It gave him nightmares.
He'd forgotten about the lunar eclipse, had forgotten how the moon would look at full rise as the planet's shadow passed over it. He'd frozen, wineglass in hand, fear prickling the surface of his skin as every hair on his body stood on end. It was called a blood moon, and it turned his blood to ice.
Rinoa had sensed it of course, had also sensed the reason behind his reaction and had sought to distract him from it by taking him to bed. As distactions go, it was quite effective, and he lost himself in loving her, curtains firmly closed against the lurid sight.
He knew of course that it was only a lunar eclipse, not the Lunar Cry that had devastated Esthar years ago. He knew it. But that initial shock and surge of adrenaline had made his heart pound, made him shudder as he told himself over and over again that it wasn't happening again...
But as he slept next to his wife, the nightmares had returned.
If he'd been in Balamb or Centra, even Deling City, he might have been ok. But they were in Esthar, and that had made all the difference.
Confused, scattered images of attacking monsters, impressions of pain and fear, all of it bathed in ruby light, woke him gasping and trembling, soaked with sweat. The images stayed with him as he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, closing the door quietly before turning on the tap and splashing his face with cold water.
It was the heat. The season of the year. That, coupled with the bloody moon, had brought it on.
He couldn't stop the memories. His first visit to Esthar, and he'd been ill prepared for the heat, which had threatened to stifle him in his leather. Sweat had soaked through the suede, thirst had cracked his lips and left his mouth as dry as the outer desert. It had enervated his limbs, slowing his reflexes, resulting in painful, dangerous injuries.
In the nonsensical way that nightmares had, images of fighting in the aftermath of the Lunar Cry had gotten blended with his initial helpless fear at seeing it firsthand while at the Lunar Base. Watching as Rinoa, pulled along like a puppet on a string, released Adel's seals and was abandoned by the entity that controlled her, directly in the path of it. Sirens wailed, lights flashed warning, and the technicians and crew scrambled for the escape pods, with Squall being swept along with them in their wake.
She can't survive this. NOBODY can survive this. Oh, God, Rinoa...
But it all came back to that baleful red eye that had glared at them all, that gathering of horrors to a single point, preparing to bridge the void and wreak havoc on their world. The moon had been red as blood then too, teeming with a million nightmares just waiting to be unleashed.
It recalled fear. Pain. Loss. Endless fighting against impossible odds. The sense of taking on a task that he wasn't supossed to succeed at. Indeed, when he'd lept out of the escape pod after Rinoa, it wasn't to rescue her.
He'd intended to join her for whatever time they had left together in that airless, empty dark. He'd realized too late, to his anguish, what she meant to him. If he couldn't save her, he could at least BE with her until...Finding the Ragnarok had been sheer luck.
Taking a deep breath, he raked his fingers though his wet hair and left the bathroom, padding silently across the bedroom to the glass door leading out to the balcony.
Sliding it open, he stepped out into the night, the warm desert air caressing his naked skin like a lover, banishing the last of the chill his nightmare had left him with.
The moon rode high and bright in the sky now. The eclipse was over, and only clean, silvery light bathed the night. He had no worries that he'd be observed; the balcony was private, the hour late, and his philosophy was that anyone who might be offended by his nakedness should simply not look at it.
Approaching the low wall, he leaned his elbows upon it and took another deep, cleansing breath of the dry air. Esthar City never slept, and the multicolored jewels of her city lights twinkled against the backdrop of the desert night. The view from the balcony was superb, a perk of being the President's acknowledged, if long-lost, son.
He didn't want to think anymore about the Lunar Cry or the blood moon. Didn't want to relive those memories again. Instead, he simply cleared his mind and stared at the city below, listening to the gentle murmur of the slight breeze that had picked up and combed through his wet hair, drying it.
A light touch at the back of his mind alerted him that Rinoa had awakened and missed him. She knew already where he was.
Moments later the glass doors slid open and light footsteps crossed the balcony, to terminate with her small, soft hands circling his midsection from behind and her body pressing against him.
"Want to talk about it?" she asked him softly.
"No. You already know most of it." he answered.
"I know. I felt it too, when I saw the blood on the moon tonight." Rinoa replied, swallowing.
Squall frowned and turned, taking her into his arms to gaze searchingly into her eyes. Of course it would affect her too. Perhaps even more than it did him.
He'd been so lost in his nightmare he hadn't even thought that Rinoa might have to contend with nightmares of her own.
"I know you did," he whispered. "But it's over now. And we're both still here. We survived despite everything." He caressed her cheek, her skin glowing alabaster in the wan light.
"Yes, we did." she whispered in return, adding mentally, And what we won was worth the price we paid for it.
Yes, it was. He sent back, smiling down at her now. Her body was warm in his arms, and suddenly he wanted, no needed, to be part of her again. Bending down, he captured her lips in a soft, lingering kiss.
"Let's go back to bed," He murmured softly.
Rinoa reached up and kissed him back, pressing against him and leaving no doubt that she was in complete agreement with his unspoken desire. Then she took his hand and led him back to their bed, closing the balcony doors but leaving the curtains open this time so the moonlight could stream in and add its benediction to their lovemaking.
They created a waking dream composed of velvety skin, passionate kisses and soft caresses, to drive away the evil dreams. As they came together in body, heart and soul, they gave and they took from each other in equal measure, finding a pathway back to life and creation. When so much about their world, even now, was steeped in death and destruction, they needed that reminder. They needed each other. Neither was completely whole without the other.
The moment his life had meaning was the moment he chose to defy...everything...for her sake.
They settled back into sleep, replete from their joining, and Squall simply watched her surrender to sleep in his arms. Life wasn't perfect. They weren't perfect. But it was worth it to him to keep working at what they had, just as it was worth it to Rinoa.
He tightened his arms around her in a brief hug, then shifted enough to kiss her lightly before settling back down to finally let sleep take him.
This time, his dreams were brighter.
Author's Note: Inspiration can come from many random sources. In this case, today's lunar eclipse, or "blood moon". Hope you all enjoy this little, random one-shot.