. . . . . . . .
Squall cursed under his breath. He never was the type to seek attention, and this of all moments was not the one with which he wanted to start. Rinoa pulled gently away, an embarrassed smile on her face. He brushed his bangs from his eyes quickly and turned back toward the open ocean. He did his best to revert back to his stoic demeanor as he heard Irvine muttering swears, after Selphie smacked him. The night had been going so well until Irvine let out a loud wolf whistle, announcing to the whole of Garden just what Squall and Rinoa had been doing.
"Sorry, guys! Ignore him! Please, carry on," Selphie shouted from halfway across the ballroom, waving and dragging a struggling Irvine along with her, her little black camera glued to his hand. Her innocent attempt to rectify the situation only served to draw more attention to it.
Squall made a conscious effort to relax his tensed shoulder muscles. They had inadvertently made their way up toward his ears, sympathetically trying to help hide his reddened face. His countenance softened as he felt the wind billow up from Rinoa's blue duster, swirling next to him against the balcony. He peered over at her, doing his best to not actually turn his head. If anyone was still looking, he didn't want to do anything to encourage their continued attention. Rinoa was smiling and looking at the spot where the shooting star had disappeared.
"You know, I don't even mind right now. Nothing can ruin this night for me," Rinoa said, turning to give Squall a meaningful smile. Squall turned, slightly surprised and suddenly in awe. From the very beginning he had been so entranced by her smile, whether or not he'd admit it to anyone, and as the stars twinkled at him from her eyes, he momentarily forgot to breathe. He mentally slapped himself as he realized he'd been staring at her. Rinoa blushed and looked down at her hands then back up to the sky. He couldn't help but smile to himself as it dawned on him that the same was true for him. Nothing could ruin this night.
They stood in a comfortable silence but for the crash of waves and white noise of chatter and laughter. Squall would have been content to stay there until the sun came up, but their companions were not so eager to be bereft of the two lovebirds. Squall reluctantly let himself be led by Zell to a group of young admirers, eager to hear the tales of the future world and specific battle techniques used in the fight against the evil sorceress of the future. Squall's expression slowly faded back to one of stoicism as he let Zell do the bulk of the talking. The martial artist did so with gusto, throwing sample jabs and example uppercuts. Squall sipped from a small champagne flute and froze as his eyes fixed on the same figure he'd been dragged from half an hour earlier.
Rinoa smiled at Squall from her spot next to Quistis, where a miniature horde of young girls and boys stood. One of the boys was speaking enthusiastically to Quistis who smiled politely. Squall watched amused as one of the girls in the group apparently startled Rinoa from her reverie, hands gesturing in a manner equally as enthusiastic as Quistis' admirer. Rinoa spoke to the girl, nodding her head to whatever she was saying. The girl walked away and Rinoa's gaze moved back to where Squall had been standing. Her smile faltered as her eyes didn't find their target.
"Rinoa," a deep voice spoke softly behind her. Rinoa smiled but didn't turn as she waited for the shadowed figure to continue. "Meet me at the elevator in 10 minutes." Rinoa nodded and made an effort to take a nonchalant sip from her glass. She leaned forward as a trickle of liquid slipped down her chin, and swiped at it quickly, hoping no one had noticed. She searched for the large clock on the wall. She'd be damned if she'd miss this date. When the allotted time had passed, she drank the small amount of liquid left in her glass and looked to her left slyly. Quistis' back was slightly turned, and Selphie was nowhere to be found. Rinoa walked to the exit.
Squall stood at the elevator of the second floor, leaning against the wall. A few cadets and SeeDs had passed by and waved excitedly at Garden's leading hero. Squall nodded at the first few, but simply ignored the subsequent ones. He was already tired of being a hero.
"Excuse me, I'm supposed to be meeting someone here. He's strong, incredibly handsome, and very sweet – although you couldn't tell just by looking… have you seen anyone by that description?" Squall looked up at Rinoa's smirking form.
"Yeah… you just missed him. He went down the hall with some busty redhead," Squall said. Rinoa feigned offense, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, then she smiled. "However, he did ask me to give you this." He took her hand and stepped toward her, leaning down slowly. He closed his eyes, relishing the fire he felt throughout his body, and shot his eyes back open as he took a quick step away from the stunned brunette. Two cadets walked past the long hallway and peered down, waving and giggling to each other. Rinoa laughed.
"It's almost like a cosmic joke, isn't it?" she said, then brought a hand up and pressed the elevator button. "I know where we can't be disturbed." Squall's insides squirmed a bit at her remark. He did initiate this by suggesting the elevator as a rendezvous point, but still. As much as he wanted to spend more time with Rinoa, he didn't want to pressure her into anything too serious. They stepped onto the elevator, then walked the long path to the dormitory wing in silence, and just out of arm's reach. They stopped in front of the towering entryway. The two teenagers stood as if faced with an immense mountain which they must climb. Squall slowly turned to look at Rinoa, who turned toward him.
When he had first met her, she seemed like just another pretty girl out to use her wiles to seduce unsuspecting men into dancing with her. Approaching him was so easy for her, just as leaving had been. But even that one dance he had with her was enough to drive a wedge into his soul. Now when he looked at her he didn't see her so much as feel her. The way she put him at ease in body and mind… he felt so lucky to have found her.
Rinoa looked at the man who she first saw under a dome of stars on a fateful night many months ago. She had felt drawn to him from the beginning, and over time, she realized why that was. He wasn't simple and he wasn't easy. His hard and cold demeanor had put off many who crossed his path. And yet, it wasn't the challenge that drew her to him; but the faint glimmer of hope that she had seen in his eyes that night. From across the room, she felt his warmth, and she'd make it her mission in life to keep him warm, no matter what.
She smiled and took the first step into the cavernous hallway. Squall followed in kind. Their hands brushed and Squall let himself give in to the urge to hold her waiting hand.
Squall's room was neat albeit sparse. He never was particularly sentimental, nor materialistic, and so did not have very much as far as possessions went. He did, however, have quite the collection of magazines. Rinoa smiled as she looked them over. Squall stood near the door as he watched her peruse his few belongings.
"Battle Series… Battle Series… Ooh. More Battle Series… I'm glad to see you and Irvine don't share the same taste in magazines," she laughed. Squall shook his head at the memory of Irvine's little prank.
"Definitely not. But if I did, do you think I'd display them on my shelf?" Squall asked logically.
"Touché," Rinoa said, shrugging. Squall swallowed as he stepped away from the doorway. Rinoa smiled at him as he drew within reaching distance. "Squall," she spoke as she put a hand on his arm. He slowly moved a hand to her waist, wanting to draw her in, but wanting to be careful all the same. She rid him of his uncertainty as she gently put her hand behind his neck and tilted her head up toward his.
. . . . . . . .
The celebration had raged from early evening until past midnight, and the starry youths of Garden had all shuffled off to bed, weary but happy. All that is, except four. If any Garden Faculty members had still been employed at Balamb Garden, they would have had a field day wrangling in these particular delinquents on this peculiar night.
Selphie, Irvine, Zell, and Quistis sat around a table in the ballroom, smiling, laughing, and making merry. Scraps of food and empty bottles littered the tables surrounding them, and on their own table rested upright and not so upright empty bottles of champagne. In their own happy celebrations and libations, any authority figure that might have existed had completely neglected or forgotten to instruct the students of Garden to go to their respective rooms for the night, which led to the heroes of time, minus one certain couple, taking full advantage of their lucky freedom.
"Y-you guys. I jes' want you t'know.. and I really mean it… I love you guys so much," Zell proclaimed to the table. His foot rested on the tabletop, and he gestured around it with a green bottle of champagne from which he took a swig.
Quistis brought a hand to her chest and staggered forward slightly in her chair. "Ooohh Zell… I love you guys too," she spoke in a slightly higher pitch than was normal for her as she uncrossed her legs and brought her arms out, reaching for her friends and bringing them in for a group hug over the table. The four heroes now stood awkwardly over the table, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders as they took turns expressing their love for each other.
"Hayng, h-hey you guys," Selphie said, gripping the arms of the cowboy and the former instructor. "You know wha - hck… we guys should do?"
The others looked at the petite and normally bouncy girl and shook their booze-addled heads.
"W-we should go fing Squaw and 'anoa."
"Hhheyyyyyy," Zell suddenly stood upright and raised his arms in question, looking around the ballroom as if there were crowds of people he was craning his neck to look around. "Wharr are Squaw and 'anoa?"
"That's what I'm sayngg," Selphie waved a palm around and straightened her hunched back in a sudden authoritative manner. "They should be here. We should go look for them," she suddenly spoke in a strong and assured voice. Irvine stared at her, mouth slightly slack from too much drink. He slowly started nodding as he looked left and right at Zell and Quistis.
"Now, Selphie," Quistis began, stumbling back a bit and picking up a half empty bottle. "Squall and 'anoa want pivacy. Wharever they're doing it's notar bizness," she slurred and shrugged one shoulder up as she lifted a bottle to her mouth. Selphie watched her friend guzzle the champagne and suddenly remembered her own bottle sitting in front of her. She swiped it up and took a large swig which filled her cheeks outward like a hamster before slowly deflating as the liquid slid down her throat.
"I don't know, Quistis," Irvine chimed in, slowly raising his arms and shrugging his shoulders to his ears for effect. "I think it's 'ngood idea."
"Heeeeeheeheeeheehee!" Selphie suddenly erupted, clapping her hands and splashing champagne, infused with a fresh vigor.
Her high pitched squeal struck some kind of chord in Zell, causing him to bring his fists up and slam them down on the table. "Alright! Let's DO IT!"
The others started at the outburst, then raised their bottles, cheering at their new, self-assigned mission. At that, the four friends were all ignited with a new purpose.
The clock in the ballroom showed 2. Little did the quartet know, Rinoa had already been escorted back to her room by a chivalrous Squall almost an hour ago. The young couple may have been in love, but they were young and their romance new. They had called it a night long before they could be swept away in their passions.
Selphie led her ragtag team of drunkards in what would come to be known as The Grand Grat Escape by the amused students of Garden, and The First Step in the New Balamb Garden Training Center for the headmaster.
. . . . . . . .