Always by my side: Chapter 2

Always by my side: Chapter 2

By Silver Dolphin

It had been a long, exhausting Garden meeting and a long, exhausting dinner after a long, exhausting train ride. Towards the end of dinner Quistis was so weary she could barely keep her attention on what her companion was saying.

She ended the conversation with a polite smile and took Squall's hand. Reflexively he pulled his hand out of her grip with a faint scowl. "Yes?"

"I'm tired. I think I'll retire now."

"You okay?" She thought she detected a note of worry under his cool alto, but she couldn't be sure.

"Yeah. I'm just tired, that's all."

"I'll see you back in our room then."

"Okay." Quietly she excused herself from the grand ballroom of Galbadia Hotel and headed back upstairs to the master suite she shared with Squall.

After a long, relaxing soak in the whirlpool bath she reclined on the throw pillows on the couch, feeling the fatigue seep out of her bones and into the soft pillows themselves. She really felt too lethargic to stir any further – she'd just lie there and let her hair dry, and hopefully by that time she'd have the energy to walk to her bed.

Squall fought a yawn as he mounted the marble stairs leading to their suite. He could barely walk straight, and he'd probably have a miserable hangover in the morning. Thanks to all the expensive wine that had been forced down his throat.

With any luck, Quistis would have finished with the bathroom by now, and he'd be able to have a quick shower before bed. The prospects of the latter seemed very inviting just then, no matter how lonely and empty it'd felt since Rin – since her death.

It's all in the past. I have to let go. Resolutely he opened the hotel door and switched on the hall light, closing the door firmly behind him. A cold, icy shower to clear his thoughts, and –

At first he did not see the figure sprawled out on the couch. But when he did, his body seemed to freeze, and his blood slowly turned into liquid ice in his veins.

Still as death, with her arm over her head, long, elegant fingers dangling over the edge of the couch. Blonde hair spread out in a tangle over her, hanging down to mask her face. Her very position…she looked exactly like…

Like Rinoa.

Fear gripped his throat as he strode across the room in several long strides, almost snatching her into his arms. She couldn't be…couldn't be dead…there was no reason for her to be!

Her head fell back against his chest. No blood. Not a single scratch upon her fair skin. Her heart beat strongly against his chest. Alive. She was alive.

Of course. Hadn't she told him that she was tired? She had merely lain on the sofa and slept, the exhaustion evident because of the way her eyes opened slowly, two inky spheres in the pale, exquisite oval of her face. Eyes that were clouded with hazy confusion.

"Squall?" her voice was a puzzled whisper.

"Who else could it be?" His voice was soft, with a harsh, relieved edge to it. He stood with her in his arms. For a woman of her height she weighed almost nothing.

She had fallen asleep again, arms wound trustingly around his neck, face resting gently on his collarbone. He carried her to her bed and laid her down; judging from her easy breathing he had not disturbed her slumber in the least. But there was something about her innocently sleeping form that kept him from leaving…as he watched her, a desperate need, locked tightly inside of him, came flaring up to the surface, and, without thinking he bent over her and took her mouth in a deep, sweeping caress.

"Uh…" she murmured, giving him all the encouragement he needed. He stripped off his clothes in the silent darkness and joined her on the bed, hands pulling and tugging, removing the robe from her naked body while his lips slanted against hers…nibbling, tasting, claiming…

And even while she slept, her mouth replied to his urgent demands, her body responded to the call of his. Perhaps she dreamed, dreamed of another man, coming to her in love, not out of selfish need alone…in the cold, seductive dark of night. He removed her robe completely then, and, discarding it to the ground, slipped his hands over her willowy, curvy body, as hers entangled into his hair.

It was the first pain of penetration that woke her, and a strangled cry escaped her lips. Wide, frightened eyes focused on his own, flaring with silver fire.

"Quisty…will you let me?" he whispered, dropping his mouth to her ear, licking the sweet flesh gently.

"What…I…"

"Will you?" his hands tightened around her shoulders.

"Yes." Her eyes focused with amazing clarity, and her hips snapped upwards, taking him in deeper. He groaned in approval and covered her lips with his own, trying to kiss away the pain that threatened to slice her into two.

Rinoa…

Fever rose as their bodies locked together, and all he knew was the softness of her skin, the intoxicating perfume of peaches and cream. The tension heightened, till pure, sweet release was granted, and the unhappy anger at Rinoa's untimely death slowly poured out of his body and into her sweet, comforting soul, together with the storm of his seed.

Peace. Peace filled his inner being, and, holding her tightly in his arms he slept, her long, honey colored hair wrapped around them both like a silken mantle.

When the morning light came, streaks of crimson and gold, Squall's eyes opened in horror as the memory of the night before came flooding back to him.

What had he done? Taken Quistis to satisfy his body, and then spent the rest of the night in her bed? For the love of God, what had he done?

Her pale lashes lifted, and aquamarine eyes looked back into his. "Good morning." Her voice was calm, mild, and her expression betrayed nothing of what she felt within.

"Hn." He turned away from her and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Her next words stopped him.

"Not…not regretting last night?"

His body was still. "No."

"You lie." Her voice was soft, and when he turned to face her those blue eyes were shiny…perhaps too shiny. Her mouth, still damp and swollen, smiled at him.

"How would you know?"

"I saw." She replied simply. "I know, Squall. You were drunk last night, and it just happened. Alcohol causes the body to lose control and reason."

"I know what I was doing."

"Maybe. But it was Rinoa you were thinking of."

He stared at her, an arrested look in his blue gray eyes.

"You called her name." Quistis said by way of explanation. "But it's okay, really. I'm just glad I was able to help you for once…help you relieve the pain." She leaned back on her pillow again. "I think I'll sleep in some more."

Squall got off the bed and grabbed a towel in a rough, jerky movement. The bathroom door slammed shut behind him.

Back on the bed, Quistis buried her face in her pillow and fought the urge to weep in frustration.

- End chapter 2 -