A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update, kids. I've been struggling
with immense writer's block. My inspiration packed it's bags and walked
out the door. Romping, one of you said. Yes, of course there will be.
Why do you think this is rated "R"?
Infatuation of the Rose Chapter 4
The incriminating evidence rested snuggly in the leather interior of his coat pocket. With it, he would be certain to catch Rinoa in her act of injustice. The crime? Toying with his heart, playing off his physical senses. He told himself he wanted nothing more than to embaress her by bringing to light her deceptive little game. He wouldn't admit that it went deeper than that. Much deeper. No, he steered his mind away from those vague thoughts in the back of his mind as he suddenly found himself in a much more interesting situation.
Upon returning to his room, he had heard something in the neglected closet of his room, and for a moment, thought it might have been an attacker. He had opened his door, and shut it, thinking the culprit would reveal themselves. After a short moment of waiting, however, he grew impatient, and decided to take a look himself. And what did he find upon searching the closet? None other than Rinoa Heartilly herself, cowering in a corner with a sheepish smile on her face.
"Hi," she said, waving slightly.
"I'm almost afraid to ask..." he began, shaking his head, "but I have to know. Just what do you think you're doing?"
Slowly, she picked herself up from the floor and brushed herself off. "Funny story, really. Quistis sent me in here to check up on you. When I didn't find you, I was looking for you, and uh... got stuck in the closet."
"I was meeting with Quistis just now," he replied.
Damn, she knew that! Why did she use that as an excuse? She must've been the worst liar in all of history. "Oh.... well....." At that moment, she happened to glance down at her finger, and remembered her recent loss. "Okay, the truth is, I was looking for my ring. I lost it the other day, and I thought I might have dropped it in here."
Squall was silent for a moment, contemplating what to say next. He decided he would mess with her mind a bit before confronting her. "What were you doing in my room then?"
"Delivering your luggage," she answered, much more confidently this time. "Are you going to get mad at me for doing what I was told?"
"What you were told... I suppose Quistis told you to do it, right?" he asked.
Rinoa nodded, studing his face, trying to understand where he was headed with this conversation. "Yes, of course she did."
"And did you realize what a violation of privacy it was?" he asked.
"If it hadn't have been me, it would've just been someone else!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "What do you have to hide, anyway?" she demanded, regaining her confidence. "You're always being so secretive, so private. You don't want anything to do with anybody, and I think I know why!" she said, stepping closer to him in an intimidating manner. "You're hiding something. And I think that I, as a member of this household, as well as one of your clients, have a right to know."
"I haven't been hiding any more than you have!" he spat back at her. "I don't have any secrets to guard. You, on the other hand, walk around here like your entire existence is some sort of deadly secret. You're with holding everything. Maybe the murderer has been under everyone's noses this entire time!"
She narrowed her eyes. "You're full of shit. I'm not hiding anything. I'm not deceptive, and I'm not a murderer!" she exclaimed, her voice almost choking. "How dare you accuse me of that!"
"Then how did you really get that bruise on your leg? What are you really doing in my room? Why are you so scared of everyone? And why are you fucking with my mind?"
She glared up at him, a mixture of anger and confusion blazing deep within her eyes. "I don't owe you any answers!"
He reached a hand into his pocket, then, without saying another word, and produced something that he held tightly in his fist before opening his palm and exposing the sacred object to light.
A small gasp escaped her, as she eyed the ring with surprise. "Give me that!" she exclaimed, attempting to take it from him. Unfortunately, he was too quick for her.
He shook his head. "Not until you give me some answers. I have a right to know," he mocked her.
She scowled at him before turning her back to him. "It's none of your business."
"Well, when you change your mind, you can have it back..." he trailed off, and began to exit the room.
"Quistis hurt me...." she spoke in a near whisper, just before he could leave the room.
He halted in his tracks and turned to face her, though she now had her back turned to the door. "What do you mean she hurt you? She put that bruise on you?"
When she nodded, too distraught to vocalize her answer, he let out a sigh. "Why didn't you tell someone before? Why do you let her do that to you?"
She drew in a sharp breath, a chaotic storm of long-supressed pain beginning to rush to the surface. "Who else was there to tell? Anyone else that's ever stayed here before was one of Quistis's rich, snobby friends. I did try to tell someone once, though... he didn't believe me. I've never known anything different," she admitted. "Before it was Quistis, it was my father...."
A long silence stretched out before them, the sound particles of their voices fading from the room, the subtle vibrations seeping into the walls while the air fell flat. Finally, after an agonizing eternity of hellish silence, he turned her around to face him. "You probably shouldn't stay here," he said.
She laughed bitterly. "Where else am I going to go?"
"Go to him," he said, offering her the ring that rested in his palm. After hearing this dark secret of her past, he suddenly wasn't so angry anymore.
She took the ring and slipped it onto her finger, but gazed up at him in confusion. "Go to who? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Cut the act," he said. "I heard Quistis talking about him."
"About who?!" she demanded.
"Your fiance'," he clarified. "I heard all about him."
"Seifer?" she asked, then shook her head. "I can't stand him. I wouldn't want to go back to him."
"That's not the way Quistis put it," he replied.
Rinoa shook her head. "Seifer cheated on me. So I broke it off. Quistis got upset about it, hoping she would be able to get at his money through me. She was going to force me to get back together with him, but by that time, he'd proposed to the woman I found him with. I want absolutely nothing to do with him."
"Then who's ring is that?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"My mother's. It was one of the only thing's she gave me before her death that Quistis didn't take from me...."
He wondered away from her, and over to the window, gazing out for a moment before saying, "There's no where you can go? You don't have any friends, or even distant relatives that you can stay with for awhile?"
She shook her head. "No. I would go out on my own, but... I don't know what it's like. I'm a little scared of it...."
He sighed again. "Stay away from Quistis. If you stay away from her, she can't hurt you."
"I would never get away with it," she replied. "There's no where around here that I can hide. She knows where I sleep, after all."
"You have to do something..."
She tilted her head to the side. "Why do you care?"
He simply didn't have an answer for that. But rather than attempting to stumble through an excuse, he didn't speak. He wandered off for a moment, returning to the window and gazing down at the moonlit garden below. Finally he said, "Quistis has been lying to me. To all of us, I think. I've grown highly suspicious of her throughout this investigation. Maybe we should watch each other's back. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't trust her."
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So... we look out for each other. Agreed?" she asked, offering her hand to him.
He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure of what to do, then took her hand and nodded. "Yeah, okay. In the mean time, try to stay away from her. And if she comes after you again...."
"What?" Rinoa.
"Come find me," he replied, his stormy, restless gaze locking with hers for an agonizingly long second before he began to gently push her toward the door. "You never answered my other question, though."
"What?"
"What were you really doing in here?"
She turned her head away to mask the tinge of pink spreading over her cheeks. "I'm not going to tell you. At least... not yet."
He sighed. "Fine, whatever. Just don't do it again. It's weird."
Once they had reached the door of his room, she turned around, and allowed a small smile to grace her delicate features. "Thanks. You don't know how much this will help me," she said.
He shook his head. "Just don't say anything anywhere that Quistis or Tilmitt might here. I'm suspicious of her, too."
She nodded, but made no move to leave. Squall, taking notice of this, asked, "What is it?"
She shifted around uncomfortably for a moment, fidgeting with her hands before sliding her ring of her finger. "I want you to keep this. For good luck," she said softly as she handed it to him.
"I can't take that. It's yours. It means a lot to you."
She took his hand, and opened his fist, placing it back in his palm where it had been earlier that night before saying, "So do you..." so low he could hardly hear, as it was probably not intended for his ears in the first place. "Just, take good care of it," she said, louder this time, and walked off to her own room without once looking back.
{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}
A/N: This is kinda a short chapter, without much going on, I know, but I haven't worked on this fic in awhile, and I needed something to ease me into it. So, now we know that Quistis is an abusive liar (sorry Quistis fans). Reveiws are much appreciated.
Infatuation of the Rose Chapter 4
The incriminating evidence rested snuggly in the leather interior of his coat pocket. With it, he would be certain to catch Rinoa in her act of injustice. The crime? Toying with his heart, playing off his physical senses. He told himself he wanted nothing more than to embaress her by bringing to light her deceptive little game. He wouldn't admit that it went deeper than that. Much deeper. No, he steered his mind away from those vague thoughts in the back of his mind as he suddenly found himself in a much more interesting situation.
Upon returning to his room, he had heard something in the neglected closet of his room, and for a moment, thought it might have been an attacker. He had opened his door, and shut it, thinking the culprit would reveal themselves. After a short moment of waiting, however, he grew impatient, and decided to take a look himself. And what did he find upon searching the closet? None other than Rinoa Heartilly herself, cowering in a corner with a sheepish smile on her face.
"Hi," she said, waving slightly.
"I'm almost afraid to ask..." he began, shaking his head, "but I have to know. Just what do you think you're doing?"
Slowly, she picked herself up from the floor and brushed herself off. "Funny story, really. Quistis sent me in here to check up on you. When I didn't find you, I was looking for you, and uh... got stuck in the closet."
"I was meeting with Quistis just now," he replied.
Damn, she knew that! Why did she use that as an excuse? She must've been the worst liar in all of history. "Oh.... well....." At that moment, she happened to glance down at her finger, and remembered her recent loss. "Okay, the truth is, I was looking for my ring. I lost it the other day, and I thought I might have dropped it in here."
Squall was silent for a moment, contemplating what to say next. He decided he would mess with her mind a bit before confronting her. "What were you doing in my room then?"
"Delivering your luggage," she answered, much more confidently this time. "Are you going to get mad at me for doing what I was told?"
"What you were told... I suppose Quistis told you to do it, right?" he asked.
Rinoa nodded, studing his face, trying to understand where he was headed with this conversation. "Yes, of course she did."
"And did you realize what a violation of privacy it was?" he asked.
"If it hadn't have been me, it would've just been someone else!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "What do you have to hide, anyway?" she demanded, regaining her confidence. "You're always being so secretive, so private. You don't want anything to do with anybody, and I think I know why!" she said, stepping closer to him in an intimidating manner. "You're hiding something. And I think that I, as a member of this household, as well as one of your clients, have a right to know."
"I haven't been hiding any more than you have!" he spat back at her. "I don't have any secrets to guard. You, on the other hand, walk around here like your entire existence is some sort of deadly secret. You're with holding everything. Maybe the murderer has been under everyone's noses this entire time!"
She narrowed her eyes. "You're full of shit. I'm not hiding anything. I'm not deceptive, and I'm not a murderer!" she exclaimed, her voice almost choking. "How dare you accuse me of that!"
"Then how did you really get that bruise on your leg? What are you really doing in my room? Why are you so scared of everyone? And why are you fucking with my mind?"
She glared up at him, a mixture of anger and confusion blazing deep within her eyes. "I don't owe you any answers!"
He reached a hand into his pocket, then, without saying another word, and produced something that he held tightly in his fist before opening his palm and exposing the sacred object to light.
A small gasp escaped her, as she eyed the ring with surprise. "Give me that!" she exclaimed, attempting to take it from him. Unfortunately, he was too quick for her.
He shook his head. "Not until you give me some answers. I have a right to know," he mocked her.
She scowled at him before turning her back to him. "It's none of your business."
"Well, when you change your mind, you can have it back..." he trailed off, and began to exit the room.
"Quistis hurt me...." she spoke in a near whisper, just before he could leave the room.
He halted in his tracks and turned to face her, though she now had her back turned to the door. "What do you mean she hurt you? She put that bruise on you?"
When she nodded, too distraught to vocalize her answer, he let out a sigh. "Why didn't you tell someone before? Why do you let her do that to you?"
She drew in a sharp breath, a chaotic storm of long-supressed pain beginning to rush to the surface. "Who else was there to tell? Anyone else that's ever stayed here before was one of Quistis's rich, snobby friends. I did try to tell someone once, though... he didn't believe me. I've never known anything different," she admitted. "Before it was Quistis, it was my father...."
A long silence stretched out before them, the sound particles of their voices fading from the room, the subtle vibrations seeping into the walls while the air fell flat. Finally, after an agonizing eternity of hellish silence, he turned her around to face him. "You probably shouldn't stay here," he said.
She laughed bitterly. "Where else am I going to go?"
"Go to him," he said, offering her the ring that rested in his palm. After hearing this dark secret of her past, he suddenly wasn't so angry anymore.
She took the ring and slipped it onto her finger, but gazed up at him in confusion. "Go to who? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Cut the act," he said. "I heard Quistis talking about him."
"About who?!" she demanded.
"Your fiance'," he clarified. "I heard all about him."
"Seifer?" she asked, then shook her head. "I can't stand him. I wouldn't want to go back to him."
"That's not the way Quistis put it," he replied.
Rinoa shook her head. "Seifer cheated on me. So I broke it off. Quistis got upset about it, hoping she would be able to get at his money through me. She was going to force me to get back together with him, but by that time, he'd proposed to the woman I found him with. I want absolutely nothing to do with him."
"Then who's ring is that?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"My mother's. It was one of the only thing's she gave me before her death that Quistis didn't take from me...."
He wondered away from her, and over to the window, gazing out for a moment before saying, "There's no where you can go? You don't have any friends, or even distant relatives that you can stay with for awhile?"
She shook her head. "No. I would go out on my own, but... I don't know what it's like. I'm a little scared of it...."
He sighed again. "Stay away from Quistis. If you stay away from her, she can't hurt you."
"I would never get away with it," she replied. "There's no where around here that I can hide. She knows where I sleep, after all."
"You have to do something..."
She tilted her head to the side. "Why do you care?"
He simply didn't have an answer for that. But rather than attempting to stumble through an excuse, he didn't speak. He wandered off for a moment, returning to the window and gazing down at the moonlit garden below. Finally he said, "Quistis has been lying to me. To all of us, I think. I've grown highly suspicious of her throughout this investigation. Maybe we should watch each other's back. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't trust her."
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So... we look out for each other. Agreed?" she asked, offering her hand to him.
He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure of what to do, then took her hand and nodded. "Yeah, okay. In the mean time, try to stay away from her. And if she comes after you again...."
"What?" Rinoa.
"Come find me," he replied, his stormy, restless gaze locking with hers for an agonizingly long second before he began to gently push her toward the door. "You never answered my other question, though."
"What?"
"What were you really doing in here?"
She turned her head away to mask the tinge of pink spreading over her cheeks. "I'm not going to tell you. At least... not yet."
He sighed. "Fine, whatever. Just don't do it again. It's weird."
Once they had reached the door of his room, she turned around, and allowed a small smile to grace her delicate features. "Thanks. You don't know how much this will help me," she said.
He shook his head. "Just don't say anything anywhere that Quistis or Tilmitt might here. I'm suspicious of her, too."
She nodded, but made no move to leave. Squall, taking notice of this, asked, "What is it?"
She shifted around uncomfortably for a moment, fidgeting with her hands before sliding her ring of her finger. "I want you to keep this. For good luck," she said softly as she handed it to him.
"I can't take that. It's yours. It means a lot to you."
She took his hand, and opened his fist, placing it back in his palm where it had been earlier that night before saying, "So do you..." so low he could hardly hear, as it was probably not intended for his ears in the first place. "Just, take good care of it," she said, louder this time, and walked off to her own room without once looking back.
{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}
A/N: This is kinda a short chapter, without much going on, I know, but I haven't worked on this fic in awhile, and I needed something to ease me into it. So, now we know that Quistis is an abusive liar (sorry Quistis fans). Reveiws are much appreciated.