Squall stood outside the doors of his office, glaring at the electronic lock. Following dinner, they'd told him to get some rest – a notion he deplored, considering that he'd had nothing but rest since fighting Mallis in the past. He'd waited for a while, then returned to his office, intending to continue catching up on work.
But they'd changed the lock on him. Locked him out of his own office.
Never one to yield in the face of adversity, Squall reached inside his jacket pocket and produced a slim black case. He opened it and pulled out a small screwdriver. He removed the screws on the card reader and cast aside the exterior panel, exposing the internal wiring. Squall replaced the screwdriver in the case and reached for the wire cutters. He took a moment to study the complex network of wires, then, coming to a decision, snipped two open and touched the exposed ends together.
As he waited, unsure if he'd succeeded in his task, Squall put the wire cutters back into place and secured the case inside his jacket. The door slid open before him. Squall smiled to himself and moved inside.
He flipped on the light switch and gasped in surprise.
"Hey, stranger," Selphie said, grinning, reclining in his chair and resting her feet on his desk.
"What are you doing in my office?" Squall asked.
"I think the more relevant question," she said, "is 'what are you doing in your office?'"
"I have work to do," he replied.
"You're supposed to be resting," she shot back. "That was the idea of locking you out."
"Did you really believe that would stop me?"
She shook her head. "Not at all. I counted on it."
Squall cocked his head, quizzical.
"You have many positive traits, Squall Leonhart," she laughed, "but spontaneity is not one of them."
"So what are you doing in my office?" he asked again.
Selphie shrugged. "Waiting for you."
"Any particular reason?"
"Yessir. I'd like to talk."
Squall nodded. "Upstairs?"
"Perfect."
Selphie bounced to her feet and followed Squall up the stairs. Squall grabbed his remote control and aimed it at the stereo. Smooth, cool jazz filtered out of the speakers, and he stretched out on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Selphie moved to the loveseat opposite the couch and, slipping out of her shoes, took a seat, folding her legs underneath her.
"So what's up?" he asked.
Selphie crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath.
"Y'ever have one of those things you have to say but you can't manage to find the words?"
Squall laughed once, glancing over at her. "That pretty much sums up my whole life."
Selphie smiled. "Okay. Let's start with the easy stuff. It's good to have you back. You gave us all quite a scare. And... it just wasn't the same without you here. You're... more than part of the team. You're the heart of the team. You're our leader. Without you..." She shrugged, unsure of how to continue.
"And, without you here... I... It..." She sighed. "Put it this way: things haven't been easy."
"Well... Here I am," he replied.
"Yeah," she nodded, smiling a little. "Here you are."
Squall sat up, facing her. Selphie dropped her legs to the floor, unintentionally mirroring his body language.
"Selphie, what's wrong?" he asked.
She looked at the ceiling before meeting his gaze. "We... what happened before... Oh, shit. How do I say this?"
She chewed the inside of her cheek for a second. "Balamb Garden fell. Mallis killed the junior cadets. And I went numb. Absolutely numb. You could have slammed my fingers in the door and I wouldn't have noticed. Or cared.
"I tried to drink, to make myself forget. It was like... if I medicated myself enough, at least I'd have an excuse for being numb.
"And then, in the wreckage of everything I'd ever cared about... I found you. Everything seemed so hollow, so meaningless. But you were... real. And for the first time since the fall, I could feel again. I saw the world through your eyes and I suffered with you.
"More than that, you gave me something to believe in. Everyone else was standing in place, but you... You kept on fighting. You fought that battle every second of every day, and I imagined... I don't know. Sometimes I imagined I was protecting you. Sometimes I imagined you rescuing me. Whatever. The point is, you made me feel again. I cared. I mattered. When everything else was spinning out of control, you made sense. I could anchor myself to you."
"Why do I sense a 'but' coming up?" Squall asked.
Selphie chuckled a little. "Very perceptive."
She sighed again before continuing. "While you were... under, I wound up talking to your father—"
One of Squall's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "You went to Laguna for advice?"
"Yes and no," she smiled. "Not for advice. But we wound up talking about things, and he helped me put things straight."
"Such as?"
Selphie sat up straight, resting her hands on her knees and looking directly at Squall. She took another deep breath.
"What I feel for you isn't romantic. Maybe it is, a little, but that's just a little bit of it. You're my friend and my CO. I'd follow you to hell and back, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. But I don't see things between us ever progressing beyond harmless flirtation."
"Flirtation?"
Selphie rolled her eyes and grinned, the smile making her eyes sparkle. "Oh, come on, Squall!" She fluttered her eyelids. "'This place is so much bigger than my last Garden! Do you think you could give me a quick tour?' I'm a SeeD! You think I can't read a freakin' map?"
A corner of Squall's mouth turned up at the memory.
"And you're just as guilty," she continued.
"Excuse me?" he asked, surprised.
She waved her hand in dismissal. "Squall, how many people have you ever given directions to – ever, in your entire life?"
He thought for a moment, frowning. "Two."
"And the other?"
His voice dropped, knowing she'd trapped him. "Rinoa," he mumbled.
"Exactly," she said. "So you can't pretend to be wholly innocent when it comes to flirting with me."
"Granted."
"Anyway. That's how I see our relationship. Flirtation, but nothing more. Who do I want to lead me into battle? Who do I want to take me back to Balamb Garden? You. But who do I want to date? Irvine."
She paused, thinking for a moment.
"And I think you feel the same way."
Both of Squall's eyebrows responded to this. "I want to date Irvine?"
"No," she said. "You want to date Rinoa. You're her Knight, and nothing is going to change that. When she was lost, you were the one who saved her. And she saved you, too. If you think about this – the way I have – I think you'll come to the same conclusion. She's your Sorceress. Your princess. And you wouldn't have it any other way."
Selphie stood up and crossed to Squall, placing a delicate kiss on his cheek. "But you kept me sane when I needed it most, and I'll never forget that. And... you should know that you're my hero. Nothing will ever change that." She wrapped her arms around him in a long hug.
Squall smiled. "Thank you," he said, placing his hand on the back of her head. He pulled away, looking her in the eyes. "I hope you'll keep the necklace as... a reminder."
Her eyes widened. "Damn straight I'll keep it!" she exclaimed. "You can have it back when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands."
He pursed his lips, smiling only with his eyes. "That can be arranged."
Selphie stood up, smoothing her skirt.
"We're okay?" she asked.
"Absolutely."
"Good," she nodded.
Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs to the top floor of the office.
"Squall? Squall, are you up here?" Quistis called.
"Here," he replied, rising to his feet.
Quistis clutched a file folder in one hand, brushing a strand of hair back with the other.
"You need to look at this," she said, pressing the folder at him. "It's urgent."
He took the folder and glanced inside.
He blinked, and his mouth opened. He didn't react for a long moment.
"I..." he murmured. "I..."
The folder fluttered from his hands, dropping to the ground. Squall left the room without further comment.
"What—?" Selphie asked, kneeling down to glance at the contents of the folder.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what Squall had seen.
A picture of the hangar at Balamb Garden. The unmistakable profile of the Apocalypse dominated the frame. And walking down the gangplank, in shackles, surrounded by armed guards: Rinoa.
AN: You know, it seems like I always fall back on the same excuses when I take a long time with chapters – exams and wrong turns in the writing. This has never been the case more than in this chapter.
Exams this term totally kicked my butt. And I have never had a more troublesome chapter than this one. It was so easy to get Squall and Selphie into this mess, but they were damned reluctant to get out of it. I'm pleased with the result, and hope you find it worth the wait.