Warnings: oneshot, shounen ai, language, AU, fluffy ::blinks:: , and mild language here and there but not much.

Pairings: Irvine/Squall

Comments: Happy Halloween once again

Author's comments: It's a one shot. It's a Halloween special. Irvine/Squall still awesome!

Notes: This is set to a year after the game so I figure Squall's personality to be a little more open but not overly much.

Masquerade Night: Midnight's Temptations

"…Why are you here?" Squall was sitting on the bed of his room, having been lying down until he heard the sound of his door sliding open. He didn't hear the sound of footsteps, and he didn't hear the door close. That itself was a good sign as to who had come to visit him in his room. However, Irvine didn't answer his question, instead just grinned meeting Squall's eyes and pulled something from the pocket of his tan leather jacket, tossing it onto the bed. Squall just lifted a brow slightly looking at the object dubiously. "A mask?"

"I figured you wouldn't remember," Irvine said as he finally walked inside and moved leaning against the wall beside the bed. The door closed on it's own behind him but it went unnoticed as he tipped his hat giving Squall a sparkling smile. "It's Masquerade Night." He waited to see if Squall would say anything and when the other boy didn't, he continued on. "I figured you wouldn't remember to get a mask so I got one for you." There was a wink, one that caused Squall to blush slightly and look away with a scowl. If Irvine knew just what kind of things he made Squall envision about him, what would he think? "Oh, and check out your closet, I got you something else."

Squall glared at the fact that someone violated his room without him knowing, something that wasn't very uncommon either. Maybe he should actually start locking it like normal people. With a sigh he stood up from the bed glancing at Irvine as he started towards the closet. "Who said I was going?"

Again Irvine grinned, this time the action taunting, teasing him. "Well you either go willingly or get dragged there by Rinoa later. And I know just how much you look forward to that."

Squall sighed again looking at the closet door before going to open it. Everyone was always plotting out his life and he hated it. He just wanted to stay in his room and hope the night passed quickly. It wasn't a bad idea, but if he didn't go, Rinoa would pester him endlessly until he did. Besides, this was Irvine asking him to do something…. "…Damn it," Squall grumbled under his breath.

Irvine automatically took that to mean that Squall would go and laughed slightly as he fell down on the bed making himself all nice and comfortable to Squall's disapproving look. "Good! Just think, no one will even know you're there. Well, aside from me that is."

Squall finally pulled something from the closet. It was a set of clothes. They appeared to be easy fitting and loose but he wasn't looking at it anymore, instead looking towards Irvine with obvious suspicion. "…What is this?"

The look in Irvine's eyes was proof enough that he was enjoying this. Maybe a little too much at Squall's expense. "Figured you probably don't have a costume either. Trust me though, you'll have fun! Everyone will be wearing something like this so you'll fit in perfectly."

"…Even you?" There was a question in Squall's eyes. He'd never really participated in parties before, aside from the one of him joining SeeD. He remembered. Because it was the first time he had met Rinoa.

"Yep, even me. Anyway, I need to get dressed. The party's already started." Irvine stood up from the bed heading towards the door. He paused as the door opened before he looked over his shoulder at Squall, his long ponytail swaying behind him before it settled. "Get dressed and meet me down at the ballroom. I'll find you there." He winked teasing him further with that small action. "Better hurry before Rinoa finds you so I can get the first dance this time." He was out the door leaving Squall in a state of shock and unable to speak a word as those last words ran through his mind.

Squall was left standing and looking around waiting for Irvine. He had gotten dressed as soon as possible knowing from past experiences that Rinoa would not hesitate to come to his room and beg him to go. It wasn't that the girl was bad or anything...just clingy. So there he was, standing against a wall by the entrance waiting on the man that was supposedly going to force him to have a good time. Except, he wasn't seeing him. He was beginning to wonder if he'd be able to even find the guy. Everyone was dressed so differently that even if he had been searching for anyone, he wouldn't have found them.

Hell he wouldn't have believed he was Squall because of the loose fitting black pants or the matching black shirt. Not that black didn't look good on him, but these had swirling patterns in white running through that sparkled even when the light wasn't hitting directly on them. It almost reminded him of his SeeD outfit he rarely wore. The differences being the long dark blue cape that billowed behind him, also with the sparkles, and the strangely shaped hat on his head with the giant dark blue feather. To be honest...he felt like a dork.

The feathers of the black mask tickled him endlessly. He really wanted to take it off, but he didn't want anyone to find out he was there. If they did, he'd never heard the end of it. At least he was able to wear his own boots though. They were very comfortable after all. The mask had little gems running throughout it, the colors of violet and white interchanging. He shifted uncomfortably, tugging on the tight shirt, debating on unbuttoning the top button or not. On the plus side, no one recognized him. On the bad side? He didn't recognize anyone either.

"You look better than I had expected." Squall looked up from the floor at the sound of the familiar voice and found himself staring into the indigo eyes of the man he'd been waiting on. He found that Irvine also happened to be wearing the exact same mask as his own, except his gems were blue and white. Where Squall's cloak was blue, Irvine's was purple. Instead of wearing the usual chaps, he wore a tight fitting pair of purple pants that went down into a pair of odd boots that were wide at the top and narrow towards the bottom. Squall's eyes were actually fastened to Irvine's pants longer than necessary, his eyes noticing well...everything from how well defined Irvine's leg muscles were to well.... He could feel his face heating up and forced his eyes to travel up catching sight of a black belt hooped around his waist and finally the solid white tunic, which was lined with blue gems for buttons. The ends of the sleeves were ruffled making Squall wonder just how uncomfortable those had to be.

"Well, we didn't come here to stand around. Let's get to it!"

"Get to what?" Though Squall had responded, he still wasn't completely paying attention, his eyes running up and down looking Irvine over even though he was trying to stay focused on his face. He noticed he had let his hair down and actually found it to be quite beautiful, so much so that he wanted to touch it. Irvine had a hat on too. Actually it was the hat he always wore...he had wrapped a piece of fabric around it letting it dangle off to the side.

"Well it is a dance," Irvine said with a wink before his famous little grin popped onto his face. Squall looked away at that, using it to get himself under control. "So, let's get out there, pick up some chicks, and dance."

"Irv-" The name didn't even formulate completely as he felt a finger on his lips, eyes widening even at the small action.

"Shh Shh. You can't call people by name here." The grin softened to a smile as Irvine removed his finger from the surprised Squall. "That's the whole point of a masquerade party. Everyone fits in so no one knows anyone else. That's the fun part."

Squall lifted a brow, frown slipping to his lips. "Then isn't it already messed up since I already know who you are?"

"That's different," Irvine said matter of factly, his arms lifting up in a stretch pulling the shirt even tighter up against him. "This is your first time at something like this so I want you to know you can always come and find me if you need me." He pointed at his head, more so at his mask and laughed softly as a look of confusion came across Squall's face. "Twin masks. Two of a kind. It won't be hard to miss. I made them myself after all." He reached out a hand, rubbing a finger against Squall's mask.

The frown deepened on Squall's face, forehead furrowing. "I don't like this."

"Give it a try. If you don't like it after ten minutes then you can leave. Ah, one more thing." Suddenly Squall felt the hat removed from his head and was about to make a comment when another replaced it, sitting easily. Seeing his hat on Irvine's head he realized what had happened and felt his heart skip a beat. The hat was comfortable on his head. He could smell Irvine's scent on it and felt himself going into a type of daze. Only one other person had ever been given the honor of wearing Irvine's hat. That was enough to knock Squall from his happy thoughts. Selphie...pick up chicks...what had that been about saving his first dance then? Maybe he meant that he wanted to be the first to dance with Rinoa. Or was Irvine using that to make him come out of his room? Wait...did Irvine know about his feelings?

Squall felt a wave of panic and had to force himself to calm down. No, Irvine didn't know. He couldn't know. That wasn't allowed. A certain calm fell over Squall and he glanced around figuring out his surrounding before he froze again. Irvine was gone. He'd just left him there?

A grunt slipped free of his lips as he looked around in search of the cowboy. It wasn't like this was his first time at a dance alone. So why did this bother him so much? He pushed away from the wall, tempted to go to his room and ignore the cowboy and the agreement to stay. Really, he should have known better anyway. The other was a playboy…and he was only into women. Everyone thought Squall was into Rinoa…but that was a lie. Maybe he thought he was because so many people pushed him into it, but he found himself looking at Irvine more in their journeys. Maybe it was because of how beautiful he had looked laying in the grass with a seemingly tamed butterfly on his finger. It could have been because of that time when Irvine started to freak out about shooting the sorceress. It could have been that time when they were at Fisherman's Horizon and the way Irvine looked when he was shyly asking a favor or how happy he appeared when it happened. Or was it how he looked up on the stage playing away at the guitar with a sparkle in his eyes, even though he was trying his best to make the mood light…and probably impress Selphie.

Fuck it…

Decided, he turned to leave out of the ballroom when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was a firm grip and it froze him in his spot. What was it with people and wanting to touch him?! "Geez, are you so desperate to leave you don't even want to wait the ten minutes?" Irvine's voice whispered into his ear and Squall felt a shiver run down his body that he tried to ignore.

"Tell me the truth. Why did you invite me to come here?" Squall was pretty sure that there was more reason than for the fact that Rinoa would ask him. After all, Irvine had been one of the people trying to get him together with her.

Irvine seemed a little thrown off by that question, his hand moving quickly away from Squall's shoulder. If Squall had been looking at him, he would have seen the frown marring those lips of his. "I just think you need to loosen up. The Battle with Adel and Ultimecia is over. You may still be our leader but you need to open up some and stop thinking so much." A sigh slipped from Irvine's lips and he reached up a hand lifting up his hat to scratch at his head a little. "You know, none of us really get to see you as much since you're always either hiding in your room or in your office. And you're only eighteen for crying out loud. You're supposed to be out having fun not hiding like a vampire caught in the sun."

Squall sneered slightly, glaring towards the floor from behind his mask. "So what, I should be like you? Chase after every woman I see and hope she'll sleep with me?"

"No, not exactly." There was movement and Squall found his eyes watching a pair of boots move into his view. He knew that Irvine had moved in front of him and lifted his head up giving off his best annoyed look.

"Then what the fuck do you want me to do?" He knew his voice sounded venomous and he couldn't help it. Was he upset? No…he wasn't the type to get upset. Then why was he being so uptight? Maybe he should be more like his father…maybe not. That would have to be the last person he wanted to see right now. "I'm not like you. I don't care about that stuff." He didn't know if he should say more or not, looking between Irvine and the door, trying to calculate how far he could go. He could make it if he moved fast enough. Then maybe he'd go spend the night at Balamb…or maybe out in the fields. Who knows maybe he'd go visit Ifrit at the cave.

"Calm down, calm down." This time the frown was more visible to Squall. It didn't really do anything to change his mood though. "Look, if this place bothers you so much, then we don't have to stay here. We can just go chocobo riding or something."

Squall lifted a brow slightly, defiantly as he stared at Irvine. "What do you mean we? Don't you have some girls you're supposed to be wooing right now?"

Irvine just laughed softly, punching Squall playfully in the arm. "Wooing? Never thought I'd hear a word like that from you." He sniffled slightly pretending to wipe a fake tear from the corner of his eye even though the mask ruined the effect. "My little man's all grown up now."

"Shut up," Squall grumbled to that. He didn't let the comment bother him, after all he did have to deal with Seifer calling him puberty boy for a while…he must have been drunk when he thought that up.

"So if you want we can go somewhere, after my first dance of course," Irvine said this with such confidence it was leaving Squall with several questions. One being why was Irvine so intent on staying with him tonight?

"…Fine, whatever. Just hurry up and get it over with."

"Sure thing." Before Squall knew what was happening he was being dragged out to the dance floor. The small action seemed familiar but it did still send a form of panic through him. This wasn't the same…style of dance as that night.

"What are you doing?" he hissed trying to keep himself calm, his hand being cupped by the slightly taller man.

"Taking the honor of having the first dance with you, of course." That blasted wink Irvine gave him caused Squall to trip up slightly but he quickly caught his footing again. Did he just hear that right? Irvine wanted to dance with him?

"Aren't you supposed to dance with females?" Yes he was still panicking, or was that excitement? He wasn't sure, just that his heart was beating faster than normal. He felt Irvine take hold of his other hand and looked up at him startled by it.

"Does it matter?" Irvine asked innocently, his body moving, pressing closer against Squall's.

"I…people are going to question this…. It's not normal and…." Why was he trying to make up excuses? Wasn't this what he wanted after all? Could it be Squall was scared? Nonsense! But what he wouldn't do to be on a mission somewhere at this time…or in his room…. "I don't know how to dance." It was true…and maybe it would be enough to let him get away.

Yeah…right.

"I'll teach you how to dance." Irvine was grinning again. Was he having fun torturing Squall like this? Did he even know what he was doing to him? "And it's not like people know who we are so don't freak out if you think your reputation's going to get messed up." Irvine's words seemed to be enough to relax him. Maybe he was right…it was just a dance…there was nothing else to it. Irvine was just dancing with him because…because of….

The thought was pulled from his mind instantly as the music sped up and he found himself being captivated by it. He could feel Irvine's body moving against his own and pressed closer to him craving to have more. He liked Irvine far more than he knew he should. He knew this since his first kiss with Rinoa. She wasn't the one…the kiss…there was nothing to it.

He could feel Irvine's hands moving down, sliding to sit on his waist and began to question Irvine in his mind. He seemed far too comfortable dancing with him. Did he dance with males often or was this just different?

Screw it.

Unexpectedly he lifted up on his toes pressing his lips tightly against Irvine's leaving the other completely off guard. Squall still had his eyes open, seeing the shock in the other's eyes but being unable to read anymore in it. Deciding he didn't want to see any other reaction, he closed his eyes, not really moving his lips, having no experience in this sort of thing. What possessed him to kiss Irvine anyway? Especially here? Was is the fact that dressed as this he felt he could do anything a normal person could without being found out or questioned? Shit, what if Irvine ended up hating him after this, or told everyone what happened?! Well it wasn't like he couldn't take care of them with his gunblade but still.

Squall's thoughts paused in whatever was formulating as he felt his kiss being returned. It caused him to gasp and in that moment Irvine took advantage sliding his tongue inside. It was different. It felt different then from when Squall had kissed Rinoa. There was heat in this kiss, a strange desire of wanting more. Tentatively he brushed his tongue against Irvine's, a sound slipping free from his as Irvine's tongue returned the little tap before it returned to exploring his mouth.

He liked this very much. He could feel a desperation in his body and reached out clinging to Irvine's shirt, pulling him closer. He knew his body was still swaying to the music, could even feel Irvine's moving against his which caused more than one reaction, could feel Irvine's hair brushing gently against his hands as he hugged him even closer. Reluctantly he pulled away breaking the kiss and actually gave a little smile as he felt Irvine's forehead bump against his.

"Never knew you felt that way," Irvine said slyly as he smirked down at Squall. He was a little out of breath and panting, same as Squall.

"I have for a while now," Squall answered truthfully. An unreadable expression passed on Irvine's face, but it was gone quick.

"We can easily agree on that." Irvine chuckled tilting his hat down slightly. "For an antisocial prick who hates people and hates having fun, you're not so bad."

"Hmm…" Squall snorted at that pushing Irvine back from him slightly and folding his arms giving him a mock glare. "And for a flirtatious loud mouth who's only goal in life is to have sex with every woman he can find, I guess I have to put up with you."

At that Irvine laughed out loud causing a few heads to turn and look at them curiously before returning to their own business. "Nah, I'm retiring from that now. You'll be my top priority from now on."

"Damn right," Squall muttered before he turned around heading for the door.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Irvine was quick to run and catch up moving into a slow gait behind him easily.

"Ten minutes are up. We're going somewhere else now." Squall said without a backward glance.

"And where would that be?"

Squall stopped and thought about that one for a moment. Where would be a good place to go? "…How about chocobo riding…and a little swim in the lake?"

"Sounds good to me…." Irvine smiled at him hugging him from behind and Squall couldn't help the little sigh that slipped free as he leaned back into the embrace. What he wouldn't do to be with this man….

Mine.

END

Corny ending, weeee! Ok, not exactly the best. To be honest it didn't come out as I had hoped it would but for cheesy fluffy dance party I think it's um…something new. ::blinks:: I'm so unused to one shots that are actually finished in a week not to mention have a relationship in the first …well…. The thrill is always the chase. ::snickers:: Boy what I wouldn't do to have made this go further but I'm trying to keep it mild and at most PG-13.