Authors Note: Well here I am with another chapter for you. Thank you for all the reviews so far. I'm running a bit low on ideas for this story at this point so I'm gonna give you guys what you want – some Squinoa! I'm gonna be writing this as I think of it so hopefully it sounds all right.

I can't remember if Deling has a beach in FF8 cos I haven't played the game for a while, but for my story I will be adding one so there. :P Ok, now on with the story…

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the FF characters or any other aspect of the game.

Chapter 4 – Away from it all

Squall closed the door as he entered his hotel room. It was obvious to him that room service had been in since he had left, as the bed had now been made and the curtains opened, allowing Squall to look out the balcony window at the morning view of Deling City.

Although it was almost 11 the sky was still streaked with a red aura that made Deling shine with a captivating exterior. Squall admired the view momentarily before allowing himself to collapse on to the bed.

Squall was beginning to bore his mission. It had been four days since the operation with Irvine, and since then he had no contact with Rinoa or Irvine. Squall wondered to himself if he had done something to cause this situation, maybe Irvine had drawn suspicious to him.

Squall stared at the ceiling tiles on the roof of his room. This was quickly becoming a prison to him as he felt himself spending almost all his time here, apart from his un-momentous departures to either find somewhere to eat or just to walk around Deling City to escape the hotel room.

The day after the operation had been the most substantial of the last four days. Squall had travelled to Quistis' apartment where the two had pieced together his cover story. They had created a history that spanned his entire life – where he was born, his first school, every tiny detail of his life. Squall always used his real name in missions, as this often could be safer than using a fake name and being caught out by it, although now all records of the real Squall Leonhart no longer existed. Squall was a shadow in this world that could become anyone he needed to be.

Squall lay on the bed, his eyes pulling together as the lazy day continued. Just as Squall was drifting to sleep, a knock on the door pulled him back to the conscious world. Squall quickly sat up, rubbing his eyes as he walked towards the door. He pulled it open, expecting a maid to be stood there, and stopped surprised when he saw who it was.

"Rinoa," Squall said, the surprise making him state her name. Rinoa was wearing black trousers and a sky blue T-shirt. Squall looked at her face, her usual happy face had been replaced by something different. Rinoas eyes were slightly puffy, the remains of earlier tears leaving their trace on her face. Rinoa forced a smile to her face as Squall observed her.

"Hi," Rinoa said meekly, her hand brushing some hair behind her ear.

"Hi," Squall replied unsure of how to answer as he looked at Rinoas eyes. "How are you?"

Rinoa nodded plainly. "I'm okay. Can you get me away from here for a while?"

Squall nodded, he was curious what had upset Rinoa but decided not to ask about it unless she brought the subject up. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere, just away from here." Rinoa answered, clasping her hands together as if she was begging.

"We could take my car to Deling Beach," Squall suggested.

"Okay," Rinoa agreed. "The beach could cheer me up."

~*~*~*~*~

Squall sat in the car, his hands resting on the wheel as he drove the car along the road. Rinoa sat alongside him, her head resting on the side window of the car. The vehicle was silent between the two passengers, the only sounds being the small melodies released from the car stereo. Squall had wanted to talk to Rinoa, her unrest made him anxious, although he knew that pressurising her was the last thing she needed. 'She'll talk when she feels ready' Squall thought to himself.

The two were now far from the centre of Deling City. Deling Beach was about 20 miles from the centre of the city, the surroundings had now opened up; all buildings and civilisation had disappeared, except for the few motorists that travelled the road alongside Squall and Rinoa.

Squall and Rinoa had almost completed the journey, in the horizon the view of the sea swept before them. Rinoa pulled herself up from her previous position so that she could begin to admire the ocean.

"I love the sea," Rinoa said breaking the silence. "It's so endless, it makes you realise that no matter what you can be free from everything and do whatever you want."

Squall didn't consider himself a philosopher but he understood what Rinoa was saying. Squall turned the car into a car park and quickly parked up. "Let's go to the endless freedom then." Squall said with a smile, getting out the car.

Rinoa smiled, almost forgetting her problems. "Don't make fun of me."

Squall looked around. Here was so peaceful, a heavy contrast against the city that loomed in the distant from where they had just come from. The tall buildings, the large crowds of people; here it was replaced with a few small shops, the owners trying to convince passing groups of people to buy something. Squall quickly realised that Rinoa had disappeared; he looked around worried but found her walking along a path towards the beach.

"Rinoa!" Squall shouted as he began to run after her.

Rinoa turned around, her hair blowing around her in the cool sea wind. She stopped and waited for Squall to catch up, as he came near she let out a small laugh.

"What?" Squall questioned.

"Nothing," Rinoa replied, waving away his question.

"Tell me what?" Squall said, running in front of Rinoa.

"It doesn't matter," Rinoa smiled, enjoying teasing Squall.

"Tell me." Squall said once again, his voice sounding like an order.

Rinoa decided to tell him. "You run funny," Rinoa said laughing. Squall's face reddened slightly with embarrassment. He observed Rinoa carefully; her innocence overwhelmed him, yet he was here because she was a master criminal. "Thanks a lot," Squall replied.

Rinoa smiled then grabbed Squall's hand. "Come on, let's get to the beach," she said dragging him along the path.

The two arrived at the beach, Rinoa still dragging Squall along behind her. Several people were scattered across the beach, the weather was cooler than most liked so the beach was emptier than usual. At the waters edge several children were playing, daring each other to go further into the chilly water.

"Do you wanna come in the sea with me?" Rinoa asked.

Squall shook his head. "The water's too cold for me."

"It's never too cold, you're just boring" Rinoa argued trying to tempt him to come with her.

"Well I'll be boring over here then," Squall replied.

"Spoilsport," Rinoa placed her hands on her hips. "But you're not going to stop me."

Rinoa pulled off her shoes and began to jog towards the sea. She turned back to Squall. "Bye spoilsport!" she shouted.

Squall waved back, a smile appeared on his face as he watched Rinoa jogging to the ocean.

"You've got a good one there," a voice said from behind him.

Squall span around to see an old man. The old man rested on his stick as he stood beside Squall. "What?" Squall asked.

"Your girlfriend, she's a good one. Don't let her go," the man said giving his advice.

Squall was about to tell him Rinoa wasn't his girlfriend but the man spoke again.

"If you love someone you should never let them go, no matter what happens. That's why me and my wife stayed together for so long."

Squall accepted this mans comments with a nod of the head. But this was just a job, a lie, none of this was real, yet Squall found himself looking into the distance, his eyes following Rinoa wherever she went, his heart telling him that maybe he felt more than he would accept.

The old man continued. "I nearly didn't marry my wife, but my life would never have been the same without her. You never know how much someone means to you until they are gone, you should remember that. Now, even though my wife has died we will remain together forever," the old man said with a sad sigh. He turned to Squall. "Don't let anything stop you from being with the one you love, otherwise you'll wake up alone one day and it'll be too late."

Squall remained looking at Rinoa during this. He knew he felt something for her, but this was an impossible situation. If she was the one then he would be the one waking up alone. Squall dismissed these thoughts, his head blocking his heart, he hadn't known her long enough for this to be love, if it was anything it was just an infatuation. Squall turned back to where the old man was standing, but found that he was already walking away, his remains of white hair swept back in the wind.

Squall watched the elderly man wander into the distant, when he felt someone grab him from behind. Instinctively, he spun his attacker round and threw them to the ground. He looked down to see it was Rinoa.

"Ow, you play rough," Rinoa said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry," Squall replied offering his hand. Rinoa took it but tugged him down to the sandy beach as well.

"Who were you talking to?" Rinoa asked.

"I don't know," Squall answered.

"Well, what did he want then?"

"Nothing really," Squall replied.

Rinoa looked at him confused. "So someone you don't know talked to you about nothing?"

"Yes." Squall answered, making Rinoa laugh.

"You're not a good liar," Rinoa said smiling, as she did she looked into his ethereal eyes. She found herself absorbed by these eyes and without control she found herself moving closer to Squall. "Thanks for today Squall."

Squall smiled. "You never told me what was wrong today."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I don't know if it's the beach or you but I feel so much better now."

Squall was surprised by that comment. He felt himself looking into Rinoa's eyes, the sea whooshing in against the beach, the evening darkness creeping in. He was a puppet to the Gods; he had no power over his decisions. His arm crept up Rinoa's back as he rested his hand on the back of her head. Gently, his face moved closer to hers until there were but a few millimetres between them. Squall could feel Rinoa's breath against his face. He closed his eyes as their lips connected, and he began to kiss her gently. Rinoa could no longer resist temptation either and felt herself give in as she began to kiss him back…

~*~*~*~*~

Authors Note: Phew, at last I got it written. I don't know how good that was; this was my first ever Squinoa scene and I wrote it without any planning. There were some cliché scenes in this chapter, so sorry about those as well. Anyway please review and tell me what you think.

This might be my last update for a while as I've got exams coming up soon. I'll try to get 1 more chapter up soon but if not you might have to wait until end of June before an update! Sorry!