(*Author's Notes* I have a long weekend this week and due to the fact that I am no longer going on ski trip with the rest of my friends because (DIE MR. HAMMETT BASTARD DIEE!!! ) *cough* my kind, fair teacher thinks I'm not responsible enough and therefore I have a lot of time on my hands. So what better way to spend it than update! Dun Dun DUUN!! This is my fluffy chapter SQUINOA all the way man! Just don't blame me if it's complete crap cause I'm have a habit of taking out my frustration in my writing.but a little dose of Squall and I should be fine (.enjoy!)

NOTE: This chapter contains citron-ish (as in lemon/lime-y) material. So those who are freaked out bout that stuff, just skip this and I'll fill you in later. Don't worry though, since it is I writing you'll most likely just find it funny.

~*Chapter 12*~

The 6th Sense

*I can resist everything except temptation.*

What had, not even ten minutes ago, once been an elegant and sophisticated dinner party could now be defined as nothing less then chaos and Selphie watched in horror as the distinguished guests quickly fled from the scene and the students took control. She almost felt like crying the second she stepped out of the bathroom to join the ceremony, and saw that all her hard work being, literally, torn to pieces. Thank Hyne Irvine had seen her entrance and rushed to support her all the way to the lounge area before she clasped.

All that planning and organizing.all for nothing. It was enough to break her heart.

The blue silk drapes were being dragged on the floor or used as hammocks. The exotic food she had ordered from every corner of the world was now either being used in some sport or was already trampled and spread across the marble floor that she had worked so hard clean properly. And the decorations.she didn't even want to think of those right now.

With a sigh she blissfully shut out the gruesome scene by closing her eyes and leaning her head on Irvine's shoulder.

"It's okay Seffie." he whispered in her ear, hugging her tightly with one arm around her shoulder. "It was a beautiful party. And the kids are having fun! Isn't that what you wanted? Everybody to enjoy themselves?"

She didn't answer him. She was too busy reveling in the sweet scent of his cologne. She loved being this close to him, even though she'd die before admitting that to anyone, least of all him. Sure she was upset about the horrible failure of her first anniversary ball, but the hurt and anger had quickly subsided once she saw how much fun everyone was having, even at the her expense. That was her main goal after all, to ensure that the uptight residents of Garden had a chance to let loose for once. It was good for their mental health since the complicated schedules of classes and missions and curfews allowed so little time for having actual fun.

Once she thought about it, this in fact WAS the most successful party Garden ever held. With that conclusion in mind, she shifted her head on Irvine's shoulder and slowly opened her eyes to look at him. He looked concerned, obviously frightened by Selphie's silence. Selphie was NEVER silent, and she was now disturbing him.

"I'm alright." she insisted and reassured him by smiling. Being the ever growing optimist, she glanced around the room once more and instead of seeing everything wrong with the scene (namely the game of trying to knock the vases down by throwing plates at the wall) her smiled widened as she noticed that every single occupant had a huge grin on their faces, from whatever they were doing, and were, for once, living their lives.

"I suppose this is what I get for drinking too much." She giggled and stood up carefully, pulling him with her and dragging him by the hand to the center of the room where, though the orchestra had run away, someone had set out a stereo system blasting music to their own taste. "May I have the honor of a dance?" she asked timidly while wrapping her arms around his neck.

Irvine smiled widely, suddenly reassured that she was not as broken up as he had thought and she was determined to have a good time in no matter what environment. "I would be honored my lady." He gave a small bow within the limited space her embrace allowed, and slowly laced his arms around her small frame, hooking his fingers behind her back. But before they even begun to dance, Selphie suddenly hesitated, her enthusiastic expression flickered and went out as she hurriedly scanned the ballroom with a mild sense of anxiety.

He was about to ask what was wrong, but the answer presented itself as the word "Rinoa." slipped off her tongue. Of course she wouldn't dare enjoy herself unless she knew her friends were comfortable .it was one of the many things he admired her for.

"Don't worry" Irvine answered her, bringing her attention away from the party and back to him. "She didn't leave Garden. She went to the fourth floor.to visit Squall. Not that I'm implying anything." He grinned knowingly and Selphie, laughing, playfully slapped him on the back of the head in mock anger.

"You're sick Kinneas!" she exclaimed, but his words still didn't completely alleviate her concern for her friend.

Upstairs with Squall? That didn't make sense. She didn't have a keycard. And she had to have to done something illegal to get up there. Was she really that fixed on the bet with Quistis that she'd sacrifice her dignity just to win? What had inspired such action?

"I missed something didn't I?"

Irvine nodded. "And you didn't wonder why, in the ten minutes you were missing, this so-called 'anniversary ball' had become a zoo?"

"You obviously know something I don't.do tell."

"Let's just say our Commander caused quite a scene, as un-believable as that may be."

"HE SHOWED UP!" she yelped in surprise, a little louder than intended, attracting a few stares from other dancing couples nearby. Realizing how stupid they looked, standing in the middle of the dance floor simply having a conversation, Selphie re-positioned her arms around his neck and initiated the first step into the dance, with no intention of letting the conversation slip. "Tell me everything," she ordered as they moved together flawlessly across the floor, never missing a step, almost reading each other's minds as to what was to happen next.

"Well," Irvine sighed and glanced quickly exit where Rinoa had left. "It's a long, funny story."

~*~

Rinoa paced around the room nervously, glancing at the bedside alarm clock every two seconds or so to remind her self that time, was indeed, moving. She had been in the room no more than two minutes, even though nearly an hour had passed since Squall left to talk to the headmaster. It had taken that long to convince herself to get as far as his dorm.

The first step had be to get out of the ballroom, and that was easy enough since she would had to have been suicidal to want to stay in the ever growing throng of students who were becoming more and more rambunctious with every passing second. From there she went straight to the bathroom to fix herself up.

Then came the inevitable doubt, the compulsory fear, the obligatory nervousness, and the expected nausea from a little too much champagne. It took a while to force herself to move from the small cubic room.

Then came the challenge of whether or not to use the elevator with the technically 'illegal' key card. What a grueling battle of conscience that was.

And yet, in the end, she finally ended up here. As she knew she would eventually.

Carefully, she lowered herself onto the bed, almost as if she were afraid it would come to life and bite her. She knew she was being paranoid, but that did nothing to ease her discomfort.

*This isn't so bad* she tried to convince herself, yet she still sat on edge, preparing to spring up at the slightest hint of noise. But it was deadly quiet on the forbidden fourth floor. Everyone was still downstairs enjoying the party after all, and she was alone here.they would be completely alone.

She shuddered at the thought, both in excitement and absolute fear. To occupy her mind away from certain subjects, she ran her hands along the soft cotton comforter of his bed, smoothing the lines her sitting created and memorizing the feel of it, imagining Squall doing the same thing when he woke up, not that he slept much with all the work being the most popular Garden's Commander entailed. She knew for a fact that he spent minimal time in this room. Sometimes he even fell asleep at his desk downstairs.

The room was plain, as Squall liked it, and much like the student dorms in fact only more spacious and with a personal bathroom (students had to share with roommates). To her surprise though, it was less neat than she expected. Though he had bothered to make his bed before he left, the rest of the room was a complete mess.

His desk and dresser draws were open and emptied of their contents into several opened, half-packed bags strewn across the floor containing everything from clothing to basic survival gear.and a lot of it. Probably just hasty preparations for a mission. A long mission apparently. Yet she couldn't help but wonder about the mess.

Even in his office, where he was bombarded with a million documents and memos every day, he always managed to keep it painfully organized. File drawers were labeled based on subject and listed alphabetically. His computer was programmed to analyze incoming messages and display them in order of importance. Even his office supplies had some insane order to where they were placed in his desk. If he was so anal about keeping things orderly, why was his most personal space so disorderly?

It was probably just a mission.but he just resigned from commander. Was he being relegated to just a normal SeeD again? What was he planning?

She shook her head to clear it and returned to her blissfully simple task of smoothing his sheets. It was a bad idea to think too much. Thinking led to doubt, which led to reason, which led to actions that she would later regret. She had worked so hard to get a chance like this with Squall, if only to talk alone without the fear of eavesdroppers or discovery. Peace was all she wanted. And now that she had it, it was accompanied by uneasiness and a distinct sense of guilt.

Poor Cid.

Squall was the best commander there ever was and there was no doubt in her mind of how much Garden would suffer economically without his skill. Maybe this was mistake. Maybe, no matter how much she wanted him by her side, Garden (and the world in general) NEEDED him.

*I should leave* she thought, standing up and pulling the strap of her purse over her shoulder. *I'm being selfish. And I already made plans to become a doctor.I shouldn't be here. I should.*

But all contemplation ceased as the sound of footsteps in the corridor could be heard. She sat back down on the bed, her legs unable to hold her weight as delirium spread through her brain. It seemed to take forever until the soft thudding steps finally halted outside the room, and yet, all too soon, the door opened with the swipe of a keycard.

And there he stood on the threshold; the man she had been waiting for.

Closing the door behind him, Squall cautiously entered the room, his expression un-readable to her but one thing was for sure, his thoughts revolved around the woman now sitting in front of him, looking too innocent for anything said about her to be true.

Rinoa felt small, almost childish beneath his steely gaze. And, as usual, any doubts she had were erased forever the moment she saw his face. And the familiar heat within her heart rose.

She wanted this.she was ready.

"Squall..." she could only find the ability to control her vocal cords long enough to mutter his name. By then she no longer cared what happened in the future. As long as they had tonight. She needed tonight.

In a few careful steps, Rinoa somehow re-gained control of her body in order to be able to stand up from the bed and rush into his arms. He accepted her eagerly, clinging to her like a child, his head resting in the crook of her neck and his arms wrapped around her with dire urgency.

"I love you.so much." He whispered, so softly that if it weren't for the extreme silence she would have missed the words. Yet, no matter how many times he told her, she never grew tired of hearing it.

"I know." She moved away from him and carefully took his face in her hands, staring into those beautiful azure eyes of his that so easily influenced her. She saw sadness in those eyes. Or something greater that did not yet have a word to describe its meaning. It was a mixture of several emotions that he seemed to project towards her, exposing his feelings to share. It was a foreign experience, both disturbing and beautiful.

She felt his desperation.his agony.his love, but most of all. Rinoa sensed failure in him. These feelings of his scared her and, with the hope of cleansing his mind of such depressing speculation, she gingerly moved her hands behind his neck and, ever so gently, pressed her lips to his.

At first, he didn't respond, but simply stood there reveling in the moment while his thoughts battled fiercely over which course of action he should follow. It wasn't before long though that, like she, he decided to just go what 'feels' right.

With a passion that Rinoa once thought impossible in Squall, he returned her kiss with fervor, tightening his grip around her and literally lifting her off her feet. The sorceress had no time to be shocked at his aggressiveness for he was already gently inching forwards toward the bed, his fingers idly fiddling with the zipper at the back of her dress. And yet he worked painfully slowly. She could sense the conflict within him of what to do, or whether this was what she wanted at all.

Her hands to began exploring, except she had always been more hasty than Squall, and as he was still contemplating her dress zipper, she had already found and undone all the buckles and buttons of his SeeD dress uniform jacket and hastily threw it somewhere within the piles of stuff that littered Squall's floor. He still had on the standard gray t-shirt that was to be wore underneath, but it was much thinner and as she pressed herself against him, she was finally able to feel those well-toned chest muscles that she had been day dreaming about since she had met him, without the barrier of thick fabric. Unable to wait much longer (hell after a year, any girl would go crazy) Rinoa, all shyness aside, slipped her hands underneath his shirt and literally ripped it off his body, leaving only his griever necklace shining in the twilight. The fabric was poorly stitched and weak so it had been easy enough. Besides, she had always wanted to do that.

If he had noticed, Squall made no sign of it, but just held her more tightly, yet still he made no move with the dress. His kisses only deepened and grew more urgent.

They had long since reached the bedside, and yet, the moment her cold hands touched his bare chest for the first time, he suddenly paused, his kissing stopped abruptly and he pulled away, shaking his head as if talking to himself.

"What is it?" Rinoa asked sheepishly, trying to sound calm, though her voice came out in pants after holding her breath for so long "what's wrong?" She couldn't help but feel a little irritated that not only was he obviously keeping some grueling mental decision to himself, but after so long of planning and waiting for him, he now obviously decided to wait some more.

"I can't do this." He said after a while as he sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands, doing some practical breathing exercises that she had taught him to do when he became distressed. "I.I just can't bring myself to."

At first Rinoa had no idea what he meant, but then her eyes widened in realization. "Oohhh." she exclaimed, kneeling down on the floor in front of him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you.uh.couldn't." *It must be a medical thing* she guessed. That would explain a lot.

"What?" he peered over his hands to look at her, and quickly realized what she meant when seeing her pitying expression. "Oh no! I CAN.that was never an issue with you" he corrected hastily, and she laughed at his discomfort, finding it funny that he was more embarrassed about her mistake then she was.but that only begged the question:

"What is it then?"

Squall shook his head and tried to look everywhere else except in her eyes where he knew her gaze would somehow break him down. So he hurriedly formulated an excuse for his actions (or lack there of) that was ironically more plausible than the truth.

"I.I didn't want it to happen like this I guess. Circumstances are a still little confusing for me now as you may imagine."

"Because of your resignation?" she was trying to be serious about the situation, but it was obvious how suspenseful she was by the way she shuffled from one foot to the other and her eyes couldn't help but constantly flicker to the parts of him that were exposed.

"That of course.and other things." He couldn't help but smile at her. That was one of her many gifts. Every little thing she did, in no matter how depressing a situation, always made him feels as though it was all going to be all right. "You know I love you right?"

Rinoa smiled widely, even though she was a little disheartened that he had pronounced himself 'not yet ready' to bring their relationship to the next level, she had forgotten how passionate a few words were as well. "I know.and I love you too" She lifted her hands to his face and casually ran her fingers through his soft brown hair down to his cheek. Squall caught that hand in his own and placed a soft kiss in her palm, basking in the glory of her touch. He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of utter relaxation that surrounded him when is such close proximity to Rinoa.

He wanted her. Hyne knows how long they had waited. But it was wrong. It would be morally unjust of him to succumb to his desires only a few hours before.

He didn't want to think of what was to happen in so short a time. So, in the hope of gathering the reassurance he needed, Squall made the mistake of chancing a glance at Rinoa. She was beautiful, the most beautiful woman in the entire world in his opinion, and so innocent looking, despite her reddened lips and seductive stare.

*This is wrong* he kept telling himself. Yet the more he looked at her, the more his words seemed irrelevant.

It was wrong, indecent, immoral and downright horrible! He couldn't give in to her. To lust! He wouldn't!

.

*Who am I kidding*

Maybe, giving in to his heart just this once would be okay. This was possibly the last hours they'd have together and, no matter how much he felt like just hiding away in a corner until everything was over with, he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life. These precious last moments should be cherished.

And he then let go of all his 'duties' and 'responsibilities' and the million other reasons he had for walking out right now. He wanted to live. To show her how much she meant to him...before he said goodbye.

Rinoa understood that Squall needed time before they actually moved on to a sexual level, but that didn't stop her from wanting to do more. Slowly, so as not to alarm him by her movements, she rose from the floor and coyly sat next to him, one hand still placed on his cheek and the other positioned cautiously on his thigh, not to scare him off but to reassure him that the option was still there.

How coincidental was it that moment she had given up, Squall unexpectedly, from unknown inspiration, decided to resume their expedition. No sooner had she looked into his eyes that his hungry mouth was on hers again. His hands tangled themselves in her hair as he pulled her closer, leaving no doubt in her mind that there would be no mental block to stop him this time. He moved onto her neck, nipping, biting and tasting her flesh and she gasped at the sensation, yet remained curious as to his change of heart

"Squall.didn't...didn't you want to" she took in a sharp breath when his fingers found the zipper and quickly pulled it down. "Weren't we going to wait?" Not that she minded.his assertiveness, though exciting, was just kinda random considering his hesitation moments ago.

He didn't stop to make a definite response, just continued his slow, exploratory kisses in the new region he had uncovered. Carefully he pushed her into a lying position and silently began removing her dress, leaving a trail of kisses along her collarbone and above the swell of her breasts from her bra. She had practically forgot the question by the time he answered.

"I've just realized." he responded at last, making soft patterns with his fingers around her hips "life's too short." She rolled her eyes from underneath him, but kept a smile on her face.

"And you only realized that now? I've been trying to tell you that for years!"

He laughed heartily (no pun intended) "I know, and as usual you were right. I just always wanted this moment to be perfect you know? Like a fairy tale."

"I don't know what material you read as a child Squall, but I don't recall any fairy tales with a sex scene."

"You know what I mean."

"Like in a beautiful forest with all the cute little animals gathered around watching?" He sighed at her inability to keep things serious at a time like this, even though her giggling at the most inopportune instances was another one of her strange habits that he found fascinating. But he would never admit that, so he simply continued his exasperated glaring. "I'm sorry!" she insisted, wanting him to finish but the image of 'Squall's fairy tale' kept drifting into her mind and it was hard to keep a straight face. "Go on, please."

"The point is." he continued, finding it difficult not to grin himself "It just occurred to me that the 'perfect' circumstance will most likely never materialize. Hell, as you pointed out, there is no 'fairy tale' setting for this. It's only you I need. It is having you, the person I love most in all the world, here in my arms that makes this moment impeccable."

She understood what he meant perfectly. How long ago had they decided that they were ready for this? It seemed ages. And since then she had thought of a hundred scenarios of when and where and they were all beautiful and romantic. Like on a secluded beach somewhere exotic. Or the flower fields near Edea's orphanage where they had made their promise. But, as time passed (A LOT of time in their case) she came to realize that the setting was irrelevant. She loved Squall and he loved her. That was all that mattered in the long run, that they be together as one.

"I want to be with you forever Rinoa." He told her quietly, while tracing the outline of her lips with the pad of his thumb. "I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. Then I met you and I began imagining all sorts of strange things about us."

She giggled at this. Squall so rarely said anything of a romantic nature that she couldn't help but find it amusing every time he brought it up. "Like what?"

He sighed and lay down beside her, resting his head on a propped up elbow. "You'll laugh at me."

"Ug.come on! You can't bring something like that up and then not tell me!" she poked him in a certain spot in the ribs that he had once stupidly let slip was his Achilles' heel, making him cry out in exaggerated pain.

"Ow! Fine fine! Gees you're violent." He lay silent for a while, trying to come up with the words that describe what he has envisioned for them in the future.

"Well." she prodded, her finger hovering threateningly in the air.

"I thought we'd get married someday." He responded instantly.

Rinoa's eyes widened in amused shock, yet a small smile played on her lips. "You? THE Squall Leonhart was actually thinking of getting married?"

"You think that's bad? There's more. I saw a house for us in Winhill with a pet moomba!" he laughed to himself, some inside joke apparently, and she too joined in nervously.

Married to Squall with a pet moomba in Winhill? She was delighted by the very idea of eloping, but she couldn't help but be discouraged when brooding on what the future would hold for her. Pondering the hereafter led to outrageous fantasies of several life long scenarios that she could never truly experience. She had always imagined an existence with a loving husband, and a comfortable home in a small town.filled with children she could never have.

She hoped he didn't notice the way she involuntarily touched her stomach, or the tear that somehow escaped from the corner of her eye. She wiped it away quickly and he gave no hint that he had seen it, but that did nothing to alleviate the pain her infertility caused her. There were other options of course. And it would be a long while indeed she would even begin to consider children, but it was always nice to know that you could bear your own.

Not wanting to ponder a dead end subject that always brought her to the same sickening realization of truth, she turned her attentions back to Squall. It was in moments like these that she felt she needed him the most. When she feared being alone forever because of her abnormality, she was always reassured by being in his presence.

Turning towards him, Rinoa shuffled closer and kissed him fervently, desperately almost, pulling him closer to her, in dire need of reassurance that he was indeed real, and that she would never be completely alone.

"Make love to me." she asked meekly, brushing a few strands of sandy brown hair behind his ear so that she could clearly see his eyes and the pure passion radiated from them. His response was only another heated kiss, clearing her mind of their past and their future and focusing all her energy on now.

She moved away only long enough to kick the rest of her dress to the floor, then pulled him down on top of her, loving the feeling of him pressed against her, his weight like that of a favorite blanket. It wasn't long before the rest of their clothing made contact with the floor. No words needed to be spoken, words would only ruin such a moment.

Yet he didn't enter her yet. He continued kissing and exploring. Going over every inch of her skin with her fingers and his tongue, as if wanting to memorize her body with every sense he possessed.

He touched her with his hands; callused yet soft and gentle.

He tasted her with his tongue; slick and sensual.

He listened to her moans with his ears; recording her pleasure in his memory.

He saw her with his eyes; her beautiful body his for the taking in all its glory.

He smelled her skin and the lingering vanilla perfume she applied before the ball.

But most of all, like a 6th sense, he was aware of her. He felt her presence in his head and his heart. And as she touched him, conducting the same careful experiments as he, the feeling only grew. It was a culmination of all five senses in a mixture of one. It was how he felt about her, and it was amazing. Nothing about this feeling could be impure. Even if they were to be separated, being with her now was right. These strange yet prodigious feelings were right.

Making love to her tonight was right.

"Are you sure?" he asked, the standard question for a couple's first time once they had reached the point where neither of them could wait any longer. Rinoa had already climaxed once during their foreplay and she was close to a second time. He could tell by the way she breathed, or how she didn't breathe in fact. Just took large, gasping gulps of air every 30 seconds or so and she never looked so beautiful. Her entire body shined with sweat and reflected the moonlight coming in through the window, the once elegant up do of curls had un-pinned itself and lay fanned against his pillow, the black strands in deep contrast to the white sheets, and her brown eyes were dark and hooded with passion.

Through her distracted daze, Rinoa somehow got control of herself long enough to nod in response to Squall's question as she took a deep breath and positioned her self more comfortably underneath him, preparing for the familiar pain. Squall knew this wasn't her fist time. She had told him about her relationship with Seifer long before they were even a couple. Back then she had been so young and naïve and figured that sex was the payment a girl had to give in exchange for having such a handsome boyfriend. Not that Seifer had been bad, by all means no. But the whole experience of discovering sensuality could never be fully analyzed unless the partners were deeply in love and could therefore completely focus on each other. Making love, which had once been a chore, was now miraculously an art.an art that she looked forward to practicing with him for the rest of their lives.

Squall leaned his forehead against her, closing his eyes to compose himself as Rinoa kissed him deeply, their tongues dancing feverishly with each other, heads angled perpendicularly for maximum penetration.

He slowly entered her, while keeping their kiss passionate to distract her from any pain she may be feeling. But she felt none. She felt perfect. It was as if they were literally made for each other, like a key and a lock. Before he even started moving she felt him hit certain spots that forced her back to arch and her mouth to hang open in a silent scream.

"Are you okay?" He stuttered, still concerned about her comfort although the sweat beading on his forehead told her in was becoming difficult to just stay still.

"I'm fine" she insisted, her voice throaty and alien in her own ears. "Please, go on." And so he did, at first hesitantly and teasingly slowly in order to both work up a gradual rhythm and to keep calm his paranoia of causing her pain. She felt nothing short of heavenly as his movements gradually pulled her towards something greater, something she had never felt before. With a little encouragement from his lover, Squall picked up the pace. Moving to an unheard beat in his and her head that dictated what they wanted and how they could achieve it together.

It didn't take long for them both to start feeling the pressure, that exotic stress that sped up their heart beats and turned their heavy breathing to desperate pants. Rinoa in particular had trouble keeping quiet. Every once in a while, she would let out a small scream or moan that would echo in the otherwise silent room and as she got closer she only got louder. Luckily, Squall knew that no one else would be on this floor so relatively early after the party started and her noise, proving she was enjoying herself as much as he was, was strangely intoxicating.

He kissed her again, knowing that any second now she would reach her peak, and he wanted to be as close to her as possible when she did. Rinoa wrapped her arms around him and took the chance to feel the hard muscles of his back as they flexed and stiffened with each movement. She began to tremble, her nails dug painfully into his shoulder and he could feel her contract pleasurably around him making him almost loose it.

She pulled away from his mouth in order to fill her lungs with the much- needed gulps of air. Squall let her breathe for a while before, with a few last powerful thrusts, she climaxed with a short scream. The clenching of her inner walls made it impossible for him to hold out any longer, and he too, not five seconds after her, clasped in utter exhaustion as he emptied himself into her.

They remained silent for a few minutes, if only to gather their wits about them and fight off to bitter fatigue threatening to put them too sleep immediately. But not yet, he couldn't give in yet. Relieving her of his weight, Squall moved to the un-occupied side of the bed and pulled her into a gentle hug from behind. She snuggled into his embrace with a contented sigh.

The room was an even greater wreak than before. Their clothes were strewn around the already messy floor, somehow a lamp had been knocked over and lay shattered on the bedside bureau, the sheets were damp with sweat, tangled awkwardly around their bodies and there, in the middle of it, lay Squall and Rinoa, looking as if they had just run a marathon. The scene wasn't exactly something found in a fairy tale.but it was, more or less, perfect.

"I love you Squall." she whispered into the air right before she forced a mighty yawn. She felt him gently kiss her shoulder in response, and then begin to stroke her hair lightly, lulling her into the first truly agreeable sleep she had in ages. In no more than two minutes, completely spent and satisfied, she was snoring lightly.

~*~

He felt her fall asleep before he heard her. The 6th sense still lingered inside and her feelings were duplicated within him. Ever so prudently, he got up from the bed, careful not to cause any bounce or noise that would disturb her. Finding his pants in the dark, he quickly pulled them on, along with a v-neck white t-shirt and a pair of combat boots.

Once dressed, he reached into his pocket and delicately pulled out a blue linen napkin. Meticulously, as if afraid its contents would try to run, he unfolded the thick fabric to reveal a syringe filled with a suspicious yellow liquid. He held it up to the light, pushing to end to make sure it worked and then approached the sleeping girl on the bed.

Nothing had gone on like he had planned tonight. He hadn't meant to give into her like that. Cid was right, it was astonishing how much power she had over him, Squall Leonhart; the man proclaimed worldwide to be immovable and heartless. She could change that. He would do anything if she asked. ANYTHING. And that was the danger.

He had to end it.now.

His hand positioned itself above her exposed shoulder, hovering above it and determining the exact spot where the drug would enter the bloodstream quickly, so that she would be under the influence before she even noticed the prick of the needle. He didn't want her to know it was he that sentenced her to a life in exile. If anyone had to do it, it was better for it to be him, but she couldn't know that. It would break her, and it would kill him.

His hand continued to hover above her shoulder, the point of the syringe steady and mere millimeters from her flesh. All he had to do was press down. Then it would be all over.

Just press down.

It's not so hard.

It's for the good of the world.

Just press down Squall.

DO IT!

His hand began to shake with effort and beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. The opportunity was there. He was seconds away from achieving his goal. And yet, no matter how hard he tried.

He couldn't do it.

He was in no state to even attempt this so soon after they had just shared something so phenomenal. He still loved her after all. So much in fact that it physically hurt him to even think of causing her harm.

He re-folded the linen napkin containing the syringe and roughly shoved it back in his pocket. He needed to think about this. He needed to get away from the confusion that her very presence influenced in his mind. This was too much at once. He shouldn't have slept with her. It was stupid to think that expressing their love physically would make it easier to let go afterwards. It was, if possible, even more difficult now.

Grabbing his lionheart from its case and his leather jacket from a hook, he headed out the door, not daring to look back at his sleeping angel. The training center was the one place he knew that had cured his frustration on several occasions during his life here at Garden, and though he doubted it would solve his dilemma this time around, it would at least distract him until the last possible moment when he would be forced to make a decision.

Sunrise.

~*~

*Author's Notes* Woah, that was weird. This was officially the most difficult chapter to write EVER! Difficult yet fun cause I got to write Squinoa 'fluff' (if fluff is what they call that nowadays). Hehe. Moving onto the thank yous!

Vick330: For being my un-official editor who doesn't hold back when giving me constructive criticism and is willing to tell me if my ideas are stupid! (Which most of them are)

Laguna-chan: for being my psycho yet greatly appreciated long ass review writer. Lol.I don't blame you if you get too tired eventually and start writing two sentences.

Optical Goddess: I love when an author on my favorite's list reviews me. I greatly enjoy you're stories and I hope you FINALY post a new one! I'm dying here!

The Angel of the Lion: As you know, I enjoy getting people's opinions on what I write. And I thank you for that.

Vanessa143: I CRIED IN BRAVE HEART TOO! Lol.so random but it's true. I don't cry in many things strangely but that one really got me going. I guess its cause I'm ¼ Scottish. *shrug*

Anyway, that's about it. Feel free to make fun of me (good humored fun cause I ignore flames, delete them, and harass the writers until they go crazy). Any guesses as to what happened in future chapters? Don't be shy cause I have my straight forward plot finished but I like to incorporate some reader's theories as well. I give you full credit too if I choose your idea. Happy reviewing!