#so yeah come to hearing about his death which. i hear about because of trin lovell on twitter like. shsvshs. anyways my reaction was

[rainingincale]

.

[apocalypseprodromus]

Barriers Between (Chapter 5)

Warning: Angst, Yandere and Long. Do you even need a warning anymore?

The sun rose above the horizon as the warriors began the long trek to Chaos’ domain. There wasn’t much tension or hesitation in the group as the majority of the trip was spent gaining momentum for the battle ahead.

Some warriors took to conversating during the trip, while others preferred to keep focused on the surrounding area. Squall was one such person, helping keep the distracted Trinitas from getting blindsided. It also helped to have a reason to stay close to her for however long they had left with each other...

“So what are you gonna do when you get back to your own world, Trin?” Tidus asked in his usual upbeat manner. This question made her anxious. The conversation about returning home finally made its way to her and she still didn’t have a good answer.

“I don’t even know if I can go back. The Astrals are probably going to prevent me from doing so. Let’s say hypothetically that they let me go back, there’s nothing for me back in Eos. Most likely the rest of the people I knew heard about the Cathedral going up in a verdant green blaze, so I don’t know how welcome I’d be with the rest of my acquaintances. I have no more family and most likely... no future there. Besides, I don’t want to go back either. I always feel like... I don’t belong.” Trinitas trailed off looking out to the desert.

Squall grimaced at the tanned blond who decided not to pry any further after that surprisingly pessimistic revelation. Cloud sighed going over to Tidus to explain what he did wrong. Before Tidus could apologize for asking, the brunette girl had already sped up ahead of the group to avoid further questions.

Squall followed, easily keeping pace with her. He placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He murmured softly to the obviously upset Trinitas. “Yeah. Maybe... do you think Cosmos will let me go back with you to your world?” She glanced at Squall for a brief moment. He hadn’t considered that idea before, but it was worth a shot.

“I don’t know if she will. You can try asking her.” He suggested, looking back to the blond deity in front of the group as they caught up to the two. Trinitas decided to try her luck.

“Cosmos? Is it possible to be sent to someone else’s world after this is all over?”  Cosmos seemed almost stunned at the audacious request. “It could disrupt the balance of the worlds. I simply couldn’t do that.” Trinitas’ eyes were beginning to darken as she scowled at Cosmos. “That’s all you high-and-mighty types ever say! So you can go ahead and steal people from their worlds for your own selfish purposes. But we're always fated to be apart by the end of this!” She screamed accusatorily, causing everyone to seize up in alarm. Her irises turned a virulent viridian, pupils receded to minuscule dots.

The Warrior of Light stood between the enraged female and the goddess, fearing for the latter’s safety. “That’s enough, you’ve heard her answer now leave her be-” “NO, DON’T YOU DARE DEFEND HER PISS POOR EXCUSES! JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS DOESN’T MEAN IT ALWAYS SHOULD BE!” The party saw her eyes glow a bright green before a cascade of cold air chilled the desert. Trinitas continued from there.

“Just because something hasn’t been done that way before doesn’t mean it shouldn’t or can’t be that way. It’s not a physical limitation of universal law. It’s not like lightspeed or the event horizon of a black hole. We are not tethered to our worlds; our presence here justifies that. Fate is not a ‘set in stone’ construct, it's made by our doings. If you were told we were doomed to fail this war time and time again, would you just accept it? I am so tired of hearing about fate from beings that just lay down and take it. Meanwhile, mortals are constantly fighting back, turning the tides and striving to alter it despite how disadvantageous, hopeless and frivolous it seems in the broader scope of an unfair existence! And you could be so much more if you didn’t make these self-imposed limitations. Why are you so scared of going against fate but not of nonexistence? It can’t be worse than what’s happened before.”

Trinitas turned back around walking ahead of the party leading the way to Chaos’ land. Her optics died down to a dull celadon.

Squall didn’t make any motion to stop her throughout the duration of her proclamation. As she passed him, she stopped and offered a sad smile. “Let’s just get this over with.” She grasped his hand and mournfully continued forward.

Cosmos was speechless. She didn’t know how to respond to that, or if she even should. It gave her something to think about.

-

Lava pits dotted the ground. Luckily for the group, Trinitas’ spell from earlier kept the warriors cool while traversing the unforgiving terrain.

Vaan and Tidus looked out into the lava in curiosity, catching sight of a treasure chest under an alcove hovering above a river of lava.

The two did a gil flip to choose their next course of action. Heads.

And now another flip to see which one would be retrieving the treasure. Tails. Tidus it was then.

He cursed his luck as he went off the loosely defined road behind his comrades’ backs. Tidus hung on the landbridge above the resting spot of the chest before many concerned voices called out in admonition. “THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Trinitas yelled as Tidus smiled back confidently. “Just watch!”

Tidus dropped down to the ledge beneath and barely caught the edge. But unfortunately, the ledge wasn’t incredibly sturdy and began to give way before he could pull himself up.

“TIDUS!” Yuna cried out before trying to summon Valefor.

Springing into action, Trinitas dropped to skim above the lava catching Tidus on her shoulders and the chest by its handle. She quickly teleported back to the spot the group was waiting in.

The blond was dropped haphazardly on the ground while Trinitas set the chest down gingerly. He attempted to crawl to the chest but was stopped by Trinitas blocking his path. 

“Hey, what gives? I’m the one who got the treasure!”

“No, I did. While you were plummeting to your death I might add! There’s a ramp that goes down to the platform. You didn’t have to almost die!” She reprimanded.

“We almost lost you to lava, damn it! Be careful next time!”

Tidus stared alarmed at Trinitas’ concern. “Didn’t know you cared that much.”

She considered those words carefully. “Yeah, neither did I...” 

Trinitas seemed to get lost in thought for a moment before snapping back to reality as Tidus had moved to open the chest but got burned by the hot metal. She rolled her eyes and shot the lock off with her gattling saw revealing a Cockatrice Tail Feather.

“She saved your ass for a feather from an overgrown chicken that turns people to stone...” Squall deadpanned as he peered into the chest from over her shoulder.

“It looks kinda neat.” Vaan went to observe the object now in Trinitas’ hand.

Tidus threw himself back onto the ground sulking over the lackluster reward for his bravery. “Aw damn it! I thought for sure that it would be gil. Oh well.”

Bartz went to sit next to Tidus as he looked at the feather. “Might be good luck to keep it.”

“It’s not exactly light, ya know. It is made of stone after all.” Trinitas let the feather drop from her hand like a lead weight to demonstrate her point. “I mean it’s no Kingatrice Tail Feather but maybe the moogles will trade us something for it. Cockatrice Feathers do have their medicinal uses if you can unpetrify them.”

“How do you know that?” Bartz asked.

“I used to be in charge of my groups' treasure stockpile. Deciding what got sold, what we needed to keep or look for next.” The guys nodded in understanding. No matter where you’re from, someone always has to keep track of the items.

“Although it was only because I had the best memory, nothing better to do and actually used the stuff. Noctis was too careless, Prompto was too scatterbrained and squeamish, Ignis was too busy, and Gladiolus was too hot-headed when we argued, and we argued a lot. So much so that I think he sold things just to piss me off. Don’t get me wrong, he was great at finding treasure, but not at leaving it alone.” 

Trinitas looked to the ground in exasperation at a certain unrelated detail. “I never did get that second Sturdy Helixhorn.”

Squall shook his head in confusion. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“The Prodromus family were made the royal artisans of Lucis at the start of the Caelum Dynasty’s reign 2,000 years ago. It’s a Lucian tradition of the current Prodromus hierarch of the time to make an object in remembrance of significant events in Lucian history. And seeing how I’m the last one, I was going to make an amulet out of Sturdy Helixhorn and a Platinum Ingot I picked up from the top of a Duscaen stone arch to mark the Siege of Insomnia. I doubt I’d even find one outside of Eos. Those things weren’t exactly easy to get the first time around... You had to break them off a Duplicorn or a Leukorn just right.” 

Trinitas sighed before coming to a depressing conclusion.

“What does it matter? I’m probably not welcome back in my world anyway.”

The guys looked between themselves briefly. “We’ll help you!” Vaan exclaimed cheerfully. “I mean sure, we may not be crafters per se but we’ll help you find something even greater than a Helixhorn.”

Squall looked to Vaan in surprise. We never agreed to that. But before he could revoke Vaan’s statement, his eyes caught a glimpse of Trinitas’s slow-growing smile and his heart uncomfortably fluttered with a more agreeable disposition.

“You’d really do that for me?” Her celadon eyes held a spark of hope, causing a strong internal quiver that completely overtook his desire to speak out against the idea. What is wrong with me? 

Squall thought about mentioning how much time that would probably take, how they had the upcoming battle with Chaos, how they’d have to part soon after...

But he didn’t want to. He wanted to waste time with her and get further off track, even if it was time spent with these other people he didn’t want around her. 

He agrees without another hesitation. “Anything for you, Trin.” He reassured watching her beam with joy.

Squall caved in and the worst part was he knew it, accepting the task for the sake of her happiness seemed too common these days. At this point, he was hyper-aware of his inexplicable tendency to favor her, no matter what the case may be. Whatever was making him like this felt terribly inconvenient to his rationale. Anything she asks, suggests or even hints at is considered, agreed upon or carried out swiftly. 

The other side effects included his berserk rage at those who would hurt her (despite the fact she’s an immortal that doesn’t feel pain in the same capacity as a normal person and he knows this), his underlying jealousness of others getting close to her (even though she spends every day with him and only him) and lastly, the near insanity he endures when she’s not with him.

This in and of itself was reason enough for him to stay by her side. His vision becomes hazy, distorted and dull. Many voices cry out her name as desperation to see her again eats away at his still conscious mind. He wonders what’ll happen when it’s time to finally part. Is he going to be okay? Was this sickness going to go away on its own or would it become apart of him?

While pondering these morbid questions, Squall aimlessly followed Trinitas’ lead back to the group that took the time to wait for them.

-

Traveling headlong down the path, the team searched every treasure chest along the way not finding much past gil and the occasional rare weapon. 

Meanwhile, Bartz took to studying Squall’s behavior involving Trinitas. His natural intuition and the previous unease he had when he encountered him last triggered something of a curiosity in the adventurous man. It was no real secret that Squall had taken strongly to the unusual girl and was something of an undisclosed observation made by the rest of the Cosmos warriors. But for as sweet as the relationship seemed to be, all of Squall’s abnormal actions were concerning...

Most didn’t want to bring it up for fear of starting a conflict by addressing it directly, but there was absolutely no way they could ignore it either. Most took to monitoring him from afar and whether Squall knew this or not remained anyone’s guess. If he did notice he was being watched, he sure didn’t let on. Trinitas herself was unaware of her companion’s bizarre obsession with her, assuming his protectiveness stemmed from a natural desire to remain with the only person he felt connected to.

It didn’t take long for Bartz to notice the way Squall’s eyes sluggishly glanced around dazed and unfocused, lost in thought. The sharp, alert, icy glare he was used to was replaced with dim, half-lidded dark grey-blues that hid a near-lifeless quality in them.

It was unsettling that someone could come alive in the proximity of another person but just as easily decay the next moment. He may have had her by his side but whatever Squall was thinking about might as well have placed him millions of miles away.

Trinitas looked back to the other warriors following Cosmos. They trailed behind the treasure hunters who were busy scouting ahead for rare substances.

The brunette surveyed her surroundings before spotting a distant chest and running full speed, snapping the once-dazed boy out of his trace as he attempted to keep pace with her. “Maybe some warning before you take off like that.” Squall scolded the excited female.

“Didn’t know you were following me!” She cheerfully shouted behind her while advancing towards the chest in the distance.

The rest of them chatted amongst themselves, remarking on Squall’s strange choice to keep close to her when they were once certain he wanted to be alone.

“Sometimes it takes a person much different than yourself to change your priorities,” Cosmos added as she witnessed the pair taking a black orb out of the chest. “Perhaps Squall realized how much he appreciates Trinitas’ company. Or maybe... he realized he didn’t truly want to be alone in the first place but found no better alternative to the problem. Someone finally won his heart and now he dreads the moment he has to let go.”

“Does it really have to be that way? They work together well enough. What if-” Vaan tried reasoning with Cosmos only to be cut off by her.

“Squall’s world is caught in the middle of an ongoing loop of stable events. Everything is already set to happen in a specific manner. Trinitas was a last-minute addition to a prophecy she actively attempted to dismantle. The ones who gave her the abilities she has cannot kill her and so they did the only thing they could do... displace her. Exile her long enough to follow through with the prophecy until the point of no return has been reached. Unfortunately for them, Trinitas will be returning to her native universe after this conflict has been won.”

The warriors responded with rising concern, “So, what Trinitas said was right then, is that it? They’re just... fated to be apart because it was planned that way?” Lightning scoffed in disdain. She never did take to the idea of fate.

“What a waste of a good dynamic...” Tidus sighed walking around with his hands behind his head.

Vaan’s pout turned more serious as he thought about the two. “So what if things are supposed to go a certain way? What if the future they have together is better than what fate has to offer? You shouldn’t tear them apart solely based on ‘it’s what fate wants’. And what if the gods back home don’t take her back, huh? What'll happen to her then?” he chided disapprovingly.

“I have no control over what happens to her after that.” The deity admitted obstinately.

Laguna squinted his eyes in suspicion, “So at the moment, you do... Is that correct? If so, what do you gain keeping the two apart? It’s not like it affects you and this world after we leave, right?” He grinned, hoping his journalist skills would work on her.

Cosmos thought carefully about how she was going to answer that. “It isn’t about keeping the two apart for reasons of my own. Trinitas is capable of destroying the stable time loop that has been set, effectively rewriting Squall’s predestined path and the fate of his world entirely. Although... I’m afraid by letting them get attached, it might’ve already begun.”

They looked around at each other in worry. No one liked where this was going.

“How so...?” Tifa asked warily, sure that she and every other person present knew the answer.

Cosmos breathed in deep, preparing her explanation. “You’re all aware by now that Squall has a favorable disposition towards Trinitas, but it goes even deeper than that. It borders on complete addiction with its own set of mental, emotional and physical symptoms that can’t so easily be ignored.” Cosmos motioned to the brunette as he talked with Trinitas about her plans for the orb.

They noticed how his eyes were more attentive now than they had been minutes before. How vibrant and bright blue they became.

The moment she turned away the dreariness in them returned. The change was so quick, it was no wonder Trinitas never caught on. You’d have to know what to look for.

-

Hours passed and the group found more materials to work with. Adamantite ore, a trapezohedron, and a crystal shard.

After assessing the hardness of the orb was sufficient enough for her plans, Trinitas got to work on refining the adamantite with the heat of a nearby lava flow. The metal would be used to form spikes that would lace around and chain the dark matter sphere. An enchanted moving handle that would move freely about the chain would probably be added later, depending on how inconvenient it would be to swing with just the chain.

Her plan now was to make an artifact weapon for herself instead and save the platinum ingot for another project.

While the ore was heating up she transmuted the trapezohedron, cockatrice feather, and crystal shard into the dark matter to further increase the magic inside it and add the chance to petrify the opponent on contact.

“How is it you know so much about smithing?” Terra watched in awe of the esoteric techniques Trinitas used in crafting the ball of darkness into one reminiscent of her crystal heart’s own monochromatic color scheme.

Trinitas shrugged, checking the adamantite. “It’s more about knowing what you want from an object. Changing its shape and structure while trying to gather details about its potential.” She telekinetically skimmed the impurities that rose to the top of the liquid metal.

“I’m just making this thing as I go. Sure, I have an idea of what I want to make of it, but I need to see the number of obstacles I have to go through to make it a reality. I guess that’s kinda like life for ya. Shaping the world blindly as you go...”

Once the metal was malleable enough she moved it in strands around the dark matter. Webs of adamantite showed the brilliance of the center while she shaped her family’s insignia on one side. The spikes held holes with razor-sharp edges that threatened to slice pieces off if those barbs were ever to implant themselves into something. Links of adamantite chained together to form a makeshift handle to swing with. In order to cool the newly formed finish, Trinitas brought out her ice-based weapon Liquid Nitrogun to finish the job. 

After a quick spray with the gunblade, it was time to test its durability and functionality and for that, she needed a target...

But she could think of no target better than Chaos himself.

-

Throughout the day they faced the many familiar adversaries Chaos had gathered, and although they all were felled on the field of battle Trinitas never moved to raise her newest weapon against them despite how tempted she had gotten at some points.

A long trek through the Land of Discord finally brought them to their last hurdle...

The group made it to the Edge of Madness as dusk slowly crept overhead. The sun now a dying ember of orange setting below the horizon. Finality had set the tone no one was willing or wanted to address.

“Are we all set?” Lightning assessed the condition of her own equipment as she asked.

Many of the warriors looked to each other in agreement before sparing a look at the two brunettes they were the most concerned about.

Squall caught their gazes soon followed by Trinitas.

She didn’t know why but she felt they all had the same thing on their minds, she just wasn’t sure what.

“I’m... I’m fine. Let’s just focus on getting all of you back home.” Trinitas smiled glumly.

Squall didn’t want to show his worry. So he opted to calmly shut his eyes instead, leaving his expression neutral... unreadable. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

They walked through the gateway to Chaos’ domain fearlessly, but there was no fooling the rest of Cosmos’ warriors...

Trinitas and Squall were terrified of what the future held.

-

On the other side was a long staircase leading up to a circular platform holding Chaos’ throne. The deity sat patiently upon it, not looking displeased in the slightest as the warriors confronted him.

“You’ve defeated my chosen warriors and now you’ve come for me...” Chaos rose from his throne, “Tell me, what exactly do you think you’re going to accomplish by killing me?”

Half of the warriors paused at those quizzical words, others held their stance.

“What is even the point of fighting to end what can’t be ended? A vicious cycle. Even if you manage to win, what makes you think this conflict won’t restart itself?” he argued his point, possibly to goad them onward.

Trinitas sneered with distaste. “Is that resignation I hear? From great Chaos himself? What’s wrong with these entities? Why is it that whenever you or Cosmos open your mouths it’s always something about ‘the futility of fighting your fate’ or something like that?” she taunted.

Chaos’ eyes squinted at the small woman’s mocking tone. “Why do you choose to fight the unwinnable odds, abomination?”

Trinitas scowled, “Why not? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You can’t get anywhere if you don’t at least try something different. Even if everything resets, we’ll be ready to try a new approach. I’m not going to use excuses to give up what we’re fighting for.” 

Trinitas’ determined glare became fiercer when she began materializing the spiked sphere of adamantite, hovering it over herself.

Chaos grinned at the intimidating weapon. “Good answer.”

The God of Discord charged at the dauntless female.

Before Chaos could reach her, Cosmos takes her place as the victim of the first attack, shoving Trinitas away from his path and off of the circular platform where she began to float to keep herself from sliding down the steep edge. The moment Cosmos touched her, various pieces of information Cosmos knew flooded her mind. The blonde goddess was incinerated by the monstrous god shortly after. Cosmos’ body begins to dissipate in crystalline particles and the rest of the power and knowledge she had are absorbed by Trinitas’ crystal heart.

A frenzied revolt immediately ensued with Trinitas left to regain her barrings off to the side.

Why did that happen? Trinitas got up and felt a surge of energy overriding her. That doesn’t matter. End this... Trinitas swore she heard an implacable voice in the back of her head, but it was right. 

She strode onto the arena with murderous intent.

This ends here.

-

The battle between Chaos and Cosmos’ warriors raged throughout the night. Many fighters got taken out of it periodically, resting themselves as others fought the tireless deity.

Trinitas herself never took the time to, constantly engaging the god with barrages of ceaseless spikes embedding themselves in the god’s outer layers of flesh. And although Chaos mostly resisted the petrification enchantment, it didn’t stop the areas around his stab wounds from chipping off bit by bit.

It didn’t matter how long it would take, Trinitas was wearing him down slowly and continually, buying her teammates enough time to recuperate.

Squall lasted long into the fight, but as the adrenaline in him started to decline, so did his fighting performance, making movements like lifting his gunblade a harsher task.

Seeing the way Trinitas still moved with such vigor in her attacks made him want to stay in the battle, much to the dismay of those who knew how close he was to exhaustion.

This made Tifa finally put her foot down and attempt to get Squall out of there before he got hurt.

“Just give it a break already! You need to rest!” She restrained his arms with her own, dragging Squall away.

Or at least she tried to. Squall wasn’t having any of it, thrashing wildly in her grasp in an attempt to return to the fight. “I’M NOT DONE YET!”

“YES, YOU ARE! LET OTHERS HANDLE THIS!” Tifa yelled trying to quell Squall’s erratic reluctance.

A second later he saw something that cut through his concentration like Odin’s broadsword. Trinitas was tossed violently by Chaos into his throne shattering the ornate stone object completely.

Others from across the arena saw Squall’s eyes get darker and wider before he broke out of Tifa’s hold and charged Chaos while he had Trinitas cornered.

Trinitas was about to get back up relatively unscathed but noticed the familiar light of Squall’s Blasting Zone and quickly moved aside to avoid the crossfire.

He followed it up with unyielding slashes against Chaos’ back trying to carve into the skin as deeply as his blade could go, his face manic and furious. Chaos tried in vain to dislodge the gunblade from his back as Squall spammed Mystic Flurry around the writhing god in an effort to discomfort him even further. Squall forcefully pulled his weapon out before firing a Lightning Shot to draw Chaos closer before hitting him with a Rough Divide.

Trinitas watched the entire display with morbid fascination. She’s never seen Squall so hellbent on outright killing something before. It was almost like watching someone else.

Squall didn’t stop and didn’t want to.

-

The God of Discord finally fell, broken and defeated at the gunblade wielder’s feet. Before Squall could continue assaulting him, Chaos’ voice caught his attention.

“Here ends... the war of the gods. Destiny’s hand cannot be stayed. Begone mortals.”

The warriors started to disappear one after the other... appearing in a lush vibrant field.

“So this is it? The end of a very long road?” Vaan asked the other warriors.

“It never really ends. And neither will our stories.” Bartz replied cheerfully.

“No matter how or why we’ll always be connected, that I’m assured. I’ll find some way for us to be together again, I promise.” She said to everyone before looking to Squall, walking up to him in what he can only assume will be the last moment he gets to spend with her.

“I’ll find a way to be with you, so just wait... wait for me.” Trinitas’ eyes were certain, bringing a sense of tranquility to the brunette who thought this parting would’ve been... sadder.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Just try not to keep me waiting too long.” He whispered to her before sharing one final kiss goodbye.

As they held each other, their forms started to fade from the field. 

-

Squall’s vision became black and a stinging pain marred his senses. It was like reliving his sparring session with Seifer. His scar feels more recent and he’s laying in a bed of some kind. This feels awfully familiar...

He wasn’t aware his eyes were closed to begin with, opening them to find himself in the exact same infirmary bed he woke up in at the beginning of this convoluted mess!

“He’s up, Doc!” An eerily recognizable voice called out from the side of his bed.

Turning his head he’s met with bright celadon eyes. 

“Trin...?” He asks quietly as not to grab Dr. Kadowaki’s attention.

She merely winks, “Wasn’t too long of a wait, was it?” Squall can’t help but smile at her. This was her alright.

He may have had a few questions about how she got there by his bedside, much less his world but these didn’t seem important enough to ask at the moment. He was just happy she was there.

Dr. Kadowaki walked up to him.

Just like last time...

“How are you feeling?” she questioned him.

Squall rolled his eyes. “I’ll live.” He sarcastically drolled, getting up from the bed.

“Why don’t you take i-”

“It easy in training? Deja vu. I think I remember being told that before.” Squall noted the patience of the doctor running thinner with every smartass remark he made. But it just made Trinitas’ smile grow wider.

“Well, maybe there’s a reason for that. Honestly, why don’t you just ignore Seifer?”

“Ignoring a problem doesn’t get rid of it.” Squall didn’t miss a beat, telling Kadowaki the things he wished he’d said before.

“Neither does charging it head-on.”

“It’s not my fault Seifer plays dirty.” Somehow he didn’t feel as detached from the accident as he did before, only getting more upset just thinking about him. He really wasn’t looking forward to Trinitas meeting Seifer.

“While that might be, you still accepted his challenge.” Kadowaki reminded him.

“Can we go now?” Squall’s teeth almost ground together as he asked.

Kadowaki turned to look at Trinitas who visibly squirmed wide-eyed at the newfound attention.

“And who is this Squall? I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” The doctor gave him a knowing look.

Before Trinitas could retort, Squall interjected. “Yeah, whatever, can we just go now?”

“Not until I call up your instructor to come pick you up. Now let’s see... your instructor is Quistis, right? I’ll let her know you have... company.” She wiggled her eyebrows jokingly.

Squall sighed, not wanting to go through all the bullshit this day has in store for him. As he finishes this thought he hears Kadowaki’s giggling while talking with Quistis. “This day is going to kick. my. ass...” He whispered to no one in particular before Trinitas lays next to him.

Their eyes meeting in a playful greeting causing him to smile slightly. He pecks her lips briefly before sitting up, not wanting to be caught in an otherwise compromising situation. Trinitas follows his lead, sitting on the stool beside the bed like she was earlier.

Neither of them notices a slightly older woman staring at them from afar with a curious look etched on her face.