Max has left us... things have changed... and everyone must move on. Here's the LAST chapter of this story! Enjoy this cute little epilogue!
A few weeks after the final battle with Ultemicia, everyone tried to relax around Garden and have things get back to normal. With the loss of Max, however, it proved a harder task that they thought. Squall had taken the loss a bit harder than the rest, but he knew why Max left them. He may have not been with the group for long, but deep inside, Max Caron had become one of them. A SeeD at heart. As Squall sat on the edge of the Garden Balcony, he let the light breeze play with his short strands of hair. Such a nice breeze, he thought.
"There you are!"
Squall turned a bit to see Rinoa walking closer to him and smiled as she drew near.
"I had a feeling I'd find you here." She giggled as she hugged him. "Are you going to be okay?"
Squall nodded and held her tighter. He never wanted to let go of her, not ever again. After losing her twice already, he promised himself that. If he had to fight Hyne itself, he would do it to keep her close. They walked over to the edge of the balcony, hands intertwined, and as Squall looked out to the ocean scene before them, Rinoa placed a light peck on his cheek. He smiled, just like that first time after defeating Ultemicia.
"I think you missed." He chuckled. He brought her even closer to him and kissed her. He did not even realize how much he missed her soft lips touching his, how much he missed her body close to his. When did he first feel this… pain of missing her? He wanted the moment to last forever as they continued to kiss. He broke it off for a moment and looked down at her.
"I've been without you for too long… I love you so much Rinoa." He held her close to him. Wait… was he crying? Yes, Squall let the tears fall as they held each other.
"It's okay Squall," comforted Rinoa. "You won't lose me again, I promise."
"No, I promise I won't let anything else happen to you."
Rinoa could do nothing but try to comfort him; the past events must have taken a bigger toll on him than she thought. Squall wiped his eyes and walked to the other side of the balcony towards the sunset.
"It was horrible to think I'd lose you." He said. "That first time was hard enough, but seeing you die…"
She embraced him from behind with a deep sigh.
"I know, but I have you here to make sure that doesn't happen again, right?"
She smiled at him as he turned around and kissed her once more.
"Right."
They looked out towards the sun. Such a peaceful night. As they watched the sun go down Rinoa saw a shooting star fall from the sky.
"I know, Max." She whispered. "We'll protect this world."
"What was that?" Asked Squall.
"Oh nothing." Rinoa smiled. "Hey… I wonder if anyone is on the bridge. I hear hardly anyone comes up there."
She winked and giggled as she dragged him from the balcony.
'Thank you, Max.' thought Rinoa as she continued to drag Squall away. 'Thank you for all you've done for Squall and us.'
I remember starting this story and going "What? no no, none of this will ever catch readers." but i stand corrected. Thank you all for your support and reviews. I really appreciate all of you who stuck around with this story from the beginning. Thank you all so much! I hope you all liked reading this story as much as i did writing it. Vincent Sekod
