Chapter Text
Irvine was extremely gentle with him.
Even when Squall began to cry again, he didn't yell or tell him to quit it. Instead, he held him close. And when he began to lightly bang his fist against Irvine's chest, Irvine gently held his hands and rocked him.
It made Squall feel so much better.
And he wanted to hate it.
But it helped him so much.
His head hurt less, the ache going away by now. His hands didn't feel as shaky anymore. His chest felt lighter.
He felt embarrassed, spilling all these emotions into Irvine's lap.
But the cowboy never seemed to be upset with him. Encouraging him, telling him he was okay, and that everything was going to be alright.
But even Irvine didn't feel qualified for the job.
He didn't know how to help Squall. But he noticed how small Squall seemed. How he messily wiped his eyes, or his voice being raised, or his choice of words.
Sharpshooters are loners by nature.
They faced their problems alone.
But Squall wasn't a sharpshooter, and Irvine didn't want him to face this alone.
After Squall seemed to calm down from his small outburst, he decided to text Rinoa.
Or 'Noa, Squall called her.
He told her everything.
How Squall had been inside the room, how he had somehow gotten him to calm somewhat down, how Squall seemed to small and childlike at the moment. He tried not to show it, but he was freaking out badly on the inside.
Squall leaned mostly against him, lazily playing with Irvine's hat. Twirling it around with his fingers. Now that Irvine looked at him, Squall seemed very tired. All that crying must have tuckered him out.
"Now what have you got there?" Irvine playfully asked.
"Hat," Squall mumbled, handing it to Irvine.
Irvine looked at it before plopping it on Squall's head.
"There! Now you're as cool as I am," Irvine joked, nudging him slightly.
Squall let out a small giggle.
"Bang bang!" Squall whispered, doing finger guns to Irvine.
"Oh! You got me!" Irvine gasped, lying on his back. "I'm dying!"
And Squall giggled again.
"You'd make a very good sharpshooter, if I may say," Irvine said as he sat up. Squall shrugged, playing with his fingers.
Squall had seemed more more. . . smaller, than before. Irvine couldn't tell what it was.
Squall himself felt more smaller than before. More clear-minded, more baby-like. And he desperately wanted to take a nap.
Irvine noticed how Squall fiddled some with his gloves. Almost like he was trying to take them off. His gloves weren't hard to take off, and he personally couldn't understand why Squall was struggling. But he was struggling, silently at that.
"Want some help?" Irvine offered, pointing to Squall's hands.
Squall opened his mouth to say something before whining slightly, moving his hands towards Irvine.
He seemed a little happier without his gloves on. Resting again agaisnt Irvine's shoulder, trying not to fall asleep. Irvine felt his phone buzz, Rinoa had texted him back. And she was coming outside to find them.
"Psh, it's already two in the morning, can you believe it?" Irvine chuckled, Squall whined again. It was way past his bedtime! "If you want, we can head to your room."
But then they'd have to go back through the party that was happening! And all the loud noises and people would come back!
Squall clutched Irvine's jacket, desperately shaking his head no.
"Alright! Alright, no going inside yet. Not until after the party, 'kay?" Irvine cupped his face. Squall nodded, sniffing slightly. "And no more tears either. It's all gonna be okay. Plus Rinoa's gonna be out here soon. And I guess we shouldn't leave till she finds us."
"'Noa?" Squall rubbed his eyes.
"Mhm, 'Noa," Irvine nodded.
Squall seemed content with this, going back to Irvine's shoulder.
The two stayed in peace for a few minutes. Irvine felt as Squall would slowly drift into sleep, before jumping himself awake. Desperately clinging onto whatever awakeness he had.
Irvine just wanted to scoop him up and rock him to sleep.
"Squall!" Rinoa shouted from the entrance.
"Hey sleepyhead, 'Noa's looking for us," Irvine gently shook Squall.
Squall blinked as he sat up, quickly rubbing his eyes. He almost smacked himself in the fast. And Irvine had to hold back a laugh.
"'Noa?" Squall asked, looking around them.
"Cover your ears, Darlin'," Irvine said before he stood up, Squall did as told. He began to wave Rinoa down so she could see them. "We're over here!"
Rinoa rushed over to them. She looked incredibly worried. She knelt in front of Squall, who gasped and practically threw himself into her arms.
"Hi baby," Rinoa said as Squall hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?"
Squall nodded.
"Oh you're so brave, coming out here and hanging out with Irvine. Especially as it's so cold," Rinoa gently cupped his face. "Your face is all wet, have you been crying?"
"Little," Squall admitted.
"Oh my poor baby," Rinoa brought him back into a hug. "I know that must have been so scary and painful. But it's okay, everythings okay now."
Rinoa cotinued to give Squall small praises and such, gently messing with his hair. Irvine stood by awkardly, not knowing what to do.
Eventually, she looked up at him.
"What about you? Are you okay?"
"Me? Oh, I'm fine," Irvine sat back down. "Is he okay?"
"He just gets like this sometimes, don't you baby?" Rinoa asked, and Squall sheepishly nodded. "Hey, since when did you wear a hat?"
"'Vine lemme-" Squall yawned. "Lemme wear it, 'Noa."
"Irvine let you wear it?" Rinoa asked, Squall nodded before resting his forehead on her shoulder. "Oh my poor baby, let's get you to your room, okay? Then we can go ni ni."
Squall shook his head, looking sadly at Irvine for help.
Irvine wanted to make all that sadness go away.
"The party still going," Irvine explained. "We'd have to walk through the party to get there."
"I see," Rinoa pondered. "Alright, I guess we'll have to wait it out here, won't we? You cold sweetheart?"
Squall shook his head, pointing beside him. He whined and Rinoa sat next to him. Squall handed Irvine back his hat, putting it on his head. Irvine quickly adjusted it so it'd be in its right position. Squall then buried his face into her shoulder, using her more as a pillow as he tried not to fall asleep. Rinoa hummed and ran her fingers through his hair.
Irvine couldn't help but feel jealous. He almost missed his cuddle partner.
"I'm sure you have questions," Rinoa said after a while. "I'm not exactly sure what I can answer."
"Does this happen often?" Irvine asked, receiving a weak whine from Squall.
"Shhh, it's okay. I won't tell him anything you don't want," Rinoa held out her pinky. Squall took it with his. She then looked back at Irvine. "Sometimes, mostly when he gets super stressed or panics."
"What exactly is this?" Irvine asked.
Squall peaked at him. He looked scared, terrified almost, at Irvine's question. He tugged on Rinoa's sleeve. Shaking his head before holding it.
"No 'Noa!" he tried to look at her. "No tell!"
And Irvine almost wished he never asked.
"I won't, I won't," Rinoa held him close. "You're going to give yourself another headache, sleepyhead." She then looked at Irvine, almost looking guilty. "I'm . . . I can't answer that one. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry," Irvine gently said, almost reaching out to rub Squall's back. Although he quickly recoiled. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I, um, I promise?"
Irvine held out his pinky, and Squall stared at it.
After what felt like multiple minutes, Squall finally shook it. Both Irvine and Rinoa looked relieved.
"Looks like the parties over," Irvine said as he looked into the room. There were still multiple people, yes. But the music was off, and they seemed to lazily be pooring out. Both into and out of the Garden. "Which means everyone's going to be going to their rooms, or going out to town."
"Which also means we've gotta move," Rinoa said as she helped Squall stand up. Squall whined and grabbed onto her arm. "I know, I know, you don't wanna walk right now. But we've gotta make a run for it back to the room."
Squall looked so sad.
Irvine wanted to fix that sadness.
"Come on," Irvine sighed. "You can ride on my back."
Squall looked at Rinoa for permission, she nudged him forward gently.
Irvine and Rinoa were quick to get to Squall's room. Squall had a death grip on Irvine. When he was bigger, he'd carry Rinoa around all the time. But he himself had never gotten carried. Rinoa wasn't that strong, not that he minded. He just didn't want to get dropped.
He also hid in Irvine's neck. He was terrified of being stopped by someone and questioned, or receiving any strange looks.
But no one stopped them.
Not even Zell, who was hyping Quitis up to do something stupid.
Or Selphie, who had gathered an army of small children and was ryling all them up.
The worst they got was a pity look from Seifer, who had dropped by with his two friends because they had been invited, and wanted to regain some trust.
Rinoa was quick to get Squall tucked into bed. She made Irvine wait in the living room, they had ended up in Rinoa's room instead. Angelo trotted out of Rinoa's room, walking over and sniffing Irvine's hand.
Irvine smiled and scratched her head. No wonder Squall was always ruffling her fur. She was incredibly soft.
After a few minutes, Rinoa gently shut the door behind her. Not wanting to wake up Squall. She seemed as awkward as Irvine felt.
"I should probably get going," Irvine said as he stood up, receiving a huff from Angelo. "I should go make sure Selphie isn't trying to overthrow anything with her new army or something."
"Yeah, that's probably best," Rinoa nodded, leading him toward the door.
"Oh! These are his," Irvine said as she handed him Squall's gloves. "He wanted them off earlier so I helped him."
"Oh! Thank you," Rinoa took them, opening the door for him. "I was wondering where they were. He seemed to sleepy to answer, only really mumbling your name."
"Heh, well, I couldn't just leave him all upset, you know?" Irvine scratched his back before turning around. "Well, I'll see you two tomorrow!"
Irvine didn't make it a few feet before Rinoa called for him.
"Irvine!" Rinoa said quickly.
"Hm?" Irvine turned around.
"Don't make a mention of this, to anyone. Please?" Rinoa asked.
Irvine smiled.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Irvine tipped his hat before walking off.
Rinoa chuckled and shut her door, locking it. She scratched Angelo's head before quietly walking back into her room.
"'Noa?" Squall whispered.
"You're supposed to be asleep, silly," Rinoa smiled as she walked over. "Did you have fun with Irvine?"
Squall nodded and made grabby hands at her. She ruffled his hair before slipping into bed.
It wasn't often Squall was little spoon, but Rinoa held him closely against her. He seemed content with this. Holding onto her tight, sucking his thumb. She decided to not lecture him about it.
"'Noa?" Squall poked her arm.
"Hmm?" Rinoa hummed.
"'Lo?" Squall pointed to the dog, who perked her head in response. "Pease?"
"Fine," Rinoa brushed hair out of his face. "Only 'cause you had a hard night though, okay?"
Squall smiled and patted the bed. Angelo took her rightful spot and curled into a ball, falling asleep almost as quickly as Squall did.