The Edge of Dreams

"Just a little bit further."

"You said that five minutes ago," Rinoa's breathless voice complained as Squall turned to look at her, a bemused expression on his face.

Okay, so he had said that five minutes ago, ten before that, but what other forms of encouragement could he use to get the Sorceress up the hill faster? Sure he could be a motivational speaker during the hardest battles ever faced by man, but getting Rinoa to hike up a cliff, ho ho, that was harder and took way more persistency than anything else in his years as Commander.

She, on the other hand, was almost half dead due to exhaustion. Why, oh why, did Squall think it was a romantic idea to hike up a Centrian cliff on one of the hottest days in summer? Seriously, it was like with every step she took up the steep, brown earthen slope, the heat went up a notch. By the time she reached the top, she'd be just about brown and crispy. It didn't help that it was midday and the bright yellow sun stood at its highest peak, showering down on them blazing heat that had Rinoa's sweat glands working overtime. Her hair had started to mat down onto her head, she could feel her red vest moisten from the sweat gathered at the valley between her breasts. Her nose, chin and philtrum had gathered beads of sweat that, though it felt sticky as the heat continued to engulf her, did yield a moment of pleasure when a cool breeze passed by.

"I promise, it really is just a little bit further," Squall repeated, a smidgeon of guilt arising after looking at Rinoa's exhausted blotchy red face.

Rinoa's cheeky complaints persisted, "Only you, Leonhart, would think it romantic to hike up a mountain during a honeymoon."

Taking her hand, Squall helped the Sorceress over a small boulder and continued along the uneven dirt track. Small stones and clumps of earth had hardened over time, making it all the more difficult for the Sorceress to trudge up the slope. It was the least he could do to be the gentleman, her Knight, her husband and her soul mate, to go as far as giving her a strong, albeit slightly moist, hand up the hill.

"It's not the hiking that I thought would be romantic, it's the isolation and the atmosphere," Squall responded, not being fazed by Rinoa's criticism. "Besides, we've spent a whole month indoors at Garden, the hiking will surely get us back into shape."

"Well excuse me, but last time I checked, round was a shape."

Squall couldn't help but let a small chuckle out. Rinoa sure could be sardonically funny at times. Well she had her moments, and got plenty of practice during their missions. Hanging off Garden probably had to be her biggest spell in the limelight. Seeing Squall beat off the paratrooper and come to her aid, she had almost wanted to greet him with "Don't mind me - I'm just hanging."

But just a little less sarcasm and a little more willpower, and Rinoa was soon in for a very special treat. Squall was correct, of course, the entire area was scarce of anything human, let alone any living creature they could see. The entire trek up to the cliff was all shrubbery, evergreen trees and a dirt track that looked untouched by man in decades. The rocky footpath they ventured through was bare, no sign of any wild animal crossing let alone footprints that would most definitely disturb the calm natural earth.

It was just what the couple needed, more for Squall than Rinoa. He wanted to take her to a place where they could be alone and free. Where he could be free. And what better place, than a secluded cliff top with the most beautiful view, looking out onto a waterfall? It wasn't like the Commander was reverting back to his anti-social days, but he hadn't completely left his shell. He had become a tad more relaxed around his friends. With Rinoa, he was trying his utmost to be as open as he could. At times when they were alone, he would expose certain aspects of his feelings, his thoughts and his desires to experience and develop their relationship; but he often found it hard to practice that in the confines of their shared accommodation. Squall wanted to break away from his everyday routine, and share an experience with Rinoa where he could at least moderately open up, if not completely.

"All right, we're here," Squall announced, pulling Rinoa by the hand into a clearing at the end of the cliff and standing aside for her to see the view.

"It's beautiful…" Rinoa replied, again breathless, though this time it was more due to the sheer beauty of nature in front of her.

She had never seen a sight so natural and exquisite. The cliff to which she stood on had been rounded into a concave formation by a waterfall that was gushing forth crystal blue water. The velocity of the waterfall had created a fair amount of mist that looked almost fog-like from the height at which she stood. From here she could see birds soaring across the blue sky, dotted with white fluffy clouds that just added to the beauty of the scenery. Even the bright yellow sun shone down on the crystal clear water beneath, teasing the water and creating an illusion of gems floating on the top. It was breathtaking no doubt, and had she brought her camera she would have taken a picture. Thankfully, the one she engraved in her mind would last there forever.

"I knew you'd like it," Squall responded with a smirk, stepping up closer to Rinoa and taking in the scene.

"I do Squall, it's so natural and beautiful… I didn't know a place like this could still exist in Centra," Rinoa replied back, her eyes unable to leave the water below.

"Neither did I, but I remembered back to when Laguna was here and wanted to see if the place was still left undeveloped."

"Laguna was here?" the Sorceress asked with curiosity.

Squall nodded; it seemed a little explanation was in order. Kneeling down onto the earth, he patted for Rinoa to sit, before leaning back on his hands.

"When we were on our way to Galbadia Garden, remember you and I had that argument?" he asked, looking at Rinoa for confirmation.

"Oh yeah," she replied, her cheeks going a shade of red as she remembered her little outburst over his apathetic attitude. Damn Squall and his good memory!

"Heh, well, we went into the dream world where Laguna, Kiros and Ward were searching Lunatic Pandora," Squall explained, his eyes moving back over to the view. "I think it was situated somewhere round here at the time, and after they got out, Laguna dragged them here."

Rinoa smiled, turning her gaze back to the waterfall as she rested her own hands on the ground and leaned back. It was very rare when Squall spoke of, or shared any thoughts about his estranged father. But at small moments of their relationship, he'd sometimes share his experience in Laguna's mind. Almost as if somehow it was compensation for the childhood he had missed out on.

"The three of them had gathered here in a battle with a couple of Esthar soldiers. I think Ward and Kiros got hurt pretty bad, Ward losing his voice in the process. There was no other way for them off this cliff," Squall continued, rolling his eyes, "other than Laguna shoving them off before jumping off himself."

"You're kidding!" Rinoa asked in shock, her eyes widening instantly.

No he wasn't kidding. Though Laguna hadn't technically jumped, but more or less fell off in a poor attempt to safely descend into the water. Squall didn't know what was worse; Laguna's weird lack of fear when it came to dangerous situations, or the fact that Ward had to suffer the Cuchi-Cuchi treatment just before he was shoved off.

"I really wish I was," Squall answered with another roll of his eyes. "A boat found them, but they soon got separated. Somehow he wound up in Winhill…"

And with that Squall stopped speaking. Of course she wanted to hear the next part of the story, but in her experience with Squall, she knew their relationship had to be taken in baby steps. He would tell her when he was ready.

"Well, thank you for sharing this with me," she finally spoke, looking at him earnestly. "Having never known Ellone before the mission, I never got to experience the dream world you all speak of… but this comes very close."

"If you want, you could always ask Ellone to send you to the dream world," Squall responded with a smirk. "Give Laguna a chance to experience the Faeries again."

"Haha. No, I think I like reality a lot more. Dreams are nice, but you have to wake up at some point. Here, not only do I get to experience the dream but I get to experience the reality too," she answered determinedly.

"The edge of dreams, huh?"

"What?" Rinoa asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Being at the dream's edge. A dream no doubt, but with a reality at the bottom," Squall replied.

Smiling, Rinoa nodded, clearly liking the parable and romantic prose Squall was coming out with. But a glance in his direction showed her a contrast to how she was feeling. Squall's eyes had grown dark, his forehead creased in contemplation as if he was running through some, no doubt problematic, thought in his mind.

"What is it?"

This time Squall opted to voice his thoughts. "Sometimes the reality of a dream isn't so sweet." He stared into her brown orbs until she acknowledged the meaning behind his words.

Of course it was that. It was a frightening reality for both of them as they floated in space, not a soul in sight, or any form of help. It truly had been Godsent that the Ragnarok hovered before them long enough for them to cling on and get on board.

"Squall, that was unbelievably the scariest moment in my entire life, and I mean, it topped the whole morphing into Adel!" Rinoa remarked with a scoff. "One minute I'm in Galbadia Garden, the next minute I'm completely alone, floating in space with my oxygen tank counting down."

Squall gazed at Rinoa as she shook her head at the memory and cast her eyes down in thought. It was one of those vivid scenes in her head that she could never rid herself of, nor could she ever forget the feeling of complete alienation and distress as she found herself floating in a timeless space, with not a person in sight, or any splinter of hope. It was all she could do but think back to how close she was to losing everything. Her bottom lip suffered great agitation just thinking about it.

"That's not a dream, Squall," she continued as she looked up at him, "those are the edges of nightmares, and I can't thank you enough for saving me from it."

"Hey," Squall moved forward, taking Rinoa's arm and pulling her closer to him into an embrace. The memory was obviously something they'd both rather forget, though the ending had almost compensated for it.

"I'm all right." Rinoa smiled into the hug, allowing her Knight to hold her in place, relieved for knowing that the nightmare that she had faced wouldn't haunt her. Only a year ago and she had been at a dream's edge when she had met him, and now she was living a reality.

Breaking from the hug, Rinoa pushed herself off the ground and looked over the edge of the cliff, slightly nervous of the waterfall below her, but feeling very overwhelmed.

"I can't believe Laguna jumped this," she remarked in astonishment.

"Well, I guess he had no other choice… besides, he can be a little moronic at times." Squall massaged the middle of his forehead; just thinking of the bumbling clown that was his father gave him an instant migraine.

"Well, maybe this cliff top was the edge of his dreams. Had he not jumped, he wouldn't have ended up in Winhill… that's where he met Raine, right?" Rinoa replied smartly.

Squall just gave a commending nod before walking up closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. It was then that an idea popped into his head.

"What do you think went through Laguna's head when he dived down?" he asked, as he rested his head on his wife's shoulder.

"What the hell am I doing?" Rinoa replied with sarcasm.

He couldn't not laugh at that. It really did seem that at times Rinoa would answer in a more Squall-esque manner. Though she loved Laguna for his quirkiness and constantly jovial character, that man truly was insane to jump off a cliff this high.

"I may one day regret saying this, but Laguna can be smart at times. I know that there wasn't any other way for him to get down." Squall paused for a brief second before continuing his analysis. "But being inside his head, I got a surge of euphoria and a rush of exhilaration when he was diving down."

He couldn't forget the feeling, the jump into life and the rush of air within a handful of seconds where he felt as if he was flying on top of the world. Only twice in his life had he ever felt such a rush of ecstasy; though the second time while jumping into space was reality, the first was only felt through a dream. He was in Laguna's head, experiencing emotions Laguna felt. And in that moment, he felt exactly how Laguna felt about life. It was exciting!

"You want to jump off the dream and feel the reality?"

Rinoa spun around in surprise. Squall's voice was one hundred per cent serious, his eyes were showing nothing more than determination, and the small smirk that he occasionally threw at her was plastered across his face. Yes, Squall Leonhart was dead serious about jumping off a cliff top. It seemed that in this instance, genetics were in favour.

"Are you serious?" Rinoa asked, after a good long look at her daredevil Knight.

"You don't want to feel what he felt jumping off? You don't want to be at the edge of his dreams and actually hit the reality at the bottom?" Squall asked, slightly disappointed in Rinoa's lack of enthusiasm, but not at all deterred.

"Squall, I'm pretty sure the reality at the bottom will hurt like hell."

Rinoa let go of Squall and walked right to the edge of cliff, careful of any loose clumps of dirt beneath her. The last thing she wanted was to go head first and land belly flat onto the cold water beneath.

But she found herself increasingly curious and excited at the prospect of doing something spontaneous and finding the reality at the edge of this dream. Sure she couldn't experience the dreams they had all visited. But Squall had brought her here to experience the reality. So why not experience it a little more?

"Let's do it."

"What?" Squall wasn't sure he had heard right. Did she seriously just agree to dive off a cliff top? Hopefully, this was as romantic as they assumed, and they wouldn't be brought back to Garden with their heads split open.

"Let's live off the dream's edge and experience the reality. I want to do this!" Rinoa answered determinedly.

There was only a couple of seconds of hesitation, a moment where they quickly questioned their seriousness, not to mention the severity of the possible consequences, before Squall smirked and began removing his clothes. Rinoa soon followed, her chest heaving with excitement and nervousness. A few minutes later, jeans, t-shirts, belts, boxers and underwear were scattered on the ground as both Sorceress and Knight stood stark naked in front of each other.

"You know Squall, I take back what I said before, coming here was romantic." She smiled at him cheekily, walking up to him and placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I think skinny dipping is a great idea."

How could he not laugh at that? What could be more morbidly funny than being returned to Garden with their heads split open and completely in the nude. But the scene truly was beautiful depending on who was looking at it. Two newlyweds, out on a honeymoon, cos-playing Adam and Eve on an isolated cliff top in Centra. Well, it really was dependant on who was looking at the scene. Otherwise it was just some perverse fantasy of a young couple with impending death awaiting them. However, it was the edge of a dream they were about to live, not a nightmare.

"Ready?" Squall asked Rinoa, as he held her hand and took a step back, momentarily psyching themselves up.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she responded, taking in a huge breath and swallowing the nerves that were increasing at the pit of her stomach.

Finally, in three wide strides, the Sorceress followed her Knight, hand in hand as they leaped off the cliff, feet first in a dive to the bottom. Their arms swaying, breaths caught in their throats as the air attacked them, mind going completely blank as they could only concentrate on the rush of ecstasy bursting inside them, until finally they descended into the clear crystal water with a rocketing splash.

Their hands that were once clenched in a tight hold was broken, in fact they were quite a few meters apart. Squall was the first to reach the water top, his lungs crying out for air, his normally brunet hair matted onto his forehead in dark locks. He spun around in the water looking for Rinoa, until a couple of seconds later she emerged only a few feet away, mimicking his earlier moves and brushing her hair and water away from her face.

"Ha ha!" she cried out in ecstatic relief.

Squall swam over to her, grabbing at her waist once he reached her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They both bobbed on the water, feeling the coolness engulf them, the exhilaration and euphoria still present in their bloodstream.

"That was crazy," Squall commented.

"That was brilliant," Rinoa corrected.

Smiling, he pulled her closer and clamped his lips onto hers. Her hands encircled his neck in a tighter embrace as her legs soon unconsciously wrapped themselves around his waist.

It was definitely the edge of a dream that they had turned into a reality. In that moment, sailing through the air, falling into excitement, they had lived Laguna's dream. For them there were no edges of nightmares, whatever they had faced in the past was all gone. Now for them, everything was a dream without the harsh reality waiting at the bottom.

Sure it had been a crazy thing to do, but again, that was dependant on who was looking at it. He had once jumped into space to save Rinoa, he was called crazy then. That was a nightmare he was willing to undergo, because it meant that he was able to experience this dream with her. No, he was able to experience this reality with her.

Unable to keep afloat, they swam to a much shallower part of the river, just below the waterfall. Lying down on the sandy shallow water, Rinoa held her arms up to Squall, beckoning her Knight, her husband, her soul mate to join her. Squall obeyed without a word, lying on top of her wet body and claiming her lips once again. For once they let their emotions take control; deepening their kiss, they gave into their desires and lived something far better than any dream imaginable.

In that moment, they were just two normal people sharing a very hard journey, who just needed this moment to enjoy the reality at the edge of a dream.

Author Notes: Just want to thank Carie Valentine and Jebus Creiss for beta reading this for me. You both were a great help!

This is just a small one-shot I came up with and decided it didn't really fit into Squinoa Mini's and deserved a place of it's own. It was actually intended to be a flashback scene for Amber Lights, but I just decided to lengthen it and turn it into a oneshot to emphasise on the whole dream sequence of the game and how it affects their reality.

Hope you all enjoyed this :)

-Niqsta

Edit, 7th June 2011 - Jebus Creiss has a continuation of this oneshot titled The Edge of Realities, link can be found in my profile :)