Sweet Dreams, My Knight
"Squall, is something wrong?" Selphie Tilmitt stroked his back softly, rhythmically, hoping he would reveal to her whatever what was on his mind.
"Oh…it's nothing you need to worry about." He replied, reaching for his small glass of wine, sipping it slowly and royally, gazing into Selphie's deep green eyes, wanting to get lost in them again like he had so many years ago, when the two were still teenagers.
"Did you get demoted? Did someone steal hot dogs again?" She inquired curiously, watching his face.
"No, I was not demoted, and 'someone' did not steal hot dogs, it was Zell." He replied. "I just need a vacation from all of this…" He was speaking mostly to himself, but Selphie heard him, and she kicked him sharply.
"Ow! Hey…!" He cried out in protest.
"I knew it! You're overwhelmed by your work! Well, good. I wanted to go to Paris with you anyway, just like we had planned to someday." She said smugly, scanning him for reactions.
"But…we were going to go there for our honeymoon…weren't we?" He stuttered.
"Yes, we were. So take me for a honeymoon! Let's get married, now!" She cried out, announcing it to the world below the second floor balcony they were leaning over. Squall gazed dumbfounded at her, shocked.
"Selphie! Everyone will hear you…!" She cut him off with a quick kiss, her eyes playful.
"So? It's about time we married, we've been dating for 5 years now!" She frowned, and her voice softened. "We've lasted this long. If Fate wanted us to be together this long, then we must be soulmates. And besides, there's no one we would rather be with than each other, right?"
"Right…" He half smiled, leaning in closer to Selphie, his stormy blue eyes not once lowering, not once releasing their hold on Selphie, not once looking away from her.
"Then come on!" Selphie cried enthusiastically. "Let's get married right now!!!" She jumped up and down, jumping into Squall's arms as she landed for the 5th time.
"Well…a wedding is a hard event to plan…it takes time…"
"We've got plenty of time! We've got nothing BUT time!"
"Alright, alright…we should start planning now, I guess." Squall began to walk through the doors to the Garden's 2nd floor when Selphie stopped him, grabbing firmly to his arm.
"We can't have a marriage without a ring and a kiss to seal it, now can we?" She had no idea how childish she sounded to Squall, but for some reason he endured it. He endured it all…just so he could be with her, with his love. Was tolerance the fruit of love? Was Squall's ignorance of Selphie's babyishness the one key element that made them so passionate, so perfect for each other?
"Here." Squall handed his soon-to-be-fiancée a replica of his ring, the only ring he could supply on such notice, the only other ring he had.
"But Squall…" Selphie frowned. "This is the ring…that Rinoa once wore."
A long time ago, when both Selphie and Squall were 18, Rinoa Heartilly and Squall Leonhart were dating. After saving the world together, it was marked in newspapers everywhere that the pair would be inseparable. However, the newly acquired fame changed Rinoa in a way that Squall did not like, for she became snobby and arrogant and soon broke up with Squall, leaving him with a broken heart. In a rebound match, Squall went through 3 other girls before finding comfort in Selphie's arms, and that is where he remained until present.
"Yes…but you know that I as well as the Garden cannot afford to spend money on anything, even something as important as this. I'm sorry…but this is all I have offhand." He frowned, gazing at the ring intently, remembering bits and pieces of his former girlfriend.
"Do you…still think about her at all, Squall?" Selphie stared at him, afraid of the one answer she expected to a question she should not have asked.
"Yes…but it is something I cannot help. When I pull out this ring, I associate it with her, and…I realize it is a very bad ring for you to wear. Selphie…maybe we should put this off until we are financially stable. Weddings cost a lot of money, and…"
"Nonsense!" Selphie cried, not happy to be refused. "I'll ask some of my friends at Trabia to start a fund for our wedding! Then we can make it big and pretty…overdone like any other celebrity wedding!"
"But Selphie, I'm not a celebrity…"
"Yes you are! You saved the world, Squall! You deserve to have a big wedding! I mean…" Squall quickly cut off what was probably going to be a long bit of speech with a long kiss, pushing her back against the wall, pinning her there.
"Squall…just promise me one thing." She said breathlessly. He focused his eyes on her even more intently. "Love me without a barrier between us…just purely…love…me…": Before she was able to make out another word, Squall had her on the bed, he was leaning over her, kissing her…
"Squall Leonhart, will you please report to the Bridge? I repeat, Squall Leonhart, will you please report to the Bridge?"
"Well…" Squall smirked. "That's not the first time they've asked me to come anywhere. Wow, you save the world and everyone suddenly respects you and bows to you in the hallway…it's amazing…" He climbed up off Selphie and kissed her. "I'll be back…" And with that promise, he left.
The next time she heard from him was the next day over a cell phone.
"Hey, I can't talk long…" He said as soon as the usual 'hello' was exchanged.
"What happened yesterday? Why didn't you come back?" Selphie demanded, not really angry but pretending to be so Squall would have to apologize and sound so romantic while doing it. They truly were like kids…
"I was called to the Bridge because a problem has arisen…in Esthar and Timber. Both cities have large resistance groups trying to kill the new President because, as you know, Esthar and Timber are now ruled by the same man…"
About 3 years ago, President Laguna Loire had taken over Timber, and so he was ruling two territories instead of one.
"And the large resistance groups are angry because of that new rule, the overpopulation rule. They don't think it's fair to have to separate themselves from the rest of their children just because they have more than one. And so they're rebelling…Esther's defense is holding up, but the troops in Timber are in serious trouble because the resistance groups recently brought Deling City and Dollet resistance groups in, claiming they heard that the overpopulation rule would soon spread into those two
areas. So Esthar, despite its size, is doing fine, but Timber…the resistance troops are burning everything in sight, and they called for SeeD…and specifically asked for me. I've got to go to Timber and help, but I'm sure that once the groups realize that this has become a serious matter, they will retreat and they will ask their President like any normal person should." Selphie smiled at Squall's overconfidence.
"Alright, go…but come back soon! Do you know how long the mission will take?" She asked him, fidgeting with the lion ring on her left ring finger.
"I…honestly don't know. It could take weeks, it could take months, it could even take years. It depends on how serious the resistance groups are."
"Hey…do you think Rinoa is with the groups. She was in one, you recall." Selphie frowned, hoping that Squall wouldn't have to fight her in battle. Despite the pain that Rinoa had left with Squall, Selphie knew somehow that he would never hurt her. He would never just…disappear one day, never to return. He would never discard her like a piece of unwanted property. He would never, ever treat her like Rinoa treated him. He wasn't that cold, he wasn't that cruel.
"I don't know…I doubt she's even still living in Timber. The last I heard, she left for Galabedia Garden and hasn't been heard from since."
After Rinoa had broken up with Squall, she had moved back to Timber, to her friends from their old resistance group, but rumor had it that she had left the area soon after.
"Oh…good." Selphie smiled to herself, her eyes flashing. Then through the phone, she heard a man's voice call:
"Squall, let's go!"
"Oh, Selphie…I've got to go now. I'll talk to you later?" He said to her, immediately hanging up before she had a chance to reply.
"Aw…I wanted to tell him I loved him…but I guess he already knew. Duh, he already knows!!! How stupid can I be…I have to go call Vanessa from Trabia and ask her about the wedding fund idea!" She quickly bounced off, almost forgetting to shut her dorm door, lost in her world of feathery happiness.
"Oh…I guess I had better go get out of my pajamas first, huh?" She ran back into the dorm door, her duck covered pajamas matching her childish wallpaper.
"Hey Vanessa! What's up?" Selphie screeched into the phone.
"Oh, I'm just fine over here. Being Headmistress is hard work though…" Selphie's friend Vanessa Hudson told her. She had recently become the new Headmistress for Trabia Garden; her uncle had run it before.
"So, what are you calling for?" Vanessa asked.
"Well…Squall and I have decided to marry." Selphie paused, waiting for a reaction. Her friend immediately squealed into the phone.
"REALLY?! Wow, you're so lucky! When did this happen?"
"Two days ago on the balcony of Balamb Garden!" Selphie wasn't about to admit to her friend that she had kind of pushed Squall into it.
"Wow! So you just wanted to tell me that you're going to have a husband soon and rub it in my face cause I can't even find a boyfriend, huh?" Vanessa asked playfully, teasing her friend.
"No! That's not it at all! I wanted to ask if you could start a fund for us…for our wedding! He's a bit in debt at the moment…he used all of his money trying to keep the Garden running…and so we need money so we can have a nicely overdone wedding like any other celebrity!"
"Oh…" Vanessa sounded skeptic and concerned. "Selph, you know we're still rebuilding Trabia…"
"Yeah…but I just wanted to ask. I mean, if anyone has any extra cash on hand…I would have asked Esthar or Deling City, but both of those cities are in war right now…"
"What about Galabedia Garden?"
"Um…I've heard that that where Rinoa-Squall's former girlfriend-lives now. If she saw that he and I were getting married, she might get jealous and come here and try to kill me or something…"
"Aww, don't be so pessimistic! Put the donation box under a code name type thing! Like 'For A Good Cause,' something like that."
"Yes, but people would want to know what the good cause is, wouldn't they? No one would just drop $10 into a box when they didn't know what it was really for!"
"But it IS for a good cause, so you would be telling the truth and you wouldn't have any jealous girlfriends of Squall's finding out about the wedding or any of your boyfriends of your going after Squall."
"…Yeah…but I would feel like I'm stealing…"
"Hey, just do it! I'm sorry I can't help you out here, but I can at least give you ideas! Just try that box somewhere for a week. If no one drops anything into it, then take it away and try somewhere else. You know, the people in Balamb and Timber are very charitable and would like helping you out."
"Vanessa…Timber is in the war too. That entire CONTINENT is in the war, but Balamb isn't…although they might be soon."
"Wow…what's the war about?"
"You didn't even hear?!" Selphie was amazed at her friend's lack of interest in the outside world.
"No…we live in the mountains and we've got rebuilding Trabia to worry about."
"Still…"
"Hey, why don't you send me a box over here in Trabia and I'll have someone deliver it to Shumi Village? They like donating things, don't they?"
"Yeah, they would work well!" In a moment, the conversation on the war was forgotten.
The girls chatted up a storm for the next hour, talking about their lives, obsessing over Squall, sharing memories, and discussing the world news a bit. They also made plans to meet up in Balamb soon, and then Vanessa had to go.
"Bye!" Vanessa called to her friend, the last word before hanging up. Selphie laughed and hung up the phone, smiling to herself as she walked outside into the fresh Balamb air.
Okay…so that was the first chapter! I apologize for leaving it off so abruptly, but I had many other ideas to write down and so I figured I wouldn't be getting back to this for a while and I might forget about it, so I'm deciding to post it so that I can get reviews and people can bug me to update and then I'll be more inspired to update and so I will!
-Whoo…that was a lot…- Anyway, so I did my best to spell check this…like all of my other recent posts, I don't have a spell checker on this computer, sooo…