Author's Note: And so it ends. ;; I have a strong feeling that this is going to be the last piece of FF8 fanfiction I do for a while. I don't want to say ever, because that will make me cry and I don't want to cry, but with life going the way it's going, it's time to move on. It's time to focus on my career as I want it to be in the future, and that means becoming more directly involved in my classes and writing for those. But you may see more from me, you never know. I love writing too much to say this is the end. Wish me luck, you may see me editing for your newspaper or favorite novel someday:) Thanks for reading, all. I love you guys so much!

Emersion
Epilogue

Eight months later

There was nothing but smiles to be found in the crowd assembled at Trabia Garden. The remodel was finished, and Rinoa only wished Selphie could have been there to see it. as promised, there was a special area for the Garden Festival, along with a bigger auditorium and larger classrooms. A memorial for every student lost had been built in the back as well, but Rinoa, Squall, Zell, Irvine and Quistis stood in the middle of campus near the fountain. Rinoa had delighted in showing Squall every single part of the new Trabia Garden, and he had unenthusiastically played along. Now they stood hand-in-hand among their friends, ready to officially declare the Garden open.

Looking over at Squall, Rinoa grinned. Even after all the time that had passed since they'd found each other again, simply having him by her side made her smile. He noticed her stare after a moment and looked over. "What?" he said flatly.

"Nothing," she answered, still beaming. "Just happy, that's all. I'm glad you're here to see this with me, Squall."

He made a small noise of agreement and turned his gaze forward, but Rinoa could see a small smile forming on his lips. That was enough for her to know that he felt the same way. The crowds started to form around them, and happy chatter suddenly surrounded Rinoa on all sides. Irvine began to walk toward the front of the crowd, and Rinoa squeezed Squall's hand, leaning into him a little.

"Howdy, everyone!" Irvine shouted over the noise, attempting to bring their attention to him. The murmuring quieted, slowly moving to silence, and Irvine continued. "I'd like to thank y'all for coming. It means a lot to me and my friends over there. You all probably know of Selphie Tilmett, which means you know she's the reason we wanted to help. This woulda made her so happy."

Rinoa felt many pairs of eyes turn toward her and her friends, but she kept her gaze on Irvine. "It's taken a long time and a lot of work, but this Garden is finally ready to open. Thanks to everyone who helped us achieve this goal. This Garden is dedicated to everyone lost along the way."

Irvine bowed his head and placed his hat over his heart, letting a moment of silence pass over the crowd. When his head came back up, a smile reappeared on his face and he announced more cheerfully, "All right, that's it! Fully restored and ready for anything, this is Trabia Garden!"

Cheers and applause exploded from the audience, including Rinoa. Many students started toward the main building, and Irvine dropped back to join them. Rinoa let go of Squall's hand and ran over to hug Irvine, congratulating him excitedly.

"You helped, too!" he reminded her, still smiling. "This is everybody's accomplishment."

"It all looks amazing, Irvine," Quistis remarked, standing next to Zell, who heartily agreed. "You did a great job."

Irvine nodded and thanked them, then turned to Squall to receive subsequent approval. In response to the silent question, Squall nodded and said, "I wish I could've been around to help."

"We do, too," Irvine said quietly. A beat of silence passed before he added, "You guys should go have a look around. We can meet up later, right? Go check everything out."

"I think we will," Rinoa chimed in, looping her arm through Squall's and looking up at him. "See you guys later?"

They split off, and Rinoa was glad to have some time alone with Squall. Knowing just what she wanted to see first, Rinoa led Squall toward the back of Garden. "Pretty cool, isn't it?" she prompted, nudging him playfully. "Almost as advanced as Balamb now."

Squall shrugged. "Not quite, but it is well-built."

Rolling her eyes but keeping a smile, Rinoa sighed. "So hard to impress," she commented, her tone playfully defeated. They neared the spot she was leading them to, and Rinoa quickened her pace. "But you have to get excited about this," she told Squall. "I'll be mad if you don't."

"Where are we going?" Squall pushed impatiently, looking unhappy about being pulled around this way. "Just tell me."

"No way, it's a surprise!" Rinoa argued. "Now close your eyes."

"No."

"Yes! Come on, don't be such a grump!"

He reluctantly obeyed, and Rinoa walked them around the corner. Giggling quietly to herself, she moved Squall where she wanted him and stepped back. "Okay," she said, "open!"

Squall opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of the basketball court, which had new, shiny blacktop but the same stands and hoops on both sides. Squall's gaze softened a little as he looked it over, and Rinoa knew his mind was going back to the day they'd come out here before fighting Edea, when they all realized their connecting pasts. Everyone except Rinoa, of course, who felt a special tie to this spot for different reasons.

"This is kind of the last place we were all together before everything went wrong," Rinoa said nostalgically as she looked around. "At least, it's the last place I remember. I kept wishing we could've stayed here longer, so nobody would have to fight and everyone would be safe."

Nodding slowly, Squall answered quietly, "I remember. You didn't want to fight."

"Right, and you explained that we didn't really have an option. It was interesting, because I felt like we really understood each other for the first time that day, you know? It made me really happy."

While she was talking, Rinoa had moved in front of Squall again and was now looking up at him fondly. His eyes met hers, but he didn't say anything in return. "But that was nothing compared to how happy I am now," she told him as her arms encircled his waist. "What about you?" she asked. "Are you happy?"

Squall wrapped his arms around Rinoa in return, and murmured, "How could I not be?"

She smiled slightly and shrugged. "Sometimes I just wonder, that's all," Rinoa explained. "Even though it's been a while, I still like to make sure you feel like you made the right choice by coming back. I mean, after you told me what really happened between you and Lon that night, sometimes I wonder if you think you would've been better off staying with them."

"Hey, listen," Squall said firmly, shaking his head and pulling Rinoa back to look at her. "I know I made the right choice. I don't ever doubt that, and you shouldn't either, okay?"

Rinoa nodded after a moment, feeling slightly abashed. "Okay, I won't. I'm sorry."

He squeezed her again reassuringly, rubbing a hand in circles on her back. "Don't apologize," he said more gently. "Come on, let's get back to the others. We should get back to our own garden."

---

Rinoa stepped off of the elevator and headed toward Squall's office with growing suspicion. Since his reinstatement as commander, Squall had never done anything even close to this. Always, if he wanted to talk to her, he simply found her himself. What could this be about?

She reached the door and knocked a few times, then entered upon confirmation from within the room. Rinoa peeked her head around the corner and smiled when she saw Squall. "Hey," she greeted. "You paged me, right? I didn't just imagine that?"

Squall rose from his desk and started toward her, dropping a pen on some paperwork as he went. "No, you didn't imagine it," he told her. "You're right on time, I just finished up."

Rinoa's brow furrowed. "On time for what? What are you planning?"

"You'll see," Squall replied shortly, opening the door and standing beside it. "Come on, let's go."

"Go where? Squall, this is too weird. What's going on?"

His expression gave away nothing, and he simply motioned out the door. Rinoa reluctantly complied, heaving a sight and walking through, but the questions didn't stop. She continued to pester Squall with inquiries while he drove to their destination, but he didn't lose his calm demeanor, which was even more frustrating for Rinoa.

Finally, Squall parked the car and Rinoa looked around excitedly. Her expression fell quickly back to puzzlement, however, when she saw nothing unusual about their surroundings. Squall had parked on the outskirts of Balamb in front of a quaint house Rinoa had never seen before, close to the ocean. Though the view was beautiful, she still didn't understand. She got out of the car and looked out across the horizon.

"The beach…?" Rinoa started, beginning to sound irritated. "Squall, what is this? You're driving me crazy!"

Squall moved around to her side of the car and slipped something into Rinoa's hand. Something cold and hard, with an odd shape. Opening her hand and looking down at it, Rinoa instantly looked back up at Squall. "A key?"

"Go inside," Squall instructed, nodding his head toward the house just a few yards from where they stood. "It's ours."

Rinoa's expression froze. For a moment, she didn't move, but a nervous laugh escaped her throat a few seconds later. "Sorry, I think I heard you wrong. Whose home is this?"

Squall smiled softly. "It's ours, Rinoa."

It wasn't a joke. He wasn't playing tricks on her. He was serious…he'd bought them a house. Her gaze slowly moved to look at it, and Rinoa felt a swelling of happiness in her chest. It was beautiful. It wasn't too small or large, painted in soft blues, and Rinoa could see a back porch that was built directly over the water. It was perfect.

"But...how…?" she managed, feeling a lump in her throat start to form.

"I made a lot of money in Deling City that I never used," Squall explained matter-of-factly. "I thought it was time to leave the dorms. Headmaster Cid told me we can still function as SeeDs, and we can see everyone else any time we want."

Rinoa's stare was still locked on he house, and she shook her head when Squall finished. "It's too much, Squall. This is all just…so sudden."

Squall's look of amusement shifted to concern. "You don't want to?"

"No, I do!" she replied quickly, moving her eyes to him. "I'd love nothing more. I just…I don't want you to do this just because of what I said the other day at Trabia. I don't want that o have pushed you into--"

Squall moved forward, taking Rinoa's hand in his and looking directly at her. "That's not why I did this," he cut her off. "I've been planning all of this for weeks now. I did this because I want to be with you. Away from Garden."

A smile she couldn't fight was spreading across Rinoa's face. "Really?" she said happily, holding back the tears of joy forming in her eyes.

"Really."

Taking in a deep breath, Rinoa said, "Okay," in a soft voice that grew when she finished, "okay, we'll do it! You and me, away from Garden. Let's do it!"

Squall smiled more fully now, and he swooped her up in an embrace and setting her back down while she laughed. He kissed her soundly an assured her, "You won't regret it."

Rinoa nodded, fully believing that those words were true. "I know," she told Squall, quoting his words as she kissed him in return. "I know I made the right choice."