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Character(s): Rinoa Heartilly, Squall Leonhart
Location: Around Garden
Rating: G? PG?
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed
Summary: They need to talk. Whether it's about the situation concerning the sorceresses and accusations thrown around about Garden. Or the gossip column. It's talk time!

It had to be a little past four. It was Thursday. Classes were scheduled to begin the following Monday while a game of Hide and Seek was scheduled for the day before. Squall wasn't exactly sure about games being played around Garden when they had much bigger things to deal with. But who was he to just stomp on their fun and tell them 'no', Commander or not. Their classes this quarter were harder than before. Longer morning sessions, and the quarters had been extended in time as well. At the moment he was on the search for Rinoa. Irvine had nudged him earlier that week to speak with her. He wasn't sure whether Irvine meant about the sorceress situation or the gossip column, but either way Squall couldn't keep avoiding it forever.

Maybe it was a good thing Quistis couldn't remember much. And maybe it was an even better thing that Xu refused to speak of what had happened that night whenever asked. Of course nothing big had happened. Xu had somehow managed to slip a full bottle of vodka into his room, insisting that the fun and games were far from over. And they'd had a Triple Triad game, or two. Which of course then ended up as Strip Triple Triad as soon as Xu brought the challenge to the table. Quistis being as competitive as she was didn't back down at all and had taken up Xu on the challenge.

Squall had chosen to sit out of that, choosing to sit in the armchair across from the table and glare at them most of the time.

A complete party pooper is what Xu had dubbed him. Until he had stumbled to the door to slap a hand on the lock and follow the two into the bedroom. But like he cared. Nothing had happened. But how to tell that to everyone who read the newsletter or received a copy of it...?

Squall was grateful for the main floor of Garden being as empty as it was at that moment. But he wondered where she could be, stopping near the elevator to take a look around. She had no idea he was looking for her which no doubt made the search for her all the more difficult.

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After everything that had happened and all the conversations she'd had with people, Rinoa had finally decided on her class schedule. She'd rewritten it about three different times before finally cementing the it. It wasn't exactly an easy schedule and she still had a few doubts about several of the choices she'd made, most of which were well out of her comfort zone.

A gunblade? Her? It had seemed like a good idea when she'd first thought about it, but it certainly wouldn't be the easiest thing to learn. She was average at best with swords after all since she was so used to the distance weapons like her blaster edge. Still it would be fun to learn something that at least looked cool and even if it didn't work out it wasn't that big of a deal.

That explained why she was currently cloistered in the library. Tucked in a nook she had her nose buried rather deeply into a book on the history of gunblades since she admittedly didn't know all that much about them. Would Squall frown when he found out? She couldn't help but wonder if he'd find it foolish. (Well it probably was, but the last thing she wanted right now was to see that face frown at her in pinched disapproval.) Though she was beginning to think that maybe he didn't care what she did and that it wouldn't matter. Rinoa had seriously debated causing some sort of gossip worthy scandal, maybe makeout with some random, hot cadet or something else as rash. The idea wasn't entirely appealing though so she'd thrown it out in favor of doing nothing. ~~Silly Rinoa.~~

Moving to the navigation, Squall looked over the options. It gave him something to do instead of just standing there looking a little lost. Besides the navigation would help in cutting out the areas where she wouldn't be. The Garage and Training Center were surely out of the picture. Maybe even the Swimming are and the Cafeteria. Maybe she was in her dorm just spending time on her own.

He wasn't entirely sure and in the end figured that maybe the Library could be his first choice to look. After that he'd try the dormitories.

Not even two minutes later and Squall was entering the Library, giving a nod to the librarian in passing and ignoring the other cadets who stopped to look at him when he walked past. He went past the rows and rows of books and came out at the opening, eyes scanning the seats taken at the cubicles. It was the girl with the dark dark hair that caught his attention and he moved to where she sat, hunched forward and reading a book rather intently.

"There you are," he spoke up as he came up from the side.

His voice alone was an easy enough identifier (even if he didn't talk all that much, so it's not like Rinoa had to turn around to recognize just who had apparently sought her out. Jaw clenching, she stiffened a little before turning to face Squall while trying to keep her face as neutral as possible.

"Squall. I didn't expect to see you here." It was the simple truth after all as lately she'd come to expect that she typically wouldn't really see him unless she sought him out. (Something that was rather unlikely to happen when you were avoiding someone after all.) Marking her page, she sat the book down carefully, cover and binding conveniently out of Squall's line of sight.

"I was looking for you." Figured this would be the first place to check. Was right.

Squall made a gesture to her little pile of books. "... Am I interrupting anything?"

"Looking for me?" If he hadn't caught her attention before, he'd certainly gotten it now. Not that she was going to get her hopes up just yet, it was Squall after all.

"Not really, I was just doing some research. I want to be prepared for classes when they start." See? While Rinoa wasn't the best strategist by any means, she wasn't entirely clueless. "So it's nothing that important."

Squall wasn't exactly sure how to say it or ask. Normally he would walk away and the other person would follow. But Squall didn't just walk away, he stayed where he was and sent a look around the area, catching a few of the Cadets glancing their way. He pushed back the urge to groan - as if it wasn't bad enough with the recent gossip column.

"We need to talk." He nodded back towards the entrance.

That was gossip Rinoa wouldn't have minded so much, solely because she was involved. See how that works?

"We do." She agreed, having decided that there really wasn't a point to denying it. It was high time the air between them was cleared anyway. He got to talk first though, because she wasn't going to start talking about one thing just to find he'd meant a different subject. Not that she wouldn't still say her piece either way mind you.

"Alright, just let me put these books up first?" She grabbed part of the stack and cheekily handing them over to Squall. "You can help." Sure this meant Squall could easily see she'd been researching gunblades, but it wasn't that embarrassing. Then without waiting, she grabbed the rest of the books and then walked off to put them back.

Edited 2010-08-16 03:38 (UTC)

Squall said nothing as he felt the weight in his arms, shifting the small pile to get a better hold on them. He looked down at the top book and did indeed see the book on gunblades. And said nothing. He looked over and watched her go before following to do the same, moving to a different bookshelf, scanning the shelves for where the books would go.

Once he was done that he stepped out into the aisle and waited for her, looking off to the side. She didn't sound all that happy...

Squall saying nothing? That was so ground breaking! Stop the presses there's a new story in the works!

She didn't sound all too happy because, as much as she's been trying to act otherwise so her friends wouldn't notice, she's not particularly happy.

Having finished putting up the rest of the books, Rinoa met him in the aisle. She did smile at him then, but it was small and pretty obviously forced. "Your office or did you have some other place in mind?"

That forced smile didn't go unnoticed. But Squall didn't say anything about it.

Somewhere where we won't be bothered. "My office." He gave a short nod, hesitated for a second, and then began to lead her out of the Library and towards the elevators.

She'd have honestly been surprised if he had said something. That was typically her job description after all.

"Okay." Entirely too used to being lead, Rinoa followed after him. Well, it was high time they'd had this talk so there was no point in putting it off any longer.

Nope; this was one of those more serious discussions. One he really didn't want to have, but what other choice did he have?

Squall was quiet the entire way to the elevator; once the doors opened, he waited for her to step inside first before following her in, hitting the third floor button.

Silence he should have been used to it. It was usually his best companion. However, right now, it was only an awkward one.

Dancing around the issues for the rest of their foreseeable lives? Which, at least in Rinoa's case could possibly be pretty long considering.

She was used to his silence and had gotten rather used to filling it with conversation, so this current silence really did feel awkward. Should she still talk like nothing was wrong? Probably not a good idea, and it was likely that even if she did try she wouldn't have been able to pull it off.

So instead she stood in the corner of the elevator, her teeth sinking delicately into her lower lip as she toyed with the rings on her necklace once again. After all there was no need to worry about if he knew she was feeling worried right about now considering everything that was going on and that had gone on.

The elevator came to a stop on the third floor. Squall stepped out first and led the way to his office, glancing at Rinoa as he entered in the numbers to unlock the door. It slid open on a soft whoosh of air and he waited for her to enter first.

He was trying to think of ways to best approach the situation. With the way the gossip column had made it seem - unspeakable things had happened with the two females, and really. Nothing more than a shared kiss or two and some touching had happened.

Of course Squall still blamed the alcohol. And Xu.

The longer the silence stretched out, the more her nerves seemed to fray and unravel.

She hadn't told anyone, but despite her claims that everything was fine now her nightmares had come back. Maybe they weren't quite the same as they had been for a while there, but they continued to happen regardless and they were becoming more and more frequent.

Sometimes Rinoa even wondered if everything wasn't just a giant nightmare in the first place and that she would eventually wake up to find that this entire crazy trip to the future was just some construct of her sleeping mind. Which naturally did wonders for her temperament since there's nothing like doubting your own reality to make a girl walk around on tenterhooks.

So as Squall continued his rather characteristic silence,(despite the whole thing about the fact that this whole 'we need to talk' thing had been his idea) Rinoa started to walk around the room one hand on her necklace at all times as she looked around.

Squall went to his desk, hesitated, and then turned to face her. He leaned back against the edge and tried to relax but deep in the back of his mind he already knew that that was going to be more than impossible to do. Especially with the way Rinoa continued to walk around the room and clung to her necklace.

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Stop pacing," he told her.

Well it was a habit she had for when she was nervous or scared after all and currently she was feeling a mixture of both so the gesture was understandable really. Though the pacing was new, it showed just how much nervous energy she had though.

Still she did as he commanded, arms instinctively folding over her chest to mirror the way Squall stood. Most of the time this was a playful move, but this time her eyes were serious as she studied him.

"You said we needed to talk? Then you first, go ahead and say whatever it is that's on your mind." Rinoa had no intention of making this easy for him, in fact it was pretty clear that she was making things as difficult as possible. "After all, you wouldn't have come looking for me if you didn't have something to say, right?" It wasn't said with any malice, more just her stating the facts from the way they seemed to her lately in a matter that was... entirely too blunt and would probably just make everything worse. She was good at that after all.

Because she went and mimicked his position and spoke in that tone, he sighed and straightened away from the desk. Seems it was straight down to business after all. Didn't surprise him.

"Irvine came to me earlier. He suggested I check up on you. I..." And here he closed his mouth, cutting himself off. His lips thinned while he thought about something, pressing together into a line. No, he wouldn't bring up the gossip column just yet.

"We're doing everything we can about the backlash."

It didn't take much to break Rinoa's posturing, in fact it crumbled pretty much right at the beginning of 'Irvine came to me earlier.' Despite her past history with mauling certain guys to get her own way, Rinoa often tended to be more talk than anything else.

Wrapping her arms around herself against a sudden chill, her entire expression seemed softer after that. "He did, did he?" She must have worried the sniper more than she'd thought. He really was a good friend. She'd certainly have to thank him sometime.

Squall's facial expression was worrisome though, it seemed there was quite a bit more going on here than she knew. The train of thought about just what that was, got effectively derailed by what he said next though.

Turns out that chill really had been real and she rubbed her hands over her arms awkwardly in an attempt to keep from feeling so cold. It was so hard to remain optimistic when life kept finding ways to rain all over her parade and this was no exception.

"It doesn't look good. Does it?" She asked quietly, utterly serious as she watched his face for even the tiniest change in expression, any hint of just how things were actually going right now. She didn't want to hear the truth really, but she needed to hear the truth anyway after all.

Blue eyes lifted to meet hers. He said nothing at first, only gazed at her. She deserves to know... And then his gaze averted, arms unfolding.

"If Galbadia and Esthar fail to compromise by the end of the year - it'll turn ugly. And fast. We won't be able to stop this; we'll end up involved." Then he added, on a quieter note (even if he hasn't been the one talking to him), "Laguna's doing everything he can. Same for the Headmaster."

He was her 'Knight', wasn't he?

Of course he was worried what this could mean for her. And he was torn on what the best outcome for her would be should it really turn ugly; they'd all fought together in the past, Squall wasn't blind to her strengths as both a person and a sorceress. But he also wasn't blind to her weaknesses.

Her arms tightened around herself and her lips thinned out a little as she pressed them together. That's honestly what she'd expected to hear, that didn't mean she had really wanted to hear it though. Still, it wouldn't have helped if he'd lied to her so what else could they do?

"Galbadia's trying to make impossible demands on purpose aren't they?" Rinoa wasn't stupid, even if some of her plans weren't the best ever. "There isn't going to be a compromise is there? Galbadia isn't likely to budge and there's only so far Laguna can go." She sighed and then forced a smile, trying to shake herself out of this uncharacteristic slump she found herself in.

"Well we've saved the world once, we can save it again, right?" After all what was a little political unrest after a crazy sorceress who was trying to destroy the world?

When it came down to it, she wouldn't run. She had a life here now and good friends. It might be selfish of her, but she didn't want to lose that for anything. Garden had become her home and the last thing she wanted to do was give it up. Without Garden and her friends she'd have nothing left after all. If that wasn't something worth standing up and fighting for, she wasn't sure what was anymore.

Of course he was, which is why no matter what else was going on she'd trust him. He'd never steered her wrong yet after all.

Edited 2010-09-07 18:16 (UTC)

"Knowing him he probably offered them his resignation as a bonus," he sighed, shaking his head. That man would do anything. And I can't say I'd blame him for trying...

Squall looked across to her then, unsure what else there was for him to say. The gossip column was the last thing he wanted to discuss. He didn't want to talk about what had happened between Quistis and himself; it just wasn't something she needed to hear. Or at least so he thought.

That actually brought something close to a smile out of Rinoa. Sometimes it was hard to see how Squall and Laguna were related and other times it was surprisingly clear. Though in the end the two men had more in common than Squall probably realized (or wanted to admit), which was cute on its own.

"And if they won't cave for that, then there's nothing that can get them to sign." Which was actually a pretty depressing thought, but she was trying to avoid the depressing thoughts. Think positive! After everything they'd gone through they could handle a little more couldn't they?

Rinoa watched Squall as he looked at her, wondering just what was on his mind. There had to be something. She wasn't just imagining it, was she? So she took a step forward and rested one hand on the desk near where he was before leaning forward. "What is it? There's something on your mind isn't there?" She smiled, trying to keep the mood light. "Do I need to lecture you about opening up to people and relying on friends for help again?" If only it was that simple.

"When isn't there something on my mind?" came the tired question, and Squall leaned back against the desk once again. It wasn't because she was leaning in close, he didn't mind that. He was just worn out mentally, the business between Galbadia and Esthar. The inevitability of a war between Gardens.

His own thoughts and concerns ranging from the Cadets to (something he wouldn't admit) his father and the Headmaster. Balamb. His friends. And her.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Which was probably a silly question considering, but she had to at least offer. "It's not good to keep it all bottled in, remember?" She continued to watch him closely, he did look pretty tired and that alone was cause for concern. Was he sleeping enough? What about his eating habits, were they as lousy as she thought they were? ~~What? A sorceress is totally allowed to be worried about the welfare of her knight. Really!~~

She wouldn't be too surprised to hear that, despite what he tended to admit he was the sort of guy who cared for everyone in his own way. Yes, even when it came to Laguna.

Squall? Talking or at least trying to? How cute. ;)

heheh :)

<3

<3~

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