Disclaimer: If I owned FF8 I'd be rich, powerful and own pretty cars and cool houses. I don't own FF8.
Chapter 20: Unforgettable Promises
A three-year-old brunette waddled across the room in a mist of confusion. Her adorable white dress swaying with her every motion as she shuffled through a crowd of people, their faces, she did not remark for she was short and only noticed the color of their pants.
In her chubby little hand she held a velvety brown teddy bear. Her mother had given it to her, informing her that she herself had received it from the toddler's father. Recognizing the polished black shoes and the SeeD uniform pants, the little brunette tugged at the pants.
The much taller man peered down at her, grinned and picked her up in his strong arms. His stormy blue eyes matched her own. "Hey sunshine."
The toddler smiled and hugged her father's neck, "Mommy's talking with Auntie Quistis and Auntie Selphie."
At the mention of the first name, the blond haired man next to the girl's father seem to withdraw himself in a deep pensive mood. Her father smiled, "Ok. Where's Kevin?"
"I don't know." She pouted, "He went off with Steve… They're probably up to no good." She warned him. Adorable, simply adorable. Her chubby cheeks were flushed; her dark blue eyes were set… A typical little angel.
The dark haired man grinned to his blond friend, "Wouldn't you like to have one of your own?" His voice was taunting, but in it resonated deep concern and sympathy.
"Yeah… I just got to find the right woman." Her Uncle Seifer grinned and patted the father on the back. "You know… You're lucky. Don't take it for granted."
"Sometimes what you're looking for is right where you left it." Squall sighed and Seifer walked away, shaking his head in a passive way.
Her father turned back his attention to 'his sunshine', "So, Riana, you want to go see mommy?"
***
"Come on, Rinny!" A hyper 25-year-old bounced around in her chair. "I need a pregnancy partner!"
"Hell no." A darker haired woman responded; her chocolate eyes rolled in her head in annoyance, "I've gone through labor twice, I will not go through that again."
"Yeah, I was there… She looked like she was about to die. You've only had one, Selph." A taller, blonde smirked at the memory.
"What would you know? You don't know the pain that comes with the second one. The stupid doctor wouldn't give me the goddamn drugs." At the bad memories the one named Rinny seemed to tense up in anger.
Her two friends began to giggle helplessly and the blond one stated, "I'm actually surprised Squall made it through…"
"Made it through what?" The tall brown haired man had made his way through the crowd to his wife.
"Rinoa's labor." Selphie smirked and began bouncing in her chair anew.
Memories flooded back to him, his smile was replaced by a slight frown and his wife countered, "I wasn't that bad!"
"Um… No, that's right… She wasn't that bad." He was a terrible liar.
She rolled her eyes, "This proves you felt no pain."
"Hey, I was quite frightened by your behavior." Squall frowned slightly.
The toddler, oblivious and uncaring to what the adults are talking about, reaches out her arms from her father to her mother. She is tired; her eyelids are heavier than they were at the beginning of the evening.
The Exquisite Lobster is filled with important political figures. The New Year's party. The little one ignores the fact that it is where her parents first met.
"Squall, she's tired… Where's Kevin?" Rinoa asks worriedly.
"Probably gone with my son." Selphie informed, "I've got to find Irvine." She got up from her chair and before shuffling out into the crowd, she gave both her friends a hug and nudged Squall in the gut grinning, "Get her pregnant!"
Rinoa was now holding the sleeping Riana and Squall took a seat next to her. Quistis smiled slightly, "You know… She looks really exhausted, you want me to go find Kevin?"
"Don't go out of your way." Rinoa replied, "He's bound to show up after he's spiked the punch with Tabasco sauce."
Quistis grinned and said sarcastically, "Hmm, I wonder who he takes after."
"Rinoa…" Squall breathed nervously, "Your dad is giving me that look again." At this, Quistis erupted into laughter.
"Gee honey, it might have something to do with getting me pregnant at twenty. Or maybe even that whole 'You-Nearly-Got-Us-All-Killed-With-That-Little-Acting-Scene'. Oh, there's also that time…" Rinoa's voice trailed on.
"Yeah, ok… I get it, he hates me." Squall threw up his arms in defeat, "I really think we've made more than an appearance here, can we go now?"
Quistis enjoyed watching them bicker. She knew that their relationship was strong and that these inoffensive arguments were just another way of communicating.
"Consider the punch bowl spiked with hot sauce, here comes Kev." Quistis grinned.
The five year old, brown haired and dark eyed boy whined, "I'm tired."
"Yeah, we're going." His parents responded in unison.
***
Quistis and Seifer walked around the marble halls for a while in a calming silence. Seifer finally decided to speak.
"I've been thinking. I mean… Quistis, I told you commitments scare me…" Seifer started.
Quistis held her breath. "Yeah… You have."
"And they do… But, I look at Squall and Rinoa… And Selphie and Irvine. They're happy, right?"
She was beginning to swim in confusion, "Yeah, they're all happy… Why?"
"Well… I'm happy too, when I'm with you. So… I thought that, you know, we should… Get married or something." He shrugged his shoulders and looked away, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
To Quistis, a marriage proposal couldn't have been better.
***
"Selphie expecting." Rinoa informed, "She will soon feel the pain."
"You don't regret any of it… Do you?" Squall asked, fairly worried.
She smiled and shook her head, "No, I don't regret anything." She turned to the backseat where both the children, Kevin and Riana, were sleeping peacefully.
Squall drove carefully and occasionally gave sideways glances at his wife, "You know, I don't regret anything either."
She smiled, she knew this, but to hear it from his mouth was always comforting, "Zell wasn't at the party tonight."
"Nope…" Squall grinned, "He spent his New Year's eve with this librarian that he's dating. Pretty interesting, huh?"
"I'll have to mock him next time I see him…" Rinoa smiled.
***
Squall shut his son's bedroom door quietly behind him. Rinoa had already put Riana to bed and changed from her beige dress to jogging pants and a t-shit.
"What are you doing?" Squall asked; an eyebrow arched in confusion.
"I'm not that tired. Let's go watch T.V." Rinoa suggested, took his hand and began leading him downstairs.
"Oh no…" Squall grinned mischievously, "If you aren't tired, I've got other plans for you." He pulled her back towards him and kissed her.
Rinoa smirked, "Yeah well… Maybe I'm not in the mood."
"If I do the dishes tomorrow, walk the dog, take out the trash, and clean the basement… Will that put you in the mood?" He poked fun at her.
She seemed to ponder this for a moment and then added, "And vacuum the living room, clean your study, and make me breakfast?"
He grinned and kissed her again, "For you? I'd do anything."
Sammy: Wow… I'm done this fic. I'm very proud of myself… *Pats herself on the back* Hee hee… So I hope you like it, I know it was corny and soap-operaish but hey… Who doesn't like some good fluff once in a while? Please review and I really appreciate all of you who read this fic. Thank you to all who supported me throughout my… Twenty chapters! All the reviews were wonderful! *Claps happily* But… Please don't forget to review? Hee hee…
Beta's Note: So sometimes I take the time to write one these… And other times I don't. *Screams* Ah! That's the second time that my leg fell asleep. Right. Anyways, as I was saying before I began to complain, I can't believe that another story has become complete. I really did like to edit… Even if I did complain about the homonyms…. But that's beside my point. Anyways, we did have fun thinking up the various ways we could torture Sarah… Even when half the ideas got scraped…. *tear* I'm gonna miss it! And… Wait a minute! This story's not dead! So we celebrate! TTYL! *Begins to Sing along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Can't Stop* I love that song!!!!!!!!