Disclaimer – I do not own the characters/settings/situations of Final Fantasy 8. Oh well…
This story, and the ones to be posted with it, are 'snapshots' of little scenes that I imagined while playing the game. I hope everyone likes my quirky interpretations of the characters. :)
A/N - I meant to post this a long time ago, but a lot of things came up and Snapshots - as well as all my other fanfictions - were placed on the back burner and effectively forgotten. My friend, who goes by the SN Emcey Squared on this website, has gotten me back into writing fanfics and I'm trying to finish up my old stuff before starting too many new things.
Protection
Rinoa drew back in surprise as Squall passed out. Moments later, Quistis and Selphie joined their squad leader on the ground.
"Well, at least we're reasonably safe right now," Zell muttered. "Good thing we're not still on the train like last time."
"Last time? What are you talking about?" Rinoa knelt beside Squall and attempted not to panic as she checked the SeeD agent's vitals.
"It's some sort of Dream World. I'm not sure exactly; this only happened once before on the train to Timber." Zell walked over and sat down beside Rinoa. "Selphie, Squall, and I fell asleep like this and suddenly we were watching over a trio of Galbadian Soldiers during what I think was the Esthar-Galbadia Sorceress War. Their names were Laguna, Kiros, and Ward."
"And Squall, Selphie, and Quistis are there now in the Dream World?" Rinoa sighed irritably. "Great timing."
"It's not their fault," Zell snapped. "When they wake, why don't you do everyone a favor and lay off insulting Squall? Maybe he isn't your idea of a model leader, but the rest of us like him just fine the way he is. Squall doesn't lie to us about how bad things might get; he's honest, if brutally so. We know he's listens to us and respects us because he talks to us instead of just issuing commands."
"Leaders are supposed to support…"
"He does support us."
"How?"
"He's been letting me vent my worries instead of trying to shut me up. And, yeah, I know he's rather pessimistic himself, but that just makes being the most pessimistic a competition." Zell grinned impishly. "I like competitions."
"You're weird."
"So says you. I say that I'm unique."
"One of a kind, thank goodness," Rinoa teased. "I'll stop arguing with Squall, okay? I just… I wish I understood him."
"Don't we all."
A/N Zell strikes me as the kind of person who conceals a serious side beneath his hot temper and goofy attitude. When it comes to people he cares about, though, I think he'd protect them as fiercely as possible.