[Ficlet] Dissidia: Final Fantasy - Green Eyed Lion
Title: Green Eyed Lion
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Summary: Squall was never good at sharing.
Warnings: None
Notes: Request for rikusora_chan.
Life was full of surprises. And when former warriors of both Cosmos and Chaos found themselves back in world of war and that they could actually interact in a way that was almost friendly, it was such a surprise that it almost didn't seem like surprise at all. And when, somehow, they were able to drag former war heroine Shantotto and Hell's watchdog Gabranth into their ranks, it also was not surprising. Perhaps things had gotten to a point where almost nothing could faze them.
"Light! Hey, Light!" Bartz waved frantically as he ran up to Lightning Farron, who had been appointed the leader of their (rather large) traveling group. Zidane was right behind him. Lightning sighed and shook her head. She didn't dislike them, they were nice guys and when you learned to put up with the combined forces of Laguna Loire and Vaan, you could put up with anything. But they certainly seemed to be devoting a good portion of their days to coming over and bugging her about whatever they could. "Light, wanna go on a treasure hunt with us?"
"Can't." Even if she did want to go frolicking around looking for treasure chests, (she didn't) she couldn't due to the fact that she had to run their little group and make sure everybody didn't murder everybody else. Just today, she had to diffuse a heated argument between Jecht and Vaan and stop Shantotto and Kefka from blasting each other (and everything within a one mile radius) with magic. Even with the help of the Warrior of Light, Kain Highwind, and oddly enough, Garland, it wasn't the least bit easy. It almost made her want to go face an endless horde of manikins than deal with this lot anymore.
Both of them gave her their best puppy dog looks. Lightning was not impressed. For one, she was immune to such manipulation, and secondly, she had seen better puppy dog looks before. She shooed them away like children, even though she knew they'd be back in no time to bother her again. It was like having to live with multiple Vaans, except annoying in their own, unique little ways. But she couldn't dwell on it, because now Kuja was throwing a fit of some kind for no doubt some trivial reason. Lightning sighed and got up to give him a good whack in the head.
They might have failed in recruiting Lightning for their scouring party, but that wasn't going to stop Bartz and Zidane from going out to look around. They always came back with so many things that some were finding it hard to believe that there was still treasure left in the world. They made a big show of waving goodbye to everyone before setting off. Squall Leonhart watched them go, and normally, he would find a nice quiet place to occupy, there was no such thing anymore now that the band of warriors had more than doubled in size. As it was, it was hard enough to take a few steps without tripping over somebody. He had to settle for "least noisy" places now, and those could usually be found near one Cloud Strife.
Cloud didn't even look up when Squall took a spot beside him. He had his eyes trained on an old looking book with two banded patterns on the cover. The pages were browned with age, and Cloud took care when turning the pages, as if they could break off in his hands if he wasn't careful enough. Squall didn't mind. This was always how things between him and Cloud went, just a vague awareness that the other was there until one of them decided to speak up about something.
"Alone again today?" Cloud asked idly. He still had his gaze fixed squarely on the book in his hands. Squall nodded, although Cloud was still too absorbed in his book to look. However, he knew the answer was yes. "Lonely?"
"No," Squall answered bluntly. "I'm not a kid, and neither are they. They can go do whatever they want as long as they don't get themselves killed."
"Hn," said Cloud, and he turned the page. For a while, there was nothing but the sound of pages turning at regular intervals. Cloud was not a fast reader, but he was a very consistent and steady one. Squall thought he was finished asking questions when suddenly, Cloud said, "You're jealous."
"...what?"
"You're jealous," Cloud repeated as he reached the last couple pages of the chapter he was on. "You're really obvious about it, too. Everyone's noticed the way you glare in Lightning's general direction when Bartz and Zidane talk to her. You're also moodier when they're not around."
"I am not," Squall growled, and yes, he did notice that Cloud had said moodier, like he was already moody to begin with. He had half a mind to rip that stupid book from Cloud's hands and bash his spiky haired head in with it. Cloud muttered something about his point being proven and Squall noticed the little jerk was smirking.
Cloud let the subject drop for three reasons: first, he had decided he had poked enough at lions for the day, second, the book was really starting to get exciting, and third, Golbez had come around offering a cup of tea, which Cloud gladly accepted. He had been drinking the stuff more mostly due to Cid's influence. Taking a sip, he decided that Golbez made good tea. Even Cid would approve.
Sufficiently annoyed at Cloud, Squall got up to find somewhere else he could be Not Jealous. He heard someone calling his name, and Squall glanced in the direction the voice had come from to see Laguna waving at him frantically. He pretended that he didn't hear and kept going. But avoiding Laguna was not that easy. Avoiding Laguna was never easy. If Squall wasn't going to come to him, then he'd just go to him. With Vaan in tow, Laguna eventually cornered Squall.
"You're looking glum today," he said. Oh yes, he could tell. Laguna had a finely honed skill for reading Squall's expressions. Raine was the same way; Squall was every bit his mother's son. "It's 'cause Bartz and Zidane went off to play without you, right?"
Laguna was trying to make up for lost time. Squall understood that he was trying to be the father Squall didn't have all those years. However, that didn't mean that he was supposed to start by treating his teenage son like a six-year-old.
Vaan put his hands on his hips and leaned forward, like Penelo often did with him. "You can't be around them all the time. Gotta give them space. It's a good thing, trust me, otherwise one day they'll try to punch your face in." It was a lesson he had to learn himself. Onion Knight had a mean right hook.
Having Laguna trying to give him advice was bad enough, but to have Vaan lecturing him now? Was Cloud said true? Did everybody think he was sulking about being left alone, which by the way, he totally wasn't? Squall had really hit rock bottom.
Laguna ruffled his hair, and all he could do was bat the offending hand away. "Look," Laguna said, with a rarely seen serious look on his face. "I know that you don't...handle this kind of thing well. Just try to be more reasonable, okay? They'll be back and crowding around you before you know it."
"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you," Vaan added. "Brothers gotta help each other out, right?'
"We're not brothers," Squall growled. Laguna may have practically adopted Vaan as a second son, but that didn't mean they were actually related in any way.
"Sure we are," Vaan insisted, scratching his nose. "Family isn't just about blood, you know?" Laguna was like a father to him, so that made them brothers, whether Squall liked it or not. What was the old saying? 'You can't choose your family?' Wait, did that make Onion Knight Laguna's son too? That meant Squall and Onion Knight were brothers as well. This was getting pretty complicated.
Mercifully, Squall was spared further torture by the return of Bartz and Zidane. They weren't gone for very long, and somehow, they had managed to come back with a handful of loot each.
"Light, Light, Light!" Zidane called, bounding up to their fearless leader. "Light, I got something for you." He held out an Ilfa Dew to her. She took it and thanked him. "Do I get a kiss?" She told him to get lost. Bartz was busy showing off his spoils to whoever would listen. Once again, Squall felt ignored. Sensing this, Laguna felt it was his fatherly duty to help his son out.
"Oh, hey, Bartz and Zidane are back," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Squall, maybe you should tell them you feel left out."
Dead silence hung in the air for a moment, and everyone was staring right at Squall.
Why, Laguna!? Why!? he despaired.
His two friends immediately set down their found valuables.
"Aww, we're sorry, Squall," Bartz said.
"We didn't know you missed us so much," Zidane added.
"I did not," Squall protested, but nobody seemed to hear him.
"I think he needs a hug."
"I think you're right."
When they started to approach him, Squall took a step back. "No, I don't. Go away, both of you."
"Don't be like that."
"It's for your own good, Squall."
Squall turned around and ran, but it was pointless trying to outrun an agile master thief and the wanderer who felt he was one with the wind. Zidane and Bartz caught up to him easily and mercilessly took him down with flying tackles. As Squall hit the ground, he could hear Ultimecia laughing her head off. Bartz and Zidane were not only latched to him, but they were also right on top of him, meaning that he couldn't move. Squall lifted his head and saw the boots of Cloud Strife, still in the same spot as he was and still reading that book.
"Help me," he said, and Cloud actually looked up, folding the corner of the page he was on before closing it. In no particular hurry, Cloud walked up to them and observed the strange pile of Cosmos Warriors. Yes, it really did look like Squall was stuck, and probably would remain so until his captors decided to let him go.
So, he placed the book in front of Squall.
"You probably need that more than I do," he said.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Squall frowned.
Cloud shrugged. "You said to help you. I just did. It's your fault for not being more specific." And before Squall had a chance to retaliate, Cloud left.
His only chance at rescue now gone, Squall looked back at his (annoying) friends, and they were oddly quiet. Wait...were they sleeping? Were they using him as a pillow!? As humiliating as that was, Squall could now easily just get up and give them both bumps on the head for that little stunt.
Instead, he sighed, stayed put, and opened up Cloud's book to the first page.
The Scriptures of Germonique, written by Germonique, Disciple of Saint Ajora Glabados and translated by Elder Simon Penn-Lachish of Orbonne Monastery, it said.
Squall turned the page and started reading.
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Summary: Squall was never good at sharing.
Warnings: None
Notes: Request for rikusora_chan.
Life was full of surprises. And when former warriors of both Cosmos and Chaos found themselves back in world of war and that they could actually interact in a way that was almost friendly, it was such a surprise that it almost didn't seem like surprise at all. And when, somehow, they were able to drag former war heroine Shantotto and Hell's watchdog Gabranth into their ranks, it also was not surprising. Perhaps things had gotten to a point where almost nothing could faze them.
"Light! Hey, Light!" Bartz waved frantically as he ran up to Lightning Farron, who had been appointed the leader of their (rather large) traveling group. Zidane was right behind him. Lightning sighed and shook her head. She didn't dislike them, they were nice guys and when you learned to put up with the combined forces of Laguna Loire and Vaan, you could put up with anything. But they certainly seemed to be devoting a good portion of their days to coming over and bugging her about whatever they could. "Light, wanna go on a treasure hunt with us?"
"Can't." Even if she did want to go frolicking around looking for treasure chests, (she didn't) she couldn't due to the fact that she had to run their little group and make sure everybody didn't murder everybody else. Just today, she had to diffuse a heated argument between Jecht and Vaan and stop Shantotto and Kefka from blasting each other (and everything within a one mile radius) with magic. Even with the help of the Warrior of Light, Kain Highwind, and oddly enough, Garland, it wasn't the least bit easy. It almost made her want to go face an endless horde of manikins than deal with this lot anymore.
Both of them gave her their best puppy dog looks. Lightning was not impressed. For one, she was immune to such manipulation, and secondly, she had seen better puppy dog looks before. She shooed them away like children, even though she knew they'd be back in no time to bother her again. It was like having to live with multiple Vaans, except annoying in their own, unique little ways. But she couldn't dwell on it, because now Kuja was throwing a fit of some kind for no doubt some trivial reason. Lightning sighed and got up to give him a good whack in the head.
They might have failed in recruiting Lightning for their scouring party, but that wasn't going to stop Bartz and Zidane from going out to look around. They always came back with so many things that some were finding it hard to believe that there was still treasure left in the world. They made a big show of waving goodbye to everyone before setting off. Squall Leonhart watched them go, and normally, he would find a nice quiet place to occupy, there was no such thing anymore now that the band of warriors had more than doubled in size. As it was, it was hard enough to take a few steps without tripping over somebody. He had to settle for "least noisy" places now, and those could usually be found near one Cloud Strife.
Cloud didn't even look up when Squall took a spot beside him. He had his eyes trained on an old looking book with two banded patterns on the cover. The pages were browned with age, and Cloud took care when turning the pages, as if they could break off in his hands if he wasn't careful enough. Squall didn't mind. This was always how things between him and Cloud went, just a vague awareness that the other was there until one of them decided to speak up about something.
"Alone again today?" Cloud asked idly. He still had his gaze fixed squarely on the book in his hands. Squall nodded, although Cloud was still too absorbed in his book to look. However, he knew the answer was yes. "Lonely?"
"No," Squall answered bluntly. "I'm not a kid, and neither are they. They can go do whatever they want as long as they don't get themselves killed."
"Hn," said Cloud, and he turned the page. For a while, there was nothing but the sound of pages turning at regular intervals. Cloud was not a fast reader, but he was a very consistent and steady one. Squall thought he was finished asking questions when suddenly, Cloud said, "You're jealous."
"...what?"
"You're jealous," Cloud repeated as he reached the last couple pages of the chapter he was on. "You're really obvious about it, too. Everyone's noticed the way you glare in Lightning's general direction when Bartz and Zidane talk to her. You're also moodier when they're not around."
"I am not," Squall growled, and yes, he did notice that Cloud had said moodier, like he was already moody to begin with. He had half a mind to rip that stupid book from Cloud's hands and bash his spiky haired head in with it. Cloud muttered something about his point being proven and Squall noticed the little jerk was smirking.
Cloud let the subject drop for three reasons: first, he had decided he had poked enough at lions for the day, second, the book was really starting to get exciting, and third, Golbez had come around offering a cup of tea, which Cloud gladly accepted. He had been drinking the stuff more mostly due to Cid's influence. Taking a sip, he decided that Golbez made good tea. Even Cid would approve.
Sufficiently annoyed at Cloud, Squall got up to find somewhere else he could be Not Jealous. He heard someone calling his name, and Squall glanced in the direction the voice had come from to see Laguna waving at him frantically. He pretended that he didn't hear and kept going. But avoiding Laguna was not that easy. Avoiding Laguna was never easy. If Squall wasn't going to come to him, then he'd just go to him. With Vaan in tow, Laguna eventually cornered Squall.
"You're looking glum today," he said. Oh yes, he could tell. Laguna had a finely honed skill for reading Squall's expressions. Raine was the same way; Squall was every bit his mother's son. "It's 'cause Bartz and Zidane went off to play without you, right?"
Laguna was trying to make up for lost time. Squall understood that he was trying to be the father Squall didn't have all those years. However, that didn't mean that he was supposed to start by treating his teenage son like a six-year-old.
Vaan put his hands on his hips and leaned forward, like Penelo often did with him. "You can't be around them all the time. Gotta give them space. It's a good thing, trust me, otherwise one day they'll try to punch your face in." It was a lesson he had to learn himself. Onion Knight had a mean right hook.
Having Laguna trying to give him advice was bad enough, but to have Vaan lecturing him now? Was Cloud said true? Did everybody think he was sulking about being left alone, which by the way, he totally wasn't? Squall had really hit rock bottom.
Laguna ruffled his hair, and all he could do was bat the offending hand away. "Look," Laguna said, with a rarely seen serious look on his face. "I know that you don't...handle this kind of thing well. Just try to be more reasonable, okay? They'll be back and crowding around you before you know it."
"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you," Vaan added. "Brothers gotta help each other out, right?'
"We're not brothers," Squall growled. Laguna may have practically adopted Vaan as a second son, but that didn't mean they were actually related in any way.
"Sure we are," Vaan insisted, scratching his nose. "Family isn't just about blood, you know?" Laguna was like a father to him, so that made them brothers, whether Squall liked it or not. What was the old saying? 'You can't choose your family?' Wait, did that make Onion Knight Laguna's son too? That meant Squall and Onion Knight were brothers as well. This was getting pretty complicated.
Mercifully, Squall was spared further torture by the return of Bartz and Zidane. They weren't gone for very long, and somehow, they had managed to come back with a handful of loot each.
"Light, Light, Light!" Zidane called, bounding up to their fearless leader. "Light, I got something for you." He held out an Ilfa Dew to her. She took it and thanked him. "Do I get a kiss?" She told him to get lost. Bartz was busy showing off his spoils to whoever would listen. Once again, Squall felt ignored. Sensing this, Laguna felt it was his fatherly duty to help his son out.
"Oh, hey, Bartz and Zidane are back," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Squall, maybe you should tell them you feel left out."
Dead silence hung in the air for a moment, and everyone was staring right at Squall.
Why, Laguna!? Why!? he despaired.
His two friends immediately set down their found valuables.
"Aww, we're sorry, Squall," Bartz said.
"We didn't know you missed us so much," Zidane added.
"I did not," Squall protested, but nobody seemed to hear him.
"I think he needs a hug."
"I think you're right."
When they started to approach him, Squall took a step back. "No, I don't. Go away, both of you."
"Don't be like that."
"It's for your own good, Squall."
Squall turned around and ran, but it was pointless trying to outrun an agile master thief and the wanderer who felt he was one with the wind. Zidane and Bartz caught up to him easily and mercilessly took him down with flying tackles. As Squall hit the ground, he could hear Ultimecia laughing her head off. Bartz and Zidane were not only latched to him, but they were also right on top of him, meaning that he couldn't move. Squall lifted his head and saw the boots of Cloud Strife, still in the same spot as he was and still reading that book.
"Help me," he said, and Cloud actually looked up, folding the corner of the page he was on before closing it. In no particular hurry, Cloud walked up to them and observed the strange pile of Cosmos Warriors. Yes, it really did look like Squall was stuck, and probably would remain so until his captors decided to let him go.
So, he placed the book in front of Squall.
"You probably need that more than I do," he said.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Squall frowned.
Cloud shrugged. "You said to help you. I just did. It's your fault for not being more specific." And before Squall had a chance to retaliate, Cloud left.
His only chance at rescue now gone, Squall looked back at his (annoying) friends, and they were oddly quiet. Wait...were they sleeping? Were they using him as a pillow!? As humiliating as that was, Squall could now easily just get up and give them both bumps on the head for that little stunt.
Instead, he sighed, stayed put, and opened up Cloud's book to the first page.
The Scriptures of Germonique, written by Germonique, Disciple of Saint Ajora Glabados and translated by Elder Simon Penn-Lachish of Orbonne Monastery, it said.
Squall turned the page and started reading.