BENEATH OLD DREAMS
Chapter Nine
Squall got his ticket. His flight was tomorrow.
He arrived at Rinoa's house carrying two plastic bags from a supermarket.
Rinoa was at home. She did not go to the boutique because she was waiting for Squall's call.
"What's this?" she asked.
"This is my last and only chance to try Aunt Edea's valenciana," Squall answered. "And whether you like it or not, you will have to eat it with me."
He walked straight into the kitchen. He told the househelp to get out of the room.
Rinoa followed him.
"Did you get a ticket?" she asked.
"Yup," Squall replied.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.
"W-when are you leaving?" she asked again.
"Tomorrow," he answered with his back facing Rinoa.
Rinoa felt weak. She leaned on the refrigerator door.
Tomorrow? What should she do? What would she do?
Edea peeked through the screen of the back door. The househelp told her that Squall arrived at the house and took over the kitchen.
"What do you think you're doing?" the older lady asked in mock anger.
"Oh, hi, Aunt Edea," Squall said as he approached her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'm here to try my hand at your valenciana recipe like I promised. Now, you just go back to the grocery and I'll let you know when it's time to eat."
"Well, okay," Edea replied. "Rinoa is here to help you anytime."
And she left the two in the kitchen.
Rinoa willed herself to be strong.
"What can I do to help?" she asked Squall.
He was emptying the grocery bags on the kitchen counter.
He pointed to a chair nearby.
"You can sit down right there and relax," he said. "This is my show."
Rinoa did not protest. With the situation and condition she was in right now, she was afraid that anything could happen with her plan.
She obeyed Squall. Besides, she needed to sit down because her knees might give up from too much shaking.
She remained quiet as Squall prepared everything.
She thought Squall noticed that she was acting strange because when turned on the radio on the top of the refrigerator. To break the deafening silence in the kitchen.
After that, he squeezed the grated coconut that he bought. He even brought a clean cloth for the coconut.
Looking at Squall's movements, Rinoa concluded that he really knew how to cook. Even if it was just his first time inside the Caraway's kitchen, he knew his way around. He could easily find the utensils that he needed.
A few minutes later, Rinoa felt uncomfortable just sitting and not doing anything. She got up and grabbed the green pepper so she could wash and cut them.
Squall did not stop her.
After the green pepper, Rinoa worked on the carrots while Squall cleaned the shrimps and crabs.
They worked in silence. They only spoke when passing utensils to each other. Or when Squall asked where a certain utensil is.
It seemed as if they were watching each other.
The valenciana took a long time to cook. Squall was sweating after finished the food.
But Rinoa was feeling numb. Just like the previous night. Worse than last night.
She was counting the seconds she had with Squall.
The clock struck noon and it was time to eat lunch.
After that, a few hours before the evening would come. Before Squall would go back to the hotel.
And a few hours before it would be morning again. Before Squall would board the plane for Esthar. To go away to a place where she would not see him again.
Squall motioned for the housemaid who was peering at the door ever since he told them to go out.
"Please call Aunt Edea," he said.
The housemaid immediately went out.
Squall and Rinoa prepared the table.
A few minutes later, Edea arrived.
Aside from the valenciana, Squall also cooked macaroni soup and grilled eggplants with ground beef – all of which came from the recipes Edea gave him.
And Squall was the only one who cooked all of the food that was laid on the table. Rinoa only helped him with cutting and slicing.
"Hmm... smells very good," Edea said as she sat down.
"It tastes even better," Squall bragged.
Rinoa thought that Squall's voice lacked life.
Edea was impressed when she sampled everything.
"You should stay and live with us," she told him. "You should be our cook," she kidded.
Squall forced himself to laugh.
Rinoa, on the other hand, continued eating even if she had no appetite. She willed herself
to eat and savor every bite because the food is special because it was cooked by Squall.
Edea noticed the tension between the two. She expected that that would happen.
After eating, Edea asked Squall about his ticket.
Squall told her that he would be leaving tomorrow.
"Well, then," Edea said. "You have to spend the night here with us."
Both Squall and Rinoa were astonished.
"But..." Squall began.
"I won't take no for an answer," Edea told him. "You flight is in the early evening so you'll have more than enough time tomorrow."
"I don't have anything with me," Squall said.
"I'll get you everything you need from Rinoa's boutique," she said. "What she doesn't have in stock, I'll buy from a nearby department store."
"I haven't packed yet," Squall reasoned.
"You can go home early tomorrow to do your packing," Edea replied. "Rinoa and I will accompany you to help. We'll also see you to the airport."
Rinoa wanted to embrace and kiss her aunt. Edea managed to do one thing Rinoa did not know how to – to lengthen the time she could spend with Squall before leaving.
"Now, I better be going," Edea said. "What size is your waistline?"
"This is embarrassing," Squall said as he shook his head from side to side.
"Come on," Edea encouraged. "Thirty?"
Squall nodded, his ears turning pink.
"And I suppose you wear a large-sized T-shirt?" she asked again.
Again, Squall nodded.
"Okay, okay," Edea said. "Don't worry. I'll get you everything from your underwear to sleeping shorts to what you have to wear back to the hotel tomorrow. Plus, of course, a toothbrush and a razor."
"Auntie," Squall asked with his eyes widening. "Won't you be embarrassed buying all those things?"
Edea scowled at him.
"I'm old enough to be your mother, young man," she said. "I don't care anymore what people think."
And she got out of the house.
Squall and Rinoa looked at each other and burst out laughing.
And that is another thing that Edea managed to do – break the tension between them.
The housemaids standing by the wall.
"Oops," Rinoa said. "I think we better go to the living room so they can clear the table. You see, the earlier they finish up with the dishes, the earlier they get to their afternoon nap."
"Oh," Squall said. "I see."
They went to the living room.
As they walked towards the living room, Rinoa kept on asking herself.
Think, Rinoa, think. Think faster. Aunt Edea gave you a chance. Don't blow this off! Do something!
Both sat down at the both ends of the couch. An idea popped into Rinoa's mind.
"Your Dad won't be able to sample your Balamb cooking. He might not believe us when we tell him how good it was," Rinoa began.
"Did you really like it?" Squall asked.
Rinoa nodded even if she really did not know how the food tasted because she was thinking too much during lunch.
"Well, that's enough for me," Squall said.
"I'll miss your cooking," Rinoa boldly told him.
Squall arched his eyebrows.
"Only my cooking?" he asked jokingly.
Rinoa was embarrassed to answer that question. Instead, she also threw him a question.
"Why do you have to leave early? I thought you said you had forty-five days. You still have some three weeks to go."
Rinoa pretended to ask this question casually.
Squall stared straight into her brown orbs.
"I have to go," he simply answered. "I can't stand it here anymore."
Rinoa's forehead wrinkled.
"What is it you can't stand? Me?" she asked teasingly.
And to her surprise, Squall nodded.
"Yes, you," he said. "I can't stand being near you, Rinoa."
Rinoa felt as if he slapped her. All the blood drained from her face. She did not know what to say.
But Squall continued to explain as he scooted beside her.
"I can't stand being near you and having to keep my distance," he confessed. "I can't stand you wanting me to be your brother, or even your friend. I need to be more than that, Rinoa. I want to be more than that."
Squall stopped scooting a few inches away from her.
"But obviously, you don't want me the same way," he said sadly. "I respect your feelings, but I also have to spare my heart."
He put his right hand over his chest.
"You're breaking my heart, Rin," he whispered.
Because of the loud hammering of her heart, Rinoa almost didn't hear what Squall whispered. But she understood everything he said.
And her heart almost burst out with happiness.
"If you don't want to be my brother or my friend, what is it you want to be, Squall?" her voice quivered as she whispered.
She needed to hear it from Squall. In black and white.
"I want to marry you," Squall said without hesitation as his eyes continued to bore through hers.
Rinoa exhaled deeply as a huge amount of weight was lifted off her chest.
There. Finally. He finally said it.
"Then why didn't you ask me to?" she asked him with a smile, tears in her eyes.
Squall was surprised. His eyes widened. He could not believe what he had just heard.
After a few seconds with Squall not moving or saying anything, Rinoa, smiling, asked him again.
"Can you still refund your ticket?"
"To hell with that ticket," Squall said as if he had just woken up from a trance.
He grabbed her small hands and placed it in his larger ones. He pulled Rinoa towards him.
"Did I hear it right?" he asked, his face only inches away from hers. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Rinoa broke into a wider smile.
"You have to say the magic words first," she told him. "And then you have to ask the right question. Didn't your Dad teach you that?"
Squall smiled at her.
"The magic words?" he asked playfully.
Squall kept closing the gap between them. Rinoa was almost lying down on the couch and his face was looming over hers when he spoke what Rinoa was dying to hear.
"I love you, Rinoa," he whispered.
He was gazing into her eyes. Rinoa could feel his breath on her lips.
"I love you and I want to marry you. Will you marry me?" he continued.
"Yes," she whispered. "I love you, Squall. I will marry you."
Their lips met gently. Afterwards, they were kissing each other with passion. Proof of the feelings that they had long kept from each other.
~.*.~ ~.*.~ ~.*.~
Edea bought everything that Squall might need for his overnight stay at their house.
When she got home, she opened the front door, smiling, ready to show off the things she had bought.
But she was not able to speak.
Because what she saw as she opened the door were two people busy discovering each other's lips.
Squall and Rinoa did not feel her presence as Edea slowly and quietly closed the door.
Outside, Edea wiped at her tears. She was smiling.
Even if her dreams died, she was happy because Laguna and Julia's old dreams were brought to life again and were currently growing.
And now, she was happier because of the birth of a new love beneath those old dreams.
THE END
A/N: Hi, everyone!
Finally! I have finished this fic!
I would like to thank everyone who read this fic, but, as I've said in my other chappies, more thanks to the people who took the time to read and review this fic.
The Percussionist: Thank you so much for that! *hugs you* I really feel honored that you included me and this fic in your fave list. I hope you enjoyed the finale. Again, thank you so much!
remote_mine: And to my dear friend *hugs you*, thank you so much for everything that you've done for me. Thanks for always encouraging me to write. I don't know if I've thanked you enough. I'm really glad you liked this fic.
To remote_mine, Ariennye and kikoken, thank you for your never-ending reviews. I really appreciate every review you sent.
To The_Percussionist, remote_mine, Ariennye, kikoken, Angelprinczess29, From above and integra (aka Stormy Dreamer), thank you for reading and reviewing!
Again, thanks to everyone!
~bembem~