A/N: This has hit over a thousand views! Hello readers! =)


Rinoa lifted her head at the sound of shuffling footsteps coming down the hall. She locked eyes with Caraway who immediately then honed his attention towards the steaming mug of coffee that sat alone on the kitchen table.

"Is that one for me?" he asked, one hand raising up to rub his eye.

"Cream, no sugar," she said, scooting the mug closer to the edge of the table. She'd already finished hers and placed the mug into the sink.

Caraway took the mug into his grasp and gratefully slurped. "Thank you," he mumbled. "I'll make you breakfast." He started for the fridge and looked at the large carton of eggs. "Omelette? With plenty of cheese and peppers?"

"No thanks, I should probably be heading out soon."

He nodded at the refusal and moved towards the telephone. "I'll call you a cab then." His fingers quickly punched in the numbers that he knew by heart and patiently waited for the operator. "Hello, yes, I need a cab to pick up my daughter…Leviathan Estates…yes. Number 1581. Thank you." Caraway placed the phone back into its cradle and turned back to Rinoa. "They should be here in about twenty minutes."

"Ok, thanks." Rinoa took in a deep breath as she heard Caraway slide into the seat across from her and watch her play with her phone. "How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

He made a soft noise of indifference and sipped from his mug. "Fine," he answered. "Thank you for picking me up, but I don't think it was necessary."

Rinoa bit her tongue. He always said something to that extent. He always claimed that he knew his limits and stayed right at their boundaries…which was always a lie. Although, he always knew that he was not able to drive, she had to give him that. Caraway never drove when he was drunk. Ever. However, because he knew that he would not be able to drive, Caraway had an almost 'go big or go home' attitude about his drinking and would just continue on since hey, he's not driving, right? "Well, Roy felt differently."

Caraway nodded. "That young man who was with you last night, who was he?"

Rinoa shifted her shoulders and rubbed her temple as she groaned at Caraway's sudden change in topic. Fine, she thought to herself. I'm too tired to deal with this issue right now. "That was Squall," she said. "He's the drummer of the band I've been hired to photograph. I told you about them the other day."

"Right, right…Absolute…?" He frowned.

"Lore," Rinoa finished for him.

"That's right," he said.

"He used to be SEED." After the words came out, she wasn't entirely sure why she had said them in the first place. She took note of Caraway's eyebrow that raised in sudden interest.

"Is that so?" Caraway finished his cup of coffee and stood up to make himself another. "How long ago did he serve? I might have come across him before."

"He said he was officially retired when he was twenty-four, and I think he said that was almost two years ago." Rinoa thought back to her conversation with Squall about his time as a SEED and tried to do the math. "I think he was there for seven years? Maybe eight."

Caraway returned with a fresh new cup. "It's a good faction," he said. "It's very beneficial since it's not tied to one specific branch of the military so after they serve their required four years they are able to enter any branch they desire. What's his last name?"

Rinoa balked. She sucked on her cheek as her eyes widened with each passing second. Shit… She didn't know. Honestly she didn't any of their full names except for Selphie's. "Uh…"

Caraway narrowed his eyes and his face suddenly twisted into his normal scolding pose. "Rinoa…"

She picked up her purse and hastily stood to her seat. "I'll wait outside for that cab."

"Didn't you write a contract with them?"

"I did but we didn't write their full names! Just the name of the band and their band manager Cid."

He started to stand and she waved her hands at him.

"Oh, no," she protested. "If I don't get to lecture you about having to pick up your drunk ass all the time you are not going to give me legal advice about how to run my business." As soon as the words flew out of her mouth she quickly regretted them. The look on her father's face pulled at her heart. He looked…ashamed. His alcoholism was unspoken between them because they both knew where it would lead. Rather than talk about it, Rinoa would simply plaster the refrigerator with AA meeting flyers or cover his bottles with them.

"Rinoa," he whispered, his eyes traveling downwards as he stared at the coffee mug upon the table. "I'm sorry."

Rinoa drew in a shaky breath and turned towards the door.


"I thought Rinoa was here?" Quistis said as she entered the studio. "Her car's here."

Zell shook his head and gestured toward Squall. "We thought so too but Squall texted her and she said that her dad called her a cab so she's at her apartment right now and is going to catch a cab ride over here."

Quistis simply blinked at the explanation and simply waved her hand in the air. "Ok," she said. She approached Cid and Edea and gave them both a hug. "How was your trip? I see your sunburn's getting better." She gently tapped the edge of Cid's nose.

He smiled and brushed her hand away. "Yes, it's much better," he chuckled. "It's not peeling as much now, so that's good."

Irvine hurried in and shoved his keys into the back of his faded and ripped blue jeans. "Hey, sorry I'm late." He glanced around. "Where's Rinoa? Her car's here?"

"She had to crash at her dad's last night," Squall said. When Irvine glanced at him with a questioning look, Squall simply held up his hands. "Family shit. She's gonna get a cab to bring her here." His phone beeped and he ran his thumb over the screen. "She's on her way here."

Edea clapped her fingertips together. "How wonderful," she murmured. "I can't wait to meet her!"

"It's too bad Selphie's working today, she could have given Rinoa a ride," Irvine said. "Oh well, shit happens."

A half hour later Rinoa breezed into the studio. "Sorry I'm late!" she cried, swiping the hair from her face. "My cabbie got a little turned around in my apartment complex and didn't know where the hell my unit was." She straightened the burgundy sundress she wore and immediately zeroed in on the older couple that sat on the couch in the small niche area of the studio. "Hi!" she said, stepping forward with her hand outstretched.

"Hello!" Cid stood up and happily shook her head. "I am Cid Kramer and this is my wife Edea." He stepped aside as he waited for the two women to introduce themselves. "It's so nice to finally meet you, we've heard so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too! So…how long have you been their manager?"

"Well…" He glanced back to his wife as he thought. "We've known the kids for a while now…Edea used to be a manager at The Red Scorpion…" He turned back to Rinoa and chuckled. "I think I officially became their band manager about a year or so ago. Before that I was just someone they talked to about finances."

"Zell tells me that you all had a photoshoot yesterday?" Edea excitedly asked.

Rinoa nodded and pulled up her purse. "Yes! It was so much fun. I didn't have much time to really go through the shots today but I did put the shots I got onto this CD." She set the purse onto the couch and bent forward to dig through its contents. "Ah! Here it is." She handed the CD to Irvine who instantly placed it into his laptop that rested on the coffee table.

After a few moments of scrolling through the multitude of images, Cid nodded and rose from his seat on the couch. "Gorgeous shots," he told her. "Absolutely beautiful." He made his way over to where Edea's purse sat by the mini-fridge and dug through for his checkbook.

Edea motioned for Rinoa to sit by her while she continued through the images. "Oh, Rinoa, these photographs are divine." She placed a hand over her breast as she sighed, her lips curved into a very pleased grin. "I can see the talent and passion that you truly have for your craft simply by looking at these."

Rinoa couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, thank you," she said. "I really do love what I do."

"You certainly do!" Cid said, his eyes looking up over the rim of his wide-rimmed glasses. "I for one am very, very grateful that our dear Selphie has brought you into our lives." He smiled and lowered his attention down to the check in front of him. He finished signing his name and handed the check to Rinoa. "I hope you find this a fair amount for dealing with our crazy kiddos."

"Oh, I think I've got quite a handle on them." Rinoa sent Cid a wink and took the check between her fingers. She glanced down at the numbers scrawled along its surface and balked. "Oh my…" she stammered. "This—this is more than the amount we had originally discussed!" She gestured between herself and Irvine with a hesitant grimace.

Cid waved his hands and refused to take the check back when she held it to him. "I know the numbers that you and Irvine had thrown around and, yes, that was a fair amount, but my wife and I believe that you deserve more. You are an absolute delight and already—because of your photos—Absolute Lore's social media page has been spreading like wildfire. You put up the teaser picture…what, six days ago?" He turned around the laptop and clicked to the statistics of Absolute Lore's social media page. "Look at this chart. Hits and views have steadily increased since your original post. Then, when you posted the twelve photos of the kids and their instruments on Tuesday, the numbers skyrocketed."

Edea smiled brightly as she watched Rinoa stand with her mouth drawn open. "Your talents have proven to be quite the investment to Absolute Lore. Not to mention, I think the band enjoys your company!"

"Especially you, right?" Zell whispered to Squall, giving him a slight nudge with an elbow.

Though he couldn't deny it, Squall still responded with a quick right hook to Zell's shoulder and headed towards the open window so he could light a cigarette.

"Ow!"

No one had been paying attention to the two, but now suddenly all eyes turned towards them. "Everything alright?" Edea asked, her thin and perfectly sculpted eyebrows arched in concern when she saw Zell clutching his shoulder.

"Yep," Zell grinned. "We're good!"

Edea pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes. "Uh huh…" she purred. "Right." She looked over to Squall who was giving her an innocent look. She wagged a finger at him to which he responded with a shrug of his shoulders to show he had absolutely no idea what she was insinuating.

"Which brings me to my next point…" Cid continued as he stood to his feet and straightened his tie. "Last night we were contacted by a company who would like to do business with us."

Rinoa swallowed. She didn't want to seem pessimistic, but everything seemed to be too good to be true. This wasn't how the entertainment industry really worked, right? It couldn't possibly move that fast…could it? She walked over to the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. She glanced over to Quistis who was accepting a lighter from Squall. The blonde looked over at Rinoa and motioned for her to come over.

"Sit here," she said, gently patting the seat of a barstool that stood beside her.

Rinoa hopped onto the seat and spun around a few times out of habit.

"Now, it's a small company," Cid was continuing, "created by a man originally from here. He's only done a few small projects but he reached out to me to see if we could work on a little project together, earn a little exposure for both parties."

"What company?" Zell asked.

"I actually had a quick video chat with the young man this morning," Cid said, digging through his notes. "He created Hyperion Images about four years ago with two other people, however only one of them is still working with him. He and his co-owner graduated from the Galbadian Film College five years ago, they have about three staff members that travel with them…they've been working in Esthar the last year and a half and recently relocated themselves back to Galbadia about six months ago."

"Hyperion Images?" Rinoa asked.

"Yes, have you heard of them?"

Rinoa casually nodded. "Yeah, I did a shoot with them while they were filming a document in Esthar for one of the art galleries. It's a great company considering it's still pretty small."

Irvine stretched his arms high above his head. "Well, the guy who runs it saw the photographs you took from our little jam session last week." His lips molded into a crooked grin when he saw Rinoa arch a brow in intrigue. "He wants to make a music video with us."

"Really?" Rinoa asked, impressed. "That's great! I don't think he's ever shot a music video before, at least not with a rock band."

"I think it'll be alright," Zell shrugged. "He's pretty talented—Squall, be nice."

Squall was scowling, his top lip up in an aggressive curl around his cigarette. With all eyes suddenly turned towards him he snapped out of it and tapped the tip of his cigarette outside the open window. "I'm always nice," he snarled.

Rinoa chuckled and nudged his calf with the toe of her sandal. "I take it you know him?" she deduced, scrunching her nose in laughter as Squall responded with a quiet snarl.

"Seifer? Oh yeah, we all know him," Zell answered. "He grew up in Balamb with us. We've known that fucker since grade school. We all went to the same high school too until Squall left for Balamb Garden right before the start of our final year."

"Ah." She looked back over to Squall and tilted her head and she spun back and forth in her seat. "You all grew up together but it sounds like you don't like him at all."

Squall let out short laugh. "We've had our differences."

It was Quistis' turn to laugh now. "Differences he says!" she smacked her palm on her thigh and pointed at Rinoa. "Honey, let me tell you, those two were always going at it." When Squall slowly turned his face towards her with a warning glare, she corrected herself: "Ok, ok…Seifer was always going at it with Squall. For some reason he was always picking on him, starting fights with him, you name it."

While Squall just leaned against the wall he watched on as Quistis continued her explanation on why he and Seifer didn't quite get along. It wasn't that he 'didn't like' Seifer, he more so tolerated his existence by trying to ignore him or be civil with him when the occasion called for it.

"And even though Squall would just ignore him and wouldn't even instigate a conversation, Seifer would always find some way to rile Squall up," Quistis said, echoing Squall's thoughts. "It's how he got this," she said, tapping the space between her eyes.

Rinoa's eyes widened as realization struck her. "I knew I had seen that scar before!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers and pointing at Squall. "Seifer's got the same one—"

Squall's eyes darkened as he slowly turned them towards Rinoa. "They are not the same."

The stern coldness in his words forced Rinoa to clamp her lips shut. Momentarily. "Ok, not the same but similar. You told me you got it in a fight—you guys fight with knives often?" She cringed at the thought. "The hell kind of school did you go to before Garden?"

"What—? It wasn't at school."

"Then what the hell happened?"

Squall groaned and tossed his finished cigarette out the window. "My sister collects swords. One day Seifer was over because I got stuck with him as a partner for some school project. Like a dumbass he decided to start playing with one of the swords, I tried to stop him, we got into it…then this happened." He pointed to the scar and then shrugged his shoulders. "Seifer is not one to take the word 'no' seriously."

Rinoa clicked her tongue and nodded at the explanation. "Ah. How old were you guys?"

"I dunno, like sixteen or something," Squall shrugged. "I just remember I had to make up some bullshit story at the hospital because child services tried to get involved."

Edea rapped her knuckles along the smooth surface of the coffee table. "Now, now," she said with her breathy and soothing voice. "Let's all play nice, children. This is a wonderful opportunity for the band, Squall, you can put your personal feelings aside for a short time if it means receiving a top notch video recording in return."

Cid chuckled as he watched Squall casually rub his eyebrow with only his middle finger raised. "If he tries to come at you with a sword again we will run interference," he promised.

Squall nodded and sent the older man a sarcastic grin. "Yeah, thanks."

"Any word on that prospective tour?" Zell asked.

"Not yet," Cid answered. "Still getting all the details but once I have the numbers run I will let you know!" He glanced down to his watch and gestured to Edea. "Alright kiddos," he said, standing to his feet. "That's it for today. Maybe get some practice in before your gig on Saturday."

"I brought my camera!" Rinoa said, jumping out of her seat as she started for her bag. "I figure we'll get some more quick photos of you guys with your instruments? You know, since we're all here!" She grinned widely as they all started to form around their separate pieces.

Squall walked by her and gave a nudge to her waist. "It's strapped to your hip, isn't it?"

Rinoa smiled at him and instantly started snapping away. "It's an extension of me," she said. "You off all people should understand that." She let out a small laugh as he sat himself down onto his throne, his sticks twirling between his fingers as he gave her a wry grin.

Cid and Edea said their goodbyes and once the door closed behind them, Squall slammed his sticks onto the skins, shaking everyone to the bone. Zell strapped on his guitar and jumped in front of Squall's kit, his tongue hanging out and his fingers furiously skimming over the seven strings.


Before they knew it the sun was beginning to set. Selphie had already shown up and her mouth dropped open when she discovered that they had Rinoa in the studio for over seven hours and had yet to feed her. "What the hell guys?" she demanded. "She's not like you and can go hours without eating!"

"Why didn't you say something?" Quistis asked, her face twisted in immediate concern. "We could have stopped and got something!"

"Sorry! I just didn't want to interrupt, you guys were totally in the zone and I know you guys need to practice before your show…"

Quistis placed her hands on her hips and huffed. "Excuses! Well then, I suggest we all go out tonight. We fucking deserve it."

"We sure do. I just can't stay out too late," Zell said with a sigh. "I've got work early tomorrow."

"Me too," echoed Squall. "You can crash at my place if you have to."

"It's settled then," Irvine cried with excitement and slapped his palms together. "We're gonna go out, feed our poor little photographer, get fucking wasted, and call it an early night." He looped an arm around Selphie's waist and pulled her in close for a kiss. When she avoided his lips and shot him an 'angry' face, he pouted. "I'm sorry. I promise we will take better care of our photographer."

Selphie prodded his chest with her nail. "You need to take better responsibility with her!"

Rinoa's lips pressed together in amusement as the two bickered about her as if she were a newborn puppy. "I know right?" she said. "I mean, I'm really easy to take care of. It's not like you have to take me out on walks or anything."

"Just feed her and she'll be happy," Squall said over the squabbling between the couple. He laid his drumsticks on top of the tom and stood from his throne. "Seriously, all this girl wants is food."

Rinoa shrugged her shoulders and kicked up her leg in an innocent pose. "Food is good, you can never go wrong with giving me food."


They all went to Kupo's, one of Galbadia's local bar and grille. Absolute Lore had played there before back when live bands were able to play, however with the new remodel live bands were no longer permitted. Now the music was all done by a DJ but there was no dance floor so most people just danced at their tables.

When they walked in they immediately scored the long table close to the middle of the bar. Rinoa zeroed in on the menu and laid it flat on the table. "What's good here?" she asked.

"You've never been here?" Selphie asked.

"I don't think so," Rinoa said as she skimmed down the food list. "I've driven by it a few times but that's it."

Squall leaned over the table and flipped the menu's page. "Their buffalo wings are pretty good," he told her. "They also have boneless."

Quistis gave a suggestive shake of her hips and walked her fingers up the length of Rinoa's arm. "Oh I'm sure Rinoa has no issues with bones, isn't that right dear?"

Rinoa responded by blowing the blonde a kiss. "How you know me so well…" she purred. "I do like buffalo wings but these chicken fingers are kinda calling my name!" She closed the menu and tapped her nails along the table. "Yep! Those sound pretty damn amazing."

When the food came everyone dug into their orders. Rinoa practically inhaled her chicken fingers. She hadn't realized she was that hungry and then she remembered that she completely skipped Caraway's peace offering of breakfast and instead snacked on half of a Pop Tart as she waited for the cab to pick her up at her apartment. Already the first round of drinks were finished and Rinoa was beginning to feel a slight buzz creep up the length of her body. The music around her was loud, the radiating bodies around her pulsated heat, the atmosphere was just addicting.

The DJ switched over to another song, this one filled with electric guitar rather than electronic beats and scratches. A few patrons vocalized their enthusiasm.

"I fucking love this song!" Selphie lifted her arms high into the air and screamed.

Rinoa laughed and sucked down the rest of her drink. Already her ears were ringing, the DJ clearly had the volume on high. The walls shook and beneath her feet she could feel the vibrations of the bass. She clapped her hands and giggled as she watched Selphie dance in front of her Irvine.

The other girl tossed her hair and swiveled her hips in perfect rhythm to the song as she sang along. "She wraps those hands around that pole/She licks those lips and off we go/She takes it off nice and slow/Cuz that's porn star dancing!" When Irvine tried to pull her onto his lip she pushed him back down into his chair. Selphie turned towards Rinoa and grabbed her hands. "Dance with me bitches!" she shouted, pointing at Quistis as well.

Quistis slammed back a shot and jumped to her feet. Her arm wrapped around Rinoa's waist and forced her to stand. She shimmied and rolled her hips against Rinoa as she sang, "She don't play nice, she makes me beg/She drops that dress around her legs/And I'm sittin' right by the stage for this/Porn star dancing!"

Rinoa was hardly able to stand because she was laughing so much.

"Come on!" Quistis shouted, reaching around Rinoa to grab Irvine's beer.

"Hey!" he cried.

"Too slow!" she screamed back, throwing her head back as she down the rest of the bottle.

Irvine caught the attention of the waitress and ordered another round of drinks. He moved his chair so he sat beside Zell and Squall. The three watched as the three girls on the other side of the table moved their bodies against each other. His eyes moved along the undulating curves of Selphie's movements and he grinned. God he loved that woman. His tongue ran over his teeth as his eyes traveled over Quistis and Rinoa. The two were starting to catch the attention of a few men at the table behind them. Irvine looked over to Squall and smirked when he saw that the other man was completely entranced by Rinoa's dancing. To someone just passing by, the stare he aimed at Rinoa could easily be confused with an angry glare, but Irvine had known Squall long enough to tell the difference. Squall's jaw was set, the tiny cords in his throat jerked as he concentrated on Rinoa's movements. She twirled around in Quistis' arms a bit too roughly, the hem of her dress spinning and flashing just a quick hint of cheek. Squall's brow raised slightly and he gratefully accepted the new beer bottle the waitress brought him.

"Enjoying the show?" she asked with a grin.

"You know it," he answered, raising the bottle to his lips.

She rounded the table and set three bottles in front of the girls. She came beside Rinoa and Selphie and tapped their shoulders. "Make sure you girls get a tip!" she told them, pointing at the men across from them.

Selphie stopped dancing and leaned close to the waitress so she could place an order in her ear. The waitress shot her a mischievous grin and wagged an approving finger at her. "You got it!" she cried, snaking her way through the crowd to reach the bar.

Selphie arched her brow at Rinoa's questioning gaze and she ran her tongue over her top lip.

Rinoa paused and leaned forward. "Selphie…what'd you do?"

"Late birthday present!"

Quistis' jaw suddenly dropped open in an excited scream. "Yes!" she shouted. "Yes—fuck yes! I approve."

Rinoa glanced back and forth between the two flanking girls. "What the—my birthday was last month!"

"So? I wasn't there to celebrate so therefor it was null and void." Selphie stuck out her tongue and went to sit on Irvine's lap. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, earning a thunderous roar of laughter from him. He pointed at Rinoa and sent her a wide and cackling grin.

"I'm scared," Rinoa said, her eyes wide as she watched the couple stare at her with their leering smirks.

Quistis looped an arm around Rinoa's shoulders and pulled her back into her seat. "Oh, don't be scared! Trust me, you're going to love it."

As soon as the words had come out did the waitress return with a circular platter filled with shots. As the waitress started setting the shot glasses onto the table Rinoa saw what the "birthday present" was. The waitress set a rocks glass in front of Rinoa filled with birthday cake liqueur. Standing large and tall out of the glass was a thick straw covered with whipped cream in the shape of a penis.

Rinoa covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing. "Oh my god…Selphie!"

Squall reached forward and took hold of one of the shooters. "Take the shot!" he commanded.

Each one grabbed a shot and held it in the air. "Take the fucking shot!" Selphie screamed, pounding her knuckles onto the table.

Rinoa sucked in a deep breath and then threw her head back, her throat opening as she swallowed the shot whole. Everyone followed suit and they slammed their shot glasses onto the table.

"Now suck that dick!" Selphie demanded, pointing an aggressive finger to the whipped cream phallus in front of Rinoa. "Come on, I'll help you." She leaned over the table, pointedly curving her spine so her ass was on full display in her tight jeans for Irvine, and ran her finger up the length of the straw. She collected a dollop of the whipped cream and dabbed it onto her tongue.

Quistis scooped up a blob and immediately plopped it onto Rinoa's lips. While the other girl was busy giggling and trying to lick it off, Quistis shot a glance over to Squall and took note of how his eyes couldn't leave Rinoa's lips. "Rinoa! Suck it down!" She picked up the glass and held it to her. "Come on, we didn't know you for your birthday so we're making up for it now—take it!"

Rinoa took hold of the glass and took the straw into her mouth, not fully, but far enough to make Squall's eyes widen a fraction and make his imagination run wild. She sucked down the contents of her glass and pushed it away from her as she swallowed. She coughed, daintily patted her lips and displayed a glittering smile. "That's it for me!" she laughed.

"Aw, come on!" Irvine exclaimed. "The night's still young!"

Rinoa waved her hands at him. "No! No, I can't! I don't want to get sick, plus I drove here!"

Irvine nodded. "Alright, alright," he said. He glanced down at his watch and looked over to Squall. "You wanna continue this party at your place? Since it's right around the corner?" he asked. "Plus you have the set list and those papers I need to get sorted out tomorrow."

Squall shrugged. "Sure."

Quistis ran her finger over the straw of Rinoa's glass, collecting the remaining whipped cream and eating it. "Are you ok to drive?" she asked Rinoa.

Squall held out his hands. "Give me your keys," he said. "I'm fine, I'll drive you."

"But what about your car?"

"Zell drove me to the studio, my car's at the apartment right now."

Irvine picked up the tab and gestured to Quistis. "Ride with Zell, when it's time to leave me and Selphie will bring you back to your car."

"Okie dokie." Quistis wasn't even going to attempt at trying to figure out the exact schematics of this car situation. If it meant that she didn't have to drive right at that moment, she was perfectly fine to go along with it. She shuffled her way over to Zell and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Carry me!"

Zell sighed and dragged her along. "Woman!"

Irvine shook his head at the two blondes as the waitress brought back his card. "Those two…" he sighed. "They're fucking crazy."

In the parking lot, Squall pulled open Rinoa's car door and glared at how far up the seat was pulled. "What, do you drive with your chin on the steering wheel?" he asked, pushing the seat as far back as it would go.

Rinoa made a face as she stumbled into the passenger side. "Excuse you!" she cried. "I'm short!"

Squall turned the car on and sent Rinoa a look as she struggled with her seat belt. "Are you drunk?" he asked.

Rinoa turned to look at him with her lips curled up into a huffy snarl. "No," she snapped. "But am I in that nice and toasty little realm between buzzed and drunk? Yes. Yes I am." She turned her attention back to her jammed seat belt and growled. "Stupid thing!"

Shaking his head, Squall leaned over the center console and slapped her hands away. "Stop it," he urged. "You're just making it worse." His fingers gripped the buckle firmly and pulled the belt across Rinoa's front. As if to check the belt's pull, he held the belt between his thumb and forefinger and slowly ran his fingers down its embroidered surface before snapping it into place. His knuckles brushed over Rinoa's hip while doing so and he lifted his eyes so they locked with hers. "Safety first," he said roughly.

She responded by narrowing her eyes at him. "Whatever," she said, sticking her tongue out in defiance.

His eyes dipped down to that little pink muscle and she felt a spark of heat bloom deep within her belly. She felt her heart beat spike. For a split moment she thought that he was going to lean in and claim her mouth like he had the night before. It seemed that the thought had crossed his mind but a car door slamming caught his attention and he turned away. He leaned further and grabbed the passenger's handle and closed the door shut.


Selphie groaned and rubbed her eyes, completely forgetting that she was wearing mascara. When she saw the black smudges on her knuckles she pouted. "Dammit." She sat up and turned to look at Rinoa.

For the last hour and a half she and Rinoa were laying on Squall's bed talking about how Rinoa had to go pick up her father from the bar. "I know he's spiraling downwards again," Rinoa groaned, tenderly massaging her temples. "I don't feel like I have to send cops over for welfare checks but I don't know what to do so we don't have to get to that point."

Selphie made a face and placed a tender hand on Rinoa's shoulder. "I don't know sweetie," she whispered. "I can talk to some of the people I work with, some of them do volunteer programs for people in rehabilitation. But whatever happens, I'm here for you and I will do anything that I can."

Rinoa leaned in and gave a tight squeeze around Selphie's waist. "Thank you," she said. "I'm so glad we started talking again."

"Me too!" She looked over to where the bandmates were sitting in the living room having a lengthy and detailed conversation about Saturday's show. "I'm so glad that I have someone else to hang out with when they get into band-mode. Now I won't be alone!"

When Rinoa told Selphie about her exciting Wednesday night picking up her father from the bar, she had left out the part of how she and Squall had made out against the kitchen counter. She wasn't entirely sure why she didn't speak about it, after all, they were all adults, but for some reason she didn't want to make a big fuss about it. Selphie was the singer's girlfriend, and if whatever it was that could be happening between Rinoa and Squall ended up not happening, she didn't want any rift to come between any of them. She would want them all to be able to carry on and continue with their lives professionally. Plus, after their conversation about his "situation" with Kendra, she felt that he made it pretty clear about how he stood with relationships. For him, the band would come first; for her, her photography came first. Perhaps they would be able to meet somewhere in the middle? She figured they would just take it day by day and see where it lead. Her thumb rubbed over her bottom lip as she contemplated.


After about another hour Irvine stood from his seat and stretched his arms. "I think it may be time to head out…" he said, glancing over to Squall's bed and seeing the two girls fast asleep. "I think Selphie's drooling on your pillow."

Squall glanced over. "Laundry day tomorrow then," he said, picking up his empty beer bottle from the table.

Quistis finished the rest of her glass of water and stood to place it into the sink. "Yeah…I am beat," she groaned. "Definitely excited for Saturday though."

"Oh yeah, it's gonna be a blast." Irvine walked over to Squall's bed and gently shook Selphie's shoulder. "Hey, babe, wake up," he said softly. "It's time to go. Wakey wakey."

Selphie mumbled some sort of obscenity and rolled onto her stomach. Her eyes squinted open and she frowned at the man above her. "Ugh…what time is it?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes and smearing her mascara even further.

"Just after midnight," Irvine chuckled, smiling at the black smudges that surrounded her eyes.

With a rumbling sigh Selphie sat up and looked over to Rinoa whose face was practically smothered into Squall's pillow. She poked the other girl's shoulder until she noticed movement. "Hey, you want us to take you to your car?"

Rinoa answered with an incomprehensible groan. "…s…'ere Selphie," she mumbled, her hand gently smacking the pillow.

"Eh?" Selphie blinked and looked up at Squall, hardly able to keep her eyes open. "What'd she say?"

Squall tossed his empty bottle into the recycling bin. "Her car's here," he said. "I drove it here, remember?"

"Oh…shit, that's right." Selphie leaned back over Rinoa's face and poked her cheek. "You're not driving!" she said. "You ok to stay here?"

Rinoa's response was only her grabbing the pillow and covering her face with it.

"I'll take that as a yes," Irvine laughed. "Shit, she's almost as grumpy as Squall when you try to wake him up!" He quickly dodged a right hook from Squall and danced a few steps back. "She'll be fine," he said to Selphie. "I think Zell's out for the count too."

Selphie stood to her feet and stretched her arms high overhead. "Yeah, just make sure she's ok to drive when she wakes up?" she asked Squall.

"Of course."

Selphie gave Squall an affectionate pinch to his bicep and waved as she walked toward the front door. "Same with Zell," she added, pointing towards the pair of tangled legs that hung over the arm of the couch. "Night, Squall. Come on Quistis, we can cuddle in the backseat."

"Sweet," the blonde murmured through a yawn. "Later." She waved her fingers at Squall as she followed the smaller girl out the door.

Squall nodded his farewell to Irvine as the cowboy began to lead the ladies out of the apartment. "Night." He locked the door behind them and headed into the bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and changed into a pair of plaid sweats and black sleeveless undershirt.

He tossed a spare blanket onto Zell before making his way over to his bed. When he stood at the bed he looked down at the woman in it. Despite the massive space of the King-sized bed, she managed to position herself nearly diagonally so she took up the entire surface. Are you fucking kidding me? he thought. How did someone so tiny take up so much room?

He rounded the bed and entered from the left side. Gently he tried to maneuver her so she would be on one side of the mattress. She moaned in protest and smacked at his hands. "No," she muttered.

"You're on my side," he said. "Move."

Rinoa made an annoyed sound within her throat and rolled over, taking the blankets with her.

Squall exhaled a snarl through his nostrils and massaged the skin between his eyes. He turned off the light and climbed into the bed. She was lucky she only took the comforter hostage and left him with the bedsheets. He watched the silhouette of her body in the moon light that seeped through the blinds, listened to the velvety noises she made in her sleep as she breathed in and out.

A quiet smile touched the corner of his lips before he finally closed his eyes.


"Porn Star Dancing" music and lyrics by My Darkest Days