Of Pickles and Presidents
by: fluffy pantoufle
A/N: Hi, all! Here's the second installment of my experimental Selphie/Laguna story, this time told from the perspective of our favorite Estharian president the night before the previous chapter. It's short, sweet, and hopefully makes sense! Read, enjoy, and feel free to leave a review! I love 'em!
I don't think that I was designed to grow old. The more I think about it, I don't think I was intended to lead a nation, either. Certainly, something must have happened somewhere in the time-space continuum, some improbable cosmic forces must have collided… Each day makes less and less sense to me.
You're probably laughing at me right now. I would be laughing at me, too; here I am, Laguna Loire, unhappy with my lot in life. For shame! Seriously, though - you would question the life you led too, had you been watching a snow angel dance before your very eyes. The short hair gave her away, but if I hadn't caught it I would have immediately thought that Hyne sent me a midwinter's miracle. A woman with the beguiling allure of Julia, the delicate, practical beauty of Raine…
"Sir Laguna? Aren't you cold out here without a coat?"
…and of course, the observant skills that only accompany a top-notch SeeD. I mean, I probably could have asked her the same question, but then I saw the flip in her hair and the glimmer in her green eyes and seized up. This woman was incomparable to my lost loves. This was Selphie Tilmitt - charming little Selphie, not yet twenty years of age. And here I was, intruding upon what I assumed she thought was a private moment. I fit the description of "creepy old man" down to the letter as I clutched awkwardly to my wine glass. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me of my long-suppressed lovely girl phobia…
Trust me, I could be Hyne himself and still get choked up in the presence of a woman. Not a split second later did I feel that damned familiar cramp in my leg; I tried to convince myself that it was due to the weather.
No, of course not! Only geezers had weather induced leg cramps. I was older, and perhaps a bit creepy, but definitely not ancient.
Selphie tilted her head to the side and fixated her eyes on my own, and I couldn't help but squirm a bit under the sudden rush of anxiety. She'd be one hell of a world leader - deceivingly intimidating and just too darn cute to refuse. "Sir Laguna, are you having…a Julia moment?"
It took me a second to realize that Selphie knew - she had been there, in one form or another, thanks to Ellone. My insides lurched at the thought, but at the same time I felt my leg cramp go away. She knew exactly what happened and felt my butterflies, more or less, and yet it didn't seem to affect her opinion of me. All of a sudden it didn't make much sense for me to fall to shambles…
"You could say that," I whispered, sheepishly scratching the back of my head.
Her giggle pierced the night air like the ringing of a tiny bell. I wondered how a lovely girl like Selphie ever got involved in such a militaristic lifestyle, as if the carefree sound of her laughter contradicted everything that she ever accomplished. A strong soldier lurked beneath the surface, but something in my gut didn't want to admit that. It just didn't seem natural.
I could see Selphie living in Balamb Town along the water's edge, thriving on a lifestyle that involved sunshine, salty sea breezes and little else. I could see her spending her days in Winhill, watching out for the children and strolling through the lush countryside…
I could see her living in Esthar, loving an awkward, middle-aged president that didn't think he would find anyone on the planet worth loving ever again. Though ridiculous, a small part of me wondered whether or not such a thing could even happen, and whether or not I was so fortunate a man to deserve a wonderful woman in my life again.
Look at the mess I made of my past relationships. There was no way in hell that I'd ever get lucky like that a third time. Besides, Selphie and that cowboy…
Selphie's eyes trailed down from my face to the wine glass in my hand and raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you need a refill," she chirped with a grin. My breath caught in my throat as I thought of a response, but then it hit me like an airship smack between the eyes.
No wonder she was out here in the snow, twirling around like some sort of beautiful loon! I hadn't been the only one at this party that was consuming more than the socially acceptable amount of that Galbadian wine. It was just so tasty -
"You've gotta try the chardonnay!" she exclaimed, grasping my free hand between both of hers. "I love it almost as much as I love trains - and that's a lot."
I laughed. What else was there to do in this situation? This had bad decision written all over it, but I was suddenly enlightened by that one night in Deling City; I could hear Kiros and Ward encouraging me, regardless of whether the choice was good or bad. But really, what harm could there be in one more glass of wine with a friend?
"Sure," I responded with a small smile, letting her drag me back towards the party. "I'd love to have a drink with one of Balamb's finest SeeDs."
…oh, this had the potential to be such an egregious, wonderful error.