Holy Moses, it's been, like, five months O.o Last semester nearly ate me alive, and this one's looking worse, but I do hope to at least update once a month at the least.

TriforceBrave- I know! Now Cloud will start to become the angst king we all know and love :D I'm glad it was worth the wait, and I hope this one is worth it, too :)

Evil Stormsister- Lol pretty sure if it takes me five months to update, you can be as late as you please with your reviews ;) And Irvine and Selphie are still around! They'll pop up in the next chapter :D I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on this chapter. It was a beast to write and I value your input on these matters ;)

Now, what you've all been waiting for (for five months). Onward!

"Rinoa," he whispered, not daring to look away lest she disappear.

A soft, sad smile spread across her face. "What are you doing, Squall?"

He didn't know what to say. He hadn't seen her, hadn't held her, in months, and now she was right here. . .

"You're mind's a lot messier than I thought it would be," she grinned, picking up a T-shirt off the floor and discarding it on the bed beside her. "You're always so neat."

"Sorry. Wasn't expecting company," he said, though his voice came out hollow. "What are you doing here?"

"You seemed like you could use some help," she smiled, standing up.

He didn't respond to that. "Are you really here?" he whispered. "Is this real?"

Rinoa's smile softened. She came close, her scent washing over him before she wrapped her arms around him. He could feel her warmth, her smooth hands around his neck, her heart beating in her chest. "Do I feel real?" she whispered.

Squall couldn't get words past his lips. He held her close, relishing the feel of her in his arms again, her head resting under his where it fit so well.

Finally, he spoke, the words coming out in a jumble. "But you're dead. I saw you die. Everyone is dead-"

"Squall," Rinoa murmured in a tone she had used often, meant to calm and reassure. "I know you. I know you want to make yourself responsible for everything, but nothing that happened was your fault." Squall tried to speak, but she cut him off. "If anyone should be blamed, it should be me. Instead of asking for help, I tried to deal with it on my own." Her brown eyes were filled with regret, but there was an undercurrent of strength.

"It wasn't your fault, Rinoa," Squall insisted, pulling her closer. "Any of it."

"It was more mine than yours," she said, hugging him. "And I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for."

They stood there in the center of the room somewhere deep in Squall's subconscious, surrounded by silence and each other's arms. Squall felt more at peace now than he had ever these past few weeks.

"What now, Squall?"

Squall didn't answer. How could he admit to her that he had given up? What would she think of him, then?

"Squall?"

"I don't know," he murmured into her hair. "I don't know what to do . . . I don't know where to go . . ."

"You can only go forward."

The voice startled him. He turned around, but he wasn't in his dorm anymore. He was in his office, sitting at his familiar desk with it's unfamiliar cleanliness. No papers, no files, just a barren expanse of wood. Rinoa was gone.

Laguna perched on the desk before him, pain in his stormy eyes and a crimson stain over his heart. A soft smile pulled at the corner of his lips. "Hey, Squall."

"Laguna," he murmured, looking around. "Where did she go?"

"Rinoa?" he asked. "I told her I wanted to talk. She's still around here somewhere, though."

"Where is 'here'?"

Laguna regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, then broke into a smile. "Ever thought you were losing your mind?"

Squall didn't find the notion amusing. He frowned up at his father. "Maybe. Is that what this is?"

"Don't get me wrong, you haven't lost your mind yet," Laguna said, grinning despite the blood and Squall's irritation. "You're not far from it, though," he added with a bit more solemnity.

"Are you going to explain?"

"It's kind of hard to . . . You know where you are, right? In your own head?" Squall nodded and Laguna continued. "Well, we're still here, too."

"Still here?" Squall pressed.

Laguna seemed to be struggling with finding the right words. "You haven't let us go, yet."

Let them go? What was he talking about? "Who is 'us?'" he asked.

"Well, Rinoa, Quistis, Zell and me," Laguna smiled sheepishly. "I wasn't sure you cared that much to hold on to me."

"I still don't know what you're saying," Squall said with a frown.

Laguna frowned himself. "I guess the best way to explain it is that you haven't let go of our hearts. We're all still here with you, Squall."

At this, Squall blinked. He was holding them all here? All in his own heart? How was that even possible?

"The question is: Why are you still here?" Laguna asked, his eyes fixed on Squall's.

Still here? This was his mind, wasn't it? He had every right to be here. Laguna continued, "Moping around inside your own subconscious is not going to help anyone, Squall. I thought you knew better."

"I have no one to help." Squall intended for the statement to sound matter-of-fact, or at the very least defensive, but it came out weak and broken. He averted his gaze. "I'm done."

Laguna blinked in surprise. "What about Irvine and Selphie? And Zack, Aeris, Cloud and Lea?"

Why couldn't Laguna see that he was tired? He didn't want this burden anymore. He had done his best, and his best wasn't good enough. He was tired of watching the people he loved die because of his poor decisions. "Lea can take care of himself, and Zack is more capable of leading the others than I am."

There was an uncomfortable silence, but Squall couldn't bring himself to defend his decision further. For some reason, the thought of Laguna being disappointed in him bothered Squall.

"Squall, I know you're tired, and I know you're hurt," he said quietly. "And I know you well enough to know you're beating yourself up over all of this." When Squall didn't look up or acknowledge him, he continued, "You're not going to believe me right now when I tell you it's not your fault, but I'm going to tell you anyway, and keep telling you until you believe it yourself."

Squall suddenly felt a strong hand under his chin, slowly angling his head up too Laguna's. Squall was too stunned and too tired to fight it, so he unwilling locked eyes with his father.

Laguna said the words slowly, "It isn't your fault."

Squall pulled away after a moment, without the force he had intended. "I want to see Rinoa."

She was there, standing on the plush carpet before his chair and smiling sadly. "Yes, Squall?" she asked, bending to place a hand on his knee, concern in her eyes. Squall leaned forward and pulled her into his lap. He didn't care if Laguna was still there, sitting on his desk and watching them. He didn't care if Zell and Quistis were hanging around, watching. Squall held his wife in his arms, leaning against her, breathing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.

Squall didn't know how long they were there. He lost track of time and his surroundings. He was only conscious of the woman in his arms, her scent, the heart beating in her chest, the breath moving in and out of her body.

Unbidden, tears formed in his eyes, then spilled over down his cheeks. He was crying. Rinoa held him tighter, and he was sure he could feel Laguna's hand grip his shoulder. Then he became aware of other people in the room. Two hands touched him, one soft and gentle, the other firm and reassuring. Quistis and Zell.

"It won't last forever, Squall," Rinoa promised in his ear. "You can rest soon. But you have to keep going now. People are depending on you, and the worlds need you."

It was too much. He couldn't even make sense of it.

"Will I . . .will I see you again?" he asked softly.

"We'll be here as long as you need us," Laguna said.

"Go on back, Squall," Zell's voice broke in for the first time. "You've got work to do."

"Everyone's waiting," Quistis said.

Rinoa's hand cupped his chin, pulling his face up to hers. They were no longer in his office, surrounded by their friends and family. Once again, they were standing alone in the middle of Squall's dorm room.

Rinoa looked up at him. "I'm not going anywhere, Squall. I'll be right here with you." She raised herself on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. He returned the kiss gently, savoring the contact.

He woke up on a sofa, his arms empty and his heart aching. He didn't have much time to miss her now, though.

People were screaming.

Yay! Fighting next chapter. I loves it XD

Well, hope everyone enjoyed it! Life's about to get even more complicated for poor Squall very very soon XD I'm horrible. I hope he'll forgive me . . .

Looking forward to your feedback! Have a great week!

God Bless,

-RainFlame