Rinoa sat on her side of the couch quietly, skimming through various travel brochures. "What about Gwanda? Seems like heaven at this time of the year..."

Selphie turned from her position on the lazyboy chair and shook her head vigourously. "I know that's what they say on all the brochures, but I went there last year, and it was just like a hot day at Esther. You may as well go spend your vacation there"

Rinoa looked over at Squall for a second opinion. "What do you think about Gwanda?"

Squall shrugged indifferently. "I don't know"

Rinoa waved the brochure in front of his nose and smacked his arm. "But it looks amazing" He pushed the brochure away and resumed watching the news on the television. Rinoa whined, pinching his arm.

"Squaaaaaaaaall, it's your vacation toooooo" He looked up absentmindedly."Huh?"

Rinoa shot him a reproachful look.

"Vacation? Remember the word? No work. No SeeD. Ok, maybe a little SeeD... but no duties. Fun, fun, fun. FUN, Squall. And I think you should pick the place"

"But...", he protested.

She gave him a poisonous glare. "But what?"

"How do I know where you want to go?" "Doesn't matter. Just pick a place, and we'll go there"

"We?" "Duh..."

"Why we?"

Rinoa threw her arms up in the air and cried out in frustration. "WE ARE GOING ON A VACATION, TOGETHER. Did you miss something there?"

He looked up at her shocked. "Rinoa, you know I can't. I have too many things to do. You should go yourself, really"

She looked at him hopelessly, wordlessly. "I asked Cid. He said you deserved a week off. Don't give me that crap" Squall ran a hand through his hair. "Uh... I guess... whatever"

He returned to watching TV, sullenly. WHAT was Cid's problem anyway?

Rinoa swore something which was too high-pitched and too rapid for Squall to comprehend, but he got the gist of it. She thought he was a fucking idiot. She flung everything in her hands at him, then she stomped out of the room furiously.

Irvine's mouth curled into a perfect O. Zell looked at Squall in mild concern. "DAMN... are you alright there?"

Squall sighed and put his hand to his left temple. Blood had started to trickle down, but it was no big deal. Not like he hadn't gotten scars before. He looked around for what she'd thrown at him. It figured. Her cell phone lie in pieces at his feet. Ouch... that hurt.

Quistis jumped to her feet. "Don't you move. I'll go get some antiseptic for that. I don't think you'll be needing Dr. Kadowski"

Squall held her back, wincing, as his head throbbed with pain. "No. It's alright. I better go talk to her" "But it's not that serious. Besides, I think she might be out on a call tonight"

Squall looking back while walking out the door. "I didn't mean the doctor" *********************************************************************** He strode down the long corridors, and finally reached the young sorceress' chambers. He paused for a moment. He needed to think about what he was going to say. He started to put together again the parts of the broken phone. Ultimately, he ended up having second thoughts, and started to turn, just as the door slid open. Rinoa balked. "Sq-q-uall" She gulped. She was in for it, wasn't she? Physically assaulting a senior commanding officer. Plus, in court, it would probably not even be counted as a normal lover's dispute. She was a sorceress. She'd probably be pinned guilty for treason, and attempt to seize power. She'd be sent into exile... never to see garden agai- "Rin" She looked into his eyes and relaxed. He wasn't here to get her into trouble. She gasped as she spotted the blood on the side of his face. Is that what he'd come here to show her? Well, if it was meant to make her feel majorly guilty, it was working fine.

His reflex was to immediatly scan the entire empty corridor to see what had made her gasp. She suppressed the urge to giggle, and put a hand on the side of his face to show what had caught her attention.

"You left your phone". He handed her the slightly scratched cell phone, and their hands touched for the briefest of magical moments. Both stood in silence for a couple of minutes. One feeling so guilty, that she didn't know what to say, and the other feeling embaressed, not knowing what to do. The silence was broken by a cadet walking down the other end of the corridor. He gave a curious glance at the couple. Rinoa bit her lip. They couldn't stand like this all day.

"Umm... d'you... wanna come in?" He started to nod unsurely, but then stopped, remembering his manners.

"Looked like you were going somewhere. I don't want you getting late for anything" She rolled her eyes and pulled him inside.

He stepped inside quietly. This wasn't the first time he'd been in her room. Comparatively, it was her usually installing herself in his room... but all the same, he'd visited her twice or thrice. The afternoon light poured down, illuminating the table and the chairs around it. A small potted plant claimed territory of the table top, growing in flourish with pink and violet flowers, which smelled rather nice. He wondered why his plants never grew like that. Probably because he wasn't there to take care of them enough. Or because Rinoa just had a certain something about her, that made people want to give out the best in them. He knew that. His mind started wandering back to his neglected plants. Was that how he treated everything in his life? Was Rinoa going to wilt and die one day, because he hadn't been there for her? Could SHE force herself to give out the best in her? He knew she was a strong willed person. He also knew she needed him like the plants needed the sun.

"What're you thinking about?" He shook his head. "Nothing. Just... plants"

She raised an eyebrow. "I never knew you were into gardening. Wouldn't have thought you had enough time"

She suddenly stopped to think about her comment. He had enough time for his plants, yet not enough for her? Squall twiddled his thumbs together. "Yeah... well, they stay alive" Her mind raced with emotions. Was that how their relationship worked? Did he give her the basic bare minimal to keep their love guttering in the wind like a worn out candle flame?

He reached for the plant and felt a leaf between his fingers. It was such a delicate thing, yet life pulsed through its every stalk and leaf. Much like her. Woah... plants were intense. Kind of pissing off too. Why did they always have to be so predictable... so... dependant too. It sheds in the winter and comes back into bloom in spring, only to be worn out all over again, and leave you feeling cold and empty. Then, if you didn't water it, or kept it in the shade just because you felt like it, it'd wilt. And then you'd have to spend all your precious time helping it recouperate. Stupid fucking plants. Who wanted them anyway?

Her voice came through into his thoughts. "Squall, you're shredding the leaf" So he was. She approached him and placed a hand on his tensed up shoulder. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

He looked up at her blankly. "Not really" She looked down, disappointed. "Oh".