I don't own Final Fantasy or any FF. characters.
Like always in all of my fics " "-speech, { }-thought and [ ]- input from me
Sunshine trickled down her face as she stepped out into it. Rinoa Heartily let herself be swept away by the afternoon's warm breeze. She smiled to herself as she realised that today was finally the day she had been waiting for. The day of Squall Leonhart's return from battle. Her heart yearned for this day to come and her patient waiting had finally been rewarded. She brushed the lose strands of hair away from her face as she checked the time on her watch. Realising she was going to be late, Rinoa began to run through Balamb Garden at a swift pace. As she was running, she noticed her best friend Selphie Tilmitt. Rinoa gave a quick wave, then kept running.
{I hope Selphie doesn't think I'm impolite for not stopping. She'll understand. She knows today is an important day for me} Rinoa thought as she ran out through the Garden gates. A thundering noise could be heard loudly in the distance.
"That must be THEM!" Rinoa shouted excitedly, not knowing she said it out loud.
She raised her hand to her forehead to slightly block the sun. A dark figure could been seen in the distance, coming closer and closer.
"It IS them!" Rinoa shouted again, unknowingly. Rinoa felt her heart begin to beat faster and noticed she was suddenly feeling quite nervous.
{I haven't seen Squall in so long! It's been so hard without him. I've missed him so much...} She pondered as the Ragnorak grew larger and closer by the moment. Before she knew it, the Ragnorak had landed and she was standing near the entrance to the giant machine. The door slid open and Rinoa's hairs stood on end. One foot, followed by another, appeared at the top of the stairs. Slowly Rinoa was able to see more of the feet's owner. Step by step, she got more glimpses. Her hands began to shake as she realised who it was. As his last step aboard the Ragnorak was taken, Squall felt a slender body thrown into his arms. He embraced her tightly, not daring to let go. Rinoa pulled away just enough to see his face, but not enough to break their embrace. She looked deep into his eyes and smiled. Squall returned the smile and kissed her forehead. The person she had missed so much over the last 11 months had finally returned.
"Oh Squall... I missed you so much..." She whispered as she buried her head in his muscular chest, trying to hide her eyes that were now brimming with tears of joy.
"I missed you too Angel.." Squall released Rinoa from his embrace and placed his hand affectionately on her cheek. Rinoa looked up at Squall and gazed at him lovingly.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew had gotten off the Ragnorak and were watching the sweet scene of the two lovers reunited. Ryan, the assistant commander had to put up with 11 months worth of Squall's constant chatter about his beloved Rinoa. Ryan tried to remember the old Squall Leonhart, the one who used to reply "whatever.." to everything.
{Now you can barely get him to shut up. He is still the ultimate in battle though, no girl can ever change that. Watching Squall in battle is like watching a god. Boy, he can move!} Ryan thought as he wolf whistled at the couple and laughed.
Squall suddenly realised that the others were looking and started to feel slightly embarrassed. Rinoa sensed this, so she pulled Squall close and frenched him deeply. Squall couldn't choose between following his heart or pulling away from Rinoa to set a good standard with his crew. Naturally, his heart won and he returned the kiss. The men began to clap and whistle loudly at the couple.
"You go Commander!" Could just be heard over the clapping. Squall broke the kiss and began to laugh. Rinoa joined him. As she looked up at him, Rinoa noticed fresh scars on Squall. Many on his arms and a few on his face. Wanting to be alone with him, Rinoa began to head back towards garden, grasping onto Squall's arm.
"Ha! As if I'm gonna make my Angel walk!" Squall smiled as he picked Rinoa up into his arms and carried her back to garden. As Squall walked through the gates, he noticed how quite and empty it was. Squall gently placed Rinoa back on her feet and walked by her side, holding her hand. They headed towards the main hall. Amazingly, that was empty too. They headed towards the library which was empty and even the training facility which was also empty, besides the occasional monster. Rinoa suggested they head to the quad, and funnily that was empty too.
"SURPRISE!!" Squall jumped at the sudden noise and carefully looked around at the faces in the room, all the people he cared about.
"You did all this... For me??" He asked, bewildered, looking at all the decorations. A lot of hard work had been put in
"Of course Silly!" Selphie said, thrusting a giant card in his hands. "We missed you and we're glad you came back safely!" Squall carefully read the card, then grinned as he read the last part out loud. "Just please promise not to say 'whatever' anymore! Love from us"
"Look! I got every single person to sign it!" Squall noticed that everyone's name WAS there. Even the girl from the library who he barely knew!
"You didn't have to go through this much trouble guys!" Squall said, blushing furiously as he accepted a glass of punch from the waiter. Rinoa desperately wanted to be alone with Squall, but she knew her friends had missed him too. She wanted to let him mingle as much as possible. Eventually, she couldn't wait any longer. She grabbed Squall and lead him to a secluded corner so they could talk in private.
"I'm so glad you safe and back here with me. You weren't badly hurt were you?" Rinoa looked at the scars she noticed earlier.
"Nah, justa couple of scratches" he touched his face where the new scars had been left and slightly flinched. "It was a successful mission, so that's all that matters. And I'm back home with you, so I feel even better" Squall took Rinoa's hand and gave it a soft kiss. Rinoa gave a slight giggle.
"Tonight's the SeeD Graduation ball, you know. It makes it officially three years since I've known you!" She said smiling. "I know. How could I ever forget the day I met my Angel?"
After the party, Squall and Rinoa went to their separate dorms and got ready for the ball. Rinoa had enrolled at Garden after the battle of Ultimecia. She decided that her powers were a gift and she wanted to use them to their full ability. At 6pm sharp, there was a knock Rinoa's door.
"Come in" she called cheerfully while seated at her dresser. With one last flick of mascara, she stood up and walked towards the door.
"WOW! You look gorgeous!" Squall exclaimed as he took in the breathtaking sight of his lover.
"So do you...As always!" She replied smiling. Rinoa had grown her hair long since the last time Squall had seen her. [When he had arrived earlier in the day, her hair was tied up, so he never noticed.] She wore a backless black dress that complimented her body and shimmered when she walked. Her hair was in an upside-down braid halfway up the back of her head, twisted under, then the excess was free-flowing. Squall was wearing his Commander of SeeD uniform which was a stunning black suit with gold buttons down the front. Squall removed the solitary red rose from the top pocket in his jacket and handed to Rinoa and bowed at the same time. Rinoa giggled, then put the rose in a small vase.
"Shall we be going m'lady?" Squall asked Rinoa politley.
"As long as you don't talk like that all night!" she smiled as Squall pulled her close. "I'm so glad you're home. I've missed you so much! I don't think I could have handled it any longer..."
"I'm here now. That's all that matters" Squall kissed her forehead, then pulled away from their embrace. "Come on. We have a ball to go to!"
**Next chapter coming soon!**