Disclaimer: I could but only dream of owning Irvine.......
Author's Warning- I was hyper when I wrote this.... Be forewarned now...
Camcorder
"Alright, here we go," Irvine licked his lips as he held the camcorder towards his face. "Believe it or not, here we are on the twenty- third day of December at Squall's wedding reception. Yeah he's married now," Irvine laughed. "I still can't believe it. Eight months ago the guy was more frigid than Shiva and now he's so soft and compassionate. Its beautiful."
"Aw man! If he ever sees this tape he'll tear it apart and choke you with it!" Zell hopped up on Irvine's back so his face was in the recorder's view.
"Get off ya little spaz," Irvine choked as Zell slid off his back, forearms pressing against Irvine's neck.
Zell fell back to the floor and slapped Irvine on the shoulder. "Come on man! They're getting ready to cut the cake!"
Irvine turned the camcorder away from his face and onto Zell. "I didn't hear the announcement," Irvine said as he watched Zell's image bounce around in excitement on the screen.
"That's because they haven't made it yet!" Zell grabbed Irvine's elbow and dragged him closer to Squall and Rinoa's table. "Ya ready? Watch this."
Irvine turned the recorder back to his face and took a tone of seriousness. "I fear that one day those last two words will be the last two he speaks before he pulls some fatal stunt," Irvine turned the camcorder back to his friend and winced as he watched Zell slide across the floor and stumbled into Squall's table. The look of contempt Squall's gaze held made Irvine whistle. "Nice knowin' ya buddy."
"All right everybody! They're cutting the cake!" Zell shouted over everyone in the room. To Irvine's dismay, Rinoa laughed Zell's accident and announcement off and dragged Squall over towards the cake. Zell turned back to Irvine and flashed one of his trademark smiles as he motioned for Irvine to get up on a chair so that he had a good recording view. As quickly as he could, Irvine pushed through the growing crowd around the cake and climbed up on the first vacant chair. From his perch, well above the heads of the other wedding guests, Irvine clenched his jaw to muffle his growing amusement.
"It appears that Squall, formerly known as Commander Leonhart, and now known as Mr. Loire," Irvine snickered at the new title, "Is unaccustomed to proper cake cutting ceremonial procedures." A few feet below him, Quistis laughed silently at his commentary. "She's trying to get him to take a piece.....oh....without success. He seems hesitant..."
"Squall's going to kill you if he ever sees this tape," Quistis warned under his breath.
"Shh," Irvine scolded her. "Your throwing off my broadcast." He shot her a glance and was pleased to see her rolling her eyes in disbelief. "Come on man," He pleaded. "Just give it to her." Squall was definitely nervous. It was obvious he wanted to go take a seat back at their private table. "Come on! Just shove it in her face!" Irvine gave in and shouted across the room.
Squall turned to him and shouted back in response. "No!"
"I think I mighta upset him," Irvine laughed. "Hey, at least they look cute together on film...what's this? Looks like the misses is takin' things into her own hands. Haha yeah! You get him good girl!" Quistis shot a nervous glance to Irvine who'd obviously had a little too much sugar.
"Time to eat Hun," Rinoa said in a mischievous voice that carried across the room. Squall turned to her just in time to get half of the piece of cake shoved in his mouth while the other half was smeared onto his chin. He coughed a few times and then looked at Rinoa.
"Oh yeah. That's what I'm talkin' about. He's gonna get ya back though," Irvine refocused the lens and watched closely. "He's goin' in for the kill! Get outta there Rin!" Irvine's low exclamation yielded him more than a few glances. He laughed to himself and then zoomed in on the newly married couple. Rinoa tried to back away, but Squall caught her around her waist.
"Squall no!" She squealed as he shoved a piece of cake into her mouth. After she'd finished swallowing her piece, she wiped the cake crumbs and icing from her fingers and then wrapped her arms around Squall's neck and gave him a long kiss, icing and all.
"Whoo hoo! You go girl!" Irvine shouted over the cheers of the crowd. Squall just turned towards him and shook his head in disbelief. "That shot was beautiful!" Irvine exclaimed over the crowd's applause as he waved his hand and pointed to the camcorder.
After realizing that nothing else interesting was going to happen with the newly weds, Irvine hopped down from his perch and looked for his next targets. It wasn't too hard to find him. Hitting the record button, Irvine filmed Quistis as she sat down at her table with Matron.
"My next item of interest is what appears to be our lovely instructor's newest admirer," Irvine said quietly as he slowly turned around, panning over everyone around him in the process. His sights rested on an unsuspecting groomsmen who sat alone at a corner table sipping what Irvine sincerely hoped was cider. "Look at this poor solitary young lad. He's so withdrawn. No one really knows what goes on in his head. He's usually looked over...but not today." Irvine turned the recorder back to face him. "All right, I'm just workin' on a hunch here. But I say that ol' Nida Roe over yonder's gotta bit of crush on Miss Trepe." Irvine grinned at the device he held by his outstretched hands. "Let's see just see if we can play a little pairin' game eh?" Irvine winked at the recorder as he turned it back to Nida. The recorder's screen bounced up and down as Irvine trotted across the room. "Hey man. Why aren't ya out dancin' with the ladies? You're single and all spruced up. You've got no excuse." Irvine nudged Nida with his free hand. Irvine noticed with some dissatisfaction that Nida shook his head timidly and looked away at the table cloth. "C'mon man!" Irvine laughed as he pulled at one of Nida's sleeve. "I bet Quisty'd dance with ya." At the mention of her name, Nida grew a little paler and at the same time reddened with embarrassment. Irvine pulled again at his sleeve. Like before, Nida resisted and clung onto the table. Seeing as he was getting nowhere, Irvine sighed and left the poor boy alone. "Can't win 'em all," He said sadly as he scanned the crowd. Noticing that the low battery icon was flashing, Irvine switched the camcorder off and turned his attention to the scene at Laguna's table.
Sitting contentedly snuggled in Ellone's lap was Toby. Irvine rolled his eyes at the sight of his son reaching over from Ellone's plate to Laguna's as he picked out the food that he wanted. Irvine started over quickly. He'd thought Cid was watching him. He thought he'd thought wrong until he noticed the headmaster watching from a few tables away where he sat next to his wife. 'Go figure,' Irvine laughed to himself. Deciding that this was a sweet moment, Irvine continued his filming. He allowed the screen to scan over Kiros, Ward, Laguna, Ellone, and lastly Seifer. 'What the hecks he doin' at their table?' Irvine wondered as he approached them. At his arrival, Toby squealed and laughed in delight as he raised his hands to be held. Irvine sat the camcorder down on the table picked up a few napkins.
"Bagetti," Toby said as he held up a fistful of the sauce drenched noodles. Ellone grinned at the scene while Seifer next to her just rolled his eyes. Laguna shot the him a curious glance before realizing that Toby was now working his way back to his plate.
"Please tell me ya didn't give him a lot of sugar," Irvine pleaded with Ellone. She looked towards Laguna who fought to conceal his guilt.
"Cookie," Toby picked up what looked to be a partially saturated baked snack food product. Irvine grimaced at the thought that Toby must've drooled on it and then gave it back to Laguna.
"Toby," Irvine frowned as he tried to wipe some of the sauce off of the baby's hands.
"Papa...Papa," Toby seemed to sing from his excitement over receiving so much attention.
Laguna instantly turned to Irvine. "He's yours...I mean...your his father?" Leaning over the table, Irvine tried to shrug off the question innocently.
"Yeah," Irvine answered as he stood up and then snatched a few napkins off of another table.
"I didn't know you were a father," Laguna said in disbelief.
Irvine shrugged again. "Well I am." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Toby do the unthinkable. He was taking food off of Seifer's plate. "Toby!" The baby paused and looked up at him, then Seifer, and grinned back at his father. Seifer smirked and rolled his eyes. Irvine watched the scene in utter shock. It wasn't until Toby climbed into Seifer's lap that Irvine was able to recover from his shock. He instinctively picked up the still filming camcorder and zoomed in on Seifer and Toby. "This is so heart wrenching," Irvine teased. "So you do have a soft spot. Ya just might make a good daddy ya know that?" Seifer scowled in response.
"Don't get any ideas about settin' me up cowboy," Seifer's voice was low and menacing.
"Why not? Its almost the perfect occasion. You're dressed up, the ladies are dressed up. The food's free, so the dinner won't cost ya a thing," Irvine decided that that was as far as he'd push the former sorceress' knight.
Seifer narrowed his eyes. In his lap, Toby was taking notice of Seifer's mood and watched him with fascination. "I'm warning you cowboy. Just drop it." Irvine threw up his free hand in defense. "That's more like it." Seifer leaned back in his chair and rested his hand on the table as he continued to stare at Irvine. Toby narrowed his eyes at him and did the unthinkable twice in one night. In one quick and unforeseen action, Toby swatted Seifer on his cheek and frowned.
"Meeny!" Toby shouted as he climbed up on the table and ran across it to his father's arms. Irvine allowed Toby to climb up into his grasp in utter shock, for the second time that night, as he watched Seifer try to figure out what had just happened. To Irvine's relief, the scene was cut short as Raijin bounded in. He stopped just shy of running into Seifer's chair and knelt down by where he sat.
"I was talking with Fujin the other day, and I needed to ask ya something. If you were seeing someone you'd tell me right? I mean, we're friends and that's what friends do ya know." Raijin had his attention solely on Seifer, oblivious to the obvious uncomfortable shifting that Ellone was doing next to him. Irvine noticed her however, and was going to shoot Laguna a questioning glance when he realized that he wasn't there anymore. Irvine looked around to no avail. Seifer handled Raijin's question with his usual grace. He grinned and picked at the tablecloth with his left hand.
"What do you think?" Seifer raised an eyebrow as he asked. Clearly satisfied, Raijin jumped to his feet and slapped Seifer with enough force to nearly knock him into Ellone.
"I told Fujin she was wrong. I gotta go find her," Raijin left as abruptly as he came.
~*~*~*~
Although it was getting late, no one seemed to volunteer to leave. Kiros walked confidently between the tables and quietly swiped the camcorder from Irvine's vacant seat. He continued walking as he discreetly sat it by Squall and then left. Squall looked down at the device and then over to Rinoa. "I'll be right back."
________________________________________________________________________
Over on the balcony, Selphie leaned against the railing and looked down at the moonlight reflecting off of the water below. "I didn't realize we were leaving Deling so soon," She stated dreamily as she leaned back into Irvine's chest. He smiled as he ran his fingers up her arms and onto her shoulders.
"Its just for tonight. Tomorrow the garden is goin' to go back to Deling to drop off the guests," Irvine responded as he kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Its beautiful."
"Yeah it is," She said softly as she turned to him. "I can't wait!" She barely muffled her squeal with her hands. "We're next."
"Yup we are," He smiled in response as he pulled her into an embrace.
________________________________________________________________________
Not too far away, Squall was recording the scene. "This is pathetic. Yeah Kinneas...you're a real ladies' man," He said just barely loudly enough for the recorder to pick it up. "Notice how you had to make the first move." Before him, Irvine leaned down to kiss Selphie. Squall noticed with some annoyance that the battery light blinked a few times and then ceased to exist. "Figures the camcorder would go dead when I finally get to wield it."
As if on cue Selphie called out his name. "Squall Leonhart....I mean Loire! Were you recording that?" She placed her hands on her hips in mock anger.
Squall just casually handed the camcorder to her. "Batteries went dead...wait. If I go get some fresh ones will you guys reenact that last scene there?" Selphie cradled the camcorder and pulled out the batteries.
"No!" She laughed. "I'll go put this up though." Irvine laughed lightly.
"It didn't get the kiss?"
"No," Squall answered.
"Ya serious?"
"Yes," Squall replied as he stretched and then yawned.
"No way ya can be tired tonight," Irvine grinned cheesily. "This is your weddin' night. Ya know, as in the beginnin' of your honeymoon. Ya can't be tired...at least not yet." Squall looked around praying that no one else had heard his friend's comment.
"Little Dude!" Zell's voice interrupted Squall's ackward moment. Both he and Irvine turned to see Zell prance up with Toby on his shoulders.
"Be careful," Irvine said worriedly.
"Don't worry. He ain't going nowhere," Zell replied as he placed Toby on the ground and draped an arm over each of their shoulders. "I came to a realization just now. You two are both whipped. Before too long I'll be the only bachelor left."
Irvine laughed. "Excuse me, but if I remember correctly, Fujin's got ya on a pretty short leash...where is she anyway?"
Zell kicked at the ground. "Over there." Squall and Irvine turned to see her watching with an amused look on her face. Irvine snickered lightly. "So, which one of us is going to be best man?" Zell raised an eyebrow at Irvine.
Irvine looked between them uneasily. "I'm not entirely sure yet."
Zell looked a little crestfallen, but quickly recovered. "I'm getting ready to turn in for the night. I just thought I'd say good night, and wish you two the best of luck in your marriages." Zell paused. "I just sounded like Cid didn't I?" He frowned at the thought. "Later guys." They both watched him go.
"He was actin' weird," Irvine stated as he watched Toby wipe at his eyes as he approached Squall. When Toby took hold of Squall's pant leg, the commander cast him an uneasy look. "Ah. He likes ya," Irvine teased as he picked up Toby. "Get used to it man. You're gonna have one in a few months. It'll wake ya up in the middle of the night, make messes, and cry all the time; but, you'll grow to love it." Squall didn't say anything in response as he looked around.
"I don't know anything about caring for a baby," He finally stated in a low voice.
"And ya think I did when he was born?" Irvine laughed. "I was about as clueless as could be. Look on the bright side. Ya got me, Cid and Matron to help ya if ya need it." He looked down at Toby's droopy eyes. "I think I need to get him to bed. Congratulations man." Squall nodded in response and watched as they left.
~*~*~*~
Selphie sat cross-legged in his armchair as she played back the tape he'd made at the reception. Behind her, Irvine walked slowly back and forth in an effort to get Toby to fall asleep. She stole a quick glance at the two before turning off her camcorder and sitting it on the floor. In the kitchen the phone rang. Selphie quickly hopped up from her seat and ran to answer it.
"Hello?" She asked as she tried to figure out who'd be calling so late. Whomever was on the other line hung up. Slightly puzzled, Selphie sat the receiver back on its hook and went into Toby's room where Irvine was putting him to bed.
"Who was it?" Irvine whispered as he turned the baby monitor on and led her out of the room.
"I think it was just a wrong number. They hung up," She answered.
"Hmm. Oh well. I'm goin' to bed," Irvine dismissed the call and then pulled his shirt off. "You comin'?"
Selphie playfully rolled her eyes. "Of course I am."
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aratcorien - I'm guessing you like the idea of a Zejin. Poor Nikki. She's going to have to be put in protective custody after this is over with. Cid and Edea Selphie's parents? Interesting...
Bleeding in Vein - thanks
Dark Topaz - Good thing cause I can't seem to keep them short.
Ameli Stoncius - It worked! I finally got a complete review from you! *dances around* May the force be with me.....hmm. Thanks. You do realize I'm a star wars freak right....
Barrett - Glad you liked it so much. The test score thing was something I did to make Quistis look a little less perfect. Nothing against her, I just thought it'd be funny considering Irvine only did around average on the other parts of the test. A pacemaker eh? Hmm...*Mischevious look* Cliffies are sooo much fun to write. Ameli's got a point...they're fun....
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It looks like there's going to be twenty-two chapters. I hope you guys like this so far. Hope this chapter wasn't too crazy. I wanted to have a little fun with the characters so that it didn't seem like Irvine was always serious in this story. I plan on putting up another chapter for the three samples I posted. After that I'll start counting your votes for which story you guys want to read next.
Please read and review.
Author's Warning- I was hyper when I wrote this.... Be forewarned now...
Camcorder
"Alright, here we go," Irvine licked his lips as he held the camcorder towards his face. "Believe it or not, here we are on the twenty- third day of December at Squall's wedding reception. Yeah he's married now," Irvine laughed. "I still can't believe it. Eight months ago the guy was more frigid than Shiva and now he's so soft and compassionate. Its beautiful."
"Aw man! If he ever sees this tape he'll tear it apart and choke you with it!" Zell hopped up on Irvine's back so his face was in the recorder's view.
"Get off ya little spaz," Irvine choked as Zell slid off his back, forearms pressing against Irvine's neck.
Zell fell back to the floor and slapped Irvine on the shoulder. "Come on man! They're getting ready to cut the cake!"
Irvine turned the camcorder away from his face and onto Zell. "I didn't hear the announcement," Irvine said as he watched Zell's image bounce around in excitement on the screen.
"That's because they haven't made it yet!" Zell grabbed Irvine's elbow and dragged him closer to Squall and Rinoa's table. "Ya ready? Watch this."
Irvine turned the recorder back to his face and took a tone of seriousness. "I fear that one day those last two words will be the last two he speaks before he pulls some fatal stunt," Irvine turned the camcorder back to his friend and winced as he watched Zell slide across the floor and stumbled into Squall's table. The look of contempt Squall's gaze held made Irvine whistle. "Nice knowin' ya buddy."
"All right everybody! They're cutting the cake!" Zell shouted over everyone in the room. To Irvine's dismay, Rinoa laughed Zell's accident and announcement off and dragged Squall over towards the cake. Zell turned back to Irvine and flashed one of his trademark smiles as he motioned for Irvine to get up on a chair so that he had a good recording view. As quickly as he could, Irvine pushed through the growing crowd around the cake and climbed up on the first vacant chair. From his perch, well above the heads of the other wedding guests, Irvine clenched his jaw to muffle his growing amusement.
"It appears that Squall, formerly known as Commander Leonhart, and now known as Mr. Loire," Irvine snickered at the new title, "Is unaccustomed to proper cake cutting ceremonial procedures." A few feet below him, Quistis laughed silently at his commentary. "She's trying to get him to take a piece.....oh....without success. He seems hesitant..."
"Squall's going to kill you if he ever sees this tape," Quistis warned under his breath.
"Shh," Irvine scolded her. "Your throwing off my broadcast." He shot her a glance and was pleased to see her rolling her eyes in disbelief. "Come on man," He pleaded. "Just give it to her." Squall was definitely nervous. It was obvious he wanted to go take a seat back at their private table. "Come on! Just shove it in her face!" Irvine gave in and shouted across the room.
Squall turned to him and shouted back in response. "No!"
"I think I mighta upset him," Irvine laughed. "Hey, at least they look cute together on film...what's this? Looks like the misses is takin' things into her own hands. Haha yeah! You get him good girl!" Quistis shot a nervous glance to Irvine who'd obviously had a little too much sugar.
"Time to eat Hun," Rinoa said in a mischievous voice that carried across the room. Squall turned to her just in time to get half of the piece of cake shoved in his mouth while the other half was smeared onto his chin. He coughed a few times and then looked at Rinoa.
"Oh yeah. That's what I'm talkin' about. He's gonna get ya back though," Irvine refocused the lens and watched closely. "He's goin' in for the kill! Get outta there Rin!" Irvine's low exclamation yielded him more than a few glances. He laughed to himself and then zoomed in on the newly married couple. Rinoa tried to back away, but Squall caught her around her waist.
"Squall no!" She squealed as he shoved a piece of cake into her mouth. After she'd finished swallowing her piece, she wiped the cake crumbs and icing from her fingers and then wrapped her arms around Squall's neck and gave him a long kiss, icing and all.
"Whoo hoo! You go girl!" Irvine shouted over the cheers of the crowd. Squall just turned towards him and shook his head in disbelief. "That shot was beautiful!" Irvine exclaimed over the crowd's applause as he waved his hand and pointed to the camcorder.
After realizing that nothing else interesting was going to happen with the newly weds, Irvine hopped down from his perch and looked for his next targets. It wasn't too hard to find him. Hitting the record button, Irvine filmed Quistis as she sat down at her table with Matron.
"My next item of interest is what appears to be our lovely instructor's newest admirer," Irvine said quietly as he slowly turned around, panning over everyone around him in the process. His sights rested on an unsuspecting groomsmen who sat alone at a corner table sipping what Irvine sincerely hoped was cider. "Look at this poor solitary young lad. He's so withdrawn. No one really knows what goes on in his head. He's usually looked over...but not today." Irvine turned the recorder back to face him. "All right, I'm just workin' on a hunch here. But I say that ol' Nida Roe over yonder's gotta bit of crush on Miss Trepe." Irvine grinned at the device he held by his outstretched hands. "Let's see just see if we can play a little pairin' game eh?" Irvine winked at the recorder as he turned it back to Nida. The recorder's screen bounced up and down as Irvine trotted across the room. "Hey man. Why aren't ya out dancin' with the ladies? You're single and all spruced up. You've got no excuse." Irvine nudged Nida with his free hand. Irvine noticed with some dissatisfaction that Nida shook his head timidly and looked away at the table cloth. "C'mon man!" Irvine laughed as he pulled at one of Nida's sleeve. "I bet Quisty'd dance with ya." At the mention of her name, Nida grew a little paler and at the same time reddened with embarrassment. Irvine pulled again at his sleeve. Like before, Nida resisted and clung onto the table. Seeing as he was getting nowhere, Irvine sighed and left the poor boy alone. "Can't win 'em all," He said sadly as he scanned the crowd. Noticing that the low battery icon was flashing, Irvine switched the camcorder off and turned his attention to the scene at Laguna's table.
Sitting contentedly snuggled in Ellone's lap was Toby. Irvine rolled his eyes at the sight of his son reaching over from Ellone's plate to Laguna's as he picked out the food that he wanted. Irvine started over quickly. He'd thought Cid was watching him. He thought he'd thought wrong until he noticed the headmaster watching from a few tables away where he sat next to his wife. 'Go figure,' Irvine laughed to himself. Deciding that this was a sweet moment, Irvine continued his filming. He allowed the screen to scan over Kiros, Ward, Laguna, Ellone, and lastly Seifer. 'What the hecks he doin' at their table?' Irvine wondered as he approached them. At his arrival, Toby squealed and laughed in delight as he raised his hands to be held. Irvine sat the camcorder down on the table picked up a few napkins.
"Bagetti," Toby said as he held up a fistful of the sauce drenched noodles. Ellone grinned at the scene while Seifer next to her just rolled his eyes. Laguna shot the him a curious glance before realizing that Toby was now working his way back to his plate.
"Please tell me ya didn't give him a lot of sugar," Irvine pleaded with Ellone. She looked towards Laguna who fought to conceal his guilt.
"Cookie," Toby picked up what looked to be a partially saturated baked snack food product. Irvine grimaced at the thought that Toby must've drooled on it and then gave it back to Laguna.
"Toby," Irvine frowned as he tried to wipe some of the sauce off of the baby's hands.
"Papa...Papa," Toby seemed to sing from his excitement over receiving so much attention.
Laguna instantly turned to Irvine. "He's yours...I mean...your his father?" Leaning over the table, Irvine tried to shrug off the question innocently.
"Yeah," Irvine answered as he stood up and then snatched a few napkins off of another table.
"I didn't know you were a father," Laguna said in disbelief.
Irvine shrugged again. "Well I am." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Toby do the unthinkable. He was taking food off of Seifer's plate. "Toby!" The baby paused and looked up at him, then Seifer, and grinned back at his father. Seifer smirked and rolled his eyes. Irvine watched the scene in utter shock. It wasn't until Toby climbed into Seifer's lap that Irvine was able to recover from his shock. He instinctively picked up the still filming camcorder and zoomed in on Seifer and Toby. "This is so heart wrenching," Irvine teased. "So you do have a soft spot. Ya just might make a good daddy ya know that?" Seifer scowled in response.
"Don't get any ideas about settin' me up cowboy," Seifer's voice was low and menacing.
"Why not? Its almost the perfect occasion. You're dressed up, the ladies are dressed up. The food's free, so the dinner won't cost ya a thing," Irvine decided that that was as far as he'd push the former sorceress' knight.
Seifer narrowed his eyes. In his lap, Toby was taking notice of Seifer's mood and watched him with fascination. "I'm warning you cowboy. Just drop it." Irvine threw up his free hand in defense. "That's more like it." Seifer leaned back in his chair and rested his hand on the table as he continued to stare at Irvine. Toby narrowed his eyes at him and did the unthinkable twice in one night. In one quick and unforeseen action, Toby swatted Seifer on his cheek and frowned.
"Meeny!" Toby shouted as he climbed up on the table and ran across it to his father's arms. Irvine allowed Toby to climb up into his grasp in utter shock, for the second time that night, as he watched Seifer try to figure out what had just happened. To Irvine's relief, the scene was cut short as Raijin bounded in. He stopped just shy of running into Seifer's chair and knelt down by where he sat.
"I was talking with Fujin the other day, and I needed to ask ya something. If you were seeing someone you'd tell me right? I mean, we're friends and that's what friends do ya know." Raijin had his attention solely on Seifer, oblivious to the obvious uncomfortable shifting that Ellone was doing next to him. Irvine noticed her however, and was going to shoot Laguna a questioning glance when he realized that he wasn't there anymore. Irvine looked around to no avail. Seifer handled Raijin's question with his usual grace. He grinned and picked at the tablecloth with his left hand.
"What do you think?" Seifer raised an eyebrow as he asked. Clearly satisfied, Raijin jumped to his feet and slapped Seifer with enough force to nearly knock him into Ellone.
"I told Fujin she was wrong. I gotta go find her," Raijin left as abruptly as he came.
~*~*~*~
Although it was getting late, no one seemed to volunteer to leave. Kiros walked confidently between the tables and quietly swiped the camcorder from Irvine's vacant seat. He continued walking as he discreetly sat it by Squall and then left. Squall looked down at the device and then over to Rinoa. "I'll be right back."
________________________________________________________________________
Over on the balcony, Selphie leaned against the railing and looked down at the moonlight reflecting off of the water below. "I didn't realize we were leaving Deling so soon," She stated dreamily as she leaned back into Irvine's chest. He smiled as he ran his fingers up her arms and onto her shoulders.
"Its just for tonight. Tomorrow the garden is goin' to go back to Deling to drop off the guests," Irvine responded as he kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Its beautiful."
"Yeah it is," She said softly as she turned to him. "I can't wait!" She barely muffled her squeal with her hands. "We're next."
"Yup we are," He smiled in response as he pulled her into an embrace.
________________________________________________________________________
Not too far away, Squall was recording the scene. "This is pathetic. Yeah Kinneas...you're a real ladies' man," He said just barely loudly enough for the recorder to pick it up. "Notice how you had to make the first move." Before him, Irvine leaned down to kiss Selphie. Squall noticed with some annoyance that the battery light blinked a few times and then ceased to exist. "Figures the camcorder would go dead when I finally get to wield it."
As if on cue Selphie called out his name. "Squall Leonhart....I mean Loire! Were you recording that?" She placed her hands on her hips in mock anger.
Squall just casually handed the camcorder to her. "Batteries went dead...wait. If I go get some fresh ones will you guys reenact that last scene there?" Selphie cradled the camcorder and pulled out the batteries.
"No!" She laughed. "I'll go put this up though." Irvine laughed lightly.
"It didn't get the kiss?"
"No," Squall answered.
"Ya serious?"
"Yes," Squall replied as he stretched and then yawned.
"No way ya can be tired tonight," Irvine grinned cheesily. "This is your weddin' night. Ya know, as in the beginnin' of your honeymoon. Ya can't be tired...at least not yet." Squall looked around praying that no one else had heard his friend's comment.
"Little Dude!" Zell's voice interrupted Squall's ackward moment. Both he and Irvine turned to see Zell prance up with Toby on his shoulders.
"Be careful," Irvine said worriedly.
"Don't worry. He ain't going nowhere," Zell replied as he placed Toby on the ground and draped an arm over each of their shoulders. "I came to a realization just now. You two are both whipped. Before too long I'll be the only bachelor left."
Irvine laughed. "Excuse me, but if I remember correctly, Fujin's got ya on a pretty short leash...where is she anyway?"
Zell kicked at the ground. "Over there." Squall and Irvine turned to see her watching with an amused look on her face. Irvine snickered lightly. "So, which one of us is going to be best man?" Zell raised an eyebrow at Irvine.
Irvine looked between them uneasily. "I'm not entirely sure yet."
Zell looked a little crestfallen, but quickly recovered. "I'm getting ready to turn in for the night. I just thought I'd say good night, and wish you two the best of luck in your marriages." Zell paused. "I just sounded like Cid didn't I?" He frowned at the thought. "Later guys." They both watched him go.
"He was actin' weird," Irvine stated as he watched Toby wipe at his eyes as he approached Squall. When Toby took hold of Squall's pant leg, the commander cast him an uneasy look. "Ah. He likes ya," Irvine teased as he picked up Toby. "Get used to it man. You're gonna have one in a few months. It'll wake ya up in the middle of the night, make messes, and cry all the time; but, you'll grow to love it." Squall didn't say anything in response as he looked around.
"I don't know anything about caring for a baby," He finally stated in a low voice.
"And ya think I did when he was born?" Irvine laughed. "I was about as clueless as could be. Look on the bright side. Ya got me, Cid and Matron to help ya if ya need it." He looked down at Toby's droopy eyes. "I think I need to get him to bed. Congratulations man." Squall nodded in response and watched as they left.
~*~*~*~
Selphie sat cross-legged in his armchair as she played back the tape he'd made at the reception. Behind her, Irvine walked slowly back and forth in an effort to get Toby to fall asleep. She stole a quick glance at the two before turning off her camcorder and sitting it on the floor. In the kitchen the phone rang. Selphie quickly hopped up from her seat and ran to answer it.
"Hello?" She asked as she tried to figure out who'd be calling so late. Whomever was on the other line hung up. Slightly puzzled, Selphie sat the receiver back on its hook and went into Toby's room where Irvine was putting him to bed.
"Who was it?" Irvine whispered as he turned the baby monitor on and led her out of the room.
"I think it was just a wrong number. They hung up," She answered.
"Hmm. Oh well. I'm goin' to bed," Irvine dismissed the call and then pulled his shirt off. "You comin'?"
Selphie playfully rolled her eyes. "Of course I am."
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aratcorien - I'm guessing you like the idea of a Zejin. Poor Nikki. She's going to have to be put in protective custody after this is over with. Cid and Edea Selphie's parents? Interesting...
Bleeding in Vein - thanks
Dark Topaz - Good thing cause I can't seem to keep them short.
Ameli Stoncius - It worked! I finally got a complete review from you! *dances around* May the force be with me.....hmm. Thanks. You do realize I'm a star wars freak right....
Barrett - Glad you liked it so much. The test score thing was something I did to make Quistis look a little less perfect. Nothing against her, I just thought it'd be funny considering Irvine only did around average on the other parts of the test. A pacemaker eh? Hmm...*Mischevious look* Cliffies are sooo much fun to write. Ameli's got a point...they're fun....
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It looks like there's going to be twenty-two chapters. I hope you guys like this so far. Hope this chapter wasn't too crazy. I wanted to have a little fun with the characters so that it didn't seem like Irvine was always serious in this story. I plan on putting up another chapter for the three samples I posted. After that I'll start counting your votes for which story you guys want to read next.
Please read and review.
