Title: Three Days
Fandom: FFVIII
Part: 1/12 - First Month
Disclaimer: I don't own any character, setting, plot element, etc. from FFVIII and make no profit from this fanwork.
Rating: T
Summary: Laguna would be content to have a few drinks, get a little tipsy and wax philosophical (or at least ramble) to his favorite bartender, but when Squall ends up sitting down next to him, things get a little more interesting for the next few days.
Characters: Laguna, Squall, OMC, OFC
Note: Mentions of Squall/Rinoa, Seifer/Rinoa in this chapter. Mentions of Squall/various other characters in upcoming chapters.
Laguna Loire, president of the country of Esthar, had plenty of faults - one of which involved being unable to sleep with his eyes open. Luckily, for the duration of his meeting with the general of Esthar's military, he had Kiros beside him, offering him small pinches and silent smacks below the table.
The day felt endless. It was Friday, a day he'd once tried to make part of the weekend by official decree. Unfortunately for him, Kiros had taken care of that before he'd been able to proclaim it.
Kiros, sometimes, was not any fun.
But he was rather good at Triple Triad.
As the meeting turned into more a lecture, the more Laguna zoned out. He was awake, yes, but he really wasn't paying attention. That little tingly feeling when something was about to happen or when Ellone was messing with his head - he had that. And after a couple of mental 'Shoo, Ellone, I'm in a meeting!'-s, the tingling hadn't stopped so he simply assumed something odd was going to happen.
He sneezed.
The feeling went away.
And the meeting went on.
One of the nice things about the palace, Laguna thought, was that he could do all sorts of things without ever leaving his technical home. Amongst those things, high on the list was 'have a few drinks, maybe too many, and wibble on the shoulder of some stranger and then stumble back to Kiros'. After the meeting and a pile of paperwork that he in fact had stacked and measured to be taller than he was, Laguna really just wanted a little time to himself.
He hadn't quite forgotten the strange feeling from earlier, but it had moved to the back of his mind.
"The usual, Mr. Prez?" the barkeeper asked as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. Laguna nodded. He knew she'd water it down a bit so that he didn't get drunk after two sips, but he didn't really care. Half of the fun was the part where he was out of his usual quarters, being watched over by Ward and Kiros and a fleet of maids.
The weekend was his, as long as he let someone know if he was actually going into the city. Besides, he thought, no one had bothered assassinating him yet - they probably wouldn't bother doing it on a weekend.
She set his drink down and popped a lime slice on the rim with a smile. "Here ya go. I'll just put it on Mr. Kiros' tab, okay?"
Laguna chuckled and nodded. Long ago he'd just started putting all his drinks on Kiros' fictional tab and when the previous barkeeper had retired, no one had told his replacement that such a tab was fictitious and would never be paid.
After a few swallows, Laguna wasn't sure if there wasn't enough water in his booze or if he was indeed being watched. He glanced quickly behind him, unable to see much other than the empty barstool beside him.
Then to the other side, which revealed a few off-duty soldiers in a far booth. One waved. Laguna waved back, always amused to see the silver of their cybernetic parts when they were out of uniform.
"Looking for someone?" the barkeeper asked. Laguna had forgotten her name again - started with an 'R' or maybe some other letter.
"Not really," Laguna admitted. "I just thought..."
"I know the feeling," she replied before Laguna could finish. "I see things around here all the time, like out of the corner of my eye. Maybe there's a ghost or something. Or the soldiers are getting faster. Might explain why I'm always short on pickles..."
"Er..."
"And you're early for the piano girl. She is coming tonight, you know."
"Right..." Laguna actually had forgotten, but he wasn't going to admit that, either. He began to wonder what he hadn't forgotten, but he couldn't remember.
"Poor thing. You've really had a day, haven't you?" she leaned against the bar and looked into his eyes. "But your buttons are all even and your hair is perfect, so it couldn't have been too bad. I've seen you after it's looked like you ran a marathon in the rain while changing clothing in the dark."
"I just have this feeling," Laguna said. "Something's coming."
"Does he have brown hair?" the barkeep asked as she glance upward. "Because he's behind you."
Laguna turned, staring for a moment before closing his mouth and picking an appropriately confused expression.
"Evening."
"Evening, Squall," Laguna said as he gestured to the stool next to him."What are you doing here?"
"Drinking, I guess," Squall replied as he sat. He had the hood of his traditional Estharian robes pushed back, but he kept the rest of his body covered. Laguna couldn't help staring.
"You..."
"I'd like... something," Squall said to the barkeep. "Surprise me."
"Don't know your alcohol?" Laguna asked as he gestured to his own glass. "This is a..."
"Never had reason to," Squall interrupted. "I wasn't expecting you here."
"In Esthar?" Laguna asked. He thought he saw the slightest of smiles forming on Squall's face.
"In this bar," Squall replied. "Don't you have your own rooms for this sort of thing?"
Laguna shrugged. "I like the atmosphere and there'll be a singer later. You'll like her, I think. She reminds me of Rinoa's mother."
Squall frowned and Laguna knew instantly that he'd hit a sore spot.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Didn't mean..."
"You don't mind that I'm here?"
"You're the one who came to Esthar for a drink," Laguna commented. "You must have a reason."
"Only place no one will look for me," Squall admitted. "I don't want to be found. Not tonight, at least. Maybe not tomorrow, either. I'll go back on Monday and maybe... Maybe things will have calmed down."
"You can't always run away from your problems," Laguna offered. He was met with another frown just as the barkeep handed Squall a strange-colored beverage.
"Drink up!" she chirped. "Yell when you need another. My name's Reita."
"Thanks," Squall said as he examined the color.
"Put it on Kiros' tab," Laguna said quickly before nodding in Squall's direction. "He's my guest tonight."
"Of course, Mr. Prez," Reita said with a sly smile before heading off to check on the table of soldiers.
"I am the problem," Squall stated, directing back to their conversation. "I just need to... stop and think without everyone breathing down my neck."
"So you came all the way here?" Laguna questioned. He downed the rest of his own drink and then picked out one ice cube to suck on.
"Like I said - no one will look for me here. I was going to just stay in the city, but before I knew it, I'd walked here," Squall explained. "Walked here so many times before... I guess I was so busy thinking that my body came here on its own."
"You're welcome to stay." Laguna crunched the ice between his teeth and Squall winced.
"That's what Kiros said. He's the one who noticed me wandering around, actually. It's raining."
"Good," Laguna stated absently. "We've needed rain."
They sat in silence for a minute, neither one saying anything until Laguna spoke again.
"You want to talk about it?"
"To you?" Squall asked. He seemed to be enjoying his concoction even if it did look potentially radioactive.
"To me," Laguna answered, chuckling. "Though I suppose Reita or any one of those soldiers would hear you out if you asked nicely."
"Very funny."
"Problems don't go away on their own," Laguna commented as he raised his hand to get another drink. "If it's bad enough to come all the way out here..."
"I told you, I am the problem," Squall said sharply. "I did go away on my own."
"But will everything be resolved when you get back?" Laguna questioned. He tried to remember how old Squall was now - twenty? And pretty much leading Balamb Garden. Someone, likely Quistis, would be organizing a search party for their commander before the night was over.
"No." Squall finished off his glass and set it down just as Reita stepped back behind the bar.
"Both of you?" she asked playfully. "You must know each other, huh?"
"This is the leader of Balamb Garden, Squall Leonhart," Laguna explained. "We've worked together in the past."
"Oh! Of course!" Reita clapped her hands together and giggled. "I knew you looked familiar. You're the one who defeated that sorceress!"
"Yeah," Squall said. "That."
"An unwilling hero," she said as she grabbed their glasses. "Probably the best kind. I get sick of the braggarts. Maybe if I knew what some of the creatures out there were, I'd be more impressed by the tales the soldiers bring back..."
"You should be impressed," Squall said firmly. "There's some scary stuff out there. I'm sure there are plenty of soldiers who come back in pieces - or not at all."
Reita frowned. "Never really thought about it. I bet a lot of people don't. The soldiers keep us all safe, so... We like our isolation."
"That's not always a good thing," Squall said. "There's a big world out there. When's the last time you left the city?"
Reita paused. "Never. I don't think I've left the palace this year, actually. Everything I need is here."
"Everything?" Laguna asked. Sure, he saw the same people every day but he'd never considered that they didn't leave at all. There was plenty of space in the palace for apartments for employees, and everything under the sun was available or easily brought in, but...
"How sad," Reita commented. "I sound like I need a vacation."
"And get away from Laguna? Sounds like a good idea." Squall almost smiled and it was then that an idea popped into Laguna's head.
"Perfect," he said as he glanced over at Squall. "No one can find you if they don't know where you are. We'll just have to keep walking tomorrow."
"Wait - What?" Squall asked. Reita giggled and started work on their next round of drinks.
"There are all sorts of things to see in Esthar that I don't think you've had a chance to visit," Laguna explained. "And if anyone from Garden arrives or calls, they'll just be told that you aren't here and I'm not here and no one has seen us, which is fine because we don't know anything."
An actual smile began to form on Squall's face. "That's... almost a good idea. Won't we be a little conspicuous, though?"
Glancing back at Reita, Laguna smiled. "Reita will come with us. And... a soldier as a bodyguard."
"Huh?"
But before Squall could say anything else, Laguna hopped off his stool and headed over to the booth of soldiers.
"Which of you wants a new assignment for tomorrow?" he said as he looked them all over.
"I was supposed to was the military vehicles in section F-36," a man with long, blond hair said. "I washed them last week as well and they haven't been used since."
Laguna chuckled. After speaking with the general earlier, that was easy to believe. But he would have to mention that perhaps conserving resources was more important than clean vehicles. Especially when they'd just get dirty again after one use.
"You're in, soldier. Tomorrow just meet us at the front gate and we'll go sightseeing," Laguna said. "Uh..."
"Bekele," the soldier replied. "Mr. President, sir."
"Call me Laguna." Laguna flashed a smile and wave in the direction of Squall and Reita. "We'll be taking Commander Leonhart - Squall - with us, as well as Miss Reita, our bartender."
Bekele just smiled and nodded.
"Yessir," he said finally, glancing curiously over at the bar as Laguna turned to walk away.
"Got that settled," Laguna said as he sat back down, happy to have a full glass in front of him. "Bekele will be accompanying us. Four sightseers won't be conspicuous at all."
Squall looked almost like he was going to wince but stopped. "Sure, whatever. It'll be something to do, at least."
Laguna nodded. Maybe for the time being, it was okay that whatever Squall had left in Balamb stayed there.
"One problem," Reita said. She was blushing. "I don't have any outside robes clean. I mean, I'm not even sure I have any anymore."
"I'll have Kiros take care of that," Laguna replied. "And I'm going to have to declare a new national day off for everyone, I think. Maybe next month?"
Reita nodded. "Next month sounds good."
Squall looked like he wanted to say something. That or he was imitating a fish. But between Reita's near-constant jabbering and Bekele's completely nonchalant comments about everything, Squall hadn't had much of a chance to do anything other than open his mouth and then be interrupted.
Other than that, Laguna thought, they were having a wonderful time. Already Bekele's arms were loaded with bags and Reita was wearing a lovely new bracelet somewhere beneath the slightly-too-big robe she was wearing. Squall had even managed a few comments while they were touring the National Art Museum.
"Squall?" Laguna asked as he leaned back in his seat and poked at the remnants of his sandwich. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Squall replied.
"Is it the food? I know Esthar cuisine is a little different than..." Reita began, but Laguna waved a hand to hush her.
"Either spit it out or quit making fish faces," Laguna said - more firmly than he thought he had based on the looks he got a moment later.
"It's not that easy," Squall said. "I mean..."
He paused and then glanced down at his own plate. Laguna was instantly glad that they'd chosen a small, out of the way diner that Bekele had mentioned right before he'd realied he was hungry.
"Maybe you would understand," Squall concluded. "I guess. I did spend a bit of time in your head and while it was exceptionally awful and I may never forgive Ellone, maybe..."
"I think I'll take the fish-faces," Bekele said. "It must be pretty bad for a commander like yourself to just up and leave."
"Personal stuff, right?" Reita questioned. "You've come to the best - I'm a bartender, after all. I get to hear everyone's problems. There's nothing that I haven't heard before."
Squall glared at the occupants of the table. "None of you are helping. I don't even know why..."
"Because you came to us," Laguna said with a smile. "You came to us."
"Maybe I should just go home," Squall muttered. He poked at his plate again.
"Girlfriend?" Reita asked.
"Command decision?" Bekele questioned.
"Someone died?" Laguna asked softly. He really hoped it wasn't a combination of all three - he was quite fond of Rinoa even if she was a sorceress. She was also Julia's daughter and for a moment he wondered why he'd never invited her to come stay in the palace for awhile, if only as a courtesy. He knew he'd like to hear her sing.
Squall sighed. "I'm not good at telling stories."
"Pretend you're dictating a report," Bekele suggested before poking at his own food. "Just... go."
"On Wednesday, I went to talk to Quistis about a potential mission that could be used for a SeeD test," Squall began. He didn't look up. "She was against it, and I agreed, but I wanted one more opinion. So I went to find Rinoa."
"Who's Quistis?" Reita asked. "You're going to have to tell us who these people are."
"Quistis was my instructor and then my partner," Squall explained. "She's an instructor again, now, though she really only teaches a couple of highly advanced classes and administers tests. Otherwise, her students become raging fans."
Bekele smiled. "There was an instructor like that in the academy here. He had gifts on his desk every day."
"Okay, so who's Rinoa?" Reita questioned. The waitress came over to clear their plates and they were all quiet for a moment.
"She's a sorceress," Squall said. "She helped Timber with its quest for independence, but she has some lingering problems controlling her own power, so... Well, I'm supposed to be her knight so she's with me, but..."
"A sorceress?" Bekele stammered. "But..."
"Rinoa has never shown problematic tendencies," Laguna said sharply. "She's a lovely girl. There are a number of known sorceresses who have never shown inclinations to do evil and there is a small group within the Esthar military that checks in on all of them regularly."
"Laguna," Squall interjected, "you're giving away military secrets again."
Laguna chuckled nervously. "If I can't tell you three, I don't know who I can tell."
"No one," Squall muttered, head in his hands. "Hence it being a secret. You aren't supposed to tell anyone."
"Just go on with your story," Reita said softly as she reached across the table to rest a hand on one of Squall's. "I mean, you just met two of us, but I feel like we've been friends since, like, last year or something."
"I don't think you're helping," Bekele told her, but she simply shook her head.
"Anyway, you went to see Rinoa, right?"
"Yeah," Squall said. "And she was... When she gets upset, she looses a bit of the control she has over her powers. It's gotten better as she's gotten older, but she's my age."
"Is she okay?" Laguna asked. He didn't like where the conversation was going, but he was going to reserve judgment til the end, when he'd heard everything. Jumping to conclusions never helped anyone, after all.
And in a way, he considered all of the SeeDs and their friends who helped battle Ultimecia to be his children, in a way. They were very obviously the generation that would have to stay vigilant, just in case.
"Physically, yes," Squall said. "Mentally and emotionally, I don't know. Women confuse me."
"Women confuse everyone," Reita replied. "Even ourselves, most of the time. So what happened?"
"Well, she said she was feeling a little odd, so I asked if I could get her something," Squall began. He shifted a bit in his seat and bit his lower lip, looking for the right words. "I told her I wanted to ask her opinion on something. She told me to ask Quistis and I said that I had, but I wanted her opinion as well. She asked if I'd seen Seifer, which I thought was a little odd... Seifer does his own thing, after all."
"Who's Seifer?" Bekele asked. "You gotta remember that we don't know everyone like you and the Prez do."
"See this scar?" Squall asked, pointing up at the dark line crossing his forehead and nose. "Seifer did that."
"Oh..."
"We were just always rivals," Squall continued. "Ever meet someone who'd be your best friend if you didn't want to kill one another? That's how it was with Seifer. Then... Well, after Ultimecia and everything, he changed. I think he learned to not take things out on everyone else."
"Someone pulled the stick out of his ass," Reita said with a giggle. "Nice."
"So had you seen Seifer?" Laguna asked. He tried to remember if he'd ever actually met Seifer. He'd seen enough pictures and heard enough stories... Yes, at one point Selphie had brought Seifer and his two friends for a visit, but that had been at the exact time something else had happened and...
Laguna realized he wasn't listening and tried to quickly patch together what he was hearing.
"I think both Seifer and myself are technically Rinoa's knights," Squall was saying as he tuned back in. "So... I told her that I'd see if anyone else had seen him."
"And?" Reita asked, folding her hands under her chin and leaning forward. "Go on."
"That's really it," Squall said. "I went to ask a couple of people if they'd seen Seifer, but they hadn't and then there was a small disturbance in the Training Center and that distracted me for most of the evening."
"Still importing our monsters?" Laguna asked. He hadn't really been keeping up on those sorts of things. Honestly, if anyone wanted Esthar's strange monsters and could keep them properly contained, they could have them.
"One dozen shipped per month," Bekele chimed in. "I've helped subdue and pack them before."
"It ended up not being a big deal," Squall said. "But it kept me in one area - and there was paper work and getting yelled at by Doc and all of that even though I had nothing to do with it. Apparently I'm behind on my shots but I'd just assume stay behind on them."
"Especially since they're usually in the behind," Bekele commented.
There was a pause, but within seconds even Squall was chuckling.
"So," Reita managed a minute later, "you ended up distracted on Wednesday. But it's Saturday and you're here."
"Thursday morning, I had paperwork," Squall explained. "And then Thursday was over and I still had paperwork."
Laguna chuckled nervously. "Okay, I know that one. I think Kiros has kept me on a twenty-two-hour paperwork binge before."
"And Friday?" Bekele questioned.
"Friday was weird," Squall stated.
"Weird how?" Laguna asked. At least Squall was opening up a bit, though he wasn't sure how much Reita and Bekele were actually helping.
The waitress stopped by and inquired about dessert. Reita ordered cheesecake.
"You know those days where you just don't feel right?" Squall asked. "Like there's a dark cloud hanging over you or something?"
Reita nodded. "Like a full moon or something - everything odd starts happening."
"Kinda," Squall said. "I had to give out the assignment on that mission to a team of SeeDs, finish the paperwork on that, and then the afternoon was mostly free. I thought I could just take a bit of time to do a couple of things that I'd been meaning to do."
"Like what?" Bekele asked.
"This would not be in an official report," Squall complained. "But I wanted to find a longer power cord for my office computer so I could move my desk a bit. For about an hour in the afternoon, it got a bad glare from the sun and I thought that if I could move it about a foot away, it would take care of the problem.
"So I asked Zell -"
"Who's Zell?"
"Hyperactive little guy who should have been an engineer or something," Squall said quickly. "Anyway... I asked Zell about a power cord and he found one right away in the supply area. He followed me back to my office and we started to disassemble everything. The entire project ended up taking about two hours longer than I'd thought because one of the legs on the desk broke and everything was unplugged the whole time...
"Suddenly, right as I was telling Zell that it was almost the right time of day to make sure we'd moved everything properly, Selphie came bursting in..."
"Selphie," Reita interrupted.
"Runs my fanpage," Laguna replied with a smile. She kept it updated, too, with new interviews and pictures and comments whenever she could. At first, when he'd found out about it, he was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't help but feel a bit flattered as well. Over the years, it had just become one more thing and was no stranger than the giggles and stares he got from some of the maids even if he was absolutely not interested.
Bekele snickered.
"She's the cutest little girl who could ever throw you across the room," Squall added. "She's currently handling a slew of HR duties and is generally in charge of student morale. She's not to be trusted with a nail gun. Ever."
"Duly noted," Bekele said with another snicker. "I think I'd like to meet her."
"So Selphie came rushing in," Reita said. Her cheesecake was plunked in front of her and she was momentarily distracted.
"Apparently Rinoa had left a note saying she was going on leave and not to look for her," Squall said. "By the time the yelling stopped, everyone was ready to start throwing punches and we... we don't fight with each other. We get annoyed, but we always work it out. Words can do so much more than violence."
"You came out here?"
"To cool down," Squall said. "Quistis went off to look for Rinoa and I trust her to do that."
"How are you the problem, then?" Laguna asked. "You said that you were the problem."
"Because it didn't start until this last mission came up," Squall said. "And it all seemed to be focused on me. And Rinoa."
"She's your girlfriend, right?" Bekele asked.
"I don't know," Squall admitted. "I mean, we are but we don't... we go out sometimes, but the attraction that was there when we were fighting Ultimecia just died off. Maybe neither of us know how to break up with someone so we're letting it linger. Or don't know how to break up with each other.
"If Rinoa does want to be with Seifer, it's okay. They dated briefly before she met me," he continued. "And he's a knight too. It's a strong bond."
"This might be too much information," Laguna said quickly. He knew he was blushing but he hadn't expected Squall's sex life to come up in conversation. Yes, Squall was a healthy twenty-year-old male but it didn't need to come up in conversation.
"But we're trying to help," Reita insisted before shoveling the last bit of her dessert into her mouth. "Keep going."
"That's really about it," Squall said. "I don't doubt the mission and I don't doubt that everything will work out, I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing other than I needed to get away before I made anything worse."
"Well, when you get back, try to figure out where Rinoa is. And talk to her," Reita suggested. "Sounds like everyone needs more talking. I don't think anything happened other than no one was communicating and everyone was frustrated."
"That happens," Bekele said. "When people just hold things in, everything gets awkward and bad."
Squall seemed to be lost in thought for a couple minutes. Laguna pulled out his debit card and Bekele raised his hand to signal the waitress over.
Maybe they all needed to get back into the daylight and distract themselves with whatever eye candy they could find.
Laguna, mostly, just wished he knew some way to help Squall. He understood - he really, really understood. He thought. But Reita and Bekele had been the ones to pull most of the story out of him.
Too bad Ellone couldn't send him back to Balamb inside of Squall without Squall being terribly aware of it...
"So, you ready to go back tomorrow?" Reita asked when Squall sat down at the bar next to Laguna.
"No," Squall said. "But I can't run away from it, either. Whether Rinoa is there or not, I'll just call a staff meeting and then let anyone talk who wants to."
"Take a salt shaker or something," Laguna said as he looked over at Squall. Squall's confused look meant that he either hadn't heard of the idea or hadn't put two and two together.
"A what?"
"Take some nice, neutral object with you," Laguna explained. "Whomever is holding it gets to talk and no one interrupts until that person is done. Then the salt shaker can be passed on to the next person and they can rebut or add their own points. That way it doesn't end in yelling."
"I think I can get Xu to moderate," Squall said with a half-smile. "That might actually be a good idea."
"I have run a country for the last twenty years," Laguna said with no small smile. "I've learned how to do a few things here and there."
"I know," Squall admitted. "But considering some of the other things you've done, sometimes I think you're just lucky."
"If I was lucky, I'd still be living in Winhill," Laguna commented without quite intending to cast a bit of darkness over the conversation. He frowned. Squall frowned. "I mean..."
"Yeah," Squall said. "Yeah..."
"I think I'm missing something," Reita said curiously. "You want something to drink, Commander?"
"Just water," Squall replied. "Maybe Laguna can explain later how Ellone introduced us."
"Ellone?" Reita echoed. "I've met her. She and Mr. Prez can really dance until Mr. Prez's bad leg gives him trouble."
"They can?" Squall questioned. "Apparently I need to visit more often. I wouldn't mind a dance with Sis."
"Sis? She's your sister?" Reita was leaning over the bar again.
"Kind of," Squall said. "Have Laguna explain it some time."
"But..." Before Reita could protest, a couple large groups entered and with a sigh, she headed off to tend to them.
"Do you come here every weekend?" Squall asked.
"Only when Kiros isn't dragging me off to watch old movies or I have meetings despite it being a weekend or something else is going on," Laguna replied. "And occassionally when Ellone comes to visit, she and I stop for a drink. She's the one who insists on dancing."
"Okay, okay. It was purely coincidental that we both ended up here," Squall said. "I probably should have come sooner."
Laguna shrugged. Something deep inside told him to keep his mouth shut.
End Notes: Bekele returns. (Er, Bekele is an OMC from another of my FFVIII stories though it isn't one available on this particular site.) This was originally a NaNoWriMo project that's stewed for several months and been gone over and edited but it still may have instances of suck. If you see them, feel free to let me know. Suck happens. Bekele!