Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, for if I did they'd be on the cover of every erotic magazine you can think of :x

Fiction is Rated M, but this chapter will be rated T. The M is for the smex that will most likely come within the next few chapters. Enjoy! This story was inspired by PrincessDesire's story Quirky. If you haven't read it yet, you dunno what you're missing out on ~.^

Chapter one: Rinoa Heartily Strikes Again

"Squall...."

Rinoa held his head in her lap, massaging the sides to release tension and calm him. Her expert fingers worked over the same spots, and his head ache soon ceased. Squall opened his eyes, and stared at his lover. Rinoa bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips before continuing to massage him.

" Wanna tell me what's up? Or should we just stay here in silence, like usual."

"It's just, everything."

Rinoa gave him a skeptical look.

"That's...a tough one. I can't really do much. Wait, am I part of your suffering?"

"No, no it's not like that. I mean, everything but you."

She blushed. SqualL seldom became intimate with her, and the times he has she relishes them.

"Squall, you know I'll always love you. Even when worst comes to worst, I'll be by your side."

"I know. But when worst does come to worst, I wouldn't want you to be there."

"Why?"

"Because then it wouldn't be-"

"Squall Leonheart! I am not some weak little fragile doll. I am a sorcerress, remember?"

"Yeah...but-"

"Nuh uh, no buts."

Squall got up, and pouted at Rinoa.

"Aww, you know you're so cute when you do that." Rinoa pinched his cheek.

"Hn. I'm gonna go get something to eat. Wanna come?"

Rinoa finally sought this opportunity to carry out her plan, the one that she had been boiling up the whole time they've been in his room.

"No, I'll be fine. I ate a buffet before I came here."

"I'll see you later."

"Bye, love."

"Hn."

Squall walked out of the room, as Rinoa sat there and opened a book. Rinoa was satisfied with the life she had, but she always... always felt as though there was something more to this life than this.

She'd been having these weird dreams lately, one of a solitidary blond whom wandered the continent of an unknown place, searching for something. She couldn't really identify what it was he was searching for, but he had captivated her interest. In her dream, she could see that he had a dark haired woman whom owned a bar, their home. She could tell that the woman had deep feelings for him, and he had enough feelings to want to protect her. What Rinoa could not figure out was why this blond had chosen to keep a distance, to protect the one he loved. So, Rinoa decided to cast an incantation of a sort of hypnosis that would allow her to manifest in this dream and interact. Rinoa began whispering the words, the air around her became charged with electricity, the things in Squall's room began to shudder and clatter on the surfaces. In a moment, Rinoa Heartily disappeared.

_______________

"Oh, hey Squall!"

Oh no, here she comes.

"Selphie."

"Hehe, whatcha up to?"

"What does it look like..."

"Well, Sorry! For all I knew you could've been an undercover spy trying to poison our food supply, then it might actually be a problem."

Squall stood and let her babble at him, keeping her satisfied with the occasional "uh huh." or the nod.

"Ok, well. Seeya! I gotta go see Irvine. You know that he and I are like two peas in a pod."

"Uh huh."

"Bye!" Selphie happily walked out, mixing in a few hops and skips as she walked.

"What would you like today?"

"Moogle Morbet."

Squall picked up his dessert and walked out the door. He never really planned these things out, but he was hoping he could share it with Rinoa. He walked down the hall, noticing that Zell and Seifer were at it again.

"Chicken Wuss!"

"I am not!"

"Yeah? Well you sure bitch like one!"

"How would you know what a Chicken Wuss would bitch like!?"

"Because you're a bitching Chicken Wuss!"

"For the last time Seifer, I AM NOT A CHICKEN WUSS!"

"Then get the hell back here and fight!"

"And risk getting molested?"

"I didn't molest you! I was just- Squall! What the hell are you looking at. Move your pretty ass before you become a part of this." Seifer hissed at him.

Squall shrugged it off and walked towards his room and- wait. Did he smell smoke? The door immediately opened and Seifer could see things smoking in his room. Who could've done this?

_________________

Cloud tightened his grip on his bike. He enjoyed the feeling of the air rushing past him, it made him feel invincible, like a bullet slicing through the air. He came to a halt as he reached the outskirts of Midgar. It-

"Has been a while Cloud."

"Huh?"

"Turn around, silly."

Cloud got off his vehicle and found a smiling Aeris. He didn't have the courage to look her in the eye, so he stared at the patch of ground she was standing on. He knew she had forgiven him, but it's his nature to slef-loathe and self-forgiveness was just a step under that.

"Aren't you gonna say hi to your friends? You know they worry about you as much as I do. However, I can keep a closer on you."

"Yeah, those were my intentions. Just for a day, then I'd be off again."

"Tell me though. When you search for Sephiorth, why?"

"Aeris, he..."

"Killed me? You shouldn't go off risking your life for someone like me, I mean. C'mon, I'm...dead. But you know I'll always be here."

"Yeah..."

"And Tifa, she needs you."

"It's just... how I'm built."

"Mhmmm... well Cloud. we'll talk later, something's interfering with the lifestream. Until then."

Cloud smoothened out his clothing a bit, before hopping on his bike, cruising slowly through town and stopping by the familiar bar. He walked in, scanning the room before his eyes fell on the budy bartender. She had been trying to stop a brawl from breaking up, holdin the two men apart until she looked at the familiar visitor.

"Cloud!"

She let go and the two men bumped skulls, becoming unconscious. She sped over and fell into his open embrace. Cloud led Tifa up stairs where they sat on his bed, which he was surprised to find wasn't dusty.

"Where'd you go this time?"

"Just... you know. Around."

"Typical of you."

She giggled, Cloud couldn't help but hold down a smile.

"How long til you leave again?"

"You know, I never plan on staying too long."

"Well...yeah, but I want to make the time we have special."

"What would you plan on us doing in this special time."

"Well...I dunno. We could...Hold on."

"Strife Delivery Service! Uh huh. Yep. Okay. Bye."

"While you're here, you couldn't mind delivering these goods, would you?"

"No."

"Thanks, I'll get back to tending the bar. Who knows what else might happen."

Cloud picked up the package and turned to walk downstairs before Tifa touched his shoulders, causing him to reflexively turn around and she locked lips with him. She released him and gave him a push as the 'okay' to go.

_______________

"It smells like burnt feet in here... not that I know what that smells like."

Squall looked around for any signs of the culprit of such an act. He crept around to his bed, inspecting everything. There wasn't a sign of anything, except an opened book some ash.

"When I find this...this...person. They'll be on their knees, begging me to kill them."

Squall rushed out his room, speed walking to get a view of his room in the Garden.

"Definitely wasn't an outside job."

"Hey, Squall. What're you up to."

"Hey Squall!"

Irvine walked up with Selphie on his back.

"Hey."

"So... what's up?"

"Someone or something messed up my room and I'm trying to figure it out."

"Hmm, sure it wasn't Rinoa? I could've sworn I heard you two last night getting-"

"Irvine! First of all, you knw Rinoa and Squall would never. I mean! I'm not saying they wouldn't I'm just saying... Maybe Rinoa wanted to add a little bit of flare to their-"

"Yeah, I don't want to hear this. Later Irvine."

"Eh- Hey! What about me?"

"And pig-rider."

"Pig-rider? Did you just make a joke?"

"Squall and jokes in the same sentence? It only works if ' never' is in between them. ( Squall never jokes)

Squall just ignored them and durthered the distance, until their laughs had died.

"This is weird. I have a burnt floor, and now a missing girl friend."

________________

"Seifer...I..."

"Just do it, trust me. No one will know."

"But we might get caught..."

"In here? I doubt it."

"Seifer what if Squall finds out..."

"What if he finds?" Seifer countered.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"All right. Now, nice and steady...slowly...yeah like that... don't stop... Zell, keep it up."

Zell was working hard at the task, a bead of swipe slid down his neck and he tried to speak but the sounds that came out of his motuh were muffled.

"Zell."

Zell looked up at Seifer.

"I want you to come."

"Seifer...that wasn't part of the deal..."

"Yeah, I know, but if you do...I'll double it."

"Fine."

"Now come! Chicken wuss."

"You said you wouldn't call me that."

"I said after we scare the shit out of Squall."

Zell let out a heavy sigh.

"I still don't know why you insist on me wearing a costume. I can barely breathe in this mask."

"Just shut up and stick to the plan."

"Why do you wanna scare him?"

"It's what I do. Besides, needs to be put down a notch, dont'cha think."

"Whatever, you're paying me double, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well then let's go."

____________________

"Who are you?"

"I- My name is Rinoa Heartily."

"Why are you here?"

"Um, where is here?"

"You're in the lifestream."

"Is that what this is? What's a lifestream?"

"It's a place where people like me, dead, can find peace."

"I'm not sure what I did, my spell must've backfired." Rinoa began to panic, unsure of what is occuring.

"My name's Aeris. I'm a cetra, but I cannot figure out what you are, and where you came from? I can tell that there is something mystical about you, though."

"I'm a sorceress. Last place I was at before I came here was Balamb Garden."

"Balamb Garden?"

"Yes."

Aeris shook her head," I'm afraid I've been everywhere, but I've never heard of a place called Balamb Garden."

Rinoa looked at her in disbelief.

"You don't know about it? You know, Balamb Garden. One of the three Gardens in which they train Seed members?"

"Seed?"

"It's a corporation-"

"Similar to Shinra?"

"Shinra?-"

"Is too, a corporation."

"Tell me, Aeris. How do I get out of here?"

"I cannot help. I can't find your origins."

"Aeris, you say that this is the lifestream? A place for the deceased?"

"Yes."

"If that is the case... can't I manifest bodies for us to take place and then we can start figuring this out? This place makes no sense to me. But I'm sure there are people in this world who can help me out?"

Aeris considered this option. Would it be like a resurrection? Would she then be able to help Cloud end his self-loathing? Without a second thought she accepted. Rinoa conjured up physical manifestations of themselves, exact copies of their bodies and the two women fell from the sky, landing in a large lake. Rinoa had given herself a 'pat on the back' for keeping up with her studies and even studying ahead, as a sorceress.

"So where' the nearest town?"

"Um.. I think it's Midgar."

Aeris could barely contain her excitement, and she was shivering... if not from the fact that they were essentially skinny dipping.

To Be Continued.

So? What do you guys think so far? Reviews are forever appreciated, anonymous ones as well. Any criticism will help me in the forging of the next chapter ~.^ Also! I know this chapter is slow but it'll get so much better once you start reading the rest. I'm updating as fast as I can!~