To Trust A Cop

Beta: working on it
Notes: Thank you for your comments, even though there was no smut in the chapter. Sadly to say, there’s no smut in this either... *don’t hit me!*
But, as the lot of you’ve figured out, Nida is a roadblock, he needs to be dealt with and it will change things in the story ;)
Even though it might or might not be subtle....


30

He had finished his homework. Barely. Hopefully Teo wouldn’t review them except for the problems Squall had. To say the least, the brunet felt guilty. However, the guilty feeling didn’t drown out the… dread.

The youth puffed some air in front of him and swatted at it like he had done as a child. He sighed and slowly dragged his feet through the gate, up the staircase and stopped in front of the familiar door.

Hyne, he couldn’t do this. What was he going to say? How would he be able to look the teacher in the eyes? Even yet, how was he going to be able to get anything done in the same room as him? The youth got hot and bothered just remembering. And it was not arousing things happening. Plainly embarrassment.

Squall cursed under his breath and walked a few steps back and forth, not crossing any windows. This was ridicules. It wasn’t like he hadn’t slept with others and seen them again. It wasn’t as if he had ever been taken to some fucking bdsm club and put under shear torture before.

Squall wanted to bang his head against something. Being sleep deprived didn't make this any better. He wanted to blame Nida for the lack of sleep, but mostly it was his own head spinning too much. Worrying about the cop and the thief meeting. Worrying about homework and the coming test. Worrying about this particular meeting.

The youth stopped in front of the door and raised his hand to ring the bell. But stopped himself. What did he say? Should he just say hi like usually? Did he have to mention… that night? Would Teo hope for more? Or even expect it?

The youth took another loop about the porch. This was ridicules. If anyone saw him they’d think he was some stalker or something. Out of insanity, his hand quickly hit the bell. Seconds after his stomach sucked it into itself and his heart jumped up in his throat. Let him not be home.

As the door opened, Squall wanted to study the black haired man’s feet, but such a thing was not possible. It was not his way of dealing with things.

Looking at the teacher, it was hard to imagine the night. Not when Teo was dressed in his regularly comfortable clothes. Plus some fluffy slippers and a cup of steaming tee. They stood silent for a long time, those dark eyes was searching him in a way so typical adults. Squall had to flicker with his eyes.

“Hi.”

It sounded awkward. It was awkward. Teo smiled that warm broad smile so typical of him.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come back. Come inside, it’s freezing,” the teacher greeted and left the door wide open for him.

He disappeared to the study and leaved Squall on his own. The brunet slowly took off his jacket and boots. See, that wasn’t so bad. If you didn’t count the rapid heart beat or harsh breathing or the sweaty palms. Why should he feel this way? It was just a one nightstand.

The youth slowly made his way to the study. Stepping inside, he couldn’t quite look at the teacher and at the same time couldn’t not look at him. Squall didn’t want to seem as if this bothered him. Not when Teo seemed fine. Those dark eyes were watching him over the rim of reading glasses.

“You okay?” he asked genuinely concerned.

Squall nodded but it didn’t wipe the worried expression away.

“Almasy haven’t told me anything so I wouldn’t know. Didn’t he talk to you before hand?” the teacher asked softly while Squall got seated and took out his books.

Squall only shook his head, not sure his voice would be completely reliable. Teo’s face darkened and his lips made a disapproving quirk.

“Always was the bastard, always will be. Just smack his head, maybe he’ll even get some sense in it,” Teo smirked.

Squall had to smile at that.

“So, done you’re homework?” the teacher smiled, completely shifting subject.

Squall was eager to follow suite.

“Yeah.”

He gave the man the papers and sat in silence while Teo corrected them. Feeling hungry in a way he hadn’t felt for a couple days now, Squll helped himself to some biscuits and tee. The black haired man hummed affirmative.

“Good work. I don’t think we need to put anymore time on social structures or history. It’s enough if you read the books and makes the questions for each chapter,” Teo concluded.

Squall sort of agreed. It wasn’t very difficult once someone had told him how to go about it.

“Here, finish this and I’ll bring you something to eat,” Teo smiled.

“I’m fine,” the youth protested.

“Just do it and I’ll be back in a minute.”

Squall held himself from pouting and instead sighed as he started on today’s test. It had actually been a good plan. To have him do these tests every time. He wasn’t at all nervous about them anymore. Maybe because they knew each other by now. He had never gotten a difficult test. Always just about what they had studied or what the chapters had been about that he got in homework.

Time was lost as Squall wrote the test and Teo made whatever food he had been talking about. As the teacher returned, Squall was nearly finished. At seeing the large lunch, Squall tried protesting again.

“You’re always hungry, so don’t argue.”

At that the brunet had to pout which made the man chuckle. It was true Squall always grew hungry at these sessions. Which was stupid since he wasn’t doing anything else than sitting around listening, reading or writing.

The next hour was lost to math and Estharian. Both subjects Squall had difficulty with and started to hate with a passion. He wasn’t going to paint anything at the other side of the fucking ocean, so why learn a language he would never use? And who by Hyne used numbers when making art? He could mix colours and prepare a canvas without having to measure it with numbers. Squall put down his pen and stretched as Teo declared the lesson to be over.

“You seem cool considering the test coming up,” the teacher commented.

The brunet blinked confusedly at the other. He had no earthly notion what Teo was talking about. A black eyebrow arched.

“That big-scares-you-to-death test? It’s in the beginning of Pandemona remember?”

All of a sudden every drop of warm blood seemed to vanish completely. The comfortable feeling changed to stomach clenching panic in a heart beat.

“Hey, Squall, you’re fine. Nothing to worry about,” the teacher tried to calm.

Pandemona? It was that close? Less than a month. How could he have forgotten it? And he wasn’t done yet! He had tons of math and Estharian yet to learn. His legs seemed like jelly as they had just seconds ago been prepared to take him away from there. Instead Squall stayed seated and rubbed the bridge between his eyes.

A heavy hand on his shoulder made him look up into dark eyes.

“You’re going to make this. I’ve seen the tests plenty of times and I’ve prepared you properly,” Teo said softly.

The youth could only nod. Hyne, why couldn’t Teo just have told him a week ahead or something? He needed to sleep.

*****

It took forever to get home. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about Seifer, because he seriously didn’t have time with the man. Not so close to the test. Once home he dragged his feet up the stairs.

He couldn’t let himself be distracted by Nida. So they knew each other from before, big deal? Nida had his to worry about and Squall couldn’t afford the energy to worry about the man. Though, if he didn’t bring any money to the household, then Squall would have problems.

The brunet slowly opened the door once noticing it unlocked. Nida was so irresponsible. Anyone could walk straight inside and he wouldn’t notice.

“Hello,” Squall greeted.

“Squall?” Nida called from the kitchen.

The brunet rolled his eyes. Who else would it be?

“Yeah.”

He threw his jacket at a box and took off his boots. Squall frowned as Nida kept unusually quiet. Otherwise he was all noise and jumping around. Squall took a couple breaths to steady himself. If the man was high, Squall wasn’t sure he would not beat him up.

As he entered the kitchen, the world turned a funny grey and he had that feeling of every drop of blood freezing in his body again.

“Hi,” the older man greeted with a little gesture of his hand.

“Hi school-boy, done with your lessons?”

Squall could just stare mutedly at the cop. Seifer sat at his favour spot with his back to the wall so he faced the kitchen entrance. One ankle rested at his knee and one hand was comfortable atop the table. The other rested at a thick thigh. Looking so relaxed and at the same time the green eyes spoke of some other violent emotion.

He was panicking. He couldn’t make his head work and he needed it working. How long had they been alone? Judging by the sweaty parts on Nida it could be hours. The criminal looked terrified. White rimmed eyes and trembling hands. Squall could understand him. The man had never been able to stand up to the tougher ones.

“What’re you doing here?” Squall asked evenly.

The blond just gave him a look that asked if he really should spell it out. Hyne, what was he going to do? He could hardly breathe. His stomach was a hard knot that started to make his whole body cramp.

Seifer slowly rose. That slow, calculated movement that made you think of a big predator. One of those feline predators with long sharp fangs. Nida made a pathetic squeak as he was grabbed around his neck and bodily lifted from the chair. The blond pushed the thief from the kitchen past Squall but stopped in front of the brunet.

“Why don’t you go get some air?” Squall suggested while crossing his arms since Nida didn’t seem to get the point and Seifer wasn’t inclined to tell him.

“Yeah… sure, I’ll… Go out there so, yeah.”

As the door closed the silence seemed to bang at his eardrums. The intense stare he got from the cop made him want to flicker with his eyes and start squirming. The blond leaned a hand at both sides of the kitchen entrance and leaned down until they was eye level.

“So this is what had your pants in a knot earlier?” he said lowly.

Squall raised his head defiantly. He wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer and even if he had he didn’t know what to say.

“I hope you two use protection because I’m not to sure I want to be where he has been,” Seifer growled and Squall hissed.

“We’re not fucking,” he hissed angrily and pushed past the cop to dump his backpack at the table.

“No? What’s he doing here?”

“Visiting.”

“Visiting? That’s a fucking long visit, considering all his things are spread over the apartment,” the cop sneered.

“He needed someplace to sleep, back off!” The youth growled.

“He’s awake now, kick him out.”

Squall banged his fist in the table. Surprising them both to a degree.

“Damn it! It’s none of your business who I let live here!”

“He’s a fucking street rat! You invite that kind of sort you’re asking for trouble!” Seifer roared.

Never being screamed at before made the brunet calm down. Instead he glared heatedly at the blond. Like he didn’t know that already?

“You don’t know that. Just because he can’t afford some fancy clothes,” Squall growled and the blond just gave a dry snort.

“You think I’m dumb or something? He got robber and addict written all over himself.”

Seifer stepped closer and Squall gave a warning glare. Surprisingly enough, the man stopped. They stared at each other for a long while. In the end Seifer made some mumbled curse and turned to the sink to drink some water. If he really was thirsty or if it was just some excuse to break the stance Squall didn’t know. He didn’t care either.

He should be so furious he threw knifes after the man. But he wasn’t. His anger was the reaction to guilt and fear. Squall knew it and it made him just feel miserable. When had the cop’s opinion started to mean something for him? He knew Nida wasn’t safe in the least to be living with. He knew from first hand experience. But he couldn’t just turn his back on the man.

“How long is he staying?” Seifer growled.

“A couple weeks.”

The cop nodded and cleaned the glass before putting it at the plate rack. He turned around to lean against the sink with arms crossed. Squall preferred to start unpacking his backpack instead of meeting green eyes.

“Who is he anyway?”

“An old friend,” Squall answered lowly since the cop too had lowered his voice again.

“Well, your old friend is a fucking leach. If I find one syringe or as much as a particle of a powder, he’s in for it.”

“What do you have against him? It’s not so easy living like we do. Somehow we gotta live,” Squall growled but checked his temper.

“Oh? I don’t see you eating pills or using needles? Just what’s the difference between the two of you except brain cells?” the cop growled back.

Not very much you could say about that. Couldn’t very well tell the cop Squall actually had a plus in his life. So he kept concentrating at his books and backpacks instead of having to look at the blond. They were silent for another while.

“How are the lessons going?” Seifer asked softly.

“Good. The test is in a few weeks,” Squall answered lowly.

He was eager to change subject. It wasn’t a comfortable one but it had other reasons.

“Already? Need any help?”

Squall looked up at that with an arched eyebrow. Almasy made a wry smirk.

“Guess you’re better off without me.”

“I need to study… So I don’t have much time,” Squall started but didn’t say it all.

Seifer just smirked and stepped closer until he could lean his hands at the table and look Squall in the eyes.

“For fucking? We could count the times you come.”

Squall just glared half heartedly and the blond chuckled. But he straightened and made for the door.

“I’m not up for it any way. That little rat destroyed my mood,” the cop grumbled.

Squall stood in the kitchen entrance with arms crossed over his chest while Seifer took on shoes and jacket. It felt weird just standing there watching the man get ready to leave. The last months he had either been asleep or in the shower or they left at the same time. The cop opened the door but stopped out in the hall.

“And tell that idiot to lock the door behind him,” Almasy growled before leaving.

Squall almost smiled at that. Once the door was closed and securely locked, he sighed deeply. They were going to be the death of him.


Author’s Note:
I was really struggling with the Teo confrontation and I was really having fun with the whole Nida-Seifer-Squall thingy.

As always, I live on your reviews as well as some seem to live on the chapters... So! It’s symbiotic! I get my reviews, you get your chapters! :D