Legacy

Second story in the Sands of Time series.
by scribblemoose

Chapter 12

Zephyr didn't say anything much, just grabbed his coat and bustled Irvine into the corridor and out back towards the sports centre. They finally wound up at the tennis courts, sitting on a bench looking up at the stars. It was chilly, but Irvine found he didn't mind. It cleared his head a little. Zephyr sat cross-legged, hair spilling loose over his shoulders.

"You slept with her again," said Zephyr, after a long silence.

"Yeah."

"Man, I'm surprised you could get it up. You were wild last night. Quite the old shotgun."

"Yeah. I guess. Ether, you know?"

"You don't think that's part of the problem? The insatiable sex Guardian?"

"Nah. He's not insatiable, and anyway I can't junction him around Selphie. They're incompatible."

Zephyr raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," said Irvine.

"Her loss. So are you two an item now, or what?"

"I have no idea." Irvine hung his head in misery. "All I know is that I couldn't turn her down, and that was the time, that's the point where it mattered, and I should have, and I didn't."

"Irivne, man, I thought this was what you wanted." Zephyr's hand rested gently on Irvine's arm.

"I did. I do. Only, it's not the same. She's not the same. The Selphie I fell in love with was… well, she's from a long time ago."

"Everyone changes."

"Not like this. It scares me sometimes, Zef. I know it is Selphie, but she's just… you know the stupid thing? The stupid thing is if she was the Selphie I fell in love with, there's no way she'd want to be with me. She'd be back in Balamb with Xu and I'd be over her, and none of this would have happened."

Zephyr's hand found Irvine's; their fingers meshed together. They stared in silence at the sky, thick black and cloudless, going on forever. So many stars.

"I'm such a shit," said Irvine.

"Don't see how you figure that."

"I should have said no. And you know the worst thing? If I go back there tonight and she wants to do it again, I would, just to hang on to some stupid dream. I'm that much of a bastard."

"So don't go back." Zephyr squeezed his hand. "You only have to keep your hand out of her panties for a while, she has to go back to Balamb sometime."

"Unless she transfers. She's showing no sign of wanting to leave. Man, that would really piss Squall off."

"That and his chick messing about behind his back."

Irvine groaned. "Shit, don't get me started on that one."

Zephyr produced a hip flask and passed it to Irvine. Trabian brandy.

"They're not your problem any more," Zephyr said gently. "Remember?"

But they were. They would always be his problem. He'd cared for Rinoa and Squall too much and for too long to give up now. Even if he had, by moving back to Galbadia, killed the possibility of ever doing anything about it.

Great. Worst of both worlds. "I'm such a jerk."

"Hey, Irvine, man. Don't be hard on yourself. It's not your fault all your friends are crazy."

Irvine took another gulp from the hip flask, and had a thought, and for the first time he grasped the real reason he'd come back to Galbadia after all. "I guess. Zef?"

"Yep?"

Their eyes met; the dim emergency light in the wall behind them flickered red and orange. "Don't let me go over the edge, man. Keep me sane?"

"I'll do my best," Zephyr promised, with a grin.

*******

Squall walked through his office door, crossed the room and opened the blinds. The morning sun fell across and assortment of debris: endless, dusty piles of papers; the remnants of last night's dinner congealing in foil cartons; empty coffee mugs and a scattering of beer bottles.

He sat down wearily at his desk. He'd lost track (again) of where one set of papers finished and the next started. Rosters, espionage and potion stocks all merged into one huge mountain of impossible.

He'd opened his desk drawer before he really realised what he was doing, and his ungloved fingers closed around the cool metal ball.

Rinoa.

Squall let go of the device as if it burned, shoved his pain down deep and slammed the drawer shut.

And then he set to work.

*******

Frila tucked her knees up under her chin, and yawned. Sanke slept on, curled on her side, small hands tucked under her head. She'd been asleep for more than ten hours, but Frila didn't have the heart to wake her. Instead she watched her breathe, her face so quiet, so innocent, looking so much younger than her years. Her cheeks were still softly rounded, her hair crinkled from all the time it spent in bunches.

Her eyelids flickered; she must be dreaming.

Frila pulled the blanket a little more tightly around her shoulders and sighed. She'd been sitting here at Sanke's side most of the night - ever since Seifer had gone - and she was drifting into sleep when she heard Sanke's voice.

"Frila?"

Frila's eyes shot open. "Sanke? Are you okay?"

Sanke blinked a couple of times, and pushed herself up to sitting, considering the question. "Yes, I think so. What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

Sanke's face fell and she gripped the bedclothes tight. "Oh no! Is Vincent alright? Did I kill him? Did I kill anyone? Oh Frila, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

Frila took a firm hold of Sanke's shoulders. "Everyone's fine. You shook him up a bit is all."

"Oh thank goodness." Sanke's shoulders relaxed a little. "I didn't mean to hurt him, really I didn't. He was being so mean to Asha and I was angry, I couldn't help it. I tried, I really tried…"

"It's alright. I know."

"Is everyone really mad?"

"No," said Frila firmly, hoping it was true. "They're not mad. But they will have to ask you some questions."

"Questions? Like Odine-type questions?"

"Probably. Only hopefully they'll be easier to understand."

They smiled at each other, briefly.

"Let's go get showered and dressed," said Frila. "Then we can work out what to do, 'kay?"

"Do I have a choice? I thought they'd pretty much just chuck me out."

"It's not that simple. And it's not just up to them, right? We get to have a say."

"I know what I did, it was pretty bad. Even though he's a total jerk, I shouldn't have hurt him."

"But he is a total jerk, and from what Asha said he really provoked you. It's not the first time he's been mean to you, is it?"

"No, but..."

"Don't worry, kid. It'll be okay. Now, come on and get up, and-"

"I lost control," said Sanke, in a tiny, fragile voice.

"We all do that sometimes," said Frila, taking Sanke's hand in hers and squeezing hard. "It's just a bit more dramatic when you do it, that's all."

"But I can't afford to do it. It would be like if Ether lost control, or Shiva or any of the others. We mustn't. It's too dangerous." She looked up at Frila with huge eyes, full of tears. "I'm too dangerous."

"Stop that. Anyone can be dangerous, you, me, Squall, Shiva, even Vincent. Especially Vincent. It's not the power that makes you dangerous, Sanke. It's what you do with it."

"But I couldn't stop it," Sanke said. "I felt it and I tried and tried but I couldn't."

"You just have to learn, that's all. Just like I had to learn the gunblade. Shit, you should have seen me when I started. It's a wonder I didn't chop my own leg off."

Sanke managed a weak giggle.

"Come on." Frila patted the bedclothes roughly where she thought Sanke's knee might be. "Let's go get this over with."

"Okay. One thing, though?"

"What?"

"I want a bath, not a shower."

"Oh, all right," said Frila. "Just ten minutes."

Sanke looked almost happy. "Ten minutes. Promise."

"And no splashing."

"But you're showering. You'll be wet anyway."

"Control," said Frila, "begins at home."

*******

Rinoa arrived at Balamb train station to find Zell already there, sitting on a large suitcase, staring at the rain-sodden track. He looked up in surprise as she approached.

"I'm coming with you," she said. "Don't worry, we'll sort it out somehow."

"You don't have to," Zell said. "I know you did your best."

"Yeah, well, we didn't solve anything, did we?"

"But you have to start work again soon, you don't want to piss Corben off."

"I went to see Corben last night. I'm taking a kind of sabbatical. I'm owed a ton of leave, and he was pretty understanding. So I don't have to be back for a few weeks. Months, maybe."

Zell's eyes were wide with astonishment. "But what about Squall?"

Rinoa took a deep breath. This was the part she really wasn't looking forward to. "It's none of Squall's business. We're not together any more."

"What?!"

"Anyway, what's important is to get you and Ness sorted out, and-"

"Rinoa, you can't be serious? You and Squall are… I mean... Hyne, this isn't about me, is it? It's not because I resigned?"

"No, not really." She gave him a smile that she hoped looked more reassuring than it felt. "No, it's been coming a long time, I think. We've just… well, never mind about that. Did you mean what you said, about getting a job in Deling?"

"Yeah," said Zell, grim-faced. "Whatever it takes, Rin."

"Then let me talk to my father. You'll never make it as a bureaucrat, believe me. But you're a good soldier, and Dad should be able to get you in at a decent rank."

"Really?" There was a glimmer of hope in Zell's eyes at last, and not a little relief. "That sounds… that sounds a lot better than some office job!"

"Yeah, well, the military's not a bad option. With your experience maybe they'll let you train new recruits or something. And it's not like there's going to be a war any time soon, or at least not one that SeeD can't handle."

Zell was positively beaming now, and as the train pulled into the station he bounced off his suitcase and cheerfully shoved her through the doors. He followed her onto the train, rambling on excitedly about Ness having a thing for uniforms, and his mother being proud. He didn't even seem to notice that they were in the SeeD carriage.

But Rinoa did. And she had to wonder, as she watched Balamb retreat into the distance as the train sped for Deling, whether it would be the last time.

For both of them.

*******

The corridors between Frila's room and the elevator that led up to Quistis's office had never seemed so long. She walked with one hand clenched on the hilt of her gunblade, while Sanke held the other one tightly. Cadets scattered before them, intimidated by Frila's glare, but they still whispered, and Frila knew that Sanke would be able to hear every word. News travelled fast in Balamb Garden.

The elevator was thankfully empty, and took them swiftly to the suite of offices on the third floor. This was the domain of SeeDs, no sniggering cadets in sight, but a whole new anxiety overtook both of them as they approached Quistis's door and Frila pressed the buzzer.

"Come in," came Xian's clear, crisp voice. The door slid open.

There was no mistaking this for a friendly meeting. Xian, Quistis and Squall sat at one side of the meeting table, while two empty chairs waited for Frila and Sanke opposite them. Quistis snuck them a friendly smile, but Xian looked stern and Squall looked…

… Squall looked terrible. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he had a day's growth of beard. His face was pure thunder.

For the first time, Frila felt thoroughly and genuinely frightened for Sanke and for herself. She instinctively put a comforting arm around Sanke's shoulder, giving her a little squeeze before they sat down.

"Good morning," said Xian. "This is an unpleasant matter for everyone, so I'll get straight to the point. Sanke, do you understand why you're here?"

Sanke nodded. "I did something wrong, I know I did, and I'm terribly sorry. Really, I am."

She couldn't have been more genuine, and Xian's expression softened a little. "I'm glad to hear that. But we have procedures to follow, nonetheless."

"Yes," said Sanke. "I know you need to punish me." She sat up straight, her chin high. "I'll do whatever you tell me, I promise."

"Very well," said Xian. "But first, we need to hear your view of what happened in class yesterday."

Sanke glanced at Frila. Frila nodded.

"Well," said Sanke, "the teacher had to leave the room, and she left us with some work, so I was getting on with that when Vincent came up to us, and he was mean to Asha."

"Asha?" said Xian.

"Yes, she's… she's my friend. She sits next to me in class."

"I know Asha," said Xian, not unkindly. "What did Vincent do?"

"He, um, she was defending me, and so he picked on her."

"So he wasn't just being unpleasant to Asha? He said something to you too?"

"Um, yes. I mean, it was silly, it's not the sort of thing you should get upset about, I know I should have kept my temper, really-"

"Let's not worry about what you should have done. Let's stick to what happened."

Sanke nodded.

"So, what did Vincent do, or say?"

"He called me a freak. Asha told him to go away and leave me alone, because I hadn't done anything to him. Then Vincent said I, um, didn't have feelings, and I'm not human. So, Asha told him to take it back, and I tried to stop her, but she was very angry, and Vincent said I'd been sent to spy on them, and called me a freak again, and I tried to keep calm, I really did, but he just went on, he said that I must be guilty because I didn't deny it, and then Asha called him, um, a retard, told him to leave me alone, and Vincent turned on her and asked why she was being protective of me, and Asha said she was my friend, and Vincent said I was a freak again. Asha told him to take it back, and Vincent said she should make him, and he was threatening her, and she hit him, not hard, but he hit her back really, really hard, and… I…. I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop it. It just happened. I didn't want to hurt him, I didn't, I just wanted him to stop…." Tears ran down Sanke's cheeks, and Frila squeezed her hand.

"And that's exactly what happened?" Xian asked.

Sanke nodded. "I remember things very well. That's what happened."

"The little bastard deserved it," said Frila.

"That's enough, Alfyrd," said Xian, with a stern glare. "Sanke, are you absolutely sure you didn't do anything to provoke Vincent, anything at all?"

Sanke shook her head. "I really didn't. I don't know why he hates me so much. He just does."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"No, I… I wouldn't know what to say. I just try to keep out of his way."

"It's no good reasoning with people like that," said Frila. "And you know it."

"Frila," said Quistis, in her warning tone.

"Well, this is stupid!" said Frila. "She's been tormented by those fucking morons for weeks! It's no wonder this happened!"

"Weeks?" said Quistis, sharply. "You're telling us this has been going on for weeks?"

"Yes. Pretty much since she started classes. An idiot would have noticed!"

The room fell silent. Frila was aware of four pairs of eyes trained on her, but it was Squall's that cut right through her.

"Frila-" Quistis started, but Squall interrupted.

"You didn't tell us."

"No, but-"

"You were under orders," Squall said, voice low and dangerous.

"Please," said Sanke miserably, "I asked her not to tell anyone. I made her promise."

"You deliberately witheld information," Squall continued, ignoring Sanke. "You put yourself in danger, you put her classmates in danger, and you put her in danger."

Frila was on her feet before she knew it, her heart pounding. "No! I would never do that! I was protecting her!"

Squall stood too, eyes flashing, as angry as she'd ever seen him. She took an involuntary step backwards, her chair squeaking across the polished floor. "You arrogant, stupid bitch. You have all the help you could ever wish for. You have the whole of Balamb Garden behind you, the whole of SeeD, the most powerful people in the fucking world. But you decide you can do it all by yourself. You're nothing more than a spoilt brat."

Frila blinked against hot, infuriating tears, not trusting herself to speak.

"Please, no!" said Sanke. "It was because of me, I asked her not to tell anyone, I'm sorry if it was wrong but I wanted to be normal, to fit in-"

"You're not normal," said Squall. "Get used to it."

"Squall!" exclaimed Quistis. Squall glared at her briefly, but he sat down again, his eyes settling sullenly on the table in front of him.

"I think we should take a recess," said Xian. "We need some time to think this over carefully. Sanke, Frila, please wait outside until we call you in again."

Frila hesitated. None of this was fair, and for Squall to say that to Sanke… she wanted to stay and force them to see sense. But Sanke was crying, and she couldn't take the risk that she might make things worse. So she took Sanke's hand and pulled her out of the room.

Once the door was safely shut she took Sanke in her arms and held her while she cried.

*******

Irvine took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors of Galbadia's training centre. He didn't see Selphie at first, just a gaggle of cadets in the corner, being briefed by their instructor, a guy who'd been in the bar the other night, but Irvine didn't know his name… and then he spotted her. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor near the safety doors, her back perfectly straight, her eyes closed, hands resting on her bony little knees. She was dressed from head to foot in camouflage gear. She looked like a pixie commando.

Irvine smiled in spite of himself, and walked over to her.

"Hi, Irvy," she said, not opening her eyes, but smiling just enough that a trace of a dimple showed in one cheek.

"Hi. Listen, Elf-"

"Okay, I'm ready. Shall we go kill stuff?"

She'd bounced to her feet and cracked her nunchaka before he could say anything. But he just managed to fling out an arm and catch her hand before she ran off towards the doors. "We need to talk."

She froze for an instant, her whole body tensing up, and he could have sworn she was mad at him. But then she turned around, a teasing little grin on her face, all bounce and happiness, of a sort. "You're not going to get all silly on me, are you Irvy?"

"No. But we do need to talk about what happened."

"You mean last night?" She smacked him playfully on the arm. It hurt. She didn't know her own strength, never had really. "You're not worrying about that, are you?"

"Well, yes. It's just…"

"Oh, Irvy, it's alright! Trust you to worry about nothing. I've been thinking, you see!" She tapped the side of her head with her finger. "It's okay. I know you need to see to your Guardian. And you can! I've worked it all out. We'll just alternate, well, we'll need a proper rota, because you'll be on missions sometimes... But we'll sort out something, and that way you can feed it and we can still be together. See?"

Irvine opened his mouth, but no words came out.

She hooked her arm through his. "Shall we go kill things now?"

"I-"

And then they were through the door, and it was too late.

Irvine missed the first grat so badly he damn nearly got knocked unconscious.

But Selphie saved him.

*******

Rinoa watched through the big picture windows in her father's drawing room as Zell bounded across the garden to tell Ness his news. Watched Ness's face turn from misery to delight, her squeals echoing off the garden walls as Zell picked her up and twirled her around, showering her face with kisses.

Two phone calls. That's all it had taken. One for her father to inform the Division that there would be a new officer starting on Monday, and one for him to convey the good news to Ness's father in man-to-man terms that left no doubt as to the suitability of the newly-commissioned Major Zell as a match for his daughter.

Two phone calls. Less than ten minutes, and Zell's problems were solved. If only….

Rinoa swallowed hard. Now that her mission was accomplished, it was harder to keep her mind off the fact that she had her own problems. And no idea at all what to do about them.

"Anything else, Princess?"

Her father put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a rare hug.

"No, thanks, Daddy." She managed a smile. "You've been wonderful."

"Then I'd better get back to work. Will you and your friends stay for dinner?"

"That would be nice. Thank you."

"I'm afraid I've got some boring businessmen coming, but it would be lovely to have you there."

Her heart sank. Deling businessmen. Just what she didn't need. But still, she owed her father and with Ness and Zell there it wouldn’t be so bad.

He left her alone at the window, bustling off to do important things. Rinoa's fingers curled around the phone in her jacket pocket, caressed the sleek metal casing.

Ness and Zell were walking around the garden now, hand in hand, Ness's head resting on Zell's shoulder. Rinoa turned away from the window; it was a scene so intimate that she felt she was intruding.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and punched the speed dial. She leaned back against the window, tapping her foot in time with the pulsing connection tone. No answer.

She dialled another number. This time it picked up.

"Selph? It's Rin. Look, it's a long story, but I'm back in Galbadia. Are you free to talk?"

*******

"She's still only a child, Squall," said Quistis.

Squall leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair with an exasperated sigh. "You people never get it. We can't pretend the world's safer than it is. You should never have let her join a regular class."

"You agreed it was the best thing for her. To blend in and learn about SeeD by living it."

"There were conditions attached. Alfyrd was supposed to report back."

"I admit, I'm very disappointed in Frila," Quistis said. "I didn't think she'd keep things from us."

"She's always been a loner, a bit of a wildcard," Xian said.

"She's a gunblader," said Quistis, with a sidelong glance at Squall, but he wasn't biting. He just stared at the pad of paper in front of him, rocking his chair back onto two legs and balancing there.

"I wonder how long it's been going on," said Xian. "In hindsight, I can see things perhaps haven't been as they seemed. There have been a few scuffles, here and there, but it didn't seem serious and Sanke seemed fine."

"Kids can be very good at keeping things to themselves," said Quistis.

"It would be a shame, though," Xian said. "It's not her fault that the likes of Vincent are picking on her. Doesn't seem right that she should be punished for it."

"She cast a spell on another student," Squall reminded them. "That's not only against every regulation in the book, it's also fucking dangerous."

"Well yes," said Quistis, pointedly. "But it's not as if it's the first time a Cadet has ever used magic in an unauthorised context, now is it?"

Squall's index finger went unconsciously to the scar between his eyes. "She wasn't in control. And you're all forgetting she's not human, or not completely human, at any rate. She's part Guardian, and that's the part that was taking over and casting spells."

Xian and Quistis nodded sadly.

"Send her back to Esthar," Squall said.

"But Frila's a SeeD now," Quistis pointed out. "She belongs here in Balamb."

"So?"

Quistis stared at him, aghast. "You'd have them split up? Squall, what's got into you?"

Squall gave a long sigh. His chair clattered back down onto all four legs. "Okay, we can't split them up. But I don't want to take any more chances. Sanke isn't safe to be let around other cadets."

"I'm in agreement with you there," said Xian. "It's regrettable, but at the moment we can't guarantee it won't happen again."

Quistis cleared her throat. "We could get Laguna to bring Odine here."

She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the pencil she was rolling between her fingers, and waited.

"Alright," said Squall, after what felt like an age. "If he's got time. If not they'll have to go to Esthar."

"I'll contact him directly," said Quistis, suppressing a little smile.

"Vincent will be punished, of course?" said Xian.

"Oh yes," said Quistis. "I'd say at least a six week suspension, wouldn't you?"

"At least," said Xian, "How about six weeks and then a review?" Squall nodded.

"That's settled then," said Quistis. "Shall we call them back in?"

Frila and Sanke returned and stood in front of them as asked. Sanke looked thoroughly miserable, but Frila kept her head high and fixed her gaze on the back wall, at a spot between Quistis and Squall.

"The rules on the use of magic outside of the Training Centre are very clear," said Quistis. "Sanke, do you understand those rules?"

"Yes, Ma'am," said Sanke.

"Will you promise to keep to those rules in future?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I will," said Sanke, nodding her head vigorously.

"You are to consider this an official caution, which will be marked on your permanent record. If you break the rules again, an automatic suspension will follow. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"We'll need to keep an eye on you for a few days at least, to try and assess risks for the future. You will be confined to Garden until tests have been completed."

Frila bit her lip. Hard.

"You're suspended from duty for a week, Alfyrd," said Squall. "No pay. And if you ever keep anything important from me again, you'll be relieved of your rank and out of Garden. Is that clear?"

Frila's eyes flashed; Quistis had to bite her own lip to stop herself from berating the ball of beligerent tension beside her that was Squall for keeping that little decision to himself. It was entirely his business, of course, she wasn't directly responsible for SeeDs herself. But still. Losing a good gunblader for a week would play havoc with Xu's rotas.

"Yes Commander," Frila said, all but trembling with the pressure of keeping her frustration under control.

"Let's call that the end of the matter," said Quistis. "You are free to leave."

Frila gave a brittle salute and Sanke bowed. Then Squall spoke again.

"Alfyrd? One more thing."

This time Frila looked at Squall; one fist clenched at her side, the other wrapped tight around Sanke's. "Commander?"

"Watch the company you keep."

Something flashed across Frila's face: surprise, or fear, or guilt, Quistis couldn't be sure. It was gone in an instant and Frila had turned away again, marching Sanke out of the room with her usual determined stride.

"What was that about?" asked Quistis.

But Squall was already on his feet and shoving papers back into files.

He didn't answer.

*******

"No Selphie?"

Zephyr leaned in Irvine's doorway, arms folded. He was out of uniform: snug jeans rested on his hips, while a green vest shirt clung to his chest. Irvine couldn't help but grin at him.

"She had to go take a personal call."

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Personal from you?"

"Yeah. Girl stuff, she said. You gonna come in or what?"

"Could do." Zephyr slunk into the room, the door sliding shut behind him. "So long as I'm not intruding."

"Nah. Actually…" Irvine pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and squinted at it. Then he turned it up the other way and squinted at it again. "I think it's your turn. Hard to be certain."

"What's that?"

"It's a rota," said Irvine, with a heavy sigh. "Selphie's drawn up a rota."

"What?"

Irvine shrugged. "It doesn't matter, man. Come here."

Zephyr crossed the room, put his arms around Irvine and kissed him. It started as comfort and rapidly grew into something else entirely. Irvine slipped Ether into junction and let himself relax into it.

"I didn't come here to get fucked," Zephyr said, running his fingers down Irvine's spine and lower, to cup the firm curve of his arse.

"Really?" said Irvine.

"I've got a message from Martine. Just went to the debriefing for our mission the other day which, by the way, you should have been at."

"Ah, fuck," said Irvine. "Sorry man. I totally forgot."

Zephyr ground his hips a little more firmly into Irvine's. "You'll make it up to me."

"Did Duck…?"

"Nope, her neither. I forget her excuse. No, it was just me and the lovely Martine. And he wants something of yours."

"That sounds sinister." Irvine's hand worked its way under Zephyr's shirt and set about squirming up his back.

Zephyr kissed Irvine's neck, tongue fluttering over warm skin. "He asked me what you're shooting."

Irvine chuckled. "Is that right?"

"Oh yeah. You gonna tell him or shall we keep it between ourselves?"

"Ah, I'll tell." Irvine took a handful of Zephyr's hair and gently tugged his head back. He licked his throat. "There's plenty to share around."

"That's what I like to hear. Wanna lock the door?"

"Oh gods, yeah."

Irvine kept a hold of Zephyr's hand while he went to tap the lock button, as if he were worried that Zephyr might somehow disappear in those few short moments. Once safely locked in, Zephyr reeled him back, pulling him close and kissing him, tongue darting into his mouth. Irvine groaned and fell back heavily onto the bed, pulling Zephyr down with him. "This is getting to be a habit," Irvine murmured. "Just you and me."

"Duck's busy," Zephyr said. "D'you mind?"

"Not in the least." Irvine caught Zephyr's lower lip between his teeth and bullied it a bit before letting it go with a swipe of his tongue. "D'you?"

"Hey, man, I'll take whatever's going, you know me."

Ether's power surged, making Irvine tingle from head to foot.

"That's alright then." Irvine plucked at Zephyr's zipper, opening it smoothly. Zephyr gasped. He was hard, very hard, and his cock fit neatly into Irvine's hand. Irvine squeezed it gently, swept his thumb over the head. "You want to fuck?"

Zephyr humped his hand a little, lips wet against Irvine's ear. "Anything you want, man. Just so long as we both get off."

"Like this," Irvine said, and pressed his own erection against the hard ridge of Zephyr's hip. "Oh yeah."

Zephyr's face broke into a broad grin. "Get those jeans off."

"I will if you will."

They both wriggled out of their clothes, pausing for feverish kisses, hands everywhere, until Zephyr lay full length on top of Irvine, taking the edge off his weight with the support of his arms and knees, straddling Irvine's thigh. Irvine arched up, pushing against Zephyr's hip again, wriggling a bit until he found just the right place. Zephyr broke off their kisses for long enough to retrieve a tube of lube from somewhere and slicked them both up. Wet and hard, they writhed against each other, cocks sliding together, confined between bellies and hips and squirming, teasing fingers.

Ether's energy flowed around Irvine's body, melting through here and there to touch Zephyr. Irvine could tell, somewhere through the fog of pleasure, when Zephyr felt Ether. His shoulders shuddered, his eyelids fluttered and he let out a quivering moan. Irvine kissed his shoulder, nuzzled into the warmth of his neck.

Zephyr came first, a spurting rush over Irvine's belly, soft gasps of breath, a sigh and a blissful smile. Irvine took a little longer, revelling in the slick stickiness between their bodies. Ether fed his pleasure, gave it an edge, and when Irvine's climax finally hit he felt like he must be glowing with it.

They lay there for a while afterwards, Zephyr draped over Irvine's sticky, sweaty body, limp and relaxed. It seemed cruel to even think of moving him.

"So," Irvine said eventually. "What the fuck did Martine want, again?"

Zephyr opened one eye and blinked at him. "What….?"

"Martine? The boss?"

"Oh, right. He was after those groovy bullets you used against the hamster."

"The plasma bullets? I don't know if they're for sale properly yet. I got them from Sybon in Balamb."

"He has a contract with Garden, right?"

"Yeah, but he gives me and Squall prototypes and shit to test out sometimes."

"That's cool. See, it pays to have friends in high places."

"Yeah."

"Or to be friends in high places."

Irvine gave Zephyr a quizzical look. "Your point being?"

"Don't you miss it at all? All that privilege, being one of the in-crowd?"

Irvine kissed Zephyr on the mouth, briefly, the echo of Ether's glow making his lips tingle. "I thought I was in the in-crowd."

Zephyr grinned at him. "Well, yeah, but you don't get much by way of new toys around here."

"I thought that glow-in-the-dark sandworm vibe Duck found in that shop in Deling was rather good."

"Hmmm," said Zephyr, somewhat wistfully. "But you know what I mean."

"I'm still me. Name's gotta be good for credit a while longer, you know?"

"Well, that's good, because I think Martine's got his heart set on some of those bullets."

"And what Martine wants," said Irvine, with another kiss, "Martine gets."

"He's not the only one," said Zephyr, and shimmied down Irvine's body. "And I want…"

Between Zephyr's mouth and his hands and his tongue, Irvine was left into no doubt what it was he wanted.

And he was only too happy to oblige.

*******

Kellon Findel stared at the scuffed cobbles of Dollet town square, and sighed. Tenta had been gone for over an hour, and while Kellon appreciated the peace and solitude this offered her, she was too anxious about the news Tenta might bring back to really enjoy it.

It had been weeks now, and so far Tenta's masterplan hadn't yeilded much in the way of hard cash. They were getting low on supplies and if this contact turned out to be as much of a dud as the others they wouldn't be able to afford a hotel that night either. Kellon had never expected to think fondly of the steel-hard beds in the cadet rooms at Balamb, but at that moment she longed for them.

She'd spotted a job-shop on the outskirts of town and still had half a mind to go back and take a look in the window, at least. But Tenta had somehow made her promise to wait here. She'd give it one more week. One more week, and then…

… and then she'd go home with yet another failure under her belt.

Kellon sighed again. She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't hear Tenta when she finally approached. The loud click of her heels must finally have embedded itself as routine background noise in Kellon's head.

"Cheer up, Finny." Tenta's voice, at least, penetrated Kellon's despondency and caught her attention. "We've got a job."

"A job? Wow, that's fantastic! A real …. Wait, what kind of job?"

"Monster cull."

"Round here? Well, that's good… not much out there except geezards. We can cope with that. What's the pay?"

"Fifty thousand Gil." Tenta's grin was nothing short of triumphant. "Each."

"Fifty thou… what?! How many do they want us to kill?"

"It's not geezards. It's, well, all sorts of things."

"But-" Kellon frowned. "This is Dollet. There are only geezards, really. Oh, unless it's the beach, there's adamantoises down there I think, maybe some rogue fighting units from the war-"

"No, you moron, the mission isn't in Dollet. It's in Centra."

"Centra?"

"Yes, you know, big continent south of here, destroyed by last lunar cry?"

"I know where Centra is. It's crawling with monsters. Big monsters. Way out of our league. We wouldn't stand a chance. And anyway, how would we get there? Trains don't go there, ships don't go there, no-one in their right mind goes there."

"Hyne, you're so fucking negative."

"Realistic."

"No, actually, not. Listen. We leave Dollet first thing in the morning, and head out to the old D-District prison. Pick up a couple of GF-"

"What? How the Hell do we manage that? We'll more likely get killed!"

"See? So. Fucking. Negative."

"Guardians don't junction just anybody."

"Depends on the GF, and what they have to gain. Look, I've done research, okay? There's two, maybe three GF at D-District, and they're easy marks. They've been trapped there for years; they just need liberating and they'll be so grateful they'll junction. Honest."

"How do you know?"

"I have my sources." Tenta tried to shrug it off, but Kellon's expression made it clear she wasn't letting it go. "Xu's office, okay? I was there on placement a few months ago. So I did a little… research."

"You snooped around in Xu's office and read secret files?"

"Do you want to eat tomorrow or not? This could set us up nicely. We could afford our own offices here in Dollet, or better still down in Centra. There's no love for Balamb down there."

Kellon's shoulders slumped in resignation. She could argue for hours with Tenta, but the result would be the same. And she supposed this is what she'd signed up for. Better than another failure. "How do we get to Centra?"

"Helicopter," Tenta beamed. "With our own pilot. Come on, Finny. We get a night in the hotel here thrown in free as well. They've got hot tubs and an all night bar. What d'you say? You in?"

With a certain level of shame, Kellon admitted to herself that the possibility of a bath at that moment was worth almost any price.

"I'm in," she said.

*******

Irvine stretched and yawned, careful not to move too suddenly and eject Zephyr from the narrow bed. His lover wasn't asleep, but he was warm and languid, and Irvine wanted to keep contact with that comforting sense of calm for as long as possible. It was a welcome refuge from the madness his life seemed to have become.

No sooner had this thought passed through his brain, past a resting but fully-charged Ether, than the door opened. Irvine's heart and belly flipped in unison. It was locked, they definitely locked it, but of course there was one person who knew the code (and was an expert at hacking them anyway). Shit.

"Hi Selphie," said Irvine, dragging himself to a half-sitting position, much to Zephyr's displeasure. "Um…" He was suddenly aware that he was naked, shamefully so, and had sticky smears over his belly and a man draped over his chest. He struggled for something to say, but could only come up with: "You've met Zephyr, right?"

"Yes," said Selphie. She didn't look pleased. She hung her nunchaka on the coat peg by the door and slipped her boots off.

"Hey Selphie," said Zephyr.

"Hi. Um, Irvine, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure." Irvine cast Zephyr a pleading look, although he wasn't entirely sure whether he was pleading with him to stay or go.

"I'll go," said Zephyr, relieving him of the decision. He didn't scamper away in disgrace, however, no matter how hard Selphie's eyes were drilling into him. He gave Irvine a long and gentle kiss, and whispered "you know where to find me," in his ear before he slid gracefully off the bed and set about finding his clothes.

Irvine sat up and covered his lower half with a sheet. He longed to pester Zephyr for the spliff he suspected was buried in one of his pockets, but he didn't dare. He was apparently in quite enough trouble with Selphie as it was.

"Bye all," said Zephyr, as if the leaden atmosphere in the room didn't exist. "Nice to see you, Selphie."

"Do send my regards to Duck," Selphie said, her voice just close enough to politeness that Irvine couldn't be sure whether she was being sarcastic or not. Zephyr chose to assume not, and gave Selphie a quick bow on the way out.

"It was his turn," said Irvine, defensively.

"I'm glad the rota made an impression," Selphie said coldly. "Get that thing out of your head."

"What? Oh." Ether slipped out of junction at Irvine's request, with only the faintest rumble of disapproval. "Sorry. Forgot."

"'s better." She gave him a brittle little smile, and crossed the room to sit on his lap. "I was talking to Rinoa," she said.

"Is she okay?"

"She's back in Deling," said Selphie. "Some kind of fuss over Zell and Ness getting married, only her father wouldn't let them, and somehow Squall got involved and he was mad, and Rinoa came back with Zell and then her father got him a job so they can get married. And now she has to have dinner with boring businessmen."

"That's insane," said Irvine. "Zell can't give up SeeD. What do they have to get married for?"

"Well, some people have morals, you know, Irvy." She wasn't entirely joking; her smile flashed off a little too quickly.

"The rota," Irvine said. "It was-"

" Look, new rule, okay? Not in here. If you need to… do what you have to do, not in here."

"Sure. I'm sorry, it's just going to take a bit of getting used to, is all."

She was biting her lower lip, her shoulders trembling faintly. Trying not to cry. She was hurting. Because of him.

"Duck and Zef are just friends, Seffie. You know that, right?"

She nodded miserably.

"That's all it'll be, now, just them and you. No-one else. See, I can feed Ether, like you said, and you know there's nothing else going on."

"Great!" She smiled a little too brightly. "Thanks Irvy. It'll be alright now."

But there was so much pain in her heart. So much pain.

He'd brought her here to save her. Not for this.

"I could stop," he said, very softly. "There doesn't have to be a rota. It could just be me and you. If that's what you want."

"Your Guardian," said Selphie.

"I could…" Irvine's heart clenched. Give up Ether. He could give up Ether for good, and then he and Selphie would be together. Just until she was back on her feet. And maybe… it used to be what he wanted. Perhaps, given time…

"Could what?" There was an unbearable spark of hope in Selphie's eyes.

"I need some time." Irvine took her hand in his, and pulled it to his chest, squeezed it there. "It'll need some working out."

"You'd give up Ether?"

"If it's what you want." Irvine scarcely recognised the sound of his own voice. "But-"

She flung herself at him, little arms wrapped tight around his neck. Irvine shut his eyes, a single thought pounding through his head: what have I done? What have I done? The world swam and he could barely breathe. To imagine a world without Ether, without that power and presence, without Zephyr and Duck, a world that seemed so empty already, made that much emptier….

But for Selphie….

"It won't be easy," he muttered, trying to stem the rising panic. "Ether can't survive for long corporeally, and he's picky who he junctions with. Being with that red dragon before me nearly killed him."

"I sure you'll find someone. Oh Irvy, it's the right thing, I'm sure of it. Just think, no more journals, no more memory loss, no more risk. It's got to be healthier, right?"

Irvine smiled weakly. "I guess."

"I know! We should celebrate! Let's go to the bar."

"I have to do something first," Irvine said.

"What's that, love?"

"Martine. He wanted to see me. That's what Zephyr was coming round for, before we got distracted."

"Oh, well, that's okay. You'll have to tell him, anyway, I suppose."

"Tell him what?"

"That you don't want Ether any more. "

He hugged her again, hiding his face in her hair, ignoring the place in the back of his mind where Ether slept, ignoring the shameful comfort of Selphie's body pressed into his.

"Oh Irvy. I'm so pleased I came here with you! Things are going to be just perfect from now on!"

He wished with all his heart that he could believe her.

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