Squall laughed from his position on the beach as he watched Selphie and Zell look to Irvine with upset faces as he collapsed in the centre of their sandcastle. He saw Quistis paddling in the water and hollering for them all to join her; he refused but watched in amusement as the others fought to get there first. Feeling the watchful eyes of matron and Cid on him he turned and waved a hand as they waved to them all from outside the restored orphanage. Cid moved the camera to record the teens at play in the sea as they watched from a safe distance. Even Laguna along with Kiros and Ward had taken the day off to come down to the beach to spend some time watching their cheerful companions, and in some cases even children. Squall stood from his towel and shook the sand from his body before deciding it was too hot to continue wearing his T-shirt. Removing the article of clothing, he dropped it to the ground beside everyone else's belongings. Now only dressed in knee length black shorts and his Griever chain he headed towards the shoreline. Wandering through the tide he watched as his feet left imprints that quickly disappeared after his foot left them. Quietly he made his way towards the jagged rocks at the very tip of the peninsula and a secluded special someone.
"Woo! Squall we love you!" Selphie screamed as her and Quistis giggled at his newly revealed and desirable, lean yet muscular physique. Squall smiled and gave them a quick wave and playful pose. His quiet and saddened demeanour quickly returned as he turned away and kicked downheartedly at the sand as he walked away from the his friends. Irvine playfully covered Selphie's eyes with his hands trying to shield her from the picture perfect Squall as he encased her in a tight hug from behind. "Hey! I want to see what's happening? Irvine don't . . . n . . . no!" She screamed in protest as Irvine swept her into his arms and carried her further out into the sea, before dropping her into the water.
"Hey!" Quistis yelled at Irvine as she wadded over just as Selphie surface. Spluttering as she tried to catch her breath Selphie attempted to tare the sea drenched hair from her face. Both shared a look before immediately beginning to attack Irvine with a shower of water as a fight broke out. Their screams and giggles attracted the attention of Zell who rushed through the small waves to reach his friends. Even Ellone was calmly walking down from the beach to join in the fun.
"Yo, two on one isn't fair!" Zell yelled as he swam over to join the fight.
"Wait for us!" Ellone added as she raised her pace and pushed Zell face first into the water as she ran past him.
"Ah!" Zell exclaimed in rage as he surfaced, his hair fallen from its usual style. Edea and Cid watched on in amusement as they walked down the steps towards the beach and the excitable teens. Edea whispered something to Cid as Angelo began to bark madly, he turned to film Squall as he climbed the rocks towards the secluded sorceress.
"Hey." Squall said as he sat on the smooth surface of the rock next to Rinoa.
"Hi." She responded as she continued to gaze out over the sea. She smiled fondly before she spoke. "I remember when we were younger; you always used to drag me away from here. You used to tell me it wasn't safe and that I might get swept into the sea. Then you'd pretend it wasn't because you cared but because you didn't want to have to waste your time saving me." She smiled as she spoke and even glanced to him as she finished. She bit gently on her lip before adding the last part, "I'm sorry you had to waste your time saving me." He observed for the first time how delicate she looked dressed in her pale blue bikini. The loosely tied transparent wrap that hung from her hips revealed her feminine figure and creamy skin, skin that had driven him crazy for the past few months. Her hair was swept back into a rushed ponytail and for the first time he didn't have to struggle to see through her hair to become lost in her eyes. It all reminded him of months full of despair and self hate without her in his arms.
"It wasn't a waste of time Rinoa, I wanted to help. Besides you ended up repaying the debt quicker then I expected." He looked out over the sea as he spoke again, ". . . I thought that if you fell into the sea I wouldn't be able to save you and all I'd end up doing was helplessly watch you float away from me. But you showed me that even if I did loose you, you'd come back for me."
"Squall, I . . . I . . ." She couldn't get her words out and he could see the panic building in her eyes. She stood to walk away from him; things had been difficult since she had denied her feelings for him upon their safe return home, she couldn't be near him with out feeling a surge of raw emotions. Even with the perfect setting and time, like right now, she still couldn't find how to express herself; instead she just tried to run away like every other time they spoke. She looked away ashamed that she couldn't tell him what was in her heart, ashamed that she had broken his heart because she wouldn't watch her nightmares to come true. Nightmares of restless nights where he would not be there to hold her and scare away her demons, nightmares of death.
His hand caught her wrist as she tried to runaway again; he gently guided her body toward his own. His fingers crept to her chin as he tipped her face back towards him, looking deeply into her eyes with all the emotion he could show. He signalled for her to be quiet as he held a finger to his lips. "Please don't keep running away from me. Rinoa being friends isn't enough . . . I'm greedy, our time together has made me want more." He searched her eyes for some kind of feed back almost mistaking the watery surfaces as tears of sorrow instead of self hate. "I . . . I can't word how I feel about you . . . I never was able to . . . I'm not very good at telling people how I feel." She nodded as if admitting to herself that she felt so much for him but just didn't know how to express it.
"Neither could I" She let the words finally leave her lips in a small whisper. She smiled as his fingers slid down her face as he softly traced the curve of her cheeks as if drawing a picture in his mind. She caught his hand in her own as she leant towards him while he brought her face up towards his own.
"Actions speak louder than words." He whispered as he slowly leant towards her, her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton as they closed and her lips parted as an acceptance of her feelings for him as he gently pressed his own lips against hers. She could feel herself begin to melt into his arms like butter as they both closed the distance between themselves, embracing each other tightly, afraid to let go. She smiled shyly after they pulled back; she felt his arms encasing her but not trapping her, they were gentle. She returned the feeling by wrapping hers around his neck and twisting his hair between her fingers.
"Go Squall!" Irvine yelled throwing his fist in the air in a sign of encouragement. The fight had quickly travelled over towards them after they girls had noticed how close the couple had looked from a distance. The girls giggled like twelve year olds as Rinoa blushed and leaned deeper into the embrace as if using him as a protective barrier. Zell and Irvine laughed as they gave Squall the thumbs up which only embarrassed Rinoa more and made her burry her face in Squall's chest. They all continued to stare as Squall lifted an embarrassed Rinoa's face from his chest and level with his own to show her the reassurance in his eyes.
"Wahoo!" Selphie yelled as she displayed her excitement for the couple. Quistis clapped her hands before speaking.
"About time you two." She smiled warmly at them both which only reaffirmed their actions as the right thing. Ellone just smiled at her little brother lovingly as she watched him smiling what she hoped would not be the last real, loving smile she would see him with. The girls ignore the whistles and crude jokes the boys were making and just smiled at the new couple with friendly faces and applauding gestures.
"Hey anytime you want to trade . . ." Irvine joked before he felt the back of Selphie's hand connect extremely quickly with the back of his head. Irvine fell face first into the water with the force of the impact which sent everyone into a fit of giggles apart from the fuming Irvine who now looked a little less composed than usual.
"Get your own!" Squall yelled down to them with a smile as he protectively shadowed Rinoa from them. He caught Rinoa off guard making her scream and giggle briefly as he picked her up and spun her in his arms before placing her back on the ground and kissing her deeply once more.
"Love really is normal." She whispered as they held each other tightly their foreheads touching keeping their lips only inches apart.
"No Rinoa this is better than normal, this is magical." He whispered back as she fell deeper into their embrace. Their eye contact never breaking as they saw the love that made them both realise, home will always be with the people who make our lives magical.
The end
AN: I'm glad you all expressed your desires for Rinoa and Squall to end up as a couple, because regardless of what you thought I couldn't have left this story with them being any less than just that.
Thank you everyone for reviewing this story no matter how many times you did, at least I know that you really have enjoyed it. Please I would really love to hear from every person that reads this chapter; your reviews really do mean the world as far as my stories go.
