Author's Note:

To learn a bit more about the purpose of 'Love Grows', please visit my profile :) Basically, this will be a series of one-shots for a 100 Theme Challenge. They're all unrelated and can be read separately. The first theme is love, and I really tried to capture the depth of their relationship in this first chapter. I hope you guys like it! It's pure fluff ;)

Thanks to LaylaEvercrest and Arenoptara for beta-reading, and a huge thank you to my readers!

One: Love

A light breeze ruffled the fine strands of snowy fur along his collar, causing the tips to sway gently from side to side. The motion mimicked the swaying of the flowers in the field: left, right, left, right. Soft, white tufts of dandelion seeds drifted through the air. If Centra's climate wasn't always arid, Squall thought that they might have easily been mistaken for snowflakes.

He stood there, in their field, and breathed in the sweet scent of fragrant blossoms. In all of the years that had passed since they'd first stood here, and he'd promised to always be there for her, this field hadn't changed. They'd changed. But this field remained ever the same, predictable in its constant beauty.

He supposed that they had Matron to thank for that. Though she'd aged-as they all inevitably did-since the end of the second Sorceress War, she would always be regal in her elegance, forever the epitome of true kindness. When he and Rinoa had gotten married, this field had been her gift to them.

When Edea had begun to suspect that Ultimecia was trying to possess her, she'd used her magic to ensure that this field would always remain as it was. The beauty of it comforted her. It served as a reminder of who she'd been, before the sorceress from the future manipulated her, changed her into someone that she wasn't. Rinoa had explained that she felt the same way-they both felt the same way, about this field. Edea had smiled then and told the younger sorceress of what she'd done, many years prior, and promised that for as long as they wanted, the field was theirs to enjoy.

Every year, on their wedding anniversary in the spring, they flew out to the Orphanage. They'd stay there for the weekend, and spend some much needed time together, away from the hecticness of Garden.

Squall's position as Commander took up most of his time, and Rinoa often felt like she was being pushed further and further down his list of priorities. Though he'd tried to convince her that wasn't the case, she always reminded him that actions spoke louder than words. That was simply how she felt, which in the world of women, meant that it was also the truth.

So their annual anniversary trip was Squall's opportunity to make amends for the past year and remind Rinoa exactly how much she meant to him. If he had to be honest, it wasn't something he could easily say, not even after five years together. He'd never been verbose, and even after being around his ever-so-talkative wife for so long, that fact hadn't changed.

In the midst of the field, more than a few yards away, stood his sorceress, his soulmate-the word 'wife' almost didn't do her justice. Though they'd both outgrown their trademark outfits-she, her blue floor-length duster, and he, his completely black leather ensemble-Rinoa had decided to don her familiar knitted get-up for memories' sake, especially since they were here. In the past, he would've rolled his eyes at her hopeless romanticism. Now, however, he found that he too looked back on the way they used to be with fondness. After all, their pasts were what kept them connected; it was part of the glue that held them together. That much, he couldn't deny.

She reached up then and brushed a loose strand of her flowing, raven hair behind her ear. When she lowered her hand to her side, the ring on her left finger glinted in the sunlight. It was visible even from where Squall was standing farther back, flanked by massive marble columns that had long since crumbled. Her duster cascaded down her back, and the hemline floated lightly in the wind, rising before lowering again in a gentle, relaxed manner.

Squall took a step forward, off of the flagstones that comprised the broken and scattered walkway, and trudged down the miniscule dirt path that wound through the flowers. He walked at a slow pace, languid almost. This was their first night on their weekend getaway, and the point of it all was to take their time, to try to enjoy each other's company without thoughts of anything else haunting them.

Eventually, he approached Rinoa and came to a stop, a foot away. She turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder.

Her soft, melodic voice called out to him then. "Were you trying to sneak up on me, Mr. Leonhart?"

He chuckled and closed the distance between them, his footsteps still silent, impossible to hear even with his thick boots on.

Some things faded with time: memories of his childhood, the fear and apprehension he'd felt when he took his first SeeD field exam. What didn't fade, however, were the habits and skills that he had picked up during training: how to remain silent when you didn't want to be heard or how to manipulate people. The fact that it became second nature to him, to rise before the sun did, drove Rinoa crazy.

There were some things that time could never erase though, like the fact that his movements were nearly always silent, no matter where they were, or what they were doing. But most of those unforgettable things revolved around his wife. As he wrapped his arms around her and propped his chin up against her pale shoulder, he thought back to the first time they'd met, in Garden's ballroom, during the SeeD graduation ball.

Rinoa had worn an ivory dress that night that did little to hide the natural curves that she had. She'd somehow convinced him to dance with her, one of the many skills he'd learned as a SeeD that he'd sworn he would never use. In just a few minutes, she'd somehow made him fall in love with her at first sight. Of course, true to form, the next time they'd met, she'd driven him crazy with her incessant badgering and spoiled attitude. Then, over the course of the following months, she'd gotten him to care about her, chipping away at the block of ice that sat in place of his heart, a little more each time.

And now, here they were, standing in the place where they'd promised to always find each other, no matter what stood in the way. He never would've guessed that she'd bring him back from the brink of death after the battle against Ultimecia. Nor could he have predicted all of the ways she'd saved him since they'd said 'I do'. Sure, it was seemingly small ways, like bringing him a roll of toilet paper when he was in the bathroom and ran out. Or with the soft kisses she placed on his lips every morning when she rolled over and woke. Not even all of the times he was violently ripped from the dark embrace of a deep slumber by nightmares that haunted him more often than he cared to admit to anyone else. With Rinoa though, he never had to admit anything because he never had to hide anything. She was the one person in the world who would always accept him, and in turn, he would always accept her. Since he was a child, he'd hid behind the thick walls he'd erected to protect himself from the outside world. She had saved him by pulling him from his shell and molded him into a normal human being. Or at least, as much of a normal human being that the Commander of one-third of the world's strongest mercenary force could be.

Because she was his sorceress, and he her knight.

She pressed herself further into his arms and leaned the side of her head against his, sighing in content. Hesitantly, he lowered his hands to rest on her lower abdomen, cradling the slight bump that one wouldn't have noticed was there if they hadn't already known.

Gently, she placed her hands on top of his, her diamond solitaire ring sparkling in contrast to his darker metal band. His was simple and yet refined, much like the man she saw him as. The diamond on hers represented the way that he saw her: a single, lone, shining star in the night sky that he had been unable to look away from. Not since the first moment that he met her. When the rings were placed together, the picture they painted was identical to the one that people saw when the sorceress and her knight stood side by side. A perfect fit, forever complementing one another, protecting one another, supporting each other.

Squall turned his head and nuzzled the side of her neck. In a voice so soft Rinoa thought she imagined it, he whispered, "I love you."

Tears welled up in her eyes at the three words she always loved to hear that he rarely uttered. Her eyes slid shut, as she reveled in the perfect moment that they'd been given, amidst the chaos of their lives.

"Oh, Squall. I love you too."