Final Fantasy VIII 1. The Beginning

DISCLAIMER: The characters portrayed here all belong to Squaresoft, don't sue me please. This is my first attempt at writing a Final Fantasy 8 fanfiction, please don't kill me. ^_^ This story is a sad one, if you don't like sad stories, please do not read this.   
  
  
White and yellow blossoms intertwined with each other as they spiral downwards in a dance of nature with the wind. A lone figure sits quietly on the bench, green eyes gazing vacantly into the distance as the slight breeze rustles brown strands away from her face.   
  
Rinoa watches the figure pensively from across the courtyard as Squall squeezes her hand gently before speaking in a soft whisper to her, "It'll take time, Rinoa."   
  
Rinoa's troubled brown eyes turns to gaze up into his before she replies softly, "I know, but it's been three days and she hasn't touched her food or moved from that place, I'm worried. Its hard for me to accept it either." She leans her head onto his shoulder; unshed tears glistening in her eyes as her body trembles slightly.   
  
Squall reaches out to stroke her hair lightly in a gentle caress as he murmurs, "So do I...So do I."   
  
Green eyes continued to stare into space as a solitary crystal tear creeps down the smooth cheek. Selphie closes her eyes tightly together as the memories flooded back into her.   
  
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Selphie jumps from her chair, startled as Irvine burst into her room without warning. She turns to glare at him, "Irvine Kinneas, don't you know how to knock? I would have thought that a gentlemen such as yourself would have known how to perform such a simple task."   
  
Irvine breaks into a roguish grin before answering, "Not where you're concern, my love, I have something for you." and he takes his hand from behind his back and hands her a white rose, the white petals of the rose surrounded by a light pink fringe, giving a unique flavour to the flower.   
  
Selphie melts at the sight of the rose as her emerald eyes darkened, "That's beautiful, Irvine, where did you get it?" She asks as she gingerly takes the rose from him, holding it close to her as though it was the most precious commodity in the world.   
  
Winking at her, Irvine simply drawls, "Just one of my many talents, dear, bringing a lovely flower to a lovely flower." as he tips his hat slightly back from his eyes, looking extremely pleased at her reaction. His violet eyes twinkled again as he turns to take hold of her hand, "Have dinner with me tonight? There is something important that I want to show you." and he smiles at her again.   
  
Returning his smile with a gentle one of her own, Selphie nods her agreement, asking curiously, "All right, where are we going?"   
  
Irvine smiled mysteriously again before he winks and says, "You'll see." as he pulls her up and with a flourish gesture towards the door, 'after you, milady."   
  
Selphie laughs softly, "All right, but you're going to be very sorry if you bring me to one of those raucous pubs, flower or no flower, I'm going to make sure you pay." Her green eyes glittered with merriment as she threatens him.   
  
Irvine smiles mysteriously once again before he sweeps her out of the door.   
  
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Selphie opened her eyes slowly as she gazes once again out into the courtyard, a light sheen of tears misting her green eyes as the tears begin to fall with more regularity now. One after another, leaving crystal trails as they move down her cheek.   
  
"She's crying, can't we do anything about it?" Rinoa asks softly, her tone painful as well at the sight of her friend's misery.  
  
Squall wraps his arms slowly around Rinoa as he holds her close to her, "We have to let her come to terms with it herself." as he presses a gentle kiss on her forehead before continuing, "Anything we say now will only make it worse."  
  
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"Do you like the food here?" Irvine asks as he playfully taps her nose with his finger. He spears the last remaining prawn expertly with his fork and dangles it as an offering to her.   
  
"The food is delicious, I don't think I can eat anymore. I feel so stuffed now." Selphie replies as she pats her stomach, shaking her head at the offered morsel.   
  
Irvine smiles, 'Just one more course to go, the apple pie here is divine, you should never leave without trying the apple pie." as he pops the last prawn into his mouth in a smooth motion.   
  
"Goodness, anymore food and I would be a round little lard ball." Selphie protests loudly as she shakes her head. At the sight of his mournful pout at her statement, she sighs and gives in, "All right...maybe just a small little itty bitty piece." She says as she places her thumb and forefinger together to emphasis what she means by small.   
  
Like an excited schoolboy, Irvine hastily waves over the waiter and says pointedly to him, "Can we have the apple pie served now?" The waiter smiles politely as he bows, "Certainly, Sir." There is a pause as they wait for the desert to be served. Selphie takes a sip from the champagne on the table as she gazed wistfully at the white rose on the table, while another waiter clears the table in preparation for the desert.  
  
Finally, the succulent dish is served. With chocolate syrup tastefully placed around the plate and a scoop of vanilla ice cream onto of the apple pie, it certainly looks tempting enough. As Selphie sinks her fork into the pie, the fork slices through the crust easily. Taking the piece up, she pops it into her mouth, the taste of the hot apple pie and cold ice cream filling her mouth as she chews thoughtfully, "This is good." Selphie mutters to Irvine as she takes another piece and bites down, this time on something hard. "Ow. What's this?" She asks as she reaches out into her mouth and retrieves the hard object.   
  
It was a ring, a single heart-shaped emerald in the centre of the ring.   
  
The restaurant is filled with a sudden silence now and as Selphie gazes up uncomprehendingly. Irvine rises from his chair and with a suave movement, kneels with one leg on the floor before her as he removes his hat and places it on his chest before saying, "Selphie Tilmitt, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"   
  
The remaining patrons at the restaurant gaze with an anticipatory look towards Selphie now as the ball lands in her court. Selphie looks bewildered for a moment before a look of joy overtakes that bewilderment and her lips curved into a smile. Her eyes were filled with unsuppressed love and happiness as she whispers unhesitatingly, "Yes."   
  
The whole restaurant cheered as Irvine rises from his position and sweeps her off the chair into a passionate embrace as his lips touches hers for a long moment. Irvine reaches out to take the ring from her before sliding it onto her ring finger. The lovers gaze at each other for a long time as their hands entwined, lost in their own moment for a very long time, before they finally notice the cheering of the crowd. Selphie blushed as Irvine simply bows towards them in his dashing manner as he says, "Thank you. Thank you, we now returned you to your regularly scheduled programme." before leading Selphie back into the seat to finish their desert.   
  
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Selphie uncurled her fist and turns her hand around as she gaze at the emerald ring on her finger. She draws in a tight breath as she balls her hands into tight fists once again as she whispers, "Why?"   
  
Rinoa embraced Squall tightly as she still continues to gaze upon the figure of Selphie sitting on the bench and she gazes up towards Squall, "There must be some way to help her."   
  
Squall smiles sadly as he tenderly lifts her chin up and says softly, "Not right now, Rinoa, its still too fresh in her mind."   
  
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Selphie and Irvine emerged from the restaurant wrapped up in each other. Selphie fingers the ring as she gazes up towards her fiancé now as she smiles up towards him, "I didn't expect this so soon. Did you tell anyone else?"   
  
Irvine smiles rakishly, "Only Squall. What is this thing with married couples, when they get married; they want all their friends to get married as well. I heard that they were also planning on fixing Quistis and Zell up. Can you believe that!? Who would have thought of it." and he looks quite amused at the idea.   
  
Selphie suppressed the bubble of laughter that threatens to erupt from her as she giggles uncontrollably, "Zell and Quistis? That's hilarious; I don't think that they would make such a good couple, well..he's much shorter than her."   
  
Irvine grins widely before replying, "Ah...height won't matter in the face of true love, my dear." as he takes her hand up towards his mouth and kisses the back of it tenderly, "After all, you've got me now and it will be a very long time before I will even let you go." and his smile holds the promises of the future to come.   
  
Selphie smiles up towards him and she says tenderly, "I don't think I would either."  
  
Engrossed in each other, neither of them saw the truck barreling towards them. The inebriated driver did not even bother to sound the horn as his gaze was filled with the red haze of alcohol. He hiccups and takes a long draught from the bottle of beer next to him, as a photo of his family lay tattered on the seat besides him. "Lying bitch." He mutters as he gazed unsteadily in front of him. The images faded and then swirl together and at the last moment, he sees the yellow of Selphie's dress, and sounds the horn loudly.   
  
The sound of the horn snaps Irvine out of his stupor and he looks up to see the headlights of the truck almost upon them, moving now would mean they would end up under the wheels. He made his decision in a split-second as he wraps his entire body around Selphie and slams her to the ground before the truck barrels over them, its brakes screeching to a halt.   
  
Shocked silence fills the air as the truck driver staggers out from the truck, "Help!" He calls out hoarsely as he gazes at horror at the truck, he stumbles against a lamppost as he attempts to bend down, "Help!" He calls out again as a crowd starts to gather at the scene. A scuffling noise is heard and then Selphie crawls out from beneath the truck, her hands were stained with blood. Her emerald eyes were filled with horror as she manages to say faintly, "Help. Help, someone please, he's still underneath." before collapsing into unconsciousness on the ground.   
  
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Selphie cries out as the memory stabs at her once again and she places her face in her hands and sobs softly, her shoulders shaking as fresh waves of pain roll over her. Rinoa and Squall could only watch helplessly as they stood by the side, silent in their own pain as they watch the girl.  
  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know, all of you must be wanting to kill me right now. What do you think? Should I continue it or should I end it here? Comments please, thanks!   
  
  
  



	2. The End

DISCLAIMER: Nothing belongs to me, characters all belong to Squaresoft. Real life Laguna lookalikes can contact me though. ^_~ Thank you for all those who commented on my previous fanfic. Yes, I know i had several spelling mistakes there, sorry about that, but I have trouble remembering some spelling of the names.   
  
  
Yellow flower petals flies joyfully around the area as the wind guides them on their merry dance. The lush green fields spread forward in a welcoming carpet as the lone figure walked down it. Wrapped around the lean figure is her bookbag, bouncing by her side as she walks. The man waits for her in the centre of the square and she breaks into a smile at the sight of him as she approaches him.   
  
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Selphie awakes with a scream, her emerald green eyes snapping wide open. The bright light seared her eyes temporary and she had to close them briefly to regain any semblance of awareness. A dull pounding sounds in her head and her emerald green eyes slowly open again as she looked around her. Memories of the past night's event flooded through her and she slides down from the bed, "Irvine!" She calls out weakly as her knees buckle and she slumps towards the floor. Dull ache fill her entire body as she grasped hold of the nearest object to pull herself up.   
  
At that moment, the door opened. Squall and Rinoa entered the room and Rinoa gave a small gasp at the sight of Selphie on the ground, "Selphie! What are you doing up. You shouldn't be up, Dr Kadowaki said that you might have a concussion." Rinoa rushes over to grasp her forearm as she offers her body for Selphie to lean on. Selphie pulls herself up and her anxious green eyes dart up to Rinoa, "Irvine." She repeats weakly as her hand reaches out to grip Rinoa's hand too tightly. Rinoa remains silent, though she turns her head briefly and there is a silent exchange of thoughts between Rinoa and Squall. Squall stepped forward, "You need rest, Selphie."   
  
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She smiles at the man in the area and says softly, "Good morning sleepyhead." as she tiptoes up to brush her lips against his forehead. Tenderly, she touches his cheek in a light caress as she reaches into her bag to withdraw a book. "I've brought you another novel, I'm going to run out of things to read to you soon if we keep going at this rate. The good news though is that I've finally obtained the music disc you wanted. Its really difficult to get this, you'd better thank me for that." He continues to smile slightly towards her.   
  
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Selphie lunges towards Squall as soon as obtains her balance. Gripping the lapel of his shirt as she held on fast to it, "Where is Irvine!?" She screeches hysterically, "You have to tell me! Tell me what happened to him!?" She weakly tries to shake Squall, but her attempts only made her cling onto his lapel more to hold herself up.   
  
Squall gently unfastens her fingers to his lapel and reaches down to lift her up as he settles her on the bed. Rinoa steps forward, the look of concern on her face now very apparent, "Is she going to be all right?" Squall gives a simple nod of his head as he gaze down at the sleeping figure.   
  
"Irvine." Selphie calls out weakly, her voice faint from the exhaustion, "I must know what happened to Irvine." Her pleading emerald eyes turned towards the pair, as she begs them, "Please..tell me where's Irvine." as her fingers reach out blindly to grasp at the corner of Squall's shirt.   
  
Squall looked up towards Rinoa as a silent look passed between the both of them. Rinoa kneeled down and gently took hold of Selphie's fingers, "Selphie. When you are better, we'll take you to Irvine, but now you're still not well yet. Rest please."   
  
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She laughs softly at the particularly funny passage in the book as she gazes up towards the man and favours him with her best smile. "That was pretty funny, don't you think so?" A slight smile appears to crosses the handsome features on the man's face. She places the book down on the ground as she moves slowly up towards the man and she reaches out to place her hands on the cool plane of his face.   
  
"Irvine." Selphie whispers softly.   
  
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"He suffered severe head injuries to save you. His skull is fractured in two different places. It's amazing that he is still alive. We have tried our best to mend all the damage that we can but it is too severe. His brain has also suffered severe stress from the fractures, even if he were to wake right now, there is no guarantee that he'll have any control over his senses. I'm sorry, but we did all we could. You should go and say your last goodbye to him."   
  
Selphie's face slowly drained of colour as she listens to the prognosis offered by the doctor. Her hand had Rinoa's hand in a death grip. She glances towards them for assistance, but Rinoa and Squall could only offer reassuring gaze. She collapses back into the wheelchair. Her hands clutches to the armrest tightly as she is wheeled towards his room. Her heart was beating so fast as the door opened and finally, she saw him.  
  
Irvine Kinneas. Former Playboy. Galbadian cowboy. Friend. Lover. Now, he looked as fragile as a newborn. His face was as pale as the bandage around his head, as the merciful Hyne had spared his face. His handsome, chiselled looks still remained. Like a sleeping beauty, he lay there on the bed as Selphie was wheeled towards him. Various tubes were inserted into his body. Vital tubes that kept his body alive.   
  
Selphie's hand was trembling as she reached out to touch his cheek. He remained motionless, saved for the slight movement of his chest as he breaths. Her finger gently caresses his cheek as she whispers softly again, "Irvine." A constriction lay upon her heart squeezing it so tightly, making it difficult for her to breathe as she gaze upon the sight of her beloved.   
  
The silence in the room is palpable as one after another, they slowly vacate the room to allow Selphie and Irvine to have their moment together. Her hand slowly moves downwards to grasp his tightly as she gaze upon his sleeping face. Selphie bends her head down slowly as her lips touch his briefly. Warm lips against cold ones as she closes her eyes tightly, reminiscing the feeling of those familiar lips upon hers again.   
  
Selphie tightens her grip on his hand as she pulls away and rests her head on his chest. Listening to the light beating of his heart beneath her, she glances up towards the handsome face of her lover. Her emerald eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and pain. She whispers softly, "Goodbye Irvine Kinneas, I love you." Somewhere deep within Irvine, the voice of his beloved drew him back and a solitary crystal tear crawls its way down the cheek of the Galbadian cowboy.   
  
The rays of the setting sun slowly fill the room as the door opened. Selphie was still seated there, her hand holding tightly onto Irvine and her head rested against his chest. At the sound, Selphie glances up calmly and nods her head.   
  
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Selphie continued to stare at the visage of her lover on the memorial that was erected for him. A slight smile crosses her face as she murmurs quietly to him, "Not a day has passed that I have not thought about you and that night. That was one of the most beautiful night of our lives. I don't know how I survived the past year without you but I know that I can continue to do so." and she draws in a deep breath, "You've given me my life so I can continue living, perhaps one day I can finally let you go, but until then....I love you, Irvine Kinneas."   
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know some of you are rather unhappy about the ending, I thought of making him survive, but then the greatest love stories don't often have happy endings. What he did is very noble and for love. I wanted it to show that love can indeed move mountains and endure even through death. That's how I perceived the characters of Irvine and Selphie, that he would sacrifice his life just to see his love survive, while she would even love him even beyond his death. If I ever write another, I promise you that my next FF8 fanfic will definately be more uplifting than this one. Thank you for reading this. ^_^  
  
  
  



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