Disclaimer:Don't own FF8, never did. But I own this fic! (grins)

What Makes A Man

This isn't goodbye
even as I watch you leave
this isn't goodbye
I swear I won't cry
even as tears fill my eyes
I swear I won't cry

He watches her leave. She walks resolutely on, never looking back. And he knows, she's just trying to be strong. He's afraid, too. Afraid of the tears that might be in those dark eyes, if she turned her head. The tears that would haunt him all his life. He didn't want her to go, but she made the decision. She would be a sacrifice for the greater sake of the world.

Any other girl, I'd let you walk away
Any other girl, I'm sure I'd be ok

Squall couldn't think anymore. His head and his heart weren't talking to each other. Nothing made sense, not what he did nor what he really wanted to do. This sudden rush of emotion was more than his senses could bear. He didn't want to have to feel. No, not this way. Losing a loved one, again. All those years spent trying to block out the past couldn't stop those old emotions from overwhelming him. He needed to sit down. Fast.

Tell me what makes a man
Wanna give you all his heart
Smile when you're around
And cry when you're apart
If you know what makes a man
Wanna love you the way I do
Girl you gotta let me know
So I can get over you

"You're a fool!" In her blue eyes he saw so much fury, so much feeling. He wasn't expecting that from his former instructor. And as always, she was right. He would be making a mistake. For the first time he found he didn't have to think about what he was going to do, he knew what he wanted and what he would do. He was going, no, they were all going to go get her back.

What makes her so right?
Is it the sound of her laugh?
That look in her eyes
When do you decide?
She is the dream that you seek
That force in your life

As she followed him out of the Ragnarok, Quistis smiled to herself. So he's figured out, you can't always make it on your own. Part of her wanted to laugh, yet deep inside her heart mourned the loss of a shell she could never break and a love that was never hers to have. I wanted to open your eyes, Squall. But she could go places I couldn't. Quistis sighed. She liked Rinoa, though the girl could get on her nerves at times, so brash, so head- strong, so much like a spoiled little girl. One used to always getting her own way. And now you've got him, Rinoa. Quistis was past being bitter. She had resigned herself to the fact that Rinoa had something that appealed more to Squall. Perhaps it was that childishness in her that attracted the child in him, the child who had been forced to grow up too fast. The child was now a man, who had found his reason for living and doing.

When you apologize, no matter who was wrong
When you get on your knees if that would bring her home

He was holding her, breathing in her every scent. It was, like air, something you didn't value until you were deprived of it. And he wouldn't let anyone take it, her away. He would do what it takes, he had the power now to keep her by his side. He wasn't helpless this time. He was no longer just a mercenary, content to follow orders. "I know what I want and I have to do." This was what he wanted. He wanted to keep her as close to him as long as he could, even if it meant forgetting who he used to be and what he once thought he believed.

Tell me what makes a man
Wanna give you all his heart
Smile when you're around
And cry when you're apart
If you know what makes a man
Wanna love you the way I do
Girl you gotta let me know

So that I can get over you

The stars never looked so beautiful as that night. The night he had wanted to kiss her so bad. Her beautiful black hair, swinging along as she walked along Obel Lake. Her eyes so bright, her smile burning its radiance into his soul. Now, as he sat on the pier, he could almost hear her laughter drift along with the breeze.

"You'll do just fine, Seifer." She had so much confidence in him, she made him believe he could do anything. When he failed the SeeD test another time, he couldn't bear to tell her. It didn't matter what anyone else said because what mattered was that he remained her hero. There was a time when all that mattered was her, when she seemed to be the only thing that could take the place of romantic dreams that seemed to fade everytime he pictured her face.

She was gone now. All he had were clear memories of a brilliant summer. Long talks, moonlit walks. Hazier, darker images of betrayal danced in his head as well. One act of heartlessness, which had probably destroyed all her faith in him. If he knew Rinoa, he knew she would forgive him. But forgetting would be harder. "I'm sorry, Rinoa." Seifer whispered to the wind, only wishing it could take his regrets to her ears.

Other girls will come along
they always do
But what's the point when
all I ever want is you

Fuujin watched her fallen warrior as he gazed up at the night sky. I know who he's thinking about, she sighed. "Fuuj?" "Hmm?" Patting the empty space beside him, Seifer called her over. "Wanna sit down?" Fuujin answered, "AFFIRMA..NO, OK!". Her warrior smiled. Not his usual arrogant smirk, but a sad little half-smile. She missed the smirk. It had reminded her of his old confident demeanor. The "Hey, World, Show Me What You've Got!" demeanor. But as he pulled her down to sit with him, she decided, change could be a good thing. A very good thing.

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