BROKEN WINGS
A FFVIII Fan Fiction
EPILOGUE
He hasn't heard from her in six months. She'd promised to call, to write, but each day when he checks the mail, there was not a single letter or post card from her. Each time the phone rings, he hopes it will be her, but it never is. Disappointing. Depressing. He finds it hard to believe that she doesn't care anymore and he feels abandoned by her. He's torn between loving her and hating her.

Presently, he sits in a bar somewhere in Deling City, lamenting her abscense from his life. So many questions and no answers to any of them. He tries to chase away her image with whiskey and cigarettes. He tries to excorcize her from his heart by bedding other women. These things make her go away for a while, but inevitably, her ghost comes back to haunt him.

"Why so glum?" the bartender asks when she refills his glass.

"Why not?" he replies.

The girl eyes him seriously for a moment then shakes her head sadly. "You look like you've lost your best friend."

"You could say that," he replies.

"Feel like talking about it?"

"No."

"You sure? You really look like you need somebody to unload on. Might as well be me. I've heard it all."

Despite himself, he begins to talk. He tells her the whole story, from beginning to end. When he finishes, the bartender is sympathetic. She takes him to her apartment after the bar closes and tries her best to comfort him. When he has his way with her, he imagines that she's someone else.

If he can't make Rinoa go away, at least he can pretend for a little while.

*********
As the sailboat cuts a slick path across the sea, the air tastes salty and the gulls dive and circle above. They are going nowhere, only out to sea where they will only have one another to keep company with. For the first time in months, she feels the calm that she's been seeking. It's a surprise that she can leave everyone and everything behind without regret, but at present, she only regrets not doing this sooner. She needs time to sort things out, time to regroup. Dealing with what she's done has been hard and at Garden, there would have been no space for her to come to terms with herself. They would have hovered around her, constantly questioned her as they had following the incident. Far better to deal with it on her own out here on the open seas with the wind in her hair and the sun on her face.

She places her hand on her swollen stomach and smiles. It won't be long now. Arden will be born in less than a month and she's excited to finally meet him. He speaks to her when she's alone. Already, she knows he's special and she's glad that he will come into the world soon.

"JIB!!!" her companion cries, and she ducks in time to avoid the boom, which might have swept her overboard if she were less experienced a sailor. There's a rippling sound as the sail fills with the wind that pushes the ship along on it's steady course.

"Give me a little more warning next time, will you?" she calls out to her companion.

"Sorry, babe," he says as he approaches and gently caresses her belly. "Hey, kid," he tells the bulge and bends down to give it a kiss. "Did you know your mother's the most beautiful woman in the world?"

"Don't lie to the kid," she says, and teases his lips with her fingers. He rests his cheek against her stomach and closes his eyes for a moment, a peaceful smile on his lips. He's changed as much as she has, and she's filled with a quiet sense of belonging and love as his eyes peer up at her. When he stands, his arm encircles her waist and he draws her close.

"So where are we going this time?"

"Does it matter?" she asks.

"Not as long as I'm with you."

She blushes and takes his hand in hers. Their eyes meet, and she's certain she made the right decision. They belong together, the hell with the rest of the world.

"Maybe one day we can go back to Balamb, after the baby's born," he suggests.

"No," she says and stares out at the saphire colored ocean ahead of them. "Let's just sail for the rest of our lives."


*****Fini*****



Stay tuned for the sequel, "Oceans Apart." If you haven't read what's already up, be warned, it's a different kind of story.....

Thanks for reading, and thank you for reviewing.