Disclaimer: Anything that is not mine, is not mine. The game, the characters, they are not mine. The concept of the story is mine, but the elements added that were not originally mine, are definitely not mine. I hope that's enough disclaimer!

Author's Note: Shoutout to seranoa because this has Serah and Rinoa in it! Also, to Angel-Wings Naya for not giving up on my stories! Also, to Rebekka who tirelessly writes me reviews! Thank you so so much! I hope you'll enjoy this one!

Her room was how she remembered it: her clothes scattered on her bed with a trail leading to her cabinet, half-open books on her desk, and shoes not in their proper places. Everything was still how she left them, only dustier. Rinoa shook her head. Even when they knew she would be staying, they didn't even bother cleaning her room for her.

You can't really trust a man to clean a house.

"We didn't move your things since you left. I like remembering you this way." Sephiroth said behind her.

Rinoa turned around and smiled. "Thanks Uncle Seph."

Her uncle returned with a soft smile. "Well," he turned around. "I hope you don't mind a take-out from Kisaragi Teriyaki."

Rinoa shrugged. "Sounds great. I kinda miss their teriyaki."

"Chicken's your favorite, right?"

Rinoa nodded. "Yes, please!"

They turned their attention to the sound of the front door opening and closing. "Seph?"

Sephiroth jerked his head towards the stairs. "Cid's here."

"Oh." Rinoa headed down and peeked through the railings. Her legally adoptive brother was looking up and greeted her with a toothed smile.

"Rin!"

"Cid!" called Rinoa as she embraced him. She reached for his black hair and ruffled it. "How is my Commander Cid Raines?" she said in a teasing tone while stretching his eyelids to examine his grey orbs.

Cid chuckled and pushed her hands away. "Hey! How'd you know?"

"You're the only person in this house who never called."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "I didn't call? Me? You should call!"

Rinoa placed her hands on her hips. "Excuuuse me? I always call Uncle Seph!"

Cid chuckled and ruffled Rinoa's ebony locks. "Still have that brown highlights, huh."

"Why do you always call them highlights? They just grew out. Naturally."

"Heh. Right." He threw himself on their black leather couch. "So what brings my favorite girl here?"

"Tifa's getting married."

"So I've heard. To who?"

"Cloud Strife."

Cid pursed his lips and cocked his head to one side. "Seph hates that Cloud."

"Yeah, that's what he told me. Why?"

Cid shrugged. "Even I don't know. Never even met him to give me the slightest idea why."

"Kisaragi Teriyaki is arriving in thirty minutes." Sephiroth interrupted from the study room. He pointed his cellphone in his hand to Cid. "Be on the lookout."

Cid gave a relaxed salute. "Roger that."

"I'm going upstairs and clean my room, because nobody here even cared to do it for me."

Cid nodded his head smugly. "That's right."

Rinoa decided to take a rest for the whole morning of Tuesday and left her bed only for lunch. Sephiroth and Cid have already gone to their workplaces and left Rinoa a note on the counter.

"Didn't wake you anymore. We went to work. Lunch is in the fridge."

She opened the fridge and saw a transparent container labelled "Rinoa" with soft tacos inside. After heating them in the microwave, she took them with her to the dining table. She checked her phone, taking her time between bites.

There were seven missed calls from Tifa, and just one message from her: "Call me!"

Taking a deep breath, Rinoa dialled Tifa's number, but even she wasn't answering. Rinoa dismissed it as the bride's busy preparations for that night's dinner party. She finished her food and headed to her bedroom to fix herself with a hot shower and make-up before calling a taxi by 5 o'clock.

She still remembered clearly where Tifa's house was and fluently gave the directions to the driver. When they arrived twenty minutes later, she gazed in admiration at Tifa's new home. Even when two year had passed and changes happened, she still knew it was the same house she used to visit year ago. Peach tiles adorned her roof where the distinct orange metal used to be, and her brown wooden walls were replaced with white wooden panels. The color combination illuminated against the night with the yellow lights emitting from the windows.

Rinoa paid the taxi driver her fare with his due tip and exited the vehicle. She felt the nostalgic cool air of the night on her legs exposed by her pencil-cut skirt. She adjusted her blue blazer hanging on her arm as she examined Tifa's house. Lights were bright inside, and figures were moving around hastily for, what Rinoa would think, last-minute preparations for the party. Rinoa slipped into her blazer and pressed the doorbell.

A few seconds later, Cloud opened the door.

Rinoa gave a nervous wave. "Hello."

Cloud's curious expression softened with a smile. "You must be Rinoa."

"Yeah, I'm Tifa's—"

"Best friend." He reached out a hand. "I'm Cloud."

Rinoa shook it and wore a wider smile. "We've finally met! I've heard so much about you!"

Cloud returned a smile. "Likewise."

"Who is it?" Rinoa and Cloud looked inside the house at the sound of Tifa's hurried voice. She emerged from the kitchen in a knee-length emerald dress beneath a red apron. Rinoa giggled inwardly at the sight of the Christmas-like motif of her best friend's fashion choice. Tifa grew a big smile and playfully skipped to her with both arms reaching forward. She pulled Rinoa into an embrace which was reciprocated with a tighter one.

"Rinoa! Finally!" Tifa said.

"I'll go check the kitchen." Cloud excused himself.

"Okay." Tifa replied while still holding on to Rinoa.

Rinoa pulled away and scanned Tifa. "Look at you! Blooming bride!"

"And you!" Tifa tucked Rinoa's hair behind her ear. "You're a big girl now!" she pulled Rinoa's wrist and lead her into the house. "Come, I want you to meet Claire."

"Okay." Rinoa replied while following Tifa into her dining room. Stacking the white porcelain plates on the table was a woman with pinkish fair skin and rose-colored hair gathered to her left shoulder in long curls. The other half was layered and cut above her shoulder, making her look like she had two different hairstyles from each side. Her features are uncannily similar to Cloud's, and if someone didn't know any better, they'd think they were twins. She looked up at Rinoa.

Tifa pulled her closer to the woman. "Rinoa, this is Claire, Cloud's younger sister."

Claire nodded at Rinoa with a small smile. "How have you been?"

Rinoa was still dazzled by Claire's countenance. "Wow, you're really pretty!"

Claire raised her eyebrows and chuckled while glancing at Tifa then back to Rinoa. "Thank you."

"She's one of my bridesmaids that I told you about. She'll help us out."

"Yeah. Been helping Tifa since the big announcement."

Rinoa smiled, honestly glad someone had Tifa's back in her absence. "I was quite surprised actually, when Tifa called me about the engagement. It's hard to imagine her getting married already."

Claire smirked. "I was amazed Cloud even started dating someone at all. The engagement was a pleasant surprise, and it was the only thing we were waiting for. I'm sure you can trust Tifa with Cloud. Not sure about my brother."

Rinoa laughed, her hands stretching against the metal dining chair in front of her. "Oh, you don't mean that."

Claire shrugged, smiling between Tifa and Rinoa while placing the dinner utensils on a wooden container beside the plates and the stockpile of napkins.

Rinoa let go of the chair. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'll go check Cloud. You guys can relax now." Tifa said while sprinting back into the kitchen.

Claire sat on the nearest chair and Rinoa followed, sitting across her. A moment later, relaxing music filled the room and Rinoa looked around. She thought it was going to be a party, and she was imagining loud music, dark room with dancing colored lights, and drinks. However, the atmosphere was telling her it was going to be nothing more than a casual dinner.

Claire seemed to have read her expression. "Tifa and Cloud just wanted the whole entourage to know bond over a simple dinner. Nothing too party-ish, thank goodness."

"Oh." Rinoa replied, looking at her sleeveless top glittered with brown and black sequins and compared it to Claire's sleek white long sleeves and black slacks. "I may have been overdressed for the occasion."

Claire shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

The doorbell rang.

Rinoa sat up and was about to leave when Claire stood. "I'll get it." She headed to the front door and Rinoa heard male voices greeting Claire and footsteps were coming closer.

"Rinoa is already here. You can wait with her in the dining room."

"Yeah, alright!" said one voice, which Rinoa quickly realized belonged to a blond man with a black tattoo on one side of his face. He seemed lively and jumping a little as he entered the room when his blue eyes stopped at Rinoa. "Oh, hi!"

Rinoa greeted back at whom Claire introduced as Zell. He was followed by three more men: a taller guy with darker blond hair named Seifer, an equally tall guy with long auburn hair tied in a ponytail named Irvine, and a bulkier guy with spiky black hair and sky-blue eyes named Zack, who was carrying a large circular plate of food concealed under a white plastic cover. All of them except for Zack seemed to be just her age. Rinoa stood up and shook each of their hands.

"They're Cloud's groomsmen." said Claire.

"Except Vincent's not here. He's also a groomsman." said Irvine.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Goodluck with that one."

"Maid of honor, huh?" Seifer said when they all sat down, looking at Rinoa. "So, you're Tifa's best friend."

"I heard you two grew up together." said Zack after placing the food on the table.

Rinoa nodded. "We met at the daycare when I was five, and she was nine. We used to play all the time, and we just kinda became like sisters."

"Nice." Zell nodded. "Where do you study?"

"Deling Uni. How about you guys?"

Irvine pointed a thumb at himself, Zell, and Seifer. "The three of us, and Squall if you've heard of him, are from Balamb Garden."

Zack raised his hand halfway. "No longer a student. Just a SOLDIER."

Rinoa gave a wide smile. "Wow. SOLDIER." just like her Uncle Seph, but she decided not to say anything.

"We can be SOLDIERs too, if we want." said Seifer. "There's a joint-program with the Garden and Shinra. That or we can stay in Balamb Garden to be SeeDs. Impressive huh?"

Rinoa nodded, trying to put a smile. "Yeah, that's impressive." She tried to mask her unease, she couldn't give herself away. Of course she knew. She was supposed to be in Balamb Garden, studying how to do combat and battles. She knew the possibilities and opportunities that came with being a SeeD or a SOLDIER. But she couldn't let them know that she knew.

The doorbell rang again and everyone in the dining room turned to look at the front door's direction. Rinoa saw Claire walking to welcome the new visitors again. This time, she heard girls' louder voices greeting Claire, with matching crunching noise of papers and plastic bags. As their voices grew louder, Rinoa saw a girl with long, braided, chestnut hair and green eyes entering the dining room, carrying a basket of fruits.

"Hello!" she greeted as she placed the basket on the buffet table. She scanned the room and her eyes fell on Zack. She approached him and hugged him from behind.

"Rinoa," Zack called. "this is my girlfriend Aerith. Aerith, Rinoa."

Rinoa stood up and reached for Aerith's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Aerith responded with the most beautiful smile Rinoa had ever seen from a girl. "Me too. Pleased to finally meet you."

"Rinoa, this is Selphie," Claire pointed at the girls with springy brown hair, "and Quistis." she said pointing at a gorgeous girl with rose-blond hair and spectacles who nodded at her. "They're bridesmaids too, and Balamb Gardeners."

Quistis giggled at Claire's "gardeners."

"Hi Rinoa!" Selphie greeted excitedly, bouncing as she approached Rinoa and hugged her. Stunned, Rinoa instinctively hugged back. She just met her but she was too friendly for words, breaking the ice with force. Selphie let go and looked around the room. "Where's Serah?"

"She'll be here soon. They're already in Fisherman's Horizon." Claire replied.

"They?" asked Irvine.

Claire rolled her eyes. "With her boyfriend, Snow."

"Well, Fisherman's Horizon's not too far." said Quistis, trying to change the subject. Rinoa noticed that Seifer had been eyeing Quistis like some valuable jewelry he was about to steal since she arrived.

The front door opened again and Claire looked over the next visitor. "Oh, Squall's here."

Quistis stiffened on her spot, her blue orbs staring blankly at the dining table.

Squall entered the room, and the maid of honor quickly marked him as the "lean mean" simply because, for one, she could trace his years of exercise beneath his dirty-white v-neck shirt, and secondly, his towering height made his sharp features even more, well, intimidating. His fierce and cold blue eyes stood out, almost hidden behind his unruly brown hair which only made Rinoa more curious about him. She could tell he was either shy or just plain asocial, with his blank expression looking at them while everyone, save for Quistis, was greeting him.

So this is Cloud's cousin, Rinoa surmised inwardly.

When his eyes stopped at Aerith, who waved at him, his hardened emotion changed. Rinoa couldn't tell what it was, but his eyes were betraying him for something. Was it unease? Guilt? Shock?

He rigidly nodded once again and walked to a chair near Claire's. The older cousin suddenly placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him towards Rinoa. He gave Claire an annoyed look while quickly taking his steps forward.

"Squall, I want you to meet Rinoa, the maid of honor." said Claire when they stopped in front of Rinoa, who tried to smile while she gaped at his frown-like appearance.

"Rinoa, this is our cousin, Squall. He's Cloud's best man."

"Hello!" Rinoa gave him a small wave.

Squall's expression softened and nodded at her. "It's nice to meet you." he said tonelessly.

Still trying to read him, Rinoa was delayed in her reply. "Yeah, you too!"

Tifa, minus her apron, entered the room. "Good! everyone's here!"

Cloud was following behind her wearing black kitchen mittens and carrying a plate with a steaming baked pasta in it. He cocked his head towards the boys. "Go take the rest from the back."

Wasting no moment, all boys from the room stood up and entered the kitchen. One by one, they came back carrying a plate of roasted chicken, a large saucepan of soup, a bowl of salad, two baking trays of flavored bread, another tray of fruit tarts, and a box of caramel cake.

"Wow, that's way too many food for dinner." said Rinoa as she watched the dishes lined up on the table.

Aerith leaned closer to Rinoa on her side. "The boys will always look for more, especially at midnight."

Rinoa turned to look at Aerith. "Are you guys always like this?"

"No, not all the time. Just on special occasions like birthdays, promotions. You know, the ones worthy of celebrations."

"Let's eat!" Zell announced.

The food was spectacular, to say the very least. It had been a while since Rinoa had a feast like she did at Tifa's get-together dinner. The welcome and the chats she made with everyone added to the enjoyable spirit and excitement in Tifa's wedding preparations. It was really how she expected this event would turn out— interesting, intriguing, and fun.

Rinoa took a glance at Squall, who was leaning against the farther corner in the room, a glass of raspberry juice in his hand, and his expression unchanging. He pushed himself up and left the room, having Cloud's attention whose gaze followed him inquisitively.

He sat on the couch in the living room, twirling his glass, watching the red liquid dance along. When he got there, Aerith looked at him, waved at him, while Zack was in her arms. She didn't know what he felt about her, and Squall doubted even he knew what he felt about her either. But out of all the people in the room, he cared what she thought about him the most.

He placed the glass on the coffee table in front of him. Squall thought he already managed to pull himself together when Aerith was around, but her bright green eyes was looking right through him, understanding him. That was probably why she always knew the right words to tell him. She was neither intimidated nor scared when she approached him. Maybe that was because she was older than him by two years? Matured enough to know better than being intimidated by a teenage mercenary in the making. She never complimented him, nor expressed any interest like any other girls who tried to decode him with annoying questions, and he was really curious what she saw in Zack. Maybe it was his personality that brightened her days, his determination to be a hero, his unwavering confidence, or his natural ability to stand out.

Squall shook his head. He definitely wasn't going to ever go out of his way and become someone like Zack just to impress her or anyone else. Whatever she thinks of me doesn't really matter, he convinced himself. It wasn't like she was with me all the time for me to even try.

"Squall?"

Squall broke away from his thoughts and looked up to see a faint silhouette of Quistis standing away from the entrance of the dining room.

Oh no.

His eyes fell on his lap, hoping she'd get the message to leave him alone.

Carefully, she stopped on her steps. "Squall, I just want to talk."

Deciding to humor her, Squall's eyes looked up at Quistis.

"About what happened," Quistis said in dejected voice. "I'm not blaming you for not liking me. And I'm not going to force you to like me anymore. It's not your fault, it's mine. I-I got too drunk and… desperate."

Squall stayed silent, his eyes still fixed on her just in case she tried anything funny again.

Quistis placed her hands around herself and rubbed her arms. "Look, it won't happen again. I promise. Let's just put a good closure on this, okay? For Tifa and Cloud?"

His eyes fell back to his lap.

"Squall?" Quistis called again after she didn't get any reply. Slowly, she began walking closer to Squall when there was another doorbell.

Squall swiftly stood up and faced the door, while a stunned Quistis looked behind him. He approached the door and opened it, greeted by his cousin Serah.

"Squall!" Serah gave a happy yelp and jumped onto Squall for a hug.

Squall's face softened and hugged Serah back. "Hey Serah."

Thank Hyne you're here.

Serah pulled away, and that was when Squall's eyes shifted to a taller man behind her who was riddled with muscles under his gray polo and long white coat. His light blond longish hair matched his stubble beard under his wide smile.

"Oh, this is Snow." Serah said, placing her arms around the man's waist. "My boyfriend."

Squall raised his eyebrows.

"Hey man." Snow held out his hand. Squall looked at it before shaking it firmly. Too firmly.

Serah beamed. "You guys already started?"

"Yeah." Squall replied. "They've been waiting for you inside." he held the door and let the two pass, Snow trailed behind Serah and gave Squall a friendly nod, which was met with a glare.

Selphie squealed when Serah entered the room and jumped onto her with a hug. Claire approached her sister with a smile and embraced her with one arm, while Tifa gave her a tighter hug. Cloud also pulled her in a one-arm embrace and roughly nuzzled his nose against her hair. Rinoa stared in wonder at Serah, who instantly illuminated the room with her presence. She had Claire's hair, only longer and tied in a side ponytail, rosy white complexion, and shape of her face. Her round blue eyes felt nicer the longer she stared at them, and her stature shorter, thinner, friendlier. Despite everything that she was, there was no doubt she was the youngest of the Strife siblings.

When Snow entered the room and everyone fell silent, he waved at everyone as if nothing was wrong.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Snow." Serah introduced.

Squall, who was following behind was wearing a deeper frown. Quistis timidly squeezed herself back into the gathering.

"Hi Snow!" Tifa approached him. "It's nice to finally meet you. Come, eat with us!"

"Wow, thanks!" Snow replied, walking towards the farthest chair in the room. Tifa cocked her eyebrows at Cloud, and he forced a smile while taking a deep breath. He approached Snow and asked him what else he needed like a good host of a groom that he was. The groomsmen started prodding him with questions, taking advantage of how busy Serah was talking to Claire.

"So, how did you guys meet?" Seifer asked.

"Yeah, Snow? How?" Cloud pressed.

"Well, you know she's a Uni student in Bodhum, right? An-"

"We know she's a student in Bodhum." said Cloud. Squall looked away to hide his smirk.

"Yeah. So, she's working on this paper about vigilante groups. So I helped her set an interview with our group, NORA."

"What's NORA?" Zell asked.

"It's our little code. Like, for a good cause. 'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority.'"

"That's a cause clear as day. I like it!" said Seifer.

Snow smiled and nodded. "Thanks!"

"So, what does NORA do?" Zack asked.

"We make sure order and peace are maintained in Bodhum." Snow replied.

"Doesn't Bodhum have the Sanctum to count on that?" Irvine asked, intending to clarify.

"Yeah, but they often mix politics before they take action. We just go do what needs to be done without questions asked."

Sounds reckless, Squall thought.

Rinoa was pretending to listen to Claire and Tifa's welcome for Serah, but she was eavesdropping at the boys' interrogation of Snow. So he's against the Sanctum? But her stepbrother was planning to work for the Sanctum as soon as his training with her uncle finishes in Shinra. Did this mean more are adding up to her list of people to be careful with?

"Rinoa," Claire called. "Serah is also taking an education course in Bodhum University."

"So you're Deliing Uni, huh?" Serah asked as she sat beside Rinoa.

Rinoa nodded. "Yeah. I'm a junior, majoring in secondary education."

"I thought about that too. But I decided I like children more. I'm also a junior, majoring in Child Development."

Rinoa shifted on her seat to face Serah. "Child Development was also my second choice!"

Selphie sat at the other side of Rinoa. "Why didn't you go to Balamb Garden, Serah?"

She was supposed to go to Balamb Garden too?

"It's not what I want." Serah replied. "I like teaching. Teaching is more fun!"

The girl in the middle giggled. It mirrored what she told her uncle when they had this discussion the day before.

"What about you?" Rinoa faced Selphie. "Why did you go to Balamb Garden?"

"Because I like explosing things into smithereeeens!"

Tifa took Squall by the wrist and pulled him to Rinoa. "Rin," she called to her best friend. "Since we need to plan this out as soon as possible, maybe you two can meet tomorrow? We need to book for our caterer as early as now. So," she let go of Squall's wrist. "I need you guys to moderate this. Okay?"

"Oh, okay." Rinoa quickly rummaged her bag for her phone. "Can I have your number Squall?"

Squall nodded. "May I borrow your phone?"

Rinoa handed her phone and he typed in his number. He gave the phone back. "Just send me a message."

"Okay." Rinoa began typing her message. "There." she smiled. "Should be with you now."

"Okay guys. Give me an update tomorrow, okay?" said Tifa.

"Okay." Rinoa replied. As soon as Tifa left them, Squall excused himself and left the dining room. Again. Rinoa wondered what exactly was he doing alone. She turned her attention back to the girls who prodded her with more questions while they stole bites of the night's banquet.

Squall went up to his room where his luggage still stood untouched beside the side-table. He threw himself on his bed and took out his phone. He still had to save Rinoa's number. He opened her message that drew a small smile on his face for the sheer purity of it.

"There are many reasons to smile, Squall. Goodnight! ~ Rinoa"