Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters…if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! : )
Chapter NineSquall stared at the empty seat that stood before him, that was only a moment, ago occupied by the angel that had rescued him from himself. Rage ran through the ex commander's body has he remembered what he had witnessed the night before with that bastard that had just contacted Rinoa. Why must I suffer the pain of Rinoa disappearing, finding her, and finding out that she loves another man? Squall thought as he stood and paid the bill of both his and Rinoa's checks. His heart stung with pain and anger, he had to take it out on something.
As he walked along the dark paved road, Squall thought about the times that he and Rinoa had had only a few days before she left. They were so happy together, why had she left?
(Flashback)
"Squall, come see this!" Rinoa yelled joyfully from the balcony in the ballroom. It had been four months since they had first kissed on that very balcony, it had been the same time of night, the same song, even Selphie and Irvine were fighting over who got the video camera. Everything was perfect on that SeeD celebration. Even though Ultimicia was defeated, there were still wars going on in the world. But nothing really mattered on this night, for Rinoa and Squall had been engaged for one week. No one knew that, not even the gang, it was Squall and Rinoa's little secret. And that was how they wanted to keep it.
Squall looked at the group of new SeeDs that were staring at him, waiting for him to give some sort of speech. They all expected a great word of advice, but the commander had no idea what to say to the SeeDs in front of him, whom were only a few months younger than him. They probably knew just about as much as he did about the world of being a SeeD. Instead of giving a speech to them, he gave him one of his glares. They all walked off with some excuse or another. All except for one man with shockingly bright red hair and green eyes that were almost white. The glare seemed to have no effect on him.
"What do you want?" Squall asked rudely, his temper running low for he only wanted to spend time with the woman who kept on calling him. Still, the young man said nothing, nor did he move his eyes away from Squall's eyes. The way he looked at Squall sent shivers down the commander's spine. His aura sang that he was somehow cursed, and trapped in a deep world and there was no getting out of it. Squall repeated his question a few more times before the man before him turned and walked into the swarm of people dancing.
Squall did not waste his free opportunity to see Rinoa and what she was begging him to come see. She was always showing him things that she had learned from Edea, the spells were all very important to the young angel. And Squall was very proud of her for forgetting all of the things that people would say about having a sorceress being in love with the commander of Balamb Garden. All she had ever wanted in her childhood was to be a normal woman that did not have a political father, a deceased mother that used to be a singer in a bar. And then she got her sorceress powers.
When Squall got to the beautiful sorceress that was always on his mind, he could not resist a smile at her childlike face as she stared into the cloudy night sky. There were no stars in the midnight velvet due to all of the clouds that surrounded the now landed Garden. She looked so innocent in her light red dress and her hair that shown like the night sky twirled into a thousand little curls. Each time she took a breath, her eyes lit up like the stars that were hiding behind the dark clouds. Little did Squall know, however, were that in only a few weeks those orbs that shown like the stars were going to be hid by dark clouds just as the night seemed to be this night.
"Sorry, I could not get this one kid to leave me alone," Squall said as he walked behind her, embracing her shoulders with his now gloveless hands. She jumped at the sudden action, but she soon relaxed as she leaned into his chest as they looked into the cloudy night. Sorceress and Knight, it was destiny for these two to remain together forever. "But I am here now, my beautiful angel," His voice drizzled into the young woman's ear, and she once again shuddered at his gestures for the second time that night.
"It is okay, Mr. Leonhart," She whispered to him as she slowly turned around in his arms and smiled happily up at him. She always made his heart stop beating whenever she smiled like that. He smiled one of his very rare smiles, one that he only let her see. With a glint in his hazel eyes, Squall bent his head down to her height and gave her a tender kiss on her light pink lips. Their world had left the one that they were on only minutes ago, and to the world where they never wanted to come out of again. But they had to eventually face the world one way or another. But one thing was for sure, they would always be together in it, or so they thought.
"What did you want to show me?" Squall asked when they broke apart a few seconds later. He stared at her face, mesmerized by her beauty and affection for him.
"This," Rinoa said as she backed away from him and turned towards the cloudy sky. With a wave of her hand the clouds vanished and the stars shown like her eyes were, full of excitement and satisfaction. Squall smiled at this and stared once again at the angel that stood before him in complete bliss.
"Been talkin' to Edea again, have we?" He asked jokingly. The smile on her face became brighter as she turned to look at him. She could have just murdered Headmaster Cid, and she would be able to melt all anger away from the commander's heart with just that one simple look.
"Has it ever occurred to you and your big head that it was all my own teachings?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips and looked at him with fake anger. The only problem was that she could not contain her laughter for very long. Squall stared at her for a moment in more confusion before he smiled at her and took her into his arms for one of his priceless kisses. When they drew apart neither of them could notice that Irvine was standing in the archway staring at them with a grin of satisfaction.
"Well, well, well…look who finally decided to show their feelings for each other in public. Now don't get any ideas like dancing on tables and striping for the crowd." He said with his cocky attitude. Squall glared at him like he planning to kill him while Rinoa was laughing next to him. Irvine smile grew bigger as he turned around and pranced over to a group of new SeeD girls with Selphie following shortly behind complaining that he never paid attention to her and that all he wanted was young pieces of ass.
"They aren't gonna last much longer." Squall said as they turned back to the now clear sky. Rinoa stared at him in shock and disgust before she lightly punched him on the shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him.
"They are doing fine. They have their own way of dealing with their relationship and they are used to it! Not all relationships are like ours." Rinoa said as she stared at the star-filled sky as a shooting star flew by. A smirk grew on her face as she turned towards Squall and pointed her finger to the sky just like she had the first night they met and the first night they kissed. Squall smiled once again as he drew Rinoa in for a kiss that resembled the first one they had shared together.
"Now that is what I call romantic!" A voice squealed from the archway. Squall quickly stepped back and looked at the new SeeD that stared at him with awe. He had seen this girl around before and knew that she was talented with the gunblade, something very rare, especially for a woman. Still, he did not know her name, just that simple information on her rank and her weapon. She seemed very hyper active just like Selphie and yet had a strange aura about her. It was something about the way her bright violet eyes looked around at everything like it was the first time she had ever seen something like it.
"I didn't know that the commander of Balamb had a crush. That is just so cute," She said once again in that squeaky voice. Her blond hair bounced as she moved from side to side, tossing her feet into the air. She reminded the young commander so much of Selphie, but still…those eyes were something strange about them.
"Can I help you?" Squall asked, annoyed by the girls sudden presence and the way she kept talking about the kiss she saw. The bouncing had stopped and she gave a serious look before she squealed again and started ranting on about nothing before Squall glared at her and she stopped and signaled him before she started speaking like a mature SeeD.
"I'm Nin, and Miss Trepe would like to speak to you and a Miss Heartilly." Nin said before she squeaked once more and took off running to a group of giggling girls that were being hawked by Irvine. Squall looked at Rinoa as if she could tell him what the new SeeD was all about and why she acting a lot like Selphie. Rinoa just shrugged and walked passed him and into the ballroom. Squall still stood in his stance next to the balcony, Rinoa got irritated and grabbed his ungloved hand and dragged him to Quistis.
Quistis waved at them as she watched Rinoa drag the young commander along with her. She had to sigh as she remembered the way the sorceress had dragged Squall out onto the dance floor not more than five months ago. She had never imagined that Rinoa would be pulling him once more. True, she did have feelings for the commander, but once she saw how much he cared for Rinoa, there was not a grudge against the sorceress as Quistis had had before.
"Hey, Quisty," Rinoa said as her and her knight stopped in front of the ex-instructor. There was something about the way Quistis warmed up to Rinoa so quickly that made her and Rinoa so close. "What ya need?"
"Well, I just wanted to give both of you this," Quistis replied, handing them both books. They stared at her after reading the title and Rinoa squealed causing Squall to stare at her like she had grown an extra head.
"I didn't know that you got your book published, that is great!" Rinoa said joyfully as she looked at the title page and read the message that Quistis had left. Squall still stared at the cover, his eyes clouded over with thought. Why had she decided to get the story that she thought was personal and delicate to her published? Quistis had always been careful about what she did, and now she was writing books? It did not make sense to Squall.
"I wanted to tell the world what it was really like to be there," Quistis said with a shrug of her shoulders. Anyone could tell that she was hysterical about it, but knew that she would never express it. Still, it would be nice if she had shown what she was feeling like a normal seventeen year old would have. "I hope that people won't say that SeeD is pointless now." The look on Quistis's face was like a child's; she had never looked so young and refreshed as she did at this very moment.
"Well, I should probably head off to my dorm, I'm meeting Edea early in the morning and its already pretty late," Rinoa said as she hugged the book to her chest. Squall looked at her and smiled. She always had her early meetings with Edea, but she hardly ever made it until later in the day. She could never get up that early for almost anything. But that was just one more thing about her that made Squall love her more.
"See ya in the morning, Quistis. Remember we have the SeeD meeting at 0800 hours," Squall said as he led Rinoa away from the blond, and towards the doors. Rinoa said good night to Quistis over her shoulder just before they were out the large doors. Nothing was said as they walked down the silent hallways towards the dorms. Squall just held onto Rinoa's shoulders like they were lifelines.
"I'll see ya tomorrow, then," Rinoa said once they reached her dorm. Squall leaned in for a quick kiss before he turned around and walked the few feet to his own dorm. He looked at her once more before she went inside, not knowing that that would be the last time he saw her in eight years…
(End Flashback)
Why had he let her go without thinking? Why hadn't she stayed in the Garden? Why had she crushed the ex commander's soul and then walk all over it once more? The questions never seemed to end as Squall walked down the crowded streets and back to his small home. He had never read the book Quistis had given him. He had intended to the next day, but Rinoa had left and it had sat on his oak desk since that night.
Once he arrived in his well organized home, Squall went straight to his new cherry wood desk and searched in the drawers for the light blue book. After searching in a few drawers he found it. There was a worn look to it from sitting in the sunlight at Balamb Garden for so long, but other than that it looked like it was new. Squall sat at his desk and turned the cover to the title page and read the message that Quistis had written to him.
To the man whom made this journey possible and for showing me that the world is not as bad as it may seem. This book is for the light that had shown through all of us in the end. For the times we all laughed, for the times we all screamed out in agony. This is the story… Love, Quisty
The words seemed to speak to Squall as he read them. But the title spoke to him more than anything. Tears of the Angel. The tears of his angel. The tears that had been shed over him, over every pain that had touched her gentle soul. The pain he had caused, that is what the title meant to them all.
Squall turned the page to the first chapter and began to read the words that were once spoken; the emotions that were felt; the tears that had been shed. He read deep into the day and finished just before dusk. The book had made him feel everything once again. The last words were the best he had ever heard.
Time may take us to where we don't want to go, but once we are there, there is no way to escape the pain and sorrow. But I do know one thing; the tears of the angel are soon to be gone. There will be happiness and joy as we all dance in the waters of heaven.
Quistis had put it perfectly; he and Rinoa could get through it all, they just need to work it all out. And that was what Squall would do, even if it killed him he would be with his angel once again and he would wipe away all of her tears.
AN: Okay, sorry it took so long to update this, but it was a long chapter and I have been grounded forever because of something I did…so ya…Well, at least I did update instead of leaving you all hanging in the last chapter. I promise that the next chapter will be up within a week and it will not just be a flashback. Also someone in the story will vanish. I wonder who it could be?
AN Continued: I need more reviews! I thank all of you who have reviewed, but my self confidence is running low…that is if I did have self confidence. But PLEASE review this story. It would mean a lot to me and it would tell me that I really could become a writer and get my book that I am writing right now published (It is not the fanfiction that I have been writing). But I am thinking about putting the story onto here under some sort of miscellaneous category. So look for a story by me called 'History of a Titan Demon' or 'Tears of an Angel'
Until next time,
Jo Pina Colada Tookey Shokisa
Never leave the windows open at night
Tee-Hee! : )
