Yuki: Yeahyeah! *does a little victory dance* I'm finally done with the mushy part of the story. Phew! I swear the last chapter was the longest I had to work on. The next mushy part is in say, 4 more chapters? Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Not much going on but if you REALLY read then you might just figure out what's going to happen next.

Toodles.

4: Leave Me Here

"No."

Quistis looked at Squall with dismay. The reply that came from Rinoa's mouth was exactly as they had expected. They'd been persuading her to follow them to Balamb but Rinoa just flat out refused them. And she can be as stubborn as a mule when she wanted to.

"Look, our job is not to ask for your agreement or whatever but just to escort you to Balamb. Seifer will be waiting for you there." Squall said as patiently as he could.

"Why can't he come himself? Not only did he forget my birthday, at least he can be gentleman enough to ask my hand in marriage himself." Rinoa said, hurt. She gazed into her wine glass sadly. "I was counting on him…"

"Rinoa, you know how his father is. He's a control freak. Everything must be done according to his own rules." Quistis didn't mean to sound bitter but somehow, it sounded like she was.

Rinoa jutted out her chin stubbornly. "Seifer? Abide by rules? Much less his father's! Whatever happened to having his own mind? I thought he was smarter than that. I thought I was important."

"You are important." Quistis chided gently. "That's why he had to listen to his father. He didn't want to jeopardize what chance you two have to be together."

She sometimes worried about those two. They're both stubborn and rebellious. Quistis always thought that Rinoa should settle down with someone more sensible, someone who could calm her restless spirit. Someone to be her anchor.

But Seifer seemed to change ever since the Ultimecia incident. He seemed to have matured considerably.

Well, enough to diminish Quistis' worry about his and Rinoa's future.

Ugh, why am I still mothering them anyway? I sounded like a fussy old woman.

"Rinoa, listen to me. Seifer loves you very much. He only listens to his father because he wants his father's approval of you. He only wants your relationship to work." Quistis said gently.

"Yeah, Rin. I've never seen him so whipped!" Selphie teased.

Rinoa smiled slightly. "You think so?"

Quistis pretended to grimace. "If there's one good thing about Seifer, it's having enough sense not to let you slip away."

"Quisty!" Rinoa exclaimed, grinning so hugely that the servant who was cleaning up the table shook his head at her. "Seifer has lots of good qualities! You as his Instructor should know!"

What Instructor?

"So I gather we've reached an agreement?" Squall asked coolly.

Rinoa nodded happily. "Oh, we have! Let's leave early tomorrow morning."

Quistis sighed with relief. Well, that's one thing settled. She stood up and was surprised to feel Squall's hand on her back. She looked up at him in confusion.

"Come on, Quistis. I'll walk you to your room." He said, to everyone's astonishment. Squall Leonhart…being uncharacteristically gallant…

Before anyone could utter another syllable, he pushed her gently towards the stairway and up to the second floor west wing of the Caraway mansion. Quistis glanced over shoulder and saw Rinoa smirking at her and Selphie giving her a thumbs-up sign.

She groaned.

"What?" asked Squall.

"I am never going to hear the end of this from those two!" she muttered, covering one gloved hand over her face.

A faint smile lit up Squall's pale face. He glanced down and she could've sworn she saw his eyes laughing at her. Then he stopped in the middle of the corridor and frowned.

"So which one is your room?" he asked, staring down the long corridor.

Quistis laughed. She pointed to the room she once occupied when she visited Rinoa a few months ago. "That one, I think. Don't worry. It's all the same guest rooms so I don't think it matters anyway."

Her companion nodded absently. He seemed not to have heard her. He was staring at her with what she assumed was concern.

"Quis, you look like you're about to collapse. It's been exactly eighteen hours since you last slept and I'm sure you're very exhausted."

She smiled faintly at him. "Didn't know you kept such close count. What, have you been observing me every single minute of the day?" she resisted the urge to reach out to massage her throbbing temple. She didn't want to get him more worried than he already was.

Instead, she stood on tiptoes and gave him a light kiss on the mouth. "You get a good night's sleep too, okay? Don't think too much of this Sorceress of the Future business. We don't even know how true his story is anyway."

Squall looked thoughtfully at her for a moment longer before finally turning away. As she watched his retreating back, she suddenly felt an irrational fear that she would never see that figure again—as if this would be the last time she would ever see him again.

Without realizing it, she called out his name.

He turned.

"Squall, I…" she suddenly felt foolish. "Um…I just wanted to say…uh…can I see your ring?"

Lame cover.

Well, she did like it very much. Besides, she wanted to have something of him that can remind her of that night. To assure her that what had happened between them wasn't just another one of her dreams.

"Um, well, you know, I mean, I've always admired it but never got the courage to ask to have a closer look. But now that we, um, you know, I just thought…I 'd ask." She finished her stammer of explanation lamely.

To her surprise, he said, "Sure." And gave her Griever without a moment's hesitation.

She stared at the intricately carved silver band uncertainly. "But…I thought this is your favourite ring."

"Do you want it or not?" he asked in annoyance. She grinned happily. Reaching out, she gave him a tight hug.

"Thanks, Squall. Can I keep it for a while?"

He shrugged at her in a way that made Quistis smirk at him. "G'night, Commander." She teased and laughingly escaped to the guest room, before he could change his mind.

Once inside, she examined the ring Squall had given her. She tried slipping it into her ring finger but the ring was too big. She tried all her other fingers as well but still it won't fit. Quistis bit her lip, searching for another alternative. She didn't want to just leave it somewhere inside a cheap jewellery box. She wanted to feel the ring against her skin, as an assurance that what happened that night was real.

She then remembered the platinum chain around her neck. On it hung a miniature SeeD badge—a birthday gift from one of her Trepies. She removed the pendant and replaced it with the ring. Posing in front of the mirror, she couldn't help smiling at herself. Despite the pale complexion—a result of lack of sleep—her eyes were bright with happiness.

This is the image of the girl who finally had her dream come true.

With her small hand firmly clutching his ring, she finally drifted off to sleep.

~@~~@~~@~

A loud knock on the door jerked Quistis awake. She glanced around the alien room and took a few seconds to get oriented.

Right. She was in one of the guest rooms in the Caraway mansion. There was the feeling of cool metal against her chest.

Squall's Griever.

Almost immediately, the memory of the previous night rushed in. She was filled with a warm glow as she remembered the kiss they'd shared. Short, sweet, but definitely everything she had dreamt of.

Dreams…she had a weird dream last night. But try as she might, she couldn't recall any of it. But she had an intense feeling that it was important. If only she could remember…

Someone was still knocking on her door. Okay, pounding might be a more suitable word. It was most probably Selphie, judging by the impatient bangs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Quistis grumbled and slipped out of the queen-sized bed. She had slept with the clothes she wore last night—a habit she acquired after earning her SeeD badge. She found it very useful especially when the enemy ambushed them while they were sleeping.

"Quistis!" Selphie shrieked as soon as the door was opened.

"What's wrong?" Quistis asked as she took in Selphie's nervous expression.

"Seifer! He's here! Here, in this mansion! He wants to see Rinoa." Selphie exclaimed.

"So? Let him see her."

"B-but, Rinoa's gone! She's disappeared overnight! I've been running all over trying to find her but she's not to be found anywhere! What should we do?"

"Gone? Gone where? Have you told Squall?"

"No. I can't find him either!"

Squall's gone too?

One part of her mind was worried that something had happened to the two of them while the other part was feeding her with images of Squall and Rinoa together and she felt a stabbing jealousy inside her.

Don't be stupid, Quistis! This is hardly the time for such thoughts! You need to figure out what happened! The cool reasonable voice told her.

What happened is that they have both run away together. Came the cruel reply.

And to figure out what to do next!

Find them, duh! And separately too, hopefully.

"Quistis?"

Her head snapped up. Selphie was still staring at her, waiting for her order. Pushing away the two contradicting voices, she quickly assessed the situation, trying to make a decision.

"Well, we must tell Seifer first. Then we'll have to head back to Garden to report this immediately." She said.

Selphie bit her lower lip. "I'm not going to go tell Seifer that his fiancée just ran away with someone else."

"She's not running away with Squall. Something must've happened!" Quistis snapped.

Selphie's eyes widened with surprise. "Ah. Okay." She said timidly.

Quistis was about to turn back into her room to wash her face when she heard an all-too-familiar drawl.

"So this is where you've been hiding, Instructor." Seifer said, leaning on a wall with a sneer plastered on his face. He gave her a once over and smirked at her unkempt hair and wrinkly clothes. "And by the looks of it, I gather you haven't had your coffee yet?"

Quistis put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Seifer. I didn't expect you here."

"Obviously. But let's skip the usual pleasantries and just get to the point, shall we? Why don't you tell me where you've hidden her?"

Selphie squeaked nervously and tried hiding behind Quistis as Seifer walked over to them. Quistis crossed her arms and glared at him. "Hidden her? Excuse me? Why would I want to hide her? Besides, I was told of their disappearance just now and I don't know the reason either."

"Their disappearance'?" Seifer's eyes narrowed suspiciously at them. "What do you mean 'their disappearance'?"

Quistis froze. Me and my big fat mouth. She could've hit herself for that slip.

She met his cold emerald eyes boldly, showing him that she wasn't afraid of him. "Squall has disappeared too."

"What?? She's with Commander Puberty?? What the HELL is going on, Instructor? Your mission is quite clear! You just have to escort her to Balamb! Or is it that your commander is too stupid to even understand such a simple order?"

"That's enough, Seifer. What's the use of yelling when they're already gone to Hyne only knows where. I think it's best that we go back to Garden to report this. Besides, for all we know, they could already be there." Although I have a sinking feeling that they're not. Quistis added silently.

"Who are you to order me around, Instructor? Hyne, you're not even my Instructor anymore!"

"Then stop calling me that!" she snapped. Selphie jumped and Seifer's eyes flashed angrily. Quistis glared back and said, "Look, even if I'm not your Instructor, I'm still a SeeD and you're a cadet. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to listen to me."

"Right. Keep dreaming." He muttered and walked away, Hyperion swinging by his side.

"I think we're in deep trouble now, Quisty." Selphie said.

"Right. Tell me something I don't know." Quistis replied grimly.

~@~~@~~@~

"Squall, hurry!" Rinoa called out excitedly. She waved at him and continued running towards Timber, her hair flying behind her.

Squall grumbled to himself and followed suit, wondering how he got himself into this situation.

*~*~*~*

He was out for a walk late that night and he saw Rinoa sneaking out of the mansion. At first, he only wanted to know where she was going so he followed her. But she had hotwired a car off the street and was about to drive off when Squall suddenly caught on and jumped into the convertible.

She looked surprised for about a millisecond. Then she grinned crazily at him and stepped on the pedal—hard.

They screeched off and by then, there was nothing he could do to convince her to turn back. She was determined to go to Timber—and not even a Ruby Dragon can stop her when Rinoa Heartilly is determined to do something.

They ran out of fuel halfway to Timber and had to walk the rest of the way. Of course, it would've been easier if they'd taken the train but which train operated at five in the morning?

~*~*~*~*

"Come on, Squall! The Forest Owls Headquarter is right this way!" Rinoa led him to a what seemed to be an abandoned train and knocked three times.

A guy wearing a yellow windbreaker opened the door cautiously and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Princess! Is that you, sir?"

"Yes, Watts! It's me!" Rinoa squealed and threw her arms around him. They broke apart and—arms still on each other's shoulders—jumped up and down.

For Hyne's sakes, thought Squall exasperatedly.

"Who is it, Watts?" someone called out from the interior part of the train.

"It's the Princess, sir! The Princess has come back!"

A few seconds later, another guy stepped out. He did a double take and a broad grin spread over his face. "Princess!"

"Zone! I've missed you!" More hugs and squeals.

"Is there some kind of a celebration here?" came a female voice. Everyone turned to see a young woman emerge from the train. Squall was probably the most shocked to discover who she was.

"Ellone? What in the--!"

Ellone blushed when she saw him. "Oh, Squall. Hello."

"Hello? Hello?? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Laguna!"

"She came here to visit us, sir. Arrived from Esthar yesterday she did, sir." Watts said helpfully.

"I just wanted to thank the Forest Owl for helping the children at the Orphanage escape from Ultimecia." Ellone explained. She gave a fleeting glance to Zone and a small smile played on her lips.

Squall didn't miss this exchange. He put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes in exasperation. Of all the—

"Isn't this great? Now that we're all gathered together, let's have a party! Since none of you attended my birthday party, I'm bringing the party to you!"

"Hey, that's right! Happy birthday, Princess! Sorry we forgot." Zone slapped his forehead. "Let's celebrate at the bar!"

As Rinoa dragged him along, Squall couldn't help thinking how Quistis and Selphie are going to react to their disappearance. They're bound to wonder where he went. If only there was some way for him to get in touch with them…

"Is something wrong, Squall?" Rinoa asked.

"We'd better head straight to Balamb after this." He warned. "Hyne only knows how many rules I've broken and what sort of punishment I'm in for after this."

Rolling her eyes at him, Rinoa said, "Okay, Squall. Whatever you say!"

Yuki: well? Comments? Criticism? Feel free to email me. Or if that's TOO much of an effort, then just review. Next chapter, the Sorceress makes an appearance! And…Squall's arrested? Heehee.

Till then, ta-ta!