Sweet Music
Chapter Eight: A Family
Affair
By PasifiKStaR
All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything associated with it.
Brown eyes were narrowed into slits as she spoke behind grit teeth. "What are you two doing here?"
"Aren't you going to introduce us first?" The blonde asked smoothly as he extended his hand to Squall. "A pleasure to meet you. My name is Rufus, and you are?"
"You already damn well know who he is." Rinoa hissed as she seethed in her seat. The red head mere chuckled.
"Now, now, watch your language, my dear," Reno calmed her. "We're just trying to be polite," he turned to Squall and smirked. "I'm Reno."
"Squall, don't pay any attention-"
"Squall Leonhart," He stood up and took Rufus' extended hand in his. "Good to meet friends of Rinoa." He shook Reno's hand as well and the two men nodded as they studied the blue eyed guitarist.
"Oh...we're more than friends, aren't we, Rinoa?" Reno said as he sat himself down next to the livid brunette. He casually put his arm around her slim shoulders are she glared at him.
"Oh really?" Squall asked, feigning in difference as he sat back down. He looked over at Rufus. "Please, pull up a seat and join us."
"Squall!" Rinoa gasped. Squall looked at her and merely gave her a nod, as if to say he knew what he was doing.
"Yes...we know each other very well..." Reno grinned mischievously.
"How so?" Squall asked coolly. His gaze settled upon the extremely angry young woman sitting between them as she glared at the table. His hand tightened around the glass of water he had been holding. As much as he wanted to throw these two off the balcony, he knew nothing about them. If they were who he thought they were, any act of malice, even a few choice words, could lead to Caraway declaring a gang war.
Rinoa shot a glare at the men that had crashed her date. "They're Turks," Rinoa explained, obviously mad as she shrugged off Reno's arm. Rufus had pulled up a chair and sat on the outside of the table. "My father's personal...lap dogs." She smirked as she gave them that title, earning her disapproving looks from the blond and the red head.
"Oh, come on now, Rin..." Reno said as his arrogant smirk graced his face once more. "You can tell him what we really are? Or are you to embarrassed?"
"Embarrassed, ashamed? Call it whatever you want," Rinoa said sweetly as she smiled maliciously at them. She looked at Squall apologetically as she reached out and gathered his free hand in hers. "Squall, I'm sorry about this..." she told him weakly. "I didn't know they were going to-"
"Don't change the subject," Reno insisted. He looked over at Squall. "We don't just work with her father."
Squall narrowed his eyes slightly and Rinoa felt the fear rise inside of her. She tugged on his hand and forced him to look at her. "Squall, it's not like that! Reno and Rufus...They're my cousins."
Selphie was whimpering as she looked up at Quistis with disbelieving eyes. "How...could...you?" she stammered out tearfully as Quistis rubbed her temples. "This whole time...you never even said..."
"Selphie, I told you, it was a secret affair. We couldn't tell anyone." Quistis repeated for the millionth time. She was walking towards the living area from the kitchen in Irvine, Seifer, and Squall's pent house. Irvine had invited them over and Zell and Selphie wanted to go look.
Despite Quistis' requests, they dragged her along with them. When they entered the pent house, Irvine gave Selphie and Zell a little tour, leaving Quistis to hang around by the breakfast bar. It was there that Seifer spotted her as he came back from his evening work out. Before she knew it, she was locked in a heated kiss with Seifer as a high pitched scream of "what are you doing?" rang through the room.
That was how Selphie, Irvine, and Zell discovered Seifer and Quistis' several year long secret relationship.
Zell was on the floor with Irvine, playing video games. "I just can't believe that someone like Quistis would even waste her time on a jerk like Seifer." Irvine said, earning him a heated glare from the tall blond man who was fixing himself a drink at the breakfast bar.
"No, no, it makes complete sense," Zell told him as their fingers rapidly ran across the control pad. "If you're right and Seifer hasn't changed from what I remember him as the temperamental, mean, drama king he was when we were kids and played soccer, Quistis is the perfect woman for him."
"Temperamental drama king...?" Seifer grumbled as the corner of his eye twitched.
"I'm going to need you to explain that to me, Zell." Irvine said seriously as his virtual fighter fought Zell's virtual fighter.
"Quistis can get anyone under control. It's like an innate skill, right? And Seifer needs to be held under control or else he's a menace to society."
"Seifer, put that down!" Quistis yelled from where she had seated herself on the arm chair. Seifer was about to throw a piece of fruit at Zell's head, but put it down with a few grumbles.
"But why didn't you tell me?" Selphie asked for the millionth time.
"Because it was supposed to be a secret!" Quistis sighed. "But now you know! Doesn't that count for anything?"
"I would've found out eventually!" Selphie pouted. She curled up in a ball on one end of the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I told you about Irvine right away."
"Irvine was at our apartment right away," Quistis rolled her eyes. Seifer walked up to her and handed her a virgin pina colata. "Thank you, honey."
"So what do you think Puberty Boy and Rinoa are doing on their little date?" Seifer asked as he sat on the arm of Quistis' chair.
"If all goes well, they should be having a nice romantic dinner right about now. Just the two of them."
"Cousins?" Squall asked, trying to hide his surprise. He looked at the trio and didn't see any resemblance.
"Yes, cousins," Rinoa grumbled. "My father sent them here after he found out I was seeing you."
Squall frowned. "To do what?" he asked cautiously. Rinoa sighed.
"To watch me apparently," Rinoa sighed. She turned back to her grinning cousins and frowned. "Watching me means not sitting next to me, drinking my water."
"Aww...but we've been watching you a whole week now," Rufus sighed. "We thought it was about time we paid our little Rinny a visit."
"A simple phone call would've sufficed," Rinoa snapped. "You two have made your introductions and succeeded in making me extremely uncomfortable. Now will you leave me alone?" She hissed in a low voice.
"Now, Rin...don't get us wrong," Reno told her, mock seriously. "We are here to watch you, but we're also here to find out what he's up to."
"What he's..." Rinoa trailed off and fumed. "Are you two insane? I'm on a Hyne damned date!" She growled.
"We're quite aware of that-" Rufus began, but Rinoa kicked him in the shins with her heel. His eyes widened as a brief look of pain shot through his body before he was able to compose himself. "Shit, Rin, watch the heel, man-"
"Look, I've put up with you to long enough," Rinoa told them viciously. "But I haven't seen Squall for a week and he's leaving for a tour in a few days. I would like to spend one, just ONE, evening alone with him. I honestly don't care if you watch me, even though I find it a little bit disturbing. But if you don't leave now, I will show you just how much of my father there is in me!"
She was glowering. Her eyes were narrowed as her hands turned into fists at her sides. An aura of absolute fury raged around her as the two Turks stared at her wide eyed. Squall merely gave her a questioning look as he struggled to stop himself from smirking.
"Heh," Reno said casually as he leaned back against the seat and continued to grin. "We work for your daddy, not you-"
"You have five seconds." Rinoa warned as she reached for her purse.
Rufus noticed this and frowned. "Reno-"
"Ohh...little Rin is threatening me. I'm so scared." He snorted.
"Reno..." Rufus mumbled as he stood up. "That's enough taunting. We should go and let her finish her date."
"Thank you, Rufus," Rinoa told him gratefully before turning to glare at her other cousin. "At least HE has some sense in him."
"Relax, Rufus, it's just Rin. You know she wouldn't hurt a-"
"Hello, Rude?" Rinoa now had a little black cell phone to her ear. She had two phones; one for her life and one associated with her father's life. Ever since she found out the Turks were coming, she whipped out the little black phone. "It's Rin..."
"Oh crap." Reno paled. Rude was yet another Turk. Big, bald, uncomfortably scary when he wanted to be. Which was most of the time. And, the biggest point of all, adored Rinoa. One of the reasons he wasn't sent was because Caraway knew that he'd baby his daughter and let her do whatever she wanted.
"It's Reno-" Rinoa was using a pathetic sounding voice that made her sound as if she were broken. A sure fire way to get Rude's fire going and set him on to over-protective mode.
"Okay! Okay!" The red head gasped as he shot up from his seat. "Call him off! Call him off! I don't want him coming down and lecturing me!"
"Yeah, lecturing," Rufus snorted. "You'll be lucky if that's all he does to you."
"Rinoa, call him off!" Reno practically pleaded.
"I knew you loved your little cousin enough to leave her alone," Rinoa smiled sweetly as she put her hand over the phone. She turned back. "No, no...Reno's just being his nosey self again. I was told that...yes...Oh, we're all fine," Rinoa smiled into the phone. She looked at Squall and grinned. "My favorite cousin!" she whispered. The corners of Squall's lips curled up slightly. "I have to go. Are you going to come visit? Okay, then...when you have the time. Yes, I'll come visit. Okay, love you, too. Bye-bye, Rude!"
She snapped the phone closed and slipped it back into her purse before looking up at the other two Turks standing in front of her. Reno had his arms crossed and looked like he was pouting. Rufus was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You've won this time," Reno grumbled. "But we're watching you!"
"We'll talk about this later," Rufus said with a frown. He turned to Squall and glared at him. "Don't think we won't be watching you either, Loire."
"It's Leonhart," Squall told him with a glare of his own. "I'm nothing like my father."
"We'll be the judge of that," Reno retorted. "Let's go, Rufus." The two Turks gave Squall one last look of warning before turning around and walking towards the stairs.
Rinoa kept her eyes narrowed and glaring at them as she watched them weave through the lower level and finally leave. She turned back to Squall who was downing his glass of water after the encounter. "Squall, I'm so sorry. I didn't know they were going to show up-"
"It's not your fault. Your father sent them." Squall assured her. He was looking away, his eyes focusing on the lower levels of the restaurant.
Rinoa closed her eyes and looked away as well. "You're mad."
"I'm not mad."
"Of course you're mad," Rinoa scoffed. "Two of my cousins, who just happen to be as deep into my father's organization as one can be, just arrived and blatantly told us that they were watching us. And you just watched me threaten them with a phone call...just like my father would," she rushed out quickly. She took a deep breath. "I can understand if you're mad..." Rinoa said in a low, calm voice, despite the fact that her heart was bracing itself for a burn.
"I'm not mad," Squall said once more. He sighed and took her hand in his again. "Your father, his lap dogs, and what they think don't matter."
"It matters when they constantly interfere," Rinoa frowned. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Squall...tonight's ruined isn't it?"
He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her sloping shoulders. "Rinoa," Her head was down cast as she closed her eyes tightly. "Rinoa, I'm not angry..." He assured her as he stroked one of her arms soothingly. "This wasn't your fault."
"I didn't know, Squall. I didn't know," Rinoa whimpered. She turned her head and buried her face against the crook of his neck. He nodded and pulled her against him, resting his head against hers. "I mean, knew he was sending the Turks to watch me, but I didn't think that they'd actually get involved. I don't know what my father is thinking..."
"He doesn't trust me," Squall answered. He knew why. He was Laguna's son. And Caraway didn't like Laguna. Therefore, Caraway didn't like him. "Maybe we should call off tonight?"
Rinoa nodded stupidly. "I'm sorry, Squall-"
"Don't apologize," he scolded her gently. "Come on...I've had enough with 'being seen' for tonight."
He stood up and offered her his hand. She wiped her eyes slight, careful not to mess up her make up, as she stood up and allowed him to help her up. "Squall, I know this is stupid, but can I get a ride with you? Quistis dropped me off..."
"Of course," Squall told her. He put his arm around her waist and lead her down the stairs. "Are you up for a drive?"
Rinoa looked up at him, confused. "What?"
"A drive..." Squall asked her again. He looked down at her and gave her a tentative smile. "It'll be hard for them to watch us if we're moving."
The phone was ringing and the man glanced across his desk. It was his personal line. He frowned and wondered if it was his two nephews who were calling in to report on his daughter and the other man's son. He reached over and lifted the receiver.
"Caraway speaking."
"How could you?" Rinoa's angry voice accused him immediately.
"Rinoa! Finally decided to call home, eh? How is Esthar?" he asked casually. He couldn't help but grin as Rinoa took a few breaths to calm herself before answering.
"Don't 'how is Esthar' me, dad!" Rinoa snapped. "Reno and Rufus dropped by today."
"That's good. You haven't seen your cousins in a while. Did you three go out to eat?"
"No!" Rinoa growled. "They ruined my date!" Caraway raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the leather chair in his home office. "I understood that you sent them here to watch me - after all, Squall is Desperado Loire's son and I am not so naiive as to think that once you found out, you would just let it be. Regardless of how much I would like you to! But they had no right to bother me or Squall during our date!"
"Then you really are dating Loire's son," Caraway frowned. "I thought you said you weren't going to get involved with... the family business."
"THIS has nothing to do with the family business!" Rinoa retorted. "Squall has nothing to do with his father's illicit activities, just like I have nothing to do with yours!"
"Just because he chooses not to have anything to do with his father doesn't mean that his father chooses not to have anything to do with him," Caraway explained simply. "Do you understand, Rinoa?"
"Your beef with Loire shouldn't extend to me! You said you wouldn't get me involved!"
"You got yourself involved," Caraway told her. "When you started seeing Loire's son."
"His name is Squall, not Loire's son!" Rinoa shouted back. "Now call those two morons back!"
"I sent them there for your protection."
"Oh, don't give me the old protection line, DAD," Rinoa snorted. "I have Zell here-"
"Don't think that I don't know that Zell hasn't been doing his job," Caraway told her sternly. "Reno and Rufus will remain in Esthar City. I don't want anything happening to you."
"But-"
"Good-bye, Rinoa. Take good care of yourself, and by that I mean stop seeing that bastard's son." Click.
Squall glanced over at Rinoa was she stared down at her black phone with disbelief. "Rinoa..." Squall whispered softly as he drove.
"I hate him," Rinoa whimpered as her hand tightened around the phone. Her eyes began to rim with tears of anger and frustration as she threw the phone on the floor of the car. "I hate him so much!" she screamed out into the night sky.
Squall looked around the lone desert high way. So far, they weren't being followed and so he pulled over to the side of the road. Rinoa wrapped her arms around herself as she furiously wiped the tears from her eyes. Squall turned off the car and reached over, pulling Rinoa against him and allowing her to bury her face in his shoulders. "It's okay, Rinoa..."
"No, it's not okay!" she sobbed as she clung on to his dress shirt. She was already wearing her coat to keep her warm from the night air of the open top car. "He promised, Squall! He promised that he wouldn't involve me in his sick underground politics!"
"He's not, technically..." Squall trailed off. Rinoa inhaled a sharp breath and lifted her head up.
"You're DEFENDING him?" she spat out bitterly.
"No!" Squall gasped as he tightened his arms around her. He shook his head, his bangs flying around his boyish face as he looked at her worriedly. "It's just that all he wants is to protect you from the possible out comes that come with my...father..." Squall cringed at the word.
"I know that...but to send those idiots-" she gasped, frustratedly.
"It's just a precaution." Squall told her.
"I hate it," Rinoa insisted. She pulled away from him and brought her knees up to her chest. She looked back at him with slightly puffy eyes. "What about your father?"
"What about him?"
"Isn't he doing the same thing?" Rinoa asked curiously. Squall tried to envision Laguna ordering around some spies to watch him, but couldn't see it. Instead, he saw Laguna himself trying to spy, not so subtly.
A slight grin was on Squall's face as he imagined Laguna falling from a tree with binoculars. He shook his head. "No...he wants to meet you...said he knew your...late mother." Squall's grin fell as Rinoa's face softened.
"He knew my mom?" Rinoa asked quietly. "How?"
Squall shrugged. "He said he knew here when he was still in Galbadia...thought she was really pretty...said you looked just like her."
Rinoa bit her lower lip. Her mother was beautiful and she'd always strove to be just as graceful and smart and wonderful as she remembered her mother to be. She looked back up at Squall. "He seems like a nice guy...are you sure we're thinking of the same crime lord?" she asked, a weak smile on her face. Squall smiled back softly and reached out, brushing her hair over her shoulder gently.
"Unfortunately..."
It was two thirty when Rinoa finally arrived at her doorstep. It was dark outside and her neighborhood was asleep. To her knowledge, there were no photographers or reporters anywhere. That still didn't stop her from having Squall drop her off a block away and then walking to her apartment building.
He insisted on walking her up her door, however, and went to park two blocks away, in the opposite direction. She waited for him at the little used back entrance, where she would let him. When he knocked, she unlocked the door and let him in. They quietly walked up to her door and she unlocked it. She peeked inside.
"Where is everyone?" Rinoa whispered in a quiet voice. She looked at the door. Zell's shoes were gone, so were Selphie's favorites, and Quistis' jacket was gone. "Guess they went out..."
"Can I come in?" Squall asked quietly, having stayed out in the apartment hall.
"Oh yeah! Come on," Rinoa whispered. "Don't turn on the lights," she added in a low voice.
Squall tilted his head to the side as she slipped behind him and close the door. "Why not?" he asked in an equally quiet voice.
"The blinds are all closed," Rinoa said, motioning to the windows and the sliding glass door. "At any time, those two idiots could be watching...I can't let them know you're in here."
Squall nodded, understandingly. Their eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light. Moonlight from the closed blinds still made their way through and Quistis had placed a few night lights in the main room and in the halls, as certain people, mainly Zell, came out at night for snacks and would often topple over things in the dark.
Squall looked around the kitchen nervously. 'Okay...you're in Rinoa's apartment...alone...now what do you do?'
"Squall, did you want something to drink?" Rinoa asked as she dug through the fridge. "Quistis restocked..."
"No, I'm fine," Squall said quickly. Rinoa nodded and pulled out one of Quistis' bottled drinks for herself. Squall looked around. He leaned back against the counter, still unsure as of what to do. "Well...I should get going..." he looked down at his feet as he shifted oddly. "It's getting late."
"Already?" Rinoa piped. Squall lifted his head up and saw her looking concerned. "I mean...um..." She blushed as she looked away. "Okay...yeah...I mean, you have that tour in a few days..." she trailed off quietly.
Guilt slowly wrapped around Squall as he remembered he only had a few more days with her before he had to pack up and leave with the others for their Esthar tour. He mentally groaned as he realized he'd miss her. A lot. "You're right..." he sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "Sorry, Rin..."
"For what?" she asked. She smiled at him. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I did," he insisted. He looked over his shoulder, as if to make sure that no one else was there. When he looked back he smiled at Rin. "I should spend as much time with you as possible...I'm going to miss you."
A wide smile graced Rinoa's face as she blushed. "I'll miss you, too..."
He reached out, his warm hand slowly wrapping around hers. He gently pulled her forward, turning his body to catch her in his arms as she reached him. She left her drink on the counter as her arms snaked up behind his neck. Against her chest, she could feel Squall's radical heart beat and she grinned.
'Okay...now what?' Squall's mind screamed. 'This is what you get for never having a girlfriend!' He mentally cringed as his sweaty palms placed themselves on the small of Rinoa's back.
"Are you okay, Squall?" Rinoa chuckled as she watched him swallow nervously. "You look scared."
"I'm not scared." he told her defensively. Rinoa merely raised one eyebrow in question and smiled.
"Good," she nodded. "Because there isn't anything to be afraid of." Before he could open his mouth to reply, her hold around his neck tightened.
Rinoa pulled him down and pressed her lips against his. Squall's eyes were wide open with surprise and as he realized what was happening, he quickly snapped them closed. 'You are so pathetic, Leonhart...' His arms fell to her waist and pulled her closer against him..
'That's more like it...' Rinoa mentally grinned as she leaned forward. She pulled back for a quick breath before diving back in. Her hands ran through his hair, gently tugging and twirling them around her fingers as his hand rose up and down her back.
She could feel the heat from his skin despite layers of cloth and felt her face burning with equal intensity. His free hand rose and ran up her back, cupping the back of her head gentle in his palm as he rose the kiss up a level. Rinoa let out a little moan and pulled herself closer. As she pulled back for another breath, he grinned. 'Not bad...'
His stomach was grumbling, signaling the call for food through the darkness. If he were sleepy enough, perhaps he could've stayed in bed and continued sleeping. But those were rare occasions. His stomach always won.
Zell turned his head over to the alarm clock. It was still way too early to get up, but that didn't stop him. He moved his blankets off his legs and sat up, stretching slightly as he did so. He stood up and yawned, heading towards the door.
He opened it and walked out into the hall way and headed towards the kitchen. Groggily, he reached for the light switched and flipped it on.
"AH!" Zell's eyes widened as he saw Rinoa sitting up on the counter her legs wrapped around Squall's body was her head was bent to kiss him. "MY EYES!"
"ZELL!" Rinoa screamed, instantly pulling away from Squall. Her face turned bright red as Squall disappeared from in front of her and was now clear across the kitchen, his face just as red. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Zell gasped, as if scandalized. "What are YOU doing here?"
"I live here!"
"So do I! I came to the kitchen to get a snack! I don't know what YOU two were doing!" Zell looked absolutely shocked and was red in the face as he recoiled back against the cabinet.
"We weren't doing anything!" Squall insisted in a low voice.
"Oh, right...right..." Zell rolled his eyes. "Please, I am an adult. I know what you two were doing," he insisted. "Now, I am going to just go and get my snack," he said calmly as he walked to the fridge and opened it up. He pulled out a half eaten hot dog. "And will return to my room...Quistis is supposed to come home tonight, so...I'd be careful..." he added as he stuffed the thing in his mouth. "'Night, guys!"
He gave them a wave and headed back into the hall. Rinoa, who was still on the counter, ran her hand down her face and groaned. "Sometimes I wish I had my own place..."
Squall gave her a small smile as she looked up at him. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her once more. "I should get going."
"No..." Rinoa whined. "Stay..." He raised an eyebrow questioningly as Rinoa blushed. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that!"
"I want to stay," Squall admitted while he was still on a high from kissing her. "But if your cousins are watching..."
Rinoa pouted but nodded. "I guess you're right...Can I see you tomorrow?" she asked reluctantly. She lowered her head and pressed it against his forehead. He gave a slight nod.
"You mean today," he reminded her. "We have a final check to do for our tour...I won't be free until tonight."
"Oh..."
"I'm sure Selphie will be on her way to see Irvine," Squall told her as he lifted his hand and brushed her hair aside. "Come with her."
"Okay..." Rinoa nodded. "Guess you better go..." Squall nodded and Rinoa leaned forward to give him a kiss.
"OH MY HYNE!"
"Seifer, what are you - Oh!" Rinoa's kiss falter and instead, she missed and kissed Squall's cheek. She could hear the low growl collecting in Squall's throat as he turned to glare at the two blondes who had arrived.
Seifer had pasted himself against the cabinet as he covered his eyes with his hands. Next to him, Quistis blushed sheepishly. "I just did not see that..." Seifer nearly shrieked. "I feel so dirty!"
"Oh, stop it," Quistis frowned. She slapped his arm and looked over at the other two. "I'm sorry, you two... Just continue."
"No! No, don't continue!" Seifer spat out, disgusted.
"Okay, that's it, you're not allowed to come here anymore." Quistis snapped as she grabbed his ear and hauled him down the hall.
Rinoa shook her head and sighed. She buried her face in Squall's shoulders. "So..." she breathed tiredly as she pulled herself up and looked at him. "How much do you think renting a one bedroom one bath is?"
"Dododo...dododo...do doo..." Rinoa rolled her eyes as Selphie peered behind a corner and waved for her to join her. It had been ten minutes since they left their apartment and Selphie was still singing the theme song to Mission Impossible.
"Selphie-"
"SHH!" the petite brunette hissed as she held Rinoa back against the wall. "It's all clear! Let's go!" Selphie darted out into the posh hall way of a building and pressed the button on the wall. The little up arrow lit up and Selphie looked around warily, as if someone were going to jump out at her.
Next to her, Rinoa sighed heavily, holding a bag of take out food they had stopped to get. A little ding was heard and the door slid open. Selphie stood protectively in front of Rinoa, just in case someone jumped out at her. No one was in the elevator.
Without hesitation, Rinoa stepped in. "Selphie...can we go?" she sighed.
"Just making sure it's clear." Selphie replied. The doors were about to close when Selphie darted in and pressed the button for the top floor. She maneuvered Rinoa into a corner and stood in front of her.
"Sel...what are you doing?"
"Protecting you from any paparazzi." Selphie said cheerfully
"Selphie, they can see me behind you."
"Better they only get part of you and all of you." Selphie asserted. Rinoa sighed heavily and shook her head. Squall was right, Selphie was going to see Irvine and so Rinoa came along. Zell had a date and Quistis had 'work', which the three of then translated as 'Seifer'.
Therefore it was just Selphie and Rinoa. Which would've been fine if Selphie didn't suddenly feel the need to play Secret Agent Selphie and went through their entire short trip thinking that they were being followed and making them sneak around like they stole something.
Finally, the doors opened and Rinoa side stepped Selphie and emerged before the young woman could stop her. "Selphie..., will you stop it?" Rinoa sighed. "No one is going to take my picture, attack me, or kidnap me."
"But you never know," Selphie insisted. She walked up to their door and before she could even ring the door bell, it flew open. "IRVY!"
A split second later, the cowboy hat wearing drummer carried Selphie into the pent house before waving for Rinoa to follow. "Squall!" Irvine shouted before he gave Selphie a quick kiss. "RIN'S HERE!"
"I heard Selphie screaming, I figured as much," Squall stepped out of his bedroom, in tight jeans and a towel around his neck. That was all. He stopped by the living room, still running the towel through his hair as he gave Rinoa a small, but warm smile. "Hey."
She stood by the breakfast bar, where she had place the food on the counter along with her phone. Appreciative brown eyes slowly roamed his body. His skin was still warm and flushed from the hot shower and small droplets of water fell from his thick hair down over his chest.
She suddenly remembered that night at the soccer field when she saw him remove his soaked sweater to reveal a wet white shirt clinging to him like a second skin. Now the shirt was gone and she had an unobstructed view of the defined muscles of his stomach, the firm tone of his chest, and the smooth biceps of his arms. Her eyes followed the line down his chest, to his stomach, and down to the hem of his pants. She bit her lower lip.
"Rinoa?" Squall called out again. He gave her a worried look as he tossed the towel over the nearest piece of furniture - Seifer's favorite chair - and a strong hand through this still wet and clumpy hair. "Are you all right?"
Her jaw was moving, she knew that much. But nothing came out. Did he even know the effect he was having on her? "Hi...Squall..." she finally managed to cough out. "Umm...heh...I - we - brought food..." she stammered as she half heartedly motioned to the food on the counter.
"Oh...good, Irvine's been saying he was hungry." Squall said as he walked forward.
"Not for food!" Irvine shouted from the couch, where he apparently had Selphie trapped in his embrace. She giggled and Squall rolled his eyes.
"Oh...well...we have some ribs..." Rinoa said as she promptly turned around and began sorting through the plastic bag. Her face was lowered as it burned. 'Bad Rinoa! Get those thoughts out of your mind this instant!'
"What else?" Her body stiffened as she felt a warm pressure on her back. One arm was on either side of her, acting as a second pair to her own two, as they sorted through the bag's contents. A warm breath brushed against the skin of her exposed neck as she swallowed nervously.
"I...umm...I think there's some pie in here..." His body pressed against her closer and she could feel the movement of his muscles against her back. His hands pulled out the last of the food, a box that contained the pie. He placed it on the counter. "You...um...want some pie?"
His arms wrapped around her waist and Rinoa let out a whimper. "Maybe later," His hands slowly turned her around and he smiled slightly as he saw that Rinoa was staring at the ground, her face slightly red. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...why wouldn't I be?" Rinoa smiled weakly.
Squall lifted her chin up gently and brought her face up to meet his. "I'm glad you came." He whispered softly as he lowered his head. Rinoa smiled and closed her eyes, waiting for a sweet kiss.
"Oh my Hyne! Why the hell can't you two get a room?" Seifer's voice roared through the he stood by the door way, a half horrified, half disgusted look on his face. Behind him, Quistis was rubbing the bridge of her nose and shaking her head.
"Seifer..." Quistis growled quietly.
"I just wanted to come pick something up and what do I see the second I open the door?" Seifer exclaimed as he paraded into the room, throwing his arms in the air. "I see Puberty Boy and his girlfriend making out like there is no tomorrow!"
"I haven't even kissed him yet!" Rinoa nearly shouted.
"Seifer, stop being so dramatic," Quistis sighed. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the hall way. "Go get your things so we can go to the hotel room and then get dinner!"
"Hotel room..." Seifer snorted as he stomped down the hall to his room. "You should tell THEM to get a room..."
Quistis grumbled and shook her head as she turned around. "I'm sorry, you two...He hasn't gotten any for-"
"I don't want to know!" Rinoa shouted rather loudly. She looked at Quistis as if she were crazy. "And what are you doing here? I thought you were spending the rest of the night with Seifer."
"I was going to, we just came here to pick up his things for dinner," Quistis replied. She looked back down the hall where Seifer had disappeared to and frowned. "I swear, he's being such whiner right now. He kept insisting that I cut off this limo on the way here."
"Limo?" Squall asked, his head jerked up, a frown set across his face. "What kind?"
Quistis shrugged. "I don't know...stretch...black...tinted windows. It was followed by two black cars-"
"Oh my Hyne..." Squall took a deep breath and pulled away from Rinoa.
"Squall?"
The young man strode across the room and pulled the blinds up from one of the windows. He peered down and sure enough, he saw a black limousine parked in front of the building. Immediately he swore and hit the glass, frustrated.
"Squall, what's wrong?" Irvine asked as he sat up on the couch.
Squall turned around and nervously ran his hand through his hair. "My father," he said frustratedly as he looked began to pace by the window. His mind was running a mile a minute as he looked up and locked eyes with Rinoa. "My father's here."
"Rufus..." Reno narrowed his eyes as he sat up in the front seat of the car. "Rufus!"
His arm shout out slapped the neatly pressed sleeve of the man who was taking a nap in the seat next to him. Groggily, the blond opened one eye and frowned. "What...?"
"Take a look at that," Reno frowned. He was looking out the window of their tinted black car. They had parked in a street diagonal to the building where Rinoa and her strange little friend had entered a few moments ago. From where they were situated, they could see the entrance to the building. "Someone important..."
Rufus adjusted his seat and sat up. He took the binoculars from the glove compartment and adjusted them as he looked up. A long black limo had parked itself just before the entrance. It was flanked by two dark, tinted cars and they parked along side of it.
The doors opened and half a dozen men walked out, all dressed in dark suits, sunglasses, and what looked like head sets. "What the hell...?"
One opened the door to the limo's back door and a tall man with long brown hair in a pony tail stepped out, a wide smile on his face as he headed into the building. Reno craned his neck, but couldn't make out the man. "Who is it?"
"Shit," Rufus dropped the binoculars and grabbed his phone. "Hello? Sir, we have a problem."
"Who is it?" Reno demanded as he grabbed the binoculars and held them up. But then, it was too late and the man had walked into the building.
"Sir...Desperado Loire has entered the building."
"Your FATHER?" Selphie, Quistis, and Rinoa all chorused as Squall stopped pacing. "What the hell is he doing here? Are you even sure it's HIM?"
"His limo just pulled up," Squall said as he pointed out the window. "I can recognize it anywhere."
"Oh my Hyne! What about Rinoa?" Quistis gasped as she looked over at her dark haired friend. Rinoa had paled of all color and stood rooted in her spot.
"Squall, send him away!" Selphie said as she jumped off the couch and headed towards Rinoa.
"Let's just get her out of here!" Quistis gasped as Seifer walked out of the hall way. Immediately, he sensed the tension in the room and frowned.
"What's going on?"
"Squall's father is coming up!" Quistis said. She ran to the door and opened it. She stuck her head out just as the elevator doors opened. She sucked in her breath and slammed the door quickly, locking all the locks.
"Quistis...?" Rinoa's voice was trembling as she looked over at the older woman.
"We need to hide you..." Quistis said as her eyes darted around the room. Irvine's face lit up.
"Seifer's room! He'll never look there!"
"Rinoa," Squall rushed across the room and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him. "Go hide in Seifer's room."
"What?" Seifer barked.
"Go into Seifer's room, I'll get rid of my father," Squall told her. A knock echoed on the door and Squall shot it a hateful glare. "Rinoa...GO!"
Rinoa nodded, but her eyes darted to the door as another knock sounded. "But, Squall, what about-"
"I won't let anything happen to you," Squall assured her as he held her face in his hands. "I promise." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the head before she was pulled away by Selphie and Quistis. Seifer grumbled, but followed after them.
"I'll get the door," Irvine said as Squall stood in the living room. "Just...act natural."
Squall rolled his eyes and plopped himself down on the couch as Irvine went to the door. "Irvine! Remember me? I'm Laguna Loire, Squall's father."
"President Loire, how could I not remember you?" Irvine's cheerful voice as he stepped a side. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit, sir?"
Author's Note: I'm sorry it's been taking so long! I'm so sorry! And if you're wondering, they're hiding Rinoa because they don't know why Laguna's there and for all they know, he's come to kidnap her. (Yeah...sure...) Thank you for reading everyone!