Chapter 3 /4 : Going home and retirement.
Authors note: More a filler chapter linking the trip from Esthar into the headmasters' office. As such it seems a bit rushed; A habit I am still trying to break when it comes to writing anything really.
P.s - Loving the amount of hits so far! Please leave any comments in reviews, thank you very much. ^w^
The trip on the airship would take almost five hours from Esthar to where Balamb Garden was currently stationed. Laguna had almost lept for joy when Rinoa had told him Squalls' answer to his offer of a permanent place of residence in the palace, (accepting the fact his son couldn't give him the news himself was just Squall being, well, Squall.) But the stipulations that his son had put in place; that he sort out the paperwork concerning his transfer out of SeeD before anything else was done, Meant that celebrations would have to wait until their return from Garden. Also, being president meant Laguna could not go with them in person, but could do was charter them a presidential airship, ready to leave at once, and give them clearance for a substantial amount of gil; if needed, to break his sons contract. This would take some time to explain to Lagunas' ministers but it was worth it.
Rinoa had made straight for the observation deck. She loved watching the ground race by beneath her, as they soared among the clouds. Whenever Laguna was required to travel to foreign lands on diplomatic mission she insisted on taking Squalls' place whenever he refused, which was everytime. He may have disliked it at first, but Laguna soon discovered it was a golden opportunity to get to know both Rinoa and his son better. After all; Squall wasn't about to open up to him anytime soon. Even if it had been his son inside his head all those years ago; the boy still felt they had nothing to talk about. Now they were crossing over Horizon bridge; by airship it would take but an hour to cross, by foot however... Rinoa smiled as she remembered Zell telling her that Squall had carried her across it when she was unconscious. At this point they were about three hours away from Gardens last known docking point somewhere of the coast of Balamb in non-territorial waters. The young woman played with a lock of her hair, twisting it around her fingers in a playful fashion. She could think of a million ways Squall and herself could pass the time, but He had taken himself off to a dark room to try and shift his headache. Not only that; the last heavy petting session resulted in a severe nosebleed, thanks to the hormones released, both left Squall in need of an elixir to try and shift the pressure and showed the extent of the damage to his brain. It has been recommended then, rather forcefully, that to keep it down to the occasional cuddle. Of course that incident had been nearly 10 weeks ago and Squall was almost fully recovered now. Rinoa grinned. Soon she would be able to be intimate with the one she loved, a thought that brought her much happiness even after the nightmares.
Rinoa helped herself to a coffee from the crafts on-board drinks dispenser. No cheap, bitter-tasting junk here; No, this machine was the real deal and the drink was both smooth and sweet just as she'd asked. As she turned to sit down she was surprised to see Squall walking towards her, with tousled hair and bleary eyes. With a smile she pointed to the cup in her hand and he nodded. 'You look rough, airsick?' To her further surprise he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested a head on her shoulder.
'I,' He grinned, swaying her gently from left to right 'Have been asleep.' Rinoa nearly dropped the coffee cups she was holding, Squalls' one still in the process of being filled.
'What? are you sure?' She turned to face him, He smiled at her surprised expression and held her at arms length so she didn't accidentally scad him with the hot liquid.
'It was only for about twenty minutes or half hour, but I was deffinately asleep.'
'How do you know you didn't just zone out again? I know you get lost in your thoughts...' Squall shook his head.
'I rested my head back to relax and next thing I knew I was under the covers with a dead arm.'
'A dead arm?' she looked at him quizzically and he laughed gently.
'Pins and needles, the tingles as you call them.' Rinoa smiled so wide he could see most of her teeth.
'Any dreams?' The smiled faded slightly when the man holding her shook his head slowly.
'No, no dreams, but I don't think I was asleep long enough to be honest.' A hot cup was handed to him and Rinoa tipped hers towards it in a toasting fashion.
'Looks like you're on the mend good sir! Lets hope our good fortune lasts.'
Squall sipped his drink and made for a chair at the front of the observation deck near the console the captain used to speak to the passengers on the deck. Rinoa joined him just in time to hear the com-unit bleep into life. 'Master Leonhart sir,' Came the voice of the co-pilot. 'We hailed the Garden as requested. In response we have receive a transmission from the headmaster of Garden. Sir, they ask they be allowed to talk with you directly over voice channels.' Rinoa grinned and lept from her chair to the consoles side. She rested an elbow on the metal surface and with the other hand pressed the green transmit button. 'Patch it through, please!' Squall had been experimentally pulling his hair back to see if it was long enough to warrant a ponytail. It wasn't. He raised an eyebrow.
'Where did you learn the jargon?'
'Oh, your dads fourth visit to Shumi village to discuss trade routes. Maybe it was the fifth?' Squall was about to pass comment when the PA crackled with transfer static. Suddenly he was sat up straight, his hair abandoned, self-conscious despite the fact the decks console could only handle voice transmissions and not video so the speaker could not see them, and despite they were the only ones on the observation deck.
'This is Quistis Trepe, Acting headmaster of Balamb Garden.' The voice was tinny due to distance, but unmistakably Quistis'. 'Who am I addressing?'
'Now now Quisty, Is that any way to greet a friend?' Rinoa poked out her tongue at the speaker in jest her finger resting lazily on the transmit button.
'Rinoa? Is that you?' Rinoa frowned.
'Of course! Didn't they tell you we were the ones aboard?'
'We? Is Squall with you too?' The frown deepened.
'Yes, he is. So, No-one told you?' There was a rush of static as Quistis sighed with relief.
'Yes, I was told. But it wouldn't be the first time Laguna had pretended you were on board for a chance to come and meet Squalls' friends.'
There was a groan as Squall held his head in his hands. 'The number one, grade idiot moron strikes again.' Rinoa slapped his leg before returning to the mic.
'No, it's really us Quisty. We should be arriving at the garden in about two or three hours, I take it we have permission to dock?' There was a moment of silence.
'Probably asking Xu or someone.' Came Squalls' remark through steepled fingers. The crackling started again.
'Before we answer that Rinoa, I have something I wish to ask Squall.'
'He's listening.' Rinoa ignored the glare she received for answering without consent.
'Well, Are you listening Squall?' Squall sighed and reached for the button.
'Yes.' was all he said. There was another pause, shorter this time.
'It's good to hear your voice again.' It was Rinoas' turn to glare. She still likes you, she mouthed at him and he ignored it. 'I have to ask,' continued Quistis, 'Is this a friendly visit or SeeD business?'
Squall mulled the question over for a while, thinking on how best to answer. Finally He said, 'Business,' and sat back in his chair. Another rush of static. Somehow this had a disappointed tone.
'I was afraid you'd say that. Very well, Im sending co-ordinates and the docking persmission to your captain. I'll meet you personally at the gates.'
'See you then!' Rinoa closed the link without waiting for a reply and turned to her other half, who had sunk back in the soft leather and closed his eyes. 'Are you sure you've never slept with her?'
Squall opened one eye and half smiled. 'You're an idiot, you know that?' He pulled her to him and held her. 'But you're my idiot, and I wouldn't change that.' Rinoa sighed happily, accepting this as a 'no', and settled back to enjoy the rest of the flight.
Squall was not the only one to have been effected by the time compression. For several weeks Zell had suffered from, what Dr. Kadowaki called, 'The time bends.' Periodically time would fluctuate for him, causing him to appear to slow down or speed up. The results were quite funny. One afternoon during lunch time had slowed down to almost a stand-still without Zell noticing, too concentrated on his food. Time had settled back to it's normal pace and the shock of fifteen minutes worth of hot dogs hitting His stomach in approximately one point two seconds made him violently sick. The solution for this was spells to negate the effects of time altering in tablet form. One of Odines' best innovations; To channel a single spell out creating a draw point bound to the makeup of several proteins that the body could breakdown to release the magic and desired effect. Zell had no idea how the worked but He knew the red ones were to speed him up to normal and the green were to slow him down. These combined with a watch coated in the reflect spell designed to bleep and flash the colour of the tablet he was supposed to take.
Quistis had also been effected but she had not told a soul. During the travel between times all the memories she had surrendered, without realising, to the GF had flowed back into her. And it was with perfect recollection of her childhood with Squall and the others that she met with the pair at the gate. Maybe it had shown in her eyes, her feelings, because the greetings at the gate were terribly short. Rinoas' growing disquiet regarding the way this woman may or may not feel about her boyfriend soured the niceties somewhat. During lesson hours the halls were mercifully quiet allowing an uninterrupted trip to the headmasters office. They were ushered into the room by a SeeD Squall recognised but couldn't name. The old fashioned office was just as he remembered it, except he had never usually seen it this crowded.
'Squall! Rinoa!' Selphie jumped from her place comandeering the Headmasters' chair and hugged Rinoa tightly. 'It's so good to see you again!' Irvine stepped forward from beside a potted fern, one hand rubbing his neck nervously the other reaching out to shake Squalls' hand.
'Good to see ya' again, And sorry about the fuss. Selfie couldn't keep her mouth shut y'know?' Squall looked at his hand in Irvines' and smiled weakly. Before He could say anything a blue and red blur whipped past, knocking off Irvines' cowboy hat in its' wake. Squalls' gloved hand was caught up by the blur and he found himself staring into a blonde haired and tattooed face. 'Z-Zell?' Squall tried to back away but his overly energetic friend held fast. Zell smiled and looked squarely into the steely-blue eyes before him. 'Squall?' He began slowly, 'Squall, do you remember me? It's me, your friend, Zell.' Each word was carefully pronounced, as if he was talking to a small child. Squall glanced at Rinoa and the others. 'Who-?' He started nervously looking between his friends, unsure of what to do, of what to make of this behaviour. Quistis groaned and shook her head, Selphie giggled while Irvine held his head in his hands out of embarrassment. No-one seemed to want to intervene though, Squall was on his own. He swallowed hard. 'Yes, Zell, I re-' but his words were cut short when Zell pulled him into a strong bear hug that lifted the scared soldier off the ground by a few inches. 'He remembers me!' Zell shouted joyfully, 'I was worried he'd have forgotten!'
'I'm sorry' came Quistis' voice from behind her fingers, 'We tried to explain why Squall took the time off, but I don't think he quite understood.'
A vein pulsed in Squalls' temple and his eyebrow twitched. In a manner of indignant, yet, controlled rage he brought a gloved fist down on Zells' spiked yellow hair.
'You are an idiot Zell!' He spat angrily over the moans of pain. He was dropped to his feet while Zell cradled his head. This episode caused the group, excluding Zell and Squall, to laugh. It was a good few minutes before any of them could stop.
'Thats' enough.' Said Quistis while wiping tears from her eyes. 'They are not here for a social visit.' She took her place behind the Headmasters desk and indicated for them all to sit down. They all did, Selphie on the windowsill next to where Irvine was leaning against the wall. Squall folded his arms across his chest and glared at his knees. Rinoa glanced from him to Quistis. Squall caught her glance, it was a look that told him she was NOT going to speak for him this time. 'Oh, all right.' He groaned and sat forward, his chin resting on his knuckles. 'Headmistress Trepe,' Squll looked his old inspector in the eye, 'I'm here to make a formal Request.' Quistis flinched slightly under his gaze. True, she had once been his instructor and was now headmaster of the Garden, but she was only slightly older than Squall and his gaze could cut glass. She recomposed herself and meet his eyes. 'What request would you like to make of us?' Rinoa placed a hand on Squalls' knee, Obviously uncomfortable. Pleased to feel his lovers hand on his leg for reassurance he took a deep breath and glanced at Irvine, the acting commander. 'I want to put in a request for my immediate retirement.'
The stunned silence spoke volumes and it was Zell that spoke first. 'You what?' he cried aloud. Irvine shot Squall a sharp glare.
'On what grounds?' a black leather glove massaged Squalls' temple slowly.
'In accordance with article five, subsection b.' Selphie looked at him puzzled, tilting her head.
'Whats that mean?'
'Article five, subsection b states,' Quistis sighed and began to quote from the SeeD guidelines as only inspector Trepe could, 'Retirement can be forced before normal termination in field id the SeeD is deemed physically or mentally unfit for service.' She removed her glasses and shook her head. 'But I don't understand, the last letter we received from Rinoa said you were getting better, almost fully recovered in-fact. We were expecting you to rejoin us soon.'
'Whats wrong Squall, you sick?' Zell had to duck the daggers thrown by Squalls' Gaze. Rinoa broke the line of sight and looked into Squalls' eyes. The softened immediately.
'Are you sure?' she whispered. Squall nodded and reached for the folder Rinoa passed him from her bag. It looked just like the one Odine had left for them on Lagunas' desk if somewhat thicker.
'These are my medical records.' He handed them over to Quistis, 'I take it you'll need them.' Headmistress Trepe took them before pressing the inter-com on her desk.
'Agatha, could you send up Dr. Kadowaki at once please, it is urgent.'
'Right away m'am.' Any further reply from the secretary was cut short by Quistis turning off the inter-com with a [snap].
'We best leave the reading of this file to an expert.' She lent back in her chair and looked from Rinoa to Squall. 'And I take it you understand what this means then when she arrives? Theres' to be no more secrets. Quistis looked her former student straight in the eye. 'It's about time you both told us what really happened in the time compression.'
