Running out of Days {Squall}

You'll find me

How you shyly placed your eyes on me. Did you ever know that I had mine on you?

The whining woke her up.

Eyelids flickered for a moment before dark eyes opened to the world. Almost instantly they registered on her dog, who was still whining. "Ugh.", she groaned out. More whimpering, but this time, Angelo pawed at her stomach, as if to ask if she was okay. "I'm okay Angelo.", she whispered out, but her eyes closed again. This time, her dog took stronger measure to wake her, even bumping her shoulder strongly with his nose. "Okay, I get it.", she muttered, before straining her muscles and sitting up. Rinoa had to quiet her companion firmly before the dog would settle down and sit quietly, worried eyes flickering back to her.

It had happened again...

Rinoa hugged Angelo to her side even as her worried eyes looked around her. She was in the training room this time. Last time she had woken up outside the gates, the time before that in her own bedroom… "Oh Angelo..." she whispered, distressed by the situation. Placing her hands against the ground, Rinoa pushed herself to her feet and swayed for a moment until she got her bearings. She didn't have to tell her worried companion to follow her when she snuck out of the training wing. She didn't stop and chat with anyone while she quickly made her way to the dorm section, even brushing off the greetings and invitations for company, which was unusual for her. When she got to her room, Rinoa entered and closed the door with a sense of urgency, before she collapsed on her bed.

With trembling limbs, Rinoa rested her chin on her palms and stared down at the floor, chewing on her lip with anxiety. What was happening to her? This was the third time this had happened to her, and each time she was terrified. Each time she wanted to talk to Squall about it. Out of everyone she knew, he might be the only one she wanted to tell. But what if it was the sorceress powers? What if someone was trying to take over her body again? What would that mean? What did that mean would happen to her? Judging by what had happened the last time she had been a threat as a sorceress, they had been going to lock her up forever, to put her in prison binds. She had accepted it back then, thinking she was a hindrance, but she didn't want to spend her life that way. The chances were in favor of something like that, even with Squall's power.

Eyebrows knit together while she thought about her situation. She felt alone in this, even when she knew that she shouldn't. Any one of her friends would move heaven and earth to help her, but something was holding her back. Rinoa didn't want to be a bother to anyone else, even like she hadn't back then. Though she realized that they wouldn't feel like it was a burden, she would. She hated not knowing what to do. Still, she refused to cry and carry on. If she could hold up in her past experiences, she could do the same in this situation. At that moment Angelo bumped his nose to her hands yet again, as if asking how she was doing. With a weak smile, Rinoa stroked his head, trying to make a decision. Should she tell Squall and trust that he could help her? Or should she try to figure it out by herself?

Having calmed down slightly by resting, the brunette slid off the bed and stood on her shaky legs. Angelo was instantly on attention and crouching on his haunches in front of her. He whined softly until she crouched down and fondly stroked his head. "It's alright, Angelo. It's probably nothing..." Rising, Rinoa brushed her hands together and then rested them on her hips. "Come on, let's go find something else to do, huh? It must have been a few hours anyway. I'm starving." She was talking to forget, to try and fill her mind with other things. "I wonder if someone would want to go grab something." Angelo's yip almost seemed like an agreement. It brought a smile to her face. Maybe Squall would want to. But could she really talk to him right now and pretend nothing was wrong? Biting her lip gently, Rinoa grabbed out her phone from off her nightstand and scrolled to Squall's number. A Squall hug would feel amazing right at that moment. 'Hey Hun! I'm starving, want to go and grab a bite somewhere?'

Notes: Sorta stole a few of ours ideas Wearing: Normal Setting: Noonish, sunny and in the hallway Tagged: Squall Words: 812

made by Δ ashy of caution & shine

Tagged : Rinoa | Words : 793 | Notes : I missed writing him. ;_;

If Squall had to wear this curse of being headmaster of Balamb Garden, he had to accept the headmaster's office as a part of that outfit. The office had its advantages and disadvantages, Squall supposed. One advantage was quiet, a rare commodity around the Garden. The other advantage - well, there weren't any other explicit advantages, really. Quiet was enough for Squall most any day of the week, so the only advantage was a big one. The disadvantages were...a little silly, maybe. Squall had never been a big fan of living in such a...sprawling space as the office offered. He was used to cramped quarters in orphanages and dorms, where he barely had enough room to stretch himself out. In an office suite this large, Squall felt...lost. Even as he sat within the room now, he felt as if the room echoed his every motion. Sleeping in a room this big would be impossible, Squall figured, so he hadn't tried it just yet. He could always try talking Rinoa into taking the room at night. The space likely suited her more, having had space all her life. Squall just couldn't...get used to being up here in all this embellishment, above the rest of the Garden. He still considered himself little more than a soldier in the scheme of things...and being up here was just isolating him from everyone again, something that Rinoa and Selphie wouldn't approve of. Without a doubt, the cons outweighed the pros when it came to this office. Squall simply didn't know what to do with it right now.

Until he finished with his plate of food, he wouldn't do anything with it. Since the cafeteria had been full when he'd been downstairs, Squall had made a plate and carried it upstairs to eat it, dropping the plate down on the desk that sat before the office's large windows. If he needed a second advantage to cite for the office, the view would be that advantage. Squall was glad to just be having a peaceful meal for once. Ever since Ultimecia's defeat, it had been one round of chaos after another for Squall. The good kind of chaos, he supposed...meeting new SeeD recruits and sponsors to the Garden and...other things Cid Kramer had dumped on him when he'd stepped down to return to a quiet life with Edea. Squall felt he was holding up at least as well as could be expected against the onslaught of new and old faces, especially considering he was the same person who'd felt as if he wanted to cover himself in a cocoon to evade the applause and attention of his peers when he'd first become a SeeD. Squall didn't want to handle all this business-type stuff that he'd had dropped in his lap, but he figured he could, if only to make the man who'd believed in him proud and keep the seat warm for a new, worthier headmaster.

He had just stuffed a few potatoes in his mouth when his phone on the table beside him rattled and his gaze shifted over to it. Squall wasn't one to let a cell phone get in the way of a meal, but it wasn't much of a bother to reach over and pick it up long enough to click on his messages and let his eyes skim over the message there. Hey Hun! I'm starving, want to go and grab a bite somewhere? It was from Rinoa. "Hun...", Squall repeated aloud to himself, scrutinizing it for a few seconds before a faint smile worked at the side of his mouth. He was going to take her up on that offer...but the smile fell momentarily as he stared down at the partially-eaten plate of food he already had. He'd looked around for her at lunch time but hadn't spotted her, and with all he had to do around the Garden he couldn't afford to wait on her for lunch every day, sadly. But he could manage it today...or every day she specifically asked, probably. He just wouldn't mention that he'd started on lunch already...even if she'd probably find out anyway. Setting his fork aside for a moment, he intently typed a message back. I'll be a few He paused for a few seconds, before almost rolling his eyes to himself. ...hun. Where are we meeting? Hitting send, he stood from his seat and grabbed his plate, heading for the refrigerator to put the plate in and save it as he waited for Rinoa to give him her answer. He wanted to just be able to do this lunch thing with her every day - another downside to this job he didn't want.

You'll find me

How you shyly placed your eyes on me. Did you ever know that I had mine on you?

After she had sent the text, Rinoa aimlessly continued to wander down the hallways of Garden. "Hey, Rinoa!" Rinoa almost cringed when she heard her name shouted. For a moment she hesitated in her step. When she turned, she felt a large amount of anxiety within her. Her worst nightmare was that one of the SeeD members or one of the cadets had seen her when she had been passed out. What was she supposed to do if they had? She didn't want to tell anyone about what was happening to her, let alone some random student asking about it. Yet she bit her lip and turned instead of trying to avoid it. She was sure she could laugh it off if they did ask or had seen her. Maybe that she had bumped her head a little too hard when she had tripped. Or that she was so tired, she had sat down to take a rest and had fallen asleep. Maybe she could pretend she had naturally low blood pressure and she had gotten dizzy and fainted. Would they buy that? She could only hope.

But the smiling face of the student didn't seem like an appropriate face to make right before they asked her if she was okay. Rinoa was a bit confused, but instead put a friendly face on and raised a hand to wave at the energetic student. "Heeeeey Rinoa~" "Hello...Chelsea.", she said in response, hoping that she had been right. The girl seemed awfully familiar, so Rinoa would hate to get her name wrong. Thankfully the girls smile just brightened and the girl went to hug her. Finding no reason to avoid it, Rinoa stepped forward and returned the hug. "How's it going?" "Good-" The girl seemed to be in a hurry though, and cut her off hardly after she had gotten the word out. "Hey, I'm looking for Sefie, have you seen her?" Whew...nothing to do with the training room incident earlier. "Uuuuum...I actually haven't seen her all day." Never mind that she hadn't seen anyone all day from being passed out in the training room. "But I'll definitely let her know if I see her. Have you tried the library? She might be updating her site." "Oh! Thanks Rinoa, I'll try there!" The next moment she was bounding away. With a faint smile, Rinoa watched her go, only to have the smile slide off her face when the girl disappeared around the corner. She had dodged the bullet this time, but how long would it be until she had another episode? And who would be around her at the time? More importantly...what would she do this time?

By that time the buzz of her phone caught her attention and drew it off her darker thoughts. His response - and his pet name - caused a sincere smile to flit across her features. "Hun!", she burst out to herself. "He called me-" Glancing up, Rinoa realized she was in the hallway all by herself. "Oh..." Dropping her gaze to her companion, Rinoa grinned at him. "He called me hun." Clearing her throat, Rinoa attempted to walk down the hallway and text at the same time - something that seemed rather dangerous. 'Ten minutes by the front entrance? We can borrow one of the cars and head to that cafe in Balamb. The hot spot.' Rinoa especially liked the fish they served there, and had been craving it for some time.

Already close to the entrance, Rinoa walked out and immediately felt an increase in temperature. Taking a deep breath in, Rinoa sank down onto the top step, leaned back, and soaked in the sun for a moment. She felt Angelo's cold nose press against her cheek a moment later, and found herself giggling. "Aaangelo.", she sighed and cracked open an eye to look at him as he wagged his tail and whined. "Well go get me a toy.", she said playfully. The word 'toy' sparked his interest, and a moment later he had zipped off, no doubt in search of something. A minute later he had returned, with a ball in tow. "Now where did you find that?", she asked rhetorically. Picking up the toy where he'd dropped it at her feet, she wound back an arm and threw it as far as she could, watching Angelo spring off the steps and sprint after it.

Notes: None! :3 Wearing: Normal Setting: Noonish, sunny and on the front entrance steps Tagged: Squall Words: 783

made by Δ ashy of caution ; shine

Tagged : Rinoa | Words : 908 | Notes : The muuuuse. 

Squall didn't have to wait long for the return answer after he'd wrapped his plate in tin foil and tossed it in the refrigerator for safe keeping...because it was so important to keep the cafeteria food that wasn't the hot dogs for later. Pulling his phone back out, he skimmed over the message. Ten minutes was probably more than he needed, but it did take a long time getting down from this place and back out to the front door, it felt like. He just didn't know...what exactly to do to get ready for meeting out for lunch. He'd had lunch with Rinoa before, sure, but he hadn't known what to do or wear then, either. SeeD training had taught him what he needed to know - head knowledge - about fitting in social situations seamlessly, but training didn't help him understand how to act around Rinoa. He was still just completely ignorant of the proper way to treat her outside of making sure no one bothered her just because her powers made paranoid people panic. His worries made him stand in the office for a few minutes, hands crossed over his chest, before he decided he should just go dressed as he was always dressed. Stopping by the bathroom to splash his face and grabbing his jacket was all he needed to do before heading for the elevator and taking it down, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on the wall.

About halfway down, he got to thinking about Rinoa's message again, and hun. It was a word he'd heard exchanged between some of the students in the Garden sometimes. Squall had rolled his eyes at them at the time, thinking they could be worrying about more important things, like their careers as SeeDs, than going around calling one another pet names. As he pulled out his phone one more time and gazed down at the messages on the screen - Rinoa's message to him and his message to her in response - he decided that, while he still wasn't really all that thrilled with the pet names thing, he wouldn't be rolling his eyes at them anymore.

Reaching the main floor, Squall cut his eyes around the lobby to make sure no one looked ready to sail on him for a chat or to relay a problem or just to stop him and talk to him for half an hour before stepping out, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, and trudging his way towards the front entrance. Despite how much he and Rinoa had been through, Squall still always felt a nervous anticipation going to meet her that made him swallow a few too many times and feel as if he was stiffening. Maybe one day he'd get over that issue, too. Squall had only recently figured out that he'd even had any problems that he had to get over - he thought everyone else had the problems. Fixing those problems wasn't going to be an instant thing, even if everyone else thought they could just coax him out of them. They did have problems if they thought it was going to be that easy. At least Squall had a little self-awareness of what was wrong now. They couldn't ask for anything more. More time with Rinoa would help though, he was sure. He had to stick close to her, anyway, or the whole world would start coming after her before long.

He reached the entrance and stopped momentarily to turn at the student manning the entryway today, who was scribbling something quietly in a notebook. Reaching into his back pocket, Squall pulled out his wallet and the card in it with his face on it and held it out to her. It took her a few annoying seconds for her to take it from him, while she stuck her tongue out and tried to get one specific line just right on her drawing. "Oh, hey Squall! Where ya goin'?" He waited a second as she took the card out of his hand and swiped it. It was Squall's own rule that security check up on everyone who entered the school now, to make sure nothing out-of-the-ordinary got into the Garden. Somehow, his own rule was bothersome when it delayed him. "Into town. I need a car." A wide grin crossed her face, one that had Squall narrowing his eyes in confusion while she typed on her computer. "Goin' with Rinooooa?", she asked, in the most irritating tone she could muster. Squall tried to ignore it, keeping his face neutral. "I guess so." Her grin somehow widened as she punched in the order for the car. Everyone really made a big deal out of the two of them. Squall would have preferred a little privacy, but he guessed as headmaster, privacy was a thing of the past. Plus, everyone liked Rinoa.

"There you go! Someone's gonna pull one up for the two of ya. I got ya the nice one with the one front seat in case..." Squall's expression turned deadpan as she winked, and he almost - almost - formed his favorite word on his lips. Instead, though, Squall just sighed a little under his breath and took his card back as she extended it to him. "Thanks," he managed, dryly, before he stepped away and out the door. People really had a problem with pushyness.

Rinoa wasn't hard to find once he was outside. He saw her in her usual attire up ahead on the staircase, Angelo running away from her probably to go fetch something. Straightening to try and get the stiffness out of his joints, Squall returned his hands to his pockets and started walking towards her, silently, to sit down beside her and let them wait for the car. Maybe she'd notice him. Maybe he'd surprise her. Either way sounded good.

FEEL YOUR HEART BEATING FAST

{Words} 661 {Tagged} Squall  {Wearing} Her normal!

She had developed a better throwing arm then she remembered. Satisfied that Angelo would be kept occupied for a short time, Rinoa dropped back onto the steps and watched his antics. His new found toy must have dropped into an odd angle, because he was left to bark and scratch to get at it. Figuring that he would get it eventually without her help, Rinoa pressed her chin into her palms and rested her elbows against her knees. Her eyes dulled a little - as did her other senses - when she slipped into her own thoughts. It seemed every waking moment was plagued by her own insecurities and fears. Why...why had it had to be her that got chosen to become a sorceress? Why not someone else! Her burst of anger toward how things had worked out quickly abated. Who else would she want this to happen to? Selphie? Quistis? No...Rinoa would rather it have happened to her than one of her friends, and no matter what the challenges were, that wouldn't change.

But in the meantime, she had to try and formulate just how to tell Squall about it, or if she should tell him at all. Her conscience nagged her to do so. Her heart, however, was a different story. Rinoa trusted Squall, she knew she did. But things were different now that he was headmaster and...well, she wasn't really sure. The last thing she wanted to do was be taken away or have some huge debate about whether or not to put her on ice again. It wasn't that Rinoa doubted Squall would fight tooth and nail to keep that from being her fate, but was it worth him putting himself and his friends in danger just for her? Her heart said yes, even though her mind told her no. But when it came right down to it, Rinoa wasn't ready for that fate anymore. Back when it had been going to happen the first time, she had been prepared in her heart. But Squall coming back for her had changed everything. She wasn't alone anymore, and she didn't want something like that to happen to her. Rinoa wanted to live life! She wanted to-

Her thoughts were interrupted with loud whining, heavy paws digging into her knees, and the wet tongue of her companion licking her forearm. A giggle formed on her lips while Rinoa combated Angelo's paws with her arm. "Oh Angelo. Go on, get down." Leaning forward, she snagged his ball - making a face at the drool - and rose to her feet to throw it away from her again. Once again Angelo was off like a shot, and Rinoa was left to drop back down onto the steps and watch him disappear.

This time, however, she wasn't able to lapse back into her previous thoughts. Instead, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she noticed movement to her side. Pitching forward slightly, Rinoa's hand went to her chest while she settled herself with her second one. As soon as she saw who it was though, an immediate and relieved giggle escaped her mouth. Figuring by now Squall thought her completely mad, Rinoa attempted to get control of herself. Somehow, she was so relieved he was there, Rinoa felt like crawling onto his lap and hugging his neck as tight as she could while she confessed her fears and difficulties to him. Battling that down, instead she scooted over and hugged him like a normal person would, dropping a kiss in greeting on his cheek. "Squall! I'm so excited you could come with me. I hope it wasn't too big of a bother to get away." She didn't really care all that much if it was a bother, but she did a little bit. Rinoa knew half the school probably needed him at the moment, but right now, she needed him worse.

{NOTES } DEY'RE SO CUTE