FOREWORD: This is an ongoing fanfic. To start reading from the beginning, click here.
Series: Final Fantasy VIII (8)
Pairing: Zell Dincht & Squall Leonhart
Status: ongoing
Rating: PG
Warnings: shounen-ai, light Rinoa bashing
Search keyword: ff8_floating
Notes: Short chapter, they're getting progressively shorter I swear. Sigh.
Zell waited at the elevator on the second floor, shuffling his feet and gazing over the railing of the bridge. King was playing cards with a challenger a few feet away from him, and the blonde chuckled to himself when he glanced over and saw a Squall card in King's deck. He himself didn't even have a Squall card, and for a moment he pondered challenging King to win the card from him, but games were for later. Right now, he needed to make sure the real Squall was okay.
It seemed like an eternity passed before Squall stepped out of the elevator. Zell jumped forward at the gunblade specialist and inquired rapidly, "What happened? What did they do to you?"
"Nothing. Cid talked my ear off," his face showed signs of weariness, but nothing out of the ordinary. "And detention." He rubbed the scar on his forehead with a gloved hand absently. Apparently Squall had returned to his room earlier and changed back into his usual black leather and fur-lined jacket attire.
"Oh okay, so you know Seifer's okay too. What detention did they assign you to?" The hyperactive boy bounced alongside Squall as he strolled off towards Quistis' old classroom.
"Watching the rowdy class 3-D for a week. Cid figured after what happened they'll be scared quiet while their instructor's out sick."
"Who's their instructor?"
"Xu."
Zell laughed and shadow boxed ahead of the brunette before they reached the classroom.
Squall watched his friend troubledly as they entered. Although the martial artist had an amazing ability for keeping his energy levels up, it was obvious he was compensating for something, and in this case, probably for something rather weighty.
As Cid had predicted, the rowdy class fell silent and any rebellion factor was nullified as soon as Squall the "Lionheart" stepped into the room. Zell was not at all surprised at the power Squall held over classmen at any level, he was his commander for a very good reason. The boy shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the front desk as Squall walked behind it to the board and scripted his name across.
"I'm Squall Leonhart, level A SeeD, and I'm in charge here for a week while Instructor Xu is unavailable. Lesson plans are in your student folders in the network. Use your class period to work," Squall commanded in his steady low tone.
And the class followed suit, quietly shuffling their papers and working on their desk computers.
Zell shook his head silently at the class and sat down at the edge of the desk. There was no disobeying Squall, nobody dared, himself included. A tap on his shoulder startled him, and Zell stood up promptly when he saw the brunette gesturing him towards the door.
Once outside, Squall just stood silently and stared off into space.
"Uh, Squall, you're supposed to be watching the class. Detention, remember?" Zell leaned against the wall with his hands still in his pockets.
"Whatever," he replied without changing his focus. "You know about Seifer, so did you see Rinoa at the infirmary?"
"Yeah I did," the blonde shuffled his boots, suddenly aware of how uncomfortable they were and wished he were wearing his usual running shoes.
"Did she say anything... about me?" Squall whispered quietly.
"She's not sure herself either, I think you two need to talk it out."
"Is she angry with me...?"
"She's afraid you're mad at her too. Look, I can talk to her all you want, but that's not going to do anything. You need to talk to her yourself. Tell her how you feel, remember what we talked about last night?" Zell stared down at the tips of his boots.
"I will. Hey Zell..."
"Yeah?" he looked up.
A swift hug from the iceberg and a bypassing word, "Thanks," as Squall slipped back into the classroom.
Zell stood there motionless, mouth slightly ajar and eyes staring dead ahead. Squall just hugged him, that meant the world was going to end. The marial artist remained plastered against the wall for a few minutes before he could recover and head back to his dorm. His mind was a mess, within the last few days, so much had went wrong and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it except stay alert.