Hearts and Flowers
Notes: My first semi-serious Squall/Zell, not counting Beauty and the beast cos that was just silly. Those of you that read Double Take will remember the baby pink and hearts in Squall’s bedroom. This is about Selphie’s redecoration and Squall having to sleep with his best friend.
Prequel to Double Take.
Hearts and Flowers
Squall stared in horror and confusion at the door of his dorm.
“Selphie!”
The petite brunette opened the door slightly and slapped a note on the door.
“Read the note!” She slammed the door again.
Squall pulled the tattered piece of paper off the door.
Squall,
We have taken over your room
for redecoration. No wonder you’re
so depressed with all that grey.
Love
Selphie + help.
“Decorate?! Selphie! No yellow! Or silly patterns!”
It was 9:00. At the end of work Squall had been looking forward to a nice bath and an early night in his nice grey room. He liked grey, you couldn’t tell if it got dirty and girls didn’t like it so they stayed away and didn’t bug him.
Where was he supposed to sleep?
The brunette turned away and stomped back up to his office, maybe he could sleep on the desk tonight.
In Squall’s room.
Quistis and Irvine carried all the furniture out of the bedroom and loaded it into the kitchen.
“Selphie, what do you plan to do with all the grey?”
“I’ve got a colour scheme in mind; I’m going to dye to white carpet too.” She grinned happily.
“What colour?”
The little girl tapped her nose. “Now that would be telling wouldn’t it?
“Just remember you do live with Squall so he can kill you. Nothing too over the top okay?”
Selphie just grinned.
“Room’s clear.” Irvine shouted.
“Oh goody, on to step two.” She lay a white sheet over the floor and stood two pots of paint on it.
“Irvine, do the honours.”
Both girls hovered around as the cowboy opened a pot with a screwdriver. Selphie bounced happily.
As the lid came off Quistis chuckled; Irvine raised an eyebrow while the girl in charge just cheered.
“Oh no Selphie.”
“Poor Squall.”
“How can you say that? It’s a nice cheerful colour.”
“Not very manly though is it?”
Selphie stuck her tongue out at the cowboy. “Shut up and start covering that grey.”
Irvine sighed and dipped his brush in the pot of baby pink paint and started to apply it to the wall.
Quistis looked at her friend. “So the bedroom’s going to be pink, but that’s it right? No patterns?”
The short girl looked sheepish. “Well...” She thrust a piece of paper at the blonde. “This is my design.”
The paper was baby pink with red hearts on.
“Oh no, Squall’s going to get locked up for the murder of you.”
“Hearts are nice.”
“He’s not big on love and hearts, he won’t like it.”
Selphie put her hands on her hips. “You should thank me. You’re the one who always says that you wish Squall to be happy and with someone.” She winked. “Well, where do you think he’ll be while we’re in his room?”
The blonde groaned. “Please don’t tell me that this was part of a matchmaking plan.”
“Fine I won’t tell you.”
“Last time you paired Squall up with Rinoa and look what happened there.”
“That was different. I didn’t know her, how was I supposed to know she was evil? I’m sure it’ll work out this time. Besides this room was in desperate need of a makeover.” She skipped away to work on step three of the project.
Zell stared at the notice of Squall’s door and smirked.
It read:
KEEP OUT!
REDECORATION TEAM AT WORK!
He knocked lightly, mere seconds later Selphie stuck her head out of the door.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing? Where’s Squall?”
The petite girl stepped out into the corridor shutting the door behind her. “You can’t go in there, you might tell Squall.”
“Don’t you trust me?” Zell faked a hurt look.
“I want Squall to be surprised with the changes.”
“Surprised? He’ll probably have a heart attack. Have you seen him?”
“Yes, he made me promise no yellow.”
Zell smirked. “And you’re okay with this?”
“Of course. He never said anything about pink.” She said innocently. “No, he haven’t seen him.”
“Pink?! But-” He was cut off as the door slammed in his face.
Zell chuckled. He was going to ask Squall to stay with him while his room was being decorated but if he saw the pink, he might never leave. Not that Zell ould mind living with the sexy guy in garden, but it was hard enough to hide his attraction to the brunette. How would he cope if they shared a room?
The blonde pressed the third floor button in the elevator, Squall had to be in his office.
It was typical, the brunette had been working late all week trying to get this extra work done and now finally he was up to date, only to be locked out of his room by Selphie. Zell felt sorry for his best friend, he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks.
The blonde looked up as the lift pinged to tell him that it had reached its destination. He stepped out, walking past the empty reception desk. Squall had fired his receptionist long ago because she wasn’t professional and kept coming on to him. When she wanted longer holiday she offered him a blow job if he agreed. Of course Squall was way too serious to take her up on her offer. The blonde stopped outside the doors to the commander’s office. He wondered if that tactic would work for him, he forced down the smirk and quietly pushed open the doors and slipped inside.
Squall sat in his chair, his head resting on the desk in a nest of his arms.
The blonde silently stepped up to the desk and touched his friend’s shoulder. The brunette didn’t stir; Zell was close enough now to hear the light snore.
“Squall.” He gently shook his friend.
“Hmmm.... W-What?” The brunette mumbled sleepily. His eyes narrowed for a moment before his sleep filled brain recognized the blue eyes of his best friend.
“Z-Zell? W-What?”
“Why are you sleeping up here?”
“Selphie-”
“I know about the insane decorators, but you don’t have to sleep in your office.” He stood up straight and held out his hand. “Come on, I’ve got a sofa with your name on it.”
The brunette stared at the hand for a moment before he slowly got up and followed his friend.
They rode down the elevator in silence, as they walked down the corridor Zell tried to make conversion. “Aren’t you worried about your room? I’d be kicking the door in.”
“No yellow she promised.”
Zell chuckled as he let them into his dorm.
“What?”
“Nothing, I’m not allowed to tell you.”
The brunette raised an eyebrow. “You know something I don’t? What?”
Zell shook his head.
“Tell me.”
The blonde went through to the bedroom and stared to pull sheets off the bed.
“Zell tell me!”
The blonde grinned. “Did you tell her no pink?”
Squall’s eyes went wide in panic. Zell had never seen Squall panic before.
“What?! Pink?!” He started to pace up and down. “People will think I’m soft and cuddly! Can you imagine?”
Zell couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“This isn’t funny. You have nice blue walls. It’s not fair!”
“You should have thought of that when you decided grey was a nice grey colour.”
The brunette looked puzzled at the stuff Zell was putting on the floor. “What are you doing?”
“Getting some stuff for you to sleep on, I didn’t have spare sheets.”
Squall shrugged. “Leave them, you’re beds big enough for two.”
Zell’s stared at him. “You want to share a bed with me?”
Again the brunette shrugged. “Whatever.”
Zell started to put the sheets and stuff back on the bed slightly nervously. He had to share a bed with Squall! On one hand. He thought: YESSSSSS! He got to see his friend nearly naked. On the other hand he thought NOOO! That’ll be pure torture to be so close but not be able to touch his friend. Zell had slept in the same room before but not the same bed.
Zell quietly shut the door of his bathroom heading back into the bedroom. He felt relieved to see that Squall had fallen asleep curled up in his bed. He let out the breath he had been holding. It felt strange to be jumpy around Squall, they were best friends. Zell was the only one that Squall spoke to and was relaxed around. The blonde knew that the girls in garden that lusted after Squall were jealous at their closeness.
Zell crawled into his side of the bed, glancing over at Squall, being careful to keep his distance. He lay on his back and switched off the lamp beside the bed. He turned over on his side, facing away from Squall. The brunette was topless and Zell felt guilty if he stared for too long.
The blonde awoke an hour later with a start as something warm and heavy had rolled into his back. He tensed as he looked over his shoulder slowly. Squall lay fast asleep curled up beside him, their legs were entwined and Zell could feel the brunette’s hot breath on his neck. The blonde untangled their legs and moved a little way away so that he was almost falling off the bed. Squall lay behind him and didn’t follow. The blonde sighed in relief and drifted off to sleep again.
8:30am
Zell awoke to something heavy pinning him to the bed; slowly he opened his eyes. He tried to remember if anything had happened last night. Zell almost died of a heart attack as he looked down to see the familiar mop of brown hair resting on his chest. Oh crap.
Squall must have rolled on top of his during the night. As the brunette stirred in his sleep, Zell desperately tried to push him off but he was too heavy.
Grey/Blue eyes opened above him and narrowed slightly puzzled.
“Hi.” Zell offered nervously.
A deep blush filled the brunette’s cheeks as he realized what must have happened. He quickly moved from atop his friend and hid in the bathroom. The blonde winced as the bathroom door slammed; he hoped Squall would come around and not be too embarrassed.
Zell’s eyes nearly fell out of his head as he stared at Squall’s newly painted walls. He hazard a glance at his best friend who stood beside him.
The walls were baby pink with red hearts running round the top, all of the furniture had been painted white.
“Well?” Selphie asked down the phone. She was too afraid to come there in person.
Squall opened his mouth but no sound came out.
“It’s.... different.” Zell offered.
Squall whimpered slightly and turned to his friend. “Can I move in with you?”