morning. I know that, but what you woke up to was completely up to you. Last night, you knew where you had messed up, even if it was not in your main conscience. Deep down, you knew what you should have done. You knew that one choice you had made had changed your life for the worse."
Irvine nodded slowly. "So this is the better," he said simply.
She nodded. "Is it better?"
The cowboy blushed deep. "Yah. I think so. But how did you get me here?" His voice softened. "Is this forever?"
"No. This is not forever." Irvine looked downtrodden and swallowed thick. She continued, "I brought you here with magic to help you found where you had gone wrong. It was buried deep in your soul. I dug it out, to say, to let you explore."
"That must be some strong magics you're packing, missy," Irvine joked.
With a friendly nod, she said, "Yes. I'm a sorceress."
"But I thought there was only one at a time? Did something happen to Rinoa?"
"No. There are a few sorceresses around at any given time," she said, returning the grin Irvine had given her earlier.
Irvine's mood darkened again as he said, "So I can't stay here. What'll happen? What's happened in the ... universe ... I'm from?"
The woman bit her lip in thought. "Well, back in your land, it's like it's on pause. No time has gone by in the time you have been here, nor will it as you stay. As for going back - when you're goal is reached here, when your questions are answered, you'll just go back to where you belong, exactly at the time I brought you away. What you do when you get back ... is up to you.
"While you've been here, you've taken the place of the long-tressed, purple- eyed cowboy who belongs here. Like you took over his conscience, almost, but every you in every universe is all part on one single you."
Irvine's face looked blank.
"Confused?" She asked with a smile.
"Yah!" Irvine laughed. "But I think I get the gist of it ... maybe ..."
The girl grinned and started to rearrange the abundance of flowers in front of her. "So do you think you'll buy some of these for Mr. Makes-Your-Life- Perfect?"
"How'd you know it was ... him?"
"Well, I dug enough out of your feelings to know that much. But not much else." Irvine just gave her his best Squall-inspired glare.
"Well?" the flower girl egged, friendly but still trying to make a sale.
Irvine shook his head and grinned, looking cluelessly at the flowers before him. He finally gave up. "I donno. What flowers are good for guys, huh?"
The girl carefully picked out a few of the full dark red ones Irvine was so entranced with earlier, some green sprouts and a spattering of gentle Baby's Breath. On a second thought, she added a single royal violet bloom.
Irvine took the bouquet happily from her and paid what he thought to be the rather exorbitant amount. He only had a few Gil left to rattle in his pocket.
Oh well; he's worth every Gil ...
He lingered, still carrying curiosities and worries. The flower girl butted in before he could, though. "I'll be around. If you need anything, you'll find me. I promise."
"You sure?"
She nodded and grinned at Irvine. He nodded farewell and walked home.
He got to the door and habitually shifted his goods into a one-armed grip and searched his pocket for keys. He had none.
Crap ...
After checking the door again, he heaved a sigh and sat down on the curb.
Squall'll be back soon.
Maybe.
Better be ... I miss 'im ...
Setting the bag of videos on the ground next to him, he twirled the bouquet between his hands, carefully as not to disrupt the gentle balance of blooms.
He was distracted with the flowers bundled in his hand when Squall's boots entered his vision. He looked up to see the other boy looking down at him, grinning.
"What are you doing, luv?"
"Waiting for you," Irvine answered.
"On the street?" Squall asked as he squatted down to Irvine's level, gently brushing a strand of loose hair in place behind the boy's ear.
"Yah ..."
Squall brushed his lips gently against Irvine's. "Why?"
"No keys," Irvine said simply, allowing Squall to kiss him slowly. The boy pressed harder on him, playing their tongues together between their mouths.
Irvine moved his free hand to the back of the boy's head, pulling him closer. Squall rested his knees on top of Irvine's crossed legs and wrapped him in a gentle hug.
Squall sighed with content. Irvine, just a touch embarrassed to be quite this intimate on their doorstep, cleared his throat nervously. Squall took the hint and released his grip on the boy, but still squatted in front of him, grinning.
"Oh!" Irvine held the flowers out to Squall, feeling his face turning pink slowly as he did so. "These are for you."
Squall took them and looked them over. He looked very amused as he kissed Irvine gently in return. "They're beautiful. Thank you." His eyes were warm, touched by Irvine's gesture. "Now c'mon," he stood and offered his free hand down. "Come inside, luv." Irvine took his hand gently and followed Squall to the doorway, hands still wrapped together.
Squall threw his keys on the coffee table as Irvine shut the door behind him. The cowboy was dragged to the kitchen - he tossed the bag of movies on the table as they passed.
"What's that?" Squall motioned to the bag, face buried in his bouquet.
"Movies. Thought we might watch a couple tonight."
"Perfect." Squall kissed him and pushed him away against the counter on the far wall. He grinned as he dug through a cupboard and finally produced a tall glass. He filled it with water and arranged the flowers in it.
Irvine watched, bemused, as he shimmied up backwards and sat on the counter. Squall smelled the flowers again and set them on the windowsill above the sink. He changed his mind, taking them down and walking from the room. Irvine was about to leap down and follow him, but Squall told him to find something to eat.
Irvine nodded, realizing that he was starving. The clock said it was past two in the afternoon.
No wonder.
He peeked into the cupboards, pulling out a half-empty bag of corn chips and a tub of cookies. He found bread and looked in the fridge for sandwich stuff.
Squall came back and took over the job of making lunch. Irvine stood back and watched him, nibbling a cookie. Putting things back in the fridge, Squall purposefully gave Irvine an alluring view of his behind. The cowboy found his hand pulled to touch Squall, but patting his ass seemed really crude, so he slid his fingers suggestively under the boy's shirt instead.
Slowly standing and shutting the fridge door, Squall handed Irvine a six- pack of soda. "Make those hands of yours useful," he teased.
Irvine followed him out to the living room, throwing his weight heavily down on the couch as Squall went to put the first movie in. He held up the first comedy for approval and popped it in. He snuggled up close to Irvine on the couch and they ate their lunch.
The movie sucked, as so many tend to, so the two filled in all the boring parts with tender kisses and exploring hands. Irvine had lost his hat and Squall his belts in the process.
Irvine's lips felt bruised and abused oh-so-well by the time Squall leapt up to pop the next movie in the player. He had chosen the action to see next. Irvine had been right in the store - Squall totally loved it. His attention was fully on the screen across the room, so Irvine just held the boy as he lounged in his lap.
He liked the movie too, but ninety percent of Irvine's attention was held by the beauty he held in his arms. He studied the boy's face and body carefully, following the turn of his jaw with his eyes to where it met his neck, and down his smooth skin to the neckline of his tee shirt. Irvine wanted to lick the tender skin and yank his shirt off and lick all that, too.
Later ...
Instead, Irvine gently traced the scar on Squall's forehead with a single finger. His hand must have been blocking Squall's view, though, as the boy promptly grabbed his hand away. He kissed Irvine's fingers lightly and held his hand to his chest. Irvine smirked.
It was about seven o'clock when the movie ended. Squall sat up, exhilarated.
"That was so cool! 'Specially when that guy ..." He swung his arms around as if he held his blade. "I want to try that!"
Irvine grinned. "So we'll go to the training room tomorrow," he said. Squall smiled and kissed Irvine rough, pulling him down. He untied the cowboy's hair and let it fall around them like a curtain.
Squall sighed and stood, reluctantly freeing the hand he was gripping through the film. He threw the second comedy on and leaned back into Irvine's embrace.
This movie was better than the first, but Squall still leaned up to kiss Irvine hungrily during all the boring parts. You know, all the ones with dialogue and plot and all.
They were so wrapped up in each other's mouths that they didn't notice that the tape had ended until the loud static fuzz at the end told them. Squall moaned and reached for the remote without parting from the other boy. The static ended and Squall dropped the remote and re-wound his hands in Irvine's loose hair.
He sat back on Irvine's lap and looked at him with gentle eyes. Genuine compassion and love showed through. He licked his lips lightly and stood to swap tapes again.
He is so different right now.
Do I do this to him?
Am I really as good for him as he ... apparently is for me?
Irvine watched as Squall yawned and curled up in his lap again. The clock high on the wall above Irvine's head said that it was about nine o'clock.
Squall's kisses became softer and softer until his lips barely fluttered against Irvine's, feeling like delicate butterfly wings.
Would have never thought of 'Squall' and 'butterfly' in the same sentence before. Dude.
Squall turned his face up in Irvine's lap as he drifted off to sleep. Irvine ran his hand through the boy's hair as he watched the rest of the movie.
He grabbed the remote from the floor where Squall had dropped it earlier and turned the VCR off as the credits stopped rolling. He popped open a can of soda and drank it slowly, finishing off the cookies.
Squall was sound asleep, mouth a tiny bit open. His breathing was quiet and even, the only sound in the dark room. Irvine soon felt his eyelids droop as he too was falling asleep. Before he nodded off too, he crawled off the couch, carefully not waking Squall.
He gathered the sleeping boy gently in his arms and picked him up.
Wow. Thought he'd be heavier.
Squall half-woke up and wrapped his arms around Irvine's neck as the boy carried him to their room. He laid Squall out on the bed, managing to yank the covers down so that his weight would not anchor them to the mattress.
The room was lit gently by the moon, so Irvine did not have to turn on the light to remove Squall's boots and shirt. He stripped himself down to his boxers. He would have taken Squall's pants off too, but they were too tight to do it comfortably without waking him.
Irvine lay down next to Squall and yanked the covers up around them. Squall sighed and snuggled up against him. The cowboy wrapped his arms around the boy and gently kissed his forehead before sleep overcame him too.
