I Love You....
© SamanthaSoul
NOTE:
I have posted this writing here with the permission of the writer! Do not try and copy or take this work without the permission from SamanthaSoul!
"Hey!"
Irvine looked up. With the noon Sun behind her, she looked as if she had a halo.
"Selphie..."
"How ya doin' cowboy?" Selphie chuckled. ‘Cowboy' had always
been a more intimate nickname she had given Irvine.
He gave a soft, lopsided smile and shrugged.
"I'm coping"
Selphie knew him better than that by now, she could tell by the look in his eyes
that he was holding the truth back.
"It's been six months now Irvy, I would have thought that you'd be over
the whole thing - that you would have started to move on..."
Irvine glanced up at Selphie, his wet, toffee eyes shining in the sun. Typical
Selphie, he thought, putting on a front, pretending as if I shouldn't
care...
"Don't be stupid," he muttered, "How could I? How could
I possibly ‘be over it'?" he said, slightly louder this time. Selphie
looked almost guilty,
"I didn't exactly mean that...I just meant that,"she sighed "Well
these things happen Irvine, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about
it."
Irvine knew that she wasn't being insensitive or naive about this, completely
the opposite actually. This was just her outlook on life.
But, as Selphie saw the hurt and fragile look on his handsome face, her tone
softened slightly.
"I.....I miss you," she said sweetly, "so
much....." as she brushed his thick auburn hair from his forehead.
Irvine winced. Those words, they meant so much. He felt as if he had a furnace
deep inside him. It was burning up, he wanted to scream, to shout, to cry!
Anything, to release the pain.
"I feel empty without you Seffie. I want you, I need you
back...please..." he said, feeling tears welling up. He held them back.
Selphie hung her head and smiled,
"You know that I can't."
Irvine held his head in his hands. He rubbed his burning eyes and massaged his
sore temples. He had not slept for six months, and with all these extra missions
he had now been assigned to, he was completely exhausted.
Selphie could easily see this,
"Why don't you go home and get some sleep? You look completely
drained." she commented softly.
Irvine looked up at her again and smiled, almost frustrated by her suggestion.
"No, there's no point, I won't be able to sleep anyway." he
replied solemnly.
"At least rest for a while," she shot back in a slightly more
firm tone, "you're putting your body through too much."
Irvine looked around the field. It was the definition of beautiful. The bright
green luscious grass was scattered with bluebell's and foxgloves which seemed to
dance in the wind. Under the big oak tree, which was their ‘special place',
was a finely crafted pine bench which Zell had made them as a one year
anniversary gift.
Irvine stood up from the bench, lifting his cap, letting the breeze fly through
his hair.
"I want to stay here a little while longer.."
Selphie's big emerald eyes looked upwards towards him. He really was so
handsome. She wanted to reach out to kiss him, even embrace him....but she
couldn't. She wanted to so much that it hurt.
"I have to go soon" she said gently, letting her thought slip
away.
"No....." Irvine wined almost desperately, "please,
don't go..."
"I have to. I'll be back as soon as I can though" she said in a
promising voice. She stood to leave, and turned to smile softly at him. She
continued to walk.
"Selphie, wait!" shouted Irvine.
Selphie turned back around again, big green eyes looking straight at him.
Irvine looked nervous. He stumbled,
"I.......I love you!"
Selphie was not startled, but pleasantly shocked. Irvine had never told her
this. She knew that he cared but never this much. She looked at him silently and
she saw his big brown eyes well up. She started to walk back towards him. The
furnace inside of Irvine exploded. He dropped down to his knees in front of
Selphie, pounding the ground with his clenched fist. Selphie looked down at him.
"I love you........." he sobbed, "I should have told
you earlier, and I'm sorry!"
Selphie knelt down with him.
"It's alright......shhhhhhh..." she said, so quietly that it
was almost silent.
"I should have told you before......." he continued. He sat up
breathing heavily, crying the last tears he possibly could.
After a few seconds pause, Selphie lifted Irvine's face and their eyes met.
"I love you too Irvine," she said, her own eyes starting to
fill with tears, "I always have, and I'm gonna miss you just as much as
you say you'll miss me," she paused and smiled gently again, "I'm
sorry......but I have to go."
Irvine looked back at her,
"You're not coming back this time, are you?" he asked, fearing
the worst.
Selphie looked towards the ground and shook her head gently,
".......no........." she moistened her lips and continued, "I
can't....not now, it would be too hard."
Irvine, rested his arm on his knee, and put his forehead in his palm.
"I thought so," he started, "but your right....."
"I'll see you again," Selphie murmured, "......one
day."
Irvine kept his head down,
"I love you Selphie" he said again, squeezing his eyes to hold
back even more tears. He felt Selphie's lips kiss the top of his head lightly as
she said,
"And, I love you Irvine Kinneas..........goodbye............"
Irvine, keeping his head down, heard her stand up, and walk quietly away, the
sound of her boots flattening the grass below her, and
then............silence...........
Shortly after, Irvine looked up. The ‘special place' looked more wondrous than
ever. He slowly stood up and walked back over to the tree. He leant against it
and sighed.
From the distance he saw Rinoa walking towards him from the gap in the forest's
trees.
Rinoa was the only person he could talk to about things like this. Even Quistis,
although understanding, was far too logical in these situations.
"Hi Irvine!" Rinoa said cheerfully as she came closer.
Irvine struggled a smile. Although it was sometimes difficult, he did enjoy
their little talks.
Rinoa could now clearly see that Irvine was upset, and had probably been crying.
She stood close to him and asked quietly,
"Did you see her again?" she looked at him, friendly, trusting
eyes waiting for a response. Irvine nodded gently.
"What did you talk about?" she asked, waiting patiently for
Irvine to tell her something.
"I told her........" He began. He clenched his jaw together and
swallowed down the lump in his throat that was preventing him from talking. He
continued,
"I told her, that I loved her..............she's not coming
back........" he finished, his eyes starting to heat up again.
Rinoa looked at him sympathetically, and drew him in close to her.
A single tear rolled from Irvine's big brown eye, onto Rinoa's shoulder and fell
silently onto the plaque below....
Selphie Tillmit
Aged 22
Died heroically in action.
She will be greatly missed by all those who
knew, adored and loved her.
