A/N: Just for those Squinoa fans out there, I will be putting some more interaction between those two in this chapter, but no promises for heavy sap just yet evil grin. And hey, maybe Eve's not such a #&% after all, eh? Well, just keep reading. The disclaimer still applies, yadda, yadda, yadda...

I will put my thanks to the reviewers at the bottom this time.

Chapter 5 - The Results

Rinoa awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of light tapping on her door. She glanced at the clock, which mocked her with its angry red display of 2:13 a.m. She grumbled and rolled out of bed, her feet shuffling on the floor as she headed for her door.

She raised an eyebrow at the person she saw at the other side. "Come for a midnight snack?" she said, dryly.

Squall chuckled, knowing exactly what she meant by that, "No... I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"And this couldn't wait until daylight?"

"Let me in, please?"

She opened the door wider, allowing him entrance, and he stepped in to sit on the edge of her bed.

"I wanted to talk to you... about the party," Squall began, shifting nervously.

Rinoa plopped herself down on the floor and leaned her back against the wall. "Squall... look, it's really not a big deal, I mean-"

"Wait. Let me say this... please," he interrupted.

She closed her mouth and sat silently, waiting for him to speak.

"I feel like an asshole for what happened. And yes, I know that you're going to say that it's not your concern anymore, but I know that I... would... be bothered... if I saw the same thing happen... with you."

Rinoa gazed at him, intently, seeing his discomfort and she smiled in spite of herself. "I know you would. I saw the looks you were givin' me and Zone."

He gritted his teeth and nodded in defeat, smiling sheepishly.

"I really do still love you, Rin... and I know you still love me," he continued, looking at the floor. "But I know things haven't been working out. I'm not asking that we get back together, because I would feel terrible if things couldn't be different than before... and right now things can't be different. So, I still think this separation is a good idea. But I wanted you to know that the girl I danced with, who apologized, by the way, took me completely by surprise and I never would have done that otherwise... and I think you already know that."

Rinoa nodded, her eyes unwavering on him. "I do know that. I was... a little upset at first, but then I realized... One, that you wouldn't purposely do such a thing... And two, that I don't like hangovers, so I really shouldn't get upset anymore. It's no big deal, really."

"You got THAT drunk?" he asked, mildly concerned.

"Piss drunk. Shitfaced, even."

"Are you ok? Did you get sick?"

"I'm alright, sweetie... don't worry about me. You are forgiven," she smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Rin," he sighed, relieved.

"Will you leave so I can sleep now?"

He chuckled and nodded, rising from the bed and opening the door. "Goodnight, then."

"Hey, Squall?" she said as she stood, facing him. "Thanks. For being you. You really are a wonderful man."

He raised an eyebrow at her comment, and she replied by wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

The contact took him by surprise, and for a moment was completely lost in the touch and smell of her. He closed his eyes and squeezed her back.

She began to pull away, but stayed close, looking up into his soulful eyes. She smiled and planted a small kiss on his lips. He smiled at this, and shook his head.

She smiled back and pushed him out her door.

"If I call your name, please step forward," Xu commanded to the large group of eager cadets in front of her.

Squall stood nearby, leaning against a wall in Cid's office, waiting for Xu to finish with the list of the new SeeDs. He desperately wanted to get back to his office where he could catch a few minutes of much needed sleep on the couch.

"Evelyn Samuel," Xu called out.

The name caught Squall's attention and he looked around to see the girl who's name was called. She stepped forward calmly, and bowed her head graciously as Xu handed her a certificate. She then stepped aside to join the newest group of SeeDs.

After the announcements were done, Squall made his way to where Eve was. She glanced up to the sound of someone approaching and smiled as Squall reached her.

"Hey, Commander," she said, holding up her certificate. "Guess I'm not that bad after all."

"Did you have any doubt?" he asked, shaking his head. "We don't see efficiency like yours in most of our veteran SeeDs."

She let out a breath and looked sheepish. "Well... like I said, I had a fantastic instructor."

Squall nodded. "Well, congratulations."

"Thanks."

They stood looking at each other for a long moment before Squall spoke up again.

"Well, I should be going... I'll see you later, I'm sure."

Eve nodded and smiled, turning to walk out of Cid's office.

Squall grimaced I hope that didn't sound like as much of a come-on as I think.

He rolled his eyes and headed for his office.

Quistis reared her head up from where she'd fallen asleep on her desk at the sound of a phone ringing.

"Hello?" she answered frantically.

"Hey, babe. You alright?" a smooth voice said from the other end.

"Seifer... yeah, I'm fine... I just... fell asleep at my desk again," Quistis sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"You know, I actually heard that sleeping in beds is common practice these days..." Seifer chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Quistis snarled. "So, have you decided to come back yet, or not?"

"Well, believe it or not, I got my first decent lead here last night, so I'll be staying for a little while longer."

"Oh, ok," she said, obviously disappointed. "You can't even tell me where you're at?"

"I'm sorry, Quistis... I can't. Don't worry, babe, I'll have this thing figured out in no time. I'll be back before you know it."

"I know. I miss you. Be careful out there, ok?"

"I will. I gotta go... I love you."

"Love you, too."

She heard the phone click off from the other end, and she replaced the receiver to its cradle, sighing.

"So that about leads us up to date," Rinoa said, walking slowly through the quad with Zone.

"So, there wasn't a fight or any drama of any kind?" he asked, astonished.

"Nope, it was just an agreement. We just weren't happy. So... we're doing the friend thing for a little while."

"Are you ok with that? I mean... are you... lonely?"

"Well, sure I'm a little lonely. We did live together for nearly two years. But, it's ok. It's nothing I can't handle," Rinoa explained, waving as Selphie and Irvine walked by. "Besides, Squall and I will never completely drift apart... there's this certain... attachment that we have. We're like best friends... and it's great. That will never change. Whether we get back together or not, we will always have that."

"Wow. So, you guys will probably get back together?" Zone asked quietly.

"Well, I don't know... but, probably at some point, yes. But enough of that. Did you have fun at dinner last night?"

"Yeah, actually... I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Your friends are really great."

Rinoa beamed. "I know, they really are. I was so lucky to find them. They like you, too, you know."

"Really?" Zone asked, genuinely surprised.

"Sure! They all had a great time. You're really funny when you're in a good mood."

Zone blushed. "Thanks..."

"Hey, you want me to teach you some self-defense?" Rinoa asked, suddenly.

"You mean like... martial arts?"

"Yeah. Squall and Zell have been teaching me for the past two years, and it's a lot of fun. I've gotten pretty good. So whatchya say? Can I kick your ass for a while?"

Zone laughed. "You can kick my ass any time you want." He blushed again at his own words.

Rinoa smiled and led him to a grassy area in the quad. Ha! You won't feel that way once I get through with you.

Squall sat up from his office couch after having a short nap and finally stood and went to his desk. Movement out the window to his right caught his attention and he looked over. What he saw made him laugh.

Rinoa was demonstrating a hip toss on Zone in the middle of the quad, the poor man being thrown to the ground like a rag doll. There was no doubt that Rinoa had learned exceedingly well in the martial arts and could certainly hold her own if ever faced with a physical threat. This thought had made Squall breathe a little easier since she'd decided to stay at Garden two years ago.

She was quick, quicker than Squall could ever hope to be, and she moved fluidly. Her strikes were powerful, but weren't quite as devastating as Squall's or Zell's. But she had that speed factor above both of them. She dodged attacks easily, throwing her opponents off balance for just a short moment. But it was all the time she needed to deliver a powerful blow to their ribs or groin.

Squall had always teased her about "cheating" because of her abilities in sorcery, but she always insisted that she'd never used such a thing when sparring. And he believed her.

She was a divine creature in his eyes. And probably in the eyes of most other men in the garden. He missed her... and as much as he hated to admit it, it was at night when he missed her the most. He didn't know if it was the sex he missed most then, or just simply having her next to him, offering him comfort whenever he needed it. He knew it was the latter that he missed more, honestly... but now the former was starting to get to him as well.

The kiss she had given him last night had driven him crazy, thus verifying just how lonely he was getting. It took him three hours to get to sleep after that, only to have his alarm screaming at him to get his lazy ass up an hour later.

He shook himself out of his reverie, watching the one-sided battle in the quad once again. Rinoa was now trying the bar choke on Zone. It was almost perfect, but she hadn't quite nailed it. Not like Eve...

He was still quite fascinated by the ease in which the medic had delivered the move to the soldier the day before. He thought briefly about having her teach Rinoa how to do it, but quickly disregarded the thought. Yeah, Rin would LOVE that.

He shook his head, then realized the phone was ringing and probably had been for a while.

"Commander Leonhart," he stated into the receiver.

"Hey, puberty boy," the other end said, lightheartedly.

"Seifer... you got any news?" Squall asked, knowing his friend meant the name as a joke.

"Oh yeah... I've got news."

A/N: Well, this chapter didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to, but I guess I got the idea I was going for across. Next chapter we will be learning more about Seifer's mission. These last chapters have been pouring out very quickly, so please check back frequently to see when I've written a new one. (I only work on the weekends, so I'll be working on this story every minute of the week, practically. I'm such an addict.)

Important Note: I really do need to bring this up to an R rating, so please remember to look for it there after this.

Thanks again to DBH- Well, when you're right, you're right... but no jumping to conclusions now wink. Anyway, I appreciate your review once again and thanks for the positive comments... they inspire me to keep writing... Can I technically call you a fan now? 'Cause I desperately need one... grin

To Frederikke Neergaard- blush Thank you so much for the nice comments! And no worries, it is definitely a Squinoa, although it may take some time to get there. But, there will certainly be many sporadic Squinoa moments throughout the whole thing. Keep reading!

To RiNoA LeoNhEaRtiLLy- Thanks so much! I'm working hard to keep things interesting, and though it's been lagging a bit, I promise to make things more suspenseful very soon.