Short author’s blurb: This fic takes place on disk 2, right after the crash into Fishermen’s Horizon and the incredibly silly scene where Selphie decides to have a concert. <g> Just for the record, when I played through the game I had Selphie on tap, Zell on guitar, Quistis on flute, and Irvine on violin. I swear, he looks like he was born to play that thing; sort of a cowboy with a fiddle, I guess. Much of the dialogue in the epilogue is taken directly from the game; when I revisited Balamb I took Irvine in my party. (Heck, I ALWAYS take Irvine in my party. He even looks cute in the battle scenes.)

What You Can Get

A Zell/Irvine PWP

The two young men laughed as they moved through the dim halls of Balamb Garden, the sound echoing hollowly off smooth tiled floors.

"Damn, man, we were awesome!" crowed the shorter of the two, red sneakers thumping against the floor as he fairly leaped down the hallway in his excitement. “Did you see Selphie doing that tap dance thing? She was great!”

His taller companion laughed, shoulders shaking beneath his long dust-brown coat. “Are you kidding? I could barely concentrate once I started watching her.”

“Heh... so why aren’t ya going after her?”

He shrugged languidly. “She’s exhausted from the missile base mission... I don’t wanna push it and have things backfire.”

Zell paused before the door to his private dorm. “I didn’t realize Irvine Kinneas ever held back.” The door hissed open and he flicked on the light, illuminating the small room with an almost washed-out paleness.

“Aw, sure I do, when I have to,” Irvine insisted, tossing his cowboy hat onto Zell’s desk and slinging the overcoat onto a chair before sitting down in it, stretching his long legs in front of him. “ ‘sides, you know how it goes.... Good things come to those who wait, ‘n all that. It’s better if there’s more anticipation.”

“Man...” Zell muttered as he lay on his bed, gazing at the ceiling. “You are one horny bastard.”

“Hey!” Irvine raised a warning hand. “I am not a bastard.”

“Whatever you say,” Zell grinned, then sat up to pull his shoes off. “Hey, what’re you reading?”

“Magazine,” came the distracted reply.

“Oh? A dirty magazine?”

“Well, naturally. Not the type I usually go for, actually, but it’s hard enough sneaking these things into the Garden. Sometime you just take what you can get.”

“Ah, lemme see!” He scrambled quickly to his feet, looking over the page upside-down. ‘The hell..??? That’s a bunch of men!”

“I never specified what kind of dirty magazine, you know.” Irvine’s smile was almost a smirk.

“What the hell?! Why do you even have that? There’s no way a playboy like you is actually gay.”

“Only on Thursdays.”

Zell froze, reflected. Today? Yeah. Thursday. “Shit, man!” He leaped back onto his bed, pressing against the cold wall.

“Man, Zell, you’ve gotta stop being so jumpy. It’s not a big deal. I prefer going after women- it’s kinda a mind game, you know? Guys - at least the ones our age - tend to skip right to the sex.” Irvine shrugged. “Not that that’s always a bad thing. Like I said, you take what you can get. We’re not gonna, like, live forever.”

Zell relaxed a little, sliding down the wall to sink into the mattress. “You’ve got a point. Still, geez, why do I have to be the one stuck in a room with you?”

“Hey, not my fault this fancy Garden of yours didn’t have an empty dorm for me. If you were a little less edgy, we could make the best of it.” He returned to his magazine, leaving a rather confused Zell to ponder what the hell Irvine was suggesting.

He pushed his shoes off the bed and lay back, stretching and staring at the ceiling lamp until bright purple spots danced before his eyes. In the chair a short distance across the room, he could hear Irvine flipping pages, occasionally giving a low, approving whistle. In his mind’s eye Zell could see him, the long brown hair pulled into a simple, graceful ponytail and draping over one bare shoulder. He never wore a shirt under his overcoat; just a royal purple vest that showed off a bit of smooth chest.

“Hey Irvine?” Zell murmured suddenly, closing his eyes but finding himself unable to escape the pinpricks of violet burned into the retinas.

“Hm?”

“I see your point.”

“Ah, good thing, I was sick of sleeping on the floor.”

“Hey!” Zell sat up too quickly, receiving a mild head rush. “Don’t read too much into things! I just meant that... at the missile base... I thought I was gonna die. I seriously thought that it was the end, and I was missing out on so much, ya know? So maybe you’re right, maybe I should open up, ‘n try something new...” He reddened only slightly. “And ya know, you’re really awfully pretty. The first time I saw you I almost thought you were a woman, ‘cept you’re so tall.”

“Nah, I’m not tall,” Irvine replied, a smile tugging at his lips. “You’re just damn short.”

“Hey!!!” Zell leaped to his feet. “It’s not like I’m a wuss because of it!”

Irvine stood calmly, folding the magazine and setting it aside, eyeing Zell. He was obviously quite worked up. In one lighting-quick motion Irvine grabbed Zell by the collar, pulling him so close their noses were practically touching. The burning look in his eyes made Zell feel... funny...

“Really,” Irvine purred. “Prove it.”

Zell gulped, feeling the blood pound in his temples. He looked up into that face, strands of gold-brown hair framing the somewhat delicate features, full lips turned into a knowing smile.

Irvine had beautiful eyes. Why hadn’t Zell noticed it before...?

Well, no going back now. Irvine was a good half-foot taller than him, so Zell had to stretch to reach...

It was a very nice kiss, slow and leisurely, as Irvine allowed Zell to explore his mouth hesitantly, gaining confidence as he forgot momentarily that he was not in fact with a girl. A tall one, certainly, but one he could wrap his arms around, melt against...

He pulled away, returning the other’s pleased smile. “That’s more like it,” Irvine murmured, raising his hand to gently trace the dark tattoo on the left side of Zell’s face. The touch sent a shiver down his spine. Irvine pushed him back gently, and Zell found the backs of his knees were pressed against the bed. Another soft push and his legs went out from under him, depositing him on the mattress.

“Hey, Zell. If ya need to stop me, just say so.”

“Sure thing, but I’m sure I can take whatever you give me.” He grinned cockily, smile just demanding to be kissed, and Irvine did so, pushing Zell onto his back but not putting his full weight down. His hand went to the lightswitch beside the bed, dimming the bulbs to a dull yellow glow. Not that Zell even noticed; he was too caught up in kissing, in twining tongues and the heat growing in his head and groin...

Irvine broke off and rolled over onto his side, tugging at the band holding his hair back, letting it spill in chestnut waves across his shoulders. Zell found himself drawing a sharp breath. He really was lovely... Nonchalant, seemingly unaware of his own beauty, he looked at Zell questioningly. “First time with a man, right?”

“Right.” Zell fidgeted, hoping Irvine would shut up and get on with things. He was getting surprisingly into this...

“How ‘bout with a girl?”

“Well...” More fidgeting. “I’ve done some stuff.”

“I just wanna know how fast to take things. So... ever done this?” With that, he leaned over to nibble on Zell’s earlobe.

“Ah... yeah...” he gasped as Irvine moved to nuzzle his neck.

“Mmm, good...” The response came between kisses. He moved over to straddle Zell, who stifled a groan and thrust his hips up to connect with Irvine’s, yearning for that friction.

“Ever do this?” the taller man whispered breathlessly in his ear, grinding against him. He could feel the product of Irvine’s excitement rubbing against his, and while it was certainly... different... he liked it.

“Mmmm... yes, I have, but... it wasn’t quite... like... this.”

Irvine chuckled softly as he moved to quickly undo Zell’s shirt, letting his hands trail across the muscular chest to be followed shortly by his tongue. “This?”

“Yesssss...” Zell hissed, throwing his head back with a groan as Irvine teased one nipple.

“Man, Zell, I never knew you had this amazing six-pack,” he praised, admiring lean muscle as Zell writhed beneath him.

“Yeah, I work out a lot, and- hey! What’re you doing?!” he found himself shouting even as he lifted his hips to allow Irvine to slide his pants off.

“Got a problem?” the question floated easily to Zell, who shrugged out of his shirt to lay back wearing only a pair of red-and-blue striped boxers.

“Nah, it’s just that you took me by surprise, and... well, I’ve never gotten any farther than this.” He looked up, face flushed. “Don’t stop?”

Irvine slid a hand up Zell’s boxers in response, squeezing the hard muscles of his thigh and teasing his growing erection expertly through the thin fabric with his other hand.

“How thin are these walls?” he asked suddenly.

“...virtually soundproof...” Zell gasped as he found himself being divested of his underwear.

“Good,” Irvine said matter-of-factly before sending Zell groaning again, nibbling at the inside of his thigh.

“Irvine...!” Zell whimpered, feeling the hot mouth working across his sensitive skin without ever stopping where he really wanted the attention focused.

Sensing Zell’s growing frustration, Irvine looked up, taking in the sight before him; the flushed face, sweaty hands digging into the sheets, bare chest rising and falling heavily, reddened erection bobbing urgently as his body shook with each ragged breath.

Good to see him so excited, he thought, bending to lightly kiss the tip of Zell’s arousal, flicking his tongue out teasingly. He pulled back as Zell instinctively bucked toward him, then turned his attention into playing with the throbbing member, running his tongue down the length and sucking lightly on the tip as Zell’s breathing became more and more labored. Finally, not wanting to hold back any longer, Irvine took Zell into his mouth, working his tongue against him and sucking mercilessly.

Some almost-coherent corner of Zell’s brain wondered where the hell Irvine had learned how to do such amazing things with his mouth... he couldn’t hope to keep focused, however, realizing only the incredible sensations building between his legs. Just as he felt he couldn’t take any more, release becoming more and more imminent, Irvine pulled away.

“Ah!!! Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Come on, Zell... this has to be a process of give and take, after all. It’s your turn to give.”

“Ah... but this isn’t really fair, Irvine. You’re still fully clothed...”

He quirked a delicate eyebrow. “So what’s stopping you from doing something about it?” He sprawled on his side, allowing the soft fabric of his pants to brush against Zell’s bare legs.

The shorter man suddenly felt very aware of his own exposure as he stared at Irvine, smiling at him in his vest and pants. He hesitated only slightly before reaching for him, realizing that he’d have to pacify his raging erection soon.

Irvine let out a little moan as Zell began nuzzling him, fingers fumbling with the buttons of his vest. He traced patterns across the bare, strong back as Zell kissed his way along his jawline.

It struck him then that Irvine smelled nice... burying his face in a gentle wave of brown hair, he detected a slightly musky odor, and below that the faintest whiff of gunpowder. He shuddered as Irvine’s carresses found the sensitive spot in the small of his back.

He finally pulled the vest open, pushing it off slender shoulders and marveling at the smoothness of Irvine’s skin over taught, lean muscle. He felt so warm, so soft... Zell couldn’t help but get caught up in touching him, kissing him... in fact, he wanted more, and Irvine was more than willing to help him get his pants off. He wore simple white briefs, showing off his long legs, but what really caught Zell’s attention was the inevitable bulge straining against the fabric.

He found himself suddenly seized by a wave of desire and pressed against Irvine, chest against chest, skin against skin, groin against groin, attacking Irvine’s chest with his tongue. This lead to a heated exploration with mouths and hands until Zell could stand it no longer and practically tore Irvine’s underwear off.

A restraining hand dropped to Zell’s shoulder, and Irvine slid off the bed to pull something out of the pocket of his discarded coat. Holding up the little tube, he flashed Zell a disarming smile, showing a hint of dimples, and asked, “Top or bottom?”

Zell grinned wickedly, pouncing on Irvine and pinning him against the bed, straddling him eagerly.

“...always thought you’d be the aggressive type,” Irvine laughed breathlessly, handing the tube over to Zell.

“Um, so what do I...”

Irvine smiled reassuringly, squeezing out some of the gel.

“What... is that?”

“Lubricant.” He grinned and rubbed it on Zell quite enthusiastically.

“Ah...! Irvine, it’s cold.”

He chuckled as he lay back, legs snaking around Zell’s waist, peering through half-closed eyes. “If you don’t get on with it, I’m going to have to pounce on you.”

Not, Zell mused, that that would necessarily be a bad thing. Still, this was no time for hesitations, and he shifted his hips to press against the opening.

“Do it...” Irvine’s voice was heavy with anticipation.

Zell nodded once, then let out a long gasp as he pushed himself inside. Irvine was so... so tight. He lunged farther, causing a little groan to escape them both. Zell wondered, briefly, as he began thrusting cautiously with a slow rhythm, what made it feel so good from Irvine’s position.

He bent to kiss Irvine as they thrust together again, Zell feeling himself lose all inhibitions as he was driven deeper into that heat. “D... damn...” he gasped into Irvine’s ear, giving in to the temptation to push faster, harder. “I can’t last much longer...”

Irvine arched against him, grabbing onto the hard flesh of Zell’s back as he was penetrated again. “...’sokay... me neither...” he laced his hands behind Zell’s neck and drew him into a hungry kiss, sucking on his tongue with such force that Zell faltered briefly before finding a new, more urgent pace.

There were a few moments of intense heat as they threw their bodies together violently; Zell, gasping for breath and feeling sweat sting his eyes, felt himself nearing his limit when Irvine shuddered beneath him, groaning against his mouth.

For a moment Zell didn’t quite understand what had happened, but the realization of just what that warm liquid spreading between their stomachs was pushed him over the edge as well. Thrusting hard, he bit down on the other man’s lip, body shaking as he released deep into Irvine’s body. A few more weak thrusts and he was spent, collapsing on top of Irvine.

“Man, Zell... ya think that was a bit much?”

He looked up, still panting like a dog, to see Irvine licking blood from his lip. “Uh, sorry...” he flushed sheepishly, rolling off to curl up at Irvine’s side. “I got kinda carried away.”

“Yeah... that was damn good.”

“Ya think so?”

“Well, you tell me.”

“Incredible,” Zell confessed, pressing his face into Irvine’s sweat-dampened hair. “Wonder how long you’ll be staying in my dorm...?”

Irvine yawned. “Hopefully a while.”

“Eh... yuck. We’re all sticky.” Zell wrinkled his nose as a laughing Irvine kissed his forehead.

“We’ll shower in the morning. Now calm down and get some sleep. You deserve it after all that.”

Zell complied readily, still curled at Irvine’s side. “Damn, he snores,” Irvine chuckled, sliding an arm around Zell’s shoulders.

Still, he mused, staring up at the grey ceiling tiles, Still... he’s awfully cute when he’s asleep.

Smiling, feeling the bitter edge taken off his loneliness, Irvine joined Zell in slumber.

Epilogue

Balamb, the following evening

“Shit, it’s getting late. We’re never gonna find the damn captain.”

Squall leaned against the wall of the Dincht residence, Zell’s rant causing his headache to build. They’d just spent hours running circles around the little fishing village without any real idea of who they were looking for.

“Well,” he declared, moving to stand next to the forbidden stairway leading to Zell’s room, “We need rest and we can’t get back to the Garden.”

Zell immediately understood where he was going with that. “We can’t stay at the hotel... Ah, I guess we have no choice! Let’s go to my room and rest.”

Squall wondered why Irvine found that so funny... and why Zell looked so embarrassed when he turned to him. “It’s not like I’m inviting you guys, okay?! It’s ‘cause we have no choice!”

He was ignored as Squall ascended the staircase. “So this is Zell’s room?” It was surprisingly clean; the bed was made, no dirty clothing on the floor... not what one would expect of Zell.

“Well, it’s not very interesting hangin’ out in a guy’s room anyway...” Irvine murmured coolly. Suddenly his gaze fell on the shelf across the room. “Whoa!” he exclaimed, dashing over to it. “What is that!? These are some o’ them old-school rifles!” He fairly danced in his excitement, eyes darting over the smooth barrels, prompting a shout from Zell.

“Those are my grandpa’s! Don’t even think about it!”

Irvine ignored him, although he was resisting the temptation to actually touch any of the guns. “Oh man, oh man! These are so cool!”

Zell flushed noticeably, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “...heh-heh... well... all right... go ahead, check ‘em out.”

Squall had no time to protest before the house shook with a reverberating “BOOM!”

“The hell you doin’!!!?” Zell exclaimed.

...I knew he would... thought the unruffled leader with a glance at Irvine, who looked awfully pleased with himself.

After they’d calmed down Zell’s mother they decided to get some sleep. Squall gladly curled up on the floor with a blanket and pillow, but Irvine stood immobile. “Uh-uh. No way I’m sleeping on the floor.”

“Well, I’m not letting you share the bed, no way!”

“You didn’t seem to mind last night,” Irvine smirked. Squall felt his stomach lurch. He had not needed to hear that.

“Ergh... well... but...” he cast a panicked look at Squall, who had his back to them, and finally relented. “Okay, but you’d better stay on your side!”

“Sure thing,” Irvine beamed.

The night was peaceful... for all of ten minutes.

“AHH! I told you, keep your hands over there!”

“But then I can’t reach your-”

“I know, I KNOW! So don’t! Ahhh! Irvine, get out of my pants, NOW! ...ummm... ohhhhh... h... hey, I said to stop...”

Squall calmly picked up his pillow and placed it over his head. It was hard to breathe that way... well, if he didn’t die mercifully of asphyxiation, he’d remember never to take those two on a mission again.

It was going to be a loooong night...

The End

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