AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, it recently came to my attention that I was pretty much the only fanfic writer that didn't have one of these, and I realized that there was an extremely minor, yet still conceivable chance that I could get sued. As such, I decided to put in a disclaimer!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own FF8 or any of its characters…yet. I'm saving up tho! XP

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Aucifer, with Dir en Grey coming up next.

Chapter 2

As Rinoa's lips slid away from Squall's, she looked up to see his reaction. He was smiling, again, though she did not know his particular reason. Though he was glad that he had finally lifted his secret's burden, he was smiling simply because he happened to notice a small detail- Rinoa's lips were still stuck in a slight pout, as if they had not yet realized they had parted from his own. She blinked slowly and lowered her head for a second, her forehead creating a minor indentation in his jacket, then lifted her head once more, a look of expectation gracing her features.

"Squall," she began, a subtly serious tone inching into her voice. She paused then, furrowing her brow and losing herself in thought. Though she had memorized this little speech of hers while they laid together in the grass, she had now forgotten every word. She sighed with reluctance. She would have to wing it.

"Um…I've been wondering…" Rinoa's serious tone had been carelessly tossed away in exchange for a sheepish one. She was no longer as confident in his answer as she had been. She began to worry, asking herself if she should really ask him, or just leave the answer to fate. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that Squall gave her a disappointing answer…

But no. It had to be done.

"Squall, what do we do now? I mean…where do we go now?"

Squall shrugged and began walking back to Edea's house. "I don't really know," he said. "I guess it doesn't really matter now. I don't really care where we go, as long as you're by my side." He didn't look back as he said this. He knew full well that, despite the fact that he loved her, this would not be a satisfying answer. He was doing his best to be helpful, but he couldn't just lie. Simply put, he had not actually thought this far in advance.

He should have been thankful that he didn't turn around, for he would have seen a very unhappy Rinoa running after him. He was correct in thinking that his words would not be enough- in fact, they had put him into an even worse situation. Though she had not expected much, she was surprised and infuriated at his casual response. Apparently he did not think it was as important a subject as she did.

"Squall!" she cried, eyes flaming as he finally turned to face her. "This is serious! We have to figure out what to do! I need security! I can't have you just run off for a SeeD mission in the middle of the day! I wouldn't be able to take it! I can't… I can't be away from you for that long again!" At this point she was on her knees again, tears streaming from her eyes. This was why she had practiced her speech before- she was hoping to avoid this. "I know you don't think this is as serious as I do, but I-" She stopped as Squall kneeled and brought his finger to her lips. He smiled with affection- though he hated to see her cry, he was inexplicably glad that she was already so open with him. Sorrow breeds trust, he thought.

"Rinoa," he began, gently lifting her chin with his index finger, "You don't have any reason to worry. Just because I don't know what's going to happen with us doesn't mean that I don't care or take it seriously!" He smiled and lifted her to her feet, then reached his hands farther back and ran his fingers through her hair. He pulled her nearer to him, cherishing the feel of her silken hair running over his skin, and brought his lips to hers- a soft, simple kiss, yet sensual enough to rid her of her worries and get his point across. He broke the kiss and tilted her head towards his, angling his own head down at the same time. "And about the missions, please calm down. I'm… I'm going to quit SeeD."

"What!" Rinoa screamed. She pulled away from him in utter shock. This was completely unlike him. He had worked his entire life to be a SeeD. In a way, it was him. She couldn't even comprehend what he would do if he were to go without orders! She shook her head in disbelief. "But Squall…How…Why…Where will you live? Where will we live?" Squall smiled a smile that was almost as sad as it was happy.

"Actually," he started, "I've already taken care of that. I asked Cid, and he said that we could still stay in Balmb Garden until we find somewhere else to live. He even said we could just live there if we can't find anywhere else to go. He doesn't think Garden will be too busy now that we no longer have Ultimicia to deal with…" He trailed off, a wistful expression forming on his face. "So you see, you won't ever have to be the woman that is forever waiting for her love to return from a far-off battle, the woman that everyone always encourages, but secretly pities." He shook his head and smiled at her, laughing inside about her worrisome nature. "I would never do that to you."

"But…won't you miss fighting?" she asked, cocking her head ever-so-slightly to the side. He was worrying her. Though he always followed his orders, she knew that he secretly loved to be free, to be able to travel wherever he wanted to on a whim, to have choices. "Won't you miss the freedom?" He took her hands and pulled her tight to him. His head lowered to her shoulder, and he whispered in her ear:

"I have all the freedom I could ever need right here, with you."

And with those words he took her hand and lead her through Edea's ruined abode, toward a waiting Balamb Garden, toward an uncertain future, but most of all toward freedom.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: (yep, from now on I'll have one at the beginning and end of each chapter! Whoopee!) Well, sorry for the short(er) chapter, but this is probably the length they'll be from now on. I'm gonna put in a little something about Squall dealing with Ellone's death next chapter (so yes, more crying…I find crying to be a very intimate and trusting act- am I just weird like that?), but then the chapter after that should just be a happy one with Squall and Rinoa! - Hope you enjoyed this, R&R PLEASE, & if you get a chance and don't mind kinda-parodies, you should check out my other fic, "Funblade." It's a quick litte skit that I did for the hell of it that explains where Squall keeps his equipment…XP …people seem to like it so far, and not one person has made a comment about the fact that Squall's weapons are remodeled, not purchased… o.O…but I'm actually kinda glad they haven't…koff koff shifty eyes… Anyway, see you when I get some more free time!

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Cinema Strange, with Tragic Black after that, followed by Depeche Mode.