Squall watched Rinoa walk out of the stage and stared at Irvine. One look at the cowboy's shocked face showed that he had no prior knowledge of this. However, Zell walked back in with a very obvious grin on his face and walked up to Squall immediately. "You like the show today?"

Squall sighed and took a gulp of his beer before setting it down. He did not respond to Zell's comment and instead took out his wallet, tossing a 50 Gil bill on the counter and walking quickly away. Zell was hot on his heels babbling. "Come on, Squall. She has it out for you. What more could you ask for?"

Squall grabbed his fellow SeeD and dragged him up the stairs quickly throwing him against the wall and whispering harshly. "Would you keep your voice down for Hyne sake? Didn't you see President Caraway being approached by at least three noble men during the performance?"

Zell stared wide eyed at him and shook his head. "No I was working the lights. I couldn't see it very well."

Squall sighed and shook his head. "Zell, things are a lot more complicated than 'she has a thing for me'." Squall looked like he was going to go on, but instead, he only sighed.

Zell rubbed his head for a moment considering. "Man, that really sucks." Silence reigned for a few more seconds before a spark of an idea hit Zell. "Rinoa went to a secluded place so you could talk with her. She didn't tell me where, but she said she talked to you there twice, and she wanted to take back something she told you there both times."

Squall's mind instantly rang a bell on what he was talking about. Is he talking about the balcony where she told me to stay away from her? He shook his head. "Zell, I have no clue where she is, or what she wants."

Zell chuckled. "She thought you might. She also told me she picked up a bit of pick pocketing over the last few years."

Squall jumped realizing that she was right next to him for several seconds, and his attention was totally fixed on her face and her presence… not her hands. The same was probably true for everybody else in the bar! He quickly checked his pockets as Zell chuckled and walked away and found his wallet still there.

Squall suddenly stopped and thought a moment. Why would she steal my wallet? He gave all his pockets a thorough search. When he got to his jacket pocket, he found something. Not something missing, but something added. He withdrew a small purple box that he immediately recognized. I threw this out the window… three years ago? How did she get…? Damn that cowboy.

Slowly, Squall opened it and suddenly understood everything. The entire show tonight was designed to give Squall a chance to do what circumstances had not let him do three years earlier, and she was waiting for him to do it. With that, he set off for the balcony.

Rinoa was leaning against the balcony for quite a while now. She was more than a little worried that Squall didn't actually get the message, despite the precautions she took. She shivered. It was a touch cool outside, and her skin was more bare than covered thanks to the dress' skimpy nature. Why did I wear this to the damn Ball anyway? It's not like I was going to be able to seduce Cid with my body.

She sighed and shook her head. I was a pretty stupid and naïve girl back then wasn't I? Squall is really a saint to be able to put up with me like that. Come to think of it, could I BLAME him for not wanting to commit to me? He did want to though, and Hyne bless his cold… Rinoa's thought cut off in mid sentence as the door behind her opened. By accident, she immediately stretched her mind out and found it was the person she wanted. Their thoughts merged for a second, before she shut him out again. Great, the gig is up.

Slowly she turned around to Squall and smiled sweetly and just a bit seductively as she leaned back onto the railing, putting special emphasis on the curves of her body. What the hell am I doing! I don't need to seduce Squall! Squall certainly noticed it and stopped cold, a look she had never seen on his face before spreading like a crack in an ice covered lake. Was it shock?

Rinoa quickly straightened and walked towards him. Suddenly she realized her hips were swaying a bit more than regular, or at least to her perception. She inwardly winced. This is not going well at all. Squall for his part did his best to be unfazed, but Rinoa could see and feel his eyes moving south of her face, which did not bode well for what she wanted.

Rinoa stopped about a foot from Squall and they just stared at each other for a moment. Rinoa bated her breath waiting for Squall to say something, and then almost slapped her forehead. Who am I kidding? Squall starting a conversation? Not unless Irvine got him a brain transplant. Rinoa took in a breath then immediately expelled it out with total shock

"Rinoa..."

Was Squall trying to start a conversation!

Squall looked down and fidgeted with his hands for a few seconds but then he did speak up again. "Rinoa, are you still mad about... whatever it was that you were mad about three years ago?"

Rinoa couldn't help but give a small smirk. If I didn't know him better, I might have been offended by that. As far as attempts by Squall to make conversation go, it's good I suppose.

Rinoa... what the hell is going on?

Rinoa's eyes widened in shock. She was not blocking out her mind to him. Rinoa swallowed gently. "Squall, I've come to realize that I was dead wrong about leaving you three years ago. Everything... the way I left, why I left, who I left, where I left, it was all wrong. I know..."

Rinoa broke off and looked down. Now that the time was upon her to say this, she could not. She was too afraid. She swallowed and wondered how she could have made it through the entire adventure they went through four years ago yet not be able to say these simple words. It's not like this is difficult compared to facing and destroying the greatest threat to the world in the last 30 years.

You think YOUR end is difficult?

Damn it, Squall, get out of my mind, were supposed to TALK things out, not THINK things out. Besides, you could use a little verbal communication skills, Mr. Whatever.

Squall glowered at her. Is he blushing? Rinoa examined his face. It was really hard to tell but she could actually swear he was blushing. Oh, Hyne! This is priceless!

"Rinoa…"

Squall's voice was a few shades more threatening than any tone she had ever heard him use with Zell, which was showing how annoyed he really was. Rinoa could literally hear his mind mumbling incoherently but dangerously. Rinoa's soft smile turned grin melted all that in a heartbeat. She chuckled. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed."

Squall's reply was a death glare. This was no ordinary death glare; this was the Squall Leonhart death glare, the kind that could kill legions with just a sweep of his eyes. Thankfully, Rinoa was more of a force than many legions of troops. She simply walked up and rubbed her hand gently along the part of his chest not covered by his fuzzy leather jacket.

Squall groaned and rolled his eyes but did not impede her hand in any way. "…Whatever."

Rinoa trailed her hand up to Squall's cheek holding it and turning his face so she could look into it. Their eyes met and held and it seemed in that instant that time was no longer held any dominance over the couple. The only concern that Rinoa had was the stormy grey mysterious eyes of the hero of the world, Squall Leonhart. Likewise, the only thing that Squall's mind processed was the warm caring chocolate brown eyes of the only Sorceress known to exist, Rinoa Heartilly.

Soft piano music filtered through the glass doors and the garden below added the backdrop setting. Rinoa did not like how cliché the environment was, but she wasn't going to argue with it. She smiled softly. "Squall…I…"

Rinoa was not sure exactly what she wanted to say. She never had a chance to think about it easier. The glass door opened and both of their attentions were drawn to the newcomers. Rinoa's stomach made a few summersaults.

It was "that man", President James Caraway, escorted by the young Baron Vladimir Rasputin. President Caraway was glaring at Squall and also, very likely, the SeeD's proximity to his daughter. Baron Rasputin, however, was a complete mystery. His hard glare gave nothing away about what he was thinking.

Rinoa gave the baron a quick look over. He was a young man only a year or two older than her, yet his goatee and his heavy glare gave the impression that he was more like thirty. He was about as tall as Irvine and had short cropped hair. There was an air about him which said he meant business, and his cold brown eyes, though the same color as Rinoa's invoked completely different emotions.

President Caraway was definitely an older graying man who tried his best to stand tall. Rinoa knew that it was taking more and more effort for him to just stand straight. He had a rare spinal disease which was making him loose control of the entire lower half of his body. Though he was only starting to show the first signs of the disease right now, doctors were concerned that in a few years he might have problems controlling his most needed bodily functions including this stomach, liver, kidneys, and bladder.

Squall bowed slightly. "Mister President, an honor as always."

Rinoa's father... No! He is not my father, not after all he has done to me! Only grunted in reply to Squall's formal military greeting. He barely gave him a glance before turning to Rinoa. "My daughter…"

Rinoa cut him off. "You don't have a daughter."

President Caraway paused a moment then started again. "Rinoa…" He added a touch of annoyed emphasis on her name, but with Baron Rasputin right there he was not going to reopen the five year war that had been fought between father and daughter. "I believe you know Vladimir Rasputin right?"

Rinoa only curtly nodded and he continued. "His family has made an interesting proposal to me tonight. He wants to ally with are family and pool our wealth and political power together. I have already appointed him my special advisor, but he wanted to take an extra step."

Baron Rasputin stepped forward and his voice even sounded like daggers as he spoke. "I want to take your hand in marriage and make you my bride, ensuring the Caraway dominance in the political affairs of Galbadia."

Rinoa's jaw was nearly dropping to the ground. How DARE he! Rinoa looked snidely at the baron. "You are asking me to marry you?"

Baron smiled and turned around pacing around with his left hand behind his back and his right hand animatedly assisting his speech. "I know this must be a rather large shock to you. I know you were never expecting or really hoping for such an advantageous marriage, but believe me, my offer is genuine."

Rinoa looked to the two men, who seemed to have already plotted the proposal, marriage and how many children she would have to bear together, then at Squall, who was standing dumfounded. DO SOMETHING! She nearly screamed at the poor soldier who had not a clue what to do.

Squall, to his credit, did not just stand there. His mind was working overtime trying to figure out strategies. Unfortunately for Rinoa, his mind was working along the thought process of thinking how much better the Baron could treat her as a wife than he could. Squall was laying out all the things she could have with him, wealth, power, jewelry, and other things too. Rinoa's mental shout snapped him out of his considerations and, unfortunately, back into his state of being totally indecisive.

Rinoa sighed and decided to go at this herself. "Baron Rasputin, I thank you for your very... generous offer, but..."

The Baron continued without ever seeming to hear her. "You could be the baroness and we could start a ruling line much like Visner Deling wanted. Imagine your children going on to rule all of Galbadia and eventually the world!"

Rinoa could not bare this anymore, and interrupted him loudly. "Is this some kind of joke! Father, what the hell are you thinking? You KNOW five years ago I got mad at you when you tried to marry me off to some other prick like him, WITHOUT EVEN ASKING ME!"

Rinoa was raging as the Baron stopped speaking and both politicians stopped cold and stared at her. They obviously did not expect her to react so negatively and violently. Her shouting continued unabated. "What did you THINK would happen when you brought him up here? Huh, dad?" she put an extremely sarcastic tone on the word dad to show exactly how angry she was. "You think that I'm just going to trounce around like some common whore for your political games? Is that what I am to you? A pawn?"

The president tried to mutter a line of defense for him but, unfortunately for him, hell hath no fury compared to a woman's scorn and much less a sorceress' scorn. "I'll have you know, there is a man who really truly loves me, and would not consider ever using me as a pawn or a toy, and..."

President Caraway's anger peaked at this and he started shouting in return. A small crowd was gathering behind the glass entrance to the patio watching the action. The president thrust a finger towards Squall almost in his face. "Him! The man who abandoned you to cheat on his secretary? So you don't want to be a pawn, you want to be a discarded toy instead?"

Rinoa's eyes flashed gold, taking both her father and Baron Rasputin by surprise. "Don't you dare say that about him!" Rinoa thrust her finger right at Squall in an eerily similar manner as her father just did. "I was wrong about him; he was not cheating on me! He was just getting cold feet about proposing to me!" Rinoa did not actually know if it was true, but she figured it was good enough.

President Caraway was fuming. "Him? A common soldier! Did I not bring you up better than that? He will go to war, and he will die, then you will be a widow with children five to ten years from now and no man will want to marry you and support you. What kind of life will you lead then? The baron is still offering you a good comfortable life without the toils of hardship. Are you so stubborn that you cannot see that?"

Rinoa threw her hands up exasperated. She had just the thing, and she was going to fight fire with fire. "Oh, a common soldier? Well as I recall, my mother married a common solder, GENERAL Caraway. Or should I say COLONEL Caraway? Or did you forget that Julia Heartily married a simple common soldier who was able to comfort her in her time of need, and was very happy, raising her daughter WITH her husband there to watch?"

The President was stopped cold. She had him right there. Father and daughter just stared at each other with anger bubbling through them. The baron looked totally lost, this not going anywhere near where he expected it to go. Rinoa turned to Squall and crossed her arms giving her a much softer glance. Squall for his part took the cue without any guidance mental or verbal. He quickly fumbled around his pocket and revealed the purple box which had seen so much battering in its time.

He slowly knelt down opening the box and Rinoa's heart skipped a beat. Yes, it wasn't the most romantic setting, and she was still passionately angry, but that did not stop her from enjoying the moment all the same. He is doing it... he is actually doing it! He does love me!

Of course I do. I'm only sorry that I can't show it to you better.

Rinoa couldn't help but get a tear in her eye at that. She smiled softly and took his hands in her. Squall's voice was a bit hoarse from the verbal harrying he just got but was clear and annunciated in his impeccably perfect tone. "Rinoa Heartily..." Squall glanced at President Caraway and smirked at him, just a bit, to spite him for mistreating his daughter. Technically she was Rinoa Caraway, but that is what made it all the better.

President Caraway could not decide whether to look stunned or angry. Squall returned his eyes right to the chocolate brown and loving gaze of the sorceress and continued. "Will you marry me?"

Rinoa immediately dropped on her knees with him and nodded her head whispering. "Yes, I will."

Squall took out the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. Finally, 3 years later, the ring was where it was supposed to be. Applause erupted inside as they kissed. Squall thought he could hear Zell shouting something along the lines of "way to go, man!" but he was not sure, nor did he care. He was in heaven with those lips sweetly kissing his.

Authors notes: Weeeeeeeeell... yea im a procrastinating bastard. No other excuse. Well, I did have some heavy duty personal life problems as well, but I definitely was procrastinating this. don't worry ill get on the ball. My finals are coming up fast and I want to finish the last chapter and epilogue before then or else you might not hear form me for another month :X. anyways yes 24 is started, and I like how its coming out quite decently. Remember: Lots of reviews keep random deaths from befalling main characters ;)