From A to Z

by WishingDreamer5

Not in a zillion years had he thought that he would admit it to himself, but there might be a small chance that he was...in love with her. It was pretty pathetic and he'd rather die than tell anyone, but he couldn't fight it anymore. She'd found the way to his heart... -26 Squinoa snippets about their complex relationship, with the letters of the alphabet as a prompt.

3. Circulation

A/N: A special thanks to: Lemon-Chan84, xAshbellax, XxX-SparklingEyes-XxX, Jane St. Valentine and ireneotaku.

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~ "You're cutting my circulation," he said quickly, after he had recovered from the initial shock of Rinoa actually hugging him. ~

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C. - Circulation

Wow... was the first (coherent) thing Squall could think of.

"Easy there. You're cutting off my circulation," he said quickly, after he had recovered from the initial shock of Rinoa actually hugging him.

Admittedly, it wasn't the first time it had happened, but this hug seemed to be so much different from all the other hugs she had given him so far. How he could sense that was beyond Squall's knowledge. He just knew that this meant something else, something more.

The raven-haired girl swiftly let go of him and mumbled an apology.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... I really missed you."

This shocked the Gunblade wielder even more. Was there actually a person that could miss him? Him of all people? The coldhearted, selfish, stoic and aloof Squall Leonhart? That sure was a first.

"It's okay, I guess," he ensured her, albeit rather awkwardly.

Could one blame him? It was the first time that a girl said such a thing about him. How was he supposed to know how to act on it if it was all new for him?

She only smiled that that beautiful smile of hers, but that one smile spoke volumes for him.

After a couple of seconds, Squall hesitantly put his arms around her in a rather careful hug, almost scared that he would break her if he pressed too hard. Luckily, she returned the embrace without giving him a questioning look.

"Rinoa."

"Hmm?" she said, not missing a beat.

He couldn't help but notice how she didn't look at him this time.

Squall hesitated for a moment, running a gloved hand through his hair, but he took a deep breath and admitted slowly (because in his opinion, it was now or never), "...I missed you, too."

Rinoa didn't say anything but tried to pull him closer to her. That was enough for Squall to know that she cared.

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A/N: I hope you like it. As you may or may not have noticed, I make mistakes. I'm looking for a beta reader and I would really, really appreciate it if someone would like to beta for me. Reviews are more than appreciated!