Irvine Kinneas

-!- Indie -!- Semi-selective -!--!- Sideblog to hartofbalamb -!-

[sharpxshootin]

“talk to me, okay? i need to know what’s going on.”

  Irvine picked himself up off the dusty floor of the ruins, groaning and coughing in the settling cloud of debris that fell with him through the rusty hatch some fifteen feet above. He heard the crackle of the comm device in his ear but was only able to make out Squall’s voice once the swimming of his head stopped. He did not think himself concussed, but gazing up through the hazy particles streaming through the light from the hole he’d fallen through he decided he’d been lucky not to break anything. 

  Straightening the mic on the lapel of his jacket he lifted it to his mouth and paged him back. “I’m here. Fell through a faulty hatch to a subterranean floor,” he explained to the SeeD who was elsewhere in the ruin complex and had possibly heard him shout as he went down. 

  “Nothing broken, except maybe my pride,” he chuckled before coughing again in the dust. “Watch your step.”

  Aside from the shaft of light from above the area was dark, prompting him to take a flashlight off his belt and click it on, shining it further down what appeared to be a long hallway. “Looks like a maintenance channel. I’m going to follow it further in and see where it goes, I’ll keep you posted.”

[sharpxshootin]

“how about we don’t do that.”

  “Oh come on, Squall, lighten up a little!” he shoved the other’s shoulder good-naturedly, prodding the glass with a fingertip to scoot it closer to the other. “You’re going to drink it anyway, why not add some fun into it?” he lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip of the amber liquid, letting it roll over his tastebuds and down his throat. “Unless you’re allergic to fun or somethin’, which might explain a whole lot honestly,” he trailed off, eyes narrowing as he considered it.

  But he would redouble his efforts after a moment. “How long is it we’ve known each other, and I feel like we barely get to talk! It was like pullin’ teeth gettin’ you to come out and have a drink. Come on, man, just let me have this one,” he lifted his finger. If he thought about it a little harder he might realize how poor an idea it would be to try to get Squall to play ‘never have I ever’, especially when the next round of drinks was on the line and he himself had quite a reputation tailing him around, but the prospect of learning about the stoic gunblader was more tempting than the warnings of his better judgment.

[sharpxshootin]

❝  i don’t have nightmares when you’re there.  ❞

   As if being away from her wasn’t hard enough as it was, hearing that his absence plagued her nights made it even more of an unhappy circumstance. He wrapped his arms around her head gently and curled her to his chest in that comical way of theirs that only exaggerated the height difference, placing a kiss atop the crown of auburn that lingered as he mumbled into her locks. 

  “You know you can call me, right?” he reminded her, tilting his head and gazing down at her, moving his arms just enough to catch her eye. “Any time. Even if I’m sleepin’.  You know I’ve got the special notification for you,” he winked. Her special notification, much to the dismay of any room mate he had with him on missions, was a train horn. A loud one. 

  His expression would soften, however, arms dropping now to free her as hands came to pluck hers up, stroking her knuckles with his thumbs. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you assigned to more missions with me, but you know they’re worried about distractions,” he chuckled, leaning down to steal a kiss from her lips. “And you know they’re not exactly wrong…”

[sharpxshootin]

sunny-explosions​:

For the briefest moment, the sound of Irvine’s voice and the sight of him peeking out at her sudden return home made Selphie think that maybe, this wouldn’t be so bad. She did flinch initially when he came at her so quickly, although she tried to disguise her step backwards by sliding her bag safely to the ground before he could pick her up.

It was a reflex to melt against him once she was in his embrace - Selphie laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, the familiarity of his affection filling a void that had been empty for more than the past week. She always missed him when they were apart, but this time the lack of his presence and support had been a staple in her life that she sorely missed when her world got turned upside down.

When she felt her skin suddenly spark beneath Irvine’s kisses, however, that feeling of dread returned in the pit of her stomach, and her smile started to fade almost as quickly as it had appeared. Extreme emotions were still a problem for her to keep under control, and it seemed like even a big rush of happiness - a common occurrence for one as bubbly as she could be, especially when reunited with her better half - was going to be a problem.

“Sorry, still kinda staticky, I guess,” she said, trying to brush it off as she released her grip and leaned back so it hopefully wouldn’t happen again. Once she was safely back on her own feet, Selphie slipped out of Irvine’s arms, bending down to scoop up her things and quickly make a beeline towards the bedroom, glancing back at him over her shoulder. “I’m…not really hungry at the moment, but I’ll have some later, ‘kay?”

  He felt the zap to his lips like needles, causing him to recoil slightly, but not thinking much of it beyond her simple excuse; of course, it made sense. He would chuckle, setting her back down with a shake of his head, “your love’s always been electric, baby,” was the cheesy reassurance that went with it. Yet to have to slip away from him so quickly brought a pang of something odd to his chest, watching as she made a beeline to their bedroom with her bags.

  “Yeah, of course. Whatever you want, Sunshine,” the smile found its way back to his lips, tipping his head curiously to catch a last glimpse of her before she disappeared around the doorway. 

  It wasn’t that he expected every return to be passion and fanfare, but it almost always had been — the two of them had that sort of dynamic, usually, that embarrassed their peers to witness, and neither of them really cared much to keep it private. So while onlookers might not notice anything out of the ordinary, the stark absence of lingering affection felt hollow somehow.

  He scratched at the scruff of his jaw idly, turning on his heel and making his way back to the kitchen to finish up dinner. 

  “How was Trabia? Wanna talk about it while I eat?” he ventured hopefully, knowing she always had such animated stories to tell him in the past about her trips home. 

[sharpxshootin]

( @youngrevolutionary​ continued from x )

  Irvine posted up across from the man who might have been hiding a killer hangover behind those dark-tinted glasses, or might have just felt like being a little extra stylish today — either way the amusement was evident on the purse of his lips.

  “Naw, baby, when I pop the question you’ll know,” he teased him lowly, leaning back in his seat with a drape of his arm over the balcony railing, casting a quick glance down at the article in Seifer’s hands. Nothing particularly juicy.

  “Come on now, I wouldn’t say that. Maybe it’s just changed a little from what it used to be, yeah? If there was even a chance at happily ever after, wouldn’t you take it? Or are you tellin’ me you’re too afraid of failing to try,” he challenged with a twinge of mischief in his eye, knowing that implication likely wouldn’t sit well with the blonde across from him. 

[sharpxshootin]

( @sunny-explosions​ continued from x )

  He straightened his coat around her shoulders, tugging it snug around her front with a small smile that only widened when she mentioned their trip to Trabia. He’d somehow managed to zip his parka into her own when she wasn’t paying attention, and getting out of it had been quite the feat he hadn’t prepared for, though there was little complaint to be had being stuck with her in one giant jacket; they’d wound up slipping it off over their heads with a bit of a struggle back at the lodge.

  “I’ll be just fine darlin’,” he reassured her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and hugging her close to his side, slipping his free hand in his pocket as they walked. “The weather here is practically tropical compared to Trabia,” he chuckled, still glad to see the town line not too far off regardless.

[sharpxshootin]

sunny-explosions​:

@sharpxshootin

She’d been nervous the whole way home, struggling between keeping herself calm enough to not cause the air to crackle around her, and trying not to dwell on thinking about what she could even say to Irvine. Keeping her composure around strangers she would never see again was one thing, but she lived with him; it would be nearly impossible to keep secrets from him.

Plus, she’d been gone quite a while this time - tacking a couple extra days onto her bi-monthly trips to Trabia was a fairly normal occurrence; adding another whole week simply to make sure she could form some sloppy semblance of control over powers she still didn’t know how to properly manage was not.

Selphie felt fine for the time being, despite that nagging little worry in the back of her head that something was bound to slip, and she hesitated for a few seconds in the hallway before she entered, taking a deep breath to steady herself even further.

She could do this. She knew she could.

“Irvy?” She called as she opened the door, trying to keep her tone bright and chipper as usual despite hoping that she’d found their living quarters empty. “You here? I’m back!”

  Irvine had not gone with her this time to Trabia, staying behind to help Squall with a project at Garden while she visited her home and the friends she’d left behind there. It was not unusual for Selphie to make trips like this, and he had become well-acquainted with the bittersweet goodbyes she spoke every time she left her school companions and the bits of progress she worked tirelessly on to restore Trabia’s Garden — near and dear to her heart. So when she’d called him to let him know she’d be staying an extra week he hadn’t thought much of it, had chalked the slight tremor in her voice up to that self-same sadness he’d seen in her the last time they left the snowy tundra for home. He still missed her, though.

  The sound of her voice rang out to him in the kitchen, ducking his head out the door to catch sight of those soft red-brown tresses, a broad, wolfish smile running wild with his face. “You’re back!” he exclaimed, tossing the dish towel down on the counter and rushing into the livingroom to scoop her up in his arms and pepper her face with kisses while her legs dangled helplessly against his own. “I didn’t think you were going to be back until tomorrow! I just finished cooking dinner, there should be plenty — are you hungry?”

[sharpxshootin]

misplacedheroics​:

He’s holding up a page in the light to better see the faded ink, his tone flat – “No. They can’t be bothered with me right now– they’ve already got their hands full trying to explain to the press why Zell Dincht has been named Interim-Commander.” He still can’t understand why the chain of command suddenly involved Dincht.He certainly would’ve been Seifer’s absolute last choice, but what would he know about operating from a position of command…

Despite his sudden reprieve from the Administration’s ever-watchful eye, it was unlike Seifer to be down here like this– spending the better part of his day hiding out in the sub-levels, scouring over stolen classified files trying to connect links to obscure notes scrawled on photocopies of original documents and declassified manuscripts with either Cid or Martine’s stamp of authorization all over them. Most of what was compiled was barely legible– the intel valuable but offered little else but some direction on how to proceed further.  

Preferably without involving Cid.

He hands off the files, trading them for the enclosed dinner that he’s prompt in tearing open to get inside of. He’s hungry. The cup of soup was still hot and he takes no time in fishing out the spoon from the bag to get at it. “Squall said he saw something before causing the cave-in. A GF.” He gets a few mouthfuls of soup in him before he continues. “I’m trying to find out what kind of ‘something’ it was because whatever it is– scared the hell out of him.” Seifer’s personal interests now suddenly glaringly obvious.

He wants to be the one to kill the big scary thing.

A few more bites and Seifer’s dragging over a red file, opening it up to reveal documents inside that had been blacked out– censored by Galbadia’s authority. Would’ve served him better to just shred the pages considering what was left behind was a whole lot of nothing. “All information stops to a certain point– Cid and Martine were researching it on their own until Adel began kidnapping little girls. I’d be interested in seeing what was left of that tomb but Squall went and brought the ceiling down, as stupid as that was…” 

  Irvine took the proffered files, shuffling through them with cursory scans — a photocopied mess of hand-drawn maps and journal notes, as well as a few redacted military documents that left much up to the imagination, but flirted with notions enough to pique the interest of those who knew what they were looking at. 

  Irvine didn’t know what he was looking at.

  “Yeah,” he muttered absently, brows drawn together, “nearly crippled him for life,” blue eyes fixed on the drawing of a door next to a blurry black and white photo of the same, strange markings bordering it and a few notes in the margin: ‘Entrance?’ ‘Possibly locked from inside.’ It wasn’t until several moments later that Seifer’s words hit home, fixing the male with an increasingly wary look, wrists going limp and the files hanging forgotten with them. “Ohhhohoho no, you’re not planning on going after this thing are you?” but even as he spoke the words he knew the answer. Of course he was. This was exactly the sort of thing Seifer thrived on — a challenge among challenges. A challenge so big even Squall Leonhart couldn’t contend. If Seifer could succeed where his lifelong rival had failed, well…

  “What’s stupid is chasin’ after something that obviously should never see the light of day,” he reached out and smacked Seifer against the side of his head with the file, dropping it in front of him. “You see that door, right?” he pointed to the page on top. “That door is sealed six ways from Sunday. Who seals doors like that if not to keep people out — and for a good reason wasn’t it?” he clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, waxing quiet for a moment. 

  “Does Squall know you’re thinkin’ about this?”

[sharpxshootin]

‘hotel room’ sex

Fifty Reasons to Have Sex Meme | status: open

  The bedsheets were too neat, he decided. This was the problem with hotel rooms. The bedsheets were always too neat. They simply begged for a little chaos to descend upon them, and descend it would in the form of a pair of naked bodies, stripped down in record time with clothes strewn about in a tornado of impulsive and impish desires. 

  “You know, I can’t imagine why Garden started allotting us our own room on these missions,” he mused against her neck, hips rolling between her legs so that she might feel him grow stiff with anticipation. He shoved a pillow out of the way so that it toppled onto the floor, a hand sliding to the small of her back and hoisting her further up the mattress to accommodate long legs. 

  “I think we make rather charming room mates,” he couldn’t manage to keep the farce up even through the end of his comment, that wolfish grin spreading wide on his lips as the hand beneath the small of her back tilted her hips up into the stroke of his arousal. 

[sharpxshootin]

“What’s this Anon? You want sideboob?” 

  In one smooth motion shirt is off, stepping in front of Selphie as a human shield of flesh and hair. 

  “Why I thought you’d never ask~”

[sharpxshootin]

"Hey," Selphie says softly once there's a commercial to drown out, curling her legs up onto the couch cushion and leaning her head on his shoulder. "After all that time that we were separated, did you ever think you would see any of us again? Or that you and I would be able to reconnect and, y'know," she pauses, vaguely gesturing between them, "get to this point together?"

  He felt her familiar weight lean into his side, the arm stretched along the back of the couch drifting down to drape around her shoulders with a gentle, affectionate tug. Her words felt a little distant, pensive, wistful in a way he hadn’t been used to her being in the past, and he wondered for a moment if she was feeling the unspoken pressure that closed in on all of them as of late.

  He tipped his head forward some, craning to catch a glimpse of green eyes with a small quirk of his brow and a smile. “What’s got you thinkin’?” he wondered aloud before shaking his head, resting his chin atop the crown of auburn tresses tucked against his shoulder. 

  “Nah, to be quite honest I didn’t think I’d ever see any of you again — mind you I hoped. I hoped for a good long while until I got old enough that it seemed silly to hold out for that sort of thing. The world’s a big place, and I heard it through the grapevine the gang was scattered far and wide,” he trailed off, watching the television but not truly watching, now adrift with her in thoughts of the past; of what ifs.

  “Sometimes I thought about what it might be like to put the military life behind me — go find Sephy and travel the world just like we said we would,” he chuckled. “Didn’t even know where to start lookin’. Was afraid of what I’d find if I did. So I didn’t,” he admitted with a touch of guilt. 

  “Funny enough it wasn’t until then that y’all showed up again. Just when I’d let it go... ” he chuckled, lifting his head again. “Fate’s weird like that sometimes.”  

[le-immorte]

[sharpxshootin]

( @sunny-explosions​ continued from x )

  It was uncanny, not realizing how very impulsive he could be until he’d met her — well... reconnected, really. Even as they stood there part of his brain was mulling over just how many days he could get away wearing the same pair of underwear, turning them inside out, backwards, washing them in the sink. Then again it wasn’t as if life under Garden employment didn’t pay well enough to afford a new set of clothes. 

  Still, as tempting as the thought was, and as much as he never wanted those dainty fingers to uncurl from his jacket, he had an obligation to a certain blonde-haired friend who’d taken a sudden and intense interest in all things Centran. 

  “A few days lounging in a hotel in my underwear not having to worry a lick about work sounds mighty nice,” he admitted with a smile that bordered on apologetic in spite of the genuine enthusiasm of his words. 

  “But without you beside me the entire time, who knows what sort of trouble I might get into,” he chuckled, reaching up to trace a strand of hair out of her face before swiping his finger down the bridge of her nose affectionately. “Best I stay here where someone more responsible can keep an eye on me,” he winked, leaning down at her behest to return the tender kiss that always seemed far too short when leaving her company. The way he curled her in tight against his body in a hug that practically enveloped her with his entire being confirmed as much.

  “I’ll be here waitin’, first face you’ll see when you get back,” he spoke the promise into the crown of her hair. It wasn’t until the train chimed a third time for last boarding call that he let go and gently turned her around toward the locomotive, giving her a gentle spank on the rear to send her off. 

  “Be safe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

[sharpxshootin]

(hc meme) We've talked a little itty bit about it before, but I kinda love the idea of Selphie and Irvine teaching each other words in their native tongues when they're young, which stick with them even as they grow older. Selphie eventually forgets /where/ she learned these mysterious words, although she doesn't forget the words themselves or their meanings, and it only finally dawns on her when Irvine casually slips one into a conversation one day.

Okay, this has been sitting in my inbox forever because I just love looking at it so much and I haven’t taken the time to address how much I love this headcanon. They absolutely did, and still do speak to each other this way, and Irvine loves slipping into Galbadian from time to time, knowing she doesn’t understand (though I’m sure she picks up on it after a while). Also Irvine mumbling in Galbadian when he’s sleepy, or in his sleep.

But yes. Give me sweet little Selphie trying to help Irvine with his pronunciation, reading books with him, and him taking her around and pointing out various objects and animals and plants and teaching her the words for them like his parents did for him. 

So much love <3

[sharpxshootin]

misplacedheroics‌:

Seifer promised Squall that he would not go chasing after demons he had no business fighting but once an idea is in his head, yet it’s near impossible to just let it go. The thought was quick to latch on inside his mind and begin consuming the better portion of his days, making it damn near impossible to concentrate on anything else.

On the third day, Seifer began to seek out a place of solitude – somewhere quiet where he would be able to find out what he could about this ‘primordial guardian’ without prying eyes. The sub levels between the ground floor and the MD levels were his first choice considering there was virtually zero foot traffic and no other soul had any clue about them unless they were actively searching for them. A long-forgotten access, and at the end of a winding corridor of narrow passage ways and dark corners would be a small little nook, right beside a rusted door labeled ‘Compressor Room, Side B.’ 

And just next to the door, Irvine would find Seifer sitting on the ground along with the efforts of his fixation. Images, maps, data collected (or rather, stolen) from the third floor are all spread out in a half circle around. It’s fairly obvious what he’s after–

Seifer promised Squall – but Seifer believed Squall needn’t fear the result of a hundred battles with this being so long as Seifer knows the enemy as well as he knows himself.

But he needed food, and a second pair of eyes. When the generators in the compressor room kick off, there’s a dense fog that looms in his ears, but Seifer hears Irvine’s voice just fine– but he’s busy to look up. All he can muster as he searches in his bag for a book– “Wuss,” before pulling it out – a Centran book of mythical lore.

Yes, he’s reaching that deep with this.

“Pop a squat,” Seifer’s got a space already set up for Irvine, “How much you know about Centran lore?”

  The text couldn’t have come at a better time — Selphie had been busy working on a fundraiser and he’d just stepped out of the shower after a day outside at the target range. Granted, it was vague as always — A grainy photo of the MD level with an “x” scrawled hastily down a corridor, accompanied by the message “bring food” and nothing more. 

  Irvine snorted softly, shaking his head and hastily pulling his hair back out of his face into an elastic before pocketing his effects and making his way out the door.

  He’d arrive as prompted, alerting the other to his presence by wiggling a brown paper bag in front of his face, apparently to little effect, a brow lifting at the half-baked insult followed by an eager invitation. 

  Centran lore? Well... this was a very different flavor of conversation than their usual.

  “Centra, huh?” he wondered aloud, crouching down on the balls of his feet and setting the bag in front of him, palm swiping against palm before folding his arms over his knees. “Aside from some old folk tales about Hyne and sorceresses, and hanging out in the belly of old buildings like this,” he glanced up, gesturing vaguely, “not a whole hell of a lot... why?” He creased his brow, only just then seeming to notice the littering of pages and volumes and folders and pictures strewn about the floor, one or two occasionally fluttering its corners in a gust from a turbine somewhere deep in the bowels of the Garden beast.

  “Administration got you writing a paper or somethin’? Didn’t realize you were still taking classes.” 

[sharpxshootin]

[sharpxshootin]

A little late on the upload, but a Happy Birthday to my dear Irvine here! Gotta show him off lookin’ sharp af.