For the Strifehartfathersday2k17 event.
1) The Fantasy; The Absentee – Squall.
Edea's orphanage. Every child there understood relatively fast what Orphan meant and why it applied to them. They had no parents, and they had no relatives who wanted/could care for them. Though, the terms were not necessarily always linked with 'and' as Squall very well knew.
He sat apart from the others as they slept in their beds and even now he could feel the sadness balled up in his chest. Today had been 'appreciate your Father' day, and while the Orphans had no Fathers- Big Sis told Squall that he did and that he was out there.
For the others, Seifer, Quistis, Irvine – the day had passed just like any other. But for Squall it was a day for feeling sorry for himself, for receiving pitying looks and bitter remarks, and it was a day where Big Sis was sad. It was a sad day when she did not smile or want to play.
But as for why? His Father, the one that was still alive and out there, had still not come for them.
Ellone loved him very much, spoke of him with smiles and laughter most days, but today she was sad. She cried. Squall had tried to help, it almost worked once, together they tried to send a letter asking him what was taking him so long but when it was finished they had no idea where to send it and the grown-ups had not known what to do either. Stupid grown-ups.
Squall looked up at the sound of Ellone shifting in her bed and sighed. If that Man came and found them then they'd always be happy and safe, and there would be so many jokes Ellone would never frown again! They'd not be orphans anymore. Maybe … maybe he'd understand why Ellone cried so much over him. Hurry up and find us, Dad. Ellone misses you …
The Next Day, Ellone watched Squall playing with the other children without a care in the world, until he spotted her and came to give her a hug and a 'I'm glad you're better today, don't worry Mr Laguna will be here next year, I'm sure he's looking for you,' little chat before running back to their important game of hide and seek. She knew that he hadn't missed Laguna at all, because he had never met him. That sadness had been for Her .
1) The Fantasy; The Brave - Cloud.
Cloud never had a Father. His Mother got him up, got him fed, dressed, off to school and back again. She was the one who played with him, who told him stories, clapped extra hard when he won games, who gave him chores, and showed him how to tie ropes, ride Chocobo's and climb trees.
Cloud normally didn't care that he didn't have a Father, his Mother was so clever. But then … on this day he helped Tifa make a card for her Dad, they'd painted a big card to let him know that Tifa loved him so much that his card needed to be the biggest in the village! And Cloud began to wonder why he never had to give one, the obvious answer was that he didn't have a Dad … but why didn't he have a Dad?
When he asked his Mother, she explained that he had left a long time ago and never come back. He wasn't lost, Cloud checked with a question, he was too scared to be a Dad.
It seemed a bit stupid to Cloud. But he accepted the reasoning, and when he went to bed that night he thought about what his Dad would have been like if he had stayed and been brave. He thought that he would have been like one of the strong SOLDIERS who were always on the posters protecting people from monsters- like his Mother did with the one in his closet. They were so brave. They must be great Dads , Cloud reasoned. They're never scared, so they won't run if they need to be a Dad, and Sephiroth First Class must be the bravest of all!
Cloud looked at the poster of Sephiroth and SOLDIER that he had on his bedroom wall and nodded to himself. Yes, Sephiroth was the best.
The Next Day, Ms Strife found a picture by her son that he called 'my family.' Each person labelled in purple crayon; Sephiroth- bravest dad of all! "Mumy"- bestest Mum. "Meeeee." With all three of them holding hands on an unrealistically sized Chocobo. She cried.
2) The Father Figure; A Choice? - Squall.
Father's Day in SeeD it was a pointless affair. For those it had meaning for it might have been a good day. But Squall had long since given up on his own Father coming to collect him, he had given up when Ellone was taken away for her own protection. Not that he could remember Ellone very well with the Guardian Force in his brain confusing his memories. Not that he remembered at all that he had a parent out there. He was just an orphan with no family. Just this school and a chance to make something of himself.
Squall looked at the notice reminding all SeeD students to post their Father's Day cards by a certain time, and another one for visiting parents on where to meet their children. It was on the door to the cafeteria. Squall glanced down at the card he had been given to fill in, a compulsorily hand out by the academy, and would have binned it immediately had the card not jogged a memory of a very special girl with brown hair waiting for a Father that was not coming … and … well, the rest was beyond his reach.
He looked at the standardised message of 'number one Dad' on the front of the card. Another reason why he hadn't instantly thrown it away on first contact was because he overheard Selphie suggesting to Zell that they send a Card to the headmaster for providing for them all year round. He wondered if he should too … though, Cid with his nervousness under stress and focus on military operations ... probably wouldn't appreciate it much. And it was not like he had anyone else to give it to …
Squall conceded to his gut instinct and dropped the card in the trash on the way to the cafeteria. "Whatever."
2) The Father Figure; A Choice. - Cloud.
In SOLDIER, Father's Day was a holiday for all non-essential and inactive personnel. Cloud's Infantry was both off mission and non-essential. He had the day to himself to debate sending a letter to his Mother or to hide himself away so he didn't have to face the bombardment of advertisements and people representing the Father-child bond he never experienced.
Cloud, in his indecision, was easily ambushed by Zack. He was doomed to whatever activity Zack had planned, because, as everyone knew: you don't escape Zack once he's caught you.
Zack saw Cloud looking down and suspecting the reason he went to Angeal. They three from single-Mother households had decided to go fishing- or Zack and Angeal decided, Cloud was kidnapped.
And that was how he found himself sitting on a boat, hours later, with Angeal and Zack with a fishing rod in hand. He listened a little shyly on the banter between teacher and student and slowly, slowly got comfortable enough to join in. He reflected on the protective and reservedly fond manner that Angeal always had around Zack, and towards him very often since Zack brought Cloud along on most of his misadventures around the Shinra Base, and thought that they even looked similar enough to be Father and Son.
He blushed a little as he remembered how he had once considered SOLDIERs to be the ultimate Father's, and Sephiroth the best of them all. But, he conceded, as he pulled a fish out of the lake with graceless precision, it was nice to have a few authority figures to look up to like a Father. Angeal patted him on the back and praised him for his skill, and gave him a pointer or two on how to reel in a fish better next time …
3) The Reality; Mediocre – Squall.
His Father was Laguna Loire.
President of Esther for the past eighteen years.
Ellone stood with them in his office, smiling between the Father and Son as if this was a great moment, like the birth of a star or the makings of a hero.
Laguna's eyes were in danger of popping out of his head. The President babbled, or stuttered into silence, with wild hand gestures and the threat of waterworks, and Squall just stood there silently.
Squall wasn't sure what expression he wore. Or what his friends were thinking as they watched.
Honestly, Squall was not impressed. Never the optimist, he was now hoping for someone to shout 'April Fools' and end this prank.
They weren't exactly strangers, Squall had dreamed this man's memories over several weeks, thanks to Ellone. Unknowing Father and Son had worked together on a mission to save the world, so it wasn't as if this moron was incapable of achieving great things both past and present.
But … Squall glanced at Ellone, his memories back and he recalled how much she had cried for their Father, and all he could think was;Really? This was worth your tears?
It bubbled to his lips along with a tingling in his hand that reflected his desire to punch something.
He was angry. He was disappointed. And now he finally had a face to aim all these unresolved emotions at: Laguna Loiré. Why didn't you use your resources to find us? To find Her ? Are you really that much of a moron? We waited for you! Hoped for you! Ellone cried for you!
"Whatever."
Everyone around him protested but Squall stormed past them all. He wanted to be alone. He needed to process this crippling disappointment in peace: Laguna had every tool to have found them within a matter of weeks, spies, soldiers, embassies, and Hyne knew what else- and was too mediocre to use them correctly.
He hadn't gained a Father. He had gained the painful knowledge that his entire lonely childhood and painful adolescence could have been avoided ...
3) The Reality; Monster – Cloud.
Fighting Sephiroth was a nightmare come true.
The reports that he had gone rogue were traumatising enough to the Shinra corporation, their perfect First Class SOLDIER now standing against them and all humanity, but Cloud suffered on another level as his hero turned on him.
It was like a personal betrayal, though he and Sephiroth had not been very close nor known each other personally for very long- the image he was supposed to represent was destroyed. The brave SOLDIER was gone …
Sephiroth had once been the name he and his Mother whispered to scare away monsters in the closet, and under the bed, he had been the one they incorporated into their games of 'house' and 'family' when Cloud insisted that they needed to incorporate the role of a man in their games. Sephiroth was who Cloud aspired to be like. The poster on his old bedroom wall, now just ash littering the rubble and charcoal of his village, seemed to be mocking him in his memories. The comforting smirk and heroic pose now that of a monster.
His Hero had fallen in his eyes, now the perfect killing machine. Cloud's hands shook, his chest constricted tight as the man he had trusted to keep him safe and lead him stabbed him through his chest.
Inside, a child's voice screamed in horror.
He'd lost his real Dad to cowardly decisions, he'd lost Angeal to despair, and now he'd lost Sephiroth to madness and psychotic thoughts. Cloud gripped the sword through his abdomen with the strength of his grief guiding him.
And he threw his fantasy away, along with the man who embodied them.
He was barely aware of Sephiroth hitting the Mako pool below, he staggered closer to Zack - please, please, be alive Zack – and collapsed on the walkway, wounded and shaken to the core. Zack took Cloud's hand and Cloud allowed himself to cry. For the man Sephiroth had been, for the fantasy, for his Mother, and for himself …
4) The Appreciation; Because he was there when I needed him - Cloud and Leon.
Cid Highwind grumbled when Leon walked into his office as he tinkered away, his office taking up most of room and the next one too as it stored his various creations. "What do you want?" Cid grumbled as gruff as he could, though Leon's company was hardly a bother- the man was quiet, he was focused, he helped out with anything and everything and he wasn't an idiot about it.
Cid recalled taking the kid under his wing, Aerith had healed him up but couldn't get him past his shellshock.
Cid, however, knew a man without a purpose when he saw one. It was self-destructive. So he gave him a purpose in his shop, helping him out until he could find his feet. The kid had fucking thrived! He had taken instruction like a soldier, never let a shoddy good leave his store, and had a work ethic better than Cid's- damn the kid had been useful. They'd gotten along well, both keeping their cards close to their chests until they'd earned each other's respect. Leon through never-failing dedication, his smarts, and a drive to do good. Cid … well, Leon just kinda took a shine to him. Cid wasn't sure why.
Cid liked having him around, and was pleased deep down to see the kid step into a purpose of his own, at last; the leadership role- b-because then Cid had more time to build things, of course. Not because he felt- … ahem .
"Oh, nothing …" Leon muttered, uncharacteristically awkward. Odd.
Cid grunted and picked up his monkey wrench and kept working. If something was up Leon would say so. A moment later there was a soft thump next to him and the swing of the garage door closing. Cid looked up with raised eyebrows to find his favourite brand of Cigarettes on top of his toolbox with an overly cheerful 'No. 1 Dad' sticker on the top- a Father's Day edition.
Cid put his tool down and stared at it. "Huh … thanks kid."
But that wasn't all. Later, awkwardly placed just in front of his bedroom door was a whiskey bottle still covered in dust from a long motorcycle ride, and only smeared in a few fingerprints and another tiny card that someone had attempted to hide under the bottle to keep it hidden. Cid grunted and picked up both.
Cid. Thanks. Cloud.
Cid snorted at the less than graceful trio of words. But the brand was also his favourite just like the cigarettes … he could have sworn he'd never pointed these out as his favourites.
Cloud had also leaned heavily on him before the fall of their worlds, and once again after when he needed someone to smack a bit of damn-sense into him. Many a time Cid had seen him sneaking out and called him out on it. Cloud couldn't bullshit Cid, Cid had seen too much bullshit and told enough himself to swallow anymore.
Cloud stayed when he needed to be reminded not to be a fucking coward. Aerith's 'be kind' approach was all well and good, 99% of the time. But every now and then Cloud needed to be shoved over a few times and told by a slightly pissed-off Cid that though Radiant Garden wasn't perfect he had a heck lot more than most in this dark infested world- deal with it, appreciate it, or get fucking lost.
Cid liked to think that Cloud had gotten off his ass and into a new life in no small part to him and his pep talks. Though he'd never say he did such a thing, Aerith might think he was going soft and ask him to give others a listening ear- as if these damn kids weren't enough for his frayed patience. If he weren't so fond of them … wait! No, if they weren't so useful, yeah, that's better. If they weren't so useful Cid might have hired someone else.
Cloud had also found purpose, on and off, getting resources for Cid and his workshop. They had been walking past a liquor store a while back, and all Cid had done was pause for an instant … and … and …
Damn. Now the big guy felt loved.
"Damn kids, makin' me tear up-" he grumbled, taking a lighter to his Cigarette and twisting the top off of the Whiskey to smell the vintage brand of spirit that he'd eyed up for no longer than a second as he passed a shop window.
Ah fuck it, he loved the two damn kids- though … not kids anymore. He rubbed at an itch in his eye and downed enough whiskey to scorch all the way through to his liver, and spend the rest of the evening staring outside at all his boys had built. Now if they just kept the moony-eyed, smoochy-smoochy nonsense to a minimum when they're supposed to be working then they'd be damn perfect.
5) Epilogue; Accidental Fatherhood – Cloud and Leon.
Tifa smiled when the young boy left her bar with the deliveries in hand, it was always good of him to help out Cloud in his business. Hopefully, they'd arrive home at a decent time, though, with how busy the last-minute shopping spree was looking in the centre of Radiant Garden it might be longer than expected. He's a tough little thing, just like his Father, I'm sure he'll find a way through the chaos.
She picked up her phone and called the Leonhart-Strife household while she idly checked off the long list of things to do to prepare for the busy, upcoming Father's Day weekend:
Oh, there was cleaning, restocking the beer, the brandy, the orders needed to be signed and delivered, the extra chairs and benches dusted and put outside- hopefully the weather would hold. Then there was convincing Aerith to help her out while the Fathers of this town got spoilt or left out, whatever they deserved and-
*Click*
Tifa smiled, glancing up from her list as the voice of her childhood friend filled her ear and derailed her thoughts; "Oh hello Cloud, just letting you know that your kid is bringing you your order of whiskey from Port-Royal, Cid's going to be a happy man. Though, so areyou - judging by the budget your kids spent on you tw-"
She stopped when Cloud let out a noise that sounded eerily like he had been stabbed again, "Er, Cloud, you okay there?" she asked, cradling her phone to her cheek with a worried pinch in her brow.
Her brow quickly began to climb her forehead. "… Roxas. Yes, he is." Her brow was now lost to her hair. "Cloud! He's been living in your spare room for ten months, well, he shared a room with Sora for a while-"
She jumped to her feet, clutching the phone as an alarming amount of un-Cloud-like flustering happened on the other end of the line. "Cloud? Oh Hyne, are you alright? Should I call Kairi? She's a pretty good healer and I'm sure she'll be upstairs- … in her room of course, opposite Roxas's room?"
Her eyes widened and she sat down at her bar heavily and felt like smashing her head into the polished oak, her list be damned.
You Cannot be serious …
Cloud's babble on the other end of the phone proved that he was very much serious.
"Oh Hyne." She ran a hand through her hair, about ready to tug the delicate strands out as she marvelled at the stupidity of her childhood friend.
"Right. Listen to me: Sit down Cloudy, I'll grab Leon and come around your house to explain a few things to you both- and if you so much as think about running off on that bike of yours I promise to lock your Husband in my cellar until you get back, don't think I won't … Good. I'll be there in ten minutes."
*Click*
Tifa's head hit the bar-table. After a few deep breaths, she blindly groped for a bottle of beer. She was going to need it.
Tifa marched Leon through his house by his hand and plopped him down right next to Cloud who was as white as a ghost and blinking like a deer in the headlights. Leon patted his knee, then his shoulder, then his face until he got a response beyond a squeak. When Leon failed to get an explanation out of him, and when he admitted to having no idea what Tifa was talking about, the woman wanted to bonk their heads together until she'd removed the 'dense' that seemed to have infected two otherwise brilliant individuals.
Shaking her head, Tifa sat opposite them and crossed her arms. "Right you two," she began in her best ' get-out-of-my-bar' voice that snapped the pair of them to attention faster than yelling 'the Heartless are coming.'
"Listen up and stay in your seats while I tell you that you two have- somehow – accidentally adopted about five kids. Seriously, guys, how did you not realise this sooner?" she rubbed her temples. "No- Nevermind," (Their mouths snapped shut very fast) "That's not what we need right now, we need to have the 'parental responsibilities talk' just so you know what you've gotten yourselves into." Tifa saw them nod, though a little unsurely, and she smiled – she had overseen Marlene almost single handedly so knew what she was talking about, and she was relieved that they were going to listen.
As she smiled she heard the laughter of Sora and Riku outside. She glanced outside and saw the kids; Roxas, Sora, Kairi, Riku and Denzel; all running around Radiant Garden. One or two were helping the restoration, carrying paint, supplies, others practicing sparring or summons, and everything to them was a light-hearted game - they were all having so much fun.
They were clothed, trained, fed, given rooms of their own and, although clearly unknowingly, Cloud and Leon had willingly given them shelter and a place to lay down their responsibilities outside this town. Their eyes were on them too, Leon's protectively for a hint of danger or mischief, and Cloud's eyes showed interest in what they were doing and they both looked like they'd rather be out there with them than in here …
Tifa's heart felt warm as she watched the accidental-Father's keeping tabs on their kids, and her heart got even warmer as she watched the kids explore, play, restore, and own this place that Leon and Cloud had opened to them; a safe space under their guardian's wings for them to be kids instead of Heroes.
No wonder they had chosen to stay.
"You know what … by the look of it you both seem to be doing fine already." She turned to them and gave her final judgement; "I can't wait to see what you two can do for them when you actually Try to be their parents, I'm so proud of you both … Happy Father's Day."