DISCLAIMER: Nothing belongs to me, characters all belong to Squaresoft. Real life Laguna lookalikes can contact me though. ^_~ Thank you for all those who commented on my previous fanfic. Yes, I know i had several spelling mistakes there, sorry about that, but I have trouble remembering some spelling of the names.
Yellow flower petals flies joyfully around the area as the wind guides them on their merry dance. The lush green fields spread forward in a welcoming carpet as the lone figure walked down it. Wrapped around the lean figure is her bookbag, bouncing by her side as she walks. The man waits for her in the centre of the square and she breaks into a smile at the sight of him as she approaches him.
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Selphie awakes with a scream, her emerald green eyes snapping wide open. The bright light seared her eyes temporary and she had to close them briefly to regain any semblance of awareness. A dull pounding sounds in her head and her emerald green eyes slowly open again as she looked around her. Memories of the past night's event flooded through her and she slides down from the bed, "Irvine!" She calls out weakly as her knees buckle and she slumps towards the floor. Dull ache fill her entire body as she grasped hold of the nearest object to pull herself up.
At that moment, the door opened. Squall and Rinoa entered the room and Rinoa gave a small gasp at the sight of Selphie on the ground, "Selphie! What are you doing up. You shouldn't be up, Dr Kadowaki said that you might have a concussion." Rinoa rushes over to grasp her forearm as she offers her body for Selphie to lean on. Selphie pulls herself up and her anxious green eyes dart up to Rinoa, "Irvine." She repeats weakly as her hand reaches out to grip Rinoa's hand too tightly. Rinoa remains silent, though she turns her head briefly and there is a silent exchange of thoughts between Rinoa and Squall. Squall stepped forward, "You need rest, Selphie."
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She smiles at the man in the area and says softly, "Good morning sleepyhead." as she tiptoes up to brush her lips against his forehead. Tenderly, she touches his cheek in a light caress as she reaches into her bag to withdraw a book. "I've brought you another novel, I'm going to run out of things to read to you soon if we keep going at this rate. The good news though is that I've finally obtained the music disc you wanted. Its really difficult to get this, you'd better thank me for that." He continues to smile slightly towards her.
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Selphie lunges towards Squall as soon as obtains her balance. Gripping the lapel of his shirt as she held on fast to it, "Where is Irvine!?" She screeches hysterically, "You have to tell me! Tell me what happened to him!?" She weakly tries to shake Squall, but her attempts only made her cling onto his lapel more to hold herself up.
Squall gently unfastens her fingers to his lapel and reaches down to lift her up as he settles her on the bed. Rinoa steps forward, the look of concern on her face now very apparent, "Is she going to be all right?" Squall gives a simple nod of his head as he gaze down at the sleeping figure.
"Irvine." Selphie calls out weakly, her voice faint from the exhaustion, "I must know what happened to Irvine." Her pleading emerald eyes turned towards the pair, as she begs them, "Please..tell me where's Irvine." as her fingers reach out blindly to grasp at the corner of Squall's shirt.
Squall looked up towards Rinoa as a silent look passed between the both of them. Rinoa kneeled down and gently took hold of Selphie's fingers, "Selphie. When you are better, we'll take you to Irvine, but now you're still not well yet. Rest please."
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She laughs softly at the particularly funny passage in the book as she gazes up towards the man and favours him with her best smile. "That was pretty funny, don't you think so?" A slight smile appears to crosses the handsome features on the man's face. She places the book down on the ground as she moves slowly up towards the man and she reaches out to place her hands on the cool plane of his face.
"Irvine." Selphie whispers softly.
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"He suffered severe head injuries to save you. His skull is fractured in two different places. It's amazing that he is still alive. We have tried our best to mend all the damage that we can but it is too severe. His brain has also suffered severe stress from the fractures, even if he were to wake right now, there is no guarantee that he'll have any control over his senses. I'm sorry, but we did all we could. You should go and say your last goodbye to him."
Selphie's face slowly drained of colour as she listens to the prognosis offered by the doctor. Her hand had Rinoa's hand in a death grip. She glances towards them for assistance, but Rinoa and Squall could only offer reassuring gaze. She collapses back into the wheelchair. Her hands clutches to the armrest tightly as she is wheeled towards his room. Her heart was beating so fast as the door opened and finally, she saw him.
Irvine Kinneas. Former Playboy. Galbadian cowboy. Friend. Lover. Now, he looked as fragile as a newborn. His face was as pale as the bandage around his head, as the merciful Hyne had spared his face. His handsome, chiselled looks still remained. Like a sleeping beauty, he lay there on the bed as Selphie was wheeled towards him. Various tubes were inserted into his body. Vital tubes that kept his body alive.
Selphie's hand was trembling as she reached out to touch his cheek. He remained motionless, saved for the slight movement of his chest as he breaths. Her finger gently caresses his cheek as she whispers softly again, "Irvine." A constriction lay upon her heart squeezing it so tightly, making it difficult for her to breathe as she gaze upon the sight of her beloved.
The silence in the room is palpable as one after another, they slowly vacate the room to allow Selphie and Irvine to have their moment together. Her hand slowly moves downwards to grasp his tightly as she gaze upon his sleeping face. Selphie bends her head down slowly as her lips touch his briefly. Warm lips against cold ones as she closes her eyes tightly, reminiscing the feeling of those familiar lips upon hers again.
Selphie tightens her grip on his hand as she pulls away and rests her head on his chest. Listening to the light beating of his heart beneath her, she glances up towards the handsome face of her lover. Her emerald eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and pain. She whispers softly, "Goodbye Irvine Kinneas, I love you." Somewhere deep within Irvine, the voice of his beloved drew him back and a solitary crystal tear crawls its way down the cheek of the Galbadian cowboy.
The rays of the setting sun slowly fill the room as the door opened. Selphie was still seated there, her hand holding tightly onto Irvine and her head rested against his chest. At the sound, Selphie glances up calmly and nods her head.
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Selphie continued to stare at the visage of her lover on the memorial that was erected for him. A slight smile crosses her face as she murmurs quietly to him, "Not a day has passed that I have not thought about you and that night. That was one of the most beautiful night of our lives. I don't know how I survived the past year without you but I know that I can continue to do so." and she draws in a deep breath, "You've given me my life so I can continue living, perhaps one day I can finally let you go, but until then....I love you, Irvine Kinneas."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know some of you are rather unhappy about the ending, I thought of making him survive, but then the greatest love stories don't often have happy endings. What he did is very noble and for love. I wanted it to show that love can indeed move mountains and endure even through death. That's how I perceived the characters of Irvine and Selphie, that he would sacrifice his life just to see his love survive, while she would even love him even beyond his death. If I ever write another, I promise you that my next FF8 fanfic will definately be more uplifting than this one. Thank you for reading this. ^_^
Yellow flower petals flies joyfully around the area as the wind guides them on their merry dance. The lush green fields spread forward in a welcoming carpet as the lone figure walked down it. Wrapped around the lean figure is her bookbag, bouncing by her side as she walks. The man waits for her in the centre of the square and she breaks into a smile at the sight of him as she approaches him.
*****************************************************************************
Selphie awakes with a scream, her emerald green eyes snapping wide open. The bright light seared her eyes temporary and she had to close them briefly to regain any semblance of awareness. A dull pounding sounds in her head and her emerald green eyes slowly open again as she looked around her. Memories of the past night's event flooded through her and she slides down from the bed, "Irvine!" She calls out weakly as her knees buckle and she slumps towards the floor. Dull ache fill her entire body as she grasped hold of the nearest object to pull herself up.
At that moment, the door opened. Squall and Rinoa entered the room and Rinoa gave a small gasp at the sight of Selphie on the ground, "Selphie! What are you doing up. You shouldn't be up, Dr Kadowaki said that you might have a concussion." Rinoa rushes over to grasp her forearm as she offers her body for Selphie to lean on. Selphie pulls herself up and her anxious green eyes dart up to Rinoa, "Irvine." She repeats weakly as her hand reaches out to grip Rinoa's hand too tightly. Rinoa remains silent, though she turns her head briefly and there is a silent exchange of thoughts between Rinoa and Squall. Squall stepped forward, "You need rest, Selphie."
*****************************************************************************
She smiles at the man in the area and says softly, "Good morning sleepyhead." as she tiptoes up to brush her lips against his forehead. Tenderly, she touches his cheek in a light caress as she reaches into her bag to withdraw a book. "I've brought you another novel, I'm going to run out of things to read to you soon if we keep going at this rate. The good news though is that I've finally obtained the music disc you wanted. Its really difficult to get this, you'd better thank me for that." He continues to smile slightly towards her.
*****************************************************************************
Selphie lunges towards Squall as soon as obtains her balance. Gripping the lapel of his shirt as she held on fast to it, "Where is Irvine!?" She screeches hysterically, "You have to tell me! Tell me what happened to him!?" She weakly tries to shake Squall, but her attempts only made her cling onto his lapel more to hold herself up.
Squall gently unfastens her fingers to his lapel and reaches down to lift her up as he settles her on the bed. Rinoa steps forward, the look of concern on her face now very apparent, "Is she going to be all right?" Squall gives a simple nod of his head as he gaze down at the sleeping figure.
"Irvine." Selphie calls out weakly, her voice faint from the exhaustion, "I must know what happened to Irvine." Her pleading emerald eyes turned towards the pair, as she begs them, "Please..tell me where's Irvine." as her fingers reach out blindly to grasp at the corner of Squall's shirt.
Squall looked up towards Rinoa as a silent look passed between the both of them. Rinoa kneeled down and gently took hold of Selphie's fingers, "Selphie. When you are better, we'll take you to Irvine, but now you're still not well yet. Rest please."
*****************************************************************************
She laughs softly at the particularly funny passage in the book as she gazes up towards the man and favours him with her best smile. "That was pretty funny, don't you think so?" A slight smile appears to crosses the handsome features on the man's face. She places the book down on the ground as she moves slowly up towards the man and she reaches out to place her hands on the cool plane of his face.
"Irvine." Selphie whispers softly.
*****************************************************************************
"He suffered severe head injuries to save you. His skull is fractured in two different places. It's amazing that he is still alive. We have tried our best to mend all the damage that we can but it is too severe. His brain has also suffered severe stress from the fractures, even if he were to wake right now, there is no guarantee that he'll have any control over his senses. I'm sorry, but we did all we could. You should go and say your last goodbye to him."
Selphie's face slowly drained of colour as she listens to the prognosis offered by the doctor. Her hand had Rinoa's hand in a death grip. She glances towards them for assistance, but Rinoa and Squall could only offer reassuring gaze. She collapses back into the wheelchair. Her hands clutches to the armrest tightly as she is wheeled towards his room. Her heart was beating so fast as the door opened and finally, she saw him.
Irvine Kinneas. Former Playboy. Galbadian cowboy. Friend. Lover. Now, he looked as fragile as a newborn. His face was as pale as the bandage around his head, as the merciful Hyne had spared his face. His handsome, chiselled looks still remained. Like a sleeping beauty, he lay there on the bed as Selphie was wheeled towards him. Various tubes were inserted into his body. Vital tubes that kept his body alive.
Selphie's hand was trembling as she reached out to touch his cheek. He remained motionless, saved for the slight movement of his chest as he breaths. Her finger gently caresses his cheek as she whispers softly again, "Irvine." A constriction lay upon her heart squeezing it so tightly, making it difficult for her to breathe as she gaze upon the sight of her beloved.
The silence in the room is palpable as one after another, they slowly vacate the room to allow Selphie and Irvine to have their moment together. Her hand slowly moves downwards to grasp his tightly as she gaze upon his sleeping face. Selphie bends her head down slowly as her lips touch his briefly. Warm lips against cold ones as she closes her eyes tightly, reminiscing the feeling of those familiar lips upon hers again.
Selphie tightens her grip on his hand as she pulls away and rests her head on his chest. Listening to the light beating of his heart beneath her, she glances up towards the handsome face of her lover. Her emerald eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and pain. She whispers softly, "Goodbye Irvine Kinneas, I love you." Somewhere deep within Irvine, the voice of his beloved drew him back and a solitary crystal tear crawls its way down the cheek of the Galbadian cowboy.
The rays of the setting sun slowly fill the room as the door opened. Selphie was still seated there, her hand holding tightly onto Irvine and her head rested against his chest. At the sound, Selphie glances up calmly and nods her head.
*****************************************************************************
Selphie continued to stare at the visage of her lover on the memorial that was erected for him. A slight smile crosses her face as she murmurs quietly to him, "Not a day has passed that I have not thought about you and that night. That was one of the most beautiful night of our lives. I don't know how I survived the past year without you but I know that I can continue to do so." and she draws in a deep breath, "You've given me my life so I can continue living, perhaps one day I can finally let you go, but until then....I love you, Irvine Kinneas."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know some of you are rather unhappy about the ending, I thought of making him survive, but then the greatest love stories don't often have happy endings. What he did is very noble and for love. I wanted it to show that love can indeed move mountains and endure even through death. That's how I perceived the characters of Irvine and Selphie, that he would sacrifice his life just to see his love survive, while she would even love him even beyond his death. If I ever write another, I promise you that my next FF8 fanfic will definately be more uplifting than this one. Thank you for reading this. ^_^