Opportunities

By fyre byrd

It had begun when Irvine first set eyes on Squall with his shaggy brown hair which fell all anyhow over his smooth girlish face and sweetly pouting lips. The sharpshooter had fought a little against the feelings that the SeeD commander had inspired in him, not because Squall was a man, but because he was himself. Squall was as cold and solitary as Edea's stone lighthouse, washed with sea spray and he was the commander which made him doubly off limits. So, Irvine had done the only thing he could do, he'd drawn Squall's attention to him in any way he could. He'd been ostensibly, and even quite outrageously, the ladies' man and drawn suspicion away from his bisexual tendencies.

Irvine could still remember the cold blue-eyed glare he'd received from the lusciously pouting SeeD commander as he flirted with the girls and got Zell all worked up. It had just been Irvine's way of venting, because he knew that he could never have the gorgeous Squall. He was too obviously straight anyway, and Rinoa had her hooks in him even then.

Oh, but now, this evening, all of that was changed. A few weeks ago the lovely Rinoa had stormed away from a visit to Squall, projecting female fury at anyone who got in between her and the front gates. Irvine watched, amused, as she brushed past him, her eyes shooting fire.

"Evening, Rinoa darling," he said, taking off his soft brown cowboy hat for her and earning a glance sharper than the edge of Squall's gunblade. "What's got you leaving in such a hurry, little lady?"

"Squall and I are finished," she hissed at him "and you won't ever be seeing me here again! Of all the disgusting, awful habits for a man to have . . ." She swished off in a swirl of blue, her dark hair streaming behind her like a storm cloud. Irvine simply chuckled softly to himself at the display and smoothed his trigger finger over his lips while he considered the implications of a single Squall.

Just yesterday Irvine had finally got up the courage to ask Squall just what the cause of the break up had been. Irvine had been handing a report on his latest mission into the Commander. Squall's boots were resting on the top of his polished wooden desk and he was sharpening his gunblade with a whetstone. The hiss of the stone against the gleaming metal made an appropriate ambiance for Irvine's smoothly voiced question as Squall took offence almost immediately and stabbed his gunblade point down in the desk. Irvine didn't even flinch, only wondered how the desk had managed to stay in one piece with all of the gouge marks Squall had carved in it.

"If it was any of your business, I might tell you." Squall said shuffling through the papers to see that they were in order.

"Awww come on Commander Leonheart," Irvine said, twining a long strand of hair from his ponytail around one finger. "It's not like I'm going to think any less of you for it. It might help you to get it off your chest."

Squall's expression didn't shift a fraction from his customary sullen pout, but Irvine liked that expression. He pulled back from his perusal of Squall's soft lower lip when he realized that the blue-eyed Commander was replying, stiffly, to his question. "As a matter of fact, there's nothing to get off my chest. I never wanted Rinoa that way. It was only a matter of time before I realized that I had no interest in her in a romantic way." Squall calmly turned and placed Irvine's report in a file folder and put it down on his desk beside the firmly imbedded gunblade. He wrenched the blade out of the desk and propping his feet up once more began to sharpen it again.

"You know, if you didn't stick your gunblade in your desk for emphasis so often, you probably wouldn't have to sharpen it so much," Irvine said shrewdly. Squall only glared at him briefly before returning his attention to the edge of his blade. "I know there was more to it than that, Rinoa was bent on homicide when she left here, you're just lucky she didn't take it out on you." Irvine added, leaning with both of his hands on the edge of Squall's desk.

"It's embarrassing," Squall said, brushing his bangs back from his eyes. Irvine's violet eyes softened and he smiled, "I wouldn't tell anyone else Squall."

Squall sighed and stood up to sheathe his blade. "All right," he shrugged helplessly. "It was like this, she wouldn't listen to reason. When I came back from a really hard day, she was laying in my bed, naked. I almost had a heart attack."

"That isn't the usual response." Irvine said, looking confused.

"Well, that's the problem, you see? I never found Rinoa attractive like that." Squall looked up through his thick, dark lashes at Irvine, making the tall cowboy feel hopeful. "Anyway, Rinoa persisted. This wasn't the first time she'd pulled something like this, but I could never . . ." Squall's face was slowly suffused with pink and he seemed unable to speak.

"You couldn't get an erection?"

The sultry brunette simply nodded his head of silky brown hair. He walked around the desk and grabbed Irvine by the collar, drawing him up inches from Squall's face, which caused Irvine's heart to flutter helplessly, like a bird fighting to fly against the wind. "I told you what you wanted to know, Irvine. You tell anyone and you die."

"Hold on a minute," Irvine said rather breathlessly. Squall let go of him and he stepped back and adjusted his trench coat. "Man, we have got to work on your people skills, compadre."

Squall just shook his head and stood there, his hands clenched in helpless fists at his sides. Irvine continued cautiously, "so you didn't want to have sex with Rinoa and what happened then?"

Squall frowned and bit his lip before forcing out more words. "She asked if there was something wrong and I said that it was fairly obvious that something was. Then she asked if she was the problem and I told her that I think I'm gay." Squall closed his eyes tight and rubbed at his forehead, looking as though he were in considerable pain. "It had to come out eventually and now it has. I just wish it hadn't happened like this."

"I'm sorry, for prying Squall. I just thought that you'd feel better if you talked about it."

The lovely blue eyes opened and searched Irvine's face, like a caress. "I do feel better I think. Thank you Irvine."

Irvine saluted, smiled a little, turned and walked away.

This evening, Quistis and Seifer were having a little party at the Balamb hotel to announce their engagement. Selphie was present, having travelled all the way from Trabia with her boyfriend. Zell had brought Sophia, the dark haired girl who worked in the library. Even the Commander was there, holding up a wall near the laughing couple who were doing shots of orange flavoured vodka. So far, they looked to be pretty evenly matched, although Quistis' face was very flushed, and Seifer's eyes were pretty glazed. Squall was nursing his own glass of alcohol, but he seemed to be drinking it slowly and looked to be having another one of his interior monologues.

Irvine had not been able to get that gorgeous face out of his mind for the past week. He'd been waking up with wet sheets or an incredible hard on, morning after morning. It isn't that this hadn't happened before, but now, knowing that Squall was both gay and available, Irvine's desire was almost unbearable. He watched for a few more moments, as the glow of the lamp light hit the curves of Squall's face, then the blue-gray eyes, sparkling like finely stained glass, rose up to meet his own from across the room with a question in them.

Irvine bridged the distance between them slowly, feeling as though he were fighting against a strong river current. He himself had been drinking a bit, admittedly. Squall's eyes never left his own.

"I've been thinking about what happened between you and Rinoa," Irvine said quietly. Squall frowned at him a little and said nothing. "I was wondering, if you ever found any of the other men at Garden attractive."

"Some, more than others," Squall said, his eyes, following Irvine's fall of reddish hair, which was currently draped over his shoulder in the customary ponytail.

"I was thinking," Irvine announced boldly, "that maybe you'd never had the chance to experiment, since you were always tied down with Rinoa."

"I haven't really," Squall said, swirling the bit of alcohol remaining in his glass. Irvine thought he was going to bang his head against the wall in a minute, he'd known Squall to be cold, but not dense. Irvine frowned a bit in frustration and rethought his opinion of Rinoa. She must have really been tenacious to get through to this sexy, but emotionally backward man for even a little while.

"Would you like to try it out with me?" Irvine asked, his voice husky with emotion.

Squall's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He did that surprisingly often, it made him look foolish; so, to help him save face, Irvine leaned closer and covered Squall's mouth with his own. At first, Squall's jaw stayed slack with surprise, but when Irvine sucked on his lower lip the way he had always wanted to, Squall began to respond to the kiss, running his tongue over Irvine's mouth while Irvine pressed the brunette against the wall, his hands on either side of Squall's face. When they finally pulled apart there was hearty applause from throughout the room. Squall flushed and looked around at all the eyes on them, licking his lips nervously. Irvine glared at Seifer who had a pleased sort of grin on his face, as though he'd somehow managed to instigate the whole thing. Quistis just smiled and as Irvine turned to look at her, Squall managed to brush his way past the cowboy's arms and flee, sloshing the remains of his alcohol down on a table and running up the stairs to his room.

Everyone started to talk again, at first in whispers then in a more normal tone of voice, like a gentle rain storm recommencing after a brief lull. Irvine slid his open hand down his face in exasperation and turned back to Quistis and Seifer. "What's gotten into you?" Seifer asked, grinning slyly. "I always thought you were the ladies man, and now you've started on poor Squall. Who's next, the head master?" Quistis kicked him under the table and he yelped and scowled at her as he poured them both another shot.

"This is why Rinoa broke up with him, isn't it?" Quistis whispered discreetly.

"It's kind of like the other way 'round actually." Irvine said. "Squall wasn't cheating on her or anything, but he told her that he wasn't attracted to her, and why, and then I charmed it out of him and that's why I did that" he finished, gesturing helplessly with his hands.

"I think you'd better go after him," Quistis said, fixing Irvine with a calculating blue gaze. "You have it bad for him, don't you? I think this might be just what he needs." She nodded to Seifer and tossed back another shot, only wincing a little.

Seifer squinted at Irvine and poked him in the back with an elegantly tapered finger. "What're you waiting for, dumb ass? Go, find him, make him happy for once." Irvine left the room, only stopping to snag a bottle of wine from a table and slowly climbed up the stairs with a bemused grin on his face, ignoring the looks and whispers as he went.

Of course the cowboy had made careful note of the room arrangements when he booked his room near to Squall's. He knew exactly where the sullen blue-eyed sweetheart had retreated after the scene downstairs. Irvine knocked gently on the door, bottle in hand. He hoped Squall didn't mind drinking it straight from the bottle. Irvine also hoped that Squall didn't beat the hell out of him as soon as he opened the door. Squall stood in the doorway, his lower lip jutting out and his eyes looking suspiciously vulnerable.

"What do you want?" he asked petulantly.

"I just brought you something seeing as how you left your drink downstairs when you left in such a hurry. Oh, and my offer? It still stands." Irvine finished, looking down slightly on the gorgeous figure of the SeeD commander.

"Come in," Squall said enigmatically and opened the door wide. Irvine stepped inside and locked the door behind him, then took off his boots. His lips curled up in a sultry grin as Squall raised an eyebrow at this action.

"Presumptuous of you," he said, jerking his head in Irvine's direction.

"Sit down and drink this with me," Irvine offered, stretching out on Squall's bed and patting a space beside him. He unsheathed his pocket knife and pulled the cork out of the bottle, then passed it to Squall who had eased himself gently into the space on the bed.

"If you're trying to get me drunk," he muttered darkly, "it won't work."

Irvine smiled and ruffled Squall's silky brown hair gently. "Of course I ain't trying to get you drunk silly. I just want to loosen you up a little. You're always walking around like you've got a steel pole instead of a spine."

Squall glared at him and gulped down a bit of wine, grimacing slightly at the taste.

Irvine accepted the bottle from him and took a drink himself, then he put the bottle down on a bedside table and drew Squall into his arms. The commander's eyes grew large at this action, but he didn't pull away even a little, just looked up at Irvine entreatingly.

Irvine closed his own eyes briefly, unable to bear the full force of Squall's needy gaze.

"Gods, Squall, those lips of yours, they're going to be my undoing." The long haired man gathered Squall closer to him and licked the lips gently, noticing that they parted automatically now, seeking more contact. Irvine sighed and slid his tongue into Squall's warm mouth. Squall clutched at his shirt, twisting his hand in the fabric and snuggling closer to Irvine's chest, as though he were a small child with a favourite toy he feared would be taken away from him. Irvine drew back gently from the desperate embrace and tipped up Squall's face. "Listen, honey. I'm not going to leave you. I want to be with you Squall. You don't have to be afraid."

"Okay," Squall said still gazing seriously at Irvine. He carefully climbed into Irvine's lap and started kissing the beautiful sharpshooter again. Squall's lips were rather tentative, but he soon seemed to throw out his reservations and kissed Irvine with fervent passion. Irvine thought he could never get enough of this slightly submissive Squall, who cuddled so nicely. Irvine however, had other ideas. While Squall kissed him carefully, as if he were not quite certain he were getting it right, Irvine slid Squall's ever present leather jacket off of his shoulders. Squall promptly stiffened up again, drawing back from Irvine, his eyes wide.

"You're new to this, aren't you?" Irvine asked, feeling his own expression grow incredulous. "How did Rinoa manage to keep her hands off of you all that time?"

"I kept them off myself. No one touches me unless I want them to, unless I trust them." Squall said, pulling off his white t-shirt. Irvine felt his mouth drop open at this admission of absolute trust. Even after killing Ultimecia, Irvine had still felt somewhat of an outsider in the group and wondered if the others believed that he was capable enough to be relied on in a crisis. Irvine tenderly held Squall's chin in his hand and brought the full lips towards his to kiss Squall languidly and carefully. Irvine fully realized what an amazing chance had been given to him. He pulled Squall closer to him and whispered in his ear while running his hands down his smooth and sleekly muscled back."They say that opportunity knocks but once. I hope it isn't the case this time," Irvine reflected. "But I intend to take full advantage of this opportunity, if you'll let me. I want to show you . . ." Irvine trailed wet kisses down Squall's neck and across his collarbone, while the brunette tipped his head back as though entranced.

Irvine looked up at Squall, while he began to unfasten his belt and the blue-eyed man actually smiled at him hesitantly in approval. Irvine flicked his ponytail over his shoulder and ran his hands down Squall's sides and across his stomach to unbutton his black leather pants. He was pleased to discover that there were no further barriers between his goal and his talented mouth. Irvine lowered his moist lips to Squall's erection and sucked on the tip, flicking his practised tongue against him at the same time. Squall's sobs and breathless gasps were inspiring and prompted Irvine to begin sucking in earnest, until Squall was writhing with pleasure, his eyes squeezed tightly shut and his head thrown back. Squall moaned as he came in Irvine's mouth and again as he opened his eyes and saw the gun slinging cowboy delicately licking the last of Squall's release from his cock.

Irvine sat up with a crooked grin for Squall's dumbfounded expression. He took advantage of the slack lower lip by nibbling on it and then kissing Squall full and deep on the mouth so that he could taste himself on Irvine's lips and tongue. Squall threw his arms around Irvine and drank deeply of the kiss, pressing his body as closely to the auburn-haired beauty as possible.

"That was incredible," Squall said, his arms wrapped firmly around Irvine's slender body. The cowboy smiled again and stroked Squall's soft hair.

"Mmm yes it was. Just think, that was only the beginning." Squall smiled again and pulled Irvine down with him to rest against each other on the bed. Squall nestled his head against Irvine's shoulder and sighed.

"Well when can I have my next session then?" he asked, his voice deepened and coloured by lust. Irvine slid his arms up Squall's back and marvelled at the warmth of the SeeD commander's body in his grasp. Squall always seemed so cool and professional when he was up on the bridge of Balamb Garden, but clearly the same hot blood pulsed through his veins as every other young man's.

"Maybe we should wait," Irvine suggested. "I want you to know that I'm not in this just for the physical pleasure," Squall looked up at him and grinned mischievously, his hand straying down inside of Irvine's pants.

"Oh I know that you aren't," Squall said, squeezing Irvine's length where it was trapped inside of his jeans. "Do you think I never noticed the way you looked at me? I've always been very observant you know. It's just that your antics with the women threw me off and then there was Rinoa." He removed his hand to Irvine's audible displeasure and unzipping the jeans, yanked them down Irvine's long legs.

"In that case," Irvine said, watching as Squall busily removed his boxers and sent them the way that his jeans had gone a moments before. "Let's not worry about moving slow," Squall was now stretched out seductively on his side of the bed and beckoning with his finger. It was truly an opportunity that had to be taken, so Irvine did.

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