by Carmilla

Squall woke as a hand gently shook his shoulder. "Yes?" he said, groggily. Looking up, he saw the smiling face of Rinoa Heartilly.

"Squall, wake up," she said. "I want to talk to you."

"What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said. "Just thought it would be fun to hang round together, that's all. We haven't seen a lot of each other lately."

It was true, and Squall knew it. He'd had a lot on his mind recently, and hadn't spent much time with any of his friends. He felt especially guilty for abandoning Rinoa, though. Although she was settling in much better, she still wasn't completely comfortable living amoungst the SeeDs.

"So, are you coming?" she prompted.

"Yeah, sure," said Squall. "Just give me a minute to get dressed."

As Rinoa waited outside, Squall quickly pulled on his usual clothes and tidied his hair. Rinoa was waiting outside his room when he emerged. Something about her looked different......

"I like the dress," he said. She was indeed wearing a new dress, and not the spangled one she wore for parties. This was simply cut, white, and reached about to her knee.

"Thanks," she said. "I didn't think you'd notice."

Squall didn't answer, but he felt a little guilty nonetheless. Instead, he said, "Where do you want to go?"

"The training grounds," she said, decisively. "I want to see them. I've heard they can be very beautiful, especially this time of year. And its so peaceful there."

Apart from all the monsters..... Squall thought grimly, even as he heard himself agreeing. They walked towards them together in companiable silence. Squall couldn't help noticing how deserted the place was. The few people who were around seemed very subdued, and most of them were staying out of sight. Rinoa tugged at his hand impatiently when he wanted to stop and help a young SeeD with a limp that he was sure she hadn't had yesterday. Sighing, he let her drag him away. The girl looked at him strangely as he passed.

They made their way into the training grounds together. Rinoa led him down the left hand path and stopped briefly at a little patch of ground which had recently been churned up. "Poor little flowers," she said softly, picking up a small white blossom that lay trampled in the mud. Not knowing what to say, Squall simply stood beside her, a hand resting gently on her shoulder. There was something strange about her today........but he didn't like to disturb her thoughts.

In a minute, she shook herself, and rose. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "What was that for?" Squall asked, raising a hand to his face. "Just for being there," she said, not seeming at all embarassed. "For being patient with me. For just....being with me." Squall coloured slightly and dropped his head. They started to walk away.

The training grounds were empty. Not a soul was there. Rinoa headed for the 'secret place', Squall in tow. Once there, she shut the door behind them, and leaned against it, seemingly exhausted.

"Rinoa?" Squall asked tentatively. He reached out a hand towards her, but she shrank back.

"Please," she said. "I'm sorry, but please don't touch me. Not just yet."

Squall let his hand drop back to his side, but he continued to watch Rinoa worriedly. In a few minutes, she seemed to have composed herself, because she walked forward. "Now you can touch me," she said with a soft smile. Before Squall knew what was happening, she was kissing him. It didn't even occur to him to resist. After all, this was what he had wanted for a while. Something was wrong, but he couldn't think what it was. He didn't want to think at all. A memory nagged insistantly at the back of his mind, but he ignored it. After a while they pulled apart. Squall was breathless, but Rinoa looked unruffled. "Come with me," she whispered. "Somewhere safe." She led him, unresisting, out of the gardens and back towards her rooms.

On the way back, they passed Quistis. Her eyes were red, and she looked as if she'd been crying. "Squall," she said. "Where have you been? You have to come with me....."

"Later Quistis," said Squall hastily. "Rinoa and I are going somewhere." She stared at him, and her eyes filled with tears again. Covering her face, she ran away. Squall didn't stop to watch her go. His attention was fixed on the girl leading him onwards.

When they arrived, Rinoa disappeared into her room. "Lock the door, Squall." He did as she instructed. "You can come in now," she called, silkily. As Squall reached her bedroom door, he stopped dead. Rinoa was draped naked across the bed, smiling sweetly at him. The little flower she had picked up in the training grounds was twined in her hair. His breath caught. "Close your eyes," she said, invitingly. Squall complied. Her hands, when they touched him, were soft, featherlike, seeming too gentle to be human. She led him to the bed, never losing contact.

Squall didn't know how long they lay there, lost in each other. It might have been minutes or hours. But his bliss was disturbed by urgent hammering on the door. "Squall? Squall!" He recognised Quistis' voice, and Zell's. There were others as well. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Rinoa's smiling face was hovering inches above his.

"I'm sorry Rinoa, but it sounds urgent. I have to go."

"No!" Suddenly, she sounded lost, scared. "Don't go! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone........." Her voice trailed off to a frightened whisper.

"I'll only be a moment," he said gently, extracating himself from her embrace. Her face was that of an abandonned child as he went to open the door.

"Squall!" Quistis said. "Are you alright? Why are you here?"

"I'm here with Rinoa," he said simply. "What's the deal, Quistis? You can't stand in the way of our relationship forever."

Quistis looked ready to burst into tears again. "Squall," she said, slowly. "Rinoa's dead. She was attacked in the training grounds yesterday. You were knocked out trying to protect her."

Memories flooded back, however hard he tried to fend them off. "No...." he whispered, knowing it was true. Then, louder, "NO! It can't be true! There must be some mistake! She was just with me. We were just about to........" He stopped. "She's still here! She must be!" He rushed into the bedroom. A battered blossom lay on the pillow, fragile, broken. The bed was covered in white feathers.

THE END