Disclaimer: Not mine.
AN: Sorry about the long update. I've just reposted this chapter cuz it went all funny and didn't seem to load properly. Hopefully its all fixed.I fixed a couple of mistakes too - i really have to work on my spelling!
If anyone wants to become a beta reader for me (even if its just for a certain fic or whatever,) just send me an email.
Chapter 11
"Hey Tifa, how is it going over there?" Shera's smiling face stared up at Tifa from the vid screen. Tifa smiled back.
"It's going good. I think I might have made a few good deals already, but nothing set in stone."
"Excellent! And how has everyone been?"
"Good, good. Yuffie's brought about half of Earth already and Nanaki's not to far off, surprisingly. Who would of thought that he was into key rings?" Laughter rang out from the screen.
"Cid's been having a ball," Tifa continued, "running around the space port, chatting with the mechanics and such. He's even managed to convince one to let him have a look around in one of the ships. Needless to say, all that's been coming out of his mouth lately is mechanical talk."
"I understand completely. At least it's a change from 'WHERE THE HELL'S MY DAMN TEA WOMAN!'"
Tifa laughed. "True."
"I'm glad you called actually Tifa."
Tifa lent back into her chair puzzled.
"Why? Barrett! Is he ok?"
Shera laughed.
"Relax Tifa, he's fine. Better than fine actually."
Tifa stared at Shera's beaming face.
"You mean…"
"Yep! He woke up about a week ago my time. The doctors said that it was a close call, but if he continues to improve at his rate, then he'll be back on his feet in no time."
Tifa beamed back.
"That's great news! No sign of any permanent damage?"
"None that the doctors can tell."
"And has he said anything about the attack?"
"Well… no. He refuses point blank to say a thing, saying that it's his business and nobody else's."
Tifa sighed.
Typical bloody male. Do they have an estimate time for when he can leave?"
"Another week or two."
"That soon!"
"Yeah well, he's not giving them much choice. He's determined to join you at the meeting."
"Well, if he's got his mind set on something, not even ruby weapon will stop him."
"True."
"So hows my VP going?"
"Great. She's very capable. Everything is running smoothly and profits are going up."
"That's excellent. Well, I better let you go then."
"See ya Tif. Give everyone my love."
"Will do. Bye now!"
Tifa reached over and turned off the vid screen, smirking at her reflection on the darkened screen.
'Won't everyone be surprised!'
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"Are we going to sit here all day?"
"If need be."
"In the hot sun?"
"Yep."
"Tomorrow too?"
"If need be."
"Did you bring any food?"
"Nope."
"Drink?"
"Nope."
"Playgirl mag?"
"No… Reno!"
Cloud glared at the redhead, who smiled back.
"So, why wait outside the commander's office? It would be much easier to just go up and ask him," Reno grumbled as he lent back onto the wall, staring towards the building in question.
"We don't want to draw attention to Vince. We've never met him remember? It would be suspicious if we just walked in there and asked for him."
Reno snorted and kicked at the ground.
"He's my little boy, I shouldn't have to sneak around just so I can talk to him. Besides, this Squall kid is already on his way to finding out."
Cloud smiled.
"I know you're impatient to see Vince again, so am I. But your letting it cloud your instincts. The fact that he's digging around means that Vince hasn't told him, and he doesn't want Vince to know he's on to him. The reason for his interest is unknown to us so its best if we just lay low and remain inconspicuous."
"Oh yeah, and staking out the commander's office in broad daylight is inconspicuous?"
"Got any better ideas Einstein?"
Reno sighed and slid down to the ground, fanning himself with a loose bit of paper he had picked up some where along the line.
"No and I know all that too."
Cloud slid down to join him on the ground, giving his hand a quick squeeze.
"Don't worry. We'll see Vince soon enough. This is the only place where he could work without being seen, and if he's not here, then we could trail this Squall kid back to his place. That's where Vince is meant to be staying."
"I guess your right."
"Of course I am."
"But to forget the playgirl mags…"
"Reno!…"
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"I've brought the booze!"
Irvine opened the door to let the bubbly brunette in, grabbing the bags of liquor as she rushed by, placing them on the table.
"So, is everyone here yet?"
"Not quite, Squall's not here yet, but everyone else is waiting in the lounge trying to figure out what you called them all here for."
Selphie placed her hand on her hip as she poured a packet of chips into a large bowl.
"Squall better hurry up and the booze and food should enlighten everyone."
Irvine smiled as he grabbed a handful of chips, earning a light tap on his hand.
"Squall might not happy being disturbed from his work just for this."
"Oh tsh, he needs the relaxation. He's been so busy this past week with this intergalactic meeting thingee-ma-bob. We haven't gotten together as a group for a while and just hung out so I decided that tonight's the night for a party!"
"I know it had to be Selphie's idea, though I don't know why it was at Irvine's."
"My cupboard was fuller."
"Squall! You made it!"
Selphie squealed and flew into Squall, giving him a large hug.
"I'm so glad you came, and by yourself too," She added in, glancing behind Squall for a blonde head.
"Riona's already here," Squall intoned blandly.
Selphie plastered a bright smile onto her face.
"Of course she is, silly me. Come on, let's get the party started!" Selphie said, pulling the helpless gunblader into the lounge, placing him between Riona and Zell, before standing on top of the small coffee table in the middle of the circle.
"Ok peoples, tonight the plan is for us to get extremely pissed, or as pissed as 6 people can get on 5 cartoons of cruisers, 2 bottles of champagne and Irvy's stock of beer, eat lots of junk food and have a merry old time together, ok everyone?"
"Yes darling, now can you please hop off the table so I can put the food down," Irvine said, smiling as Selphie jumped down and sat next to Quistis. Squall smirked as he grabbed a random bottle from the table.
'Its been a while since we've done this. I wonder how Seifer…'
Squall shook his head.
'No, I'm not going to think about him. Its just so confusing, these feelings I'm having, and his past…'
Squall frowned as he took a sip from his bottle.
'His past… I've come to a dead end with that, but I'm certain there's a connection between Seifer and those two guys, Reno and Cloud, but what is it?'
"Yo, Earth to Squall. What's with the frown?"
Squall focused his gaze onto the sniper.
"Hey Irvine."
"Yeah Squall?"
"Could you tell us about our past, back in the orphanage?"
Irvine glanced at Squall.
"What's with the sudden interest Squall? You've never wanted to know before."
Squall just shrugged.
"Come on Irvy! Tell us something!"
"Okay, where to start…"
"Oh, who was the funniest kid out of us all?"
"That would be Zell – when he wasn't crying of course."
The group burst out with laughter at the look on Zell's face.
"The things he use to come out with were hilarious at times. And what made it even funnier was that he didn't realise why everyone was laughing," Irvine continued.
"Selphie was the happy bubbly one, always ready to give someone a hug if they felt down. Usually worked too, except on Squall or Seifer. Neither of them were the touchy type, though it didn't stop her from trying to cuddle them. Quistis was the responsible one, always there to keep us in line, though being responsible didn't stop her from helping Seifer sneak some fireworks one night."
"Snapped Quisty!" Selphie giggled. "Who was the strangest one Irvy?"
"That's easy, Zell of course!" Quistis replied smiling.
"Hey!"
"Actually," Irvine interrupted, "It was Seifer who was the strangest one. Even his arrival was pretty strange now that I think about it."
"How so?" Squall questioned, not looking up from his bottle.
"Well," Irvine lent forward, slipping into storytelling mode, "Seifer was the last of us to arrive, about two years after Zell arrived and a year after Ellone left. He wasn't brought in by a social worker, like the rest of us were. He arrived one night, and before you ask Selphie, yes, it was dark and stormy too. Zell and Selphie couldn't sleep because of the storm, so we were all up playing a game of pick up sticks, except for Squall who was watching the storm." Irvine paused, pleased at gaining everyone's undivided attention.
"It was all quiet in the house, save for the sound of thunder when BANG! A loud knock was heard, sending Zell under the covers and causing the rest of us to jump. Realising that it was someone knocking on the door and not some monster trying to come in and eat us all, we crept out to the top of the stairwell to see who would be out at this time of the night. Even Squall dragged himself from the window to see who was there. Our first guess was that Cid had returned, but the masculine voice didn't belong to him. I don't remember what was being said, as it was quite muffled, but I remember hearing a younger voice speaking out to the man, and neither of them sounded very happy." Irvine paused to take a sip from his beer.
"Matron didn't sound to thrilled either, but she must of agreed in the end, because the door shut quietly, and matron led in a young boy, around about eight years old, dark clothes dripping and blonde hair plastered to his face from the rain. Despite his ragged appearance, the first thing that came to mind was danger, but it wasn't until Matron called us down to meet him, and I looked into his eyes that I feared him. They were so cold and hard, devoid of all emotion. He was different from us, we all knew immediately. His manner, attitude, even his speech was funny, very formal with an odd accent. It makes you wonder what he life was like beforehand, that he would be so cold. None of us really got on well with him, except for maybe Squall. He was just too weird. He had this nasty habit of looking down on us as though we were just mere ants there to do his bidding, and he just seemed too grown up. He didn't even know what Lego was. I guess he saw that he wasn't fitting in well, so he started acting more childish, but he still seemed… wrong. It was his eyes I guess. Freaky eyes. Too old, too bright, too cold. It didn't really bother him though; he preferred to be alone, which is probably why he and Squall got on good. He was a strange one alright."
"Oh tsh, who cares what Seifer was like. What was Squally poo like?" Rinoa spoke up from the couch, words slightly slurred. Squall just sighed and shook his head as he took another gulp from his drink.
'Woh, how many have I had?'
"Well, he wasn't as piggy with the drinks as he is now," scolded Irvine lightly as he gazed at the numerous bottles of cruisers floating around the brunette.
"Oh Squall! Now I have to drink the beer!"
Squall cracked a smile at the look on Rinoa's face.
"Ssorry."
Irvine grinned. 'He's pissed…'
"Squall was always a quiet child, even when Ellone was there. When she left, he became more withdrawn. Only when Seifer arrived did he become a bit more animated, having mock sword fights with the blonde and stuff. He loved to sit and watch the storms that happened often, staring out at the wild sea and watching the lightning dart across the sky. He didn't seem to like hanging around with us for too long – to noisy I guess, but he didn't mind Seifer's company. He didn't seem to be bothered by Seifer as we all were. Hey, did you two ever get adopted out?"
Squall pondered on this as he raised his bottle to his lips.
"I'mm not too shure. I don't fink we did. I only 'member being at Garrden."
Standing up and stretching, Squall placed the empty bottle on the table.
"I'mm going now."
"Oh, but Squall, I'm not ready to go yet."
Squall looked down at the pleading girl on his arm.
"Then stay. I was heading back too my room anyway."
Rinoa huffed as she slid back down into her seat, grabbing a bottle of beer and unceremoniously chugging it down.
"Fine. See you whenever Squall."
"Whatever," came his reply as he shut the door behind him. The gang exchanged worried looks at the exchange between the couple.
"Okay, anyone up for truth or dare?" Irvine finally said, breaking the tension that Squall's departure left. Nodding in agreement, the rest made themselves comfy for a long night of socialising.
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Squall swayed over to his quarters, glad that nobody else was around to she him in this state.
'Man, I really can't hold my drink. I only had about 7 cruisers, or maybe 8…'
Leaning against the wall, Squall fumbled around with the keys, trying to input his code without much luck when the door slid open and Seifer stepped outside. Upon seeing Squall's drunken state, he smirked as he lent on the doorframe, mirroring Squall.
"Had fun sweetie? Did they all play nice?"
"Ah shut up Seifer, I'mm too pissed too deal with your smart arse comments," Squall replied as he stepped through the doorway, Seifer following close behind. Flopping himself down on the couch, Squall let out a groan as he kicked his boats of and removed his jacket.
"Wasn't that much fun huh? Its only 10pm and you're back," Seifer asked, sitting down at the other end of the couch. Squall sighed.
"It was ok for a while. Irvine told us a bit about our pasts back in the orphanage, but it grew boring once the cruisers ran out."
"Courtesy of you by the looks of it," Seifer replied as he half-laid across the couch, splaying his legs across Squalls.
"Hey Seifer, leave me some room eh?"
Seifer just smirked and stretched his legs out, forcing Squall to sit up.
"Make me."
Squall glanced across at the blonde, a small smirk growing on his face.
"And how should I go about doing that?" he murmured, fingers slowly running along Seifer's leg, resting on his inner thigh as he moved so that he was laying on his side next to Seifer.
"Hmm?" Squall questioned as he lightly ran his fingers up and down Seifer's inner thigh, causing Seifer's breath to hitch at the light feeling.
"Squall…" Seifer mumbled, gazing up questionly at Squall. Squall just smirked.
"I guess it really depends on how I want you to move doesn't it?" He said, smiling as he suddenly cupped Seifer though his pants and rubbed firmly, causing Seifer to arch into his hand, moaning loudly. Squall smiled as he lightly ran his tongue up along Seifer's neck, stopping to gentle suck on Seifer's earlobe.
"Enjoyed that?"
Seifer just nodded wordlessly as Squall returned to his administrations on Seifer's neck and he straddled to blonde. Capturing Seifer's lips in a heated kiss, Squall grinded their hips together, causing both men to moan. Seifer's hand wrapped around Squall's waist as he thrusted against Squall, speeding up the pace as both men groaned into their kiss. Seifer finally broke their kiss as he pulled away to look at Squall. The brunette had his eyes shut tight as he grinded against Seifer, head thrown back as he moaned loudly. Seifer swallowed back a groan.
"Squall, Squall." He repeated louder.
"Mmm Seifer," Squall replied breathlessly as he lent down to kiss Seifer's neck, sucking gently. Seifer moaned as he moved so that more of his neck was exposed to Squall's soft lips.
"Squall, hang on a moment."
Squall paused as he sat up to look at Seifer.
"What is it Seifer?"
"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you've had a bit too much to drink tonight and I don't want you … hey Squall, where you going?" Seifer exclaimed as a blushing Squall quickly stood up, nearly crashing into the coffee table in his haste.
"I'm, I'm sorry Seifer, I…"
Squall blushed harder as he ran in the direction of his room, leaving a dazed Seifer laying on the couch. Sighing, Seifer flopped an arm across his face as he tried to ignore the hardness in his pants.
'Fuck, what just happened then?'
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AN: A bit more Squall/Seifer action in this one ;). I know I've probably changed a bit of their pasts, with Ellone leaving before Seifer and all that, but because Ellone left when he was quite young, and Squall is about 7 when Seifer arrived, I changed it a bit.