A/N: Originally written for LJ's KH Drabble Community's challenge [271] Forgotten Goodbyes. Enjoy. ;)
Icy blue eyes were fixated on something small that he was holding between his thumb and index finger. In the dim light that the streetlamps from outside provided him, Leon (not Squall, because Squall was gone) ran his ungloved fingertips over the old photograph, carefully as ever as not to damage the thin but very precious piece of paper. The photo was quite old, more than nine years, probably even ten. The corners of it were already worn, the colors of it disappeared from it slightly; a gift of Time. It wasn't even that big of a photograph; small enough to fit into his wallet, where it was safe and near his already frozen, non-existent heart (since his heart had been stolen by the same person on this picture).
The petite picture showed a happy young woman with long black hair, chocolate brown eyes and a dazzling smile that would surely leave every male weak in the knees. Her happiness was caught forever within these four white, imaginary walls of this photograph, where time stood still.
"Rinoa…" he breathed, although it sounded more like a forlorn sob, lost in the silent night.
If he closed his eyes, he could almost swear that he could still smell her unique flowery scent and hear her cheerful laugh that would made his heart skip a couple of beats. She always loved flowers and her favorite ones were forget-me-nots, since blue was her favorite color.
Funny, how he could exactly remember the events that had taken place a few hours before Hollow Bastion fell. He had taken her to one of the fanciest restaurants for dinner because they had been together for three months. Everything had gone well… until she somehow had brought the subject to how he never talked with her about his thoughts and emotions. This had resulted into a fierce fight in which she had called him stoic, cold…
Heartless…
Abruptly, he had left the place, fully well aware of the fact that everyone was watching them. He didn't know if he was more hurt or furious, but her last words rang in his head, as if taunting him.
That same night… his home world fell to the Darkness and all was lost in that chaos. He had never had the chance to see her again, to tell her that he was so sorry for being a heartless jerk. To assure her that, dammit!, he would change for her as much as she wanted him to if only she promised to come back to him again and stay with him. Unfortunately, he had never had the chance to tell her all that…
To tell her that he loved her more than anything…
How his heart yearned to hold her again in a tight embrace, to brush her midnight-colored hair away from her mesmerizing chocolate-like eyes. He had always loved the smooth feeling of her silky strands between his fingers.
It had been nine years now and there had still been no trace of his Rinoa. He was starting to lose faith and it didn't exactly help that he had no idea how she was doing, if she was still alive or-
His breath caught painfully in his throat and he let it out in a slight hiss, not able to continue his thought. The fact that their paths had been separated after the biggest fight of their lives, without ever having the chance to say at least a proper goodbye was unbearable enough as it was already…
How much he would give for going back into time again…