[A/N: "Mama" refers to "Matron" when spoken by the main characters, as referenced in the German version which I am currently playing through. But I've always called Edea "Mama" since she did pretty much raise them, and it's a more endearing term than "Matron." So it's German canon and it's staying, guys. Also, "Libby" is short for "Library girl with the pigtail" aka Zell's girlfriend, and Selphie's friend from Trabia Garden (the one who holds Selphie's card) is "Trina." Yeah, I got real creative.]

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Selphie, happy birthday to you!" Selphie's friends - Trina, Irvine (loudly and clearly), Quistis, Zell, Libby, Rinoa (very cheerfully), Ellone, Squall (barely audibly, but louder when Rinoa nudged him), Cid, Edea, Kiros, and Laguna (loudly enough to make up for Ward) sang just before she blew out the candles.

Irvine had Selphie's camera in his hands, zooming in on Selphie's lips as she blew out the candles. "Yummy," he said in his usual playful-but-pervy tone toward her.

"I know, right?! I am sooooooo hungry. This looks delicious! Thanks guys!"

Right over your head, as always, Selphie...

"Mama helped me make it," Irvine responded as he pointed the camera toward Edea, then held it in front of him as he wrapped an arm around her and waved. Little did he know, the shot wasn't nearly as good as one with a gun would have been. But he'd find that out later. He then stepped back behind the camera, quickly noticing Cid directly in the frame and correcting him.

"Don't take credit for the cake, Irvine. She made it."

"Decorating counts as part of making it, dear," Edea defended Irvine to Cid.

"Well it's suuuuuper cute!" Selphie physically tee-heed at the sight of it. Irvine pointed the camera at the cactuar-shaped cake, picking up Rinoa's voice somewhere not in the camera's vision.

"Irvine wanted to put a thousand candles on it as a joke, but we said no."

"That would have way too expensive, time consuming, sloppy and unnecessary," Quistis added.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Irvine responded, lighting up to Selphie's response.

"Well I like the idea! Really creative! Aaaaaand there's always next year!"

Ellone cut the first piece of cake and handed it directly to the birthday girl before dispersing the rest to the others, complete with a bowl filled with Everyone's Fudge ice cream - a novel brand known for its Tonberry logo and variety of flavors. Selphie's flavor of choice? Cookie dough.

"Mmmm thank you!" said the birthday girl, cuddling her new moogle plushie, Irvine's birthday gift to her. It was her favorite, mainly because she really liked Irvine. Most of what she had received was plushies; she was easy to read and therefore easy to shop for. She had received several chocobos of different colors: a black one from Squall, a light blue one from Rinoa, a yellow one from Zell, and a green one from Ellone. They had collaborated and gone shopping together to make sure nobody got her the same one that someone else did. Ward's gift was a Jumbo Cactuar, as large and cuddly as he was; and from Kiros, a Tonberry. Trina gave her a Cait Sith, Cid gifted her a Moomba, and Mama gave her an adorable Carbuncle plushie. Libby didn't really know her that well, but still did good - she bought the birthday girl a colorful floral and sequin printed hardback journal, and Quistis gave her a collection of colorized and stylized connector chains for her weapon.

Everyone began to feel inferior when she had opened Laguna's gift, but nobody was surprised that the President of Esthar bought the girl a model train set that could barely fit inside the orphanage. To top it off he gave her a conductor hat as well just for giggles. Squall slapped his forehead when he brought the gift inside, as he recalled Laguna asking him what Selphie is into. She really likes trains, he remembered telling him. He wasn't expecting Laguna to be that extravagant, but he was not surprised. Laguna did have extreme and very thoughtful tendencies.

At least Rinoa didn't get her hands on this one and ruin it with another shabby paint job, Squall thought.

It was hard for Selphie to contain her excitement over the train set, and the only reason it was her second favorite gift and not the first was because she liked Irvine and therefore any gift would have more meaning to her personally. Still, she didn't want anyone to feel like she didn't appreciate their gifts, because she loved them all, so she made sure to play with all of them, like a child. It was mostly Ellone and Trina who weren't afraid to indulge in childish play with the birthday girl, putting the plushies on top of the train cars and watching them go around the track. Selphie put the Carbuncle at the front, and put her comparitively oversized conductor hat on its head.

Of course, she didn't want to bring any of her plushies outside and potentially lose them in the ocean when Quistis and Rinoa suggested a swim. Selphie hadn't thought to bring a swimsuit, but followed her friends outside anyway. It was warm outside, so most of them put away their jackets or wore something entirely different from what they usually wear. Selphie only took off her boots so she could feel the sand between her toes and cool off on the shore. Mama wore the same clothing she was always known for, a long black dress, but she too removed her shoes and knotted it around her knee to avoid overheating. Selphie made sure to spend one-on-time with Mama and thank her personally for letting them use her home for her bithday party.

"This is your home too, Selphie," she reminded the young woman who once lived there.

While Irvine was catching up with Ellone, who he quickly learned was now a permanent resident of the presidential palace in Esthar (or rather, as permanent as Laguna's presidency, which was likely to be lifelong), Quistis and Rinoa butted in on their conversation.

"So what's it like living in the palace?" Rinoa questioned, prompting a very confused and dumbfounded look from Irvine, as he knew she had lived in a mansion, which wasn't really that different.

"It's just like being anywhere else. I'm just happy to be able to stay with Uncle Laguna."

"And how has he been?" Quistis inquired.

"You know, I really thought he'd be more stressed out trying to run a country all on his own, but he seems happy and always has time for friends and family," Ellone answered. "And honestly? I think he was more excited about the model train than Selphie is."

"No way! Have you ever actually been INSIDE a train with Selphie? She loses it," Irvine commented. "It's cute how excited she gets."

"You think everything she does is cute," Quistis teased her friend.

"What? What makes you say that?!" Irvine was beginning to blush and put his face down so his hat would hide his eyes.

"Remember when she piloted the Ragnarok for the first time? You were all 'Isn't Selphie amazing?!'" Quistis answered, making Rinoa laugh.

"Irvine!" Ellone jumped in the teasing session. "You like her! Can't really say I'm surprised though. You always liked her."

"He likes everyone, though. Don't you, Irvine, you self-proclaimed ladie's man?" Rinoa reminded the other girls of his habits, before Quistis pointed out something unusual.

"Now that you mention it, Rinoa... when's the last time he flirted with someone other than Selphie?"

Rinoa failed to come up with an answer and realized what that potentially meant. "So. You gonna ask her out, then?"

"Uh..." Irvine got quiet, not expecting to be bombarded about his relationship with Selphie. Sure, he'd like to, but today was all about her. Not him.

"Rinoa, I think you're embarrassing him," Quistis whispered just before Selphie came along and took Irvine's hat right off his head. The moment he felt it disappear, he knew what happened and turned around, internally panicking as he knew how red his face must have been.

"Sorry, I gotta steal him from you. Irvy! Come play with us!" she apologized before forcing Irvine away from the girls by pulling on his hand and running back inside with him, where Laguna sat with Zell, Libby, and Trina.

"We just came up with a game! So you have to play!"

"Uh, okay. What's the game?" Irvine asked, sitting beside Selphie and reclaiming his hat.

"First, you have to pick a plushie," Libby announced.

"Uh, okay," he said, scanning to see what was taken, and took one that was still available.

"Next, one of us has to be the Conductor. So everyone, pick a card from the deck, and whoevers card has the highest top number is the Conductor. If there's a tie, those players draw again," Zell explained. "Squall let us borrow his deck since he has a full one, so take care of the cards."

Everyone took a card from the deck at random and flipped them all over, revealing a variety of monster, boss, GF, and player cards.

"9! That's me!" Libby announced as she set the Tonberry at the front of the train and placed Selphie's conductor hat on its head.

Irvine couldn't keep up with the rules. The objective was to avoid your plushie getting hit by the train. It was a speed game, and the top number of every card told you how many spaces to move forward. But occasionally, certain sequences of cards would result in the train speed changing, someone being forced to move backward, getting a revive if your plushie gets hit, until only one plushie was standing. He couldn't remember what the Conductor was even for. It was a game of speed but it was too much information to remember the first round. Laguna also seemed to be a little confused. Zell and Libby seemed to be catching on just fine. Regardless, Irvine was happy just to sit next to Selphie. Because he couldn't keep up with the rules, he didn't know what he was doing and also couldn't figure out if anyone had actually won the game or if everyone just left. At some point however, Laguna had gotten up to talk to Squall, Kiros, and Ward; Zell got up to introduce Libby to Cid and Edea, and Rinoa befriended Trina and the two got up to eat more cake and ice cream.

"I guess... the game's over, then?" Selphie sounded slightly disappointed.

"So who won?" Irvine dumbly asked.

"Um..." Selphie took a quick look around at everyone's cards and the placement of the plushies. "Technically no one, since they all quit, but it looks like Sir Laguna probably would have won."

"I couldn't really keep up with it," Irvine confessed.

"I could tell. Thanks for trying, though. You did good!" she said excitedly, holding up a hand for an encouraging high-five to Irvine. Their fingers began slipping through the spaces between the other's upon contact, but they had both retreated. "I'm having a really good time."

"Me too," Irvine confessed. "Kinda makes me wanna move back here. Not here but, like, you know. Somewhere nearby."

"It brings back memories, that's for sure," Selphie commented, never having recalled most of her memories until Irvine came along. Maybe that was why she was so fond of him. He reminded her so much of her childhood, that at times nothing else seemed to matter.

"You ever think about moving back?"

"Well... I've never really had much time to think about moving at all. I don't know where I want to end up. Never really been in one spot long enough to make up my mind. I was in Trabia for a while, and I have friends back there but it's kinda cold there and then I came to Balamb Garden, but it's not where it used to be, it's kinda weird, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, it's definitely weird," Irvine could understand where Selphie was coming from. There was no need to settle down because her home was portable.

"I like it here, though. The beach especially. But it's not very populated. I'd have to have people close by or I'd lose my mind."

"Well, if you moved somewhere close to the beach you'd always have Mama and Cid close by. And I'd visit as often as you'd have me over, Sefie."

"Yeah! Especially if you wanna move here, too."

"Well if that's the case, we might as well move in together," Irvine suggested in half-seriousness.

"Heeeeyyyy! That could be fun!" Irvine was not expecting that kind of response from her. After all, it was kind of a joke.

"Wa- really?" he seemed shocked, but pleased. It was a nice thought, getting to see Selphie all the time and spending more time with her.

"Well... on second thought... knowing you, I'd rather not come home to an orgy every night."

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't play dumb now. We all know you're kind of a ho," Selphie teased.

"Me? A ho?"

"Come on, Irvine, you hit on everything."

"That's not true. Besides, I can't be a ho."

"Why? 'Cus you're a guy?"

"No, because I'm ... eh, nevermind."

"No, tell me!" Selphie refused to let it go. He covered his face and answered under his breath several times but she couldn't hear him. Then, he whispered loudly in her ear.

"I'm. A. Virgin."

"Bullshit," Selphie laughed it off. "There's no way."

"It's true."

"There's no way you're a vir-" Selphie was quickly silenced by Irvine's hand to her mouth. He hid his face underneath his hat to hide his embarrassment.

"Don't go telling anyone. I have a reputation to uphold."

"Wait... you're serious? ... Jeez, okay. There's no shame in it," she said once he removed his hand from her mouth. "I am, too."

"Just trying to make me feel better?"

"No, I really am!"

"Haha. Nice try, Sefie."

"What's that supposed to mean? You think *I'm* a ho?!"

"No! No, nothing like that. It's just that you're so... friendly. Besides, it's different for girls. Nobody expects you to lose it before a certain age."

"Does it really matter?"

"I guess not," Irvine seemed to be at ease with Selphie's acceptance. "Not when there's always magazines to help get me off."

"Irvine!" Selphie half-ass scolded him, but he knew she wasn't serious when she laughed.

"They're kind of getting old though. I need new content. Wanna trade nudes?"

"Irvine, stop hitting on the birthday girl," he heard Squall's voice behind him unexpectedly.

"Super cringey," Zell seconded.

"Yeah, you could at least buy me dinner first," Selphie teased him, catching him off guard by not scolding him like the others.

"...Dinner? ... So, throwing you a party doesn't count?" Irvine responded, mainly just to gauge her reaction.

"It counts. But I still want dinner!" she replied with a wink that was a lot more obvious than she intended. She didn't know how much of the conversation Quistis had heard, or if she had seen the wink directed at Irvine, but she blushed when she heard the blonde's voice.

"Careful Selphie, you're gonna make his gun shoot," the former teacher laughed.

"Selphie can pull my trigger any time!" Irvine added, sounding playful, except deep down he was serious as Squall's jokes. He held his thumb up and extended his index finger, pointing at Selphie with a smirk and a suggestive wink. "Bang!" he said, pretending his hand was an actual gun recoiling toward him.

Zell seemed to catch on to their flirtation a bit more quickly than Squall did, and he knew his socially inept friend would probably just stay there like a moron until the two ended up making out with each other if he didn't intervene, so he flung his arm aroung Squall's neck and forced him to walk in the opposite direction until the gunblade wielder shrugged him off.

There were so many people at Selphie's party, moving around so much that it was impossible to keep up with who was there. At times, everyone had forgotten who was still there unless they made a big scene about leaving. As the sun was beginning to set, almost all of them had decided to leave. This was no surprise as they had been celebrating with her at the orphanage since early morning. Still, she loved the water and the warm weather, so she didn't plan on leaving any time soon.

"Man, I really wish I would have brought a change of clothes," the only remaining partygoer, Irvine, thought out loud.

"Why's that? You plan on staying the night here?" Selphie wondered, still dancing around the shore, feeling the shallow, cool waters nearly knocking her over as the waves rush up to her thighs.

"I mean, we can if you want to," Irvine responded nonchalantly with his hat still covering his face. If it weren't for him speaking, Selphie would have thought he'd already fallen asleep by now, as many of the others assumed.

"We?" Selphie repeated, temporarily standing still in the rushing waters of Cape Goodhope.

"I brought you here, didn't I? Besides, do you wanna travel when you're starting to get tired?" he pointed out, tapping his foot that was attached to his leg crossed over the other one. It was warm outside and he hadn't thought to bring anything aside from Selphie's present, so he laid on his trenchcoat in place of a towel and used his hat for sunscreen on his face. That is, until someone removed it for the thirty-seventh time that day. "One of these days, Selphie, I'm just gonna take something of yours!" he said in an unreasonably flirtacious tone that seemed to go right over Selphie's head.

"Tee-hee!" she said, running off, but careful to avoid any more than a few inches of water, out of respect for Irvine's hat.

"I should have gotten you a hat for your birthday since you like mine so much," Irvine chuckled and propped himself up with his elbows.

"I just like bugging you," she reminded him. He slowly rose to his feet before running after his best friend to reclaim his hat. Not that he cared so much about the hat as he did watching Selphie squeal in excitement as she tried to outrun him. But alas, Irvine was taller than Selphie, therefore his strides were longer, and he eventually caught up to her. Every. Single. Time. She tried her hardest to escape his grip once he caught up to her, but failed. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and picked her up, making her laugh-scream.

"Put me down this instant, Irvine Kinneas! Right now!"

"And what if I don't?" he asked the girl who could barely speak from too much laughter, but somehow had the energy to flail her legs about and slap his arms silly as if it would somehow help her escape.

"This... is an order... from the birthday girl," she reminded him. He obliged, but not before reclaiming his hat and running away with it. Once he got several feet away from her, he turned around and tipped his hat at her just to tease her and ran off again.

As far back as Irvine could remember, it had always been like this. She was always taking his things just to get his attention, and it worked every time. Maybe she didn't know how to ask for attention, but he was always more than happy to give it to her. Even when the two were growing up together in the orphanage, she'd take his things. He didn't really remember how it started. Maybe she had tried it on the others and they didn't take too kindly to it first. Zell would have gotten mad; he hated when people touched anything of his to the point where nobody was even allowed into his room unless there was no choice. Seifer would have taken her belongings back and destroyed them. Squall probably would have whined and demanded it back. Quistis, he figured, would have taken things by force. Ellone didn't even notice when things went missing, probably as a result of her nomadic lifestyle prior to her stay in Edea's orphanage.

But Irvine knew she wasn't being disrespectful. She always took good care of his possessions when she played with him. She was always more than happy to share her toys with him too, and when he made it clear that he actually was upset, she was receptive, apologized, and tried to make it better. He always played with her a lot more than the other kids, although she was a bit of a social butterfly and wanted to play with everyone. Because of this, he cherished their time together.

"Fine! I'll just take your coat instead!" she cried out, running back toward his makeshift towel.

"It's like, a hundred degrees out here," he reminded her, not even bothering to chase her anymore.

"Wow, BIG exaggeration," Selphie teased; he was only off by about twenty-two degrees.

"Another reason I wish I brought a change of clothes."

"Just take your pants off. You'll be fine."

He couldn't tell if she was flirting with him or not or just beating some common sense into his brain. Still, it sounded like an invitation.

"...Do you... want me to take my pants off?" he said with a devilish grin, but secretly asking in confusion.

"If you'll stop whining about the heat!" Selphie answered as she began unbuckling the straps on her dress. "Come on, get in the water with me! It'll cool you off."

Irvine couldn't help but watch as she unzipped the dress and tossed it aside, revealing a strapless white crop top and matching boyshorts underneath.

Oh, HELL yes!

His eyes widened at the sight of her curves and he wasted no time tossing his hat aside. He stripped down to his boxers and matching purple tank top while rushing after her. She splashed him to cool him off, and he returned the gesture. Before he knew it, they were both soaked and their hair clung to their faces.

"Feel better?" Selphie asked after a few minutes of playtime.

"Much," he confirmed before realizing what the water had done to Selphie's hair. As he spoke he picked up some near the bottom, touching a few other scattered spots near her head. "Wow, I never noticed how long your hair is until now."

"Yeah, I don't like leaving it down. It's almost as long as yours!" she commented, flipping his ponytail over his shoulder and comparing length.

"I know, I've been thinking about cutting it," he told her, immediately countered by banshee-like shrieking.

"NOOOOOOO don't cut it!" Selphie demanded. "I like it."

"Then I'll give it to you when I cut it."

"Don't be weird," she said in a joking manner. "I have enough hair of my own."

"I was joking any-"

"Ssh!" Selphie interrupted him, covering his lips with her finger. "Do you hear that?"

"The sound of the ocean waves?" Irvine spoke against her fingers, now being silenced with her entire palm. She looked around frantically, but only with her eyes so as not to making any more noise.

"Float!" she cast on a target unseen to Irvine, and went to cast it again on herself. "That was my last one...?"

"Sefie, what are you-"

Before Irvine could finish his question, Selphie began swimming into deeper waters, prompting a very concerned Irvine to swim after her as he didn't have any Float spells either. He figured they were pointless once his guardian forces learned the Quadruple Elemental Defense Junction and he learned to absorb every element by junctioning Ultima, Full-Life, Shell, and Protect.

Although Irvine was a faster runner than Selphie, she was a better swimmer, and returned doing a backstroke with a guest.

"A chicobo?!" he noticed the pale blue bird sitting upon Selphie's chest. She hurried back to shallow water and held the chicobo in her hands.

"Where is your mommy? You poor thing, how did you get all the way out there?"

"I've never seen a blue chocobo before..." Irvine commented, smiling welcomingly at the scared little guy in Selphie's hands.

"This one's not suited for deep waters. Dark blue chocobos can swim in deep water, but light blue chocobos can only handle shallow water. Poor little guy might have drowned out there!"

"Well it's a good thing you heard him crying for help."

"I've gotta get him inside," Selphie said as she took long, slowed down steps to shore, not bothering to pick up her clothing on the sand on her way in. Irvine followed her loyally. "Who knows how long he's been out there! Let's see if there's something here we can feed him."

"I heard they only eat vegetables," Irvine said, trying to be of assistance.

"Yeah, but I doubt Mama keeps Gysahl Greens around. Here, hold him while I look for something," Selphie instructed, and quickly found a a bag of greens in Edea's kitchen. It wasn't Gysahl Greens, but she figured it was the safest thing for her new friend to consume. She held a small leaf in front of him, and he examined it carefully and pivoted around his beak.

"I promise it's safe. See?" she captured the baby chocobo's attention by eating a leaf herself. She then touched the top of the chocobo's head and stroked him until his eyes closed comfortably, however briefly. When she pulled away, she saw his eyes open again and she retreated. She set the rest of the greens on a table beside Irvine, who lowered him down to the food. He happily ate it and seemed content, although Selphie seemed more worried than the chicobo was about finding his mother.

"I sure hope we find his mom soon before he gets too big," Irvine stated the obvious.

"Yeah, I do too, she's probably really worried about him."

"Uh... hey Selphie? I just thought of something."

"What's that, Irvine?"

"Do you remember playing with chocobo whistles when we were kids?"

"...Not particularly, why?" Selphie asks just a moment before she understands what Irvine meant. "Oh! There's one here?!"

"Hopefully," he answered with a shrug. The bird let out a little chirp at Selphie until she returned to him and extended her hand. He hopped onto it and let the birthday girl carry him around close to her chest as she rummaged through every drawer with one hand until she finally located it. "Found it! Come on, let's go back out and find his mommy!"

They made their way to the beach and sat on the shore for probably an hour, taking turns blowing the whistle.

"Well, if we can't find your mom, I guess I'll have to take care of you," Selphie told her new friend. "Oh, don't look at me like that. She didn't leave you. She's somewhere out there looking for you. She just doesn't know where. How could she not be looking for you? You're such a little sweetheart."

"If you're gonna keep him, you'd better get a stable and name him."

"Hm. A name. Good call, Irvine," she said before turning her attention back to the chicobo. "What do you think of the name Levi? Short for Leviathan, after the great water elemental guardian force, since I found you at sea?"

The chicobo chirped approvingly, prompting a reaction out of Irvine who was now enamored with the little guy. "Jeez, it's like he understands you."

"Well, chocobos are really smart," she told her friend who handed her the whistle and laid in the sand. He sprawled out on his stomach and propped himself up with his elbows, looking at Levi and petting him on the forehead. "I'll get you a collar, too. I hope you like glitter and rhinestones. I think that would look so cute on you. I'll have to replace it a lot, though. You're a growing boy."

As Selphie continued sweet-talking the baby bird, Irvine annoucned his departure and went back inside the house, returning with Selphie's camera. "We may never get another opportunity like this. Smile!"

Selphie barely had time to react, but glanced in the direction of the camera with not a smile, but a look of surprise. This wasn't exactly a celebratory moment, but Irvine wanted to capture it. He knew Selphie wouldn't argue anyway; they had been taking pictures much more frequently since they learned about the memory loss caused by their beloved guardian forces. He smiled at the picture, even though she wasn't smiling in the picture, it was real and true to her nature: like a concerned mother.

"Sefie, look!" Irvine pointed out something in the distance. "Is that his mom?"

Selphie's eyes narrowed into the distance, and she blew the whistle one more time. The chocobo in the distance sped up to shore, and Selphie took Levi to greet her upon her return. It was his mother. She laid on the sand and cradled her chicobo with her entire body before Levi climbed up onto her back for the ride home. Mother chocobo approached Selphie and pressed her beak against her stomach before taking off, her way of saying "thank you for taking care of my baby."

"Uh... Sefie?" Irvine came up to Selphie at the shore, who was still watching Levi leave with his mother. He quickly noticed why she hadn't bothered to turn around yet. She was crying. Not a lot, not very loudly, but there were tears. "...Are you okay?"

"I was getting attached," she admitted. "It's silly, I know."

"Not at all," Irvine consoled her, wiping away her tears and holding her in a tight embrace. "You just have a big heart. That's nothing to be ashamed of. I, for one, admire you for that. But now... let's get you cheered up. After all... it is your birthday and you have one more present that needs opened. Why don't you come inside and open it now?"

"One more? From who? Everyone already spoiled me this year!" she wondered aloud as she followed Irvine back inside.

"Uh... from me," he told her.

"But you already-"

"There's another one," he cut her off. "A bigger one. More personal."

"Personal?"

"Well, I mean," Irvine didn't know how to word it without giving away what her real present was. "It's not like, an embarrassing gift or anything. It's not weird."

Selphie remained clueless and intrigued, and couldn't fight off laughter.

"Get your mind out of the gutter! I said it's not embarrassing. Now just... sit here and close your eyes while I go get it. No peeking!"

"Okay," she obeyed, putting her hands over her eyes to prove to Irvine that she wasn't peeking,. She sat on the edge of her childhood bed which was next to Irvine's. He returned only moments later with a box about as large as his chest, wrapped in rainbow paper with pink and yellow balloons attached to it. He sat on the edge of his bed, facing her, and handed it to her. By far this was the most Selphie-favored wrap job, and she could only imagine what was inside. It sure was hard to top the moogle plushie he had given her that morning, or the model train Laguna had gifted her.

"It kind of goes with your other gift," Irvine said as the smiling birthday girl stuck her finger underneath the folded over, taped section of the wrapping paper from the sides of the box and lifted it up to rip it. "There's a chance I might have screwed it up... but... I tried. Oh, another thing, yes, it's real."

She shredded the paper onto the floor and popped open the sides of the cardboard box her gift was inside. She stared silently at it, and Irvine could tell by her response that she understood what it was. Her hands shook and she looked as if she was about to cry again. Then, Irvine started to doubt himself.

Was she hoping for something else?

"Irvine, this... it's..." Selphie couldn't even finish her statement. She pulled the fleece blanket out from the box and held it close to her face. She examined it carefully with her fingertips, brushed it against her face, and sniffed it. "You've gotta be kidding me. Irvine..."

"So, you remember?"

"This is my blanket from when we lived here... I thought it got lost in that really bad storm. How in the world did you find this?!"

"A very thorough search."

"...And you're sure this is the real thing?!"

"Yeah, see," Irvine began to prove his point as he pulled the blanket completely out of the box to reveal its pastel floral pattern, pointing to a small dark spot in the corner. "That's from the time I cut myself and bled on it. And then you stitched me right up!"

"I put a bandage on it."

"Yep! Like I said, you stitched me right up, Doctor Sefie. I am so relieved you remember that. I was nervous you might look at it and ask why I was giving you an old, stinky, bloody blanket."

"This is the most ... thoughtful gift anyone's ever given me."

His face lit up the biggest grin his friend had ever seen on him. "So I did good, huh?"

Selphie set the blanket aside and nearly tackled Irvine with a tight hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank youuuu! I love it!"

You did it, Irvine. You got Selphie to kiss you! ... Well, sort of. Does that count? Don't go getting too excited over it, but damn! Now what do I gotta do to get a kiss on the lips...?

"Haha, you're welcome," Irvine tried to hide the fact that he was blushing. Selphie removed herself from his lap almost as quickly as he returned her embrace, much to Irvine's disappointment but he figured he could use the opportunity to cool himself off. "Hey, you want some more cake and ice cream? Hardly anyone ate any. Sounds really good right now."

"But Everyone's Fudge was for ... everyone."

"Hey, more for us!" Irvine pointed out as he walked over to the kitchen and got a couple of bowls out for the two of them. When he came back out, Selphie had her blanket wrapped around her like a coat, her crop top and boyshorts almost completely dry, as was her hair which had already started to naturally flip outward. Instead of returning to his own bed though, he sat down right next to her and handed her one of the two bowls, complete with cake, ice cream, and a spoon.

"Tee-hee. Thanks!"

"Sure thing," he replied nonchalantly before blurting out a seemingly random and somewhat personal question: "Do you ever think about having kids?"

Selphie nearly choked on her first bite, but managed to get it down without dying. She finally formed her confused words: "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know, Sefie. It's just... watching you take care of that chicobo, I guess. You were so good with him. And the way you took care of your friends and the kids at Trabia Garden last year... I notice these things, is all. I think if you ever have kids you'd be the best mom ever."

"...You really think so?"

"I wouldn't lie to you."

"Right," Selphie understood. She knew that much was true. "Well, thank you. I learned from the best."

"Yeah, Mama really is something special, isn't she?"

"Truly. And I hope you're right. 'Cus I want lots of kids someday!"

"Lots?!" Irvine was stunned by her answer.

"Uh huh!" Selphie confirmed in an upbeat, sing-songy tone. "Lots and lots of kids for me to give all my love to, and spoil them, and teach them things, and to keep safe! And if anyone ever hurts my kids in any way, I'll rip their fucking arms off and impale them in the chest with their own limbs!"

Jeez, psycho. I think I love you.

"Seriously, you'd be a perfect mom," Irvine reiterated, unintentionally comforting Selphie. She was so used to putting off others with her psychotic tendencies that she sometimes forgot Irvine always seemed unbothered by it. She appreciated his acceptance, and that was one major reason she enjoyed his company so much. There was nobody else that she could be so truly, completely herself around. "So. How many do you want?!"

"I don't know. At least three. That way, my kids will never have to be alone and they'll have a good support system in life."

"I see. So how much is too many?"

"Thirteen," she said without any hesitation whatsoever.

"I love how you didn't even hesitate before answering... but I'm curious about your reasoning."

"Well if anything happens to me, there's only twelve people I trust enough to raise my kids. If I had twelve kids, and if none of my friends are as financially capable as I am, then worst case scenario, each friend would get custody of one child. And my friends are all close, so my kids would still be together."

"...You're so weird," Irvine said with a smile to let her know she wasn't off-putting.

"But when I do have kids, I'm making Squall and Rinoa babysit them every chance I get!" Selphie told Irvine with a devilish grin.

"Oh boy. Can you imagine?"

"Right?! Squall taking care of kids?! It sounds absurd but I think they need to have kids soon. Might bring back some of his youth. I think he'd finally understand, that is, if he doesn't see it now, what it's like to have someone who loves you unconditionally and won't leave. He probably will never think about it until it happens, but he'd love being a dad. And you know kids flock to people who seem uninterested."

"Well he better hurry up and get her pregnant then," Irvine responded.

"Just between you and me, I don't have nearly as much confidence in Rinoa's parenting skills as I do for Squall."

"What makes you say that? She takes pretty good care of Angelo."

"Yeah, but like... she's kinda ditzy sometimes. She can barely identify animals, she sucks at long-term planning, she can't take criticism, and she's quick to scold."

"She'd learn real quick," Irvine voiced his opinion.

"So what about you, since you've been asking me personal questions all day."

Irvine spaced out for several moments before responding. He hadn't considered that maybe she would return the questions to him, but if he were to assess a potential relationship with Selphie based on her wants and needs, then surely his wants and needs should matter to her as well. "I feel the same as you, Selphie. But if I'm being honest... I've kind of been a loner most of my life. I never thought I'd have or want kids, let alone find someone willing to start a family with me, until..." Irvine explained as his voice trailed off, setting the empty bowl on the nightstand between their beds and sat on his own childhood bed, facing Selphie.

"Until when, Irvine?"

"Until I met... I guess not met, but... you know, reunited with, all of you guys. You've all been such an important part of my life and a huge support system. Especially you."

"Me?" Selphie repeated, trying to hide her blush.

"Yeah. I don't know what I'd do without you. When we lived here as kids, I got through some pretty tough times because of you. You were my best friend. Still are. ... Unless..."

"...Unless what, Irvine?" Selphie retorted as she put her bowl on the nightstand on top of Irvine's empty bowl.

"... It's nothing. I'm just babbling at this point," Irvine dismissed his comment and lied on the mattress with his hands behind his head, and his knees bent.

"Come on, Irvine, I know you. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I know how to get you to talk," she threatened.

"Nothing to talk about, Sefie," he replied. Next thing he knew, he was under attack - Selphie was standing directly over him and went straight for his armpits, remembering how ticklish he was. He struggled to pull his hands out from under his head; the tickling made him weak and she knew this, but his armpits were extremely ticklish, to the point where he'd often warn others that he was about to pee his pants. He never did, but only because his attackers stopped. "Wait! No! No! No! That's not fair!"

He managed to get his hands out from under himself and flailed about until he trapped her hand in his armpit and forced it away with a combination of wriggles and pushes. Instead she went for his sides, giving him a devilish grin every second of the torture he laughably endured. He returned fire, hoping he could weaken her enough to get her off of him.

But to be honest, he was loving the physical contact.

Selphie squealed and twitched when his fingers met her sides, and she tried to back away to stop the sensations. That's when Irvine grabbed her by the wrists and then held them together with one hand, confusing her until he used his free hand to stroke her side with all of his fingers once again, then the other side, until she couldn't take it anymore. Irvine smiled at her obnoxious laughter; she was almost in tears from her sensation-react cackling. She was weak enough to the point where he pulled her onto the bed with him, and they wrestled for domination for several minutes before she ended up victoriously on top of him, torturing his sides but having no barrier to protect her sensitive stomach, which was quickly under counterattack by a very mischevious cowboy. Her screams and squeals prompted Irvine to blurt out something he had always thought: "You are so cute." This made Selphie pout and blush even more.

Much to Selphie's... well, non-surprise, she detected changes in Irvine that she could only feel, not see, due to their position. Their tickle war had slowed down, and her stomach was hurting from laughing so much. But it was a good type of pain. "Ow, my stomach hurts from laughing so much."

"So does mine," Irvine seconded, and they both stopped. She addressed the change to his body in a playful tone, curious about his response. She hoped to make him just as embarrassed as she was. "So... is that a gun in your pocket or you just happy to see me?"

"Both... but my pockets aren't on me," he answered honestly and fearlessly. She didn't seem put off by him poking her through his boxers, and they laughed again. In fact, she almost seemed flattered.

The two exhausted themselves, seeming to forget what even started the tickle war. They were quickly losing their stamina and audibly catching their breaths. They were still smiling at each other, just not energetic enough to do anything. Selphie was still hovering over him, legs sprawled on either side of him, and he reached out to pull her closer to him. "Heh. You're mine now." He completely dropped his guard for her. She didn't seem to fight it as she quickly found her face against his chest, and his arms wrapped tightly around her, encasing her protectively. She didn't move, getting comfortable as her hand stretched over to the other side of his chest with one leg on top of his. His gentle hands caressed up and down her arm, and without even thinking about it he kissed the top of her head. He was truly vulnerable and smitten now more than ever. They remained like that for several minutes, not attempting to engage in round two, not speaking, not doing anything except enjoying each other's company.

"This feels... right," Irvine said lowly after a minute of keeping a very willing Selphie in his arms. For someone who had always lacked confidence, he seemed to have no problem communicating his feelings with her now; it was so easy to get comfortable with Selphie.

"Yeah." Selphie lifted her head to look at him. He was looking back at her, smiling, but he wasn't looking at her eyes. He was looking at her lips, the same way she was looking at him. As she inched toward his face, she could feel his thumb on her cheek guiding her to his lips.

Selphie's heart pounded through her chest up until the moment her lips made contact with his. It reminded her of the day they met at Galbadia Garden, when he followed her into the next car on the train and told her they were destined to be together. He certainly wasn't wrong, and even then she knew she liked him even after knowing him for less than a day. And now the two were inseperable; everybody saw something between them.

His left arm was wrapped around and underneath her waist, and his right hand by her face, keeping her ear snugly fit between his thumb and other fingers. His lips pressed sweetly against hers, returning the interest and quickly increasing in speed and pressure. What began as a light brush, like two strangers meeting on the street, quickly escalated into a reunion between old friends who embraced in excitement to see each other. As they continued eagerly smashing their lips together, Selphie made her way into his lap, keeping herself in place with her hands on the sides of his neck and her legs on either side of him, fully feeling his warmth against her body. This kiss was not so innocent; it was bursting with emotion, lust, adventure, temptation, curiosity, and a desire to cross lines that once existed but would now just dissipate upon contact.

His right hand remained on her face and his left hand fell to her hip. She looked down at Irvine, who seemed to be completely entranced by her. Not just by her lips, but by her entire existence. Nothing else existed in the room with them; it was just Selphie and Irvine, in a realm all of their own where nothing else mattered. And she couldn't get enough of him.

Her entire body pressed against his as their kissing intensified. Even though she couldn't get any closer to him, he tried bringing her further with his hand on her bottom, and then both of his hands moved to her back to keep her stable. She tasted his tongue for the first time and the sensation of the two dancing in circles around one another drove her wild. The irregular repetition of tongues playfully slapping each other followed by lip encasing and sucking as if trying to claim the other one's soul was getting to the point where she was running out of breath. Even though Selphie didn't want to stop, Irvine picked up on this and pulled away, if only for a moment. She didn't fight it, even though the rocking motions of her body against his were starting to tease her with immense pleasure.

"You look deep in thought," Selphie voiced her thoughts, wondering what exactly was on his mind (besides the obvious) before remembering the two were on the verge of a very serious conversation when she started a tickle war with him that led to this. "What were you gonna say earlier, Irvy?"

Irvine turned red and damn near had a panic attack at the question, but had gained some strong level of comfort with Selphie throughout the day, and especially just within the past few minutes, that allowed him to build up the confidence to say what he had wanted to say not just earlier that day but for a long time. "...I was gonna say... you're still my best friend ... unless," he went on, avoiding eye contact, and playfully walking his fingers along her thighs in a fidgety manner, "...you're interested in being more than friends?"

"... What, like your girlfriend?" Irvine couldn't tell if the thought excited her or repulsed her. She was definitely giving signals of interest, but maybe all she wanted was something physical. He had to know for sure, and the only way to know for sure was to fully vocalize his thoughts.

"Yeah. I mean, is that what you want?"

"Hm. You think you can handle being able to flirt with only me?"

The look of admiration on Selphie's face quickly changed to that of pain and concern. He knew it was his fault for being such a flirt with all the ladies, but it hurt him even more to realize his past behaviors could bring Selphie any doubts about him. She wasn't just another girl, this was Selphie. She was the only girl who ever actually meant something to Irvine, and he knew he had to protect and cherish this feeling.

"Selphie! I haven't flirted with anyone but you in months!" Irvine stopped pacing his fingers on her skin as he spoke and quickly turned defensive before explaining his reasoning. "Look, I know I have ... a reputation. But I would never lie to you. You mean a great deal to me, Sefie. Nobody has ever made me feel the way that you do. I've never liked anyone this much... I'm not interested in anyone else."

"Yeah, me neither," she giggled, cheering up at his sweet words. "I've been trying to flirt back with you all day, too!"

"I thought so! Well then... uh, so, we are exclusively only interested in each other," Irvine began a recap of their conversation as he began to rub her thighs absentmindedly, not even trying to sexually turn her on. The more he spoke, the further she came down on top of him, resuming a cuddling position like before. "And we both think this feels right. And I'd say we're definitely way more than compatible." As he ended his recap, he held her more tightly without even meaning to, and she squeezed his body back in response before giving him an answer.

"...I guess that makes me your girlfriend then," Selphie reasoned, widening Irvine's eyes.

"... YESSSS! Finally! I've succeeded in wooing you! What a great day this is!" Irvine shouted, throwing up one arm with a victorious fist in the air and yanking it back toward his body.

"I've never seen you so excited before," Selphie laughed, pulling Irvine back into the real world where he gave her another big smooch on her lips. She was still partially on top of him, but somewhat on her side as well, and her hand remained on his chest.

"You're a big deal," he reminded her, determined to always make her feel as special as she had always made him feel. And he felt so inferior in his attempts to do this; he knew he hadn't really treated her as specially as he should have, but she never complained, either. Today was a day to re-dedicate himself to her, and only her. Irvine was a ladies' man, but Selphie was all the lady he'd ever need.

"Teehee!"

Irvine smirked at her cuteness - he had always thought she was really, really cute, not just appearance wise but in her behaviors and demeanor as well - and took her hand from his chest and interlocked fingers with her as he kissed her once again. And he could not pull away from her. She didn't seem to want that, either. Their hands parted and focused on other areas of each other's bodies. Selphie's hands laid on his sides, and Irvine gently held her face in his palms. Their intense liplocks persisted as his hands dropped to the sides of her neck, slowly creeping further down until the lowermost part of his palm could feel the upper edge of her crop top. Her weight shifted her body slightly upward, practically moving Irvine's hands for him, until her breasts felt the warmth of his hands through her top. He left them there for several minutes, pressing lightly against them, evolving into pushing them upward and tracing his thumbs along her nipples. He was thoroughly entertained by her perfect cups and gave them each a playful squeeze, almost forgetting that they were kissing as his lips pulled away and he quietly chuckled to himself. Selphie finally broke the silence and began talking again.

"Jeez, Irvine, you act like you've never touched a girl's boobs before," she teased, not complaining about his affection though. "Not that I mind!"

"I haven't!" he confessed with more aggressive, but not hurtful, squeezes. He seemed to not even be there mentally in his claim, he was so focused on her chest. He didn't even seem to care that he had said something that would have been embarrassing to admit just a few hours ago.

"...Really? So... you mean to tell me first that you're a virgin, and then that you haven't even touched a girl's boobs before? I find that really surprising."

"Why does that surprise you?"

"Cus you're a total perv," she teased. "Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't tried to take my clothes off yet."

"Well... Selphie... I have to tell you something you may not have noticed. You're already half-naked. So I kinda got my work cut out for me... but...ahahaha... I'd be more than happy to take the rest off!"

Selphie was dead silent, seeming to have forgotten how to breathe for a few seconds before she flashed Irvine a huge grin. "THERE'S MY PERVY IRVY!"

He couldn't come up with an appropriate reaction: to laugh at the ridiculous but accurate nickname she had just given him, or only focus on the 'my' part. "Pervy?! I'll show you pervy."

"Teeheehee," she giggled as his lips went straight for her neck while his hands stroked from her waist to her thighs, moving back up until his thumb slid underneath the lower hem of her boyshorts. Something stopped him from continuing, though.

"Unless of course you're put off by it-"

"No way! It's one of the reasons why I like you so much," Selphie confessed.

"...Seriously? Doesn't seem like a very good reason," Irvine announced his confusion.

"I don't act like it nearly as much as you do... but I'm pretty pervy myself," Selphie confessed.

"...No, you're not, Selphie," he challenged her, not being able to recall even once she had emitted any 'pervy' vibes toward him or anyone else.

"That's 'cus my innuendos are smarter than yours," she teased him, well aware of her superior intelligence. "And I don't flaunt it like you do. But, you wanna know a secret that nobody else knows?"

"Ooh, make me feel special! Do tell!"

"Everyone has seen my sex toys and not even once thought they were sex toys."

"You mean not a single person thought your nunchakus might double as dildos?"

"How the hell-"

"Was I right?"

Selphie blushed. She certainly didn't think it was that obvious. She was beginning to underestimate Irvine's perverted mind now that she realized he was holding back, and the thought of him being even more perverted than everyone had already witnessed was almost laughable. She wanted to expose that side of him, but only to herself.

"Lucky guess," she said with a burning red face.

"Oh! Is that a confession, Selphie?" he teased her, quite animatedly. "Well... now it looks like we both have secrets about each other that we won't tell anyone."

"So, we're just a couple of secretive perverts, then," Selphie giggled.

"I think most virgins are," Irvine concluded, and Selphie seemed to agree. "Perverts anyway, maybe not secretive. Just a couple of horny virgins."

"Wait... does that mean..." Selphie trailed off, but then they said the same thing at the same time: "Are we the only virgins in our group?!"

"...I think so.." Irvine answered with a laugh. "I mean, there's no way Rinoa hasn't gotten into Squall's pants by now. Zell's got a girlfriend now, everyone's got the hots for Quistis, even other girls, if she's still a virgin it's because she's prude... But really... I didn't think you liked my perviness. You seem to get irritated with me a lot of the time for it..."

"Yeah, when you flirt with other girls, 'cus it makes me kinda jealous."

"Aw, I'm sorry!" Irvine apologized profusely with gentle kisses. "Well, you won't have to feel that way anymore."

"Better not."

"You won't. Promise. I swear it on my gun."

"On your GUN, Irvine? Jeez. You must be pretty serious, then."

"Seriously crazy," he said before giving her a few more kisses to her neck. "...For you. I mean it. I haven't done this to anyone before."

"Done what?"

"...What pervy things I'm about to do if you don't stop me."

His tongue moistened her neck in a single stroke all the way up to her earlobe, which he gently nibbled and caused her head to cock toward him with a little squeal of delight. His fingertips slid between the top edge of her boyshorts and her skin, and his inner knuckles began tugging them toward her knees eagerly. Underneath Irvine, Selphie writhed and wiggled, lifting herself toward him which confirmed her willingness to him. He wasted no time taking them off completely, predaciously gazing upon the beauty he had unearthed.

He lied on his stomach, sliding his arms underneath her thighs and wrapping around to caress the sides as he eagerly tasted her. His lips made full contact with her, stimulating her with a sucking motion while his tongue pressed against her clitoris. It was even better than he had dreamed of; he breathed in the scent of her already naturally lubricated area, wanting to do so many things to her. His mouth was warm to the touch, and even just a brief moment of contact sent waves of pleasure through her veins.

"Ooooh, that feels so good, Irvy!"

Her reactions encouraged him to please her more. While he lied in between her legs, obsessively making out with her lower set of lips, he moved one hand to where his mouth was and easily slid a finger inside of her, causing her to moan for him. He left it in for a minute, focusing more on pleasing her with his lips and tongue, before sliding his finger back out of her and slowly re-entering. He kissed her in so many precise locations that he hit every nerve ending she had and couldn't help but gyrate toward him in a silent effort to request more. Every moan prompted him to enter deeper and move quicker until she was writhing uncontrollably beneath him, never seeming to have enjoyed herself more.

Then, he pulled away. His finger remained inside of her but he sat between her legs, inching toward her face to kiss her once more. Her hands slid underneath his tank top, hinting to Irvine that he should take it off to match her level of nudeness. She only had on her crop top and Irvine reached behind his neck to pull the tank upward and off, leaving only his boxers which no longer confined his stiffness. He removed his finger from within her as he needed his hand to remove his clothing, and he linked hands with her, intertwining their fingers as his body pressed against hers.

He was pressing hard against her, and Selphie's heart pounded the way she wanted him to do to her. Their most intimate parts were touching, but Irvine hesitated. The last thing he'd want to do is go in when she isn't ready and upset her. Their lips and tongues reunited, and Irvine's hand gently held the side of her neck affectionately with the other hand playing with the shiny hair above her head and supporting his weight with his elbows. She held him tightly with her hands on his back as if trying to pull him into her; she couldn't take his teasing anymore!

She savored the sensation of his tongue pressed firmly against hers, and the force of her writhing beneath him had the couple positioned perfectly for entry. She gasped as she felt him inside her for the first time. He wasn't even entirely inside before he let out a deep breath against her ear, then quickly vanished completely between her legs. Her grip on him intensified, and his speed increased after her panting turned into moaning. She could feel every inch of him within her and craved more, as did he; nothing had ever felt this good to Selphie or to Irvine, nor had anything felt this natural. As Selphie's body lifted up toward her lover, she felt him retreat, only to have her insides hotly invaded once again. Over. And over. And over. It seemed to Irvine to almost have taken her by surprise judging by her squeals of delight, but the way her body motioned instinctively toward him with each thrust said otherwise. After several minutes of intense pleasure, Irvine pulled out, starting to sweat and pulling Selphie into his lap.

They were no longer nervous. They were comfortable and trusted each other. And besides, they had already gotten over their shyness once their clothes came off. There wasn't much left to be nervous about.

Her torso pressed against his as she brought herself all the way down on his dick. She balanced herself in his lap with her hands rotating from resting on his shoulders to being flung around his neck. His hands, which once rested on her bottom to pull her closer, soon met her sides and breasts just before tugging down her crop top to expose the erect nipples that were so recently poking Irvine through the fabric. Her gorgeous, pale pink nipples were staring directly at him and he watched them bounce with delight as he continued demolishing her virginity with his own.

He was true to his word. He did take something of hers.

There soon came a point where Irvine was no longer thrusting inside of her; Selphie had become far too excited, taking control away from Irvine's hands and moving herself up and down upon him as she clung tightly to his neck. Irvine pressed firmly against her nipples, pinching them just lightly enough to stimulate her before moving his hands to support himself. He kept one hand on the mattress near the side of his back, and the other wrapped tightly around her waist. Her nipples grazed upon his skin as her breasts bounced with each motion she made above him. Really, she had completely lost herself in sexual pleasure to Irvine, but he didn't mind in the slightest that she almost seemed to be just using his dick for her own satisfaction with no regard for him. But he wanted her to enjoy herself, and whether she was trying to please him or only herself, it felt amazing to him as well. Not to mention, it was quite a sight! Their lips sealed each other shut when she picked up the pace, and their tongue war became much more aggressive and unrelenting. They moaned and panted directly into each other's mouths, building up the rewards of their motions.

Then suddenly, Selphie moaned louder than before and let go of his lips. Her grip loosened from around his neck as it tightened between their legs, and Irvine quickly caught on and supported her weight with both of his arms around her lower back. He had had his own orgasms many times, thanks to naughty magazines and his own imagination, but this was his first time actually feeling another person's orgasm. He knew what happened to a woman's body when she came, but damn he was not prepared to actually feel its wonders.

Irvine smiled at her and resumed his own thrusting to finish, as she had done. She was still spasming around him at regular interval pulses. She gripped him tightly and let go... then after a wave of warm pleasure quickly built up within her again, her muscles involuntarily tightened around Irvine. The cycles started out fast and slowly increased the duration between for at least a minute, and Irvine lost control thanks to her muscles gripping and literally sucking the juice right out of him.

Selphie had completely lost the world around her to an intense feeling of euphoria, not even acknowledging Irvine at that point until she could no longer feel his dick in her, and in its place felt his remnants dripping from her and onto the sheet below.

He was just as weak as she was now, having moved his sole supporting limb to finish inside of her. He took a moment to catch his breath while she kept herself up with both of her arms behind her and legs still wide open in Irvine's direction. He stared at her for a moment before leaning over her and giving her another kiss, then pivoting to the side and pulling her partially on top of him so the couple rested on the mattress in the same position they were in before things got carried away.

"Teehee. That was fun," Selphie nearly whispered when she finally caught her breath.

"Yeah, you wanna go again?" Irvine didn't hesitate at all before making more requests. "There's some things I'd like to try... you seem adventurous enough to go for it."

"What did you have in mind?"

...

The next morning, Selphie and Irvine's friends returned to the orphanage to check on their friends since they hadn't returned after the party. They had heard nothing from either of them about staying overnight, so they went back to Edea's home. Ellone, Squall, Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis arrived outside, still discussing what could have happened.

"No emergency," Ellone pointed out. "The house is still... well, as it always has been."

"I'm telling you, it's nothing, they probably just overdid it on the sweets and crashed," Quistis.

Knowing those two, they probably hooked up overnight and are still going at it. I told you guys I didn't want to come here, Squall thought, Rinoa reading him loud and clear.

"Squall! Stop looking so judgey. They're your friends."

"I didn't even-"

"It was the look," she told him before watching him smack his forehead with his palm.

"I'll go get them," Zell volunteered, entering his childhood home and horrified by what he saw: Irvine, bent over on the bed, wearing nothing. Behind him sat a very curious Selphie on her knees, also fully nude, with the exception of her boyfriend's hat.

"Okay, but like... is it really that bad?"

"Eh... I wouldn't say bad, but not exactly comfortable," Irvine answered her.

"Okay, Irvy, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being a bite bug and 10 being a Malboro. How bad is it?"

"What kind of question- I mean, I guess, like a three or so?"

"Hm. You need more lube," she informed him as she carefully pulled her weapon out of him, squeezing more of the tube's contents between his cheeks and on one of the nunchakus as well.

"THAT IS SO DAMN COLD!" Irvine whined.

"Sorry, Irvy. Do you wanna stop?" she asked him, sounding victorious in her tone, as if it were a trick question.

"I mean... I am pretty tired... We've been up all night, I don't know where you get this much energy!"

"Okay, we can stop," Selphie cheerfully said before explaining her energy. "I junctioned sleep to my status defense. You should try it some time."

"Not a bad idea. But we don't have to stop, it's not that bad! Honestly."

"Don't get too enthusiastic or I might start to think you like takin' it up the butt!"

"Not a chance."

"Too gay?"

"It's only gay if there's other dudes. No way would I ever ask you for this. But I think you might like it."

"...So, you think I can handle it?"

"Well, I don't know, probably, but you didn't really move it that much... so it's hard for me to know for sure."

"Such a considerate guinea pig. I'm trying not to hurt you."

"Don't worry about hurting me, I'll tell you if it hurts. Ugh... the things I do for you, Selphie," Irvine whimpered as she penetrated him slowly and more deeply this time with her weapon.

"Uh, noooooo. This is for you, remember? You're the one who wanted to do this to me. Do you still want to?"

"...Yeah," Irvine choked up. "I think you can handle it, if I'm careful."

"Okay! Perfect!"

Zell left, horrified, pushing everyone away from the door on his way out. "Nobody go in there. I did not need to see that. I am beyond traumatized!"

"Whoa, whoa, Zell, what happened?" Quistis inquired.

"You don't wanna know!" Zell answered.

"Okay... I'll just find out for myself-"

"No! Wait. Okay. Fine..." Zell hunched over defeatedly and somehow found a way to word what he saw inside the orphanage. Only, nobody could hear his mumbles.

"What was that, Zell? You'll have to speak up," Ellone encouraged him.

"They're in bed together and Selphie's pegging Irvine!"

The three girls stopped dead and immediately burst into laughter; some louder and more hysterical than others.

"I knew it... but... I won't ask," Squall commented lowly, confusing everyone.

"What do you mean?" Rinoa wondered aloud.

"I won't ask what pegging is," Squall answered before realizing they were just going to tell him anyway, especially after he admitted to not knowing what it was.

Quistis whispered in Squall's ear exactly what Zell meant, complete with visuals that nobody even asked for. His eyes widened and his cheeks blushed, arousing concern from his friends.

"Um. Squall ... are you ... blushing?" Rinoa asked as she got in his face to look.

His lips curled inward; he had smiled before, however rarely, but this was not an ordinary smile creeping up on his face. His breathing pattern changed. His stomach vibrated as rough exhales came out through his nose.

What the hell... this is weird, but... enjoyable feeling... and somehow this is embarrassing.

"No... he's laughing!" Ellone pointed out. "You made Squall laugh!"

Dammit.