Reno: And we're back for another exciting chapter of "Fallen Knight".
Reeve: Wait. Hold on a minute.
Reno: What?
Reeve: We're Final Fantasy SEVEN characters, why are we doing the disclaimer for a FF8 fic?
Reno: Because I'm so damn sexy?
Reeve: ... Right.
Reno: Seriously. I am.
Reeve: Okey dokey then. Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy or any of its characters.
::Reno flexes::
Reeve: Okay, seriously. Just stop. Or I'll hit you.
Discussions Over Hot Dogs
Zell carried his hot dog littered tray over to what was affectionately called 'the command table' in the cafeteria. It was the table reserved for Squall, himself, Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie. Irvine frequently invited himself to it, despite the lack of invitation to him by Squall, and Cid, Nida and Xu were all also known to drop by. The young martial artist sat pulled out a chair, jumped over it, and plopped down, setting his tray down.
He looked up at Rinoa and Quistis, who were both mulling over their food. Selphie and Squall were nowhere in sight. Selphie was probably hiding from Irvine's affections.
"Where's Squall?" he asked, stuffing a hot dog in his mouth.
"Can you be any less polite, Zell?" Quistis asked.
"What?" he said defensively between bites. "I just wanna know where he is."
Quistis leaned over and gently pushed Zell's mouth shut. He frowned, shrugged, and swallowed, then followed it up with another bite of his hot dog.
"He's in bed," Rinoa answered, seeming glum.
"He's still sick?" the young man asked, still chewing on his hot dog. "Didn't you guys send the doc to go see him?"
Rinoa answered, "Yeah, but Doctor Kadowaki said there was nothing wrong with him. She thinks he may have just looked over the railing and got dizzy, that maybe he doesn't respond well to heights."
Quistis firmly shook her head. "I've seen Squall in action. Heights have never bothered him in the past. Is Kadowaki sure that this might not be some sort of side effect from the battle with Ultemicia, or the time compression, or even his being lost in the time warp?"
"She said not to rule it out, but there was nothing supporting it. There's simply nothing wrong with him according to what tests he'll let her do."
The blond instructor gave Rinoa a quizzical look. "Tests he'll let her do?"
"He barely even let Kadowaki near him. I thought he was going to throw a fit. He seemed really upset that I had brought the doctor into this. I've never seen him so..."
"Angry?" Zell supplied.
"Emotional."
"Huh. Maybe he just doesn't like doctors. I mean, the only times he's really talked to Doc Kadowaki was... when Seifer gave him that scar. Or when you were in that coma. I guess it kinda makes sense that he doesn't like the doc too much. She always seems to bring him bad news."
"Zell may be right," Quistis said with an inclination of her head.
The martial artist nodded to himself, pleased with his deduction and that Quistis had agreed with him. He stuffed an entire hot dog into his mouth. The blond girl gave him a disgusted look, and he smiled at her. He couldn't help it. These hot dogs were good.
The sound of a chair scraping brought Zell out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Irvine pulling up a chair. The sharpshooter's forehead was covered in sweat, and he had a bewildered expression on his face as he sat down.
"What's up?" Zell asked, his mouth still full.
"That's disgusting, man. Swallow before you talk," Irvine said.
"Sorry," he apologized after he had swallowed. "So, what's got you all riled up?"
"I just finished up in the training area, showing off my impressive skills to the ladies, but Squall was in there, and he was showing me up. It was so unfair."
"Squall was up?" Rinoa asked, standing up.
"Yeah. And he was being a real ass. He was fighting this T-Rexaur and didn't look to be doing so good, so I swooped into the rescue, pumped a few shells into that baddie, and saved the day. And you know what he said in way of thanks? 'Piss off, Kinneas.'"
Zell shrugged. "That's just Squall."
"No," Quistis said. "It doesn't match his attitude. Squall doesn't like being helped, but when it's in combat, he sees the need for it at times. He doesn't like to depend on it, but he's willing to accept it."
"How do you know?"
"I used to be the expert Squall observer."
Zell stuffed another hot dog in his mouth. "Oh right."
"He should be in bed," Rinoa stated. "After last night, and the way he acted this morning..."
Quistis raised an eyebrow as Rinoa. "This morning? What did he do this morning?"
"A new development in the Squall story?" Irvine asked. "Is Rinoa now single, ready for me to make my move? Ow!"
Zell felt like kicking Irvine a second time for that comment, but figured it only deserved the one for now. He really had to restrain himself, though.
"He just... this morning, when I went to go check on him... he was so distant. Like he wanted nothing to do with me, or anyone else. But most of all me. He just said... he... it was personal. He was just..."
"Mean?" Irvine said
. "Yeah. Not like Squall at all."
"I don't see how that's any different from the normal Squall. Sure, he can be a good guy sometimes, but he can be awfully cold-hearted at times, too."
"Nah," Zell said. "Squall's not mean. He's just distant. Not all there, or part of the group, really. He's just... uh... well, he's... uh..."
"A loner," Quistis supplied. "He's afraid of being left alone, so he pushes everyone away ahead of time so he never really gets attached. That may just be what he's doing now. I thought he had gotten over it with the return of sis, but I guess not."
"Yeah, that's it."
"I don't know..." Rinoa said. "I'm not sure that he wants me..."
Quistis shook her head. "He wants to be with you, and that's why he's pushing you away. It's nothing wrong with you, and it's not entirely him, either. He's afraid. You just have to make sure that he has nothing to be afraid of. He's your Knight, but you have to remember that guidance and protection runs both ways."
Rinoa smiled weakly and sat down. "I'll remember that. I think I'll go talk to him. Irvine, you said he was in the training center?"
The cowboy nodded. The Sorceress stood up, a sudden light in her eyes. "I'm going to find Squall, and I'm going to clear this whole thing up. Even if I have to beat it into him."
Rinoa straightened herself up and began to walk away. Zell called, "Hey, if you're gonna do that, can I have your hot dogs?"
Author's Note:
Fixed up an error pointed out to me by Jaysinya (Thank you), and cleared up a few html errors. Next chapter should be up in a day or so.