Chapter 7

"No, that one. What's wrong with you?" Squall asked annoyed, pointing to a necklace behind a glass counter.

            "I'm sorry Sir." The salesman apologized, trying once more to find the desired jewel. Squall watched him place it onto the counter with care, and step back in pride. "Made in Balamb this one is. There is a story behind each piece of jewellery we sell." He informed Squall. 

            "You can engrave it right?" Squall asked, still holding the little object in his hand.

            "Yes sir."

            "Good, well this is what I want written on it." Squall said, pulling out a scrap of paper from his jacket pocket.

Rinoa walked back to the café. Selphie and Irvine had finished eating and were chatting generally in the corner. Rinoa wondered how they had managed to finish eating so quickly, but decided it was probably better not to ask.

            Rinoa walked over to them and joined in the conversation, after a few minuets Irvine excused himself.

"Well ladies, I'm going to go check out my room. I hear it has a wide screen TV!" Irvine said, looking a little too happy about the TV fact than what would be normal.

            "And what is so special about a wide screen TV?" Selphie asked suspiciously. Irvine grinned.

            "Balamb plays Dollet today, starts in half an hour. Go team Balamb!" He informed them happily. Selphie rolled her eyes.

            "Yeah Balamb V Dollet, the world tiddlywinks competition." Selphie said sarcastically. Rinoa laughed.

            "Don't make fun. I like tiddlywinks." Irvine said down heartened.

            "Irvy it was only a joke." Selphie replied. "You are actually going to watch the tiddlywink competition aren't you?" Selphie asked, her face strained from trying not to laugh.

            "Yes I am." Irvine said proudly. "And by the way it's 'Tiddlywink…s'." he said standing up. Selphie looked shocked but kept quiet.

            Rinoa watched him stuff two bread rolls into his coat pocket and a plastic spoon. Irvine looked to both their faces and broke out into laughter.

            "I'm not really going to watch the tiddlywinks guys. It's the first game of the league football." He said smiling. Neither girl replied so he left them in their silence.

            "He is so twisted." Rinoa remarked once he had left.

            "Yeah, but he's mine!" Selphie said. Rinoa giggled.

            "Naughty Selphie." She remarked. Selphie shrugged and inspected her nails in this embarrassed moment.

            "So…you and this Squall? Come on. You can tell me, you didn't on the phone. So I can only suppose you kept him quiet for a reason." Selphie said, hoping to dig something out of Rinoa.

            "There is nothing to tell." Rinoa replied quickly, her frosty tone catching Selphie off guard.

            "Oh, come on!" Selphie pleaded.

"No Selph, I don't feel like it right now." Rinoa replied. Selphie remained silent for a while. 

"Rin, you alright?" She asked finally. Rinoa sighed.

            "No. Oh I don't know. I got a phone call from my father last night. I didn't tell anyone about it, I was too upset." Rinoa began slowly. Selphie sat patiently waiting. "My aunt, she…well she's become very ill. She's in hospital now, my father said she looks really bad."

            "Oh, I'm sorry Rinoa."

            "It's ok, I tried to get it out of my head and focus on the trip. But things just sort of trigger it off. Like Squall did." Rinoa mumbled.

            "Squall? What did he say?" Selphie asked becoming angry, nobody was allowed to upset her friend. Rinoa shook her head.

            "I just don't understand him, he can be so nice and then the next time…oh I don't know. But whatever it was, I ended up crying in front of him. He must think I'm so stupid." Rinoa said resting her head onto her hands.

            "You like him don't you." Selphie observed with care.

            "Maybe just a little." Rinoa admitted, a shy smile on her lips. Selphie giggled.

            "What will Seifer say?" Selphie wondered offhandedly. Rinoa stopped laughing immediately. She had forgotten about him.

            Rinoa found her way into the dining room, immediately she was greeted by a smart looking waiter.

            "Miss Heartilly?" He asked politely. Rinoa nodded. "This way please." He said showing her to a table.

            Rinoa sat down and looked around the room, Selphie and Irvine were already eating some way off. Rinoa frowned. They hadn't waited for her!

            "I'm sorry Rinoa, I've kept you waiting." Someone said from behind her. Rinoa turned around to see whom the voice belonged to.

            "Oh no it's alright, I haven't been waiting long." Rinoa replied, watching him take a seat in front of her.

            "I hope you don't mind that Selphie and Irvine wished to sit on their own." Squall stated. Rinoa looked over to Selphie who caught her eye and gave a wink.

            "No no, um that's fine." Rinoa replied, still looking at Selphie.

            "Well I haven't ordered for you, I know you don't like me to do things for you." Squall said. Handing Rinoa the menu with a smile.

            "No I don't. But I want to say sorry again Squall, I really didn't mean to shout at you. I'd just had some bad news that's all, and well I'm sorry." Rinoa said quietly.

            "Rin it's ok, really. Now you going to order?" Squall asked. Rinoa looked down at her menu.

            As Rinoa was choosing, a waiter walked over to interrupt them.

            "Sir, there is a message for you at the reception. It's from the president." The last part of the sentence caught Squall's attention.

            "Thankyou." Squall replied. Rinoa felt a hard pang of disappointment and for the first time in his company she allowed herself to feel it freely. "Rinoa, I'm going to have leave you now. Thank you very much for you company, but I'm afraid that I will not be able to return to have dinner with you."

            "Oh, that's ok. I'll join Selphie and Irvine if they'll let me." Rinoa said sadly. Squall smiled and kissed her lightly on the top of her head before walking out. Rinoa sat stunned, why did he always do things like that when she least expected it?

            Squall picked up the phone on the reception desk and winced when he heard Laguna's loud happy voice on the other side.

            "Squall? Is that you?"

            "Well done." Squall replied sarcastically, this would probably be a long phone call.

            "Squall it's lucky you told the servants where you were going or I'd never of gotten hold of you." Laguna exclaimed. Squall sighed.

            "Just get to the point." Squall said, his voice losing its patience. Any other day he would have tolerated his fathers idle chitchat, but this time he had interrupted something Squall considered important.

            "Squall, I'm really sorry but I have forgotten my notes for the meeting that is coming up in a few days. I'm going to have to ask you to send them to me." Laguna said, his voice sounding worried. He could almost see the twitching in Squall's face that meant that there was an explosion about to happen.

            "Is that all?" Squall asked. "If you hadn't of sent me on this holiday I'd be in a position to do what you're asking, as it is I won't be able to get back until…tomorrow."

            "Squall this is important, the files are on my desk in a red folder. Once you have them give them to one of the servants to bring to me. You're the only one with a key to my office, so I can only ask you." Laguna stated.

            "Fine." Squall answered slamming the phone down and walking away to calm his anger.

            The clock clicked its final mark to show 10pm exactly and Rinoa wondered where Squall was, if she was right he hadn't returned to his room yet. After looking for her jacket and deciding it wasn't there, Rinoa headed down the deserted corridor and walked down the many steps to the ground floor. The room in where Rinoa had first hidden from Squall seemed to hold most of the hotels guests. Rinoa watched as they placed their shiny coins in the machines that were fixed to eat as many as they could, before allowing the player a win.

            After glancing around the busy room it was clear that Squall wasn't there. Sighing Rinoa wandered off in search once more. A thought crossed her mind that perhaps the message he had received had taken him back home, but Rinoa was sure that he would have told them if he was leaving.

Rinoa's path took her outside into a balcony that was probably used to serve meals on sunny days, a dark hunched figure sat on the ledge on the far side. Squinting Rinoa could make out some familiar shapes that she could connect with Squall. Rinoa shivered as a breeze blew over her exposed skin and she swallowed nervously.

            Walking quickly over Rinoa saw the figure straighten and a wisp of smoke escaped into the darkness before the cigarette was stubbed out.

            "I didn't know you smoked." Rinoa observed. Squall sat forward into the light from the hotel rooms.

            "It's a habit I'm trying to kick." Squall replied simply. "You're not going to give a lecture are you?" Squall asked smiling.

            "No I'm not. I don't mind if you smoke or not, just I choose not to." Rinoa replied. Squall watched her intently for a few seconds. "What?" Rinoa asked annoyed.

            "Nothing." Squall replied but keeping his gaze. Rinoa put her hand on her hip and frowned.

            "What is it?" She demanded.

            "Have I told you how beautiful you are?" Squall asked softly running his fingertips up her bare arm. Rinoa shivered as his touch came higher.

            "I..I don't know. H..Have you?" Rinoa stammered. Squall smiled and withdrew his arm.

            "Rinoa I have to go back, Laguna forgot something and he needs me to send it to him." Squall said. Rinoa felt her happy mood slowly edge away.

            "But you can continue with our trip right?" Rinoa asked, her tone sounding worried.

            "I'll have to catch you up at the Sorceress memorial. I'm sorry Rinoa." He added seeing the disappointed look on her face. "A car will collect you and your friends tomorrow morning and take you straight there, I should meet you later on in the day, if I leave here early." Rinoa nodded in reply.

            Squall watched her in silence as she sat down next to him; cautiously she placed her hand in his. So she was taking the lead for once? Squall wondered how far she would try and go before she chickened out.

            Smiling Rinoa ran her hand up Squall's leg that rested on the ledge next to her, giggling, as she was Squall's eyebrow raise. But then she stopped, what was she going to do now? Why had she done it anyway? Her heart pounded in her chest until she was sure that it would explode any moment.

            Squall moved in closer to her until Rinoa could feel his breath on her face. Squeezing her eyes shut Rinoa concentrated on what she thought would happen next, but the anticipated kiss never came and she opened her eyes to meet Squall's. His smile so sweet that Rinoa had to kiss him. Leaning forward towards him, Rinoa felt hurt when he moved away from her lustful lips. But her disappointment didn't last long as Squall lowered her down onto the ledge in which they sat.

            Rinoa closed her eyes once more as she felt Squall trail his kisses down her neck and onto her exposed chest. His hand reached up to move her dress straps off of her shoulders, then moved down to hitch her skirt up her leg. Rinoa let her body relax into a pleasurable moan before Squall pulled away. Rinoa looked up.

            "Come on." Squall said holding out his hand. After fixing her straps, Rinoa took his hand. A sudden realisation of what happened hit her and her body dissolved into shivers. "You ok?" Squall asked wrapping his arm around her. Rinoa nodded and looked back to where they had been a second ago. Squall kissed her on the top of her head like he had before and pulled her closer.

After what seemed like only a second Rinoa found herself outside Squall's room and being pulled inside.

            "What's wrong? You look frightened." Squall said worried. Rinoa shook her head.

            "No I'm fine." She said determinedly. Squall watched her suspiciously for a moment.    

            "Sure?" He asked once more.

            "Yes, I said I'm fine." Rinoa answered.

            "Look, we don't have to do this Rin." Squall said softly. Rinoa shook her head.

            "Oh yes we do." She replied kissing him and then reaching over for the light switch.

Author's note: Ooooooh! And she leaves it here…..

Thankyou to all of you who reviewed!!

The Angel of the Lion

Angelwingedprincess

CuteMooglez

Rinoa Leonhart73

Sandra Leonhart- Nope Rinoa isn't a sorceress in this fic.

Mariko

RPG Hui

Miss wings

Lionhart

Cherry13

CTHKSI

Hiasha

Keiry

Sublunary Illusion

Strawberrycream16

FFgal

Sammy-Chan

Charlie Girl

Mina Aino

Ps I haven't forgotten about the necklace!