Disclaimer: I don't own it. The song comes from Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella, the one I saw on TV!
What would've happened if Laguna and Julia were connected in a way different than what everyone knew about? "Ten Minutes Ago" Squall and Rinoa are going to find out! For this one, pretend Julia's still alive and not married to the General please!
Ten Minutes Ago (An AU recreation of the SeeD ball)
Ughhhh, Squall thought to himself, pulling at the tails of his SeeD uniform, Could this thing be any hotter? Or uglier? The things I do for my father...
He looked around the room at the rest of the SeeDs dressed up in their fancy clothes. Several of the boys looked just as uncomfortable as he was, but the girls loved it. They paraded around in their ball gowns, flipped their hair at just the right time, pouting their lips and generally made the boys drool. Squall sighed in disgust.
He then looked up at the makeshift 'stage' at the other end of the ballroom. His father, Laguna Loire was sitting there at the head table between Cid and Edea and some other woman, whom Laguna refused to name. He promised Squall that her identity would be a big surprise when it was revealed, as if it wasn't a big surprise now; she and Laguna carried on like they were old time friends, and sometimes like more than friends. They giggled, and brushed arms and touched shoulders and did all the things a couple in a secret love affair tried to hide. Squall wouldn't be surprised to find they were lovers, and that they were getting married or some shocking thing like that.
She was such a big surprise in fact, that Cid had agreed to let Laguna use the Garden's ballroom to throw a party, at which time she would be revealed to Garden. Laguna, being the president of Esthar, gave big sums of money to Garden for research and equipment and such, so Cid probably felt obligated to rent out the ballroom for the night. Squall had been put in charge of the decorating committee, a job he graciously handed down to Selphie. He'd been here all day, and was starting to get restless. This mystery woman better be worth the wait.
About a half hour into the event, Squall was standing kind of in the corner, holding his fifth glass of champagne, leaning against a pillar. He was trying to hide, hoping that he could just maybe sneak outside or something. He glanced around, looking for anyone that would catch him and then at the door. And suddenly, he saw her.
Entering the doors of the ballroom, standing in all her glory, was the girl he one day intended to marry. And he didn't even know her name.
Ten minutes ago I saw you
I looked up when you came through the door
My head started reeling, you gave me the feeling
The room had no ceiling or floor
She was beautiful, there was no way around it, no nice way to say it, just plain beautiful. Soft chocolate eyes, raven black hair, snow white complexion, where had she been all his life? Her angel white princess gown held tight to her slender body until it flared at her waist, drawing attention to her every feature, and every movement. Hyne, if I'd have known there was going to be poontang this good, I'd have shown up days ago! Squall thought to himself with a smirk.
The floor below him felt a little wobbly, and he wasn't sure if that was because she was walking towards him or because of the excess intake of champagne. His heart rate and breathing increased and when she got close enough to see him staring and smile, she followed suit of the others, flipping her hair and pouting her lips.
Ten minutes ago I met you
And we murmured our "How do you do?"s
I wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms
And to sing out the news
She walked up to him and looked right into his eyes. "You're the best looking guy here... Dance with me?"
Squall glanced down at his drink and wondered if he should go dance or turn and run in pure nervousness. He didn't say anything as he tried to keep all the champagne he'd drank in his stomach. She asked for a dance, not five glasses of champagne and the burrito he'd eaten for lunch too. And he had seen the girl walk in with the mystery woman on stage; she called her 'mom', and Laguna probably wouldn't like him messing with the guests. She was just so attractive... hard to resist...
"Let me guess... You'll only dance with someone you like. Ok then..." She took a hold of both his shoulders, and stared up at him. "Look into my eyes... You're-going-to-like-me... You're-going-to-like-me..."
Squall thought to himself, oh Hyne, she's touching me, the girl's touching me...
"Did it work?" The girl asked, letting go and standing silent for a minute.
What do I do now?! I can't go out there and make a fool of myself in front of the Hot One! Better just be honest... "...I can't dance."
"You'll be fine. Come on. I'm looking for someone. I can't be on the dance floor alone." Squall desperately tried to comprehend what she was saying as she drug him out on the floor. Oh, what the hell... He thought, tossing the glass backwards over his shoulder as she pulled him to the center of the dance floor. The things I'll do for a piece...
I have found her, she's an angel
With the dust of the stars in her eyes
We are dancing, we are flying
And she's taking me back to the skies
Squall tried his hardest as the girl, who introduced herself as Rinoa, attempted to dance with him. She didn't really seem to notice that he couldn't keep up with her, or that he looked like he'd never danced in his life (which wasn't far from the truth). She just kept going, doing her flirty things, having her way with him. And he liked it. An evil grin spread over his face as he finally caught on and they twirled across the floor together.
In the arms of my love I'm flying
Over mountain and meadow and land
And I like it so well that for all I can tell
I may never come down again
I may never come down to earth again
A crowd started to gather around them, but they hardly noticed. Time had stopped and they were just about a million miles from Garden. Squall just let himself get caught up in the moment with the beautiful stranger. A couple of fireworks went off in the sky above Garden; Squall could see them through the skylight. He pulled the girl in close, prepared to make his move. She stared up into his eyes and they leaned together for a much wanted kiss.
Ten minutes ago I met you
And we murmured our 'How do you do?'S
I wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms
And to sing out the news
I have found her
(I have found him)
Just as her soft lips met his, a loud screech made the whole room jump. Rinoa backed away from him and covered her ears. Squall whipped his head to the stage, where Laguna had grabbed the microphone and caused the feedback. Squall threw back his head, as anger, shame and embarrassment ripped through him. Even from across the room, Laguna had managed to ruin another moment of his life.
"Um, if I could have your attention?" The president said. Everyone walked back to their seats and waited for him to begin his speech. Rinoa chose to follow Squall to his table, and after they had sat down, she secretly reached under the table and grabbed his hand. He smiled at her.
"I bet you're all wondering why I've invited you to this party," Laguna started, "And I'm so happy that I just can't hide the surprise any longer. I have been reunited with someone..."
Squall and Rinoa were barely listening. She was now playing with his leg, and he found it increasingly more difficult to listen to his father, who was droning on about how wonderful the woman on stage was, and how much he had missed her since they'd been separated. Squall looked into Rinoa's eyes and suddenly felt compelled to tell her how beautiful she was. This is my big chance, He thought, don't blow it...
"You're... you're so..." The words failed him, and he stumbled. Beautiful. The word is beautiful; just tell her she's beautiful!
"I'd like to introduce you all to my long lost sister, Julia,"
"You're... SO MY COUSIN!!!!!"
The sentence fell on Squall's ears just before 'beautiful' came out of his mouth, and he gasped in shock. Laguna was right, it was a hell of a surprise, and the first thing to come to his mind was what he said. If he was Laguna's son, and Rinoa was Julia's daughter, and they were siblings, it made this girl he just kissed his cousin.
The room started to clap as Laguna and Julia hugged. Squall felt once again like showing Rinoa the burrito and the champagne he'd consumed, and she wasn't looking much better. "Cousins, huh," She said, then paused and looked at him, a dead serious look in her eye: "I won't tell anyone if you don't tell anyone."
"Deal," He sighed, and sat back in his chair.
In the arms of my love I'm flying
Over mountain and meadow and land
And I like it so well that for all I can tell
I may never come down again
A few uncomfortable minutes later, Laguna and Julia wandered down to the table they were sitting at. The two of them were smiling.
"So, Squall, I see you've already met Rinoa?" Laguna said, "She's a real looker, eh, how lucky you are to be her cousin,"
"Yeah, we've met," Squall said, casually.
"I don't care for him much," Rinoa said, almost coldly.
"Rinoa!" Julia scolded.
"I don't think he minds," She said, "If you'll excuse me,"
Squall watched as she walked away from the table. Julia apologized one more time and then they left as well, to greet some other people. Squall felt the blush in his face and feared he would never be the same color again.
I may never come down to earth again