A/N: This is my depiction of life for Squall/Leon and Rinoa before the Heartless invasion of Radiant Garden. I know that their is no information available about what Squall did prior to the heartless. sources on the net say that he was high school age when it happened, but that doesn't mean he could've undergone military training during those years since some military's in the world recruit at age 15/16 - for example the UK recruits at either 15 or 16. Anyway, hope you enjoy this little one shot.

Squall stood at ease in the Central Square, arms clasped behind his back, chest puffed out as he stood proudly in his olive green dress uniform, listening as Lord Ansem spoke into the microphone mounted on the podium in front of him. Today was a big occasion for him and twenty-three of his fellow recruits, today was the day of the completion of their basic training and induction into the Radiant Garden Defence Corp.

It had been a long hard road, four months of training had finally come to this, and he couldn't have been prouder.

"Now, I will call up every new member of the Defence Corp to hand over their training beret's and receive their department badge and beret," Ansem announced into the microphone before calling out a list of names.

The people surrounding the square clapped as each member new member was called up to collect their beret and badge, a few people taking photo's of their loved ones. Squall had to wait until near the end for his name to be called out, snapping to attention before marching to the podium and ascending the stairs.

Saluting the head of the Defence Corp, General Caraway, Squall stood in place as the General made way for Lord Ansem, who took Squall's old beret and handed him his new one with his department badge already pinned to it. Squall glanced down briefly, seeing the Weapons Specialist badge sparkling brightly from where it was pinned, his heart swelling with pride as he looked back up at Ansem, Saluting the man before making his way off stage and back to his place.

Squall then watched as those remaining proceeded onto stage when their name was called.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, our newest members of the Radiant Garden Defence Corp," Ansem announced, the crowd cheering and clapping again.

Squall watched as General Caraway stepped up to the microphone, a proud look on his phone as he looked down upon the twenty-four individuals before him.

"Parade, Attention!" Caraway bellowed into the microphone, All of them snapping to attention in unison.

"Parade, Dismissed!"

The group marched three paces before each of them grabbed their berets and threw them into the air, embracing each other in celebration of finally making it through their training.

Everyone in the vicinity clapped and cheered as the new soldiers caught their berets before making their way out of the square in search of their loved ones.

Squall embraced a few of his fellow soldiers before proceeding towards the closest set of stairs that led to the upper area of the square to look for his parents, nearly getting knocked over as his dad embraced him, picking up off his feet in his excited state.

"Squall my boy, congratulations buddy you finally made it!" His dad, Laguna exclaimed excitedly before placing him back on the ground.

"Thanks dad," Squall replied, patting his dad on the back before stepping around him and embracing his mum, seeing tears of happiness in her eyes as she beamed with pride for her son.

"Congratulations Squall, look at you, you look so grown up."

"Thanks mum."

"So Squall, do you have it with you?" Laguna asked, practically jumping out of his skin.

"Laguna, shh, not when we're within earshot," Raine scolded her husband, nodding her head to her towards the main gate leading up to the castle where Rinoa Caraway and her mum, Julia, were waiting patiently.

Squall and Rinoa had known each other their entire lives, having grown up living next to each other. They had started dating when they were in their second year of high school, when they were fourteen, much to the pleasure of their parents. Squall had recently considered taking the next step in their relationship, and had even talked to both his and Rinoa's parents about it. They had all been very supportive of the idea, both their mums had even gone with Squall to pick a ring out last week. All that was left for him to do was pop the question, which he had planned to do today.

"Oh, right," Laguna said sheepishly before leaning in to whisper in his sons ear, "So, do you have it?"

Squall sighed, shaking his head at his dad, even though he was whispering, he was quite a loud whisperer, luckily they were far enough away from Rinoa for her to hear.

"Yes dad, it's in my pocket."

"Good boy, so how ya gonna do it?"

"Laguna!" Raine hissed, "where and when he does it is none of our business," she said before turning to her son, "Squall, do whatever feels right, just know that we are both proud of you," Raine said, pulling Squall into a hug.

"Thanks mum, suppose I better go see her then hey," Squall replied as he returned the hug.

"Don't be nervous, she'll say yes, you'll see," Raine said, noticing the nervous look creep across her sons face.

"Thanks mum," Squall replied, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly before making his way through the crowd towards Rinoa.

Squall watched as Julia approached him, a smile on her face as she embraced him.

"Congratulations Squall, you were great."

"Thanks Mrs Caraway."

"Now what have I told you, no need for the formalities, call me Julia," Julia replied as she ended the hug and looked up at Squall.

"Thanks Julia."

"That's better, now I believe a certain someone has been waiting very patiently to congratulate you," Julia said, looking back at her daughter.

"Yeah I know," Squall replied, waving to Rinoa who was waving at him.

"Oh I am so excited for you two, hopefully she'll give you the answer we are all hoping for," Julia said, pulling him into another hug.

"I hope so to."

"Good luck sweetie, I know it's going to work out for you, you'll see," Julia said before letting go and making her way over to Raine and Laguna, all three of them turning and looking in his direction, giving him a look to as if to say 'Well go on then, what are you waiting for'.

'Thanks for the support guys, now I'm even more nervous,' Squall thought to himself as he took a deep breath and turned towards Rinoa, seeing that she was still standing in the same spot, waiting patiently for him.

'How does she have so much patience,' he thought to himself as he made his way through the crowd towards her.

Without saying a word, Rinoa stepped forward as he approached her and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Congratulations babe, you looked great," Rinoa said as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks babe," Squall replied, kissing her on the forehead.

Squall ended the hug but kept his hands on her waist, staring into her eyes as she kept her hands on his shoulders.

Out of the corner of his eye, Squall could see Both his and Rinoa's parents looking his their direction, obviously waiting for him to do something. It made him feel uncomfortable, and rather nervous. He had originally told them he was going to do it in the Square after the parade, but now he was having second thoughts. Doing it here meant that everyone would be watching and they would be the center of attention, which he didn't like the idea of.

A light bulb went off in his head as he got an idea.

"Hey sweetie, do you wanna go for a walk?" he asked as he turned his attention back to Rinoa.

"Why, I thought you'd want to stay here and enjoy the celebrations with your fellow soldiers," Rinoa replied, looking up at him with a surprised look on her face.

"I've spent the last sixteen weeks with them, and the last sixteen weeks away from you, I'm sure they'll survive while we go spend some time together." Squall explained, giving her a kiss on cheek.

"I see your point, sure, we can go for a walk," Rinoa replied as her arms dropped to her sides before she grabbed his hand and started leading him out of the square.

Squall smiled as he looked back at their parents, seeing confused looks on their faces at their sudden departure. He just shrugged his shoulders at them, pretending that he had no idea why they were leaving the square before looking back at Rinoa as they headed off into Caste Town, the residential area of the city.

They had made their way through the Castle Town, walking hand in hand until they had reached the Fountain Court, which was located below the Marketplace at the far end of Castle Town. It was Rinoa's favourite place in Radiant Garden, they usually came here when they wanted to be alone, since not a lot of people went there, which actually surprised Squall.

The Fountain Court had been a gift from Lord Ansem when he had first taken office after the last Leader of Radiant Garden had passed away. The Fountain itself as made out of glass, which pink and purple neon lighting installed behind the glass to give it the purple and pink colouring. The water used in the fountain was recyclable water used over and over again stored in special tanks fitted behind the glass, a special mechanism built in the fountain controlled the flow of the water from the tanks and sucked the water up from the pool surrounding the fountain back into the tanks to be reused.

It was quite a smart design and it had been a big hit when it had first been built, but its impact had worn off after a while with fewer people visiting the area these days.

Seeing that they were alone, Squall and Rinoa sat on one of the wooden bench seats situated next to the pool.

"So, where do we go from here?" Rinoa asked, grabbing Squall's hands and squeezing them.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your a soldier now, and I'm still at school, so that means we wont't see each other that often, especially if your away on duty. What if we don't work out?"

"Me being a soldier doesn't mean we won't work out. Look at your parents for example. Your dads away a fair bit, and they're still happy," Squall explained.

"I know," Rinoa sighed, "I guess I'm just a bit scared for the future. I love you Squall and I don't want to think of my life without you in it. What if you get killed or something? I can't imagine what I'd do if that happened"

"Hey, don't think like that, nothing's going to happen to me, I promise you," Squall said, kissing her softly on the lips.

Ending the kiss, Squall got up and walked towards the fountain, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. Feeling the small velvet box, he knew that now was the time to do it, but with what Rinoa had just said hat hit a nerve. She was right. Military relationships didn't always work out, and just because her parents have worked out didn't mean they would. Grabbing the box he gave it a light squeeze, trying to figure out whether he should go through with it or not.

"Squall, what's wrong sweetie?" Rinoa asked, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Just thinking bout what you said. I guess I never thought about the impact taking this career path would have on you."

"It's okay, like you said, it doesn't mean we can't try to make it work. You may be away every now and then, but it just means the time we have together here at home will mean more to us. I love you dearly, and I will do whatever I can to make sure we stay together. It may mean making sacrifices but I am willing to make them."

Squall turned around, pulling his hands out of his pockets and wrapping his arms around her, unknowingly dropping the velvet box into the pool as he did.

"Hmm, you dropped something," Rinoa said as she pulled away and bent down to pick it up out of the pool.

Squall looked down at what she was picking up, eyes going wide as he saw the very thing he had been staring at for the last week floating in the pool. He patted his jacket pockets to make sure he wasn't imagining things, cursing when he realized his pockets were empty.

"Sweetie, what's this?" Rinoa asked as she got back to her feet, taking a step towards him as she held the box in front of her, shaking it a few times in an attempt to dry it off.

Sighing, Squall looked up at her, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"It's for you," He said, pausing for a second before continuing, "I had a speech prepared but my mind has gone blank and I can't remember what I wanted to say to you."

"For me? What for? You know you don't need to buy me expensive gifts, I'm happy with whatever you give me," Rinoa replied as she walked closer to him, wrapping her free arm around him and pulling him close.

"I know. I had actually planned on giving it to you today, just didn't know when. I guess now is as good a time as ever. Go on, open it," Squall replied, kissing her forehead.

Smiling, Rinoa looked down as she grasped the sides of the box and lifted the lid open, gasping as she saw what was inside. Sitting inside the box was a simple white gold band with three small diamonds on it.

"Squall...this isn't what I think it is, is it?" Rinoa asked, looking up at him.

Removing his arms from around her, Squall stepped in front of her and got down on one knee, looking up at her, "Rinoa Jane Caraway, Will you be my angel forever?"

Rinoa's mouth fell open as she looked down at Squall, eyes drifting between him and the ring in her hand. She opened her mouth to answer him but found herself stuttering so bad that she couldn't form any words.

"Rin?" Squall asked softly, his eyes softening as he watched her.

"Squall...wow," Rinoa replied, clearing her throat.

"I'm sorry if I sprung it on you so suddenly. I know we're only young, but ever since we started dating you have made me the happiest I've been in years and the only person I see myself with for the rest of my life is you," Squall said, tenderly holding her hands.

"Oh Squall, of course I will ya big dork!" Rinoa exclaimed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace as he got to his feet and returned the hug.

"Thank god, I thought you were gonna say no for a second there," Squall said as he kissed her head.

"Now why would I say no ya big dork," Rinoa chuckled before kissing him on the lips.

"Well, I...uh, well," Squall stammered.

"Did you think that I would say no?" Rinoa asked, looking up at him.

"I wasn't sure if you would, but I'm glad I took the risk and asked you," Squall replied, kissing her softly.

"So am I darling," Rinoa said as she pulled away and pulled the ring out of the box that she was still grasping in her left hand.

Holding the ring in her hand, she looked at it for a second before looking up at Squall, "Does my lion want to do the honours?"

Squall smiled a he took the ring from her, gently holding her left hand as he slid the ring onto her ring finger.

"Wow, you even got the correct size too, your good," Rinoa said as she held her hand out in front of her, admiring the sparkling band of white gold that was now sitting on her finger.

"You know me, Mr Perfectionist," Squall said as he wiped the tears from her face before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"That you are," Rinoa replied before turning to face him, wrapping her arms around him, "So, I'm guessing my father knows about this little stunt you just pulled on me?" She inquired, a small smirk on her face

"Yes he does, so does your mother and my parents. I asked your dad last week, was actually quite surprised he said yes without giving me a lecture about marriage," Squall chuckled.

"He trusts you to look after me, You've proven yourself to him over the last two years. Mum adores you as well, bet she was ecstatic when you told her."

"Hence the reason I asked you dad first, otherwise he would've known about it before I could ask him."

"Bet your parents are happy, knowing your dad, he's probably already planning the big day for us, all the bells and whistles too," Rinoa chuckled as she nuzzled into his chest.

"You got that right," Squall chuckled before kissing her softly on the lips, "I love you my angel.

"Love you too my lion."