Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and all of its characters are property of Square Enix. I do not profit from it, apart from getting entertainment from doing my fanfiction and improving on my language and writing skills. Also, all events and characters are purely fictitious and any similarities to people or events in real life are purely coincidental.

Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII

Author: Azarethian Titan

Beta-Readers: Celestial Rage, Emerald-Latias

Listening to: Concerning Hobbits (Howard Shore)

Warnings: none

Author's Note: Well, here's the next installment to my lovely Christmas story. I hope you enjoy it. I'd also like to take this little moment to thank Seifer Arumashi for reviewing my story. Yeah... I know nothing was actually commented on... but it's nice to actually have affirmation that people are reading my stories...

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.:Chapter 2:.

---:And So They Meet:---

"Honey, I'm home!" Seifer

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"Honey, I'm home!" Seifer sung out as he stepped into the front gates of Balamb Garden, giving in to that odd impulse of his.

The old man at the counter merely gave Seifer an odd look before opening the gate and sliding down slowly, hiding behind the counter. Seifer gave a quick glance at where the old man had once stood and chuckled to himself. Apparently, he still struck fear this time... though now, they questioned his sanity too.

Striding through the gates, Seifer looked up to see that familiar glow overhead of Balamb Garden. Walking in further, Seifer took in the surroundings, appreciating and glad of the fact that the missiles never had a chance to destroy this place. Face darkening for a moment, he pondered upon how Ultimecia had warped his desires and dreams.

Walking further into Garden, Seifer noticed that, apart from the occasional odd look or curious glance, no one seemed to notice the bedraggled man that was walking in their midst with a giant gunblade strapped to his waist. Smirking to himself, Seifer muttered, "Now that wouldn't do... where's the welcome party?"

Fingers brushing across the hilt of Hyperion, Seifer scanned the surroundings, looking for a familiar face. Spotting a group of SeeDs, he grinned. "... That'll do."

Hoping with all his heart that one of them recognized him, Seifer moved briskly towards them. It was that quick motion that caught one of the SeeDs' eyes. Eyes widening for a moment, the SeeD yelled out, "Seifer!"

Seifer rolled his eyes. Apparently, SeeD training no longer covered on how reacting against surprises. The sound of his name seemed to resonate throughout the entire compound and for a moment, all noise ceased.

Then, pandemonium.

Normal cadets rushed to bring junior classmen into the building while SeeDs rushed in. Looking at the panic around him, Seifer allowed a small grin to appear on his face as he drew Hyperion. Yeah, war was bad. But a little chaos never hurt. Now how would Puberty Boy take that?

Looking around once more, Seifer noticed that he was surrounded by SeeDs, most of them fresh from a recent examination. Piece of cake. Adopting a tone of mockery, Seifer leaned upon Hyperion casually and reprimanded, "I leave the Discipline Committee for a moment and this is what happens?"

---

A raven-haired girl, blossoming into a young lady, sat upon a brunet's lap. Twirling a lock of hair nervously with a finger and looping an arm around the back of his neck, she giggled, "Well, Squall, about that date you promised... maybe we could have it today..."

Quirking an eyebrow, Squall looked at Rinoa, puzzled, and questioned, "Date?"

Frowning and pouting slightly, Rinoa continued twirling the lock of hair more vigorously, "Well, at that celebration... you know, after we kissed..."

Turning back to the paperwork set on the desk before him, Squall spoke in a voice he reserved for official meetings only, "I was drunk. And Garden protocol forbids me from putting my personal life before all Garden matters."

Mouth agape in shock, Rinoa leaned back and stared at Squall intently, "You sure?"

Squall felt the sides of his mouth quirk at the sound of Rinoa whining. "Affirmative."

"Is there any way to convince you that as commander and headmaster of Balamb Garden, you have every right to take liberties and take a break?"

"Not at the moment."

Widening her eyes, Rinoa pouted as she stared at Squall.

"But... I'm your girlfriend... you know, the one who somehow managed to capture your heart?"

"Uh huh..." Squall muttered disinterestedly, seemingly absorbed in the paperwork before him.

Feeling slightly put off, Rinoa slid off Squall's lap, opting to move over to the window and stare out of it. Well, Rinoa thought, attempting to comfort herself, At least he doesn't really react too negatively to my touch anymore... She knew that it was a huge step for Squall, from someone who veered away from all human contact to allowing her to actually sit on his lap whenever she wanted. However, she couldn't help but feel disappointment creep up upon her. Staring out of the window resolutely, Rinoa willed herself to not look disappointed, not wanting Squall to feel guilty for something that wasn't his fault. She failed miserably.

Curious about why Rinoa had suddenly moved off his lap, something she had claimed to be her favourite spot to sit on, Squall looked at her. Instead of that usual smile on her face, something which he had grown used to and grown to love, lips were curved downwards into a frown. Puzzlement filled him as he continued staring at her, wondering what he had done to make her unhappy. Coughing lightly, Squall started nervously, "Umm... Rinoa? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Apparently, he was beginning to rub off onto her.

Scratching his head, Squall racked his mind of what they had been doing and what could have possibly caused Rinoa to be upset. Rinoa turned back to look at Squall and seeing the confusion on his face, she couldn't help but express her disappointment to him, "Well... it's just that when you "promised"... I was so happy... and..."

Sighing, Squall stood up and moved towards Rinoa. Unsure of what to do, Squall merely stood there, thinking on what people did to comfort others. Then, his thoughts fell upon the time when they had been in the Ragnarok. She wanted a hug then... maybe now...? Cautiously wrapping his arms around her, Squall waited. There wasn't any reaction. Seeing no negative reaction, Squall chanced a light squeeze. Rinoa leaned into him. Feeling slightly encouraged, Squall merely stood there, holding onto Rinoa and hugging her to him.

Rinoa closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax into Squall's embrace. Sure, she was disappointed that there hadn't actually been any date... but she did appreciate that Squall was attempting to comfort her. Feeling slightly better, Rinoa felt herself drifting off, the smell of sandalwood and leather pervading her senses. Just then, she heard a husky voice whisper into her ear, "But I'm free this Saturday..."

Starting slightly, Rinoa nodded her head slowly. Moments passed before it registered. Breaking out of Squall's embrace, albeit slightly unwillingly, Rinoa gaped at Squall in surprise, "Really?"

Squall merely nodded his head. A gleeful smile lit Rinoa's features immediately.

I'll never get how their moods change so quickly... Squall thought dryly as he returned to his seat and turned back to his paperwork.

Time seemed to stop for a moment before Squall felt the wind being knocked out of him as something supposedly light barreled into him. Rinoa blushed and coughed nervously as she quickly got off Squall. He's already pushing his limits as it is... better not overdo it...

Spotting the slightly insecure look upon Rinoa's face, Squall chuckled inwardly. Gently wrapping fingers around her arm, Squall drew Rinoa to him as she complied. Sure, he didn't like human contact... but he'd always make exceptions for her. Gazing at Rinoa with adoration, he leaned his head onto the top of her's, attempting to return to his paperwork.

Moments passed in contented silence as Rinoa snuggled into Squall, gazing out of the window conveniently located behind him, while Squall unconsciously hugged one arm around Rinoa's waist, writing with his free hand.

Leaning her cheek onto a rather comfortable spot on Squall's shoulder, Rinoa spotted a trench coat wearing blonde man wielding a gunblade battling with a group of SeeDs. Yawning sleepily, Rinoa was vaguely reminded of Seifer. Snuggling further into that comforting warmth, Rinoa whispered, "I wonder how Seifer's doing..."

Squall merely shrugged.

There was another moment of contented silence as Rinoa snoozed. Suddenly, there was loud pounding upon the door of Squall's office, before it burst open, revealing Quistis, Zell, Irvine and Selphie, all of whom fell on top of each other in their hurry.

Rinoa blinked owlishly as she stared at the group that had woken her up. Brows creasing, Squall asked, "What's going on?"

"Look out the window."

Smoky blue eyes looked through the window and there was a short pause.

"Let's go."

---

"Seifer," a sharp voice cut through the noise of battle, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Looking over from the group of adversaries he had just knocked out, Seifer grinned at the approaching group. "Looks like the welcoming team is finally here."

Rolling his eyes, Squall turned to Quistis and Irvine and asked, "Could you get a group of students to bring those knocked out and injured to the infirmary?"

Nodding their heads at the request, both said people rushed off to do so. Satisfied, Squall turned back to Seifer and spoke in a deadpan voice, not revealing any emotion or thought whatsoever, "And what are you doing here?"

"Why... to visit you of course," Seifer retorted, "You aren't glad to see me?"

"Not really."

Chuckling at the reply, Seifer continued, "Well, I'll tell you why... but not in front of everyone here, particularly not when Chicken Wuss is around."

There was a squawk of anger from Zell, which was quickly quelled by a look from Squall. Eyeing Seifer suspiciously, Squall merely nodded his head.

There were cries of protest from the surrounding group, but they were largely ignored till Squall saw Rinoa's frightened expression. Eyes softening slightly, he placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "I'll be fine..."

Turning away from her, Squall beckoned to Seifer impatiently as he made his way to his office. Keeping in stride, Seifer winked roguishly at a group of girls that had just passed by, all blissfully unaware of the recent spate of events that had just happened and who the blonde was. Looking at him, the girls giggled simultaneously.

Chuckling with a deep rumble, Seifer smirked and poked Squall in the back, "Looks like lil' ol' me hasn't lost the old Almasy charm..."

Squall rolled his eyes.

Well... now it's done! Finally! Again, I'd like to thank Celestial Rage for Beta-ing this chapter, Leontillybalambgirl for taking her time to discuss such stuff with me and Emerald-Latias for confirming and discussing certain stuff as well. Well, that's pretty much about it... remember kids: The review button always needs to be fed. Click and review now to feed it!

Edit: Well, that ends the re-write of this. Emerald-Latias pointed out that I didn't quite the dynamics between Squall and Rinoa right, making it over-sexual. After reading through it again, I was inclined to agree. So yeah. Hopefully, I managed to get it right this time.