(A/N:) Once upon a time I was watching Advent Children. It was during the scene where Vincent, Cloud, and Marlene were in the forest that a random thought struck me. Why couldn't Ellone channel Marlene and throw a tantrum and get Laguna to take her to Winhill instead?! I think Laguna would have made a great father if given the chance!
(Cue Muse walking up behind me: PLOT BUNNY SMASH!!)
So yeah… even while I was writing chapter 3 of A New Way to Play (I need abbreviation for this title) this little plot bunny was skipping merrily through my head. It was so begging to be written!!! Btw Ward is a hard person to write. Since he can't talk it's easy to forget I have him in the room. Decided to experiment a little with this chapter, I never really wrote a sappy emotional scene before. OMG first time I've ever started tearing up writing something! ;A;
Disclaimer: Would you really believe me if I claimed to own FFVIII? You all must drink Evian bottled water. (Evian is naïve spelled backwards btw)
Title: Cub of the Pride
Prologue: A Chance to Say Goodbye
She ignored the sympathetic looks. She knew that many would wait till she was out of earshot before they began their harsh criticism. It was fairly easy to attack someone when they weren't there to defend themselves. Some didn't, but the majority of them didn't want to stress her out especially in her condition. She loathed their cuddling. She had always been a fiercely independent woman, and she wasn't about to turn helpless just because of one small thing. The pub still needed to be run, and if most of the townspeople chose to visit her pub in an excuse to check on her then they could go right ahead. It was good for business anyway.
The woman reached over to grab a rag resting on the edge of the counter, but accidentally knocked it to the ground. She sighed, her breath blowing the brown hair that for once was not held back in its customary white headband. Nothing could have prepared her for how cumbersome it would be just to move around. Before she could begin the arduous task of trying to retrieve the rag one of the patrons leapt to his feet and scooped it up for her.
"Here you go, Raine. Maybe you should get someone to take over for you? I don't think you should be working right now."
Raine's face tightened and she snatched the rag from the man. She turned away and tried to weave through the tables despite her bulk. The man followed undaunted still pleading his case. Raine was one of their own, and it was disgusting how that outsider left his wife especially now that she needed him the most.
"Seriously my boy, Harold, can help out here after school. Besides you really shouldn't be alone."
"Alone?" The brunette echoed as she turned to face him. "Rupert, I'm never truly alone." Raine protectively rubbed her round belly and gave a tight smile when she felt a kick in response. "I still have this little one to keep me company."
"But Raine, tha─"
Though she was shorter than Rupert, Raine's cold blue-eyed glare intimidated the man. Raine went back to work unaware that one day in the future her son who inherited her eyes would be silencing idiots with the same glare.
"Can you believe this?!" The man paced and was about a few moments away from tearing out his long dark hair. "Why, in Hyne's name did they make me the President?!"
"Hmm? Let's think about it. Maybe because you agreed to be their leader when we were escaping from the lab." His dark skinned younger companion dryly commented. From across the room their seven foot friend sighed sadly holding onto a tired little girl. "Ward's right. You really should listen to what people are saying before you make promises left and right."
"B-but I only agreed to be the leader of the resistance. Kiros, they made me out to be this hero of the revolution! I don't know how to run a country!"
"You should have been paying attention. Seriously, Laguna, you were President for three days before you were even aware of it."
An aide silently entered the room and placed a large stack of papers and a couple of CDs onto the desk before leaving. Laguna started breathing harshly and hunched over as his leg started to cramp on him.
"Is Uncle Laguna going to be okay?"
"Don't worry, Elle, this happens all the time." Kiros assured the dark haired girl as Laguna hobbled over to the couch and collapsed onto it.
Elle motioned to Ward to put her down before she scrambled over to Laguna on the couch. Even with his cramp he picked up the three year old and sat her on his lap when she tugged on his sleeve. The little girl clutched at his blue jacket and curled into his chest just taking comfort in his presence. After being around strangers for more than half a year Ellone was very clingy. Even if it took him awhile Laguna kept his promise and came to get her. He made her feel safe, but their family was not complete.
"Uncle Laguna, I wanna see Raine."
"Believe me, Elle, I wanna see Raine too." He admitted as he stroked Elle's dark hair as she clung to him.
"I don't think that's quite possible at the moment." Kiros and Ward had walked behind the desk and were examining all of the work that Laguna was ignoring. "Esthar is currently in a state of upheaval after Adel's regin. These are papers are all on reworking the policies and laws that Adel placed down when she was in charge."
Laguna grimaced, "Sounds like a nightmare."
Suddenly Ward straightened up and waved Kiros over to look at a document that he was holding. The younger man made a disgusted noise.
"What's wrong?"
"Odine is stirring up trouble." Kiros' face looked more disgusted the further he read. "He wants to do research on Ellone."
"I won't allow it!" Laguna snarled when Ellone whimpered at the mention of Odine.
"As the one who constructed the sorceress' tomb, he could push it stating that it's required for his research."
"Damnit! I won't let her become an experiment again."
"I want Raine…" The need and want in Elle's whisper tore at Laguna's heart.
"Wait that's it. If I send Ellone back to Winhill and ordered Odine to create some large complex advance machine maybe he'll forget about Ellone."
Kiros and Ward both stared at the older man skeptically. Would it be that easy to distract Odine? It had better be like the greatest scientific project of the century to keep the heavy accented man busy. The scientist was keen on studying Ellone's strange power. Currently Odine was putting the finishing touches on the programs on the space station that monitored Adel's tomb.
"But Uncle Laguna, Raine is waiting for both of us."
"I'm sorry, Elle, but there is too much work for me to be able to leave." Laguna placed her back onto her feet and kneeled down to look her in the face. "I'll follow after you when I get done."
"What if you never get done?" Her brown eyes started to water. "Don't you want us anymore?"
"Elle…"
"No!" Ellone knocked Laguna's hands away and ran to hide behind Ward. "Raine said that you couldn't live in a quiet country town. You're leaving us. You don't want to live in Winhill! You want a big city like this place."
"That's not true, Elle! I really want to be with you and Raine, the three of us." He tried to meet the little girl's eyes but she hid her face into Ward's pant leg. The silent man gave Laguna a very disapproving stern look as he crossed his large powerful arms. The look on Laguna's face was devastated.
Kiros' eye twitched suspecting what was about to happen. Laguna was tore between duty and what his heart wanted. The twenty four year old was usually the voice of reason in the group. He was the one who did damage control when Laguna presented his outrageous plans, so he couldn't believe what he was about to suggest.
"Go." Everyone in the room turned to him in surprise. "Just go. Ward and I will take care of things here for awhile. We'll just say that you went to check on a rumor of another sorceress that was planning on taking advantage of the changing of the leaders. You're the Hero of the Revolution they'll believe that. But you better not take too long! It doesn't matter the location as long as you're all together, so you better talk your wife into a move if you want to keep your promise to these people."
The President of Esthar just stared at his two friends in stunned shock, while Elle waited with fragile hope apparent on her face. "You guys… thank you. Elle let's go."
It had been eight months. No word for eight months. Raine ambled along the road with a basket of her favorite white flowers by her side. It was a beautiful summer day, but the brunette could not enjoy it. Her heart was as heavy as her body. Her hope was failing her, and feared something terrible had happened to Ellone and Laguna. She never considered herself a weak woman, but she was getting desperate for them to return. It was such a sentimental thing but Raine really wanted Laguna to be there to witness the birth of their child.
"When your father gets back I'm going to kill him for taking so long." She joked pressing a hand against her bump. "Don't worry you shouldn't miss him too much he's a moron. You'll thank me someday. You could probably do without his influence. As much as I love the idiot I hope you're more like me. I don't think I'll enjoy it much if you cry as much as your father. It going to be September soon, your due date is coming soon. I hope your father and Ellone will be back in time. You'll like Ellone though. She'll make a good big sister. Perhaps we'll even─"
The woman stopped her light toned musings and dropped her basket, the flowers spilling out onto the ground. A sharp pain ran through her stomach. Something was wrong. That wasn't the baby kicking. Something was terribly wrong. Her breaths starting coming out in puffs as she slowly sank to the ground. She was barely into her eighth month wasn't it too earlier?
"HELP! Someone… help!" Raine yelled out starting to fear for her baby as blood started to pool out staining the petals of the white blooms. Horror gripped her as she stared as her blood painted the ground a deep crimson.
It was torture. An agonized scream crawled up her throat tearing itself free as another bout of pain hit her body. The bed sheets held prisoner in her white knuckled grip were the only thing grounding her. The pain racking her body was intense. Even as the midwife comforted and assured her that everything was going to be okay the ominous terror from earlier still lingered. Raine floated in and awareness barely taking note of how many times the assistant was in and out of the room trying to bring in clean towels─ the towels that were quickly stained in her blood.
"…we have to stop the bleeding…"
"…She suffering too many complications, if this keeps up we're going to lose both the mother and the child!"
"There's not much we can do try to make her was comfortable as you can."
"Honey, listen to me you're going to have to push. Can you hear me, Honey? …Raine?" The midwife grew worried when the young woman didn't answer right away, but sighed in relief when the brunette turned glassy blue eyes at her.
"It's too earlier…" She objected meaning more than just the gestation period. Her eyes turned to look out the window.
"ELLE, SLOW DOWN!"
"Hurry up, Uncle Laguna!"
It had been difficult sneaking out of Esthar, but Kiros and Ward had run interference to help them get out. They had been on their own ever since they left the continent. It was a bit hard since they had been trying to keep a low profile, but that they were so close the little girl could barely contain her excitement.
Laguna shook his head and with a laugh ran up to catch up with Ellone. He also missed Raine very much these last few months. With his longer legs he quickly caught up and as he ran past the green eyed man scooped up the girl and tucked her under his arm much to her delight.
They flew over the grassy plains both of them yelling aloud how they were going to surprise Raine with their appearance. Before they knew it they were stumbling into the town square. Laguna stopped as the fragrance of Winhill's flowers hit him. The scent carried with it all the good memories associated with this place. He wasn't the only one who missed the place as he and Ellone shared a gentle smile.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Someone had noticed their appearance, and Laguna was greeted with a vicious right hook. The former soldier made sure to cushion Elle who was still tucked beneath his arm as he fell back from the force of the blow. "How dare you show your face after leaving your wife in her condition!"
Unease seeded itself into his heart. "Condition?" He leapt to his feet. "What happened to Raine?! Is she alright?! Where is she?!"
The Winhill resident threw a disgusted glare at him, but nonetheless answered him. "The midwife is with her at her house… last I heard it wasn't going well."
He did not hear what else the man was saying. He just took off with Ellone urging him to go faster. Oh Hyne! What was Raine doing with the Midwife?! Was she… could she be… As they neared the house familiar screams taunted him. Shortly after he busted into the pub the smell of blood was like a punch to the gut. Laguna ran up the stairs knocking over a man going down the stairs carrying soaked red towels.
Raine was amidst the bloodied pillows and sheets of their bed. Sweat coated her face plastering wisps of her hair to her face. That pale face was scrunched up with the effort of her push. He rushed to the bed to find that his wife was rounder in the middle than he remember.
"Raine?!" Tired blue eyes snapped opened at the sound of her name. She released the bed sheets and weakly raised a hand which her husband quickly cradled within his larger ones. Ellone had wiggled out of Laguna's grasp and made her way to the other side of the bed where she took possession of the woman's other hand.
"Y-you… made it. I hoped… you would make it… to our child's… birth." Raine's voice was weak between labored breaths.
Seeing this the midwife ordered, "Hey this is no place for children! This place is covered in blood. Go wait downstairs!"
"NO!" The midwife looked taken aback. This was the most energy that Raine shown since her labor started as she vigorously shook her head. "I just got them back… They are staying… right here where I can keep an eye… on them!"
There was no time to argue as another contraction hit and all their attention was focused back onto the matter at hand. Raine more determined and with newfound energy concentrated on pushing making the delivery go much faster. Laguna rambled out encouragements even as he tried to warp his mind around the idea that he was going to be a father. This was not what he was expecting when he came back to Winhill. The man was numb, but inwardly a small part of him was elated. The small feeling began growing as he warmed to the idea.
Laguna was forced back to earth as Raine screamed and a more bruised and rattled assistant returned with more towels. Was there supposed to be this much blood during childbirth? Raine graced him with a small weak smile between contractions, and he placed a light kiss upon the hand he held.
"I see the head! Next contraction I want you to push as much as you can."
Ellone tried to take a look but Raine held onto her hand tightly. The little girl wasn't exactly old enough to witness that. With one more strenuous push the baby was out and a faint cry broke the air. The new mother collapsed back onto the bed. Overtaken with emotion her husband kissed her forehead, and she smiled unable to believe that just earlier she was alone. The midwife was checking the baby making sure there were no problems especially since it was before the due date.
"Wow Raine what are we going to name the baby?" Elle looked and sounded awestruck as she climbed onto the bed. Raine held out her arm and Ellone immediately crawled to her side. The little girl curled into her mother figure with her dark head tucked under the brunette's chin. The proud father smiled at the scene
"Well you can't without knowing what it is." The midwife interrupted the small family and passed the small bundle over to Raine. "Congratulations, honey, you have a healthy baby boy!"
The new mom gently caressed the boy's red cheeks with a tender look on her face as Ellone leaned in to take a look. As they were doing that the midwife pulled Laguna away, and the grave look on her face silenced any objections he might've had. The older woman took him down the stairs and that was when he noticed that the smell of blood wasn't as pronounced downstairs.
"I have some bad news." The woman tried to gentle her words but she looked tired like she had not slept in a while. Your wife had a difficult labor, and there were some complications. We tried all we could, but I'm afraid… I'm afraid she won't make it past today."
Laguna stopped breathing and the woman looked alarmed. He collapsed into one of the chairs at the bar and grabbed his head as tears started to blur in his eyes. Why was this happening? He just met his son just to say goodbye to Raine. His nightmare was coming true. He was going to go to sleep and when he awoke it will be to a world without his wife. He didn't know how long he sat there as horror and sorrow claimed him prisoner.
"Mr. Loire, go be with your wife. I'm not sure how much time she has. You should spend them with her." The midwife handed him a handkerchief with a compassion look on her face.
"Y-yea…" His voice shook as he took the offered item and wiped the tears. His tread was heavy as he climbed the stairs.
"Uncle Laguna! Guess what we already picked on the name!" Ellone looked so happy that he shoved all his depression behind a mask lest they see it. From where he stood he could see that Raine's strength was slowly failing her. She looked so pale and weak. "I guess you were too slow. We named him Squall!"
Laguna made his way across the room and fought to keep his voice steady. "Squall huh? Raine, we just need a Cloud and a Lightning then we can have a real natural disaster on our hands." Raine looked at him with a piercing narrow gaze as if she could see right through him. "Hmm, Squall Loire? I like it."
They talked for a bit. Raine kept sending him glances as Ellone talk excitedly about what she was going to teach Squall. Laguna was a nervous wreck when Raine finally passed their son to him. Squall barely weighed anything, so small and fragile. The Hero of the Revolution just sat there in stunned disbelief watching his son sleep. His son… The little one captured his heart when he grabbed his finger with his small hand. The small fingers barely fit around his. Tired out from their traveling and the excitement of the day Ellone fell asleep at Raine's side.
Raine sat leaning against her husband who sat against the headboard cradling the baby. Laguna thought she was dosing until she spoke. "Your eyes always were too expressive." He turned to her and saw that tears were streaming down her face. "I'm dying aren't I?"
He said nothing just reaching down with one hand to intertwine his fingers with hers. Reality weighed heavily on the new parents. Laguna raised their hands kissing her fingers as she came to terms with her fate. His tears fell and sprinkled their intertwined hands.
"Even if it did take you a long time to do it, I'm glad you finally saved Ellone. I can see she's a little haunted by whatever they did to her. She'll need you to help her heal." Raine kept her voice low as to let Ellone sleep. "Promise me that you'll look after the both of them. They'll both need you."
"I promise… Commander." They shared a small laugh over his codename for her before they shared a slow tender kiss trying to place the feelings of a forfeited lifetime into it. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'm going to miss you too even with all your snoring and your habit of talking in your sleep." She chuckled weakly.
Raine showed him how to feed Squall from the bottle when it came time for feeding, and then told him where she placed all the baby stuff she was preparing for the baby's birth. Eventually no matter how they fought it they all eventually fell asleep in that bed. When Laguna next awoke it was to a fussing Squall, a hysterical Ellone, and a world without one Raine Loire.
Her hand was so cold. Laguna pressed the delicate hand against his cheek, but there was no way he could ever warm it. When they came in to prepare her body for the funeral, he couldn't stand the thought and kicked them all out vowing to do it himself. One of the villagers was watching Squall and a grieving Ellone who couldn't understand why Raine was gone. It was hard cleaning and dressing his dead wife, but this was going to be the last time he saw her before they buried her.
She was dressed in a lovely white dress. Raine always did look good in white. The lacy headband made her look so young. It was like she was still in the bloom of her life. His green eyes were heavy with sorrow as he rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. Eventually his thumb found its way to the simple wedding band that he had placed on her finger months ago. The man's fingers ran across the ring several times.
"I know the saying is 'Until death do us part', but I still love you. Your death will not change that. I'm afraid that I'm going to be selfish and asked that you continue to wear my ring. You always did say I was a moron."
Laguna carefully arranged her hands clasping her favorite white flower over her chest. He turned and walked to the door, however before he left he turned around and held up his left hand displaying a matching ring like he did that night so long ago.
"I meant it when I said, 'I wanna be with you until the end.'"
He then left the room to see to the final details of the funeral.
The funeral past by in a blur, the young father was numb. It was a good thing too since the majority of the village blamed him for Raine's death. He distracted himself with comforting little Elle and taking care of Squall who didn't seem to like big crowds. It didn't help that the lot of them wanted to take a look at Raine's son, but didn't want to get close to Laguna. A few people seemed surprised and glad to see Ellone though.
A few days later they stood once again in front of her headstone all packed and ready to begin their journey back to Esthar. Squall was safely placed into a sling across Laguna's chest and Ellone was holding onto his hand as they said their final goodbyes.
"Why, Uncle Laguna, why?"
"I don't know why, Elle, but Raine's been protecting Squall all this time while we were gone. It's our turn now." He motioned Ellone to place the flowers she was clutching at the headstone. "Come on, Elle, it's time to go."
(A/N:)
Well at least Squall's initials are the same.
Drabble like father-son chapters after this one. I'm planning on writing the FFVIII events in this universe. Not now though… I'm going to finish my other fic first, plus I need to replay FFVIII and work out the divergence points. I need to work on a title too, and it probably will come out the same time I plan to write Press Start to Begin. They both take place in FFVIII so meh… Until then enjoy the fluffy father-son (oyako right?) one shots.
