A.N. This is just something I wrote one night after remembering the greatest couple in gaming history. This is a tribute to Squall and Rinoa and the relationship they develop in the game. I hope you find it worthy of the game's genius.

The Visionary

Dream

It was a dream, Rinoa decided as she felt the muscled arms around her, the sleek, toned torso against which she lay pulsing with the rhythm of life as his breath tickled her ear. He always held her in her dreams, always after they made love he would take her in his arms and hold her through the night just like this. They were both naked beneath the thin sheets of his bed, their legs intertwined and her smaller frame snuggled into the curve of his body in sleep as fragrant breezes carried the scent of Balamb Island's meadows through his open window.

Moonlight lit everything with a pale, ethereal glow, a cool touch upon her breast as she shifted calling her gaze down to the slim silver chain around her neck. Two rings hung upon it and thousands of memories spiralled through her mind at each one. Her mother, soft, caring, a scent, a feeling, no face to put to them. The second, a lion, a prideful savage, her warrior, her protector, his breath touched her ear once more, stirring her raven hair, her lover.

She took in a deep breath and his scent filled her, this was his bed, their bed now, the sheets bore his scent, a spicy musk that called forth yet more memories of him. She remembered the first time she had smelt his scent, a facility in Esthar, a strike of his sword, billowing clouds of gas and his form enveloping her as her guardian angel. That was just one of the times she had known with such absolute certainty that it almost scared her, that she was in love with him.

She smiled as she ran her fingers delicately across the back of the hand curled around her stomach, holding her back against him. The skin was rough. Years of wielding his gunblade had worked his long, slim fingers into powerful tools that curled instinctively around hers with gentleness that would have stunned someone who had not felt his touch as a lover. His lips mumbled something in his sleep, her name drifting across her ears to bring another smile to her features.

More memories, these one new, intense. Last night, the party, the balcony, her first true dance with Squall, then her second, and third, and fourth… The tenderness in him had brought tears to her eyes as he held her and together they stared out over the ocean. No-one had ever seen him like that, she knew it, and so treasured every moment of it as a precious stone. It was not a dream.

In her dreams she was never able to remember each whispered word, each heated embrace. The memory of his eyes gave her reality, shimmering pools of aqua-marine that had gazed at her with incomparable devotion and longing. No dream could stare at her so.

His heart beat steadily against her back as the muscles of his chest pressed against her with each breath, the power of his body so easily felt even in sleep. To most it was something to be feared, she could see it in the eyes of those he confronted, could see their spirits quail before his implacable will and unstoppable strength less it be unleashed upon them. But not her, never her for always these things had been a shield around her, always he had been her protector, her lion. She snuggled back against him, letting his scent wreath her nostrils once more as she pulled the hand lying upon her flat belly up to press a kiss against his knuckles. She jumped a little as he responded to her touch, his voice speaking in low tones by her ear.

'What are you doing?' There was no demand in his tone as most would have expected, his voice soft, smooth, almost musical. It sent a shiver down her spine, a small tingle of energy that sparked pleasantly along her every nerve. She kissed the next knuckle in the line before she replied, smiling slowly.

'Dreaming.'

His other hand rose and she felt his fingers slide into her hair, running silken strands through his gentle grasp. 'About what?' The words sent her spirits soaring. Not a month ago such questions would have been inconceivable, to his friends imagining that he was even capable of such intimacy was a foreign concept. But not to her, not to she who had worked the changes in him, who had nurtured the spark of his heart until it was as strong as his burning soul.

'You.' She replied honestly, threading her fingers through his. 'Us.' She turned in his embrace, shifting so that she could look up into his face. Silhouetted against the moonlight spilling in from his window his features were shadowed, indistinct, but nothing could hide his gaze as he stared down at her, his hand still gentle fingering her hair.

Her face was illuminated only by the moonlight, her pale skin given a porcelain sheen by the light. She stared up at him with a small smile hovering about her pert lips. The white light sparkled in the depths or her dark eyes, pulling him in. God he could look into those eyes forever. His hand left her hair to stroke her face, cupping her cheek in his palm as he leant down to claim a kiss from her lips.

She smiled in reply and rose one of her own delicate hands to trace his features, 'Squall.' Her gaze dropped to his chest as she tilted her head forwards a little to rest against his collarbone.

'Hmm?' His reply was gentle, quite, so unlike the warrior visage he presented to the world.

'Can you say it again for me Squall.' This one memory was the most precious of all of those from the night before, that moment on the balcony when he had stared down at her in his arms and spoken those words.

'I love you Rinoa.' She closed her eyes and let the sound of them resonate through her body as he spoke them once more.

'Again.'

She could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, 'I love you Rinoa.' Her slim arms wrapped around his torso, feeling the small scars that traced across his skin as she ran her hands down his muscled back.

'Once more.'

He did not question it, simply spoke, gently, truthfully, infinite patience in his tone, if she asked him to he would say it all through the night. 'I love you Rinoa.'

She shivered and smiled as he pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to the warm skin before her face.

'I love you too Squall.' His lips pressed a kiss into her crown of black hair and she felt him shift as he laid his cheek against her forehead, his arms around her as she felt his heart beat against her chest, his muscle pressed against the softness of her breast.

'Sleep Rinoa. We've got a big day tomorrow, I'll still be here in the morning.' She knew that when they left this room he would be Commander Squall once more, his gunblade strapped to his hip, his eyes piercing, impenetrable pools of ice. But now, here with her, he was just Squall, her Squall, her lion, her protector and her dream.

A.N. There you have it, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think as it's the first fic of it's kind that I've written.

Go With God

The Visionary