A/N: Hey loves. Sorry for the delay. Had something very personal going on in my life that started basically the day after my last update and then work/school full time along with the holidays...got a tad overwhelmed.

Enjoy! xoxoxox


Squall eyed Rinoa weaving in and out through the aisles of the flower shop. Her fingertips softly caressed over rose petals and gently pinched an ivy leaf that dangled from a display. Her eyes scanned over the choices of greenery and she squealed in delight at the options. Squall had felt overwhelmed almost immediately after stepping through the shop's doors. There were way too many different kinds. Whenever he thought of a flower he first thought of a rose or perhaps a daisy…never had he realized there were so many different families of flowers.

"What are you thinking?" Rinoa suddenly asked, breaking his train of thought.

"Um."

Rinoa softly laughed and tugged at the cuff of his sleeve to drag him along behind her. "Have you ever bought flowers before?" When he shook his head she smiled and dropped his hand so she could grasp a pot of zinnias. "Well, we could just grab whatever draws your attention first?"

"What kind of flowers do you bring to your mom?" he asked her.

Rinoa placed the pot back onto its display and tucked a strand of black behind her ear. "Well…my mom always wore this nail polish color that was a mix of black and purple." Rinoa's smile grew wider as she talked about her mother's fingers gracefully dancing over the pale white keys of the piano. "So my dad likes to grab her black calla lilies. They're like this deep, rich, and really intense purple…I think he even said that she had black calla lilies as her wedding bouquet."

Squall felt a small surge of warmth swim through his veins as he watched Rinoa reminisce about her mother.

"How about blue?"

"Blue?" Squall asked.

"For the flowers," Rinoa answered, moving away to approach another display of flowers. "How about we pick a blue flower since your mother's eyes were blue." She picked up a pot that held a stalk of blue orchids. "And your eyes are blue…this one's really pretty."

Squall took the orchid from Rinoa and stared at the petals. The tips were a pale blue and deepened in color as it moved further into the center of the orchid. The little unblossomed buds along the stalk dangled like little blueberries. They were an interesting sight. He nodded and held the flower pot closer to him as he glanced over to Rinoa. "Alright, let's get these."

Rinoa let out a short laugh. "Squall, you can't just pick the first one you looked at!"

"I'm not. You suggested a blue flower and I like this one."


Squall held out his hand. "I'll drive if you could hold the flower."

"Sure." She hopped into the passenger seat and protectively held the flower pot in her lap.

"You didn't have to buy it," he said to her when he turned the ignition.

Rinoa gave him a smile, thinking to how he started to argue with her in front of the cashier when she kept pushing his hand away and giving the cashier her own card. She thought to the cashier's patient smile and tried not to laugh when she knew the cashier was probably thinking, 'Ugh, you guys aren't cute. Just fucking pay already.' "I know I didn't have to but I wanted to. So I did. End of story."

As the drive went underway, Rinoa shifted in her seat. "Tell me about the tattoo on your back. It's stunning."

Squall glanced at her and gave her that slight grin before focusing back on the road before him. "Thank you. I don't know why you want to know so badly…I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not the greatest storyteller."

"Yeah, you suck at it, but I still want to know!"

"It's a combination of things, I got it a few years ago. When I was a kid Ellone taught me about the zodiac and how I'm two signs because my birthday is on the cusp."

"You believe in the zodiac?" Rinoa asked.

Squall shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think the stars have any control over your personality or characteristics but…" He chuckled lightly and pulled his cigarettes from his jacket. "Ellone always told me that the stars would watch over me and that they'd be my guardians. Lions were my favorite animal and since my birthday is August 23rd, my zodiac sign is Leo and Virgo."

Rinoa smiled. "The lion and the angel."

"Yeah," he smirked, lighting the cigarette and ashing out the window. "The stars in my skin are the constellations of Leo and Virgo."

"And the woman with the lion above them?"

"The tarot card of Strength." He glanced at Rinoa again. "I don't believe in tarot either, but I like to read about otherworldly beliefs."

"You really like stars, don't you?" she asked, gently stroking her nails over his thigh.

"They're constant," he said back. "Even when one dies another comes in and takes its place. It's a cycle that will continue on even when we humans have run our planet into nothingness. The stars will remain."

Rinoa lowered her lashes and gave his thigh a soft squeeze. "Stars are beautiful," she murmured. Ever since that night in his Jeep, she hadn't looked at stars the same way. Every time she looked out her window and was able to see them glittering against the night sky like diamonds…she thought about how he held her, how his lips caressed her body while he thrust himself into her. "When your tour's over we should go stargazing again."

He grinned and laced his fingers through hers for a moment. "The best time is summer," he said. "When the skies are clear. The best place is the desert—that's where Ellone would take me—or the cliff you and I were at last time." He turned towards her and gave her a smoldering smirk.

Rinoa smiled widely, her eyes crinkling at the corners and Squall felt his heart skip a beat. "Is the cliffside your favorite place to stargaze?"

"It is now," he said lowly.

His grin widened when he saw the color rise to the apples of her cheeks. She giggled and prodded a finger to his chest. "You charmer," she purred. "I bet you say that to all the girls you'd brought there."

Squall didn't miss the gentle fishing for information. "No," he told her. "The cliff was a place I always went to alone. You were the first person I ever brought there."

"Really?"

"Yes," he said firmly.

It grew quiet and Rinoa cradled the flower pot to her middle. "At least your zodiac signs are lovely," she sighed. "Mine's a fish."

Squall let out a laugh and looked over at her. "Pisces?" he asked.

She nodded and sucked in her cheeks so she made a fish face at him. "I don't think it fits me at all," she said, her voice muffled.


Rinoa knelt down and placed the white flower pot before the simple block tombstone. Her eyes scanned over where it read

Raine Lobo

Loving wife and mother

"Lobo?" she asked quietly, her head turning towards the marker beside Raine's.

Viktor Lobo

Loving husband and father

"Leonhart was her maiden name," Squall said, lighting a cigarette.

Rinoa watched as the smoke floated through Squall's parted lips and was mesmerized by the silent and pensive expression that washed over his features as he ran his fingers over Raine's name. "Squall?"

His eyes flicked over to meet hers. "Yes?"

"May I…" Rinoa wet her lips and took a quick breath. "Would it be alright if I took some pictures of you? While you visit your mother?" It seemed such a private moment, she didn't want to intrude, but it was such a beautiful sight to see him longingly gaze at what was left of his mother's memory.

His eyes darkened, only slightly, as if he were about to oppose, but then he looked at Raine's grave once more before slowly nodding. "You're not going to put it on the web page, are you?"

"No. No, I'd never, but I'd like to use these shots for my own personal portfolio, if that's alright." He nodded and she removed her camera from its home and stood to her feet, shooting away. Her heart warmed yet ached at the sight of him through the lens. This man before her had been so hardened by his trials through Life yet that rough exterior had melted and now she could see the little boy beneath, the little boy who missed his mother who had been taken from him too early. Rinoa circled around the grave and continued shooting. "Do you have any memories of your mother? You were so young when she passed…you said you remember her hands but do you have a memory?" When Squall looked at her over his shoulder, she clamped her teeth into her bottom lip. Shit.

Then his gaze dropped and it appeared he tried to think of one. "I can't even remember the sound of her laugh," he said. "But I do remember she was always smiling." He craned his neck to look back at the grave and lit another cigarette. "I remember sitting on the couch with her, wrapped in a large blanket, and she was reading something to me…some story book maybe."

He became quiet again, and Rinoa sucked in a breath and snapped away at her camera.


"Let me know when you stop for the night," Selphie said, leaning in through the open passenger window to give Irvine another kiss.

"Of course, babe," he said to her.

Rinoa gently pushed Squall's head back so it rested against the driver's side head rest, making enough space for her to lean forward with her camera and take a quick snapshot of the couple saying their goodbyes. With a quiet grin she lowered her camera and pulled away from the window. Her gaze turned back to Squall, who was watching her with those intense eyes of his.

Their trek back into town was quiet, but not entirely the comfortable quietness they had experienced together prior. She didn't ask again about his mother, and she wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries with him by asking too many questions about her. He didn't seem to mind talking about what he knew about Raine thanks to Ellone but when it came to what he remembered about her, he shut down. Rinoa's smile faltered, only briefly, but she swallowed and gave Squall a friendly pat to the shoulder. Did I upset you? Because I kept bringing up that you can't even remember the sound of her laugh… she thought to herself. Probably…I'd get upset too if someone kept reminding me.

"Drive safe," she said, moving to take a step back.

Before she could get too far, his hand snaked through the open window and caught her wrist.

Rinoa looked at his hand wrapped around her wrist and watched warily as he moved his fingers over the surface of her hand, his fingers binding around hers and bringing her hand up to his lips.

He laid a soft kiss across her knuckles. With his gaze still stormy and jaw set like stone, he said, "Five weeks, Rinoa."

Rinoa swallowed but gave him a wide grin. "I'll see you," she said back. "Drive safe," she said again, this time her fingers tightening a bit to give his fingers a squeeze.

Squall let his lips brush over her knuckles once more and steadily held her gaze. "Thank you," he whispered.


When Selphie had herself safely buckled into Rinoa's Cube and they started driving off, she looked over at the little red gift bag that was tucked into the center console. "Ooh! Did you go shopping?"

"Huh? Oh…no…"

Selphie fished through the tissue paper and pulled out the mermaid mug. "Ooooh…this is cute! Where'd this come from?"

"Oh, um, Squall bought it for me…when they were in Dollet."

Selphie hardly placed any reaction to Rinoa's statement and turned the mug over to look at all the details. "Super cute. The mermaid looks like you." She carefully wrapped the mug back into the tissue paper and placed it back into the center console. "So. You tapping that or what?"

Rinoa spurted out a laugh and covered her mouth. "Selphie!"

"What? I'm curious! You could cut through that sexual tension like butter."

Rinoa chuckled and reached over to give Selphie a quick pinch. "Shut up."

"Well, he does like you. Irvine told me that whenever your name comes up Squall always gets this little far away dreamy look in his eye. Oh! And Quistis told me that whenever someone—usually Hans—makes a comment about how hot you are, Squall gets a little fired up. Never says anything but…they know him well enough to notice the change in his demeanor. Ooh! And Zell said…"

"What, is everyone trying to push us together?" Rinoa laughed.

Selphie dropped her hands into her lap and gave Rinoa a smile. "I don't think you guys need any kind of pushing. I'm sure you're able to do all that on your own. We were just talking about how we noticed that there's…something…going on between you two."

"Well we haven't entirely figured out that something yet," Rinoa said.

"Because of the tour?"

Rinoa shrugged. "It just makes more sense to us to talk things out when he gets back."

"True."

"I mean, I've done the whole long-distance relationship thing and it's not easy so I don't know…"

Selphie made a face. "Yeah but wasn't that with Seifer? Maybe it didn't work out because it wasn't with the right person."

"I can't really argue with that," Rinoa giggled. "With Seifer it was purely physical, we weren't really able to talk much."

"Do you and Squall talk a lot?"

"No, not a lot…but he asks questions that hold more meaning…you know? Like, he'll ask about my dad, my mom, what got me into photography, what project I'm working on now…stuff like that." Rinoa swallowed and nervously bit her bottom lip. "And usually he'll answer questions I ask him but…well, I think I went a little overboard today."

"How you mean?" Selphie asked, leaning back into her seat.

"I asked about his mom."

Selphie nodded her head. "Ah."

"And even though he's told me that he doesn't remember much about her, I keep talking and talking and asking about her. It's like I keep digging myself into a hole because I haven't figured out when to shut up."

Selphie gave Rinoa's thigh a little pat. "I'm sure he's not upset at you. He gets quiet for millions of reasons. He was probably trying to think. If he did get upset it probably wasn't at you but more so that he couldn't remember much about her," she said, mirroring Rinoa's own thoughts about the subject.

"Maybe," Rinoa sighed. "I just wish I knew my boundaries with him so I'd know what not to overstep."

"Oh please," Selphie scoffed. "You can't know all the boundaries when you start a new relationship. Where's the fun in that?" She tried not to laugh when she noticed Rinoa bite her lip at the mention of 'new relationship.' "Hey…I can call it something else if it'd make you feel more comfortable? I mean, you cannot deny that there is a mutual attraction between you two! And I have a feeling it's more than just physical attraction." Before Rinoa could respond, Selphie reached over and turned on the radio, filling the car with Mistress Mecia's smokey laughter.

"Hello my beautiful children," she purred through the speakers. "For this lazy Monday evening I'm going to replay pieces of my interview with Absolute Lore from yesterday. If you were able to I hope you enjoyed their show up in Winhill last night. If not, don't you worry babies, I had a camera crew there last night and the video has already been uploaded onto the Ultimate Rock FFVIII web page."

For the rest of the drive Rinoa and Selphie listened to Absolute Lore's interview. When it came to the part where Squall was asked about the inspiration behind Stars, Rinoa sucked in a breath.

Mecia: "And was that great night spent alone?"

Squall didn't say anything back to her, instead he was quiet but Rinoa could hear the slight exhale of a short sigh that he tried to disguise as a laugh. She could only imagine the look on his face. When the interview came back to him and Mecia asked him if he was going to start writing more, Rinoa followed Quistis' instructions and listened.

Squall: "I find it easier to write than to speak. It's easier to get the words out."

Zell: "Yeah, he's not the most eloquent little fucker."

Rinoa giggled when she heard a noise follow that quip that sounded an awful lot like a boot hitting a hard shin. She looked over to Selphie and saw her rolling her eyes and trying not to laugh.

Irvine: "Even though he is terrible with voicing his feelings, Squall is able to really put down into words how he feels. The lyrics of Stars are simple, yes, but when I read them and we were able to work it into the beat he and Zell created…they were dripping with meaning, with emotion. I mean…I was taken aback."

Quistis: "He hadn't written lyrics in a while—at least, not for an entire song. Squall will normally help piece together a chorus or add in a line here or there. He hasn't written a song in its entirety in quite some time so I'm really glad that he's back to writing because…seriously…Stars is amazing."

Squall: "Thank you."

Mecia: "Thank you for writing it! I've listened to it a few times already and I'm just…blown away by it. We are extremely grateful that you are back into writing lyrics and not just music. You should do it more."

Irvine: "Methinks he's got himself a little muse for inspiration."

There was no sound immediately after, and Rinoa could feel the heated glare that Squall was shooting towards the cowboy. A nervous chuckle came from Quistis and then a loud guffaw from Zell.

Zell: "Sweet, now I'm not the one Squall's pissed at."

Mecia: "Hey, having a muse is wonderful! Remind me to thank her for expanding your creativity."

Squall: "I'll be sure to thank her for you."

Even Rinoa rose her brows at the very scant hint of flirtation laced in his retort.

Mecia: "So there is a 'her!'"

The rest of the band laughed along with Mecia and then the interview immediately turned towards how the tour was going and how it was like reuniting with a band they had played with previously.

Selphie scooted closer to Rinoa nuzzled against her shoulder. "Ooooooh…Squall's got a crush on someone!" she sang. "Now, who could that person possibly be? Who is Squally's little muse?"

"I haven't the slightest idea of what you are talking about," Rinoa said despite the blush that reddened her entire face. Clearing her throat, she attempted to turn the conversation onto another subject. "How do you and Irvine make it work? Besides fuck like rabbits when he gets back?"

Selphie chuckled but it slowly died down to an almost awkward groan. "It's not easy, I will admit." She sighed and leaned back into her seat. "I haven't really been talking about it but…we've been arguing a lot over the phone. Nothing too crazy…just…he's so damn exhausted by the time he's able to talk on the phone with me that I feel like he's sleeping through our conversations."

Rinoa paused. "Oh. I'm so sorry."

Selphie shrugged. "It was bound to happen. I mean, we went from seeing each other almost every day to maybe every few weeks or so. We tried to talk about it the other night but…"

"You guys were drunk."

"Yep!"

It grew quiet for a few breaths and Rinoa cautiously took a glance at Selphie. The brunette was simply staring out ahead of her, her green eyes staring straight out through the windshield as Rinoa kept a steady speed. "You ok?" she asked gently.

Selphie twisted her lips and turned her head towards Rinoa. "Yeah, I'm ok," she sighed. "We don't know what the future holds for us. To be honest I'm a little hesitant to think too far ahead, I think for now we'll just take it one day at a time." She gave Rinoa a smile. "I mean, what else is there to do? I love him. He loves me."

"What more do you need?" Rinoa grinned, quickly scooping up Selphie's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "You two have love, it'll sort itself out in time. And besides, wouldn't knowing exactly what your future holds kind of ruin it? Taking it day by day, not knowing exactly where it may lead is part of the fun!"

Selphie laughed. "How is it that one is able to give the best advice and yet not take the advice for themselves?"


Two weeks later…

Squall stepped into Djinn Theory's tour bus and cocked his head when he saw Irvine sitting at the edge of one of the cots. He had his head down, elbow bent as it rested against his knee so his massaged his forehead. He sighed, shifting slightly and Squall saw that in Irvine's other hand was his phone, pressed against his ear so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Fine," Irvine mumbled, his voice gruff. "Look, I love you—babe?" He pulled the phone away and growled when he saw that the screen was blank. "Fuck," he muttered, dropping the phone onto the cot. He glanced up and saw Squall standing before him.

Squall slowly swallowed the bite of the burrito he held in his hand. The silence between them was thick, save for Squall's chewing. "You alright?" he finally asked.

Irvine scoffed and leaned back against the tour bus wall. "Hope you brought beer."

With a soft click of his tongue, Squall turned and picked up his duffle bag from beneath his own cot. "Got you one better," he said, sliding out a half full bottle of Jack Daniels. He unscrewed the cap and handed it to Irvine before sitting on the cot across from him.

Irvine graciously accepted the bottle and took a long swig of the bottle. Between them were only the sounds of the whiskey sloshing back and forth within the glass and Squall finishing off his food.

"It's Selphie," Irvine finally said.

Squall said nothing, only crumpled up the wrapper to his burrito and swiftly tossed it into the waste basket to the right of him.

"She's hasn't been feeling well the last few days so I haven't been calling her so she can rest." Irvine groaned and took another swig before handing the bottle to Squall. The cowboy undid his ponytail and let his waves fall around his shoulders. "Of course this makes me a complete dick because I'm not communicating with her."

Squall could only nod as he listened to Irvine summarize the near hour long conversation that he and Selphie just had. As Irvine went on, Squall let his mind wander to his own conversations with Rinoa. They were brief and mostly in text so responses were sometimes hours apart.

"As we talk more and more about it we've come to realize that this is something we knew was most likely going to happen," Irvine said.

"Well, even though you 'knew' it was going to happen is it worth throwing away your relationship?" Squall took a quick swig before passing the bottle back.

Irvine scoffed and took hold of the Jack. "I don't believe so," he answered. "And honestly I don't think Selphie thinks so either. I think she's just…frustrated. I don't know. Every time she wants to talk and update each other about shit there's nothing to talk about. We're doing the same shit every night. If we're not playing a show we're hanging out at a bar or in the band's room. There is nothing exciting to fill her in with but she insists that there has to be something for me to talk about."

Squall took a breath and rotated his shoulders backward, groaning when he felt the muscles in his torso pop. "So then, what's the problem? Are you planning on ending it with Selphie or something?"

"No," Irvine said firmly, shaking his head. "The problem is I don't know what the fucking problem is. And if she knows what the problem is she sure isn't fucking telling me." He released an aggravated sigh and chugged at the bottle. "The other problem is I'm not drunk enough for this shit."

"Sorry, man," Squall said, watching him finish off the bottle.

Irvine shrugged and let out a long belch. "Yeah. Well…I'll try and call her in the morning. See if I can catch her right before her class." He stood to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna see if Hans will let me use his shower. I think the hot water is out in the bus so I hope you weren't planning on showering here."

"Hans is with Zell and Quistis at the movies," Squall said. "They wanted to see the new Tarantino film."

"Hans still trying to get in with Quistis?"

Squall shrugged. "Between those two? I think the chase is better than the catch." Squall lifted his brows and quickly played the drum beat to Motorhead's song across his abdomen. "Royce and Fujin are still in the room I think."

Irvine nodded, wiggled his fingers as if he were playing Chase is Better Than the Catch's guitar riff and reached behind him to pull his hair back into a ponytail. "Decided not to party with them tonight?"

"Uh…not really." Squall wasn't about to mention that he had a video chat date with Rinoa but the look that Irvine sent him told him that the cowboy had a slight inkling as to what Squall's motives were.

Irvine gave Squall a pat to the shoulder and offered a grin. "If you need it my laptop's under my pillow."

After Irvine left, Squall sighed and pulled out the aforementioned laptop and nestled it upon his thighs as he situated himself against the wall of the bus. His phone beeped and he flicked his thumb over the screen to read Rinoa's text.

R.H: Hey. Just logged in =)

S.L: Ok. I'm borrowing Irvine's laptop.

Squall logged on and immediately breathed a contented sigh when Rinoa's smiling face filled the screen. "Hey," he said, smirking when he saw that she was leaning forward towards her computer screen, her delicate chin balanced upon her crossed fingers.

"Hey!" Rinoa smiled brightly and Squall noticed the tint of red that colored her luscious lips.

"New lipstick?" he asked.

Rinoa chuckled and her nose crinkled a bit at the action. "Yeah. I was with Frannie earlier today," she said, referring to the subject of her next project: a boudoir photoshoot a woman wanted as a gift for her husband to be, "and we went out and played with makeup. We also went corset shopping."

Squall's brows rose a fraction and his eyes immediately dipped down towards the bottom of the screen, only to see that his view of her body stopped just short of her collar bone if she moved away her hands. "Did you now?"

Rinoa ran the tip of her tongue between her teeth and she giggled. "I did. Frannie and I had a little too much fun at the lingerie store…"

Before Squall could ask if Rinoa had bought anything at this particular lingerie store, Rinoa scooted back and stood to her feet so the entire top half of her body was in camera view. The corset looked simple at first, a satiny black material that encased her small torso. Along the tops of her breasts were little white frills of lace and beads, accentuating the now exaggerated cleavage that Squall was feasting his eyes on.

"Holy…" His grip on the laptop faltered and it slid off his thighs and landed upon the cot's mattress. "Fuck!" He scrambled to right the computer, his ears burning as he heard Rinoa's laughter ringing through the speakers.

"Squall? You ok?"

Squall got the laptop upright and he pressed his lips together and cleared his throat, hardly able to look directly into Rinoa's eyes. "I'm fine," he muttered.

Rinoa giggled and she sat back down. "Did you like my new corset?" she teased.

"Yes," Squall nodded, moving his eyes back to meet hers. "I politely request that you wear your new corset the next time we meet."

"Really…" she purred. "I think I can arrange that."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

"You excited for your show tomorrow night?" Rinoa asked. "Did you come up with any new songs?"

Squall shook his head and leaned back against the wall of the bus. "Nah. We probably won't get too focused on writing new material until we get back. We've been fucking around with a few rhythms but nothing that's melded into a full on song yet."

"Well I can't wait to hear new songs from you. I heard Stars on the radio today as me and Frannie were driving. Everyone is just loving it." Rinoa grinned widely. "Pretty soon you guys will start seeing chicks with the lyrics tatted along their collarbones or on the inside of their bicep."

The thought made Squall laugh aloud. "You should get the lyrics right across here," he said, aiming the laptop's camera towards his lower abdomen. "You know, just so it peeks right above your panties."

"Oh yeah? So that way when you're on top of me our tattoos can be buddies?"

Squall let out another rare laugh, this one loud enough for him to immediately cover his mouth with his hand. "I think it'd be sexy."

"I think I'll get "I move the stars for no one" right above my panties," she said with a giggle. "But then that would really only be funny if all my panties had some kind of star motif on them…"

"Do you plan on getting any more tattoos?" Squall asked, shaking his head at the mental image.

Rinoa shrugged but gave Squall a smoldering, heated grin. "I'm not sure. What about you?"

"Eventually. I've been debating on whether or not I want a sleeve but I haven't decided if I want to start from my wrist up or shoulder down."

"Well, you'll be in Esthar soon. If you want I can try and get a hold of Raymond and see if he's still got a studio out there." Soon the conversation moved into tattoo ideas that they once had for themselves back when they were younger and together they laughed at themselves before Rinoa sighed and brushed a strand of black behind her ears. Her brow arched and she glanced over her shoulder.

"What's up?" Squall asked.

Rinoa giggled and scrunched her nose in amusement before she lifted her eyes to meet Squall's. "Guess what's on the radio right now?"

Squall made a face. "Wow, I hope they don't over play the shit out of it," he muttered.

"Oh, don't be a killjoy!" Rinoa teased. "I don't think anyone can get tired of it. I know I won't ever get tired of it," she said with a gleaming smile. "And really, as long is I like it then that's all that matters."

Squall laughed. "Well, it is ideal that you wouldn't get sick of it."

Rinoa's laughter simmered to a slow and easy chuckle within her throat. "I don't think I could ever get tired of it," she said again, her voice just barely over a murmur.

"Oh yeah? And why is that?" He felt his heart quicken a beat when he watched Rinoa shyly run her fingers through her hair, her dark eyes aimed downwards while she nibbled her bottom lip. God, how he wanted to sink his fingers into her hair and pull her to him right at that moment…how he so yearned to just hold her and breathe in her intoxicating scent.

"Because…" she said softly. "It reminds me of the night before you left. You know…how we were beneath the stars…" Rinoa trailed off and Squall noticed the faint blush that hinted upon her cheeks. "Every time I hear it I'm brought back to that night, so...no, I don't think I ever could get tired of it." Finally she lifted her gaze to him and Squall could see the hesitation that rested in her eyes.

Before the silence could grow thick with any doubt, Squall grinned and nodded. "I'm glad," he told her simply.

Rinoa shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Squall assured her. "Because I wrote it for you."


"Chase is Better Than the Catch" lyrics by Motorhead

"Within You" lyrics by David Bowie