Work Text:
The Ragnarok, currently parked on the desert of Centra, was idle and awaiting their pilot. Everyone else was currently clustered in the open hangar, resting in the given breeze as the sun went down.
Irvine was restless. Amazingly, more restless than Zell, who commented that his head didn't seem to be in the game. After being bested in Triple Triad for the fourth time, he sighed and stood up-- no longer content with being distracted.
"Careful," Quistis warned. "She's foolin' around out there."
"I know."
Irvine gave her his characteristic smirk and took his leave, placing his hat playfully on her head before going down the ramp.
"Huh. Unusually terse," Quistis muttered to herself.
--
Selphie was Questing, as Rinoa liked to call it. Having cast Aura to delve deep into her magic, she'd push beyond the familiar spells on the surface... seeing what's there, something new.
It was a chaotic process.
Energy pulsed and sparked away at random intervals as she shifted, running away from her like a gale. Doomtrain was delighted, laughing up and down her spine.
And Irvine walked through it.
He was scared, in truth, but he fenced it in the back of his mind. In the forefront, there was reliance on what they called A Sniper's Instinct.
And he flowed
with, or
between
whatever seams danced his way.
He wasn't stupid, of course; Irvine was prepared with an Elixir or five. But when he reached her, they remained unused. As he stepped next to Selphie her concentration finally wavered.
"I-Irvine!?"
"Hey." Cocky smile and wink.
"Idiot! I could've hurt you." She (lightly) smacked her fist against his chest. But she giggled when he pulled her into a hug. And before fear could finally win, he pushed his next words out, a whisper:
"Marry me."
Selphie started, looked up to him with a mixture of emotions threaded with surprise; at that, it was Irvine's turn to stammer.
"I'm serious! I-it doesn't have to be a whole thing. We could elope! Or... just ceremonial, if you want. But I want... something. Because this?" He indicated the swirling air around their embrace. "I love this, how we are together. I love you."
Selphie smiled.
"I love you too. I want to say yes..."
"Do you need to think about it?"
"Well... you did just spring this up at me in the middle of a desolate field where I experiment with my Limit Break..."
He laughed. "Sorry... just waiting in there, I kept thinking, 'now or never.' I don't even have a ring! Or necklace. Either way, I want you to know this: I really, really, love you. And this is where my head's at."
Selphie squeezed him tight, pulling him into a deep kiss. The magic around them flared sympathetically.
"I promise. I'll consider it. And this means a lot to me."
--
For awhile they practiced movesets together, back-to-back if not side-to-side. Then sparred, to change it up.
Selphie was the first to tap out, having been out there most of the evening as it grew into night. Her spells exhausted, the wild magic began to wind down.
After a few steps she turned, realizing she wasn't being followed.
Her gaze met Irvine's own, and she almost lost herself in his blue eyes. The odd stillness was beginning to settle on him, but between them it was an understanding.
He took a steadying breath. Exhaled.
Selphie saw the future, too.
Saw them, together.
They shared a knowing smile.
"I'll be a minute, love."
"Okay. Don't be long, sniper."
She blew a kiss and left him to decompress in the eddies of her wake, dying sparks blowing through his now-loose hair.
--
"How'd it go?" Rinoa, this time; they've talked about magic and the new Sorceress loved to hear about Selphie's sessions, if she wasn't participating in them.
"Great!" Selphie beamed. "Something cool happened this time. You might have seen it before!"
But she didn't slow her gait to talk further, humming a modified version of her train song. Something with dubstep, maybe, or breakcore. And she really wanted a shower...
"What did Irvine talk to you about?" asked Quistis, her nosiness winning before the other woman was out of earshot.
If it was possible, Selphie would've smiled even brighter. She answered cheerfully before boarding the elevator:
"Marriage!"
Squall spat out his coffee, and Rinoa's laughter toward his reaction echoed off Ragnarok's interior.
--
As promised, Irvine was not long behind her.
It wasn't quite enough time to gossip amongst themselves-- and they hastily put a stop to it when they heard his footsteps. Irvine returned to a charged silence, not buying everyone's terrible No One Told Us Anything Earth-Shattering act.
Especially Zell's. He was practically vibrating. Irvine cocked his head at him.
"Alright... What?"
"Congra--"
Irvine clamped his hand over Zell's mouth.
"Not yet. We're thinking about it, for now." He'll keep expectations low, in case they do decide to elope.
"The resident playboy getting tied down?" Quistis teased, very gently, as she tipped his hat. But her smile was kind, happy for them. Irvine blushed.
"We're just surprised, is all." Rinoa snickered, glancing at Squall, "Aren't we?"
Squall grumbled in the affirmative as he finished cleaning up his mess.
"Thank y'all. I'm... really excited. Had to tell her."
"I know that feeling," Squall chimed in, sincerely, as he stood back up.
"Yeah."
"..."
Squall gave a nod and his approximation of a smile. He was still bad at carrying conversations, and no one knew what else to say anyway. In the awkward silence that followed, Irvine grew a little shy. So he did what he always did, when shy: deflect with humor and obvious innuendo.
"So..." Another wink. "I think we'll go 'talk' some more. In the shower."
He sauntered after Selphie, leaving his hat behind to further annoy Quisty.
"And you two don't use up all the soap this time!" Zell hollered after him.