AN: Yeah for twists! Lol, I dunno whether I should really get into a Rinoa/Quistis section, or whether I should keep it as a simple twist. Tell me what you think when you review!

"Squall?"

"Oh, hey."

"I just came from Quisty's."

"How's she doing?"

Rinoa stood, slightly irked, in front of Squall's desk as he hovered over his unending paperwork. Annoyed at the fact that he hadn't even looked up once since she'd stepped into his office, she deliberately knocked over a pile of papers, making it look as innocent as possible. As they fluttered to the floor, Squall looked up, annoyance and frustration clearly written all over his face.

"And what did you do that for?"

"Do what? The papers? That was by accident! What do you mean what did I do that for?"

"By accident? Rin, I'm not blind!"

Shock coursed through her.

"What?"

"Rinoa, please, I have a lot of work, can't this wait?"

Squall returned to his paperwork, trying to keep his temper in check. Things had made him tetchy, especially with what was happening to Quistis. He wasn't in the mood for Rinoa's frivolity. Especially not right now. He missed the quiver of anger that ran up Rinoa's spine. Without saying another word, Rinoa stomped out of Squall's office.

He sighed. Dropping his pen onto the form that he was currently filling out, Squall buried his head in his hands, before, in a sudden burst of unchecked anger, he picked up his coffee mug and hurled it against the wall opposite him, watching in satisfaction as it shattered upon impact.

x x x

Quistis trembled, unable to rid the feeling of sudden longing that currently washed over her. The moment Rinoa had disappeared from view, closing the Infirmary room door behind her, Quistis had felt profoundly lonely. She kept trying to tell herself that this was wrong, Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend. It was just wrong to be feeling anything but friendship towards Rinoa, but somehow, her reasoning wasn't working.

The soft turning of the doorknob jolted Quistis from her thoughts. A familiar head poked in, startling Quistis and comforting her at the same time.

"Quisty?"

Rinoa looked nervously at the blonde sitting in her bed. Quistis looked rather startled. Maybe she'd come at a bad time. She pulled back slightly, hoping that Quistis didn't hear her so she could slip out, but that didn't work.

"Rin? Come in!"

Part of Rinoa regretted not pulling out faster, the other part sighed in thanks at Quistis' hurried beckon.

Rinoa took her time, taking long, deliberately relaxed strides. She lowered herself slowly into the chair at Quistis' bedside, completely aware of the fierce look that Quistis was giving her.

"What?" she finally asked, having sat down and met Quistis' eyes.

"Something's wrong, isn't there." Quistis said slowly.

Rinoa sighed.

"How'd you guess?"

"It's written all over your face."

Rinoa didn't respond, just stared off into space. Why was Squall being so obstinate? She knew that it wasn't her fault, that Squall hadn't meant to take his anger out on her. It was just that he was close to snapping under all the pressure, and to add Quistis' troubles onto him would probably break him. Rinoa had just been there at a bad time. He'd always hid himself away from the rest of the world whenever he was too stressed, just as he was doing now. Burying himself under all that paperwork wasn't doing him any good, and Rinoa, who needed him, had suffered the consequence of his bottled up frustration. Why couldn't he just be like he usually was? Why couldn't he be open? Squall had been closed up at the beginning, but Rinoa had managed to worm herself in past his defense. Although it was rare, Squall would occasionally go back to his walled up self, even around Rinoa, and it was what bugged her. At a time when she needed him most, he had decided to hide away from everything. Who would she turn to?

"Rinoa?"

Quistis. Quistis was calling to her. She could turn to Quistis. Rinoa smiled a soft, sad smile.

"Yeah?"

"Is it Squall? Did something happen between you two?"

Quistis had always been mature, much more so than the rest of the gang. She understood problems better than the rest, and was much more empathetic. It was all part of being an Instructor.

Rinoa sighed. She had been right in one.

"Of course. What else would be causing me so much distress?"

Quistis tentatively took one of Rinoa's hands into her own, reveling in its softness and warmth.

"Squall's like that Rin, you of all people should know."

"I know, but I mean, I need to talk to him. I'm so troubled right now, and just when I need him the most, he goes and shuts himself up again. Oh yeah, let's go talk to Mr. Brick Wall!"

Rinoa made a face as she said Selphie's mocking nickname for Squall. Quistis reached up with her free hand and gently stroked Rinoa's cheek, getting her to untwist her delicate features.

"Don't say that Rin. He's not doing it on purpose, it's his way of dealing with big problems."

"Yeah, okay, I understand that, but who am I supposed to turn to now that he's all brick and concrete?"

Quistis paused before she slowly said her answer.

"I'm here, Rin..."

There was a thrill of emotion as Rinoa looked into Quistis' frank blue eyes. Quistis was in the midst of severe emotional turmoil, and she was still offering to help Rinoa out. The entirety of it got to Rinoa so much that before she knew it, there were tears forming.

"Quis..."

"I'm serious. If you've got problems, I'm always here to hear you out," Quistis paused, gazing at Rinoa intently, "You've helped me. It's only right that I help you too."

All the helplessness and anger and frustration that Rinoa had been feeling spilled out of her at an unbelievable rate, and Quistis lapped it all up. Sighing, she reached up and stroked Rinoa's hair, gently massaging her scalp to calm her down. Rinoa immediately calmed and leaned forward, resting her head tiredly on Quistis' comforting shoulder.

"Thanks, Quis."

"No problem. Squall'll come around soon, don't worry too much Rin."

"I'll try."

Rinoa's answer was muffled as she buried her face against Quistis' neck, trying to get away from everything. Her hands snaked around Quistis and she pushed herself in close. She missed Quistis' sudden profuse amount of blood in her cheeks.

"Rinoa?"

"Hm?"

Quistis paused, unsure of what she wanted to say.

"Nothing."

She gently slid her arms around Rinoa's waist, simply holding her close.

A pair of deep brown eyes looked away in disgust and anger as the owner strode away from outside of Quistis' door.

AN: Btw, the person at the door? Not Squall. If you thought it was him, well... I dunno what to say.