Final chapter! I'd like to thank everybody who read this for doing just that, and I hope you enjoyed the piece; I know I had fun writing it.

Whatever you do, do it warily, and take account of the end.

—Unknown

Epilogue

There were very few large ceremonies in Balamb Garden. SeeD and Instructor appointments were quiet, one-on-one affairs between the Commander, Headmaster and aforementioned student or SeeD, though the inaugural ball was always something grand and glorious. And it really was the only large 'ceremony' at Garden, besides the Garden Festival.

That night was no different. Seifer was down from Trabia for the event, and even Rinoa had showed up, dressed to the nines for the occasion. But Squall was stalling, as was his wont with these things, picking over his uniform and generally grumbling.

It had been a good semester, and though the exam had been very difficult, forty students had been made SeeDs. They had also managed to finally put an end to the attempted coups in Esthar.

Irvine, watching Squall from the bathroom door, finally sighed and rolled his eyes. He tied his hair back, and stepped out of the bathroom to stand behind Squall at his mirror.

"You look fine," he said, kissing the brunette's temple and smoothing out his uniform jacket. The fabric was stiff and warm under his fingers. He sighed, and hugged his lover around the middle, smiling at his reflection. "Worried?"

"I hate the ball."

"We could jip out."

"Quistis would never let me here the end of it," Squall muttered, stepping away. Irvine made a sort of comic whip-crack noise at Squall's back, and got a deadening glare in return; he smiled at the brunette, and grabbed his jacket. "Besides, you like this sort of thing."

"Bah." He laughed it off, sighing in a mocking sort of way as he did up his jacket front and straightened everything out accordingly. With another laugh, he struck a pose, asking dramatically, "Be honest. How many women do you think I can ravish with my looks tonight?"

"Do I count as a woman?" Squall asked frigidly. Irvine rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, goony bird." He flicked Squall in the ear, grabbed his hand, and dragged him out of the apartments.

"Oh. In that case . . ." Squall looked thoughtful for a moment, before finally deducing. "None."

"Are you calling me ugly?" Squall shook his head, rolling his eyes a little. Irvine smiled winningly. "Okay, let's say you count as a woman. Then how many?"

"Still none."

Irvine gaped. Squall gave a wonderful smile, and stepped onto the elevator, pulling the stunned redhead after him.

With laughter in his eyes, he pushed Irvine against the wall and kissed him hungrily. Irvine made a pleased little noise, grabbing Squall's waist and thinking only for a moment that the walls of the elevator were perfectly transparent—it was hard to to stay worried and all when you had someone like Squall trying to get intimate with your tonsils.

Five minutes later, they entered the ball room, just as a waltz was beginning to strike up. Rinoa, who had been loitering off with a few SeeDs she knew, spotted them and waved, hurrying over.

She smiled, nodding politely to them both. Then, very suddenly, she turned to Squall, looking him square in the eye and waving her fingers just in front of his nose, chatting methodically, "You are going to like me, you are going to like me, you are going to like me."

Squall snorted on laughter. She smiled, winking a little.

"Did it work?"

"I can't dance," Squall said easily. She rolled her eyes, and grabbed his hand. "Rinoa—."

"You say that every year. And every year you can. Now come on; I have to make your boyfriend jealous." She winked at Irvine then, blowing him a kiss as she dragged Squall out onto the dance floor.

They looked good out there together, twirling and flowing with the music. Their lips moved in quiet words to each other as they danced; some times, Rinoa would laugh that wonderful laugh of hers. Irvine couldn't help but smile; they looked happy. And he knew, now, that it wasn't simply because they were out there together.

"So. You and the Ice Princess."

Irvine peered over his shoulder at Seifer. Over his uniform, he wore his long white coat; he had his arms folded over his wide chest.

"Yeah. Where have you been?"

"Not on your call list, Cowboy." He nudged Irvine in the ribs, shaking his head a little. "Honestly. You need to keep me updated on these things."

"Well, you could always teach here. Then you could get the juicy gossip from the students, just like everybody else." Seifer hummed over that idea, watching Squall and Rinoa dance as well.

After a moment of silence, Irvine suddenly laughed and turned to face Seifer. He struck his dramatic pose, and asked in a sultry voice, "Be honest. Are you ravaged by my sexiness?"

"Dumbfounded, maybe." Irvine rolled his eyes, sulking a little and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Selphie would be appropriately ravaged by my looks."

"Probably."

They didn't say anything else about it. Squall and Rinoa returned, and Rinoa took the chance to drag Seifer off for a dance around the floor as well, leaving Squall with Irvine to each other.

"They're together now, Seifer and Rinoa," Squall reported into the dull quiet between them. Irvine laughed a little.

"You two switched." Squall cocked a brow, and Irvine just waved it off. "I'll tell you later. Are you having fun yet?"

"I've been here five minutes." Irvine smiled softly, taking Squall's hand gently.

"We should mingle or something. Talk with the new SeeDs and everything, right?" But Squall remained immobile. He tugged back on Irvine's hold, pulling him close. But instead of meeting the redhead's eyes, he was looking up at the high, arched windows; Irvine followed his gaze, just as a shooting star streaked across the night sky.

"They always seem to show up when things are about to get really interesting for me," Squall mused softly. He looked back, offering a small smile to Irvine. The redhead smiled back, kissing his lover gently.

"I think five minutes is good enough," he chided evenly.

Eight years earlier, it had been Rinoa to slip silently away with Squall after a quick night of revelry, and Selphie to slip off with Irvine. But Irvine didn't think of that. He thought of the cool palm against his, of the quiet sort of smile on Squall's lips, and of the shooting star that had streaked in the night sky.

Maybe the future would be interesting.