A/N: This is my first fanfic I've written so please constructive criticism is appreciated. I hope you like it.

~~EDIT~~

OK, I wrote this a week ago but I went to band camp for a week and didn't have a laptop so I couldn't post this. There are tons of problems with it. But I'm too lazy to fix it so you can have a go and edit it if you want.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters, though I wish I did.

"Laguna! Come on; you are going to be late!" Kiros called through the door.

"Tell them I'm sick..." Laguna called, still face down on his bed.

"..." Ward said, frowning as he opened the door.

"He said he wants to know why you aren't even dressed yet," Kiros clarified disapprovingly. "Laguna, you can't let what happened hold you back anymore. It's been three months since he died and you haven't let go of him yet. Think about what he would think of you if he saw you right now."

With that Laguna shot up in bed, causing Kiros and Ward to stare. But they weren't staring because of the enraged look on Laguna's face; it was how he looked that startled them.

"Laguna, you need to-"

"Don't tell me what I should and should not do!" he yelled, glaring at the two standing frozen from his outburst. "I don't care anymore! I give up! I don't want to go to that meeting. I just want to sit here." The look on his face changed abruptly from enraged to pleading. "Can't you understand that?"

Kiros strode over to the bed and sat down next to Laguna, "Look, how about you go to this meeting, and then we won't ask you to do anything else today, alright?"

Laguna gave a little nod and sniffed. "Fine, I'll go to the meeting. Call them and tell them to postpone it for a little while, seeing as I have to get ready."

"..." Ward said.

"Ward says that he hopes you'll be in a good mood for the meeting. We don't want to give the bureaucrats a reason to remove you from office."

"Yeah, yeah. Just leave so I can get ready," Laguna said as he pushed Kiros toward the door. "Go make the call or we might not be here much longer."

"Please just go get ready," Kiros sighed with a small smile. "I don't want to have to dress you myself."

"Alright, just make the call please," Laguna said as he successfully pushed the two out the door and shut it behind them.

Taking a deep breath, Laguna turned around and headed toward the bathroom. Once inside, he passed the mirror and did a double take. Walking back to the mirror, he took a breath and looked. It was exactly as he expected.

He looked like crap. Laughing and moaning at himself, he scrutinized his appearance. He ran his hands through his long brown hair, wincing at how greasy it felt. His hair aside, he was absolutely filthy. He wondered how this hadn't been bothering him. He laughed a little as he rubbed his face. Guess that answered his question about how not shaving for two weeks felt.

Shaking his head, and wincing at how his hair pretty much didn't move, he almost ran to the shower. He turned the water on nearly hot enough to scald off his skin, then waited for the water to heat up. As he waited, he thought about the events of the past three months and he felt something running down his face. He ran his hands down his face and looked at them.

It was a tear. After everything that had happened – Squall's death and everything that came with it – he hadn't cried once. In a matter of seconds, he had crumpled to the floor and was bawling. For Squall, for himself, at his actions over the past couple months, for everything. After a few minutes he realized that someone was knocking on the door and he realized he wasn't nearly as alone as he thought.

"Laguna? Are you okay?" Kiros called. "I made the call. The meeting has been postponed till this afternoon."

Taking a couple deep breaths, Laguna went to open the door. "Thanks, Kiros. And I'm fine; thanks for asking," he said, wincing a little as his voice cracked.

Sighing, Kiros put a hand on Laguna's shoulder, "You know you can talk to us if you need anything, or if you just want to talk."

Laguna gave him a sad smile, "If I need anything, the both of you are right where I can reach you," he nodded to the shower. "If you don't mind..."

Kiros simply nodded and closed the door.

Laguna, feeling better after crying over what he had lost, jumped into the shower and got ready for his meeting. After all, he still had a son to make proud.