A Night to Remember: Part 2
- - - - - - - - - -
Squall had finally managed to pick something out in his mind after he had seen how some of his friends had been dressed up. He was standing at the top of the stairs, still in his normal clothes, and looking among his friends.
Irvine was lounging about in the living room, dressed in a long dark tan jacket with a white turtleneck underneath. It was accompanied by matching leather pants and black shoes. His hair was in the traditional ponytail and topped off by his trademark cowboy hat.
Zell however was another matter. He was rustling about in the fridge, trying to find something edible. His hair was all spiked, a change from his 'lick' in the front. He had a white t-shirt on underneath a black vest. A pair of blue jeans and his normal shoes completed his look.
Seifer was on the other side of the living room, one leg crossed over the other. He had long blue pants and a blue vest on over his black tee. A thigh length gray jacket was slung over the back of the sofa. He was watching the tv with Irvine.
Squall went back into his room, and right to his closet. A few minutes later, he came back out into the living room and sat down in the middle of the sofa. He was dressed in a thigh length black leather jacket with a tight fitting short sleeve turtleneck. His pants were matching the rest of his outfit.
"Going to rob somebody after we get back, Leonhart?" Seifer asked, a smirk on his face.
Squall just looked over at him before turning back to the TV, shaking his head. Seifer just smirked some more before his attention returned to the tube.
Zell plopped down on the far end of the sofa, a bag of chips and dip and two cans of soda in his grasp. The three men looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
"What? It's a little snack before we leave!" Zell stated. He was only met with silence and the same looks that he started with. He sighed before beginning to chow down.
The sound of a door opening drew the attention of all four men. The sound of jaws dropping onto the ground and a jar of dip crashing on the floor could be heard in the loft.
Out stepped four women who didn't even look like they were supposed to be on this plane of existence.
The first one that stepped out was Selphie. She was wearing a knee length yellow skirt and yellow elbow length top. Her hair was straightened, a complete change that had Irvine drooling on sofa. He quickly picked up a pillow and covered up his puddle of drool. His eyes were still glued to Selphie though.
The next one that came out was a shock to the four men. Well, three actually.
Ellone stepped out in blue top and white shin length skirt. She had a on a white leather vest to match the bottom. Her hair was short like Squall's, but it was all curled and bouncy.
She got a lot of attention not because of what she wore, but of why she was here. The men had no time to contemplate this because their attention was drawn back to the door.
Rinoa stepped out, in the same outfit she was wearing when she 'talked' to Squall. Everyone was stilled wide-eyed. Even though Squall had already seen her in her outfit, his breath still managed to get locked in his chest. Her hair was different though, it was down, but the very end was tied together behind her shoulders.
Quistis came out next in a blood red skirt and matching top. The sleeves came down past her hands and flared out at the end. Her hair was all down, a change from the traditional look her hair was normally in. It had a small red streak going down the in the front. Seifer believed that he had died and gone to heaven. If he believed in it.
The four women stood next to each other, each with smiles on their faces. The men didn't move, afraid that these angels, or something that closely looked like them, would vanish into thin air. Even though it would never happen, they weren't going to take any chances.
Squall was the first to speak, but it was directed at one individual.
"What are you doing here Ellone? I thought you were Esthar."
Squall turned to the sound of Zell choking on his soda. He was turning red from all the coughing he was doing, and from the eventuality that something was going to happen soon.
"Well, I was invited. And I was in town to visit you." Ellone said rather quickly. She was fiddling with her fingers and swaying slightly from side to side.
"Invited by whom?" Squall asked. His gaze was glued to her form, noticing that she was getting nervous in front of him. She turned her head down, but gave a quick glance to his right. He caught the glance, and looked to his right.
Zell also had his head down, and scratching the back of his head nervously.
Squall's intellect at the moment was a frozen computer. But one second later it went into overdrive.
He look went from Zell to Ellone. Zell. Ellone. Zell. Ellone. Zell.
Squall got up slowly, but was interrupted by Ellone.
"I was going to tell yo—"
A quick raise of Squall's hand silenced the curly brunette's excuse. He made his way to the kitchen, all eyes on him. He went around the 'island' of the kitchen and stopped on the other side of the stove. He reached up into the upper reaches of the pan rack and produced a bottle of Jack Daniel's.
Seifer's eyes went wide, along with everyone else's. No one knew that Squall drank, but no one knew that he only drank when it came to extremely stressing circumstances. They all watched him down half of the bottle in one go.
He quickly slammed the bottle down onto the counter, making some of its contents splash out. He held his head down, letting his body get used to the liquid running down his throat. He breathed in through his teeth, creating a little hiss.
"Are you upset?" Ellone asked quietly, afraid of inciting the rage of Squall Leonhart.
"But let me tell you why."
He quickly replaced the bottle onto the upper reaches of the rack and made his way around the island and rested in the other side.
"First off, you may be older than me by a few years, but you are still my sister. And to be here to visit is one thing, but to 'visit' is another." He emphasized the quotes on visit.
He glared at Zell, who visibly cringed at the sight. He wished he could fade away right now and never come back.
"And you said you were going out with a librarian. She is not a librarian."
"I recently changed jobs—" she was silenced this time by Squall's glare. His eyes were asking her when this had happened.
"On second thought, I'll deal with all of this later. Let's get out of here before I drink the whole damn cabinet." Squall stated, his tone finalizing everything.
Everyone raised their heads in unison, and quickly made their way to the elevator. Seifer was thinking to himself quietly.
What cabinet?
- - - - - - - - - -
The trip to the downtown 'party' section of the city was long, but also very quiet.
Every time that Zell or Ellone tried to explain to Squall what was happening between them, he silenced them with an icy glare. After the second attempt at trying to explain, they decided it best to keep quiet.
But the silence wasn't kept for long. Once they had arrived at a flashy and glamorous club that seemed to scream 'PARTAY!' everyone's mood had lightened, even Squall's.
They each had proceeded inside after they were hassled a bit by the door security of the club. It took some 'persuasion', but they all had made it in before the club became too crowded.
Selphie and Irvine had managed to slip away from the group and proceeded to get their moves on in the dance floor. Zell and Ellone had followed them, albeit under the watchful gaze of a certain brother. Seifer, Quistis, and Rinoa each made their way to a table in a corner near the dance floor.
Squall however had remained near the entrance, leaning on a wall for support. He was being scanned by a few ladies who were lounging about in a nearby table. The guys that were with them weren't scanning though; they were actively checking him out.
Squall didn't find them a threat, he just found himself a bit uncomfortable under the gaze of the men, who he was guessing weren't going out with any of the women still staring at him during the whole time. Once he finally determined that the men were 'checking' him out, he got up off the wall and tried to find where his friends had disappeared to. He was unfortunately stopped by a hand on his arm.
He quickly turned around to face an all too familiar face.
Xu continued to hold onto his arm while he stood staring at her.
"And what brings you to my most magnificent club Mr. Leonhart?" she asked in his ear, just loud enough to get over the booming coming from the speakers littered about the club.
"Your club? You own this place?" Squall asked, a bit shocked at his friend's current address of work.
"Yup. Remember a little while ago I asked if I could borrow some money from you?"
Squall nodded his head in remembrance.
"Well, I started this place with that money, and now it is one of the hottest places in all of Deling! Its quiet nice isn't it?"
Squall looked around the club once more, taking in all the sights and bright lights that assaulted his senses in a series in loud thrums and vibrant colors.
"So like I was asking earlier, what brings you to my 'oh so humble' abode?" she raised her eyebrows in question.
Squall leaned into Xu this time, mimicking her position to him, placing his mouth near her ear.
"My friends had decided they wanted to get out of the apartment, so I guess you could say I was 'obliged' to attend."
Xu raised an eyebrow along with a smirk of hers.
"Rrrriiiiiiight. Well I hope you enjoy yourself, I have to go see what my bartenders want. They've been bothering me to come and talk to them all night. See you later!"
Xu quickly let go of his arm, and gave him a smile before putting on a professional face and proceeding straight to the bar. Squall followed her direction, but came to a halt when he saw Seifer sitting at a table with Quistis and Rinoa. They each were enjoying themselves, but Seifer wasn't looking too much into the conversation going on between the two women.
Squall proceeded to the table, quickly grabbing Seifer's attention and quickly excusing himself from the table. He proceeded to walk rather quickly towards Squall, and grabbed his arm and pulled him to a table on the other side of the club, far away from the eyes of Quistis and Rinoa.
Squall was about to question Seifer as to why he was so forcefully pulled away to this spot, but a quick glare from Seifer made him hold his tongue. Squall didn't even know that Seifer could do anything except make jokes and make that stupid smirk of his day in and day out.
"I've been thinking a little since we left the loft."
"You. Thinking? Did one of the girls slip a roofie into your drink or something?"
"Just shut up and listen, alright Leonhart!"
Squall was a little perturbed that his friend called him by his last name instead of his given. The only time he did that was when he had a lot on his mind and no way to let it out. Either that or it meant that he was about to kill someone. Squall hoped it was the former.
"I was thinking about what happened earlier this evening."
Squall suddenly understood what was going on in Seifer's mind, albeit it was never that hard to get what he was thinking about.
"Look, I know what you're thinking about, and yes it was that, but it never happened."
Seifer started to open his mouth, but a hand held up by Squall told him to shut up and listen.
"Even though it never happened, it was going to. And I know that you like Quistis, but I don't know who she likes. She's been staring at me when she thinks I don't notice it, but I do. But there is another thing."
Seifer again tried to interrupt, but all he got was an icy glare.
"I may like Quistis, but I also may like Rinoa."
Squall looked to Seifer, who had his hand on his chin like Dr. Odine does at points in time.
"Verrrryyy interesting Squall. I can't begin to imagine how long it took for you to muster up the courage to say all that, but I can imagine that it was what you thinking about when I dragged you over here."
Squall looked at Seifer, confused as hell as to what he just said.
"I wasn't thinking about what you almost did with Quistis, and Rinoa. I was thinking about the damn cabinet of booze you have hidden in your apartment."
Squall stood there, dumbfounded and utterly embarrassed. He had spilled what guts he had to his best friend about his confusing love life, and here Seifer was, smirking like an idiot who had just found an entire farm of weed.
"Don't worry though, if Quistis likes you it alright, I'm not really trying too hard to reel her in, although I could play a hand in trying to ease your 'troubled' love life."
Squall glared at him, which earned a larger smirk along with a snicker.
"Just promise me one thing."
"What would that be?"
"You have got to show me where you keep your stash of goodies."
Squall only smiled.
- - - - - - - - - -
The night was young, but the eight individuals that walked out of the club were a little younger.
They were all tired, even though the happy faces said otherwise. They all walked to the parking lot where they had parked the group van and clambered on inside. The trip back to the loft was equally as silent as the trip going. Squall was driving, while Seifer sat shotgun. Zell sat in the middle row with Selphie and Irvine, the two cuddling close together. Quistis, Rinoa, and Ellone sat in the back row, each beginning to fall asleep on Quistis' shoulders, mostly because she was in the middle.
When they had reached the apartment, the guys had their hands full. Literally.
All of the women had fallen dead asleep. Not even a Lunar Cry could wake up any of the sleeping queens.
Irvine had already shuffled Selphie into his arms, gently lifting her up and out of the van. Zell had gently pried Ellone's sleep grip on Quistis and picked her up in his arms. All this of course was done under the ever icy gaze of Squall. Seifer had picked up Quistis in his arms and carried her quietly out. This left Rinoa curled up in a little ball on the end of the seat.
Squall sighed before having to carefully pick Rinoa up, seeing as how being carried up and into an elevator wearing a skirt can be quite distracting. Not only to you but anyone else around you.
He carried her noiselessly to the front door where the elevator was behind. The others were waiting impatiently for Squall to open the door.
"What?" he whispered. Carrying sleeping beauties was one thing, having to wake them up from their slumber was another. No one wants to face a sleeping beauty with morning breath.
Seifer motioned his head to the door, then his eyes were the keyhole was at.
Squall looked behind him, and down towards his back pocket. The other guys followed his eyes down to his back pocket and found the keys stuck inside. He looked around himself and saw that Seifer was smirking uncontrollably.
Squall mouthed his warning, "Don't you even think about it."
- - - - - - - - - -
The process of opening the door was a task, but getting them out of someone else's back pocket without giving them the wrong idea was a Herculean quest. No one dared to venture down towards Squall's rear end, knowing all to well what might happen to them if they touched something other than his keys.
Squall had then reached for his keys while standing on one foot. He had one knee up to prop up where Rinoa was being held, while he reached behind him for his keys and opened the front door that lead to the elevator.
Once the men had gotten off the elevator and into the loft, the next task was putting them all to bed. They had each laid the four maidens in their rooms to rest, Ellone being the one to take Squall's room, the four guys each sat in the living room, drinking some of the stuff that Squall had drank from earlier in the night.
"Shouldn't we like, make them more comfortable to sleep?" Irvine suggested. This earned some questioning gazes from everyone around him.
"You know, like, take off their clothes so they'd be more comfortable?"
Squall got up from his spot on the couch and passed by Irvine noiselessly. Irvine let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Squall filled his glass with more of the amber liquid before coming back past Irvine. That is before he planted a swift smack into the back of his head, knocking off his hat. He reached down to the floor had replaced his hat.
Seifer got up too, intending on refilling his empty glass, although this time a smack was planted on the front of his head, knocking his hat off again. Irvine grumbled in response.
"That answer your question for ya?" Zell asked, smiling like a simple minded idiot.
Irvine just shook his head in response.
"So Zell, how long have you been seeing my sister?" Squall asked. It was more demanding how he said it but it was still a question. Zell quickly hung his head.
"Um…about a month? Hehe…" Zell said silently.
Squall nodded his head slowly, sipping his drink equally slow.
"Hm. Well, I'm just going to let you know this. Once, and only once. You harm her in any way, I will slice and dice you and make your body parts into the hotdogs you so love to eat. I don't want to hear anything bad about you from her. Are we clear on that?"
Zell looked up from the floor, astonished at what he had just said.
Squall looked at him with a stern gaze.
Zell nodded his head like an eager school boy who just gotten a kiss from his crush.
"Good. Now that that is settled," he looked to Irvine, "when was last time you brought you head out of the gutters?"
- - - - - - - - - -
The night went by quickly for the four men. They had each finished their drinks and had fallen asleep on the large couches in the living room. Each their own thoughts before their minds found their way into dreams.
Irvine was fast asleep, his hat over his eyes and pillow firmly in his grip. One could only imagine what was going through his head.
Zell was lying down on the floor on the other side of Irvine, his head in his arms and a pillow underneath. He was mumbling something about hotdogs and contests.
Seifer was lying down on the couch above Zell, his grey jacket draped over him like a blanket. He had a smile on his face.
Squall was in the middle couch, his usual spot, and still in a sitting position. His head was hung over the edge and his eyes were closed. His face was placid, as it was on any other day.
His eyes suddenly flew open at the sound of a doorknob being worked on. His head went up and turned in the direction of the door, which had stopped making noise, but had now opened up to whoever was working the door. Squall quickly looked to the others, who were as wide awake as he was.
The door slid shut, a small click signifying its closing. Squall quickly closed his eyes, and others followed suit. Whoever was inside was going to get a very big surprise.
A black figure made its way through the kitchen, not touching anything that would make noise. It slowly made its way to the living room where the four young men were 'sleeping'.
When Squall sensed that it was close enough, he jumped up from his position on the couch and lunged over it and onto the intruder. A high pitched scream came out from the intruder, and Squall wrestled control of whoever it was.
Zell quickly ran to the lights and flicked them on. The women had come out of their rooms to see what the whole commotion was about. The men were all stunned at who Squall had pinned to the ground. Ellone had screamed as loud as the intruder, although hers was out of pure shock, not fright.
"Uncle---"
"Laguna!"
This was certainly a night to remember, if not forget.
- - - - - - - - - -
A/N: Well then, we finally get to see Laguna! Who knew that Laguna could scream like that? Well, if you were jumped on by someone you can't see in the dark you'd probably scream like a little girl too. I know it's a little blan on the romantic stuff, but it's needed to help build something up for a little something I have in mind. Oh well. I thought I'd leave it at this spot cuz I got some bad news fer yall. I have to leave soon, like a couple days soon. I won't be updating this story or my other for about 6 to 7 weeks. It's gonna little bit of a dry spell, but I know that you guys and gals can handle it. So for about 7 weeks, I will be out of the country and in the Philippines to celebrate my g-parents 50th anniversary. And to have a little time to myself. I will update as soon as I get back, so make sure you check those calendars of yours! Estd date of return is Jan 5. So be ready and waiting! See ya! Oh...R&R!
