August

(Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Final Fantasy 8. So there!)

(A/N: In this fic, Squall is going to have a different personality than his FF8 lone wolf one, mainly because in this fic his mother is still alive and he was raised in a completely different environment then the Orphanage, thus causing him to have an entirely different personality.)

*&*

Beads of sweat formed on the top of Squalls forehead as he continued to dig. The tank and jeans that he wore were suffocating him. He struggled not to pass out from the beating sun.

" Squall, honey, If the gardening is too much for you, you can stop." Raine Loire called out from the kitchen. She walked out from the back door and gave her son a glass of water.

" Thanks." Squall said, feeling relieved. It happened every year; the flower shows where his mother would enter her beautiful wreaths in. Of course, Squall was given the job of planting and managing the flowers until they grew to their fullest but he didn't mind. He would do anything for his mother, even if it meant moving heaven on earth. He stared at the vibrant flowers.

" These will defiantly win you first place." He said smiling. Raine ruffled her son's hair.

" Your father will be coming any minute now."

Squall scowled. " I still can't believe he picked being the president of Esthar over us." He picked up the shovel from the ground and swung it over his shoulder

" Don't be mad." Raine struggled to comfort her son. " It brings food on the table, doesn't it? And we did have the choice of moving to Esthar with him. We still do."

Squall had a look of disgust pasted on his face. " Whatever..." His mother angrily put her hands on her hips; it was like this every year, Laguna coming to visit and Squall ignoring him the whole time.

" He's your father, Squall Loire." Squall flinched at his mother's tone, and by remembering the mere fact that Laguna Loire was his father. Their relationship was not in such wreckage when Squall was younger. In fact, Squall admired his father if anything else. They were inseparable back then, going on monster hunting trips and Laguna teaching Squall how to use a gunblade. Sometimes they would play tricks on Ellone and Raine, then hide behind the tavern to laugh until tears rolled down their cheeks. Of course that was all before their relationship soured. Squall had gone to Galbadia Garden, whereas his father was spending more and more time in Esthar. Laguna had tried to explain his long absences to his son yet Squall refused to listen.

" Squall, you're going back to the Garden soon. You should spend more time with your father before you leave..." Raine put her hands on her son's shoulders, looking up at him. " You're so grown up now..."

Squall gazed at his mother, then knew what had to be done. " Fine. But only for your benefit."

Raine laughed. " That's much better. It's good to see the boy I raised back again." The pair made their way to their small home in Winhill. Inside, Ellone was reading.

" Hey Sis, any calls for me?" Squall asked. Ellone shook her head, not even looking up from the book once. Squall sighed, deciding to go pack up for when he was leaving back to the Garden. He was debating on whether or not to take the novels Ellone had bought for him when the doorbell rang. He could hear his mother running and Ellone crying out in happiness.

Oh no...Squall thought, desperately searching for a way out. He struggled to pry open the window, but it was no use. It was fate that wished to meet him below and he might as well oblige to go.

Slowly the boy descended the stairs to meet with his father.

" Squall!" Laguna cried out, smothering Squall in a hug. " So I heard that you passed your field exam, good work son! You take after your old man..."

Squall rolled his eyes.

" So when are you going back to the Garden?" Laguna asked.

" Does it matter?" Squall muttered, then noticed Raine glaring. " In two days."

" That's great! So Ellone, did you pass that medical exam?" Laguna continued with his flow of questions, making Squall feel exhausted simply by listening to them. He tried to stay awake, managing to fall asleep on Ellone four times; the first three times she shrugged him off, but the forth she poured her glass of water on him. By dusk they had dinner and after they sat in the living room upstairs. Laguna got up and began to pace, shifting his hands position frequently. His son knew he was up to something.

" What is it?" Squall asked directly. Laguna stopped, appearing startled.

" Son...I know our relationship hasn't been that great--"

" You're telling me..."

Ellone kicked Squall. " Shut up!" She hissed.

" As I was saying, our relationship hasn't been that great, so I was thinking, maybe you would like to come with me to Deling."

Squall gave a puzzled look. " Why?"

" Well, I have some business to attend to there with General Caraway. I just think that if you come with me, you can get a sense of knowledge with what I do."

The seventeen-year-old made a face, then looked at his mother and then Ellone.

" For Hynes sake..." The women continued to glare at him and Laguna gave him a hopeful gaze. " Fine, fine. I have no power against women."

*&*

Mr. Loire had taken his son across the continent to Deling the next day. Throughout the drive, Squall remained silent. Laguna tried to get something out of the boy, but had only managed to receive a 'yes', 'sure', and 'whatever'. It turned out that Squall couldn't decide which girl at school was his girlfriend.

" There's too many to pick..." he had said. It was also revealed that Squalls best friend was a guy named Irvine who was a sharpshooter. When asked if Irvine had a girlfriend, Squall began to laugh. He laughed for ten minutes, holding his stomach at some points. Laguna decided to leave his son for the rest of the trip, a bit frightened by his behaviour.

They drove in silence for a few minutes (with the occasional chuckle from Squall), when Laguna announced that they had arrived. Walking into the dim city, Squall instantly remembered the last time he had accompanied his father to Deling. He was only around ten, and was fascinated by all the lights and parades. It was a good memory, but there was something...just something that pulled at Squalls thoughts, urging him to remember. More or less, the memory was of someone.

" I remember the last time we came here together..." Laguna reminisced." You were so excited to be on a trip with your Dad, the president..."

Squall decided to block out his father's voice while he tried to bring by the memory of that person, but the only thing he could come up with was that this was not a good memory. In fact, he didn't like this person at all, which wasn't very reassuring. They continued to walk when Laguna stopped in front of a large mansion.

" Here we are! Do you remember this place?"

Squall shook his head. Laguna frowned.

" That's too bad, son. How about we go inside?"

" What else were you planning to do? Stand here and let the bite bugs get at us?"

Laguna chuckled, commenting on Squalls sense of humour. He pushed the twin doors open.

" President Loire," A man around Laguna's age (perhaps older) acknowledged Squall's father. " You brought your son with you."

"General Caraway, I can't believe you still remember him."

General Caraway laughed. " He looks a bit like you, but more like your wife."

The men shook hands, which made Squall wonder why they didn't do that in the beginning. They mumbled to each other while Squall looked around the mansion. It recall wasn't as impressive as the outside was, the space was mostly filled with dull artefacts, and was missing a woman's touch.

" Squall?"

The boy turned to face his father.

" General Caraway and I are going to discuss business matters, so while we're gone, General Caraway's daughter will entertain you. You remember her, don't you?"

He did.

It was her he was having the dreadful feeling about. He began to recollect how 7 years ago he had met her. Rinoa Heartily.

Of course back then, girls were considered a disease, infested with germs and then some. But Rinoa...she was one of the all out worst. She had literally tortured him, putting bugs in his food and always poking herself into whatever he was doing. And she always wanted him to smile. It was ridiculous. One time she had actually tried to kiss him by tying him to a tree so he wouldn't get away. Luckily, Ellone who had come with them at the time heard his screams. Sis to the rescue.

There was no Sis now.

In haste and fear, Squall rapidly thought up a plan, which would hopefully get him out of the mess of meeting with her.

" I...I'm claustrophobic." Squall began to sway dramatically, then held onto the side of General Caraway's desk.

" No, you're not." Laguna looked at his son skeptically.

" I am! It happened when you were gone..." Squall rolled his eyes, then began to pant. "I have to get out of here..."

General Caraway had concern etched on his face. " Are you all right, son? Maybe I should send Rinoa with you..."

" No!" Squall snapped. The General stepped back. " I... I can't have people with me. It makes me even more um...claustrophobic." Squalls hands felt the knob on the door and slowly he turned it, feeling edgy that his freedom was just seconds away.

Laguna slammed his hands on the door.

" Squall, if you were claustra-whats-its-face, then you wouldn't have survived that car ride, would you?"

He began to sweat. " You see, uh...it's not that severe. I can stay in a car and-"

" -But you can't stay in a room that's ten times bigger?" His father said eying him suspiciously. Squall sighed. It had never occurred to him that his father knew him so well. But then again, lying was a trait he had picked up from the old man. Squall sighed loudly, then slumped into the couch in front of Caraway's desk.

" Now that was peculiar..." Caraway commented. Laguna said nothing, just glared at Squall. " I'll get Rinoa." Caraway left the room, leaving father and son alone.

" What?" Squall asked after an elapsed moment of silence. He could feel Laguna's eyes, which bore into him. In response, Laguna sat next to Squall and grabbed his face.

" Hate to say this, son, but you are going to go out with Rinoa Heartily and you're going to like it."

Squall stared at his father, bewildered.

" Why? This makes no sense, the girls a beast!"

Laguna sighed. " It would be good for me to have you involved with General Caraway's daughter. Think about it, Centra and this place-" Squall made a face, disappointed that his father couldn't even remember the name on the continent that his family resided on. Laguna ignored Squalls angered expression. " - Would have closer relations. Better publicity. I mean, think about it...the General would have a soft place for you in his heart because you love his daughter. This would be an advantage for Esthar, in case we ever go to war then..."

Drowning out the pointless ramblings of his father, Squall tried to think of a way that he could blow Rinoa off. But if she were the same ten-year-old he remembered, this task would be harder than he thought.

The door swung open, and Squall could see a dark haired girl saunter in after Caraway.

" She's so grown up!" Laguna smiled, and Rinoa blushed.

What a fake...Squall thought.

" You remember my son, Squall." Laguna winked at Squall, who glared in return.

" Of course." Rinoa blushed again.

" Rinoa, how would you like to take Squall on a tour around Deling?"

Before Squall could protest, the two men had pushed the teens out of the mansion.

" So what do you want to see first?" Rinoa asked. Squall shrugged.

" Doesn't matter."

They took one of the buses to all of the points of highlight in Deling (in which there really were none) and Rinoa explained all of the sights almost like a tour guide. Squall was beginning to get a headache from her constant chirping and couldn't take anymore of her giggling (A/N: hee hee, wait 'till he meets Selphie, lol!) The buses final destination was a small parking lot in the middle of the city, where Rinoa got off, taking Squall with her.

" The night is so pretty here, huh?" Rinoa stood under a large maple tree and was playing with the leaves. Squall nodded, then realized that whenever he came to this city, it was always night. He was positive it was day before they arrived here...

" So Squall, " Rinoa was now moving her foot back and forth and was staring at the ground. " I haven't seen you for a long time, now."

" Yeah." He wanted to leave.

" So I was thinking..."

" Yeah."

" Are you even paying attention to me?" Rinoa asked. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Squall.

" Yeah, " Then he noticed the look on Rinoa's face. " I mean...of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Rinoa narrowed her eyes, appearing thoughtful. " Squall?"

" Yea--I mean, yes Rinoa?"

" You go to a Garden, don't you?"

" Yes..."

" Are you a SeeD yet?"

" Not yet." Squall's field exam was in two days and he was more than ready to take it.

" Oh." Rinoa sighed loudly, leaning against the tree and gazing at the sky. She stood there until Squall could take it no longer.

" What?" He asked, throwing his arms above his head. " Why did you want to know whether I was a SeeD or not?"

" I wanted to know because I need some SeeD's to help The Forest Owls and me."

" The Forest Owls?"

" Never mind..." Rinoa turned around and made her way back to the mansion.

*&*

(So? What do you think? This is the first part, so review and I'll see if I shall continue it or not.)