Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII… it is the property of SQUARESOFT, now who the fuck doesn't know that already?  Huh?  Huh?

Chapter Twelve

"What… what do you have to tell me?" She looked at him suspiciously, her beautiful brown eyes hinting at a certain curiosity.

'She's my wife… she deserves to know what kind of man I am… what I've done.  She doesn't know the half of it…' Squall cleared his throat and prepared himself for whatever he needed to face on his part.

***

"Grandma… why are ballpoint pens called ballpoint pens?" Alex asked from the backseat of his grandparents' car.  Caraway discreetly gave his wife a confused glance.

"Well… because the point of the pen is a little ball that allows the ink to flow out evenly," She explained lightly. "Why are you asking such a… strange question?"

Riana rolled her eyes and looked out of the window as her older brother answered cautiously, "Well… I was just curious.  Mommy said it was because a moron decided to call them that." 

Julia stifled a laugh and Alex went on, "Well… she wasn't feeling very patient that day so it might be why…"

"That might be one of the reasons she said that," Julia replied knowingly, "Anyways, what would you kids like?  We could go to a toy store… or out for a movie… anything you guys want."

"I'd like to go to the movies," Riana replied simply, still staring out of the backseat window. "But I wouldn't mind going to a toy store either."

"How about both?" Julia asked, much to her husband's dismay.  Though he loved his only daughter and grandchildren very much, entertaining children was not his forte.

***

"Listen, Rin… it's just… I couldn't do anything… because… it was my job." He was already defending himself even though he hadn't yet told her what he was guilty of.

Those words were enough to send shivers down her spine.  'His job…' She moved from him instinctively, losing the warmth of his body and becoming very cold herself. "What did you do?  No… who did you kill?"

She had connected the dots, like always, finding out what he was going to say before he even said it, "On the last mission… I killed… I killed… a little girl."  And all the guilt in the world flooded his spirits.  Killing adults was one thing, killing children was something else altogether.  Something that justified whether or not the assassin was human.

She let out a soft cry and moved even further away, her lips slightly parted in surprise and shock. "You… oh my God…" Her eyes welled up with tears, could she ever forgive the man she loved?

He reached over to touch her arm but she pulled away, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Her voice rose at a peak of anger, her mind suddenly snapping back into reality, "Your hands… just don't touch me!"

"I'm sorry… Ackroyde-"

"FUCK ACKROYDE!  You're always listening to goddamn Ackroyde, always obeying him like you're a fucking lapdog!  Is he the one that makes up the rules?  Decides if it's ok or not to kill an innocent kid?  Damn it, Squall…"

"It was a mission!  There was no way out, I didn't know there was a little girl, Rin… please…" He was begging for forgiveness though he knew very well that he deserved none of it.  The great agent Squall Leonheart was afraid of something… of living a life without Rinoa Heartilly.

"Shut up, you goddamn bullshit artist!  Did Ackroyde wire you so that you weren't in control of your actions anymore?" She didn't wait for his response, "Then there is no goddamn reason!  You know, you were right… you aren't emotionally neglectful… you're emotionally detached!"

He couldn't help himself anymore. "It's not my fault!" It was only after that he realized the extent frivolous-ness of his words.

"Excuse me?" His wife looked at him almost as if it was a laughing matter. "What did you just say?"

"Forget it, Rin… I'm not saying you should forgive me-"

"And I'm not planning to!" She snapped back. "I can't stand your… your… stupidity anymore!  Anybody could make you sit, roll over and beg!  You're like a goddamn obedient dog!  Think for yourself!"

"Listen, just please… listen to me!"

"NO!  I'm so sick of hearing your dumb excuses for the blood on your hands… the blood that should be on Ackroyde's hands!  He just hand picks you because… because you'd do anything for him… you even stopped talking to your parents because he told you to!"

"I did not stop talking to my mother!" He found himself arguing back.

"When was the last time you called her?" She asked defiantly.

"Last month!" He lied.

"Bullshit!  I talked to her a week ago and she told me you hadn't called her in months!" She snapped back triumphantly.  "He told you to cut the connections with your mom and you did!  What'll happen when he tells you to cut the connections with your kids, I wonder!"

"That won't happen!" He yelled back.

"Won't it?" She spat disgustedly, "Our first night together was a mistake… do you realize how badly we fucked up?  But being burnt once wasn't enough, we screwed again and now we have two kids!  TWO!  What are you going to do?"
"What are we going to do," He corrected her.

"No… what are you going to do," She said firmly, "Because what I'm going to do is tell you one last thing… get out of the house!"

He stood there, slightly dumbfounded for a while until all anger snapped loose, "I can't believe I've wasted my life on you!  It was always about you!  Why the hell was it always about you?  What the hell was so special about you?"

"I don't know, and I don't care!  Get out!" She yelled back, trying to shield herself from the hurtful words in vain.  He obeyed her one last time, grabbing his coat and slamming the front door behind him.

'He's gone…' She thought miserably, and let the tears fall.

***

"I think something terrible just happened…" Riana's whispering voice met her brother's ear during the movie.  Julia was too busy watching the movie and James was too busy snoring to notice.

"You're crazy," He replied absent-mindedly, shoving more popcorn into his mouth, his eyes were glued to the screen.

"Alex, I'm serious… I've just had a bad feeling…"

"Shut up, I'm watching a movie…" He interrupted her boldly.  She pouted, crossed her arms and forced her eyes to fixate on the screen.

***

"I have a strange feeling that our dear friend Leonheart will be paying us a visit…" A voice cold as stone stated, eyeing some number of documents, "It's so sad that… a divorce is his only way out…" A sneer came at the end of Ackroyde's sentence.

"Yeah, real fucking sad… boo hoo…" The other voice was equally cold, this time belonging to a handsome blond man, with a scar running diagonally from his forehead to under his right eye.

"So who's going to kill her?" A female voice holding a high amount of disdain spoke up.  The owner of the voice was sitting leisurely in an armchair, her legs crossed.  Her flowing blond hair was styled so that only two strands on each side dropped to her shoulders.

"Quistis, Quistis, Quistis… patience is a virtue.  She need not be done away with so quickly." Ackroyde's voice became nauseatingly soothing.

"Yeah, at least you know some day Leonheart'll be fucking your brains out.  I on the other hand…"

"That is enough!"  The boss' voice was sharp and annoyed, "We will not discuss your love affairs or your previous love affairs in this office.  We will not have your vile words scar my study.  Silence, both of you!"

"So what's the plan?" Quistis asked after some time of silence.

"Well, naturally, we're going to kill Rinoa Heartilly…"

Sabam: Ok, everyone cool it!  I know this was a pathetic chapter where everyone wants to go to a middle of a field and shoot my ass but I swear it'll get better.  I PROMISE IT WILL GET BETTER … or … better than it is now … which isn't tough to beat.  Uh … anyways!  Please, please, please, please review!  I need your feedback, it's important to me!