Such Great Heights
Part Three: I Think That It's a Sign

Really, Selphie knew that she should never try to wield a sledgehammer, but the opportunity had just been too tempting. A standing wall had needed smashed so that a new wall could be built around it, and she had been the one nearest to the needed tool – or was it a weapon? Regardless, Selphie had grabbed it and given it a mighty swing – one that made the boys watching her laugh, but it had been a lot of fun – and promptly fell on her butt and cracked her head on the newly laid concrete floor.

She had suffered the fifth concussion of her life – many doctors agreed that it wasn't healthy, but she still operated just fine! – and had a nasty cut on her left temple. A white bandage circled her head, and they'd had to cut off some of her hair and even shave it back a little above her ear to get the wound stitched up properly. She sighed, leaning back on the elevated bed that she had been ordered to not leave for three days. How could she be of any help to Trabia like this?

Squall came into visit, dressed in a long white scarf and a dark blue winter hat to protect him from the fierce winds and driving snow outside. He brushed some snow off of his shoulders and removed the protective, tinted goggles that he had taken to wearing in order to see best in the biting breezes and glaring sun. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked, unwrapping the scarf from his neck and face.

Selphie sighed, taking her eyes off of the television that had been placed in this room to keep her entertained. "I'd rather be outside," she confessed.

"Concussions are serious injuries," Squall replied, pulling up a folding wooden chair and sitting on it. "But it looks like they patched you up pretty well."

"They had to cut my hair," Selphie whined, and then hated herself for it. "It's even shaved off!"

Squall sat up higher and looked at the bandage around her forehead with what Selphie thought was mild amusement. "You're lucky they didn't cut it all off."

Selphie let out an exasperated sigh. "So how's it going out there?"

"Good."

Selphie waited for him to continue, and then remembered that this was Squall she was talking to. Yes, this was the guy who said more one-word sentences than the rest of the world combined. "What have they gotten done today?" she asked, to try to start some sort of conversation. She hated it when the room went silent.

"The walls are almost completely in," Squall answered after a momentary pause. "The framing is done, the insulation and drywall also, on the main hall. The supports for the roof are up, and we'll be working on that while you're in here."

"Wow," Selphie replied, genuinely impressed. "You guys are working fast."

"This all could have been done ages ago, if everybody hadn't been so lazy."

Selphie shifted her position underneath the blanket she lay under, trying desperately to think of anything to use to fuel the conversation. Fortunately, she didn't have to work very hard – the television provided it for her.

"Here's some video from downtown Timber today," said a newscaster with a nearly monotonous voice. Selphie watched as images of the familiar streets of the town she had visited so often flashed across the screen. "Though recently placed within Galbadia territory, resistance groups are still active." A different video came on screen of a bunch of people standing in a crowd, holding signs outside of the President's mansion in Deling City. The signs said various things such as Free Timber and No Representation Enslavement.

Then, a familiar blue duster caught Selphie's eye. "Is that… Rinoa?" she asked without even thinking.

"Where?" Squall responded immediately, then fell silent.

"There… on the left, with that…" Selphie stopped as she saw a young man – was it Watts or Zone? She could never keep them straight – put his arms around Rinoa's shoulders. "Oh…" Selphie murmured as she watched the person who looked strikingly like Rinoa lean back into the man's arms and smile.

"Turn it off," Squall ordered.

Selphie, immediately obeying, searched for the remote since she was practically strapped down to the bed by the sheets and blankets on top of her. She thought she had put it on the bed by her thigh, but it wasn't there. She unsuccessfully checked the other side of the bed, then looked under the covers. Had it fallen off the bed? She couldn't find it, and she searched frantically in order to obey Squall's order.

Without a word, Squall stood up and leaned over Selphie's bed and snatched the remote control off of the table beside her, finding the power button and turning the television off without even a moment of hesitation.

He dropped the remote onto the table, still leaned over the bed and Selphie at the same time. His elbows rested between the mattress and the support frame on the side, next to Selphie's hip, and he was completely silent and unmoving.

Selphie couldn't tell how long it was that he remained there, but after what felt like hours, she realized that he might have been doing a Squall version of crying. She couldn't imagine Squall shedding tears, but… she could imagine him remaining in whatever position he ended up in, unmoving, completely closing himself to the world as he took in a complete shock.

Exactly what he was doing right at that moment.

To Selphie, it had been obvious what Rinoa had run off to do. She and Squall were never really suited for each other, and she had known it from that night after Ultimecia's defeat at the celebration in Balamb Garden. They reveled in each other for a while, but after a few months, Rinoa had actually confided to Selphie that she was getting bored with Squall.

Selphie had seen that coming. Rinoa needed to be kept on her toes, she liked action and adventure, even if she wasn't exactly suited to that kind of lifestyle. Squall, on the other hand, preferred for things to stay constant. He didn't like change, and he certainly wasn't wild and exciting enough to give Rinoa the thrilling lifestyle she thought she was getting when she had entered into a relationship with him.

Selphie liked bringing a little excitement to Squall's life every now and then. It was good for him. But this was not the sort of excitement she had envisioned. Visual reminders of the termination of a relationship were generally not the most pleasant of things, but sometimes they had to happen. Though she felt bad for Squall, she was also happy that he had gotten that glimpse of his ex-girlfriend in the arms of another man. It was a reality check.

Sighing, Selphie lifted her arms from their frozen position half-under the blankets in search of the forgotten remote control. Instead, she placed them on Squall's back, her right hand resting between his shoulder blades and her left hand near his waistline.

He was shaking slightly; she thought it could have been from the sub-zero temperatures outside, but she had a hunch that it was actually Squall's version of an emotion.