Squall once again woke up, hoping it was just a weird dream caused by the ovelry rich lunch he, Linoa and Ellone had. But no, it wasn't. As he looked around, he recognized the same room he had woken up in earlier. He sat on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands.
"Okay. Okay. I am in the past. My mother is alive. The past. Raine is a small child. The past. Mom is alive."
He could barely think. He couldn't deny what he had just seen, and yet it didn't make any sense. Yes, the Time Compression had allowed him and his team to travel through time before, but this was a unique, almost impossible event. Squall was fighting hard to calm down and decide what to do.
"Right, so it looks like my first impression was right, something went wrong during the experiment, but it's even worse than I thought. I wasn't just teleported, I went back to the past. God, I can't believe my mother's he-NO! Focus! I have to make sure I interact with as little as possible. I wouldn't want to cause a time paradox and pop myself out of existence or something. Wait, what if that's already happened? Probably not, actually, or else I wouldn't be here. Or would I? Maybe I'm already gone in the present but I'm safe as long as I'm in the past? Wait, why am I speculating about this when I have no idea how time travel works? All I'm doing is worrying myself unnecessarily instead of looking for a solution."
Squall virulently shook away this nonsense about potentially being in temporal limbo in a universe where he had never existed and got up. The one thing from his musings that actually seemed to be relevant is that he should avoid a time paradox at any cost.
"Linoa managed to user her powers to locate me during the Time Compression. It's not that different, when you think about it. So all I need to do is get out of here, find a safe spot where no-one and nothing will find me and wait it out. Linoa will find me and bring me back to the present eventually."
He made his way towards the stairs, planning to take a peak to see if the way out was clear, when he heard the door creak open. He froze and a couple seconds later, the tiny brown head of baby Ellone poked out from behind the stairs. She gasped in surprise before running back down.
"Raine! The weird man is awake!" she yelled excitedly.
"No no no no no!" Squall screamed internally. "This is bad! If she comes up, she's gonna ask me all sorts of things! What if I screw things up and give myself away? What if I do erase myself from existence?"
Downstairs, Raine heard her adoptive daughter call and before she even had time to react, Ellone was pulling on her sweater to grab her attention.
"Ellone! Be polite! That's no way to talk about someone you don't even know." she said, placing a kettle of hot tea on a platter which was already garnished with cups, spoons, sugar and biscuits.
"Aw, but I thought you wanted to know when he woke up!" Ellone said dejectedly.
"Yes, and it's good that you told me, but calling him 'weird' is rude. Now let's get back up."
Raine climbed up the stairs, being very careful to keep her platter steady, with Ellone following closely behind.
"I hope you like tea!" she said towards the upstairs room, "It's not much but I know it always puts me back in shape whenever I..." she stopped herself as she noticed the man was leaning halfway through the window, which he had slid all the way up. He clumsily pulled his head back in, hitting it against the window frame in the process.
"Ow! Urgh..." he groaned as he turned around, massaging the back of his head.
"Er, is everything alright, sir?" Raine asked.
Squall turned around to face her and stayed silent for a moment, trying to find something to say, but too stunned by the fact that he was face-to-face with his mother. Eventually, he came up with something.
"Um... yes! I figured I could use some fresh air. Wouldn't want to faint again."
"Good point, you do look a little pale. Anyway, I was hoping we could discuss what exactly happened to you over some tea."
Squall kept on a straight face but he was restless inside. This sounded like it could last a while and he didn't want her to stick around. He needed to find a way to let Linoa know where – and when – he was and silly as it sounded, what if drinking that tea somehow caused a chain of events that would drastically change the future?
"Er, I'm sorry but... I am allergic to tea!" Squall said, thinking on his feet.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" replied Raine. "Maybe I could prepare you a cup of a different kind?" Squall was touched by how far she was going out of her way to make him feel at home. She really was as sweet as Ellone and Laguna had told him.
"No! I'm allergic to all of them. Sorry!"
Raine raised an eyebrow at this. It didn't seem likely, but she supposed it was possible. Or maybe he just didn't like tea but was afraid he'd come off as rude if he said so?
"Well, I hope you don't mind if I have some," she said.
"Not at all. Go right ahead."
As Raine poured herself a cup in silence, Squall looked at her, still in disbelief. "I can't believe she's right there, in front of me! I never thought I would get to experience this."
"Would you like some too, Ellone?" Raine asked the little girl.
"Yes, please!" Ellone replied enthusiastically while extending her cup towards Raine. Squall noticed that Ellone had her own cup. A smaller one decorated with pink flowers. Squall smiled slightly at the adorable sight, but quickly turned his head and tried to refocus. "Don't be silly, Squall." he told himself, "You gotta figure out a way to leave. You have to be ready for Linoa to find you at any time. What if she appeared right here, wings spread out and everything? That probably wouldn't do the space-time continuum much good."
"So can you tell me a little bit about yourself? I still don't even know your name. Oh and mine is Raine, by the way" she said, breaking the silence that had fallen for a few seconds. Squall panicked.
"Oh crap," he thought. "The villagers gave me her maiden name. Even if she doesn't find it weird, she'll probably want to know more. And what about my first name? Will she still want to call me that if she associates it with some random stranger who passed out in front of her house? Wait, what if she does like it and me telling her about it is what made her want to name me that? Dammit, I like my name. I don't want it to change. But then again, would I even notice if it did?"
"Are you alright, sir? You're shaking."
Raine's words dragged Squall back to Earth. He realized he'd not only once again stayed silent for far too long, but he was doing a very poor job of hiding how stressed he was. His fingers were twitching on his knees. He tried to regain some composure.
"Yes, I'm alright. Sorry. My name is... Rock Lugria," he finally answered, combining the names of the heroes of two fantasy stories he had read a couple years earlier.
Raine smiled slightly, trying to make Rock more comfortable. "Alright, Rock. So what exactly is this 'Balamb Garden' you were talking about earlier? I don't remember Balamb being famous for its gardens and you don't exactly look like a gardener," she remarked, considering him with a smirk. "Although I suppose if you want to learn about gardening, Winhill is the perfect place."
Squall wondered how nobody here knew about Balamb Garden, when it suddenly hit him. He was in a time when Raine had already adopted Ellone but before she met Laguna, so about 20 years before his present, meaning that Balamb Garden would not be built for another eight years. This was unbelievable to him. Garden was all he'd known for most of his life, so a world where it never existed was a completely alien concept to him.
He then took a quick look at himself. Indeed, it would be hard to believe someone like him would be working with plants. He was wearing a plain grey T-shirt, a dark blue jacket with short sleeves, fingerless leather gloves and some black pants decorated with far more belts than necessary on both legs and some thick stomping boots. Add to this his silver necklace, his earring and his scar and he looked more like a boys band member. "Hang on a moment," Squall thought. "That's perfect!"
"Balamb Garden is the name of a band I'm part of." Squall said in a strong and clear voice, trying to be convincing. "I play guitar."
Ellone gasped. "You're a musician?! Are you famous?"
"Heh, not really. That's probably why you haven't heard of us," Squall joked, or at least attempted to. Ellone started nibbling on a biscuit, which even Squall couldn't deny was cute.
"I'm sure it'll come eventually," Raine added in a kindly tone. "But I do wonder what a young musician from Balamb was doing passed out in Winhill."
Squall tried to remain calm, although he had no idea how long he would be able to keep up this façade. He did hope he could at least gather some information. "Beats me. I was hoping you could tell me."
"I'm afraid I can't be of much help. We just found you this morning, asleep in the middle of the town square. No idea how you got there."
"Oh. So you don't know what happened before that, then?"
"Wait, you don't remember anything from before you woke up?" said Raine, concerned.
"Well, er, no."
Squall was getting agitated again. He had to come up with something quick in case she asked...
"That sounds serious. I thought you might at least remember what you did yesterday. What's the last thing you remember?"
… something exactly like that. He couldn't exactly tell her that the last thing he remembered was being sent back in time from twenty years in the future.
"I was, um..." he stammered while crossing his arms and closing his eyes, pretending to be thinking about what he was doing in order to buy himself some time. What would Rock have been doing? When he opened them again, he saw Raine looking at him expectantly.
"Look, I just don't remember, okay?!" he snapped, acting indignant in the hope that it would get her to drop the subject. Both Raine and Ellone looked at him in shock.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Raine said. "I didn't even think of how tough it must be for you. I shouldn't have pushed you like that."
The look of disappointment on Raine's face made Squall's heart break. Normally, he wouldn't care if he offended someone if it could get him out of an embarrassing discussion, but this was his mother, and he couldn't stand hurting her feelings.
"No, no, it's me. I shouldn't have talked to you like that," Squall replied, looking apologetic. "I mean, you bring me into your house, nurse me back to health, offer me tea – which I am sure I would find delicious if I weren't allergic – and show concern, and I pay you back by acting like a-"
He stopped himself, remembering that little three-year-old Ellone was here. Better watch his language around a child, which he realized was an odd thing to say about his older sister.
"- like a doodah."
Ellone chuckled. Mission accomplished.
"You say silly things, mister!" the little girl remarked.
This helped lighten up the mood a bit and everyone relaxed. Raine finished her cup and placed it back down.
"It's quite alright, Rock. It's understandable that you'd be on edge after what you've been through. Ellone, would you be a sweetheart and bring the tea set down, please?"
"Yes, Raine!" Ellone answered, grabbing the set and hurrying out of the room.
"Carefully!" Raine instructed in vain at her daughter.
Silence once again fell in the room. Squall hoped that Raine would follow Ellone soon and he would get an opportunity to find a way to contact Linoa. Instead, she remained seated and once she was sure Ellone had left the room, she turned her head towards Squall.
"So, Rock, there's something I really need to ask you and I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but do you have drug problems?"
Squall flinched, mouth open and his eyes wide open.
"What?!"
"I mean, look, if that's the case, I'm not here to judge. I just want to help."
Squall was genuinely upset by Raine's suggestion. He took great care of his body and health, so the idea that he'd throw it away like that felt a bit insulting to him.
"No, I don't have any drug problem! Why would you even think that?" Squall inquired.
"Well, you're a bit fidgety, you were passed out in the middle of town, with no memory of what you did last night, you've got mood swings. And, well, I understand that it can be difficult to avoid in show business."
"Well, I assure you, Miss Leonhart, I have never taken drugs!"
Both of them paused for a moment, long enough for Squall to realize what he'd just said.
"How do you know my family name?" Raine questioned.
"Haven't you told me?" Squall answered sheepishly, internally slapping himself for being so careless.
"No, I told you my first name, but not my family name."
"I guess I must have seen it on your mailbox, then," he tried, putting on a forced smile to act casual, which succeeded in doing the exact opposite.
"We don't have one, though. There's just a slot in the front door."
With each failing answer, Squall was getting increasingly mad at himself "Now you've done it, Squall. You've made yourself look even more suspicious." He did come up with one more thing to try.
"Oh, right! Now I remember! That guy I met before passing out mentioned it! He said he was surprised that I left 'Miss Leonhart's house' so soon. Guess he had a point, huh?"
"Oh yeah, that does make sense," Raine replied. Squall wasn't so sure it did but he wasn't about to complain that Raine was satisfied with the answer. Although he wasn't entirely convinced that she bought it. "Hopefully more stuff will come back to you. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It's just that I would feel awful if you were in any sort of trouble and I didn't do anything to help. I won't bother you with that any more."
"It's alright. I appreciate the concern but really, I never touched the stuff."
"Good. Well, I'd better go check on Ellone. You never know what kids are up to if you don't watch them constantly," Raine said with a shrug while getting up.
Squall eased up a bit as he saw Raine make her way towards the stairs, looking forward to finally having an opportunity to think about what to do next, although right now, his mind was preoccupied by Raine's comments. Honestly! Him, taking drugs? And even if he did, why did she even care? Why was she worrying herself so much about him? She was acting like she was his... oh.
"Does she somehow subconsciouly know?" Squall began to wonder. "They do always talk about motherly instincts and how moms just know things about their children, even without them letting anything on. Or is that just the way she acts with everybody? She did adopt Ellone when her parents were killed, after all, and then there's the way she took care of Laguna. Or rather, will take care of him."
Squall was so absorbed in his reflections that he didn't even hear the footsteps coming from the stairs.
"Oh! One more thing!" Raine exclaimed, pulling Squall out of his thoughts and running back up the stairs before making her way towards a corner of the room excitedly. Squall couldn't quite see what she was doing. Eventually, she turned around and saw that it was an old acoustic guitar. Raine blew on it and a cloud of dust went flying in the room, making her fan her face to avoid getting some in her eyes. She then walked towards Squall with it.
"I know it's a bit silly, but would you mind playing a little bit for Ellone and I?" Raine asked with a timid smile. "I just love music and it's not every day you get to meet a professional. Sorry, it's probably not tuned."
Squall got nervous again as Raine held the instrument towards her. He didn't know how to play any instrument, and his friends performance to celebrate him being named commander proved that it's not something you can just fake. He took a deep breath and answered.
"I'm sorry, but no."
He saw the look of disappointment in Raine's face and immediately wanted to amend what he just said.
"I mean, it's not that I don't want to, but I can't. I don't know how to play guitar."
Raine's expression turned to confusion.
"Didn't you say you play it in a band?"
Squall had something for this. He just hoped he could be credible.
"Yeah, but the truth is, I only pretend to."
Raine's eyes widened. Squall continued.
"You see, the performers of Balamb Garden are really talented, but the producers decided they weren't charismatic enough to sell, so they hired me and a bunch of other people to pose as the band in front of the audience, but we don't actually know anything about music."
Raine looked at him incredulously.
"I know, I know. It's freaking pathetic." Squall added, looking away from her. "But we all need the money."
"No, I get it," Raine countered, looking genuinely sympathetic. "If I were in your shoes, being given the opportunity to be part of show business on some level and make a living from it, especially at your age, I think I'd take it too."
Squall looked back at her and gave her a surprised smile. Although his story was as fake as Rock's performances, he was pleasantly surprised to see how understanding and tolerant Raine was.
"Right, I really need to go see what Ellone is doing before she breaks something or puts something in my shoes again. You try and get some rest, okay?"
Squall nodded as he watched her put the guitar down and walk down the stairs. It was high time he got to work on going back to the present.
Hi again, everyone! Currently working on part 3, which isn't going to be an easy one as this is where things are going to get a bit more complicated for Squall. I hope you're enjoying the story so far and that the interaction between Raine and Squall is amusing for you to read as it was for me to write. The story isn't quite how I imagine it at first but I'm happy with the results so far. I'd like to also give big thanks to LexExpress from the Freakin' Awesome Network forums for proofreading my text and giving me tips.
Once again, do not hesitate to give me advice if you have any to spare and if you like this fic and think others would enjoy it as well, please do spread it around. Well, see y'all later for chapter 3!