Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to the almighty Squaresoft
Chapter 1 Plan of Action
Squall paced the large room in which he now worked, awaiting the arrival of the retired headmaster of Balamb Garden. His footsteps echoed on the marble floor, while his many belts chinked together. He knew perfectly well that the balding man would be of no help to him, but asked for his counsel anyway.
Rinoa walked into the spacious office and cleared her throat to get Squall's attention. "Eh-hem."
Squall looked up quickly and angrily to see who had interrupted his concentration, but his expression softened as he saw Rinoa at the door. "Um, Cid has arrived, if you're ready."
Squall took a long sip of the strong black coffee that filled his mug. He was extremely tired, which was actually quite normal for him, and had gotten a slight caffeine addiction. The young man looked up at the raven- haired girl at the door and said, "Send him in," knowing that Cid would probably frustrate him more than help him.
Cid walked into the office, which he had known so well in his earlier years. His gaze traveled over the pictures on the walls, from previous headmasters to pictures of the cities and towns of their world, Gaea. Squall greeted the man with a formal salute and offered him a chair. Cid looked at Squall sternly, as he always did, and took the proffered chair.
"Mr. Leonhart, I trust that all has been well at the Garden since my retirement?"
'Yeah,' thought the now eighteen year-old. 'More like since your abandonment.'
Squall sat down in his leather armchair behind his desk and flipped searchingly through his papers, even though he knew exactly what he wanted to ask the man about.
"Well, I assume you know the situation between SeeD and Esthar at the moment." Squall began.
Cid looked at Squall and, with a curt nod, replied, "Yes, I am familiar with the situation."
Squall proceeded, "Well, then you know that SeeD has been accused by the Esthar government.
"Officials of Esthar claim that the SeeD organization is corrupt and is no longer of any use to the people of Gaea," Squall recited. "Esthar is beginning to turn away any SeeD who comes to the city. In one incident, an Esthar soldier and an out of line SeeD had a violent confrontation, in which the soldier was killed and the SeeD member arrested by the Esthar government, who refuses to release him. We have tried to bargain, but to no avail."
Squall looked up from the worn document that described the situation, making sure that the silent man was still alive. "The most recent development has been a threat to our own Garden, directed towards us by President Loire himself. We have." Squall began, though he was cut off mid- sentence.
"Loire, but he has supported you and the Garden whole-heartedly," he stated, surprised. Squall looked up, angry that he had been interrupted. "Will you let me finish please?" he asked with mock courtesy.
"Continue," said Cid in his usual commandeering voice. "I just thought that it was odd that your own fath-," "Enough," breathed Squall, trying not to get too angry with the man.
'All he does is state the obvious, huh?' Squall thought. 'Of course it is a little odd. The bumbling fool had sought to rekindle our father-son relationship, but has directed a threat to me personally.'
"I will continue. The threat was against myself, an ultimatum. I had to either turn over the sorceress or suffer the consequences of an attack." Squall looked up. "Any thoughts?" he added.
Cid stared at Squall for long moments. "Well, what have you chosen to do?" he asked seriously.
Squall's frustration and anger increased. "I'll give you three guesses of what I decided," he said with bitter sarcasm.
Cid, looking grave, said "Well, I suppose you plan to protect the girl, very chivalric, but I believe a better choice for the Garden's sake would be to." he trailed off.
Angrily, Squall smashed a button on his phone. "Please arrange a vehicle for Mr. Kramer. He will be leaving," he said to the administrative office. After receiving a concerned reply from Rinoa, he viciously got up from his chair and tore Cid's coat from the rack.
"Squall, listen to me," Cid reasoned. "Rinoa is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She is a sorceress, unbelievable abilities, and is a very strong person. I don't know if Balamb Garden can defend against Esthar, especially if they pick up allies."
"Good-bye," Squall said bluntly and unemotionally to Cid, who looked down and shook his head upon leaving. Slamming the door shut, the brunette went to his desk and looked through his notes. His eyes stopped on the threat letter.
Squall: Turn over the Sorceress to the Esthar government and the Garden shall be spared. Think rationally, son. Do not be a fool!
~Loire
The letter disgusted Squall. It made the situation seem as if Laguna was a parent scolding a misbehaving child. He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in deep thought.
He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and at the moment, his exhaustion outweighed his rage. Rinoa opened the door quietly and stepped inside. Squall looked up unhappily, forcing his eyes open, having been on the verge of sleep.
"Hi grumpy," she said as she walked in and sat in the chair previously occupied Cid.
"Rough time?" she asked tentatively after a few minutes, afraid of setting off his temper.
"Hmm," Squall grunted. Rinoa smiled. "Come here," she beckoned to him with her finger, her chocolate eyes sparkling.
"Make me," Squall yawned. He eventually got up reluctantly and went to where Rinoa was standing. "You are going to bed mister.you look so tired." She said as her hand brushed his cheek, pushing aside locks of dark chestnut hair. He bent down and kissed her softly on her lips. "There, now can I go to bed?" he whispered as she led him out of his office and down to the dorm area, him nodding off all the way.
Outside of his room Squall stopped Rinoa and forced a smile. "Thanks for escorting me to my room, I don't think I could have done it myself."
"I'll see you in a bit," she said, ignoring his sarcastic remark. He smiled and walked into his dorm.
Rinoa walked into her room and lied down in her small bed. 'I wonder why Squall has been so.weird around me lately. He keeps acting like his old self. Maybe its because of the problem with Esthar,' Rinoa worried. 'What is going on!'
The next day at lunch, Squall sat by Irvine and Zell. As much as they annoyed him, he always seemed to come back and hang around them. Though he wouldn't admit it, even to himself, Squall enjoyed their company.
"I am so hungry!" announced Zell, as he attacked his hot dog. Irvine looked at Zell, at his own hot dog, and back to Zell. He put his hands around his hot dog protectively. "Hey, ya gonna eat that?" asked Zell as he grabbed Squall's hot dog. Squall got his hands out of the way as well, afraid that Zell might eat them, too, in his haste.
"Uh-oh," said Irvine as he looked over at where the girls were sitting at the other side of the cafeteria. "They're talking about us." Irvine kept waving at Selphie, who enthusiastically returned his sweet gesture by blowing him kisses. Irvine pretended to catch them, moving some to his mouth and pocketing others. 'What a sap,' Squall thought as he gazed over at where Irvine was looking.
It was true, and they were making no secret about it. Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis were all hunched over their table, glancing in the direction of the men every few minutes. Rinoa looked concerned, and Squall wondered if she was talking about him. He shrugged, pretending not to care. 'I have other problems,' he thought as he got up and made his way to the trashcan.
"I'm just so worried about him," Rinoa said to Selphie and Quistis. "He hasn't been sleeping well, and he seems so cold and unhappy." "Uhh, excuse me, but, have you met Squall, that is how he acts all the time," Selphie said lightly, poking at her salad with her fork. "Well, he did seem to be getting more friendly, but just when this Esthar thing picked up." added Quistis, who looked down at her tray of raw vegetables in disgust. "Uggh, forget eating healthy," she said as she stood up. "Do you guys want some hot dogs?"
Squall planned to attack Esthar before they could attack the Garden. "Might as well not delay the inevitable," he had said. As he had explained to Instructors, they would attack during the afternoon, and only ambush the presidential palace. Otherwise, they were to move through the city undercover, all attacking at the same time three days after getting into Esthar. Besides this ground unit, another unit, the air unit, would fly in through the Ragnarok. The more experienced SeeDs would be the Ground unit, and the younger ones would be the Air unit. They had to start soon.
After explaining the rough plan to the instructors, who would each be leaders of junior classmen defensive groups, Squall made the announcement to the Garden. All junior classmen were to stay in the Garden and train to hold up a proper defense, along with a few SeeDs.
Squall sat in his office, trying to think of what the casualties might be, when Rinoa walked in. "Geez.you've been busy," she said, looking at the stacks of papers that littered his desk. Squall looked at the papers without interest, still deep in thought about the estimated casualties.
"Squall.why are you attacking Esthar?" Rinoa questioned, wondering if he was sensitive about the question, "I know he was going against SeeD, but..."
"He brought this on himself," stated Squall, matter-of-factly. "The threat was." Squall stopped, not wanting Rinoa to know about what was in the letter.
Rinoa stood still and searched Squall's exhausted face for answers. "There was a threat?" inquired Rinoa. "What does he want?"
Squall's gaze traveled to Rinoa's questioning eyes, which were begging the question, 'why didn't you tell me'. She then realized that the only reason he wouldn't tell her was if it had something to do with her. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the worn paper that the tormenting message was written on.
Rinoa took the letter from Squall. "You'll understand why I didn't announce this to the Garden," Squall explained. She looked at the paper's smooth surface, and began to read.
After she finished reading, Rinoa looked up at Squall's downcast face. "What does he want with me?" she wondered out loud. Ever since she had gotten her sorceress powers, she had done her best to not let them interfere with her life. 'Maybe that wasn't the best thing to do,' she thought, 'but I never wanted them cause something this drastic to occur, not after I was nearly sealed. Well, again they are becoming a problem!' she thought angrily.
"I have to stop this," Rinoa said as Squall stood up and began to lead her out the door. "Why did you hide this from me!" she turned on Squall. He looked up, startled that she was angry at him.
"I was trying to protect you. I didn't want you to go off and turn yourself in to the Esthar government." Squall looked down, embarrassed to show an emotion besides anger and gloom.
"Well," she countered, "what if I could have stopped the war from occurring. You might not lose any SeeD! What is one life versus the lives of hundreds of SeeDs?!" she practically screamed, the anger of the past few days welling up inside of her. She showed no concern over her own safety, which disturbed Squall
"That one life is your life!" Squall yelled. "I couldn't even think." Squall stopped, realizing he was letting his passion control his actions, one thing he had been taught never to do.
"Anyways," he continued, more sensibly, "the reason he wants you is because you are a sorceress, which means he wants to use your power in some way. As SeeD, I cannot allow that to occur."
Rinoa was shocked at his sudden change of character. First, he was so passionate, then, he was like a machine. Well, he wasn't too emotional, but more than he usually was "Okay." she replied weakly. She began walking away, but turned around and stared at him.
"I thought that you had changed," she stated ruefully. "I suppose you can't be helped, can you, Squall? Always hiding your emotions. You are impossible!" At her last statement, she growled in frustration and buried her head in her hands.
Squall looked at her bitterly. "Well, maybe I'm not who you thought I was."
Rinoa looked at Squall in desperation, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "I just want you to be truthful with me, to tell me how you feel and not snap at me when I ask about your day and trust me and smile.
Squall felt far too helpless to be comfortable. "You're treating me like a child," he said gloomily and began to walk out into the deserted hall outside of his office. Through the halls massive windows, the large moon was visible in the otherwise dark hall. Rinoa ran to catch up with Squall, pulling his shoulder and twisting him around to face her. She held his arms and forced him to face her by pushing him against one of the strong windows with surprising strength.
The pale moonlight reflected off of her wet face, making her look like a sorrowful angel with her black hair contrasting her white face.
"Please, why do you torture me when all I want is your love?" pleaded Rinoa. Being pinned against the wall, Squall had little choice but to come up with an explanation.
"Rinoa." he murmured with a complete loss of words, his tongue feeling like a lead weight in his mouth.
At that moment there was an unspoken understanding between the young lovers. The trust they had in each other had wavered, but returned as strongly as ever. Squall didn't have to explain his insecurities to Rinoa, she knew. And Rinoa didn't have to explain her frustration with his lack emotion, because he knew as well.
Rinoa smiled a small smile and kissed Squall softly and passionately. Squall kissed back with a little more hunger and put his arms around her lower back. Rinoa moved her hands up his chest and around his neck, pushing her soft, small body against his hard, muscular one. She grabbed his collar and pulled him toward the office. As soon as they were inside the office door, they began kissing more passionately. Rinoa moved her hands beneath his shirt and started rubbing his chest as Squall began trailing kisses down the side of her neck to her collarbone. Rinoa gave a soft moan and Squall moved his kisses back to her lips.
They walked back into his office and lied on the red velvet couch in each other's arms.
"I'm sorry," began Squall. "I-,"
"Don't worry," Rinoa relieved Squall of his worry. She was relaxed in his arms, comfortable and secure, and slightly drowsy. After a few moments, Squall swallowed his fear and doubt and whispered the three words she had wanted to hear from him so desperately.
"I love you," he said nervously, awaiting a response. Rinoa giggled and turned to kiss him, their passion, again, growing. "I love you," she returned as their clothes fell to the floor.
The two woke in the morning to find that they were late for work, not that it mattered, they were in Squall's office.
"Good morning," yawned Rinoa, as she smiled at Squall, joy overfilling her.
Squall smiled back. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?" he grinned.
"Oh, really well, when I finally got around to sleeping," Rinoa grinned back and kissed Squall after whispering "I love you" into his ear. "I love you, too," he said back, hugging her. "I think we should get up." Squall said, noticing that their clothes had been picked up and replaced with new, fresh outfits.
"I suppose that everyone knows," Rinoa whispered, poking Squall in the stomach as they got up from the couch and began dressing.
"Yeah, well, you don't have to face the guys," Squall joked. Rinoa giggled and turned to Squall. She was surprised at how easily he became light and friendly.
"So tomorrow's the day you attack, huh?" she asked, suddenly turning serious.
Squall looked down, finishing buckling his belt. He had forgotten about the attack in the previous night's pleasures. ".Yeah, we do," he sighed. "Don't worry about it, we'll be fine," added Squall, seeing Rinoa's face constrict in worry.
Rinoa looked up at Squall after she had finished dressing into her black skirt and pink sweater. "You promise?" she asked, staring at him lovingly, thinking back to their last promise.
"I promise."
Rinoa looked at her schedule for the day. Squall had asked her to check on the junior classmens' defensive training. He had given her a list for each small unit, and by the list of pros and cons of each group, he would decide where to place each group on the Garden; the strongest groups in the Garden's weakest place and weaker groups in the Garden's more fortified areas. Squall was going over the plans with the Air Unit, to make sure that each member knew exactly what they were doing. The Ground Unit was already in place in Esthar, and would ambush the presidential palace at exactly 1345 hours the next day.
Irvine and Zell were with the Air Unit, helping the less experienced SeeDs. Although the two were often quite goofy, Squall found that both of them got serious if the situation called for it.
Quistis, as an instructor (Squall had had Quistis reinstated as an instructor), stayed at the Garden, with her defensive unit, while Selphie was in the Ground Unit, causing Irvine to worry endlessly about her.
Rinoa would be staying at the Garden, making sure that Squall could communicate with everyone at the Garden and in the Ground Unit. Squall was going with the Air unit to supervise.
Rinoa was worried about Squall, but she had to do her work, and couldn't let him down. She looked at the first group on her list. Group A / Instructor: Abellos, R. The group was one of the youngest, with thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds. The group had worked hard, but they were still quite young and inexperienced. 3 out of 10 stars. Group is best with long range weapons.
She moved through her list, finally getting to the last group, Group F(3) / Instructor: Xellas, K. The group was good, a group of fifteen-year-olds. They were extraordinarily well with rope type weapons, good to stun the enemy. She gave the group 7 out of 10 stars.
She had been impressed with Quistis's group when she had come to it. They were sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds on the verge of becoming SeeDs. They were best with long swords and guns, and would probably placed in the spot with the least defense. Rinoa prayed for Quistis's safety.
At the end of the day, Rinoa came in to check on Squall. He was not tired at all, but working to get everything done on time. After he finished, it was nearly midnight.
"Thirteen hours and forty-five minutes. Are you nervous?" asked Rinoa, looking at Squall with a very concerned look on her face. "A little," confessed Squall, who had risen from his chair and was walking toward the sofa. Rinoa followed him slowly as he sat down.
"Wait a minute-your actually frightened?" she asked, in mock astonishment. Squall looked at her and became defensive.
"No, I'm just concerned about the attack. I don't want to lose more troops than I have to," he replied. Rinoa looked away and stared at a spot on the wall. "Yeah, I'm worried, too. Especially since all of you are going to be out there fighting, risking your lives, while I sit in here, cozy and safe. I just feel a little guilty, that's all," she said, looking back at the man she loved. "I'm worried about Quistis and Selphie and Zell and Irvine. I'm worried about you."
Squall forced a reassuring smile and rose from his spot on the soft couch. "Well, you don't need to worry about us. We have been in worse spots, I suppose," he said, even though Rinoa's face was still tense with worry. "We should really get to bed." Squall suggested, thinking about the long day that lay ahead of him.
Rinoa stood up and walked to the door. "Yeah," she began. "I'm exhausted." She walked into the dimly lit hall, followed closely by Squall. They walked to the dorms, leaving each other after a long kiss and a "Good night."
Squall walked into his room, seeing Zell on the couch, obviously having fallen asleep while watching a television show. Squall clicked off the set and moved towards his bed, bothering only to kick off his boots before dropping onto the mattress. He lied down, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to erase all of the battle plans from his mind in vain.
Squall walked to his office at around eight that morning, only to find that Rinoa was already there, straightening out his papers and organizing the orders for each group.
"Hey," said Rinoa in her usual cheerful tone, a big smile on her face. "I was just getting things ready for you."
"Yeah, sure," Squall voiced, irritated that he would not be alone to think this morning. His mind was racing over the battle plan.
First, the Air Unit would swoop in, signaling the Ground Unit to begin attacking. Then, the Ragnarok would begin to unload SeeDs to assist in the battle around the presidential palace. Squall and a few high-ranking SeeDs would drop down into the walkway that led to President Loire's office. They would find and capture Loire and bring him back to the Garden for interrogation. As soon as enough Esthar soldiers were terminated, the Air and Ground Units would flee from Esthar to shuttles awaiting outside of the huge city. The SeeDs would then be taken back to the Garden.
'The plan is nearly fool-proof for SeeDs,' Squall thought. 'The junior classmen are just forming defenses around the Garden in the minuscule chance that Esthar forms and executes attacks before the rest of the SeeDs may return. 'Not many casualties for either side, if we move quickly,'
"Are you okay?" asked Rinoa, noticing Squall's unobtrusive manner. He looked up, pushing strands of hair out of his sight, scowling. "I'm thinking," he muttered.
Rinoa scrunched up her face in confusion. "Are you okay?" she inquired meekly.
Squall scowled once again, deciding to ignore her. "I have to speak with the Air Unit in an hour," he read from his schedule. "I need to give the junior classmen their orders."
"Oh, let me get that," Rinoa said in a hurt tone. "I don't want to be in your way."
"Then perhaps you should run along now," Squall spoke impatiently, wishing her gone.
"Geez, okay then, commander, I didn't realize that I was such a nuisance," Rinoa returned, becoming slightly angered by his detached mood, after he was so nice earlier.
"Whatever." Squall muttered in vexation. "Shouldn't you go off now? Your commander has to think," he said after a few moments of Rinoa just standing there, staring into his intense blue eyes in disbelief.
"Uh-yeah," she spoke softly, running her fingers through her raven hair to keep it out of her pale face. She grabbed the assignment sheets and walked out the door, stifling frustrated, bitter, heart-broken tears.
'Crap,' Squall thought. 'I did it again. I screwed it up. I should have at least been nice to her.' He got up and went down the hall after.
'I never would have done this before her,' he thought, finally catching up to the sad raven-haired beauty.
"Wait, Rinoa, please?" Squall pleaded, trying to explain. Rinoa whirled around, catching Squall off guard, who barely stopped in time to avoid a collision with her tiny yet defiant body.
"Yes?" she asked in irritation.
"I want to apologize.I'm just a little tense, okay?" he said, hoping she would accept that as a decent reason for him to snap at her.
Rinoa looked at him defiantly, before finally giving in. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one," she stated playfully. "I know your trying to hype yourself up, or, however you prepare for a battle," she continued, looking at him questioningly.
"I'm going to go and continue working." said Squall, kissing her on the cheek and returning to his office.
Rinoa triumphantly walked down the hall to lecture to the Air Unit, feeling as if she had just slain the most powerful beast in existence.
Squall sat in his chair, wishing it didn't have to come down to this. He had already lead SeeD into one war, and now another. At least last time he hadn't sucked everyone into his personal problems; the whole Garden believed that he was just settling a father-son squabble.
'Whatever,' he thought despondently.
Hehe, maybe I should get out a flame resistant suit. Thanks to Collette, otherwise known as Stella-Dreamer (I'm dragging you down with me) for helping me out and not letting me destroy all remnants of this pathetic little piece of writing. Please review, tell me I suck, whatever, just REVIEW! This is a bad story. I'm sorry.
Squall paced the large room in which he now worked, awaiting the arrival of the retired headmaster of Balamb Garden. His footsteps echoed on the marble floor, while his many belts chinked together. He knew perfectly well that the balding man would be of no help to him, but asked for his counsel anyway.
Rinoa walked into the spacious office and cleared her throat to get Squall's attention. "Eh-hem."
Squall looked up quickly and angrily to see who had interrupted his concentration, but his expression softened as he saw Rinoa at the door. "Um, Cid has arrived, if you're ready."
Squall took a long sip of the strong black coffee that filled his mug. He was extremely tired, which was actually quite normal for him, and had gotten a slight caffeine addiction. The young man looked up at the raven- haired girl at the door and said, "Send him in," knowing that Cid would probably frustrate him more than help him.
Cid walked into the office, which he had known so well in his earlier years. His gaze traveled over the pictures on the walls, from previous headmasters to pictures of the cities and towns of their world, Gaea. Squall greeted the man with a formal salute and offered him a chair. Cid looked at Squall sternly, as he always did, and took the proffered chair.
"Mr. Leonhart, I trust that all has been well at the Garden since my retirement?"
'Yeah,' thought the now eighteen year-old. 'More like since your abandonment.'
Squall sat down in his leather armchair behind his desk and flipped searchingly through his papers, even though he knew exactly what he wanted to ask the man about.
"Well, I assume you know the situation between SeeD and Esthar at the moment." Squall began.
Cid looked at Squall and, with a curt nod, replied, "Yes, I am familiar with the situation."
Squall proceeded, "Well, then you know that SeeD has been accused by the Esthar government.
"Officials of Esthar claim that the SeeD organization is corrupt and is no longer of any use to the people of Gaea," Squall recited. "Esthar is beginning to turn away any SeeD who comes to the city. In one incident, an Esthar soldier and an out of line SeeD had a violent confrontation, in which the soldier was killed and the SeeD member arrested by the Esthar government, who refuses to release him. We have tried to bargain, but to no avail."
Squall looked up from the worn document that described the situation, making sure that the silent man was still alive. "The most recent development has been a threat to our own Garden, directed towards us by President Loire himself. We have." Squall began, though he was cut off mid- sentence.
"Loire, but he has supported you and the Garden whole-heartedly," he stated, surprised. Squall looked up, angry that he had been interrupted. "Will you let me finish please?" he asked with mock courtesy.
"Continue," said Cid in his usual commandeering voice. "I just thought that it was odd that your own fath-," "Enough," breathed Squall, trying not to get too angry with the man.
'All he does is state the obvious, huh?' Squall thought. 'Of course it is a little odd. The bumbling fool had sought to rekindle our father-son relationship, but has directed a threat to me personally.'
"I will continue. The threat was against myself, an ultimatum. I had to either turn over the sorceress or suffer the consequences of an attack." Squall looked up. "Any thoughts?" he added.
Cid stared at Squall for long moments. "Well, what have you chosen to do?" he asked seriously.
Squall's frustration and anger increased. "I'll give you three guesses of what I decided," he said with bitter sarcasm.
Cid, looking grave, said "Well, I suppose you plan to protect the girl, very chivalric, but I believe a better choice for the Garden's sake would be to." he trailed off.
Angrily, Squall smashed a button on his phone. "Please arrange a vehicle for Mr. Kramer. He will be leaving," he said to the administrative office. After receiving a concerned reply from Rinoa, he viciously got up from his chair and tore Cid's coat from the rack.
"Squall, listen to me," Cid reasoned. "Rinoa is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She is a sorceress, unbelievable abilities, and is a very strong person. I don't know if Balamb Garden can defend against Esthar, especially if they pick up allies."
"Good-bye," Squall said bluntly and unemotionally to Cid, who looked down and shook his head upon leaving. Slamming the door shut, the brunette went to his desk and looked through his notes. His eyes stopped on the threat letter.
Squall: Turn over the Sorceress to the Esthar government and the Garden shall be spared. Think rationally, son. Do not be a fool!
~Loire
The letter disgusted Squall. It made the situation seem as if Laguna was a parent scolding a misbehaving child. He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in deep thought.
He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and at the moment, his exhaustion outweighed his rage. Rinoa opened the door quietly and stepped inside. Squall looked up unhappily, forcing his eyes open, having been on the verge of sleep.
"Hi grumpy," she said as she walked in and sat in the chair previously occupied Cid.
"Rough time?" she asked tentatively after a few minutes, afraid of setting off his temper.
"Hmm," Squall grunted. Rinoa smiled. "Come here," she beckoned to him with her finger, her chocolate eyes sparkling.
"Make me," Squall yawned. He eventually got up reluctantly and went to where Rinoa was standing. "You are going to bed mister.you look so tired." She said as her hand brushed his cheek, pushing aside locks of dark chestnut hair. He bent down and kissed her softly on her lips. "There, now can I go to bed?" he whispered as she led him out of his office and down to the dorm area, him nodding off all the way.
Outside of his room Squall stopped Rinoa and forced a smile. "Thanks for escorting me to my room, I don't think I could have done it myself."
"I'll see you in a bit," she said, ignoring his sarcastic remark. He smiled and walked into his dorm.
Rinoa walked into her room and lied down in her small bed. 'I wonder why Squall has been so.weird around me lately. He keeps acting like his old self. Maybe its because of the problem with Esthar,' Rinoa worried. 'What is going on!'
The next day at lunch, Squall sat by Irvine and Zell. As much as they annoyed him, he always seemed to come back and hang around them. Though he wouldn't admit it, even to himself, Squall enjoyed their company.
"I am so hungry!" announced Zell, as he attacked his hot dog. Irvine looked at Zell, at his own hot dog, and back to Zell. He put his hands around his hot dog protectively. "Hey, ya gonna eat that?" asked Zell as he grabbed Squall's hot dog. Squall got his hands out of the way as well, afraid that Zell might eat them, too, in his haste.
"Uh-oh," said Irvine as he looked over at where the girls were sitting at the other side of the cafeteria. "They're talking about us." Irvine kept waving at Selphie, who enthusiastically returned his sweet gesture by blowing him kisses. Irvine pretended to catch them, moving some to his mouth and pocketing others. 'What a sap,' Squall thought as he gazed over at where Irvine was looking.
It was true, and they were making no secret about it. Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis were all hunched over their table, glancing in the direction of the men every few minutes. Rinoa looked concerned, and Squall wondered if she was talking about him. He shrugged, pretending not to care. 'I have other problems,' he thought as he got up and made his way to the trashcan.
"I'm just so worried about him," Rinoa said to Selphie and Quistis. "He hasn't been sleeping well, and he seems so cold and unhappy." "Uhh, excuse me, but, have you met Squall, that is how he acts all the time," Selphie said lightly, poking at her salad with her fork. "Well, he did seem to be getting more friendly, but just when this Esthar thing picked up." added Quistis, who looked down at her tray of raw vegetables in disgust. "Uggh, forget eating healthy," she said as she stood up. "Do you guys want some hot dogs?"
Squall planned to attack Esthar before they could attack the Garden. "Might as well not delay the inevitable," he had said. As he had explained to Instructors, they would attack during the afternoon, and only ambush the presidential palace. Otherwise, they were to move through the city undercover, all attacking at the same time three days after getting into Esthar. Besides this ground unit, another unit, the air unit, would fly in through the Ragnarok. The more experienced SeeDs would be the Ground unit, and the younger ones would be the Air unit. They had to start soon.
After explaining the rough plan to the instructors, who would each be leaders of junior classmen defensive groups, Squall made the announcement to the Garden. All junior classmen were to stay in the Garden and train to hold up a proper defense, along with a few SeeDs.
Squall sat in his office, trying to think of what the casualties might be, when Rinoa walked in. "Geez.you've been busy," she said, looking at the stacks of papers that littered his desk. Squall looked at the papers without interest, still deep in thought about the estimated casualties.
"Squall.why are you attacking Esthar?" Rinoa questioned, wondering if he was sensitive about the question, "I know he was going against SeeD, but..."
"He brought this on himself," stated Squall, matter-of-factly. "The threat was." Squall stopped, not wanting Rinoa to know about what was in the letter.
Rinoa stood still and searched Squall's exhausted face for answers. "There was a threat?" inquired Rinoa. "What does he want?"
Squall's gaze traveled to Rinoa's questioning eyes, which were begging the question, 'why didn't you tell me'. She then realized that the only reason he wouldn't tell her was if it had something to do with her. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the worn paper that the tormenting message was written on.
Rinoa took the letter from Squall. "You'll understand why I didn't announce this to the Garden," Squall explained. She looked at the paper's smooth surface, and began to read.
After she finished reading, Rinoa looked up at Squall's downcast face. "What does he want with me?" she wondered out loud. Ever since she had gotten her sorceress powers, she had done her best to not let them interfere with her life. 'Maybe that wasn't the best thing to do,' she thought, 'but I never wanted them cause something this drastic to occur, not after I was nearly sealed. Well, again they are becoming a problem!' she thought angrily.
"I have to stop this," Rinoa said as Squall stood up and began to lead her out the door. "Why did you hide this from me!" she turned on Squall. He looked up, startled that she was angry at him.
"I was trying to protect you. I didn't want you to go off and turn yourself in to the Esthar government." Squall looked down, embarrassed to show an emotion besides anger and gloom.
"Well," she countered, "what if I could have stopped the war from occurring. You might not lose any SeeD! What is one life versus the lives of hundreds of SeeDs?!" she practically screamed, the anger of the past few days welling up inside of her. She showed no concern over her own safety, which disturbed Squall
"That one life is your life!" Squall yelled. "I couldn't even think." Squall stopped, realizing he was letting his passion control his actions, one thing he had been taught never to do.
"Anyways," he continued, more sensibly, "the reason he wants you is because you are a sorceress, which means he wants to use your power in some way. As SeeD, I cannot allow that to occur."
Rinoa was shocked at his sudden change of character. First, he was so passionate, then, he was like a machine. Well, he wasn't too emotional, but more than he usually was "Okay." she replied weakly. She began walking away, but turned around and stared at him.
"I thought that you had changed," she stated ruefully. "I suppose you can't be helped, can you, Squall? Always hiding your emotions. You are impossible!" At her last statement, she growled in frustration and buried her head in her hands.
Squall looked at her bitterly. "Well, maybe I'm not who you thought I was."
Rinoa looked at Squall in desperation, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "I just want you to be truthful with me, to tell me how you feel and not snap at me when I ask about your day and trust me and smile.
Squall felt far too helpless to be comfortable. "You're treating me like a child," he said gloomily and began to walk out into the deserted hall outside of his office. Through the halls massive windows, the large moon was visible in the otherwise dark hall. Rinoa ran to catch up with Squall, pulling his shoulder and twisting him around to face her. She held his arms and forced him to face her by pushing him against one of the strong windows with surprising strength.
The pale moonlight reflected off of her wet face, making her look like a sorrowful angel with her black hair contrasting her white face.
"Please, why do you torture me when all I want is your love?" pleaded Rinoa. Being pinned against the wall, Squall had little choice but to come up with an explanation.
"Rinoa." he murmured with a complete loss of words, his tongue feeling like a lead weight in his mouth.
At that moment there was an unspoken understanding between the young lovers. The trust they had in each other had wavered, but returned as strongly as ever. Squall didn't have to explain his insecurities to Rinoa, she knew. And Rinoa didn't have to explain her frustration with his lack emotion, because he knew as well.
Rinoa smiled a small smile and kissed Squall softly and passionately. Squall kissed back with a little more hunger and put his arms around her lower back. Rinoa moved her hands up his chest and around his neck, pushing her soft, small body against his hard, muscular one. She grabbed his collar and pulled him toward the office. As soon as they were inside the office door, they began kissing more passionately. Rinoa moved her hands beneath his shirt and started rubbing his chest as Squall began trailing kisses down the side of her neck to her collarbone. Rinoa gave a soft moan and Squall moved his kisses back to her lips.
They walked back into his office and lied on the red velvet couch in each other's arms.
"I'm sorry," began Squall. "I-,"
"Don't worry," Rinoa relieved Squall of his worry. She was relaxed in his arms, comfortable and secure, and slightly drowsy. After a few moments, Squall swallowed his fear and doubt and whispered the three words she had wanted to hear from him so desperately.
"I love you," he said nervously, awaiting a response. Rinoa giggled and turned to kiss him, their passion, again, growing. "I love you," she returned as their clothes fell to the floor.
The two woke in the morning to find that they were late for work, not that it mattered, they were in Squall's office.
"Good morning," yawned Rinoa, as she smiled at Squall, joy overfilling her.
Squall smiled back. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?" he grinned.
"Oh, really well, when I finally got around to sleeping," Rinoa grinned back and kissed Squall after whispering "I love you" into his ear. "I love you, too," he said back, hugging her. "I think we should get up." Squall said, noticing that their clothes had been picked up and replaced with new, fresh outfits.
"I suppose that everyone knows," Rinoa whispered, poking Squall in the stomach as they got up from the couch and began dressing.
"Yeah, well, you don't have to face the guys," Squall joked. Rinoa giggled and turned to Squall. She was surprised at how easily he became light and friendly.
"So tomorrow's the day you attack, huh?" she asked, suddenly turning serious.
Squall looked down, finishing buckling his belt. He had forgotten about the attack in the previous night's pleasures. ".Yeah, we do," he sighed. "Don't worry about it, we'll be fine," added Squall, seeing Rinoa's face constrict in worry.
Rinoa looked up at Squall after she had finished dressing into her black skirt and pink sweater. "You promise?" she asked, staring at him lovingly, thinking back to their last promise.
"I promise."
Rinoa looked at her schedule for the day. Squall had asked her to check on the junior classmens' defensive training. He had given her a list for each small unit, and by the list of pros and cons of each group, he would decide where to place each group on the Garden; the strongest groups in the Garden's weakest place and weaker groups in the Garden's more fortified areas. Squall was going over the plans with the Air Unit, to make sure that each member knew exactly what they were doing. The Ground Unit was already in place in Esthar, and would ambush the presidential palace at exactly 1345 hours the next day.
Irvine and Zell were with the Air Unit, helping the less experienced SeeDs. Although the two were often quite goofy, Squall found that both of them got serious if the situation called for it.
Quistis, as an instructor (Squall had had Quistis reinstated as an instructor), stayed at the Garden, with her defensive unit, while Selphie was in the Ground Unit, causing Irvine to worry endlessly about her.
Rinoa would be staying at the Garden, making sure that Squall could communicate with everyone at the Garden and in the Ground Unit. Squall was going with the Air unit to supervise.
Rinoa was worried about Squall, but she had to do her work, and couldn't let him down. She looked at the first group on her list. Group A / Instructor: Abellos, R. The group was one of the youngest, with thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds. The group had worked hard, but they were still quite young and inexperienced. 3 out of 10 stars. Group is best with long range weapons.
She moved through her list, finally getting to the last group, Group F(3) / Instructor: Xellas, K. The group was good, a group of fifteen-year-olds. They were extraordinarily well with rope type weapons, good to stun the enemy. She gave the group 7 out of 10 stars.
She had been impressed with Quistis's group when she had come to it. They were sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds on the verge of becoming SeeDs. They were best with long swords and guns, and would probably placed in the spot with the least defense. Rinoa prayed for Quistis's safety.
At the end of the day, Rinoa came in to check on Squall. He was not tired at all, but working to get everything done on time. After he finished, it was nearly midnight.
"Thirteen hours and forty-five minutes. Are you nervous?" asked Rinoa, looking at Squall with a very concerned look on her face. "A little," confessed Squall, who had risen from his chair and was walking toward the sofa. Rinoa followed him slowly as he sat down.
"Wait a minute-your actually frightened?" she asked, in mock astonishment. Squall looked at her and became defensive.
"No, I'm just concerned about the attack. I don't want to lose more troops than I have to," he replied. Rinoa looked away and stared at a spot on the wall. "Yeah, I'm worried, too. Especially since all of you are going to be out there fighting, risking your lives, while I sit in here, cozy and safe. I just feel a little guilty, that's all," she said, looking back at the man she loved. "I'm worried about Quistis and Selphie and Zell and Irvine. I'm worried about you."
Squall forced a reassuring smile and rose from his spot on the soft couch. "Well, you don't need to worry about us. We have been in worse spots, I suppose," he said, even though Rinoa's face was still tense with worry. "We should really get to bed." Squall suggested, thinking about the long day that lay ahead of him.
Rinoa stood up and walked to the door. "Yeah," she began. "I'm exhausted." She walked into the dimly lit hall, followed closely by Squall. They walked to the dorms, leaving each other after a long kiss and a "Good night."
Squall walked into his room, seeing Zell on the couch, obviously having fallen asleep while watching a television show. Squall clicked off the set and moved towards his bed, bothering only to kick off his boots before dropping onto the mattress. He lied down, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to erase all of the battle plans from his mind in vain.
Squall walked to his office at around eight that morning, only to find that Rinoa was already there, straightening out his papers and organizing the orders for each group.
"Hey," said Rinoa in her usual cheerful tone, a big smile on her face. "I was just getting things ready for you."
"Yeah, sure," Squall voiced, irritated that he would not be alone to think this morning. His mind was racing over the battle plan.
First, the Air Unit would swoop in, signaling the Ground Unit to begin attacking. Then, the Ragnarok would begin to unload SeeDs to assist in the battle around the presidential palace. Squall and a few high-ranking SeeDs would drop down into the walkway that led to President Loire's office. They would find and capture Loire and bring him back to the Garden for interrogation. As soon as enough Esthar soldiers were terminated, the Air and Ground Units would flee from Esthar to shuttles awaiting outside of the huge city. The SeeDs would then be taken back to the Garden.
'The plan is nearly fool-proof for SeeDs,' Squall thought. 'The junior classmen are just forming defenses around the Garden in the minuscule chance that Esthar forms and executes attacks before the rest of the SeeDs may return. 'Not many casualties for either side, if we move quickly,'
"Are you okay?" asked Rinoa, noticing Squall's unobtrusive manner. He looked up, pushing strands of hair out of his sight, scowling. "I'm thinking," he muttered.
Rinoa scrunched up her face in confusion. "Are you okay?" she inquired meekly.
Squall scowled once again, deciding to ignore her. "I have to speak with the Air Unit in an hour," he read from his schedule. "I need to give the junior classmen their orders."
"Oh, let me get that," Rinoa said in a hurt tone. "I don't want to be in your way."
"Then perhaps you should run along now," Squall spoke impatiently, wishing her gone.
"Geez, okay then, commander, I didn't realize that I was such a nuisance," Rinoa returned, becoming slightly angered by his detached mood, after he was so nice earlier.
"Whatever." Squall muttered in vexation. "Shouldn't you go off now? Your commander has to think," he said after a few moments of Rinoa just standing there, staring into his intense blue eyes in disbelief.
"Uh-yeah," she spoke softly, running her fingers through her raven hair to keep it out of her pale face. She grabbed the assignment sheets and walked out the door, stifling frustrated, bitter, heart-broken tears.
'Crap,' Squall thought. 'I did it again. I screwed it up. I should have at least been nice to her.' He got up and went down the hall after.
'I never would have done this before her,' he thought, finally catching up to the sad raven-haired beauty.
"Wait, Rinoa, please?" Squall pleaded, trying to explain. Rinoa whirled around, catching Squall off guard, who barely stopped in time to avoid a collision with her tiny yet defiant body.
"Yes?" she asked in irritation.
"I want to apologize.I'm just a little tense, okay?" he said, hoping she would accept that as a decent reason for him to snap at her.
Rinoa looked at him defiantly, before finally giving in. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one," she stated playfully. "I know your trying to hype yourself up, or, however you prepare for a battle," she continued, looking at him questioningly.
"I'm going to go and continue working." said Squall, kissing her on the cheek and returning to his office.
Rinoa triumphantly walked down the hall to lecture to the Air Unit, feeling as if she had just slain the most powerful beast in existence.
Squall sat in his chair, wishing it didn't have to come down to this. He had already lead SeeD into one war, and now another. At least last time he hadn't sucked everyone into his personal problems; the whole Garden believed that he was just settling a father-son squabble.
'Whatever,' he thought despondently.
Hehe, maybe I should get out a flame resistant suit. Thanks to Collette, otherwise known as Stella-Dreamer (I'm dragging you down with me) for helping me out and not letting me destroy all remnants of this pathetic little piece of writing. Please review, tell me I suck, whatever, just REVIEW! This is a bad story. I'm sorry.