"Maybe we should start out just telling Quistis, and see how it leads from there. She's the most sensible one of them all." Squall's hand ran lazily through his blonde love's hair as they lay together, deciding how to break their relationship to their comrades. Zell snorted and hugged Squall tighter.
"Nah, just announce it over the intercom, get it all done with in one big breath!" Squall smiled faintly and dropped a kiss on the top of Zell's head, rewarded with a sigh from the boy he held in his arms. It had been a week since their first day together, and they were tired of hiding it. Squall found himself tortured every moment he stood next to the blonde but had to restrain himself from reaching out to touch him. It was that shared feeling that made the two decide it was time to go public. They still couldn't decide how, though. The chime rang in Squall's room, and Zell groaned loudly, refusing to let Squall go as he tried to stand. After a moment, he relented and watched as Squall crossed the room and opened the door. He couldn't see past Squall enough to see who was there, but the loud squeal told him it was Selfie. He jumped up and rushed to Squall's side, peeking his head around him and waving.
"Hey Selfie, wassup?"
"Oh! Zell! I didn't know you were here!" She beamed happily, her arms loaded with flyers. "I'm hosting a party!!! A big one! Kind of like a 'school dance', can you guys help out? I just need someone to put up the flyers while I see to the decorations." She looked on hopefully, her lower lip sticking out as if threatening to bring on a downfall of tears if the answer was no. Squall turned to Zell, tilting his head. Zell shrugged, "I got no problem with it, if you don't." Squall rolled his eyes at Zell's grammar and turned back to Selfie. "Okay, we'll help." Selfie lit out an ear-shattering yelp of happiness as she shoved the flyers into Zell's arms, she was just about to skip away when she looked like she'd been hit with a ton of bricks, turning around and staring at the two boys in the doorway. Her eyes traveled from one to the other, "How come you two just had to run the idea past each other? You didn't just answer for yourselves, you answered for the both of you...."
Squall smirked and turned to walk back in the room. "She's not as dense as she pretends to be," he commented before kissing Zell on the forehead and taking the flyers from him, leaving Zell alone in the doorway with a blush so deep it looked like he was on fire. Selfie's eyes went wide as she gasped and giggled, covering her mouth. Zell scratched the back of his head, laughing a little and shrugging. "Guess you're gonna go tell everyone, aren't you..."
"ARE YOU KIDDING?!?! OF COURSE I'M GONNA GO TELL EVERYONE, OHMIGOSH YOU TWO LOOK SO CUTE TOGETHER!" Selfie's sentences came out in one long babble as she turned and ran off to find Irvine and Quistis. ~So much for taking it slow...~ Zell closed the door and turned to look at an extremely amused Squall. "Oh ya, sure, that's one way to get the news out. Tell the hyper blabber-mouth and let her loose in the school. Do ya know how many poor girls hearts are gonna be broken that you're currently taken, much less by another guy?" Squall folded his arms and leaned back against the dresser. "Did you have a better idea?" Zell thought for a moment and shook his head, the fact that Selfie had seen them did seem like perfect timing, and it saved the two a whole lot of trouble. Zell's eyes drifted over to the bed where Squall had set the flyers. Grabbing one, his eyes scanned over it, then up to Squall.
"Did you read this thing yet?" Squall shook his head, he'd been distracted by Selfie and hadn't even looked at the papers. "...it's a Couples Ball." Squall stared down at the flyers, the dance was less than a week away. Zell let the paper in his hand fall back onto the bed as he crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Squall's neck, looking deep into his eyes. "Do you wanna go?" Squall stared silently at him, unsure of what to say. Zell sighed and looked down at Squall's chest, admiring his pendant. "Ya don't hafta, it's not like we have to go advertisin our relationship to the entire Garden." Squall wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde's waist and pulled him closer, nuzzling against the side of his face and whispering, "...what should I wear?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
An hour later the boys lay once again on the bed, holding each other and talking about the upcoming dance. Another chime rang out through the room and this time it was Squall who groaned and refused to get up. Zell pecked his love on the cheek quickly and jumped off the bed, slapping the release button and opening the door. There in front of him stood Selfie once again, snickering and blushing beet red. Behind her was their entire crew, all of them either smiling or laughing. Irvine stepped forward, his hands around Selfie's waist, dragging her along wtih him. "Outta the way, we're all comin' in." Zell stood aside and looked pathetically back at Squall. Squall sat up on his elbows and watched as they filed in one by one, each person standing in what formed a semi-circle around the bed. Zell bounced past them all and jumped onto the bed, bouncing Squall about a foot in the air before he regained his composure and cleared his throat, sitting up and looking at his friends. "What?"
"WHADAYAMEAN 'WHAT'?? You guys shack up and we're supposed to just take that like it's the morning announcements??" Selfie was apparantly eager for details to use a phrase like 'shack up' spontaneously. Squall rubbed his forehead thoughtfully, trying to hide his smile. "...WELL?! How long have you two..." Zell beamed proudly, his eyes twinkling, "About a week." Selfie started ranting and rambling about being kept in the dark for an entire week, while the rest of them simply shook their heads at her. Quistis and Irvine silently smiled their approval at the pairing, while Seifer snickered and made a few comments about knowing that 'chicken wuss' was a flamer. Squall eyed Seifer carefully, the idea that Cid had given him a second chance had bothered him at first, but Seifer seemed to have changed dramatically. He now spent more time training and studying than even Quistis would have, had she not been reassigned to her teaching position shortly after the battle with Ultimecia. It seemed that she'd shown a new interest in Seifer as well, being seen tutoring him at least three times a week after classes and even going out to dinners with him when allowed shore leave.
"Hey, I got a question..." Irvine suddenly pipped up, "what about Rinoa?" The room grew silent and all eyes fell on Squall. Zell bit his lower lip and scratched the back of his head lightly, "Eh...we, uh..haven't gotten that far yet." Selfie gasped in shock and shook her finger at them. "You haven't TOLD her? I thought you and her were a thing!!" She frowned at Squall, waiting for a reply. When he gave her none, she walked across the room and grabbed the portable phone, tossing it at his head. "Call her now! She has a right to know." After that, she shooed everyone out of the room saying that Squall needed his privacy, and everyone waved goodbye. Zell sat with Squall on the bed, wondering if he was really going to call her, and wondering what was going to happen. Squall stared at the phone in his hand for a few moments before punching in Rinoa's number. Zell listened quietly as Squall asked Rinoa if she could come over. Rinoa had been accepted into Garden as a medical trainee and was an assistant to Dr. Kadowaki. It was Rinoa who had been sent to check on Squall's concussion just a week and a half earlier. Rinoa agreed to meet up with Squall as soon as she could, saying she had some paperwork to file and a few more patients to assist with. Squall hung up and sighed, holding his head in his hands. He hadn't actually thought about what Rinoa would say when she found out, he only knew he didn't want to hide his feelings for Zell any longer.
Zell reached forward and grasped Squall's chin with his thumb and forefinger gently, staring deeply into his eyes. "A week ago, you asked me if I was going to stay. I told you I would, if you wanted me to. Is this going to make you change your mind?" Squall didn't hesitate, he leaned forward and kissed the blonde roughly, wrapping his arms around him and holding him tight, washing away all the blonde's worries. Zell laid back, pulling Squall down with him. He massaged his tongue against Squall's, moaning softly into the brunette's hungry mouth. His hands reached up and grasped the back of his lover's neck, futily trying to deepen their already passion-filled kiss. Lost in each other, it took the sound of clattering books and charts to break them out of their haze, both staring in the direction of the door. There stood Rinoa, mouth open, eyes staring in disbelief. Her work which Dr. Kadowaki had let her take with her lay scattered on the ground. Squall pushed himself off of Zell slowly, sitting back on the bed and running his hand through his hair. Zell jumped up, holding his hands out and walking slowly towards the shivering girl in the doorway. "Calm down....don't freak out...." his words seemed to snap the girl into reality as she took a step backwards towards the door. Zell darted out and hit the panel, closing the door so that the girl couldn't leave. He turned just in time to feel the sting of Rinoa's palm against his cheek. Her shoulders shook as she began to cry.
Squall stood up quickly and crossed the room. He reached out and inspected Zell's cheek gently, frowning at the red palm print that was spreading rapidly across it. Rinoa's voice was barely a whisper, "...how could you?" They both turned to look at her, tears streaming down her cheeks. "When we first met, you weren't paying attention to me, and I was depressed over you. Zell kissed me on the Quad to try to cheer me up, remember? When you found out about it, you were angry and refused to talk to me until Quistis smoothed things over. And now....how could you be such a hippocrite??" She looked up angrily at them both, wrapping her arms around herself. "Who were you jealous of? Were you jealous that I had been kissed by someone else? Or were you just jealous that Zell kissed ME instead of YOU?" She glared at Squall, her eyes red and strained from crying.
Squall blinked and stared, "Both." He reached out a hand and gently wiped her cheek, sighing. "My feelings for you haven't changed. But I can't ignore the fact that I have feelings for Zell. It's a lot to ask of you, especially when we've been hiding it from everyone for the past week, but I need for you to at least understand. I'm being selfish, wanting you both for myself, but I do. Can you accept that, or do you want to leave?" He was straight and to the point, he never was good at beating around the bush. Zell bit his lower lip in anticipation. This exact situation had been giving him nightmares for a couple of nights now, and he never stayed asleep long enough to find out the answer. Rinoa's head lowered, and her shoulders began shaking again. Zell's face twisted in confusion as he swore he heard her laughing. Rinoa looked up again, the tears still falling from her cheeks, but she was laughing. "A week? You two have only been together for a WEEK? I thought you were together this whole time, back before we met!" Squall shook his head, "It's one week today. We were trying to decide how to tell everyone. Selfie wound up finding out, and she demanded I talk to you. It's why I called." Rinoa took a deep breath and sighed, wiping her eyes and looking over at Zell. "What about you? Doesn't it bother you, having to share him?" Zell shook his head, he and Squall had talked about this for countless house over the last few days. "Actually, I was kinda hopin' you'd learn to like me too....." His foot shuffled slightly as he waited for a response. Rinoa looked up at Squall, wondering what he thought of the entire situation. Squall nodded, he'd hoped that Zell and Rinoa would learn to like each other so that they would all be together. Rinoa ran her hands through her hair, her mind racing with everything that had happened. After a few moments of awkward silence, she stepped towards Zell, reaching out and rubbing his cheek where she'd slapped him. "I'm sorry for hitting you..." she whispered, her eyes threatening to shed tears once again. Zell laughed and took ahold of her hand, "Nah, that was nothin'. I've been hit harder by Selfie fer cryin' out loud." He winked teasingly at her and pulled her in for a hug. She curled up against him, still confused and wondering what she'd gotten herself into.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The water pounded down hard against her skin, helping to wash away the thoughts that clouded her mind. Her and Squall...and now Zell. At least it was someone she could stand, she would have died if it had been Seifer. Honestly, she'd been attracted to Zell for a while. She wasn't sure what it was about him, probably his spaztic behavior. He differed from Squall so much, but seeing them together on the bed, kissing...she had to admit, they looked good. She heard the bathroom door open and froze, looking out the fogged sliding door. Zell's head was peeking in, but his eyes were closed. "Hey, whadaya like on yer pizza? We're orderin in tonight, Squall says he wants us to spend time together." She smiled, at least he was decent enough to close his eyes. "I like anything, really. Even anchovies." Zell made a funky face, "Ew, fish? Nasty. Is it okay if we get half sausage, half mushroom? Squall's the veggie fanatic and I like meat." Rinoa snickered, "I'm sure you do...." Zell opened his eyes at that, laughing. "Hey now! That's not what I meant! And don't use up all the hot water, I wanna get in there too when yer done." He was just about to shut the door when suddenly she mumbled something. He poked his head in again, not hearing what she said the first time. "Didja say somethin'?" He waited a few moments before he saw her head peek out of the sliding doors. "I said that if you wanted hot water, then you'd better get in here and get it while you can." Zell paused for a moment, then stuttered. "S-sure...lemmie just, uh...go get my stuff..." And with that he shut the door, not quite sure what to do.
Zell walked slowly out of the hallway that lead to the bathroom. Squall eyed him from the bed where he'd propped up pillows and blankets to make a sort of nest-couch. "What's wrong?" Zell grabbed the portable and tossed it to Squall. "Um....she says anything's fine and she told me if I wanted a hot shower to get in there now...." Squall smirked slightly, "So what are you waiting for? I already had a shower today, and she -will- use all the hot water. Or are you trying to decide if that was an invite or not..." Zell nodded, "I kinda can't tell...." Squall reached over and tossed Zell's overnight bag at him. "Go take a shower. I'll order the pizza." Zell made his way back to the bathroom, opening the door and tossing his bag against the wall. He waited for a few moments before closing the door, not sure what to do. Rinoa peeked her head out of the shower again, smirking at him. "Are you coming or not?" Zell folded his arms, not used to being so timid and uncomfortable. "Whether I come or not depends on how good you look naked, so don't rush me." He snickered and started peeling off his clothes. Rinoa giggled and turned her attention back to the water. A few moments later, Zell slid open the door and stepped in behind her, biting his lip and looking over Rinoa's body. The water poured down over her as she rinsed the last bits of conditioner out of her hair. Zell took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall, not sure of what to do next. She turned around slowly, looking Zell over and smiling in approval. He was just like she imagined him, muscular but still managed to give off that innocent and fragile look. She watched as his eyes ran over her body, his hands clenching in a vein attempt to keep to himself.
She stepped forward and pressed herself against him, her hands resting on his chest. He breathed shakily against her, sliding his hands around her waist. "I love him.....I'd do anything to make him happy," she whispered. Her eyes wandered up to meet his, and she held his gaze. "I love him too. But, I don't wanna be used...and I don't wanna be toyed with. If we do anything, I wanna know it's cuz you want it, not cuz you hope it'll make Squall happy." She nodded slowly, "I won't do anything that I don't mean. I promise." Zell shivered, satisfied with her answer as he slowly reached down and pressed his lips against hers. This kiss wasn't like their first they'd shared so long ago, this one was filled with understanding. Slowly, Rinoa parted her lips and allowed Zell full access to her mouth. His tongue slid forward, his body molding to hers and holding her tight against him. For what seemed like hours, they held each other, saying everything that was in their hearts through kisses, gentle nuzzles, and the occasional sigh of content. It wasn't until the water turned freezing that Rinoa squeaked and pressed closer to him, trying to get away from the cold jets that were barreling down on her backside. Zell laughed and stepped around her, settling himself under the cold jets. He rinsed himself off quickly and turned the water off. They quietly dried each other off until it came time to get into their pajamas. It wasn't until they were both completely dressed that they burst into a fit of laughter loud enough to peak Squall's interest. He hopped off of the bed and made his way to the bathroom, opening the door and peeking in. "Did I miss something?" Zell and Rinoa had their hands over their mouths, snickering. Squall's eyes trailed down and he let out a small laugh himself. Rinoa and Zell had the same pajama bottoms on...dark blue with little yellow ducks on them.
The three of them made their way back to the bed when the chime of the door rang. Rinoa went to get the pizza while Squall pulled Zell aside and whispered gently in his ear. "So...what did I really miss?" Zell smiled up at Squall, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. "Nothin', she kissed me, that was about it. Oh, and she looks DAMN good in the shower." Squall smirked, "Tell me something I don't know." Zell smirked and tilted his head, "Have you and her....gone all the way yet?" Squall nodded and smiled, "A couple of months ago. Why, are you interested?" Zell smirked and swayed from side to side in Squall's arms. "Maybe I am, but not yet. I mean, I haven't....with a girl or a guy...yet." Squall raised an eyebrow, "You're a virgin?" Zell slid out of Squall's arms and rested his hands on his hips. "Ya know, it's hard to get laid when yer concentratin on kickin a sorceress's butt. Geez, what's takin the pizza so long?" Zell hopped over to the doorway, lookin around Rinoa to find out what the problem was. Instead of seeing a pizza boy, he saw Seifer. Clenching his fists, he glared at the smug expression on the former Knight's face. Rinoa sighed and rolled her eyes, "GOODNIGHT, Seifer." She slapped her hand on the panel and the door shut just as Seifer managed to flip Zell the finger. Zell punched the door hard where Seifer's face had been.
"What did that bastard want?" Zell asked, rubbing his growling stomach. Rinoa remained silent and walked to the bed, climbing on top of it and curling down under one of the blankets. Squall set himself down on the bed next to her, pulling the blanket off of her face. He stared deeply into her eyes for a moment, urging her to talk. Unable to hold back, she growled and sat up, punching a nearby pillow. "It was just a bunch of bullshit. 'So what was it like hearing your man's been screwin another guy rather than you?', 'Must be hard knowin you weren't good enough', and stupid stuff like that. I didn't get bothered until he started making comments like, 'If I'd known you were into threesomes, I would have asked you to join with me and Quistis rather than leave you with the little sausage-fest.' Then I started getting angry. That's when I shut the door in his face." Zell began ranting various curses and threatened to go kick Seifer's ass, but Rinoa didn't care. Some of what Seifer had said got to her more than she let on. Squall could see it in her eyes, she'd believed some of his insults. He leaned down slowly, his lips barely brushing against hers. "Ai shiteru..." he whispered as he closed the gap and pressed his lips firmly against hers. She shivered and fell forward against him, returning the kiss eagerly. He gently laid her down on the bed, kissing her neck. She smiled and nuzzled against him, looking over at Zell. She reached out a hand and pulled him down on the bed next to them, holding them both tightly. ~Seifer's just jealous that I'm the luckiest girl alive....~ Rinoa thought as she watched both of the boys drift off in her arms. Thirty minutes later, the door chime sounded and a greasy haired teenager waited to deliver a luke-warm pizza, but none of them stirred. All three had fallen fast asleep, too wrapped up in each others presence to wake.
