~ "Meanie," she muttered, jokingly. His reply made her laugh, "Whatever." ~

M. - Meanie

Squall sighed. Unfortunately for him, it was that time of the year again. He honestly couldn't wait until it was finally over. Rinoa on the other hand, actually seemed to enjoy this "little" interrogation of hers... although it had more turned into a pleading session by now, since he didn't give in to her pleas.

"Pretty pretty please? With a cherry on top?" Rinoa pleaded, giving the only male in the room the sweetest look she could muster in hopes of getting what she wanted.

Squall gave her a heated look in return that made Rinoa think that he certainly didn't like cherries. How typical of him.

"First of all, what in the world does that even mean? And secondly: I already told you, the answer is no," he told her, before returning to the magazine he was currently reading, Weapons Monthly.

It was his favorite magazine and if some people wouldn't annoy the heck out of him, he would really like to read it.

"But-" Rinoa started, only to be interrupted by her now thoroughly annoyed boyfriend.

"What part of 'No, you'll find out soon enough' don't you understand?" Squall asked her, frowning darkly.

"The part 'No, you'll find out soon enough'," Rinoa replied, putting her hands on her hips as she faced him, defiantly.

"..."

Squall didn't say anything, because he honestly didn't know how to react. Instead, he turned to the next page of the magazine, attempting to read the monthly column and hoping that Rinoa would take the hint and leave him be. It seemed that she had other plans, though.

"Oh, come on, Squall! One tiny little hint. That's all I'm asking for. I promise I'll leave you alone after that," Rinoa tried again, sitting down next to him and taking his gloved hands in hers.

This made him look back at her again. She made use of that moment by squeezing his hands softly and pouting in an adorable way, since she knew that there was no way her boyfriend could resist that.

Once again, she was proven that the brunette male could keep a secret if he wanted, as he told her with one word, "No."

Instantly, her face fell. "Meanie," she muttered, jokingly.

"Whatever."

His infamous reply made her laugh, despite her big disappointment.

As soon as she realized why she was disappointed in the first place, Rinoa sighed, wearily. She could have expected that Squall would never tell her what he had bought her as a birthday present, not even when she tortured him all day or kept nagging at him until he would finally give in... which he, by the way, still hadn't done. She had searched the whole house for that one gift that was wrapped in light blue wrapping-paper, but she had yet to find anything. Whatever it was that he was keeping away from her, he knew very well how to hide it, and where... Or maybe he hadn't bought it yet and now he was just bluffing to tease her?

No, that was so not Squall. Besides, then why had he acted so mysterious when she asked him what was in the package the he had brought with him two days ago? There was only one way to find out.

"Fine, then I'll find out what it is myself," she cried, somewhat dramatically, before getting up from the comfortable sofa and stomping out of the living room.

"Suit yourself," he muttered, rolling his stormy blue eyes.

He knew full well that she would never find the present. She hadn't succeeded for the past few days, so he had nothing to worry about. He had put it in a place where he knew she would never look. He was fairly sure of that, because he knew Rinoa and her weird traits and habits.

He listened to where Rinoa was heading to and then shook his head. She went upstairs, again. There was certainly no way she would find it there. He was smart enough to hide it somewhere... else, instead of in their bedroom. It was just a matter of time before she would give up once again and come back downstairs with empty hands. And in another few hours, it would start all over again...

He sighed. Great.

After turning the whole house upside down and inside out for what felt to be the hundredth time, Rinoa decided to take a short break to sort her thoughts. Maybe it would help.

"So... Where would I hide the present if I was Squall and I wouldn't want me- uh, I mean Rinoa to find out about it?" Rinoa wondered, pacing her room back and forth, over and over again. When she reached the window, she automatically looked out of it, in order to get some inspiration. The big tree in the garden waved gently in the wind, almost as if it was dancing on a song that no human could hear. "Hmm..." She kept looking out of the window, as if the wind would bring her the right answer any moment.

So far, she had looked everywhere in the house, more than once; the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room, all the perfect hiding places. Yet, there was no trace of a present anywhere. It was maddening, really.

It was then that she suddenly got an idea. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it earlier?"

She quietly left the house, so Squall wouldn't hear her and stop her before she would find the present, and went outside.

So Squall thought that she couldn't find the gift herself? She would show him!

"Hey, Squall. Look what I've got?" Rinoa suddenly whispered in his ear in a chanting voice, almost startling him.

He knew right away that Rinoa was probably just teasing him, but he couldn't help but look up when she said that... only to see that she held a bag in her hand. His heart almost stopped beating right then and there.

That's... impossible! he thought.

"Told ya I would find it myself," she spoke, triumphantly.

"Give it back," Squall said, his voice scarily calm.

He extended his hand towards the bag, but Rinoa was quick enough to hold it behind her back. "No... Finders keepers, remember?"

As soon as she had said that, Squall jumped up to grab the gift out of her hand. However, Rinoa, who had sensed what he was going to do (after all, Squall was so predictable sometimes), jumped away, which made Squall miss.

"Rinoa..." he said, giving her a last warning look, indicating that he didn't tolerate this kind of behavior from her.

Who was he, her father?

Rinoa giggled, ignoring his look. "What is it? Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it can't wait. See ya. I'm gonna go upstairs and open-"

This time, Squall succeeded into taking a hold of Rinoa, and grabbing the present.

"Let go of me! Squall!"

Squall would have none of it, and a new struggle started with the present as a prize that had to be won. Squall profited from the fact that he was stronger and heavier than Rinoa, though, so he could easily pin her on the ground.

When he finally retrieved the bag with the present, he turned towards the raven-haired woman and told her, "Do that again and you won't get any present at all."

Rinoa huffed, indignantly, watching Squall's retreating back as he left the room to find a new hiding place for the present. That guy was so impossible sometimes, it wasn't even funny anymore.

"Drat! I should've opened the present when I had the chance to, instead of showing him first," she muttered under her breath, more to herself than to the brunet.

At this, Squall turned around, so Rinoa could see the forming smirk on his face. "That's tough for you."

When he had left the room, and she was sure that he was out of earshot, Rinoa's own smirk appeared on her face and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Squall. You have no idea..."

Did he really think that she was that dense? Of course she had opened the gift first, before entering the room he was in. She couldn't help it; it was in her nature to be curious. At least she could finally sleep peacefully, now that she knew what he had bought her. All she had to do now, was to practice her look of surprise when she opened the gift... again, so Squall wouldn't suspect anything.

"What's with the smile?" she suddenly heard from the doorway.

Oh!

Rinoa swiftly tried to hide her huge grin by giving Squall a bone-crushing hug that almost knocked him off-balance in the process. After all, she had to thank him somehow for having such a great taste. It almost made her wish her birthday was every day.

"Okay... And what was that for?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to hug you," was all she said, before walking away.

"...Right."

Squall watched her go, a strange expression on his face.

That woman... was just too weird for words.