Convergence [2]: Blood Roses

~ 7 ~


It took Squall and Seifer a while to notice the truck parked below them, as both were pretty tuckered out by their clash. Squall leaned over the rail once dressed in search of a belt that had mysteriously gone missing, and found it lying atop the navy blue roof of an offroad vehicle. He didn't hesitate to climb over and jump to the lower floor, landing unharmed after a roll.

"Keep doing that and you'll break an ankle," Seifer observed from the stairs, having followed Squall's interested gaze from where he sat sprawled between the railings.

Squall snatched his belt from the roof to hastily begin buckling, scowling at his fingers as they fumbled embarassingly. He was still a little shaky, a fact already brought to his attention when he landed. Seifer wasn't far off; hd med met the floor awkwardly, just narrowly escaping a sprain.

"Need some help with that?"

Squall's answer came not in words but in letting go, his task already complete. "We won't have to walk now."

"I noticed. Out of the way." Seifer brushed an arm out to guide him aside, "I want to find out what the fuck you did to me."

Squall took several steps backwards, suddenly very aware that he'd left his weapon by the stairs they'd used to board. Seifer remained silent as he leaned towards the rearview mirror on the door, faceface out of Squall's view. "I shouldn't let you live for this," he growled, fingertip pads pressed hard to the the trail of purple bruises on his throat as he inspected. "You're lucky I left my blade with yours."

"If it's that bad, why don't you just Cure it?" Reminded by his own words, Squall junctioned and took another step back, left a little lightheaded by Shiva's return-- the vigor with which she flew back into his mind assured him that she'd been homseick.

"I would have done that half an hour ago if I had any left." Seifer regretted using his last to relieve the pain caused by Zell's punching bag the day before. Although that still hurt like a bitch after he got back to his apartment, this would be much worse.

"You used up all your curative magic and didn't get any more?"

"I didn't think I'd need it, and now I only do because of you. You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"

"No. It would be a waste." That stretched the facts a bit. Squall was always sure to keep a hefty supply. Seifer glared at him, knowing this. A crackle came from above them, then a painful screech of feedback.

"Hey kids," buzzed Laguna's voice, "We're just about there. I don't know where you're at, but you should be ready to head out in about ten minutes. Aaaand, I brought a car for you. It's in the hangar in case you haven't found it yet. I'll lower the ramp when we land." More feedback, a loud click, and they were left in sil aga again.

"I'm driving," Seifer commanded, "You go get the stuff we left by the door."

Squall regarded him from beneath a tightly furrowed brow. "Excuse me?"

"What, you want me to say 'please?' Fine. *Please* go get our things."

"You're not the one in charge here. Don't forget that."

"... but you don't want to drive anyway, right?"

Squall crossed his arms. "Now I'm not so sure." He could easily imagine Seifer taking off without heeding any of his instructions. "Are you going to do what I tell you to?"

"I'm sure I can handle following simple directions."

Taking that as a sufficient answer (the best he was likely to get), Squall headed back up the stairs. After winding around a few corners he was at the folded-up staircase, near which their gunblades lay nestled side by side. He picked up his own, which now dwarfed Seifer's significantly.

Squall found it stored under his bed that morning, just as it had been in his old dorm room. The only gunblade he still had aside from LionHeart, Punishment was the perfect choice considering where they were about to go. Pulling the weapon from it sheath, he admired it with his fingers, trailing them over the knots and valleys of decorative metalwork that made it so gothic, so beautiful. It didn't matter that Punishment wasn't as strong or as easy to wield as his other. No one would dare come near them when such an obvious threat dangled from his hip. It would nearly brush his boot once he was wearing it-- awkward, sure, but perfect in every other way. He almost forgot to bring Seifer's with him before leaving.

Seifer was already sitting behind the wheel when Squall returned. He tossed his bundle into the back seat before climbing in the front, just as Laguna's "two minutes," crackledr thr the P.A.

"He knows we're ready," Seifer informed him, "I went up to 'h 'hi.'"

"What else did you say?"

"Absolutely nothing. I said 'we're ready to go,' and he said 'okay, thanks,' and that was it. You really need to lighten up. No wonder you're so prone to getting migraines."

"They're headaches, not migraines. How do you know about them anyway?"

"You leave your office door open when you have one. I've seen you a hundred times sitting there with the lamp off, head in your hands like you were about to die. Everyone knows. Quistis-- gods, I wish she'd learn to mind her own business-- likes to pester me for ideas to get you to take medication for them. Do me a favour and close your door next time so she doesn't find out. I have my own work to do." With that Seifer snapped his wrist around beneath the steering wheel, bringing the vehicle to roaring life to cut off anything Squall might have wanted to say in response.

Of course, Squall didn't have anything to say, caught off-guard by Seifer's biting speech. He should have known Seifer would still be angry at him. He was good at holding grudges. Instead of trying to speak he loudly clipped his seatbelt into place, half-hoping Seifer would pick up what the gesture meant-- that Squall was uncomfortable with his driving skills. Seifer glanced over at his hand, blinking a few times before looking back out the windshield. They were jostled about a little as the ship landed, and the ramp lowered a second later.

"See you two in a few hours. I'll be here."

Seifer pressed hard onto the gas, sending them out into harsh sunlight, and rolled his window down quickly while Squall looked around to find their bearings. Obel lake glistened on the northern horizon, just barely visible. Behind them, the Ragnarok sat well-hidden with outcroppings of forest on either side. Laguna had gotten good at parking it. "Southwest until we get to a road," Squall instructed quietly.

"No shit." Seifer had already turned before he was told to. They bumped across the region's vast fields for a while, occasionally dodging groups of trees before getting back on course. "I'm not as angry with you as you probably think," he admitted quietly, eyes fixed straight ahead. Squall looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "That was hot, back there. When you jumped me. You haven't done that before.""I "I wanted to kill you."

"You wanted to fuck me," Seifer countered, just short of cutting him off.

"I..." Squall sighed and shook his head, "I think I wanted to do both."

Seifer laughed. "Didn't know you were a necrophiliac."

"Has anyone ever told you how sick you are?"

"You did yesterday. Anyway, I practically-- no wait, *literally*-- gave ove over to the chickie this morning. Thanks for letting me balance the score."

"Balance the...?" Squall trailed off into anger as that sunk in. This was why he had tried to stay away. This was what would end up getting people hurt. "I'm not here for you and Zell to keep *score* over."

"Aw, darn, well, that's too bad isn't it?"

Leather creaked as Squall's hands balled. "Don't shrug me off. This isn't a joke."

"Oh, I know. Do I ever..."

"What to you mean?"

"Let's just say..." Seier scratched his chin. They rolled over several bumps before he found the right words, "... sometimes people take you a lot more seriously than they should."

"Are you talking about Zell?"

Seifer held up his hand. "Soo... looking forward to seeing the Ex in an hour or so?"

"Are you?" Squall countered sharply, loathing Seifer's forceful subject change.

Seifer laughed again at Squall's sarcasm. "Fuck no. That'st'st's got me so pissed off lately, aside from you."

"You're nervous."

"Don't say it like you aren't." Seifer tilted his head to the side in a gesture, and after a few seconds of confusion Squall's eyes fell to his hands. He had pulled one glove halfway off while fidgeting with the fingertips. He pulled it back on and placed his hands on his knees.

"I guess I must be."

"... And, *you* don't have to worry about this 'thing' she wants to talk about. Are you sure you don't know what it is?"

"I would have told you if I did." Squall allowed his tone to soften. Seifer almost sounded vulnerable.

"How... was she? On the phone?"

Squall started playing with his glove again. "Bitter."

"Great." Seifer relaxed against the seat, letting out a whoosh of breath as handsands tightened around the steering wheel. "This is going to be *so* much fun."


~*~*~


Timber stretched across the horizon before its backdrop of ocean within forty-five minutes, looking blacker and more menacing than either of the truck's occupants remembered it. "She's not here," Seifer observed as the approached the gate, making his relief no secret.

"The front gates. Those are the back ones. Keep going around."

"Shit." Seifer eased more weighto tho the gas in his disappointment. They turned right and then left at a desolate crossroads to head south, and passed along a high wall of cement, then metal, then cement again. "Since the fuck when do cities have 'fronts' and 'backs' in the first fucking place?"

Squall stared past Seifer's face, watching the wall zip by, the wind throwing his hair annoyingly about his eyes. The concrete was cracked in some places, blackened in others, and once in ile ile opened up into chain-link to reveal the city's equally blackened innards. "It's symbolic."

"Of what?"

"Of... facing the ocean."

"Who gives a fuck about that?"

"People like facing the ocean, Seifer. I don't know."

"I guess it's a better option with all the blown-up shit in the opposite direction. Wouldn't want to look at that, eh?"

They passed another hole. This one revealed a building left only half-standing, its red brick and twisted pipes spilled like intestines into the street. Squall felt his own stomach twist at the sight. "Why are you asking me?"

"I don't know." Seifer ran a hand up his forehead and through his hair. "Something to talk about. Got a fucking problem?"

"Relax." Seifer was swearing too much, even by his standards. Squall took a chance and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't shrug it off. "It's not like she's going to kill you."

"Roll down your window too, would you? Hot as hell in here."

Squall took his hand away to silently obey. Seifer took a few deep breaths and eased back a little. The reaction had to be merely psychological-- the wind had already been whipping around the interior quite strongly when it was closed. "Better?"

"Not really."

"Slow down. You're going double the speed limit."

"How the fuck do you know what the speed limit is? There aren't any signs."

"I saw one. It was broken, lying on the shoulder. Trust me." Seifer clenched his jaw and slowed a little. "Turn left here." They swung dangerously around the corner to follow the shoreline, and Squall might have taken the opportunity to admire the ocean had Seifer not still been freaking him out. "You're going too fast."

"Is it so bad that I want to get this over with?" Despite the argument, Seifer eased up until they were travelling at half their original speed. "Fucking pussy, can't even handle bending street laws..."

Squall just sighed at the attack. It was too transparent to bother shooting down. To his relief, that ended Seifer's attempts at 'conversation' until they turned a final time and reached the gate.

Well, it wasn't quite a gate. It resembled a gap in the wall, only slightly more structured than the others blown in it. One of the decorative gateway doors lay in a mess of bent metal poles to the side of the road leading up to it, and who knew where the other had gone. A few chunks of concrete littered the packed dirt to the side. Languidy perched on one of them with knees spread like those of a man was a woman in black.

A *woman.* Not a teenager. Not a girl lost in a world of war that she loved and hated and didn't understand. Sitting there, she was at home. She wore a shirt not unlike Seifer's, buttoned only halfway up to reveal a hint of something red beneath, sleeves rolled past her elbows. Her pants bagged out from where they were tucked into tightly laced boots that came halfway up her shins. Her hair had grown long, her bangs now gracing her jaw as the rest of it brushed out from just above her waistline. She regarded the vehicle with an expression neither man could remember seeing on her face before: indifference.

"Stay," Squall ordered after they pulled to the side she was on. Seifer didn't even have breath to counter being treated like a dog. Squall couldn't look at stilstill figure until he slammed his door shut, the noise bringing his face up to find that she wasn't looking at him, but through the vehicle's windshield. "Rinoa?"

Ruby painted lips stuck before parting, the only part of her that moved. "Is he in there?"

"... Yeah."

"Good. Thank you." She raised her voice, "Get out here. Now." A phony smile graced her lips as Seifer appeared, his expression chisled to stone. "It's nice to see you again." Seifer simply nodded at her after slamming the door, picking up a challenge in her voice purely by instinct. Squall caught a whiff of it too. His eyes shifted quickly back and forth between them as he was struck with the impression that someone here knew something he didn't.

"You wanted to discuss something?"

Rinoa stood, revealing that a pair of short black arrows hung from her hips. In a twitch a hand shot to one, drawing out a glinting sliver and pointing it in Seifer's direction. At first, it seemed like it might have been a dagger, but she held it like a gun. "More or less."

Catching Seifer's bewildered expression, she smiled. "Don't tell me you don't remember these." She drew out its twin. Both pointed at the blond now. "You took me to a weapon shop in Deling that summer. You wanted me to get them, even taught me to fight with them, but I didn't like them because they were scary. And now, that's the exact reason why I* li* like them." She took a step forward, winking at him, and both men backed up. "Do you still like themReciRecieving no answer, she moved forward again, flicking off both safteys with her thumbs. "Or do you think they're scary?"

"Rinoa, don't--"

"This doesn't concern you," she replied sweetly, still not even throwing Squall a glance. He looked over at Seifer, who remained fixed on the weapons in Rinoa's hands.

"Pist" S" Seifer observed quietly, his voice still unwavering though his face was beginning to take on a greeninsh tinge.

Rinoa nodded. "I was afraid you might have lost your voice just now. You're correct. Pistols. Great for slicing and dicing at close range, and..." Without shifting her gaze shrewhrew one arm to the side and fired, the shot ringing fiercely before it slammed into a distant block of concrete. "... I can blow your fucking head off from quite a distance." She brought the still-smoking steel back to point it directly at said blond head, her smile visible between her hands. Seifer was too slow to disguise his flinch. "But..." Again she moved forward, two steps this time, so that she was about ten paces away. "That's just small-talk."

"What--" Seifer's voice came out ragged. He swallowed and hoped he wouldn't squeak. "--do you want to tell me?"

"It's not what I want to say to you, but what I want you to say to me."

"I've got a lunch packed. Out with it before it spoi--" Another shot drew a streak of red across Seifer's cheek, and a hand instantly covered it. "Fuck! You fucking shot me! You f--"

Rinoa giggled. "I won't have any of your lip, mister. Not today. Not after you did... what you did. And!" she cut Seifer off before he could start, "Don't give me your 'I don't remember, I wasn't myself, I got posessed, it's not my fault' bullshit. I *know* it's bullshit."

"But I--"

"You want one to match that?" she threatened, gesturing with one silver point.

"No," Seifer growled, still holding his cheek.

"No what?"

"What? No thank you? Is that what you want me to say?"

"No *ma'am.*" She giggled again. "That would be nice. Call me ma'am. Try it out, see how it fits."

"No..." Seifer winced. "... Ma'am."

Rinoa nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "I like that. You'll call me that from now on, but try to put a little more enthusiasm into it next time, 'kay? Now. Back to business. Are you going to pretend you can't remember so I have to narrate it for you?"

"I *told* you already--"

"Fine. Lunatic Pandora. Before you threw me into Adel's hungry jaws, and after your friends delivered me to you. That help?"

"No!"

"You copped a feel, you fucker. You cast about six Curagas on me to get me hot. SIX. I almost had a heart attack from the overdose. When it didn't make me jump you like the raging wench you wanted me to be, you smacked me in the face and Cured me again before the bruise could show. You managed to get one hand in my shirt and the other into my shorts while I was dazed, and you probably would have raped me had you not caught wind of the fact that the Good Guys were on their way." She spat, and added another "Fucker," for good measure.

Squall had to lean against the car. No wonder she'd been so afraid of him. No wonder she wanted to confront him now that she was so capable of defending herself.

"I didn't," Seifer countered, but his voice shook. Cocky pretense was lost to shock. "I'm... I don't know."

"You do know. You told the world-- or, I'm sorry, *Squall* told the world because you were too damn scared to show your face-- that you were posessed. Yet, sorceresses can't posess men. And they don't know that my favourite colour is orange, or my father's address. And they don't know that... that..." She choked a little, blinked a few times, and regained control. "They don't know that you first kissed me during the Summer Festival fireworks in Deling. They don't know how cold it got that night, or that you wrapped me up in your coat with you, or that we got totally plastered and puked over the edge of the bridge above Main street. And they don't remind boutbout all of it while they're twisting my tit in a dark corner of a giant floating box. You were yourself that day. You knew it, and you knew me. Drop the excuses and deal with it."

"I don't believe you." Seifer knew he was capable of a lot of things, even the things he had been told about after he returned to Balamb-G, but rape, even harassment like that, was not one of them. He was sure he must have had more important things to worry about at the time than feeling up an ex-girlfriend. "You're just pissed off at me for betraying you. Making up stories. Fuck that."

"Fuck you." Rinoa's hands were shaking, her knuckles white. The weapons in her hands wove about against her will.

"Rinoa... put the gunblades down. You'll shoot him."

"Good. I want to."
f yof you fire right now, you'll..." Squall gulped, hoping his warning would have the right effect. "You'll shoot him in the *face*."

"You're right. I don't want to have to see that again." His relief at Rinoa's reply was shortlived. She brightened a little and lowered her hands so she pointed at Seifer's chest. "This better?"

"Please put them down."

"I haven't gotten what I want yet. Seifer, on your knees." Rinoa's hands steadied but didn't raise back up to his face. It seemed Squall's warning did have some effect.

Seifer glared at her. "Tell me you're not going to--"

"Don't worry, I'll only execute you if I have to."

Seifer hesitated, glancing over at Squall for some kind of assurance. "You don't really have another choice right now," Squall confirmed.

"Fine," the blond growled, dropping hard to the pavement but not appearing to have felt any of the pain that must have shot up through his kneecaps.

\all all fours." Rinoa's smile came back as he fell onto his hands. "Crawl over to me. That's right. *Crawl.*" Once he made it over, grumbling and cussing under his breath all the way, she sheathed one blade while keeping the other pointed at his back and reached into a back pocket of her pants. "Squall, catch."

Squall barely had time to snatch the black rectangle she threw at him from the air. It turned out to be a tiny polaroid camera. "What--"

"What do you think? Take cturcture in a minute. I want to have something to cheer me up the next time I'm feeling down. Now, Seifer, bend down and kiss my boot." She pressed the sharp point of her blade into his spine in case he felt like protesting. "And then apologize."

"You're kidding. Tell me you're kidding."

She jabbed a little er, er, making him hiss as it came just short of breaking through his shirt. "Does it feel like I'm kidding?"

"No."

"What was that?"

"No... ma'am."

"Good. You're learning."

Squall could have laughed if he weren't so afraid that Rinoa might actually fire. "Do what she says."

"And," Rinoa added, "Keep your lips there for at least five seconds. Give Squall time to get a good angle."

"You might as well get it over with," Squall urged as he crept a few steps over, purposefully echoing Seifer's explanation of his speeding. Squall was actually, secretly, enjoying this. Just a little. Okay, more than a little. If only Zell were here to see it. He raised the camera to his eye. "Ready here."

"I'm sorry" --jab-- "Ma'am."

"Truly?"

"Yes ma'am."

"How truly?"

"I'm truly, very sorry. Ma'am." With that Seifer bent down and pressed tight lips to the dusty leather shell before his face and broke away as soon as he heard the camera's whir and click.

"Oops." Rinoa giggled again, keeping the point to his back. "You made a mistake. You were supposed to kiss *first* and apologize *after.*"

"Give me a fucking break!"

Rinoa laughed very loudly at the desperation in his words. "It's alright." She sheathed her other blade. "I'll accept it."

Seifer fell back onto his keister, dragging a hand feverishly across his mouth. "You could have at least wiped it off first."

"But you did such a good job yourself..." She stuck out the toe to admire it, "I'm considering having you do the other one."

"Don't bother." Squall walked back over from the truck and handed Seifer his gunblade before strapping his own around his waist. "That was dangerous. Rinoa, if you try that or anything like it again I won't be hiring you."

Rinoa sauntered back to her cement block -- gods, she was sauntering?-- and sat down, this time with one leg crossed over the other. "Who says I even want the job? Damn..." Her attention switched to a cargo pocket. "That was so good I think I need a cigarette," and with the declaration she pulled out a red cardboard box.

Both men did a double take, and it was Seifer that put their thoughts into words. "You smoke now?"

"Butts are better than what most of the folks around here smoke," she explained around the filter before flicking a flame to her lighter. "Can I have my camera back, please?"

"Don't," Seifer warned, but Squall was already placing it in her hand, along with the three-by-two inch photograph he had taken. "Mother fucker."

Rinoa tucked both away in her cigarette-pocket and patted it affectionately. "You've really got a potty mouth on you. I'll have to fix that, I think. If I take this 'job,' which I still don't know anything about, I mean."

"Maybe we should... go somewhere else. In case someone's listening."

"Angelo! C'mere baby!" Rinoa called, painfully shrill. A very distant few barks sounded. "He'll make sure no one's around. He's my bodyguard." She smiled and dragged from her filter, puffing a few rings to be taken by the breeze before blowing the rest away. "Just give him a minute."

It took less than that. Instead of bounding up and licking her face as Squall expected, the dog poked his head around from the other side of the wall and growled.

"It's okay, Angie. He won't hurt me anymore." Angelo crept over slowly, his head ducked low, teeth bared in a snarl. Squall didn't remember ever seeing him act so menacingly. "Lucky thing you're sitting below me," She continued, glancing down at Seifer, "If you were standing up, he probably would've ripped you to shreds. I think he's almost ready to as it is."

"Should I ... run?"

"If you want, but don't expect to get away with your ass intact."

"Shit."

"Stick out your hand-- no, slowly. Palm DOWN. Gods, have you ever even been around a dog before?"

"Just him. Shit, maybe..." Seifer winced as Angelo approached him, still growling, though his head had lifted a little. "Maybe we should just avoid each other."

"Don't be such a wuss. Besides, I don't think he'll feel so threatened once he notices who else is here." She grinned up at Squall, "He loves you. He stalked around pouting more than I did when we left the Garden."

"He missed Zell, not me."

"Zell? Psh. Maybe, if the guy could spend more than fifteen minutes with him without getting all sneezy." She laughed a little and flicked some ashes onto the ground. "How is he? Ah! Wait-- don't pet him, Seifer, don't even try it. Let him sniff you out and move on." Angelo's growling gradually faded as he did just that, then looked over at Rinoa, questioning with intelligent eyes. "Yeah, it's okay. He's on our side now. At least I think so. Keep your guard up."

"I will be if you let me, for Hyne sakes." Seifer rubbed at his mouth again with the hand not held out for approval, simply fofectfect. Angelo jumped back at the sudden move, startling Seifer into jumping as well, before moving on. He'd had enough of this guy.

"He's fine," Squall answered as Angelo jumped up onto his legs. He reacted to the dog's affections out of an old habit that smelled weird, patting him on the head a few times. "Zell, I mean. He teaches phys. ed."

"Aw, that's cute. Perfect for him." Rinoa tossed her cigarette butt casually to the side as Angelo finally came to her. "Go git'em!" she whispered in an excited tone, leaning to look at him eye-to-eye. Angelo barked once and dashed off. "My little inspector.... But, before we get to talking about what you came here for, I want Seifer to tell me who the heck went rabid on his neck." When she didn't get an answer from either of them she lowered her eyelids halfway, pupils dodging back and forth. "No way..." A few more seconds of dodging, and she collapsed into laughter, her forehead falling over her knees as her hair curtained around her. "You've gotta be kidding me! You have got to be kidding! Was I really *that* bad?" She slapped the stone beside her a few times while Seifer and Squall stared at one another. "This is too perfect..."

"He's the one who wanted you to know."

Ack. Dammit. Seifer had turned this totally around on him. He'd made a huge mistake. Seifer was supposed to look weak, that was all. If Rinoa hadn't greeted them the way she had, it might have worked, but Seifer had nothing to lose to embarassment now.

"What, you wanted to make me jealous or something?" Rinoa looked up at Squall, displaying that her laughter had brought tears, "Is that what this is about? 'Cause, I mean, you sure did a number on him. Hickies like that don't happen accidentally." She studied his terrified features and flush for a moment, "No... I don't think that's it... still, I should check." She jumped to her feet. "C'mere you."

"Wha-- Rinoa--" Squall cut off as she grabbed his arm, stopping him from running lie wae wanted to. Grinning cutely, she took his face into her hands and kissed him. He just stood there stunned, making a few surprised sounds as Seifer took his turn to laugh and did so with vigor, falling onto his back.

The kiss barely lasted two seconds, Rinoa backing away from Squall (still frozen) with an "Ugh," and a confused expression. She quickly broke back into a smile. "Well, thanks. If I had a brother, I now know what it would be like to kiss him."

Squall almost collapsed in his relief. "If Sis ever kissed me like that... It... would be like *that.*"

"It sure was educational."

"... Yeah."

Rinoa patted his cheek and scrunched up her nose in a smile before sitting back down. "Well, now that we've got all the sexual tension out of the way..."

"All of it? Don't I get a smooch too?"

"The closest you'll ever get to kissing me is sucking on my big toe."

"Hey, I'm all for the dom-bitch thing if you are."

Rinoa squinted and stuck her tongue out at him. "Now, Squall, take a seat... somewhere... and tell me about this thing you want me to do."

Squall remained standing. "Have you heard of a resistance group called 'Ebony Rapture?'"

If Rinoa had been drinking something, she probably would have spat it right out. "Who the heck doesn't?"

"What do you know about them?"

A little less red now from her cigarette and kissing Squall-- the hint of rouge looked strangely good on him-- Rinoa's lips pushed over to the side of her face as she thought. "Not much."

Squall sighed quietly, cursing himself for getting his hopes up. "What do you know?"

"They've got some weird science-project going on... I don't know much about that. But I know they're recruiting. They do it in secret. Contacted me through a messenger a couple weeks ago, actually, so I guess you're in luck. Seems the word got around that the Forest Owls only have one member left-- not much of a group now, you know?-- so--"

"Pardon me?" Seifer cleared his throat, "Your friends died?"

"My husband," She held up her hand to display the plain silver band she still wore, "and my friend, yes." She spoke casually, as though discussing lunch plans, or what she would like on a pizza. Squall realized he was hungry.

Seifer whistled quietly, wincing a little. "No wonder you're so... what's the word? Bitchy?" If Squall were within reach, he would have kicked him. Fortunately, Rinoa did it for him with just her eyes. "Sorry, sorry..."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"It was an understatement when you said we're in luck. Do you think you could get into the group?"

"Ooo, it would be like... undercover?"

"Pretty much."

"I think I could. People know me. Some want to kill me, but more respect me. I'm a good fighter, which is probably a huge requirement..."

"And you'd be willing to?"

Rinoa shrugged. "Sure, why not? I've just been sitting around lately. The money Zone left is starting to run out already, and I sure don't want to up up a mercenary-- no offense or anything."

"None taken. I want you to come back to the Garden with us first. If you're going to do this, you'll have to train. I won't send you in--"

"I know how to fight, Squall. I could probably take on both of you at once. *Without* magic, of course, because I don't use it."

"If you want to sign a contract, you'll do it standing in my office. That's final."

Seifer stared at Rinoa. "You don't use magic?"

"Well, I could..." Rinoa whispered, leaning forward to use a tone usually reserved for children, "But it would just be so much easier to run around screaming, 'I'm that sorceress you heard about on the news, come kill me before I take over the city' instead."

"Why *don't* you just take over the city?" Seifer replied in an attempt at throwing her stupid-talk back on her.

Rinoa rolled her eyes and leaned back on an arm. "Only you would think of that."

"Pff."

"ANYway," Squall continued, "Will you come with us, or are we leaving you here?"

"May I have a minute to go pack, Sir?" Rinoa answered, sarcasm practically dripping out of her mouth.

"Hey, you catch on quick. Squally makes everyone call him that back home."

"He does?" Rinoa eyed Squall through their mascaraed corners.

"I think he gets off on it, personally."

"Only around students. And low-rank SeeDs," Squall explained, his jaw tense. Rinoa and Seifer were *not* supposed to be getting along so well. "It's just to keep things in order."

Rinoa batted her eyelashes. "You want *me* to call you 'Sir' when we're there too?"

"No."

"Fuck that. If I have to, so does she."

Rinoa covered her mouth with both hands, squeaking from beneath them, "So it's like *that,* is it?" She winked at Squall, who flushed madly.

"No, it isn't."

"In those cases, it's actually the other way around," Seifer explained for her.

Squall put his back to them, trying to block out the laughter. He couldn't believe they were feeding off each other like this. His head was already hurting and he had a feeling it wouldn't stop until this mission, which could last months, was over. Oh, gods, just thinking about it made it hurt more. "We'll go with you to get your things."

"Sweet, more bodyguards." The laugh left her voice halfway through her sentence. Squall was sure he knew why. For a sorceress, bodyguards were called Knights, and she was alremissmissing having two of them at her disposal. Shit. More complications.

Rinoa climbed on top of her seat and whistled before hopping off the opposite side and heading for the gate. Angelo appeared to greet her once she was there. "We're going home," she told him, and he seemed to understand on some level because he took on the lead, ignoring the two male companions that had fanned out to either side behind her.

Timber could have been hit with a tidal wave-- one made of fire, in some places. It was eroding quickly, plagued with the look of a city that had braved the elements for two hundred years rather than just two. Squall's hand hovered cautiously over the hilt at his side as they walked through the battered streets, and when they were met with the sound of distant machine gun fire, he didn't hesitate to draw it out. Rinoa spun around and continued walking backwards. "Will you two relax?" She looked back over at Seifer. Squall followed her gaze to find that he had done the same thing. "It's far away. Nothing important happens until nightfall." Squall nodded and had to stall when sheathing his blade again to avoid doing it in perfect unison with Seifer. He shivered when she turned back around. Something about all this was very creepy.

They came upon a few children, playing soccer in the street with a half-inflated basketball and a chalk line for a goal. Someone fell down, and the group of about five was engulfed in shouts of "Hey, no fair!" The child who had fallen, a boy shorter and thinner than the others, got up crying and walked back to the sidewalk to lean against the post of a burnt-out street lamp.

"Ain't you gonna play anymore?"

"Leave him alone. When he gets cryin' he doesn't stop for like an hour."

"Oh well, that's good anyways. Teams're even now."

The boy pushed locks of thick brown hair from over his eyes with a dusty fist as he cried in silence, tears rolling down to spatter on his shirt like dirty secrets.

"Crybaby!"

"Shut up, 's'not like he can help missin' 'er."

Squall didn't even realize he had stopped walking until he felt Rinoa's hand on his arm. "That's Dorian," she explained in a near whisper, "He lost his mother last month." Squall nodded to assure he had heard. "... Not his sister."

Something snapped in Squall's brain at that. Was that why he'd been staring? "Oh."

She squeezed before letting go, bringing Squall's eyes to look somewhere else. He found that Angelo had climbed the greenish steel staircase of the two-story apartment complex they stood before, and was pawing at one of the doors.

"You stay out here," she called as she followed her dog, "My place is a pig sty. You don't want to see it." She leaned over the railing once at the top to call, in a new tone, "These guys are my friends. You're safer than yould uld be anywhere else when they're around, so don't be afraid of them, okay?"

"Okay, Lady Rin," called one of the five, a girl in a yellow dress.

Rinoa giggled. "I told you, you don't have to call me that."

"But I want to!" The girl hopped a few times towards the ball and kicked, sending it straight into the bare shins of a blond boy.

"Ow! Watch it!"

"La... Lady Rin?" This voice was quiet, not boisterous like the others, and laced with tears.

"Hi, Dorian. How're you doing?" R gre greeted softly, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm..." The boy sniffled and tried to stand up straight as he stared up at her, "I'm okay... Can I have a hug?"

"Well... I'll be back out in a minute to give you one of the biiiggest hugs you've ever gotten, if you can wait."

"Okay."

"'Til then, I think one of my friends might be able to help you out." She threw Squall another one of those winks that had become such a trademark already and mouthed, 'Talk to him,' before turing on her heels and unlocking her door.

Open-mouthed, Squall stared until she closed the door behind her. "I'd do what the lady says," Seifer offered from beside him. "Look what almost happened to me when I didn't."

"Whatever." Squall was supposed to talk to a kid? He didn't talk to kids. The headmaster of a military boarding school was afraid to approach anyone that didn't at least stand as tall as his waist, and this one barely passed his knee. Kids were raw emotion. It spilled out of their eyes and their mouths whenever it got the chance. He was supposed to just go over and handle that like a Big Grownup? *I think not.*

Seifer nudged him forward with his elbow. Squall stumbled a little, and by the time he looked up from his feet every big blue, brown, and green eye around was on him.

"Hey mister, wanna play ball with us?"

"What's that big black thing ' you your leg?"

"Why d'you look so funny?"

"He looks sick."

Seifer's laugh came out low and loud. "That's because he's more scared of you than you could be of him."

"I got sick yesterday! I threw up on Dorian! It was funny..." A few of them keeled over in giggles, but Dorian didn't.

Dorian was watching Squall carefully, still rubbing at his eyes because he was crying again. "Y-you scared?"

"Not really." Squall replied, and he wasn't, at least he didn't think so, though his face probably made him look it.

Dorian looked away, digging the worn toe of a running shoe in some gravel by his feet. "I'm scared."

"Waaaah!" What the heck? Seifer had *roared?* Squall spun to find him with the kids' ball in his hands, holding it above his head as they jumped and laughed and tried to reach it.

"Give it back!"

"You big jerk!"

Squall facepalmed and tried to ignore them, walking forward to get out of their way. "I don't blame you. You live in a scary place."

"Yeah... it's kinda scary now." The boy thoughtfully plopped down onto his bottom, making Squall feel even more uncomfortable towering over him. He crouched, wishing he were invisible as Punishment dragged out behind him. "Wasn't scary before."

This child couldn't have been older than five. "You can remember when it wasn't?"

"I mem... member my mom. She made it not scary."

*Duh.* Facepalm again.

"She's gone now. I'm... Waitin' for her to come back. I dunno when..."

Squall lost his voice. wou would be a great time for *Rinoa* to come back. He glanced over at the stairs to find them disappointingly empty. The kid was dragging a finger through the dust and sniffling again when he turned back to him. As badly as Squall wanted to get up and leave, he couldn't just let him sit around waiting for years and years when there was no way he'd ever see his mother again. Death had to be dealt with as swiftly as possible. The boy would need as much strength as he could get, living where he was. "She's not coming back."

"She gots big brown hair and she smiles all the time an' she's really really nice... If you see her... tell her to come home. Okay?"

"You don't..." Squall's head fell forward. "You don't understand. She isn't alive anymore. You and I, we're alive. She's not."

"That's what Lady Rin said too."

"See?"

"But I don't 'lieve her. Mom wouldn' just leave and not come back."

"She wouldn't do it on purpose, but... It wasn't her fault. Sometimes, you just can't control what happens. You have to accept it."

"I hafta... ac..."

"Accept." Squall paused, trying to turn his brain into a thesaurus, "You have to know that you can't do anything about it, and forget about it."

"I can't forget about it!" Dorian's face whipped to the side, crinkled in a glare and stained with more angry tears. "I won't forget my mom!"

"Alright... alright, that's not what I mean. I mean... Decide to not let it make you sad anymore."

"I don't think I can do that e... either..."

"If you try hard enough, and wait long enough, you can. It'll get better."

"Better?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Dorian sniffed a final time and blinked, staring now at the sheath jutting back from Squall's hip. "What's that?"

Good, a distraction. Squall didn't know if anything he said sunk in, but it was the best he could do. "It's a gunblade."

Dorian's eyes lit up, tears drying quickly. "Lemme see."

Squall stood up. The other children had gone down the block, the blond head that jutted up past them confirming that Seifer still had their ball. "Promise to be careful."

The boy nodded once, a sharp excited dip of his chin. "Promise."

Squall drew it out and dug the tip into the dirt between the curb and the street to make sure it didn't slip forward. "Wow! I never seen anythin' like that one...Even in any um my books... Can... can I hold it?"

"No. It's bigger than you are." Not to mention waaay too dangerous.

Dorian jumped to his feet, glaring indignantly. "I'm not that small!" Though now, standing next to it, he only proved Squall right.

It seemed Dorian was used to being made fun of for his height. Maybe this would make him feel bigger. And, after all, the kids in this city probably found more dangerous things than this lying at the side of the road, and dealt with them without any adults around. Squall carefully removed every bullet from Punishment's chamber and, keeping the tip in place on the ground, turned the grip in Dorian's direction. "Try to prop it up, I guess... But ... *Please* be careful."

"I already promised." Both of Dorian's little hands folded over Squall's before he eased it away. Dorian had to bend up his elbows beneath the weight, carrying most of it in his knees. "H... heavy." He started shaking a little, so Squall lunged forward and grabbed it back.

"That's enough."

"Having fun down there?" Rinoa called, her face dangling over the rail's edge just above them, nearly startling Squall into dropping his gunblade himself.

"Lady Rin!" Dorian took off with a giant grin on his face to stumble up the stairs. "Did you see? Did you see what that man let me do?"

"Yeah, I did! You must be pretty special. He never even let *me* hold it." Rinoa met him halfway down and swung him up over a shoulder, where he giggled like a loon behind her back. "Didn't he tell you his name?" she asked, grasping at little legs while carrying him the rest of the way down.

"No."

Rinoa clicked her tongue at Squall once she was standing in front of him. "That's not very gentlemanly of him, is it?"

"I dunno."

"Squall. My name's Squall."

Rinoa turned around, displaying the side of Dorian's head in his direction. "Hi," Dorian said, the sound still bobbing with giggles, as he tilted up his face and lifted a hand from her back to stick it out. "I'm Dorian."

"I know." Squall looked around uncomfortably for a moment before returning Punishment to his hip and shaking the pudgy hand stuck out at him. Dorian laughed some more while Rinoa flipped him back over, returning him to his feet. He wobbled as if dizzy.

"How d'you know?"

"Rinoa told me."

"Lady Rin's my girlfriend. Bet you didn't know *that*."

"Alright, mister, that's enough of that." Rinoa rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile as she whispered, "I don't know who gave him the idea..."

"Are you ready to go? Seifer's uh... occupied right now..." Squall glanced down the street to find that all four little bodies had piled atop the larger in a tangle of grasping limbs, "But I'm sure--"

"Hey, blondie! Get your ass over here!"

"Eat me!" came Seifer's half-laughing shout from beneath one of the kids still searching for their ball, "*Ma'am.*" Despite his defiant words, the ball popped out from beneath the pile and rolled along the street, sending the children after it as he stood up, brushing dust from his clothes. "What?" he asked on his way over.

Rinoa stamped her foot and glared, and Squall swore he saw Seifer speed up a little. "Get my suitcases. They're up at the top of the stairs."

"Is he in trouble?" Dorian asked, looking a little frightened himself.

"No, hun, he's just ... well... Can I say you'll understand when you're older, or is that too cliche?" Rinoa didn't get an answer, as Dorian was left too puzzled by the new word. "Why don't you go find Angelo for me?" Dorian nodded, smiled, and dashed back up the staircase. Seifer followed him a a little while later. "Now, Squall... I need to mention something that I forgot, before."

"What is it?"

"Dorian's been staying with me, since his father was never around, so if I leave now..."

"You want to bring him with us." Squall heaved a heavy breath at the ground.

"Well, yeah."

"He doesn't have another relative to stay with?"

"Trust me, if I knew of one, that's where he'd be. Dana lived next door... she helped me out when Zone died. She was the only one there for me, aside from them, and I just... I can't abondon her son after that." Squall didn't move, so she just kept on going. "Please. I won't be able to leave him. I can't go with you if he can't come too."

"Hey, what the fuck is this?" Seifer yelled from somewhere out of view.

"That would be a suitcase," Rinoa replied, a hand already on each hip.

"*A* suitcase? Try eight. Do you think you're royalty or something now?"

"As far as you're concerned, I am."

Seifer mumbled a flurry of curses. "Maybe 'princess' would be more appropriate than 'Ma'am'."
Rinoa was already dashing up the stairs when he spoke again and Squall winced, knowing exactly why she took off. "How about that? I'll call you Princess from now-- Fuck!"

"If you ever dare..." Rinoa threw Seifer into the rail, bending him backwards, "...call me Princess..." She took out a pistol and graced his throat with the flat of the blade, fury on her features, "You'll spend the rest of your life taking your meals through a tube. Do we have an understanding?"

"Holy shit, okay, Hyne, what's your problem?"

Seeming to come to her senses, Rinoa backed up to give him room to breathe again. "You'll never be worthy of calling me that. Never." She followd the stairs again, a hand gracing each railing. She looked exhausted, her voice dimmed and shaky. "That word from your mouth is an insult to everything I ever cared about. Don't use it." She sat on the last stair to rest her chin on one palm and took several slow breaths. "Sorry," she admitted, the words reluctant, "...You didn't know."

"I *still* don't know--"

"Seifer, shut your mouth," Squall interrupted, softened by Rinoa's outburst but still serious, "Try it for a few minutes. And Rinoa... it's fine. Dorian can come with us. I'm sure we'll have an extra dorm for him."

"Thanks."

"I found him!" called the topic of their conversation as he rode Angelo's back down the stairs, "He diddin wanna leave for a while, but then I got him to cuz I had a choclit bar an he ate it all."

Rinoa got up to let them pass. "Dorian, hun, c'mere for a second."

"What?" He tumbled off the dog's back onto the pavement and probably got a good scrape out of it, though he acted unscathed when climbing back onto his feet.

"Remember when I told you we might have to go on a trip?" Rinoa asked cautiously, crouching to take his hand an all of his attention along with it.

"Uh-huh."

"What if..." She paused to smile at him as if she were delivering the most exciting news he would ever hear, "I said we're going to leanow*now*?"

"Now?"

"Yup."

The boy shrugged. "Okay."


--------------------------------------------

"Kiss my boot" = better than sex. Who aside from me found themselves living through Rinoa on that one?
Yep, I'm pretty satisfied with this. Yepyep.