Longing to Be Loved
Fire Angel
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Most unfortunately, none of the characters in 'Longing to Be Loved' belong to
me; they belong to Squaresoft. I know that people will probably find this story a little
controversial (I won't tell you why; you'll have to read it), and because of that I'm not
connecting it to any of my other fics (although, in the story, Squall does know Laguna is his
father, as it is just easier to write it that way). Comments can be sent to
rinoa_heartilly86@hotmail.com
Sayonara minna, and enjoy! ^.^
Longing to Be Loved
PROLOGUE
Quistis Trepe walked slowly into Balamb Garden's ballroom, letting her eyes wander onto the dance
floor. It was the initiation ball for the new SeeDs, and everyone was dancing, even people that
had been SeeDs for years. In the year since the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia, everyone had been
looking for an excuse to party. It was all they did, no matter what the occasion was. Balamb
Garden seemed to be a permanent party, instead of a school to train mercenary warriors.
Quistis was sick of the constant partying. She'd celebrated Ultimecia's death with those closest
to her. She had nothing else to celebrate. She was an orphan who had grown up in the Garden. The
only mother she had ever known was Sorceress Edea, the woman who had established Garden.
As for her love life, it wasn't much better. The only man she had ever loved was involved with
another girl. And from the way they acted together, it was obvious to Quistis, and many others
that were in love with this same young man, that they were going to be together for a long time.
Quistis smiled sadly as she saw Squall Leonhart lead his girlfriend, Rinoa Heartilly onto the
dance floor.
"What? You want to dance?" she heard Rinoa ask Squall sceptically. Squall merely laughed as he
pulled her against his strong chest.
Quistis watched as they began to dance…
* * * *
I can't believe Rinoa's with him.
There was a scowl set on his handsome face as he watched the happy couple waltz around the floor.
He wasn't the only one watching. In fact, half of Garden was watching them; the way her slim,
graceful body moved against his large, strong frame as they danced, the radiant smiles on their
faces. Everything about them was a perfect reflection of sheer happiness.
Seifer Almasy, still scowling, let his eyes trail away from the couple and wander around the
room. He and Rinoa had once been dating, but he had left her… God knew why; he couldn't even
remember. He thought, when everything was over, that he'd go and see her again… but when he did,
he found her with Squall, his nemesis. They had been kissing, and the look on her face when she
had pulled away… Seifer had never seen Rinoa look so happy. Not even when she was with him.
Seifer felt hot tears welling in his eyes, and he turned and fled the ballroom in alarm, hiding
his face as he dashed to his dormitory. He slammed the door behind him as the tears started to
roll down his cheek. Crying, he flung himself onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. No
one could see him cry. No one.
Not even if the tears were for Rinoa.
CHAPTER 1
"Would you stop teasing me?" Squall Leonhart asked. It was the morning after the SeeD initiation,
and he Rinoa Heartilly were sitting in Balamb Garden's cafeteria, eating breakfast. "So what if
I'm getting into ballroom dancing?"
"It's just funny," Rinoa said, trying not to giggle. "When we first met, you were so reluctant to
dance with me."
"I didn't know you!" he protested, practically spitting out his toast as he said it.
"Squall, you were seventeen," Rinoa replied, raising a single eyebrow. "Just a tiny bit too old
for the 'don't talk to strangers' rules. Besides, what's a cute, flirtatious girl gonna do to
you?"
"I don't know, Rin. You tell me," Squall replied, resisting the urge to make a joke about her
level of cuteness.
"Nothing," Rinoa said cheerfully. She hesitated, then added, "Well… besides ruin your reputation
of being Balamb Garden's… no, the world's… most insensitive guy, that is."
"Insensitive? I don't know who you're talking about, Rinny dear."
Rinoa, giggling at his comment, leaned across the table and kissed him gently on the lips.
They didn't see the brooding man that was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria, staring at
them…
* * * *
Seifer watched in a trance-like state as Rinoa lent in and kissed Squall, laughing as she did so.
Two years ago, that would have been me in his place. Oh God, why was I so stupid? Why did I dump
her?
"Hey there, Seifer," someone said, interrupting his thoughts. "Mind if I join you?"
Seifer looked up to see Quistis, a smile on her face.
"Why not?" he replied absent-mindedly.
"Are you okay?" she asked concernedly as she sat down beside him.
"No, I'm not. In fact, I'm far from okay," he snapped, gesturing across the cafeteria.
Quistis followed his gaze to Squall and Rinoa, who were leaving the cafeteria, hand in hand.
"They make a great couple, don't they?" she said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.
"I'm happy for them."
"Bullshit," Seifer snapped. "You're as upset as I am. Quistis, I know how you feel about Squall.
There's no use trying to hide it."
Quistis was silent for a second, before replying, "But I have to hide it, Seifer. Don't you
understand? Squall's my friend. It would ruin our friendship if he knew. And Rinoa would still be
nice, but she wouldn't feel comfortable around me."
"Quistis, if you try and hide it, one day it's all going to explode around you. You'll go crazy.
I know. Every day I have to fight off an urge to…" he hesitated. "Forget it."
"Seifer. We're in this together," Quistis said. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."
Seifer looked at her and whispered, "I think you know that Rinoa and I once dated." Quistis
nodded, and he continued, "Well, I dumped her. God knows why, but now I want her back. I hate
Squall, and I hate Rinoa. But most of all, I hate myself."
Quistis smiled sadly, nodding in agreement. A tear trickled slowly down her cheek, and Seifer
brushed it away before continuing, "Because I've kept this bottled up for so long, it's beginning
to take over me. All I can think about is Rinoa and Squall. Squall and Rinoa. It's driving me
crazy. Every day, I have to fight off an urge to take my gunblade and… and… destroy Rinoa.
Destroy Squall. Destroy the whole goddamn world!"
"Seifer…" Quistis said softly. She was at a loss for words. His surprising confession had gotten
to her, and she had no idea what to say to comfort him.
"I'd better go," Seifer said abruptly, standing up. "Fuujin and Raijin are probably wondering
where I am."
"Yeah," Quistis agreed. "I promised I'd go shopping with Selphie, and I'm running late."
"Thanks for listening to me gripe," he said. Without waiting for a reply, he walked out of the
cafeteria.
"Do you want another orange juice, Quistis?" the cafeteria lady asked, walking up to her.
"Yes please," Quistis replied. Selphie could wait. In fact, the whole world could wait.
She just needed to be alone.
CHAPTER 2
"Quisty! You're here!" Selphie squealed, as Quistis finally walked up to her. "I thought you
weren't gonna come! But never mind, you're here now! Now we can go to Dollet and go shopping! The
next train's leaving in five minutes!"
"Calm down, Sefie," Quistis replied, an amused smile on her face.
"So, why were you so late?" Selphie asked. "Well?"
"Well, I got caught up talking to Seifer, and then I just sat and did nothing for about half an
hour. Then I went and spoke to Headmaster Cid, and do you want to hear what he told me?"
"What did he tell you? Stop keeping me in suspense!"
"President Laguna is coming to Garden to visit Squall."
"Sir Laguna?!" Selphie yelped, leaping into the air. "Sir Laguna's coming to Garden?!
Whenwhenwhenwhenwhen?!"
"Today," Quistis said, trying not to crack up laughing.
"Oh, Quisty, I'm so sorry, but can we put off our shopping trip until next week? Please?"
"Of course, Selph. It doesn't bother me one bit."
"Thankyou thankyou thankyou!" Selphie cried, hugging her friend. Within the next second, she had
dashed from Balamb Train Station, right out of town, and was running back to Balamb Garden.
Quistis laughed as the people of Balamb simply stared after Selphie, looks of shock and confusion
on their faces.
"How can one person have so much energy?" a man asked his wife.
Quistis turned to them, a wide smile on her face.
"She just does."
* * * *
Seifer walked into Balamb Hotel's small bar, hoping that he'd find some peace and quiet. He was
so sick of having to deal with everything that was happening in the Garden at the time; he just
wanted to be on his own for a while.
However, as his eyes searched the bar, they narrowed in both annoyance and disappointment. Squall
and Rinoa were sitting in the bar, chatting to Quistis and Zell. Seifer watched as Rinoa made a
comment to which everyone laughed. Then Squall leaned forward and kissed her. Zell laughed again
and clapped, but Seifer knew he saw Quistis' eyes narrow slightly.
What are they doing?! Are they TRYING to annoy me?! Seifer yelled to himself. Are they doing this
to me on PURPOSE?!
Some more sensible part of his brain tried to warn him that they were dating - it was only
natural that they'd go out and kiss in public, and hold hands, and hug - but he didn't want to
hear it. Drawing his gunblade, he approached the table.
Quistis was the first to see him. "No, Seifer," she mouthed. "No. Don't do it. Please."
"Quisty? Are you feeling alright?" Zell asked. Following her gaze, he saw Seifer. "Oh. I have a
feeling something bad is going to happen."
Squall broke away from Rinoa as Seifer reached them.
"Uhh… Oh, hi Seifer… er… what's up?"
Seifer didn't answer, but simply held out his gunblade to Squall, like it was a present.
"Seifer?" Rinoa asked. Seifer looked at her, pain in his eyes. Say my name again, Rinoa, he
begged silently. Tell me you still care…
"No, Seifer," Quistis said, shaking her head. "No. Don't do it."
"I get a feeling you know more about this than you're letting on, Quistis," Zell said
suspiciously. "What's going on?"
Before Quistis could answer, Seifer said, "Shut up, Zell. This has nothing to do with any of you.
My argument is with Squall."
"Huh?" Rinoa said, confused. "Seifer…"
"What argument?" Squall interrupted. "Seifer, we've been on good terms for the past year now."
"That's what you think."
"Umm… okay then. So what are you after, Seifer?" Squall asked, even more puzzled than before.
"I want to fight you, Squall."
"I don't get you. Why do you want to fight me?"
"I'll fight you for her, Squall. I'll fight you for her." Seifer's voice was lowered to a
whisper. "Gunblade to gunblade, man to man. The winner takes all. The loser takes nothing."
"Seifer, you're babbling," Rinoa scolded. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"Don't worry, Rinny," Squall said, rising. "I get it. Seifer, we'll take this outside."
"Squall!" Rinoa protested, clutching at his arm. "Please, don't! I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Rinoa, let him be," Zell said. "I don't get what's going on here, but… I think you should let
him go."
Quistis hung her head, saying nothing.
"What are you fighting for?" Rinoa demanded. "What's the prize?! Tell me, Seifer! Squall?!"
"The winner takes all, the loser takes nothing," Seifer repeated.
"And the prize?" Rinoa asked. "What is it?!"
"The winner takes all. The winner takes you."
CHAPTER 3
"WHAT?!" Zell yelled, leaping to his feet. "WHAT?!"
Rinoa burst into tears, crying, "But Squall, what if he wins?"
"He won't win," Squall said quietly.
"Let's hope so," Zell muttered. "We're all rooting for you, Squall."
Rinoa nodded dumbly; Quistis simply stared at the floor.
"Fine. Let's get this over with," Squall said briskly.
Together, the young rivals walked from the bar.
* * * *
"This is my welcoming party?" President Laguna asked as he walked into Balamb Garden to find
himself face-to-face with Selphie, Irvine Kinneas, and Cid and Edea Kramer. "No offence meant,
but I was kinda hoping I'd see Squall here."
"He's in Balamb, having lunch with Rinoa, Zell and Quistis," Irvine offered helpfully. "He told
me before he left."
"Ah, maybe I'll go see him there, then," Laguna replied. "I have so much to tell him."
"I'll take your bags them, Mr. Loire," Irvine said helpfully.
"Selphie can take you over to Balamb, if you'd like," Cid offered.
"Sure, that would be excellent," Laguna said cheerfully. "I can't wait to see Squall again." He
handed his luggage to Irvine, who wandered off in the direction of the dormitories.
"C'mon then, Sir Laguna! Let's go!" Selphie said cheerfully, dashing off and out of Garden.
"Hey, wait!" Laguna called, running after her. "Wait up!"
* * * *
"Seifer, this is ridiculous," Squall said, as the pair reached Balamb Jetty. "Are you sure you
wanna do this? You might get hurt."
"I'm not gonna quit now, Squall," Seifer snarled. "I've been in love with Rinoa for longer than
you have, and I'm not gonna let her go this easily!"
"If you loved her, then why did you dump her?!" Squall snapped. "Why give someone else a chance
to get their paws on her?!"
Seifer turned his head away. When he looked at Squall again, there were tears glimmering in his
eyes.
"Let's just get this over with," Squall said, drawing his gunblade.
"Fine," Seifer said.
Lunging towards Seifer, Squall yelled, "For Rinoa!"
"En Garde, Lion!"
* * * *
"Oh God, I can't watch," Rinoa said, covering her eyes. She and Zell had cautiously moved towards
the scene of the fight, leaving Quistis back in the bar. Bit by bit, a crowd was gathering. Not
much was happening, though. Seifer would attack, Squall would block. Squall would attack, Seifer
would block. Attack, block. Attack, block. It was like they knew what the other was going to do.
"What's going on?!" a voice cried. Rinoa twisted to see Selphie and Laguna behind them.
"Squall and Seifer are fighting," she grated.
"Why?!" Selphie asked. "They haven't fought since… since… the Lunatic Pandora!" she finished
triumphantly.
"They're fighting over me," Rinoa said quietly.
"What?!" Laguna yelled. "But that's insane! Why don't they just ask you to pick between them?"
"Because Seifer's a stupid baby and can't deal with the fact that Rinoa is in love with Squall,"
Zell said cheerfully.
"Yeah, that's about it," Rinoa agreed. "Though I wouldn't have put it quite like that," she
added, frowning.
They were silent for a minute, watching the young men fight. Attack, block. Attack, block.
Attack, block.
"I'm going to go see if Quistis is alright," Rinoa said. "I can't bear to watch this anymore."
Abruptly, she left.
CHAPTER 4
"I'm sorry, Rinoa," Quistis said again. "I had no idea that Seifer would actually try and… do
it."
"It's okay," Rinoa said gently. "Don't worry."
Somehow, Quistis had managed to tell Rinoa what Seifer had told her, all the while leaving out
the bit about how she still loved Squall. She was sure Rinoa could tell, but she didn't want to
say anything, just in case.
"There's no need to be sorry," Rinoa said. "If it was a private conversation, I wouldn't have
expected you to tell us."
"But if Squall dies… it'll all be my fault."
"Squall's not gonna die," Rinoa said firmly, turning away and looking anxiously out the window.
"He'll be okay." But when she turned back to Quistis, there were tears in her eyes.
"God Rinoa, you really love him, don't you?"
"Of course, Quistis. He means the world to me. He's my everything. Without him… I'm nothing. And
that's why he won't lose," she said, her voice getting stronger. "He can't lose, and he knows
it."
"Come on," Quistis said, giving her friend a brief hug. "Let's go see how it's going."
"Okay," Rinoa replied. "If you say so."
"Rinoa, he'll be alright. I promise."
"I know, Quistis. I know."
* * * *
Seifer was secretly fuming. He couldn't find a way to successfully hit Squall. Every move, every
swing, even every attempt at a swing was blocked, no matter how fast he was. But he could see
that Squall was slowly tiring, and he knew that eventually, he'd get in a blow of some kind.
"Ready to give up yet?" Seifer sneered.
"How about no?" Squall replied, parrying Seifer's blow.
"Fine. I'm just going to have to kill you, then."
Seeing a weakness in Squall's defence, he lunged, quickly disarming Squall, and slicing him along
his left arm.
"Arrrgh!" Squall moaned, grabbing his arm as blood began to seep from the deep cut.
Avoiding Seifer's continuous attacks, he removed his jacket and wrapped it tightly around the
wound. Picking up the sword in his right hand, he continued to fight. But his wound was slowing
him down, and he wasn't ready for Seifer's sudden blast of energy.
"SQUALL! NO!" a voice shrieked.
Seifer ignored the voice, not noticing the flash of blue fabric as Rinoa flung herself in front
of Squall. With several quick slashes, he cut Rinoa across the face, and then cut a few strokes
across her body, finishing by stabbing her in the stomach. She sunk to the ground, the gunblade
poking from her stomach, red blood staining the front of her clothes, and dripping down her face.
"RINOA!" Squall screamed. "Oh my God, RINOA! NO!"
"Oh hell," Seifer whispered. "No."
"This isn't happening," Squall cried, sinking to Rinoa's side. A tear rolled down his cheek.
"This isn't fucking happening!" He looked at the large crowd. "Somebody, get Dr. Kadowaki!
Rinoa's hurt!"
"Squall!" Laguna yelled, running to his son's side and crouching.
"Dad, I don't want Rinny to die!"
"She won't, Squall. But listen. You go and get Dr. Kadowaki. You're the fastest runner from
everyone here, and you know where to find her, too."
"But Dad, I wanna stay with Rinny."
"Squall, if you don't go, she'll die!" Laguna snapped. "I'll take care of her for now. GO!"
Squall bent over Rinoa's unconscious form.
"I'll be back soon," he promised.
Then he was up and running.
* * * *
"Quistis!" Zell yelled. Quistis looked up. She had been trying to get out of Balamb without being
seen. "Where are you going?"
"Away," Quistis replied as Zell reached her side. "I need some time to myself."
"Quistis, you can't go! Squall needs you! Rinoa's nearly dead!"
"Rinoa will be fine. Squall will be fine. Everyone will be fine. No one needs me," she said
bitterly. "They'll be happy without me."
"Quistis, what are you talking about? You're Squall's friend."
"A friend," she whispered. "Always a friend. Goodbye, Zell."
She left. She didn't look back.
She didn't see the golden-haired man who was following her.
CHAPTER 5
It was a good two hours before Rinoa awoke, to find herself in the Infirmary. She looked down at
herself and nearly burst into tears. Tubes of all shapes and sizes were sticking out of her.
Looking into the mirror on the far wall, she could see a dark scar running across the bridge of
her nose. Ironic, she thought. It's just like Squall's.
"Hey Rinoa," a quiet voice said. Rinoa looked up to see Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Cid, Edea and
Laguna walk into the Infirmary.
"Where's Squall?" she asked.
"He'll be here soon," Laguna replied. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore. Couldn't I use my sorceress powers to heal this, Edea?"
"You could, but you don't know how."
"Oh yeah, it's practically the only thing you haven't taught me."
"That's because it's really difficult," Edea said. "But I could start teaching you tomorrow if
you'd like."
"That would be nice," Rinoa sighed. "But I guess I'm bedridden for a little while."
Looking around at the small group, she asked, "Where's Quistis?"
"She left Balamb," Zell said. "I assumed she'd come back here."
"She's not around," Selphie replied. "Her dormitory is empty."
"You're kidding!" Irvine gasped. "So she ran away? Why?"
"I think I know why," Rinoa said. "And I think it would be best if she had some time to herself.
She needs to be alone."
"What about Seifer? He's disappeared, too," Selphie said.
"Do you think they went together?" Edea asked.
"It's possible, but I don't know," Rinoa replied. Her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm sorry, I can't
think right now…"
"It's okay. We'll leave you for a while," Cid said. "Squall's here now, anyway. He'll probably
want to talk to you alone for a while."
"Thanks," Rinoa whispered listlessly.
As the small group filed out, Squall walked in, a bunch of roses in his arms. He smiled at her as
he walked in, but then gasped and dropped the roses all over the ground.
"Squall?" Rinoa asked. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," he stuttered. "Uhh… something… very suddenly… came up."
He ran out, leaving the scattered roses behind him.
"Squall!" Rinoa yelled. "Squall, come back!"
There was no answer.
Leaning down and picking a rose from the floor, Rinoa leaned against her pillow and let the tears
flow.
* * * *
"I don't even know what's wrong, Edea!" Rinoa whispered, sobs racking her weak body. "Squall… he
just looked at me and ran away, with some really weak excuse!"
"Rinoa, I don't know what to say," Edea replied. She had come to see whether Rinoa was up for
some healing lessons, only to find the teenage girl in an absolute mess. She was sobbing
pitifully, clutching a red rose, much like the ones scattered on the floor.
"Maybe he only cares about my looks," Rinoa said mournfully. "Maybe now because I've got a scar
he thinks I'm ugly." After a second, she looked at Edea. "Can't you please talk to Laguna, Edea?"
she begged. "Maybe he can talk to Squall and find out what's wrong… oh Edea, I don't want to lose
him… I love him so much!"
"I'll see what I can do, Rinoa," Edea said gently, giving Rinoa an encouraging hug. "In fact,
I'll go right now, okay?"
"Thankyou, Edea. Thankyou."
* * * *
Seifer walked into a roadside inn. He'd been on the road for half a day, but it seemed like ages.
He booked a room, but then headed over to the coffee bar for a drink. That's when he saw Quistis.
She was sitting on her own at a table by a window, tears falling from her blue eyes. Her red-gold
hair shone, both the moonlight and the light from the single candle on the table reflected in it.
"Quistis, are you alright?" he asked, sitting down across from her.
"Seifer? What are you doing here?"
"I followed you here. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
She smiled, surprised at his sentimentality.
"Yeah, I'm alright, I guess. I'll live, anyway."
"Rinoa might not," he muttered. "I feel so dumb. I didn't wanna kill her, Quistis."
"Seifer, you didn't mean to hurt her," Quistis replied, taking a gentle hold of his hand.
"I know, but…"
"Seifer," Quistis said, more firmly. "It was just an accident. Rinoa would know better than
anyone that you'd never hurt her on purpose."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Seifer sighed. After a second, he added, "Do you want a drink? I'm
going to get one."
"No, that's okay."
"Okay. I'll be back in a moment. Oh, and thankyou, Quistis."
"No Seifer," she whispered as he left the table. "Thankyou."
* * * *
"I feel so stupid," Squall said quietly. "I can't believe she feels like that… oh, poor Rinny. I
should go see her," he said, looking up at Laguna and Edea.
"She wants to be alone right now, I think," Edea replied. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw
relief on Squall's face.
"Why are you relieved, Squall? Because you don't have to go see Rinoa now?" she asked sharply.
Squall looked up.
"Yes, I'm relieved because I don't have to go see her now."
Both Laguna and Edea gasped.
"What do you mean?!" Laguna yelled. "I thought that you were in love with her! What is it, some
other girl?! Quistis?!"
"No!" Squall roared back. "No way! I…" his voice softened. "I just can't bear to see Rinny
looking like that… in pain… she's usually so cheerful… oh God, what have I done to her?"
"She thinks that you don't care for her anymore; that maybe her scar has made you think she's
ugly," Edea whispered.
"No!" Squall cried. "Rinoa's beautiful; no simple scar is going to change that! Dad, Matron, you
of all people should be able to tell that I care for her more than life itself. You've both lived
and loved… can't you tell that I love her, no matter how she looks?" He found himself in tears,
as he leaned against his father for support.
"I can tell," Edea said softly. "And so can your father. But you don't have to prove your love to
us, you have to prove it to Rinoa. Go see her later. Tell her why you left in such a hurry. Tell
her that you're in love with her, Squall."
"I'll go tomorrow afternoon," Squall decided, looking at the dark night sky. "I need some time to
myself first. To think."
"Don't worry, Rinny," he whispered, looking at the bright moon. "I'll prove my love to you. Even
if I have to die doing it."
CHAPTER 6
Quistis woke up with a start. Bright sunlight was pouring in through the window.
Where am I? she thought, confused. Sitting up, she looked around. She was still wearing the
clothes she'd been wearing the previous night, but she was in a room she didn't recognise. Behind
a closed door, she could hear a shower running.
She rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the shower had stopped. The door opened, to
reveal Seifer, clad in a white towel, which was wrapped around his waist.
"Good morning, Quistis," he said cheerfully. "Sleep well?"
"Where are we?" she asked. "The last thing I remember was waiting for you to get back with your
drink… then I woke up here."
Seifer laughed. "You wouldn't believe it, but you fell asleep while you were waiting for me. I
checked, but you hadn't booked a room, so I dragged you all the way up here. This is the room I
booked."
Quistis grinned, clambering off of the bed. "Did you bring my bag up?" she asked.
"Yeah, I did," he replied, picking her bag up from by the bed.
"Well then, I'm going to go have a shower," she said cheerfully.
"Okay," Seifer said. "Once I'm changed, I'll ring room service and order breakfast for us."
"Let me guess. You can't cook?"
"You guessed right, babe."
Quistis laughed as she opened the bathroom door. "Neither can I. Room service it is then, I
guess!"
* * * *
When Squall arrived at the hospital, Edea was there again, talking softly to Rinoa. She wasn't in
hysterics anymore, but was actually looking extremely happy. Squall raised an eyebrow as she
started blabbering excitedly.
"Edea started teaching me how to heal wounds, and I healed part of the tiny little scratch that
was along my waist, and I…"
"Tiny?" Edea interrupted. "That thing wasn't tiny, Rinoa. It was actually quite large," she
corrected gently. "It was from the bottom of her left breast to her right hip, and quite deep,"
she told Squall. "Now she's just got the other cut that is basically a mirror image of the other
one."
Squall smiled at Rinoa.
"Good job," he said warmly. "I knew you'd be able to do it."
It took a moment to sink in, but she smiled brightly when she realised that he was talking to
her, not running away.
"Matron," he said nervously. "Can… can you excuse us? I'd… um, like to talk to Rin. Yeah, talk to
Rin. That would be really nice."
"Of course, Squall," Edea said, standing up. "I'll come see you this evening, Rinoa… that is, if
Master Squall doesn't plan to talk to you for hours."
"This will only take a few minutes," Squall promised. "Well… maybe a bit longer… but not hours,"
he considered. "No. Not hours. No way."
Rinoa laughed and whispered to Edea, "Something's up. He's acting all… weird. Is he still angry
at me?"
"He was never angry at you," Edea whispered back. "But he's going to get angry at me if I don't…"
"Matron."
"Sorry, Squall!" Edea laughed. "I'm going."
She squeezed Rinoa's hand and left the room, smiling to herself.
* * * *
"Seifer, you're going to be broke by the end of the day," Quistis scolded good-naturedly, as she
swallowed her last bit of chocolate mudcake. "You've treated me to breakfast, lunch and afternoon
tea!"
"It gets worse," Seifer teased. "I'm taking you out for dinner!"
"Can't I treat you to dinner?" Quistis asked.
"No. It's against my morals."
"And what are your morals?"
"Well, I've got quite a few. But the main one is: never take a young lady out without spending
lots of money on her."
Quistis laughed. "I'd hate to see the amount of Gil you had left after you dated Rinoa!"
"I was in debt," Seifer admitted. "I'd borrowed money from thousands of people… I even borrowed
some off you at one stage…"
"Which you never paid back, may I add!"
"Well then, consider this may payback," Seifer laughed. "Plus interest, of course. So that means
I HAVE to buy you dinner!"
"Alright, you can buy me dinner then. Happy now?"
"Completely," he said, smiling at her. Not a thought of Rinoa crossed his mind as he slung his
arm around her shoulders. "Now. Are you up for some ice cream?"
* * * *
Rinoa frowned as Squall came and sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. He smiled gently at
her, but she could tell that something was still wrong. He was really nervous. Had he found
another girl? Was he trying to think up a way to break up with her?
"Okay, out with it," she said softly. "If we're gonna break up, just tell me at get it over
with."
"Rinny…" he said, looking shocked. "I… I'm not here to, um, break up with you. No, um, way."
"Well, I guess that's a good thing, then."
"Rinny, I love you more than life itself, and I wanna be with you for the rest of my life."
Pulling a single red rose from a pocket in his jacket, he whispered, "Rinny… will you marry me?"
CHAPTER 7
Rinoa's eyes widened, and she stared up at Squall, unblinking.
"I, uh… beg your pardon, I don't think I heard you correctly. I seem to think you just asked me
to marry you."
"I did."
"But… oh god, Squall. What about yesterday, when you came in here and ran away? What about… my
scar? I thought you didn't care about me anymore, Squall"
"Rinoa, I don't think it's possible for me not to care about you! I told you before, I love you
more than my own life. If I had to, I'd kill myself to prove my love to you."
"No, don't do that," Rinoa groaned. "That's how I almost got killed; making sure you didn't die.
I don't wanna go through this again."
Squall laughed. "Okay. I won't kill myself for you, then. But the main point is, Rinny, my love
for you is more powerful than any other known force on the planet. Hell, if love was a weapon, I
could kill the Guardian Force Eden with my love! I could…"
"Squall, I get the point!" Rinoa laughed. After a second, she added, awed, "You really have
thought about this, haven't you?"
"Yeah," he said. "I only thought of it yesterday," he admitted. "But then I knew that it was the
right thing to do. The only thing to do. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life." He
blushed. "To assure that I will be, I'll just marry you. There we go."
"Wow," she whispered. "God, I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll marry me," he replied, clutching her hands between his.
"Okay," Rinoa said, shrugging. Tears of joy filled her eyes. "To tell you the truth, I thought
you'd never ask!"
"You'll marry me?" Squall asked. He looked dumbfounded. "You will?"
"I said yes. I will marry you, Squall. I love you, too. I think we're soulmates. Maybe our
parents love for one another was passed down to us. So I will definitely marry you."
"Wow," Squall whispered. "I wasn't expecting such a definite answer."
"Well, you got one. Deal with it."
Squall smiled. "I love you, Rin."
"I love you too, Squall," Rinoa whispered. "I love you, too."
* * * *
"This is delicious," Quistis said, biting eagerly into the chicken Seifer had ordered for dinner.
They were sitting in the bar of the Dollet Hotel, eating dinner and having a few drinks. They
were talking, just generally enjoying each other's company. Quistis was surprised with herself;
she didn't ever think she'd have a fun time hanging out with Seifer.
"I must agree," Seifer said, in between bites. "I've never tasted anything so… exquisite."
"Now you sound like Headmaster Cid!" Quistis giggled. "Just the whole accent and the use of
words…"
"Should I be complemented or insulted?" Seifer asked.
"Probably a little of both!" Quistis joked.
They were silent for a moment as a slow song began to play over the speakers. Various couples got
up on the stage and began to dance.
"Come dance with me," Seifer said. "I wanna go up, and I'm not going up on my own."
"I don't know…" Quistis said hesitantly. "I don't dance very well…"
"Now you sound like Squall!" Seifer joked. "Come on. Do you think he knew how to dance that time
when he danced with Rinoa?"
"Well, of course he didn't!" Quistis exclaimed. After a second, she added, "But hang on. You
didn't go to that ball. How did you know they danced?"
Seifer laughed and replied, "It's called peering through the door and being extremely jealous.
Now, come on." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up and onto the dance floor.
"It's easy," he promised, pulling her body up against his as they began to waltz, slightly
clumsily, around the floor.
"How do you know how to dance?" Quistis asked, surprised.
"Rinoa taught me," Seifer said sheepishly. "The same way she taught Squall. 'You've got no
choice. If you don't know how to dance, I'll teach you. I'm not going out there on my own'," he
said, in a high, squeaky imitation of Rinoa's voice.
"She's very forward, isn't she?" Quistis laughed. "I could never do that; I'm way too shy!"
Seifer laughed. Then he said, "See, Quistis? You're not doing that bad a job! You're actually
quite a good dancer."
"It's because you're leading," she reminded him. "If I was leading, we'd be tripping all over
each other."
"Not that I'd mind that all that much," Seifer said slyly, letting his eyes stray over her
figure.
Quistis blushed. "Quit it, Seifer."
"Aww… can't a guy have a bit of an innocent flirt?"
"It wasn't innocent, and it wasn't just a flirt. That was a full on perve, and you know it."
He didn't answer, but stopped dancing, staring into her soft blue eyes. After a second, he
muttered, "Wow."
"What, Seifer?" Quistis asked. "What's wrong?"
"Uhh… nothing."
"Hey, don't you trust me anymore?" she asked, looking hurt.
"Of course I trust you," he replied. "I just don't trust myself."
"What do you mean, Seifer?" she asked. Confusion filled her eyes.
"This is what I mean."
With a quick tilt of his head, he pressed his lips onto hers and kissed her. Quistis kissed him
back. Suddenly she found that she didn't give a damn about Squall anymore.
CHAPTER 8
Seifer pulled away suddenly, muttering, "Shit. I'm sorry, Quistis."
"Don't worry about it, Seifer," Quistis replied. When he looked down at her, he noticed she was
smiling. She pulled him off of the dance floor, and they sat back down at their table.
"Don't worry about it?" he echoed. "How can you not care? I'm toying with your feelings here! I
keep forgetting that I'm not the only person that…"
"Seifer. Shut up," Quistis said, an amused grin on her face. "It's okay. Tell me how you feel.
And give me a straight answer, please."
"The truth is, I'm not sure. I was in love with Rinoa, but as this day's gone on, it's almost as
if the feeling of being in love with her has disappeared. And the scariest part is that I'm
finding myself attracted to you… but I don't wanna hurt you, because of how you feel about
Squall."
Quistis laughed. "Seifer, you don't have to worry. When you kissed me just then… I didn't even
give Squall a first thought, let alone a second. All I could think about was you… and when you
pulled away, all I wanted for you to do was kiss me again."
"Quistis… what do we do?"
"It seems to me that there's only one alternative, Seifer."
"I know that. But the problem is… What if I'm just on the rebound, but you really care for me? Or
vice versa? One of us could get really hurt, in the end."
"I don't care, Seifer. I'm willing to risk it. For so long, I've longed to be loved by someone.
Now's my chance, and I'm willing to risk the fact that maybe we're both just on the rebound…
because I think I might be in love."
Seifer smiled at her. "So we try it, then?"
"Why not? It's worth a shot, Seifer."
Laughing, he bent forward and kissed her again.
* * * *
"Rinoa, are you in there?" Rinoa looked up at the door of her dormitory. Finally, she had healed
her wounds, and was allowed out of the Infirmary. The only sign that she had been wounded was the
scar across her face. Squall had asked her to leave it there.
"We look like twins," he'd explained.
"If you're not Squall, you can come in!" she called cheerfully, looking at herself in the mirror.
She had just tried on the gown Edea had made her for the wedding. It was gorgeous; wearing it,
she looked like a princess. The small white tiara on her head, fitted with a veil, made her fit
the part almost perfectly.
The door opened slightly, and a two pairs of blue eyes peered in. A gasp, a giggle, and a hushed
whisper, and the door was pushed opened to reveal Quistis and Seifer.
"You're back!" Rinoa said happily, hugging each of them in turn. As they walked into the room,
she quickly closed the door behind them.
"What's with the dress?" Quistis asked curiously.
"Well… Squall and I…" Rinoa stopped and looked anxiously at Seifer.
"It's okay," he said. "Go on."
"We're getting married!" Rinoa squealed, with a small, happy leap.
Seifer's face broke into a huge grin. "Congratulations. I'm really happy for you."
Seeing the look of confusion on Rinoa's face, Quistis said, "Don't worry, Rinoa. Seifer and I
are… well…"
"Like we used to be," Seifer interjected. "Like, an item."
"Really?!" Rinoa squealed. "That's great!"
Seifer smiled at her, and then let his gaze trail to Quistis.
"I know it's great," Seifer said. "I'm a very lucky man."
EPILOGUE
The wedding took place only a month later, in the Quad. Rinoa stood outside with her bridal
party, peering nervously down into the main area of the Quad, where Squall was waiting for her.
"I'm so excited!" she said to Quistis. "I can't wait!"
The music began.
First came Selphie, as Rinoa's bridesmaid, who practically bounced down the makeshift isle,
flinging rose petals in every direction. Ellone was close behind, another bridesmaid, walking
carefully, and gently throwing rose petals over the isle.
Next came Quistis, Rinoa's maid of honour. She smiled charmingly at Seifer, Squall's best man, as
she walked slowly down the isle.
Watching the girls walk down the isle, Squall shifted slightly in his position. "Rinoa's next,"
he muttered to Seifer.
"I'm sure you'll like what you see," Seifer replied.
Squall laughed. "There's no need to be sure. I know."
As the music reached it's climax, Rinoa appeared at the head of the isle. The train of her dress
trailed behind her as she walked slowly down the steps. Her tiara, and crystal earrings twinkled
in the light like the tears in her eyes. She held a huge bouquet of white roses in her arms. A
radiant smile spread over her face, crinkling the bottom of her scar.
"Oh. My. God," Squall breathed, as she approached him. Rinoa handed the bouquet to Quistis as
Squall took both her hands in his.
This is Heaven, he thought, as the ceremony proceeded. Only in Heaven could someone like me be so
lucky as to find an Angel like the one I'm holding in my arms right now. Nothing is worth as much
as the love I will give to her. Rinoa, this I promise you.
"You may kiss the bride," Cid, as their priest, intoned.
Leaning forward, Squall kissed Rinoa gently on the lips. Pulling away, he whispered, "I love
you."
"I love you, too," she said, tears of happiness welling once more in her brown eyes. "I'm so
happy, Squall."
"Rinoa!" Edea called from the crowd of people watching the ceremony. Rinoa turned to face her.
"Throw the bouquet!"
Smiling, Rinoa took the bouquet from Quistis. "All unmarried women, line up!" she giggled.
A huge crowd of women surged forward, standing in a small group, packed together like sardines.
Rinoa turned around, her back to them, and threw the bouquet.
She turned around in time to see it sail over all of their heads, right to the back of the group.
Everyone parted, and Rinoa giggled, seeing the bewildered look on Quistis' face as the bouquet
landed right in her arms.
"Looks like you've gotta get married next, Quistis!" Rinoa said cheerfully. "No choice in the
matter now!"
Everyone cheered as Seifer ran down to the crowd and hugged Quistis.
"I'm glad they're happy," Rinoa said to Squall, a smile on her face.
"Yeah, me too," he agreed. "But you know the coolest thing?"
"What?" she asked.
"You're no longer Rinoa Heartilly. You're Rinoa Leonhart."
Laughing, Rinoa pulled Squall towards her for another kiss.
~Fin~
Fire Angel
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Most unfortunately, none of the characters in 'Longing to Be Loved' belong to
me; they belong to Squaresoft. I know that people will probably find this story a little
controversial (I won't tell you why; you'll have to read it), and because of that I'm not
connecting it to any of my other fics (although, in the story, Squall does know Laguna is his
father, as it is just easier to write it that way). Comments can be sent to
rinoa_heartilly86@hotmail.com
Sayonara minna, and enjoy! ^.^
Longing to Be Loved
PROLOGUE
Quistis Trepe walked slowly into Balamb Garden's ballroom, letting her eyes wander onto the dance
floor. It was the initiation ball for the new SeeDs, and everyone was dancing, even people that
had been SeeDs for years. In the year since the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia, everyone had been
looking for an excuse to party. It was all they did, no matter what the occasion was. Balamb
Garden seemed to be a permanent party, instead of a school to train mercenary warriors.
Quistis was sick of the constant partying. She'd celebrated Ultimecia's death with those closest
to her. She had nothing else to celebrate. She was an orphan who had grown up in the Garden. The
only mother she had ever known was Sorceress Edea, the woman who had established Garden.
As for her love life, it wasn't much better. The only man she had ever loved was involved with
another girl. And from the way they acted together, it was obvious to Quistis, and many others
that were in love with this same young man, that they were going to be together for a long time.
Quistis smiled sadly as she saw Squall Leonhart lead his girlfriend, Rinoa Heartilly onto the
dance floor.
"What? You want to dance?" she heard Rinoa ask Squall sceptically. Squall merely laughed as he
pulled her against his strong chest.
Quistis watched as they began to dance…
* * * *
I can't believe Rinoa's with him.
There was a scowl set on his handsome face as he watched the happy couple waltz around the floor.
He wasn't the only one watching. In fact, half of Garden was watching them; the way her slim,
graceful body moved against his large, strong frame as they danced, the radiant smiles on their
faces. Everything about them was a perfect reflection of sheer happiness.
Seifer Almasy, still scowling, let his eyes trail away from the couple and wander around the
room. He and Rinoa had once been dating, but he had left her… God knew why; he couldn't even
remember. He thought, when everything was over, that he'd go and see her again… but when he did,
he found her with Squall, his nemesis. They had been kissing, and the look on her face when she
had pulled away… Seifer had never seen Rinoa look so happy. Not even when she was with him.
Seifer felt hot tears welling in his eyes, and he turned and fled the ballroom in alarm, hiding
his face as he dashed to his dormitory. He slammed the door behind him as the tears started to
roll down his cheek. Crying, he flung himself onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. No
one could see him cry. No one.
Not even if the tears were for Rinoa.
CHAPTER 1
"Would you stop teasing me?" Squall Leonhart asked. It was the morning after the SeeD initiation,
and he Rinoa Heartilly were sitting in Balamb Garden's cafeteria, eating breakfast. "So what if
I'm getting into ballroom dancing?"
"It's just funny," Rinoa said, trying not to giggle. "When we first met, you were so reluctant to
dance with me."
"I didn't know you!" he protested, practically spitting out his toast as he said it.
"Squall, you were seventeen," Rinoa replied, raising a single eyebrow. "Just a tiny bit too old
for the 'don't talk to strangers' rules. Besides, what's a cute, flirtatious girl gonna do to
you?"
"I don't know, Rin. You tell me," Squall replied, resisting the urge to make a joke about her
level of cuteness.
"Nothing," Rinoa said cheerfully. She hesitated, then added, "Well… besides ruin your reputation
of being Balamb Garden's… no, the world's… most insensitive guy, that is."
"Insensitive? I don't know who you're talking about, Rinny dear."
Rinoa, giggling at his comment, leaned across the table and kissed him gently on the lips.
They didn't see the brooding man that was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria, staring at
them…
* * * *
Seifer watched in a trance-like state as Rinoa lent in and kissed Squall, laughing as she did so.
Two years ago, that would have been me in his place. Oh God, why was I so stupid? Why did I dump
her?
"Hey there, Seifer," someone said, interrupting his thoughts. "Mind if I join you?"
Seifer looked up to see Quistis, a smile on her face.
"Why not?" he replied absent-mindedly.
"Are you okay?" she asked concernedly as she sat down beside him.
"No, I'm not. In fact, I'm far from okay," he snapped, gesturing across the cafeteria.
Quistis followed his gaze to Squall and Rinoa, who were leaving the cafeteria, hand in hand.
"They make a great couple, don't they?" she said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.
"I'm happy for them."
"Bullshit," Seifer snapped. "You're as upset as I am. Quistis, I know how you feel about Squall.
There's no use trying to hide it."
Quistis was silent for a second, before replying, "But I have to hide it, Seifer. Don't you
understand? Squall's my friend. It would ruin our friendship if he knew. And Rinoa would still be
nice, but she wouldn't feel comfortable around me."
"Quistis, if you try and hide it, one day it's all going to explode around you. You'll go crazy.
I know. Every day I have to fight off an urge to…" he hesitated. "Forget it."
"Seifer. We're in this together," Quistis said. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."
Seifer looked at her and whispered, "I think you know that Rinoa and I once dated." Quistis
nodded, and he continued, "Well, I dumped her. God knows why, but now I want her back. I hate
Squall, and I hate Rinoa. But most of all, I hate myself."
Quistis smiled sadly, nodding in agreement. A tear trickled slowly down her cheek, and Seifer
brushed it away before continuing, "Because I've kept this bottled up for so long, it's beginning
to take over me. All I can think about is Rinoa and Squall. Squall and Rinoa. It's driving me
crazy. Every day, I have to fight off an urge to take my gunblade and… and… destroy Rinoa.
Destroy Squall. Destroy the whole goddamn world!"
"Seifer…" Quistis said softly. She was at a loss for words. His surprising confession had gotten
to her, and she had no idea what to say to comfort him.
"I'd better go," Seifer said abruptly, standing up. "Fuujin and Raijin are probably wondering
where I am."
"Yeah," Quistis agreed. "I promised I'd go shopping with Selphie, and I'm running late."
"Thanks for listening to me gripe," he said. Without waiting for a reply, he walked out of the
cafeteria.
"Do you want another orange juice, Quistis?" the cafeteria lady asked, walking up to her.
"Yes please," Quistis replied. Selphie could wait. In fact, the whole world could wait.
She just needed to be alone.
CHAPTER 2
"Quisty! You're here!" Selphie squealed, as Quistis finally walked up to her. "I thought you
weren't gonna come! But never mind, you're here now! Now we can go to Dollet and go shopping! The
next train's leaving in five minutes!"
"Calm down, Sefie," Quistis replied, an amused smile on her face.
"So, why were you so late?" Selphie asked. "Well?"
"Well, I got caught up talking to Seifer, and then I just sat and did nothing for about half an
hour. Then I went and spoke to Headmaster Cid, and do you want to hear what he told me?"
"What did he tell you? Stop keeping me in suspense!"
"President Laguna is coming to Garden to visit Squall."
"Sir Laguna?!" Selphie yelped, leaping into the air. "Sir Laguna's coming to Garden?!
Whenwhenwhenwhenwhen?!"
"Today," Quistis said, trying not to crack up laughing.
"Oh, Quisty, I'm so sorry, but can we put off our shopping trip until next week? Please?"
"Of course, Selph. It doesn't bother me one bit."
"Thankyou thankyou thankyou!" Selphie cried, hugging her friend. Within the next second, she had
dashed from Balamb Train Station, right out of town, and was running back to Balamb Garden.
Quistis laughed as the people of Balamb simply stared after Selphie, looks of shock and confusion
on their faces.
"How can one person have so much energy?" a man asked his wife.
Quistis turned to them, a wide smile on her face.
"She just does."
* * * *
Seifer walked into Balamb Hotel's small bar, hoping that he'd find some peace and quiet. He was
so sick of having to deal with everything that was happening in the Garden at the time; he just
wanted to be on his own for a while.
However, as his eyes searched the bar, they narrowed in both annoyance and disappointment. Squall
and Rinoa were sitting in the bar, chatting to Quistis and Zell. Seifer watched as Rinoa made a
comment to which everyone laughed. Then Squall leaned forward and kissed her. Zell laughed again
and clapped, but Seifer knew he saw Quistis' eyes narrow slightly.
What are they doing?! Are they TRYING to annoy me?! Seifer yelled to himself. Are they doing this
to me on PURPOSE?!
Some more sensible part of his brain tried to warn him that they were dating - it was only
natural that they'd go out and kiss in public, and hold hands, and hug - but he didn't want to
hear it. Drawing his gunblade, he approached the table.
Quistis was the first to see him. "No, Seifer," she mouthed. "No. Don't do it. Please."
"Quisty? Are you feeling alright?" Zell asked. Following her gaze, he saw Seifer. "Oh. I have a
feeling something bad is going to happen."
Squall broke away from Rinoa as Seifer reached them.
"Uhh… Oh, hi Seifer… er… what's up?"
Seifer didn't answer, but simply held out his gunblade to Squall, like it was a present.
"Seifer?" Rinoa asked. Seifer looked at her, pain in his eyes. Say my name again, Rinoa, he
begged silently. Tell me you still care…
"No, Seifer," Quistis said, shaking her head. "No. Don't do it."
"I get a feeling you know more about this than you're letting on, Quistis," Zell said
suspiciously. "What's going on?"
Before Quistis could answer, Seifer said, "Shut up, Zell. This has nothing to do with any of you.
My argument is with Squall."
"Huh?" Rinoa said, confused. "Seifer…"
"What argument?" Squall interrupted. "Seifer, we've been on good terms for the past year now."
"That's what you think."
"Umm… okay then. So what are you after, Seifer?" Squall asked, even more puzzled than before.
"I want to fight you, Squall."
"I don't get you. Why do you want to fight me?"
"I'll fight you for her, Squall. I'll fight you for her." Seifer's voice was lowered to a
whisper. "Gunblade to gunblade, man to man. The winner takes all. The loser takes nothing."
"Seifer, you're babbling," Rinoa scolded. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"Don't worry, Rinny," Squall said, rising. "I get it. Seifer, we'll take this outside."
"Squall!" Rinoa protested, clutching at his arm. "Please, don't! I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Rinoa, let him be," Zell said. "I don't get what's going on here, but… I think you should let
him go."
Quistis hung her head, saying nothing.
"What are you fighting for?" Rinoa demanded. "What's the prize?! Tell me, Seifer! Squall?!"
"The winner takes all, the loser takes nothing," Seifer repeated.
"And the prize?" Rinoa asked. "What is it?!"
"The winner takes all. The winner takes you."
CHAPTER 3
"WHAT?!" Zell yelled, leaping to his feet. "WHAT?!"
Rinoa burst into tears, crying, "But Squall, what if he wins?"
"He won't win," Squall said quietly.
"Let's hope so," Zell muttered. "We're all rooting for you, Squall."
Rinoa nodded dumbly; Quistis simply stared at the floor.
"Fine. Let's get this over with," Squall said briskly.
Together, the young rivals walked from the bar.
* * * *
"This is my welcoming party?" President Laguna asked as he walked into Balamb Garden to find
himself face-to-face with Selphie, Irvine Kinneas, and Cid and Edea Kramer. "No offence meant,
but I was kinda hoping I'd see Squall here."
"He's in Balamb, having lunch with Rinoa, Zell and Quistis," Irvine offered helpfully. "He told
me before he left."
"Ah, maybe I'll go see him there, then," Laguna replied. "I have so much to tell him."
"I'll take your bags them, Mr. Loire," Irvine said helpfully.
"Selphie can take you over to Balamb, if you'd like," Cid offered.
"Sure, that would be excellent," Laguna said cheerfully. "I can't wait to see Squall again." He
handed his luggage to Irvine, who wandered off in the direction of the dormitories.
"C'mon then, Sir Laguna! Let's go!" Selphie said cheerfully, dashing off and out of Garden.
"Hey, wait!" Laguna called, running after her. "Wait up!"
* * * *
"Seifer, this is ridiculous," Squall said, as the pair reached Balamb Jetty. "Are you sure you
wanna do this? You might get hurt."
"I'm not gonna quit now, Squall," Seifer snarled. "I've been in love with Rinoa for longer than
you have, and I'm not gonna let her go this easily!"
"If you loved her, then why did you dump her?!" Squall snapped. "Why give someone else a chance
to get their paws on her?!"
Seifer turned his head away. When he looked at Squall again, there were tears glimmering in his
eyes.
"Let's just get this over with," Squall said, drawing his gunblade.
"Fine," Seifer said.
Lunging towards Seifer, Squall yelled, "For Rinoa!"
"En Garde, Lion!"
* * * *
"Oh God, I can't watch," Rinoa said, covering her eyes. She and Zell had cautiously moved towards
the scene of the fight, leaving Quistis back in the bar. Bit by bit, a crowd was gathering. Not
much was happening, though. Seifer would attack, Squall would block. Squall would attack, Seifer
would block. Attack, block. Attack, block. It was like they knew what the other was going to do.
"What's going on?!" a voice cried. Rinoa twisted to see Selphie and Laguna behind them.
"Squall and Seifer are fighting," she grated.
"Why?!" Selphie asked. "They haven't fought since… since… the Lunatic Pandora!" she finished
triumphantly.
"They're fighting over me," Rinoa said quietly.
"What?!" Laguna yelled. "But that's insane! Why don't they just ask you to pick between them?"
"Because Seifer's a stupid baby and can't deal with the fact that Rinoa is in love with Squall,"
Zell said cheerfully.
"Yeah, that's about it," Rinoa agreed. "Though I wouldn't have put it quite like that," she
added, frowning.
They were silent for a minute, watching the young men fight. Attack, block. Attack, block.
Attack, block.
"I'm going to go see if Quistis is alright," Rinoa said. "I can't bear to watch this anymore."
Abruptly, she left.
CHAPTER 4
"I'm sorry, Rinoa," Quistis said again. "I had no idea that Seifer would actually try and… do
it."
"It's okay," Rinoa said gently. "Don't worry."
Somehow, Quistis had managed to tell Rinoa what Seifer had told her, all the while leaving out
the bit about how she still loved Squall. She was sure Rinoa could tell, but she didn't want to
say anything, just in case.
"There's no need to be sorry," Rinoa said. "If it was a private conversation, I wouldn't have
expected you to tell us."
"But if Squall dies… it'll all be my fault."
"Squall's not gonna die," Rinoa said firmly, turning away and looking anxiously out the window.
"He'll be okay." But when she turned back to Quistis, there were tears in her eyes.
"God Rinoa, you really love him, don't you?"
"Of course, Quistis. He means the world to me. He's my everything. Without him… I'm nothing. And
that's why he won't lose," she said, her voice getting stronger. "He can't lose, and he knows
it."
"Come on," Quistis said, giving her friend a brief hug. "Let's go see how it's going."
"Okay," Rinoa replied. "If you say so."
"Rinoa, he'll be alright. I promise."
"I know, Quistis. I know."
* * * *
Seifer was secretly fuming. He couldn't find a way to successfully hit Squall. Every move, every
swing, even every attempt at a swing was blocked, no matter how fast he was. But he could see
that Squall was slowly tiring, and he knew that eventually, he'd get in a blow of some kind.
"Ready to give up yet?" Seifer sneered.
"How about no?" Squall replied, parrying Seifer's blow.
"Fine. I'm just going to have to kill you, then."
Seeing a weakness in Squall's defence, he lunged, quickly disarming Squall, and slicing him along
his left arm.
"Arrrgh!" Squall moaned, grabbing his arm as blood began to seep from the deep cut.
Avoiding Seifer's continuous attacks, he removed his jacket and wrapped it tightly around the
wound. Picking up the sword in his right hand, he continued to fight. But his wound was slowing
him down, and he wasn't ready for Seifer's sudden blast of energy.
"SQUALL! NO!" a voice shrieked.
Seifer ignored the voice, not noticing the flash of blue fabric as Rinoa flung herself in front
of Squall. With several quick slashes, he cut Rinoa across the face, and then cut a few strokes
across her body, finishing by stabbing her in the stomach. She sunk to the ground, the gunblade
poking from her stomach, red blood staining the front of her clothes, and dripping down her face.
"RINOA!" Squall screamed. "Oh my God, RINOA! NO!"
"Oh hell," Seifer whispered. "No."
"This isn't happening," Squall cried, sinking to Rinoa's side. A tear rolled down his cheek.
"This isn't fucking happening!" He looked at the large crowd. "Somebody, get Dr. Kadowaki!
Rinoa's hurt!"
"Squall!" Laguna yelled, running to his son's side and crouching.
"Dad, I don't want Rinny to die!"
"She won't, Squall. But listen. You go and get Dr. Kadowaki. You're the fastest runner from
everyone here, and you know where to find her, too."
"But Dad, I wanna stay with Rinny."
"Squall, if you don't go, she'll die!" Laguna snapped. "I'll take care of her for now. GO!"
Squall bent over Rinoa's unconscious form.
"I'll be back soon," he promised.
Then he was up and running.
* * * *
"Quistis!" Zell yelled. Quistis looked up. She had been trying to get out of Balamb without being
seen. "Where are you going?"
"Away," Quistis replied as Zell reached her side. "I need some time to myself."
"Quistis, you can't go! Squall needs you! Rinoa's nearly dead!"
"Rinoa will be fine. Squall will be fine. Everyone will be fine. No one needs me," she said
bitterly. "They'll be happy without me."
"Quistis, what are you talking about? You're Squall's friend."
"A friend," she whispered. "Always a friend. Goodbye, Zell."
She left. She didn't look back.
She didn't see the golden-haired man who was following her.
CHAPTER 5
It was a good two hours before Rinoa awoke, to find herself in the Infirmary. She looked down at
herself and nearly burst into tears. Tubes of all shapes and sizes were sticking out of her.
Looking into the mirror on the far wall, she could see a dark scar running across the bridge of
her nose. Ironic, she thought. It's just like Squall's.
"Hey Rinoa," a quiet voice said. Rinoa looked up to see Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Cid, Edea and
Laguna walk into the Infirmary.
"Where's Squall?" she asked.
"He'll be here soon," Laguna replied. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore. Couldn't I use my sorceress powers to heal this, Edea?"
"You could, but you don't know how."
"Oh yeah, it's practically the only thing you haven't taught me."
"That's because it's really difficult," Edea said. "But I could start teaching you tomorrow if
you'd like."
"That would be nice," Rinoa sighed. "But I guess I'm bedridden for a little while."
Looking around at the small group, she asked, "Where's Quistis?"
"She left Balamb," Zell said. "I assumed she'd come back here."
"She's not around," Selphie replied. "Her dormitory is empty."
"You're kidding!" Irvine gasped. "So she ran away? Why?"
"I think I know why," Rinoa said. "And I think it would be best if she had some time to herself.
She needs to be alone."
"What about Seifer? He's disappeared, too," Selphie said.
"Do you think they went together?" Edea asked.
"It's possible, but I don't know," Rinoa replied. Her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm sorry, I can't
think right now…"
"It's okay. We'll leave you for a while," Cid said. "Squall's here now, anyway. He'll probably
want to talk to you alone for a while."
"Thanks," Rinoa whispered listlessly.
As the small group filed out, Squall walked in, a bunch of roses in his arms. He smiled at her as
he walked in, but then gasped and dropped the roses all over the ground.
"Squall?" Rinoa asked. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," he stuttered. "Uhh… something… very suddenly… came up."
He ran out, leaving the scattered roses behind him.
"Squall!" Rinoa yelled. "Squall, come back!"
There was no answer.
Leaning down and picking a rose from the floor, Rinoa leaned against her pillow and let the tears
flow.
* * * *
"I don't even know what's wrong, Edea!" Rinoa whispered, sobs racking her weak body. "Squall… he
just looked at me and ran away, with some really weak excuse!"
"Rinoa, I don't know what to say," Edea replied. She had come to see whether Rinoa was up for
some healing lessons, only to find the teenage girl in an absolute mess. She was sobbing
pitifully, clutching a red rose, much like the ones scattered on the floor.
"Maybe he only cares about my looks," Rinoa said mournfully. "Maybe now because I've got a scar
he thinks I'm ugly." After a second, she looked at Edea. "Can't you please talk to Laguna, Edea?"
she begged. "Maybe he can talk to Squall and find out what's wrong… oh Edea, I don't want to lose
him… I love him so much!"
"I'll see what I can do, Rinoa," Edea said gently, giving Rinoa an encouraging hug. "In fact,
I'll go right now, okay?"
"Thankyou, Edea. Thankyou."
* * * *
Seifer walked into a roadside inn. He'd been on the road for half a day, but it seemed like ages.
He booked a room, but then headed over to the coffee bar for a drink. That's when he saw Quistis.
She was sitting on her own at a table by a window, tears falling from her blue eyes. Her red-gold
hair shone, both the moonlight and the light from the single candle on the table reflected in it.
"Quistis, are you alright?" he asked, sitting down across from her.
"Seifer? What are you doing here?"
"I followed you here. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
She smiled, surprised at his sentimentality.
"Yeah, I'm alright, I guess. I'll live, anyway."
"Rinoa might not," he muttered. "I feel so dumb. I didn't wanna kill her, Quistis."
"Seifer, you didn't mean to hurt her," Quistis replied, taking a gentle hold of his hand.
"I know, but…"
"Seifer," Quistis said, more firmly. "It was just an accident. Rinoa would know better than
anyone that you'd never hurt her on purpose."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Seifer sighed. After a second, he added, "Do you want a drink? I'm
going to get one."
"No, that's okay."
"Okay. I'll be back in a moment. Oh, and thankyou, Quistis."
"No Seifer," she whispered as he left the table. "Thankyou."
* * * *
"I feel so stupid," Squall said quietly. "I can't believe she feels like that… oh, poor Rinny. I
should go see her," he said, looking up at Laguna and Edea.
"She wants to be alone right now, I think," Edea replied. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw
relief on Squall's face.
"Why are you relieved, Squall? Because you don't have to go see Rinoa now?" she asked sharply.
Squall looked up.
"Yes, I'm relieved because I don't have to go see her now."
Both Laguna and Edea gasped.
"What do you mean?!" Laguna yelled. "I thought that you were in love with her! What is it, some
other girl?! Quistis?!"
"No!" Squall roared back. "No way! I…" his voice softened. "I just can't bear to see Rinny
looking like that… in pain… she's usually so cheerful… oh God, what have I done to her?"
"She thinks that you don't care for her anymore; that maybe her scar has made you think she's
ugly," Edea whispered.
"No!" Squall cried. "Rinoa's beautiful; no simple scar is going to change that! Dad, Matron, you
of all people should be able to tell that I care for her more than life itself. You've both lived
and loved… can't you tell that I love her, no matter how she looks?" He found himself in tears,
as he leaned against his father for support.
"I can tell," Edea said softly. "And so can your father. But you don't have to prove your love to
us, you have to prove it to Rinoa. Go see her later. Tell her why you left in such a hurry. Tell
her that you're in love with her, Squall."
"I'll go tomorrow afternoon," Squall decided, looking at the dark night sky. "I need some time to
myself first. To think."
"Don't worry, Rinny," he whispered, looking at the bright moon. "I'll prove my love to you. Even
if I have to die doing it."
CHAPTER 6
Quistis woke up with a start. Bright sunlight was pouring in through the window.
Where am I? she thought, confused. Sitting up, she looked around. She was still wearing the
clothes she'd been wearing the previous night, but she was in a room she didn't recognise. Behind
a closed door, she could hear a shower running.
She rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the shower had stopped. The door opened, to
reveal Seifer, clad in a white towel, which was wrapped around his waist.
"Good morning, Quistis," he said cheerfully. "Sleep well?"
"Where are we?" she asked. "The last thing I remember was waiting for you to get back with your
drink… then I woke up here."
Seifer laughed. "You wouldn't believe it, but you fell asleep while you were waiting for me. I
checked, but you hadn't booked a room, so I dragged you all the way up here. This is the room I
booked."
Quistis grinned, clambering off of the bed. "Did you bring my bag up?" she asked.
"Yeah, I did," he replied, picking her bag up from by the bed.
"Well then, I'm going to go have a shower," she said cheerfully.
"Okay," Seifer said. "Once I'm changed, I'll ring room service and order breakfast for us."
"Let me guess. You can't cook?"
"You guessed right, babe."
Quistis laughed as she opened the bathroom door. "Neither can I. Room service it is then, I
guess!"
* * * *
When Squall arrived at the hospital, Edea was there again, talking softly to Rinoa. She wasn't in
hysterics anymore, but was actually looking extremely happy. Squall raised an eyebrow as she
started blabbering excitedly.
"Edea started teaching me how to heal wounds, and I healed part of the tiny little scratch that
was along my waist, and I…"
"Tiny?" Edea interrupted. "That thing wasn't tiny, Rinoa. It was actually quite large," she
corrected gently. "It was from the bottom of her left breast to her right hip, and quite deep,"
she told Squall. "Now she's just got the other cut that is basically a mirror image of the other
one."
Squall smiled at Rinoa.
"Good job," he said warmly. "I knew you'd be able to do it."
It took a moment to sink in, but she smiled brightly when she realised that he was talking to
her, not running away.
"Matron," he said nervously. "Can… can you excuse us? I'd… um, like to talk to Rin. Yeah, talk to
Rin. That would be really nice."
"Of course, Squall," Edea said, standing up. "I'll come see you this evening, Rinoa… that is, if
Master Squall doesn't plan to talk to you for hours."
"This will only take a few minutes," Squall promised. "Well… maybe a bit longer… but not hours,"
he considered. "No. Not hours. No way."
Rinoa laughed and whispered to Edea, "Something's up. He's acting all… weird. Is he still angry
at me?"
"He was never angry at you," Edea whispered back. "But he's going to get angry at me if I don't…"
"Matron."
"Sorry, Squall!" Edea laughed. "I'm going."
She squeezed Rinoa's hand and left the room, smiling to herself.
* * * *
"Seifer, you're going to be broke by the end of the day," Quistis scolded good-naturedly, as she
swallowed her last bit of chocolate mudcake. "You've treated me to breakfast, lunch and afternoon
tea!"
"It gets worse," Seifer teased. "I'm taking you out for dinner!"
"Can't I treat you to dinner?" Quistis asked.
"No. It's against my morals."
"And what are your morals?"
"Well, I've got quite a few. But the main one is: never take a young lady out without spending
lots of money on her."
Quistis laughed. "I'd hate to see the amount of Gil you had left after you dated Rinoa!"
"I was in debt," Seifer admitted. "I'd borrowed money from thousands of people… I even borrowed
some off you at one stage…"
"Which you never paid back, may I add!"
"Well then, consider this may payback," Seifer laughed. "Plus interest, of course. So that means
I HAVE to buy you dinner!"
"Alright, you can buy me dinner then. Happy now?"
"Completely," he said, smiling at her. Not a thought of Rinoa crossed his mind as he slung his
arm around her shoulders. "Now. Are you up for some ice cream?"
* * * *
Rinoa frowned as Squall came and sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. He smiled gently at
her, but she could tell that something was still wrong. He was really nervous. Had he found
another girl? Was he trying to think up a way to break up with her?
"Okay, out with it," she said softly. "If we're gonna break up, just tell me at get it over
with."
"Rinny…" he said, looking shocked. "I… I'm not here to, um, break up with you. No, um, way."
"Well, I guess that's a good thing, then."
"Rinny, I love you more than life itself, and I wanna be with you for the rest of my life."
Pulling a single red rose from a pocket in his jacket, he whispered, "Rinny… will you marry me?"
CHAPTER 7
Rinoa's eyes widened, and she stared up at Squall, unblinking.
"I, uh… beg your pardon, I don't think I heard you correctly. I seem to think you just asked me
to marry you."
"I did."
"But… oh god, Squall. What about yesterday, when you came in here and ran away? What about… my
scar? I thought you didn't care about me anymore, Squall"
"Rinoa, I don't think it's possible for me not to care about you! I told you before, I love you
more than my own life. If I had to, I'd kill myself to prove my love to you."
"No, don't do that," Rinoa groaned. "That's how I almost got killed; making sure you didn't die.
I don't wanna go through this again."
Squall laughed. "Okay. I won't kill myself for you, then. But the main point is, Rinny, my love
for you is more powerful than any other known force on the planet. Hell, if love was a weapon, I
could kill the Guardian Force Eden with my love! I could…"
"Squall, I get the point!" Rinoa laughed. After a second, she added, awed, "You really have
thought about this, haven't you?"
"Yeah," he said. "I only thought of it yesterday," he admitted. "But then I knew that it was the
right thing to do. The only thing to do. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life." He
blushed. "To assure that I will be, I'll just marry you. There we go."
"Wow," she whispered. "God, I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll marry me," he replied, clutching her hands between his.
"Okay," Rinoa said, shrugging. Tears of joy filled her eyes. "To tell you the truth, I thought
you'd never ask!"
"You'll marry me?" Squall asked. He looked dumbfounded. "You will?"
"I said yes. I will marry you, Squall. I love you, too. I think we're soulmates. Maybe our
parents love for one another was passed down to us. So I will definitely marry you."
"Wow," Squall whispered. "I wasn't expecting such a definite answer."
"Well, you got one. Deal with it."
Squall smiled. "I love you, Rin."
"I love you too, Squall," Rinoa whispered. "I love you, too."
* * * *
"This is delicious," Quistis said, biting eagerly into the chicken Seifer had ordered for dinner.
They were sitting in the bar of the Dollet Hotel, eating dinner and having a few drinks. They
were talking, just generally enjoying each other's company. Quistis was surprised with herself;
she didn't ever think she'd have a fun time hanging out with Seifer.
"I must agree," Seifer said, in between bites. "I've never tasted anything so… exquisite."
"Now you sound like Headmaster Cid!" Quistis giggled. "Just the whole accent and the use of
words…"
"Should I be complemented or insulted?" Seifer asked.
"Probably a little of both!" Quistis joked.
They were silent for a moment as a slow song began to play over the speakers. Various couples got
up on the stage and began to dance.
"Come dance with me," Seifer said. "I wanna go up, and I'm not going up on my own."
"I don't know…" Quistis said hesitantly. "I don't dance very well…"
"Now you sound like Squall!" Seifer joked. "Come on. Do you think he knew how to dance that time
when he danced with Rinoa?"
"Well, of course he didn't!" Quistis exclaimed. After a second, she added, "But hang on. You
didn't go to that ball. How did you know they danced?"
Seifer laughed and replied, "It's called peering through the door and being extremely jealous.
Now, come on." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up and onto the dance floor.
"It's easy," he promised, pulling her body up against his as they began to waltz, slightly
clumsily, around the floor.
"How do you know how to dance?" Quistis asked, surprised.
"Rinoa taught me," Seifer said sheepishly. "The same way she taught Squall. 'You've got no
choice. If you don't know how to dance, I'll teach you. I'm not going out there on my own'," he
said, in a high, squeaky imitation of Rinoa's voice.
"She's very forward, isn't she?" Quistis laughed. "I could never do that; I'm way too shy!"
Seifer laughed. Then he said, "See, Quistis? You're not doing that bad a job! You're actually
quite a good dancer."
"It's because you're leading," she reminded him. "If I was leading, we'd be tripping all over
each other."
"Not that I'd mind that all that much," Seifer said slyly, letting his eyes stray over her
figure.
Quistis blushed. "Quit it, Seifer."
"Aww… can't a guy have a bit of an innocent flirt?"
"It wasn't innocent, and it wasn't just a flirt. That was a full on perve, and you know it."
He didn't answer, but stopped dancing, staring into her soft blue eyes. After a second, he
muttered, "Wow."
"What, Seifer?" Quistis asked. "What's wrong?"
"Uhh… nothing."
"Hey, don't you trust me anymore?" she asked, looking hurt.
"Of course I trust you," he replied. "I just don't trust myself."
"What do you mean, Seifer?" she asked. Confusion filled her eyes.
"This is what I mean."
With a quick tilt of his head, he pressed his lips onto hers and kissed her. Quistis kissed him
back. Suddenly she found that she didn't give a damn about Squall anymore.
CHAPTER 8
Seifer pulled away suddenly, muttering, "Shit. I'm sorry, Quistis."
"Don't worry about it, Seifer," Quistis replied. When he looked down at her, he noticed she was
smiling. She pulled him off of the dance floor, and they sat back down at their table.
"Don't worry about it?" he echoed. "How can you not care? I'm toying with your feelings here! I
keep forgetting that I'm not the only person that…"
"Seifer. Shut up," Quistis said, an amused grin on her face. "It's okay. Tell me how you feel.
And give me a straight answer, please."
"The truth is, I'm not sure. I was in love with Rinoa, but as this day's gone on, it's almost as
if the feeling of being in love with her has disappeared. And the scariest part is that I'm
finding myself attracted to you… but I don't wanna hurt you, because of how you feel about
Squall."
Quistis laughed. "Seifer, you don't have to worry. When you kissed me just then… I didn't even
give Squall a first thought, let alone a second. All I could think about was you… and when you
pulled away, all I wanted for you to do was kiss me again."
"Quistis… what do we do?"
"It seems to me that there's only one alternative, Seifer."
"I know that. But the problem is… What if I'm just on the rebound, but you really care for me? Or
vice versa? One of us could get really hurt, in the end."
"I don't care, Seifer. I'm willing to risk it. For so long, I've longed to be loved by someone.
Now's my chance, and I'm willing to risk the fact that maybe we're both just on the rebound…
because I think I might be in love."
Seifer smiled at her. "So we try it, then?"
"Why not? It's worth a shot, Seifer."
Laughing, he bent forward and kissed her again.
* * * *
"Rinoa, are you in there?" Rinoa looked up at the door of her dormitory. Finally, she had healed
her wounds, and was allowed out of the Infirmary. The only sign that she had been wounded was the
scar across her face. Squall had asked her to leave it there.
"We look like twins," he'd explained.
"If you're not Squall, you can come in!" she called cheerfully, looking at herself in the mirror.
She had just tried on the gown Edea had made her for the wedding. It was gorgeous; wearing it,
she looked like a princess. The small white tiara on her head, fitted with a veil, made her fit
the part almost perfectly.
The door opened slightly, and a two pairs of blue eyes peered in. A gasp, a giggle, and a hushed
whisper, and the door was pushed opened to reveal Quistis and Seifer.
"You're back!" Rinoa said happily, hugging each of them in turn. As they walked into the room,
she quickly closed the door behind them.
"What's with the dress?" Quistis asked curiously.
"Well… Squall and I…" Rinoa stopped and looked anxiously at Seifer.
"It's okay," he said. "Go on."
"We're getting married!" Rinoa squealed, with a small, happy leap.
Seifer's face broke into a huge grin. "Congratulations. I'm really happy for you."
Seeing the look of confusion on Rinoa's face, Quistis said, "Don't worry, Rinoa. Seifer and I
are… well…"
"Like we used to be," Seifer interjected. "Like, an item."
"Really?!" Rinoa squealed. "That's great!"
Seifer smiled at her, and then let his gaze trail to Quistis.
"I know it's great," Seifer said. "I'm a very lucky man."
EPILOGUE
The wedding took place only a month later, in the Quad. Rinoa stood outside with her bridal
party, peering nervously down into the main area of the Quad, where Squall was waiting for her.
"I'm so excited!" she said to Quistis. "I can't wait!"
The music began.
First came Selphie, as Rinoa's bridesmaid, who practically bounced down the makeshift isle,
flinging rose petals in every direction. Ellone was close behind, another bridesmaid, walking
carefully, and gently throwing rose petals over the isle.
Next came Quistis, Rinoa's maid of honour. She smiled charmingly at Seifer, Squall's best man, as
she walked slowly down the isle.
Watching the girls walk down the isle, Squall shifted slightly in his position. "Rinoa's next,"
he muttered to Seifer.
"I'm sure you'll like what you see," Seifer replied.
Squall laughed. "There's no need to be sure. I know."
As the music reached it's climax, Rinoa appeared at the head of the isle. The train of her dress
trailed behind her as she walked slowly down the steps. Her tiara, and crystal earrings twinkled
in the light like the tears in her eyes. She held a huge bouquet of white roses in her arms. A
radiant smile spread over her face, crinkling the bottom of her scar.
"Oh. My. God," Squall breathed, as she approached him. Rinoa handed the bouquet to Quistis as
Squall took both her hands in his.
This is Heaven, he thought, as the ceremony proceeded. Only in Heaven could someone like me be so
lucky as to find an Angel like the one I'm holding in my arms right now. Nothing is worth as much
as the love I will give to her. Rinoa, this I promise you.
"You may kiss the bride," Cid, as their priest, intoned.
Leaning forward, Squall kissed Rinoa gently on the lips. Pulling away, he whispered, "I love
you."
"I love you, too," she said, tears of happiness welling once more in her brown eyes. "I'm so
happy, Squall."
"Rinoa!" Edea called from the crowd of people watching the ceremony. Rinoa turned to face her.
"Throw the bouquet!"
Smiling, Rinoa took the bouquet from Quistis. "All unmarried women, line up!" she giggled.
A huge crowd of women surged forward, standing in a small group, packed together like sardines.
Rinoa turned around, her back to them, and threw the bouquet.
She turned around in time to see it sail over all of their heads, right to the back of the group.
Everyone parted, and Rinoa giggled, seeing the bewildered look on Quistis' face as the bouquet
landed right in her arms.
"Looks like you've gotta get married next, Quistis!" Rinoa said cheerfully. "No choice in the
matter now!"
Everyone cheered as Seifer ran down to the crowd and hugged Quistis.
"I'm glad they're happy," Rinoa said to Squall, a smile on her face.
"Yeah, me too," he agreed. "But you know the coolest thing?"
"What?" she asked.
"You're no longer Rinoa Heartilly. You're Rinoa Leonhart."
Laughing, Rinoa pulled Squall towards her for another kiss.
~Fin~