fandomtownies | Chilly Boulder, Saturday Afternoon

Visiting guests -- even parents -- were not allowed inside the dorms. It would seem Rinoa was going to try to wait him out. Admittedly, it was a sound strategy tactically. There was little he could do.

He had been walking the streets and considering alternatives when he spied a familiar boy sitting in the ice cream shop. A SeeD. One he had sent on the Edea mission, in fact.

There had been rumors that he was, in some manner, attached to Rinoa; seeing him here led General Caraway to credit the truth in them.

He entered the shop, clearing his throat and pausing next to the boy's table.

"Forgive me," he said. "It's Squall, isn't it?"

Squall stood up and came to attention. "General Caraway!"

He almost asked what the man was doing in Fandom, but realized in time that it would have been a stupid question.

Parents' Weekend

Squall respected him, but Rinoa hated him for whatever reason, which meant that he wasn't welcome here. It was probably best to start with the diplomatic approach, though. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"At ease," Fury said, nodding once at the boy. "I didn't advertise my arrival. I feared it would not be met well."

Since Rinoa was avoiding him, that much seemed to be legitimate.

"May I be permitted to impose upon you?" he asked. "Only for a few minutes of your time."

Squall flopped back down in his chair and shrugged. "Sure, but it's not gonna help. She doesn't want to see you."

He only really put two and two together and came to the conclusion that Rinoa was avoiding her father because he was contemplating doing the same thing... but it was still an impressive leap of logic for him.

...Maybe if Caraway was still here when Laguna showed, he wouldn't have to talk to the man.

Fury waved a hand easily as he took the seat opposite Squall.

"I realize that," he said. "That wasn't my request, I assure you."

Asking someone to ask Rinoa to meet with him was only going to end badly. She would dig her heels in. He was well-versed in how his daughter functioned; the difficulty was in knowing how to react in order to not cause such turbulence.

"There are reports that my daughter is now a Sorceress," he said, watching the boy's face for a reaction. Rinoa herself had confirmed it, but only indirectly. And how the SeeD reacted to the information would tell him a great deal.

"She's not a threat," Squall immediately shot back. Last time the general had met with him, it was to hire SeeD to assassinate a Sorceress. He'd BETTER not have any similar plans for Rinoa.

"I don't much care if she is a threat," General Caraway said bluntly. "That isn't why I'm here."

That Sorceress had murdered the President and thrown herself a parade. Rinoa hadn't done anything, and more importantly, she was his daughter.

Which did leave the unfortunate (but very true) implication that Fury would be willing to overlook it if Rinoa murdered several Presidents and made a habit out of parades. He would be displeased, certainly, but no one was going to assassinate his only child while he drew breath.

She was so much like her mother, at times. Julia would have known what to do.

"To be perfectly frank, I'm not afraid of Rinoa. I'm scared for her."

Luckily for Caraway, Squall felt the same way. Even if Rinoa turned against the world, he would be her Knight.

Maybe he and Seifer weren't so different, after all.

"Rinoa can handle herself," Squall reassured her father. "And when she can't, I'll protect her. I've sworn to." Anyone who wanted to hurt Rinoa would have to go through him, first.

"Good," General Caraway said. "I had heard that there was a SeeD protecting her. I wasn't certain of the authenticity of that rumor, or what the situation influencing it was. Am I to understand that you are her Knight?"

A trained military operative, willing to protect Rinoa with his life. Fury could hardly have asked for a better reassurance.

Squall nodded once, sharply. "Yes. I will keep her safe."

He'd follow her to the ends of the earth. He'd do everything in his power for her. But NOT date her, because... well, he had his reasons.

Fury exhaled a breath that he had not known he was holding.

Squall would keep Rinoa safe. He would do his best to trust. There was little else he could do.

"Thank you," he said simply.

Squall shrugged. "Whatever. I'm not doing it for you."

He was doing it because he couldn't not.

"I wasn't under the misapprehension that you were," he said calmly.

He still owed this boy a great deal of gratitude, nonetheless.

He might have elaborated further, if not for the sudden arrival (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomtownies/5486416.html?thread=213598800#t213598800) of a third party.

Laguna was early, too. Should he have brought something? A present, for his son? But he didn't know what to get a teenage boy who he'd never met before. Especially not one that hated him.

When he entered the ice cream shop, he noticed three things. One, Squall was here! He'd been scared the boy wouldn't show up.

Two, Squall was here early! That must mean that he really did want to talk to him!

And three, he seemed to be talking to General Caraway?

"Sir," Laguna said, standing at attention to give a proper salute. And then turning to smile at his boy.

The general turned and looked at the newcomer, a bit confused. Forgive him for not recognizing an underling he'd thought died twenty years ago. "I'm sorry, you seem to have the advantage of me. Do I know you, Mister...?" He raised an eyebrow, hoping the man would fill in the missing name. There was something familiar about him, though...

"Loire," he said, holding out a hand. "Laguna Loire. It's been a long time."

He didn't mind. He had only been one of many underlings, but General Caraway had been highly respected by his men.

He left off 'President.' It would sound like bragging.

Fury shook the man's hand thoughtfully. Sergeant Loire, the man whose death had broken Julia's heart. "A very long time," he agreed. "And you seem to be in much better health than I'd been lead to believe. This is definitely a surprise."

It certainly looked like Loire, now that he was examining the man closely. Caraway was on his guard, not yet sure what to make of the situation.

Laguna nodded. "I heard we had been reported dead, sir," he explained. "I'm not surprised. We were injured in the line of duty, and only barely escaped. By the time I recovered, months had gone by, and ..."

He shrugged. It had seemed awkward to announce his presence to the world then. Especially considering what he had heard of Julia. Better to let her forget him, and be happy in her new life. Showing up again would only have complicated matters.

And, well, he had met Raine.

"I heard of your marriage," he said, figuring that was the most delicate way to raise the subject of the woman in question. "I wanted to offer my congratulations."

He hoped the General didn't think he was trying to steal away a woman he'd once loved. It had been a very long time. It would be nice to see Julia again, just as old friends. But the General was a good man. They were probably quite happy, and he was happy for her.

...He didn't know. Where had he been the last ten year, Esthar? The entire world had mourned the loss of the famous singer Julia.

"There was a car crash," he informed Laguna, slowly, sadly. "Years ago. Our daughter is all I have left, now." The whole world had loved Julia, but only he and this man had had the honor of having her love in return. It wasn't fair that he should find out like this.

Caraway then looked over at Squall with a raised eyebrow. He hoped the SeeD understood the importance of what he'd just said, and the depth of his feelings.

Ha. Funny thing, about that ...

Laguna rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. It seemed wrong that Julia shouldn't be alive. She was vibrant and passionate. One accident, and all that ended.

"I'm very sorry, sir," he said, bowing solemnly. "My own wife passed a number of years ago. I wish I wasn't familiar with that particular loss."

And a quick glance at Squall. Wife. He and Raine had been married. He didn't think that Laguna had abandoned Raine, did he?

Well, yes, actually, he did. "How could you be familiar with it?" Squall grumbled. "You weren't there."

Caraway looked from Laguna to Squall and back again. A family squabble? How intriguing. It would probably be best if he didn't interrupt it, though. "I think perhaps I should be going. Mr. Loire? We have much to talk about, if you'd like to. You know where to find me."

"It would be my pleasure," said Laguna, shaking the man's hand and nodding his appreciation. He'd want to know more of Julia, for one. And perhaps meet this daughter the General had mentioned.

Laguna did not realize how complicated his life was going to be, no.

He took a seat at the table, face slipping into a disturbed frown. "Squall, I ... I didn't run out on your mother."

That seemed useful to put first.

Squall sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know. You went to rescue Ellone." That wasn't the part he had an issue with. In fact, if Laguna HADN'T gone to rescue Ellone, he'd have much less respect for the man. "But you never came back."

He'd found Ellone, and rescued her, and sent her back home to Winhill. But HE stayed away. If the moron was going to offer excuses instead of apologies, this conversation was pointless.

They were jumping straight to the most painful parts of this conversation. Old wounds that never healed. But if anyone had the right to hear it, it was this boy in front of him.

His ... his son.

"I found Ellone," he said. "But Esthar was in ruins. I sent her home. I told her to tell Raine that I'd be home, soon. They wanted me to stay for a bit, to make sure everything got set on its feet. Ellone would be safe. A few weeks later, I received the news. That Raine was ...... gone."

"And even then you didn't come back! You didn't even bother to leave Esthar, did you? You wanted to be a hero, not a father."

Laguna flinched. This was what his son thought of him???

"No one told me!" he insisted. "Raine died, they said, and no one thought to add two little words, in childbirth!"

He didn't honestly know how long he had been gone. Months, but not how many. Had she known she was pregnant, then, and not told him, not wanting to worry him? Had she found out only after he left?

How could no one tell him he had a son until that son was seventeen years old?!

"How did you think she died?!" Squall shouted back. "Did you know? Did you care?" He shook his head in disgust. "Did you ever visit her grave?"

No, of course not. The man had been busy doing... whatever he was doing in Esthar. A thought struck him, too -- a painful one, and a rare instance of Squall thinking about the feelings of someone other than himself. "What about Ellone? Even if you didn't know about me, you can't deny you abandoned her."

The worst part of this wasn't the ache he had, thinking of Raine, or being confronted with all these painful details from his past.

It was that this boy had every right in the world to hate him, and probably did. His son. One he hadn't ever held, or taught to fish -- did Squall like fishing? Laguna didn't, but he could learn to like it, if Squall did?

He stared at the tabletop, then closed his eyes. "I sent Ellone home," he repeated. "I said I'd be there soon. The next I heard was a letter from one of those ... awful people who lived in town. Raine had died, suddenly. Esthar was sealed off. By the time I got that letter, I had already missed her funeral. I wrote back, asking if Elle could come live with her Uncle Laguna, but they said Elle was taken care of. I thought she had family. I figured it was better for her to be with them than stuck with me."

Ellone hadn't been his child. She hadn't been Raine's, either. Raine had taken her in when her parents were killed, and so Laguna had adopted her, in his way, when he had married Raine. But the marriage had been a secret. The townspeople probably assumed he had left town because she was pregnant.

"She didn't have family," Squall told him. "Neither did I. We grew up in an orphanage." A very good orphanage, run by a nurturing, affectionate Matron, but an orphanage nonetheless.

"And you didn't care enough to come back."

"I thought she was taken care of," Laguna insisted. "It was hard for me. Elle had a new home, and Raine was gone. So I threw myself into my work."

No, he hadn't ever seen his wife's grave. He couldn't bring himself to go. The Esthar restrictions just made for a convenient cover.

An orphanage. Little Elle and Squall, his son, had gone to an orphanage. He wanted to find the person responsible and hurt them.

If he really wanted to find the person responsible, he could try looking in a mirror.

"That's just an excuse," Squall stated. "Unless you have more than that, there's not really a point to talking more." If he really wanted to... whatever, an apology would be nice.

It shouldn't be this hard. Why was it? This boy viewed him like he was an enemy.

"What more do you want me to have?" Laguna asked softly. "I can't take it back. I wish I could. I can't go back and fix every mistake I made. I asked Ellone. She said the past doesn't change; only we do. I asked."

He was an enemy. Everyone who abandoned Squall was in some respects an enemy. Hell, every other person was kind of an enemy.

"You haven't said that you're sorry," Squall told him combatively. "You haven't bothered thinking about how I feel about all of this. Because you don't care."

He shook his head and shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't need a father. I can make it on my own."

There was a long moment of stunned silence from Laguna, before he pushed himself out of his chair, moving instead to kneel on the ground next to Squall's.

"Of course I'm sorry," he said, eyes wide. "I can't say it enough. I'm sorry, Squall. Of course I care how you feel. You're my son. You may think you don't need me, but I need you. You're part of me."

A sullen boy with Raine's eyes, telling him just how selfish he'd been all these years. He couldn't imagine a worse torture.

Squall... didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't know how he felt about it. And part of him wanted a father -- he just wasn't sure he wanted it to be this man.

He settled for grasping at the one thing that he could respond to dispassionately, because it was safer that way. "You don't need me," he said. "You want me around, but you don't need me. We don't need other people."

"Yes, we do," Laguna said calmly. "That's about the only thing we do need in this world."

So this, then, was his son. Under the sullenness, just a sad and lonely boy.

"Your friends matter to you."

They had to. He'd seen the lengths Squall had gone to, for them.

"All we need are food, water, shelter, and a sense of purpose," Squall countered. "Everything else is optional. People just get in the way and hurt you."

Squall stared intently at the table, and fidgeted with a napkin. "My friends shouldn't matter to me. I don't need them. And I don't need you."

"No?" he asked. "That's why you broke into the Memorial to rescue one of them. Because you don't need them."

...

(For a moron, he makes a pretty good point.)

"Whatever."

Squall fiddled with the napkin some more.

"I just couldn't let them do that to her, that's all."

"Her?" Laguna asked. "The new Sorceress?"

A little troubling, that his son was so attached to her.

"Her name is Rinoa," Squall spat. "And she's NOT a threat! I'll defend her with my life! You tell Esthar that if they want her, they're going to have to go through me!"

He stood up suddenly and emphatically, causing his chair to tip over and clatter on the floor behind him.

Laguna stood up, as well, putting his hands in his pockets.

Did this mean his son had a girlfriend? He could hope, right?

"I'll tell them," he said calmly. "I'll call off the search."

He didn't trust this sorceress. But no one in Esthar was going to lay a hand on his son if he had anything to do with it.

Girlfriend? She wished! Nope, he just had a bug up his ass.

Squall looked at his father dubiously. "...And they'll listen to you?"

Sure, the man was a hero in Esthar, who helped rescue them from the Sorceress, but that didn't meant that the government would just do what he asked.

"That's one of the benefits of being President," Laguna said easily. "People listen to you."

Squall stood, blinking at Laguna.

(Well, THAT was unexpected.)

"President? They made you President?"

(Great. A whole NATION of morons.)

"I was the one who sealed Adel," Laguna said proudly. "They asked me to stay, and help with rebuilding. And once I heard about Raine, I thought, why not?"

"Sure. Why bother ever coming home. The morons elected you President." Squall sighed. "Whatever. Fine. Just stay away from Rinoa."

He shrugged. If the ONLY reason Laguna was going to let her be was because of him, that wasn't very reassuring. And appeals to reason weren't going to work with him. But... there was something else, too. "She's Julia's daughter."

Chilly Boulder, Saturday Afternoon

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