Her Own World
Chapter 14: Noon
Disclaimer: I made a petition up on who the real owners of FFVIII are and the results were… www.ffpetitionownerships.com.au
"They say that life is short – so live it to the fullest. But what can be longer than your life? Are you going to go on for all eternity?"
-Unknown
Quistis knew there was something wrong the minute she saw the headmaster's face.
His face was pale, his expression grey and his eyes drooped with fatigue and worry. In his left hand he held a piece of paper. Hesitant to hand it over to her, he sat back down in his chair and rubbed his chin in thought.
"Quistis. Yesterday the president asked me how I managed to train and raise a group of SeeDs determined enough to travel through time and defeat a sorceress. Do you wish to know what I said?"
"Yes sir"
"I told him…denial. As odd as it may seem, denial is what made you all go that far. No one, not even me, thought you could do it. When word reached Garden about how Laguna asked you to destroy…her…we all thought you would return to us dead. I even asked Squall about it. He admitted the same. You see, denial is not always based on the fact that someone simply…cannot do something. No. It has levels. It varies on skill…passion…mental abilities…personal status and such. That is why I thought you could not do it" He smiled. "Thank you for proving me wrong"
"That's nice of you to say sir, but may I ask why I was called here?"
Again, her stomach sunk as his facial expression dropped and the attention focused back on the paper in his hand.
"I received a most intriguing letter from Doctor Odine of Esthar. He has been doing some back research on Ultimecia…" It clearly hurt him to say her name and Quistis shut her eyes for a moment. "He has been looking at DNA samples you and the team brought back…unfortunately something troubling arose."
"What?"
"It matched to both Squall and Rinoa."
A lump caught in her throat and she sat back into her chair. If any doubts of Rinoa being connected to that witch at all were present in her mind, they were now very clear. Cid held the paper out for Quistis to take. She closed her eyes and refused to touch the paper that held the truth.
It's a lie. It's all some stupid lie. Why on earth would the headmaster sit here explaining to me about denial then?
But she let herself down and took the paper, letting her eyes scan over it.
"Odine said that Ultimecia is not a direct relation to them. More like a great-grandaughter or even farther removed. But as I have said Quistis, denial is our strength; we cannot back out on them now. They are our friends and allies. I know how much your friendship with them means to you. Keep this a secret between us. The others will know soon."
"What about them?"
"Well…I suspect telling them will only cause problems."
"Can I contact the others?"
"No…I will tell them myself and let them know. I have a contact number for both Irvine and Selphie…but what about Zell?"
"He's in Balamb at his mother's house…sir."
"Oh, alright then. I have his contact as well then. Just remember Quistis, Squall and Rinoa are not to know. At any cost. A lot of people died because of Ultimecia. I don't want them thinking they are responsible"
"Yes sir. This will not leak out sir"
..~**~..
"I'll be the type of mother that lets her children stay up late…sometimes. And they can have a small snack before dinner. As long as it's healthy," Rinoa laughed. "I'll let them called me 'Old bat' and they can have their own rooms and not have to sit up straight at the dinner table. As a matter of fact…they won't even have to sit at the table for dinner. They can just sit anywhere!"
"And I'll be the type of father that's lets his kids eat junk food and watch horror movies, just before mum is about to finish cooking dinner,"
"No no, of course you won't Squall! You'll be a loving and kind father who will strive to…"
"…Make sure the kids don't leave the house without their gun blade polish."
Rinoa picked a clump of sand up and threw it at him. It whacked him in the shoulder and dispersed. The edge of the water slowly came in and washed over their feet. It was just after four in the morning and a few specks of light came into view to hide away the stars. Rinoa pointed at the horizon and grinned.
"Here it is," she whispered. As the event of sunrise unfolded, Squall peeled his eyes away from the light to look at Rinoa. The water had come in far enough to splash upon their lower halves and she bit her lip slightly as the cold water rushed over them both. He ignored the feeling and smiled. His hand moved over hers and held it. She squeezed back, still gazing at the rising sun and moved her head over to his shoulder.
"Hey Squall, let's go for a walk."
"Okay."
They walked along the shore with an arm around the others waist, their hands still intertwined.
"What do you think the others are doing?" Rinoa asked.
"I expect Selphie and Irvine are partying on a long holiday, Zell is with Ma Dincht and Quistis is still at Garden."
"I think so too. We'll go back to Garden soon as well. I mean, we do have a whole month here together. You aren't missing Garden too much are you?"
"No. I'm enjoying this…really. I mean I even liked the swimming bit. Cold. But it was…you know…what's that word? Fun?"
"I'm soo tired. I've never been out swimming for that long before."
"I've never been out swimming like that full stop. It's just not a Squall thing." He cocked his head to the side and whispered, "It's just a Rinoa-Squall thing okay?"
"Okay!" Glad to have him in a happy mood she rocked their arms back and forth in a swinging motion. She was on the waters edge and the wet sand underneath her toes allowed her to sink down far with each step. This caused them to move slowly, but take in more of the view and make more time together. The stretch of beach went on for miles and the lights from the Beach Resort Hotel were beginning to die down in reaction to the sunlight.
"Hey Squall, how long are we going to be together? Like are we going to marry, have kids, grow old together and everything?"
"Wow, that was a very out of the blue question. I don't know, Rinoa. I'd like to. But you can't always tell what happens in the future. You just need to follow it through."
The question shocked him, to say the least. He felt scared even. He wasn't ready to talk about the future so bluntly.
"Yeah I suppose. But what if something happens? I mean, I am a sorceress. As soon as the rest of the world knows that…everything will change. We might not be together. We'll be separated, and I don't want that. I need to be here with you, Squall."
Mainly, because I know that something is and will happen to us soon, Squall. If only you could understand the way I do…
"Rinoa…nothing is going to change. No one needs to know about your ability. And I won't leave you because of what the rest of the world thinks…I thought you knew me better than that. But anyway, why are we talking about this?"
She hung her down and stopped walking. Placing both her hands in his, she looked up.
"I have a really strange idea."
"Does it involving swimming…?"
"No no…something much different."
She looked past him, at the sun and the azure sky before meeting his gaze. She wrapped her arms around him and looked into his eyes, fascinated at how well they resembled her feelings. Slowly he began to shake his head as a smile formed. Before his mouth opened she put a finger on his lips and leaned on his shoulder.
"I want to be with you. Not just like this…but forever. I need something to bind us together. I want us to be married in the eyes of anyone. And before you say anything at all, I want you to know that we can wait as long as you like…just not after we leave here. There's a twenty four hour chapel here" She said with a smile.
"No…no…no" He laughed. "Rinoa this is a little…uh…"
"Rash?"
"Yeah…just a bit."
"Okay, think of it this way. We're twenty five, still a couple and unmarried. We have three kids all named Jerry and one day a rule is passed that couples with kids and no marriage are now legally insane. What then?" He was mostly shocked that her expression remained serious.
Squall stared at her in silence. "Okay then…I do not wish to comment for I may incriminate myself."
"Squall…"
"I don't know…really. I'm sure you know that I care about you but I just don't know if I want us to go that far yet. It has to be special. I'm sorry."
The corners of Rinoa's mouth turned down just the slightest bit. "And I guess you're bound to me anyway, you're my knight." He flinched slightly at the mention of knight but not enough for her to notice. Rinoa sighed happily. Her eyes twinkled. "So does this mean we'll always be together?"
"Rinoa, whatever happens to us, I'll get over it. Whatever happened in my past, I'll get over it. I'm never going to leave you. I'll always be your knight but…there something more…its different than that…I…" He looked at the ground.
Please say it!
His eyes began to fill with panic and she quickly hugged him close to her tightly. "It's okay, I know" She whispered.
"Thank you" A relieved Squall spoke over her shoulder.
She bit her bottom lip and placed both her hands on the sides of Squall's head, trapping him, so that both their noses met. "Okay. But promise me that you'll think about it?"
"Promise."
"Also I'm going to kiss you now, and you have to promise me you're not going to say anything totally inane afterwards."
He crossed his heart with a free hand and she did.
..~**~..
A/N: Short, but it just seemed right to stop it here. Many thanks to Kupo. Oh yeah, and the website link at the top? It's a fake. I wonder how many people tried to go to that…
Kupo-Note: Karla, so cute! I loved the "Rinoa-Squall thing" line, you have wonderful ability to write romantic scenes that really make you smile! Keep writing, you crazy Aussie! ^.^