"So…let me get this straight. You scheduled a procedure to sterilize yourself on my birthday?"
"Yeah."
"…And you didn't think of running it by me first?"
"Didn't think I needed to. The procedure is reversible and there's no sedation involved. I'll be able to drive myself back to the apartment after it's done. Would have picked a different day if I had the choice but that was the only one available this month."
And with that statement, Rinoa's brows were now at risk to remain at hairline-level indefinitely. While most times, she could easily claim to be the number one Squall interpreter on the planet, having unseated Quistis many moons ago for the title, every so often her boyfriend throw her a giant curveball to spin her in circles. And apparently, she'd been long overdue for a spin. Or twenty.
"Ok, let me rephrase that then – you scheduled a procedure to sterilize yourself on my birthday and didn't think of mentioning the 'reversible' and 'won't require Squall-wrangling' parts until I said that?" she corrected, "I mean, I get that this is probably some 'Garden doesn't want to homegrow their soldiers' plan and since I can't have kids anyway it's kind of moot point too but I beg you - it's 8 am in the morning. I can't brain so much this early. Unless that was a part of an evil plan to maim me for eating that chocolate bar you left out. Then mission accomplished."
"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that vindictive." her boyfriend wryly commented. "If you must know, it's because the latter is not moot point. I know you don't believe the texts so I thought, this could give you some peace of mind."
Rinoa's eyebrows now transcended time and space as she was spun around another ten times. If only in her overactive imagination.
"I'd usually tell you that it's very sweet of you to think of my feelings, extremely sweet even if you're willing to go that far for the sake of them but, I have to ask - what gave you that idea?"
"I might have accidentally overheard a rather…loud conversation with Selphie. You mentioned something along the lines about how you'd feel better to have bloodwork done to confirm an at-home test kit's results but also dreading the thought of the possible consequences."
A lightbulb went off.
"Squall…this has been a big, big misunderstanding."
Squall tilted his head.
"I was talking to Selphie about finding out my blood type. I didn't know what it was so she found me a little med kit that tells you what type you are with a pinprick's worth of blood based on how different solutions react to it - you can't find out whether you're a positive or negative type though. The kit tells me I'm type-O so I have the potential to be a universal donor if I'm O-negative. Or, more importantly, I could help you if something bad happened where magic won't fix it. But…I don't know how the magic comes into play in all this – like, could I get found out if I did a blood test? Or, would my blood just not work with normal people? I've been wrestling with the pros and cons of knowing for sure since Dr. K won't see me unless it's urgent or Garden-related any more because of the latest budget cuts."
As Squall de-tilted his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm AB-positive. I can take whatever blood you have."
"Whoa, easy there. Do I have to keep you away with a stake?"
"Also contrary to popular belief, not a vampire."
Rinoa let out a giggle. "I'm not going to even ask - that's a question for another time." she replied before coming to a full stop. "But…if you must know, once upon a time you would have been right about the 'not believing' part. Not anymore though so you can cancel that procedure if you want."
"…What changed your mind?"
"Thought I had a scare once early on when we started getting intimate. Turns out it was just weight loss and a lot of stress delaying my time of the month - Dr. K ran a test and came up with nothing. When I thought I had another scare a few months later and came back to her again, she made a point of asking if I just wanted her to refer me to someone she trusted to see if there was any truth to the sorceress lore. I said yes and the doctor checked me out and long-story short, told me that the only way I could have kids would be through a surrogate."
"Why didn't you just talk to me then?"
"Looking back, I honestly don't know why I didn't." the sorceress shrugged. "But if I had to guess what past-me was thinking, I'd say that maybe I was scared of losing you so badly to not even think about how you would actually react if I told you I might be pregnant. Anxiety…is really fun that way."
"If it's any consolation to your past self," he began, pausing slightly, "If you had approached me about it back then, I would have supported you in whatever decision you made."
"Thank you Squall." Rinoa said, placing a kiss to his forehead. "Just…remember that it goes both ways, alright? Don't be afraid to tell me anything."
"I'll try."
"I'm serious – even if you have to confess that you are deathly allergic to garlic bread, I promise I am all ears."
Squall tossed her a level look, earning him an ear-to-ear grin in kind.
"…Really?"
"Really-really."
