"Sunset Memory" by jolt527
Squall leaned over the balcony of the side deck as the Garden hovered above the ocean. He was watching the sunset, and enjoyed the way the last rays of light reflected off the water. It was simply beautiful, and he couldn't help but take the time out of his busy schedule to see this amazing sight. Being the commander of the Garden was quite stressing at times, and this was just one of the little things that made the experience a little more bearable.
"Squall?" a familiar voice called out. He turned to see Quistis, with a small grin on her face. "I knew you'd be out here. You always liked the sunset, even as a child."
"What are you talking about?" Squall questioned. It had been confirmed not too long ago that the Guardian Forces that SeeDs had been utilizing had one side effect to borrowing their powers - the suppressing of its user's memories. Sometimes memories would come back as time passed, but many childhood memories had been robbed from the SeeDs. "Do you remember something that I don't?"
"Why else would I come up here?" Quistis asked. "Don't you remember that one night? You left the orphanage because you couldn't stand to watch Seifer and Zell fight again. You left for the beach, your favorite place·"
"Where I went for some peace and quiet," Squall remembered, "but you followed me·"
Squall sat on the beach, finally away from all the fighting and shouting between Seifer and Zell. As he watched the sunset boast all of its beautiful colors, he heard footsteps from behind him.
"Squall?" Quistis asked. "Why did ya' run off like that?"
"I just needed to get away from Zell and Seifer fightin' again," Squall replied as he continued to watch the sun's final rays hit the beach. Quistis walked over beside him and sat down to where their shoulders were touching. "But, why're you here?"
"I thought you might like some company·" Quistis began. "·It gets kinda lonely when there's a sunset and ya got no one to share it with."
Squall would never admit it, but he did get lonely outside by himself. "You know," Squall started after a few seconds, "I really don't like it when others are with me when I'm here on the beach, but I don't mind you here for some reason."
"Thanks," Quistis said with a little grin. She'd liked Squall, and she wanted to take her chances with him tonight. Even though they were just kids, it wouldn't hurt to try this 'love' thing once. She let her hand touch Squall's, and he took it without hesitation. "I really like you Squall·"
"I like ya' too, Quisty," he replied. "You're the only girl around here that I can really get along with." With that, Quistis hugged him and Squall put his arm around her. The two watched as a star-filled sky replaced the sunlit beach·
"You remembered," Quistis added after a few seconds of silence between the two. "I thought that you had forgotten it so quickly. Do you also remember·"
"The shooting star?" Squall interrupted. Quistis nodded. "Yeah. I think that's why I was so attracted to Rinoa at first - the shooting star I saw at the SeeD inauguration ball brought back memories of you, but I accidentally connected that feeling with Rinoa. I also remember that was when we first kissed·"
"We were just little kids then·" Quistis added as she blushed. "·But I was so attracted to you nonetheless." Quistis slowly walked towards Squall and the two embraced. As Squall held on to her, she leaned towards his ear and whispered, "I love you."
Squall leaned back a little to look in her eyes. She was so beautiful to him, just like how he used to think about her. Any thoughts of Rinoa quickly left his mind as he could only think about his first true love. The two slowly leaned towards each other, letting their lips brush together. As their kiss broke he whispered back, "I·I love you too. I guess that I was too young to be able to truly understand it, though." The small, playful kisses that followed quickly turned into long passionate ones, and the memory they shared that night long ago was quickly resumed·
