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Entry tags:

(no subject)

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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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 was having some trouble sleeping. And his eating habits were the same as ever. It was mostly the entire situation they were all facing that bore the most weight.

"About what Irvine said... his concerns, I mean. You haven't asked about it yet," he pointed out, referring to the newsletter.

That was never good, not that she could really think of any way to help with that though. Same as ever was a pretty vague thing. She'd probably make good and seriously start bringing him up an actual lunch just to make sure he was eating the way he should regardless.

She fell quiet and looked away for a moment before glancing back at him. "I was kind of hoping you'd bring it up so I wouldn't have to say anything. I mean, I know you said I should just ignore it because it's gossip and all, but if that's true then you could at least tell me what really happened, right?"

He looked at her, eyes roaming over the features of her face. Then he sighed quietly. There was really no other way to avoid this conversation, was there?

"We didn't sleep together... if that's what you were thinking," he answered after a moment.

It felt weird to be looked at so closely, but she didn't say anything, just toyed with her mother's ring until he was done. No, no there wasn't. It was a conversation that needed to happen.

Her cheeks heated up at that and Rinoa shook her head. "I wasn't thinking anything like that!" She'd been trying not to anyway, the newsletter had done a great job of hinting at it to the point that it was hard to ignore it, but she'd been trying.

"Hard not to with the way the newsletter made it sound." Squall shrugged a shoulder.

Ah. He had her there.

"Well, I was trying not to anyway." She hadn't wanted to believe it that was for certain and so had just done her best to ignore that part as best as possible.

And now he stood there in silence.

He was kind of hoping she wouldn't ask for details. He really didn't want to have to explain things to her.

"Well? What really happened then?"

No such luck Squall, life just wasn't that kind.

His eyes jerked up to meet hers. She can't be serious.

"...What?"

It's not everyday that something manages to complete throw Squall for a loop. Now that she has, she's more than a little curious about whatever it is that had him so on edge.

"Mmhm!" Rinoa smiled, tilting her head to the side as she watched him. Clearly his reactions here were going to be pretty telling after all. "Isn't that the best way to clear up gossip? Saying what really happened?"

Squall doesn't know what to say. All sorts of excuses are running through his head. On top of it he doesn't have the time to deal with this.

Really - he was going to demote Nida and give him ten years' worth of punishment tours for this.

It's not exactly gossip if... "Yeah... But I don't think you're going to like it."

"When has that stopped you from telling me the truth before?" Rinoa tried to remain optimistic, but it was pretty hard when he started off with a line like that. It couldn't be that bad, could it? If only she knew.

She had a point. And he hated that she had a good point.

Internally, Squall cringed. Externally, Squall kept his eyes locked with hers. "I think it's best to only know that none of us slept together. And leave it at that."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, if he thought she was just going to let this go he had another thing coming.

"What really happened? Something must have or you wouldn't be acting like this." First he said she wouldn't like it and now he was trying to avoid from telling her anything at all? Did he really think she'd just docilely agree to leave it at that after he'd said something so baiting?

Her stomach was already in knots as her mind tried to piece together just what it was he was trying so hard not to tell her. Unfortunately Rinoa had a very active imagination so who knew just what her mind would cook up?

"It's not important," he tried not to get snappy about it, but it was a little hard not to with her pressing for answers.

The worst part about it was his conscience telling him that she needed to be told. It wouldn't be right to keep her in the dark. There shouldn't be secrets between them; they were knight and sorceress to one another.

"It's not important, but I won't like hearing it and it's clearly got you on edge when I ask about it?" She closed the distance between them just a little more, glaring up at him more or less.

"Either it's really not important so hearing about it won't bother me and there's no reason for you to hide it from me or it's actually fairly important after all so it would bother me and that's why you're hiding it from me. Which one is it really, Squall?"