---Disclaimer: I own nothing of Final Fantasy VIII, yadda yadda yadda,
everything is © Square, blah blah blah. You should get it by now.
---Author's Notes: Delay = Going to see Cabaret in New York for the weekend. I'm not apologizing, 'cause I loved it ;)
~
This time, as the sound of her boots reverberated off of the Quad walls, Squall did not jerk his head up in fright or anticipation, nor did he cower in the shadows and pretend he did not hear her. He embraced the thought that she was approaching, that at any minute he would lay eyes on her again and decide what to finally make of their situation. No, not he alone - they would decide on what to do with the shambles of their relationship. He hadn't spoken once to his so-called friends who had decided to play matchmaker the last evening, but it wasn't out of anger; he had been pacing in his office the entire day, trying to decide on what he could say to her and how to make it sound like he wasn't either a crazy, war-obsessed psycho or a gushy, falling-apart romantic. He had finally settled on his normal, aloof attitude, as if it would have wound up to be anything else, and decided that - after a few headache pills courtesy of Quistis - romance wasn't worth the migraines that he had suffered through.
"Squall?"
Her voice echoed down the nearly-empty Quad stairs, and it greeted him as if he had been burned. His head shot up involuntarily, and he cursed himself mentally for giving in tot hat tone in her voice that made him just want to run to her. Inhaling deeply, he willed the calm air to soothe all of the tension away from his body, just as Matron had taught them when they were younger. However, it hardly helped, and in the end he settled on striding over to the stairs to meet her.
Rinoa's smile greeted him as always as he approached the stairs. She took the last step down and cocked her head at him, curious at his silent behavior. He would have spoken right then if he hadn't been deciding on the best thing to say, and she had a puzzled look in her eyes. Shaking his shoulder, she asked, "Are you feeling okay, Squall?"
He shook his head, chestnut hair falling into his eyes. "Yeah, I was just . . . thinking," He said, as if she didn't know. She smiled, but it did not touch her eyes.
"What did you want to say?" She asked quietly, looking up at him. He wasn't that much taller than her, but in this situation, it seemed a good idea to give him the impression that he was. In Rinoa's mind, it made him feel more comfortable, but this theory had yet to be proven true. And it never would, because under this look, he grew even more nervous. Shifting uncomfortably, he turned around, feeling that he could breathe easier when not facing her directly. He closed his eyes, trying to find the words to best phrase it without seeming too resentful or too uncaring. He never was a wizard with words; far from it.
"I just . . . see, it goes like this: you leave for some idiotic reason, I pine, you come back, I yell. It's hard to go around that schedule, especially the yelling bit. Okay, idiotic reasons don't give you a good case, especially when you leave because of them, and then coming back and actually wanting to talk to me? It requires some yelling, even you have to admit; it's unavoidable. I couldn't help it, and since yelling is a vital part of my everyday constitution it was necessary that I enhance it a bit more because you had done all of that . . ." Rinoa put a hand on his shoulder, silencing him effectively.
"You don't want to say it directly; even I can see that, Squall. But the thing is that I don't blame you in the slightest, if you had done that to me, I would have done the same thing. I hurt you, and I deserved all of the yelling that I received. I can't say this without sounding like I'm trying to be your mother, or cliché, but . . . I'd love you even if you yelled at me for the rest of eternity," She said gently, easing him around to face her. The expression on his face was a mix between anguish and relief, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest. On instinct, he moved to accommodate her, feeling most of the fears he had about this visit drain away as his arms found the position around her back a lot less strangely than the previous night.
Seifer let out his breath, turning to go back up the stairs. He had been planning on mopping out the Quad, and then proceeding to the Parking Garage. However, with Commander Puberty and his stupid angel, there was no way of getting the Quad cleaned today. He'd have to try again tomorrow. Mentally moving the Quad to the bottom of his public service list, he started back up the stairs.
"Parking Garage, here I come," He muttered, and no one would have been able to miss the bitterness in his voice.
"Why don't you take a break? I know for a fact that you've been working your sorry hide off, as I've seen you at it everyday. And as it seems that nothing's missing from my office as of yet, or Squall's, I'm assuming that you're sticking to the rules laid down for you. I must say, I'm impressed." The ex-knight growled when his liquid gaze reached the stronghold blue of Quistis', although she didn't hold mocking in her posture - for once, he thought sourly.
"No. Once I clean out the Parking Garage I'm taking dinner, then I've got dorm duty 'till SeeD curfew. After that I'm going to bed," He said flatly, leaving all emotion out of his voice. The Instructor folded her arms, looking him over.
"First, I'm going to order you to take a shower. You're disgusting; where've you been cleaning?" She asked rather loftily, examining him.
"Training Center. How are you supposed to CLEAN that place?" He roared, finally, and stormed out, shoving roughly past her and dragging his custodial supplies in tow.
A dull "thud" and a sharp "click" sounded swiftly through the Quad again, and next second Rinoa and Squall had come into view, both looking slightly flustered. Quistis' eyebrows twitched, but refused to say anything on the matter, wanting the two of them to be the first to speak. Squall was avoiding her look and staring at the floor, and Rinoa seemed to be readying her voice to speak.
"Seifer?" She asked mildly, her eyes traveling the ex-Knight's path. His curses and grumbles could still be heard down the hall, and a few angry SeeDs and a trail of cadets stormed into the Quad, stomping furiously past the three of them. Quistis' hand latched onto Rain's arm, tugging her aside as the rest of her friends moved on.
"What?" She said irritably, before calling ahead: "Wait up!"
"Is he terrorizing people?" The blonde asked sharply, staring down the bridge of her nose at the SeeD.
"Not yet," Rain said grimly, straining to get away from the Instructor's grasp. Quistis muttered something and released her; she darted off like a bullet back to her throng of friends.
Rinoa stood in front of Squall, one hand on his shoulder. She was smiling at him, although Quistis could not see; the Sorceress's back was to her, and her black hair hid a greater part of Squall's features as well.
"I'm going to make a call to Trabia and see if I can get an extent. I want to stay here as long as possible, and when I have to leave, I'll come back as soon as I can. I wonder if Cid'll let me enroll here, like he did for Irvine . . ." Rinoa mused on the thought a moment, and then shook her head. "Well, I'll drop by your dorm and grab you for breakfast tomorrow." She stood carefully on her toes as if to kiss him, but then dropped back down, smiled weakly, and walked away after she saw him nod.
"Love's hard," Quistis said, hoping to sound comforting. Squall blew out his breath hard, running a hand through his hair.
"Got that right. Half of me wants to forgive her, and the other half doesn't. Hyne . . . I feel like I'm torn in two." He put his head in his hands a minute, then took them away and strode quickly towards the exit. Quistis rubbed her glasses on her skirt absently, and then sighed, starting off in Squall's direction. Maybe she could still stop Seifer's reign of terror.
~
Short! I know, don't kill me! Another one tomorrow, I promise. AND it'll be long. As long as I can make it, at least ;) Well, savor the moment.
---Author's Notes: Delay = Going to see Cabaret in New York for the weekend. I'm not apologizing, 'cause I loved it ;)
~
This time, as the sound of her boots reverberated off of the Quad walls, Squall did not jerk his head up in fright or anticipation, nor did he cower in the shadows and pretend he did not hear her. He embraced the thought that she was approaching, that at any minute he would lay eyes on her again and decide what to finally make of their situation. No, not he alone - they would decide on what to do with the shambles of their relationship. He hadn't spoken once to his so-called friends who had decided to play matchmaker the last evening, but it wasn't out of anger; he had been pacing in his office the entire day, trying to decide on what he could say to her and how to make it sound like he wasn't either a crazy, war-obsessed psycho or a gushy, falling-apart romantic. He had finally settled on his normal, aloof attitude, as if it would have wound up to be anything else, and decided that - after a few headache pills courtesy of Quistis - romance wasn't worth the migraines that he had suffered through.
"Squall?"
Her voice echoed down the nearly-empty Quad stairs, and it greeted him as if he had been burned. His head shot up involuntarily, and he cursed himself mentally for giving in tot hat tone in her voice that made him just want to run to her. Inhaling deeply, he willed the calm air to soothe all of the tension away from his body, just as Matron had taught them when they were younger. However, it hardly helped, and in the end he settled on striding over to the stairs to meet her.
Rinoa's smile greeted him as always as he approached the stairs. She took the last step down and cocked her head at him, curious at his silent behavior. He would have spoken right then if he hadn't been deciding on the best thing to say, and she had a puzzled look in her eyes. Shaking his shoulder, she asked, "Are you feeling okay, Squall?"
He shook his head, chestnut hair falling into his eyes. "Yeah, I was just . . . thinking," He said, as if she didn't know. She smiled, but it did not touch her eyes.
"What did you want to say?" She asked quietly, looking up at him. He wasn't that much taller than her, but in this situation, it seemed a good idea to give him the impression that he was. In Rinoa's mind, it made him feel more comfortable, but this theory had yet to be proven true. And it never would, because under this look, he grew even more nervous. Shifting uncomfortably, he turned around, feeling that he could breathe easier when not facing her directly. He closed his eyes, trying to find the words to best phrase it without seeming too resentful or too uncaring. He never was a wizard with words; far from it.
"I just . . . see, it goes like this: you leave for some idiotic reason, I pine, you come back, I yell. It's hard to go around that schedule, especially the yelling bit. Okay, idiotic reasons don't give you a good case, especially when you leave because of them, and then coming back and actually wanting to talk to me? It requires some yelling, even you have to admit; it's unavoidable. I couldn't help it, and since yelling is a vital part of my everyday constitution it was necessary that I enhance it a bit more because you had done all of that . . ." Rinoa put a hand on his shoulder, silencing him effectively.
"You don't want to say it directly; even I can see that, Squall. But the thing is that I don't blame you in the slightest, if you had done that to me, I would have done the same thing. I hurt you, and I deserved all of the yelling that I received. I can't say this without sounding like I'm trying to be your mother, or cliché, but . . . I'd love you even if you yelled at me for the rest of eternity," She said gently, easing him around to face her. The expression on his face was a mix between anguish and relief, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest. On instinct, he moved to accommodate her, feeling most of the fears he had about this visit drain away as his arms found the position around her back a lot less strangely than the previous night.
Seifer let out his breath, turning to go back up the stairs. He had been planning on mopping out the Quad, and then proceeding to the Parking Garage. However, with Commander Puberty and his stupid angel, there was no way of getting the Quad cleaned today. He'd have to try again tomorrow. Mentally moving the Quad to the bottom of his public service list, he started back up the stairs.
"Parking Garage, here I come," He muttered, and no one would have been able to miss the bitterness in his voice.
"Why don't you take a break? I know for a fact that you've been working your sorry hide off, as I've seen you at it everyday. And as it seems that nothing's missing from my office as of yet, or Squall's, I'm assuming that you're sticking to the rules laid down for you. I must say, I'm impressed." The ex-knight growled when his liquid gaze reached the stronghold blue of Quistis', although she didn't hold mocking in her posture - for once, he thought sourly.
"No. Once I clean out the Parking Garage I'm taking dinner, then I've got dorm duty 'till SeeD curfew. After that I'm going to bed," He said flatly, leaving all emotion out of his voice. The Instructor folded her arms, looking him over.
"First, I'm going to order you to take a shower. You're disgusting; where've you been cleaning?" She asked rather loftily, examining him.
"Training Center. How are you supposed to CLEAN that place?" He roared, finally, and stormed out, shoving roughly past her and dragging his custodial supplies in tow.
A dull "thud" and a sharp "click" sounded swiftly through the Quad again, and next second Rinoa and Squall had come into view, both looking slightly flustered. Quistis' eyebrows twitched, but refused to say anything on the matter, wanting the two of them to be the first to speak. Squall was avoiding her look and staring at the floor, and Rinoa seemed to be readying her voice to speak.
"Seifer?" She asked mildly, her eyes traveling the ex-Knight's path. His curses and grumbles could still be heard down the hall, and a few angry SeeDs and a trail of cadets stormed into the Quad, stomping furiously past the three of them. Quistis' hand latched onto Rain's arm, tugging her aside as the rest of her friends moved on.
"What?" She said irritably, before calling ahead: "Wait up!"
"Is he terrorizing people?" The blonde asked sharply, staring down the bridge of her nose at the SeeD.
"Not yet," Rain said grimly, straining to get away from the Instructor's grasp. Quistis muttered something and released her; she darted off like a bullet back to her throng of friends.
Rinoa stood in front of Squall, one hand on his shoulder. She was smiling at him, although Quistis could not see; the Sorceress's back was to her, and her black hair hid a greater part of Squall's features as well.
"I'm going to make a call to Trabia and see if I can get an extent. I want to stay here as long as possible, and when I have to leave, I'll come back as soon as I can. I wonder if Cid'll let me enroll here, like he did for Irvine . . ." Rinoa mused on the thought a moment, and then shook her head. "Well, I'll drop by your dorm and grab you for breakfast tomorrow." She stood carefully on her toes as if to kiss him, but then dropped back down, smiled weakly, and walked away after she saw him nod.
"Love's hard," Quistis said, hoping to sound comforting. Squall blew out his breath hard, running a hand through his hair.
"Got that right. Half of me wants to forgive her, and the other half doesn't. Hyne . . . I feel like I'm torn in two." He put his head in his hands a minute, then took them away and strode quickly towards the exit. Quistis rubbed her glasses on her skirt absently, and then sighed, starting off in Squall's direction. Maybe she could still stop Seifer's reign of terror.
~
Short! I know, don't kill me! Another one tomorrow, I promise. AND it'll be long. As long as I can make it, at least ;) Well, savor the moment.
