A/N: wow, two updates is two days thanks for the review i appreciate them. Fluffy is what i call my last chapter... i think this one might be one too. "" anyway chapter 9.
disclaimer: i don't own SQuareEnix nor any of its characters,games, merchandise, etc. LOL
--Chapter 9—
A New Found Happiness
Squall continued to hush Rinoa to her composed self, while inside the great halls of the palace, people started searching for the new friend and star of the First Family: Rinoa.
Laguna was almost finished with his 45min long speech when he suddenly remembered her; the girl that helped them save the Gala and their family, Rinoa. He whispered to Ellone asking where Rinoa is and for Hyne knows, Squall too.
"Elle," he whispered inconspicuously to her ear. "Where are your brother and his girlfriend?" and then he gave his audience an apology and a final thank you.
"I don't know," Ellone replied while walking towards the small President's loft. "Last time I saw them was when you started to call me; and Rinoa is not his girlfriend."
"Oh, and I thought my son would've a new girlfriend, it's been a while huh?" Laguna thoughtfully said as he waved at the couple of children that were playing in the middle of the dance floor. "Oh, well where ever they are I just hope they'll be able to make it to my finale speech."
"There's another one of those lengthy speeches?" Ellone replied while giving her dad a cocked eyebrow. "Well, life… anyway since when did you care about him having a girlfriend? I'm always the one who gets to meet them not you."
"Well I just thought that this one might be a good change for him." He said obviously referring to Rinoa's arrival. "What about you Elle? Is Jason not coming?"
"No. He's in Dollet with his family. He's staying there for the whole summer…" Ellone said. "Haven't I informed you of that?"
"Well apparently you left it out… anyway, you better entertain some of the guests and make sure you have fun; there are a lot of things to celebrate tonight." He said as he dismissed his daughter and sent her to the now filled dance floor.
I just wish that I could celebrate Squall's having a person in his life. Laguna thought as he went to approach Ward.
"Ward, have you seen my son?" he asked the wall-like bald man. "I haven't seen him since my speech."
"Well he probably got bored." He replied as he offered Laguna some wine.
"Why thank you, red wine please." Laguna asked. "So have you seen him?" he replied a small thank you as Ward gave him his drink.
"Yeah, I saw him leave with his girlfriend, they went somewhere, I don't know, I just saw them leave." He said before he took a sip of scotch.
"Oh well." Laguna muttered as he took a sip of his own.
Meanwhile the two missing people were busy trying to make sense of what just happened between the two of them.
"Squall," Rinoa muttered weakly. "I'm sorry for what happened I'm not sure but something in me said that we must stop this, it was just not the time."
"But, I swear it's not your fault." She added as she looked up at his face. She was still in her underwear and was now getting chills; Squall noticed this and placed his jacket on her. She muttered a thank you and decided to gather up her clothes. "I better should go home now, I mean, I ruined my dress and our night…" She said as she stood up and went to wear her shoes. "I'm sorry again and thank you for the coat." She gave him a smile and decided to get going.
"Rinoa wait." Squall suddenly said as he grabbed her wrist. "Please, I'm sorry myself, please don't go."
Rinoa, took sometime to consider this but decided that she better leave, because when she looked at her watch it was already a quarter past midnight, and she was officially a Cinderella turned into pumpkin now. "Squall, it is late, I should really get going, and auntie might be worried."
"Can you just call her and tell her you'll be staying here then?" Squall suggested.
"No, and I'm sorry." She said as she fiddled with her ribbons, Squall then helped her. "Thanks, I wonder how the hell Matilda finished this dress in a matter of minutes, and it has intricate designs too!" She said as she looked once again on the beaded bottom.
"Well you see Elle always had problems with her dresses in the last minute, I think Matilda got used to them." Squall replied while spinning Rinoa around to see if she was all set to go. "There all done."
"You know Squall; you always say that to me, like I'm a little kid." Rinoa said giving him an awkward smile.
"HAHA. Well I guess it cannot be helped." He replied as he went to open the door back to palace. "Why not I take you back home?" he asked as they walked.
"Well, sure thing, I'm sure auntie would want someone to take care of me while I puke endlessly to the night because of someone's driving." Rinoa teased as she ran past Squall towards the door, that's when her heel broke and she tumbled down, like a doll without its stand. Thankfully she hit a post which stopped her from completely rolling down towards the open door. "OWWWWW!!" She was laughing when Squall finally caught up with her.
"Rinoa! Are you alright?" Squall asked as he saw her laughing.
"That was fun!" she exclaimed as he helped her up. "Oh no, I broke a heel." She then realized the stiletto heel snapped and was broken into two.
"These were Ellone's! Oh no…"
"Look, don't worry about those. I'll tell Ellone what happened." Squall said this as he checked Rinoa's head and joints. When Rinoa heard this she wondered and panicked. Oh no tell her WHAT happened??
"Ugh, tell her what exactly?" she asked while trying to soothe her wounded knee. Dammit this knee is not making things easier for me!
"Tell her that you broke the heel and that I needed to rush you to the clinic; but seeing that the palace clinic was closed we went to my room to tend to it." Squall said as he saw the now, bleeding open wound. Whew! I thought… never mind then.
"You know this wound is pretty big, can you walk?"
"Well, let us see." Rinoa replied as she let go of Squall's arm and tried to walk. "Well I can definitely stand… but walking I'm…" she was cut off in the middle of her statement when she toppled downwards.
"Obviously you can't." Squall exasperated, as he caught her by the arm. "C'mon I'll carry you."
Huh? What does he mean he'll carry me??
"I said c'mon Rin." He was telling her to hold on to his neck or his shoulders so that he'd be able to carry her; after all she wasn't at all heavy. "Okay, you won't hold on?"
"Then we'll have it my way." He said as he hauled Rinoa on his shoulders butt facing front and face looking back. Rinoa laughed hysterically as Squall walked towards the door.
"HAHA, you seem to be having fun back there." Squall commented as he reached the staircase to the foyer, which was now filled with people. Rinoa recognized the place and told Squall about it. "Squall! You're heading straight to the foyer! Be reminded that you're carrying ME!" she hissed.
"Oh yeah, I thought I was carrying a rag doll or something that died, you sure are quiet." He added as he backtracked to find a more "discrete" route for them.
As Squall finally reached his room, he kicked open the door and threw Rinoa on his bed. "Stay put, I'll go get something to treat your wound." And he left to go into his bathroom.
Wow, this guy sure is vain.
Rinoa thought of this as she saw the wide variety of cologne, aftershave, shaving cream, razors, scissors, and lots more. It was definitely a vain man's room; not only did he not need 3 kinds of shaving creams but also a huge stone-like thing! It was almost 1ft high! What the hell is that? It's huge!
Squall came back with a first aid kit in hand and told Rinoa to sit on the edge. "Good thing I still kept this, I was planning on throwing it out." He commented as he pulled out a cotton ball and some alcohol from the kit. He started dabbing Rinoa's knee with alcohol, surprisingly Rinoa was tolerating the pain quite well. "You know Rin, I never saw a cheerleader as clumsy as you." He commented.
Rinoa just stuck a tongue out and said, "Well, now you have! Would you like a picture and an autograph?" she teased.
Squall thought for a while, and answered, "No, I don't think I would need that" he said as he placed a gauze pad on the now clean wound. Rinoa muttered a thank you and asked, "Why not??"
"Well why have those when I have the clumsy cheerleader with me?" Squall asked her while cleaning up his kit.
"Hmm… let's see…" she replied as she tried to bend her knee. "Maybe she doesn't want to stay with you."
Squall turned to face her and then cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked in a nonchalant way.
"Yeah REALLY." Rinoa widened her eyes when she spoke and it was quite funny, if Squall saw it; but sadly, or not, he already left what he was doing and was tickling Rinoa crazy forcing her to take those words back. "Take back what you just said," he said while threatening to tickle her again. "Or else."
Rinoa was laughing too much to actually make a sensible answer so instead she just gave him a push and tried to roll out of harm's way. Too bad for her he was quick; he caught her by the arm and went to put her back in place. This time Rinoa gave out a yelp.
"So you really don't want to take it back?" he asked while straddling Rinoa like he did Ellone earlier. Rinoa just shook her head and laughed. "Okay then, you leave me no choice but to do this." And then he kissed her.
She kissed him back and in a few minutes they were both laughing and were playing around on the bed. "Fine, I take it back!" Rinoa said as Squall was trying to tickle her again, making her cower to the wall. "Good." Then Squall went to grab her by the shoulders to embrace her.
Rinoa tried to wriggle her way out, saying that it was already nearing 1AM when she noticed the huge thing again. This time she asked him what it was. "Squall," trying to stop Squall from crushing her, "hey, what's that?" she said pointing to the stone-like thing. Squall's attention was now focused on what she was pointing at. "Oh that?"
Rinoa nodded. "Well that's a gunblade sharpener." Seeing that Rinoa didn't know what he was talking about he decided he'd have to explain. "You use it to maintain the sharpness of your gunblade. It was a gift from my dad when I was starting military school."
So he came from a military school….OH! That would explain his not attending his graduation ceremony!
"So you use a gunblade for a weapon?" she asked.
"Yeah, wanna see it?" Squall said not believing that Rinoa knew what she was talking about. Well, better make sure she understands before it creates other conflicts.
Squall left Rinoa on the bed and went inside his cabinet. He searched the bottom part for a black suitcase with a silver lion engraved on it. "Wow, it's in there?" she asked feeling a bit childish herself. Squall just nodded and continued opening the locks. Then when it was finally opened Rinoa went to his side to look at it closely. She was about to touch the fire design engraved on it when Squall caught her hand. "Careful, you don't want to get cut."
Rinoa nodded and settled to just touch the silver lion keychain attached to handle. The keychain was similar to the design on the front. "So this is a gunblade…" she said as she touched the leather handle. "It's heavy." Then she laughed as she tried to lift it off its case.
"Yep it is heavy. And not to mention, dangerous; I'll show it to you some other time, why not I take you home now?" Squall asked her.
Rinoa was still busy ogling at the gunblade to notice Squall. So he thought he'd better ask her again. "Noa, I said I'll take you home now."
"Awww… really?" Rinoa whined like a little girl not wanting to leave. Squall found this adorable and quickly searched for his phone; he was gonna call her aunt. Rinoa noticed what he was doing and tried to stop him, but she failed miserably when her aunt answered the phone call.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Good evening, this is Squall." He said.
"Oh, hello Squall. Having fun there at the Gala? I hope my niece isn't too much trouble."
"No, not really she's as behaved as an angel." Rinoa shot Squall a look of hate when he just smiled at her and mouthing, "Be quiet."
"Oh is that so, well it is getting kind of late and I may not be able to open the door for her since I am way sleepy. Will you press the infamous doorbell when you arrive dear?" her aunt said on the other line.
"Well, I don't really want to be a bother… I was wondering if she could stay here for the night and then go back home in a more suitable hour." Squall said this while trying to cover Rinoa's mouth to stop her from talking.
"Hmm…it's okay with me, if it is okay with the two of you."
"Well no problem with me, I just don't know with Rinoa…" he replied.
"Well, is she there with you now?"
"no."
"I'll just send her an SMS telling her to stay there until tomorrow morning."
"Okay then, I'll tell her then too. Thank you."
"No, thank you. Goodnight."
"Yes, goodbye." And with that Squall shut his cellphone off and let go of Rinoa's mouth.
Rinoa was shocked that her auntie agreed to Squall that fast! What the hell, what's the deal with him and smoooooooooth words…
"So, why not we go back down to the hall, I mean there is a party…" he said finally.
Rinoa just nodded and looked at herself in the mirror. "OH!" She realized she can't go down to the party just yet. Her hair was a mess, her dress is a tad bit dirty, not to mention her lipstick was smudged; smudged in a way that could easily be said as kissing.
She went to fix her hair up but letting it loose, making it fall on her face and curl at the edges, it looked nice, but it her make up was another thing. She told Squall that she'll be right back and locked herself in his bathroom.
Women, I wonder why they always shut themselves inside the bathroom.
When Rinoa got out of the bathroom she looked better and way normal. "Well, how do I look?" she said while smiling goofily at Squall.
"Like a kid, c'mon I'm sure no one will notice your uneven heels." He said as he threw the stilettos to Rinoa.
"Oh no, the shoes… well then I just have to deal." And with that Squall removed the other not broken shoe and broke its heel. "There, now it's even."
She was now wearing flats and it looked kind of funny but she didn't care anymore, she went to pull Squall and go back to the party.
Back at the Great Hall, everybody was having a lot of fun and not to mention a lot more creative since they all made masks to make the Gala seem like a masquerade. Laguna was starting to get drunk and Ellone was getting sick of Irene's impetuous questions about where her "pony" is.
"Look Irene," Ellone said, finally getting full and pissed at the 16yr old. "Don't you think you're too old to think about ponies and such other childish things?"
Irene found this answer annoying as Ellone found her. She answered, "Well no, and I am not referring to my "pony" as something childish, it is like a pet name."
Oh boy, Squall will kick this kid if he heard that sprung from her mouth.
Ellone laughed at the thought and Irene thought she was laughing at her, thus, making her go red with anger. When she was finally going to say something to Ellone, Laguna yelled as he noticed the entrance of Squall and Rinoa.
Everyone in the Great hall turned their heads to see who just arrived and they all smiled when they saw that it was them. Oh great, I think I might just hurl from all this attention! Rinoa thought as they entered the ballroom. "Here's a mask for you and," a man said as he gave Squall a black mask. "And this, is for the young lady." He said as he handed Rinoa a blue mask with glitters and feathers. Rinoa muttered a thank you and went to rush to Ellone's side.
Ellone, wanting to leave Irene, decided to meet her brother and Rinoa half way. "Well, s'bout time you both got here. Where have you been?" she asked Squall. "It's been an hour since you guys left; I thought you turned into pumpkins." She added jokingly.
"Don't worry, we won't turn into pumpkins." Squall said while offering a hand to Ellone. "Why don't I make it up to you by taking you to the dance floor?"
"Well now, I never knew you'd be such a gentleman." Ellone commented as she stared at his hand.
"Seeing that your boy-toy wasn't able to make it… I'll be your partner to your favorite song." Squall persisted on offering his hand and gave Rinoa a slight wink.
"Hmm… this is my favorite song it'll be a waste not to dance to it."
"Good. Let's go." Squall said as he took his sister by the hand and went straight to the dance floor. "We'll be right back!"
Rinoa had fun watching the siblings dance; they playfully punched each other while dancing. It seems they're having the time of their lives. Rinoa thought as she went to the bar to get herself something to drink. "One martini, dry" she said to the bartender.
Whilst waiting for her drink a familiar face approached her. Is this the Duchess' niece? Oh shoot too many things happened that I am not even sure who I am seeing! As the familiar figure approached her, the bartender gave Rinoa her drink. Rinoa muttered a small thank you and when she faced front, she was shocked to see the familiar person staring at her.
"So, I never got what your name was." She said in a polite manner. "My name is Irene; I am the niece of the Duchess of Cerulean."
Rinoa was quite taken aback by the sudden introduction and hesitated to answer. "Well I never gave you my name didn't I? My name is Rinoa." She offered a hand to shake but Irene just nodded and proceeded to order a long island.
"Are you sure you are old enough to drink that?" Rinoa asked hearing what she wanted to order.
"Well, technically no, but seeing as my aunt is now drunk, she won't really care." She replied while taking a sip of her drink. "You know I haven't seen you around in the past galas… are you new here? Because it is impossible for me to have missed you when everyone here can't even take their eyes off you." She said that with a hint of bitterness in her friendly tone.
"So, I see your pretty close with my pony…?" Irene said while looking at the dancing siblings.
Her pony? Is she talking about Squall?
"Excuse me I don't quite get what you're saying… your pony?" Rinoa asked perplexed.
"Yes, Squall." She said while turning to face Rinoa. "My pony."
What the hell is this kid crazy?
"Squall's my pony; he's always been since we were small. Although he was older than me, we always played together." She said.
"Really now, it's funny he never mentioned you until now." Rinoa knew where this was going, this was the infamous Irene after all, and this little girl wants to make Rinoa jealous about her "relationship" with Squall. This brat probably has a crush on Squall; well too bad for her… she's getting to my nerves too.
"Well, I guess since he never mentioned you," Rinoa said, "Because you aren't that much important to him."
Exactly after Rinoa said this, the song ended. Ellone and Squall were now making their way back. Rinoa was busy looking at the siblings to even notice Irene's flushed face. She was angry alright.
Rinoa went to greet the siblings when Ellone suddenly winked at her and said, "Don't worry he told me everything its okay, I mean for the shoes." She then gave her a hug and whispered, "And I know the other thing too." Then she winked.
"Oh! Thank you?" Rinoa said while she gave Squall a tentative smile.
"There you go again with that comment." Ellone said while shaking her head. "Well Squall," she took notice of her little brother that was grinning behind Rinoa. "Why not take Rinoa to the dance floor since we're already quits."
Squall was a bit shaken by Ellone's sudden notice of him so he just nodded and offered Rinoa his hand. "Well, do you want to dance with me?" he asked.
Rinoa hugged Squall and whispered, "Haven't I done more things with you besides this?" she then laughed. She pulled Squall by the arm to the center of the dance floor. "Hey!"
Rinoa smiled and said, "Hey what? It's my turn to lead since you've been leading me since the speech." As the sweet music played and the lights dimmed, Squall and Rinoa lessened the gap between them. "Hey, there's this kid, a 16 year old…" she said as she looked 'round if the kid was watching, turns out she was.
"Yeah I know, Irene?" Squall rolled his eyes and then he had formulated a perfect plan to rid of Irene and his father's usual "Get-A-Girl" phrases. "Rin, follow my lead one last time tonight. Please?" he asked the last part tentatively. "Okay, just don't do anything stupid."
He laughed and steered Rinoa to the middle-middle of the dance floor, where the moonlight was the spotlight for the couple. They remained there talking until when the song was coming to an end… Squall tightened his grip on Rinoa's back and hand. "What's the big…?" Rinoa's question was cut short as the music died down and found herself in Squall's embrace and their lips were locked together in a sweet kiss. All the people ogled, Irene spewed her Long Island to run to her aunt, Ellone was smiling broadly and Laguna… Well Laguna spit his drink all over Kiros, for everyone to see, but no one really cared for now all eyes were focused on the two lovers kissing on the moonlit dance floor.
A/N: so what the heck did you think? i was hella bored here so i wrote a friggin chapter, xD anyway R&R thanks lavyah! more to come. :)
