Disclaimer: Come on people! If I owned Final Fantasy VIII I wouldn't have to settle for the 'ghetto' computer that I have. And trust me, I had to have two friends work on it because a dll file or something like that got deleted, and they laughed at my computer because its so ancient.

Upstairs

They stepped past the ladders and paint cans that lined the walls and stopped outside a room labeled 001A. Squall reached into his pocket a pulled out a navy blue and silver striped key card. Irvine watched as he opened the door and led them inside. Still holding Toby securely to his hip, Irvine stepped out from behind Zell and stared at the room around him. It had to be about twice as big as his dorm room. The pair windows on the opposite wall of the front door reached from a few inches off of the floor up to about a foot from the ceiling. Irvine marveled at the freshly painted walls and the new beige carpet. He'd only seen rooms this nice whenever Squall had paid his way into the hotel at Balamb and Deling. Irvine turned into the hallway on his left and opened the door in front of him. He stepped in the room carefully and looked around. He really liked the carpet although it wasn't anything too special. He had just always been partial to light blue. The walls were the typical off white that made the room look somewhat cozy while symbolizing the structure that had kept Balamb Garden operational.

"Hey check out this room," Zell called out from the room to Irvine's right. He gently sat Toby down and looked inside the room where Zell was standing.

"Whoa! There are two bedrooms?" Irvine's attention was taken away from the room whenever he heard a light thud from behind him. He turned around to see Toby in the bathroom leaning over the edge of the tub. He trotted lightly over and pulled him back. Irvine reached in and pulled out the soap dish and sat it back on the edge of the porcelain tub.

"Dude!" Zell laughed. "There are four light switches in here! What's with four light switches?" Irvine reached out and turned them on one at a time. The overhead light came on first, followed by the small light over the sink, the light above the shower head over the tub and then the small fan on the ceiling.

"Hey guys," Squall shouted from the other room. Irvine and Zell both turned to his voice as he entered the bathroom. "Guys? Can I ask you two a favor?"

"Shoot," Irvine said as he pulled a roll of toilet paper out of his son's grasp. Toby cried in protest but soon became preoccupied with trying to look down into the bathtub again.

"Anything," Zell agreed. Squall paused before he proceeded causing Irvine to get suspicious. What could be that big of a deal? He considered them to be pretty close friends.

"Rinoa and I are getting married," Squall looked down at the floor. "And I was wanting to know if you two would be my groomsmen."

Irvine's stared in disbelief. "You... are getting married," His face twisted into a grin. Marriage was definitely not even close to what he was expecting. But the thought of Squall settling down, despite how odd it seemed, was fitting. "Ah that's so sweet!" He patted Squall's back roughly and then used his right arm to hook Squall's neck and head to pull him into a clumsy one-handed hug. "Course I will."

Irvine noticed with some amusement that Zell stood shocked before he broke into a broad smile. "Oh my gosh. Ah man.....you're really getting married?" Zell paused. "You know I'll be there." Squall smiled at their statements. "So, when's the wedding?"

"A week from today on the Quad," Squall answered.

Both of his friends stepped back in surprise. "One week!" Irvine said in unison with Zell.

"That's when Rinoa wants it," Squall stated. Irvine was already lost in his own mind trying to figure out why she'd be in such a hurry when his thoughts were interrupted by a very annoying jingle. Zell quickly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Be right back," He said as he stepped out into the hall. Now alone with Squall, Irvine cast him a knowing look. Irvine noticed that Squall didn't look directly at him. Instead he appeared to be looking at Toby who was now approaching him. Irvine watched as Squall walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. Irvine followed him and he grabbed Toby's arm to keep him out of things. Irvine stood in the center of the room and watched as Squall opened the blinds to the large window. Zell closed his phone as he entered the room and looked to Irvine for an explanation as to what was going on.

"There's something else," Irvine stated as he picked up Toby and put him on his hip. Squall slowly turned to them.

"Rinoa wants the wedding to be soon so that its not obvious that she's pregnant," Squall's voice came out barely audible but both of them caught it. Twice in ten minutes Irvine had been completely surprised by Squall. Rin was pregnant? At least he wasn't the only one with a child now. No matter how hard he tried though, Irvine still couldn't shake the surprise that Rinoa was pregnant. It was too odd. He didn't expect Squall, the Commander of Garden, to make the same mistake he did. Irvine glanced down at the boy on his hip. He might have been unexpected, but he definitely wasn't a mistake. Zell responded by dropping his phone in disbelief. The cracking of the phone's case snapped Irvine out of his thoughts.

"Are you serious?" Irvine asked. Squall nodded uneasily. "Congratulations man." Irvine took Squall's hand and shook it. Squall still looked a little uneasy and shifted his weight under their gazes.

"I have to go," Squall stated as he pulled out the key to the apartment and placed it in Irvine's hand. Irvine watched him as he nodded and cast Toby a look before walking off. It took a few moments before it dawned on him what had happened.

"He just gave you this place!" Zell exclaimed as he picked up the broken pieces of his phone's casing.

"Yeah," Was all Irvine could manage to say as he spun around quickly only to find that Squall was gone. Irvine let Toby slide to the floor as he fingered the card in his hand. This place was his. His thoughts reverted back to the baby shower whenever he'd been told that Squall would believe he had a kid whenever he saw it. While it had appeared that Squall had stopped by to check up on Zell, Irvine had to wonder. 'He was prepared to show us this place,' Irvine shoved the key in his pocket. 'I thought this was supposed to be his apartment.' He paused at the thought and smiled. Squall had given him his apartment. 'Squall's getting married in a week and gave me his apartment. Oh my gosh," Irvine covered his mouth with his hand as he thought about it some more. He fought the urge to break into tears. Back in Blue Gales he'd had one good friend, and in Galbadia Garden only a few occasional acquaintances. He was raised in a close knit community, but wasn't used to the generosity that his friends were showing him. 'He's getting married in a week. Can't believe that ,' Irvine thought. 'I'd like to get married too. But I guess things are just too complicated right now.' Irvine slid his hand into his pocket and fingered a small velvet box. 'Nah. Things are finally starting to come together,' He smiled at the thought as he held the box tightly in his hand.

In the kitchen, Zell was opening all the cabinets and inspecting the inside of the refrigerator. Toby wasn't far behind him as he followed the martial artist just a few steps behind. The phone on the kitchen counter began ringing. Zell jumped at the unexpected noise and stared at the machine. Irvine quickly came into the room and pressed the speaker button expecting it to be either Cid or Edea.

"Hello?" Irvine asked as he leaned on the counter.

"Hello? Is this Irvine Kinneas?" A feminine voice asked.

"Yes ma'am?" Irvine answered, thoroughly confused.

"This is Dr. Blaire on behalf of the Instructor's Council," Her voice made his grin fade away and his face pale.

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Aratcorien - Ok, Squall's back in Garden, and according to Darkened Ice, it was time for him to give the apartment to Irvine. This chapter and the next are why I made the one in Darkened Ice so short.

Ameli Stoncius - If it wasn't so aggravating for me to only get half of your reviews, your problem with FF.Net would be very amusing. I do appreciate your encouraging ideas and reviews. They've influenced my writing greatly...Is that a good thing?

Dark Topaz - Just making sure. I guess I should post warnings that I can't make a story under 15 chapters. I tried to write a one shot, and ended up with a forever long story that will eventually be put up...I just don't have a title for it yet. Thanks for your loyal reviews.

element6 - Thank you. I thought the Ellone/Seifer would be an interesting combo. Only thing is...I've come up with 3 story lines for it....I don't know which one to pick! I'll figure something out when the time comes.

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Author's notes- I just wanted to get this chapter out mainly because its been done for a while, and for those of you that have already read Darkened Ice, its a bit of a rerun. Sorry. I'll try and update soon. *hoping that my art critique wont cut into my writing time* I really appreciate all of the reviews I get, so keep them coming and I'll keep updating quickly.