Rinoa Heartily sighed as she stared at her computer screen. She was bored. She had promised herself a dozen times that she was going to devote the whole day to editing the newest chapter of her book. It was only eight in the morning and she was already bored.
She heard Quistis stirring in the living room and got out of her chair hurriedly, anxious for a distraction. Her blonde friend was sitting on the couch, blankets pushed down to the other end. Her hair was messy and she was blinking blearily. Rinoa smiled and giggled as she entered the living room.
"Morning Quistis; sleep well?"
Quistis nodded as she retrieved her glasses from the coffee table. The brunette laughed quietly as she moved into the kitchen to start coffee.
"I'm going to jump in the shower Rin. I'll be there in a few minutes," Quistis called.
"Okay," Rinoa answered. She had filled the machine with beans and was putting the coffee pot back into its place when there was a knock at the door. She opened the door and smiled as she saw Squall and Seifer on the other side.
After Laguna had left the night before the group had watched a movie before Rinoa and Quistis went back to Rinoa's apartment to have some 'girl time' and the boys stayed at Squall's place and played video games.
Rinoa moved out of the doorway and the guys came into the apartment. Squall raised a bag of bagels in greeting as Seifer moved to the cabinet and got plates and cups out.
"Where's Quis?" Seifer asked as he laid the plates on the table.
"Oh, she's in the shower," Rinoa replied unthinkingly. An evil smirk leapt to Seifer's face and he tore through the apartment toward the bathroom before the surprised girl could do anything to stop him.
Squall sighed and covered his ears. Rinoa was confused but did the same. A moment later a loud scream ripped through the residence. They cautiously took their hands down and resumed setting out breakfast as the cry died down. The pair in the kitchen groaned as they heard feet stomping through the back hallway. Seifer bolted into the kitchen, followed closely by a towel-clad Quistis. Seifer vaulted over the table, trying to keep it between his annoyed girlfriend and himself. Rinoa and Squall grinned at their friend's antics and moved off to the side to watch the proceedings.
Quistis' hair was wet and bedraggled and soap was still running off her legs. Holding the towel with one hand, she reached for the dodging Seifer with the other. Her boyfriend was continually moving and ducking, laughing the whole time.
He grabbed an opening and bolted into the living room, spanking Quistis on the butt as he ran past her. She squealed in indignation before giving chase. Squall cautiously poked his head into the living room, decided against doing anything, and came back into the kitchen.
Rinoa was giggling and smiling as she resumed setting out the plates. Squall found a large bowl and dumped the bagels into it. The bowl went on the table and the two brunettes fixed their drinks and sat down to eat breakfast. They could still hear Seifer and Quistis from where they were sitting in the kitchen.
Squall selected his favorite bagel from the pile, pulling out one for Rinoa too and handing it to her. They began to eat, serenaded by their friend's playful fighting in the background.
Rinoa kept glancing back at the living room as she ate until finally Squall said, "I wouldn't worry about them. It's when they get quiet that you need to be afraid."
As he finished speaking, the noise in the other room abruptly stopped. Rinoa's brown eyes met Squall's blues. He shrugged and stood up. She followed and they both poked their heads into the living room. They were surprised to see that their friends weren't in the room. Suddenly, Seifer and a fully dressed Quistis popped up from behind the couch and began to launch pillows at their unsuspecting friends.
Squall caught the one thrown at him and slung it back in retaliation before ducking back into the kitchen. Rinoa was hit in the face by a pillow thrown by Quistis. She grabbed it up off the floor before running for cover in the kitchen. Squall was at the table, scooping bagels out of the bowl. Rinoa gave him a weird look and he gave her a small smile.
"They haven't eaten yet," he explained reasonably. She rolled her eyes and they went back to the doorway between their base and the fortress their friends had set up in the living room. Squall launched his bagel grenades, earning him cries of surprise from the two hidden blondes. Rinoa kept her pillow in reserve, waiting for a target to present itself. Seifer slowly poked his head up over the edge of the couch, thinking that the brunettes had run out of ammo. Rinoa leapt forward, swinging the pillow as hard as she could. Squall was right behind her, diving over the top of the couch and tackling the surprised Seifer. The two boys began mock wrestling, rolling around on the floor trying to pin each other.
The girls began to swing their pillows at each other but stopped in mid-swing. Grinning at the wrestling boys, they sat on the couch to watch the match.
Seifer managed to pin Squall for a minute and turned his head to wink at Quistis. While he was distracted Squall squirmed out of the hold and rolled Seifer onto his back and pin him. Squall, however, did not make Seifer's mistake. The girls began to cheer and clap and Squall let Seifer up.
Squall picked up the bagels he had thrown and carried them back into the kitchen. Rinoa and Quistis picked up the pillows and put them back on the couch. Seifer went back into the bathroom and cleaned up the mess that had been made when he had scared Quistis in the shower.
The group reconvened in the kitchen and hungrily ate their bagels. They had just finished eating when there was a knock on the door. Zell and his girlfriend Sally stood on the other side.
"Good morning you guys," Zell greeted everyone as Rinoa let them in. The rest waved and said hello. Sally was very shy and stuck close to Zell as he moved to the table and sat down. He pulled the librarian into his lap to keep her close. Quistis and Rinoa watched the cute interaction and exchanged smiles. Seifer rolled his eyes at the girls and Quistis hit him over the head gently. Seifer grinned and pulled his girlfriend down into his lap. He smothered her protest with his lips and the rest of the group grinned widely.
Anyone who had known Seifer and Quistis, even for a short time, knew that the couple was not afraid of public displays of affection, at least around friends.
Squall handed several bagels to Zell and gave one to Sally. The new arrivals ate and the group sat at the table talking.
The guys decided they should go do some work at the garage. Quistis and Sally weren't pleased that their guys were working on a Saturday but they eventually agreed. The attached males said goodbye, quickly pressing kisses on their girlfriend's lips to avoid the tongue-lashing they knew they would get if their girls' lips were not being used for other pursuits than talking.
Squall and Rinoa were standing off to the side, watching the exchanges with small grins on their faces.
Zell and Seifer went out the door, waving for Squall to follow. The brunette turned to Rinoa, waving the guys off.
"Thanks for letting us come over Rin," Squall said quietly, looking down at her. She smiled and nodded. The guys outside were making hurrying motions to Squall, who waved them off again.
"We really appreciate it."
She smiled again, "It's no problem."
"Come on Squall," Seifer groaned, eyeing Quistis' angry face nervously.
Squall sighed in frustration and unthinkingly, leaned down and pressed a kiss to Rinoa's lips before turning and walking out.
Quistis' jaw dropped and Rinoa's hand shot to her mouth where his lips had touched hers. Rinoa's mouth moved but no sound came out.
The second the door closed behind Squall, Quistis was at her friend's side.
"What is going on between you two?" she asked the shell-shocked Rinoa.
Rinoa shook her head slowly, still staring at the door, "Nothing that I know of."
Quistis shook Rinoa gently, trying to snap her friend out of her stupor.
"Honey, look at me," she paused, waiting for Rinoa to turn towards her, "If nothing is going on why did he kiss you?"
Rinoa shrugged helplessly, "I don't know. I didn't know he felt anything for me besides friendship."
Quistis frowned, "Do you feel anything for him?"
Rinoa hesitated, thinking. "I don't know. I think I could but I don't know if I do," she groaned.
Quistis quickly hugged her friend. "Shh, honey we'll get this worked out. It'll be okay."
Sally was still standing beside the kitchen table. She was watching the proceedings with a thoughtful frown on her face. She shyly cleared her throat, wanting to help but not knowing what to do.
"Maybe Squall did it without thinking about it. Or maybe he was trying to thank you for letting us all come over," she suggested quietly.
Quistis shrugged, "I think the only way we'll know for sure is to ask him."
Zell and Seifer saw their friend kiss his neighbor and exchanged surprised looks. What was up with Squall? He wouldn't kiss a girl he didn't at least like. They were doubly surprised to watch him turn and walk out without a word about it. What was going on?
They were so surprised they just watched as he walked past them and started off down the hallway.
"Squall," Seifer called, "Wait a sec."
"What's up?" Squall asked, "You were the ones that wanted to hurry up and leave. What are we waiting on now?" Seifer and Zell exchanged confused glances.
"Squall, what just happened in there?" Zell asked slowly. His friend frowned in thought for a minute then began to list things out loud.
"You guys said goodbye. Ya'll were hurrying me up. I thanked Rin for letting us come over…" The realization dawned in his eyes and his voice trailed off.
"Oh shit. Please tell me I didn't do what I think I did," he pleaded with his friends. Seifer sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm afraid you did," Zell announced. Squall groaned and banged his head against the wall of the hallway.
"I'm such an idiot."
"Was it really such a bad thing?" Seifer asked.
Squall's head turned to his friend quickly, blue eyes flashing. "Of course it's a bad thing. She's my friend. You're not supposed to kiss your friends."
Seifer rolled his eyes, "You do remember how me and Quis got together, don't you?"
"Seifer that only worked because Quistis liked you too. She told me and Zell that she liked you months before you kissed her," Squall objected.
Zell heard what his friend wasn't saying and called him on it.
"Squall, do you like Rinoa?" he asked with an uncharacteristic shrewdness. His quiet, reserved friend looked uncomfortable but nodded slowly.
"We've spent so much time together since she moved in and I feel like she relates to me better than anyone I've ever known; with the possible exception of Quistis."
Seifer grinned and slapped his friend on the shoulder.
"Congratulations man. Go for it," he encouraged Squall.
Squall just shook his head, "You're crazy. I can't do anything about it. She doesn't like me like that, we're just friends."
Seifer tried to object but Squall cut him off, "Let's just go to work."
"You might just be surprised," Zell whispered to himself, thinking of Quistis' plan, before following his friends.
The men were tired as they stumbled up the stairs onto Squall's floor. They trooped slowly down the hall to Rinoa's door. Seifer knocked, Squall was hiding behind him. Quistis answered the door and let them into the apartment. Squall carefully kept his eyes away from Rinoa, who was leaning on the counter beside the sink. Quistis was watching his face curiously, waiting to see what would happen.
Zell moved straight to Sally and hugged her before sitting down at the table beside her and shooting Squall a look. Seifer kissed Quistis for a long moment before moving to the table and sitting down, pulling her into his lap. They were all staring at Squall, standing just inside the doorway, and Rinoa, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Um," Rinoa began to speak slowly. "Let's go watch a movie or something," she finished quickly, changing what she was going to say at the last second.
Quistis sighed quietly and stood up, nodding. She met Rinoa's conflicted gaze and, feeling a wave of sympathy wash over her, moved to her friend's side, hugging her.
Squall and Seifer exchanged glances and moved into the living room, following Zell and Sally's lead gratefully.
Quistis and Rinoa were left alone in the kitchen after a few seconds.
"You need to talk to him," Quistis advised her friend. Rinoa nodded and hugged Quistis.
"I will, tonight."
The living room of Rinoa's apartment was bathed in darkness, lit only by the gentle glow of the muted television. Around the room bodies were lying on couches, dead to the world.
Zell was lying on his back on the couch, snoring softy. Sally's head was lying on his chest, her body pinned between Zell and the back of the couch.
Seifer was leaning on the base of the couch, his feet stretched out in front of him. Quistis was lying between his legs, her head resting on his abdomen. His arms were wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close to him.
Squall was stretched out on the loveseat, his legs hanging over the side. Rinoa was on the opposite side of the room, curled up in an overstuffed armchair.
At the moment she was the only one in the room that was conscious. Her brown eyes were glued to the sleeping man on the opposite couch. She studied his face, wondering what factors in his life had made him into the man he was.
She knew he was an orphan, Quistis had told her that. Squall had told her about his foster family, Laguna, Ellone, and Raine. She knew that he had never really gotten along with them and that he had been on his own since he was seventeen. She stared at the scar that ran diagonally between his eyes, wondering curiously how he had gotten it. Her eyes traveled to the mirrored copy of the scar that branded Seifer's face.
She moved her eyes back to Squall and was surprised to see that his blue eyes were now open, staring at her.
"Where did you get your scar?" she asked quietly. His hand automatically reached up to run down the thin line.
"Seifer has one too and I was just curious," she explained.
"We gave them to each other," he said quietly. "We were fighting and it was an accident."
"How old were you two?" she asked.
"Seven," he answered.
"Your parents weren't around?" she asked without thinking. Squall just shook his head, a hint of a smile on his face.
"That was before I got adopted. I was at the orphanage. Me and Seifer have been friends since we were really little."
"Do you remember your parents at all?" she asked quietly.
"A little bit I think. I remember a lighthouse and an older man in a red sweater and a tall lady with the longest black hair I've ever seen," his voice was low in the darkness that surrounded them.
"Do you miss them?"
"It's hard to miss someone that you can hardly remember," he responded.
The loneliness in his voice triggered something inside her and she got up from her chair. She crossed the room to where he was lying on the couch and sat on the edge next to him as he sat up. She took a deep breath and began to speak.
"When I was really little, my mom died. She had cancer for a long time so it wasn't really a surprise that she died. After she died though, my dad became a different person. He didn't like to be around me because I reminded him of what he had lost. When I was seventeen, I left. I moved out of the house and got a job at the newspaper in Deling. He's tried to get me to come back but until he grieves properly I know nothing will change."
As she spoke, the resurfacing memories caused a wave of sadness to run through her. Tears began to drop from her eyes. Squall's hand came up and cupped her cheek and his thumb gently wiped her tears away.
He turned her face up and gently kissed each of her cheeks. She blinked in surprise and looked into his eyes.
"Squall why did you kiss me this morning?" she whispered. He sighed deeply and held her chin gently with his hand.
"This is kind of sudden for you and all, and I'm sorry about kissing you without telling you this first, but I really, really like you," he said slowly, breathing deeply, staring into her brown eyes.
"Like me, like me?" she asked to clarify.
He just nodded, not looking away from her. She hugged him quickly and his arms wrapped around her. He felt her still wet tears soak through his shirt and he began to rock her gently.
"So, what happens now?" he asked cautiously, trying to understand. She pulled back a little and looked into his eyes.
"We can take it slow. I like you too and I want to see what can become of it."
He nodded in agreement and she smiled. Suddenly, he yawned and she looked at her watch.
"Oh, man. It's 2 in the morning." She moved to get off the couch and was momentarily surprised to feel Squall's hand grasp her wrist before she could stand. He lay back down and opened his arms to her.
"Is this moving too fast?" he asked, the nervousness obvious in his voice. She just smiled gently and climbed over him to lie down beside him on the couch. He pulled the blanket over them and she snuggled herself down deeper into his arms.
The next morning Rinoa woke slowly, trying to orient herself. She lay still for a moment, thinking. Her conversation with Squall rose to the top of her mind and she remembered where she had fallen asleep. She lifted her head slowly and smiled as she met Squall's blue eyes.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend before Squall?" Rinoa asked spontaneously. Squall's face flushed and the small smile he had had dropped off his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't want to bring up bad memories or anything. I was just curious," she apologized.
"No, it's okay. If we're gonna make this work we have to be honest, right?" he asked. She nodded slowly and he sighed in preparation.
"There was this girl named Selphie," he said slowly. "We were really close and I thought that I loved her but it turned out that she was cheating on me and had been the whole time we were dating. Seifer and Quistis were the ones that found out what had been going on."
"Oh, Squall. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up such bad memories. I'm sorry," she said as she pressed her head back on his chest.
Just then Quistis poked her head into the living room from the kitchen.
"Wake up sleepy heads. We're making pancakes. They'll be ready soon," she said cheerfully. Squall and Rinoa smiled at each other and rolled their eyes. They got up and went into the kitchen, greeting everyone else.
Seifer was flipping the pancakes and Zell was pouring drinks for everyone. Sally was putting out silverware and Quistis was waiting just inside the doorway to hug Rinoa. Squall groaned jokingly and went to see what he could help with. Sally put him to work getting the syrup and fruit out of the fridge.
"How did it go?" Quistis asked Rinoa quietly, hugging her friend tightly.
"It was pretty good last night. I kind of put my foot in it this morning though," she said back.
"What happened?" Quistis asked, pulling back a little to look Rinoa in the face.
"I asked if he had ever had a girlfriend before."
"Oops," Quistis whispered. "And he actually told you?"
Rinoa nodded and Quistis looked surprised.
"Wow, that's surprising. He doesn't like to talk about her. He must really like you," Quistis finished teasingly, elbowing her friend gently.
"Well, I hope so," Rinoa said back, grinning widely.
"Breakfast is served," Seifer called from the table, laying the plate down in the center of it with a flourish.
The girls laughed at his antics before seating themselves, Quistis next to Seifer and Rinoa next to Squall.
AN: Okay the ending is kind of lame but I really couldn't think of anything else to end on without having to write whole lot more to conclude the conclusion. I think the next chapter will have more Laguna/ Squall interaction but I don't know for sure because I haven't written it yet. I am going to one of my best friend's wedding this weekend so I don't think I'll have time to write the new chapter of SC but I'm going to try. I'm kind of dissapointed that the last chapter I posted for SC has gotten so few reviews. Review it right after you finish reviewing this one. Okay? Please? Pretty please?