(Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters. This is just for Fun.)

Chapter 10: Here's Angelo!

Rinoa combed through her wet hair slowly and systematically, not missing a single tangled strand. She wanted her hair to dry properly, and that wasn't going to happen if she left it the way it was when she got out of the shower. She wanted a sleek look . She continued to comb until she went through all the longer parts, then she pulled her bangs down in front of her eyes and tried to decide if they needed a trim. They were getting longer, but not too long. She thought she could wait to get a haircut. She finally smoothed her hair with her hands, deciding she'd done a good job. She sighed and flipped her comb onto the couch cushion beside her with a plop.

Weekends could be pretty boring for a person who was new to town.

Rinoa propped her feet up on her coffee table and wiggled her toes which were clad in a pair of freshly laundered socks. They were comfortable, but very well worn socks. Should she get new ones? That'd give her something to do. Maybe she'd go out of her comfort zone and get some bright colors or wacky designs. That would liven up her life.

Yea right.

While she continued to contemplate her socks, her feet knocked into her closed laptop lid. This reminded her of the wide world that was outside her boring apartment. Maybe she should go online. Maybe she should check up on her old friends. Just see how they were doing. But not sound lonely or desperate or anything. She wasn't planning on wasting the whole weekend online.

She'd just pop on really quickly. Then she'd get off. On. Off. Quick.

She got up off the couch and flipped her damp and drying hair over her shoulders. She reached out and opened her laptop, waiting for it to boot up. She tapped her fingernails on her coffee table.

I'll just check Network Square for a few minutes. That's it.

She quickly logged on and scrolled through her notifications. Boring. Boring. Boring. Somebody was on a fabulous vacation. Jealous. Boring. Boring. Boring.

Why'd she think this was going to solve her boredom?

She puttered around on her computer while time slipped by. Clicking on anything halfway of interest, and even some with no interest at all for her. Cake recipes? Click. Weight loss tips? Click. D-list celebrity gossip? Click. Financial advice. Click. D-list celebrity weight loss tips and financial advice? Click.

So boring.

She heard a little bell and was alerted to the fact that one of her Network Square friends had come online. Yes. This is what she'd been wanting. Real human contact. Or at least the online Network Square equivalent of it. Goodbye boredom.

She saw a little icon with Zone's blurry face on it pop up. Yes, it was Zone. Zone was a good friend. This was good. Good. Good. Good.

"Hey, Zone. How are you doing?" Rinoa typed eagerly. She leaned forward and bit her lip. She waited. The cursor blinked. She hoped he wasn't going to log out without seeing her message.

Come on. Come on. Come on, she hoped harder. Hoping hard felt a lot like holding your breath. Nothing happened. More lip biting and breath holding.

Just when she was about to give up and log off herself, he typed "ok."

That wasn't the sort of friendly greeting she'd been wanting, but she'd been so happy to see that Zone was online at all. She needed to talk with somebody. Living alone could be pretty dull. She was surprised and disappointed that Zone didn't seem very talkative today. He usually was sending her messages all the time to check up on her. Was he forgetting about her already? Was he moving on friend-wise?

"How's Watts? I haven't seen him online as much lately," Rinoa typed, hoping to get more of a response.

"Don't get me started," Zone typed back quickly.

Rinoa was relieved that he answered so quickly, but she was worried that something might be wrong with Watts. Out of the two of them, Watts seemed to be the more even keeled guy. She wondered what was going on, worried but more than halfway curious too.

"Pretty please get started. I want to know about Watts," she typed. She wanted to know about anybody. She was bored.

"His head is in the clouds. Met a woman at a bar," Zone typed.

She was glad it wasn't anything serious, but she couldn't help but hold back a giggle. It was hard to imagine either of her two friends with women. They were kinda weird and nerdy.

"What's she like?" She was dying to know the type of woman Watts would be into.

"Ok. I better tell you the story."

Rinoa started getting excited. Storytime!

"Tell me more!" she typed.

"He accidentally bumped into a person at the bar," Zone typed.

Rinoa already knew that much. Where were the juicy details?

"Then he said, 'excuse me sir' to this lady," Zone continued to type.

Rinoa laughed. Now that was a fun tidbit, and it was a very Watts thing to do.

"That didn't go over very well with the woman. She yelled at him and nearly hit him. But maybe he liked the attention because he ended up buying her a drink. Several actually."

Rinoa could just imagine a woman at a bar being called 'sir.' She wouldn't have liked that, and she was sure that woman didn't either.

"What's her name?" She was still trying to imagine the sort of woman that Watts would call 'sir.' It wasn't very helpful because he called most people by that term. Did she look tomboyish or was Watts just being Watts?

"She calls herself Forest Fox."

Rinoa bit her lip. This story was getting sillier and sillier. Now she was imagining a glamorous redheaded woman who oozed confidence to the point of being arrogant. She imagine the woman with her shoulders back and head held high in the air looking down on Watts.

Zone continued to type to Rinoa. "I don't know what her real name is. Maybe Watts has to buy her some more drinks to get her to tell him. He's been going to this bar night after night to see if he can find her again. And that's the story of why Watts hasn't been online much. He's been ignoring both of us."

"Sorry Zone," Rinoa typed with a smile. "I'll always be there for you."

A few minutes passed. Rinoa waited. She thought they were having fun. Why'd he stop typing? Maybe he was in the bathroom and didn't want to mention it.

"Will you?" Zone replied a few minutes later.

"Yes," Rinoa answered. Uh oh. Zone was getting into one of his moods. Rinoa thought that maybe she'd cut the chat short. Zone always got weird when romantic relationships were mentioned. "Oh, I gotta get going Zone. Nice chatting with you. Time to take Angelo out for a walk," Rinoa typed before quickly logging out. That wasn't entirely a lie. Angelo was always up for going on a walk. And it probably was time to go out. She closed her laptop lid with a snap.

Rinoa felt lazy, but she should go outside with Angelo. Angelo deserved a walk and it was time for one. She didn't want to feel like she'd lied to Zone either. It was just a strategically timed dog walk. She'd better get ready.

She felt at her hair. It was mostly dry. By the time she got ready to go out, it'd be completely dry. And even if it wasn't, she always had her hair dryer. She certainly didn't want to catch a chill. She gathered up her things and called to Angelo. They were going to get ready. It was time for some fresh Balamb air.

Rinoa walked through the park feeling warm and bundled up. It was a beautiful day, and many of Balamb's local residents were also enjoying the park. She could see children playing, people walking, and a variety dog owners. She walked some more and the activity further warmed her. She removed her gloves and stuffed them into her pocket. She took a few more steps. The sun broke through the fluffy white clouds and beamed down on her face. She squinted. The sunshine wasn't as direct as it would be in the summertime, the angle was different, but sweat start to break out on her forehead nonetheless. She was warm, hot even. Hot and stuffy.

Rinoa suddenly unzipped her jacket, wanting to break free from the burden of the unnecessary layers she'd forced herself into wearing. She'd apparently overdressed herself as it was surprisingly warm outside. A rush of relatively cool air provided some much needed relief as she fanned her jacket out furiously.

Why didn't I check the weather report?

She resolved to be more aware next time. She hadn't gotten the hang of Balamb weather yet. She knew what to expect seasonally from Deling, but it seemed that Balamb weather was unpredictable. At least it was for her, for now.

Is this Balamb's version of a winter thaw?

Rinoa could remember those special midwinter days during her childhood. Being able to throw off heavy winter coats to go play in the bright sunshine amongst dirty gray snow piles of slush and ice was a joy. You never knew what you'd find when those filthy things melted. It was like finding buried treasure. Although that treasure was usually just fast food trash or a lost glove. Then in a day or two of relative heat, it was back to bundling up against frigid windchills for a few more months. The dirty gray snow piles would become white again with new snow, and ever higher. But that little taste of pleasant weather had always hastened her desire for spring. She longed to smell sweet flowers and hear the clear and high notes of bird songs.

Well, this wasn't as severe a change in temperature as it would be in Deling City, but it was nice to have a break from wet and chilly weather. Although she didn't think it actually counted as a thaw since it had never really been below freezing in the first place. It felt wonderfully warm in comparison to the damp and dreary weather they'd been having recently. She thought Balamb would always be warm and sunny, but she'd found out that winter was winter everywhere. At least in some capacity.

She was happy that she'd decided to take Angelo to the park. She wished she hadn't wasted so much of the day being cooped up inside being bored. She felt wonderful out in the fresh air. She had more energy and her mood brightened.

Angelo let out a happy bark as she ran through the grassy field. Rinoa smiled at her playfulness. She was glad to be outside as much as her dog. Who knew how long this nice weather would last? Not too long, she figured. Winter was bound to return in full force, but until then, she'd pretend that spring was nearly around the corner.

Angelo bounded up to her and dropped a soggy yellow tennis ball on the grass at her feet.

"Good doggy," Rinoa exclaimed in a high pitched and encouraging voice. "Want to play some more?"

The dog looked up with excited and pleading eyes, so Rinoa picked up the tennis ball. She reached back and got ready to throw as far as she could. In one smooth motion she let loose, and the tennis ball flew wildly out into the park. Angelo ran after it, feet slipping in the wet grass.

Rinoa smiled after her dog, not sure where the tennis ball had landed. She dug her hands around in her pockets, and was glad that the dog was having a fun time. She was having a great day too. She'd been enjoying her time in her new adopted town. And the entire island of Balamb had a nice atmosphere. There were mountains, fields, seascapes, and even these great little parks full of trees, paths, ponds, and playgrounds. And unlike Deling City, she felt 100% safe, even as a woman on her own. She bet she could walk through this park at nighttime and not be bothered. She certainly couldn't say the same of Deling City.

It was great. She was doing okay on her own so far. It wasn't scary, like she thought it might be.

Her dad was worrying needlessly about his adult and perfectly capable "little girl." Zone was worried too, and for no reason at all. Even Rinoa admittedly had been slightly nervous about living alone in a new place, and she needn't have been. Balamb was a great place. She could even... but she didn't get to finish that thought.

Rough masculine hands grabbed her from behind. She was pulled. Her feet stumbled. The world spun. Her balance was gone like she was flying through space untethered. Nauseous fear surged through her stomach as she was crushed backwards into a thick muscular chest. She didn't have time to react as she felt hot breath on her left ear. Her body was in shock, but she would have screamed if she had the breath or presence of mind to do so.

"Hey Rinoa," the man said playfully as he released her. "How you doing?"

Rinoa nearly fell to her knees as she stumbled in the grass. She jumped away with her arms raised defensively over her head. She got ready for a fight or at least some type of struggle. She wasn't going to go down without trying to defend herself. Where was her trusty dog?

The man quickly stepped away when he saw her protective stance. He didn't think she'd do much damage if she hit him, but he wanted to avoid it if he could. "Whoa, settle down! I didn't mean to scare you."

Rinoa turned and was amazed to see who it was. She'd never thought she'd see this guy out in Balamb. It was like he was from another world. Her recognition turned her queasy fear into hot anger.

"Well then don't grab me by surprise when I'm out by myself!" Rinoa nearly screamed.

She looked the man over. What was he thinking? Was he truly not aware of what he looked like? He was a giant muscular tank of a man who was covered in tattoos and facial scars. She was a young woman, not 'one of the guys' with whom he could rough-house with. And he should have NEVER grabbed her from behind like that. He was just lucky that she hadn't ever taken a self-defense course.

Actually a self-defense course would be a pretty good idea. She'd consider it later, but now she had to have a 'talking to' with this man. She tried to organize her thoughts while she stared at him with her mouth half open, still surprised.

She looked at him more closely.

She wondered what he was doing half dressed? It was slightly warmer outside, but not THAT warm. He probably would walk around stripped to the waist if he could. He had on a short sleeved black leather shirt that was open. Open, completely open! She could see his entire chest, abs, and tattoos. Maybe if a leather shirt was too hot to wear buttoned up, he could wear a cotton shirt like a normal person. At least that's what she thought.

She looked further down at him. If all of this wasn't bad enough, his pants were leather too. Unbelievable. What kind of person would wear that much leather?

At least he's wearing pants, Rinoa thought to herself. For now, she added, until his legs get too hot. She laughed to herself at the thought.

"Gladio, what are you doing here?" she asked with exasperation.

"Can't I check up on my little cousin?" Gladio asked. "To see how she's doing?"

"You came all the way out from Deling City to Balamb to just see how I was doing?" Rinoa asked with a strangled yell of disbelief. Her breath caught in outrage. She grit her teeth and breathed through her nose. There was no way Gladio would have come out here for her. They weren't the closest of relatives, cousins or not. She didn't see him that much outside larger family gatherings. He was more likely to see her father than her.

She remembered Gladio visiting with Caraway in his study whenever he visited. She didn't know why he visited, but she had seen their easy interactions. Those interactions were a huge contrast to the strained tension she felt when she was with her father. It made her wonder if her father would have preferred to have had a son instead of a daughter. Maybe that stemmed from her dad not knowing what to do with her. It made her sad that Gladio had a much closer relationship with the general than she did. Caraway definitely cared about her safety, but he had trouble connecting with her as an individual.

But of course it would have been very like her father to send Gladio out here to spy on her.

"Did my dad make you come out here?" Rinoa asked. Gladio raised his thick dark eyebrows at the question. "Is he paying you?"

"Whoa Rinoa, those are a lot of questions considering you haven't seen me in a while," Gladio said while scratching at the rough stubble on the side of his face.

"Actually it was just two," she said while crossing her arms over her chest. "But I've got more. Are you staying or just visiting?"

"How 'bout I take you out for a coffee, and we can catch up with each other. Then you can hammer me with as many questions as you'd like. Totally pound away."

Ew. He sounds gross. Does he mean to? Rinoa thought. She couldn't believe her father would send a guy like Gladio to check up on her. If they weren't blood-related, he was the sort of guy he'd keep very far away from her.

She saw Angelo returning to her with the tennis ball.

"Angelo!" she said loudly, glad that her dog had come back. Her face beamed at her furry friend.

Squall did a pull-up. His arms strained with the effort and his abs tensed as his chin went over the bar. He wasn't the most muscular guy in the world, but he was strong in a lean sort of way. At least he was strong for an office worker. He did another pull-up. His gray hooded sweatshirt was getting damp with all the activity.

It felt good.

He was enjoying the mild Balamb winter day and decided to exercise outside in the nearby park. Sometimes just doing push-up and sit-ups in his apartment wasn't the most exciting. And the apartment complex's exercise room was full of stuffy and stale air, not to mention the blaring TV set that somehow was always trapped on some kind of horrible station. And even without those cons, the dusty treadmill there was inferior to the experience of jogging through the serenity of nature.

He was glad there were so many circuit activity stations throughout the trails. Although his favorite one was the pull-up bar. It was more fun to use his own body weight to strengthen himself than just lifting weights. He finished another pull-up and then dropped lightly onto his feet. He slicked his sweaty hair back off his forehead, his face fully soaking in the sunlight.

He stretched out his muscles before resuming his jog through the park. He took a deep breath and continued onward. Within a minute his sneakers were pounding the pavement of the winding trail in an even rhythm.

Physical fitness was a priority. He sat enough at work. And while he enjoyed unwinding at home on his couch, he was no couch potato. His mind melted from boredom and monotony at work, but he wasn't going to let his body melt too. He hadn't given up on life that much. He didn't want to turn into a pudgy sweater-vest wearing old man before his time, and hopefully not ever, if he was being honest with himself.

And exercise was a great way to empty the mind and work out his frustrations, whatever they were. If he didn't exercise as much, he'd have an even harder time falling and staying asleep than he usually did. Restless nights were common for him. This was the easiest way to deal with it.

While he was staring straight forward, a neon yellow tennis ball flew past him. He turned his head to see it land in the middle of a nearby bush. He saw a dog bounding after it.

The kid who threw that ball has bad aim, he thought to himself. His dad needs to play with him more.

Squall watched as the dog started digging and whining through the dirt to find the ball. It took some effort and a lot of doggy snuffling, but it was achieved. Once the ball was acquired, the dog turned to run back towards the open field. When Squall lifted his head to see, and he caught sight of a familiar person.

Rinoa, he thought, excited to see her outside of work and on a non-work day. Or weekends, as they were usually called.

He slowly jogged in place and his pulse quickened instead of slowing down. The wheels of his mind started to turn. He imagined how nice it would be to 'accidentally' bump into her. He could start a normal conversation. Maybe she'd smile at him. Maybe she'd laugh at something funny he'd say. Maybe he'd smile at her. Maybe they could go out for coffee. Maybe they could date. Maybe they could...

Rinoa laughing at something funny he'd say? It was one thing to be imaginative, it was another thing to be delusional. When had anybody laughed at anything funny he'd ever said? He wasn't known for his comedic skills. He wasn't really known for talking either.

Squall sighed in frustration. Rinoa was never going to laugh at something funny he'd say, but while his little reverie wasn't the most realistic, it wasn't impossible that he could at least chat with Rinoa in the park. That was something he could pull off. They'd spoken before at work. They'd spoken at the train cafe. They knew each other's names. He could try.

But first he had to get closer to her.

Squall tried to think of a way to casually jog nearer to her so they could accidentally meet up. He wanted to get closer to her, but not in a way that seemed like he was doing it on purpose. Although he would be doing it on purpose, he didn't want it to look that way. Maybe he could even nod his head at her and say something to her while he jogged past. Something along the lines of, 'oh hello.'

The trail through the park wasn't an extremely long loop. Maybe he could even get to do it several times before she took her dog and went home.

That was an okay plan. If it didn't work out, he wouldn't feel rejected or look needy. He'd just look like he was acknowledging an acquaintance in public. No pressure.

He started jogging down the trail to see if he could get on a loop nearer to her. His eyes were trained on her as he jogged, even if his head was facing forwards at all time. Stealthy and observant, or so he thought.

He was just as surprised as Rinoa was when he saw her get grabbed from behind by a large man clad in black and a tight shirt with a weird design on it. Was she in danger? He thought of jumping off the trail and running through the bushes and trees to get to her quicker. He saw that she'd turned around and seemingly responded as if she knew the man. Squall was relieved. He stayed on the trail and went closer to them. Maybe if he got close enough he could hear what they were saying. Rinoa's body posture looked defensive and they looked like they were fighting.

As Squall got closer, he saw that the guy's black clothes were made of leather, even his pants. And the design on his 'shirt' was actually a tattoo on his skin. Somehow this guy was in the zone between wearing a shirt and being shirtless. His shirt was so open that he was almost shirtless, even though he was still technically wearing a shirt. Squall wondered if he'd be served in a fast food restaurant. At least he was wearing shoes.

He didn't look like the sort of guy Rinoa would hang out with. Not that he knew Rinoa well, but he thought he did. He thought about her enough that he'd concocted a whole narrative about her in his mind. But did his conception of her match up with reality? Maybe. Maybe not. But Squall didn't think he'd be so off the mark that this guy would be her best friend.

"Angelo!" he heard Rinoa call.

Squall let out a soft gasp. Angelo! That guy is ANGELO?! He's just the way I imagined him! Squall's nostrils flared in anger.

He could see how disturbed Rinoa was by this man's presence. And he'd heard that she was in a long term relationship with this Angelo? How was that possible? Maybe they'd started dating when she was a young impressionable teen and he hadn't been a huge hulking monster yet. And maybe now she was too scared to leave? Squall thought that Angelo seemed abusive. He certainly looked rough and grabby.

Squall wished he could rush in there and save her. Save her from what? Save her from a mild argument? Save her from her own choices?

Save her for himself?

Yea, that's what a jerk of a 'nice guy' would think. Squall didn't want to be like that.

Squall watched helplessly as Rinoa and 'Angelo' walked out of the park with Rinoa's dog.

"Angelo," Squall growled under his breath while clenching his fist.

Rinoa's mind was still reeling from having coffee with Gladio. He'd never answered how long he was visiting for, no matter how many times she'd asked about the nature of his visit. She'd eventually given up and let him just talk about himself. She'd gulped down the rest of her vanilla latte and left the coffee shop when Gladio was in the bathroom.

Gladio had found her in the park. He could just go find her again if that was his mission. She wasn't going to make it easy for him. The big jerk. He could have at least answered some actual questions. Now she was going to have to contact her father to get some answers. If she wanted them that badly.

Rinoa slipped her bare hand into her pocket and felt for the keys to her apartment. The damp chilly wind tore through her jacket and she shivered. It had gotten colder somehow when she was distracted by Gladio. She was trying to hurry, but it was only making her more clumsy. Her hand gripped at a lint ball and a hard candy before finally settling on the cold metal keys.

Got them! she thought to herself triumphantly.

She stuck them into the keyhole while Angelo barked and scratched the door. The dog let out a long whine. She really wanted in.

Rinoa swung the door open while a voice behind her caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Hey beautiful!"

She dropped her keys and nearly screamed while Angelo bounded inside. Rinoa turned towards Gladio and almost yelled. "What are you doing here?" She clutched at her chest in alarm.

Gladio leaned on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm just being friendly, and I was in neighborhood," he explained.

"You didn't need to follow me to my home," Rinoa said. "Like some kind of big," she took a pause, "weirdo." Stalker would have been a better term, but she didn't use it.

"I didn't follow you," he said. "Like I said, I was in the neighborhood. And I'm just being friendly, as in, friendly neighbor." He jerked his head towards the apartment door directly next to hers. His scratched door had peeling paint and the number 15 on the front of it.

Rinoa's eyebrows knit together for a second before they lifted in surprise. "Neighbor?" she asked.

I'm gonna kill my dad, she thought with her teeth clenched together.

"Okay, well I'm going to go inside now, neighbor," she said while emphasizing the last word.

She quickly went into her apartment and shut the door, leaving her cousin/paid bodyguard/neighbor outside in the growing cold.

Her dad had to be paying Gladio to keep tabs on her. Was General Caraway that scared for her safety? Balamb was a nice place to live. There weren't scary people here. Not unless you counted Gladio. He probably was the scariest and most dangerous looking person in the neighborhood. What was her dad thinking?

Rinoa took off her coat and hung it up in the closet before kicking off her shoes and throwing her keys on the ground. She trudged angrily over to her couch and flopped down onto it. Her mind was swirling with thoughts. None of them were good.

Her dad was not respecting that she was an independent adult woman who could make her own decisions. She didn't need a man to look out for her. But if she decided that she'd like a man to look out for her, she'd prefer it would NOT be her giant hulking cousin. She'd much prefer a handsome and caring boyfriend. One who would care for her, but also respect her independence. She tucked her knees up fully onto the couch and hugged her legs. She felt like her dad was watching her every move, but at least she was safe in her nice small and quiet apartment.

Suddenly loud rock music started blaring through the wall. She could feel the bass reverberate through her chest.

"Is this too loud for you?" Gladio yelled through the wall. "Should I turn it down?"

Of course the walls were paper thin. It sounded like he was nearly in the room with her.

She sighed to herself and grabbed at her temples.

When is this going to end? He better not show up tomorrow at my workplace as the new warehouse guy. I better call Caraway.

End of chapter

Author's notes: I hope you are loving Gladio in this as much as I am. I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Please read and review.