Written for Kasumi_Blue on LiveJournal
Prompt: Uh... you know my favorite pairing.
Character(s): Squall, Bartz
Warning(s): Pre-Slash
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Square Enix or anyone who hold rights to Dissidia: Final Fantasy. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

A frown, more severe than his usual expression, marred Squall's face as he meticulously went about cleaning his gunblade. Something wasn't right. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but somehow he just knew that something was wrong. How he knew this, he wasn't sure - which unsettled him greatly. He just did. Strange. Such an odd feeling, usually he just kept on moving and didn't allow himself to be bothered by the particulars. Why was he fussing over something that probably had no basis in reality? He should just focus on taking the utmost advantage of this lull in the conflict and make sure that his Revolver was working properly. He didn't need it breaking down in the midst of a fight... Wait. Brief moments of peace may leave him fidgety, but that wasn't the reason he was feeling unsettled. Not this time. It was quiet. Too quiet. Especially when he factored in his present traveling companion. Bartz just didn't do quiet.

Shaking his head briefly at his apparent lack of attention, Squall looked over at his... friend. His frown deepened at what he saw. The self-proclaimed wanderer was just sitting there quietly -eerily-, not really moving much at all, which was strange in and of itself. Even when he was just resting for a short time, Bartz didn't ever really stop moving. If he wasn't swinging his legs, he was gesturing animatedly along with whatever subject he'd decided to babble on about. Right now he was just sitting there, studying his crystal with a somber expression. What in the world?

"Bartz," Squall ventured flatly, knowing he was going to regret this but unable to continue ignoring it. Bartz just tended to have that effect on him. "What is it?"

"Eh?" Bartz puffed out unhelpfully as he glanced back in curiosity.

Squall kept his face void of expression, refusing to acknowledge the small sense of relief he felt as that distant look fled his friend's face. "Something's bothering you. What is it?"

"Oh," Bartz mumbled hesitantly as he turned his attention back to his crystal. "I just... miss it, ya know?"

Squall blinked. The statement didn't quite parse with what he knew about Bartz. The idiot was always so gung ho about whatever he was doing, which unfortunately usually meant getting into trouble more often than not. But no, Squall didn't know all that much about the other Warriors of Cosmos, now did he? He just kept to himself like he'd always done before. It tended to work more often than not. But not always. And perhaps... that wasn't the best approach in their present circumstances. "Miss what?"

"The feather, you know?" Bartz answered easily enough as he shifted his crystal around, twisting his lips unhappily as light glinted off the many surfaces. "It nice to have the crystal and all, but it's not the same thing. It was just... really important to me."

Squall blinked again. The feather, of course. Bartz's good luck charm... and his as well. It had kept him grounded when he'd needed it. But if it was that important then why had he given it away in the first place? That didn't make sense. "Why did you give it to me then?"

Bartz smiled cheerfully at that. "Well, because you're important too."

Squall blinked yet again. It was the only way he knew how to respond to Bartz's baffling behavior. He was important too? What did that even mean? He wasn't a good luck charm or anything. To be perfectly honest, he was probably the complete opposite. It wasn't like he went out of his way to make that sort of impression on somebody. Why would Bartz think that way about him? It just didn't make any sort of sense.

Well, maybe it didn't have to, Squall thought in bemusement as Bartz launched into a long, drawn out story about how he had ended up with a chocobo feather as a good luck charm in the first place. At least the idiot wasn't looking so morose now. That was worth the irritation.

Bartz grinned widely as he regaled Squall with tales of the heroic Boko, and why he trusted the chocobo with more than his life. Squall allowed himself a tiny, minuscule smile as he bent back to the task of cleaning his weapon. He knew Bartz had seen it, but just this once he wouldn't second guess himself. It felt right. That was good enough for him.