Rinoa Heartilly

𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘, 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓  &  𝐅𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒.      Sheets shift, gaze dipping back to where he’d felt it linger earlier. He studies her face another moment, knowing it had something to do with the scars marring along his back, still feeling the slight echoing brush of exploratory fingers mapping out the exposed canvas of his skin with all the same gentleness of a butterflies wing.

He isn’t sure why she treats him like he’s as fragile as glass, especially knowing full well more then half of what he’s capable of, what he’d made it through so far. He’s far from it. But… he’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him melt like wax beneath her gentle touch. The word that flashed to mind was precious. Something important.

They return again, still so feather-like in their pressure, different in their skating touches to how she normally was. Bold  &  loud, rough at times  -  none of that was present as her curiosity stays firmly pinned, content to follow along mapped paths made by her hands. When she speaks again, her voice is kept barely to a low, hushed whisper. Contemplative, thoughtful, her brows knit together, a faint line creasing between them as she cants her head ever so slightly.

He doesn’t jump to comment, content to let the words linger in the air as is, settling for an acknowledging hum as he shifts. He could move more, move her hand away, shield the worst of his ‘engravings’ to change the topic. He really should  -  but for whatever reason, he’s content to leave it alone.

Squall found he didn’t mind, oddly enough.

At the question on whether they hurt or not, he shrugs, a light motion, one that’s paired with a barely restrained yawn as he watches her move the sheet, fuss with her hair in a soothed manner. She misses a few pieces,  &  so, he shuffles a bit onto his side, enough he can reach over to push the stray hairs from her eyes absent-mindedly.

❝ Mm. Only… around two, I think? But not a lot. ❞  Thankfully, they didn’t continue to hurt even after healing. Small blessings he’d gladly accept. However… the spot where he vividly remembers Edea’s icicle impaling him  -  now that one  -  it hurt. Sometimes when he used Shiva out in the field, it’d start to ache. Sometimes, when he’d use too much magic, there’d be a sudden flare of pain to shatter at his focus. Too much pressure put on it? Also not as fun to deal with.  Nothing outright agonizing… just more inconvenient if he had to be honest.

Propping his cheek along the curve of his palm, he peers back at Rinoa, eyes a calmed lake shade rather then their normal stormy hue. All before he reaches over to playfully poke at a cheek.

❝ I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Promise. ❞

  As he turned toward her she curled the blankets up against her chest in some small grasp at modesty where none was truly needed, honeyed-brown eyes following the path of his hand as it reached for her and touched her face far more gently than she had ever thought him capable of at first. It seemed both of them were given to gentle delicacy in the morning — at least this morning. The wisp of a smile stretched on her lips as her head tipped into the touch instinctively, not so quick to let it go.    “I won’t. Just, tell me if I hurt you okay?” she opened dowsed eyelids to impress upon him her seriousness — he might laugh at the notion, but memories of the night before and the way she had gripped him as if he were the only tether she had to this world both worried and embarrassed her. She felt the heat of memory tinting her neck and cheeks, resolved to quell it with idle conversation, hoping to ignore the large pink elephant in the room as long as possible: it was not as if she didn’t know the inevitability of them winding up here, but it was still a pretty big step, was it not? 

𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐌, 𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄.      Hardly registers much aside from the pleasant feeling of being so relaxed, at ease, like an old weight’s been lifted from his chest, a pleasant lingering thrum buzzing through his limbs coming to take it’s place instead. Warmth blossoms across his skin, faint from where the rays of morning light stream in to cross his skin. It’s nice  -  but not so much a replacement for an actual blanket.

He keeps his eyes closed, still remaining in that dream-like state of not quite awake, but not quite fully asleep. It helps he knows who’s here with him now, flitting about with all the same grace of a restless hummingbird even in such early morning hours. Rinoa always was known to be the more expressive of the two… the more curious.

Sheets shift, covers moving, prompting an irritated twitch of his nose as he turns his face away with a low mumble, something barely intelligible as he turns from the light. He has half a mind to reach for the sheets, to drag them stubbornly back to cover what skins been bared to the open air, feeling a slight chill wrack his frame in response. Face pillowed by one of his arms, he clings to the remnants of sleep he can feel still present, wanting to soak up the comfortable moment just a little longer.

But other plans were apparently in mind for him, if the suspicious silence was anything to go by. A squeak-like sound is heard, something that nearly prompts a light shake of his head in some bubbling fondness at the sunny sound  -  the only thing stopping him being the way his neck is craned, face cradled in the crook of his arm. His ears perk, straining a little more to catch the sounds around him as he gradually begins to wake more fully.

Before he can move or try to crack his eyes open, more shuffling is felt, blanket dragging itself across his hips in a way that makes him raise his head with a snort of sleepy laughter. Before he can tease the culprit, a darkened brow quirking very faintly, there’s a strange silence that accompanies the sudden lack of moving. He waits curiously, wondering just what snagged her attention, all before he feels the answer through cautious yet gentle fingers trailing along the edges of old scars long since healed. Tender  -  the spot she allowed dainty fingers to travel along, explore, such a space was hardly one he’d dare to share to anyone else.

But given everything… given who she was, what they’d gone through  -  given all of it. He feels no familiar bristling arise, no need to twist defensively to protect or hide. Instead he eases into the light touches gently gifted, lowering his head back along the meat of his arm, but turning to peer back at her with half-lidded gun-metal grey. They flicker across her face for a moment, doing nothing outside of watch  &  study, taking in the reaction she gave, curious if she’d freeze up  &  draw back or boldly continue on regardless as she was known to do.

Voice still laced with the gruffness of sleep, fading remnants that lingered behind faintly, Squall stays still but chooses to break the silence with as much tact as he can manage.

❝ They’re not that bad are they? ❞

  Her curiosity had gotten the best of her, it seemed, the sleeping lion stirring beneath her touch – no matter how gentle. She peeked up from beneath tented blankets, a sheepish smile on her lips as she met his bleary blue eyes. She’d been caught, there was little point in pretending otherwise. 

  Her eyes drifted down again, away from his face to the marks beneath her fingers – some raised, some smooth with age, nibbling thoughtfully on her bottom lip as she stroked the lines one after the other. Slowly. Reverently. She shook her head at his question.

  “I should have known you’d have these – you’re a mercenary after all,” she reasoned quietly, but even as the logical conclusion rolled off her lips it still felt a little unfair for a person to endure such pain just for others to live in luxury. She’d spent many years in that luxury herself while others went out and fought and died at her father’s command. Even Squall had fought on her behalf not so terribly long ago. 

  Were some of these scars due to her?

( @lionfated )

Deep lavenders gave way to warm milky golds as the sunrise crept through curtains, spilling over bedsheets and sleeping bodies — well, one sleeping body. The other was just beginning to wake as light stretched over her eyelids and stirred her from slumber.

Delicate hands reached up to rub at her sockets, a tiny disgruntled noise catching in her throat — she was used to heavy dark curtains at home, it was not often she was awakened so early. But she had forgotten where she was, and with whom, until brown eyes opened blearily to peer around the momentarily strange room. It was only when she spotted the sleeping frame of the male next to her that she recalled fully the where and why of it all, but this did not keep her from startling a little and clutching the sheets up close to her chin.

He lay there, shoulders and back bare above the blankets, auburn hair tousled — perhaps her own doing. And he was not alone in his bareness, she noted, the sheets soft on her body and beneath toes as they curled against the mattress.

They had slept together last night — the first time between them. It had been nice, enjoyable, a little dreamlike in the way it still didn’t feel real even laying here next to him in the unfamiliar bed. She stared over the clutched sheets at his turned back before, in a fit of awkward jitters, she ducked her head under the blankets to hide her sudden giddiness lest he should wake and see her gawking.

She did not account for the fact that this was hardly more appropriate — if he woke up to find her head under the blankets along with everything else he might accuse her of being some sort of peeping Tom. But then again, they’d both seen it all now anyway, hadn’t they?

All except…

His back turned to her she spotted them — marks that she’d been too distracted to notice before. Battle scars no doubt, marking his beautiful, smooth skin. Her breath caught in her chest for a moment frozen in time before a curious hand reached out to touch, ever so gently, down between his shoulder blades and along his spine.

Random Dialogue Prompts | status: open

@lionfated​ asked: “oh, wow, you weren’t kidding.”

  “I told you!” She reiterated when Squall confirmed her excitement over the bakery. “This place is legendary — they have everything you could ever want,” she pulled at his wrist with one hand and pulled open the large, heavy glass door with the other. The bakery was true to Estharian style, which was to say it was extra in every sense of the word, decked out much the way a high-end boutique or jewelry store might be with chandeliers, glass, marble, and fine-polished metal fixtures at every turn. The smells alone were enough to make one's mouth water if the sight of the fresh-baked goods did not. Rinoa’s stomach was grumbling already.

Staying the Night Prompts | status: open

@lionfated​ asked:  ❝  i don’t sleep a lot either these days.  we can be insomniacs together.  ❞

  She hadn’t meant to worry him or draw him out of his bed, sleeping or not. She had thought the sound of her tossing and turning under her blankets would be more disturbing than this, but she supposed Squall would not be the successful SeeD that he was if he was not at least this vigilant. 

  She gave him an apologetic look from her perch on the windowsill, hugging her legs to her chest. She’d been looking out over the vast city of Esthar, admiring how it glowed. It reminded her of home in that respect, back in Deling city where her room was rarely dark at night due to the street lights and bustling night life. It had been a long time since she’d been back there, slept in that bed her father kept for her for unknown reasons; it was seeming more and more unlikely by the day that she’d ever fall asleep in those sheets again, listening to the distant drone of cars and busses going by. Her cares back then seemed so trivial now, and in retrospect rarely kept her awake. 

  “You don’t have to stay awake with me,” she reassured him with a shake of her head. “You should get some rest, I’ll be fine.” Her smile was a carefully trained one these days, one poised to ease the worries of the few friends she had who fretted over her, Squall as well though he tried to act as though it didn’t bother him. That made two of them she supposed. She was a bit of a hypocrite now, wasn’t she?

Squall’s pace was in no rush as his sorceress bounced around ahead of him until she reached the shop window. Getting there a few seconds sooner made no difference to getting there when he got there. Despite his cool and casual demeanor though, Rinoa would be able to tell the excitement in those cool blue eyes that otherwise remained unexpressed as he peered at all the models. Light-weight, heavy-weight - and it looks like they’re attempting to design duel wielding gunblades. “Huh. Wonder if they can pull that off.” He mutters out loud, pointing to a framed article.

“Guess they have. We could use a few more gunblade specialists at Garden.”

Just as long as he didn’t have to train anyone.

  She had indeed noted the twinkle in his eye — something she’d grown used to picking out here and there, taking note so she could replicate it now and again when she wanted to see him come out of his shell a bit.

  She turned her gaze back to the window, admiring the blades that had made a resurgence following their grand adventure; it was no wonder the world would wish to emulate the man who lead his comrades to victory against the great sorceress Ultimecia. 

( @youngrevolutionary​ continued from x )

  She would give him a scathing look as he rattled the box, snatching it from him with as casual a gesture as she could for how heavy it was. 

  “Rocks, mostly,” she teased, setting the box down on the bed and nibbling her bottom lip. She was glad he’d been around to help — she’d been meaning to get into this old thing for a while now. “And couple lead bricks, very sentimental” she lifted the lid and set it aside with a shrug, reaching inside to pull out a framed picture of her and her mother, a wide smile spreading on her lips. 

  “Hi, Mom,” she murmured adoringly, tracing her fingertips across the age-fogged glass. 

  Realizing how awkward the pause might have been she glanced back over her shoulder to Seifer with a small purse of her lips, hiding her amusement as she picked up one of the many envelopes thick with printed photos tucked inside the box, handing it back to him. 

@angelsrebellion​

It was unlikely she wouldn’t be here, but considering the size of his former home, he had hoped it would be easy enough to not catch so much as a glimpse all together. He’d been so lucky the last meeting he had with the Commander himself - spoon fed opportunity without ever working for it as is his brand - and had no reason to think this meeting would be just as uneventful. 

He dismisses his ‘guide’ with a wave of his hand and a sharp retort. He needs no one to tell him what is where and who to seek out, and if SeeD insisted, he was going to make damn sure it was uncomfortable ‘escorting’ him. And if Squall wasn’t in his office due to Seifer coming early, then he’ll plant himself right in the Commander’s chair and just wait for him.

He should’ve listened to that itch crawling under his skin that raw magic was near. Of course it was. Draw-points and a sorceresses herself were in the direct area, but he didn’t expect her of all people to be in the office, gazing out of one of the many large windows to the outside world. He wonders, for a brief moment, what she’s looking for.

“You replace your boyfriend being in charge around here?”

  She had been aware of someone’s arrival even before he spoke, but half expecting Squall to apologize for being late she felt a flutter of something unexpected in her chest upon hearing that low, familiar voice. Brown eyes cast back over her shoulder, strands of raven trickling down her back as she regarded him quietly for a beat before a wry smile flirted with her lips, turning toward him.

  “That’s right,” she confirmed, moving toward Squall’s desk and pulling the chair back, preempting his private notion of taking that seat for himself by sinking into it and crossing one leg over the other with an exaggerated affectation of self-importance that just might rival his own, gazing up at him. 

Truth be told, Squall was more than ready by the time Rinoa appeared. Well aware he spent more and more time housed in the office, he thought lunch (and future lunches) could help make up for his absence. Honestly, as devoted as he was to his job, the long hours were wearing his nerves thin.

Double checking the tote bag filled with edible goodies for the umpteenth time, he failed to notice her arrival. Thus, when tapped, he startled mildly and glanced over that shoulder. Empty? Huh. When swapping back to front and centre, the culprit popped into existence and an instinctual smile manifested on his features, softening his appearance as a whole.

“Mm, everything’s set,” he confirmed with a short nod, watching on with amusement at her restless antics. The tugging prompted him to move but not before he snatched up the necessary items off his desk. “Impatient,” he tutted in jest, starting off with a casual pace. He was certain no one would steal the nice spot away.

Journeying through Garden was uneventful, him acknowledging a few bypassing colleagues with polite nods. Stopping for none, reaching the Quad was a breath of fresh air—literally. Gloriously warm sunrays greeted him, an arm automatically lifting to shield his eyes from the stark contrast of natural and artificial light.

“It’s a nice day,” he commented, pointing out the obvious but enjoying the heat far too much. “So, where is this spot of yours?”

  It was a marvel, really, how he had changed — how instincts had shifted from bewildered looks and frowns to smiles and softer expressions that she tried desperately not to gloat over but couldn’t help but to feel small swells of inner pride upon witnessing; something about seeing him standing there, so fastidiously checking over their lunch bag, marking off details of plans made so sweetly for her benefit causing a small flutter in her stomach. 

  She hoped he would forgive her the impatience, it had just been a while since she’d been able to steal him away like this, not wanting to be a hindrance to his work.

  “Mmn!” she hummed in enthusiastic agreement to his obvious comment, clearly pleased that the weather had behaved, pointing out a blanketed spot on the greenery near the water feature. The renovations to the Quad following the battle of the Gardens were pleasant, the administration opting for a more bring-the-outside-in approach with patches of grass and even a couple of small trees. 

Nonverbal Memes | status: open

  It was a bit of an unusual situation — usually Squall came with her on her trips to Esthar, used the time to meet with Laguna and pick up some things he couldn’t find back home in Balamb, but duty had kept him at Garden and he’d sent Zell in his stead. The flight had been long and taken them a good portion of the night, and the blonde hadn’t seemed to get much sleep in the interim, but the lack of rest seemed to be catching up with him now, waiting patiently for Dr. Odine to show up in the empty waiting room, the sounds of local news droning quietly from the TV on the wall opposite them.

It might have been funny, in a bittersweet sort of way, how Rinoa was the one who had to explain how the world currently worked to her own mother. Julia still was quite clueless, and admittedly very much naïve about anything that had occurred in the time that she missed.

She was still warring with the idea that her four-year-old had aged significantly in the blink of an eye, but chose to believe it anyway. It was easier that way.

Julia was willing to listen attentively all the same, her eyes still dancing over her daughter’s face as she talked. The initial mention of her husband’s name made her sigh wistfully, still wondering how he was, what he looked like now…how he would react to seeing her again, like this.

Rinoa’s description sounded like her Fury, even with the years that had passed - he’d been absorbed in his work ever since she met him, but never so much that she had to fight for his attention. At least, not until she disappeared from the picture, it seemed. Julia almost frowned, but Rinoa’s clarification stopped her from feeling like there was a rift between her husband and her daughter that needed mending. It wasn’t the best situation, surely, but at least they were still in contact, trying to make an effort; that was all she wanted.

Her brows furrowed at the mention of the war - the one she knew was so fresh in her mind; how could there have been another so soon? - and Julia canted her head, trying to figure out what Rinoa was trying to get at.

A little closer to home…?

“What do you mean?” She asked, unable to figure out her meaning even with a few beats of contemplation. Briefly, she wondered how involved her family had been, but clearly Fury was still alive and well, and Rinoa was currently sitting right across from her. What else was there? “Did something happen in Deling? Or to someone we know?”

  She let out a small, dejected breath, realizing she’d have to begin slower, more comprehensively, leaning forward on the table and folding her hands together so that fingers were in close proximity to fiddle with one another when things became invariably uncomfortable to speak of. 

  “Vinzer Deling was assassinated by a sorceress named Edea — a really kind woman who took on the powers of a world-conquering sorceress from the future named Ultimecia who was bent on something called Time Compression — she wanted to mold together the past, present, and future and rule over all of them…” she paused in the middle of mashing her hands together symbolically, realizing how crazy that must have sounded coming out of her mouth and waving it off.

  “Not important — so Edea, under Ultimecia’s control murdered Vinzer Deling and took control of Galbadia’s forces, using them to enact her plans,” she continued. “Father hired a group of mercenary called SeeD to help him assassinate Edea — Squall and his friends,” she motioned behind her to where Squall had last been spotted, no longer present. “They failed at first, but eventually succeeded,” she summed up, leaving out some of the more… concerning details in the middle, including her joining an insurgent group, taking it upon herself to attempt to subdue the sorceress Edea, and being subsequently possessed and used as a puppet herself; Julia would find out soon enough that the world saw her daughter as a continued threat. 

( @sunny-explosions​ continued from x )

  She gazed up at the archway for the haunted house, constructed from bits of soldered steel and painted with splattered blood and other such unsettling effects. A disembodied voice in the bushes cackled at her over a hidden, crackling speaker, the fake bats jiggling above along with the fluttering sound effect. She jumped a bit in her skin, feeling the surge of adrenaline course through her and immediately feeling silly for her own reaction. She’d seen far worse, hadn’t she? Experienced horrors most could only dream of — Hyne, she’d almost died free-floating in space! But still, somehow, gazing up at the old dilapidated building that had been repurposed for the season, she felt a deep sense of foreboding, not so much for what waited inside the house, but more for what waited inside her. What if she startled and lost control of herself? Triggered something inside her and wound up hurting someone? Was she prepared to become the horror within the haunted house? Would they even let her in?

  But the small, spunky, conspiratorial voice that spoke to her had a strange way of easing her fears, making her feel as if it weren’t such a bad thing after all — that it could be quite fun, especially with Selphie at her side holding her hand and squealing over silly costumed actors and clunky animatronics.

  A small wary smile graced her lips as she nodded to the other at last, reaching out to grasp that hand that she hoped would ground her in the present, lacing her fingers with Selphie’s own and letting little inklings of excitement run wild within her so that she wriggled a little in anticipation. 

Misc. Feels Prompts | status: open

  Arms folded over the railing of the Quad, gazing out over the freshly planted topiaries that dotted the grounds. A good deal of landscaping had been done after Garden’s mobility had caused quite the upheaval, not to mention the damage caused by the missiles that had missed them by far too close a margin. The area surrounding the campus was far more detach-friendly in case there was need for such evacuation once more.

  His words sounded a bit distant, she observed, turning soft brown eyes to the towering figure beside her, offering him a small, reassuring smile. “Who’s to say you can’t figure it out, hmm?” she elbowed him lightly.