(Disclaimer for the entire story: This is a work of fanfiction. I do NOT own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is just for fun.)

Chapter 1 - The Mission

Midmorning sun filtered into the room through the windows. Although the day was wonderfully bright and sunny Squall found himself in the same place he always was at that time, in his office working hard. He didn't mind hard work, but he still preferred the kind where his gunblade skills were used. At least that way he got some physical exercise, and then he didn't have to worry about constantly staying fit. Being a gunblade specialist would be completely useless if he wasn't strong enough to lift the heavy thing.

Squall almost had to stifle a sigh as he looked over at the mounting pile of papers sitting on his wooden desk. He sat and sifted through them all. He'd been going over a pile of SeeD requests that had been coming from all over the globe. Although Ultimecia had been defeated nearly a year ago, there was still a lot of unrest. A vacuum of power had been left in her wake. Many regional skirmishes over boundary lines had popped up in addition to the overflow of monsters left from the Lunar Cry. SeeD was in high demand, and consequently he was extremely busy.

His fingers clutched at another stack of papers, but his blue-gray eyes kept flicking between mission requests and the figure sleeping peacefully on his office couch with a book half open beside her.

He checked the clock. It was 10:30 am.

Rinoa's midmorning nap strikes again, he thought to himself.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds in the room were those of papers rustling and her rhythmic breathing. He was trying to sort the mission requests in terms of urgency and monetary reimbursement for Garden, but he was getting distracted by her. She was curled up on her side with her face pressed into the black leather of the couch, somehow making an aesthetically pleasing lump. Her soft breathy snores were calming him and lulling him to sleep, but he needed to stay sharp and focused. He couldn't take a nap any more than he could waste time staring at her rosy face. He had too many things to do.

Maybe if Rinoa was awake, she could help him sort these missions. It wouldn't be that hard for her, and he'd be the one to make the final call. Technically she shouldn't be helping like that because she wasn't military, but she had a lot of free time and he could use an assistant. He had enough military style SeeD training for the both of them.

While Squall sat pondering whether or not to dare wake a sleeping Rinoa, his office phone rang. The ring was high and clear, louder than any wake-up alarm. Her breathing got restless and her body started to turn over slightly with an annoyed groan. Squall watched her quietly and waited for the phone to ring a few more times before taking it off the receiver carefully.

"Commander Leonhart speaking," he said tonelessly, breaking the room's near silence.

Few people had a direct line to his office, so it was either from someone within Garden or an important military official or dignitary. The voice on the other end was instantly familiar. Squall steeled himself. It was a confident and authoritative tone that was unmistakable as any other than General Fury Caraway's.

"Commander, I'm calling on behalf of Deling City," Caraway stated.

Rinoa's father. Maybe she would want to listen to this.

Squall licked his dry lips and reached out to press the speaker button on the phone.

"Deling City is making a request for SeeD," Caraway's voice resonated through the speaker.

Squall nodded, although Caraway couldn't see it.

Rinoa had started to wake up. Before she was just stirring, but now Squall could see that her head was turned to listen to the phone conversation. Her sleepy, half-lidded eyes met his. He lifted his finger to his lips to signify for Rinoa to remain silent. Her dark eyebrows raised in confusion at hearing the sound of her father's voice. Any interactions between the Commander and the General had been tense at best. She waited with bated breath.

Well, I dared to let her sleep get disturbed, hopefully I won't regret this, Squall thought.

He knew that the relationship between Rinoa and her father had been strained for a long time. He didn't like the man personally, but he respected his command abilities.

"There have been a series of kidnappings of wealthy women, and the local police have not been able to apprehend the culprits. The motivation seems to be solely for ransom money. The women who did not have the ransom money raised on their behalf have been brutally beaten and dumped in the Dingo Desert. Luckily, none of the women have died, but that could change at any time. The news outlets have warned women to stay indoors or travel in groups. The local citizenry are getting to be very uneasy about this, and the local government decided that we should bring SeeD in before this gets further out of hand. The citizens need their peace of mind."

Caraway's speech sounded rehearsed. The substance was all there, but Squall was unsure if he was purposely leaving some piece of information out.

This proposed mission seemed more intriguing than the usual monster hunting jobs they had been getting lately. He probably shouldn't assign it to any of the newer rookie SeeDs. Actually, he'd love to get away from his desk for awhile.

"I understand that this is a concern for your city sir," Squall responded with interest. "I'll need a more in-depth proposal for SeeD before we can draw up a contract for you, but it sounds like a mission I would... I mean, Garden would accept."

"Yes, I'll have an information docket sent over for your approval Leonhart. Then we can get down to business and catch these kidnappers."

"Any suspects?" Squall asked.

A long awkward pause followed.

"No..." Caraway replied. Squall thought that there was more to the answer, but felt it wasn't the time or place to press him further. "Oh and Leonhart, I've heard rumors that my daughter is over at Garden with you, and I don't think I should have to say this... but I will. I do NOT want her involved in this mission, she doesn't need to be endangered."

Rinoa shot up from the couch and approached Squall's desk. She'd been progressively paying more attention as she woke up.

"I can take care of myself CARAWAY!" she yelled hotly into the speaker phone. Her voice clearly had the deep huskiness of sleep still in it.

Squall put his hand up to his face, knowing that nothing good would come of this conversation once she'd started yelling. He didn't even want Caraway to know she was listening.

"Well, I see the rumors are indeed true. Leonhart, I insist that you don't involve her with this mission. I'm hiring SeeD to do this to protect young women like her, and I won't stand by and have her put in harm's way... no matter what life choices she's made for herself," he said severely.

"You're unbelievable!" Rinoa started before being interrupted by Squall.

Squall's one choice was to quickly end the conversation and hope that Rinoa didn't get too mad at him. He hated to do it but he had to agree with Caraway's assessment of the situation.

"We are in agreement sir," Squall responded. "I will be waiting for the information to be emailed to me. I'll keep in touch. Goodbye."

Squall reached out and hastily ended the call. He pressed his finger down so hard on the button that the phone fell off the receiver with a loud clatter. His hands quickly worked to fix the phone before turning towards Rinoa, who was now seething with rage.

"I can't believe you are agreeing with THAT MAN! What right do either of you have to tell me what I can and can't do?!" Rinoa said.

"Rinoa, he's hiring SeeD for a mission. You aren't SeeD. There's nothing to be angry about," Squall stated while hoping that her anger would cool off. If anybody pushed against her, she made sure to push back. He wanted to make the decision seem rational and not personal, which it partially was. He kept his mind shut to her so she couldn't sense his worry.

It wasn't that he wanted to side with Caraway against her. They both were just concerned about her safety. Squall genuinely cared about her, and Caraway was concerned about his own daughter on some level. It was hard to discern what his motivations were. Whether from familial affection or protecting his own reputation, he certainly didn't want his own daughter being a target in his city.

Rinoa's dark eyes continued to glare at Squall. He pretended to be looking down at his papers for a few minutes, but she didn't budge from her spot. He finally heaved out a sigh and looked up at her.

"Rin, please don't fight over this. You aren't a SeeD. Trained SeeDs would be the best choice to get this situation quickly and efficiently handled. More women don't need to be kidnapped and beaten."

Those were logical statements. Hopefully she wouldn't argue with straightforward logic.

Rinoa started to soften at the thought of the kidnapped women. She had a kindhearted nature, and she wanted the women of Deling City to be safe. Squall was right, she wasn't a SeeD and she didn't have their specific training. Her father had just rubbed her the wrong way, as usual.

"Well, even if I won't be going on the mission, can I at least listen in on your planning process?"

"Fine," Squall agreed. He was happy that she calmed down so quickly.

A little dinging sound on his computer alerted him to the fact that Caraway had emailed him an attachment with the necessary information. Squall clicked into it and started reading. Rinoa walked around his desk and leaned into his shoulder to read along. Her long hair fell over Squall's neck, tickling him and filling his nose with the scent of her shampoo. He kept silent and ignored the distraction. His eyebrows furrowed as he started formulating a mission plan. This would definitely be much more interesting than hunting monsters.

A few hours later Squall called Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine up to his office to discuss the upcoming mission. Rinoa sat on his leather couch while the others crowded around his desk. Out of the entire group, only Squall and Quistis were wearing SeeD uniforms. Everybody else was wearing their everyday casual wear.

"General Caraway has made a request for SeeD on behalf of Deling City. Women have been getting kidnapped, and we need to find and stop the kidnappers. I've been reviewing the information about this case, and it appears that all of the victims are young wealthy women. Once they've been kidnapped, the demands for ransom are sent to their husbands or families. If the demands are not met, the women have been badly beaten and dumped in the desert. Obviously, the wealthier citizens of Deling City are getting very alarmed and vocal about this problem. That's where we come in. I am proposing that we go undercover."

"Undercover? That sounds totally exciting!" Selphie said happily while clasping her hands together and hopping in the air. "It'll be just like when we infiltrated the missile base!"

"But if all the victims are young women, I mean... What are you saying here Squall? I hope you aren't gonna make me and Zell wear wigs and women's dresses..." Irvine chuckled nervously.

Selphie giggled while casting a side glance at Irvine. "Your hair is so long and luxurious, I don't think you'd be needing a wig Irvine. You'd naturally make a very convincing damsel in distress with your flowing hair and pretty eyelashes," she said while petting his long auburn ponytail. "You'd be a perfect trophy wife."

He frowned at her before looking back at Squall with distressed eyes.

"Squall?" Zell asked apprehensively while cracking his knuckles.

"As I was trying to say, all the victims have been wealthy married women in their 20s. After they get kidnapped, ransom demands get sent to their husbands or families. I'm proposing we go undercover as married COUPLES and try to get some of you kidnapped. If that happens, we can find out who is responsible and end this series of kidnappings."

"Oooh, we get to pretend to be rich married couples! That sounds like fun!" Selphie said with a bounce. "We're going to be living the high life." Selphie said while pretending to swirl a glass of champagne while holding up a monocle.

"Yes, it seems that our expenses would be covered for this job to ensure that we fit into the wealthier area of Deling City. We could start right away if we didn't have to plan to fit into a certain societal stratosphere... Preparations are already being made." Squall nodded to himself before continuing, "so now we have to decide how we are going to partner up for this."

A strange tension filled the air. A mad rush ensued to secure a good partner and not be the last person out took over. Nobody liked being left behind or the last one chosen.

"I got dibs on Irvine," Selphie yelled while grabbing his arm roughly and nearly knocking him down.

"I call Squall!" Quistis said quickly and louder than she intended to.

"I uh... I... AW MAN!" Zell yelled while looking down at the ground. He was the odd man out. "Wait, why don't I have a partner? Rinoa is over there on the couch, and there are six of us altogether," he said while pointing behind him at Rinoa. "I choose Rinoa?" Zell said tentatively and hopefully.

"The request was specifically made for SeeD. Rinoa will not be taking part in this mission," Squall explained while avoiding looking over at Rinoa.

"But Irvine isn't exactly..." Zell started to say. He saw the warning look in Squall's eyes, so he abandoned that thought. Zell looked down at the ground again. "Don't you think it would be more convincing if Rinoa came and partnered up with Squall because..."

"The request was made for SeeD," Quistis clarified.

Rinoa continued to stay silent while sitting on Squall's leather office couch. She looked over at Quistis with her brows creased and a worried expression on her face.

"Actually Zell, I think this works out the best, I was planning on having two couples and a rover. These two couples have different personalities and tastes which would make for a better chance that the kidnappers would snatch either Selphie or Quistis. I wasn't planning on having you partnered with anybody on this mission. Your facial tattoo would not make you a very convincing wealthy upper-class man," Squall said.

"Hey! Are you calling me low-class?!" Zell yelled while swinging his muscular arms wildly and looking for a fist fight.

"Oh Zell!" Selphie said while easily dodging his flailing limbs with grace, "you would stand out at a country club with that tattoo. We want to be able to elegantly fit in." She reached out and patted his twitching shoulder gently.

Zell calmed down a little bit, but his feelings were still hurt. Even if there was a reason, it hurt to not be picked to be somebody's partner. This was just like in school when everybody else picked a friend for a partner and he got left out, or worse, having to be paired with the teacher.

"Zell, you'll provide us with backup and surveillance from a remote location," Squall said.

"Remote location?" Zell asked.

"Yes, you'll be set up in an apartment separate from ours," Squall answered.

"Oooh, we're going to have our own little apartment! And we're going to pretend to be carefree rich newlyweds who are deeply, madly in love," Selphie said dramatically with her hand over her heart.

Irvine leaned down towards her, "not all of that has to be for pretend darlin'" Irvine said softly while giving her a little wet kiss on the lips. Selphie flushed and giggled while throwing her arms around his neck.

"Okay, let's stay professional here and not lose our focus. We are to be efficient and find these kidnappers quickly," Squall stated while clearly getting uncomfortable by Irvine's public display of affection towards Selphie. "I've arranged for simple back stories for each of us."

Squall handed out packets of information to each of them.

"Over the next few days we are going to secure wardrobes and furnished apartments for the duration of our mission. Xu will be helping us with this, so don't worry. Just start getting used to your aliases and back stories. Don't use your real names. We'll need to pick out new names. Choose one that you are comfortable with."

"Hey, let's use our porn-star names," Irvine said with his face lighting up.

Squall gave him a professional and stern glare from behind his heavy desk. Irvine's attitude was lax to say the least, and he didn't appreciate it.

Irvine raised his hands up at him defensively.

"What I meant was, there's a name game... maybe you've heard of it... where you take the name of a pet as your first name and the name of a street you grew up on as your last name. That's how you make up your pretend porn-star name."

Only you would know that, Squall thought. Irvine was no stranger to all topics related to porn.

Squall looked irritated and unimpressed, but Quistis stepped in to defend Irvine. She didn't think it would be fair for Squall to start reprimanding him already for a name game.

"Yes, actually I've heard of that silly game too." She took a deep breath and straightened her back. "Well, we have to start somewhere. Let's see what we get," she said.

"Okay, let's see. My name would be Butch Pine," Irvine said. He clearly had played this game before and given it some thought.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Squall said.

Or too pornographic, he thought. Probably...

"I'm gonna be Mrs. Pine!" Selphie sang while tilting her head to the side. "Mrs. Cassidy Pine! I had a hamster named Cassidy, she was the cutest, squeakiest little thing you ever saw!"

"I'm sure your hamster wouldn't be the cutest, squeakiest little thing I've ever seen," Irvine said while reaching out to grab Selphie by the ribs to make her squeak.

Selphie let out a peal of shrill breathless giggles while lightly pounding on his shoulders playfully with her balled-up fists.

Squall ran his hand through his messy brown hair testily. He'd only had Selphie and Irvine in his office for a short period of time and they were already making him crazy. Solitude sounded great right now. He wished he was alone in his office with only Rinoa's soft and soothing snoring again. He loved that sound. He wished he had an audio compilation of it to help with his stress levels. Sleeping Sorceress Sounds Vol. 1.

All this time Quistis had been in thought. Her hand rested on the hip of her crisp SeeD uniform.

"The Trepe family lived on River street, and they had a pet bird called Kiki. So I guess my name would be Kiki River. That sounds okay, maybe even rich and eccentric. How about you Squall? You probably never had a pet since you weren't ever adopted out."

Squall inwardly cringed at the reminder of not being wanted by a family at any time throughout his childhood. Quistis hadn't meant any harm, but it still was painful and he wanted to keep that pain hidden. He wanted to forge on ahead with the mission, so he took a deep breath and tried to delve into his GF weakened early childhood memories. It took him a minute.

"My name would be... Walter," he said with a sigh.

Zell let out a laugh. "You had a pet named Walter?"

Squall nodded his head wearily.

"Ellone would take me out to the beach at the orphanage in Centra and show me animals there. I remember seeing a turtle there sometimes. He would get scared and pull into his shell unless you were very careful and quiet. I named him Walter," Squall explained slowly.

Rinoa had been keeping quiet before, but she willed herself to not giggle at Squall naming a beach turtle a serious name like Walter. She turned towards the wall so he wouldn't be able to see her smiling face. It was just too cute. She'd wished she'd know him as a little boy, maybe his childhood wouldn't have been so sad with her to play with.

"Okay, so we have our names then. Butch and Cassidy Pine, and Walter and Kiki River! That worked out surprisingly well," Selphie said. "Wait, does Zell need one too? Maybe we should give him a name just in case. What's your porn-star name Zell?"

"Um, I guess my name would be... Cinnamon Sand," Zell said while shifting his feet uncomfortably.

Nobody said anything. After a moment, Selphie started giggling while covering her face with both hands and stomping her feet. Rinoa let out a small muffled laugh from where she sat on the couch.

"WHAT!? Ma had a cat named Cinnamon, and you all know her house is on Sand St. in Balamb!" Zell shouted with his entire face turning red right up to his hair roots.

"Okay, Zell's name will be Jack Smith," Squall said while wisely ignoring his other name idea. "Anyways, that's what his name will be if anybody asks, and they WON'T because he'll be undercover doing backup surveillance work for us."

Everybody looked up at each other, waiting for further instructions from Squall.

"Please go over your information packets and get ready to be shipped out in the next few days. If nobody has any questions right now, you are dismissed," Squall finished.

Selphie grabbed Irvine's arm and left Squall's office with a big grin on her face. She was clearly planning already. Quistis tried to keep a professional look on her face as she passed Rinoa on her way out, but she was visibly pleased at the turn of events. Rinoa purposely kept her head down as she passed. Zell gave a friendly wave of acknowledgement at Rinoa as he left and shut the office door behind him with a slam.

After they left, Squall turned his attention towards Rinoa. He noticed that she had been quiet throughout the mission briefing. He didn't really understand women, or people in general, but he had a feeling it wasn't a good type of quiet. After arranging the papers neatly on his desk he stood up and walked over to her. She continued to stay quiet and look at the floor. He took a seat on the couch next to her. The leather creaked nosily as he sat down and his hair fell into his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Squall asked while shaking his hair out of his face.

"I'm fine," she answered while touching her necklace.

"If we do our jobs efficiently, we should be able to apprehend the culprits quickly."

"How long do you expect the mission to take?" she asked.

"I doubt it would take more than a month," he answered.

"A MONTH!" Rinoa groaned while looking up at him. "I'm going to be left alone at Garden for a whole month? I can't even imagine what this is costing Deling City!"

And it wasn't just the time that she'd be left alone. She had to think about Squall pretending to be married to Quistis. It was no big secret that Quistis previously had feelings for Squall, maybe she still did. Selphie had told her many awkward stories on the matter. There were things that had happened before Rinoa and Squall had ever met. Quistis said that those feelings were sisterly, but they clearly weren't. Who did she think she was kidding? And Rinoa wasn't blind, she'd seen the elated look on Quistis' face when she got paired with Squall. It was making her get worried and somewhat jealous.

"We're trained professionals. We'll go there and get the job done. I'll come back when the situation is handled," he said while lightly waving his hand in the air like it was no big deal.

"I know you don't want me involved in the mission, but can't I at least come with you guys to Deling City?" Rinoa asked while trying to catch Squall's eyes.

"I don't want you endangering yourself," Squall said quietly.

Or endangering the mission success, he thought while crossing his arms.

"Is there anything else that's bothering you?" he asked.

"No, why would I be bothered," she said in an irritated voice. "You sided with my father against me this morning, and now I find out you are going to leave me at Garden alone for a month while you go off and pretend to be a young married couple with Quistis. Why would I have a problem with any of that?"

"Rinoa, we're professionals. This is a mission and..."

"Yes, I know you and Quistis take your missions very seriously. Hopefully you won't take your pretend marriage TOO seriously!"

Squall started to shift on the couch uncomfortably at her insinuations. He took a deep breath.

"Rinoa, we'll be working while we are there to discover who is kidnapping these women. Quistis and Selphie are going to be busy making themselves desirable targets. We are all going to be on the look-out for suspicious people constantly and trying to get information out of the locals. We'll be busy doing those sorts of things. It's not like we can just walk in there with our GFs and weapons and start destroying stuff. This requires planning and subterfuge. I can't just walk in there swinging my big fat sword that shoots off live bullets..."

Squall stopped abruptly.

Wow, that sounded incredibly sexual. How did I never notice that before about my gunblade? I hope Rinoa didn't notice what I just said! Oh no! What if I'm some sort of sexually repressed pervert? I better change the subject.

"...it's going to be hard work. We have to look the part and go to plays, concerts, and upper class parties to blend into society."

At least that's what Squall figured they'd be doing. He still needed to do some research on the matter.

"Sounds like a nice vacation to me," Rinoa said trying to hide the jealously that had been steadily increasing throughout the entire day.

"It's not a vacation, it's work. Since I'm going to be gone for awhile, would you like to do something nice like go out to dinner with me?" Squall said quickly while trying to smooth out his hair.

Rinoa turned towards him and looked him in the face. His nervousness was starting to show as he kept trying to tame his wild hair. She reached up and took a hold of his hand to stop him.

"That sounds nice. How about we make a fun dinner together in your apartment tonight?"

I wanna have some fun domestic happiness with Squall before he runs off to do this stuff with Quistis for a month! She thought to herself.

"Oh, sure... if that's what you'd want," he replied while pulling his hand back.

Rinoa gave a little smile while nodding up at him.

He was relieved to see her smile at him sweetly. Everything would be fine. He'd explained the mission to her, and she knew its importance. He didn't want to leave her, but there wasn't another feasible option. He'd work hard and get it solved as quickly as possible, the women of Deling City would be safer, and then he'd be able to come back to Garden. They'd be back to their routine of office work/napping in no time at all. It was a good plan, nothing would go wrong. Squall nodded to himself while avoiding thinking of Quistis.

Rinoa went back to reading for the next couple of hours while Squall finished work. As it became closer to evening, Rinoa excused herself and said that she wanted to freshen up and change for dinner.

"Sounds good. I will be done in an hour or so and then you can meet me at my apartment," Squall said.

Rinoa leisurely walked back to her room. Once she was there she started to rifle through her closet. She selected a casual yet flowy soft black cotton dress. She wanted to look nice for dinner, but not like she was TRYING to look nice. The illusion of effortless beauty. She took a quick shower, got dressed, and reapplied some light make-up. She had a silly hope that Squall would see how cute she was, and he would think to himself that he'd rather be pretend-married to her than Quistis. But he probably didn't think things like that. Actually, men probably didn't think things like that.

She looked herself in her mirror and judged that she looked good enough to leave for dinner. She exited her room and started walking towards his apartment. When she reached his door she lightly knocked. She wanted to just let herself in with her modified keycard, but she didn't want to abuse the privilege he'd given her. She had done that once... and there was a little accident... and well... Squall certainly was never going to forget it. He probably showered in a bathing suit now.

A muffled answer came from inside. Squall opened the door wearing an apron and let Rinoa inside. She took off her shoes, set her purse down, and then walked over to the middle of his living room. She looked around at the clean and immaculate place.

One of these day's I gonna have to ask Squall to help teach me to keep things organized. He keeps a nice home.

Her thoughts drifted quickly back to his upcoming mission and she posed the question that had been on her mind since she'd heard about it.

"Ever wonder what it would be like to be married?" Rinoa asked while Squall was walking back towards his kitchen.

"We've been properly trained for almost any mission Rinoa. As a cadet we had lectures about how two people act differently when they are married, dating, divorced, etc. Some of us are better actors than others."

He peered into his oven to check the food.

"That's not what I meant," Rinoa said.

"If we were married, how would you treat me?"she said.

"Why would I treat you different?" Squall said.

Rinoa wasted no time but walked up and hugged him.

"Wouldn't there be more of this." She kissed him. "And this." She hugged him as hard as she could. "And this," she said while trying to get her hand up the back of his shirt, while failing miserably because it was tucked into his pants and he had a heavy apron on top of it. Squall always had lots of armor on.

Squall didn't know how much further this was going to go. Rinoa was acting agitated and possessive, and he didn't know what she was going to try to do. Although he was much better than a year ago, he still didn't usually initiate contact or in some instances even return contact. It was just who he was. He probably was a lot like Walter the turtle. He was a high-functioning, yet damaged person. What did she want from him?

Knowing that this would be one of the last times he would be alone with her in a while, he bent down with the intention of returning a kiss. She smiled brightly at him as he bent towards her, and then her face lost some of its smile as his lips only connected with her forehead.

"Dinner will be ready shortly. Why don't you wash up in the bathroom and sit down at the table," Squall suggested.

Rinoa sighed and walked off to the bathroom. Cleanliness was important, but especially to Squall. When she returned from the bathroom Squall was plating up dinner.

"It smells delicious. What is it?" she asked.

"Some baked Balamb fish, sautéed green beans, and seasoned steamed rice. I'm sorry, I didn't have time to make something special," he apologized.

Rinoa gawked at the nice meal he'd prepared. He was good at following military orders, so recipe instructions must be a snap for him. If she was eating dinner over at Zell's, he'd probably just tell her to eat a cold hotdog straight out of the package. Sometimes Squall just seemed too dreamily perfect, but then she remembered his social skills. That sobered her. Actually he had a lot of mental quirks.

Squall removed his apron and placed it over the back of the chair. He then placed their plates at the table, and they sat down across from one another.

After Rinoa thanked Squall for dinner they began to eat. The food was great, it was nice to not always have to eat cafeteria food. While happily chewing her food she asked about his plans to catch the kidnappers. He perked up at that question because his work was something he was confident in. He started to talk without further prompting from her, a rare achievement.

Rinoa barely listened to him, and instead dreamed of a future where she would be Mrs. Leonhart. She was full of mixed emotions as she knew that this was a long way off, if she could even ever get him to consider the idea at all. Although they were still very young, it wasn't THAT crazy of an idea, the sorceress knight bond already had them tied to each other. Regular people could always get divorced, but their bond was forever as far as she knew. She was glad their bond mind-link wasn't open at the moment, she didn't want Squall to know her girlish fantasies about him. Thoughts of wedding plans skittered through her mind. And if he knew that she was already picking out baby names in her head while she was chewing her food, well that would certainly scare him off. Oh, she definitely had plans for him. Sometimes she felt like a silly little schoolgirl. She suddenly noticed she hadn't been listening to anything Squall had been saying about the mission.

"...Quistis and I will be renting a one bedroom luxury apartment," Squall said, unaware that Rinoa hadn't been paying attention.

"Oh, one bedroom huh?" she asked with growing irritation. "Will there only be ONE bed in that ONE bedroom?"

Squall stopped chewing his food and swallowed loudly.

I knew this was coming, he thought to himself while gripping his fork in his callused hand.

"I would assume so, as we are going undercover as a happy married couple," he answered her before taking a sip of water from a glass. His food had begun to stick in his throat.

"You're going to be under covers with Quistis, I mean undercover, right?" she said. "How far are you guys going to take this charade?"

"It's for the mission..." he stated.

"I guess ANYTHING for the mission..." she said snarkily.

"Seriously Rinoa!" he said while dropping his fork with a clatter. He grabbed at his forehead and took a deep breath. "I do things for a mission that you may find unacceptable, but I do them because it's my duty."

The nice feelings that Rinoa had earlier while making imaginary life plans with Squall quickly faded while picturing him in the same bed with Quistis. She shuddered to think that they would be getting under the covers together. Even if they were fully clothed in pajamas, a pang of jealously hit Rinoa.

"Well, is SeeD your only duty?" Rinoa said with hurt in her voice. Her emotions were starting to get the better of her. She pushed back her chair and turned around without looking, grabbed her purse and shoes and was out the door before Squall had even stood up.

She was able to hold back tears until she hit her room. Upon closing her door the floodgates opened and she allowed herself to cry. Becoming a sorceress had made her extra emotional. At least that's what she told herself. It was definitely the sorceress powers, and not the intense frustration of being Squall Leonhart's girlfriend. Probably.

How could somebody who looked that good be so messed up on the inside? He was far from normal, but she figured she was too, now at least. All of her friends had been changed by the war, but nobody more than her.

She flopped down on her bed to sulk.

As the evening went on she was further hurt that Squall didn't even try to contact her. Guilt weighed on her that she'd ruined dinner, but then she got angry again when she thought of Quistis. Squall was going away soon, and she didn't want to end on this sour note. It was a mess, and she was a mess of emotions. And on top of the hurt she was embarrassed by her own actions as well.

She spent the next couple of hours trying to calm her fears and to get some peace from the fact that Squall was professional. Her jealousy was bothering her, but she couldn't really imagine Squall cuddling up with Quistis. That seemed ridiculous.

Pfft, he barely cuddles me, she thought.

After taking Angelo out for a walk and getting ready for bed, she decided to call it a night. Why torture herself any longer that evening. She slipped beneath her pink comforter and picked up a boring book on the sorceress wars. That always helped her get to sleep quickly. She wasn't in the mood to read any more of the fluffy romance novel she was halfway through, it would just upset her further. After about ten minutes, maybe even sooner, she reached out to shut off her light, and then her eyelids closed and she fell asleep.

As her dream unfolded before her she was instantly aware that it was only a dream. Becoming a sorceress seemed to have heightened that ability. She was more likely to dream, and she was more likely to be able to tell a dream apart from reality now. She also had better control of her dream-self than she did before. In some instances she could even modify and control her dream depending on her emotional state. The only negative to all this was that she needed to be careful. Sometimes the sorceress knight bond was stronger while dreaming, and she didn't want to bleed over into Squall's dreams. He wouldn't appreciate that and neither would she. They had enough embarrassing and awkward moments when they were awake.

She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing the uniform of a housekeeper and carrying a tray filled with two plates of breakfast foods, complete with fancy little glasses filled with orange juice. A bell rang beckoning her to the room at the end of the hall. The high, shrill tinkle was grating to her ears with its constant insistence.

Oh, I don't like where this is going. Don't do this to me brain! Can't we work out our issues at a place other than my dreams?!

She knew that it was going to be Squall's bedroom when she opened the door. But when she peered inside she was still shocked by what she saw. Just as she thought it was Squall sitting up in bed with Quistis, awaiting their breakfast. Quistis was wearing fancy dark red lingerie with the straps falling down around her pale shoulders and Squall was wearing his undershirt. That wasn't so bad, but for Squall that was nearly naked. Rinoa was getting irritated by her dream. They looked so happy together. Squall was smiling at Quistis. His smiles were beautiful and illusive rarities, she didn't like seeing one directed at Quistis, even in a dream.

"I thought you and Quistis were just pretending to be married," Rinoa said while deciding to get all her feelings out in the safety of her dream world. She needed to vent some steam.

"We just enjoyed being pretend-married so much that we decided to do it for real," Squall said while reaching out and taking a hold of Quistis' hand. He gave her a kiss on her ring finger, showcasing the over-sized engagement ring and wedding band. He then pointed at a framed copy of their marriage certificate.

Who frames their marriage certificate?

Rinoa was not liking where this was heading and decided to change things in her favor, but her dream would not alter itself.

"Rinoa, don't fight this. Quistis should be my wife. We have much more in common. We're both serious, dedicated SeeDs. We both have a talent for leadership. We're equals. We even grew up under similar circumstances. You're just a high school dropout. And a runaway. Not to mention the problem of your sorceress powers. Basically a total mess," Squall said. "Why should we wind up together? You're more suited to be our maid."

Rinoa pushed back again trying to curtail the spiraling nightmare. She wanted the dream to change into something nice so badly. The scene did change, but not for the better. She found herself on her knees scrubbing the polished wood floor with a brush and a bucket full of water.

"Squall honey, you should fire her. She's not a good housekeeper. She can't cook or clean well," Quistis said while peering over the edge of the bed at her.

"No, I think we should keep her, she needs to know her place," Squall replied. "This is the only way she'll learn."

As Rinoa cleaned the room, the floor only became dirtier. She was getting her hands, arms, and clothes full of muddy water. Every time she dipped her brush in the bucket, it would slop everywhere near her. It was awful and it seemed never-ending.

The whole time she had been fighting against the dream frantically. When finally broke free of the repetitive motion of cleaning, she turned on them with rage. Quistis threw up her arms defensively, expecting Rinoa to strike her. But instead of hitting Quistis, she grabbed hold of Squall's undershirt with her wet and dirty hands and pulled him towards her angry face.

"How could you do this to me you damaged, cold-hearted, socially inept SeeD jerk?!" she yelled at dream-Squall with tears in her eyes.

She suddenly was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and anxiety. Her hope of love and acceptance was crushed, and it caused her to wake up in a cold sweat fully aware. She was not looking forward to month of being alone with her out-of-control insecurities.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Okay, I'm trying something new here. I want it to be interesting, but kinda cute and funny. The overall situation seems silly and fun to me. I mean, pretending to be married, that's going to be AWKWARD! We'll see how it goes. It'll get more lighthearted. Oh, and I got the title from an old game show. Please read and review. I'm really trying! So please be nice in your reviews.

(I was going to make this be for The Successor Challenge being run by SummonerLuna and EmeraldLatias for this August, but I don't think I'll be able to write the ENTIRE story and have it completely posted ONLY in August, and that's part of the rules. I'll probably make something smaller for that.)