Rinoa opened her eyes and groaned at the shrieking noise that awoke her. "What the hell is that?" she mumbled, her eyes hardly able to adjust to the dark. She rose to her elbows and tried to glance around. For a split moment she forgot where she was and her eyelids fluttered as she tried to gather her thoughts. "This isn't my house," she muttered. Though it did look familiar…
A slow shifting movement to her right snatched her attention and she turned in time to see Squall's muscular arm reach out and hook over her waist to bring her back down to bed. "Five more minutes…" he muttered, his face still buried into the pillow.
"Wha…?"
Suddenly the events of the night prior raced back to her. They had partied at the bar until a little after ten and then came back to Squall's apartment. While the band sat on the couch and discussed the upcoming show, she and Selphie hung out on his bed until…well until she passed out she assumed.
She wriggled beneath Squall's arms and tried to sit up, determined to find the origin of the annoying electronic chirping. It didn't sound like her phone's alarm…perhaps it was Squall's? She began to poke his ribs with her nails to get his attention.
His response was to tighten his arm around her waist and pull her in closer. "I said five more minutes," he growled, lifting up on his other arm in some half-assed one-armed push-up and practically pulled her beneath him. Before she could squeal in protest he flattened himself on top of her, his face instantly in her hair. "No," he said, his voice muffled. "I have at least ten minutes before I have to get up."
Rinoa chuckled and smacked his shoulder, her heart skipping a beat when she realized the skin was bare. "Then turn your damn alarm off!" she said, her fingers poking and prodding the warm and naked skin of his arms. Beneath her fingertips she felt the slight rough textures of old scars. As he made an annoyed sigh she felt his hot breath against the slope of her shoulder and she clamped her lips shut to keep in a moan.
"No," he said.
"Do it," she countered.
Squall shook his head and bit down on her shoulder, earning a sharp squeal from her. "Nope." His arms tightened around her and he moved his legs so they surrounded her thighs, trapping her beneath him. "Can't do it."
Her nails dug into his skin and she quietly laughed, her nose scrunching as Squall's stubble rasped against her cheek. And here she thought he was grumpy in the mornings…at least, that was what Irvine had mentioned before.
Suddenly the light turned on and Rinoa froze. Squall rose onto his forearms and lifted his head. Beside the bed was Zell, who was sleepily rubbing his eyes while grabbing Squall's phone from the nightstand. "Thanks for the wakeup call," he said in the midst of a yawn. "Completely forgot to set my alarm." He quickly disabled the alarm and soon the apartment was filled with thick silence. Casually he set the phone back down onto Squall's nightstand and headed back towards the couch. "As you were," he called. "I'm gonna take a piss." Before he made his way to the bathroom he stopped by the kitchen and quickly set up the coffee machine. "Did you want any coffee, Rinoa?"
"Uh…no, I'm probably just gonna go back to bed after I leave," she replied, her cheeks feeling warm. Squall was still on top of her, his arms still barricaded her body, her hands were still firmly grasping his shoulders, and she was still trapped beneath his legs.
Zell nodded and set up the machine. "Gotcha."
Squall listened to Zell walk away and close the bathroom door. With a groan he rolled off of Rinoa and sat at the edge of the bed, his fingers running through his hair.
"What time is it?" Rinoa asked, adjusting her dress beneath the covers. Keeping the comforter over her body for decency, she slid out the opposite side of the bed and pulled the hemline of her dress down to her thighs.
"Just after six," Squall answered, standing to his feet with a throaty groan. He looked over at Rinoa as he stretched his arms and scratched the back of his head. He had to admit, he definitely enjoyed the sight of her rumpled with her hair a mess from rolling around in the bed. She was adjusting her dress and his gaze lazily dipped over the curves of her body. Before Rinoa could lift her head and catch him staring, he rubbed his eyes and walked towards the kitchen. "You sure you don't want any?" he asked while pouring himself a cup.
"I'm sure. I'm just gonna go back to bed anyways," she repeated through a thick yawn.
Squall turned around and moved forward to the center island. He guzzled some coffee before setting the mug onto the countertop. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm and rested his hands on the counter before looking to Rinoa. "Sorry to wake you up so early," he said. "But I've got work." He nearly grinned at the familiarity of the situation but frowned when he noticed that Rinoa was staring at the center island. "Something wrong?"
Rinoa snapped her eyes to meet his for a brief moment before walking towards the kitchen to grab her purse from the barstool. "Sorry, still waking up." She looped the strap over her shoulder and glanced at the bed. With a small shake of her shoulders she turned a sheepish smile to him. "Sorry to commandeer your bed last night," she laughed. "I hope I wasn't too much of a bother for you."
"You hog the blankets," he said over the rim of his mug.
Rinoa brushed her thumb over her bottom lip as she chuckled. "Sorry," she said again, though her eyes sparkled with mischief that clearly stated that she was not sorry in the least.
"You also move around a lot in your sleep."
"Well…when you sleep alone for so long you get used to having the whole bed to yourself!"
The corner of Squall's lips twitched. "And you snore."
Rinoa's jaw dropped and she rounded the island to give him a playful jab to the shoulder. "I do not!" she cried.
Their hands wrestled with each other for a moment as Rinoa continuously tried to land another jab or pinch, but Squall's skills at evading attacks were far superior to her skills at making contact. "How would you know? You've been sleeping alone a long time, haven't you?" he asked, his hands skillfully taking hold of her wrists and bringing them into a point across her chest. He was about to pull her to him when Zell emerged from the hallway.
"I'm not even here," the blonde said, instantly making a beeline to the coffee machine.
Rinoa broke into laughter and stepped back when Squall released her hands. "Alright," she grinned. "I'm out of here. See you guys tomorrow!"
Zell turned and took a long swallow from his coffee. "So, what's our plan with that? Are we meeting you there? You riding with one of us?"
Rinoa shrugged. "Haven't quite figured that part out yet. I'll probably talk to Selphie and see if she wants to ride with me since you guys will all probably ride in Irvine's Pathfinder since it's the biggest."
"Well, Squall and Irvine usually ride together since he has to lay the backseats flat to fit Squall's kit. Quistis and I normally ride with the amps and merchandise."
"Seifer said he's getting there at around seven," Squall told them.
Rinoa made a face. "Why so early? You guys don't go on until ten."
Squall shrugged and cracked his neck. "Apparently he wants to do some sort of interview for our web page, a little behind the scenes of the band life."
"Alright, well…I'll catch up with Selphie later and see what she wants to do." Rinoa fished her keys from her purse and waved. "Later."
Politely, Zell waited until he heard the click of the door close before he cupped his chin between his hands and leaned his elbows onto the countertop. "Were you two having a moment?" he teased, batting his lashes. "Did I cock block you? Were you getting mushy gushy?"
Squall only sighed and placed his empty mug into the sink. "I'm going to take a shower," he announced. "Lock up behind you when you leave."
Zell took the hint but lightly chuckled, his eyes glinting with mischief-filled playfulness. "Cold shower right?" His chuckle turned into a full on guffaw when Squall shot him a dangerous look. "Oh come on," he teased. "Don't get all butt hurt."
"Zell," Squall warned, already making his way towards the bathroom. "Your ass better be out of here by the time I get out."
"I'm going, I'm going." Zell scooped up his keys from the couch and followed Squall to the door. As he placed a hand on the doorknob he sent Squall another teasing smirk. "You want me to catch up to her in the parking lot and send her up to wash your back?"
Squall's shoulders dropped and he slowly turned around. His fists were curled and ready to be thrown, but the other man had already slunk out the door, leaving behind an echo of his boisterous laughter.
As Rinoa drove she was so thankful that the streets were still fairly empty thanks to the early time. Squall's apartment was close to a freeway's offramp so she had heard him speak about traffic that collected in the area but that the majority of it was usually at the onramp, which was a few blocks further down.
As she sat at a red light she allowed her mind to wander back to the little play fight she had with Squall in the kitchen. He had caught her staring. Even though he may not had known exactly what she was staring at, she was still flustered at the thought of being caught. She had been staring at the center island that he had had her pinned against, but she wasn't thinking about that night—not entirely. His pelvis had perfectly lined up with the countertop's surface, and if he had lifted her up onto the counter that night it would have put her at the perfect height for his…
Rinoa shook her head and moved her car along as the light turned green. Fuck! Has it been that long? she thought to herself. The thought surprised her. How long had it been? She wasn't a fan of one night stands, but she had come across men that she only wanted a few times before she decided that it wasn't worth it. She wasn't looking for the one. She wasn't looking for love. Rinoa was the type who figured that it would happen with it happened.
When she lived in Timber there was a very small number of men that she dated, mostly because her relationships hardly went further than a few coffee dates and flirtatious texts due to her busy schedule. Some men couldn't wait, and that was fine. Let's see…there was Franklin, who was an editor of Timber's local magazine she had done a real estate photoshoot for; after him was Daniel, who worked at the coffee shop she had frequented almost on a daily; and after him was Sei…
Rinoa grimaced. Shit.
Squall entered through the sliding glass doors of the hospital. He made the routine turn to the right and slid in his identification card to be granted passage. "Morning," he nodded to one of the nurses who approached him. "Where is she?"
"Break room," came the response. "Probably taking a quick nap."
"What's her shift today?"
"Eighteen hour, I think she just finished up her first nine."
Squall nodded and proceeded to the break room. There he found her sprawled out across the couch with her arm draped over her eyes. Her scrubs were crinkled and there even seemed to be a smear of blood across the tops of her shoes. He crouched down to the edge of the couch and nudged her with his elbow.
"Hmm?" Her arm slid downwards to rest across her belly and she turned her face, her eyes slowly focusing Squall. "Shit, is it eight already?" With a soft groan she moved to sit up straight.
"You're not sleeping enough," he stated.
Ellone laughed and gave him a shove with the heel of her palm. "Don't give me that," she said. "I won't have my little brother patronize me." She stood from the couch and cracked her neck. "Is that for me?" she grumbled, pointing to the cardboard cup that Squall held in his hands.
He handed her the cup and watched her sip from it. "Are you joining the classes today or are you just going to supervise?"
She jerked her head to the side and motioned for him to follow. "I have an appointment with that soldier I was telling you about the other week. The bio-medically engineered prosthetic finally came in so we're going to attach it today."
They approached the wing where Squall worked and Ellone took another quick gulp to finish her drink. "Thanks for the coffee," she said. She was about to hurry away when she suddenly paused, her brow arching as she actually looked at her brother. Now that she was fully awake and caffeine was coursing through her system…she noticed something. "Something's different." She ran her fingers through Squall's hair and placed the back of her fingers against his forehead as if to feel for a fever. "What's going on, little brother?"
He narrowed his eyes at her belittling tone and hastily removed her hand from him. "The fuck are you talking about?" he snapped.
Ellone laughed at his outrage—it was his dead giveaway that she hit something on the head, normally he never lashed out at her—and threw her empty cup into the garbage can. "Something's different," she repeated, adjusting her ponytail so her chocolate brown hair stayed in place. "What's different about you? What's going on in your life?"
He lifted his shoulders in indifference. "My show's tomorrow."
Ellone shook her head, her gaze scrutinizing his every move. "No," she whispered. "That's not it. You've played countless shows, this next one isn't any different to you."
"This one is being professionally photographed and recorded for a music video."
His sister scoffed and rolled her eyes. "No…that's not it either." She sighed and straightened out her scrubs. "I'll figure it out, you'll see," she promised before glancing down at the gold watch around her wrist and tapping the glass face. "So, my appointment is at eight-thirty…once I have his new prosthetic in place I'm bringing him over to you so you can evaluate him to see when he can start training with you."
"Alright, sounds good." He turned away to head down the hallway that led to his unit but was stopped when he heard the sound of Ellone snapping her fingers.
"It's a woman!"
Squall paused in his tracks and slowly turned his head to look at Ellone over his shoulder. "What?"
Her arms were crossed over her breasts and her lips were upturned into a triumphant smirk. "I knew something was different. Is there a new lady in your life, baby brother?" When he wouldn't stop glaring she tilted her head. "Or perhaps an old flame?" Her dark eyes widened and despite the dark circles that marred the skin beneath them, she looked youthful and giddy with mischief. "Is it Kendra? I did like her…"
Squall sighed and turned away to continue walking. "It's not Kendra."
"So there is someone!"
"No." He pulled on the handle and entered his area of the gym that was used for physical therapy. He nodded to Dr. Kadowaki whom he partnered with. Together they ran the portion of the physical therapy ward that specialized in working with soldiers that had lost limbs in combat. Ellone worked with biomedical engineers who created prosthetics especially for these people. After they were fitted and able to stand, Squall and Kadowaki worked with them to get them back into fighting condition. Some of them chose to continue their careers with their own personal branch of the military while others accepted honorable discharge and went on with their lives. Either way, Squall worked with them so that they were able to exercise on their own.
"Today you are working with Lee," said Kadowaki. "He says he's feeling more confident with the usage of his arm but wants to work more with his hand to hand combat. He feels the punches he throws with his right arm aren't as coordinated as with his left."
Squall nodded as he listened to Kadowaki read over the day's itinerary. He pulled his shirt over his head and folded it neatly into his locker. "What time is he getting here?" he asked, already taping up his wrist.
"Any minute now."
He straightened out his gray running tank top and began to warm himself up by throwing a few punches to the sand bag in the corner. He had worked with Lee almost on a weekly basis for the last six months. Lee was twenty-one and lost his arm during an explosion that took out the helicopter he and his squad were riding. Only Lee and the pilot had survived.
Along with relearning how to fight with his new arm, Lee was dealing with survivor's guilt and a case of PTSD. During one of their sessions the younger man sat with Squall and looked up at him with pain in his eyes. "How do you get over it?" he had asked. "How do you silence the screams that wake you up at night and then you look around and see nothing is there?"
"You don't," Squall had answered. "It's a part of you and it will always be a part of you. You just learn to take it day by day and before long the screams grow quieter and quieter—never fully gone, but…more bearable."
It wasn't what the younger man had wanted to hear but it was the truth—at least, it was for Squall. The truth was that the screaming never went away, he simply learned how to drown it out. For him, it was drumming. He had always been a drummer, ever since he was a little kid, it had always been a hobby and a passion of his. Now, as an adult, it was his sanctuary. It was an escape for him to take out any aggression and frustration, it allowed him to be free and just move. Drumming meant more to him than anyone could ever realize.
It was, as Rinoa had so perfectly stated, an extension on him.
Rinoa blinked at the flower arrangement that awaited her at her apartment's landing. It was withered, the buds wilting and the stalks nearly reaching their breaking point. Clearly it had been there since yesterday. She crouched down and picked up the card that stood from the vase. It must have arrived just after she had left for the studio.
Her eyes scanned over the scrawled handwriting.
I'm sorry
—Dad
With a sigh she unlocked her apartment door and took in the poor, sad little bouquet with her. She unlaced her sandals and set the vase onto her kitchen counter and stared at it. It looked so pitiful, but she was sure it had looked ten times better when it had first come. They were tulips in a vast array of colors. Though severely wilted, their colors or pink and orange still brightly popped.
She couldn't stay angry with him. She couldn't hate him. But that didn't mean she had to necessarily like him either. He was her father, the only family she had in this world. Both he and her mother were only children and all of Rinoa's grandparents had long since passed away. Many children of the military had "uncles," comrades of the father who fought alongside during the wars. However, due to the nature of the job, many of Caraway's comrades died in battle. For so long she knew that he was the only family that she had, sometimes she forgot that she was indeed the only one he had left as well.
Is it why you moved back? Squall had asked her.
Her lips twisted as she thought back to the conversation. She exhaled hotly through her nose in annoyance at his ability to see through her. Because he was right, it really was the true reason. After all, Caraway was her father. He was trying, perhaps not very hard, but there was an attempt. He had never sent her flowers before, he hardly ever apologized…and he had said that he was sorry twice in the last few days.
There was no salvaging the poor flowers. She poured out the remaining water into the sink and with a heavy sigh dropped the withered tulips into the garbage. "I'm sure they were lovely," she whispered.
As she walked down the hallway to her room, she pulled the dress up over her head and left it as a puddle of burgundy fabric in the middle of the hall. She entered her bedroom in only her simple black bra and boy-shorts styled panties with a rose and thorn print.
She practically dove into her bed, her face smothered into her pillow.
She woke up a little after ten to the sound of her phone jingling. With a grunt she flopped her arm over the side of the bed and fished through her purse. When her fingers wrapped around the damned contraption she pulled it up to her ear and flipped over onto her back.
"Hello?"
"What's this I hear about you being in town for barely a week and already you have a paying gig? Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?" said the voice on the other line.
Rinoa laughed and closed her eyes as she listened to the familiar voice. "Yes, Zone, technically I am on vacation…but you know I can never stay away from working for too long. Besides, this gig is pretty fun."
"I can see that," he said. "I'm looking at the pictures you posted—stunning, as always."
"Why thank you."
"Well, if your new job doesn't keep you out too late, I'd like for you to come over by the studio and pick out the colors for your new office and cards."
Rinoa's eyes opened. Shit…that's right, the new studio is supposed to open up in three weeks. "Eh, you know what colors I like. Make Watts do it for me."
Zone practically guffawed. "You sure about that, princess? You remember the last time he picked out colors for you."
Rinoa's lips curled into a snarl. Watts had made everything pink. It was a vomit-inducing splash of hot pink with pearls and frills…and that was just her business card. "Ugh…fine. I'll design my own cards with the new logo and e-mail it to you within the next few days, you can base my office décor off of that."
"Sounds like a plan. Are you able to come over anyway? Or do you have a hot date for this fine Friday evening?"
Rinoa could practically envision Zone wagging his eyebrows at her. "Ha ha," she muttered. "No, no date, but I do have to prepare for this shoot that I have scheduled tomorrow."
"For the band?"
"Yeah, I was hired to photograph the whole set and I've just learned that Hyperion Images is going to do their videography. So I probably have to get there early to figure out good vantage points and check out their lighting since I doubt I'll be allowed to bring any of my reflectors." At least Absolute Lore was headlining that night, she would be able to take a few practice shots on the bands before them and gauge from there.
Zone fell quiet for a moment. "…Hyperion Images?"
Rinoa took in a slow breath through her nose and nodded. "Yep."
"Isn't that…? Oh. Oh, well…" He clicked his tongue. "You have fun with that."
She laughed and absently ran a finger over her collarbone. "Yeah, I'm it'll be interesting. But I'm sure it will be professional. After all, tomorrow night is all about setting the stage for Absolute Lore, not personal issues."
"Well, I still can't believe he never called you back," Zone said in a huff. "For him to give up a drop dead gorgeous woman like you is just criminal!"
Rinoa rolled her eyes but smiled at his words. "I appreciate the compliment, Zone, but if all he desired from me was my looks then I am glad that he never called. Besides, it's been like a year, there's no point in holding a grudge."
"Yeah, but—"
"Zone!" Rinoa cried, trying so hard to hold in her laughter. "You sound more upset over it than I ever was!"
"Ok, ok!" he whined. "On another note, how long are you going to be photographing this band?"
Rinoa paused. "Not sure," she answered. "Right now we're just doing a pay as you go type of thing. After tomorrow's show, I'm not sure what they'd need me for."
"I'm just asking since you start here at the studio in the middle of May. Would they like to continue a contract with us? Then that way you'll also have more resources and manpower in case they want more extravagant shoots."
"I'm sure they'd like to," Rinoa shrugged. "I hope so anyway…I know I'd like to continue working with them. Plus, it'd look good for the studio's resume. Can you imagine? Our portfolio would be star-studded."
Zone enthusiastically agreed. They wrapped up the conversation and he told her to keep him informed as to whether or not Absolute Lore wanted to continue doing business with them so as to keep Rinoa as their photographer.
Rinoa rose from her bed and walked into the den, booting up her computer. As the hours ticked by she busied herself with editing the photographs so they were ready to be uploaded onto the page. As she sipped from her water bottle she let her eyes scan over the shot she took of the group in front of the sunset. She smiled as she thought about how much fun she had been having this last week and a half with them. It would be such a shame if it would really come to an end.
She truly wondered if they would decide to keep her as their photographer. In the last week she had most definitely taken more than enough professional shots to last them for a while, and then with tomorrow's show…there really wouldn't be much need for her after that. My skills, anyway, she corrected herself. She got along with the band, she would hope they would at least keep her as a friend.
Rinoa giggled to herself. What was she going to do? Clap her hands together and beg them to keep her like some sort of little puppy? She laughed at the mental image. Well…she and Selphie had reconnected, of course she was going to see the band again.
As she scrolled through a few more photographs she landed on an image of Squall. He was leaning along the broken concrete slabs, his left knee bent while his other leg was extended. His elbow rested upon the bent knee while his fingers were slightly raised, reaching for the cigarette that dangled from his lips. His steely gaze bore straight through the smoke that escaped through that stormy scowl of his.
Rinoa wet her lips. He was delicious, and she herself only had a small sample.
Her phone suddenly beeped and she jumped in her chair. She touched the screen and swallowed at the name that flashed. Speak of the devil, she thought.
S.L: Selphie said she'll pick you up at seven tomorrow.
Rinoa cocked her head. "Selphie couldn't tell me herself?" she mused aloud. With a shrug she picked up her phone and responded.
R.H: Okie dokie =)
S.L: Did you end up taking a nap?
R.H: I did. Thanks again for letting me crash in your bed.
S.L: Anytime.
R.H: I don't snore, by the way. You lie.
S.L: Yes you do. Loud.
Rinoa started laughing and shook her head at the screen. "You little fucker," she muttered.
S.L: Like a train.
R.H: Yeah well next time I'm going to record it to PROVE to you that you are lying. MEANIE!
S.L: Next time huh…I'll hold you to that.
Rinoa caught her bottom lip between her teeth and squirmed within her seat. She preened at the thought of next time. "Well…I suppose they will decide to keep me after the contract is over after all."
