Disclaimer: Remember that one-line disclaimer six chapters ago? It still applies.
Irvine put his arm around Rinoa, and leaned over to kiss her. It was only a week ago that she had left Squall. She turned her head, and pressed her lips against his. The two sat at Zell and Quistis's hidden table, along with Quistis, while waiting for Zell and Xu to get back with Quistis's food. Quistis was looking off into the top of the tree, outside the umbrella set up to protect the table from falling leaves. Irvine pulled away from Rinoa, and the two simply stared into eachother's eyes across a gap of less than three inches. Every second ticked on into a pleasant eternity. Irvine's thoughts began to scatter, going nowhere at a mile a second. He began to think, barely out loud "the price they pay..." He had often acted this way recently. Rinoa leaned to his right ear, and asked him "what?" His response came, still quiet "Rinoa, I'm half-deaf there." "Oh, sorry Irvine" she replied with a giggle, and leaned over to his left "you said something about prices." "Oh, that. It took Squall only three days for him to forget that you left him, and now, only a week after, he forgot his bitterness. A blessing and a curse. He doesn't remember any of the people he's killed."
Rinoa was slightly taken aback, but Irvine had always been like this recently. On their first night together, a week ago, the night of Selphie's funeral, she had been awakened in the middle of the night by Irvine's nightmares, and his talking in his sleep. Nothing had happened that night, she had just cried against him for Selphie's death, letting her tears soak his body. She asked him "people he's killed?" He replied quietly "the soldiers who died to his gunblade, and the people who died as a result of his orders or inaction, on both sides. Seifer, Ellone." He paused, then breathed the next name "Selphie." He continued, his voice back to normal "Fujin, Raijin, all of the grunt soldiers and SeeDs dead as a result of these missions. I'm left to bear the burden of remembering everything that I've killed. I can remember the arrogant smirk on Seifer's face before I killed him. I remember the people I killed." "Irvine, distract yourself. Here," Rinoa said to him calmly, as she drew her mouth against his. He kissed her, keeping his tongue in her mouth for as long as he could. His thoughts left death, and turned entirely to Rinoa.
Quistis, meanwhile, had turned away, looking anywhere but the two of them. Rinoa noticed this as she pulled away from Irvine. "Oh, sorry Quistis. That was selfish of us." Quistis simply nodded in response. Looking for something to talk about, Rinoa asked "Quistis, have any missions?" "Yes, actually. Zell, Xu, and I are supposed to respond rapidly to any Eternal Peace actions and stop them." Irvine responded "quiet so far?" "Yes, they haven't done much after the Ragnarok attack, and our team wasn't assembled then." Zell and Xu walked back into this secret area, food in hand. Irvine spoke to Xu "heard you got put back on active duty." "I have. Squall's probably forgotten to find himself a replacement secretary." Zell changed the subject "Irvine, what are you going to do with your gun collection now that you're retired?" "I'm torn. I partly want to keep it, as a reminder of the Ultimecia war, and another part never wants to be reminded of who I've killed again. A third part thinks I must keep it, and never forget what I've done." He half-wished for Zell's forgetfulness, so that he could recover from having to kill one who was almost his brother, and the other half realized what a curse it was, to be rid of a pain which he had brought upon himself.
Zell snapped him back to reality "Irvine, spacing's Squall's job." "Huh?" "You weren't talking, lost in thought." "Oh." "Anyway, can I have some of your guns?" "Sure. I'm only going to need one as a reminder, and I don't know if I even want to be reminded." Zell smiled brightly "Thanks man!", and grabbed Quistis close to him. Irvine responded by similarly pulling Rinoa with one arm. Xu had retreated into regulation land. The couples released eachother, and looked for something to talk about. Rinoa spoke first, only half aloud. "Everyone's dying..." Irvine asked her "what?" "Everyone's dying. Cid, Edea, Seifer, Selphie, my father... Nobody is without blood on their hands, and nobody is without someone to avenge. This will never stop." Quistis tried to comfort her "Sure it will, Rinoa. It may have already. Galbadia is in too much chaos to do anything." Irvine remarked "chaos that is killing... people." Commenting on the situation, Zell decided to break the mood "Not you too, Rinoa. Now both of you are stuck thinking of death!" The entire table, excepting Xu, who was still in her own little world, burst into laughter.
His train of thought on death disrupted, Irvine realized what he had to be happ about; he didn't need his guns anymore, he had a wonderful girlfriend, and his stock in Balamb Garden would pay to keep him in comfort there despite not doing anything. Irvine kissed Rinoa's cheek. He could see her amazing beauty, but most of his love for her stemmed from the fact that she could remember what the others could not, and that they were alike in many more ways. Even he had some things he naturally forgot, such as the exact feeling of holding Selphie. Rinoa felt somehow different. Not better or worse to hold, just different. He grabbed her tightly to him. He remembered the first few days. He knew Rinoa and Selphie were very close friends, and how much Rinoa had cried over Selphie's death. Irvine had played his part as the man, remaining tough and not crying even when he wanted to. His mind was pulled back to the present by Rinoa, who had put one arm around him, but began to pull away.
Irvine opened his eyes and looked across the table. Quistis had apparently asked Xu for an opinion on a new Garden rule, and she was answering, in something approaching excitement, meaning it was faster than her normal clear, enunciated speech, and in something more than a monotone. Zell had his arm around Quistis's back, and she had hers around his. Zell asked Irvine "What were you thinking about this time?" "The last week, and what its done to Rinoa." "Yeah, must be hard on you," he said, to Rinoa this time. "Yeah... Leaving Squall was hard, but at the same time I couldn't forgive him for forgetting Selphie. She was my closest friend, and, the moment she died, I stole her boyfriend." "Rinoa, I'm sure she forgives you. She wanted everyone to be happy. If our happiness comes this way, she'd be glad for us." "You're right, I just still have a nagging doubt." "If you don't want this-" Rinoa shook her head "I didn't mean it like that. I know I want to stay with you, I just can't help but think of Selphie." Quistis's discussion with Xu came to a close and she turned to talk to her boyfriend, the two holding eachother in their arms. Irvine and Rinoa barely noticed, locked in their own conversation.
Meanwhile...
The former Galbadian colonel read the report his secretary had given him. His takeover of Eternal Peace had succeeded, and, due to a mistake that had been made because he ordered it so, General Caraway was dead. His strategy was working exactly as planned. Boot-licking had put him there, and murder could give him rule of Galbadia. The now-dead general never suspected that Smith ordered that the information of their link to the Galbadian Military Government be slipped. Now, due to this, Eternal Peace was preparing to install a new ruler of Galbadia, one whom they controlled in secret.
Author's Note: My computer works again. Sorry it took so long, I'll try to get on my usual 2-3 times per week schedule on my primary computer. I have no excuse for the delay.
To my reviewers:
Green: Glad you liked the last three chapters. This one's almost pure fluff.
Wonderful Failure: Yep, Selphie tried, died, and was avenged. What'll happen next? I hope this chapter's clear enough on that. After this? I guess you'll have to wait for next chapter.
Irvine put his arm around Rinoa, and leaned over to kiss her. It was only a week ago that she had left Squall. She turned her head, and pressed her lips against his. The two sat at Zell and Quistis's hidden table, along with Quistis, while waiting for Zell and Xu to get back with Quistis's food. Quistis was looking off into the top of the tree, outside the umbrella set up to protect the table from falling leaves. Irvine pulled away from Rinoa, and the two simply stared into eachother's eyes across a gap of less than three inches. Every second ticked on into a pleasant eternity. Irvine's thoughts began to scatter, going nowhere at a mile a second. He began to think, barely out loud "the price they pay..." He had often acted this way recently. Rinoa leaned to his right ear, and asked him "what?" His response came, still quiet "Rinoa, I'm half-deaf there." "Oh, sorry Irvine" she replied with a giggle, and leaned over to his left "you said something about prices." "Oh, that. It took Squall only three days for him to forget that you left him, and now, only a week after, he forgot his bitterness. A blessing and a curse. He doesn't remember any of the people he's killed."
Rinoa was slightly taken aback, but Irvine had always been like this recently. On their first night together, a week ago, the night of Selphie's funeral, she had been awakened in the middle of the night by Irvine's nightmares, and his talking in his sleep. Nothing had happened that night, she had just cried against him for Selphie's death, letting her tears soak his body. She asked him "people he's killed?" He replied quietly "the soldiers who died to his gunblade, and the people who died as a result of his orders or inaction, on both sides. Seifer, Ellone." He paused, then breathed the next name "Selphie." He continued, his voice back to normal "Fujin, Raijin, all of the grunt soldiers and SeeDs dead as a result of these missions. I'm left to bear the burden of remembering everything that I've killed. I can remember the arrogant smirk on Seifer's face before I killed him. I remember the people I killed." "Irvine, distract yourself. Here," Rinoa said to him calmly, as she drew her mouth against his. He kissed her, keeping his tongue in her mouth for as long as he could. His thoughts left death, and turned entirely to Rinoa.
Quistis, meanwhile, had turned away, looking anywhere but the two of them. Rinoa noticed this as she pulled away from Irvine. "Oh, sorry Quistis. That was selfish of us." Quistis simply nodded in response. Looking for something to talk about, Rinoa asked "Quistis, have any missions?" "Yes, actually. Zell, Xu, and I are supposed to respond rapidly to any Eternal Peace actions and stop them." Irvine responded "quiet so far?" "Yes, they haven't done much after the Ragnarok attack, and our team wasn't assembled then." Zell and Xu walked back into this secret area, food in hand. Irvine spoke to Xu "heard you got put back on active duty." "I have. Squall's probably forgotten to find himself a replacement secretary." Zell changed the subject "Irvine, what are you going to do with your gun collection now that you're retired?" "I'm torn. I partly want to keep it, as a reminder of the Ultimecia war, and another part never wants to be reminded of who I've killed again. A third part thinks I must keep it, and never forget what I've done." He half-wished for Zell's forgetfulness, so that he could recover from having to kill one who was almost his brother, and the other half realized what a curse it was, to be rid of a pain which he had brought upon himself.
Zell snapped him back to reality "Irvine, spacing's Squall's job." "Huh?" "You weren't talking, lost in thought." "Oh." "Anyway, can I have some of your guns?" "Sure. I'm only going to need one as a reminder, and I don't know if I even want to be reminded." Zell smiled brightly "Thanks man!", and grabbed Quistis close to him. Irvine responded by similarly pulling Rinoa with one arm. Xu had retreated into regulation land. The couples released eachother, and looked for something to talk about. Rinoa spoke first, only half aloud. "Everyone's dying..." Irvine asked her "what?" "Everyone's dying. Cid, Edea, Seifer, Selphie, my father... Nobody is without blood on their hands, and nobody is without someone to avenge. This will never stop." Quistis tried to comfort her "Sure it will, Rinoa. It may have already. Galbadia is in too much chaos to do anything." Irvine remarked "chaos that is killing... people." Commenting on the situation, Zell decided to break the mood "Not you too, Rinoa. Now both of you are stuck thinking of death!" The entire table, excepting Xu, who was still in her own little world, burst into laughter.
His train of thought on death disrupted, Irvine realized what he had to be happ about; he didn't need his guns anymore, he had a wonderful girlfriend, and his stock in Balamb Garden would pay to keep him in comfort there despite not doing anything. Irvine kissed Rinoa's cheek. He could see her amazing beauty, but most of his love for her stemmed from the fact that she could remember what the others could not, and that they were alike in many more ways. Even he had some things he naturally forgot, such as the exact feeling of holding Selphie. Rinoa felt somehow different. Not better or worse to hold, just different. He grabbed her tightly to him. He remembered the first few days. He knew Rinoa and Selphie were very close friends, and how much Rinoa had cried over Selphie's death. Irvine had played his part as the man, remaining tough and not crying even when he wanted to. His mind was pulled back to the present by Rinoa, who had put one arm around him, but began to pull away.
Irvine opened his eyes and looked across the table. Quistis had apparently asked Xu for an opinion on a new Garden rule, and she was answering, in something approaching excitement, meaning it was faster than her normal clear, enunciated speech, and in something more than a monotone. Zell had his arm around Quistis's back, and she had hers around his. Zell asked Irvine "What were you thinking about this time?" "The last week, and what its done to Rinoa." "Yeah, must be hard on you," he said, to Rinoa this time. "Yeah... Leaving Squall was hard, but at the same time I couldn't forgive him for forgetting Selphie. She was my closest friend, and, the moment she died, I stole her boyfriend." "Rinoa, I'm sure she forgives you. She wanted everyone to be happy. If our happiness comes this way, she'd be glad for us." "You're right, I just still have a nagging doubt." "If you don't want this-" Rinoa shook her head "I didn't mean it like that. I know I want to stay with you, I just can't help but think of Selphie." Quistis's discussion with Xu came to a close and she turned to talk to her boyfriend, the two holding eachother in their arms. Irvine and Rinoa barely noticed, locked in their own conversation.
Meanwhile...
The former Galbadian colonel read the report his secretary had given him. His takeover of Eternal Peace had succeeded, and, due to a mistake that had been made because he ordered it so, General Caraway was dead. His strategy was working exactly as planned. Boot-licking had put him there, and murder could give him rule of Galbadia. The now-dead general never suspected that Smith ordered that the information of their link to the Galbadian Military Government be slipped. Now, due to this, Eternal Peace was preparing to install a new ruler of Galbadia, one whom they controlled in secret.
Author's Note: My computer works again. Sorry it took so long, I'll try to get on my usual 2-3 times per week schedule on my primary computer. I have no excuse for the delay.
To my reviewers:
Green: Glad you liked the last three chapters. This one's almost pure fluff.
Wonderful Failure: Yep, Selphie tried, died, and was avenged. What'll happen next? I hope this chapter's clear enough on that. After this? I guess you'll have to wait for next chapter.