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: I seem to be more on the mood to write Best of Honor than CoD. I guess the lighthearted nature of this story kind of takes my stress away. Listening to music also becomes more fun while brainstorming on ideas for this fic. Writing becomes addicting and fun again! And of course, that's also because of the continued support of my readers with their reviews. No amount of thanks is ever enough to let you know how much I appreciate your feedback and appreciation of my work. Shoutout to seranoa, Angel-Wings Naya, Senhorita Caroline, Guest Angel (I hope this chapter will be clearer to you!), and Team Wingless!
"Good morning, Commander." a man in black suit greeted when Cloud passed by at the pristine lobby of Shinra Corp. The blond SOLDIER nodded back with a smile as more people greeted him before he entered the elevator already occupied by three people. He selected the 21st floor and was about to press the closing button when he caught a glimpse of a familiar man with long silver hair at the front door.
Sephiroth strode on the same lobby, and a different man, also in black suit, hurriedly turned around and walked away while whispering "sorry" for slightly blocking the way. Another female employee tensed on her spot with downcast eyes when Sephiroth passed before her. Realizing that he was going to ride the elevator, the three employees hastily left while murmuring "sorry" and avoiding Sephiroth's eyes. Cloud faintly tucked his lips to a side and held the open button, for courtesy's sake.
Sephiroth entered and stood by Cloud after pressing the button for the 25th floor. "Good morning, Strife."
"Good morning, General." Cloud replied without looking at his sole companion as the doors closed.
Shinra's midi music filled the silence between them before Sephiroth spoke. "Congratulations on the engagement."
"Thanks." Cloud replied. Then, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly in thought. He never told anyone in Shinra about the engagement yet. He wanted to do it at an acceptable time, preferably a month before the wedding. Besides, it was not in his character to drop hints about something important that he wanted to keep to himself, accidentally or not.
Cloud faced Sephiroth. "How did you know?"
Sephiroth made an amused tone against his throat. "I know Tifa." he said. "She's my niece's best friend."
Cloud raised his brows. "Rinoa?"
The other one smirked. "She came home late last night from your dinner party, Cloud. Or should I say, very early in the morning."
Cloud's eyes slightly widened. It was true, the dinner party lasted until wee hours in the morning and even he had to retire to his room he shared with Tifa before everyone left. He had to report for work the next day after all, and thank goodness for Tifa's perpetual understanding and talent to manage everything by herself. He didn't worry too much about the girls staying late at night, he had the boys to drive them home. Even Rinoa was driven home safely– Zell and Irvine made sure of it.
They both looked up at the electronic panel above the elevator door which showed that they have reached the 21st floor. Cloud briefly glanced at the still smirking Sephiroth before exiting the elevator. Sephiroth was his fiance's best friend's uncle? Rinoa? Cloud thought he heard Sephiroth talk about a niece during one of those rarest occasions he shared something about his life outside of Shinra, but he wasn't paying attention to even care.
"Who would've thought." he mused on his way to his desk. It was hard to guess that the heartily, friendly Rinoa was actually the niece of Shinra's finest General. The same one who made his working life more challenging and distasteful than it should be. And it seemed that he was her guardian too, judging from how well aware he was on what time she arrived home from the party. Home where Sephiroth obviously lived. And he knew so well who her best friend was. Were uncles supposed to know that? Shouldn't it be the parents' job to know that?
There was also that adoptive son of his, Cid Raines who, it seemed, also never spoke about Rinoa. Or did he? Cloud didn't pay attention either. The only thing he knew about Cid was how he just got promoted to Commander under Sephiroth's training and guidance. There was no politics in that, and Cloud knew– he witnessed how he performed. Cid's aptitude in combat and battle strategy impressed even the President of Shinra himself. Even then, he didn't learn his foster father's fear-provoking ways to deal with people and situations, and Cloud commended him for it. He was trained, or dare he say raised, to be well-disciplined. And he could say the same about Rinoa.
Cloud realized one thing: Sephiroth was far more experienced in parenthood than he could ever admit.
He also realized another thing: Tifa wasn't telling him everything.
Squall rubbed his palm against his face as he sat up on his bed, took a deep breath and a groan escaped him. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times before he could clearly see the early rays of sun seeping in between his curtains. It suddenly dawned to him that he was on vacation and it was technically the first day of his semester break at the Garden. He didn't know how much more preparation he had to do for Cloud's wedding, but he supposed the break they were given was just enough for the initial work they had to do immediately. Balamb Garden was only fifteen minutes away by train, and when break's over, he could return to Midgar anytime he was needed after his vacation for last minute errands. Thank Hyne for Cloud's great timing at his proposal.
And damn him for rushing things in two months.
He looked for his slippers before leaving his room and went down the stairs for the kitchen.
"Good morning Squall."
Squall looked up at the voice and saw Aerith sitting at the kitchen counter, a bowl of cereal in front of her. He blinked again a few times to make sure that it was indeed Aerith with him in the kitchen.
"You stayed for the night too?" he asked while approaching the fridge to get his loaf of bread and coconut jam and trying to wake up.
"Yeah." Aerith replied. "Me and Zack did."
"Where did you sleep?"
"In Claire's room."
"Oh." Squall replied as he spread the jam on his loaf. Of course Claire would rather go home to her new apartment.
"You didn't stay with us last night, Squall." Aerith said, almost inquiring.
Squall shrugged. "I just wanted to rest from the trip from Balamb."
"Did you still report for school yesterday?"
"Yeah. I had to. For last minute requirements."
Aerith took another spoonful of her breakfast. "Well, that's too bad. You missed a lot of Zell's interesting stories last night."
Squall snorted. "Let me guess, hotdog grill?"
It was Zell's famous story about how he thought hotdogs were supposed to be grilled. So when his mother bought some from the market, he placed them on their barbecue grill and set it on fire. The hotdogs were cooked, alright— to ashes.
Aerith laughed knowingly, and Squall bent his head slightly forward to hide his own smile. Ever since he met her when he was fifteen and she was 19, he suddenly became conscious about himself for some reason he didn't know: how he looked, how he moved, what he said. Was it puberty? If it was, it only took an Aerith to extract it out of him. He had heard of this crush-thing from his peers, but he wasn't sure if that was how he felt about Aerith. He felt lighter around her, because who didn't? She was like a breath of fresh air, or a flower in the slums.
But if it was a crush-thing, why was the feeling fading away over time? Wasn't it supposed to stay until it developed into what Cloud and Tifa had? Yes, he wanted to know what she found in Zack, but why didn't he mope around when he found out they were officially going out, unlike Zell when he discovered that who's-her-face of the library started dating Nida?
Was he really, in Seifer's own words, a "cold beast"?
He heard another set of footsteps approaching.
"Did Cloud go to work?" Zack asked, his spiky black hair still in its morning mess.
"Yeah." Aerith replied before receiving a kiss on a cheek from Zack. "He still had to wrap up some things before filing his leave. Well, that's what Tifa said."
Zack gave Squall a nod, who gave one back in kind. "By the way, where's Tifa?"
"She already left to check the venue for the reception at Bodhum." Aerith replied. She turned around to face Zack. "What do you want to eat?"
Zack peered over Squall's breakfast. "I want what he's having. And eggs." he opened the fridge and took out an egg. "You guys want eggs too?"
"No thanks." Aerith replied.
"How about you, Squall?" Zack asked while taking out another one. Without waiting for Squall's reply, he cracked both and proceeded to cook two scrambled eggs. "Growing boys need their daily eggs!"
Squall stared blankly at Zack and sighed. Guess I'll wait for the egg.
And I'm not a growing boy.
"So, what are your plans today, Squall?" Aerith asked.
Squall swallowed a bite of his sandwich. "Look for a caterer with Rinoa."
"Ooh…" Zack said, with sorry in his tone. "Maybe you should start in Trabia. Lots of restaurants there that may have catering services."
Squall nodded. "Thanks. Will keep that in mind."
Aerith carried her empty bowl to the sink. "It's a lot of work– there's canvasing, negotiating, haggling… but I wouldn't worry. You will find a caterer in no time. Besides, it's fun to taste-test, if they'll allow it."
The youngest one narrowed his eyes. "That sounds very reassuring."
"It's still early and you have time to look up on your prospect caterers. Try trabiaeats dot com."
"I'd rather work on it with Rinoa." said Squall. She looked like she knew more about these things than he did.
Zack glanced up the wall clock by the kitchen's entrance. "Well in that case, maybe you should wait for another hour. Rinoa didn't exactly go home early last night."
"Or this morning." Aerith added.
Squall's brows furrowed. Maybe you shouldn't have let it last until morning if there are still things to be done.
It took two hours before Rinoa finally replied to his text message. While waiting, Squall took his shower, brushed his teeth, threw on his black shirt, jeans, and black leather boots, and gussied himself up. He'd steal glances of his phone while reading a book on his bed, anticipating Rinoa's response to his suggestion to meet her in Trabia.
When his phone vibrated with Rinoa's message, Squall jerked and woke up.
Did he just fall asleep?
Panicked, he sat up and grabbed his phone.
"Hi Squall! Hyne, I'm really sorry I didn't read your message sooner, I just woke up! Just give me 30 to prepare. Trabia, right? Are you already in Trabia? I'll meet you there!"
Squall groaned. He should've taken Aerith's suggestion to canvas for good caterers online to have a headstart.
He responded "OK" as he grabbed his leather jacket and left his room.
Trabia was only a 20-minute ride by train and as expected, Squall still had to wait for another 40 minutes until Rinoa arrived. He took the liberty of browsing through the caterers around Trabia while killing the time in a pastry shop where he told Rinoa to meet him. The maid of honor sat in front of him, wearing sunglasses, and her hair still uncombed.
"I'm really, really sorry Squall." she said. "I set the alarm on my phone, but I slept on it again because I just needed the rest after last night's dinner."
Squall inwardly groused. He placed his phone into his pocket and stood up. "Let's not waste anymore time. We should start looking now."
Rinoa hurriedly stood up and followed him. "Where should we start?"
He pointed at one restaurant where staff wore white uniforms and black aprons. Squall read about it and critics were giving raving reviews about the food. "There."
Rinoa tried to keep up with his fast pace. "The Guadosalam Bistro?"
Squall remained silent while walking and opened the door for Rinoa once they reached the place. She took off her sunglasses, and that was when Squall noticed the bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. They were approached by one of the staff.
"How may I help you, Sir, Ma'am?" he asked.
"We'd like to inquire about your catering services." Squall replied.
"Okay, Sir. Our manager will be able to answer your questions about that concern. This way, please." the staff said, extending his hand to lead Squall and Rinoa while walking ahead of them. They reached a wooden door with many dark creases and gold-plated linings. It creaked open and a smell of old peppermint cooled their nostrils. A big mahogany desk stood by the high, curtained window where an old man in orange suit sat. He looked up at Squall and Rinoa.
"Sir Jyscal, they're here to ask about our catering services." the staff said at the man.
Jyscal smiled and stood, motioning at the two chairs in front of him. "Please, please, take a seat." He returned to his chair and propped his hands on his table. "So, what can I help you with about our catering?"
Rinoa sat opposite from Squall. "We wanted to know what packages you have for weddings."
The manager nodded and reached for his drawers. He took out three green papers and handed them to the pair. "Here are the packages we can offer."
They scanned through the menus, and it didn't take long for Rinoa to widen her eyes and for Squall to narrow his.
"Sorry, but I just want to be clear on this." Rinoa said, facing the menu to Jyscal. "So, this 100,000 Gil here for your Princess Package is your entry level, right?"
"Yes, that is correct." Jyscal replied.
Rinoa forced a smile. "Great. Uhm, do you have any promos or discounts?"
"We have one for our Emperor Package." Jyscal replied, reaching for the menu with the highest price. "From 200,000 Gil, we'll give it to you for 150,000 Gil. That's practically the same as the mid-level package, only 7,000 Gil more." He leaned closer, cupping a hand to a side of his mouth. "We only offer this to very young couples."
"What do you mean?" Squall asked.
"Why, young people like you only deserve to experience your dream wedding! It only comes once in your whole lifetime, and we in Guadosalam Bistro fully support young love!"
"Oh! No no no no…" Rinoa said, shaking her hand upfront. She glanced at Squall, who was looking at her with a look where confusion and shock met. "We're not the ones getting married, that would be crazy." she added in between her nervous laugh.
"Oh!" Jyscal said, jolting back up on his chair. "I'm so sorry. You two seemed to be the most likely of couples, and— oh, how insensitive of me. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."
Rinoa blushed. "Oh, no that's fine."
"So, to whom should I owe this visit?"
"Actually, I'm just the maid of honor, and he's the best man. It's my best friend's and his cousin's wedding, and they asked for our help to look for a caterer."
"I see, I see." Jyscal said.
"Same discount applies, right?" Squall asked.
"Well," Jyscal lifted his shoulders, swaying his head slowly side to side. "It's only for young couples, but… to make up for my mistake, then okay. I might just give the discount to the bride and groom. Depending on the negotiations we'll have about the event."
"So, it's possible that they can't avail this discount you're offering us?" Rinoa asked.
"It will depend on what we'll talk about, but I cannot assure anything right now. How old are they?"
"They're both 23 years old."
"Ah." Jyscal replied, his hands playing with his stainless pen. "Not that young anymore, are they. In any case, like I said, I might give them the discount instead."
Squall stood up. "We will talk about this with the bride and the groom. Thank you for your time."
Rinoa followed Squall with a stare before standing up and taking the green papers with her. "We'll show these to them. Thank you for having us."
"You're welcome." Jyscal said, his smile unfading.
Squall began to head for the door, and opened it again for Rinoa.
"Oh, and come back again to Guadosalam Bistro!" Jyscal called back.
Rinoa reviewed the papers in her hands once they were outside the restaurant, her eyes fixated on the total price of each package offered. "Well, considering the food, their offers aren't too bad, but…" she trailed off.
"You should not have told him the truth." said Squall.
Rinoa gave him a curious look. "About what?"
"About us getting married."
Rinoa's eyebrows met and shook her head slightly. "Why?"
Squall crossed his arms. "If he thinks we're getting married, then we could've have availed the discount and closed the deal."
Rinoa placed her hands on her hips. "And when he finds out about the truth?"
"There's no truth to be found out." Squall retorted. "Once it's been paid for, we can 'cancel' our imaginary wedding and tell them that a different couple is going to take the contract in our place."
"Then that would be cheating!"
"It's called strategizing to be cost-efficient." Squall retorted.
"Well," Rinoa looked around. "there are more caterers around, right?"
"We could've been finished by now."
Rinoa shot him a look. "Finished? We still have a long way to go!"
Exactly, Squall replied mentally.
"There. I see another restaurant." said Rinoa, pointing at another establishment with blue banner and golden tussels. "Let's go."
.
.
.
Five restaurants and fifteen menus later, Rinoa slumped over one of the benches by the fountain outside.
"Oh Hyne." she said. "I thought Gaudosalam Bistro was already expensive, but these!" she held up the flyers to her face. "These ones are too much! I mean, who would pay 500,000 Gil for just a day's meal?"
Squall collapsed beside Rinoa, brushing his hand through his hair.
Rinoa placed the papers into her bag and faced Squall. "What should we do now?"
Squall's eyes were back at their dark state, piercing Rinoa with a sideway look.
Rinoa frowned and pulled a slight pout. "What?"
Squall looked away. "Nothing."
"What's on your mind, Squall? Say it!"
Squall shot her another glare. Since you asked for it…
"It's already past three in the afternoon, the caterers are going to close soon, and we have already wasted most of the day without as much a prospect for a caterer." he retaliated.
"Okay, so judging from the look you're giving me, you're blaming me on this?"
Squall looked away again.
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh!" Rinoa stood up, stomped her feet in front of Squall and started talking when he faced her. "I admit I wasn't exactly early on this trip, but coming from Mr. Lean-Mean-Wall who lets me do all the talking, I'm not going to take the blame because, as far as I know, I'm the one doing the negotiating and work here! And you're not the only one who has the slightest right to be tired here. I'm tired too!"
Squall looked at her with an intrigued look.
Rinoa groaned. "What?"
"Lean… mean wall?"
Rinoa's mouth opened slightly, red color slowly creeping up her face. She huffed and turned around, stomping away from Squall. Reaching the fountain, she sat on its ledge, her arms crossed, and her back still at Squall's direction. She needed a time off from Squall and everything that he was. He was making her feel humiliated, embarrassed, like she was the cause of failure to him and herself. She was trying to make up for it, and he wasn't helping. What exactly was he expecting her to do? Starting early was always a better idea, but that wasn't exactly what happened, right? They had to make their adjustments for the situation until they could find a caterer. Blaming it on her made her feel alone when they should be working together to make it all easier.
She felt someone sit beside her and, looking sideways, she knew it was Squall. She looked away again, shifting against the ledge and fully facing her back on him.
Squall supported his elbows against his knees. He allowed a moment of silence to pass before sighing. "I didn't mean to sound accusing."
"Did you now?" Rinoa replied sharply, looking over her shoulder.
Squall looked back at her. "I just want to get this over with."
"Who doesn't?"
He silently sat up. "Look, there's another place we could look into— the Hawker's Row in Yusnaan. We can still make it there before 4:30." he said. "Are you coming?"
Rinoa looked over her shoulder again, her angry eyes travelled from Squall's head to toe. "Only if you stop being so mean."
"It depends."
She faced away again and crossed her arms again.
Squall's shoulders dropped and hung his head. "Okay. I will." he said. After waiting a moment for Rinoa's reply that never came, he stood up. "I'm going now. You can come if you want."
He watched Rinoa glare up at him and blinking a few times before finally standing up, dusted her navy blue skirt, and walked to the train station by his side.
Their fifteen-minute trip to Yusnaan was silent, but Squall noticed that Rinoa was starting to cool down from her meltdown earlier. Once they arrived, she marveled at the bright and colorful city of Yusnaan, each stall brimming her with excitement to explore.
"Wow…" she whispered. "I've been here only once, and this is not how I remember it. This is beautiful!"
A small smile grew on Squall's face as he watched Rinoa return to her old self. "We can visit them later if you want."
"Oh, yeah." said Rinoa. She turned to Squall. "So, where's Hawker's Row?"
Squall pointed at the opposite direction.
"Okay." she replied.
It wasn't hard to spot Hawker's Row— the further they walked, the stronger the smell of food grew, and the more they realized they haven't had their lunch yet.
"I'm suddenly hungry." said Rinoa.
"Me too." Squall replied. "We can eat wherever you want after this. The stalls don't usually close until late in the evening."
"I agree." Rinoa nodded. She scanned the stalls before them and her eyes fell on the sole enclosed restaurant with purple trimmings matched with a yellow signage that said "Besaid Eats".
Rinoa pointed at it. "That looks cute."
Squall narrowed his eyes on the pastel-colored place. "Looks painful."
She clamped her hands on his wrist and pulled him. "C'mon, it's worth a try!"
Squall pursed his lips while he allowed Rinoa to lead him into the restaurant. The wind chimes attached to its glass door tinkled upon entering, and the pair looked around. Low chatters mixed with the ambient music of guitar in the background, and bright lights were strategically set in the corners giving the place a relaxing glow. About five out of seven tables were occupied by custodians, each was served with dishes good for about five people.
"It smells new around here." Rinoa observed.
"Maybe it's a start-up eatery." Squall replied.
A girl with brown hair adorned with colorful beads on one side peeked behind the counter. "Oh!" she yelped and stood up, straightening her white floral dress. "Hello!" she bowed. "Table for two?"
"Oh, no." Rinoa replied. "We just want to know if you have catering services."
"We do!" the girl replied, lifting a small portion of the counter to let herself through. "Wait here." she entered a door beside the lavatory and went out a few seconds later, holding a set of three flyers. "Here." she said, handing them to Rinoa.
"Thank you." Rinoa replied, scanning the papers and giving two of them to Squall.
Squall studied the two papers with him side by side.
Hmmm… the prices are not too bad.
"The one in charge of catering is my co-owner, Paine. I'll go get her. Please, take a seat wherever you want." the girl said, entering the personnel door again. She appeared a few moments later with two girls behind her. One of them had silver hair and wore a stiff, formal face, while the other looked very bubbly, her long blond hair tied in a ponytail bounced with a variety of beads and ornaments.
"This is Paine." the girl said, gesturing at the more formal of the two. "And this is my cousin, Rikku."
"Heya!" Rikku waved.
Rinoa and Squall reached for their hands and shook each of them.
"I'm Rinoa, and this is Squall." said Rinoa. She turned to the other girl. "Sorry, I didn't get your name." she laughed nervously.
"I'm Yuna." she said as she sat down and everyone followed. She faced Paine. "They're here for our catering."
"For what occasion?" Pained asked, her voice hard and icy.
"Wedding." Squall replied, paralleling Paine's tone.
"Your wedding?" Rikku asked.
"Do you have discounts for young people too?" Rinoa asked.
"We don't have discounts of any kind." Paine replied.
"When's the wedding?" Yuna asked.
"In two months." Rinoa replied.
"That's close, but we can definitely work around that. The sooner the better."
"Your main courses look good." Squall commented, his eyes on the most expensive "Summoner's Package" which offered three appetizers, six main courses, five different desserts, and drinks of their choice.
Rinoa peeked on the paper in Squall's hand and turned back to the owners. "You sure there are no offered discounts on this?"
Yuna and Rikku looked at Paine.
"That's all we can give you." Paine replied.
"If you give this for 80,000, we'll close the deal." Squall said.
"I'm sorry, but 5,000 Gil worth of discount is too much."
Squall shook his head slightly. He was about to stand up and bid his farewell when Rinoa, whose eyes were still fixed on the flyer, spoke.
"Aww… it has Tifa's favorite paopu-stuffed ballotine." she said, pulling that pout again. "It's my favorite too."
He looked at her and turned back to Paine. "81,500 Gil."
"84,000." Pain shot back.
"82."
"84."
Squall took a deep breath and looked down again at the flyer on the table. He couldn't believe he was about to do it but, like what their Headmaster at the Garden always said about missions: "desperate times, desperate measures."
He looked up again, wearing his rare smile, his expression reduced from fierce to charming.
Paine inhaled sharply when Squall's azure eyes met hers.
Rinoa's eyes widened.
"I'd really hate to waste the potential of your good food to be realized by many." he said in his bedroom voice that he squeezed out of his system with all his might. "My cousin's wedding will have at least a hundred and fifty guests, and that's just the initial count. Many people will enjoy your food, and they will come back here for more. Of course, under my recommendation. And I can be pretty persuasive." he said the last word while only slightly parting his lips. "So let's settle it at 82. I'd really appreciate it." he winked. "What do you say?"
Rinoa's jaws dropped at Squall. Yuna's and Rikku's jaws dropped at Paine.
Paine's pale skin swiftly flashed with crimson color, almost blending with her red eyes. She tried to tear away from Squall's eyes, but couldn't seem to resist herself from looking… staring…
Gazing.
Rinoa looked at the contract in her hands to remind herself that they were able to get a caterer for the wedding at a price lower than they had anticipated. She couldn't believe Squall practically sold himself to close the discounted deal with Besaid Eats, and all it took was a wink.
It was already dark outside when they left the restaurant, and the yellow lights weaved with white from the hawkers and merchants were the primary sources of illumination in Yusnaan. As she stood in front of one of the stalls in Hawker's Row, she placed the contract back into her bag. Squall approached her carrying a white bag with two beef wraps and two crispy taters. Rinoa grabbed one of the wraps and took a bite.
"This is so good!" said Rinoa.
Squall nodded as he took another bite from his.
Rinoa rubbed off the excess sauce on one side of her lips with her thumb. "So, we made it huh."
"Yeah." Squall replied. "We did."
Rinoa nudged at Squall. "You did great back there, Squall. You were amazing." She smiled, her mouth still smudged with white sauce. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Squall paused and faintly smiled back at her. "Thanks."