a/n; I was finally getting around to playing FF8 and realized wow, Rinoa would be fantastic in the KH universe. I'm hoping the letter Leon received from her at the end of KH2 is not just a false alarm, but here's some wishful thinking.
Some things: This assumes that Sephiroth and Tifa are not actual people, but physical manifestations of Cloud's light and dark. While this fic is largely Squall/Rinoa, there are minor mentions of Cloud/Aerith. This is mostly just for fun, so I do play around with the canon some besides this. It's post KH3D, so please be wary of spoilers.
i.
The sheepdog seems more interested in his pockets than anything else. Cloud pushes its snout from his leg; there's really nothing a stray dog would want in there. He has a few ethers and one of Leon's munny pouches, but that's it. The swordsman sighs, kneeling down to meet the dog's eye level. He scratches it behind the ear, discreetly checking for tags - but there are none.
Oh boy, Cloud doesn't have the patience to deal with a stray today. He pulls out his phone and is one press of a button away from calling Leon when a voice attracts his attention.
"Angelo, there you are!"
The woman approaching looks so much like Tifa that Cloud nearly runs, but as she comes closer to greet her dog, the differences become obvious. Her hair is highlighted and parted on the opposite side, and she's dressed in a sort of fairy blue color. Attached to her arm is some kind of disk launcher.
"Oh, I hope she didn't cause you trouble," she apologizes, patting Angelo, the dog, absently on the head as she speaks. "You know battle dogs - can't live with them, can't live without them."
Cloud blinks. "You named her Angelo?"
"Sant' Angelo de Roma, actually," the woman corrects haughtily, the pronunciation rolling off her tongue like flowing water. "It's a beautiful name."
"If you say so."
"Rude!" The woman indignantly crosses her arms over her chest. Angelo looks between the two of them, as if tracking their conversation. "Say, while you're here, maybe you can help me find someone?"
"I'm a little busy," he says automatically, gesturing vaguely with his sword arm. She glances at his weapon, but her reaction is nonchalant, as if men with gigantic broadswords in hand are everyday sights.
"It won't take long. He's just one guy."
"I've been away for a while. I don't know everyone."
"Yeah, but everyone knows him. I've been gone longer than you have and even I know him."
And as the woman sashays past him, her sees the Griever symbol on her arm and the wings on the back of her jacket. His brain scrambles for the name, and eventually he spits out a strangled, "Rinoa?"
She smirks over her shoulder at him. "Nice to see you too, Cloud. I wondered when you would recognize me."
"We met once over ten years ago."
"Still no excuse." Rinoa snaps her fingers at Angelo, who had started sniffing at Cloud's pockets again. "Can I see Squall now?"
She makes fun of his sword the entire way to Merlin's house.
ii.
It's like a scene from one of the few movies the Committee actually owns. Everyone pauses as Cloud and Rinoa enter the room; the jaws on quite a few members drop as the door closes shut behind them. Merlin touches Yuffie's shoulder and motions towards the door. Slowly, as Leon approaches their newest visitor, the rest of them filter out of the house.
She takes his face in her hands, and he realizes that his breathing is shallow, his heart rate sporadic. The letter she had sent to him months prior had been vague and hazy, but this is not - Rinoa is not a figment of his imagination anymore. She is taking up space in front of him and breathing the same air as he. Gently, her thumb traces the end of his scar, then moves to caress his cheekbone.
"You grew your hair out," is the first thing she says, her voice quiet.
"So did you," he replies thickly. He's overwhelmed. Without thinking, he leans in towards her, hesitating as their noses nearly brush. Rinoa closes the gap by standing on her tiptoes to make their lips meet. It's messy and a little painful, but Leon's never experienced such a kiss in his life. They rest their foreheads together when they finally break for air. Her hands are tangled up in his hair; his hands protectively hold her close.
"Good to see you, too," she teases, and he just kisses her again.
iii.
When it comes time to assign duties, Aerith quickly snags Rinoa for the infirmary. Skilled magicians were few and far between, so the flower girl takes advantage of Rinoa's prowess.
"Leon will reassign you eventually," Aerith informs her as she moves with ease through the makeshift hospital, watering the potted plants along the way. "But for now, enjoy yourself. It can be pretty slow around here when there's not a war going on."
"Was this a house before?" Rinoa pokes her head into what looks to be a shoe closet, now packed with potions and ethers. Aerith laughs.
"You're observant! Leon reassigned this building to be the hospital after the medic tents got to be a disaster. There was canvas everywhere."
Rinoa pauses in the middle of the hall. "Why does everyone call him that?" she asks. "Leon, I mean. Does it have to do with the scar?"
After a moment of hesitation, Aerith turns to her. The bright mirth in her eyes has faded to a gleam of anxiety, caution. She speaks slowly in measured words. "He blamed himself for the fall of the Garden, I guess. His way of atoning was a pledge - that he'd restore his home and defeat the Heartless before he used his old name. That's what he said, anyway." Aerith smiles sadly, a look that seems foreign on her face. "I always thought it was because he lost you."
iv.
Sora, Riku, and Kairi drop in for a week or two a month after Rinoa's arrival, and they are delightfully surprised.
"No one told us we got a new member!" Sora complains, shooting a pointed look at Yuffie. "Man, we find out everything last."
Kairi intervenes, "Ah, shut up, Sora. We're here, aren't we? Now we can experience all the gossip firsthand." The two friends lock eyes, then burst into giggles. Riku, however, is tied up with Angelo near the door. Rinoa's dog has apparently taken a shine to the Keyblade Master, sniffing intently at his vest.
"She's friendly, sorry," Rinoa apologizes, reaching out for the dog, but Riku waves her off.
"Don't worry about it." He pushes Angelo's snout from his face, laughing. "It's kinda cute."
The island trio is quick to treat her as they treat the rest of the Committee, and none of the three seem to want to bombard her with questions. Leon keeps giving her these tiny smiles, as if he can't believe this is really happening. Rinoa can understand; she never thought her integration back into their world would be so seamless.
v.
By some scheduling mishap, Cloud and Rinoa end up sharing a patrol every Tuesday and Thursday for the foreseeable future. This is odd in that Rinoa is usually on patrol with an established member of the Committee so she can learn the areas better, and Cloud is not really the best choice for a trainer. But Leon doesn't say anything about his choice of scheduling partners, and Cloud doesn't really seem to care, so Rinoa decides not to question it.
For the most part, Cloud is silent. Aerith had warned her of this, but Rinoa finds his lack of conversation fitting. He's not being rude, she likes to think – he's often just wrapped up in his thoughts. Small talk he apparently doesn't care for, so Rinoa skips straight past that.
"You were missing, too," Rinoa says suddenly on their second patrol together. His eyes shift to her warily, his brow knit.
"Yes," he responds slowly. This must not be a very hot topic of discussion for him, Rinoa notes, and probably for good reason.
"When'd you get back? Recently, right?"
"About a year ago." He pauses. "It seems a lot shorter than that, though. I was away for a while after that, too."
"Really?" She frowns at him and, after processing her reaction, he frowns back. "Why would you want to leave?"
He scowls. "I had business to take care of," he says shortly, and speeds up his pace so she falls behind him. Stubbornly, she trots to keep up.
"Mind telling me what business?"
It's a very personal question. He doesn't reply, and they lapse into silence again. They continue like that for a while, then Rinoa says quietly, "I had business, too. It's no fun at all, Cloud, I get it." And just like that, Rinoa is telling him about Edea and Ultimecia and her travels all over the universe. He stops to sit in the Marketplace as she pours the weight of the last ten years off her shoulders.
When she finishes, he's looking at her curiously. His eyes are distractingly blue, but unlike Squall, Cloud display his every emotion through his eyes and only his eyes. Now, however, he is impossible to read. "I get it," he says at length, his voice light and careful. "I had my own demon. Sephiroth. I left to track him down."
And he delves into his story – he talks about the Coliseum and his nine years in Greece and all the things he never really got to tell anyone about. Cloud's voice is quiet and always a bit scratchy, as though he rarely ever uses his vocal chords this much.
They take an extra two hours on their patrol as they talk out the major points of their issues, and it worries Leon that they arrive back at HQ so late.
"Don't worry about it," Cloud insists. "We just got sidetracked."
"Yeah, Squall," Rinoa adds, smiling cheekily at him. "No need to get your boxers in a bunch."
vi.
It seems that the more and more people that pile into Merlin's home, the more she feels isolated.
Sora and the gang are put into the patrol schedule during their visit, so Rinoa gets to see their interactions with Leon. There are moments when she feels like she fits in, when she can actually contribute to the conversation. These moments are actually fairly common, and leave Rinoa with a surreal warmth in the pit of her stomach.
Then there are the exclusionary moments, when she can only watch from the outskirts. The Committee will be joking around about something and make a reference to Traverse Town or some other inside joke, and for a few seconds they become strangers. Rinoa has been absent for far too long, and this is just a reminder of that.
She isn't upset by the exclusion itself - that is inevitable. She is perturbed by the reminder that she will never get that decade of her life back, and she will never understand all these inside experiences entirely.
So she smiles at Sora and flirts with Leon and accepts that these missing years of her life will always put up a barrier between her and her friends. And life goes on, as the nature of the Radiant Garden seems to dictate.
vii.
There's a gangle of people waiting by the training yard door. Aerith sits in the oversized windowsill seat, reading a book; she seems to be keeping an eye on Sora and Riku, who are sitting on the floor playing a card game.
"What's going on here?" she asks, amused. Angelo, who is sitting with her chin on Riku's knee, perks up at the sound of her voice, but quickly settles down.
"Leon's training people in the yard," Sora says without looking up from his hand. He sets a card down next to one of Riku's – Riku groans in response. While the boys squabble over their game, Rinoa looks to Aerith for answers.
"Training?"
"Some volunteers do work for us on a permanent basis," she explains, closing her book over her finger to preserve her place. "They help with patrols and sometimes even construction. Yuffie calls them the Honor Guard. Leon meets with them once a month outside the usual scheduling to make sure they're all able to fight Heartless on their own."
Rinoa peers out the window, electing to ignore the argument that's broken out between the two Keyblade wielders. A diverse group of maybe fifteen people are standing in the sand lot of the training yard, all of them wielding an equally varied assortment of weapons. Rinoa sees blades and guns and bows and spears – one fellow wearing a beanie seems to fight with just his fists. Leon is standing on the curb above the sand lot giving them instructions. His jacket has been discarded, and it appears they've already been through the main training – he looks sweaty and tired, his gunblade shoved into his belt.
"So this is the Honor Guard," Rinoa confirms, and Aerith nods.
"In all their glory."
While he speaks, Leon glances over to the window. Rinoa waves enthusiastically; this seems to cause him to lose his train of thought, and he stammers for a few seconds before resuming with his instructions.
viii.
The object is tiny, green and yellow and decorated with a lightning bolt motif. It almost seems to catch too much light, making it difficult to look at directly. It sits locked tight in her blaster edge.
"It's a Star Shard," she explains, holding her wrist up. Rinoa's voice is shaky, yet it sounds as though she's rehearsed these words. "I found it when the Heartless first invaded."
Involuntarily, Leon thinks back to that night. He remembers the fire and smoky haze, but no Gummi blocks scattered about the Garden. He stays silent, allowing her to continue.
"I still don't really understand it, but it lets you travel to worlds. If you don't know how to control it, it randomly moves you from one end of the galaxy to the other. No warning, nothing. Just a tug in your chest and you're gone." She inhales sharply, as though in pain. "I didn't know how to control it. I picked it up when the world was collapsing, and then I was gone."
Her feet become covered in the powdery blue dust as she paces near the cliff overlooking Villain's Vale. Like a storm cloud it leers over her shoulder in the distance every time she turns on her heel. "So I traveled, whether I wanted to or not. I learned when it would warp and I could even travel at will, but it takes a lot of concentration. It took me ten years of mistakes to make it back home." She looks at him, and despite her somber tone of voice, her eyes are steely and hard. "I'm so tired, Squall. Tired of concentration, tired of moving. So I'm done."
"Done?" he asks of her intent. She gives him a sly smile, which doesn't seem fitting given the mood.
"I'm done." Rinoa pauses in her pacing and looks over the cliff. Then, swiftly, she whips her arm in front of her and fires her weapon. The Star Shard goes reeling, spitting flashes of color as it careens towards the ground. She gestures with her arm; the air crackles in response, and from the sky she summons a powerful Thunder spell. It collides with the Shard, and the impact is explosive. Fireworks of debris pepper the sky.
She seems odd as she returns to Merlin's house with him. She steps with none of her skip and stays silent for the whole walk. Yet something about her seems lighter – there is a grim sort of satisfaction around her that Leon has experienced far too many times. He understands.
ix.
Cid has been in an awful mood terribly, and no one is really sure why. At some point, he starts leaving dinner early, and he spends more and more of his free time in the garage. He snaps at Cloud one day, which is surprisingly since Cloud is notorious for never getting in anyone's way, and he gives Yuffie a verbal lashing so terrible it leaves her shaking like a leaf.
They give Yuffie the day off and Aerith makes sure that Cloud is okay before she and Leon go to hold an intervention. They are no strangers to these sorts of things, as interventions were held every now and then in Traverse Town when it was just the four of them. So Cid is well aware of what is to come when Leon and Aerith stride into the garage, looking serious.
"The hell do you two want?" he grunts, turning back around to face his work desk, which is covered in Gummi blocks and various sorts of screws. Leon grabs the back of his swivel chair and forces him to turn around, scowling.
"You've been awful lately," he says shortly, crossing his arms.
"I'm awful all the time."
"More awful than usual," Aerith corrects. "What's been going on?"
He sits halfway turned from them, grinding his toothpick into splinters as he broods. Leon glances sideways at Aerith, who returns the look. Eventually, the stalemate is broken; Cid turns to them with a squeak of his chair.
"We thought they were dead," he says, his voice unusually thick. "Aerith thought Cloud was alive, but for the longest time we thought he was dead. And hell, everyone thought Rinoa was gone for good, even you." He flaps an arm at Leon and lets it fall back onto his knee. His chair groans as he leans back in it. "If they're still alive, then where's Shera?"
x.
Every morning, it gets harder and harder to get out of bed. The Garden's chilly climate turns the entire world into an ice trap, making it a slippery walking hazard each and every morning, though the afternoons are often warm and comfortable. The shifting weather is another thing from which he can hide in bed.
For whatever reason, Rinoa likes to sleep with the window open. His one arm that is not covered by the blanket is always frozen stiff from the sharp winter breezes, and his other arm is numb from being trapped beneath Rinoa's weight all night. Despite his useless arms, Rinoa is warm next to him and the blanket contains their body heat, so he is easily lulled back into sleep, even after waking up on time.
He reaches over her head to hit the snooze on his alarm four times before he decides that he can't afford to be late. Leon struggles to disentangle himself, and once he's free, the cold air just makes him want to crawl back into the warm sheets. He forces himself to get dressed instead. Rinoa watches him through one half-open eye, groggy with sleep.
"Squall."
"Yeah?"
She sits up, drawing the blankets around her into some sort of multicolor, patterned cocoon and hits him with the sleepiest pout imaginable. "Come back to bed."
"You know I can't," he sighs, reaching for his belts.
"Are you sure?"
He hesitates before fastening his first belt, eyeing her guardedly. She smiles her devious little smile and flips over.
Somehow, Leon finds himself an hour late for his duties, his hair and clothes rumpled. Yuffie laughs herself to tears at the sight.
xi.
This time, there is no doubt: this is war.
The shadows come to life and enter the town. Their claws tear apart the bricks they had rebuilt and restored, destroying hours upon hours of labor. Leon fights back, but the anxiety begins to overwhelm him; he leaves Cloud and Merlin to strategize for this battle as he runs off to find her. He is not going to lose anyone today, but he is especially not going to lose her.
He looks frantically in the marketplace and the borough just outside of Merlin's house. His heart is swelling with nerves until he crashes into her in the bailey. Close to hyperventilating, he grips onto her arms tightly just to reassure himself that yes, she is still here and she is not going to vanish in a haze of Star Shard magic.
"Squall? Squall!" She grabs his arms and brings him back to his senses. He looks her dead in the eye.
"I'm not losing you today."
The earth shudders beneath their feet, and, somewhere in the distance, a huge cloud of dust rises up from the direction of Hollow Bastion. They both glance at it, then at each other.
"No," she agrees, "you're going to have to try a little harder if you want to get rid of me."
xii.
When the dust settles and the debris lies still, the planet is oddly quiet. There is a soft hush that lies across the surface of the world, as though the tentative peace is too fragile to break. Rinoa stumbles into the infirmary, which has clearly seen better days. The patients that need more extensive care are already in the back rooms, so the main area is deserted, the benches and beds rumpled and out of sorts. Rinoa takes a few ethers from the supplies to bring to HQ for the fellow Committee members, but she stops when she senses movement.
Aerith is there, gripping a bedpost in order to keep her balance. She never complains and she never speaks up about her own problems when it comes to war. Without a single qualm, she takes care of the wounded during these battles and gives all of herself away. Rinoa recognizes the symptoms of mana shortage on sight; Aerith had let herself become so weak she could barely walk.
Just as she's about to go to the healer's aid, the door opens. Cloud strides in, carrying a thermos and a bag of what must be food, based on the smell. There's a bloody bandage wrapped around his arm and he's got a cut just above his eyebrow, but his wounds are not too serious. Immediately, he runs to her side, letting Aerith grab his arm for support. He slinks with her to the ground against the wall, where she lets herself go. Her small sobs are silent – she's used up all of her voice casting spells.
Cloud is gentle and moves slowly. She rests her head on his shoulder, and he shifts his arms carefully so as to not disturb her. The thermos contains hot honeyed tea, Rinoa discovers, as he uncaps it and quietly persuades her to drink some. Unseen, Rinoa slinks out the back exit of the infirmary and back into the chilling silence of the post-battle Radiant Garden.
It strikes her that Cloud knew exactly what to do, implying that this is a frequent enough occurrence for that to be a necessity. She looks around the town and sighs heavily. The amount of admiration she has for the Committee swells – they must be so strong to deal with these Heartless attacks on a regular basis.
xiii.
There is a crowd of Honor Guard volunteers clogging up the borough as she attempts to return to HQ, where Leon is undoubtedly sorting through the events of the day. Rinoa wades through the groups of volunteers (all of whom are clutching their dirty weapons and healing wounds) and ducks into the Gummi hangar, where she hopes she can take a shortcut into Merlin's home.
Cid is sitting at his desk, grumbling as he ties a bandage around his wounded leg. His spear is on the ground, and there are empty potion bottles strewn about the garage. Most unusually, the Gummi ship closest to the doors of the hangar is running its engine; exhaust is slowly starting to fill the building.
The engine shuts off abruptly and Yuffie leaps down from the cockpit. She is somber as she nods at Rinoa, walking carefully in favor of her hurt left ankle.
"Why the ship?" is the first question Rinoa asks once it is quiet again, and immediately she regrets it; they've just survived a battle, and she's questioning their actions already? But Cid and Yuffie don't seem offended, just tired. Yuffie sits down on the ground and picks up a potion, estimating the amount of medicine left in it.
"Cid, you wanna take this question?" she asks. Rinoa offers her one of the potions she'd taken from the infirmary, which Yuffie gratefully accepts.
"It's, uh…" Cid rubs the back of his neck. "It's just a precaution. We're really close to the Realm of Darkness, 'parently, so if the world ever starts to go under…"
"It's a getaway ship," Rinoa realizes, and Cid nods. He avoids eye contact by grabbing a potion off his desk and chugging it, so Rinoa takes the awkward silence as an excuse to proceed to Merlin's house.
Angelo could apparently sense her discomfort – they are the only two in the house at the moment. She kneels down and hugs her dog tightly around her neck, burying her face in the soft fur. She's picked a very sad place to live, she thinks, as she tries to block the sights of the day from her memory.
xiv.
"You guys use this a lot?" She jumps on the tread of the crane and stares up at the gigantic hook, her head tilted. Leon is fiddling with the chamber of his gunblade, but looks up when she asks her question.
"Hey, don't stand on that," he warns, and offers a hand to help her down. "We had that sent from Disney Castle so we could start repairing Ansem's castle, but we've been a little…preoccupied." Leon gestures to the rubble they're supposed to be surveying. The last battle had left the town shaky, but most of the damage had been done from where the Heartless had attacked: the newly built residential area by the castle gates. They're out here assessing the damage.
"You've got a lot to rebuild, huh?"
"I guess you could say that. It's a work in progress."
"And you don't mind?"
He shrugs. "It's something to do," he says, but his nonchalant manner is betrayed by how hurt he looks as he peers at the broken remains of a two-story home.
Leon has changed, Rinoa knows this, but exactly how is a little harder to place. Aerith had informed her that everyone was different now, though it wasn't always obvious – Cloud is very clearly more quiet and stoic than he used to be, yet Cid still appears to be as sarcastic as he always was, despite his hidden grief and sympathy. Leon is still always wrapped up in his thoughts most of the time, but it's been 10 years since he was his brooding teenage self as she knew him. Now he's a brooding adult, but despite all the weight on his shoulders, he seems to be lighter. He smiles much more, he's capable of making jokes at dinner now. He's still Squall technically, but maybe Leon is someone entirely different, and not just because Squall let his world collapse and Leon is building it up or whatever.
She tries the name out. "Squall," she says aloud.
"Hmm?"
"Squall," she says again, letting it roll off her tongue. "Leon. Squall Leonhart."
He's very confused. "Rinoa, are you-"
"Just trying to see what I want to call you."
"I honestly don't care when it comes to you. It doesn't really matter that much, you can call me whatever."
"Alright, Mr. Leonhart, whatever you say."
She strides past him, yet she can still hear his heavy sigh. He's probably pinching the bridge of his nose, as well. "Not that."
xv.
"Hey, Rinoa."
She turns, expecting Aerith or Leon or maybe even Cloud, but Yuffie is the one standing there, awkwardly shifting on her feet. She's 19 now, still a teenager but so much more mature than she ought to be, despite her stubborn streaks and childish tendencies. "Hi Yuffie, what's up?"
"I was just…" She pauses and scratches the back of her head, where her headband is tied. Rinoa smiles faintly. "It's…you've known Squall for a long time?"
"I'd like to think so," she says lightly. "Though you've probably spent more time with him than I have. Funny how that works, huh?"
Yuffie smiles, but it's still a little forced. Sora gets the same way when he's really nervous, and Rinoa is starting to get suspicious. "Yeah, I guess so. I don't really, uh…know how to say this – which is unusual," she tacks on quickly, as though justification is needed, "since I always know how to say things, but…are you taking care of him?"
"I hope I am."
"No, I mean—" She scratches her head again. "Squall's just really – he gets inside his feelings, y'know? And they take over and he starts acting like a dumb idiot and it's completely unfixable for a long time. Aerith and I kept him from being a dumb idiot for years, and I just…wanted to make sure he'll be okay." With wide eyes, she adds, "It's not like I doubt you or anything, b-but—"
"I understand," Rinoa interrupts quickly, to Yuffie's relief. "Squall really is a dumb idiot, but I will try my best to prevent it."
"Thank you, Rinoa," Yuffie says earnestly, and it's the first thing she's said that hasn't come out shakily. Abruptly, Yuffie grins at her and turns on her heel; Rinoa blinks and she's vanished down the hallway.
xvi.
"How did you know?" Leon asks one day. Cloud sets down his coffee mug and looks at Leon blankly. Leon amends, "About Aerith, I mean."
Cloud takes a few moments to sort out his thoughts. "Well, I wasn't very smart about it. It's a surprise she still likes me now, honestly. It was weird. I dreamed about her at the Coliseum, and I just felt this…connection, I guess. She helped me with the whole Sephiroth thing without interfering." He shrugs. "It just kind of happened. Aerith's really important to me."
"That's the least romantic thing I've ever heard," Leon says flatly, and Cloud glares at him.
"You know I'm no good at this stuff. What about you, Casanova?"
"It's…similar, I think." Leon folds his arms across his chest and closes his eyes as he thinks. "When you brought her home, everything just clicked, y'know? Like in that moment, everything was in its place. We were dating before this all went down, and we've changed and there're things to work out, but it…I don't know. I know I love her, though."
"Wow," Cloud deadpans, raising his coffee to his lips, "that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard, Leon. Please, continue."
Cloud is smirking when Leon shoves him away, even though it nearly spills his coffee.
xvii.
It's late and there's an entire day full of work waiting for them a few hours away, but they just can't seem to sleep. She's resting her head in the crook of his neck, his arm around her shoulders; he brushes the bone in her shoulder with his thumb absently, gently. Their breath is quick and not at all in sync, as are their heartbeats, but they are undeniably happy.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," she murmurs, closing her eyes. His hair is sticking to his neck from the sweat, but she doesn't really mind. He gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"We should, then." Leon pulls her closer and kisses the top of her head. "Who's going to stop us?"
It's a nice thought, though unusual for a rule follower like Squall Leonhart. They really should sleep – she's sore and exhausted – but they just lie there like that, waiting for their heart rates to settle. She traces his collarbone with her index finger as they bask there beneath the blankets.
xviii.
Sora, Kairi, and Riku eventually need to leave and do other important things, so they bid their farewells and warp out to their Gummi ship. Merlin's house is usually a constant whirlwind of movement, yet for the first time since Rinoa returned, everything is quiet at dinner that night. There's the usual chatter of the Garden residents, but the absence of the island trio is palpable.
So they all head off to bed, and Cloud heads out for his night patrol. Leon needs to finish some paperwork before he returns to their shared room ("It's just some stuff for the weekly citizen newspaper, it won't take me too long"), and suddenly Rinoa finds herself alone in the main room. Cid's computer beeps gently, indicating the claymore activity, but besides that it is silent.
Rinoa turns her gaze to Merlin's bookshelves and sighs, smiling broadly. When travelling aimlessly through space, there was absolutely no time to relax, let alone read. It's been far too long since she's picked up a good book. She saunters over to Merlin's library and begins to peruse.
xix.
They gather in Leon's office; Merlin's home is far too small to hold both the Honor Guard and the main Restoration Committee members. When Rinoa enters, Leon seems to be in a fantastic mood; he kisses he cheek in front of everyone and squeezes her hands and tells her to take a seat, the meeting will start soon. There are people sprawled out on all the furniture Leon's brought into his office. Aerith is sitting in a raggedy armchair in the corner, with Cloud next to her on the armrest. Yuffie's claimed an entire loveseat to herself, stretched out luxuriously across both seats. Cid is sitting in a lawn chair close to the door, presumably for the easy access to the exit.
Rinoa forces Yuffie to give up one of her seats and plops down onto the plushy cushion just as Leon steps up in front of them. "So it's been a weird month," he starts, to which most of the members chuckle. "There was the Heartless attack and all the reconstruction that followed…but we also had Sora and the gang visit. We've also added a few new members." He looks pointedly at Rinoa, who smiles bravely back.
"There's more good news on top of that – I'm going to go ahead and give the green light to begin reconstruction of Hollow Bastion."
"Wait, really?" Yuffie asks, her hand shooting up in the air as though this is grade school. Leon isn't even bothered; with a faint smile, he answers, "Yes, really."
He pauses for the applause that follows, but holds up his hands palms out to quiet them all. "We're still trying to recover from the last invasion though, so there's a lot of work to be done. Cid will be assigning Honor Guard people to restore the buildings that we lost, while the core group is going to scout out the castle and see what can be recovered before we start," he explains.
He inhales deeply before continuing, "But be proud. We didn't have any casualties during this attack, and the population of the Garden is actually increasing, for the first time since we arrived over a year ago. There's still a lot of work to be done, but be proud of what we've done. All of us, even the new members."
The meeting is dismissed shortly, and they all leave with high spirits. Rinoa hangs back to hug Leon as tightly as she possibly can, and she's not surprised to find that he nearly lifts her off the ground when he hugs back.
xx.
Angelo is very excited. She's waiting at the door and wagging her tail, looking expectantly up at anyone who passes by. Cloud pats her head as he crosses the room, and Angelo takes that as an invitation to follow him around and pester him into letting her out.
"Down, girl," Rinoa orders, but she only cocks her head at her owner and continues sniffing at Cloud's pockets. Cloud insists that no, it's fine, honestly, but Rinoa is confused. Angelo is well behaved and knows to use her manners to ask to go outside; this is entirely unusual for her.
The explanation comes from Merlin, who drags Leon from his office in order to give the news to them all. "The Honor Guard is giving you all the night off," he tells them, as they all stand around his table. "They've teamed up to let you all have a night on the town, and – well – it's no coincidence that tonight the Winter Festival begins. Enjoy yourselves."
The Winter Festival was once an ancient, annual tradition carried on by the modern citizens of Radiant Garden, but it hadn't been brought back until this year due to the sheer amount of work that needed to be done to get the town up and running. It is something of a miracle that they have the supplies to host a festival, but somehow the citizens pulled through.
The sun has already set by the time they all hit the streets, but there are candlelit lamps lighting up all of the passageways through the town. Angelo takes great pleasure in investigating each one on their way to the marketplace, much to Leon's amusement. The marketplace itself is not huge, but seeing it full of people for once is actually a very reassuring sight. Leon's hand unconsciously tightens around hers when he sees the place so alive.
People mill around, visiting the stalls set up next to the shops. Several dogs are present, kept on leashes by parents of children. Near a puppet show booth, Yuffie is chasing around the kids with a sock puppet, grinning as they scream in feigned terror. Cloud, donning his heavy red cloak, is walking around with Aerith, their arms linked and smiles genuine. Moogles are pedaling their wares, the duck triplets are passing out items, and everyone is happy.
Rinoa looks over at Leon, who is understandably mystified. Angelo's tail is thumping against Rinoa's leg, she's wagging it so hard. Leon looks over at her with a slight smile. "It's…"
"Unreal," she finishes, and gives his hand a squeeze. "C'mon, Squall, I think Scrooge is giving away free ice cream. We don't want to miss that."
With Angelo trotting merrily alongside them, fingers intertwined, they head over to the giant freezer that is the ice cream store. Moonlight and lanterns light their path every step of the way.