Slow Degrees

Author's Note: This one also takes place after the events in the game and after the events my Long Shadows Before Dawn fic.

Squall frowned at the computer screen in front of him.

Even though he had become the commander of Balamb Garden, he had purposely chosen to continue to do field assignments for SeeD. Partially because it would be ideal to help train newer members of the organization, but also because he never was completely comfortable with his new position. Being a part of missions gave Squall confidence that he could still have a clear eye on what SeeD was doing in the world while also being the one who handed out assignments and made decisions that affected the lives of those living at Garden.

Not to mention that it gave him a good excuse to avoid doing paperwork every day.

Unfortunately, paperwork had a way of multiplying when it was neglected, an idea Laguna told him about frequently. Squall didn't always trust in the wisdom of his father's words, but this was one thing that he agreed with Laguna on right away.

Especially now that he was facing a week's worth of neglect on his computer.

Squall reached up and rubbed his forehead. He had a couple of SeeD personnel who assisted him on administrative things, but he was reluctant to delegate most of this to them. Delegating meant that he might not always know everything that was going on at Garden which Squall considered unacceptable.

Still, scrolling through more than one page of inventory invoices and progress reports made Squall question that stance even if it was just a little bit.

"Squall? Are you here?"

Squall looked up at the sound of Irvine's voice. He was more than a little surprised to hear it as it was Cosplay Night at Garden and was fully aware that a robot maid anime had recently become popular among the students. And yet, there was no mistaking that voice or the comfortable swagger of the gunman as he walked into Squall's office.

"There you are," Irvine smiled. "Selphie wanted me to tell you that Rinoa's still waiting for you to join the party. And that the Balamb Sweet Cakes she saved for you won't be around forever."

Squall let out a small sigh. He had thought more than once about telling Rinoa that he planned on skipping the cosplay party tonight, but never could bring himself to do it. Partially because he knew that he'd get a lecture about how he was working too much. And partially because he knew she was right about that.

Irvine moved to stand next to Squall behind his desk. "Six hundred unanswered communications?!" he said before letting out a long whistle. "No wonder why you haven't joined the party yet."

"Irvine, tell Rinoa that I'll be out there as soon as I…."

"Not a chance," Irvine chuckled. "We both know that you're not going to leave this office until you make a dent in this paperwork. And I don't want to deal with how Rinoa will react when she realizes how bad it is in here."

Squall sighed again and was about to try some other tactic to get Irvine to leave, but was stopped when Irvine pulled up a chair to sit next to him.

"Ok, how about I handle the inventory invoices while you get to some of those progress reports?" Irvine said, taking a spare laptop out of the desk drawer in front of him.

"Irvine, you don't have to…."

"Nah, I don't, nor do I want to, trust me," Irvine chuckled again. "But I think I get why you don't have Ralia or Teenia doing any of this even though they are your secretaries. Because they're trainees and they are still learning the ins and outs of running a Garden. Especially how you're going to run it."

Squall blinked in surprise and watched as Irvine leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the edge of his desk. "Look Squall, I know you don't like to delegate. And I'm sure Rinoa and Selphie and the rest of them know it too. But that's why I'm here getting ready to do the most boring job in all of Garden. Because you need to see that delegating isn't so bad. And I know it'll be easier for you to see that if one of us helps out first."

Squall rubbed his forehead again. A small part of him wanted to be annoyed at how Irvine was giving him no choice in the matter, but that was brushed aside by the gratefulness he felt.

"We won't go through all six hundred of these," Squall said. "I know you don't want to miss out on the costume rally."

"Absolutely not," Irvine said. "Even if I'm sure Selphie is going to win anyway."

"Irvine…I…."

"Just save me one of those Sweet Cakes, ok?" Irvine grinned at him. "Consider the rest of it just what friends are for."