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batsutousaiTitle: Noblesse Oblige
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison/tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhir
Chapters: 17 of 19
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, Zell/Xu, Quistis/OMC, Fujin/Raijin
Warnings: AU, major canon-buggery, OoC Squall, slash/yaoi
Summary: No one thought to warn Squall against touching his younger self, and he leaves a part of himself behind when he returns to Time Compression.
A/N: elufuir (FFN) – Since you didn't log in or anything... Yes, I've got the Distant Worlds soundtracks. And I tend to take my titles from song lyrics, though I couldn't, for the life of me, tell you which ones are from what songs. (Could be anything in my library of four thousand songs, honestly...)
And, oh Merlin, please, no more plot bunnies for this fandom. Please. My brain needs a break.
-0-0-0-
Lying Next to a Ghost
-0-0-0-
Balamb Garden ended up stuck at FH with Galbadia Garden, just in case they needed to help move the large Garden to a different position for the technicians. This would have been a lot more trouble – given the state of the Galbadian continent – if it weren't for Beau being there with them. The White SeeD Captain was more than willing to ferry SeeD teams to Dollet, Timber, and the southern villages, where the brewing rebellion was the most violent.
Selphie and Irvine were sent with a team of six other SeeDs to calm Timber, while October and Quistis led the team of fourteen SeeDs to cover the southern villages, and Fujin and Raijin were sent up to Dollet with four other SeeDs to calm the minor rebellion simmering there. They were waiting overnight for the White SeeD ship to return before sending a group to Deling City – in part to quell the rioting that was certainly taking place there, and in part to help defend the city against anyone the other groups missed – when Seifer had a brilliant idea.
It all started with a tired comment from Squall, who was dozing on the bed while Seifer went over some of the paperwork they'd inherited with their new positions. "It's a pity we're so close to Esthar and unable to visit," Squall had muttered, blocking the glare of the desk light with one hand and resigning himself to remaining awake until his lover was willing to turn in for the night. Sometimes Seifer would come right to bed, and sometimes he would stay up for a few more hours, trying and failing to block the desk light with his body.
Seifer hummed a bit, not quite hearing him. He got about another sentence through the document he was reading before Squall's words sunk in. "Wait, what?" He put his pen down and turned to face Squall. "Esthar?"
Squall rolled his eyes. "We're a few days walk from the OCS entrance," he supplied. "And you're always complaining that I don't listen."
Seifer frowned, a thought slowly taking form in the back of his head. "Well, you don't. Or you do, but– Hey, would Esthar be willing to help us with calming Galbadia, do you know? Or, well..."
Squall sighed. "Would Laguna be able to talk them into it? I don't know. They seemed to rather like living on their own and ignoring the rest of us, but I'm not certain that wasn't just a protective measure to keep Galbadia from coming down on their heads after Adel." He rubbed at his scar, wincing when doing so gave the desk lamp a clear shot at his eyes.
Seifer scooted his chair to one side so his shadow fell across Squall's eyes. "If we put it to them that they could assist as a sort of show of good-will, though. They might be willing to accept that, right? Maybe?"
"I don't know," Squall admitted, flashing a faint smile at the blond in response to him blocking the light. "Even if we could talk them around, though, who would we send? You and I need to stay here, and all the others I'd trust are in Galbadia."
Seifer shook his head. "Not everyone," he replied. "Xu and Chicken-Head are still in Garden. We should be able to take them off the Deling City team without sacrificing too much firepower. Put another couple SeeDs on that team to make up for their loss, maybe..."
Squall frowned in thought. As a general rule, he was uncomfortable with sending his friends into a potentially hostile situation with no chance of backup, but Xu had four years as a SeeD under her belt and had proven to be more than capable at soothing dangerous situations, so she would probably be their best option on a mission like this. And Zell was just the right side of cheerful that he should help put the Estharians at ease; his preferred weapon being his own fists was just a bonus, since disarming him would be rather difficult.
But, still. A couple of SeeDs could only get so far. Unless... "I'll have Sis write out a letter to Laguna tomorrow," he said aloud. "Something of an introduction, to catch his attention. Else they'll never get in to see him, and all this will be for nothing."
Seifer smiled. "Are you going to write a letter, too?" he wondered as he flipped off the desk light; the paperwork could wait until tomorrow.
Squall shifted on the bed, making room for Seifer, as he considered the question. 'Should I? It's not like he would have any reason to be interested in a letter from someone he doesn't even know, but if he finds out I'm his son later and didn't bother trying to send a personal message...'
Seifer slipped into the bed and drew Squall closer, letting out a content hum when Squall cuddled against him. "I think you should," he offered into the brown hair tickling his lips. "It doesn't have to be particularly personal, but maybe just a few words. Something to catch his attention, you know?"
Squall closed his eyes and let out a sound of agreement. "Dangling a carrot."
Seifer chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest and making Squall smile against it. "Something like that."
"Sure. I'll make sure to catch Xu first thing in the morning, before Beau gets back."
Seifer sighed a bit helplessly at the thought of getting up so early. "Morning person," he muttered.
Squall rolled his eyes and pinched Seifer's side, pleased at the grunt that got from the larger man. "Go to sleep."
Seifer chuckled again and tightened his arms around Squall's back, pleased when Squall hugged him back.
-0-
'President Loire,
'My sister, Ellone, tells me that you are my birth father. I regret that I am unable to meet you in person, but with the current state of the world at this time, a trip to Esthar is simply beyond my reach. I apologise for this impersonal way of revealing my existence to you and ask that we might, in the future, meet in person.
'Please treat my friends as you would myself and offer an ear to their plea, as it originally comes from myself. Whether you offer your assistance or not is up to you, but I request you at least be willing to listen.
'Sincerely,
'Squall Leonhart
'SeeD Co-Commander'
-0-
Sometime in the days following Xu and Zell's departure from FH, Trabia Garden had joined her sister Gardens at the pacifistic city, having received a cable message from Selphie about getting their engines started and offering their assistance in calming Galbadia. About the time they arrived, Galbadia Garden's systems were brought back online enough for them to at least lift their ring out of the water so the technicians could get to it easier. With Balamb Garden finally free to leave FH, they teamed up with Trabia and made their way towards the western continent, Trabia going north to check in with Dollet before heading to Deling City, while Balamb turned towards Timber and the southern rebellion.
As soon as Galbadia Garden joined them, Squall and Seifer directed them to cover Deling City, while Trabia kept an eye on Timber and Balamb stayed down in the south, travelling between villages and providing backup for their troops when the people started acting up again. Dollet had mostly calmed down, thankfully, but Beau had docked there and his SeeDs retained an obvious presence, just in case.
After a week, the southern villages were the only place where there was any real threat of rebellion and they were right on the edge of a new school term, so Squall and Seifer ordered the three Gardens back to their original positions. SeeD teams were left in Timber, Dollet, and Deling, just to be on the safe side, but most of their forces had converged on the southern villages, hard-eyed and refusing to allow anyone to talk rebellion under their direction.
With most of SeeD in the south, Squall and Seifer had set up a base camp in Winhill; Squall's home village hadn't joined in the rebellions – having a pacifistic mindset rather like the people of FH, but more accepting of soldiers – and were willing to host the two Commanders when they weren't out, seeing to things personally.
One afternoon, almost two weeks since the battle with Ultimecia, a small fleet of ships docked just off the coast west of Winhill and a single, unusual vehicle drove ashore to the small village. Squall was out, helping with a bridge that had fallen during a recent storm – showing the villagers they were willing to help with menial tasks had done more in the way of calming the populace than setting up a couple SeeDs in their inns – so Seifer was the one who met the guests, looking as exhausted as he felt, but managing an honest smile at the sight of the two SeeDs who climbed out. "Hey, Xu, Chicken-Head."
"You look like shit," Zell deadpanned. "And stop calling me Chicken-Head."
Seifer chuckled and turned his attention to the long-haired man who had joined the two SeeDs in approaching him. "President Loire, I presume?"
Laguna flashed him a smile. "So I am. And you must be Commander Almasy." He glanced around Seifer, expression falling a bit. "Is Squa– Ah, Commander Leonhart here?"
"Call him Squall," Seifer replied, amused. "And, no, he's up the river, helping with a bridge. They should be back in a couple hours, if you wanted to come in and sit for a bit?" He motioned back towards the inn the SeeDs occupying Winhill were staying at. Squall and Seifer had been offered the house that Laguna had once stayed in, before he moved in with Raine, but they'd preferred to remain with their people, even if it made things a little crowded.
Laguna looked rather like he wanted to go hunt down his son, but the dark-skinned man at his side – Kiros Seagill, Seifer assumed – put a hand on the president's shoulder and said, "That's a good idea."
Seifer nodded and led the way into the inn. He settled at one of the many tables filling the downstairs, offering a grateful smile to the owner when he came over with water for all of them. The man shot Laguna a frown, but left them to it without a word; Seifer had no doubt it would be all over the village within twenty minutes that Laguna was here.
"So, where is everyone else?" Xu asked, referring to their group of friends. There were obviously plenty of SeeDs around, a couple of them slowing to look at the group and saluting when Seifer shot them knowing looks.
Seifer shrugged. "About the same places that they were when you left; Selph and Irvy are still in Timber, and Fuu and Rai are still in Dollet, even though they've already signed a peace treaty." He frowned. "Given, so has Timber, but we're not taking any chances, especially not with the idiots down here getting drunk every night and picking up arms."
"What about October and Quis?" Zell wondered. "They still down here?"
Seifer shook his head, turning his mind back away from the daily attempts at rebellion; he hated the southern villages. "No. October broke his leg a few days ago, so we sent him and Quis up to Deling to heal and visit with his parents."
"The villagers seem unusually... welcoming," Laguna commented, watching through the front windows of the inn as a couple of SeeDs in uniform stopped to chat with a villager, all three looking quite relaxed.
Seifer snorted. "Squally made a really good first impression on them, and they kinda like that one of their own is famous, even if what he's famous for isn't quite something they'd have been okay with, normally. When they heard Squall was going to be remaining down here to help oversee this mess, they suggested we use the village as our home base, of sorts. Since our other option was going to be setting up tents and walking to the nearest village to use the cable, we took them up on the offer."
"You couldn't have just taken over another village?" Zell asked, frowning.
Seifer shrugged. "We've got SeeDs spread out through the villages, but setting up a base in some random village requires them to basically support us, and put up with having a bunch of soldiers in the streets. That's what Deling did, occupying the villages, and it's a large part of what ticked them all off so bad."
Xu grimaced and said to Zell, "You remember the destruction of Angles?" referring to the mission that had led to Squall and Seifer becoming partners.
"Please don't mention that mission to Squall," Seifer asked, wincing. "Actually, don't mention it around me, either."
Zell and Xu both winced, all too able to imagine Squall's response to any and all mentions about the mess of a mission. Past experience had taught them all that Squall got really quiet and cold when the mission was brought up, and being in the south, where it had happened, surrounded by similar circumstances...
Laguna and Kiros traded curious looks, but wisely decided not to ask. Instead, Kiros turned to the SeeD Co-Commander and said, "You requested assistance?"
Seifer's eyes lit. "So we did," he agreed in an even voice. "Are you saying you intend to lend us a couple soldiers?"
Kiros inclined his head. "We brought fifty soldiers," he agreed.
Seifer motioned a passing SeeD over. "Bring the map from my desk," he told the young man, who saluted before hurrying off. Turning back to Kiros, Seifer said, "We appreciate it. I'll show you where we could use the extra people. Will they be requiring food and sleeping arrangements from the villagers, or are the prepared to live off the land?"
"Either," Kiros assured him, secretly glad that he'd insisted all their people bring their own supplies.
"Thank you, SeeD Anderson," Seifer said as his map was handed over. He spread it out over the table with one hand while he moved his glass of water to the floor with the other. Laguna came over to join them, more interested by what sort of mess they were dealing with than watching out for a son that he, honestly, didn't know the appearance of.
Seifer settled in to explain how things stood at the moment and where they could use the extra people, then answered any questions and thoughts the four newcomers put forth. Kiros was clearly the brains, out of him and Laguna, but the president had a few good ideas that showed how he'd managed to retain his position at the head of a country for seventeen years.
They were just winding down, having sorted where everyone would go, when the inn door opened to admit Squall. "I hear we've got guests," he commented in an even tone.
"Hey, Squall!" Zell called, waving at his friend.
Laguna turned to look at the newcomer while Squall returned the greetings of his friends. He felt tears spring to his eyes at the sight of the young man, who looked so much like Raine that it hurt. The leaves and muck speckling his clothing and one cheek added to the similarities, what with Raine having enjoyed caring for her flowers. But when Squall turned his attention to Laguna, the differences stood out: the hard lines of war on his face, the stark line of the scar between his eyes, and the quiet darkness in eyes that were more grey than blue.
Squall took a deep breath, a little unnerved by his father's stare, and said, "President Loire."
Hurt flashed in Laguna's eyes at the formal greeting, but he managed a friendly smile and said. "Squall."
There was a long, uncertain silence, then Seifer rolled his eyes and said, "Squally, just hug him already."
Squall's hand flashed out, flinging a knife from one of his many hidden sheaths, and Seifer laughed as he caught it just in front of his face. Zell and Xu snorted, more than used to this exchange, but Laguna and Kiros were left staring disbelievingly between the two young men as Seifer threw the knife back with the same sort of deadly accuracy that Squall had employed and the brunet slipped it away.
Squall returned his attention to his biological father, inexplicably comforted by his lover's usual humour. "I–" He frowned a bit and shook his head. "Laguna, it's good to finally meet you." He stepped forward and held out a hand to shake.
Laguna took the hand and used it to draw the teen into a hug, which Squall had half expected and allowed with a quiet sigh. "It's, uhm... It's good to meet you, too," Laguna replied as he drew back. "You... Wow! You look a lot like your mother."
Squall raised an eyebrow at that, a motion that Laguna remembered Raine managing many a time, though never quite that effectively. "So I've been told," the teen replied before looking over Laguna's shoulder at Kiros. "Kiros Seagill, I believe?"
Kiros chuckled at that and extended his own hand for a shake, which wasn't turned into another awkward hug, thankfully. "Good to meet you, Commander."
Squall shrugged. "As I'm sure Seifer has already told you, first names will be fine," he said. Seifer had, in fact, made mention of that while they'd been discussing troop placement, but Squall managed a much more official air than the blond and Kiros had found himself using the teen's title without realising he was doing it.
"Kiros and Laguna brought us fifty more idiots to play with," Seifer told his partner.
"Be nice before they take them away," Squall ordered, slipping around the table to stand next to Seifer and look over the map. He picked up Seifer's glass while he was at it, sipping the water as he took in the changes. Frowning a bit, he tapped a small cluster of villages on the map just south of the Timber city limits and asked. "I thought we were going to put some people over there?"
"We can shuffle some people, but I got a couple reports in while you were out about things calming down over there."
"Hm." Squall handed the glass over to Seifer when the blond held out a hand for it. "I'd still like to send one or two more people over there. Is SeeD Slone willing to go back out on the field, or is he still whining about his ankle?" He scowled, still disgusted that the older SeeD had twisted his ankle and found the perfect village medic to insist he stay off it for a week. Even the threat of docked pay hadn't got him to change his mind, and Squall wasn't quite ready to discharge the man for his laziness, though he was getting there.
Seifer's eyes gleamed. "He's still whining. I say we break it for real."
"Noted and discarded," Squall replied drily, as he had every time Seifer had made the same suggestion over the past two days. He turned towards Xu and Zell, eyes thoughtful. "Are you willing to camp out for a few days?"
Zell let out an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose..."
Xu rolled her eyes. "We'll need some basic supplies, but we can head out with the Estharians."
Squall nodded and pushed away from the table. "Two bedrolls, or one?" he asked. When they both flushed, he said, "One it is, then," and left them for the extra supplies they had upstairs.
Seifer laughed at their disbelieving looks. "Oh, come on. You didn't think Squally and I wouldn't catch you, did you? I mean, Chicken-Head was sleeping on you in the castle, Xu."
Zell huffed. "You're an ass."
"So I am," Seifer agreed.
"I thought it was SeeD policy that you weren't pairing couples together," Xu said. "That's why you and Squall always kept things quiet, right?"
Laguna made a quiet noise of surprise, but Seifer ignored it to say, "It's never been official SeeD policy, just something that makes sense. We're okay with sending couples on most missions together, but if we say we're separating you, we're separating you." He waved a hand at their surprised looks as he set his glass back down on the floor. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not Cid or the faculty, I know romantic partners can work together fine, but there are times we'll need you on different missions because of your varied strengths or because it would be uncomfortable to both be there."
"Uncomfortable?" Zell parroted.
"If there's flirting or an undercover relationship involved," Squall answered as he joined them with an outdoor bag, which he held out to his friends. "There's enough supplies to last you a week, though you shouldn't be out there that long."
Zell took the bag and tested the weight with a nod. "Cool." He shot Squall a suspicious look. "So, does this mean Xu and me are kinda official, unofficial partners? Like Quis and October have been?"
"A bit more official than Quis and October have been, but, yes," Squall agreed before turning his attention to Seifer. "Roll up the map and let's get the Estharians deployed."
Seifer nodded and set about rolling up his map while Squall picked the water glass back up off the floor and drained it before leaving it on the hotel desk, the others following suit.
"You're not going to change?" Laguna asked his son as the six of them started out to the vehicle they'd arrived in.
Squall glanced down at his muddy shirt and shrugged. "It'll flake off," he decided.
Seifer rolled his eyes and stopped Squall outside the vehicle to pull off the dried mud on his cheek. "There. Now you sort of look presentable."
Squall raised an amused eyebrow at him. "I thought I always looked presentable."
"I said you always look good, not that you're always presentable," Seifer returned with a snort. "Get in the car."
"I'm pretty sure this is more of a–"
"And don't get technical!" Seifer added, shoving Squall towards the door that Zell and Xu had already disappeared through.
During the ride and their time with the Estharian troops, splitting them up and sending them out, Laguna kept watching his son. He wanted to know this mysterious young man who was in charge of a mercenary force at seventeen, and watching seemed almost as good an idea as trying to talk about it. He also wanted to know what sort of relationship he had with his blond partner, uncertain if Xu's earlier comment meant what he thought it meant.
By the time Kiros, Seifer, Squall, and Laguna were heading back to the hotel, Laguna still wasn't certain if his son and the blond were dating, but he was impressed with how both teens handled being in charge. It was clear that they had practise at giving orders, in spite of them only having their current positions for two weeks. Even Laguna couldn't manage his people that smoothly, and he'd been president for seventeen years. Given, he left a lot of the direction-giving to Kiros and other members of his staff...
They also had no trouble dealing with older soldiers, which was what impressed Laguna the most about them. They were seventeen and eighteen, but they hadn't paused at directing men in their thirties and forties, even when a couple soldiers had laughingly told them to go back to school. Seifer had laughed right back at the men, then fallen silent while Squall stared them down. Laguna hadn't been able to see his expression, having been behind the teens at the time, but the two soldiers had both paled and sort of shuffled off. Other soldiers who had seen whatever Squall's expression had been had also moved on without any complaint. Laguna kind of wanted to ask his son to teach him the trick, but he somehow doubted he could pull it off, not with how serious Squall seemed.
And wasn't that odd! Laguna had never been a serious man, and while Raine had had her moments of sternness, she'd been almost as much of a fun-loving person as Laguna was. Squall, though, seemed to be in a constant state of solemn silence, often leaving Seifer to speak for both of them. He certainly had a sense of humour – Laguna could hardly forget the teasing about the bedrolls and the dirt – but he seemed content to leave it among his friends, and they'd all taken it in stride, Zell and Xu not blinking when Squall sort of fell into the background, Seifer moving forward to give the orders.
Seifer was another interest for Laguna. He'd been so focussed on getting a chance to meet his mystery son, that he hadn't much paid attention to anything Xu and Zell had said about their other friends, but he was beginning to wish he had. It was clear that Seifer was particularly close to Squall, communicating with glances and aborted hand motions that looked only vaguely like the SeeD sign language he'd seen Zell and Xu use a couple times for private conversations. They shared their position without any apparent problems, and both teens wore gunblades, though they were different styles. The possibility of a relationship was certainly interesting, but after watching Seifer discuss troop deployment with them before Squall arrived and then again with the soldiers, Laguna couldn't help but be interested in learning more about the blond who was such a big part of Squall's life.
There wasn't a chance to talk much after they'd sorted out the Estharian troops, however, as once they got back into Winhill, the villagers wanted to talk to Laguna – most to curse him, a few to ask how he'd been – and some issue or another had come up in a neighbouring village that Squall and Seifer had to see to. When Laguna went to bed that night – tired from the long trip from Balamb, where they'd stopped to find out Squall and Seifer's position – the two teens were still out, and he couldn't help but wonder what sort of life they led, trapped in this little village and trying to control a civil war.
-0-
Squall offered the inn owner a grateful look as the man set his usual in front of him the next morning, avoiding the pile of papers he'd been working on with the ease of long practise. Instead of going back to his desk or the kitchen like he normally would, the man settled into an open chair across from the SeeD Commander and Squall resigned himself to taking part in a conversation. "Good morning, Seth."
The owner smiled at him. "Squall. Didn't think we'd see you up this early, what with you gettin' in so late last night."
Squall hid a grimace, because he'd rather still be in bed himself, but his internal alarm clock had told him it was time to get up, and rather than tossing and turning for another hour until he ended up waking Seifer and they both trooped downstairs, groggy and irritable, he got up and left his lover to sleep, trusting the overly-caffeinated tea the inn kept on hand for the SeeDs to help get him through the day. "I enjoy watching the sunrise too much," he deadpanned.
Seth chuckled, recognising the same dry humour that Raine had often employed when she was tired. Given, Squall didn't seem to have that same loud humour that his mother used during rowdy evenings at her pub, but it was the little things that all of the villagers liked to spot in her son, treasuring every hint of the woman who had left them after bringing the boy into the world.
Thinking about Raine reminded Seth of their most recent visitor, and his reason for sitting with the teen. "About Laguna..."
Squall's brow furrowed. "Is him being here going to be a problem?" he asked, a hint of the self-sacrifice that was wholly Raine in his eyes. "I know you lot don't care for him, but–"
"It's nothing like that," Seth assured him and Squall relaxed. "It's not really a problem. I mean, yeah, some of the villagers are going to be right assholes about him being here, but they'll deal with it, like they did before he left. No, it's more... Well, are you okay with him being around?"
Surprise flashed in Squall's eyes for a moment before he threw up the blank mask that the people of Winhill were getting uncomfortably used to seeing on Raine's face. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked in a perfectly even tone.
Seth sighed and once again mentally cursed the decision seventeen years ago that landed this child of their village in SeeD; for all that Squall had made a name for himself and the villagers were proud of him, there was that niggling thought that if they'd kept him, he might have been so much more open and happy. "Squall, Laguna's going to want to get to know you, to get in your business. He's not going to let you brush him off like the rest of us do."
Humour glinted in Squall's eyes at that, remembering the many times over the past week that he'd been cornered by an overly friendly villager and had to politely inform them that his personal life was none of their business. Most of them left it at that, but a couple – including Seth's wife – had been a little insistent, requiring Squall to be a bit more...rude. Squall didn't like being rude to these people, but he also had no interest in discussing the women in his life or what being a SeeD was like.
"I have parents, Seth," Squall pointed out drily, "I know what it's like to have someone in my life who isn't willing to take no for an answer."
"You have parents?" Laguna asked from behind the teen, having come down the stairs unnoticed by either male at the table. "Someone adopted you?" And didn't that hurt?
Squall sighed and turned to face his father while Seth rose to collect a second breakfast. "Good morning, Laguna," he said evenly.
Laguna took the recently vacated chair and continued giving Squall a wounded look as he mumbled, "Morning," in response.
Squall sighed again and traced his scar with one hand while the other picked up his cup of tea to help fortify himself against this conversation. "Yes," he said at last, "Seifer and I were adopted not quite three years ago by a couple friends of Cid's in Deling City who had hosted us for a mission, Christal and Gregory Gustafson."
Laguna's expression brightened. "Chris Shores?" he asked. "Black hair, green eyes?"
Squall blinked and nodded, vaguely recalling his adopted mother mentioning that her maiden name was Shores. "Yeah. You know Chris?"
Laguna nodded, clearly pleased. "She lived down the street from us before my parents moved to Dollet. She was a bit older, so I don't think she'd remember me, but I remember her. Didn't know she'd married old Gustafson's kid. I never met him, but his father was a real piece of work, from what my parents always said."
Gregory had mentioned, once, that his father had been a bit of a bastard, so Squall didn't doubt Laguna's words. "Well, Greg's nice, and he and Chris really love each other. They've been really good. For both Seifer and me." He grimaced and hid behind some of his breakfast. 'This is so fucking awkward.'
Seth rescued him with a plate for Laguna and questions about what he wanted to drink.
Once Seth had served Laguna some apple juice and left again, the older man turned again to Squall, who had pulled over his paperwork to read over. "Work?" he asked with a touch of sympathy.
Squall shrugged. "Reports from a team up in Trabia. We focussed so much of our forces on Galbadia that the bandit groups up there got jealous." He shook his head and set the papers back down to focus on Laguna. "I–" He sighed and rubbed at his scar again. "I know this is probably going to bother you, but is it okay if I continue referring to you as 'Laguna'? I just... I've been trying to think of you as 'Dad' or 'Father' for years and it just isn't working. I don't call Greg either of those, either, though. If that helps?" He glanced towards Laguna, a little bit hopeful. He didn't want to alienate this man, and not just because of the pros of having Esthar on their side; he was old enough to admit that he liked the idea of getting to know his father, as stumbling and awkward as Laguna was.
Laguna was torn between being sad that Squall wouldn't call him 'Dad' and grateful that the teen wasn't shoving him away. Although, Squall had made first contact, in a manner of speaking. But... "How many years have you known I was your father?"
Squall blinked. "A while," he replied. "Six years, I think." That was about how long it had been since the first time he'd visited Winhill, and he hadn't received proof that Laguna was his father until then. He'd suspected – well, the Ghost had suspected – but he hadn't had any actual proof until that visit.
"Oh." Laguna frowned a bit at that. "Then... You knew I was in Esthar?"
Squall sighed, knowing where this was heading. "I only found out you were still alive two years ago, when we ran into a city boss who was from Esthar–" a lie, but the only people who would know that were Squall, Seifer, and Semans, none of whom would be telling Laguna any differently, "–and it's not like there was an easy way for me to contact you, not as busy as I was. Am." He shrugged. "If Esthar was connected by the cable, or we could get around the radio interference, it would be different, but..." He shrugged again.
"Is being a SeeD really so busy?" Laguna asked. "I mean, as Commander, sure, but a normal SeeD?"
Squall took a moment to consider his words, then said, "I have never been a 'normal' SeeD."
"What do you mean?"
"We made SeeD seven years ago," a sleepy voice said from behind Squall before Seifer dropped into the open chair next to his lover. "Morning."
Squall handed over his tea. "I'd have thought you'd still be asleep."
"Matagne decided to slam some things around in her room," Seifer muttered into the cup before taking a sip.
Squall sighed at the mention of their neighbour, who was almost worse than Seifer in the mornings, and showed it by slamming things. It had led to at least two shouting matches between her and Seifer that Squall knew about, but the woman wasn't thinking straight enough in the mornings to remember not to slam things, and Squall didn't see the point in shuffling everyone around when most SeeDs got up early and were likely to wake Seifer if they closed a drawer a little too hard; something about Squall not being there to help lull Seifer back to sleep.
"Seven years?" Laguna repeated as Seth appeared with a tray for Seifer and some more tea for both Commanders. Other SeeDs were starting to come down as well, but he'd always made looking after the two Commanders his priority.
"Yes," Squall agreed carefully. "I passed the exam and field test at ten, Seifer at eleven. We were part of the advanced programme."
"Ten?" Laguna said, torn between being horrified and furious. "But you– That–"
Seifer grunted into his new cup of tea. "This is the most entertainment I've had in the morning in years."
"I'll talk to Selph about holding random Garden Festivals in the mornings," Squall retorted drily.
Seifer snorted into his cup. "That's torture, Squally."
Squall shrugged. "It should be entertaining for the rest of us, then."
"Sadist."
Squall flashed him an evil little smirk.
There was the sounds of shouting from outside the hotel, then everything shook a bit. Having spent the last week in Winhill, Squall and Seifer recognised the feeling of a explosion from one of the neighbouring villages – it wasn't impressive enough to be in Winhill proper, but it was pretty close if they could feel it in the hotel – which happened every other morning or so, depending on how hung over and irritated the neighbours were after a rowdy night out. If things were particularly bad, they would enjoy multiple explosions, either from the same village or from different ones.
"Damnit," Seifer muttered, slamming his cup down a little harder than really necessary.
"Finish your breakfast," Squall murmured, rising from his seat and touching Seifer's shoulder. "If it's enough of a problem, I'll send someone for you."
Seifer sighed and relaxed back into his chair. "I love you," he said gratefully.
Squall shot him a quietly fond look, then raised his voice to order, "A-Team, let's go. Markus, if you forgot your sword under your bed again, I'll choke you with your intestines."
"No, sir!" one of the rising SeeDs hurried to say while those who remained seated laughed.
Squall led them out, leaving the inn to return to the quiet chatter they'd enjoyed before the explosion.
Laguna looked after his son for a long moment before turning back to the blond, who was working through his breakfast like a man expecting to be called out at any moment. "So..." Laguna cleared his throat as the bright green eyes looked up at him, somehow intimidating in spite of the friendly light in them. "Um... You and...Squall?"
Seifer narrowed his eyes, much less friendly for a moment before his expression cleared and he smiled. "Squall and me what?" he asked in a suspiciously innocent voice.
Laguna paused for a moment, uncertain whether he'd got it wrong, but he was pretty sure there was no way he could have misread that exchange. "Are you...ah...dating my son?" he asked, uncomfortable. It wasn't that he was against homosexual relationships, and Squall was clearly more than capable of taking care of himself, but it seemed somehow wrong to be asking such a question of his newly-discovered son's possible boyfriend.
Seifer remained smiling, but his eyes had darkened with warning. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"
Laguna shook his head. "Ah, n-no! It's not a problem! I just..." He rubbed at the back of his head and looked away from the blond's sharp gaze. "I was curious."
Seifer grunted and turned his attention back towards his breakfast. "We've been together for two years. Most people don't know about it, though. Our adopted parents and our friends... Sis..." He shrugged. "That's about it."
Laguna frowned at that. "But... why? You're afraid someone will target one of you to get at the other?"
Seifer snorted. "Fuck no. Everyone already knows we're best friends, and we've been SeeD partners for almost three years now; if someone wanted to get at one of us, they'd already know who to go after. Not that it would matter, since we're both more than capable of taking care of ourselves. No, it's more complicated than that. Politics, mostly."
Laguna blinked and decided to drop that line of questioning, instead saying, "I'm sure you're both pretty good, being the SeeD Commanders, but don't be too full of yourselves; you're still kids, and there's always going to be someone better."
Seifer chuckled and finished the last of his tea before standing. "I'm going to take that in the spirit of you being a concerned father," he said as he gathered the papers Squall had left, intending to take them back to their room. "Enjoy the rest of your morning, Laguna." Then he turned and retreated up the stairs, waving towards Seth as the inn owner passed him to collect the dishware.
Laguna frowned at Seifer's words. "Excuse me," he said to Seth as the man stacked the plates Seifer and Squall had been using.
Seth focussed on the man, silently reminding himself that Squall was okay with him being there, so he should be nice to Laguna. "What can I do for you?" he asked, mostly managing to keep the hostility from his voice.
Laguna was trying to decide how to phrase his question, so he didn't notice the hostility. "How... good are Squall and Seifer?"
Seth blinked. "As fighters, you mean?" he asked, honestly surprised by the question. Who didn't know about SeeD's best?
Laguna nodded. "Yeah."
Seth blinked again, then sat in one of the chairs across from Laguna. "What do you know about SeeD?" he enquired, wondering what rock Laguna had been hiding under.
"Uhm, they're a mercenary force," Laguna said, remembering the brief explanation Xu and Zell had given when they'd first arrived in Esthar. "They train mostly in warfare, specialising in one particular weapon with knowledge of a number of others, but they're also trained in other things, like spying and diplomacy. Right?"
Seth shrugged, because that was about as much as anyone knew about SeeD, honestly. "They train the best," he replied. "Like, any one SeeD equals about a squad of regular soldiers, strength-wise."
Laguna frowned at that. "Truly? They're that good?"
Seth nodded. "You'd have to see them in combat to believe it, but, yeah. Now, Seifer and Squall... They're the best of the best. Those two are the absolute best SeeDs; even before they made Commanders, everyone listened to and respected them."
"Even the best can be beat," Laguna insisted.
Seth shook his head. "About three years ago, there was a pretty serious rebellion in one of the villages to the south of us, along the cliffs. They killed an entire platoon of soldiers and a SeeD during their uprising. Squall came in, and, well..." Seth grimaced at the reminder of what had happened to that village. That had been all anyone ever needed to know that Squall Leonhart was dangerous. "The only person who survived was Squall himself, and word is there wasn't a scratch on him."
Laguna stared at the owner in disbelief. "That... Is that even possible?" he whispered.
Seth nodded grimly. "I saw the aftermath. It was...ugly. Seifer and Squall... those two are in a class all their own. I don't want to meet someone better than them, 'cause I don't think there'd be a way to beat them. I mean, those boys are scary enough, but at least they follow some sort of moral code, are willing to listen to reason. But someone better than them..." He shuddered and got to his feet, intent on taking the dishes back to the kitchens. "Anyway, have I soothed your concerns about whether or not Squall can take care of himself?"
Laguna nodded, still feeling a bit numb. His son had killed off an entire village. 'Why?'
Seth picked up his load and turned a half-step away before suggesting, "If you want to know more, I'd suggest asking one of the SeeDs. They know those boys better than any of us normal people, after all."
"I... Thanks. Yeah," Laguna replied, turning his eyes towards the tables of SeeDs. He spared a brief wish that Xu and Zell were still in Winhill, being much more comfortable approaching them, especially since he knew they were Squall and Seifer's friends. But if he had to make do with just any group of SeeDs... He zeroed in on a duo at one table who looked relatively friendly and picked up his juice and the last of his toast before starting for them, hoping he could get something out of them.
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A/N: OMG. Make this fic end. Please. *stare*
One day. Eventually. (I should have done the smart thing and ended it after they took out Ultimecia. Bugger.)
~Bats ^.^x
Chapters:
1 - Touch of Memory ||| 2 - No One Here to Save
3 - Burn Up the Tracks
4 - Orphans and Widows ||| 5 - Close the Last Window ||| 6 - Melodies of Life
7 - Lie Under the Night ||| 8 - Not Invincible ||| 9 - Don't Want the World
10 - Dance With the Enemy ||| 11 - Everything I Have in This World ||| 12 - Running Out of Days
13 - Wake Up and Fight ||| 14 - Crimson Sky ||| 15 - Heroes Waiting
16 - Light in My Eyes |||17 - Lying Next to a Ghost ||| 18 - Living For Today
19 - Some Things Are That Simple
..
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/
batsutousaiBeta: Shara Lunison/
tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhirChapters: 17 of 19
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, Zell/Xu, Quistis/OMC, Fujin/Raijin
Warnings: AU, major canon-buggery, OoC Squall, slash/yaoi
Summary: No one thought to warn Squall against touching his younger self, and he leaves a part of himself behind when he returns to Time Compression.
A/N: elufuir (FFN) – Since you didn't log in or anything... Yes, I've got the Distant Worlds soundtracks. And I tend to take my titles from song lyrics, though I couldn't, for the life of me, tell you which ones are from what songs. (Could be anything in my library of four thousand songs, honestly...)
And, oh Merlin, please, no more plot bunnies for this fandom. Please. My brain needs a break.
Lying Next to a Ghost
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Balamb Garden ended up stuck at FH with Galbadia Garden, just in case they needed to help move the large Garden to a different position for the technicians. This would have been a lot more trouble – given the state of the Galbadian continent – if it weren't for Beau being there with them. The White SeeD Captain was more than willing to ferry SeeD teams to Dollet, Timber, and the southern villages, where the brewing rebellion was the most violent.
Selphie and Irvine were sent with a team of six other SeeDs to calm Timber, while October and Quistis led the team of fourteen SeeDs to cover the southern villages, and Fujin and Raijin were sent up to Dollet with four other SeeDs to calm the minor rebellion simmering there. They were waiting overnight for the White SeeD ship to return before sending a group to Deling City – in part to quell the rioting that was certainly taking place there, and in part to help defend the city against anyone the other groups missed – when Seifer had a brilliant idea.
It all started with a tired comment from Squall, who was dozing on the bed while Seifer went over some of the paperwork they'd inherited with their new positions. "It's a pity we're so close to Esthar and unable to visit," Squall had muttered, blocking the glare of the desk light with one hand and resigning himself to remaining awake until his lover was willing to turn in for the night. Sometimes Seifer would come right to bed, and sometimes he would stay up for a few more hours, trying and failing to block the desk light with his body.
Seifer hummed a bit, not quite hearing him. He got about another sentence through the document he was reading before Squall's words sunk in. "Wait, what?" He put his pen down and turned to face Squall. "Esthar?"
Squall rolled his eyes. "We're a few days walk from the OCS entrance," he supplied. "And you're always complaining that I don't listen."
Seifer frowned, a thought slowly taking form in the back of his head. "Well, you don't. Or you do, but– Hey, would Esthar be willing to help us with calming Galbadia, do you know? Or, well..."
Squall sighed. "Would Laguna be able to talk them into it? I don't know. They seemed to rather like living on their own and ignoring the rest of us, but I'm not certain that wasn't just a protective measure to keep Galbadia from coming down on their heads after Adel." He rubbed at his scar, wincing when doing so gave the desk lamp a clear shot at his eyes.
Seifer scooted his chair to one side so his shadow fell across Squall's eyes. "If we put it to them that they could assist as a sort of show of good-will, though. They might be willing to accept that, right? Maybe?"
"I don't know," Squall admitted, flashing a faint smile at the blond in response to him blocking the light. "Even if we could talk them around, though, who would we send? You and I need to stay here, and all the others I'd trust are in Galbadia."
Seifer shook his head. "Not everyone," he replied. "Xu and Chicken-Head are still in Garden. We should be able to take them off the Deling City team without sacrificing too much firepower. Put another couple SeeDs on that team to make up for their loss, maybe..."
Squall frowned in thought. As a general rule, he was uncomfortable with sending his friends into a potentially hostile situation with no chance of backup, but Xu had four years as a SeeD under her belt and had proven to be more than capable at soothing dangerous situations, so she would probably be their best option on a mission like this. And Zell was just the right side of cheerful that he should help put the Estharians at ease; his preferred weapon being his own fists was just a bonus, since disarming him would be rather difficult.
But, still. A couple of SeeDs could only get so far. Unless... "I'll have Sis write out a letter to Laguna tomorrow," he said aloud. "Something of an introduction, to catch his attention. Else they'll never get in to see him, and all this will be for nothing."
Seifer smiled. "Are you going to write a letter, too?" he wondered as he flipped off the desk light; the paperwork could wait until tomorrow.
Squall shifted on the bed, making room for Seifer, as he considered the question. 'Should I? It's not like he would have any reason to be interested in a letter from someone he doesn't even know, but if he finds out I'm his son later and didn't bother trying to send a personal message...'
Seifer slipped into the bed and drew Squall closer, letting out a content hum when Squall cuddled against him. "I think you should," he offered into the brown hair tickling his lips. "It doesn't have to be particularly personal, but maybe just a few words. Something to catch his attention, you know?"
Squall closed his eyes and let out a sound of agreement. "Dangling a carrot."
Seifer chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest and making Squall smile against it. "Something like that."
"Sure. I'll make sure to catch Xu first thing in the morning, before Beau gets back."
Seifer sighed a bit helplessly at the thought of getting up so early. "Morning person," he muttered.
Squall rolled his eyes and pinched Seifer's side, pleased at the grunt that got from the larger man. "Go to sleep."
Seifer chuckled again and tightened his arms around Squall's back, pleased when Squall hugged him back.
'President Loire,
'My sister, Ellone, tells me that you are my birth father. I regret that I am unable to meet you in person, but with the current state of the world at this time, a trip to Esthar is simply beyond my reach. I apologise for this impersonal way of revealing my existence to you and ask that we might, in the future, meet in person.
'Please treat my friends as you would myself and offer an ear to their plea, as it originally comes from myself. Whether you offer your assistance or not is up to you, but I request you at least be willing to listen.
'Sincerely,
'Squall Leonhart
'SeeD Co-Commander'
Sometime in the days following Xu and Zell's departure from FH, Trabia Garden had joined her sister Gardens at the pacifistic city, having received a cable message from Selphie about getting their engines started and offering their assistance in calming Galbadia. About the time they arrived, Galbadia Garden's systems were brought back online enough for them to at least lift their ring out of the water so the technicians could get to it easier. With Balamb Garden finally free to leave FH, they teamed up with Trabia and made their way towards the western continent, Trabia going north to check in with Dollet before heading to Deling City, while Balamb turned towards Timber and the southern rebellion.
As soon as Galbadia Garden joined them, Squall and Seifer directed them to cover Deling City, while Trabia kept an eye on Timber and Balamb stayed down in the south, travelling between villages and providing backup for their troops when the people started acting up again. Dollet had mostly calmed down, thankfully, but Beau had docked there and his SeeDs retained an obvious presence, just in case.
After a week, the southern villages were the only place where there was any real threat of rebellion and they were right on the edge of a new school term, so Squall and Seifer ordered the three Gardens back to their original positions. SeeD teams were left in Timber, Dollet, and Deling, just to be on the safe side, but most of their forces had converged on the southern villages, hard-eyed and refusing to allow anyone to talk rebellion under their direction.
With most of SeeD in the south, Squall and Seifer had set up a base camp in Winhill; Squall's home village hadn't joined in the rebellions – having a pacifistic mindset rather like the people of FH, but more accepting of soldiers – and were willing to host the two Commanders when they weren't out, seeing to things personally.
One afternoon, almost two weeks since the battle with Ultimecia, a small fleet of ships docked just off the coast west of Winhill and a single, unusual vehicle drove ashore to the small village. Squall was out, helping with a bridge that had fallen during a recent storm – showing the villagers they were willing to help with menial tasks had done more in the way of calming the populace than setting up a couple SeeDs in their inns – so Seifer was the one who met the guests, looking as exhausted as he felt, but managing an honest smile at the sight of the two SeeDs who climbed out. "Hey, Xu, Chicken-Head."
"You look like shit," Zell deadpanned. "And stop calling me Chicken-Head."
Seifer chuckled and turned his attention to the long-haired man who had joined the two SeeDs in approaching him. "President Loire, I presume?"
Laguna flashed him a smile. "So I am. And you must be Commander Almasy." He glanced around Seifer, expression falling a bit. "Is Squa– Ah, Commander Leonhart here?"
"Call him Squall," Seifer replied, amused. "And, no, he's up the river, helping with a bridge. They should be back in a couple hours, if you wanted to come in and sit for a bit?" He motioned back towards the inn the SeeDs occupying Winhill were staying at. Squall and Seifer had been offered the house that Laguna had once stayed in, before he moved in with Raine, but they'd preferred to remain with their people, even if it made things a little crowded.
Laguna looked rather like he wanted to go hunt down his son, but the dark-skinned man at his side – Kiros Seagill, Seifer assumed – put a hand on the president's shoulder and said, "That's a good idea."
Seifer nodded and led the way into the inn. He settled at one of the many tables filling the downstairs, offering a grateful smile to the owner when he came over with water for all of them. The man shot Laguna a frown, but left them to it without a word; Seifer had no doubt it would be all over the village within twenty minutes that Laguna was here.
"So, where is everyone else?" Xu asked, referring to their group of friends. There were obviously plenty of SeeDs around, a couple of them slowing to look at the group and saluting when Seifer shot them knowing looks.
Seifer shrugged. "About the same places that they were when you left; Selph and Irvy are still in Timber, and Fuu and Rai are still in Dollet, even though they've already signed a peace treaty." He frowned. "Given, so has Timber, but we're not taking any chances, especially not with the idiots down here getting drunk every night and picking up arms."
"What about October and Quis?" Zell wondered. "They still down here?"
Seifer shook his head, turning his mind back away from the daily attempts at rebellion; he hated the southern villages. "No. October broke his leg a few days ago, so we sent him and Quis up to Deling to heal and visit with his parents."
"The villagers seem unusually... welcoming," Laguna commented, watching through the front windows of the inn as a couple of SeeDs in uniform stopped to chat with a villager, all three looking quite relaxed.
Seifer snorted. "Squally made a really good first impression on them, and they kinda like that one of their own is famous, even if what he's famous for isn't quite something they'd have been okay with, normally. When they heard Squall was going to be remaining down here to help oversee this mess, they suggested we use the village as our home base, of sorts. Since our other option was going to be setting up tents and walking to the nearest village to use the cable, we took them up on the offer."
"You couldn't have just taken over another village?" Zell asked, frowning.
Seifer shrugged. "We've got SeeDs spread out through the villages, but setting up a base in some random village requires them to basically support us, and put up with having a bunch of soldiers in the streets. That's what Deling did, occupying the villages, and it's a large part of what ticked them all off so bad."
Xu grimaced and said to Zell, "You remember the destruction of Angles?" referring to the mission that had led to Squall and Seifer becoming partners.
"Please don't mention that mission to Squall," Seifer asked, wincing. "Actually, don't mention it around me, either."
Zell and Xu both winced, all too able to imagine Squall's response to any and all mentions about the mess of a mission. Past experience had taught them all that Squall got really quiet and cold when the mission was brought up, and being in the south, where it had happened, surrounded by similar circumstances...
Laguna and Kiros traded curious looks, but wisely decided not to ask. Instead, Kiros turned to the SeeD Co-Commander and said, "You requested assistance?"
Seifer's eyes lit. "So we did," he agreed in an even voice. "Are you saying you intend to lend us a couple soldiers?"
Kiros inclined his head. "We brought fifty soldiers," he agreed.
Seifer motioned a passing SeeD over. "Bring the map from my desk," he told the young man, who saluted before hurrying off. Turning back to Kiros, Seifer said, "We appreciate it. I'll show you where we could use the extra people. Will they be requiring food and sleeping arrangements from the villagers, or are the prepared to live off the land?"
"Either," Kiros assured him, secretly glad that he'd insisted all their people bring their own supplies.
"Thank you, SeeD Anderson," Seifer said as his map was handed over. He spread it out over the table with one hand while he moved his glass of water to the floor with the other. Laguna came over to join them, more interested by what sort of mess they were dealing with than watching out for a son that he, honestly, didn't know the appearance of.
Seifer settled in to explain how things stood at the moment and where they could use the extra people, then answered any questions and thoughts the four newcomers put forth. Kiros was clearly the brains, out of him and Laguna, but the president had a few good ideas that showed how he'd managed to retain his position at the head of a country for seventeen years.
They were just winding down, having sorted where everyone would go, when the inn door opened to admit Squall. "I hear we've got guests," he commented in an even tone.
"Hey, Squall!" Zell called, waving at his friend.
Laguna turned to look at the newcomer while Squall returned the greetings of his friends. He felt tears spring to his eyes at the sight of the young man, who looked so much like Raine that it hurt. The leaves and muck speckling his clothing and one cheek added to the similarities, what with Raine having enjoyed caring for her flowers. But when Squall turned his attention to Laguna, the differences stood out: the hard lines of war on his face, the stark line of the scar between his eyes, and the quiet darkness in eyes that were more grey than blue.
Squall took a deep breath, a little unnerved by his father's stare, and said, "President Loire."
Hurt flashed in Laguna's eyes at the formal greeting, but he managed a friendly smile and said. "Squall."
There was a long, uncertain silence, then Seifer rolled his eyes and said, "Squally, just hug him already."
Squall's hand flashed out, flinging a knife from one of his many hidden sheaths, and Seifer laughed as he caught it just in front of his face. Zell and Xu snorted, more than used to this exchange, but Laguna and Kiros were left staring disbelievingly between the two young men as Seifer threw the knife back with the same sort of deadly accuracy that Squall had employed and the brunet slipped it away.
Squall returned his attention to his biological father, inexplicably comforted by his lover's usual humour. "I–" He frowned a bit and shook his head. "Laguna, it's good to finally meet you." He stepped forward and held out a hand to shake.
Laguna took the hand and used it to draw the teen into a hug, which Squall had half expected and allowed with a quiet sigh. "It's, uhm... It's good to meet you, too," Laguna replied as he drew back. "You... Wow! You look a lot like your mother."
Squall raised an eyebrow at that, a motion that Laguna remembered Raine managing many a time, though never quite that effectively. "So I've been told," the teen replied before looking over Laguna's shoulder at Kiros. "Kiros Seagill, I believe?"
Kiros chuckled at that and extended his own hand for a shake, which wasn't turned into another awkward hug, thankfully. "Good to meet you, Commander."
Squall shrugged. "As I'm sure Seifer has already told you, first names will be fine," he said. Seifer had, in fact, made mention of that while they'd been discussing troop placement, but Squall managed a much more official air than the blond and Kiros had found himself using the teen's title without realising he was doing it.
"Kiros and Laguna brought us fifty more idiots to play with," Seifer told his partner.
"Be nice before they take them away," Squall ordered, slipping around the table to stand next to Seifer and look over the map. He picked up Seifer's glass while he was at it, sipping the water as he took in the changes. Frowning a bit, he tapped a small cluster of villages on the map just south of the Timber city limits and asked. "I thought we were going to put some people over there?"
"We can shuffle some people, but I got a couple reports in while you were out about things calming down over there."
"Hm." Squall handed the glass over to Seifer when the blond held out a hand for it. "I'd still like to send one or two more people over there. Is SeeD Slone willing to go back out on the field, or is he still whining about his ankle?" He scowled, still disgusted that the older SeeD had twisted his ankle and found the perfect village medic to insist he stay off it for a week. Even the threat of docked pay hadn't got him to change his mind, and Squall wasn't quite ready to discharge the man for his laziness, though he was getting there.
Seifer's eyes gleamed. "He's still whining. I say we break it for real."
"Noted and discarded," Squall replied drily, as he had every time Seifer had made the same suggestion over the past two days. He turned towards Xu and Zell, eyes thoughtful. "Are you willing to camp out for a few days?"
Zell let out an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose..."
Xu rolled her eyes. "We'll need some basic supplies, but we can head out with the Estharians."
Squall nodded and pushed away from the table. "Two bedrolls, or one?" he asked. When they both flushed, he said, "One it is, then," and left them for the extra supplies they had upstairs.
Seifer laughed at their disbelieving looks. "Oh, come on. You didn't think Squally and I wouldn't catch you, did you? I mean, Chicken-Head was sleeping on you in the castle, Xu."
Zell huffed. "You're an ass."
"So I am," Seifer agreed.
"I thought it was SeeD policy that you weren't pairing couples together," Xu said. "That's why you and Squall always kept things quiet, right?"
Laguna made a quiet noise of surprise, but Seifer ignored it to say, "It's never been official SeeD policy, just something that makes sense. We're okay with sending couples on most missions together, but if we say we're separating you, we're separating you." He waved a hand at their surprised looks as he set his glass back down on the floor. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not Cid or the faculty, I know romantic partners can work together fine, but there are times we'll need you on different missions because of your varied strengths or because it would be uncomfortable to both be there."
"Uncomfortable?" Zell parroted.
"If there's flirting or an undercover relationship involved," Squall answered as he joined them with an outdoor bag, which he held out to his friends. "There's enough supplies to last you a week, though you shouldn't be out there that long."
Zell took the bag and tested the weight with a nod. "Cool." He shot Squall a suspicious look. "So, does this mean Xu and me are kinda official, unofficial partners? Like Quis and October have been?"
"A bit more official than Quis and October have been, but, yes," Squall agreed before turning his attention to Seifer. "Roll up the map and let's get the Estharians deployed."
Seifer nodded and set about rolling up his map while Squall picked the water glass back up off the floor and drained it before leaving it on the hotel desk, the others following suit.
"You're not going to change?" Laguna asked his son as the six of them started out to the vehicle they'd arrived in.
Squall glanced down at his muddy shirt and shrugged. "It'll flake off," he decided.
Seifer rolled his eyes and stopped Squall outside the vehicle to pull off the dried mud on his cheek. "There. Now you sort of look presentable."
Squall raised an amused eyebrow at him. "I thought I always looked presentable."
"I said you always look good, not that you're always presentable," Seifer returned with a snort. "Get in the car."
"I'm pretty sure this is more of a–"
"And don't get technical!" Seifer added, shoving Squall towards the door that Zell and Xu had already disappeared through.
During the ride and their time with the Estharian troops, splitting them up and sending them out, Laguna kept watching his son. He wanted to know this mysterious young man who was in charge of a mercenary force at seventeen, and watching seemed almost as good an idea as trying to talk about it. He also wanted to know what sort of relationship he had with his blond partner, uncertain if Xu's earlier comment meant what he thought it meant.
By the time Kiros, Seifer, Squall, and Laguna were heading back to the hotel, Laguna still wasn't certain if his son and the blond were dating, but he was impressed with how both teens handled being in charge. It was clear that they had practise at giving orders, in spite of them only having their current positions for two weeks. Even Laguna couldn't manage his people that smoothly, and he'd been president for seventeen years. Given, he left a lot of the direction-giving to Kiros and other members of his staff...
They also had no trouble dealing with older soldiers, which was what impressed Laguna the most about them. They were seventeen and eighteen, but they hadn't paused at directing men in their thirties and forties, even when a couple soldiers had laughingly told them to go back to school. Seifer had laughed right back at the men, then fallen silent while Squall stared them down. Laguna hadn't been able to see his expression, having been behind the teens at the time, but the two soldiers had both paled and sort of shuffled off. Other soldiers who had seen whatever Squall's expression had been had also moved on without any complaint. Laguna kind of wanted to ask his son to teach him the trick, but he somehow doubted he could pull it off, not with how serious Squall seemed.
And wasn't that odd! Laguna had never been a serious man, and while Raine had had her moments of sternness, she'd been almost as much of a fun-loving person as Laguna was. Squall, though, seemed to be in a constant state of solemn silence, often leaving Seifer to speak for both of them. He certainly had a sense of humour – Laguna could hardly forget the teasing about the bedrolls and the dirt – but he seemed content to leave it among his friends, and they'd all taken it in stride, Zell and Xu not blinking when Squall sort of fell into the background, Seifer moving forward to give the orders.
Seifer was another interest for Laguna. He'd been so focussed on getting a chance to meet his mystery son, that he hadn't much paid attention to anything Xu and Zell had said about their other friends, but he was beginning to wish he had. It was clear that Seifer was particularly close to Squall, communicating with glances and aborted hand motions that looked only vaguely like the SeeD sign language he'd seen Zell and Xu use a couple times for private conversations. They shared their position without any apparent problems, and both teens wore gunblades, though they were different styles. The possibility of a relationship was certainly interesting, but after watching Seifer discuss troop deployment with them before Squall arrived and then again with the soldiers, Laguna couldn't help but be interested in learning more about the blond who was such a big part of Squall's life.
There wasn't a chance to talk much after they'd sorted out the Estharian troops, however, as once they got back into Winhill, the villagers wanted to talk to Laguna – most to curse him, a few to ask how he'd been – and some issue or another had come up in a neighbouring village that Squall and Seifer had to see to. When Laguna went to bed that night – tired from the long trip from Balamb, where they'd stopped to find out Squall and Seifer's position – the two teens were still out, and he couldn't help but wonder what sort of life they led, trapped in this little village and trying to control a civil war.
Squall offered the inn owner a grateful look as the man set his usual in front of him the next morning, avoiding the pile of papers he'd been working on with the ease of long practise. Instead of going back to his desk or the kitchen like he normally would, the man settled into an open chair across from the SeeD Commander and Squall resigned himself to taking part in a conversation. "Good morning, Seth."
The owner smiled at him. "Squall. Didn't think we'd see you up this early, what with you gettin' in so late last night."
Squall hid a grimace, because he'd rather still be in bed himself, but his internal alarm clock had told him it was time to get up, and rather than tossing and turning for another hour until he ended up waking Seifer and they both trooped downstairs, groggy and irritable, he got up and left his lover to sleep, trusting the overly-caffeinated tea the inn kept on hand for the SeeDs to help get him through the day. "I enjoy watching the sunrise too much," he deadpanned.
Seth chuckled, recognising the same dry humour that Raine had often employed when she was tired. Given, Squall didn't seem to have that same loud humour that his mother used during rowdy evenings at her pub, but it was the little things that all of the villagers liked to spot in her son, treasuring every hint of the woman who had left them after bringing the boy into the world.
Thinking about Raine reminded Seth of their most recent visitor, and his reason for sitting with the teen. "About Laguna..."
Squall's brow furrowed. "Is him being here going to be a problem?" he asked, a hint of the self-sacrifice that was wholly Raine in his eyes. "I know you lot don't care for him, but–"
"It's nothing like that," Seth assured him and Squall relaxed. "It's not really a problem. I mean, yeah, some of the villagers are going to be right assholes about him being here, but they'll deal with it, like they did before he left. No, it's more... Well, are you okay with him being around?"
Surprise flashed in Squall's eyes for a moment before he threw up the blank mask that the people of Winhill were getting uncomfortably used to seeing on Raine's face. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked in a perfectly even tone.
Seth sighed and once again mentally cursed the decision seventeen years ago that landed this child of their village in SeeD; for all that Squall had made a name for himself and the villagers were proud of him, there was that niggling thought that if they'd kept him, he might have been so much more open and happy. "Squall, Laguna's going to want to get to know you, to get in your business. He's not going to let you brush him off like the rest of us do."
Humour glinted in Squall's eyes at that, remembering the many times over the past week that he'd been cornered by an overly friendly villager and had to politely inform them that his personal life was none of their business. Most of them left it at that, but a couple – including Seth's wife – had been a little insistent, requiring Squall to be a bit more...rude. Squall didn't like being rude to these people, but he also had no interest in discussing the women in his life or what being a SeeD was like.
"I have parents, Seth," Squall pointed out drily, "I know what it's like to have someone in my life who isn't willing to take no for an answer."
"You have parents?" Laguna asked from behind the teen, having come down the stairs unnoticed by either male at the table. "Someone adopted you?" And didn't that hurt?
Squall sighed and turned to face his father while Seth rose to collect a second breakfast. "Good morning, Laguna," he said evenly.
Laguna took the recently vacated chair and continued giving Squall a wounded look as he mumbled, "Morning," in response.
Squall sighed again and traced his scar with one hand while the other picked up his cup of tea to help fortify himself against this conversation. "Yes," he said at last, "Seifer and I were adopted not quite three years ago by a couple friends of Cid's in Deling City who had hosted us for a mission, Christal and Gregory Gustafson."
Laguna's expression brightened. "Chris Shores?" he asked. "Black hair, green eyes?"
Squall blinked and nodded, vaguely recalling his adopted mother mentioning that her maiden name was Shores. "Yeah. You know Chris?"
Laguna nodded, clearly pleased. "She lived down the street from us before my parents moved to Dollet. She was a bit older, so I don't think she'd remember me, but I remember her. Didn't know she'd married old Gustafson's kid. I never met him, but his father was a real piece of work, from what my parents always said."
Gregory had mentioned, once, that his father had been a bit of a bastard, so Squall didn't doubt Laguna's words. "Well, Greg's nice, and he and Chris really love each other. They've been really good. For both Seifer and me." He grimaced and hid behind some of his breakfast. 'This is so fucking awkward.'
Seth rescued him with a plate for Laguna and questions about what he wanted to drink.
Once Seth had served Laguna some apple juice and left again, the older man turned again to Squall, who had pulled over his paperwork to read over. "Work?" he asked with a touch of sympathy.
Squall shrugged. "Reports from a team up in Trabia. We focussed so much of our forces on Galbadia that the bandit groups up there got jealous." He shook his head and set the papers back down to focus on Laguna. "I–" He sighed and rubbed at his scar again. "I know this is probably going to bother you, but is it okay if I continue referring to you as 'Laguna'? I just... I've been trying to think of you as 'Dad' or 'Father' for years and it just isn't working. I don't call Greg either of those, either, though. If that helps?" He glanced towards Laguna, a little bit hopeful. He didn't want to alienate this man, and not just because of the pros of having Esthar on their side; he was old enough to admit that he liked the idea of getting to know his father, as stumbling and awkward as Laguna was.
Laguna was torn between being sad that Squall wouldn't call him 'Dad' and grateful that the teen wasn't shoving him away. Although, Squall had made first contact, in a manner of speaking. But... "How many years have you known I was your father?"
Squall blinked. "A while," he replied. "Six years, I think." That was about how long it had been since the first time he'd visited Winhill, and he hadn't received proof that Laguna was his father until then. He'd suspected – well, the Ghost had suspected – but he hadn't had any actual proof until that visit.
"Oh." Laguna frowned a bit at that. "Then... You knew I was in Esthar?"
Squall sighed, knowing where this was heading. "I only found out you were still alive two years ago, when we ran into a city boss who was from Esthar–" a lie, but the only people who would know that were Squall, Seifer, and Semans, none of whom would be telling Laguna any differently, "–and it's not like there was an easy way for me to contact you, not as busy as I was. Am." He shrugged. "If Esthar was connected by the cable, or we could get around the radio interference, it would be different, but..." He shrugged again.
"Is being a SeeD really so busy?" Laguna asked. "I mean, as Commander, sure, but a normal SeeD?"
Squall took a moment to consider his words, then said, "I have never been a 'normal' SeeD."
"What do you mean?"
"We made SeeD seven years ago," a sleepy voice said from behind Squall before Seifer dropped into the open chair next to his lover. "Morning."
Squall handed over his tea. "I'd have thought you'd still be asleep."
"Matagne decided to slam some things around in her room," Seifer muttered into the cup before taking a sip.
Squall sighed at the mention of their neighbour, who was almost worse than Seifer in the mornings, and showed it by slamming things. It had led to at least two shouting matches between her and Seifer that Squall knew about, but the woman wasn't thinking straight enough in the mornings to remember not to slam things, and Squall didn't see the point in shuffling everyone around when most SeeDs got up early and were likely to wake Seifer if they closed a drawer a little too hard; something about Squall not being there to help lull Seifer back to sleep.
"Seven years?" Laguna repeated as Seth appeared with a tray for Seifer and some more tea for both Commanders. Other SeeDs were starting to come down as well, but he'd always made looking after the two Commanders his priority.
"Yes," Squall agreed carefully. "I passed the exam and field test at ten, Seifer at eleven. We were part of the advanced programme."
"Ten?" Laguna said, torn between being horrified and furious. "But you– That–"
Seifer grunted into his new cup of tea. "This is the most entertainment I've had in the morning in years."
"I'll talk to Selph about holding random Garden Festivals in the mornings," Squall retorted drily.
Seifer snorted into his cup. "That's torture, Squally."
Squall shrugged. "It should be entertaining for the rest of us, then."
"Sadist."
Squall flashed him an evil little smirk.
There was the sounds of shouting from outside the hotel, then everything shook a bit. Having spent the last week in Winhill, Squall and Seifer recognised the feeling of a explosion from one of the neighbouring villages – it wasn't impressive enough to be in Winhill proper, but it was pretty close if they could feel it in the hotel – which happened every other morning or so, depending on how hung over and irritated the neighbours were after a rowdy night out. If things were particularly bad, they would enjoy multiple explosions, either from the same village or from different ones.
"Damnit," Seifer muttered, slamming his cup down a little harder than really necessary.
"Finish your breakfast," Squall murmured, rising from his seat and touching Seifer's shoulder. "If it's enough of a problem, I'll send someone for you."
Seifer sighed and relaxed back into his chair. "I love you," he said gratefully.
Squall shot him a quietly fond look, then raised his voice to order, "A-Team, let's go. Markus, if you forgot your sword under your bed again, I'll choke you with your intestines."
"No, sir!" one of the rising SeeDs hurried to say while those who remained seated laughed.
Squall led them out, leaving the inn to return to the quiet chatter they'd enjoyed before the explosion.
Laguna looked after his son for a long moment before turning back to the blond, who was working through his breakfast like a man expecting to be called out at any moment. "So..." Laguna cleared his throat as the bright green eyes looked up at him, somehow intimidating in spite of the friendly light in them. "Um... You and...Squall?"
Seifer narrowed his eyes, much less friendly for a moment before his expression cleared and he smiled. "Squall and me what?" he asked in a suspiciously innocent voice.
Laguna paused for a moment, uncertain whether he'd got it wrong, but he was pretty sure there was no way he could have misread that exchange. "Are you...ah...dating my son?" he asked, uncomfortable. It wasn't that he was against homosexual relationships, and Squall was clearly more than capable of taking care of himself, but it seemed somehow wrong to be asking such a question of his newly-discovered son's possible boyfriend.
Seifer remained smiling, but his eyes had darkened with warning. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"
Laguna shook his head. "Ah, n-no! It's not a problem! I just..." He rubbed at the back of his head and looked away from the blond's sharp gaze. "I was curious."
Seifer grunted and turned his attention back towards his breakfast. "We've been together for two years. Most people don't know about it, though. Our adopted parents and our friends... Sis..." He shrugged. "That's about it."
Laguna frowned at that. "But... why? You're afraid someone will target one of you to get at the other?"
Seifer snorted. "Fuck no. Everyone already knows we're best friends, and we've been SeeD partners for almost three years now; if someone wanted to get at one of us, they'd already know who to go after. Not that it would matter, since we're both more than capable of taking care of ourselves. No, it's more complicated than that. Politics, mostly."
Laguna blinked and decided to drop that line of questioning, instead saying, "I'm sure you're both pretty good, being the SeeD Commanders, but don't be too full of yourselves; you're still kids, and there's always going to be someone better."
Seifer chuckled and finished the last of his tea before standing. "I'm going to take that in the spirit of you being a concerned father," he said as he gathered the papers Squall had left, intending to take them back to their room. "Enjoy the rest of your morning, Laguna." Then he turned and retreated up the stairs, waving towards Seth as the inn owner passed him to collect the dishware.
Laguna frowned at Seifer's words. "Excuse me," he said to Seth as the man stacked the plates Seifer and Squall had been using.
Seth focussed on the man, silently reminding himself that Squall was okay with him being there, so he should be nice to Laguna. "What can I do for you?" he asked, mostly managing to keep the hostility from his voice.
Laguna was trying to decide how to phrase his question, so he didn't notice the hostility. "How... good are Squall and Seifer?"
Seth blinked. "As fighters, you mean?" he asked, honestly surprised by the question. Who didn't know about SeeD's best?
Laguna nodded. "Yeah."
Seth blinked again, then sat in one of the chairs across from Laguna. "What do you know about SeeD?" he enquired, wondering what rock Laguna had been hiding under.
"Uhm, they're a mercenary force," Laguna said, remembering the brief explanation Xu and Zell had given when they'd first arrived in Esthar. "They train mostly in warfare, specialising in one particular weapon with knowledge of a number of others, but they're also trained in other things, like spying and diplomacy. Right?"
Seth shrugged, because that was about as much as anyone knew about SeeD, honestly. "They train the best," he replied. "Like, any one SeeD equals about a squad of regular soldiers, strength-wise."
Laguna frowned at that. "Truly? They're that good?"
Seth nodded. "You'd have to see them in combat to believe it, but, yeah. Now, Seifer and Squall... They're the best of the best. Those two are the absolute best SeeDs; even before they made Commanders, everyone listened to and respected them."
"Even the best can be beat," Laguna insisted.
Seth shook his head. "About three years ago, there was a pretty serious rebellion in one of the villages to the south of us, along the cliffs. They killed an entire platoon of soldiers and a SeeD during their uprising. Squall came in, and, well..." Seth grimaced at the reminder of what had happened to that village. That had been all anyone ever needed to know that Squall Leonhart was dangerous. "The only person who survived was Squall himself, and word is there wasn't a scratch on him."
Laguna stared at the owner in disbelief. "That... Is that even possible?" he whispered.
Seth nodded grimly. "I saw the aftermath. It was...ugly. Seifer and Squall... those two are in a class all their own. I don't want to meet someone better than them, 'cause I don't think there'd be a way to beat them. I mean, those boys are scary enough, but at least they follow some sort of moral code, are willing to listen to reason. But someone better than them..." He shuddered and got to his feet, intent on taking the dishes back to the kitchens. "Anyway, have I soothed your concerns about whether or not Squall can take care of himself?"
Laguna nodded, still feeling a bit numb. His son had killed off an entire village. 'Why?'
Seth picked up his load and turned a half-step away before suggesting, "If you want to know more, I'd suggest asking one of the SeeDs. They know those boys better than any of us normal people, after all."
"I... Thanks. Yeah," Laguna replied, turning his eyes towards the tables of SeeDs. He spared a brief wish that Xu and Zell were still in Winhill, being much more comfortable approaching them, especially since he knew they were Squall and Seifer's friends. But if he had to make do with just any group of SeeDs... He zeroed in on a duo at one table who looked relatively friendly and picked up his juice and the last of his toast before starting for them, hoping he could get something out of them.
-0-0-0-
A/N: OMG. Make this fic end. Please. *stare*
One day. Eventually. (I should have done the smart thing and ended it after they took out Ultimecia. Bugger.)
~Bats ^.^x
1 - Touch of Memory ||| 2 - No One Here to Save
3 - Burn Up the Tracks
4 - Orphans and Widows ||| 5 - Close the Last Window ||| 6 - Melodies of Life
7 - Lie Under the Night ||| 8 - Not Invincible ||| 9 - Don't Want the World
10 - Dance With the Enemy ||| 11 - Everything I Have in This World ||| 12 - Running Out of Days
13 - Wake Up and Fight ||| 14 - Crimson Sky ||| 15 - Heroes Waiting
16 - Light in My Eyes |||
19 - Some Things Are That Simple
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no subject
Date: 17/1/12 10:29 (UTC)♥♥♥
no subject
Date: 17/1/12 22:01 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17/1/12 10:31 (UTC)Give Bats' bunnies this day their daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses that we may continue to enjoy Bats' works for they lead us into temptation. Deliver us not from Bats' cliffhangers, evil though they be.
Amen.
:)