Pairings: Irvine/Squall, Reno/Vincent, Seifer/Zell? Kiros/Laguna, Cloud/Zell/Sephiroth? Reno/Irvine? Cid/Vincent, etc

Warnings: yaoi, AU, slight moments of nose bleed, possibly major angst in later chapters, emotional stress, attitude, crossovers, possibly major flirtation action, stuff even I don't know about

Author's comments: Yes…my lyrics suck….but I tried. :grins: Hey, it's not horrible…I…guess…. :thinks on that one: Well it's the thought that counts?

Comments: (changes added this time): "old McDonald" equals lyrics or well, singing (quotations and italics)

My god, I wanna fuck him equals what the character is thinking (italics only)

Added! (words in the italics and parentheses) equal backup singers

FF Banding Together 10

"Laguna! Sephiroth!" Kiros called out the names for the other two judges but frowned when no one showed up or responded to the names. This was getting kind of weird. As if Laguna not showing up at his room last night wasn't bad enough, now Sephiroth was missing too. And it was about to get even worse considering that he was backstage and supposed to be presenting in a couple of minutes!

He would pick a time like this to be absent.

Kiros frowned, brushing his hand over his sparkling jewel covered white pants and his ruffled light blue shirt that was half opened in the front. He was even feeling jolly enough to wear a flower in his braided hair, just happy that he'd be able to spend his time with Laguna once again after the competition.

But Laguna's not here…where could he be?

"Lagu-"

"Laguna's not here," a voice said from behind Kiros causing him to turn quickly, striking out in surprise. When he felt his hand being caught, his eyes widened and he found himself staring up at a suspicious looking main in all black…a red dot standing out on the middle of his forehead. Who was this man? And what did he mean by Laguna not being there? "I and another will be filling in for Sephiroth and Laguna. Apparently Laguna's come down with a little cold and can't perform tonight. As for Sephiroth well…let's just say he's been caught breaking the rules." A smirk lifted to the man's face…and not the good kind too. Kiros frowned, his mind telling him not to trust this man…telling him the man was lying. Yet, it would do him no good to mention that right now, especially with no proof on hand.

Breaking the rules…it sounds as though he's hinting at something…about Laguna and me….

"Well then," Kiros said giving the man a strained smile as he pulled his hand free. "It's very nice to meet you Mr.…?"

"Call me Tseng," the man said as he held a hand to his chest giving Kiros a little bow. "And you may call her, Elena." He gestured to the girl beside him and Kiros had to take a double take at that. For some reason, he hadn't even noticed the girl standing there. How long has she been listening? How much did she already know!

"Well," Kiros said, nodding his head to the girl, "you can just call me Kiros. But I'm sure you knew this already." He didn't put his hand out to them; however, refusing to shake hands with this man that was giving him really bad vibes. It felt as though this competition was rigged somehow…and now he was in the middle of it. He wanted to go find Laguna as soon as possible, but with the competition about to begin, there'd be no way to do that…unless….

Squall might help!

It was a big hope, but at least he could allow himself to feel confident in it. Squall would just have to find Laguna and Sephiroth before it came time for his band to play. That should be no problem for the antisocial boy of the SeeD band. The hard part would be convincing him to do it….

"Ah, excuse me," Kiros mumbled slightly giving Tseng a little wave. "I need to go wish the bands luck before we start the show."

"Elena, why don't you go with him," Tseng threw in suddenly, a strange glint coming to his eyes as he stared at Kiros. "It might do you some good to learn a little more about the band members."

"Yes sir," Elena replied quickly, saluting Tseng with a hand before she turned to look at Kiros. "Lead the way."

"Um…right." Kiros looked away from Tseng, feeling as though his mind was being read. Somehow, Tseng knew what it was that Kiros had planned to do…and he was sending Elena along to monitor him. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to say anything, considering the dangerous feeling he got from both Tseng and Elena. There was no telling what plans they had set up if anyone found out about what was going on, whatever that might be. They might even try to kill Laguna if anyone found out!

Laguna, please be ok.

"Squall!" Kiros said with a smile, trying his best to sound like his old self.

The named boy looked up at his name then seemed to frown suddenly, almost as though he was sensing the bad feelings too.

I could only hope….

"Where's Laguna?" Squall asked suddenly, actually glancing around as if to look for his loud mouth possible father. Kiros eyes widened at that. How was it that Squall would notice Laguna missing? After asking himself the question, Kiros had to mentally kick himself. Of course Squall would notice something like that. Normally Laguna would be hooked to Kiros's side…going wherever the other went.

Are we that obvious?

"He's sick," Kiros said quickly, noticing how Squall started to look more and more suspicious the longer it took him to answer. "He wasn't feeling well today so Ms. Elena here…" he gestured to the girl behind him, "is going to be his replacement." Squall seemed to think about that statement for a minute, probably registering it for truth before nodding his head.

"I see…" he said quietly, looking at the girl for a moment before looking straight at Kiros, appearing to be looking into his very soul for how intense his stare was. "I'll go visit him."

"You can't!" Kiros said quickly then bit his tongue before he said something more. "Not now anyway," he added quickly afterwards, not wanting to raise suspicion in Squall when he himself didn't know the full situation yet. "He needs his rest." He gave Squall a quick smile, already feeling himself sweating at the pressure he was feeling. "Besides, the competition's about to begin. It'd be best if we waited until afterwards." Again Squall gave him that look, his eyes clouding over for a moment in thought before he nodded.

"Alright…afterwards then…." Almost as soon as that was said, a relief came over Kiros as he smiled, just happy nothing was getting out of hand yet. He couldn't help staring at Squall though, just registering in his mind the similarities between him and his father. Both were definitely quite stunning males…both had that thing about their hair covering their eyes in a very sexy way…in fact the main differences really had to be their personalities…

Aside from them both being stubborn….

"The show is starting," Elena said from beside him and Kiros glanced back at the stage to see the lights starting to click on and the cheer of the crowd. Apparently, the crowd knew the show was about to start, because they were becoming very excited…and rowdy. Aside from being a judge, it was his job to calm them down…and he'd better get to it now.

"Good luck to you," Kiros said quickly to Squall before he turned heading off to the stage. It was show time and he had to do a good job at pretending nothing was wrong, or else Tseng would notice it. Kiros didn't know why he had a fear of that guy…but he did…a fear that was telling him that crossing the other man was not a very bright idea.

Neither was leaving Laguna alone when a crazed man like this was wandering around.

"Ladies and Gentleman," Kiros said into the microphone handed to him as he walked out onto the stage. He smiled lifting a hand and waving it to the millions of cheering fans out there screaming their heads off. Already there were people holding up signs proclaiming their love for one band or another. It was a confident feeling and Kiros quickly let it take over as he threw his hand to the side. "Welcome to the annual Bahamut Competition!" He stopped speaking just in time for the echo of his voice to be drowned out by the loud screams of the fans. "I'm sorry to report ahead of time that the other two judges, Sephiroth and Laguna, will not be making it here tonight."

At the sounds of awws and some disappointment, some the fans screamed out their anger at the idea of the competition being cancelled. Kiros held the microphone tightly in front of him then looked towards the fans a second before he throw his hand out towards the side of the stage as if welcoming the new members…despite the fact that they were the last people he wanted to see. "But we have good news! It just so happens we have two new judges with us today! Please welcome Tseng and Elena as our new judges!"

Instantly the stands were filled with ecstatic screams of joy as the two named judges walked out onto the stage, moving past him to take a seat at the side of the stage in a box that was labeled Judges. Neither had said a word leaving Kiros to take that as a cue to continue. "Our first band up to bat will be The Posse, followed by the SeeD, and then Chaos Materia! After which we will take a brief intermission! Now…" he said not giving the fans a chance to start their yell fest as he held his hand up high. "Let's welcome the first band and singing the song 'Taint' given to them by the Bahamut committee, The Posse!"

The sound of cheering fans rose quickly but died fast as the sound of a guitar somewhere back behind Kiros was heard. At that sound, Kiros moved quickly to the side of the stage, taking his place behind the Judge's booth as the curtain rose, and The Posse band came to life. He felt eyes on him and glanced to the side seeing Tseng looking right at him, with that smirk to his face. It wasn't exactly a comfortable feeling, but Kiros did his best to ignore it and try to enjoy the show taking place in front of him.

Irvine frowned slightly as he stood backstage glancing over at Squall who was currently talking to Kiros. Even though he'd told Selphie that he would talk to Squall…he never got around to it. Exactly what was he supposed to say to the man anyway? It wasn't like he'd listen to a word he said without accusing him of being this or that…even if he was this or that. Still…it bothered Irvine a little that he was thinking so hard on this…about Squall.

Why do I think about him so much, anyway?

The frown refused to leave Irvine's face. He shook his head to see if that would help but all that did was make his head hurt. He'd noticed that Rinoa wasn't following after Squall as much as she used to and wondered suddenly why that made him feel so good. Well…honestly Rinoa could be a thorn in his side…but it wasn't as though she'd done anything to him literally…besides exist.

I shouldn't be so mean…she's a nice girl…sometimes…when she's not accusing me of every little thing that makes Squall mad.

Well…more like blaming him. If the pancakes at breakfast were a little too dark, it was Irvine's fault for having slept with the cook and throwing her mind off course. So Irvine was just that good. It wasn't his fault that he was just sexy and every girl he ran into wanted him. Hell, even some men wanted a swing at him though he'd never allow it…well…he'd probably allow Vincent…only cause he was really pretty like a girl. Irvine shook his head quickly again trying to get his mind off that. He wasn't gay so there was no reason for him to be thinking such things about guys!

Though…he'd definitely be pretty good in bed…I think. Well…Squall would be too if he wasn't so…tight assed…. Gah, stop thinking about that!

It was too late though, images of a very naked and very ready Squall popping into his head. And yes…it was bad enough to be getting images of a naked man, no matter how sexy he was, in his head. But it was made worst when images of Vincent popped into his head in a similar manner of dress, and yet both men were posing for him in such provocative ways that he thought he'd lose his mind. In fact, he almost did lose his mind when those two images combined giving him some pretty kinky ideas of what the two of them would be like in bed together.

Pull yourself together, Irvine. The last thing you need is to be on stage singing with a noticeable bulge in your pants…course the ladies wouldn't mind that.

The sounds of a guitar entered his mind suddenly and he noticed that the competition was starting and that The Posse were up on stage. It was enough to get his mind of the naughty thoughts he was having…but it also pushed his thoughts to Squall again as the absence of Kiros meant that the other was free to be spoken to. He noticed Squall moving off heading towards the dressing room area and frowned debating if he should follow and finally talk to the other. Despite having been around each other the majority of the new day…Squall had refused to speak to him about anything…and instead chase to talk to Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis…when he felt like it. Irvine sighed scratching at his head for a moment before he finally gave up and just went after Squall. They really needed to settle this before their performance started…or else there would be some problems with it later.

Zell stood at the side of the stage peering out at The Posse, but mostly watching the flowing body that was Seifer. He had the microphone connected to his ear, and was singing into it as he played quickly on the guitar, bring out a strong masculine sound as he moved to the music. Today they had him wearing a dark blue trench coat, and a pair of red slacks. He didn't wear a shirt, his chest shining with oil and making Zell blush and drool at the deliciousness of it. Seifer was definitely showing off today, more than he'd ever done before from his other performances.

Raijin sat at the background yet slammed his drumsticks down hard onto the drum, basically setting the tempo and keeping the music going strong and fluid with its vibrate sound. He wore no shirt either, just a pair of red slacks similar to Seifer's. He seemed to be getting into it himself, his head rocking from side to side with the music and his feet tapping as he played his parts on the drums, sending the fans cheering.

Fujin was somewhat behind Seifer and to the side, her guitar smaller yet just as strong sounding as Seifer. Though she didn't move around as much as the other two, she was obviously enjoying herself, the slight nodding of her head to the music giving it away. She had her hair styled covering over one of her eyes, her clothes a one-piece dark blue outfit with a red zipper down the front. It was definitely made obvious that she was the only female in the band there…as her body was being somewhat shown off by the tightness of the outfit she was wearing. Other than that, she wore a silver necklace around her neck, too far away for Zell to tell what it was, and some white tennis shoes that didn't look like they matched at all her outfit…yet somehow making her look cute.

Suddenly Seifer's mouth opened, and Zell found himself entranced at the beautiful sound of his voice. Seifer seemed oblivious to Zell standing at the side of the stage watching him. He was deep into the music, dancing slightly and singing with his deep voice, Fujin quickly following with the backup chorus and her softer, feminine voice. It was a nice blend though Zell really wished he could be out on stage with Seifer right then.

"Don't touch me!"

(I want you)

"Don't come near me!"

(I need to)

"You're tainted...you're nothing to me!"

(Feel my desires)

Zell flinched slightly at the words almost feeling as though Seifer were singing them to him. It made him feel…weird. Even though they were words from a song the Bahamut committee had given to The Posse…the words…felt like things Seifer would say to him…. Even the backup course made Zell things of the things he'd say in return…

I want you…I need you…do I really feel that way for him?

It wasn't as though Seifer loved him, just wanted the sex. Once this competition was done with, they'd probably never see each other again. That thought hurt….

I don't want to think about that…about an asshole I'm not even supposed to like!

Zell shook his head quickly from those thoughts, forcing himself to focus on the song itself…but who in their right mind would make a song like that anyway?

"I felt your eyes on me,

Watching...Stalking...Burning...Teasing

I felt your touch on me,

Needing...Wanting...Squeezing...Pleading"

"No! Don't come closer!"

(I want you)

"Keep the taint away from me!"

(Please touch me)

"For my heart, belongs to the light,

As yours belongs to darkness"

(Join me forever)

Zell found himself mesmerized as he watched Seifer's hips start to gravitate in a circle, feeling as though he were being teased. He felt himself blush slightly and looked away to try and hide it. Seifer was pretty good…at moving his hips…

He's really good at it in bed…ah, don't think about that! Focus, Zell, focus! This is just what he wants you to do so you'll lose!

Wait…what if this was all a ploy? Seifer using him to destroy his focus so he'd lose the Bahamut competition. Would Seifer really do all of that, even sleep with a man to win?

I seriously doubt that.

"Stop! Keep away!"

(Please hug me)

"My heart is clean"

(Please kiss me)

"I don't want this pain"

"This feeling you want to pass to me,

"I can't control it! Ahhhh..."

(Let me destroy you)

Zell felt his hand clutching slightly at his half buttoned up white shirt and closed his eyes allowing himself to listen to the words. He knew he should probably be meeting up with the others, considering they were up next to perform, but he couldn't bring himself to move from the side of the stage. He wanted to be there when the song ended, to see Seifer's face…even if the other did ignore him.

Ok, maybe that's stretching it a little far. He'd be more likely to chase me down than ignore me.

Though he had to admit, the thrill of being chased was fun…despite the fact that he was falling in love with his rival, something he was sure Irvine would flip over if he knew. Squall…well Squall would respond the same as ever, grunt and walk away. He glanced around quickly then felt his lips lower down into a frown. Where were Irvine and Squall anyway? For a second he panicked thinking that they were probably off killing each other but then…maybe they were doing just the opposite.

Let's hope anyway.

He felt a grin lift to his lips as he thought about the two of them fighting over who'd get to be on top. Oh, he'd definitely pay to see that fight. Squall could probably win easily being that Irvine was a sucker for a pretty face…yet Squall might lose on purpose to be on the bottom.

"Your touch has burnt me"

(Can you feel it?)

"Its mark has been left"

(My slave)

"I'm left with nothing

But the feel of your passing"

(Come with me)

Please stop this pain!

Take away my hurt!

I don't want it!

Zell felt a sting in his eyes suddenly and frowned closing them both. He told those make-up artists that he didn't want the glitter on his face but they just had to do it anyway. And now look, it was in his eyes. He should go back and give them a piece of his mind though he doubted they'd listen to him. They had actually traced his tattoo on his cheek with the sticky glitter saying that it would make the tattoo stand out more on stage and make him look cuter. Like he needed help looking cuter. All he had to do was leave that to Quistis who seemed to have this thing for dressing him up, saying that she always was good with dress up as a kid.

Well…it seems to be working fine at least.

He took his hands down from his face, blinking his eyes rapidly, feeling them tear up from the pain they'd just felt from the glitter. He felt the presence looming over him before he'd even seen whom it was and frowned finding himself face to face with Seifer. The other frowned, his chest heaving heavily and now glistening with sweat, which Zell looked at contently. Of course, he had to shake his head to get himself back on track and lifted his eyes up again to look at Seifer wondering why he was standing there before realizing that the song was over.

That was fast….

"What's wrong with you?" Seifer asked suddenly and Zell blinked with confusion before he felt a tear at the corner of his eye and rubbed it away with the back of a hand.

"What are you talking about?" He asked in return, thinking that Seifer had lost his mind and yet…enjoying the attention he was getting. It definitely made him feel wanted and cared for.

"You crying?"

"No, I'm not crying!" Zell blurted out quickly , glaring up at Seifer for accusing him of some a babyish thing. "I just got glitter in my eye, that's all."

"Yeah yeah…." Seifer just waved Zell's away like it was nothing. "I guess wussy boys will stay wussy boys till the end."

"What did you say!" Zell balled his fist up growling and glaring up at Seifer.

He's asking for a beating!

Zell almost found himself hopping from foot to foot in his boxers stance but quickly got a grip on that before he really did lose control of himself, instead folding his arms over his chest in something of a pout. "You can call me a wussy now," Zell said to him, giving him a defiant look. "But I won't lose to you! Our group will definitely beat yours in the competition!"

"Sounds like a bet…"Seifer said before he pushed past Zell, heading for the dressing room. "But I won't be losing to a bunch of pretty boys dressed in fag clothes and singing about love and peace."

What the…he's just as much a pretty boy as the rest of us! With all that oil and hip shaking, he has to be!

"We'll see about that!" Zell said before he'd even thought about what had been said. Pretty boys in drag…great move, Zell. You just agreed with him! He heard laughter and glanced up in surprise. That had to be the first time he'd heard Seifer laugh…and it was damn well sexy…even if Seifer did have his back to him and was walking away still….

Maybe I was hearing things….

As Seifer was walking away, Irvine and Squall were coming out…though Squall still seemed to be pretty pissed. Irvine didn't seem so happy himself…which had to be a sign that things didn't work out. As Squall walked by, Irvine stopped beside Zell frowning and staring after Squall before clicking his teeth.

"The asshole locked me out of the dressing room," Irvine said frowning and reaching up scratching his head underneath the light blue hat with the white ribbon tied around it. Yes, Quistis had them going with the innocent boy light blue color today. She said something about innocence being a key seller though Irvine had to be anything but innocent…in his unbuttoned light blue pants with his black silk boxers showing.

Could be worse…

"Don't worry," Zell said noticing that Irvine was waiting for some response. "I'm sure things will get better after we get on stage." He smiled softly and noticed Irvine visibly relaxing at the smile and starting to grin himself. Yep, Zell's cute boy act still worked like a charm.

Go me!

"You're right. I'll just try again after we perform, no problems there." Irvine reached up a hand lying it on top of Zell's and ruffling it around slightly though it didn't make a difference considering that somehow Zell got stuck with the rough boy hair look. "We'd better get out there," Irvine said suddenly, his purple eyes trained on the stage. "Kiros isn't taking any time moving on to the next performance. Last thing we need is for the curtain to open to a pissed off glaring Squall."

Zell laughed at that image and nodded his head in agreement, following after the taller male quickly as they went to get into position. The equipment was already all set up, all they needed to do was get into place. He took his spot at his drum set, petting it lovingly and mumbling softly 'wish me luck' before he heard Kiros introducing them and the song, "Karma," which was the song the committee gave them to sing. Instantly after the song was named, the curtain opened and the strumming of a guitar as the song started quickly pushed away any other thoughts Zell had.

TBC….

Crappy lyrics made by me:snickers: Well the lyrics made the chapter longer….yay me! So yeah, next time, more crappy lyrics and um….some other band issues…as things slowly start to conclude…and I'm sleepy. So night!