A/N: This is my first postgame story and let me tell you, I was very nervous to write it. I tend to stay away from postgame stories (well writing them at least) because I'm always afraid of messing it up. But having read so many good stories of 'what happened next…' I just had to give in and try it out.

Firstly, I would like to thank Ashbear for her incredible stories over the past ten years that we have all enjoyed immensely. Her plot and writing is something I enjoy so much and I feel so fortunate that she writes for the FF8 fandom. Also, a major huge thanks for being such a good, supportive friend and for being kind enough to go over this fic for me. I truly wouldn't have had the courage to keep writing let alone post this fic without her encouragement and kind words.

Secondly, I am aware of the many theories rampant among the FF8 community. And while some theories have always seemed to be true, I did a lot of research (Final Fantasy Wiki) and found out a lot of them were 'fanon' and not 'canon' (props to Ashbear for the definitions). Two major theories will have a part in this fic: sexual contact and childbirth, both of which you will see which direction I have taken, either fanon or canon.

Thank you to everyone for all your support and I really hope I don't mess this one up.

-Niqsta

Horns of a Dilemma

Squall and Rinoa - What was supposed to be the start of an epic romance spiralled into a web of complications. Like the horns of a dilemma, choosing your responsibility for the entire world over the one you love is never easy and always at a price.

Chapter 1 – Promises

It would have almost been a feeling of déjà vu had Dollet Beach not drastically improved over the last year with holiday Villas, beach chairs, cafés and souvenir shops. From what Squall could remember of his first trip to Dollet were the cobblestone footpaths, the deserted Galbadian occupied streets, and a very large mechanical spider chasing him down the sandy, polluted beach. What he wouldn't give to go back to that day. It was surprising for him to feel this way; nostalgia for a mechanical spider that was intent on ripping every single limb from his body. But it was the hindsight behind that day; it was the start of something great. It was the beginning of his future. It was also the night he had met her.

He had stood in this spot before; well actually he had tripped over the pedestrian road above him, fell smack onto the spot, before cursing to himself and running like mad towards the SeeD vessel. But even back then he hadn't known where that small step would have taken him. At the time, the only thing on his mind was preventing an impending death. He went from being at the front, leading Zell and Selphie away from the mechanical spider, to somehow being the last one behind.

It was that damn dog! The golden retriever, which he just had to make sure got out of the way from being turned into mince meat. That, and extra SeeD points. Somehow he had gotten left behind and to make matters worse, he tripped and lunged forward to avoid his head being splattered across the beach. But even so, he had a nagging thought in his head that his life was over. That all it took was the claw of X-ATM092 to pierce through his body and that was the end of both his life and being a Garden cadet.

He had to remember to thank Quistis, he was astonished that over a year on and he still hadn't thanked her for saving his life.

It shouldn't have crossed his mind, but he couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like had he given up. Had he lay there and allowed the machine to delve into him. He hadn't of course. At that time, there was no knowledge of what he knew now. At that time, all he saw and sought was to be the best damn SeeD ever. He didn't know he'd meet her. He didn't know that all he'd want in life was her. That knowledge he possessed now, and it bloody well sucked that he could do nothing about it.

Squall lowered himself onto the soft, yellow sand in a sitting position, sighing in what may have seemed like defeat. But it was more like despair. What was he to do? He had no answers. In actuality, there was no question about it. This was his life, regardless of whether he chose it, or had it chosen for him. He was Squall Leonhart; Headmaster of Balamb Garden, saviour of the entire world. That title alone came at a cost and unfortunately for him, it was at the expense of his happiness with her.

He lowered his head and sighed again, her words screamed in his ears as that familiar feeling came tugging at his heart. He had never seen her so hurt, never seen her so angry at him. Her words were engraved in his memory, and the feeling that followed permanently resided in his heart.

"Empty promises, Squall. That's all you're ever good for!"

And how true it was.

One Year Earlier

-October-

It was a feeling of excitement, exhilaration, euphoria and anxiety mixed altogether. No one could describe or make similarities to what the victory of defeating the world's malevolent Sorceress of all time felt like. Neither could the young Knight and Sorceress describe the emotions that were coursing through their body as they broke away from their first kiss and rested their heads against each other.

For Squall, it was very adventurous and brave of him to initiate something so intimate. He had fought with his inner-self, and won by the looks of it, about how this would weaken his suave and reserved exterior. But the timing was perfect; a shooting star symbolic to the start of something great. The last one of those he had seen led him to his adventures with her. He was certain this one would also be the start of something wonderful.

Rinoa had accepted the kiss willingly and made him feel at ease when her hands had eventually wrapped around his neck and her body pushed against his. If it hadn't been for the lack of breath in his lungs, he wouldn't have pulled away. Why hadn't Odine created some form of para-magic to allow lengthily first kisses?

He smiled at her without saying a word. Her eyes were saying a lot more to him. She wanted him to do that again. He laughed softly against her; she knew full well that he was onto what she was after. But he was a SeeD; it was only natural that he would suspect a certain brunette couple hiding behind the pillar, cursing at the perfectly ill-timed uncharged camera. Sure they had no way of recording any more intimacies between Squall and Rinoa, but he had no doubt that the green-eyed brunette would gather all their friends, not to mention the entire CC Club, for a live performance.

Squall pulled his head away from Rinoa, delicately letting go of her waist and held her hands. He didn't need to speak; she would follow wherever he would take her. Whether that was to the flower fields in Centra, or to the Balamb cafeteria, she would not object to follow. They walked hand in hand, revelling at the close proximity of each other and the emotions of finally being able to be together.

They strolled smoothly, with obvious unnoticed pretence of the hundred eyes watching, as they quietly made their way out of the large ballroom and into the Garden lobby. It wouldn't be a couple of hours until they finally landed in Balamb, but for the Sorceress and Knight they had all the time in the world.

Starting from tonight.

It was quiet and peaceful as they made their way around the lobby and walked into the dorms. It took shaking hands for Squall to pull his keycard out and swipe it against the mechanism outside his dorm room, before being able to hold it open for her. She smiled cheekily at him before stepping in and looking around his room with new found interest. She had been in here before, both times uninvited. This time, however, felt completely new; he had wanted her to come and join him, he wanted her presence around him.

It was exactly as she remembered it a couple of weeks ago, before her comatose status. His white walls were bare with only a coat hanger to one side above his bed. His desk was just an arms length away from his bed, right next to his gunblade case. The blinds were drawn and allowed no light to seep in from the dark sea that they flew over. That was soon taken care of when Squall turned on his desk lamp, allowing the room to be filled with a dim yellow light, resulting in a subtle romantic ambience that Squall surely didn't intend.

He took off his shoes, disposing them neatly into his closet and took off his leather jacket, placing it on an iron hanger before hanging it up on his coat rack. Rinoa mimicked his actions and also took of her blue duster, leaving it resting on his desk chair and kicking her shoes off to one corner.

It wasn't cold in the room, but she decided leaving her socks on as she crawled onto the bed and lay onto his open arms. Her head nestled safely on the crook of his neck, they both wrapped their arms around each other in a hugging position. She could smell the mixture of cologne and leather on him and allowed it to cement her memory.

"I never once thought that you of all people, would invite me back to your room," Rinoa finally spoke, chuckling against his chest.

"Well. . ." Squall paused thinking to himself, "I never once thought that I'd be inviting you of all people, back to my room," he rebutted, getting a nudge in the ribs from her in return.

She moved her head upwards, gazing into his steel-blue eyes earnestly. It was those eyes that had caught her attention only a couple of months ago in that grand hall. Never did she imagine that it'd lead to saving the world, or that she'd be lying on a bed, staring lovingly into them. It was fate after all, how one single glance at a shooting star caused her to spot him. How he, of all SeeDs, was assigned to help her on her mission, and how everything else spiralled into a dream like fantasy with a very sweet ending.

But for both the Sorceress and Knight, it wasn't an ending, in fact, it was only the start of a new beginning. A continuation of what happens next.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly in fear of someone overhearing.

It was pretty silly really, everyone else was at the party enjoying themselves, and hardly anyone was ready to retire to bed. But she felt the need to whisper for his closure more than hers. It wasn't very often that Squall opened up to people, and it wasn't very often they had time along together.

"You," he replied straight away, not taking his eyes off her.

She blushed lowering her eyes back to his chest and held him tighter. It had put a wide grin on her face to say the least; a lot of Squall's actions tonight were doing that.

"What about me?" she asked cheekily curious to know what was going on in her Knight's mind.

"Just thinking about how close I was to losing you," he said with seriousness and an air of present fear.

Her giddy emotion was cut off as the sense of a similar fear came back to haunt her. It was sheer panic and grief that coursed through her body when she had found him lying on a solid rock floor, seemingly unconscious and with only the faintest sign of a heartbeat. It scared her to see him in that position and the memories of finding his cold body sprawled out flat, brought fresh tears to her eyes.

She sat up and wiped her eyes, causing him to repeat her actions, albeit without the tears, and hold her in his arms once again. He smoothed down her hair and held her tight until she regained composure.

"You don't know how scared I was when I saw you lying there," she managed after a sob. "The first thought that came to my head was how unfair it was. I thought you were dead, Squall. I thought it was unfair that you'd go through the ordeal of saving the world and not even be here to enjoy it."

He smiled instantly, letting a small amused chuckle out.

"There's no way I'd save the world and not be allowed to enjoy the after party," he remarked while still smiling at her. "And there's no way I'd go through all of that and not be able to enjoy a future with you. Sure, I saved the world because it was my mission, but see, there was this girl next to me encouraging me and supporting me along the way that I had to thank. There's no way I would have gone so easily."

She smiled back at his kind words, smiled harder because she knew they were meant from the heart.

"So, how do you plan on thanking this girl?" she asked cheekily, hoping she'd be rewarded with the same prize she had won in the balcony only minutes ago.

It was a simple question really, but for Squall it flipped his heart over and resulted in a shuddering breath that followed. Squall Leonhart was truly nervous and not by an impending battle.

"That's a good question," he stated, nodding his head and concentrating on the rings adorning Rinoa's neck.

Rinoa looked closely at him, inspecting his face peculiarly. It was the answer that she expected; just the concentrated tone that complimented it was very different. Although it was Squall Leonhart, she had more than expected him to cheekily state the reply and bend down and kiss her.

"Squall?" Rinoa finally managed to slip out worriedly.

"Rinoa, will you marry me?" he finally blurted out, more as plea rather than a question.

Immediately, he could see her eyes widen in shock and her face contort to amusement. It only took a moment before she let a heartily chuckle out, her hands trying hard to stifle the giggles before looking at his unchanged expression.

"Oh, you're serious?" she asked guilty.

Biting her bottom lip, she turned her body full circle to face him properly and hold his hands in her cupped ones. She smiled at him reassuringly, the giggles inside her being contained to further prevent hurting his feelings.

"Squall, why do you want to marry me?" she couldn't help but question.

It was strange for her to hear such a request from him; she completely hadn't expected him to ask her anything pertaining to a relationship. She herself wasn't entirely sure if the kiss that they had shared was some form of a deposit in their new found relationship. Rinoa surely wouldn't go as far as calling herself his girlfriend until he himself had stated it.

Squall lowered his head and thought about his answer. It wasn't how he had expected her to react. It was peculiar that he hadn't exactly thought this through, it surely wasn't the way a SeeD, let alone the commander of SeeD would act.

Normally such life changing decisions were thought out, planned and executed only when there were substantial favours. But it all boiled down to what Squall had experienced; no other SeeD member went through his experiences in Time Compression. No one else, had to experience the deletion of a loved one from their memory. No one else, saw a possibility of life without a loved one. He had. He could still remember each flashback, every moment he had spent with Rinoa, leading up to the events with Ultimecia, being erased from his mind. It was strange, it was empty and it was cold. He didn't want his future to be described with those attributes and so he had asked her the question to make his future bright, warm and complete.

"Rinoa," he started, looking solemnly into her eyes, "when I was in Time Compression, I had these flashbacks of every moment we shared, starting from the ballroom dance you dragged me to," he lightly laughed, "through garden flying over the wide Balamb Plains, and even down to you in space."

He breathed hard and briefly looked around the dimly lit room. It was a lot to comprehend, a lot to explain but it was required for his appeal. She looked at him with a genuine smile and held his hand tighter for him to continue.

"Every image I saw in front of me, just scared me to think of a life without you. Everything I saw, just reminded me of the time I lost you in space, all those feelings of despair and loneliness came back to me and I thought I'd never get that chance. When I held you on the Ragnorak, I know I acted distant, but I just didn't know how to be around you; I was a bit embarrassed," he confessed lowering his gaze to their clasped hands.

How he was to explain this was beyond him. He didn't want to scare her away, but he needed to expression his need for her.

"When I was experiencing those flashbacks, I thought that was it. I'd never get that Ragnorak scene back and be able to really hold you, really tell you how I feel," he frowned at the thought.

"How do you feel?" Rinoa asked softly, placing a small hand on his cheek, it was almost unheard by the loud beating at Squall's chest.

He swallowed hard clearing his throat and looked at her determinedly.

"I love you," he answered easily.

The bashful smile was back on her lips as she looked at him shyly. That was not something she ever expected Squall Leonhart to say, especially to her. He found her annoying, stubborn and completely irresponsible. To have feelings like that, especially so strong was beyond imaginable. But completely identical to how she felt about him.

"Squall, I love you too," she replied with ease and lent towards him to place a soft kiss on his lips.

Breaking away, she held his cheek in her cupped hand and spoke softly, adding as much comfort she needed not to hurt his feelings.

"But, I can't marry you . . . not now anyway," she quickly added when she saw the disappointment in his eyes. "Let me explain," she prepared herself shaking herself mentally and blinking hard.

It was at times like this, Rinoa really noticed how quiet the room was, and how loud the ticking of his clock matched the beats to her heart.

"Squall, when you kissed me on the balcony, I wasn't expecting it. I didn't even know what it meant, or why you did it. I don't even know what we are, are we a couple?"

It wasn't a direct question, but the Commander felt as if he should answer.

"Of course," he replied instantly.

She smiled at him, her amusement visible in her grin. "Well, that's good to know," she paused as she tried to remember her point.

"Growing up I've done a lot of hasty things, I think running away from home and joining a resistance faction has to be the biggest blunder in my actions . . . depending on how you look at it." She winked cheekily. "But I don't want to be that girl anymore."

"I don't get what you're saying," Squall stated shaking his head.

"Squall, this is the start of something new and I don't want to taint it with my irresponsible actions. I can't be the carefree seventeen year old princess I was before today. Now, my actions really do have a domino affect, especially since the whole world will be on my tail," she replied with distress.

This time it was Squall's turn to tighten his hold on her. He had nearly forgotten that little small print, she was still a sorceress and there was no refund on that little purchase.

"Anything I do now will affect the world, I can't afford to be hasty and follow my desires. I do Squall; I really do want to marry you," she replied, her voice getting that bit emotional and quick. "But, I don't want to rush into anything and then for us to regret it after."

"Why would we regret this?" he couldn't help but ask.

He couldn't deny his hurt, he understood her reasons when it came to the overall population of the earth, but he had hoped to tell them that their marriage was the fee for saving the world. But this new reason Rinoa was proposing was causing him to question her insecurities.

"Squall, we've just defeated a sorceress from the future. You're the world's saviour and most probably have carried out the essence of what SeeD is about. We're emotional and tired and I don't want you to ask me something today and regret it tomorrow," she answered assuredly. "I don't want any regrets between us."

"Rinoa, do you really think that I would ask you something from the top of my head?" he asked.

"No," she had to admit, the Commander of SeeD rarely ever had sporadic moments of emotional expression. In fact, the only time she remembered him acting spontaneously was when he came to save her from the Sorceress' Memorial.

"I wouldn't ask you to marry me if I believed it was something I would live to regret," he answered confidently.

"I know, Squall," she nodded, although her feelings of anxiety and fear hadn't dissipated. "But, I can't say yes when . . ."

Rinoa got off the bed, unable to finish her sentence and started pacing the small space in his room. What was she so scared about? She was with Squall; she never felt scared or ever became speechless around him. Yet here she was, unable to express her reasons. To any girl it would have been a dream to marry the Commander of SeeD, especially seeing as he just went and saved the world's butt from near apocalypse. But something was making her apprehensive and it literally was down to every other thing never lasting in her life.

Her mother had died when she was five. By sixteen her relationship with her father had deteriorated, her first crush had gone and nearly sacrificed her to a Sorceress and now that the world was saved . . . she had no where to go. She belonged no where. So, why was she saying no? Surely, Squall could put new meaning in her life. Surely, Squall would make her feel wanted.

"Squall. . . " she looked at him desperately, "I don't want to say yes and have you realise you don't love me in the morning, or the next day or the next year. I don't want to rush into anything and then regret my actions. That's all I've been doing so far."

She bent down, leaning against the white bare wall and pulled her legs upto her chest, hugging them tightly. She was doing the right thing; she was preventing herself from making the same mistakes all over again. But even so, she felt cheated; a part of her wanted to jump in joy and accept his proposal. But the mature part of her that was slowly increasing, knew she was doing the right thing for both of them, even though it hurt.

Squall slowly eased himself off his bed and lowered himself in front of her. Pulling her head up so she could look into his eyes, he spoke with conviction.

"Rinoa, asking you to spend the rest of your life with me, is something I'll never regret."

She had to smile at his perseverance, she had almost expected him to agree with her reasons and take back his offer.

"If that is true, then the next time you ask me, I will say yes," she answered and quickly put a finger to his lips. "But not tonight," she said quick and laughed.

"All right," he complied and couldn't help but smile. "I'll prove to you that it's something I'll never regret . . . and neither will you. I promise," he said confidently.

She pulled his head closer and kissed him again.

Squall understood her reasons, it was true that they were very emotional and excited and it was only reasonable that she'd relate his proposal to the euphoria of their victory. However, her anxieties and insecurities stemmed from a part of her life that affected her at a deeper level than she let on.

He would win her over; prove to her that his proposal wasn't in haste or without resolute. He would ask her again once she felt comfortable with him and assured of his feeling for her. It was a promise.

She should have been asleep, she should have been in bed, she should have been lounging in her dorm room enjoying the overdue week off, anything but donned in her SeeD outfit, walking down the Garden Lobby, at nine in the morning.

Quistis couldn't help it; she wasn't like the others, she couldn't for the life of her remain in her quiet solitude staring at her blank walls. It wasn't in her nature to sit and read or watch TV when she knew stacks of paperwork were waiting for her in her office. Of course, she had a week's break that most definitely didn't include any form of Garden or SeeD related work. All fun and play, but Quistis was already a dull person, or so she believed herself to be. So, here she was walking towards the elevator before selecting the 3F button and finally arriving at her office.

She had been right, stacks of SeeD reports lay waiting on her desk with many amounts of feedback forms. For the first time since she was allowed to contemplate on the matter, Quistis was very glad to have been demoted from her Instructor position.

There was hardly any possible way she'd have the time to get all those papers done and attend class.

Starting her morning ritual, Quistis walked over to the shared coffee station in the third floor lobby and made herself a strong black coffee. The cafeteria ladies had already stocked up on sweet confectionaries which she gladly helped herself too. It was something she was secretly thankful for; the freedom to enjoy her breakfast, lunch and dinner for that matter, in the confines of her office. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually enjoyed a peaceful meal in the cafeteria without the presence of a few persistent Trepies.

Walking back to her office, Quistis placed her coffee cup and iced-bun down on the table, licking the sugary residue left on her index finger. Opening up a window, she allowed the fresh Balamb salt air to fill the room. How she had missed the natural surroundings of Balamb. Indisputably, she along with the rest of the gang had loved Esthar, with its hi-tech transportation and its mass development. But nature always had a way to impress the blonde and right now as she stared at the sun rays hitting the crystal blue beach waters, she couldn't help the small smile spread across her face.

A knock on the door broke her from her moment of tranquillity. Turning around she called out for the person to come in, only finding the door opening to reveal Cid walking in with a cheeky smile on his face.

"I knew you would be here on your day off," he chuckled, getting straight to the point.

"You know me, Cid. Other than Garden, I have nothing else going on," she managed a lopsided smile, before attacking the papers in front of her. "See all this paperwork? I just couldn't possibly sit in my room all day knowing it was calling to me."

"Calling to you, eh?" Cid considered making his way over to the desk.

Both sat down opposite each other, Quistis choosing to sort her papers in respective piles while she awaited the reason for Cid's arrival. Taking his glasses off, the older man stared at Quistis with a jovial smile.

"You know, Quistis," he began, his smile never leaving, "I really enjoyed last night. I know Edea and I have been together for a month now but last night really cemented everything. Ultimecia has been defeated and now we can actually move on."

The blonde smiled at her Headmaster truly pleased for him. It was a start of something fresh for all of them. They had all been worried when they couldn't find Squall and then panic stricken when Rinoa suddenly disappeared. But after seeing her walk back with Squall leaning on her shoulders, fully conscious, they knew that they could truly be victorious. They had dined and celebrated deep into the night without a care in the world. As far as they were concerned they had none.

"I'm happy for you both, Cid," she inputted her support while busily placing each paper into their piles.

"Thank you," Cid nodded before taking in breath. "But you see Quistis, when Edea and I first started Garden; we trained SeeD for the battle against Ultimecia."

Quistis looked to her Headmaster wondering where the conversation was going. What he had said had been registered long before, they knew that was the meaning to SeeD; destroying sorceress, except the good ones.

"Now that you've all done what we set out for, I think its time Edea and I went back to the Orphanage," Cid finally concluded.

"What?" Quistis immediately asked.

It actually hadn't occurred to her that what Cid was saying was true. SeeD had done what it was initially expected to do. Any other mission they carried out was arbitrary compared to what they'd carried out last night. But even so, this surely couldn't be the end to Garden and all its SeeDs?

"I think it's time I retire and have someone else take over," Cid spoke more directly. "I'm old now and I want to spend the rest of my days peacefully with Edea."

"I understand," Quistis nodded her head. "But, Cid you practically built this place; who can take over and carry out the job to your expectations?"

It was a truth that had to be considered severely, Garden's success did rely on its SeeDs, but it also relied heavily on the one who trained them; Cid had been a continued support, a father figure to them all. With his absence, Garden would change drastically if the wrong person was appointed.

"Well, I do have someone in mind," he confessed.

Squall opened his eyes to find his bedroom in the same dimly lit state he had fallen asleep. The desk lamp still shone from one corner of his room but mixed in with the hazy light seeping in from behind his blinds.

His arm was all but dead by the weight of Rinoa's head resting quietly in deep sleep. They hadn't moved from their positions all night, the extreme fatigue clearly the cause of their minor death like slumber.

He looked at her asleep on his arm remembering the scenes of the night before. How excited and blissful they had been the entire night, even after she declined his offer of marriage. But that scene was taken with a pinch of salt. He shouldn't be hurt or feel any form of dejection. She hadn't rejected him per se, rather pleaded a better timing.

He had to agree that the timing, though perfectly in conjunction to a romantic prospect, swayed more to the idea of a hasty decision.

But he'd made a promise to prove that it wasn't offered in haste; he was serious about spending the rest of his life with her and he wanted it to be perfect. Nothing made him surer than his experiences through Time Compression. He had seen a life without Rinoa, a life which he thought would surely take place with his death. But he had survived and when he opened his eyes, it was her tearful face that he had seen first and he knew things would be all right.

Rinoa stirred in his arms, stretching out her legs and pushing up her arms from the tiredness. She had nearly knocked his head sideways had his reflexes not kicked in and just managed to duck. She opened her eyes, perplexed at the lack of room and stared into his eyes. It took a moment before it finally registered who she was lying next to, and not only that, but who she was currently half sleeping on top of.

Her face finally broke into a smile as she accepted a kiss from him atop of her head. She hugged his chest in bliss and rubbed her eyes from the tiredness.

"Morning," she spoke, her voice cracked from the morning sleep.

"Morning," he replied back. "First day back in Garden and you already have me breaking rules," he couldn't help but joke.

She giggled at his observation, before sitting up and staring at him with amusement.

"If I remember correctly, Commander Leonhart, but it was you who asked me to lay down next to you," she argued cutely.

"That I did," he nodded and sat up against his headboard. "But I didn't ask you to sleep."

"I couldn't help it, I was so tired. Why didn't you wake me?" she asked half in jest and half seriously.

He smiled at her genuinely before replying, "I didn't have the heart to wake you. Besides, it wouldn't have been very gentlemanlike if I woke you from sleep," he rebutted getting off the bed and opening his closet to get a towel.

"Hm. Well, wouldn't it have been very gentlemanlike if you had slept on the floor and allowed me the bed to myself?" Rinoa continued to argue cheekily.

He couldn't stop the smile creep up to his face, she had a point. But as she lay there in his arms he couldn't separate himself from her. He wanted and needed to be next to her, with her in his arms protecting her from any harm. He had never been so close to another person since Ellone had left the orphanage and he quite liked the close proximity Rinoa had offered him.

"It would have," Squall agreed. "But I couldn't break myself away."

She smiled at his honesty and got up to reward him. Half way into the kiss she abruptly pulled away, putting her hand to her mouth and looking up at him shyly.

"Sorry, my breath must reek," she admitted embarrassedly.

"Not at all," he replied ridding her of any further embarrassment. "But I think we both need to shower."

She smacked his arm lightly before leaning into a hug and resting her head on his shoulder.

It was a fresh day, a new start. They had anticipated this day, almost fearful it would not come or that they would never live to experience. But they had survived and finally for Rinoa and Squall, they believed it was a chapter to a bright new future.