Long Live the King
A/N: Yes, I am attempting to write yet another fanfic for Final Fantasy VIII. This time, sadly, there will be no Zelphie. If you must know, the pairings are SquallxRinoa, IrvinexSelphie (happy?), and ZellxPaige (the library girl! :D). Quistis... Poor Quistis doesn't get anybody. I'm sorry. I'd give her Seifer, but he doesn't really have a point in the story... actually, nobody but Squall and Rinoa really do. O.o; Erm, before I give the story away... .; Here we go...
Chapter 1: Give Me Hope
The night had been stormy, leaving our heroes no chance to sleep peacefully. Six in the morning and the rising sun was still held hostage by the ominous clouds above. Selphie fell out of bed with a shriek as thunder roared in the heavens, shaking the immobile military school. You'd think, after the incident with Ultimecia and time-compression, one such as Selphie Tilmitt wouldn't be afraid of a little thunder and lightning.
There was a pounding on her dorm room door and Selphie crawled to it. She 'stood' up on her knees and pulled the door open, wide eyes staring at a pair of jean-clad thighs.
"Selphie! Are you alright?"
It was none other than the cowboy sniper himself, Irvine. Selphie jumped to her feet, still in her cactuar-imprinted pajamas, and laughed nervously. She rubbed embarrassedly at the back of her head and gave a big grin. "I'm fine! The thunder just... startled me a bit! That's all." She laughed again and winked playfully, hitting the side of her head lightly with a fist.
Irvine smiled, relieved she was alright, and leaned against the doorway. "Hurry up and get ready, Selphie. Everyone else is up, anyway."
Selphie nodded and shoved him out of her doorway, quickly closing the door and changing into her SeeD uniform.
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Half an hour later met the two making their way to the directory in front of the elevators. There, Selphie smiled sympathetically at Zell whom struggled to stay standing, mouth wide open in mid-yawn. Quistis and Squall didn't seem to mind the time of morning they were awake.
Must be a normal thing for them, Selphie thought to herself.
Quistis glanced towards Selphie and Irvine and gave a polite smile, nodding to them in welcome. Squall did all he could and gave a nod as well.
"Alright... We all know what today is, right?" Quistis asked, hands lacing together in front of her. She got a few stares and a grunt in response.
"Rinoa is returning from her ordeal in Timber. She has succeeded in giving Timber their independence, and I believe that deserves some sort of congratulations."
Zell pumped a fist into the air, seemingly wide awake now that he knew there would be some sort of celebration. Not one quite as big as three months ago, after they defeated Ultimecia, but a celebration nonetheless. Selphie smiled and hopped up on one foot, arms flying up into the air.
"Yay! Rinoa's coming back!" she giggled and turned to Zell, the two exchanging a high five.
Irvine glanced over to Squall, wondering what his reaction would be to the return of the sorceress he had promised to be the knight to. Of course, he wasn't surprised when Squall just turned away, arms crossed stubbornly across his chest.
Quistis didn't take notice and smiled, "We are going to have to retrieve her from the train station and bring her back here, but make the preparations here in the Garden at the same time."
"Aw, Quisty, you don't have to make it sound like a mission..." Selphie whined, reaching out and poking at Quistis' arm.
The instructor laughed and stepped back, nodding to her friend. "Yes, yes, I know. I guess I'll never get out of that state of mind, though." She sighed more to herself then looked over her group of friends. "Alright. Selphie; you, Zell, and Irvine will make preparations for her return. I'll inform Headmaster Cid of what we're planning, and Squall... You get the lucky job of picking her up." Quistis had this planned out to the dot.
Squall shrugged and turned to face her. "When is the train arriving?"
She sighed and shook her head, wondering if he would ever lose that barrier whenever he was around them. It didn't have to be just Rinoa that he was comfortable around. "Nine. We have three hours. You can help with the decorations until," she paused, in thought, "about half an hour before, alright? Good." She didn't let him respond, knowing he would refuse.
The gun blade wielder let his arms fall to his sides in defeat and slowly gave a nod.
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Two hours later, Selphie finished with the lighting. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "We're done!"
The group stood back and admired their own decorating skills. Quistis put a hand to her chin and smiled approvingly. "Well, it's too bad Cid didn't let us use the entire Garden, but the Quad should be sufficient."
Selphie gave a hard nod and put her hands on her hips, giving a victorious pose. "Rinoa will love it! Right, Squall?" But her questioning went unanswered, as Squall was already up the stairs and heading out. "Party pooper," Selphie grumbled. But she wouldn't let it bother her. She settled with spinning around the made up dance floor with Irvine, laughing the whole way around.
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It was time to go pick her up. Squall gave a heavy sigh and climbed into the buggy, backing up and driving out of the parking lot of the Garden. After the whole ordeal with Ultimecia, they had decided to sit the Garden by Balamb once again.
As Squall drove down the paved highway that went between the Garden and the little town, he began to think about the two months he had spent without Rinoa around. A month after the battle, she had left to fight for Timber against her own father, General Caraway. And now that she won, she was going to come back to the Garden. To be with the grown up orphans. To be with him. He still couldn't understand why she wanted to be around him. How could she put up with everything he had thrown at her to push her away? It was a mystery, even to the ever more mysterious Squall Leonhart.
It wasn't long till he pulled into the parking garage of Balamb. He climbed out of the buggy and locked the vehicle before heading down the path towards the train station. Sure, he was... happy?... to see her. But, he had no idea what to do when she stepped out of the train. Would she look different? Would she feel differently about him?
But this was no time to think about it. Half an hour and she would be there with him. With all of them. Half an hour? Despite what a SeeD would think, half an hour was actually, quite a long time. He stopped, halfway to the train station. "Do I have to... give her a gift?" He wondered aloud, more to himself than the passersby giving him strange looks.
"Well, usually you get gals a gift if you're getting to see them after such a long time... Don't know about you, though, boy." An old voice sounded from behind him. He turned around and stared at the old man. The wrinkles on his forehead seemed to crease even more in what Squall was hoping was a frown. "Well, don't just stand there, boy. Go get the gal some nice flowers. Maybe even a puppy dog. Gals seem to like those puppy dogs."
Squall shrugged halfheartedly and turned on his heels, walking away from the geezer.
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It was ten more minutes till she was there. The train let out a whistle and Rinoa glanced upwards nervously, as if she could see through the ceiling of the train car and to the still dark sky above. Hopefully he still feels the same way... she thought to herself, hands balling up on her lap. She chewed down on her lower lip lightly, nervously.
"Don't worry, deary. You'll be fine. He'll still love you, deary. I'm sure of it," came the soft voice of an elderly woman sitting across from her. Rinoa looked up at her and smiled slightly, giving a bit of a shrug.
"I hope so. I haven't seen him in two months. What if he doesn't ca—"
"He will, deary. Don't worry, deary," the woman seemed to be repeating herself. Rinoa tried to look reassured, but she just didn't feel it. The questions still swirled in her mind, and she could feel her stomach flipping. I hope he does...
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It was time. Squall heard the whistle of the train and the men calling out its arrival. He took a deep breath and stood ready, legs together and arms straight by his sides. It took him a moment to realize he was in a military stance. Quickly, the lionhearted relaxed and glared down at the cement.
He could hear the train come to a halt and, for the first time in his life, he truly felt like a teenager, ready to take his date to prom or something along those lines. It was ridiculous. But he couldn't stop himself from watching, waiting to see that raven head and blue attire. Those chocolate eyes and pale skin. The people were filing out of the train, one by one, as if all had graduated as SeeD's. He even saw the old man from before, meeting with an equally old woman. The old man gave her a bouquet of flowers and the two wrapped into a loving embrace. Squall felt something cringe inside of him.
No body else was coming out. He was almost disappointed. Slowly, Squall turned away, ready to leave. Then, a small hand reached out and wrapped lightly around his wrist. He turned quickly, on instinct, and all his fears, doubts, and loneliness washed away.
"Hi, Squall..."
A/N: Alright, end of chapter one. How did you guys like it? I'm a little more proud of this one than my other fanfics. The other ones I didn't plan out at all. This one I've got planned! See? I'm smart this time around. (Even if this chapter is kind of short...) :3 And this time, I'll attempt to update faster. After all, I'm really excited about this story. I have a good plot going for me. Trust me, I do! It won't be all romance and mushy an' stuff. :o Nor cliché. Alright, now, tell me how you like it. I'll write more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to update once a day. Maybe even twice! ::gasp::
Review! Review!!