Author's Note: Sorry for the uber-long delay in update, I've been very busy lately. Who knew I'd ever be busy! Anyway, thanks to my first (and thus far only) reviewer…that totally made my day! Okay, here you have it, chapter three; sorry it's so short.
It had been a victorious battle. Irvine and Rinoa had swooped down and made their predators into prey and had taken them out at exactly the right time. The group had found their way to the desert land surrounding them and drove through the desolate landscape back home to Balamb. At present, Squall was taking an afternoon nap as Rinoa busied herself with the seemingly insurmountable task of acquainting herself with every single student, staff and faculty member Balamb held within (and occasionally without) its walls. Zell was off in the cafeteria queuing for a hot dog and Adrian was conversing with Brogan but mere feet behind him.
"…He was mad as a hatter."
"No surprise there, he's always been a bit off. Still though, you'd hardly expect that sort of thing from Seifer, working with the enemy and all. I'd never pin him down as a turncoat."
"Zell once told me that during the field exam Seifer had told him he had some big 'romantic dream' he wanted to fulfill…well, I swear I heard him mention something like that to Squall earlier…something about him and the sorceress. Maybe he's living out his romantic dream with her?"
"There's something suspect about that whole dynamic, if you ask me. Squall and Seifer hate each other, yet desperately crave each other's respect. If Seifer said, 'Gee, Squall, you sure are a superb fighter,' Squall'd be so ecstatic he might actually…dare I say it…express an emotion other than: A) indifference B) Angst C) Depression D) Irritation."
"I wouldn't stretch it that far, but he'd sure be pleased with himself. I'd even be willing to wager that if ever Squall were to compliment Seifer, he'd be cockier than usual."
"Is that even possible?"
"Oh it's possible. Don't you remember when Seifer claimed to have bagged a Hungarian super model? He was cockier than ever then."
"Yeah, until everyone found out he actually bagged that mousy little librarian who's always pining after Zell. That took him down a notch or two."
"Maybe she has a fetish for blondes…"
"There's a librarian pining after me?" Interrupted Zell, who was still queuing in front of Adrian and Brogan.
Brogan's jaw went slack.
"How could you possibly not realize that girl is completely taken with you? If she took her flirting any further, you two'd be doing the dirty right there on the check out counter!"
"It's true you know." Conceded Adrian in an authoritative tone.
"Frickin' hell!" Zell exclaimed before returning his attention pensively to the long line ahead of him.
The pair broke off their musings to instead pursue some entertainment, which for them was more synonymous with 'Squall bothering' than any hobby ever could be.
Squall was abruptly woken from his nap by what he (secretly) called his 'Squall Senses,' which alerted him to any unwanted presence. The face of Rinoa loomed into view over him, and he peered blearily up at her before sitting up. Rinoa broke the overwhelming silence.
"You're cute when you sleep. You're all innocent."
Per usual, Squall said nothing.
"C'mon, take me on a tour. I keep getting lost," wheedled Rinoa.
It took a surprisingly small amount of cajoling to get Squall to agree to give Rinoa a guided tour of the school. As they rounded the bend and the quad came into view, Adrian and Brogan spotted the couple.
"Oooh, something's going on there," whispered Brogan, who was crunched up next to a fiercely silent Adrian.
Adrian and Brogan had become quite fond of the sport of Squall hunting some odd 5 years ago. They had taken to concealing themselves in some precarious spot along the school and, at just the right moment, jumping out at Squall and ambushing him. Not only did it keep Squall on his feet and his instincts finely honed, but it provided Adrian and Brogan with a good laugh as well. At present the pair had hidden themselves along a ledge above the entrance to the cafeteria, and were crouching precariously, ready to strike.
"Let's strike."
The pair launched themselves from their cleverly concealed hiding spot and each let out a bloodcurdling war cry. Squall's instincts took over as he jumped in front of Rinoa to protect her and drew his gunblade. Adrian came crashing into him and Brogan was there to pin him to the ground. Despite being of slender build, Brogan used her weight to pin Squall down, his gunblade clutched in his now useless hand. Adrian loomed above him, a triumphant grin adorning his handsome face.
"Gotcha, Squally, m'lad!"
"How does it feel to be on bottom?" Brogan asked suggestively. "I sure like it."
"Get off him, you two!" interjected Rinoa, flushing a light pink. She grabbed and tugged Adrian by the ribs, trying to push him backwards, away from Squall's struggling form. He managed to push Brogan off himself and he glared at her intently. She seemed remorseful for having caused him such embarrassment in front of Rinoa, but knew that was neither here nor there, considering she had already embarrassed him and the damage had been done.
Rinoa quickly scurried over to Squall's side, past a hysterical Adrian, and helped him up, lifting him up by the elbow. Squall looked flustered and embarrassed. Of course, he remained silent.
It looked a rather motherly action to Brogan as she studied Rinoa hoisting Squall to his feet, but she said nothing further. Normally, Squall would have shrugged off any person who tried to help him to his feet—or tried to help him in any way at all. It was a sign of weakness for him, and for Squall that was the kiss of death. So why was he letting Rinoa see him in such a vulnerable state? It was most unlike Squall indeed.
With a withering look from Squall, Adrian and Brogan left, the words "pub" and "rounds" being all Squall could hear of the pair's afternoon plans. The silence between the taciturn boy and the normally boisterous girl was nearly unbearable as they walked the perimeter of the school.
"That's the quad…this is the infirmary…" mumbled Squall as they passed the various hallways.
"The lady there is nice," noted Rinoa.
"Dr. Kadowaki."
"Yeah. She gave me some good advice earlier."
They paused in front of the directory. Blank and unreadable as usual, Squall remained silent.
"Squall…listen," began Rinoa, flushing a distinct pink. "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but…um…well, I wanted to thank you for all your help."
"It's my job." Squall answered flatly.
The disappointment in Rinoa's eyes should have been obvious even to Squall. Should have been, but passed over his head all the same.
"Well, thanks for the tour. I don't think I'll get lost so often anymore." Her words trailed off as she walked away, eyes downcast and less vibrant than usual. Squall stood for a moment yet, thinking…
It was an easy enough guess as to where Irvine would be—hitting on Selphie, of course. But where could Rinoa find Selphie?
The quad was relatively busy, given the limited members of the Garden's Festival Committee, but Rinoa had no trouble finding Selphie, her overzealous voice ringing out vibrantly against a sea of monotonous, pained groans and grumbles.
"Where are you going with that?" Selphie demanded of a rather frightened junior classman. "That panel goes stage RIGHT, not stage LEFT! And you call yourself a thespian!"
"I'd stay away from her today if I were you," said a voice coming from somewhere around Rinoa's knees. Upon further inspection, the voice turned out to be none other than Irvine himself, concealed beneath a partially completed platform.
"Oh, Irvine, it's actually you I wanted."
Irvine's eyebrows shot up in surprise and delight, disappearing beneath the brim of his hat.
"What took you so long, darlin'?" he asked her suggestively.
"No, no. It's not like that. Can I talk to you in private?"
"Though looking slightly crestfallen, Irvine, ever the gentleman, gestured for Rinoa to join him in his fort of solace.
"At present it has very strong anti-Selphie shields all over it. Unless she's naked. Then the shields go down." Irvine explained as Rinoa slid beneath the platform's low walls.
"I want to talk to you about Squall. I know we just met, but he won't even talk to me. I know he's emotionally cut off and all, buty trying to get three words from him is like trying to squeeze blood from a stone."
"That's just Squall. He's a one-way street. You could spend days telling him your most private, intimate thoughts and he wouldn't say more'n two words to you the whole time. Likely as not, those two words would be 'shut up.' Poor kid's not into girls, boys, beasts or birds. I don't know how he gets his kicks, but there sure ain't one thing to bond with him over. Best I can figure's he's been lobotomized…or castrated."
"Irvine, that's terrible!"
Irvine let loose a low, mirthful chuckle at Rinoa's indignation.
"The truth is a terrible thing sometimes."
"Well, I'm really into him. I don't think he knows it. How can I make him see just how much I like him?"
"Be his friend. He's never had a real one of those before. It'll take him some time to figure out what you're doing, i.e. being nice, so bear with him. He'll cotton on soon enough. Now, I'm not sayin' he'll take to it, but he'll sure catch on. Eventually."
"He's so frustratingly oblivious! I swear, sometimes I could just kill him."
"Get in line. Squall's at the top of many hit lists."
Rinoa walked away from her conversation with Irvine feeling even more hopeless than when she had sought his council. Still…it was worth a shot. If only she could get him to open up a little bit…just an inch, and she could pry the rest of his armor off. She was certain the real Squall, the one hidden beneath all those layers of insecurity and fear, was slowly dying, and she had to be the one to rescue him.
Although she might look carefree, Rinoa was quite thorough when she set herself to a task. Deciding that one opinion, despite however knowledgeable about romance, just wasn't enough, she chose to seek council elsewhere.
"Squall? He's hopeless, lass. What d'ya want to know about 'im anyway?" Asked Adrian.
Rinoa looked decidedly uncomfortable as she shuffled from foot to foot.
"I want to get to know him." She blurted, flushing. "I like him." She added, more slowly this time.
"So, you want him to 'open up' to you?" asked Brogan. Rinoa nodded and Grogan and Adrian looked pensive.
"Excuse us for a moment," said Adrian as he turned to Brogan, encompassing her into a huddle. Their whispering was white noise to Rinoa, who could make nothing of their talk.
When they reemerged from their huddle, Adrian was chuckling in a scholarly way, much as though he had been told a very intellectual joke and found it to be dryly humorous and applicable to his life in the most ironic way. When he caught sight of Rinoa, he seemed to remember what it was he had been discussing with Brogan and immediately put on a serious expression. He cleared his throat and folded his hands in a business-like way. Beside him, Brogan had taken to looking imperious, viewing Rinoa down the length of her nose, but not in a contemptuous way.
"My colleague and I have talked it over and we're decided you have a chance at thawing out who we only half-joking refer to in secret as the Ice Prince. Our dearest Squall Leonhart, aged 17 years and some odd days, though stoic by nature, can, in fact, be reached. It will take the gentle touch, patience, cunning and caress of a true woman, but it can be done so long as you are willing to endure long stretches of unfruitful aggravation, frustration and awkward silences. Are you willing to give it your all with no guaranteed success?" Asked Adrian.
"Yes."
"Really?" Brogan looked flabbergast at this young, naive girl before her. "Even after that long speech? You still want to chase after this crush of yours?"
"It's not a crush, I—I'm really falling for him. I think I—"
"Don't say it!" said Brogan. "You're too young." Then, turning to Adrian, she added, "This generation, I swear. They fall in love like we buy shoes!"
"But we buy shoes only every now and then. And we buy them in the nude."
"My point exactly. Have you ever heard such a thing?" asked Brogan.
"You're not even making sense, love. I say you shut up now."
"Right-oh." Conceded Brogan, sighing wistfully.
"Anyway, Rinoa. Nobody's ever tried so hard to get him out of his shell before." Said Adrian, looking at her with something Rinoa couldn't quite identify. Concern, maybe?
"I know." Rinoa answered solemnly, walking away and leaving Adrian looking thoughtful.
'I know I can do this…' thought Rinoa. 'I can't afford not to. Squall can't afford not to. I know he feels the same. He was going to sacrifice himself for me that day we fought Edea.'
She would never actually admit it, but in the short few months she'd known Adrian and Brogan, she had formed her idea of love around their relationship. They were both 19 years old, having been together since childhood. Adrian knew Brogan as if she were an extension of his own self, and she knew him just as well. They were each other's constant companion and best friend, working as one together. She knew just how much they loved each other, it being quite obvious to everyone, including Squall. If ever one of them died, the other would be a mere seconds from following, for one could not live without the other. Rinoa wanted that. She wanted to know someone so well she need never guess what he was feeling—instead, she would feel it as if it were her own emotion. She saw that future with Squall.