Rinoa awakened to sunlight warming her face. For a moment, she felt sad. Another day without Squall. But then she remembered. She held her breath as she opened her eyes. And there he was, right beside her. He was so still, he almost looked dead. She carefully placed the back of her hand along his cheek—it was warm.
He must be exhausted. He was usually a very light sleeper, but after Tidus described their adventures, she wanted him to get all the rest he could. When Ellone and Laguna had gotten word of Squall's return and arrived in the cafeteria, Squall had already been sound asleep. So soundly asleep, in fact, that he hadn't even awoken enough to object when Laguna carried him to his room, nor had he stirred when Rinoa snuggled up beside him.
Rinoa got up carefully, not wanting to disturb Squall but too excited to stay in bed. Angelo had been sleeping alongside the bed, but stood when Rinoa got up and looked like she wanted to take Rinoa's place beside Squall. Rinoa got a grip on Angelo's collar before the dog could jump onto the bed.
Still holding Angelo's collar, Rinoa gazed down at Squall for a long time, then planted a kiss on his forehead and headed out the door as silently as possible. She hated to leave him, but she knew as soon as he awoke a million different people would be demanding his attention. She didn't want to be in the way. And for once, she had an idea of something she could do to help him, something that he would appreciate, even if he'd never say so.
A few minutes later, Rinoa tapped quietly on the door to the room Yuna was staying in.
"Yuna." Rinoa knew Tidus was a heavy sleeper, but she kept her voice down anyway.
The door opened. Yuna smiled at Rinoa, looking tired but happy. Where Squall had passed out before finishing a proper meal, Tidus had seemed to become more wired as the evening wore on. He told them all about his and Squall's adventures with the rock dragon, the treasure hunters, and the slave crowns. Well, he hadn't remembered much about the slave crowns. Yuna had said she was too tired to pick up the story at that point and suggested they turn in for the night. Tidus had declared that he would teach everybody blitzball. After that, everything was a blur of Tidus jumping on tables and basketballs whizzing around the cafeteria.
At first Rinoa thought it was all the attention Tidus was getting that was energizing him, then Quistis had noted that he'd consumed several high-sugar, heavily-caffeinated drinks. Shortly after he was cut off from those, he crashed harder than Squall, falling asleep face down on the cafeteria table while reciting a play-by-play of his last blitzball game.
"Come on, Yuna. I need your help with something."
Yuna looked over his shoulder toward Tidus. "I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."
"He won't be." Rinoa pointed into the room and Angelo trotted in.
"Stay," she told the dog. "Come on," she said to Yuna.
Yuna twisted her lip. Then, seeming to have made a decision, she opened the cabinet by the door and removed a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote:
Be back soon. –Yuna
Rinoa took the pen from Yuna and added:
Make sure Squall is ready for tonight! –Rinoa
Rinoa set the note on the counter, then took Yuna by the hand and dragged her out the door.
"Squall!" Not quite an hour after Yuna and Rinoa had left, Tidus ran down the dormitory hallway, yelling his friend's name. He stopped at a random door and knocked on it, hoping maybe it would be Squall's room. The door opened and a girl with a long brown pigtail looked back at him. She appeared slightly frightened to see him, and closed the door quickly.
"Uh, sorry." Tidus cringed a little as he turned from the door, but quickly regained his enthusiasm. "Squall!"
By this time, a few doors had opened and curious heads peeked out, but none of them belonged to Squall. Where is Squall? And how am I supposed to find him?
A bark from down the hall caught Tidus's attention. Angelo! She must know where Squall is!
Tidus followed the dog down the hall and around a corner. She stopped near the end of a hallway and scratched at a door. The door began to open just as Tidus arrived.
"Rinoa?" Squall asked as he opened the door.
"Squall! Finally!" Tidus threw his arm around Squall's shoulders. "I knew I'd find you eventually!"
Squall shrugged off Tidus's arm. "Was that you making all that noise? It's…" Squall looked at a clock on the wall. "Ten hundred hours? How long was I asleep?"
Tidus noticed several plates of food on the table in Squall's room, and approached them eagerly. "No idea, but I'm starving!"
He already had a mouthful of eggs when Squall asked, "Where's Rinoa?"
Tidus handed Squall the note and speared some fruit with a fork.
"Where did they go? What's tonight?"
Tidus shrugged and continued to eat.
"Where did this food come from?"
A knock at the door drew Squall's attention before Tidus could shrug again.
Zell was walking quickly down the dormitory hallway when he nearly ran into Quistis. She had a stack of folded clothes in her arms and she was wearing her glasses, which she typically only wore when she was in full-on instructor mode.
"Going to see Squall?" he asked her with a grin.
She nodded. "You too?"
"Yeah, I got something for him." They arrived at Squall's door and Zell knocked. Considering how tired he'd looked last night, Zell didn't want to wake Squall. But Squall had to wake up sometime. And frankly, Zell couldn't imagine Squall was still asleep at this late hour.
Squall opened the door, still wearing the clothes he'd been wearing the night before. Zell still found it strange to see him wearing something other than his black jacket or his SeeD uniform. Squall gestured Zell and Quistis into his room.
Quistis pushed past Zell before he could say anything. "I brought you some fresh clothes, Squall. And some for you too, Tidus. I found a cadet uniform for you to wear tonight. Of course you'll wear your SeeD uniform, Squall. I hope it still fits.
"Laguna and Ellone took the Ragnarok to pick up Selphie and Irvine in Trabia. Xu and Nida will be by later to talk to you about what you need to say tonight. In the meantime, you should be getting ready. Sorry we can't give you more time to prepare, but we've been fighting fang and claw to put off the celebration ball this long."
Quistis stopped for breath, and seemed to really see Squall for the first time. She smiled. "It's good to have you back." She patted Squall on the shoulder, then turned on her heel and left.
Squall stared after Quistis after she left, as though trying to process her words. Zell felt for him—he'd been away from Garden long enough that he probably felt rather disconnected from all this. Yet he was still their Commander, and was expected to act as such.
But Zell hadn't come here to talk to Squall as his Commander. He'd come to talk to Squall as a friend.
"Hey, Squall. Can I talk to you?"
"Okay."
"I mean, it's kinda personal." Zell gestured toward Tidus, who was making still his way through the plates of food and suddenly seemed to be trying hard not to pay attention to them.
"He's cool, Zell. Just talk."
Zell furrowed his brow, but decided not to argue. He stepped as far away from Tidus as he could. "So, uh, I don't know if you know, but when I asked to borrow your ring a while ago, it wasn't really for me. It was for Rinoa. She wanted one just like it. Since we didn't know where you got it, I told her I could make her one, I just needed to see the original up close."
Squall nodded.
Zell glanced at Tidus again before continuing. "Well, um, so I did. Here it is." Zell handed Squall a small ring.
Squall held it in his palm and looked at it for a minute. He seemed unsure what to do with it, like he wanted to give it back to Zell.
"I thought you should give it to her. Since it's based on your ring."
Squall pushed the ring back toward Zell. "But you made it."
Zell rolled his eyes. Squall could be so slow sometimes. "But it will mean more coming from you. Plus—you haven't even really looked at it. I mean, don't you notice anything about it?"
"Well, it really isn't a very good replica of my ring. It's more detailed. And colored."
"And?"
"And what?"
"And is it better? Don't you like the detail?" Squall was making this really difficult. Zell had been quite proud of himself, but now he was starting to doubt if the time he'd spent was worth it.
"The details are well done."
Zell looked to Tidus once again, this time half-hoping Tidus was listening. Sometimes talking to Squall was harder than fighting cactuars and he wanted assurance that it wasn't just him.
Tidus was half turned away but Zell thought maybe he could see a hint of a smile in his cheek.
"For Hyne's sake… Do you like it, Squall, or not?"
"It's Rinoa's ring, why are asking me?"
"Because…!" Tidus turned so his back was completely to Zell and Zell was sure it was because he was trying not to laugh.
"Look, she wanted a ring to match yours. I worked really hard and made another ring. I added some extra detail, because I thought it would look even better. Then I learned how to add enamel, because I thought Rinoa would appreciate some color. But then the new ring didn't look exactly like the old ring, so I made another ring. One for you, to match the new one for Rinoa. It took forever and worked really hard on it, but I'm sure you hate it, so just forget it." Zell shoved the second ring he'd made into Squall's palm, along with a small velvet pouch, then turned to leave.
"I like it," Squall said.
Zell paused. "You do?"
"Yeah."
Zell turned back around.
"I just…" Squall trailed off, then shook his head slightly. "It's really well done. I'm sure Rinoa will love it. That was … that was really nice of you, Zell.
"Thanks."
Zell smiled, then bounded back to Squall. "Getting the lion's mane just right was tricky. But not as time-consuming as putting all the feathers in the wings. I thought the black and red were kinda like your colors. And the sky blue and white for Rinoa."
Squall carefully examined the rings and nodded slowly. Before he could respond further, his dorm room door burst open. All three in the room looked up as Seifer strode in. Seifer glanced around the room with a sneer.
"What, are you thinking of starting up a chicken farm here, Leonhart?"
"Why you—!" Zell charged at Seifer, fists raised.
Seifer ignored him, focusing on Squall. "I need to talk to you."
Squall closed his fingers around the rings and put them in his pocket. He nodded an acknowledgement to Seifer and looked meaningfully at Zell.
Is he seriously telling me to leave? He won't talk to me in private, but he will Seifer?!
Zell gritted his teeth. It was galling, but he knew making an issue of it would only make it worse.
Zell tugged on Tidus's sleeve as me made his way to the door. "Come on, they start serving hot dogs in the cafeteria in a few minutes. Angelo, come."
Both Tidus and Angelo obediently followed, though Zell thought he caught Tidus throwing a glare at Seifer as they left.
For several seconds there was silence as Zell led the way to the cafeteria. Then Tidus commented, "I have to admit, I really don't get that relationship. Sometimes Squall seems to realize how awful Seifer is, other times it's like they are best buds.
"I could swear they were brothers."
Brothers? Zell had never thought of them that way before, but he supposed Squall and Seifer sort of were like brothers. That could explain a lot.
"I went to that absurd sauna planet to retrieve your loser friends. I went to that medieval underworld to rescue your sorry backside. I willingly gave you Lionheart after you lost it. I didn't even hurt your new chicken friend after he came after me.
"You owe me."
Arms crossed, Squall regarded Seifer. Finally, the other shoe had dropped. The reason for Seifer's recent oddly cooperative attitude was about to be revealed.
Seifer paused, probably waiting for Squall to acknowledge the debt but Squall gave no response. He was curious to see what Seifer wanted, but not about to agree to anything.
Seifer huffed. Then he crossed his arms to match Squall. "I want to be a SeeD."
He jutted his chin in petulance. "But I'm not taking that stupid exam again."
When Squall didn't immediately respond, Seifer dropped his arms and took a step closer. "I know you have the power. No one can stop you."
Squall stared hard at Seifer, but remained silent.
"You know I'm qualified. I can beat any fool in this Garden with one hand tied behind my back."
Squall uncrossed his arms and brushed past Seifer. "I'll take it under consideration."
It wasn't right at all. Short sleeves, heavy fabric, high collar. About all the jacket had right was the color—black.
Rinoa twisted her lip. Who would have thought a leather jacket with faux fur trim would be so difficult to find? Well, Balamb was a small town; she really shouldn't have been surprised. It was just disappointing—she been excited to be able to give Squall with something he would really like, but it looked like it wouldn't happen after all.
She looked up from the jacket at Yuna. "Do you know how to sew?" If she could at least get the collar right, that would be something.
"A little," Yuna replied. There wasn't much confidence in her tone as she regarded the jacket. "But Lulu can sew anything," she added brightly.
Rinoa lowered the jacket in defeat. For several moments, she stared at the ground. Soon the jacket was all but forgotten as she braced herself for another wave of disappointment. "You're going to want to go back, aren't you?"
Yuna bit her bottom lip and nodded once.
"I knew you would. And you should. Of course you want to go home." Rinoa knew it was selfish, but still, a part of her wanted to demand Yuna stay.
"Is that okay?" Yuna asked.
Rinoa smiled. Leave it to Yuna to worry about Rinoa's feelings when she was being nothing but selfish. "Of course. I always knew you wouldn't be able to stay forever. It's just that . . . sometimes when I'm here, with all the SeeDs, I feel like an outsider. Like we aren't on the same wavelength at all." Rinoa looked at the ground. "I don't feel that way around you and Tidus."
Yuna returned the smile. "I like it here. I really do. So many nice people. And I've never been around so many people my own age.
"But . . . Lulu and Wakka, Rikku and Kimhari, they're my family. And I know they're worried about me. I have to let them know I'm okay. And make sure they're okay, too."
"I understand. Maybe it won't be goodbye forever. Maybe we'll be able to keep in touch, somehow."
"I'd like that."
Freshly showered and dressed in his formal SeeD uniform, Squall was starting to feel slightly like a Commander. Not that it mattered. If things went as they were supposed to, he'd be free of his command within a few hours.
There was a knock on his door and Squall strided over and opened it. Zell and Tidus were standing there, Zell with an intently expectant look on his face. Squall didn't know what Zell wanted, and when he didn't get a reaction Zell cocked his head slightly toward Tidus.
Squall regarded Tidus. He was wearing the cadet uniform Quistis had provided. Or rather, he was wearing most of it. The jacket was unzipped, which was not unusual for a cadet, but perhaps somewhat questionable for a formal ball. But the real issue was that Tidus had nothing underneath the jacket, so his bare skin was showing. He'd also rolled the sleeves up to above his elbows and his pants to just below his knees. And he was wearing his bright yellow sneakers, instead of the boots that went with the uniform.
Squall sighed and wondered faintly if anyone would make Tidus dress himself properly. Then it occurred to Squall that he was the one in charge, and no one was going to question Tidus's dress other than him. Squall certainly didn't care, so he simply gave Zell a fractional shrug as he stepped into the dormitory hallway and closed the door behind him.
Zell threw a final sideways glance at Tidus's outfit, then seemed to let the unspoken issue go. "You ready for tonight?"
"Not quite," Squall replied. "I need to stop by the classroom on the way."
"The classroom?"
"Yeah. I need to access a computer. There are a few last things I need to take care of."
Half an hour later, after arriving in the ballroom, Xu and Nida approached Squall before he could find Rinoa.
They saluted him. "Commander."
He returned the salute.
Xu handed Squall a piece of paper. "This is all you need to say to lift martial law and resign as Commander."
"Assuming you want to," Nida added. When Squall looked questionably at him, he continued. "I mean, the war is over, so it wouldn't really make sense not to lift martial law. And if you lift martial law but don't give up power you'll be the Headmaster, which I doubt you want to be…"
Xu set her hand on Nida's arm. "I think what Nida is trying to say is… It's been a pleasure serving under you." She gave another salute. "Just… don't be a stranger, alright?"
Squall nodded in response and skimmed the words on the page. It was simpler than he expected, somehow. As quickly as the command had been thrust on him, he'd been afraid he may never escape its weight. But now he held the magic words in his hands. Soon he'd be exactly what he'd always wanted to be—a SeeD. Nothing more, nothing less.