Alright! before we get started with this, I have to thank Lecritic for both inspiring this fanfic and beta reading/editing. I was originally planning on publishing this a while ago but better late than never I suppose! anyway enjoy and let me know what you think in the reviews!

Laguna Loire was bored. He sat behind his large desk, his chin resting in his hands as he listened to his head of security give a detailed safety briefing. It was hard to pay attention. The subject bored him to tears and he had the added distraction of worrying about his son. As he sat there feigning interest in the presentation, he thought about the phone call he'd received from his son's headmaster just an hour prior.

Laguna had never gotten a call from school before, so he was surprised when the call came through on his direct line. Not many people had access to his private number, just Kiros, Squall and Esthar Prep, the private school Squall attended. As Laguna lost focus on the briefing, he kept replaying the conversation in his head.

"Mr. President?" the headmaster asked cautiously.

"Yup, that's me!" Laguna answered, rather excited to get a call from someone besides Kiros.

"Sir, this is headmaster Cid of Esthar Prep. I'm sorry to bother you, I'm sure you're very busy..."

At the time, Laguna wasn't busy at all, but he didn't tell the headmaster that.

"What can I do for you Cid?" Laguna replied. No reason to be formal. Laguna was not a formal guy.

"Well sir, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your son was involved in an incident here on campus today," Cid said.

Laguna felt a swell of panic as he imagined the worst. Had Squall broken a bone? Been shot at? Scraped a knee? Frantic with worry, he jumped to his feet, prepared to run out the door.

"Is he alright?!"

"Oh, he's not hurt, but he was in a fight with another student," the headmaster said. "He and the other student have had confrontations with one another in the past, but they never resorted to violence before. As you know, we have a strict zero tolerance policy regarding violence. Both of them have received detention this time, but if it happens again, we will have no choice but to expel the both of them,"

Laguna sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose at the headmaster's stern tone.

"I understand. I'll speak with him about it," he replied gravely. "Thank you for letting me know."

"See that you do. Thank you for your time, sir."

Laguna hung up the phone, sat back in his chair and buried his face in his hands.

"Do you agree with this plan of action Mr. President?"

Laguna snapped out of his train of thought, momentarily confused by the head of security's question. He had apparently been going over the security protocol for Laguna's upcoming visit to Deling City.

"Oh...yeah...sure, whatever," he agreed absent-mindedly.

He wasn't even listening to what was being said, but the slide show seemed fairly well done. Laguna slipped back into his thoughts as he tried to figure out why Squall would be getting into fights at school. Squall was stubborn, just like his mother, Hyne rest her soul, but he wasn't aggressive unless provoked. He was quiet and kept to himself and he'd never been in trouble at school before.

Maybe he was standing up for himself, Laguna thought.

He had always told Squall never to throw the first punch but to also never be a punching bag. "If you don't defend yourself, no one will," Laguna told him.

Maybe he's lashing out because I haven't spent enough time with him…

That thought sent his mind into a frenzy. Thoughts came fast and furious as Laguna pondered how to handle this.

Maybe we should we do something together. But what? Obviously, if I'm here everyone is going to want me to approve this, or deny that, or be pulling me every which way. Maybe we need to get away. I hear Balamb is nice this time of year, and he will be out of school for Spring Break this afternoon… Fisherman's Horizon would be good, too, I suppose… And I've always wanted to take him to Mog's Moogle World outside Timber!

He couldn't decide which one he wanted to do with Squall. He obviously couldn't spend the entire two-week break at these places but, he did have a week till he had to be in Deling City.

We could probably get to all those places within a few days no problem! If we were to leave now…

His train of thought spiraled into a risky tunnel of wondrous possibility.

I'm sure these guys won't mind if I take off for a few days.

As Laguna settled on the perfect idea, he started to get excited. Really excited.

"ROAD TRIP!" he shouted as he shot to his feet in jubilation. Everyone in the room jumped at his sudden outburst and stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"Uhh…sir?" the head of security stuttered.

"I'm gonna take Squall on a road trip!" he declared. He placed his hands on his hips and stuck out his chest. "We need some father-son bonding time!"

"I'm going to have to insist that you don't do that sir," the head of security said sternly.

What a buzz-kill this guy was! Didn't he understand Squall was more important than Laguna's presidential duties? Laguna heard him, sort of. And sort of not. His mind was already planning out all the things he and Squall could do together how much fun this was going to be.

"We can go fishing, eat some famous fish fry in Balamb, and ride some roller coasters!"

"Sir, no," Mr. Boring Security Man protested.

"I'll just go get a car, pick him up from school and we can be in Deling by Friday!"

Laguna was lost in his own world, imagining the way Squall's face would light up in excitement at the gates of Magical Moogle World. This was going to be great.

"Sir, you can't do that!"

Laguna ignored the man and ran out of the room, oblivious to the stunned silence that followed in his wake.

~0~0~0~

Squall pushed the broom mindlessly through the gymnasium. He was only half done. The rest of the students had been let out hours ago, but Squall was stuck at school doing chores they paid the janitor to do. It was his own fault for throwing the first punch, but still.

No big deal. It could have been worse. He could have gotten suspended.

Having to clean the gym in addition to detention wasn't really that bad. At least he didn't have to look at Seifer while he worked. The headmaster thought it best to separate them, so Seifer was assigned cleaning duty in the auditorium. Squall had a feeling Seifer was just sitting around doing nothing. Not that Squall cared.

Squall wasn't entirely sure why he had been made the target of Seifer's ridicule, but ever since he'd arrived at the beginning of the school year, Seifer had been harassing him. He would do stupid, annoying things like dump Squall's tray of food on the floor at lunch or slam Squall's locker shut on him. Squall ignored most of it, expecting Seifer to get bored and finally give up if he didn't react.

Ignoring Seifer didn't work. It just made it worse, and recently, Seifer had changed his tactics. Squall finally got fed up with the daily torment, decided to put an end to it and took a swing. And now here he was, sweeping the gym as punishment. At least Seifer had wound up with a black eye. That almost made the detention worth it.

He finished his last half hour and made his way to the front gate of the school. He avoided going past the auditorium in case Seifer was there. He wasn't in the mood for round two. Seifer would be out for pay-backs, and Squall no longer had the element of surprise in his favor.

Squall was surprised when he got to the gate. Instead of the usual car and armed guards that normally picked him up, it was his father. Laguna was alone, which was cause for concern in itself, but it was the giant, cheesy smile on his face that made Squall extra wary.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Squall asked.

Laguna frowned at the unfriendly greeting.

"That's how you greet me? I go out of my way to pick you up from school and instead of 'Hello' I get 'what the hell are you doing here?'"

Squall said nothing. He narrowed his eyes at his father and waited for Laguna to answer the question.

Laguna sighed, and shook his head at him. Then, the cheesy grin was back and bigger than ever. Squall cringed at the sight of it. Whatever Laguna was up to, Squall was sure he wouldn't like it.

"Were going to Deling City!" Laguna said and threw his hands in the air with exaggerated excitement.

"No." Squall deadpanned.

"Yes!" Laguna retorted.

"No, you're going to Deling City at the end of the week. I'm going home."

Squall started to walk away but Laguna stopped him before he could get past the car.

"We're gonna go on a road trip for your Spring Break! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"No, it sounds like a terrible idea."

It really did. Squall couldn't imagine anything worse than being trapped in a car with his father for days on end. He would rather go for round two with Seifer right now than have anything to do with this plan.

"You sound like that security guy!" Laguna scoffed, crossing his arms. "Whatshisname."

Squall looked at Laguna in total confusion.

"His name is Matt," Squall said. "He's worked for you for ten years. How do you not know his name?"

"Pfft…" was all Laguna could muster in response to that question. "Jest get in the car and we'll get going!"

Laguna opened the passenger door and waved Squall toward the seat.

"No," Squall said. He shut the door and glared at his father.

"Yes!"

Laguna opened the door again with that same cheesy smile. "Get in the car, son."

"NO," Squall said more forcefully and slammed the door again.

Laguna narrowed his eyes at Squall. Laguna didn't expect him to be so difficult about this. Of course, Laguna didn't expect him to agree straight away, either. He didn't want to do what he was about to do, but it seemed Squall left him with no choice.

Squall didn't like the look Laguna was giving him, and he started to slowly back away.

He didn't move fast enough.

Laguna launched himself at Squall with more speed than Squall knew he was capable of and hoisted him up onto his shoulder. Even though Laguna was almost fifty, he was still pretty strong and agile. He forced Squall into the car before he could put up any kind of resistance, and fastened Squall's seatbelt for him like he was a child. Feeling victorious, Laguna made his way to the driver's seat and locked the doors so Squall couldn't escape. Before Squall knew what was going on, they were on the road.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Squall asked.

"Your headmaster called and told me about the fight. I think you need this," Laguna explained casually.

"Normal parents ground their children for fighting. They don't take them on international vacations…" Squall mumbled.

"Well I, am not a normal parent!" Laguna said proudly.

"You're not normal, alright…"

Laguna glared half-heartedly at Squall and continued driving.

Squall said nothing else and stared out the window at the city as they headed down the highway. He expected Laguna to turn off at the exit for the air station, but he drove right past it. Then, they came up on the exit for the train station. Squall thought Laguna wanted to take the more scenic route of going via train, but they drove past that, too. He started to get slightly worried about what Laguna had planned.

"You know you just passed the train station and the air station right?" Squall asked anxiously.

"Yup! We're going on a road trip!"

"So, instead of grounding me, you choose to torture me."

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen Squall! It'll be fun!"

Squall sighed and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms angrily as Laguna drove out of the city.

This was so not going to be fun.

~0~0~0~

The next few hours were spent in almost complete silence, except for Laguna's frequent attempts to start a conversation with Squall. Laguna would say something and all he got in return was one of three responses: a disgruntled sigh, a groan of annoyance, or an eye roll. Squall was refusing to say a word no matter how hard Laguna tried, but Laguna was determined to bring Squall out of his shell. They were going to be stuck in a car for the next few days. Squall would have to talk eventually.

By the time they reached the Horizon Bridge, it was around dinner time. Laguna was hungry and he would bet Squall was likely hungry as well.

They were still a few hours from FH. Laguna drove a little further down the bridge till all that could be seen all around was ocean. He pulled the car off to the side, making sure to leave enough room for Squall to open his door and shut the engine off.

"Are you hungry?" Laguna asked.

He didn't wait for Squall to answer, he simply unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the car making sure to take the keys with him.

That little detail did not escape Squalls notice. It was well within the realm of possibility that Squall might lock his father out of the car and debate with himself about whether or not to just drive off and leave Laguna stranded on the bridge. Squall almost smiled as he imagined the expression on Laguna's face in the rear-view mirror as he hightailed it out of there.

Laguna popped open the trunk of the sleek black sedan and retrieved a small blue plastic cooler. He praised himself internally for thinking ahead and packing some food for the two of them to tide them over until they reached their first destination. It was only sandwiches, but it would hold them over till they could get something more substantial. After closing the trunk, he made his way over to the railing of the bridge and climbed onto it, letting his feet dangle over the edge.

Squall refused to leave the car. He sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed over his chest like a pouting toddler. He had no desire whatsoever to be in that car, but he also didn't want to get out. He was hungry, and he knew that Laguna would try to talk to him again. Squall could easily just ignore him but that wasn't the point. He was not pleased about being forced on this trip in the first place. Silence was Laguna's punishment for forcing him into the car and forcing him to suffer through this ridiculous plan. Squall knew how much Laguna hated silence and Squall took full advantage of it every time it was necessary. Which was often.

But he was hungry, and Laguna had a cooler full of food.

Squall growled at himself and climbed out of the car. He begrudgingly took a seat next to Laguna. Laguna, of course, had that stupid, cheesy smile on his face as he handed Squall a sandwich.

"I would have liked to make some food for the trip," Laguna said taking a bite of his sandwich. "But considering how I made my grand escape by climbing out the window, that would have been pressing my luck."

Squall wondered how he'd wound up with the unfortunate luck of having such a moron for a father. The man was the President of Esthar and he acted like a fool nearly all the time. Climbing out windows and kidnapping his own son; it was ridiculous. Who did that?

They sat in silence while they finished eating. Squall found this surprising but he welcomed the silence. Squall stared out over the ocean as he ate his sandwich, taking notice of the dark storm clouds forming on the horizon. It was no secret that driving on the bridge wasn't always the safest due to the strong storms that could blow through, especially this time of year. Squall had a feeling the rapidly building storm was the only reason they didn't see any other cars on the bridge, or even a train for that matter.

"We should probably get going, I'd like to be in FH by nightfall!"

Laguna quickly climbed back over the railing and into the car, he put the cooler in the backseat for easy access to drinks and snack he'd stuffed in it.

Squall was surprisingly eager to return to the car. Of course there really was nowhere else for him to go. They continued down the road, Laguna seemed completely unaware of the storm clouds that had crept ominously closer as they continued their journey.

They were about an hour outside FH when Laguna's cell rang. He checked the caller ID and answered when he saw it was Kiros.

"Honestly Kiros, I'm surprised at you for not calling sooner," Laguna greeted.

"Well, I didn't expect you to tie up all your bed sheets to climb out the window like a child," Kiros retorted.

"You were wrong to think I wouldn't do that," he chuckled into the phone.

"Where are you? Matt is freaking out, and quite honestly this is one of the dumbest things you've done in a long time…" Kiros lectured.

Laguna pretended to listen to Kiros for a minute but then rolled down his window to blow air into the mic of the phone to create interference.

"What was that? I can't hear you!" Laguna said loudly.

"LAGUNA!" Kiros shouted on the other end.

Laguna didn't respond. With a grin, he threw his phone out the window. Without missing a beat, he simply rolled up the window and continued driving.

Squall was shocked that at what Laguna had just done. He was about to say something but his own phone began to ring. He fished it from his pocket, and answered, knowing it was Kiros, calling to make sure Laguna hadn't driven them off the bridge.

"What did he just do?" Kiros asked.

"He threw his phone out the window," Squall replied.

"Again? Of course he did…" Kiros sighed.

Kiros was about to say something else but Squall didn't get a chance to hear it. Laguna snatched Squall's phone out of his hand, rolled down the window and out it went to join Laguna's phone on the bottom of the sea.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Squall yelled.

"I'll buy you a new one in Deling City," Laguna said calmly.

"So... Now we have no phones. What if we need to call for help?" Squall asked angrily.

"We'll be fine!" Laguna said cheerfully.

Almost as if on cue, the car started to rumble. Laguna looked down at the dash to see the tire pressure light illuminated. They had a flat tire.

Squall sighed in disgust. "Great, if we had our phones we could call for help,"

"We don't need help. All we have to do is change the tire," Laguna placed the car in park and shut the engine off. "No big deal. Wanna learn?"

"No," Squall said. "Knock yourself out."

Laguna spent the better part of an hour trying to get the flat tire off as Squall watched the storm clouds build and pick up speed. The storm was closing in fast. Laguna had just put the first of the six lug nuts on the spare when the first drop of rain hit the windshield and the first clap of thunder echoed and rolled over the ocean. A second later, the sky darkened and it began to pour. Laguna managed to get the tire on and himself in the car before his clothes were completely soaked through.

"WOO! It's a little wet out!" Laguna joked as he started the car once again.

The drove at a much slower pace due to the heavy rain and strong wind, but after a few hours they finally made it safely to FH, and checked into the hotel for the night.

"Get some rest Squall! I want to get a pretty early start in the morning. Were going fishing!"

Squall rolled his eyes as he entered his hotel room, he immediately flopped down on the bed and fell sound asleep.

Laguna was exhausting.