wee. last chapter...sorry if it's disappointing...?

so I know Leon and Squall are technically the same person, but I felt like using Leon. xDD

Zell is supposed to be like overprotective brother, even though they're twins.

umm... yeah. I guess that's it. i hope everything makes sense. X it gets kinda sappy.

And so the last month of summer progressed. I spent my days with Zell and snuck out at night to see Squall. He surprised me every time, with a small wildflower, a bit of news, a joke I always found hilarious, a late night snack at the local doughnut place. He wasn't very touchy-feeling, and I didn't push it. Most of the time we just sat in his uncle's boat and talked until the moon had set and the stars were beginning to fade. I often fell asleep, and woke up to the sound of Squall's low voice in my ear, telling me goodbye as he snuck out of the inn, careful not to wake Zell, though I told him many times that Zell was the heaviest sleeper on the planet.

That goodbye always made my heart skip a beat. In my half-awake grogginess I often thought it was time to leave Fisherman's Horizon, that it would be the last time I'd get to hear him and desperately fought sleep to open my eyes so I could see his face, his beautiful eyes, one last time.

And then it really was the end.

We stayed by the junk shop, not really saying much. I wanted to soak up as much of Squall as I could, his now-familiar sweat, weapon polish, and soap scent, the steady beat of his heart as I laid my head on his chest, the solid warmth of his body. Who knew when we'd see each other again?

I kissed him lightly. "I'm going to miss you."

Why did I say that? This was only a summer fling.

It became something more. I was no longer in love with Squall; I loved him almost as much as I loved Zell. (But Zell was my brother, my own blood and flesh. I'd never love anyone as much as him.)

Squall kissed me back, harder. "Me too."

I leaned into his body. I wanted to cry.

Only a summer fling.

His warm hands cupped my face. His kisses became more urgent. I reveled in his affection. At least I was able to capture his attention for a summer.

We were against the wall of the junk shop. His hands crept up my shirt.

This wasn't the Squall I knew, the Squall who was cool and controlled. I tried to pushed him away.

"Squall--"

He silenced me with another kiss.

"Squall!" My voice was shrill. His eyes, so completely given over to passion a second ago, closed him from me then and shut me out. He pulled away, running a hand through his hair.

"Rinoa…I'm sorry." He gulped. He turned at my touch. "I don't want to lose you," he whispered.

I loved him for his strength, his fragility. I loved him with every fiber of my being. I didn't want to lose him either.

He felt a mind-boggling sense of loss. Rinoa had become his life over the summer. He had lived the past month only to see her radiant smile, her beautiful smiling face. And now she was leaving. He might never see her again. He couldn't live without her, he knew that now.

Her voice pierced through his thoughts. "I'm going to miss you." Her soft, sweet lips touched his.

"Me too," he heard himself say. His mind was whirling, overcome with emotion. She had changed him; he no longer recognized the unfeeling boy he'd been just a month ago. Rinoa had torn down the wall he'd built around his heart, and he'd let her, even though he knew their relationship would end with the summer. He would go back to Balamb--he'd lied to Rinoa, and now his pride wouldn't let him tell her otherwise--and she would go back to Esthar, forget about him while he thought day and night about her. He wanted to remember everything about her; a memory was all he dared to ask for.

They were up against a wall. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her mouth, her slender neck. He felt a pressure against his chest.

"Squall!"

He pulled back, the spell his feelings cast broken. He wouldn't lose her trust in him if it were the only thing that would keep him alive in her memory, even if he were only a summer fling. After all, that was what they'd intended this relationship to be--a summer fling.

"Rinoa... I'm sorry." He didn't know how to put his thoughts into words. How could he make her see how much he cared about her?

Griever. He pulled it off his finger and slipped it onto her thumb; it was too big. "Keep it until the next time we see each other."

Rinoa's dark eyes widened. She tried to give it back. "I can't! Squall, this is…I know this is important to you. What if…" The knowledge that they might not see each other again hung in the air.

Squall shook his head. There would be no "if." They would. He didn't know how, but it had to happen. He didn't believe that Fate could be so evil then.

The girl held his ring close before stringing onto her necklace. "Thank you, Squall," she said in a small, trembling voice. He held her close as she cried.

"I love you, Rinoa," he whispered, so quietly it was more of a breath than actual sound. He knew Rinoa hadn't heard him.

The train whistle sounded, harsh and foreboding. I was the last passenger to board. I looked back one more time, to see if Squall would come. He wasn't there.

"Hurry up, Rin!" Zell shouted. He bounced in his seat. "I can't wait to get back to Balamb."

I wanted to do anything but go back. Leaving Fisherman's Horizon meant leaving Squall. I touched the spot where Squall's ring rested on my skin underneath my shirt. I still had a piece of him. I'd see him again.

A hand caught mine as I climbed into the cabin.

"Promise you'll come again," Squall said.

"I promise."

He pressed his lips to the back of my hand. "Until next time." He saluted me with a small smile. I looked back until Squall and Fisherman's Horizon disappeared.