AN: Sorry. I know its been a while. Like just about every author on this site, ive been busy. Thanks to all those who continue to read and review. Hopefully this chapter will answer a few more questions.
"You bit me!" Squall quickly brought his hand to his ear as a little drop of blood trickled down.
"Yeah well you tricked me!" shrieked Rinoa. She stepped a few feet back away from Squall now that he had a scowl upon his face.
"You bit me in the friggin ear!" The action happened so quick he wasn't even able to defend himself.
Rinoa had finally managed to sneak Squall away for a moment to have a word with him regarding the information she had overheard. As it was she had extreme misgivings about everything that had happened in the past few moments. But finally Squall's mother took her leave claiming she had a friend whom she needed to call right away. That provided much needed private space.
Just a few moments after bringing Squall back into his own room, did she pounce on him in a blind fury mad at the deception that had been veiled over her. There wasn't much an unarmed woman like herself could do to a trained veteran soldier like Squall, so she resorted to the only measure that was left available to her. She bit him. In the ear as Squall had noted.
He immediately pulled her off of him the second he regained of his senses of what was happening and pulled himself back up to a vertical base. Life was confusing enough without girls running around biting people. What was she, 12?
"Squall….you LIED to me!" She angrily crossed her arms together while huffing making her face momentarily resembled a puffer fish.
"Rin I never…"
He was about to deny having spoken mistruths to her. He was about to lie right through his teeth and to her face. Well there was no way Rinoa was going to take any of that from him. He had put her through enough.
Hadn't she suffered enough days crying home alone when she was younger? Wasn't the never ending moments of heart-wrenching pain of a near abandoned twelve year old girl punishment enough for any of the misdeeds she had done in a previous life?
Why? Why then was she condemned to constantly be faced with moments with brief yet fleeting moments of happiness only to allow bad news to follow? Surely she was allowed to have some joy in her life.
But no, instead she remembered all those times when she wished she had a friend like Squall there to comfort her, to hold her, to be a friend to her when she had no one else she could really turn to.
All those nights when both her parents were forced away to work and she had just herself to talk to, that's when she needed him most. All those nights when the thunder clapped a little bit too loudly and she had no one to turn to, that's when she needed him. Every time she would enjoy the company of what few friends she had and they would bring along their significant others, that's when she missed him most of all. Because all these years he was never far from her thoughts.
Had she wasted her tears wondering if he was alive? Many a nightmare had come to rob her from any hope of a peaceful sleep as she wondered if whatever terror that drove Squall away from his home and finally caught up with him. Still despite this, she could not forget him.
How could she? If she forgot him, then who would pay attention for him? Who would show him that there was someone in the world who believed he mattered, that he should be the center of attention if even just for a few moments. The truth was he needed her. Maybe he forgot and just needed a reminder. Or maybe those tears she had shed as a teenager was just wasted emotions upon someone who didn't treat her like the special girl he knew her to be.
No. It was time to take charge. Before he could deny her accusations again he would have to put a stop to his words. So for the second time today, she did the only thing she could. One more time she was able to take him by surprise and tackle him down to the floor.
She straddled her legs on either side of his torso as she glared down upon him with the fire burning in her eyes. Just let him try and talk his way out of this. There was no way she would let him deny having lied and tricked her.
"I found you. I didn't lie." Squall didn't need to say that he too never forgot about her. She was the reason he had to undergo the hardships that he had encountered. What else could drive him to really run away from home? How else would the burning desire for power and to become stronger burn brightly within him and drive him to reach levels strength previously thought unobtainable. It was all for Rinoa, whether she realized it or not.
She looked down upon him with soft brown eyes that were widened in shock by hearing him recall a promise he had made nearly a decade ago. He really did remember that much? But wait, he said he didn't lie and found her. Didn't things happen the other way around? Wasn't she the one who found him, however accidental that it was?
"Squall, I know I'm the one who-"
"Wonder why your organization was able to escape right before the Galbadians came? Wonder why a lone officer was sent to bring back a battalion of trainees and professors? Or why you were able to come back to a secure military installation without anyone really checking your story? I remembered Rinoa. And I kept my word to…Rin."
Could it all have been true? Was Squall really the reason why she and what few members remained were able to escape from that last minute raid?
Rinoa remembered that night all to well. Never before had she truly felt that her death was almost immanent. Her faction had been gathered in a warehouse finalizing plans to assassinate a critical leader the Galbadian military, one who had championed the cause for this meaningless war.
Naturally it was held in secret in a remote part of the city. These freedom fighters had long been masking their trails from the authorities to get their work done, but something different had happened today. A phone call had alerted them of the impending arrival of the authorities. It was a cryptic voice, one Rinoa felt familiar but there was no time to dwell on such meaningless thoughts. Instead she quickly hung up the phone and motioned for her groups to disband and all evidence of their existence in this hideout to be destroyed.
Unfortunately their guardian angel had made a mistake. It only took the authorities several minutes to slam down the doors with guns blazing and a pure intent to kill held fresh within their minds.
Many had died that night. Most in protecting her, their 'princess' and leader of the rebellion from harm. Often brutal force was not used upon them because of her former status with the Galbadians, but it seemed none of the officers firing at them then had been aware she was there. Or maybe they had been.
Rinoa was given the opportunity to escape and flee from Galbadia and make her way towards Dollet. In just a few days she had fallen from the good grace and title of Princess to the smudged life of a 'terrorist'. Who knew the army would pursue her all the way to the small city of Dollet. Who knew that of all the people in the world she would run into...
"Squall…just what are you saying?"
"That I never….never forgot about you."
With a sly smile upon her face she looked upon him accusingly. "And what do you really know about me?" A valid question has been raised. Hasn't much of their relationship since reuniting been a little too shallow? What about their likes? Their dislikes? Sure there were everlasting feelings from their childhood, but what about the present?
Is there still something now that they have had to spend so much time apart from one another?
"Who am I to you Squall?" The real question she wanted to ask was 'What am I to you?' but her confidence was lacking in that regard. Did she really want to hear him answer? What was she hoping he would say? What if Squall called her his girlfriend? What if he didn't? Wasn't it possible he saw her as a weak little girl that got herself into trouble and needed protecting? Though she had lingering feelings for the boy, she wasn't the same little girl that he remembered. At least she hoped he understood this much. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
Rinoa secretly hoped Squall housed similar questions within him, however her desires were squashed when she saw a smirk upon his face. "To me you are Rinoa Heartily. No more, no less."
If that was all he was going to provide for an answer, he was going to show her she wasn't that stupid. That was hardly an response. What did it mean anyways!?
"And to me, Rinoa Heartily is…" Oh ok, he was just collecting his thoughts. Squall has redeemed himself for now. "… a girl who never stood for any injustice. Someone who wanted to change the world and never listened to people when they said she couldn't do something. Rinoa Heartily is more than just a spoiled little princess. She's kind and courageous." He didn't add extremely gorgeous. Saying he found her beauty to rival that of a summer nymph might shallow the moment, no matter how true the mercenary knew it to be.
"And most importantly." This time Squall slowly brought up his hand to caress the side of her face gently as he allowed for a dramatic pause to set in. "The only one who ever made me feel special." Rinoa's eyes softened as she allowed her cheek to lean in on the hand that was caressing it. It felt so good to have someone see her in such a unique way. More to the point, it felt good for him to see her like that. For years she had dreamed of reuniting with the boy who had stolen her heart several years ago. Now she finally had her opportunity. However if this was going to happen…for good this time…things had to be done right. They'd have to take things slow and truly appreciate the other person for all they are. That means…
"But the truth is I still don't know everything about you." Oops, he still hadn't stopped with the talking. Rinoa almost wondered how he could switch from being a semi-mute to such a verbose person. Perhaps it was her continued presence with him that brought about such change. "I want to learn all those little things about you. Your likes…your dislikes, your favorite color…"
"Squall, just…just shut-up for a minute." Rinoa pulled herself off of Squall and stood a few feet away with her back towards him so he too could stand up upon both legs. The brunette swordfighter was stunned by this sudden outburst. He knew there was a chance she would be angry with him, but had hoped against hyne that there was still room enough in her heart for him. Perhaps not. Perhaps he has lost out to the twelve-year old version of Squall that was forever embedded there.
Rinoa grabbed his jacket roughly by the color and brought herself closer towards him. Then, just like when they younger at the last ballroom gala that they had met, she stood upon her very tippy toes and invigorated Squall with a kiss to unseal her emotions. It was a bold move on her part, but there had been enough talking for one meeting. Her brown eyes quickly caught hold of the bite mark on her ears giving her a rather amusing idea. She placed a trail of kisses along his neck until her lips wrapped themselves around his earlobe and playfully licked it and sucked away the trickling blood.
While most of Squall's body and mind froze at the rather intimate gesture, one specific portion had decided to stand up at attention. Hey, you can't help a guy's natural reactions.
Rinoa finally released Squall from her holds and looked back deeply into the stormy blue eyes that forever stayed with her. "I'm sorry for biting you…"
"…." Think Squall was lucky? Rinoa could be more devilish than anyone previously thought. First she brought him to the point of extreme arousal so his hormones would go blasting…then...
"And I want to know you to Squall. But if you really mean what you said, we are going to take things slow. And that means…."
Oh crap…don't say it….anything but that…..Squall knew what she was going to say and was suddenly rethinking this whole relationship thing. Maybe this was all a very bad idea. Actually it definitely is an extremely bad idea.
"You have got to ask me out on a date."
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rinoa had a beaming smile upon her face as she exited Squall's room. Come what may they were going to rebuild their relationship from the ground up.
No more lies. No more deception. Soon everything about their pasts will be revealed.
Just when he thought her little escapades had ended, she peeked her head back in the door to relay one last message to Squall.
"Oh and Squall, if you do a good job, there might be kissing later." She remembered how much he liked kissing as an adolescent….
All Squall knew is he suddenly didn't think a date was such a bad idea.
In another area of Balamb garden, a harried voice was quickly jabbering over the phone as an overly excited mother could barely contain her emotions.
"They found each other! Julia, my god, they found each other!"
"Raine? What are you talking about? Do you have any idea what time it is over here?"
"Julia, its Squall, he found her. He really found her!"
Though Raine could not see it, she could imagine the face her longtime friend would be making. It would be natural for any mother to respond in kind when learning that someone knew the location of her daughter. "Rinoa, you mean she's-"
"With Squall!" It took what little remnants of sanity she had left to keep herself from jumping up and down while on the phone. Her boy was in love….L.O.V.E. love.
Any parent could easily tell as much.
"But…but how…when…where. Raine, what is going on over there? I am heading over."
"Yes! Come here now! There is too much to discuss on the phone."
"I'm coming I'm coming. Ill take the first ride I can find there. And Raine?"
"Yes Julia?"
"Calm down."
Julia Caraway hung up the phone and rolled over in her bed and tried to force herself to sleep, but how could she? She had just learned that her daughter was indeed still alive and with the boy she had been obsessed with as a child. Wait…was this a good thing…?
Only time will tell.
Perhaps it is this frenzied state of mind that prevented her from realizing her husband had made a random trip to Balamb just a few days back. It never occurred to her that General Caraway had already learned of what she had just found out.
Yeah i know. It was terrible. It was the best i could do at the moment. Im feeling a little spent. Hopefully you managed to derive some kind of enjoyment out of it. As always review if you like. Until next time, take care.
