A/N: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

III. Rinoa

"Zell, what on Hyne's good green Gaia are you doing?" The blonde man peered curiously over his shoulder, slightly ruffled that she would be so indignant about something so insignificant. "I'm climbing a tree."

Rinoa fisted her hips, glaring up at him. "Yes, I can see that. Why are you climbing a tree in the training center instead of meeting me in the Quad like you promised?"

The expression on the SeeD's face was priceless, and he loosened his grip slightly in reluctancy. "Oh...oh yeah. That was today, wasn't that?"

"Yes, Zell, yes it was. You were supposed to help me learn how to play the violin, remember? You promised me."

Zell rolled his eyes uncomfortably towards the leafy canopy above him, face glowing slightly red as the blood rushed towards his head from the exertion -and effects of gravity- from hanging upside-down from a branch for over a minute. "Yes, I know I did...I'm not that great, you know...just a stroke of luck, really..."

"You're copping out!"

"I am not!" As Zell removed a fist to shake in her direction, it dawned upon him: that particular hand was vital in keeping his hold on the branch he was currently clinging to with monkey-like tenacity. Soon thereafter, his body met the grassy floor with a startling whumf, raising small puffs of dust and sending stray clippings of lawn spiraling into the air. Dazed, blinking, but yet unhurt, he slowly dragged his eyes into focus to put Rinoa's fuzzy face into proper light to see her frowning down at him.

"I will zap you into oblivion if you break your promise. You know I can, and I most definitely will."

Zell stuck his tongue out at her, and was rewarded with her familiar giggle as she plopped down next to him, nestling her head onto his panting stomach. "You're mean when you want something."

"How do you think I got Squall?" she pointed out. Zell couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Besides, I know you. If I don't pester you about it, you'd never do it."

"You don't know anything," Zell scoffed, waving his hand in circles in the air above them to elaborate her ignorance. "Your world is shrouded in pink clouds and bunnies and other girly things. You know nothing of the hardship of the fiddle."

"The hardship, huh? The difficulties of learning such a precise instrument, right?" Rinoa smiled warmly, directing a puff of breath towards her forehead to rid herself of a persistent ebony lock dangling limply before her dark chocolate eyes.

"Exactly." Zell's left hand found her right, and their fingers intertwined, resting on her stomach.

Rinoa observed this contact with interest. She supposed that were this male she was so physically close to were anyone other than Zell, she would feel guilt, and a nagging feeling of cheating on her three-year boyfriend. However, when she discovered that Zell had a thing for hugs, and usually no one would supply due to his high-energy exuberance, she was more than happy to oblige. Zell had, for as long as she had known him, been a rather touchy-feely kind of guy, and thought nothing of cuddling with any of his female friends, much different from a particular sharp-shooter she knew who took any contact from the opposite sex as an invitation to their bedroom.

Once, when the Orphanage Gang -and herself- had decided to lounge in the rec room, simply to watch videos and snack on incredibly unhealthy foods, Zell had occupied the couch, and was satisfied to have Quistis and Rinoa both at his side, both huddling deeply into his safe and caring embrace, with Selphie squealing dramatically into his chest, the tiny brunette grabbing the lapels of his jacket and slamming her face into his shirt -effectively stealing his breath- during the scary parts of the movie. Irvine had been late, ordered to report that Squall was backed up with paperwork, and thus be unable to attend their 'party' until later. The Galbadian eyed the women atop the martial artist, but sighed, shaking his head with a chuckle and a murmur that sounded suspiciously like 'pimping' when Selphie shrieked again, bounding up and hiding inside of his large leather duster from the creature clawing viciously at the screen.

Squall had arrived well after the movie was over and another had began (a 'chick flick,' much to the wailing protests of the men), his eyes flashing with something akin to jealousy and anger when spotting his girlfriend draped over a sleeping Zell. However, such feelings vanished from his face as said Sorceress bounced up with a giggle, startling poor Zell from his sleep, and scampered over to the commander, tackling him and showering his face with kisses. Later that night, when Squall had finally worked up the courage, he confronted her about it, only to have her laugh and supply this response:

"Silly! Zell's not you."

To which he offered her an even stare that read clearly: 'You, woman, make no sense.'

Rinoa had sighed, and, petting her boyfriend's hair, offered another explanation. "When I'm around Zell, holding his hand or cuddling with him, it's more like being protected and loved by a big brother, or a really close friend. There's nothing sexual or romantic involved when we touch." Squall had been satisfied with her statement -and several reinforcing displays of affection from her soon thereafter- and, after talking with Zell and receiving the same 'sibling affection' answer, thought almost nothing of their closeness. Almost. A guy is a guy, and could still be jealous.

So that's why Rinoa usually reserved the physical affection for when Squall was elsewhere, at times such as these. Of course, what she had said was true; she felt so safe when with the born-and-raised Balamb resident. Of course, she felt safe with Squall, but there was also that fiery unknown around the brunette that made the passion of the relationship. "Y'know, I really do feel safe around you, Zell." Rinoa lifted her hands and examined his strong, slightly scarred fingers between her own pale, smooth, soft ones.

"Stop it, I'm blushing."

She reached up, lightly slapping his chest in a weak chiding gesture. "I'm being serious!"

"So am I." Rinoa propped herself up on an elbow to confirm that, yes, Zell did have a light pinkish tint to his cheeks. She smiled softly, lightly touching his tattoo, admiring the black, intricate swoops and curves unfazed by the blood rushing to the skin beneath. "You need to stop being so shy, Zell."

He sighed, eyeing her expectantly. "I know."

"I mean, it, really." Deciding on a topic change, Rinoa flopped over Zell's stomach, snickering at the oof sound issuing from his mouth as he glared at her. "Do you...remember when we were in the Galbadia prison? After the assassination attempt?"

"...Yes." Zell's expression grew dark, clouding over with resentment and anger.

Rinoa roused herself numbly, feeling oddly comfortable for her last memory being so-

"Squall!" she screamed, sitting up abruptly, and almost immediately, a warm, strong arm was encircling her, bringing her back to whatever was so comfortable.

"Shh; you'll wake up Quistis and Selphie."

Rinoa turned her gaze skyward, noting in the horribly depressing lack of light that the commentator was Zell, and, placing two and two together, realized that it was his thigh she had been resting on. Blushing furiously, she moved away from him, kneeling on the cold steel floor and shivering.

Zell sent her an unreadable look, then, with a swift wiggle, shod his jacket and offered it wordlessly to her.

Rinoa accepted the gift with the same silence, slipping the large article over her shoulders, clutching the jacket -still warm, and smelling sweetly of chilled sweat- around herself. "Thank you," she whispered, wondering why the blonde was being so kind towards her. He had never bothered to show her anything above begrudging tolerance before, believing her to be possibly even more immature than himself. Now, he was being almost...nice? Protective, even?

A quick glance towards the subject of her inner debate proved the previous point. Both Quistis and Selphie were resting against his other thigh, and he had one arm draped across them, as if shielding them. Seeing her stare, Zell attempted to shift his weight, wincing as something disagreed with his movement.

It was then that Rinoa noticed the heavy bruises littering his bare arms, a particularly ugly one flaring beneath his tattoo, small lacerations dotting his body, or at least what was visible, and there was a bit of dried blood leaking from a cracked lip, and out from both nostrils. There was even blood still leaking from one of his ears, and judging by the way Zell was gingerly favoring his stomach, probably some bruises beneath his shirt as well.

"Zell!" Rinoa gasped, scooting towards him quickly, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder. "Zell, what happened to you?!"

"Guards decided to rough me up," he grunted, shaking her off.

"Zell! Are Quistis and Selphie okay?" A brief look-over informed Rinoa that she was right, and they were fine. Suddenly, the raven-haired girl turned her sharp gaze onto Zell, suspicious about his role. "Why...why didn't the guards beat us up, too?"

"'Cause you're girls."

"Didn't seem to bother them when they knocked us out," she pointed out skeptically.

Zell shifted his weight timidly, hissing in pain and flinching away from his injuries. "I dunno. Guess they just didn't want to bother."

Rinoa, curious to discover the real reason, but finding herself exhausted from the excitement, settled herself onto the floor, curling tightly into Zell's jacket in a desperate attempt to stay warm. A soft sigh sounded from behind her, and she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. "C'mere, you're gonna freeze." Rinoa cast an inquisitive glance towards the martial artist, who had reclined onto his back, Selphie and Quistis huddling unconsciously into his embrace to stay warm. Rinoa gave him a doubtful look, to which he returned a comforting smile. "I won't bite, I promise."

"I know..." Rinoa crawled over to Zell, laying gingerly next to him, and he encircled her with his arm, drawing her close when something occurred to her. "Hey...how come you didn't Cure yourself?"

"They've got some kind of barrier up; none of our magic'll work in here. Besides, I'll just save them for when we bust out, we'll probably need them." He rubbed her arm with a calloused hand, and Rinoa felt her eyelids droop, lulled into a satisfying sleep by the warmth radiating from his arm and side.

Unconsciously curling closer to him, she readjusted his jacket to spread across all four of them, and tucked her face into his side, throwing caution to the wind and letting her arm rest atop his abdomen lightly. "I sure hope Squall's okay," she murmured worriedly.

"I can guarantee that he's okay, probably better off than we are. He's really good at taking care of himself, he's been pulling the Iceberg Act for years, and has it down to a science." Rinoa giggled, drifting off to sleep before she could even recognize her signs of weariness, comforted by his steady breathing.

"...can't...just stop freaking out..."

"Stop?! -ell, you know...you could've...why'd...raped us...!"

"I...they never...why do you think-?!"

Rinoa jolted awake, the words finally sinking into her mind and, registering the danger, she snapped into awareness, sitting up, her eyes darting over to a startled Quistis and Zell, who looked as if they were currently in an argument, despite the fact that Zell's head was resting on her lap and she was stroking his hair, his breath coming in painful gasps.

"Zell! What-what's going on, what's wrong- what did I hear about someone getting raped?!" Rinoa demanded, scurrying over to them and shooting both blondes -and a previously hidden, crying Selphie behind Quistis- desperate looks.

Quistis' jaw set, and she opened her mouth to explain when Zell reached up with a whimper and covered her mouth. "No." He said simply.

"Whaddya mean, no?!" Selphie shouted at him, seemingly angry at him and pitying him at the same time.

"She deserves to know."

"She doesn't deserve to be scared."

"I think I can handle it!" Rinoa protested childishly, her fingers curling indignantly into fists. "Tell me."

"The guards..." Quistis' voice was low, Rinoa forced to lean in to hear her words, "they...tried to rape us -you, me and Selphie- while we were unconscious."

Rinoa froze, her fingers trembling at her lips. "Th-they-"

"They didn't," Zell assured her firmly, reaching over and giving her other hand a comforting squeeze. "They didn't, okay? I think you'd know if they did."

"But why didn't-" And then it clicked. Rinoa looked down at the beaten Zell in horror, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why did you...did they-?"

"No, they didn't rape me," Zell snorted, shifting and wincing in discomfort. "They just decided to fight with me...and give me a few handicaps."

"Handicaps?"

"Yeah...y'know, stuff to make it a fair fight, like shackles and a promise to hurt you girls if I tried to get loose."

"Zell..."

The blonde smirked, closing his eyes. "I still managed to give one of them a bruised eye and another a bloody lip and broken nose." Rinoa's lips trembled, and she slowly crawled towards him, her knees jerking in protest to the pain of the hard metal floor, but she ignored it, reaching out with a hand shaken by tremors to carefully smooth some of his drooping bangs from his face. The smile slipped from Zell's lips, and he fell unconscious, suddenly going limp in Quistis' arms.

Rinoa decided then and there that, if they escaped everything alive and intact, that she would be forced to ask Zell Dincht to marry her.

"I never got to ask you," Rinoa began, thoughtfully smoothing her thumb over knuckles scarred with use, "why did you do that?"

"...You gotta be kidding me."

"No, I'm not."

"W-well...y'know, isn't it obvious? I couldn't just sit there and let them do that, y'know?" His voice was suddenly filled with venom, and chilled Rinoa to the bone. "Men who do that...anyone who does that…abuses their strength to dominate and harm others...I hate them..."

"Zell, they could have just knocked you out and had their way with us anyways. Why didn't they?"

Zell was quiet, so quiet that Rinoa had thought that he hadn't heard her, but then he spoke. "I taunted them...called them weak for picking on some girls instead of fighting a real man...and..."

"...and what?" she prodded gently.

"And after the fight, when I was on the floor, they tried to go after Selphie, but I grabbed his ankle and...crushed it in my hand. I think after that they figured I wouldn't let them within ten feet of you guys, unconscious or not. Besides, they wanted to heal up, and after they left and I went to dream world, they came back to take you away. Things happened too quickly after that."

The two were silent, staring up at the blue sky, watching purple and gray clouds gather in the distance before Rinoa released Zell's hand, pushing herself up onto her knees and leaning over him, her black locks dangling over his face and tickling his skin. She smiled joyfully, leaned down quickly and pecked him on the cheek. "You do realize that now I have to marry you, right?"

Zell grinned, back in 'playful blonde' mode. "Take a number, baby, and find your way to the back of the line."