Disclaimer, I own nothing to do with final fantasy 8, it's the property of
Squaresoft. However all original characters and storylines are mine. thanx
Squall Leonhart felt the familiar sense of peace greet him as he stepped back into his bedroom and saw the sleeping beauty lying on her side facing him. Her black hair fell around her features with her natural highlights catching the sun that came through the window and the softly billowing curtains; her arms were wrapped around herself and the sheets. Half of him wanted to wake her gently and just take in her presence and natural warmth, but the other half let her sleep on whilst he dressed and a least made an effort with his damp hair.
The only sounds that filled the room were her soft breathing and the birds singing in the mountains outside, they were sounds he cherished every day that started like this one, infact he took in every moment he had with her, sleeping or other wise.
Once he was dressed and his hair was as dry as it was going to get he walked back to the bed and knelt down next to where she lay sleeping, he still didn't want to disturb whatever peaceful dreams she was having but he knew that they both had work to do that day. But as if sensing his thoughts she stirred and opened her eyes slowly.
"Squall." She said quietly as her eyes came in to focus and she was greeted by his warm smile, she matched it with one of her own as he leaned into kiss her.
"Rinoa." He whispered just as he did, she responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him gently to her. This is what I want to wake up to every morning she thought to herself as his arms slipped around her waist so he could hold her closely.
Eventually they broke apart, although by now he was full onto the bed and resting with his head propped up on his arm looking at her with his other arm still resting around her waist.
"Good morning." He said running his fingers up and down her side; she smiled at him warmly and moved closer to him.
"Um it is isn't It." she replied softly as she brushed her right hand through his deep silky hair before leaving it to rest there. "How long have you been up?" she asked.
"A while." He told her honestly, he wondered if she'd be upset he hadn't woken her but she didn't look it, instead she seemed curious and he wondered if her sleepy mind had woken up enough for her to remember what was going on today.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked him with the same curiosity he'd seen in her face.
"Because we had a late night last night and I wanted a shower without any distractions." Her eyes sparkled at his comment and she smiled slowly and a little shyly.
"I didn't think you minded." She replied as she remembered all the times he'd been more than happy for her to join him in the shower.
"I don't, normally, but I promised Quistis I'd take a look at the paper work for the latest SeeD's before we leave for Edea's house in the Ragnarok to swap the restoration teams. Although we're going to have to go a little earlier than planned because of Zell." Rinoa chuckled.
"It's their anniversary Squall." She reminded him and he nodded before adding.
"And you've got something's to go over too." She nodded slowly at him before rolling onto her back and onto her other side away from Squall. The something's that she had to go over were the results of the tests conducted on her powers that because she was a sorceress had needed to be assessed.
It had taken three years for her powers to settle and that morning she was to find out from Dr. Odine, who was visiting Balamb Garden to research the effects of GF's among other things, whether her powers were white or black. And it scared her.
Squall, who only a few years ago didn't really know how to react in this sort of situation or show any sort of affection what so ever, shifted over to her and put his arm around her so that he could pull her close to him, she didn't resist but he could feel her tense up.
"It'll be ok Rinoa." He whispered softly into her ear but all she did was shake her head and take tight hold of the arm he had around her.
"We don't know that for sure." She replied, her earlier mood dwindling in the wake of her fear. Rinoa wondered how she'd managed to get any sleep the night before, then memory reminded her that Squall had done a pretty good job of distracting her until she was so tired she'd fallen asleep without even realising what was happening.
"I know that." He told her firmly and placed a kiss in her hair and wondering how she managed to smell so good first thing in the morning.
"How?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Because I love you and though out everything – Ultimica doing what she did to you, time compression and managing to put up with me for three years, you're still you. That kind hearted –if a little forward young woman who's shown me all the good things I'd been missing out on. Like this for example." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and clasped her free hand around the two rings that permanently lay on the chain around her neck.
The two people that she loved the most had given them to her; the smaller ring had once been her mothers and had been given to Rinoa on her seventh birthday, shortly before her mom had died. For that reason she'd decided to wear it always so that in some way the connection that she missed would stay with her. The second and larger ring was Griever, it was Squalls ring by all accounts and although Zell still offered to make her a copy Squall insisted that she keep it, he liked seeing it on her and she knew it was because of the reason she would never take it off.
"I love you too." She whispered and she felt Squall nuzzle his head against hers. "It's just that I'm scared of the power ...and that I'll end up hurting someone with it." She admitted.
Smiling now that he knew how to cheer her up, he rolled her over so that she was on her back and he could see her face clearly.
"Then don't. You control your power – not the other way around, it's just a matter of whether you use your power to defeat the enemy or heal and protect your friends." He told her simply and Rinoa studied his face. His eyes were so warm and reassuring that slowly she started to smile too, before she lost the mood again Squall bent down and placed his lips on hers, wrapping his arms around her and lifted both her and the bed sheets covering her until she sat up next to him. When he eventually pulled back Rinoa still looked a little nervous but she was a great deal more relaxed and her smile was beaming.
"Go get dressed." He told her, "I'll wait her so we can head down to breakfast before your meeting with Dr. Odine and Quistis tries to explain the importance of a commander doing paper work instead of actually commanding." his sarcasm was covering both his dislike for the rather strange Dr. Odine and his concerns about Rinoa. He wasn't worried about that he would say to her but of how she would deal with it.
He could see the deep need in her to care for people and to make sure that everyone she cared about was safe and near her, he knew that she would fight to save them no matter what happened to herself in the process – she'd even agreed to have her powers sealed and her along with them if it meant they could all be safe.
Squall had seen her do it so many times that he understood the fear in her heart, what if her powers origin was dark and corrupted her? What she didn't know however was that Squall would always, always be by her side – even if it meant being her knight.
"Ok, I won't be long." She told him holding him close for a few seconds before sliding off the bed and heading for the ensuite bathroom.
* "I think he shows great promise, he graduated at rank eight and has already... decided to leave and run a flower shop in Balamb town." And still he doesn't pay attention! Quistis thought as she dropped the files to her desk and pushed her hands through her long blonde hair, she'd left it down because she knew that if she didn't it would probably get that way after a morning with Balambs Commander Squall Leonhart. In his current state he was completely useless and he wasn't even pretending to pay any attention. "And on another matter" she added to see if he could hear her at all, "I'm sleeping with Seifer."
That caught his attention and he turned wide-eyed to Quistis, who in turn rolled her eyes at him. "What?" he asked completely shocked. "I knew you were helping him with some issues but-"
"Give me some credit Squall! I was just seeing if you were paying any attention. That's all." The surprise in his eyes faded and he shook his head, which only had the effect of messing up his silky brown hair and did little to keep him focussed.
"I'm sorry, it's just..." Quistis didn't need him to finish to know who he was referring to.
"Rinoa." She said simply and he nodded. "She's going to be fine Squall, Dr. Odine is already certain that her powers are white." She told him, knowing that although Squall had changed dramatically over the past few years from the seemingly cold and stubborn young man he was then to the caring, warm but still incredibly stubborn man he had become that it was all due to Rinoa. She was also aware that if anything happened to her Squall would revert back inside himself to a place no one would be able to reach him again.
"Look, we've almost finished this so just give me at least half of your attention for another fifteen minutes then you can go to her." Squall nodded in agreement and at least made an effort.
"So this newest SeeD, what do you think he should do again?" he asked, he was after all supposed to be the Commander and seeing as Quistis did most of the paper work Squall decided not to push his luck and actually pay attention to her. Besides if he didn't she'd probably mention Seifer and her again and that was a mental image he really didn't need – although the image of Quistis and Seifer wasn't hardly as hard to take as the image of Rinoa and Seifer, despite her protests that it had never gone anywhere near that far.
* Her heart was beating so fast and her stomach was turning it's self over and over, she hadn't been this nervous since Squall had taken her back to his room after the celebrations held in the Garden when Ultimicia had been defeated and time compression averted.
"Az you can zee, dis iz good newz! Your powerz are infazt white, and zey are alzo verzy strong!" a rather exited Dr. Odine explained and he was so exited it seemed that he was jumping up and down as he showed her the results of the tests performed on her to determine the true source of her power,
"So I'm a white sorceress!" saying it out loud made it feel a little more real.
"Abzolutly Mizz Heartilly, you arz a good sorcerezz! Dis doezn't mean dat you cannot uze dark magic, just that the root of zem iz white."
Her smile beamed and she clutched the rings she wore tightly in her left hand as relief ran through her and left her calm and relaxed in it's wake, she hadn't realised how worried she'd been.
"Arz you alright mizz Heartilly?" Dr. Odine asked, he was looking up at her with a very confused expression on his face.
"I'm fine." She told him "Is it ok if I go now? It's just that I need to tell Squall... commander Leonhart what you've just told me." She asked, wondering if he'd be done with the paper work by now, or more likely if Quistis had given up on him completely.
"Abzolutly! I should bee gozing now anzy way, just az soon az I see your Dr. Kadawaki about somzing to doo wiz zee GF's." he told her, still jumping up and down but only this time he was heading for DR. Kadawaki's office and Rinoa decided to leave him be before he came bouncing right back over to her with proposals of more experiments that she didn't want anything to do with.
At first she walked along the fountain lined hallway but everything seemed to be moving too slowly so she picked up the pace a little. It wasn't long before she was running towards the lobby at full speed with her long blue cardigan and her hair flying behind her, she wanted to see him, to let him know that everything was ok. She knew he'd been worried about her, more than she was about herself and now all she wanted to do was spend some time with him before they left in the Ragnarok for Edea's house.
After she'd jumped most of the steps to the elevator she stood tapping her foot lightly on the floor as she waited for it to arrive. Laurie, who worked in the library and had been going out with Zell for three years, approached and waved to get her attention.
"Hey Rinoa, have you seen Quistis?" she asked and leaned against the wall next to the elevator doors.
Rinoa nodded, "She's in a meeting with Squall in his office, I'm heading up there now actually – as soon as the elevator gets here." She asked her, still tapping her foot on the ground as her patience went out of the window.
"Oh! I don't want to interrupt anything, it's just that there are something's in the library that she asked for and..." but Laurie didn't finish, Rinoa had come to notice that the girl could actually be quite shy sometimes, although when she was with Zell it was hardly evident.
"It's ok. "she reassured her "I'm sure Quistis will be happy to see someone who'll pay attention to her and I'm not really sure that Squall's going to stay there once I talk to him anyway."
"Thanks." Laurie said gratefully.
"No problem." Rinoa added just as the elevator doors opened and a few SeeD's, who she recognised as the card club walked out. She and Laurie entered and she pressed the button for the third floor.
As the doors closed quietly Laurie spoke equally as quietly, "Um can I ask you for a favour?" she had her attention fixed entirely in front of her. "Sure." Rinoa told her, already guessing that it had something to do with today being her and Zells anniversary.
"Um... can I, would it be ok if... is there any space on the Ragnarok for me to come with you?" she finally managed to ask although she still wouldn't look at her.
"Laurie, Squall already thinks that you are. He put you on the list of crew yesterday – but we're leaving a little earlier than we first planned so just be in the main entrance for twelve o'clock." She turned to look at Rinoa in surprise.
"Really?" she asked and her friend nodded.
"Do you really think we'd leave you here to wait for us to come back? Zell would probably kill us if we did." Rinoa explained as the doors opened and they stepped out onto the top floor of Garden, unless you counted the control that is.
The floor had originally been headmaster Cid's office, but his had been relocated to the second floor when the control platform had erected it's self where his desk had once stood. Since then several changes had been made, another elevator had been erected for anybody trying to reach the control deck and what had once been one office was now split into two.
The first, which lead onto the second elevator and the other office, was for Quistis and Xu, who acted as second in command of SeeD and looked after any new recruits and the general running of Balamb Garden on a day-to-day basis. The second and larger office belonged to Squall, as he was the commander of all SeeD's in residence at Balamb Garden. It was also one of Rinoa's favourite places to get a good view of the outside world from the comfort of Garden and usually Squalls arms as well when they were travelling the world.
Walking over to the door that lead onto his office Rinoa cast a glance to Laurie to tell her not to worry, Quistis wouldn't mind and neither would Squall – he'd be happy for an excuse to leave. She gave the door a few sharp taps with her knuckles and waited, which was all she'd seemed to do all morning, for somebody to answer.
She could hear somebody moving around on the other side and before long the door in front of her slid open to reveal a very nervous looking Squall, Rinoa looked up into his eyes smiling gently and nodded as she told him everything in a simple look. She only just saw the relief on his face before stepping into his open arms and feeling him pull her into a tight hug, she in turn wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her head into the fur of his collar.
"I take it it's good news then?" Quistis asked from the office behind Squall, who released Rinoa shortly afterwards.
"Yes." She beamed and walked over to Quistis, she put her files down and hugged the sorceress.
"Does this mean that you've come to take our lovely commander out of my hands as well?" she asked hopefully and Rinoa nodded.
"Yep." She replied with a glint in her eyes that Quistis knew better than to ask about. "Oh Laurie's waiting for you in your office, I told her you'd be more than happy for company that actually pays attention to you." She added, looking out into the other office to check that her librarian friend hadn't left already.
"Ok, thanks. I'll see you later then." It wasn't exactly a question but she wouldn't have been surprised if they took a couple of days off somewhere that they could be alone.
"Probably." Squall answered her walking over to Rinoa and took hold of her hand. "If you need to contact us we're back on the normal frequency again." He said as they headed towards the elevator, Rinoa looked behind her and waved to Quistis and Laurie before stepping inside just before the doors closed and Squall looped his arms around her from behind.
"So what do you want to do now?" he asked, resting his head on hers, she shrugged.
"Tell everyone who needs to know that I'm officially a good sorceress." Came her reply, followed by a happy sigh. "And put up the classroom changes for the next couple of days – just in case." She added thinking about her schedule, shortly after they'd gotten back from the defeat of Ultimicia, Rinoa had been offered SeeD status due to her fulfilling all the requirements more than once over.
It was a position that she hadn't been very comfortable with at first – the idea of taking orders didn't really sit well with her, but Xu had explained to her that she wouldn't have to do field work unless she wanted to and that she could play to her strengths. Those had turned out to be teaching classes on magical theory and the history of the sorceress wars as she could present a balanced view on the different sorceresses throughout the ages and learn more about them herself as a result. It also gave her the opportunity to do something useful with her private school diploma.
"You can do that from any terminal can't you?" he asked her as the doors opened and they stepped out to the sound of the fountains and the sight of SeeD's and candidates moving about the main hallway.
"Technically yeah but if we use the one you're suggesting I doubt I'll get anything done." she told him, now walking at his side with her hand in his.
"Ok fine, we can stop off at the library first."
"First?" she teased.
"We've got three hours Rinoa and something to celebrate." He informed her following her mood.
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" she asked him with the same heated look in her eyes that he'd relished the night before.
"The sooner you get the notice finished the sooner you find out." The fact that he'd managed to keep a straight face as he spoke was testament only to the fact that his training had given him an incredible amount of self- control, the same self-control that was over riding his thoughts of just picking her up and carrying her all the way to their dorm.
"Kay." She replied and dragged him, running the rest of the way to the library.
Chapter three will be up soon. If u liked it review!!!!!!!!!
Squall Leonhart felt the familiar sense of peace greet him as he stepped back into his bedroom and saw the sleeping beauty lying on her side facing him. Her black hair fell around her features with her natural highlights catching the sun that came through the window and the softly billowing curtains; her arms were wrapped around herself and the sheets. Half of him wanted to wake her gently and just take in her presence and natural warmth, but the other half let her sleep on whilst he dressed and a least made an effort with his damp hair.
The only sounds that filled the room were her soft breathing and the birds singing in the mountains outside, they were sounds he cherished every day that started like this one, infact he took in every moment he had with her, sleeping or other wise.
Once he was dressed and his hair was as dry as it was going to get he walked back to the bed and knelt down next to where she lay sleeping, he still didn't want to disturb whatever peaceful dreams she was having but he knew that they both had work to do that day. But as if sensing his thoughts she stirred and opened her eyes slowly.
"Squall." She said quietly as her eyes came in to focus and she was greeted by his warm smile, she matched it with one of her own as he leaned into kiss her.
"Rinoa." He whispered just as he did, she responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him gently to her. This is what I want to wake up to every morning she thought to herself as his arms slipped around her waist so he could hold her closely.
Eventually they broke apart, although by now he was full onto the bed and resting with his head propped up on his arm looking at her with his other arm still resting around her waist.
"Good morning." He said running his fingers up and down her side; she smiled at him warmly and moved closer to him.
"Um it is isn't It." she replied softly as she brushed her right hand through his deep silky hair before leaving it to rest there. "How long have you been up?" she asked.
"A while." He told her honestly, he wondered if she'd be upset he hadn't woken her but she didn't look it, instead she seemed curious and he wondered if her sleepy mind had woken up enough for her to remember what was going on today.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked him with the same curiosity he'd seen in her face.
"Because we had a late night last night and I wanted a shower without any distractions." Her eyes sparkled at his comment and she smiled slowly and a little shyly.
"I didn't think you minded." She replied as she remembered all the times he'd been more than happy for her to join him in the shower.
"I don't, normally, but I promised Quistis I'd take a look at the paper work for the latest SeeD's before we leave for Edea's house in the Ragnarok to swap the restoration teams. Although we're going to have to go a little earlier than planned because of Zell." Rinoa chuckled.
"It's their anniversary Squall." She reminded him and he nodded before adding.
"And you've got something's to go over too." She nodded slowly at him before rolling onto her back and onto her other side away from Squall. The something's that she had to go over were the results of the tests conducted on her powers that because she was a sorceress had needed to be assessed.
It had taken three years for her powers to settle and that morning she was to find out from Dr. Odine, who was visiting Balamb Garden to research the effects of GF's among other things, whether her powers were white or black. And it scared her.
Squall, who only a few years ago didn't really know how to react in this sort of situation or show any sort of affection what so ever, shifted over to her and put his arm around her so that he could pull her close to him, she didn't resist but he could feel her tense up.
"It'll be ok Rinoa." He whispered softly into her ear but all she did was shake her head and take tight hold of the arm he had around her.
"We don't know that for sure." She replied, her earlier mood dwindling in the wake of her fear. Rinoa wondered how she'd managed to get any sleep the night before, then memory reminded her that Squall had done a pretty good job of distracting her until she was so tired she'd fallen asleep without even realising what was happening.
"I know that." He told her firmly and placed a kiss in her hair and wondering how she managed to smell so good first thing in the morning.
"How?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Because I love you and though out everything – Ultimica doing what she did to you, time compression and managing to put up with me for three years, you're still you. That kind hearted –if a little forward young woman who's shown me all the good things I'd been missing out on. Like this for example." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and clasped her free hand around the two rings that permanently lay on the chain around her neck.
The two people that she loved the most had given them to her; the smaller ring had once been her mothers and had been given to Rinoa on her seventh birthday, shortly before her mom had died. For that reason she'd decided to wear it always so that in some way the connection that she missed would stay with her. The second and larger ring was Griever, it was Squalls ring by all accounts and although Zell still offered to make her a copy Squall insisted that she keep it, he liked seeing it on her and she knew it was because of the reason she would never take it off.
"I love you too." She whispered and she felt Squall nuzzle his head against hers. "It's just that I'm scared of the power ...and that I'll end up hurting someone with it." She admitted.
Smiling now that he knew how to cheer her up, he rolled her over so that she was on her back and he could see her face clearly.
"Then don't. You control your power – not the other way around, it's just a matter of whether you use your power to defeat the enemy or heal and protect your friends." He told her simply and Rinoa studied his face. His eyes were so warm and reassuring that slowly she started to smile too, before she lost the mood again Squall bent down and placed his lips on hers, wrapping his arms around her and lifted both her and the bed sheets covering her until she sat up next to him. When he eventually pulled back Rinoa still looked a little nervous but she was a great deal more relaxed and her smile was beaming.
"Go get dressed." He told her, "I'll wait her so we can head down to breakfast before your meeting with Dr. Odine and Quistis tries to explain the importance of a commander doing paper work instead of actually commanding." his sarcasm was covering both his dislike for the rather strange Dr. Odine and his concerns about Rinoa. He wasn't worried about that he would say to her but of how she would deal with it.
He could see the deep need in her to care for people and to make sure that everyone she cared about was safe and near her, he knew that she would fight to save them no matter what happened to herself in the process – she'd even agreed to have her powers sealed and her along with them if it meant they could all be safe.
Squall had seen her do it so many times that he understood the fear in her heart, what if her powers origin was dark and corrupted her? What she didn't know however was that Squall would always, always be by her side – even if it meant being her knight.
"Ok, I won't be long." She told him holding him close for a few seconds before sliding off the bed and heading for the ensuite bathroom.
* "I think he shows great promise, he graduated at rank eight and has already... decided to leave and run a flower shop in Balamb town." And still he doesn't pay attention! Quistis thought as she dropped the files to her desk and pushed her hands through her long blonde hair, she'd left it down because she knew that if she didn't it would probably get that way after a morning with Balambs Commander Squall Leonhart. In his current state he was completely useless and he wasn't even pretending to pay any attention. "And on another matter" she added to see if he could hear her at all, "I'm sleeping with Seifer."
That caught his attention and he turned wide-eyed to Quistis, who in turn rolled her eyes at him. "What?" he asked completely shocked. "I knew you were helping him with some issues but-"
"Give me some credit Squall! I was just seeing if you were paying any attention. That's all." The surprise in his eyes faded and he shook his head, which only had the effect of messing up his silky brown hair and did little to keep him focussed.
"I'm sorry, it's just..." Quistis didn't need him to finish to know who he was referring to.
"Rinoa." She said simply and he nodded. "She's going to be fine Squall, Dr. Odine is already certain that her powers are white." She told him, knowing that although Squall had changed dramatically over the past few years from the seemingly cold and stubborn young man he was then to the caring, warm but still incredibly stubborn man he had become that it was all due to Rinoa. She was also aware that if anything happened to her Squall would revert back inside himself to a place no one would be able to reach him again.
"Look, we've almost finished this so just give me at least half of your attention for another fifteen minutes then you can go to her." Squall nodded in agreement and at least made an effort.
"So this newest SeeD, what do you think he should do again?" he asked, he was after all supposed to be the Commander and seeing as Quistis did most of the paper work Squall decided not to push his luck and actually pay attention to her. Besides if he didn't she'd probably mention Seifer and her again and that was a mental image he really didn't need – although the image of Quistis and Seifer wasn't hardly as hard to take as the image of Rinoa and Seifer, despite her protests that it had never gone anywhere near that far.
* Her heart was beating so fast and her stomach was turning it's self over and over, she hadn't been this nervous since Squall had taken her back to his room after the celebrations held in the Garden when Ultimicia had been defeated and time compression averted.
"Az you can zee, dis iz good newz! Your powerz are infazt white, and zey are alzo verzy strong!" a rather exited Dr. Odine explained and he was so exited it seemed that he was jumping up and down as he showed her the results of the tests performed on her to determine the true source of her power,
"So I'm a white sorceress!" saying it out loud made it feel a little more real.
"Abzolutly Mizz Heartilly, you arz a good sorcerezz! Dis doezn't mean dat you cannot uze dark magic, just that the root of zem iz white."
Her smile beamed and she clutched the rings she wore tightly in her left hand as relief ran through her and left her calm and relaxed in it's wake, she hadn't realised how worried she'd been.
"Arz you alright mizz Heartilly?" Dr. Odine asked, he was looking up at her with a very confused expression on his face.
"I'm fine." She told him "Is it ok if I go now? It's just that I need to tell Squall... commander Leonhart what you've just told me." She asked, wondering if he'd be done with the paper work by now, or more likely if Quistis had given up on him completely.
"Abzolutly! I should bee gozing now anzy way, just az soon az I see your Dr. Kadawaki about somzing to doo wiz zee GF's." he told her, still jumping up and down but only this time he was heading for DR. Kadawaki's office and Rinoa decided to leave him be before he came bouncing right back over to her with proposals of more experiments that she didn't want anything to do with.
At first she walked along the fountain lined hallway but everything seemed to be moving too slowly so she picked up the pace a little. It wasn't long before she was running towards the lobby at full speed with her long blue cardigan and her hair flying behind her, she wanted to see him, to let him know that everything was ok. She knew he'd been worried about her, more than she was about herself and now all she wanted to do was spend some time with him before they left in the Ragnarok for Edea's house.
After she'd jumped most of the steps to the elevator she stood tapping her foot lightly on the floor as she waited for it to arrive. Laurie, who worked in the library and had been going out with Zell for three years, approached and waved to get her attention.
"Hey Rinoa, have you seen Quistis?" she asked and leaned against the wall next to the elevator doors.
Rinoa nodded, "She's in a meeting with Squall in his office, I'm heading up there now actually – as soon as the elevator gets here." She asked her, still tapping her foot on the ground as her patience went out of the window.
"Oh! I don't want to interrupt anything, it's just that there are something's in the library that she asked for and..." but Laurie didn't finish, Rinoa had come to notice that the girl could actually be quite shy sometimes, although when she was with Zell it was hardly evident.
"It's ok. "she reassured her "I'm sure Quistis will be happy to see someone who'll pay attention to her and I'm not really sure that Squall's going to stay there once I talk to him anyway."
"Thanks." Laurie said gratefully.
"No problem." Rinoa added just as the elevator doors opened and a few SeeD's, who she recognised as the card club walked out. She and Laurie entered and she pressed the button for the third floor.
As the doors closed quietly Laurie spoke equally as quietly, "Um can I ask you for a favour?" she had her attention fixed entirely in front of her. "Sure." Rinoa told her, already guessing that it had something to do with today being her and Zells anniversary.
"Um... can I, would it be ok if... is there any space on the Ragnarok for me to come with you?" she finally managed to ask although she still wouldn't look at her.
"Laurie, Squall already thinks that you are. He put you on the list of crew yesterday – but we're leaving a little earlier than we first planned so just be in the main entrance for twelve o'clock." She turned to look at Rinoa in surprise.
"Really?" she asked and her friend nodded.
"Do you really think we'd leave you here to wait for us to come back? Zell would probably kill us if we did." Rinoa explained as the doors opened and they stepped out onto the top floor of Garden, unless you counted the control that is.
The floor had originally been headmaster Cid's office, but his had been relocated to the second floor when the control platform had erected it's self where his desk had once stood. Since then several changes had been made, another elevator had been erected for anybody trying to reach the control deck and what had once been one office was now split into two.
The first, which lead onto the second elevator and the other office, was for Quistis and Xu, who acted as second in command of SeeD and looked after any new recruits and the general running of Balamb Garden on a day-to-day basis. The second and larger office belonged to Squall, as he was the commander of all SeeD's in residence at Balamb Garden. It was also one of Rinoa's favourite places to get a good view of the outside world from the comfort of Garden and usually Squalls arms as well when they were travelling the world.
Walking over to the door that lead onto his office Rinoa cast a glance to Laurie to tell her not to worry, Quistis wouldn't mind and neither would Squall – he'd be happy for an excuse to leave. She gave the door a few sharp taps with her knuckles and waited, which was all she'd seemed to do all morning, for somebody to answer.
She could hear somebody moving around on the other side and before long the door in front of her slid open to reveal a very nervous looking Squall, Rinoa looked up into his eyes smiling gently and nodded as she told him everything in a simple look. She only just saw the relief on his face before stepping into his open arms and feeling him pull her into a tight hug, she in turn wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her head into the fur of his collar.
"I take it it's good news then?" Quistis asked from the office behind Squall, who released Rinoa shortly afterwards.
"Yes." She beamed and walked over to Quistis, she put her files down and hugged the sorceress.
"Does this mean that you've come to take our lovely commander out of my hands as well?" she asked hopefully and Rinoa nodded.
"Yep." She replied with a glint in her eyes that Quistis knew better than to ask about. "Oh Laurie's waiting for you in your office, I told her you'd be more than happy for company that actually pays attention to you." She added, looking out into the other office to check that her librarian friend hadn't left already.
"Ok, thanks. I'll see you later then." It wasn't exactly a question but she wouldn't have been surprised if they took a couple of days off somewhere that they could be alone.
"Probably." Squall answered her walking over to Rinoa and took hold of her hand. "If you need to contact us we're back on the normal frequency again." He said as they headed towards the elevator, Rinoa looked behind her and waved to Quistis and Laurie before stepping inside just before the doors closed and Squall looped his arms around her from behind.
"So what do you want to do now?" he asked, resting his head on hers, she shrugged.
"Tell everyone who needs to know that I'm officially a good sorceress." Came her reply, followed by a happy sigh. "And put up the classroom changes for the next couple of days – just in case." She added thinking about her schedule, shortly after they'd gotten back from the defeat of Ultimicia, Rinoa had been offered SeeD status due to her fulfilling all the requirements more than once over.
It was a position that she hadn't been very comfortable with at first – the idea of taking orders didn't really sit well with her, but Xu had explained to her that she wouldn't have to do field work unless she wanted to and that she could play to her strengths. Those had turned out to be teaching classes on magical theory and the history of the sorceress wars as she could present a balanced view on the different sorceresses throughout the ages and learn more about them herself as a result. It also gave her the opportunity to do something useful with her private school diploma.
"You can do that from any terminal can't you?" he asked her as the doors opened and they stepped out to the sound of the fountains and the sight of SeeD's and candidates moving about the main hallway.
"Technically yeah but if we use the one you're suggesting I doubt I'll get anything done." she told him, now walking at his side with her hand in his.
"Ok fine, we can stop off at the library first."
"First?" she teased.
"We've got three hours Rinoa and something to celebrate." He informed her following her mood.
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" she asked him with the same heated look in her eyes that he'd relished the night before.
"The sooner you get the notice finished the sooner you find out." The fact that he'd managed to keep a straight face as he spoke was testament only to the fact that his training had given him an incredible amount of self- control, the same self-control that was over riding his thoughts of just picking her up and carrying her all the way to their dorm.
"Kay." She replied and dragged him, running the rest of the way to the library.
Chapter three will be up soon. If u liked it review!!!!!!!!!
