Irvine's POV
The moment he looked into Squall's eyes he realized his mistake. He had let his jealously and nervousness get the better of him, he was so worried about getting hurt again and about Seifer becoming someone that Squall would depend on again that he hadn't even thought of how pissy he was being. He had let the stress and all the whiskey of the past week cloud his judgment. He hadn't thought of how fragile Squall was even on a regular day and that the privilege of seeing him so wanton and so open was a rare and precious gift.
"Sorry~" Squall said with shimmering blue eyes, that made Irvine's heart twinge.
"Wait, babe…" Irvine said reaching out to him only to be shrugged off. "Darlin~" he soothed reaching to touch his cheek again.
"Don't…" Squall said with a frown, slapping his hand away. "I have a meeting," he said stiffly and rushed out of the room. Irvine let out a heavy sigh.
"I can't believe I blew it…" he said walking out to the common room and flopping down on the couch. He thought he had been strong, that he would be able to handle anything again, even do something as prosaic as ease Squall's pain, but he hadn't even been able to be himself. He picked up the half empty bottle of Whiskey that sat at the foot of the couch and poured himself a stiff drink. The days were getting so long that he could barely stand it.