Disclaimer: I'm not yet able to say I own square or FF8... not yet... hehehe...

Well it's been an interesting few weeks, n'est pas? Once again sorry for the lack of updates, I've had course work and stuff building up to public exams, so I'm kinda stressed at the moment. Hopefully someday I'll be able to update more often... someday...

"How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?"

Tyler Durden

Knighted

Chapter 7:Night in Dollet

By Knighted

The moon shone on the oil-black water like a solitary ghost. If someone was looking out over the water between Dollet and the small island of Balamb, they might see a silhouette faintly emerging from the cloudless night. White moonshine reflected of cold hard steel. A huge reinforced smashing prow glinted an evil brownie-red in its adamantine coating. No sound could be heard save the breaking of the sea upon that prow of the Seed attack boat. A figure stood on the gunning platform near the stern of the vessel. His dark chocolaty hair fell over his face in a middle parting. As he raised his head to the view before him, his ice-blue eyes shone in the dark.

Squall looked up slowly, his vision trailing across the line of rippling water to the dim light ahead of him. A few small street lights were all that illuminated the dark water before him, their glow setting faint lines of light cross the sea. He did a quick calculation in his head; two miles to go until they reached the first sea barriers outside Dollet. His memory quickly flashed back to his SeeD exam when they had blasted over one of the concrete lines in one of the same type of ships he was on now. Such a long time ago...

He was shaken from his reverie by a soft hand upon his shoulder. Quickly spinning around in semi-terror, he faced this new threat. Rinoa, jumped backwards as he spun around, clinging onto the railing around the platform for support. Squall sighed. He had sunk into 'attack mode' again. He deftly stepped forward to his love and supported her. He just about made out the dark rings around her eyes; she had been sleeping. His eyes softened and he embraced her gently. She leaned into his broad chest, eyes closed. After some time a small voice came up to him

"Squall... How long have you been up here?" grimacing, he looked at his watch. He should have known she'd ask one of these... awkward questions, and the answer almost always annoyed her. He gulped at the thought of an angry, tired Rinoa and tentatively tried

"It's... 9:00...?" she covered her smile and asked again, more strongly this time,

"Squall... How long have you been up here?"

"Uh... it's, it's... it's 2:00 in the morning." She gasped and pushed away from him, her voice splitting the quiet air

"What! You've been standing here for 6 hours?" he winced and tried to calm her down

"It's alright, I'm not tired, I'm used t-"

"USED TO?" she shrieked "We're meant to be on holiday! Squall, really, I appreciate your... efforts to... to guard us? But seriously, you can't just sit up all night when you're meant to be having a weak of rest! It's not healthy!" he frowned.

"Look dearest, I'm not the stressed out one, so if you could just, uh, move along-"

"Move along!" she yelled again, then leapt at him. He caught from bare reaction, and widened his eyes as she kissed him passionately on the lips. He had only a moment of sweet pleasure before she broke the embrace. She spoke huskily,

"I love it when you get annoyed" he smiled and dived back to her lips. Her mouth immediately opened for him and he darted in, wishing to be part of her in this. She could feel his strong tongue pulling her towards his own mouth, could taste his mouth in hers, and then he was pulling her back into his mouth. She willingly obliged, moving in and taking control with her domineering persona, flicking the roof of his mouth. He felt her enter him and twined his tongue with hers, tasting her and pulling her. They danced a dance with each other, twisting positions, gazing into one another's eyes. Slowly they withdrew and broke off, their heart mourning the loss and yearning to be back together. They brushed and put their heads together, leaning on each other, neither saying a word. There was no need to speak. Slowly Squall pulled Rinoa into his arms. He barely looked up as the automatic piloting system of the ship told them in mechanical tones that they would be docking at Dollet in five minutes.

He nuzzled Rinoa's silky hair, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of her body against his for the time that they had, her smooth contours feeling as natural as part of him now, pushing into him and seeming to taunt him with thoughts he tried to shut out for now. He looked up and was surprised to see the solid buildings of the city above them already. Had they really been standing there so long together? The dim florescent yellow lights set a slightly eerie glow onto the whole picture. He looked down at the woman resting on his chest and smiled. Rinoa's burst of anger then passion had not been long-she was almost asleep again. He kissed her softly on the top of her head and murmured,

"Rin... we gotta go now. We've arrived. Rinoa?" he sighed and picked her up in one arm as he made his way down to the interior of the vessel to collect their bags. Lifting Rinoa in both arms and slinging her arms about his neck. With his arms supporting her knees and her shoulders as she lay horizontally in his embrace, he slowly knelt down to grasp their two bags in either hand, trying not to drop his burden of a beautiful sleeping woman. For a moment he considered a number of things that would wake her up with a start, and grinned, shocking himself. He would never have thought of something like that even... 5 months ago. Well, this is what they call... love? Has it really got that far yet? I love her... but... does she? What if she doesn't? What if this whole thing is- a soft, almost inaudible murmur of

"Squall, are we getting of this boat or what?" from the shut-eyed Rinoa. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. Stepping up to the exit door, he felt the slow scraping thud of the ship grounding on the sandy beach of Dollet city. Glancing to the auto-pilot panel by the hatchway, he managed to hook his bag onto just his thumb in the right hand, and just reach up with the index finger of the same hand to the glowing 'inverse movement' button, pressing it five times to give a five minute count-down before the ship set off back to Balamb. As he stepped off the steely ramp, which subsequently retracted back into the hull as the door clamped shut and sealed itself, he was enveloped by darkness on the beach. Scanning his memory of the beach from the few times he'd been there, he turned in the vague direction of a particular street light upon the wall ahead, and set of slowly into the night.

In the darkness of the silent streets of Dollet, somebody screamed. A man rushed round the corner, not in fear, but in urgency. His chocolate brown hair flapped parting across his forehead, but he could not sweep it back out of his eyes because of the burden of a young raven-haired woman in his arms, and their bags in his hands.

Squall gave a relieved sigh as he recognised the sign of the Sorceresses Tail hotel, darting through the seemingly shining doors and into the light beyond. There was no-one in the reception hall, let alone anyone behind the receptionists' desk. Squall sighed in frustration as he saw that the lift and stair doors were firmly locked. That explained the open main doors of the hotel, anyway. But why had he not thought of pre-ordering a key before he thought as he placed Rinoa on a sofa. She did not stir once, smiling in her deep slumber. Fine for some people Squall thought, she didn't have to run through a dangerous city at night with people screaming and her most loved person in the world her arms. He smiled at the thought most loved, and realised why he had not pre-ordered room keys for them. He had had enough to think about that night planning the holiday with Rinoa in his room, and in his arms. They talked all night long and been so close... No time for reminiscing now, thought the ever-present SeeD part of his mind. Searching through his bag, he took out Rinoa's weapon-the large shuriken-throwing handle which was aptly named the Shooting Star. He strapped it to her delicate wrist in case someone broke in, although by that time... it might be too late... he winced and told himself to think of other things. He had to go and help whoever was suffering out there in that dead night. He saw it as a duty to SeeD and to his honour. Loosing the sheath of his gunblade, he drew the steely-blue length of the Lionheart blade and checked the cartridges in the roller. He looked up, and jumped back in surprise. Rinoa was standing there, a determined look on her face, staring at him.

"I'm coming with you. Please don't try to do that again. If you... if you died out there, and I was just lying asleep in here... I wouldn't be able to live with myself. And besides, you are my Knight, you know. You can't just shirk your duty that easily."

"I'm sorry, Rin. I just had to-" she placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"I know Squall. I'm sorry too." He tilted his head in confusion.

"Why?" She suddenly grinned, forgetting the grim atmosphere which she had dimly sensed while she was being carried through the streets half asleep.

"...I'm sorry you had to carry me again" they both burst out laughing, in relief that the tense atmosphere was broken. They were cut short when a terrified shriek sounded, muffled, from out in the streets. They dropped their smiles, lifting their weapons to a ready stance.

"Let's go." Squall said, and, hands clasped between them, Sorceress and Knight, they both stepped back out into the grim darkness of the Dollet night.

Well that about wraps it up for now, though I've got the next one coming up soon. Apologies again for the delay, and for the shortness of this chapter.

Thanks,

Knighted