Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Propsal ❯ The Propsal chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Four

Rinoa cuddled up to Laguna, listening to his heartbeat. "Laguna," she
whispered.

"Hmmm, Rinoa what is it?" he asked, as she sat back up, gently pulling
away from him.

"Do you think Squall will still want to marry me when he returns?"
Rinoa asked.

"Squall loves you Rinoa...he won't stop loving you if you gave him the
answer he wasn't hoping for...of course he will want to marry you, he
asked you didn't he?" Laguna tried to reassure her, "marriage is a big
step, I don't think Squall's the type of guy who would ask something
like that without meaning it,"

The wonderful man looked down, all of a sudden feeling sad. he thought
about Raine, the only woman he had truly ever loved...even more then
the feelings he had once had for Julia...Rinoa's mother. Was this a
coincidence that his own son would fall in love with daughter of the
woman he had once fallen for...or was it fate? He didn't know. Rinoa
noticed this change, she guessed what had come over him and rested a
hand on his knee.

"Love..never dies..Rinoa, even throughout death...just like a
river...it flows and it flows...out into the sea and back to the
river. Love grows too you know...it seems to grow even after death
that is what makes it so immortal.."Laguna said tearfully. Rinoa
almost broke down over his metaphoric way of describing it. "See I am
good with words.." he tried to joke, but it failed. Love was no joke,
it was serious.

"Thank you Laguna...I will always love Squall. Just as I know he loves
me, I can feel it now. Love is like a river, it keeps on flowing, it
goes out in the sea...and it rains, back into the river," Rinoa said
softly. "Love hurts...I love him so much...it hurts...is it true love?
Is what I am feeling true love?" Rinoa asked, linking her arm around
Laguna's.

"Yes...it is Rinoa I truly believe that it is." Laguna remembered the
time when he had asked Raine to marry him. He remembered her
face...the look in her eye the feeling he had felt within him, the
feeling he still felt within
him the feeling of true love and it was true, because he knew it.

"Ellone's coming tomorrow, you know," Laguna informed Rinoa as they
sat close, thinking of the people they loved most. Rinoa smiled she
and Ellone had formed close friends over the two years. "I knew that
cheer you up, it cheers me up to," he smiled.

Rinoa had never been left out by Zell and the others who had formed
the orphanage gang as they liked to refer to themselves as a group
name. She could not confide though deeply with them...she was still
the outsider, however much they loved and included her in their
happiness. Squall and Ellone however she felt closest with, with
Laguna of course.

"Great!" she grinned, she felt so happy. She hadn't felt this happy
ever since Squall had departed for Dollet.

"You and Elle can discuss a wedding dress if you like, I'm sure she'll
love to buy you one," Laguna smiled with mischief, Rinoa's eyes
widened.

"But I haven't told Squall that I want to marry him though he thinks I
don't want to probably took my stupid answer as a no!" Rinoa felt
excitement grow within her.

"Who cares? We know he wants to be with you. We all do, the whole
garden does. It will be a surprise wedding! I have everything planned
well...in my head anyway haha," Laguna said, his voice matched the
excitement that was glowing from Rinoa's eyes.

"Really? You're really going to.....!!!" Rinoa squealed happily. "I'm
gonna get married!" she yelled so loudly the entire corridor knew
about it. Rinoa threw her arms around Laguna with happiness and
planted a big kiss on his cheek before un-attaching herself from
Laguna's neck.

"Are you going to invite your father?" he asked, the tone of his voice
was serious. Rinoa became subdued at this.

"Why should I?" the coldness in her voice still lingered against her
father.

"Because he cares for you...and I believe that it's genuine. He got
you out of that prison didn't he? He could of left you in there, it
would of caused him a lot less bother," Laguna said to Rinoa.

"Yeah, he left Squall your son and all our friends in there to be
executed!" Rinoa retorted.

"Yes...but he didn't realise that you had feelings for one and a
growing close friendships with the others," Laguna replied calmly.

"Would that of mattered?" she asked, defiance growing deep within her.

"Yes, your father is the president of Delling City, he had to think of
the people who lived within it, he did not want to anger the
sorceress. It's a hard decision, one which I would of fought, but I
have the army to do so. Your father would of caused a major war and
Delling City would of probably revolted or something else," Laguna
explained objectively. Rinoa calmed herself and nodded.

"It wasn't all my father it was Irvine too, but he was being an ass,"
she began to laugh; remembering the time she had almost scratched his
eyes out to go back and rescue Squall. Squall, the young man she had
harboured feeling for and for a very long time. "Will you and Elle
come to Delling with me?" she asked. Laguna beamed and nodded.

"Of course! I am going to be you father-in-law! I may as well meet the
father of my to-be daughter-in-law!" he said happily.

"Maybe it is about time, it's been a while since myself and my father
talked...I have changed a lot over two years...maybe he has too..."
Rinoa said, thoughtfully, Laguna patted her back.

Ellone arrived early the next day and was overjoyed to hear of Rinoa
and Squalls up coming wedding and eagerly joined her to Delling City.

Upon their arrival to the city, Rinoa preened herself, not wanting to
appear scruffy to her father. She fiddled with her hair, re-done her
mascara and applied some more lipstick. Smiling, Rinoa entered the
room that beheld her father.

"R-Rinoa!" he stuttered, "you've returned?" he asked.

"Not for good though father," she said, not coldly, but with a smile
and a look of happiness. "I have come to inform...to tell you that
well, firstly that I have grown up over the past two years. That I am
willing to forgive and forget out differences. I would like you to
consider me your daughter once more then a trouble," she said, before
announcing her recent engagement.

"Rinoa....I..." he said, not knowing quite what to say. Rinoa smiled
and they embraced, but Rinoa pulled herself away quickly.

"There's more though father I'm going to get married...I've found the
man I love and I'm going to marry him. You have met him, he was
Squall, the squad leader of the SeeDs who you assigned to assonate the
sorceress the good sorceress who was possessed, that is.." she
corrected.

General Caraway remembered him. "I never expected...him?" he said, a
warm wave of happiness spread over him. "So you love the young man?"
he wanted reassuring, "and he loves you?"

Rinoa sighed but found herself letting out a laugh. "Yes, I know it
sound strange, but I do love him, you have never met him, he's changed
a lot since then," Rinoa said to her father.

General Caraway nodded, he wasn't about to cast judgment over a guy he
had met but only once and not informally. "Where is he, Squall?" he
asked. Rinoa looked down, she felt sad, feeling the loss of his
company again was like revisiting her worst nightmare that she would
never see him again. She still missed him so much, even with Laguna
and Ellone for love and company.

"Dollet," she replied, "so he won't be back for a month at least," she
replied. The sudden thought that something dreadful would happen to
him came over her again and that he would never return...what if he
died? No he would never die never, if he did die then Rinoa's should
would go with him. Love may last beyond death but not this early, not
when they hadn't even made their vows. Love would flow on, but Rinoa
would stay still, like a rock in a river. Slowly being pushed out into
the sea until she sunk and died with him.

"Oh," she exclaimed, giving a laugh," this is Laguna...Squalls father
and Ellone...Laguna's sort of adopted daughter Squalls adopted
sister," Rinoa introduced her friends to her father, who shook their
hands in welcome.

They sat down to talk, something Rinoa hadn't done with her father for
what seemed ages. She was glad however that she had came back and
forgiven him and that he had forgiven her. No she could feel almost
complete, the only hole left to fill was Squall and a ring on her
finger.