Author's Note: Well…here it is…the final chapter…I hope you enjoyed my story. For the final time, please forgive me for rushing. I don't have much time to use the computer. No individual thanks this time. The thank you is at the bottom.

Chapter Thirty

                "Ow!" Rinoa said as the brush bristles scratched her scalp. She reached up to rub the sore spot. "Quistis! That hurt, you know?"

                "Sorry, Rinoa," Quistis apologized. "I was just…uh…a little preoccupied."

                Rinoa sighed. "It's alright…but what exactly are you thinking of? I mean, you've been like this since…since I'm not even sure anymore."

                Quistis shrugged a little. "Never mind. Now give us your happy, wedding smile." Rinoa smiled and Quistis sighed. "I wonder when I'll be married…never is probably the answer, huh?" she said softly.

                Rinoa laughed. "Don't worry; there'll be someone out there." Quistis finished brushing Rinoa's hair and Selphie came in with the veil and the bouquet of flowers in hand.

                "Here, Rinny," she said, handing Rinoa the flowers. Quistis took the veil and carefully placed it on Rinoa, fixing the flowers that adorned it. "How pretty you look!" Selphie exclaimed happily. "I can't wait for my own wedding!"

                "Has he even asked you yet?" Quistis asked, referring to Irvine. "He doesn't seem like the one-girl-for-life type of guy. If you know what I mean."

                Rinoa nodded and Selphie frowned. "He will!" she said. "Someday…"

                "I need to go to the bathroom," Rinoa said suddenly.

                Quistis and Selphie rolled their eyes. "Got the jitters so suddenly?" they asked.

                "Yes," she replied. "I won't mess up anything, promise."

                "I'm not helping you fix your makeup anymore…or your dress…or anything for that matter…we've been working on you for hours," Quistis said.

                Rinoa smiled and went to the bathroom, Quistis and Selphie looking at her, half-smiles on their faces. "If only Squall could see her now, huh?" said Selphie, to which Quistis nodded.

                Rinoa held back the urge to splash cold water on her face as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was trembling out of nervousness but she knew there was really nothing she could do about it. She breathed deeply and said to herself, "Okay, Rinoa, it's just a wedding. So what if it's your wedding? It's gonna be okay…" Shaking her head she went back to Quistis and Selphie who smiled at her and nodded.

                "Out!" Squall yelled at Irvine and Zell. "I don't want to hear anything from the two of you anymore! Get out!"

                Irvine raised an eyebrow at him. "Stop being so angry, Squall. This is supposed to be a happy day, remember!"

                Zell was punching at the air as he said, "Just…I don't know relax. And if you can't take it anymore, it's a simple matter of…mentally blocking out everything. Get me?"

                Irvine straightened Squall's tie and looked him over. "You know, I'm not used to seeing you in such clothes. But…you look pretty good in a coat and tie."

                "Whatever," Squall said, turning away from them and walking towards the door. "If you're not going out of the room then I am."

                Before Rinoa knew it, she was standing in front of the door of the church, ready to walk down the aisle. Her breathing had relaxed considerably, but her heart was beating so hard, it almost seemed to want to jump out of her chest.

                She placed her hand over her heart and breathed deeply. Then, holding the flowers with both hands once more, she walked into the church, forcing a smile onto her face. Surprisingly, she found Squall seated at the last row, alone. She directed her gaze and smile at him for a moment, showing him her gratitude that he was there.

                But a great sadness overwhelmed her and she felt tears well in her eyes. 'No, don't cry now…' she thought. 'You'll handle it…you just have to say you don't want to get married. It won't be that hard…'

                Looking straight ahead, she saw Seifer standing smugly waiting for her. Rinoa stopped the frown from forming on her face. 'Later…' she thought. But deep down she could feel nothing but hesitation and uncertainty. She became furious with herself and began shaking at she stood beside Seifer.

                Her thoughts were swimming terribly quickly in her mind and she could hardly hear what the priest was saying. Everything was a blur around her. The priest was saying something about anyone objecting to the wedding but Rinoa didn't care to listen, until gasps filled the church and she heard a soft but deep voice call her name, "Rinoa…"

                She turned around and saw Squall standing and looking at her. The silent message that passed between them was unknown to all others in the church but to Rinoa it was as clear as thought he had shouted it aloud. "I love you."

                He went outside and Rinoa had to force her gaze back in front of her and the priest went on. Even more thoughts grappled with each other in her mind. She must wait for the moment she could tell Seifer. She thought back on the last few days. Seifer seemed to be stalling for something, refusing to have talks with her, refusing to listen to her.

                She remembered him making up excuses or saying that he had things to do. And she remembered him avoiding her or getting Raijin and Fujin to make her preoccupied. Did he know, she wondered? Did he know that she didn't love him anymore? Did he know that she didn't want to be with him? Was that why?

                Rinoa shook her head a little, catching Seifer's attention. He looked at her and saw her eyes brimming with tears, fighting hard to keep them from falling. 'If you love her, let her be with the one she loves, even if that man isn't you,' he thought, remember what Fujin said. No matter how much he wanted to be with her…what was the selfless thing to do? Here she was, marrying him, most likely because she found it hard to blurt out that she didn't love him for fear that she might hurt his feelings.

                He sighed softly and the numerous thoughts passed in his mind. He has been nothing but selfish…wasn't it time to start doing something that would make someone else happy? He glanced at her again and she had such a dazed look, he wondered if she was mentally blocking out everything around her.

                Suddenly, he realized that the wedding had been moving smoothly and neither he nor Rinoa was even fully aware of what was going on. When he snapped out of his reverie, the priest was addressing him. The priest's words were a blur to him as they were to Rinoa. It took him a moment to comprehend what he was being asked: if he would take Rinoa as his wife.

                She was trembling so hard he was sure he couldn't have been the only one who noticed. He scratched the back of his head and said firmly, "I don't."

                Rinoa faced him, feeling…what? Relief? He turned to her and clasped her hands in his. "I love you," he said. "You know that. Don't you?" He sighed deeply. "And…well, I know how you feel, too. I know now that I'm not the one for you. So…go. Just go. I'll take care of everything."

                She smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you," she managed to choke out as her tears fell from her eyes. He raised her veil and kissed her forehead and with that she ran outside the church. She didn't care about anything except looking for Squall and, well, just finding Squall at that moment was enough.

                However, as she went out of the church, she saw him, standing a short distance away, his coat on his arm and looking at his watch. He lifted his gaze slowly and his eyes fell on hers. He opened his arms to her and she ran to him, wrapping him an embrace as she cried. "I'm sorry…" she said. "I'm so sorry…but I promise from now on this won't ever happen again…I won't---"

                "Hush," he said, pressing a finger to her lips. Silence passed between them and he kissed her deeply and lovingly. When he let go, he smirked, asking, "What took you so long?"

The End

Thanks: I want to, you know, thank you all for reading the story. This is the first ever story I managed to complete and I owe it to you. You've really been the only motivation for me to finish writing this story. I know that this sounds a little much, but as you've read the story, you probably know I have a dramatic side to me. So, you know, if you go read another story, review it, whether bad or good. It means a lot to the author, believe me. Thanks for reviewing.

And, even to those who don't review and are reading this story, you still have my thanks. After all, I am taking part of your time. I hope you liked the story, though I guess I won't know since you never commented on it. You know, if there are readers who don't review, I would have been very glad to know what you thought of my story, had you reviewed. Thanks for reading.

Hey, now that it's over, well, I guess I'm gonna miss writing this, huh? I had a sequel up my sleeve…but I had a feeling it wouldn't work…so, this is it. It was a pleasure writing for you guys!