After giving his brief speech, Squall had caught Rinoa's eye across the ballroom. She'd pointed to the sky, and he'd known just where to meet her.

Now, Squall leaned on the balcony railing, enjoying the fresh air and the quiet.

"Good to be home, isn't it?" Rinoa stepped up beside him, and leaned onto the railing, her elbow not quite touching his. She looked up at the sky, eyes searching for shooting stars.

"Very good." Squall pushed away from the railing and reached for the velvet pouch in his pocket. "I have something for you."

Rinoa's eyes sparkled. "What is it?"

He fished the rings out of the pouch and presented the smaller one to Rinoa. She eagerly held out her left hand to him, and he slid the ring onto her finger.

Squall knew Rinoa would not be shocked to see the ring. She was the one who asked Zell to make it, after all.

"It's beautiful." Squall thought he could detect a trace of disappointment in her tone.

He held back a smile. Perhaps she'd be a little bit surprised after all. "You'll have to thank Zell."

Rinoa continued to study the ring. "I will…"

"But…?" It wasn't often that Squall had to encourage Rinoa to speak.

"It's just…"

"…it doesn't match mine?"

Rinoa nodded.

"Then I guess it's good he made two." Squall opened his palm, revealing the second perfectly-matched ring.

"Oh!" Rinoa took the ring and examined it. "It's perfect!" She slid the ring onto Squall's finger.

Squall smiled, pleased to see Rinoa so happy.

"Hmm…" Rinoa glanced up at Squall with a look that he had learned long ago meant trouble. "Exchanging matching rings, huh? Are you proposing to me, Squall Leonhart?"

"Um…" Squall had a flash of panic, but it quickly subsided. What was there to be afraid of, anyway? He' spent the last few weeks thinking about how he wanted nothing more than to spend every possible moment with Rinoa.

Still, it was rather sudden. Wasn't there more he needed to do first? Ask her father for her hand? Her father would probably appreciate that, but Rinoa certainly wouldn't.

She continued to look at him, expectant but patient, waiting for him to think things through.

"Yeah," Squall replied. "I am."

"—Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" Rinoa barely let him say the words before reaching up and pulling him into a kiss.

Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Laguna, and Angelo were all gathered in a corner of the ballroom, peering out the window that looked onto the balcony. Ellone strode up to them. "Are you eavesdropping on my brother?"

Those gathered around the window backed away and looked casually around, feigning innocence.

"No, of course not!" That was Zell, far too defensive.

"We were just . . . watching the stars." That was Quisty. Could have been a good story, if it wasn't for the hesitation.

"We just had to see if he was finally going to kiss her!" Selphie, of course, a little too honest.

"Hey, where have you been, anyway?" And Irvine with the deflection. They should have let him speak first.

Ellone shrugged. "Around."

Angelo woofed.

"Around where?" Laguna's tone had more concern than the situation warranted. He must not have realized until just now that he'd lost of track of her while he was focused on Squall.

"Just around…maybe near the quad…" Ellone mumbled, realizing she was now in the spot the others had been moments ago.

"The quad?" Irvine raised an eyebrow at her. "Isn't that where Yuna and Tidus went?"

Busted. "Um…"

"And you accused us of eavesdropping?"

No sense in denying it. "Well, she disappeared with as strange boy. What am I supposed to do?"

"He's not exactly a stranger to her," Selphie reminded her.

"But I don't know him." Ellone knew she was being too protective. She hadn't even known Yuna that long. But Ellone had spent her entire life being protected by others. It was the least she could do, to try to protect her young friends from the dangers that couldn't be stabbed or shot. And he was a perfect example of those dangers—the first word that came to mind when Ellone saw the boy's tousled blonde locks and bright blue eyes was heartbreaker.

"Does the fact that you're here mean you determined his intentions were honorable?" Irvine asked with a sly grin.

"For now." Though the boy certainly had the potential to break hearts, he'd looked at Yuna with genuine caring. Not just caring. He'd looked utterly smitten. If she didn't already know Yuna, she might've been worried about his heart being broken.

Quistis gave a knowing smile. "You're a good big sister, Ellone."

Yuna had been quiet since they'd left the ballroom. At first Tidus hadn't thought much of it, he figured maybe she was waiting until they were alone. As they entered the quad, though, he became concerned. She was staring at the ground, and—unless he was imagining things—she seemed to be close to tears. "Yuna, what's wrong?'

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?" Tidus stopped and turned toward Yuna. She stopped and turned toward him, but her eyes were cast downward. He traced a finger along her jawline, hoping she would look up at him. "Why are you sorry?"

She cried then, and Tidus's chest tightened. They were finally together, and safe—why would she be so sad?

"I didn't believe." Yuna looked up at him, for just a moment. "I gave up on you." She turned away from him, knelt on the ground, and sobbed.

It hurt, deep in his chest, to see Yuna so upset. But he was a little bit relieved that it wasn't something worse. He sat down behind Yuna and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. I didn't think I would survive either. I'm still not sure how I did."

"But you never gave up on me. You were determined to save me. No matter what. And you did."

"And then you saved me. You came to a strange planet with people you didn't know. You followed Seifer to find me, to rescue me."

Yuna turned toward him and shook her head slowly. "I should have found you sooner. I should have…" Yuna leaned against his chest, her body trembling with sobs.

"Shhhh…" Tidus stroked Yuna's hair as he held her close. "Yuna, you have to stop crying. If you don't, I'm gonna start."

Yuna took a deep breath and looked up at him. She brushed his cheek with her thumb—it came away wet. "You'll start crying?" she asked with a smile.

He smiled back. "If you think one tear counts as crying, you don't know me as well as I thought."

"Can you forgive me?" Yuna asked.

"There's nothing to forgive. We're together now. That's all that matters." He ran his hand through her hair. "I love you."

"I know." Yuna looked down as her cheeks flushed. "Rinoa told me."

Tidus cringed. "She told you that?"

"Of course. That's not the kind of thing Rinoa could keep to herself." She looked up at him and smiled. "Not any more than you could."

"Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's okay. I don't mind."

"Okay, then. No one has anything to be sorry about. I love you and…" Tidus let the sentence trail off. When he began, he'd intended to say more. But then he started second-guessing himself.

"And I love you, Tidus."

Tidus felt a great relief at her words. It wasn't that he thought she'd changed her mind in the time they were separated…

"Why do you look so surprised? It's not the first time I've said it."

"I know. I just…I know it was sudden, before. I know it was like your…your last words, I guess. So if you…exaggerated. You know, said more than you really felt, more than you otherwise would have, I'd understand."

"I love you, Tidus." Yuna leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"Okay, okay.

"We have to stop this. We have to stop worrying about what happened in the past. We should just be thinking about right now. About this moment."

"You're right."

Tidus lay back onto the grass. "What exactly are we supposed to see here?"

Yuna lay beside him, with her head resting on his shoulder. "Shooting stars. Didn't you have them in Zanarkand?"

"Not that I know of."

"There. Did you see it?"

"Yeah. Pretty."

Yuna snuggled closer to Tidus and reached for his hand, interlacing their fingers.

He watched the stars streak across the sky and he listened to Yuna's soft breathing. It was almost too good to be true. He wondered if it might all be just a dream. If it might all end in the blink of an eye. Maybe it would, but it hadn't yet. And even if it all ended tomorrow, he would still have this moment.

"I love you, Yuna. Forever. For always."