Squall looked up as if someone had called his name. The tips of his fingers tingled and he was on his feet opening the door before he consciously thought about it. He took four strides down the hallway before Zell turned into it and spotted him.
"Squall! Hey man!" Squall nodded in reply, but didn't slow down his pace. "She's fine. Dr. Kadowaki's just looking her over for the research."
That comment stopped Squall dead in his tracks. "Research?"
"Yeah, well…" Zell scratched the back of his neck nervously. "It was Rinoa's idea. Something about helping SeeDs in the future against evil sorceresses. I should really let her tell you about it."
Squall resumed walking. "She was hurt?"
"And already healing. She picked up the hoverboard really fast, but of course she got distracted and fell. Typical Rinoa, she was laughing even as she bled. She got it all over my board, too!"
At the word blood, Squall grimaced and sped up.
"Whoa man, she was fine." Squall paused at the door when Zell put a hand on his shoulder. "She was laughing. Try to be gentle."
"Gentle?" Squall looked at Zell.
"That's right. See you at the photo shoot!" Zell good-naturedly punched Squall in the arm and strode away. Squall opened the door and quietly slipped into the room. The tingling ran up and down his spine.
Rinoa sat on the edge of a bed, swinging her bare feet. "Ooh, that's cold!"
"Sorry, I'm almost done." Dr. Kadowaki answered while attaching a wire to the center of Rinoa's chest. Neither of them seemed to notice his entrance, so he settled against the wall next to the door, arms crossed over his chest while he watched them play with the wires. Dr. Kadowaki stepped gingerly around the boots Rinoa had kicked off in the middle of the floor as she attached wires. Rinoa looked very uncomfortable as she was poked and prodded, her face scrunched up in a pout and a steady stream of complaints escaping her lips. He raised an eyebrow when Dr. Kadowaki, tired of the complaining, suddenly pushed Rinoa's duster off her shoulders and yanked the black tank top over her head. He took a step forward when Rinoa gasped, his heart speeding up and his eyes narrowing.
"She's fine, Squall. Just doing her job." He paused as Rinoa addressed him and Dr. Kadowaki jumped, spinning around to face him.
"Oh!" The doctor's hand fluttered to her chest. "I didn't hear you come in, dear." He resumed walking towards them and Dr. Kadowaki turned back to Rinoa. "Rinoa, maybe I should find you a gown."
Rinoa nodded as she slipped off the bed. "Thanks. It is chilly in here."
Dr. Kadowaki pulled a non-descript gown out of a cabinet and handed it to Rinoa. "I'll just be entering the new data. Give it about half an hour." With that the Dr. grabbed a chart and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Rinoa looked down at her hands, playing with the nightgown instead of putting it on. Squall shifted his weight, wishing she'd say something. After waiting a moment he put a hand over hers, stilling her nervous movements. He pulled the material out of her hands and slipped it over her frame, waiting until she shrugged her arms into the sleeves before wrapping it over her shoulders. He pulled her hair up and she assisted, sweeping the raven locks out of the way. He gently ran a finger over the wire taped to the back of her neck before tying the night gown shut. He ran his fingers down her spine and she leaned against his shoulder. His fingers traced another wire.
"Rinoa, what is all this?"
"I fell off the hoverboard." She mumbled into his shoulder.
He chuckled and she pulled back. "I meant the wires. You're too tough to be taken out by a hoverboard." He gently lifted her up back onto the bed before kneeling in front of her. He looked up into her face for an explanation and her hand went to the rings around her neck. Squall didn't push, his hands discovering the wires taped to the sides of her knees. He frowned as he trailed a hand down one of her legs, feeling another wire on her ankle and even the hollow of her foot. She jerked as he touched the one on the bottom of her foot, the spot being ticklish. He smiled apologetically and wrapped the offending hand around her ankle, secretly pleased that his fingers met around her skin.
"It was my idea. The doctor just agreed to help." Her hand dropped her necklace and she pressed that fist into the mattress, leaning forward and down, eyes boring into his, begging him to understand. "I just…I want to help. I-I know that I haven't been optimistic about…about mercenaries, being just mean about it sometimes, but…when-when we were climbing…trying to get to that…that castle…" Tears spilled out of her eyes and Squall moved to sit beside her, one hand on her shoulder, the other still grasping her ankle so she was spun on the bed and forced to face him. "All those dead SeeDs. That can't be their destiny…I have to…I have to…" She dissolved into sobs and realization washed over him. She was letting herself be a test subject, in order to give SeeD more information about sorceresses to try to prevent those deaths. He closed his eyes and pulled her sobbing form into his lap, her legs wrapping around his waist. He let her cry; her shaking so violent that is shook them both. His heart was heavy and he felt a fierce need to kill something for making her cry. She was like a furnace in his arms and he felt power rolling off of her in waves.
The door opened quietly, but instead of the doctor, Quistis was there. He recognized the worry and concern in her eyes. She gestured at Rinoa and Squall put a hand over the brunette tresses. Quistis smiled then pointed at the clock. He nodded once and she left. When the door clicked closed Rinoa stopped crying.
"I was sure she'd say something."
"Quistis knows when she's not needed." He replied.
She pulled back suddenly, scooting off his lap and attempting to straighter her hair. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"How bad do I look?"
"You always look beautiful."
Rinoa sighed at his response, but gave him a smile. "She's right, though. We need to get ready to go. Cid wants for us to all pose for photos first." She pulled her hair over her shoulder and reached back to untie the hospital gown. She balled the material up and threw it into a chair across the room. He took the chance to really look her over. She was thinner than when they first met, he could make out her ribs clearly beneath her skin. She looked slightly more muscular, though, her abs contracting as she pulled her legs closer and reached down to her feet. He watched her pull the two wire leads from the bottom of her feet, traces of nail polish still on her toes from when Selphie had painted them in the Lunar Base while she was unconscious. She noticed him staring and looked up. "Yeah, I know its all chippy. I haven't had a chance to redo it yet." She seemed slightly embarrassed. He reached out for one of her ankles before she had a chance to remove the wire attached to it.
"I was just remembering." He muttered as he gently pulled a wire from her ankle. He moved up and gently pulled the one from her knee. "Why so many wires? What are they measuring?" Her skin was warm against his fingertips as he moved to the wire on her thigh.
"I don't really know exactly. Para-magic, blood pressure, something about oxygen…that sort of stuff. Dr. Kadowaki is keeping a file with charts and stuff." Rinoa stood up from the bed, turning so her back was to him. He had to take a deep breath as he followed the trail of three wires to where they disappeared into the top of her shorts. She was still talking, but he lost all track of what she was saying as she delicately started pulling her pants down. He watched without breathing as her hands stopped just before anything was revealed and she pulled two more wires from her front to go by the bed. He reached out, thumbs barely touching the two electrodes resting in the dimples of her lower back, slowly tracing the tape holding them there. He peeled them off slowly, feeling a strange pleasure thrill through him as his touch raised goose bumps on her back. She shivered. "Squall, are you listening to me at all?"
"…not really."
She huffed and spun around, all the wires gone from her chest, but the ones on her neck and face still there. Rinoa glared up at him as she quickly pulled the wires from her back. "You're supposed to be helping me, what did you space out again?" Her voice continued, but he ignored the rest of the words as he watched her breasts strain against her bra while her hands were pulling wires off her spine. His view was cut off by her crossed arms a moment later and he tuned back in to what she was saying. "Honestly, I might as well be talking to a wall. Just what is going on in that head of yours this time?!"
"Don't say that."
"What?"
"The talking to a wall thing. I once told someone that and really hurt them. I don't want to do that to you."
"…who?"
"It doesn't matter. They forgave my idiocy, even if I haven't learned much from it." He looked away from her, hesitating. "I'm sorry. You…were just…distracting, that's all. Here, I can help." He gently tugged at the wire attached to her neck. This time she caught his wrist as he pulled away the wire.
"Distracting?"
He shrugged and with his other hand reached to her temple, pulling another wire lead loose. The door opened behind his back and he quickly swiveled, pushing Rinoa behind him. Irvine looked at them, a smirk on his face.
"Irvine?"
"Hey. I didn't want to interrupt, but Cid told me to round up everyone. We're meeting at the entrance for photos." Irvine craned his neck trying to see behind Squall's shoulder. Squall quickly stepped back, pulling Rinoa tight against his back and glaring.
"Tell them we'll be there in a moment. They can go ahead and start."
Irvine raised an eyebrow, but nodded and left. Squall sighed. He hated this leadership thing, but at least Zell was gracious about following orders. He felt Rinoa squirming behind him and turned back to her once the door was completely shut. She was red and flushed, and it was only then that he realized he'd pinned both her wrists in his grip. He released her quickly, then pulled the last electrode off her other temple. The room felt warm. He stepped back from her and watched her stow the wires in the drawer by the bed.
"I'm going to go clean up." He nodded and watched her duck into the little bathroom at the back of the room. He sat down on the bed to wait and hung his face in his hands. He was such an idiot, worse than all those times Laguna had frozen up. He heard water running and sighed. He'd come so far and was yet still so helpless. The bright blue of her duster stood out on the white sheets beside him. Squall fingered the thick wool gingerly, one finger straying to trace the angel wing emblem on the back.
Rinoa stepped out of the bathroom and he jumped guiltily. She didn't seem to notice as she ran a brush through her hair while walking towards him. She paused behind him on the other side of the bed and tossed the brush onto the sheets. He stared at the glossy strands caught in the bristles as he heard the rustle of clothing behind him. The edge of the duster slid out of his range of vision and he stood so he could face her again, the bed between them. He stared at her as she got dressed and liked the slight flush of pink he saw cross her cheeks. The air between them seemed to thrum and the room felt even warmer. He felt a bit of perspiration on the back of his neck, but ignored it as she pulled on an arm warmer. His hands twitched and he felt the overwhelming desire to touch her wash over him again. Her bare feet didn't make a sound on the floor as she walked around the bed.
He shook his head hard to clear it, hoping to calm his pulse at the same time. She plopped down on the floor in front of him and he kneeled immediately, looming over her, but closer now. He licked his lips as the first sock slid over her dainty toes and then he was grabbing her wrist again. "Squall, what!?" He jerked her up, pulling her close in a hug. He could feel her chest heaving against his as she couldn't ignore the electricity between them any longer.
"Rinoa, Rinoa, Rinoa." He mumbled against her hair, curling a lock of it around his pinky finger. He pressed a kiss against the top of her head. "Thank you." He felt her freeze in his arms and slowly pulled away.
"Squall, we're going to be late. And I have no idea why you're thanking me. I'm being selfish again. I shouldn't really even be here. I've heard the rumors and all the talk. Maybe it won't be enough…" His fingers covered her lips, stilling her fears.
"What you are doing is more than anyone else could ask for. It's more even than Edea did and she was good." She opened her mouth against his fingers and he shuddered but pressed more firmly against her lips. "We'll figure it out, okay? And you're right, we do need to go. Get your shoes on." He pushed back from her and stood up, the room feeling slightly cooler again.
He stared at the wall while she finished behind him. The world was uncertain, now, he knew that. A lot of things were going to be changed and challenged and most likely he would have a say in a lot of those things. He was afraid of making the wrong decisions, but the one decision that he knew deep down wasn't wrong, was keeping Rinoa with him, no matter what relations that was bound to strain. He wondered what rumors she had been hearing and was kicking himself for not listening to Selphie's report in its entirety. He should have known that the staff and students would be talking and what Rinoa's been doing in the infirmary couldn't have helped to alleviate any fears or expectations. He pushed it from his mind; he'd deal with it when it came up. The one thing he had to do now was make it to the gates and get the photos done. He'd throttle whoever had the idea to do photos in the first place later. He turned back to her as she was standing up. He was dazzled as she threw her hair behind her shoulders and gave him a full smile.
"Ready to go?" He could only nod in reply as he got the door for her and followed her down the hallway.
He walked just slightly behind her and to the side. Voices cheerfully greeted her from every room they passed, but unintelligible whispers followed her every footstep. She stopped at the check-in desk and exchanged pleasantries with the secretary while Squall wordlessly took back his weapon from the woman. He watched as Rinoa fitted hers over her arm, then hit the spatial compression switch that kept the weapon hidden; another Balamb Garden technology that was kept secret from the rest of the world. He briefly thought about President Laguna, but she was walking again and his attention wandered. He pulled his gloves out of his pocket and pulled them on as they approached the exit gates. As they walked across the quad the wind blew Rinoa's hair into his face and he breathed deeply, relishing the smell of roses. He chuckled as her hands flying up to desperately try to smooth the wayward strands.
"Are you laughing?" Rinoa turned on him, face stretched in mock outrage.
He shook his head in negation, reaching out to help smooth her hair. He frowned slightly, regretting his gloves. She stuck her tongue out at him, then sighed in exasperation and threw her hair behind her shoulder. He followed as she resumed walking and smiled when she waved to their friends waiting for them up ahead.