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!

"We need to reconvene."

Quistis blinked in pure disbelief at Tifa's suggestion, holding her planner that she loaded with bridal brochures. She looked at the wall clock behind the bride-to-be.

11:00.

And it was getting very dark outside.

She turned back to Tifa. "Seriously?"

"We have so much to consult with the everyone." Tifa replied. "I can't decide on my own with these details. I mean, I want to make sure I'm getting the best of options."

The other winced. "Wasn't that what we were doing the whole day?"

Tifa took a deep breath. "I know, I'm sorry Quistis. But we have so much choices, so much possibilities I want to happen. I just want this to be exactly how I imagined it would be."

Quistis massaged her temple. "Tifa, do you even know how you want it to be?"

Tifa raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Perfect."

Quistis threw her head back, a grunt almost escaped her. "Hyne, Tifa…"

"I know, I know." Tifa brushed her hair back with both hands. "Look, I promise, all I need is Rinoa and the rest of the girls. I just need their opinion. I'll itemize everything with a list and it will be easier for us to choose for each."

Quistis sighed, pursing her lips as she looked at Tifa incredulously. "Right. Why do I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Just, go home for now, Quistis, and get some rest." Tifa gathered the planner and the rest of the brochures that didn't fit with the compilation. "We'll finish this tomorrow."

"Okay. But don't expect me to be early tomorrow." Quistis replied while she gathered her purse and her phone.

Tifa shot her a look. "Be here before lunch! I need you."

"Okaaaay."

The front door creaked open and both of them looked up to see Squall entering. He looked at them blankly, slowly closing the door behind him. Quistis tore her eyes away from him and focused on fixing nothing inside her purse.

"Squall!" Tifa greeted with an excited smile. "Did you find our caterer?"

"Yeah." Squall replied. "We went to Yusnaan for it."

Quistis' ears perked up. We? she wondered. Squall wasn't alone in his search for the wedding caterer?

And then she remembered— there was, in fact, a maid of honor.

"Wow. That's a little too far. What about Trabia?" Tifa inquired further.

Squall leaned himself against a wall and placed his hands in his pockets. "They were too pricey, way beyond the reasonable range."

"No discounts?"

"Only for 'young' couples." Squall recalled. "They mistook us as one, but Rinoa denied it."

Tifa laughed. "You two? A couple? You should have just said yes and be done with it!"

Quistis could feel her grip tightening around the handle of her bag.

"That's what I told Rinoa." Squall replied. "But she said it would be cheating."

"I gotta go now." Quistis cut in, adjusting the strap of her purse against her shoulder. She nodded goodbye at Tifa and made a beeline past Squall without looking at him, whose eyes were also diverted from her. Once she was outside, she took deep, sharp breaths, exhaling white puffs of the cold air.

Squall was willing to play pretend as a husband-to-be with Rinoa? Ultemecia would surrender herself to the SeeDs first before that could ever happen. But then again, it was for the sake of getting a caterer in such a short time which sounded like a challenge to both Rinoa and Squall. But the mental image of them together in their search ached Quistis right in the chest and her head felt like it was losing its screws. She didn't know if it was because Squall seemed to be more comfortable with Rinoa who he just met the night before, or was it because the pair made much more sense than she could ever make.

"It's over." she whispered to herself as she walked along the sidewalk, watching her feet as she did. Whatever chance she had with Squall was over. All the dreams, possibilities, hopes of being with Squall, gone. When boys started wooing her and even founded a ridiculous fan club in the Garden just for her, she thought it wouldn't be a challenge to get Squall's attention. But he would just pass them by, ignoring them, and she could swear she felt the embarrassment from his unspoken thoughts. It was never easy to read Squall, and she never understood why it attracted her to him so. She never intended to hurt herself over and over this way.

The next day came and nobody went to Tifa's before lunch.

Waking up at 10:00 in the morning, Rinoa expected that some of the girls would have already been at Tifa's house doing the wedding planning without her. She took her time preparing, and even had a good chat with Cid over their late breakfast.

"Why are you still here?" she asked her stepbrother, chewing a bite of her egg sandwich.

Cid smirked. "Offsetting."

"Offsetting?"

"I came home late last night. Training took longer than expected. Now I can come in later than required."

She arrived at Tifa's house a little later after lunch, and noticed how it was unexpectedly quiet inside. She rang the doorbell and was greeted by Tifa, still in her white shirt and pyjamas.

"Why are you not ready yet?" Rinoa asked, scanning Tifa.

"Quistis and I finished late last night." Tifa replied before turning around and lazily walking inside the house, leaving Rinoa to show herself in.

Rinoa looked around at the guestless space. "Am I the first?"

"Yeah." Tifa nodded over her shoulder. "But Claire and Serah are on their way."

They turned back around at the sound of a revving engine just outside the door.

"That must be them." Tifa said before yawning. "I'll go get dressed up. Make yourself at home." she added, gesturing at her couch.

Rinoa remained standing, anticipating the arrival of the Strife sisters. Serah greeted her with a half-hug, while Claire nodded at her with a smile.

"No one's here yet, huh." the latter remarked.

Rinoa only pursed her lips and shrugged.

"Is Squall still here?" Serah asked.

Rinoa shook her head. "I don't know, I haven't seen him yet."

"Cloud should be with him, they have errands to do. Maybe they already left." Claire replied.

"What errands?" her sister asked.

"Who knows."

A moment passed before Serah spoke again. "Do you want some coffee or tea? I'm going to make some." she offered while on her way into the kitchen.

"Coffee, please." Rinoa replied, slightly raising her hand.

"Tea for me." Claire followed.

Several minutes later, Selphie entered with Aerith in tow, followed by Quistis who went straight into the kitchen clutching a big brown paper bag without greeting Rinoa. Serah came out with pots of coffee and tea in a tray, and Claire following behind her carrying the empty white cups. Rinoa offered her help, but was declined by the sisters. Aerith and Selphie chatted with her about Squall's talent in negotiating.

"He's always the talented one." said Selphie. "In Balamb Garden, we trust his word more than we trust our instructors'. Too bad he doesn't talk as much."

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like the type. I was the one doing all the talking when we were in Trabia." Rinoa responded.

"It's a long story why Squall acts the way he does." Claire commented while placing the cups at the center of the coffee table.

Serah placed the tray beside the cups. "Not that long, actually. Basically, when his mother and stepsister died in a bombing incident, he kinda just stopped talking."

Rinoa's eyes widened and she placed a hand over her mouth. That was definitely something she wasn't expecting. "Oh Hyne…"

Serah nodded and took a sit on the couch between Claire and Rinoa. "It was worse when we were kids. Everyday he would sit on his porch, waiting for his mom and sister. When they never came, he locked himself up in his room. Uncle Laguna had to call us everyday to visit and cheer Squall up."

"Uncle Laguna is…?"

"His dad." Aerith replied.

Serah continued. "Eventually he began to start talking and, finally, smiling. Uncle Laguna thought Squall is happier and healthier with us than he is with him. He always encourages Squall to go hang out with us more often."

"Doesn't he get lonely without his son around?" Rinoa asked.

Claire turned to look at Rinoa, surprised at her question. "Uncle Laguna always had Kiros and Ward. They usually go around together to advocate their cause against terrorism."

"And they are?"

"His former comrades when he was still a soldier."

"Wow, you guys came from a family of soldiers." Rinoa place an index finger against her lips. "Which reminds me. Where are you parents?"

Serah shrugged and was about to answer when Quistis entered the room with a plate of steaming hot buns. She placed it on the coffee table next to the pots.

"Yaaay!" Selphie immediately grabbed a piece and took a big bite.

Quistis grinned, taking a piece herself. "Fresh from the Dincht Bakery."

"Zell?" Rinoa asked. Quistis slightly nodded wordlessly, her eyes diverted from Rinoa's.

"I especially like his mom's hotdog buns." said Aerith.

"Half of them are cheese buns, half are hotdog buns." Quistis added.

"I got one hotdog bun!" Serah exclaimed excitedly.

"Are you guys starting without me?" Tifa called at them teasingly while climbing down the stairs.

"And we're not going to leave you some!" Selphie declared sharply.

Tifa chuckled. "Anyway, I'm sorry I'm late."

"We are, too." Aerith replied for the group.

Tifa stood in front of them held up the flyers she and Quistis collected the day before. "We are starting with these."

"And those are?"

"Our options for dresses, wedding cake, host, band, rings, venues for the shower and the rehearsal dinner." Tifa placed the brochures on the table before sitting down.

Quistis swallowed a bite of her bun. "We already have a venue, and we're assigning the flowers to Aerith."

"Yep!" Aerith replied.

"We also have the caterer, care of Squall and Rinoa." Tifa added.

"I can't believe Squall had to wink for that!" Selphie said in her giggles. She didn't notice how Quistis' head sharply turned to her.

"Wink?" Quistis asked.

"Yeah, Rinoa told us how Squall had to wink at one of the owners so she would give them the discounted package." Serah replied.

Rinoa also began to laugh softly at the memory.

Quistis shook her head at the ridiculousness of it. Squall would never do something like that. "Anyway," she said a bit loudly, placing her planner on the table. "Some of these options are up to Tifa and Cloud. Like the ring."

Tifa leaned down on the table and gathered the pages. "So that leaves you guys the wedding cake, the dresses, the wedding band and the singer, and the program."

"Oh, and the shower and the rehearsal dinner." Quistis quickly pointed.

"Will there be a stag party too?" Selphie asked.

"No, it's going to be a joint shower." Claire replied. "All guests from both sides are welcome."

Tifa sat up and looked around. "By the way, have you guys seen Squall?"

"I thought he already left with Cloud?" Serah replied.

"No, he's here. He woke up before I did." said Tifa.

"Oh c'mon Tifa. Like, are you still not used to him? You have to coax him out if you want him to leave his space." said Selphie.

Serah stood up. "I'll go get him."

Claire quickly grabbed Serah's wrist. "No. Let him. If he wants to enjoy his space, then so be it."

Rinoa shivered at the coldness in her voice. Carefully, she opened her purse and, without taking her phone out, texted Squall.

"Squall, Claire is looking for you."

Not even a minute later, they heard footsteps thumping down the stairs.

"Oh!" said Tifa. "Speaking of!"

Claire turned around and raised an eyebrow at Squall, who frowned back before looking away.

"Heya, Squall!" Selphie greeted.

"I thought Cloud gave you errands to do." said Serah.

"He changed his mind." Squall replied, squeezing himself next to Rinoa. "He called Seifer to go with him instead."

Quistis couldn't help but steal glances of Squall and Rinoa together, wondering why he chose the tight space on the edge of the couch beside Rinoa when she had larger ones on either side.

While Aerith, Claire, and Selphie talked about the joint-shower event, Squall gave Rinoa a sideway look. "Thanks." he whispered.

Rinoa raised her eyebrows, curious at his sudden expression of gratitude. "Hmm? For what?"

"For the warning." Squall replied.

Rinoa giggled and leaned in closer to his ear. "Claire kind of scared me when they began looking for you. I thought it was only fair to give you a heads-up."

"What do they want from us this time?" he asked, maintaining his low voice.

"I think we're here to talk about the other things we still need to deal with." Rinoa whispered back.

"Like what?"

"Like the joint shower, if you weren't listening." Quistis snapped at Squall.

Taken aback, everyone paused to look at her, even Squall.

"The problem with you is you barely participate on your own. Do you think you can just leave everything to us?" Quistis barked at him, the intensity of her voice increasing. "Do you think the caterer is the end of it? No, Squall! There are still many things to take care of, and I hate to repeat myself about it, so goodluck finding that out yourself!"

Everyone froze on their spot, looking up at Quistis who was already standing up and glaring down at Squall. Squall glared back at her, while Rinoa's eyes were nervously shifting between him and Quistis.

Then, as if she instantly recovered from her meltdown, Quistis's face softened into shock and looked around her, inhaling sharply as she did. She then excused herself and walked out of the room.

A moment was let to pass before Selphie spoke up. "Uhm, what was that about?"

Claire crossed her arms. "It seems like Quistis is still not over Squall."

"What?" Rinoa dared to ask.

"Quistis confessed to Squall, but he turned her down." Aerith replied sympathetically.

Rinoa turned her head to Squall. "Then why is she still angry, Squall?"

Instead of answering her question, Squall looked away and stood up. "I'm going back to my room. I don't think I'm helping much around here."

Rinoa watched as Squall disappeared back up the stairs and into his small refuge.

Serah furrowed her brows and pursed her lips as she looked at everyone else left in the room.

Tifa sighed deeply. "Right, so," she forced a smile and looked around her. "Should we carry on with the wedding plan?"

Rinoa frowned and tucked her lips on one side. It was unfair, for Tifa especially. Whatever was going on between Squall and Quistis should not get in the way of Tifa's careful planning of her dream wedding. She stood up and took a deep breath.

"You guys go on without me. I'm going to fix this and bring them back!" said Rinoa, raising her right fist in resolution. She could read the relief in Tifa's smile.

Claire, however, scoffed. "Goodluck with that."

"I believe in you, Rinoa!" Selphie said, also standing up and raising her fist. "We're rooting for you! Well, except for Claire. But we're all rooting for you! And we will be right…" she sat back down. "here."

Rinoa blinked and gave them a firm nod before heading upstairs.

Serah watched her curiously before turning to Claire. "She's starting with Squall!" she whispered.

Claire shrugged. "I'd like to think she has a chance."

Squall was back to his book when he heard a gentle knock on his door. Thinking it was Quistis finding an excuse to talk to him again, he ignored it.

The knock came again and it was becoming more persistent. Quistis sure needed some aggressive reaction for him to get her to stop pestering him.

Throwing his book back to his desk, he stood and opened the door. His anger turned to shock when he saw Rinoa standing in front of him, wearing an annoyed face.

Rinoa scowled. "I've been knocking forever, you know?"

"I was reading. What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you." Rinoa replied. "May I come in?"

Squall held the door open. "Only because you're not Quistis."

"Well," said Rinoa while entering his room. "it is kinda about her."

Squall sat on his swivel chair, leaning his elbows against his knees and looking at Rinoa questioningly.

Rinoa sat on his bed and looked around. Before Tifa's renovation, it was a storage room, and it used to be her favorite hiding place when she and Tifa played hide and seek twelve years ago. It looked different back then, more old-fashioned and dim as opposed to it's current brightly-colored renovation. Now, she had converted it into a guest room which, in Rinoa's honest opinion, was more functional.

The room was empty of things, save for the papers and the books on the desk behind him, but everything else he possessed seemed to be kept inside his luggage, which was neatly placed at one corner of the room. It was small, but not too small for a single person. And considering it was Tifa's guest room, it was beginning to smell like him.

"Why aren't you staying at Claire's?" Rinoa asked.

Squall raised his brows. "Because I'm welcome here. Can't I stay here?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant." Rinoa replied nervously, afraid she might have offended him. "I mean, this used to be Tifa's house, and it's all new to me."

"It's not just Tifa's house anymore." Squall corrected. It was true. When Tifa couldn't afford paying for the mortgage of the property, Cloud came to the rescue. That made both of them the legal owners of the house, which luckily worked now that they were actually getting married.

Rinoa smiled and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude."

"So," Squall cocked his head at Rinoa. "why are you here?"

"Aerith told me what happened to you and Quistis."

Squall raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I kinda knew it the moment she saw you enter the dining room during the engagement party." Rinoa replied. "She likes you a lot, Squall. No wonder she was acting a little weird around me."

"What?" Squall asked sharply. "What do you mean weird?"

"Like she's…" Rinoa shrugged at the lack of right words. "jealous."

"Why would she be jealous? And since when was that a good reason to act 'weird' around you?" Squall's voice was getting louder and harder, but she remained unshaken.

"I don't know. But. Look, whatever it was, you have to fix it right now. Tifa is getting married in less than two months, and she needs all of us to work together and make her dream wedding happen."

"You don't know what happened between me and Quistis."

"I do know that you broke her heart." Rinoa replied a-matter-of-factly.

"It wasn't my fault."

"Your fault, her fault, whoever it was, you have to fix it!"

"How?" Squall challenged.

"Talk to her!"

"Not gonna happen."

"Well, this isn't about your stubbornness, isn't it?"

Squall could only look at her.

"Your problem with Quistis is never going to end if you don't do something about it. And frankly, it wouldn't be a big deal if there is no wedding to plan right now. But Tifa and Cloud needs everyone's efforts, and that includes you and Quistis." She held out her hand towards the door. "Quistis doesn't seem to be doing a great job at it, and she's too emotional for that right now. I think it's up to you, Squall. Talk to her, tell her you're sorry and why you think it's not going to work out between the two of you. Tell her something, anything… give it a closure."

Squall kept on staring at her. "Closure…" he repeated. It was also what Quistis was asking from him during the engagement dinner.

Rinoa sighed. "Nothing will happen if you don't move." she mumbled while standing up and pulled Squall by his wrist. "C'mon, Squall! Stand up!"

Now glaring at Rinoa, Squall leaned back and pulled his weight away from her.

Rinoa groaned in her struggle from their silly tug-of-war. "I'm not giving up!"

Then, without a warning, Squall decided to stand up.

The result of Rinoa's forceful pull and Squall's sudden lack of force resulted in her drawing him intimately closer, their bodies bouncing against each other as she did. She gasped while he groaned at the sudden collision and, when his steely blue orbs met her brown ones, their eyes synchronously widened from shock. The longer they stared, the warmer their cheeks felt.

Rinoa was the one to pull away first and stiffly turned her back on Squall. "J-just— just talk to Quistis already!" she stammered before opening the door and leaving the other on his flustered state.

Feeling the wind wash away her embittered and resentful sentiments while sitting on Tifa's bench on her front lawn was just what she needed.

Little by little, Quistis was composing herself from the relapse she experienced earlier. She didn't know why she strongly reacted at the sight of Squall and Rinoa whispering to each other, connecting like nothing else made more sense. Quistis couldn't even get her thoughts straight, which was the most unfamiliar thing to her next to the perception of defeat for not getting what she wanted.

Still lost in her thoughts, she didn't noticed the front door of the house opening behind her. She jerked at the sound of footsteps approaching her and turned to her unexpected companion. She immediately looked the other way when she realized it was Squall. He sighed. Why did girls always turn away like children when he tried to talk to them? Why were they angry at him more often than he wanted?

Squall sat beside her, keeping a safe distance between them. He wasn't sure how to start conversations like this, confrontations were not his thing. Well, doing it without emotional involvement was one thing, it was easier to get it done and over with. But attempting to settle things with someone who obviously had intense feelings for him that he couldn't reciprocate was an unknown and mysterious territory.

He didn't know how long of a moment had passed, having only the rustling of the leaves from the trees and the occasional chirping of the birds filling the silence between them.

"Are you here to say something?" Quistis finally asked. Thank Hyne she started the conversation.

"I'm here to say sorry." Squall replied. It sounded more dissonant than he actually intended.

Quistis' back was still facing him.

He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"What happened before, when you tried to talk to me. I'm sorry I didn't try to help you clear things up."

She looked over her shoulder for a while before turning around to face him, her face still disheartened and her eyes slightly teary. "Okay. Now I'm listening."

Squall looked at her and shrugged confoundedly. "What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. What do you want to tell me? Until now, you were always trying to avoid me ever since that incident. I tried approaching you, but you pushed me away. Sometimes I wish I could just tear your head open to see what's inside your mind, Squall." Quistis was breathing heavily, tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Okay. I'll start. I'm in love with you, Squall."

Squall frowned and pursed his lips, but he didn't look away from Quistis. She wiped her tears away and her eyes fell on her lap. She choked on her next words.

"I had always wished you'd see me the same way, but now I understand that you don't, and probably never will. I don't even think you like me as a person."

Squall pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the now sobbing Quistis. She looked at him before hesitantly taking it.

Squall's face softened. "Look, it's not like I hate you. Things just feel awkward when you're around. It's not easy when someone tried to kiss you, and you just pulled away like it didn't matter. I may be annoyed, and that's the truth. And I'm sorry that I can't… love you back. I don't even know how that works, to be honest. But it doesn't mean I don't like you."

Quistis nodded strenuously, a little hurt at his straightforward words. But they were as she had expected from him. "Okay. At least we have established that we could still remain friends, right?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah."

Quistis nodded. "Okay." She tore away from his handkerchief and looked at him. "Then, I promise I won't make things awkward anymore."

Squall gave her a small smile. "Then I'll promise to be your friend."

Quistis smiled back and laughed. "That sounds great."

Squall nodded before standing up. "We should go back. I think they need us inside."

"Okay." Quistis stood up, still wiping some of her leftover tears. She glanced up at Squall again. "By the way."

Squall turned at her curiously.

"There's… someone else, is it?"

Squall mused on the thought. I'm not even sure about it…

"Is it… Aerith?" Quistis asked mindfully.

A slight chuckle escaped Squall as he looked bashfully on the ground. So she noticed, or did she know him too well to see through him?

"No." he answered truthfully. "I guess, not anymore."

Quistis stared at him, slowly forming a knowing smile. "I guess you're right."

Author's Note: I SWEAR SEPHIROTH WILL BE INVOLVED IN THIS FIC! Squall and Quistis just needed to settle some issues, so I allowed them. Besides, this is a Squinoa fic! But if you're looking for Sephiroth, just stay tuned for the next chapters! A BIG THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO READ AND REVIEWED!