Rinny Leonheart

A request from Angel Wing Rinoa777, my first request fic to be exact, which means that it will contain multiple chapters, and multiple lemons if you guys are lucky enough!

Summary: AU SQUINOA. Having had his heart torn to shreds 6 months ago, Squall Leonheart's best friends Seifer and Irvine decide that he has moped around for long enough and he needs to let go. For his 19th birthday they show him the world of Angels', Deling's most famous strip club, where he meets a dancer who shouldn't even be there. Determined to forget his past, he visits the club every day, in hopes to make the dancer part of his future…

Author's Note: Well I'm glad people enjoyed the last chapter, made me happy to see the adoration. And deepest apologies for having such a big gap between Chapter 17 and this one! There's been so much going on and… ok you don't really want to know why do you? Thanks to Ashbear for kicking me up the backside to keep going, appreciate it honey xx

I haven't played VIII in a few years and someone kindly pointed out how many reverse-game references were in the story! Honestly, I didn't realise that! Good to know that I haven't forgotten a few important in-game bits which I could incorporate into the story.

I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND READERS, ONCE AGAIN, THAT THIS IS RATED 'M' AS IN MATURE CONTENT AS IN NOT FOR MINORS! CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, ADULT THEMES ETC.

Last Chapter

"So… what now Rinoa? Where do we go from here?" he asked, looking at the dark ceiling. She said nothing. He tilted his chin, resting it on his chest and looked at her dark head.

"Rinoa?"

Her gentle snoring reached his ears, it was then that he realised she'd fallen asleep.

He listened to her sleeping as she rested her head on his chest and smiled into the darkness. He'd ask her in the morning.

Chapter Eighteen: What Have I Done?

Sunday 2nd October

Sunlight comes streaking through the partially-opened blinds in the living room, landing on Rinoa's sleeping face. She stirs and reaches for her nightstand, seeking her cigarettes. She doesn't feel the hard wooden surface she expected, only soft fluffy fibres. Her eyes shoot open and she realises she isn't in her room.

Where… was she?

She blinked at the searing yellow light through the window and shivered. She found herself staring at the legs of a sofa. She hears heavy snoring behind her and feels her heart rate quicken as she feels a strong arm wrapped around her waist and warm breath tickling her neck.

Oh no, tell me I didn't!

She looks down at herself, she is completely naked. She looks over her shoulder and sees Squall lying sideways beside her, also naked. It was then that the reality of the situation set in. They'd had sex.

"Oh fuck!" she hissed quietly. "What have I done?"

She rolls away from him carefully, trying not to disturb his slumber and looks for her clothes. They are strewn all over the room, along with the torn remains of the shirt he'd worn last night. She tip toes around him, looking for every garment she'd worn last night.

She saw the condom wrapper on the ground beside Squall's legs and heaved a sigh of relief. At least they'd been careful; she couldn't imagine having to deal with the consequences if they hadn't. Flushing wildly at his naked form, she snatched one of the throw blankets off the sofa and draped it over him. He gripped the soft cover and tucked it under his chin, still lost in his dreams.

Once she had collected everything she pulled up her skirt and threw her top over her head, holding onto her shoes, belt, arm-warmers and panties. She winced at the pain between her legs as she took a step away from the sleeping male on the floor, a testament to what had happened between them last night. She felt wobbly and sick, her head thumped from her thoughts rushing all over the place, that and all the booze she'd had the night before!

She glanced at the display on the VCR under the television. It was almost nine o'clock; everyone else would be waking up shortly. She couldn't stay in here; she had to leave before Squall woke up. She couldn't face him right now.

She looked at his sleeping form on the floor and sneaked out of the room, closing the door very carefully behind her so as not to wake him up. Her house and bike keys are sitting on the doormat, and she snatches them up quickly. She didn't even remember dropping them to the floor last night!

She carefully treads up the stairs, flinching with every step she took until she reached her room. She shuts the door and breathes deeply.

Oh Hyne! Oh Hyne!

She tears off her clothes and slides into her bathrobe as she finds her spare packet of cigarettes. She lights one and takes in a deep drag.

"You stupid, stupid girl! What in Hyne's name were you thinking!?" she scolded herself, thumping her head with her palm as she paced the floor of her room. She walked around shaking her head as she finished her cigarette, feeling dirty as she stubbed it out in her ashtray.

She needed a shower for sure, she felt sticky underneath her fluffy robe. She needed to be clean and get the hell out of this house. Yanking a brush harshly through her tangled tresses, she whips out a scrunchie bobble and twists it into a knot at the back of her head. Her hair would wait; right now she needed to get this disgusting feeling off her once pure skin.

Yeah once pure. I hope you are happy with yourself Rinoa!

Oh don't be so horrible! Why are you being so harsh?

Don't you start with me Heart! It's your fault that we're in this mess.

I beg to differ. Unlike you, I didn't get affected by the amount of alcohol in Rinoa's system.

Shut up! You didn't try to stop it from happening either.

She followed her instincts, it's hardly my fault!

The inward battle between her heart and mind made her head spin further. Last night has been such a mistake; she was very aware of that fact, she didn't want to think about it right now. Not that she hadn't enjoyed it; Squall had been very surprising and gentle, but it felt so wrong to wake up with a clearer head and the evidence all around her.

She left her room and headed for the level below, hoping not to run into any of her housemates. The coast was clear, the floor was deathly silent so she pushed open the door to one of the bathrooms and locked it behind her.

She switched on the shower and dropped her robe to the ground. She stepped under the scalding water, rubbing at herself with a loofah, determined to scrub all of the impurities away. It was impossible, she couldn't shake the fact she'd just given her virginity away.

We are now no better than a common slut thanks to you being irresponsible.

Saying those things won't get it back you know, what's done is done so leave her alone!

She poured a huge dollop of her shampoo onto the loofah and used it over her body. She'd finished her Bubble Gum Bath Foam two nights ago; she had yet to bring down the spare bottle from her room. She'd been far too frantic to bring it with her this time.

Her bath towel from last night was dry and warm from the radiator it sat upon. She wrapped it around herself and opened the door, listening carefully for any signs of movement. Once again the coast was clear and she heard no signs that the rest of her housemates were waking up so she sprinted up the staircase to the attic bedrooms.

She opened the door to her room and rubbed herself furiously with her towel. Her skin went salmon pink in places where she rubbed herself hard. Dropping the towel to the floor she began frantically dressing herself into clean clothes and threw on her leather jacket and pants over the top. It was really snug this way but she didn't care; she had to leave immediately. Sanity was not the first thing on her mind at this moment.

She grabbed a pen and ripped out a sheet of paper from her notepad and scribbled a short note to Squall. She was about to fold it when she decided it wasn't enough. She scrunched it up and tried writing another message. Then another.

By her fourth attempt she just wrote an honest message and hoped that it wasn't out of order when he read it. She folded it in half and picked up her keys and phone.

She left her room and locked the door before slipping the note under his door and headed back towards the stairs. Her heart was thumping in her chest as she heard noise coming from the bathroom when she reached the first floor. Someone was awake, who it was she didn't want to know in case she was discovered. She had to tip-toe very carefully down the stairs, clenching her keys in her hand so they wouldn't jingle and give her movements away.

She reached the bottom step and quietly opened the door to the living room. She peeked inside. To her relief it hadn't been Squall up in the bathroom; he was still flat out on the living room floor. She closed the door carefully and opened the front door quietly and slowly shut it behind her. Taking a deep breath she jumped down the steps and sprinted towards her bike parked on the pavement.

Hearing a rumbling engine outside disappearing into the distance, Squall stirred in his sleep. Feeling something covering him, he rolled onto his back, slowly opening his eyes. He smiled widely and stretched out with a yawn; he feels great today. What a night!

He rolled onto his side to find Rinoa was no longer lying next to him. He blinked in surprise.

"Huh? Where… is she?"

He sat up baffled, wondering where the hell she'd gone. Maybe she'd gone upstairs for a shower or something.

He reaches for his discarded clothes and pulls on his trousers haphazardly. His black shirt is in tatters but he didn't care, it had been worth it getting ruined, he thought with a sly grin as he remembered what happened after they got home. He throws it over his left shoulder and reaches for his boots.

He slips his feet into his shoes and tucks the laces into the ankles. He wouldn't bother tying them back up if he was going upstairs. He gets to his feet and fixes the living room blinds, returning them to their former position. He strides across the floor and leaves the room.

He makes a big mistake walking out of the den in his half zipped pants; he is met by Seifer coming down the stairs.

"Good morning…" he stops shortly after he notices Squall's dishevelled hair, swollen lips and scratch marked chest.

Seifer smirks at him and Squall realises that he has been rumbled.

Fuck.

"Oh this is… just too… perfect…"

"Seifer… I'm begging you… don't-" Squall starts slowly.

"Hey Irvine! Come down here quick; you gotta see this!" Seifer shouted in the direction of the upper level.

Squall sweat-drops and face-palms simultaneously. This wasn't happening!

"What is it man? I'm still sleepy!" Irvine whined as he reaches the top stair. Seifer grins at his auburn haired friend, indicating towards the younger brunette with his thumb.

"Seifer, please!" Squall hissed at his blonde companion. If ever there was a time for Seifer to keep his mouth shut, this would need to be it.

"Puberty Boy finally got some action!"

"You're kidding?! Really!?" Irvine shouts excitedly.

He jumps down the stairs and lands at the bottom with a thud. He looks Squall up and down, a big smile forming on his face. Squall looks up sheepishly and wished that the ground would swallow him up then and there

"Uh, guys? Please… just… don't say anything." He pulls his tattered shirt over his shoulders to cover himself a bit more.

"Like hell are we being quiet about this!" Seifer grinned, folding his arms across his chest. "We've been waiting for this day a long-ass time!"

"Yeah! C'mon, tell us everything! How did you turn it from not-a-date into a real one? How was she? Where is she now?" Irvine asked.

"Not answering any questions." He waved his hand dismissively. "I am not making a fool out of myself or her thanks."

"Bit late for that bro. Just look at what's left of your shirt; looks like she got her claws into you pretty good, haha!" Seifer held his sides to stop them from splitting as he chuckled.

"I am out of here," he started for the stairs but Irvine blocked his path.

"Oh-ho! No you're not. We're taking you out for breakfast to celebrate the end of your celibacy!" he grinned.

"Geez you make it sound like I've been a hermit for a century, it was a 7 month dry spell alright?" he hissed in fury. "And will you keep your fucking voices down?! I don't need Zell hearing this too."

He realised he'd said this just a bit too late. Zell was standing on the stairs behind Irvine. The tattooed blonde also had a huge smile on his face. Oh, he'd heard the 'news' alright!

Why can't the ground just swallow me up right now?!

"Congratulations man!"

"Morning Zell, hey you fancy joining us for breakfast? The more the merrier." Seifer said, looking at Squall with his never ending smirk.

"Booyah! That'd be awesome. Where are we going?"

Fuck. Could this day get any worse?

Rinoa sped her bike along the roads of Deling City. She didn't have a set destination in mind right now; she just needed to be as far away from the house as she could. Squall was not going to be very happy with her once he'd realised she wasn't home. He would want to talk about what happened, where they'd go from today.

Well there was one certainty from all of this; he was not about to become her boyfriend because she'd slept with him. She didn't want a boyfriend! Boyfriends got in the way of your plans; they made you cancel them, they wanted to be centre of your attention. Squall was… like this too?

It seemed mean of her to go the way she had, but if he had any brain cells at all after last night then he'd realise that right now she needed space. A lot of space. Maybe a month or even a year's worth of time! Ok, maybe a year is far too excessive but she needed time to think about what she was going to do now.

She pulled over to a petrol station and set her bike up next to a pump. She climbed off and felt the searing hot stinging pain between her thighs.

"Maybe I should have taken some medicine this morning." She said to herself as she filled up the tank of her bike. The sun was warm on the back of her neck as she stared at the scenery around her. Where should she go now at this time of the day? Who could she talk to about this situation?

Squall finally freed himself from the grips of his friends and climbed the stairs to his room alone.

"We'll be waiting for you to come right back down Squall, you can't hide up there all day!" Seifer called up to him as he reached the first level. Irvine and Zell's smiles were massive; if they got any bigger and they'd crack through their skin!

He listened out for signs of life as he finished ascending the stairs leading to the loft space and hear nothing coming from either of the bathrooms. He gently tapped on Rinoa's door and waited. There was no answer.

"Rinoa?" he called gently. "Rinoa, are you in there?"

He was met with silence. He looked at the door, puzzled and turned to his own. Where was she? He wondered this as he fumbled with his keys and unlocked the door. Had she gone out? Did he do something wrong last night?

He grabs a grey marl t-shirt and a fresh pair of jeans from his drawers and throws them on. It was so strange, had things escalated to a level that they couldn't return from? Maybe it was a bit too soon but he really wanted to see her again, talk about becoming a couple. There was no way she hadn't enjoyed herself, so what could the reason be for running out on him like that?

Sitting on the edge of his bed and slipping his feet into a pair of socks, he looked at the rose he'd bought yesterday sitting on his desk. The snowy petals were starting to bruise at the tips, curling slightly, in desperate need of some water. He picked it up and carried it over to the door. He saw a folded piece of paper on his carpet with his name written on one side.

He knelt down and opened the message. His eyes darted over the handwriting several times and he frowned.

"What the fu-"

"Squall, open up! We're ready to go!" Seifer's voice boomed through the door.

He stood up and crumpled the letter in his fist slightly. He would be having words with her about this later.

"Rinny!? What brings you here so early?" Selphie exclaimed excitedly at the young woman on her doorstep. Rinoa stepped forward, pushing her way into the house with her helmet in her arms. Selphie looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face.

Rinoa walked straight to the kitchen and sat down at the table without saying a word. Selphie followed her and switched on the kettle as Rinoa lit up a cigarette. The pair sat in silence for several minutes listening to the water boiling in the kettle. Selphie slammed her fists down on the table, prompting Rinoa to jump and look directly at her.

"Ok, so what's going on Rinoa? You're freaking me out something fierce!" Selphie demanded. Rinoa stubbed out her cigarette and looked at her friend directly in the eyes.

"Selphie last night… Last night I…" she began and froze instantly. How could she tell her this? She flushed bright red and cast her eyes down in shame. Selphie studied her carefully, thoughts running through her head.

"Last night? You weren't in work last night, I thought you were going out-"

Her eyes widened as she came to a conclusion and she sucked in a breath.

"Were you attacked?! Are you okay?"

"No… I'm fine… I just… I went out to Loveless… and… I…" she trailed off, not wanting to admit what she'd done. Selphie's emerald eyes widened as she realised what it was.

"You did it last night, didn't you?" she asked her carefully, keeping her tone steady and calm. Rinoa nodded and bent her head lower, her fingers twiddling the lighter she had in her hands.

I should be happy that she finally left the virginity ranks but… why do I have the feeling it was with the wrong person?

"With whom? Or do I need not ask that because I know who that person is?" Selphie spoke again. Rinoa looked up and coughed slightly.

"Y-yeah… you know who I am referring to…" Rinoa confirmed. Selphie raised her eyes to the ceiling with a sigh. She stood from the table and went to make them a drink. She worked in silence, listening to Rinoa's lighter tapping the wooden surface of the table. She knuckled her forehead in despair as she stirred the drinks with her other hand.

After all that effort… after everything she did to put him off… she still went right ahead and did it with him.

She turned towards the table with the drinks in her hand and places one in front of her friend. She sits opposite her with her chin resting in her hands and stares at her with her big green eyes. After several minutes of more silence, Selphie sighed deeply.

Rinoa looked up from her drink and stroked the handle of the mug with the tip of her index finger. Selphie hated it when Rinoa went all withdrawn like this; she would fidget chronically for ages if she wasn't prompted to speak.

"C'mon Rinny! Talk to me!" she demanded. "Tell me; what on earth possessed you to sleep with him after everything you did to stop such a thing from happening? Did he force you into it; if I find out that he did I swear to Holy Hyne I'm gonna-"

"It wasn't… it wasn't like that Sel…" she said weakly.

"Hyne almighty! Can you just be straight with me here? Tell me everything. And I do mean everything!"

"Ok, so… I'll start from the beginning…"

Squall sat in the diner surrounded by the guys with a large pancake stack sitting untouched in front of him. His appetite was gone despite it being about 15 hours since he last ate something.

"Squall. Thanks for last night but it can't happen again. I'm sorry it's not what you wanted to hear, but I can't see you in the way you want to. Please understand. Rinoa"

A massive headache began forming behind his eyes as he stared at his breakfast. He knew it had been a long shot but after what had happened between them he honestly thought things would change between them in a positive way. And yet; she was sticking firm with her no dating policy. He knew it wasn't anything to do with his skills in the sack; he made damn well sure she had a fantastic first time. She was hiding something from him, he didn't know what but surely it had nothing to do with her lack of availability to date. She had a secret she didn't want him to know. But what was it?

"So, are you going to stare at that all day or are you going to tell us all the dirty details of your night out?" Irvine asked with a grin. Seifer and Zell looked at him expectantly with matching smiles. Squall frowned again.

"Do I really need to tell you guys every detail about it like some old biddy? Can't my private life be that, private?" he stressed, reaching for his fork and cutting a chunk out of his pancake stack. He took a bite of them and began chewing. If he had food in his mouth, he wouldn't be able to speak to them. The pancakes were nice but they had him remembering the ones Rinoa had made for him last weekend. Those ones tasted so much better, maybe it's because she had made them for him.

"Afraid not pal, you owe us this after we gave you the lowdown on how to behave last night." Seifer said, swigging his cup of coffee. "If it weren't for us, you two wouldn't have done the deed."

Don't flatter yourself; I had my own game plan. Yeah I improvised but I got where I wanted…at least where I thought it would go…

He shook his head again. "I should be speaking to her about last night, not you guys."

"That's true, though the mind boggles as to why she left before you woke up." Seifer commented. Irvine sat quietly and was about to speak before Zell beat him to it.

"Squall… please don't take this the wrong way but…" he began carefully "You weren't… aggressive with her were you?"

The piece of pancake Squall had just placed in his mouth resurfaced as he choked in shock. "Hell no!" he spluttered, coughing up crumbs. "I couldn't have been! I was gentle with her; for Hyne's sake, she was a vir-"

Irvine dropped his fork and Seifer choked on his coffee. Squall knew then that he had said too much.

"What… are you saying?" Irvine asked cautiously. Seifer wiped his mouth on his napkin and looked directly at Squall's face as it turned a glorious shade of red.

"So… you broke her in." he said simply and it was Squall's turn to choke on his drink. The three men watched their friend trying to regain his composure but they already knew the reason she had split on him.

"Hyne Seifer do you have to be so crude?!" Squall gasped; his face matching the colour of the table menu border.

"No, crude would be saying you popped her cherry." Seifer replied, taking another swig from his drink. "And you should know why she wasn't there when you woke up; nothing to do with you being aggressive or whatever, it's because she probably has no idea what to expect from you or herself right now. You took her virginity right? Perhaps she is feeling a bit raw right now, maybe scared out of her mind. Or worst case scenario: you did come on too strong, frightened her off and she is hoping to spare your feelings by avoiding you?"

"Maybe that's true," Irvine added, gaining a glare from his brunette friend. "Squall we saw how you acted on your birthday with that dancer… you seemed a bit…"

"What?!" Squall demanded in a low hissing tone. "How did I act exactly? She was waving her tits in my face and grinding her hips into my crotch! You guys knew damned well that I hadn't been with anyone since Allison and the fucking torture of having her do that to me, made me snap! But last night.., I restrained myself from behaving like that. She is a lovely girl and I didn't want to scare her off so I toned it down as much as possible. How can you guys sit there and accuse me of behaving so violently?!"

Everyone went silent. It seemed like they had definitely struck a nerve with him. But what was it over? His date or the dancer from the strip club?

"Nobody was accusing you-" Zell began but was bluntly cut off.

"I can see it in your fucking faces! Whether you say it openly or not, you're thinking it." He grunted. Irvine patted his shoulder.

"We won't talk about it again. Sorry if we upset you Squall."

He sighed deeply. "It's fine, but I am still not going into any details about last night so don't ask me again. Right now I just need to seek her out and talk to her in private about what the best strategy is from this point."

He took another bite out of his breakfast, trying to drown out the aching feeling in his guts. Whether it was genuine hunger or nerves about confronting Rinoa, he wasn't sure but it made him feel slightly more comfortable.

"I've figured it all out, every important part anyway. So what do you want me to say?" she asked abruptly.

Rinoa looked up at her shamefaced. She'd told her everything… except for the details of the actual sexual act, Selphie had all the information that Rinoa felt should have been shared.

"Say whatever you want Selphie, I'd rather you were honest about it."

Selphie lit up two cigarettes and handed one to Rinoa. She accepted it, thinking about Squall doing the same thing last night.

"Well we both know that you need to speak with Squall. Running off on him like that has probably confused the shit out of him. And Rinny, you should know better than to give him a 'Dear John', you owe it to say it to his face. Whether you see it this way or not, you lead him to believe that he had a chance, even though you said no before, he will think you changed your mind last night. You need to set him straight… assuming that is what you still want to do."

"I… I don't know… Right now I just want to avoid seeing him." She said, holding her head in her hands.

"That's not a clever move and we both know that you are smarter than that. You behaved like an idiot last night- there you go, I have called you an idiot now; there is no need to carry on with that front. You either want to continue seeing him or want to get him out of your life as a potential boyfriend- it would be cruel and unfair for you to keep him dangling like this much longer. Use the Band-Aid method in this situation please, use your head!"

"Y-yeah, ok…"

"Rinny I mean it, if you come to work later and I find that you haven't spoken with him then I will be very disappointed."

She nodded, whether she had come to Selphie or not, she knew Squall would end up at her door before the end of the day. Even if she avoided going home, she'd have Selphie to deal with. Given the choice she would rather deal with Squall breathing down her neck than Selphie.

Just thinking of Squall's hot breath on her neck earlier that day, brought a flush to her cheeks. Selphie smirked as she saw Rinoa's eyes glaze over and her face turn pink.

"Thinking about how good he was, huh? If it was 'another boy, another life' situation I'll bet any money that you would fuck him again in a heartbeat."

Rinoa didn't hear her; all she heard in her head was the sound of him panting into her ears, moaning her name as he thrust himself into her. Her hands gripped the edge of the table as she relived the scene in her mind.

She was soon brought back to reality by Selphie's waving hand in front of her nose. She blinked in surprise at the wagging digits.

"Earth to Rinny! Hello in there!" Selphie giggled. Rinoa was blushing like a flare beacon.

"S-sorry, I was miles away."

"Yeah, I could tell by the way you were daydreaming that you were thinking about him, specifically his skills in the sack." She said with a grin, earning a small smile from her red faced companion. "But unless you want to land yourself in a lot of hot water, you need to stop it right now. Oh by the way… congratulations on losing your 'V', welcome to womanhood!"

Rinoa's face met the table surface in utter embarrassment. Selphie stood from the table and went into a cupboard above the sink.

"You should head off home now, I have a feeling that he's waiting for you to put him out of his misery. But, just in case neither of you do the sensible thing, take this with you."

She placed a small box in front of her friend on the table. Rinoa stared at it with disgust.

"Sel… really?"

"Yep, really. Something tells me you won't listen to a damn word I've said when you come face to face with him. So take them and be careful."

Rinoa pocketed the box of condoms grudgingly. "I don't think it will come to that again, but thanks for the gesture… I guess."

"You're most welcome, now get out of here and rip off that Band-Aid!"

Author's Note II: Well now, I think I may have surprised you all here! You seemed to think that Squall was going to find out upon awakening who she really was… hehe not this time! It's going to happen, but when and how will he discover her secret identity? Looks like you will have to wait a bit longer.

I've been working on FOUR new stories, as you have probably read on my profile page alongside re-writing NMOH which is still far from being republished. There are two stories that will be making their debut in about 10 chapter updates, or when I have completed them, whichever comes first. Just a head's up for you to follow my updates. Thanks for reading, much love and appreciation to you all xx

Chapter Nineteen: Let's Be Adults About This: Our heroes finally meet to talk about what happened. What do they say, and what will they do?