Chapter 7
A few months later
Cloud
Cloud woke up his neck sore and eyes possibly glued together since they felt so heavy to open. He groaned, yanking his gaze open and regretted it immediately. Aw, fuck! Stupid sunlight. He peered thru his fingers he had lifted to cover his hurting eyes, trying to figure how he had gotten here. The last thing he could remember was the blinking and flashing lights at the bar, loud music that now made his ears ring. His sore neck awakened some recognition in his groggy mind. There was only one couch in this town that made his body ache this badly after a night spent on it.
He was sleeping on the couch at Squall's and the twins' living room.
Why was he here, remained a mystery to him still, as his hang over'ish head was a little too blurry to think straight yet. Running a careful hand thru his spiky hair, he felt a thundering headache to approach his poor brains. Oh god.. He was so badly dehydrated, and that brought back the memories from yesterday. Right. He had been drinking heavily last night. With Squall and the twins. Never a smart move, really.
They had been celebrating, or mourning as Squall had put it, the last year before they just had to crow up finally, both of their birthdays, as they were born so close, and if Cloud recalled correctly now, Squall had downed quite fast and quite many beers. And had forced him to join in the merry drinking. Why do I let him talk me into everything he suggests… Cloud flinched as he sat up and rubbed his temples gently, trying to force himself to the kitchen. After a deep breath he stood up, his stomach informing him that he was better off not eating anything before few hours of sleeping more, and slowly made his way towards the heaven called water.
After he had downed almost a liter of the sweet liquid, he felt slightly better and calculated the situation again. If he was here, then the twins were sleeping their own room and Squall in his own. Cloud leaned against the sink, sipping the water from his glass. It was nothing new that he was here these days. After the first match he and Squall had had, they had made some silent, mutual agreement that they were just brilliant together, like they had known each other always and thus had become inseparable.
They weren't together like couples were, but had quickly become good friends. Yeah, really good friends that shared so many of the daily routines that it made other people call them 'the old married couple' and had kind of 'family dinners' with the twins. And he was always sleeping here, he barely made it to his own bed five times in a month –his sore neck was a living proof of this. Tifa had complained about Cloud never being around when she was, but he knew she was happy Cloud had found someone who enjoyed his company as much as he did enjoy theirs. And she could not accuse him for not doing his job either, since he went there every morning to check out the lists and did what he had to. He just never stayed long enough to catch up with her, or to sleep in his own bed. The whole autumn had been all riding back and forth, but definitely worth it.
So, now that he knew where he was and why, the most logical thing would be to clean up and make coffee. Cloud ventured to the bathroom, took off his shirt -and wanted to throw it into flames as it was rather stinky- and looked into the small mirror above the sink. He looked again and blinked. Blinked twice more. What the hell..! Touching just above his collarbone he grimaced as the place felt tender for the touch. A hickey? Now seriously… How wasted had he been to have been in a state of receiving this and not killing anyone? Well, at least there was no blood on his clothes anyway. Cloud stared mesmerized at his reflection few seconds then shrugged and took off the rest of his clothes and stepped into the shower.
The cool water soothed his throbbing head and aching muscles. Seriously, why did he always end up sleeping on that blasted couch? The guys really should get a new one and fast, his precious neck could not endure this torture much more. The obvious fact that he could always sleep in his own bed slid past his thoughts without him even noticing it. Or that he could go and sleep next to Squall because the man had enough big bed for two people to sleep in. But Cloud had never dared to venture on that territory for real, no matter how often his thoughts did.
Cloud shamelessly borrowed Squall's toothbrush, he didn't really like the taste of road kill in his mouth anyway. What was the point of drinking yourself to unconscious state, burn a load of money, you could have spent well better, and then next day end up having really upset insides? He did remember now why it was that he never really wanted to drink. Drying himself he eyed his dirty clothes feeling plain disgusted. There was no way in hell he would put them on again. Maybe he could borrow some from Squall. Cloud wrapped the towel around his waist, gathered his clothes into a pile, dropping it into the laundry basket and sneaked towards Squall's room, wishing the twins to be sound asleep and not bumping into either of them half-naked.
The door let out a small creak as he opened it slowly and peered inside. There was the computer table, the laptop still open, whirring softly, the grumbled piles of discarded clothes on the floor, creating a path to the bed where the Squall was sleeping soundly, one arm over his head and blanket covering only the half of his obviously quite naked body. Cloud grinned. Squall would skin him alive if he knew Cloud had been watching him sleep without clothes.
Cloud slid into the room and quietly made his way to Squall's closet where he knew the brunet kept his clothes, all neatly folded, just like they should be. Also, he tried to avoid looking over at the bed; it would just cause him more problems to see the other so very unclothed. He found a pair of boxers and a black t-shirt that was a little too big for him, Squall had wider shoulders, and dressed himself as quietly as he had padded his way there. He turned to observe his sleeping friend the wet towel in his hand, trying to control his thoughts enough to prevent the evident path towards naughtier areas.
Of course, the attempt was rather futile.
Squall really had an amazing body, it was lean, strong and all the muscles were visible if you bothered to look closely, and that Cloud did now, with a grin on his lips, and the man emitted an aura of caring, which made him want to crawl into that embrace and to be held close. The skin looked smooth and soft, the arms had fading tanning lines from wearing only a t-shirt last summer. The chest moving with breathing, the flat stomach and below that.. Cloud had to basically slap himself from exploring any further. It wouldn't be a good idea to get a hard on in the presence of the object of his desires, now would it. He had come into terms with him being stubbornly attracted to Squall but had never done anything to deepen their relationship.
He sighed and pondered if he should finally make the coffee and prevent making himself an enormous idiot. Though.. He bit his lip as he looked at the comfortable bed and its owner, a feeling of longing sweeping thru his body.
Maybe he could.. Yeah, just for a while. He would get up before Squall would stir from his slumber.
Carefully, after he had placed the towel over Squall's chair, Cloud let himself to climb into the bed, next to the man he wanted, but didn't know how to express his feelings and laid down. Squall's body smelled familiar, safe even, it was a mixture of being in the bar last night, the sheets he laid on and that very own fragrance that only Squall had. Wanting to drift back to sleep, soon after he had curled himself as close to the warmth he dared, his head resting on the same level as Squall's chest was, but only on the mattress. He didn't dare to touch the other; that would only lead to trouble.
Squall moved in his sleep, as if he was aware of Cloud's presence, turned to his side, now facing the spiky hair, raised his arm to wrap it around the blonds shoulder, pulling their bodies together and mumbled sleepily into the hair that was most likely tickling the brunet's nose.
"You smell nice.." And then he was back in his sleep again, breathing even and steady. Cloud had frozen when Squall had so easily blocked his way of escaping, realizing there was no other option but to rest here, unless he wanted to wake Squall up, in this sleepy embrace and inhale that fragrance that made his mind all fluffy. Finally he melted into the touch and let the sleep take over him, giving in to his desire to nuzzle his face to Squall's chest. Probably the best way to get rid of your hangover anyway.
Squall
Sunlight was tickling his closed eyes very persistently, trying gently to kiss him finally awake, as the day had turned to midday already and yet he was sleeping, despite his disgust for late waking up. Not really paying attention to his surroundings Squall took a deep breath; yawned and wrinkled his nose. He really hated the taste of dead rat in his mouth.
He tried to feel if he had a bad hangover from yesterday, he did remember drinking quite a lot, but there was no end-of-the-world-nausea hitting thru him, yet at least. Trying to stretch his numbing arm under him, he finally realized he wasn't alone in his bed. What the..? The blue eyes flew open and were greeted with a mass of blond spikes and softly snoring Cloud in his embrace. Oh please don't tell me the drinking has made us to do something we'll regret.. He had blank spots when it came to yesterday night and this certainly didn't help at all. Without wanting to wake Cloud Squall tried to steady his breathing and to relax himself, staring thru the hair before his eyes and out of the window, automatically trailing few sleepy fingers on Cloud's back.
Cloud was curled as close as one could, only that Squall was under his blanket and the other was laying on it, which led him into a conclusion that the blond had end up here by some other accident than them having done anything.. sexual. And more importantly, his body did not feel satisfied nor did it ache from certain places, it just felt groggy and stiff.
Cloud had been so damn hammered last night and had been smiling thru the whole night so widely it still made Squalls head spin. Those blue eyes had gazed at Squall with such intensity at times it made him weak from his knees. Cloud was a lot of fun when he let go of his restrains and loosened up, particularly the karaoke part had been interesting. Only bad thing was that he had absolutely no tolerance for alcohol. It had taken three beers to make Cloud stutter. Three! Squall chuckled silently, even Sora was better with alcohol than Cloud.
Cloud moved in his sleep, his nose rubbing against Squall's chest, lips forming words he could not hear. Suddenly the man twitched violently and one arm found its way to Squall's jaw with an audible slap.
"Ow, what the fuck.. Cloud, are you awake?" He tried to look down, but there was only that mass of hair preventing him from seeing anything, but nothing else indicated the other to be awake. Steady breathing hit Squall's bare skin. He rolled his eyes and figured Cloud to be a restless sleeper. This was the first time they actually slept in the same bed together. There was some unspoken fear that if they would sleep in the short distance, there might be a chance of something happening between them, something they, or Cloud to be more precise, weren't ready for.
And now the blond was sound asleep in his arms. Nice thinking Cloud! Though Cloud probably did not know how long and how badly Squall had wanted to wake up like this, how badly it tore him apart for not being able to show his affection completely, only time to time with very small gestures. He wondered if Cloud even knew about his feelings.
But they were good together. Awesome, if you could use a word like that.
They went for training together now, of which Cid had been pleased since now he had more time to play with his machines, Cloud came to see nearly every gig Squall played, spent time with the twins, who seemed to like him as much as Squall did, not to mention how brilliant it was when Cloud cooked for them all, he was a great cook. The apron was one damn hilarious thing also. They shared the same taste in movies and music, liked to joke around and basically were damn good friends. And still Cloud managed to be his own individual personality with his own things to do without Squall, which the brunet appreciated more than anything. He could not wish for anything better. But yet he still did.
Cloud was unreadable, when it came to his feelings towards Squall and it made him rather insane sometimes. He knew his wasted heart was down to the level where it was impossible to not to wait for those good news he wished to hear every day when he woke up and saw the other. He had strong feelings towards Cloud and he was helplessly waiting, neck deep, in the sweet torment that was called being in love.
If there would be mornings like this was in the future, he would wait contently until he would be gray and old. Squall sighed, feeling a wave of something warm washing thru him, making him tighten his hold of the man in his embrace and bury his face to the blond hair, only now noticing it was slightly damp and definitely smelled like Squall's shampoo. He smiled gently into the hair. It was great that Cloud felt comfortable enough around here to do what he wanted, like he actually lived here with them.
It was nice to have another adult in the house, since the twins cared very little about taking care of the chores they were given, instead being the 18year olds they were supposed to be. And the Clouds breakfast waffles were something Squall thought he could most definitely not live without anymore. Mm, food. As nice as this whole laying in bed with unconscious Cloud was, he still had a dead rat in his mouth, he needed a shower and his brains were screaming for caffeine.
With regret Squall loosened his hold of the man in his arms and carefully slid to sit up, legs touching the cool floor, realizing he had nothing on him. Thank goodness Cloud was still sleeping and was not able to stare at his unclothed body. He stretched his arms up in the air, feeling the blood being able to run to his numb arm again and stood up, wrapping his shirt from yesterday around his waist loosely, just in case, and made his way to his closet, picking up clean underwear and his pajama pants. He certainly had no intention getting out of the house today.
From the closet, Squall glanced at the sleeping man, that warm feeling making his chest hurt and stomach having butterflies in it as he let his eyes wander over the curled up body, that pretty sleeping face that looked worry free, over the shoulders where a loose t-shirt hung covering the pale skin. He took another look at the shirt and grinned. It would seem that Cloud had raided his closet. His eyes trailed to the narrow hips and Squall cocked his eyebrow. And my boxers too..? Well well, aren't you getting comfortable around me. He closed the closet door quietly, shaking his head, smiling gently and padded out of the room.
When Squall quietly made his way after the shower towards the kitchen he heard whispered talking and soft laughter that soon was muffled. Squall knew from the voices it was the twins in there, probably standing over the sink with mugs in their hands and most definitely talking about yesterday night. He leaned to the wall, near the kitchen door and decided to eavesdrop a while for the two.
"..saw that mark on his neck? I thought they were going to eat each other." Sora's quieted giggle was something you'd recognize anywhere.
"Yeah, should have fed them more cake before. I had no idea Cloud detests so badly eating cake." Roxas sneered.
"Maybe he's afraid of getting fat and thus won't eat?"
"Yeah right. He's in the danger of getting fat, just like you are. Though you eat more candy anyone else I know."
"Hah, you just like my bony ass having something to soften the blow."
"Well.. true enough. Although, I don't mind it being bony, either.."
"Hmm.. You're such an awful tease."
"Like you'd stop me for real."
"Well, no.. Your fingers are getting dirty, you know." And then there was silence. And that silence made Squall worry a little of what the hell were the boys doing in there. Should he just go in and see or should he warn them before? He decided to risk it all and quickly stepped thru the door and into kitchen.
The twins were indeed standing before the sink, face to face but Roxas was having a spoon in his mouth and dripping chocolate ice cream running down his fingers, Sora looking at him with a jealous look on his face, pouting and when he heard Squall stepping into the room he turned towards the older man and let out a noise that usually was heard from little children.
"Squuuuaaaaaall... Roxas says I'm fat and he's gonna eat all of the ice cream and I wanna have some tooooooooo!" Squall sighed, having had some very disturbing images from what he had heard of the conversation and shook his head, giving the boys a glare.
"Roxas, give your brother some of that and stop calling him fat, he's too skinny already. And Sora, stop acting like a 5-year-old." The twins flashed grins at him and Squall felt like wanting to hit his head to the wall. Why couldn't his mornings be calm and peaceful, like.. ever? "And either of you better give me coffee soon or I'll whip your bottoms Christmas red." He walked to the table, pulling a chair for himself and slumping onto it, burying his head to his palms.
"Aren't you a real sunshine.." A sleepy voice called from behind Squall as Cloud appeared to the opening. "But I agree, give him coffee soon or I'll be the one kicking your skinny asses to oblivion. And while you are at it, give me some too." Cloud walked over to the Squall and sat next to him, briefly caressing Squall's bare shoulders while passing him. "You didn't wake me up and I got cold.."
Before Squall could answer anything there were two shocked gasps from the direction of the twins and Squall groaned as if he was in pain. Cloud, you stupid fuck... should have kept your mouth shut. Now they would have to endure uneasy questions and there would be no escaping from them.
"What! You two slept together?" Sora was clapping his hands together like a little kid, then seeing the blank and embarrassed faces of the older men. "And judging by your clothes, Cloud.. You seem to have misplaced yours. How could have that had happen, hmmm? " The boy was grinning widely, looking at his twin for back-up. Roxas merely nodded.
"Oh fuck. NO! Sora just shut up.. You got it all wrong." Cloud buried his face to his hands and tried to ignore the cheering boy.
"Indeed. I just woke up with Cloud's skinny ass all nice and tight in my bed. And I had nothing to do with that. And where the hell is my coffee!" Squall growled feeling way too tired for this kind of conversation. The twins were impossible when they had just woken up.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Shut up Squall. Here. Both of you." Roxas sneered at the men at the table, handing them steaming coffee mugs. "And Cloud.. Nice hickey." Immediately Squall turned his head to the man next to him, his eyes darkening with jealousy. Who had dared to touch his.. no, wait.. Not his.. Anyway, had dared anyway!
"Shut up Roxas.. I don't even know who did it." Cloud tried to hide behind his mug, face turning slowly redder.
"Well.. The culprit is sitting next to you." Roxas informed him with a knowing smile on his lips. Now it was Clouds turn to snap his glare over to Squall, who had turned rather white.
"WHAT?!" They both growled in unison, not believing it to be true. The twins took their own mugs of coffee and sat on the opposite side of the table, snickering viciously.
"Oh yeah. Should have taken a video of the two of you last night. You were like so all over each other." Sora burst into laughter and kept going until he was teary.
"We don't know which one started it, but at some point you two had glued your mouths together and nearly fell from the couch you were suppose just sit and drink. And mourn your getting older." Roxas calmly explained, getting too much pleasure from watching the older men getting more and more paler at first, then starting to turn red.
"I'm sure all the people at the club got nightmares from the way you were nearly ripping your clothes off. So tell me, where exactly I went wrong when I assumed you two had managed, despite your very, VERY, drunken state, to have sex?"
"..." All Squall could do was to shoot murderous glares at the twins, Cloud obviously doing the same and also trying to sink under the table. Oh, he was never going to drink again. Ever. His drinking days were done right now. "Pics, or it never did happen.." He managed to mumble.
"Well... now that you mention it.." Roxas smiled innocently, batting his eyelashes, and then a devious, plain cruel smile spread on his lips. He reached for his pocket and fished his phone out, flicking it open. Cloud and Squall both went pale as Roxas shoved them an interesting little picture. Squall closed his eyes and cursed internally. Never should have gotten up. Never. Next to him, Cloud was paralyzed, one hand clutching the mug, knuckles turning white.
"Now don't get pissed at us, we merely were there to witness this all. Along with the few hundred other people." Obviously Sora had no sensitivity left for his elders and kept on laughing that evil little laugh of his. "But honestly, you were cuter rather than desperately trying to fuck your clothes on. Ever tried that sober? Well, obviously not, if your faces tell the truth, haha." Sora said as Roxas was shaking his head, not wanting to participate on his twins word-vomiting.
It was a little too much for the two older men and they stood up nearly at the same time and fled from the kitchen, back into the safety of Squall's room. A roaring laughter followed them.
Cloud
He sat on the edge of Squall's bed, watching the other close the door quietly after him and then just standing there, leaning that naked upper body of his to its wooden surface, eyes closed and breathing deeply.
"I swear to you, I'll strangle that kid one morning." Squall exhaled frustrated and opened his eyes that were dark with exhaustion and something else. Cloud wasn't sure how to read that look and he was too busy not to stare too long at Squall's body. Squall seriously should put something else on him, or he would do something that would not end up good. He averted his eyes to the floor and leaned his elbows to his knees.
"Yeah, he could use some ass kicking. Maybe we could bribe Roxas to do it.." Sure, he did love the twins enough to endure their morning-torture, but they had been a little harsh today. He was as shocked about the evidence about their behavior from last night as Squall was, but it kind of annoyed him more that he had absolutely no memory of it. Dammit!
"I guess Roxas could make Sora stop drinking.. He is a fucked up twit when he has a hangover. You know, usually people get grumpy and don't want to talk with anyone, but not with this idiot. Oh hell no.. He get's super-hyper and giddy. Even candy makes him less energetic!" Squall was squeezing his coffee mug so tightly it would soon break. Cloud stood up and walked over to him, touching the hand that was still free. Squall startled and snapped his gaze from the floor to Cloud's eyes.
"Calm down. It's not like the world has come to an end." Cloud offered a small smile, stroking those cold fingers gently. "We could make his life a living hell instead?" There was a little smile forming to the corner of the tight lips. "You know.. Put frogs in his bed every morning before he wakes up.. or do something to wires laying on their room floor, so he'll get an electric shock every time he tries to fiddle with them..? Or I could have him work for Tifa.. She'd whip him into better manners in no time." Hah, there it was! A full smile that made that handsome face lighten up.
"You sure know how to cheer me up. The mere idea of torturing that little wanker makes me smile." Squall tilted his head to his left, the brown hair falling in semi-dried locks over his face. The blue in his eyes in his eyes softened as his stare wandered over Cloud's face and to his neck. "I.." The man leaned forward, without quite meaning to, resting their foreheads together.
It took Cloud by surprise but he didn't, for once, flinch away. He was suddenly full of Squall's scent, full of his clean essence that filled his mind always in such pleasant way. Their gazes lingered together, without really thinking what they were doing, time slowing around them. Maybe it was because they were tired, a little hangover, because they wanted to breath after what had been said, both of them.
"Just forget about them for a while." Cloud whispered, not wanting to give in to his doubts about how it was not a good thing to stand so close to the other, not such a brilliant idea to inhale this intoxicating fragrance that made his mind spin. If yesterday was true, they had been like this, and much closer, thru the night. Their fingers entwined loosely and Cloud lifted his chin higher, leaning forward until their lips met. He didn't know what he was doing, not really, but it felt like the right thing to do. Maybe it was to sooth the rage and the shock. Maybe it was because he could no longer resist the alluring feeling Squall made him feel. They just rested their mouths, each on the other, not quite sharing a kiss, but almost.
It was Squall who pulled away, the movement was so slow it was hard to tell if he was mad or not for Cloud to do this. Slowly, Cloud opened his eyes, wondering when he had even closed them. The other was peering down at him closely, a silent question visible in his gaze. Cloud blinked and blushed for embarrassment, his hand which was holding his mug loosening. With a silent thud, the mug fell to the floor and spilled its contents over the plastic surface. The magic of the moment had gone with the wind.
"Aw.. crap. I'm sorry!" Cloud took a few steps back and knelt down to pick up the mug. Luckily it did not break. "I need to wipe this with something.."
"I'll get paper.." Squall opened the door again and left quickly. Cloud sighed heavily, cursing silently at his own stupidity for doing something like that. Now there would be an awkward tension between them for a while again. Great work dummy! Scolding himself, he stared at the black liquid on the floor, as if it would take the blame instead. No such luck, though.
His heart was thundering, felt like it wanted to choke, paralyze and wither away. Surely Squall was mad at him now. Why did he have to do that in the first place? It brought back the memory of the first so called date they had and that kiss they had shared. Cloud could still remember the burning sensation when their lips were touching, that warmth that had enveloped him as gently as they had melted together. He could only dream now, right? Only feel this ghost pain for something that would never be repeated in such way again.
What Cloud did not know, dwelling in his own agonizing pain, was that Squall was standing on the other side of the door, one hand covering his mouth so he would not scream out loud, face flushed and more red that ever, his whole body tingling for the touch. He could not think straight, not after that! If Cloud would do that again he might not be able to control himself. He had wanted to lean more in to the touch, to linger closer, to part those delicious lips with his tongue and let the moist flesh meet its pair in the middle and.. Oh fuck. It was not a good idea to get touchy feely with the blond if the results was him getting a semi hard on almost seconds after they had touched.
Few weeks later
"Be fast ok? SHIT THE FUCKERS ARE ON ME!" Cloud was furiously whacking the buttons on the game controller he was holding in his two hands. "Die you pieces of shit! Squall, bring me water while you're -oh FUCK DIE!- at iiit!" Squall snickered cruelly as he walked to the kitchen, leaving Cloud in distress with the game they were playing in turns. Twins weren't at home this evening, which allowed the older men to play in the living room, without anyone, like the two annoying pricks, disturbing their peace. Clouds' yelling was hilarious to hear, since usually Cloud wasn't really all that vocal, but when there was monsters to slay in a game he sure made a noise that was enough to make the neighbors hit the walls.
Despite his good mood, Squall was nervous. The reason why he was nervous lay on the kitchen table now, in its small form. The man sighed, stared at the little item and wondered if he really should remove it from the box and use something like a plastic bag or anything else instead. Sure, the box was pretty and all, but since he was going to give the damn thing to the shouting and cursing MAN in the other room, it was a little embarrassing for the item to be placed in a velvety box. You know, those little boxes you get from the jewelry stores and give out to someone very special.. Yeah, it most certainly made him nervous.
Shaking his head, not really knowing where else to put the present, he simply stuck the box in the middle of the re-filled bowl of snacks. Now that was enough to ruin the possible romantic mood, yes? Velvet versus cheese snacks was always a good way to make things less girly. At least he hoped so. There was no way of knowing what thoughts Cloud would get in his head, at all. Squall decided to just risk it all. Why should he be nervous in the first place? Cloud had given him for his birthday a key chain that looked like the necklace he wore almost always so it was only normal for him to get the other something in return. He should have known back then Cloud would give him something, but had forgotten the matter completely.
"AWW MAN, the fucker just keeps on appearing! Squuaaaaaaaall~! Please bring that ass of yours back here already!"
Like there was any chance of the situation getting romantic when Cloud was in that mood. Squall grinned widely. His siren was calling and he should answer the call, before the siren would kick his ass. Again.
He filled a glass with water, took the bowl, the small box neatly hidden in the center of the snacks and returned to the living room, where he found Cloud making furious impressions, half-sitting and half-standing while trying to get the game forward. Squall looked at the screen, realized where the game was and a devious smile crept upon his lips.
"You're too slow if you can't get past that."
"Shut up and help me!" Cloud whined looking frustrated and was frowning. It was rather adorable to look at a grown man, getting so worked up because of a PS game. Squall placed the snacks and water on the table before the sofa where the other was nearly jumping up and down.
"Seriously, you just need to be damned fast. Kill the fuckers before that and then just aim almost immediately to the ground where that shadow creature will rise from. And then.. just blast away!" Cloud frowned, bit his lower lip and went on trying to do what was told. Squall sat next to him, waiting patiently. After a moment of cursing and teeth gritting Cloud finally succeeded in his task.
"AHAHAH! See, see! I did it!" Cloud was beaming, both arms raised in victory up in the air and the smile he directed at Squall was enough to make his heart stop. "Oh, food." Cloud reached for the bowl, handing the controller to Squall, who sat there, stupefied. Cloud dug his fingers straight in the middle of the bowl, probably also getting closer to the hidden item. Squall waited in horror what the reaction would be. "You're not playing.. Oh, hey.. What's this?" The slender fingers had found their unexpected target and were holding the stained box in the air.
"What does it look like..." Squall mumbled and turned his eyes to his lap, fiddling the controller nervously. Cloud coughed next to him.
"Well.. I would take this as a proposal, but I guess you're not gonna do that.." Was there a hint of hidden disappointment in Clouds tone? He must have imagined it, definitely.
"Why would I do that..." It was getting a little too embarrassing for him to handle and if Cloud would not open the frigging box soon he would leap off the couch and flee out of the flat! "Just open the damn thing already."
"Oi, no need to get aggressive. I know you ain't having any crushes on me, heh." Oh, how wrong Cloud was! Squall was inwardly screaming that he would have fetched the moon from the sky for the man if he had asked. There was a small snap as the box was opened. Squall turned his eyes back at Cloud, who had let out a surprised gasp. "Wh.. whe.. OH SHIT." Those biggest and bluest eyes were fixing upon Squall now, making him feel like he would drown in them. "Where did you find this? Fuck.. And it's not even my birthday anymore." Cloud picked up the small silver earring from the box, placing it tenderly to his palm.
"I know, but I never gave you anything back then so I kind of.. just found this." Squall managed a little smile, instead of a huge grin. "Glad you like it." Cloud shot a glare at him.
"Like it? Hell, I love it!" And then the man was much closer, those soft lips pressed against Squalls cheek ever so gently. He could swear that he felt the tip of Cloud's eyelashes tickling the skin too, but maybe that was a little over exaggerated. "Thank you.." That soft voice so near his ear sent little shivers down his spine.
"Mm.. You're welcome." Cloud moved away from him slowly and they sat there for a moment in silence, both sharing matching pink over their cheeks. Of course, they never noticed this. From the corner of his eye, Squall saw Cloud taking off the earring he had been wearing and replacing it with the one he had just received. The gesture was enough proof for him the present had been a pleasant one.
"Your turn by the way." Cloud smiled widely, breaking the silence that had almost turned uncomfortable.
Tifa
The afternoon was still quiet as she swept the tables and replaced empty bottles with new ones in the bar. Elena had not yet arrived and Cloud was still working out, which left her pretty much alone in the big house. Not that she really did mind being alone, but it would have been nice to see her roommate at least sometimes properly. But she knew Cloud was rather staying over at Squall's place since he had more to do there than just being here and sitting bored in his room. Cloud had always resented at being in the bar when it was open, which, she didn't really wonder. People could be so damn stupid sometimes and Cloud's patience was pretty much non-existing. Tifa picked up the phone after she was done with all the little details she had set out to do and dialed a familiar number.
"Kisaragi residence!" A high chirping voice answered from the other end of the call and made Tifa smile to herself. It was amazing how someone could be so cheery no matter when or where, or what time it was.
"Hey Yuf's. How's it going?"
"Wahhh, hey Tifa! It's awesome here! We just finished painting Marlene's room with pink and white. It's pretty damn girly and Barret hates it so obviously. I'm happy I don't have to live under the same roof with those two. Hehe."
"I can imagine." The mere thought of Barret standing in a completely pink and girly room probably full of anything that was frilly and sparkly made Tifa grin widely. "You remember what I told you about Cloud last time?"
"Yeah! That Spiky has made friends with Leon? Sure I do. What a nice, brooding young man he was. The two certainly deserve each other so well. Or wait, have they broken up already, or did Leon finally kick Cloud's ass? And you know, it still rings weird in my ears when you call him Squall."
"Oh no, nothing like that. They're more like living together now." She drummed the table with her fingers, idly wondering how weird it was to talk about someone with two different names anyway. "Where does the name Leon come from anyway?"
"Whaaaaat!" Yuffie shrieked so loud, it made her to move the phone further from her ear. "So weird. And cool, kind of! And the name thingy.. I dunno where the idiot figured it out, maybe has something to do with his weird obsession to that Griever thingy around his neck and on his weapon… but when I met the dude, he used that name. Now that you think of it, how stupid it was anyway! Haha, you know, since his last name is Leonhart it sounds definitely fucked."
"Yeah, it sure does sound weird, I'm glad he uses his given name now. The nickname did sound odd when I learned about his last name. And the current situation is odd too." She sighed. "You are not going to believe what Squall gave Cloud as a birthday present... You know last summer he lost that earring he has been wearing since.. forever, and was rather pissed off because of it?" The memory of the situation still made Tifa grit her teeth, both in amusement and in pain. Pain because Cloud had been an uncontrollable idiot then.
"Sure I do! It was the time when he tried to remove the floor just to be sure the earring was not under there? That was hilarious to watch, when you nearly punched him in the face!"
"Squall gave Cloud a matching replacement for it."
"..." It was rare for the hyperactive girl to be quiet, ever.
"I know.. And I have no idea where he even could dig out that earring, since I thought there was no other pair for it. Pretty sweet, huh?"
"If I didn't know the man, I'd say that was more than sweet. You know, more like getting a precious present for someone you rrreally like. Wait, does he like our Spiky like that? I mean, I know he likes guys since there was someone back here that he was, I think, dating."
"It's starting to look like so."
"I didn't know Cloud was into guys too. Kinda fits though.. Since he's the pretty boy, haha!"
"It's my own belief that he has always been more into guys than girls. Just think about it, has he ever gone out with anyone? Even me and him, it wasn't really like that. More like good friends offering support when it was needed. Seriously, I feel like his sister, or mother, if it gets really bad. The problem is, I think, that Cloud doesn't want to admit he has feelings towards Squall."
"Well, that ain't no news to me! Spiky ain't the best person to show his feelings to anyone."
"But you really should see him. It's creepy how he actually lightens up whenever Squall is around. He's even smiling! Smiling, Yuffie! Haven't seen him smile like that since Aer died."
"Ahahah, really? Wish I could see it! Would be awesome for them to get together. Seriously, they are so alike and would make an excellent couple!" The girl was giggling on the other end. "Just remember to send me an invitation to their wedding. I am SO going to laugh my ass off there just because they both have sworn never to get all mushy towards anyone."
"Oh, I'll be there too, laughing!" Tifa grinned, imagining the situation. "But I had something to ask from you. Do you remember Squall having those two young boys with him when he still lived there? The twins."
"Mm.." Yuffie was quiet for a moment, thinking and browsing thru her memories. "Ah, the little runts? Of course. Leon used to drop them at the kindergarten where I was a trainee back then! Of course they were there to help watching the kids, not the other way around, haha. Haven't met anyone so close to their twin like ever before. They rarely went anywhere alone, always together. Why?"
"Just wondering if.." Tifa leaned over the table she was standing next to, wondering if she should even ask what she was about to ask. "You need to keep this in secret."
"Uu, I like secrets!" Tifa smiled, turned her head towards the door where Elena had emerged and waved at the blond girl, before walking into the kitchen to finish the call in privacy. After few minutes, she was done, wishing Yuffie good luck and hung up. She smiled. It would be interesting to know if her suspicions had any base, and even if they didn't it was always fun to poke around someone who was secretive even a little. She returned to the other room, where Elena was turning on the lights and music and smiled widely at the other. A long night of work ahead again.