"By Moonlight and Starlight"

For a girl who's fictions far outshine my own. Happy birthday, Starlightx1. ^-^

~00~

We met by moonlight.

It was an hour of celebration, a world alive with people who were graduating from years of study to finally do what they had trained for. There was champagne and dancing and music.

And there was Rinoa.

We danced by the light of the moon.

She had stars in her eyes and the warmth of the summer's sun in her smile. She put up with my less than stellar performance, my forced clumsiness an embarassment to the both of us. But she stood up for me to the couples that we bumped into and made me try again. I'm not certain why I decided to actually dance even after that.

I hadn't wanted her company that evening, but when she left me after the fireworks, I felt disappointed.

We journeyed beneath a cover of darkness.

To execute a plan, one that required us to assassinate the sorceress. We travelled under cover, kept ourselves to the shadows. Even the moment when we struck out was in the dark, despite the city lights that lined the road and arch.

The first time that I fell, she was reaching out for me.

I followed her to the stars.

Space. It was vast and extremely inhospitable. It was there that Ultimecia possessed my Rinoa, freeing herself and discarding Rinoa like so much garbage. It took all of my courage and the help of my adopted sister to reach out to her as she floated there. I called her name, willing her to stay alive.

She was so cold, so still. But this time, I was reaching out to her.

We met again under sunshine.

Ultimecia. Time compression. The end of the world.

We fought, we bled, and we won.

Time began to unravel. Everything went back to its proper place and I was left alone. I wandered the lonely world for an age, looking for a destination. A place that we had promised each other. When I finally found it, I had no more strength left. I fell to the ground and darkness claimed me.

But then I heard someone call my name.

And when I opened my eyes, she was holding me and crying with sunshine and flowers all around. It was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen.

~0~

AN: First off, Happy Birthay, sis! May you have all the inspiration that you need to finish your stories!

For the rest of you who read this- I know that there are bunches of Squall/Rinoa fics out there. A lot of them are probably much better than this. But I know someone who has always loved Squall and Rinoa- this one's for her. The rest of you just get a little bonus this way. ^^

You take what you can get, right?

Laters, folks!