By myself but not Alone
The leader of the pack
Vroom vroom.
Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy 8.
Squall paced around his office, it seemed that this action was taking place more and more since Rinoa had turned up. She hadn't talked to him since they'd gotten back. Using the radio inside the cockpit they were able to contact Balamb Garden and inform them of their situation.
Since Rinoa and Squall's fight two days had passed. It seemed that he had upset her more than he had originally thought, Squall thinking that she'd be over it by now.
He didn't exactly understand why she got so offended by it but he didn't exactly understand the inner workings of women. One subject he was happy to be in the dark about.
He glanced over at his one companion, one person he wished would just leave, the last person on earth that he wanted to be near him.
"Seifer don't you have something more important to be attending to. I didn't let you back into Garden just so you could loaf around." Squall snarled.
Seifer smirked from his sitting position. He sat at Squall's desk with his feet up on his desk, his hands clasped in front of him comfortably.
"Fujin and Raijin have the situation under control. Besides watching you is so much more entertaining." Seifer laughed.
Squall glared at Seifer but decided that the best course of action was to ignore him. He knew that Seifer knew about the fight, he'd seen Rinoa go running to Seifer.
He had an unfamiliar emotion about that, he couldn't quite place what it was but he was starting to suspect that it was jealousy.
'Squall Leonhart doesn't get jealous.' He kept telling himself.
But he couldn't help but want to ask Seifer what it was she had said to him. If Seifer told him then he might be able to work out what he could do to remedy the situation.
He sat down on one of the guest chairs, deciding that getting Seifer out of his chair was going to be too much of a mission. Seifer liked to feel superior.
"Why don't you just talk to her?" Seifer scoffed.
"Because I am in the right! She has to apologise to me." Squall replied quickly.
He kept trying to convince himself of this, his mind thinking the thought over and over again, unfortunately it didn't change the fact that he felt like a prat.
"You don't look like that's the way you feel." Seifer said.
Seifer took his legs down from Squall's desk and stood, Squall remained in his sitting position, having felt no threat from Seifer's change in position. A lot of people were still frightened of Seifer after what he had done but he insisted that it was the sorceress controlling him.
Squall wasn't too sure if that was true. Seifer had gone on about his "romantic dream" that one time and it was obvious that being the Sorceress's knight was it. it wasn't really up to Squall at the end of the day anyway, it was up to Cid and no matter what Squall said the fact that Seifer was back in Garden wasn't going to change.
Seifer had made himself at home again, naturally. He had regained his position of Garden disciplinary committee leader and somehow his posse had rejoined as well. Everything had almost gone back to normal, bar the fact that Squall was now Garden commander and Rinoa was screwing everything up.
"I thought a Commander was supposed to be more focused; you're not showing great leadership Squall." Seifer chuckled.
"Can you please go and annoy Quistis or something?" Squall sighed.
Seifer had made quite a habit of annoying Quistis, since he'd gotten back anyway not that he didn't before but now that she wasn't his instructor he did it more profusely.
"She's awake?" Seifer asked a glimmer in his eyes that wasn't there before.
"Yes."
Without another word Seifer was gone. Squall suspected that he liked her a little more than he'd care to admit but wouldn't dream of saying anything. For Quistis's sake more than his own.
As Seifer opened the door to leave it burst open, General Caraway stood before Squall's office, glaring menacingly at both of them.
"Shouldn't you be attending to your duties?" Caraway growled at Seifer.
"I was having a meeting with Commander Leonhart. Just going back to it." Seifer said, suppressing all his urges to cause bodily damage to the General.
As he walked away he mouthed the word "Psycho" behind the general's back.
Squall bit his lip trying to ignore Seifer.
"Yes General?" Squall asked as he got up from the guest seat and took his seat behind his desk.
It was an obvious way of showing the general that he was in his territory. His body language said it all and Caraway was aware of that. Since Caraway had gotten into Garden he had done nothing but make Squall's life hard.
"I heard about your accident while recovering Miss Trepe." Caraway said nonchalantly.
Squall nodded, wondering what Caraway's angle was.
"I also heard that Rinoa was onboard at the time." Caraway continued.
The same response was received from Squall.
"And that there were over a dozen people that went on that mission and only one was saved."
'Where's this going?' Squall thought, Caraway was being far to calm about it.
"So you endangered my daughter's life for the life of one person!" Caraway yelled.
Squall was shocked, he was disgusted, and he was absolutely astounded.
"Excuse me General Caraway but I don't think that I understand you. You mean to say that Rinoa is more important that one of my SeeD's? More important that one of the SeeD's that saved time itself?" squall enquired.
"That's exactly what I'm saying!"
"I should think that neither is more important. And also I was unaware of Rinoa's presence on our ship."
Caraway walked briskly towards Squall's desk. Squall reached over under his desk and grasped the handle of his Gunblade, merely as a caution. Should Caraway strike out Squall wasn't sure if he was going to be able to take him down without the help of his Gunblade.
"Now you listen here Mr Leonhart." Caraway whispered menacingly, leaning against Squall's desk as he spoke, "Should you put Rinoa in peril of any kind ever again I will see to it that you are executed."
"You don't have the power." Squall scoffed.
"I do once Galbadia hears that you personally tried to execute President Deling."
Now Squall was taking Caraway very seriously. Should that happen then that would mean the end of his existence, he had heard of what Deling had done to people for mere offences. An attempt on his life would mean being tortured… again.
"Prove it." Squall said quietly before he walked out of the office.
Beneath his cool exterior was another story though, he was worried. If Caraway actually did then it was not only the end of him but the end of Garden itself. Once he had been captured Garden would be turned into rubble, they'd have to find a new position but while Caraway was onboard that was useless. It was useless anyway, Galbadia was one of the biggest continents in the world, hiding from it was futile.
Rinoa suddenly felt a terrible feeling; she hadn't felt something so powerful since… since her mother had been murdered.
She shuddered, hoping that it was just her being paranoid but couldn't shake the feeling off.
She smiled at Selphie and Quistis as they both gave her worried glances, it appeared Irvine and Zell hadn't noticed Rinoa's mood change. But men weren't in tune to these things like females were.
Rinoa politely excused herself and decided that she would make her way to her room. She smiled at passers by, waiting for their smiles in return. She had come to know Garden as quite a friendly place, with a few exceptions, eg: Squall.
She couldn't say that she was really still angry at him, she had gotten over it but he had made no attempt to apologise or to set things right. He'd just avoided her.
He had hurt her, she couldn't deny that. He made her feel as though her presence was a burden, just when she was beginning to feel as though she was accepted.
All she'd gone up to say to Squall was thankyou, thankyou for saving her life. It had blown up in her face and she couldn't shake off the feeling that Squall had meant every word. She was a firm believer that people said things in the heat of the moment that they didn't mean, she was a prime example a lot of the time, but Squall just seemed as though he intended to say everything he did.
Everything he did seemed to have a purpose, like instead of just looking at today's results he was more worried about tomorrows. She finally really understood why he was commander, why everyone looked up to him like they did and why he was so respected.
It wasn't that he demanded respect, he didn't exactly act any different from everyone else, it was the fact that he just seemed so together.
She knew different though, she knew that it was an act and that nobody could really have everything under control. But with Squall it just seemed as though he could stop the weather if he wanted to.
'Speak of the devil.' Rinoa thought as she noticed Squall walking towards her.
He looked extremely pissed off, and that was an understatement. He hadn't even bothered to conceal his Gunblade and Rinoa was positive that he was walking to the training centre. Students were moving out of his way and anyone who was a little late getting out of the way would be pushed aside.
"Squall?" Rinoa said as he approached her.
She saw something then, as she said his name and he finally became aware of her presence. There was something behind his eyes, it wasn't the cold look that she was used to, it was something more that she hadn't seen before… or maybe she hadn't wanted to. There was guilt behind his eyes; the kind that she knew was directed towards her.
"Your talking to me today." He stated blandly.
"I guess so." Rinoa said slowly.
She couldn't stop staring at his eyes. She had her moth agape a little and her eyes stared into his, accusing him and he could feel it.
He turned away from her, refusing to continue this stare-athon.
"Well I guess I will see you later." Squall concluded.
Rinoa watched him go, she was perplexed and it masked her otherwise soft features. She didn't stop staring at his figure till it had turned a corner. Even then she didn't move. She felt something then that she hadn't felt before.
'What have you done…?'
Later that night
Rinoa lay on her bed staring blankly at the ceiling. People would think that she was merely bored or something if it wasn't for the single tear that was tracing its way down to her pillow.
Everything was going so well, she hadn't missed her mother for awhile and she had made heaps of friends. Then there was Squall. She didn't like to think of him as a friend, she liked to think he was something more.
She knew that she was kidding herself to think so but she liked to pretend. Not all that seemed like a distant memory. It seemed that Squall was angry at her and she missed her mother terribly.
She heard a faint knock on her door and stood slowly, wiping her face, to answer it.
She opened the door quickly and made a fake yawn to pretend that her puffy eyes were due to the fact that she had been sleeping.
"Caraway!" She exclaimed when she saw her father standing at the door.
He grimaced for a second; loathing the fact that she called him that. Nobody did, he'd prefer it if she called him General but decided that he wouldn't mention it for now.
"I have come to form a truce." Caraway said quickly, before Rinoa's brain had time to register and she slammed the door in his face. "I wish to speak with you. I can tell that you are not decent at the moment so if tomorrow would be better for you then that is fine."
Rinoa weighed up her options. On the one hand she had the man that she reviled more than anyone else, until she found out who killed her mother, yet on the other he was the only family she had.
"Fine. Where and when?"
"In the library at noon."
Rinoa nodded and shut the door without saying goodbye. She wasn't feeling like showing a lot of manners towards him.
About an hour later
Rinoa had resumed her position of lying on her bed, no tears were there now. Her mind wasn't on her mother; it was on why her father would want to talk to her. She supposed that he had accepted the fact that she was his daughter and they needed to get along.
As before she heard another knock on her door, she supposed that it was Caraway again, deciding to that he didn't want to talk to her. That was fine by her, she didn't need him, she didn't need anyone.
Once the door was opened she was even more shocked than before to see Squall.
"Squall?" She exclaimed, much the same way as she had acted when Caraway had been at the door.
"May I come in?" Squall enquired.
He seemed nervous, it was one of the first times she'd seen him nervous since she'd been here. Intrigued by this new event she held the door open wider and allowed him entrance.
He glanced around her humble room, she supposed that he had expected better. He took a seat on one of the few seats available. Rinoa sat down on her bed and looked at him expectantly.
"Right… I guess I'm sorry Rinoa. I didn't mean to go off at you like that it's just that you can't just come on missions like that." Squall said, choosing his words very carefully.
Rinoa nodded solemnly, she had her head to the floor and her hands clasped together resting on her crossed legs.
"It won't happen again." Rinoa said quietly.
Squall nodded and began to stand. He looked down at his watch and was about to say his goodbyes but Rinoa didn't feel like letting him leave just yet.
"Why did you go feral like that?" Rinoa asked.
Squall didn't quite understand at first, he was used to feral being used in the text of an untamed animal or monster but soon clicked that she meant his anger level.
"I- uhhh- I don't know." Squall stuttered.
Rinoa giggled and stood, she approached him, a small smile placed on her delicate lips.
Rinoa stood in front of him, very close to him and he felt very uncomfortable. He swallowed and let out a breath that he was unaware that he had been holding. He had women around him all the time, and yes a lot of them would like nothing better than for him to ravish their awaiting bodies. But no one like Rinoa. He hadn't felt for anyone like he did her.
"Are you sure?" Rinoa enquired.
She began playing with the fur on his collar and Squall didn't quite know what to do.
"I- I guess I was… worried." Squall muttered.
Rinoa leaned in closer and Squall leaned back, he felt sweat at the back of his neck and wanted to leave. But he couldn't.
Finally wrenching himself out of his trance he took one last look at Rinoa before saying.
"Well I better go seeya."
Rinoa bit her bottom lip and fell down on her bed, she had a huge goofy grin on her face and was glad that she had gotten the desired affect from Squall. She'd never seen him squirm like that before. But she was a vindictive bitch and she felt as though she got her revenge for him yelling at her.
Squall leaned against the closed door for support and panted, his face felt flushed and he ran a sweaty hand through his hair.
He frowned at the feeling and decided that a shower would be the right course of action… but maybe a cold one.