Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters.  They are all the property of SQUARESOFT.

For the convenience of my readers I will translate the AlBhed part of the last chapter.  The language of Albhed is once again, the property of SQUARESOFT.

E muja oui, ruhao. – Rinoa says this to Squall to soften him up a bit and make him tell the truth to the others.  Meaning: I love you, honey.

Bnuja ed du sa… Mydan. – Squall says this to Rinoa after she tells him she loves him.  Meaning: Prove it to me … Later.

E ruba oui mega du cruf ouin muja fedr ouin duhkia. – Squall says this to Rinoa as he accepts to redo her pathetic breakfast. Meaning: I hope you like to show your love with your tongue.

Banjand! – Rinoa replies this to Squall after he says the sentence above.  Meaning: Pervert!

This was for your convenience and enjoyment of the story.

Chapter 14: Fond Good-Byes

"Yeah, I'll have a T-Bone steak with those baked potatoes.  Also, a side dish of cheeseburgers, fries and a beer." Irvine completed his order and Selphie stared at him, transfixed.

"Ok, I'll have a whole BBQ chicken, a cheeseburger, those funky potatoes that have that spice on them and some lamb chops… With beer." Squall paused, "And some plain fries… With ketchup." Squall grinned.

The waiter seemed to be having trouble keeping up as he scribbled down the orders… Next came Seifer.

"I'll have ribs, nicely soaked in BBQ sauce with those amazing baked potatoes, one boneless steak, two lamp chops and a hamburger.  And of course, a beer."

"I'll take those special hotdogs that you roast and some beer.  Then I want fries and a T-Bone steak." Zell's order was the shortest of all, "Oh and those hotdogs… Give me at least 15 of them."

The waiter then looked at Rinoa and she responded, "I'll have a cheeseburger… And a coke."

Squall stared at her and then said, "And…?"

"And that's it."

She received collective gasps from the guys and in response, rolled her eyes.  Quistis was the next to go, "A coke, fries and just a few chicken strips."

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" Seifer scowled and crossed his arms grumpily.

Selphie fidgeted uneasily, "Um… I'll have a hotdog and a coke." Then muttered underneath her breath, "I don't even know if I can afford it now."

"The orders will be ready… Soon." The waiter said weakly and stumbled away.

"You goddamn pigs!" Rinoa hissed when he was out of earshot. 

"What?  We're just ordering what we'll be eating." Zell said defensively.

"Yeah, how do we know the food won't be crappy?" Irvine threw out, "At least the quantity will make up for the quality."

"Hey, you know what restaurant has quality and quantity?" Quistis riddled, "The Exquisite Lobster."

"That's where the political New Year's Eve party is held.  Isn't it, Squall?" Seifer observed.

"Yeah… It is." He responded slowly.

Zell snorted, "No way… It's just an image they got.  I read in the newspaper that they have weird stuff going around the food trays… And that one time it rained fish guts in there."

Squall and Rinoa exchanged a look and both burst out laughing.  This ensued a few odd looks from their companions and the surrounding customers.

"What is your problem?" Quistis arched a thinly plucked eyebrow; she was oblivious to the fact that these 'incidents' were related to the hysterical couple. 

Selphie's eyes went wide, "Don't tell me that…"

"You were the ones who…" Seifer smiled faintly.

Then the rest of the table exploded into laughter, earning more stares from the nearby tables.

***

Zell wolfed down his hotdogs like a predator would his prey.  The rest of the table was too preoccupied by watching him eat than eating their own food.

"Zell… You are so disgusting." Selphie wrinkled her nose.

"What?" He looked around, confused, "I'm hungry."

"We noticed…" Quistis gagged.

Zell wiped his mouth with a napkin and stated, "Done…"

"Good. Now we can get back to our own lunches." Seifer responded and began to devour his own meal.

Rinoa took a bite of her burger reluctantly.  Chewing, she scowled and whispered more to herself, "Ow, bit my tongue."

"Hmm, let me see." Squall grinned and bent down towards her.  She pushed him away with a glare.

"This trip was fun though…" Selphie bounced a bit on her seat, "We should do this more often!"

"Yeah… And Zell should do some more acting." Squall said sarcastically.

Zell gave him a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

Squall put on an imitation of Zell's voice when he was acting, that day of the hike, "'Guys, look! A hot dog stand! I would very much like to go eat some hot dogs. Do go on. Do not wait up. I will catch up to you!'"

"Yeah Zell, when do you actually articulate words like that?" Rinoa countered.

"Oh… You guys knew then that…" Seifer grinned guiltily.

"Do we look stupid?" Squall asked.

"Yes." Quistis replied.

"Rhetorical question!" Squall grimaced.

"Hey, hey… You're one to speak Quistis… You were like a freaking chicken without a head in that museum.  You nearly cut my off my arm circulation!"

"Oh shut the hell up." Quistis countered and dumped her bowl of coleslaw on his head.

Selphie and Irvine gasped.  Seifer stood up calmly, the creamy salad substance dangling from each side of his head and headed towards the bathroom. 

Quistis restrained a giggle and got up slowly, "I better go help him…"

When she was out of earshot the rest of the table burst out laughing.

***

"So, you going with Squall?" Seifer asked.

Rinoa shrugged, "I guess so… Squall?"

"Yeah, your crap is already in the trunk." He responded.

"This was so fun and we have to do it again!" Selphie bounced around, forgetting for a moment that her credit card had been completely maxed out.

"Yeah, we should." Quistis agreed.

"Well, whatever." Rinoa said rolling her eyes, "I'll call you guys.  Bye."

After the group had said their good byes, they left each other promising to keep contact.  Rinoa blinked in surprise when Quistis had warned her to call her if anything happened.  What could possibly happen that was so drastic and serious?

***

"You'll call me, right?" He heaved her suitcase out of the trunk.

"Yeah." She smiled and took the bag from him.

Then he reached in the back of the trunk and brought out the teddy bear.  "Are you keeping Squall?" He asked, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

"As a matter a fact, yes I am!" She stuck out her tongue playfully and snatched the stuffed animal from his hands.

"You spoiled brat…" He murmured in her ear and kissed it teasingly.

"Heh… I'll call you tomorrow… okay?"

"Sure…" He replied.

***

Rinoa unlocked the front door and entered quietly, unsure if her parents were currently home.  She plopped her suitcase down in the hall and flicked a few strands of loose hair out of her face.

She strolled by the living room and peeped into it.  She saw her father sitting, his legs crossed, on the couch, smoking a pipe.

"How was your trip?" He asked.

"Good." She replied.

"Good… We have things to discuss."

Sammy-Chan: Whee, there we go, 14th chapter!  Anyhow…. Yes, please read and review!  Also… I've started another fic 'Summing Up The Stars' so I'd really appreciate it if you went and told me what you thought of that one as well.  Thank you all a bunch for reviewing and I'll probably update again Wednesday… If not earlier!  So yes, thank you and review!

Beta's Note: Yay! Editing for Wednesday (That was sarcasm)! I'm joking! I'm not that mean. Anyways… I have a job for the break (As long as my brother isn't sick)!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways… "Then eating themselves." I never knew they were cannibals… And not even that "I have bad English" excuse can save you there, buddy. Thanks for the highlight of my day. Anyways, TTYL!