Sorry for the long update you guys. I know it was only two weeks, but that felt like forever. I had homecoming to go to and there was a lot of Drama that went on there. Long story…I also had a lot of homework and then I had to go to work. It's been pretty hectic lately. I'm going to continue to try and put up a new chapter every weekend though. I don't work weekends!

Anyway, I want to say thank you to all of you who have written me reviews. I really appreciate it. I like to know your opinions and what you think I should improve on for my future stories. In fact, I'm in the process of starting two new ones at this very minute! All I can tell you is the subject, characters, and theme.

The first one is Final Fantasy X-2 (Tidus and Yuna) – Romance and adventure

The second one is Yu-Gi-Oh (Yami (Pharaoh and Tea) – Romance and adventure

So please check out my new stories when I post them if you're interested in them. I'll try to post the first chapters, maybe today or next weekend. Let's hope for the best! Thanks again for all of your support. There are still more chapters for this story!

Love Always,

Rikkuthief15

Chapter 24

An Early Morning Swim

It was early morning, the sun was shining brightly through the trees, and parrots were calling to one another. Rinoa opened her eyes to the bright light that was streaming through the opening in the tent she was in. Yawning, she stood up and walked towards the entrance, stretching. She peered outside and saw Shaltwan and Tennetra cooking breakfast over a small fire.

"It's about time you woke up!" Tennetra called to her. Rinoa laughed and walked towards them.

"So, what's for breakfast?"

"Bacon…"

"Bacon? You have bacon here?" Rinoa asked in amazement.

Tennetra laughed and pointed toward a pen full of pigs.

"Oh…right…" Rinoa's stomach began to feel kind of queasy.

Tennetra took note of the shock on her face. "Don't worry. These aren't the same pigs you have back home. These are wild and violent. We have to keep the population down or they'll terrorize the village!"

"Oh, okay…" Rinoa felt a little better knowing that they weren't really innocent. "What am I thinking?" She asked herself. "I eat bacon back home and those are normal pigs! I guess I just never really thought about it…" Once the strips of meat started to cook, Rinoa forgot all her worries at the smell of it.

"That smells so good." She said sniffing the air.

"It will be ready in a few minutes…" Shaltwan said coming over to them with some fresh fruit in a bowl. Just then Rinoa realized someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Squall?" She asked.

"I think I saw him down by the river. If you follow the path over there by that tree you'll find it. It's not very far. I'd say about five minutes…" Shaltwan replied.

"Thanks!" Then Rinoa ran off toward the path.

Squall sat down next to the water's edge, his feet dangling in the water. Taking his shirt off, he dived into the cool, clear river. He closed his eyes and went under and came back up. Looking around he saw a huge waterfall at one end of the river. Around it were tall trees blowing in the gentle breeze.

"This place is so relaxing…" He thought quietly to himself. He floated effortlessly on the top, letting the water carry him with its small waves.

Rinoa sat behind a small tree and peeked behind its branches, spying on Squall. "He he!" She laughed to herself. "I wonder if I can sneak up on him…It's worth a try!" Very quietly she stole out from behind the tree and crept to the waters edge. As she edged closer, she saw his shirt on the ground. "Better yet, I can take this!" She grabbed his shirt and ran back behind her tree.

Squall opened his eyes and stood back up in the water. "What was that?" He asked himself. "I thought I heard something…" Then he looked over at the edge of the river and saw his shirt was gone. "Or someone…" He smiled. "Nice try Rinoa!" He called out.

The next second, Rinoa jumped out from behind her tree and glared at him. "That's not fair! How did you know it was me?"

"It wasn't really that hard. What person do I know would try a trick like that?" He raised his eyebrow and smirked.

"That obvious huh?"

"Yeah!" They both laughed. "You can put my shirt back now…" He said.

"Hm…I could, but I don't think I'm going to!" She said mischievously. She walked to the water's edge and wiggled the shirt back and forth through the air. "If you want it come and get it!"

Squall rolled his eyes. He walked towards Rinoa and stopped when he reached the side of the river. As he reached out to grab his shirt, she pulled it away. "Come on Squall! You know I wouldn't give it to you that easily!"

Suddenly an idea popped into Squall's head. He smiled to himself. Then he made his face change to a worried expression. "Rinoa, there's something I need to tell you…It's really important!"

Rinoa lowered the shirt a little at the look on his face. "What is it Squall?" She asked, concerned.

"Come here…" He motioned for her to lean down so he could tell her. She lowered herself towards him to listen, but instead, without warning, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the water. She fell in with a loud splash.

When she came back up to the surface she started yelling. "I can't believe you did that Squall! That was awful!" She gave him a deathly glare. He started laughing. "It's not funny!"

"Maybe not for you, but for me it is!" He said.

"Hmph!" Rinoa turned her head up and crossed her arms. Then she turned around and splashed water all over him.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice either!" He yelled back.

"I'm just getting even! Besides, you were already wet!"

"So, that doesn't matter!" Then he reached over and dunked her into the water.

"Squall!" She struggled to say as gobs of water flooded into her mouth. He let her go, laughing. "That's not fair! You could have drowned me!"

"I would never do that and you know it!" He replied, still trying to hold back his laughter.

"Do I now? I'm not so sure…" She said holding her head towards the sky. Squall walked through the water next to her.

"If I was trying to drown you would I do this?" He grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to face him. Rinoa gasped in surprise. Before she could make a move, he had planted his lips on hers. She closed her eyes to enjoy it, but then opened them back up. Quickly, she pushed him away.

"Hey! You can't do that! That's cheating!" She said seriously. Squall seemed a little taken aback. He hung his head down low with a pout on his face. Rinoa started laughing. "Oh, you know that I can't stay mad at you! Plus, you can't steal MY pouting face! That's my method!" Squall smiled.

"Alright, the pout is yours. You win." He swam over towards the river bank and climbed out. Rinoa followed him. He reached out his hand and pulled her out of the water. Rinoa then glanced down at her hand. She was still holding his shirt, but now it was sopping wet.

"Sorry about that! I didn't mean to get your shirt wet, but it was your own fault really. I mean, you're the one who pulled me into the water with it."

"Don't worry about it. A shirt can be dried. He took his shirt from her and threw it over his shoulder. Then they followed the path back towards the Amazon village.

When they reached the village, the smell of sizzling, warm bacon reached their noses. "Something smells good…" Squall said. Rinoa smiled.

"It's bacon!" She said gleefully.

"Bacon? They have bacon in a place like this?"

"Yeah I know! I thought the exact same thing!" They walked over to Shaltwan and Tennetra. They were in the process of feeding baby Makita.

"We thought we would have to skip breakfast without you!" Shaltwan said while trying to give Makita some bacon in little pieces.

Tennetra stood up and stared at Rinoa and Squall. "Looks like someone took a little dip in the river!" She said eyeing them suspiciously.

Rinoa laughed, putting her hand on her head. "Yeah…about that. Squall's the one who did it! It's all his fault! Now my outfit from the party is all wet!"

"Hey! You started it and you know it!" Squall replied back defensively.

Tennetra and Shaltwan laughed in amusement at the bickering couple. "Come on, you should eat!" Shaltwan said holding out a plate of bacon for each. Rinoa generously accepted the food. Her mouth was watering.

"This tastes so good! It's been such a long time since I've had a normal meal!"

Baby Makita was still refusing to eat her bacon. Tennetra was just about fed up with her. "She's not eating, but she needs to…" She looked around the village for a minute, trying to think of something. Then she looked at Squall. "Hey, why don't you try to feed her? She likes you."

"Me?" He asked her. "Alright, I'll try…" He put his plate down and walked towards Makita. "Come here. That's it…" He said gently to her. Makita crawled towards him and sat on his lap. "You need to eat this. If you want to be strong like those two, then you need to." He placed a small piece of bacon in her hand. Slowly she raised it to her mouth. In a few seconds she was squealing with delight at its savory flavor.

Tennetra smiled. "I don't get it! She seems to just like you naturally!" She picked Makita up and carried her back over to Shaltwan where they continued to feed her, her breakfast.

Squall took his place back next to Rinoa once again to finish his meal.

"I'll miss them…" Rinoa said quietly, watching the Amazons.

"Yeah…" He said doing the same.

"I guess we can always come back here, can't we?" She asked, looking over at him, hope filling her heart.

Squall thought for a moment and then nodded his head. "Of course we can. Maybe they can even visit us!"

"That would be great!" She said excitedly. She was silent for a few more minutes, but then spoke again. "I guess we should start saying our good-byes."

"Yeah, we need to head back to Garden." He glanced down at her saddening face. "Don't worry…everything will be fine..." Then quietly whispered to himself, "I hope…"