Enjoy!
The train rushed along the track, speeding across the water and toward the future. The sun was reflected in the ripples of the sea, sparkling like facets of an infinate jewel.
Squall gazed out of the window, half-hypnotised. It was nice; relaxing. After all that had happened in the last few months, relaxation was something they all needed. Defeating sorceress after sorceress, travelling through time, falling in love, and meeting your estranged father for the first time in your life were not things an average seventeen year old did. But Squall was glad, of the last two at least. He sighed and folded his arms.
"Yo, you okay, Squall?" Squall turned to see his spikily blond companion, and nodded.
"Yeah, Zell. I'm... okay." He smiled slightly.
Zell grinned and turned to lean against the wall. "Hey, I thought you only smiled for Rinoa?"
"Maybe it was for Rinoa," Squall said, smile widening slightly.
There was a pause, then Zell spoke up. "You know, I'm happy for you. We all are. I mean, you always seemed so down, and now..." He shrugged. " You're not. We're glad."
Squall's eyebrows lifted in surprise, and he leant lightly against the window. "...Thanks." He couldn't help a smile, which Zell chuckled at.
Zell turned to go back into the SeeD cabin, then turned back. "We'll be there soon, man. Don't go off in a daze!" He disapeared through the door.
Squall's eyes turned back to the sea, and he wondered again at it's beauty, at it's vastness. It made him feel small, but it was nice, in a way. A nice change from the fate of existance resting on his shoulders. He made himself turn, and enter the cabin, all thoughts on duty.
The inside was luxuriously furnished, with gilt, velevet and silk. It was too rich for his own taste, but it felt nice to be pampered. Quistis was sat primly, reading an issue of Timber Maniacs, whilst Zell lay on the bed, his eyes closed. Squall unhooked their dress uniform jackets, and threw one at Zell, causing him to yell out in surprise. he put his own on, uncomfortable in the ludicrouly fancy thing, with its chains, and embroidered panals. He looked at Zell, who was putting his jacket and yawning. But this was a formal event, and uniforms were a must. Today was the day of the opening of Esthar to the rest of the world, and representatives from each country were going to be there. Garden had been treated as a seperate country by Esthar, as they were by everyone else. Cid had sent the five of them to represent Garden - Irvine for Galbadia, Selphie for Trabia, and Zell, Quistis and himself for Balamb. The students from the other Garden's had also sent representatives.
Squall looked around, searching. "Where're Selphie and-" He was interrupted as the door swished open and the objects of his question walked in, Selphie in her SeeD uniform, Irvine, who was not yet a SeeD, in his Garden unifrom.
"Right here!" Selphie giggled, and guestered at Squall and Zell. "You two look so cute in those uniforms, don't they, Quisty?"
Quistis laughed gently at the embarressed looks on the men's faces - and the leftt-out look on Irvine's.
"Hey! What's wrong with this?" Irvine guestured at himself. "Don't I look good?" Selphie hugged him.
"You always look good!" She said with a wink.
We will be arriving in Esthar shortly. Please ensure you have all your belongings, and remember, the presendential palace is a weapons-free zone for the proceedings. Thank you for travelling Intercontinental Railways.
Squall looked around at his companions, then took a deep breath and walked forward.
"Are you nervous, Squall?" asked Quistis, as they stood in the hall of the train, waiting from it to come to a halt.
Squall glanced at her. "Nervous?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"About meeting Laguna, I mean," she clarified. "I know I would be nervous around my father."
Squall shrugged.
Quistis opened her mouth to reply, then sighed and shook her head. "Squall Leonhart, you are infuriating. I don't know how Rinoa puts up with you." She turned in annoyance to gaze out of the window. Squall followed her gaze, and notciced as he did so that they had entered a building - the train station of Esthar, he presumed. It was as marvellous as the city itself, with its roof incredibly high, silver inlay all aroung, and futuristic technology everywhere. The station was full of people, and a the train came to a halt and they disembarked, she noticed they were all citizens of Esthar.
Of course, he thought, They must be as interested in seeing outsiders as we are to see them.
They pushed through the crowds, and exited through a metal detector. The majesty of the city of Esthar again struck them, it's enourmity, and it's strange, alien beauty. Their view was interrupted, however, as a perky red-head walked up to them and waved hyper-actively.
"Hi! I'm Cait! I'm your guide today! This way, please!" She gave a little giggle, and led the SeeDs over to a flyer. As they made their way over, Selphie scowled at Irvine, and punched him as he admired Cait's rear end.
They sat on the flyer, and as it made it swift way through the city, Cait, obviously not realising who they were, introduced them to Esthar.
"This is the first time Esthar's been open to outsiders for 17 years! We're a city of amazing advances - as I'm sure you can tell! - and since the sorceress was trapped ingeniously by our Presidnet Laguna, the progress has been unstoppable!" She giggled and gave a thumbs up. "We're here now! Go straight on, then through the first doors on the left! If you get lost, don't be afraid to ask!" She waved again. As the SeeDs left the flyer, it sped off, and their tour guide became a tiny waving dot, then disapeared.
"It's amazing, huh? A city like this, an' they still have bimbo's," muttered Zell.
"Like you can talk!" Laughed Irvine.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" Yelled Zell, slipping into a fighting stance. Irvine looked around and found a fighting mad Zell, Quistis looking unimpressed, Selphie lookng hurt, and even Squall raised a disaproving eyebrow.
"That wasn't nice, Irvine," Selphie said quietly. "Or true. Zell's not stupid."
"Okay, okay, hackles down, everyone. Jeez. Sorry, Zell," muttered Irvine, not sounding overly sincere.
Zell glared at him. "Yeah, whatever."
The group walked on in silence until they came to the doors, manned by two figures Squall recognised instantly. The slimmer of the two smiled at him.
"Hello, Squall." They shook hands. "It's good to see you again." The big man looked at him. "Ward say's Laguna's looking for you."
"For me?" Squall wasn't sure that on this day of all days, Laguna would waste time looking for him.
Kiros nodded. "Better go see what he wants."
"Thank you, Kiros, Ward." He walked in, his friends following him. To their surprise, Laguna was stood next to the door. His black hair was tied tightly back, his green eyes looked pensive. With his black suit and shirt, he looked very official. He didn't seem to have noticed the SeeDs entering.
Squall walked up, then realised he didn't even have a clue what to call Laguna, much less say to him. "Laguna...?" He said, opting for informal, but not too familiar.
Laguna turnd in surprise, then smiled with what seemed to be real happiness. "Squall!" After a moment, he stepped forward and hugged Squall, who blinked in surprise, then returned the hug, uncomfortable in both the uniform an the geusture.
"Squall, we need to talk," he glanced around the room. "But, I'm sure you can guess, this isn't the best time. I'm giving a short talk, then there'll be chance for questions..." He winced, guessing, no doubt, at the kind of questions that would be asked. "There'll be refreshments after that, so we can talk then... if you want?"
Squall smiled a little. "I... think I'd like that, Laguna."
Laguna smiled back, then seemed to notice Squall's companions. "Oh, the other people form Garden are over there," he geustured at a table, then looked at Squall. "You'll probably want to talk to one of them."
"Why?" Squall raised his eyebrows.
"You'll see," Laguna smiled. "I have to go get ready. I'll talk to you later, Squall." He smiled at the other SeeDs. "Enjoy the presentation!" He managed, before he rushed off.
"Let's go see which ladies-" Irvine glanced at Selphie and quickly recovered himself, "-which guys the other Garden's have sent!" He pointed at the table Laguna had geustured to, and started off over there, taken in by the lure of short skirts.
Selphie rolled her eyes, while Squall followed him over to the table, curious as to who Laguna wanted him to meet. As he approached it, he instantly saw who he meant. A young woman sat there, laughing at some joke her companions made, and she was a female version of Laguna. About the same age as himself, her long black hair fell like liquid silk down her back, and her eyes sparkled the colour of emerelds. Squall paused, staring at her as Irvine tapped her on the shoulder. Turning, there was a look of recognition in her eyes and she grinned. Standing, she gave him a rather friendly hug. Squall paused, wondering that if he was related to this girl, how she could possibly like Irvine Kinneas. He didn't notice the other SeeDs surround him until he heard "Woah!" from under Zell's breath. He glared at him, then walked closer to her. She looked up, and blinked, then broke into a smile. She stood, and was surprisingly short, maybe 5'2", seeing as she looked so tall sat down.
"Hi!" She extended a hand out to Squall, which he shook. "I guess you're the glorious Squall, the hero who saved the world from destruction by the evil and powerful Ultemecia..." she winked at him. "Uncle Laguna's been telling me all about you."
Squall allowed himself a small smile. It felt good to be called a hero, especially by Laguna... his father. The thought made his stomqch flip, so he ignored it. Her enthusiasm was nice, too, kind of like a toned down version of Zell. "Yeah... I guess."
"Yeah? You fought Ultimecia, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Then it's true! My cousins a hero!" She bit her lip. "Gee, I've never had a cousin before. Feels pretty weird."
Squall shrugged. "I've never had a family before."
The girl smiled back, then looked around as the rest of the SeeDs gathered. "I guess you're the rest of the heroes." She grinned at them. "I'm Jez Loire, of Galbadia Garden. My folks are from Timber, but I... Well, let's just say me and dad don't get on. Period. I-"
"And you know Irvine?" Selphie tried to keep the tinge of jealousy out of her voice, but without much success. Jez nodded. "Yeah. We were good friends in Garden. Before he buggered off without telling anyone." She scowled at him. "Hey hey," Irvine said, putting his hand up in defense. "It was, like, a top secret mission." "Yeah, tell that to all the girls you left hanging," she said with a grin. "I dunno. I come to this do to meet a nice guy and all I get's a cousin and a sexist idiot." She jabbed Irvine in the arm. Her eyes turned to Zell and she smiled, though Squall could have sworn there was a hint of shyness there. "I guess that leaves you." Zell grinned, blushing slightly. "Um, I'm Zell," He managed, offering her his Ergheiz-clad hand. "Zell Dincht."
"Nice to meet you," her eyes glittered and she bit her lip. Turning a little reluctantly away to the girls, they introduced themselves.
Quistis offered a hand. "Quistis Trepe. I think I remember you from one of the times I visited Glabadia... Weren't you arguing with Martine?"
Jez shrugged. "Probably. It happened often enough. Hmm... Was it over my father, or about the hockey team being perverts?"
Quistis smiled. "I think it was the hockey team. In any case, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, you too." Jez turned to Selphie. "Hi."
"Hi!" Selphie smiled, too nice to take the hug Jez had shared with her boyfriend to heart. "I'm Selphie. Hey! You wouldn't be interested in helping out at the Garden festival, would you? Then we could have, like, a Festival for all three Gardens! That'd be cool."
"Garden Festival? Sounds kinda neat." She glanced to the stage, to where Laguna was climbing the steps. "Tell me all about it later, after all the high-and-mighty have finished talking." She whispered, then sat down. The others followed her lead. Laguna was tapped on the shoulder by Kiros, and started to talk to him, so Jez turned to them and whispered. "So you all fought Sorceress Ultimecia?"
Squall nodded, feeling secretly proud at the look of awe in his cousin's eye. "Wasn't it frightening?" Asked Jez, fascinated. Zell shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean - she's the most powerful sorceress ever, right?" Jez turned to him, and Squall could have sworn there were sparks between them. "Wow," whispered Jez, moving closer to him. "So what did you do? I mean - she must've been really though-" Zell opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Selphie. Jez turned - unwillingly? - away from Zell.
"Tough? Of course! And you should have seen her in her final form." Selphie let an exaggerated shiver run down her back. "It was soooo freaky."
"It wasn't pleasent," agreed Squall. "But we did what we had to do. It's our job as SeeDs."
Jez raised an eyebrow. "That can't have been all you were fighting for. People don't fight that hard for organisations."
"I think her name's Rinoa, isn't it, Squall?" asked Quistis, putting her hand on his shoulder. Anyone else would have blushed, but Squall had far too much self control for that.
"Rinoa?" asked Jez, blinking. "Not Rinoa Heartilly, by any chance?"
"You know her?" Asked Squall.
"Hell, yeah! Up until I went to Garden, we were best friends. I used to have piano lessons from her mother, when I was little." She smiled in memory. "That's pretty freaky. I-" A stream of muic interrupted her as the room darkedned, and all eyes faced the stage. Laguna stepped out from the curtains, to a round of polite and interested applause, and stepped up to the podium.
"Friends, allies, fellow statesmen. Thank you all for coming today." Laguna glanced nervously down at his notes, and Squall felt a little sorry for him. "I suppose it was a surprise, that Esthar's gates should be opened so suddenly, but with the threat of the sorcerress eliminated, I felt it was time that Esthar shared with the world it's wealth, its technology, it's people. As you will have seen, both in the past and on your way to this conference, Esthar is a land of unparalled technological advances - we are lucky enough to have had within our borders some of the greatest minds there has ever been. We did not want to keep these to ourselves - the world is of one people, after all - and now, in this bright new era where our enemies have been vanquished, we wish to share our scientific knowledge with you. We hope our ideas can be expanded and improved, and that together we can come up with new ideas, better and more brilliant than ever before. I ask you now to trust me; Esthar has no plans, it has no sorceress, it has no bad intent. I offer you only an olive branch, and I ask you to accept it."
The applause rose swiftly and spread throughout the room, some people sitting, but most had risen to their feet, offering a standing ovation. When the aplause had died down, Laguna passed a hand over his hair, smoothing it down.
"Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Now, if any of you have any questions, I'll be pleased to answer them."
A man near the front stood. "So you're saying Esthar's been closed to the outside world because of the sorcerress?"
Laguna nodded. "Yes, Sorceress Adel, and Dr. Odine's inventions that deal with the sorcerress. You remember about eighteen years ago, when Esthar was looking for a girl to relpace the sorcerress? They were not planning for the sorceress to pass her powers on, but for her to be made, by machine, into a sorceress. Not a pleasent process, I assure you! These machines, and their plans, have now been destroyed, and so no longer pose a threat to anyone."
The man sat, his question answered, but several more hands rose in it's place. Laguna nodded at a young blonde. "President Loire, did you write that speech yourself?"
Laguna's eyebrows rose, and he smiled, rather grimly. "Yes, I did. I know there are rumours around that I'm an idiot. I prefer not to beleive them."
Another woman stood. "Is it true your son is a SeeD?"
Laguna's eyebrows rose once more, and Squall frowned, not entirely happy with that question. "It's true. Squall's a SeeD at Balamb Garden, though I'm not sure how it relates to Esthar."
"Well, if you have SeeD on your side, as well as Esthar's army, then if you did plan a hostile takeover-"
"Madam, from what I hear, SeeD take the side of the whoever offers them the most. Esthar has no army, only guards. We don't plan anything hostile, and certainly no takeover bid. Are there any more questionsest I leave you alone."
"What!?" Squall asked, enraged. "They decided it was best I shouldn't meet myfather? I-"
"Squall." Laguna put his hand on his sons shoulder. "It was just after Elle had left. You were so small... So cute... They said it was for the best I just leave you alone."
"You saw me?" Asked Squall, very quietly.
"I went down to the orphanage. I talked to you, gave you this," he pointed at Squall's Greiver pendant. "Edea dragged me off. I told her who I was, and she discussed it with Cid... I wanted to take you to Esthar with me, but they thought it was best you stay were you were used to. And, I guess I agreed with them. I wanted the best for you Squall, and I wouldn't have been a good daddy. You're a hero. You saved the world! If I'd brought you to Esthar, Ultimecia would have won. It's as simple as that."
"I don't care about the world," Squall said, and looked at Laguna. Laguna wrapped his arms around his son, and Squall hugged him back.
"I love you Squall," he whispered.
Squall smiled, in spite of himself. "I... I love you too, dad." It was barely audible, but it was there.
Laguna pulled back and smiled, his eyes shining. The two sat in comfortable silence, looking at the scene before them. Squal, surveying the room, then looking back at hisme out almost a whisper, and Lagunas green eys were so endlessly sad. "I loved Raine. I still do. I miss her..." He shook his head. "But you don't want to hear that, you-"
"I do," Squall nodded. "It's nice to know my parents loved me, that I wasn't just... a mistake.." That had been playing on his mind, and Laguna smiled at his son, laying a hand on his arm.
"You weren't a mistake. I loved Raine, and she loved me." He grinned. "You were a surprise, certainly, but not a mistake. Raine and I wanted a family, wanted you." He leant forward, leaning on his elbows, and his green eyes turned serious. "Well... I didn't know about Raine, about you, until I phoned up a month later. The woman who'd took over the pub had one of the towns citizens at her hose. They... they took the phone from her, and just screamed at me, saying it was all my fault, and slammed the phone down. I had no idea what was happening, I just knew that Raine wasn't at her house any more. I was worried, and I was ready to leave for Winhill, but... As I was about to leave, some of the Estharians just looked at me, and I couldn't. Squalhy... there were complications..." The last came out almost a whisper, and Lagunas green eys were so endlessly sad. "I loved Raine. I still do. I miss her..." He shook his head. "But you don't want to hear that, you-"
"I do," Squall nodded. "It's nice to know my parents loved me, that I wasn't just... a mistake.." That had been playing on his mind, and Laguna smiled at his son, laying a hand on his arm.
"You weren't a mistake. I loved Raine, and she loved me." He grinned. "You were a surprise, certainly, but not a mistake. Raine and I wanted a family, wanted you." He leant forward, leaning on his elbows, and his green eyes turned serious. "Well... I didn't know about Raine, about you, until I phoned up a month later. The woman who'd took over the pub had one of the towns citizens at her hose. They... they took the phone from her, and just screamed at me, saying it was all my fault, and slammed the phone down. I had no idea what was happening, I just knew that Raine wasn't at her house any more. I was worried, and I was ready to leave for Winhill, but... As I was about to leave, some of the Estharians just looked at me, and I couldn't. Squall... there was so much fear in there eyes. Fear like you've never seen. I'm not sure what Adel did to them, and I'm not sure I want to." He shrugged, then continued. "In any case, I didn't leave. I just kept phoning, until I found out about Raine, about you and Elle. For a while, I couldn't believe it, but when it sunk in... I searched for you, I really did. I couldn't find you. When I finally did find you, Cid and Edea - they thought it was best I leave you alone."
"What!?" Squall asked, enraged. "They decided it was best I shouldn't meet myfather? I-"
"Squall." Laguna put his hand on his sons shoulder. "It was just after Elle had left. You were so small... So cute... They said it was for the best I just leave you alone."
"You saw me?" Asked Squall, very quietly.
"I went down to the orphanage. I talked to you, gave you this," he pointed at Squall's Greiver pendant. "Edea dragged me off. I told her who I was, and she discussed it with Cid... I wanted to take you to Esthar with me, but they thought it was best you stay were you were used to. And, I guess I agreed with them. I wanted the best for you Squall, and I wouldn't have been a good daddy. You're a hero. You saved the world! If I'd brought you to Esthar, Ultimecia would have won. It's as simple as that."
"I don't care about the world," Squall said, and looked at Laguna. Laguna wrapped his arms around his son, and Squall hugged him back.
"I love you Squall," he whispered.
Squall smiled, in spite of himself. "I... I love you too, dad." It was barely audible, but it was there.
Laguna pulled back and smiled, his eyes shining. The two sat in comfortable silence, looking at the scene before them. Squall smiled as he saw Zell and Jez dancing.
"Jez seems nice," he said.
"She is. She visited Esthar once or twice with her father." Laguna looked at Squall. "Did she tell you about her father?"
Squall shrugged. "She said they didn't get on."
"That's putting it mildly! Anyway, it's because she looks like me, not him, and so he insists her mother must have had an affair with me. I don't think he understands the whole genetics thing, or maybe he just forgets we're brothers... I'm sure he'd like to. When he came to Esthar, it was supposedly to open relations betwen Esthar and Galbadia, but instead it turned out to be a chance for him to insult me. I feel sorry for poor Jez. I don't get on with Jeran myself, to be honest-" He looked at Squall and grinned. "I'm doing it again, aren't I? Talking instead of listening. Your turn, Squall."
Squall's eyebrow's raised. "What do you want me to talk about?"
Laguna laughed. "Whatever you want."
"I... have nothing to say."
"What about Rinoa?"
"What about her?"
"Do you love her?"
"I - yes." He looked at Laguna. "I'm not sure what you want me to say."
"Anything you like. Anything at all."
Squall looked up again, and noticed Zell and Jez slow dancing closely. His eyebrows raised. Laguna followed his gaze and smiled.
"He's your friend, isn't he?"
"Zell? Yeah. He was in my squad when we became SeeDs."
Laguna nodded. "Well, just tell him, if he hurts Jez, I'll kill him."
Squall looked at Laguna, who just shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a protective uncle - and father." He smiled.
"Zell wouldn't hurt anyone. He's a good guy, if a bit lou - lively," he corrected himself.
Laguna laughed, then looked at the couple on the dance floor, who were now kissing. "I hope you're right, Squall."
"I am - dad." The two men smiled at each other.
"You know, it'd be nice if you could visit Esthar more often, Squall."
"Why don't you visit Balamb? I'm sure you'll be doing a tour, or something."
Laguna smiled at his son. "I might just do that."
The piano chords swelled, and their voices were drowned out, and they talked into the night as the stars twinkled above.