"Life Long Forgotten"

By: fluffy pantoufle

Disclaimer: FF8 is the property of Square Enix, and I am in no way affiliated with them!

A/N: Greetings! This is my long-awaited attempt at reviving my fanfic writing "career," if you will. I've been writing on and off here since 2000 under
a myriad of different pen names. Please enjoy reading this fic, and feel free to comment on whatever you wish! I know that Zell/Rinoa stories
are usually pretty farfetched, but I'm determined to make this pairing as realistic and enjoyable as possible!

Thunder crashes.

Zell woke up in a cold sweat from the sound of nature's aggression outside his bedroom window. Trying desperately to remember the contents of his dreams, he ran a hand through his ruffled, blonde hair and took a deep breath. This was the second or third night this week in which a thunderstorm had interrupted his sleep; why the weather was being so tumultuous as of late, he had no idea. It was nights like this that reminded him of being five or six years old again and at the orphanage - he smiled at the memory. Zell recalled pulling his blanket up over his head and clutching his stuffed turtle to his chest, waiting for the storm to pass.

His mind gradually wandered back to his dreams, and the blonde's eyebrows furrowed as he unsuccessfully pieced together their contents. He could remember faces, but no one was ever clear enough to distinguish. When the faces were particularly blurry, Zell knew that he had been dreaming about his parents. Unlike several of his friends, he had a very hazy idea of what his parents were like. Unfortunately, due to the use of his Guardian Forces, his memories of them had waned over the years.

Zell always associated his mother with warmth. She had long blonde hair that often tickled his face when she held him. He knew that when she gave hugs, they were loving and protective. Her voice was high and full of inflection.

Zell's father, on the other hand… The young man had always just assumed that his father was a busy guy and wasn't around too often. He had light brown hair - or was it red? In Zell's dreams, his father was always very tall, but that was probably how he perceived him as a baby. Whether or not he was affectionate, or funny, or cared about anything at all, Zell didn't know.

Sleep wasn't coming back to Zell anytime soon; he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms high above his head. It would come as a surprise to many that Zell Dincht was not only clownish and impulsive, but also quite thoughtful when the time was right. It bothered him in a way that his friends didn't seem to worry about their pasts. Selphie, Irvine, Quistis - hell, even Seifer - it was their right to know.

He stood and flipped on the light. It had been several years after the defeat of Ultimecia, and life had remained surprisingly quiet around Balamb Garden. With Squall at the helm Garden maintained a predictable atmosphere, but after all that they had witnessed this wasn't a bad thing. Zell and several of his friends began to teach classes at various levels - Zell, Irvine and Selphie were placed in charge of novice classes, which were always fun and engaging. Quistis remained with the more advanced SeeD candidates.

Rinoa, however…

Zell always found it funny that Rinoa, with her bubbly personality, never took to teaching the younger cadets. As far as he knew, she spent the majority of her time with Squall and Angelo, wandering the grounds and socializing with everyone. Even several years after Ultimecia, Balamb Garden must have been a fascinating place for Rinoa Heartilly, and one that the others had probably taken for granted at times. On more than one occasion Zell had run into Rinoa in the library, trying to read up on information that was commonplace to most SeeDs.

There was another bright flash at Zell's window, but without thunder to accompany it. However, in lieu of the thunder, he heard a flurry of commotion outside of his door. He ran over to open the door and check it out. As he did, Zell realized he was face to face with Selphie, who had her fist up in preparation to knock.

"Oh my gosh, ZELL!" Her green eyes were wide with fear, and he noticed immediately that her fist was shaking like a leaf. "Have you heard anything?!"

He shrugged, confused. "Other than the thunder outside, no…"

Selphie shook her head. "No, not that - about Rinoa!"

Zell cocked his head to the side. "Rinoa? What the heck are you talking about, Selph?"

Clearly, Zell had been asleep for longer than he imagined he was. Selphie took several glances around at the bustle around her before concentrating on Zell again. "She's in the Infirmary right now. I think she got struck by lightning in the storm, but no one's told me anything and I can't find Squall anywhere!"

Lightning? Rinoa? Infirmary? "Wait…WHAT?"

"C'mon!" Selphie grabbed Zell's hand and began to tug him down the hallway, not even giving him sufficient time to lock his door. "We've gotta go find Squall somewhere!"

Thunder crashes.

With the boom of the thunder came Angelo's soft whimpers as he tried to press himself as close to Rinoa as possible. The raven haired beauty encouragingly scratched his head, behind his ears, but to no avail. She had to stop walking because if she even tried to take one more step the dog would inadvertently have tripped her.

"Angelo, shh… It's only a passing storm. You'll be all right."

All Rinoa wanted to do was take an evening walk before she went to bed. As far as she knew, the skies were supposed to remain clear, but they decided to take a turn for the worse about twenty minutes into her excursion. Angelo loved accompanying her on her walks, as she tried to leave Garden at least several times each week. Strolling the meadows helped the girl to clear her mind and be at peace with everything that was happening around her.

She had been living in Balamb Garden with Squall and the others for at least two and a half years at this point. On the whole, Rinoa couldn't complain - who would trade a positive living environment with friends and security for anything else? However, there were fleeting moments in her daily routine in which she felt like an outsider, despite her internal protests with herself. Aimless banter with Selphie and Quistis could potentially become confusing for Rinoa if she wasn't familiar with SeeD jargon. Seifer had been readmitted to Garden and never had a warm expression on his face when crossing her.

And Squall…

Rinoa could never deny her love for Squall Leonhart. In a world where so many people couldn't find a partner, she counted her stars every day for having him in her life. At the same time, she was aware of the fact that most people viewed their relationship as perfection personified. There certainly were subtle nuances in their bond that seemed perfect, but she would also be the first to admit that there were problems.

Since being appointed Commander of Garden, Squall took his job seriously. At first, Rinoa found this to be admirable. However, as time wore on and the threats against Garden's existence ceased to be, he still worked relentlessly. It was a rare moment indeed to see him relaxed, with Rinoa or anyone. For him to hang out with anyone other than Xu or Nida - which wasn't even leisure time, as they both worked as his assistants - was a luxury that Squall felt he couldn't afford.

Perhaps it was just the amount of responsibility that was given to him that made him feel so dedicated to Garden. Maybe it was the fact that he wanted to make up for whatever mistakes he felt occurred in his past. Rinoa couldn't pinpoint one specific reason, despite the fact that she had wracked her brain over and over again. Discussions with him about the topic in question always ended in heated argument; Squall had become more open about many things, but for some reason work wasn't one of them.

Regardless, Rinoa was dedicated to him. She also counted herself lucky for the friends she had in her life. As long as the conversation wasn't too militaristic, Quistis and Selphie were fabulous to pal around with. Irvine and Zell had become her brothers in a sense, and it wasn't uncommon to see them running around Garden with a couple of the younger cadets, causing mischief. Even Headmaster Cid and Dr. Kadowaki had made themselves available to Rinoa at times, to converse or help her understand how Balamb Garden functioned.

Of all her friends, though, Rinoa had bonded most closely with Zell over the past several years. He had a quality about him that most of the young men in Garden didn't have - it was this boyish, natural charm that Zell simply oozed. The traits of Rinoa's personality seemed to mix perfectly with this. If there was ever a time when Rinoa or Zell couldn't be found, all one had to do was head to the opposite's dorm room and knock on the door. If one wasn't familiar with the situation it probably did look fishy, but seeing as most of Garden knew both Rinoa and Zell, no one ever thought their friendship to contain infidelity.

He's also the only one that never made me feel like a weirdo…

Rain began to fall down upon Rinoa and Angelo. The droplets were few and far between, but over a period of several minutes picked up pace. She looked up into the dark sky, tinted gray from the storm clouds, and saw a flash of lightning in the distance. A whistle escaped her lips in order to get Angelo to follow her, and Rinoa began to head back to Garden. Her hair whipped around her face as the wind picked up and also as her glance floundered from side to side, checking for monsters of any kind.

Out of nowhere, the rain began to fall in sheets, completely drenching Rinoa's clothes; she was chilled to the bone. Another loud clap of thunder sent Angelo running towards Balamb Garden. The poor raven-haired girl was too flustered to shout, so she simply began to run after him. She didn't realize how far they had walked, and with the rain the ground was becoming soft and muddy. The soft glow of Garden's lights illuminated her path, but it wasn't enough. Rinoa slipped in a particularly huge puddle and went flying into a ditch.

"Angelo…" She laid there for a moment, murmuring the dog's name. Rinoa feared she had hit her head, but woozily tried to stand up anyway. "Angelo?"

It was then that a blinding flash and a loud crash overcame Rinoa's senses. She tried to scream, but everything came toppling down on her too fast, far too fast.

And then it all went black.