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: part 14 and ongoing
Rating: PG
Warnings: shounen-ai, light Rinoa bashing
Search keyword: ff8_floating
Notes: I apologize for the LONG hiatus I've taken to write this next part. The cast seems to have left me for a very long time, and I'm desperately trying to find them again. Please be patient with me! Thank you, and my apologies once again.

---

"Honestly, Squall. What were you thinking?" Selphie questioned the scarred brunette sitting across from her after he had muttered incoherently to her about injuring Zell. She leaned forward, with her arms propped outwardly on the padded bench in the infirmary's waiting area, and kept trying to catch a glimpse of Dr. Kadowski and the medical team at work through the drawn curtains. She was a little down earlier, but now she was so worried she could be doing jumping jacks. Yet, she tried her best to sit still since Squall looked like he would explode if she moved too much.

Haggard and still sporting burns from the funguars at the training center, Squall sat mutely with elbows propped on his knees and his face buried in his hands. His anger had melted away and all that was on his mind now was if Zell would be all right. His friend had tried so hard to cheer him up, to help him out, and he ends up hurting him horribly instead. It wasn't on purpose, but perhaps it was because he was careless from being so absorbed in himself while he should have been concentrating on fighting.

As agitated as she was, Selphie could tell that Squall did not want to be questioned any further, and so she kept quiet for the remainder of the time. It seemed like hours before Dr. Kadowski and her team pulled back the curtains and came out. They all looked worn out, but they also wore relieved expressions on their faces. Almost instantly, Selphie shot out of her chair and pounced on Dr. Kadowski.

"How is he? Is he going to make it? Is there anything I can do?" she tried her best to whisper but it came out rather loudly anyway.

"Keep your voice down, Selphie," the doctor scolded then breathed a long sigh. "Yes, Zell will be fine, thanks to Squall's quick reactions." She turned over the boy who was still sitting with his face down in his palms. "It was a good thing you brought him in so quickly."

Squall finally looked up and saw that Dr. Kadowski was smiling down at him reassuredly. His constricted lungs seemed to loosen, and he breathed like it was the first time he inhaled in a few hours. His face was streaked with dry tears, and he looked like a charred mess. It was late now, as a matter of fact, it was 2307. He and Selphie had been sitting up in the infirmary for over four hours.

"Can I go in to see him, please doctor?" Selphie rocked back and forth on her heels, looking nervous.

"Sure, but don't disturb him, and that means no talking or touching him. He needs rest, so don't bother him please," she answered her although she was still looking at Squall, who stood up although he hung his head, and Selphie tiptoed into the sick room alone.

"Dr. Kadowski," he spoke at last and found his voice rasply, so he cleared his throat before continuing. "Th..thank you."

"Let me take a look at you now, Squall. You have some nasty burns there."

"I'm fine," he answered rougher than he had intended at first. "I mean, I just need to get cleaned up, it's all right. You should get some rest, too. I apologize for the trouble." He bowed low with clenched fists at his sides.

"I insist, my child, let me look you over. It won't take long," she pressed, and Squall gave in. She led him over to the the examination room by the entrance and ushered him into a seat. Silent as always, the brunette discarded his jacket and allowed the woman to examine the burns on his face and arms.

Selphie popped her head in a minute later to announce that she was going back to her dormitory now, and Squall nodded weakly at her. Dr. Kadowsky frowned at Squall then quickly gathered her burn and bandages kit to apply on him.

"Do you care to tell me what happened, Squall? I'm also the resident counselor here, you know," she began as she swabbed the wounds on his face with cottons soaked in alcohol.

He winced at the initial stinging sensation, but he quickly got used to it. "We were just fighting at the training center."

"Fighting the monsters or each other?" she said, concentrating on cleaning up his face before applying ointment on the burns.

"The monsters, but... I was in a confused state, and I accidentally hit him with my gunblade," he grunted and swallowed hard, trying to fight off the tears that were welling in his eyes.

"It's going to be all right, I understand. You know you will have to report this to Cid, though, right? But it's not your fault. Don't you think that for one second. Zell will make a full recovery after a few days under my care."

"But that's not it!" he snapped, then recoiled. "I... I..." he started but couldn't explain the turmoil inside him. He dropped his gaze and wrung his hands in his lap, feeling some of his anger return, although it wasn't at Zell anymore. He was angry at himself for getting carried away.

"If you don't want to tell me what it is, it's okay. Whatever it is you're dealing with, take some time to think it through. You need to rest up too, I'll write you a note excusing you from the remainder of your detention."

Squall was grateful for her concern, but he couldn't find it in himself to express it properly. He remained silent until Dr. Kadowski finished patching him up.

"Can I take a look at Zell?" he asked quietly.

"Yes you may, but as I said to Selphie, don't disturb him. Please don't take too long, I want to close up soon," she answered before heading towards her office.

He nodded once, then quickly ran off to Zell's sick room. He tread a little slower when he approached his bedside, but his heart clenched horribly. It was weird, because he could clearly recall the last time he was this worried. Back when Rinoa was in a coma, he had felt the same way, the same guilt, the same anger. Or perhaps, not the same guilt and anger, but nonetheless, he was filled with those emotions. He stood by the bed and stared at Zell's unmoving figure. It almost seemed normal, the way he laid there peacefully like he had just gone to sleep on one of their missions somewhere, except for the hospital gown he was wearing and the sterile surroundings of the infirmary. Zell looked so helpless laying there, and he felt useless standing there. Squall thought about all that happened in the last twelve hours, and there was no possible way he could blame Zell for anything at all now. Rinoa was leaving, and Zell had nothing to do with that. Rinoa had fallen in love with Seifer, Zell couldn't help that. And neither could he. There was nothing he could do now, and he had to face the facts. There was no more useless accusations, maybe except for the way he reacted that had gotten Zell so dangerously injured. He wanted to reach out and touch Zell's cheek, to make sure that he was still warm so that he would feel better, but his fingers fell short of touching him when he remembered Dr. Kadowski's words.

There was a chair in the corner of the room, so the brunette pulled it over to the bedside and sat down. He knew he should be out of the infirmary soon, but something in him didn't want to leave yet. Guilt, perhaps, but it was also something else. He didn't want to abandon his friend, not now, not ever. Cautiously, he touched Zell's hand that rested on top of the covers, and he looked up at his face to see if it would rouse him. When the blonde showed no signs of consciousness, Squall rested his other hand on top of Zell's hand as well, making sure he wasn't touching the IV wire that went into the underside of his wrist. At the very least, his hand was warm, and Squall leaned his forehead into the hospital sheets, deep in thought.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

2 Feedbacks
Rady finished a drabble Final Fantasy @ 06:09:00 am

Criminal Record

Identify yourself

Name:

Email:

Your email address will not be displayed on this site.

Site/Url:

Your URL will be displayed.

Confession:

Allowed tags <p, ul, ol, li, dl, dt, dd, address, blockquote, ins, del, span, bdo, br, em, strong, dfn, code, samp, kdb, var, cite, abbr, acronym, q, sub, sup, tt, i, b, big, small>

 

Auto-BR (Line breaks become <br />)
Remember me (Set cookies for name, email & url)