Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.


One Good Shoulder – Chapter Nine

A steady rain was falling on the village, pattering against the windows and drumming on the roofs. The pub was closed for the day, as this was the one day each week that selling alcohol was prohibited in the town. Not that Raine minded much. She was guaranteed a day of rest with a good excuse to give herself to take it. Curled up in her chair with a blanket and a book, she was enjoying a quiet afternoon.

Well, mostly quiet. Laguna was trying to watch the television, but the signals in Winhill were typically erratic and depended on conditions. Today, only two channels of six were more than static. Laguna had the grand choice between an infomercial for some tortuous-looking contraption meant for exercise and a documentary on the fall of the Dollet Empire. He chose the documentary, despite the infomercial having spandex-clad women stretching around. He could feel his back start to spasm just watching them contort on the machines.

Ellone clambered onto the couch next to Laguna and tugged on his dogtags. "Can I wear your necklace?"

Laguna eyed the little girl. "That's not a necklace."

"Yes, it is!" Ellone insisted.

"No, those are my dogtags." He held them up to her. "They have my name on them. See?"

Ellone wrinkled her nose. "Dogtags? Nuh-uh! You're not a dog, Uncle Laguna! An' dogtags go on dog collars! You're wearing a necklace!"

He tried to ignore Raine's snickers. "This isn't a necklace. It's a chain. With dogtags." Leaning closer to her, he added, "An' you can't wear 'em, 'cause I don't take 'em off."

"Even in bed?" Ellone's eyes were wide when he nodded. Turning to Raine, she blurted, "Uncle Laguna don't take off his necklace for bed! I don't have to, too!"

Raine's voice was even when she replied. "Yes, you do. Laguna wears dogtags, not a necklace." She cracked a smile when Laguna pumped his fist in victory. "They're to tell us who he is if he's found and he can't say anything. That's how we knew his name when he first came here, remember, Elle?"

Ellone wrapped her arms around one of Laguna's and nodded. "That was scary."

He reached over with his free hand and tousled her hair. "But I'm all better, now. Nothin' to be scared of anymore. Ain't that right?"

After an exasperated sigh, Raine tilted her head towards Laguna. "Please, try to use proper language when talking to Ellone. I don't need her picking up the "ain't" habit. It's bad enough that she listens to the old men, as it is."

Laguna rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"Sometimes, I wonder if I should start making you do twenty pushups or whatever discipline was used on you in the army to get that point through your thick head."

Chuckling, Laguna crossed his arms behind his head. "That's some pretty mild discipline for the army."

Raine turned back to her book. "So, what's harsh?"

He shook his head. "I ain't gonna give you any ideas."

An eyebrow arched and Raine grinned at Laguna. "You said it again. That means you owe me twenty pushups."

Laguna's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "No way! You can't be serious!"

From her curled up perch in the chair, Raine extended an arm and a finger. Pointing to the floor in front of her, she ordered, "Drop and give me twenty, Sergeant."

Rolling his eyes, he reluctantly obeyed. Getting down on the floor, he assumed the proper position and started on the first pushup. Clank the dogtags against the floor, push completely up, and keep the back straight. Keeping the back straight was surprisingly difficult. He couldn't remember it ever feeling this strained. Briefly, he wondered what it would feel like to try to do the pushups without the back brace that he wore these days.

After a few complete pushups, Ellone hopped off of the couch. "Chocobo ride!" she squealed before pouncing on him at the top of the next pushup. Laguna had no time to brace himself before she landed on him, heralding a searing flash of pain.

With a strangled yelp, he collapsed on the floor, clenching his teeth. "Getoffgetoffgetoff!" Ellone obliged, leaving him to roll onto his back and catch his breath. The fiery pain quickly subsided, leaving a dull ache behind.

Raine was kneeling beside him, leaning over him. "Are you all right?"

Laguna nodded and rolled over. Pushing himself to a kneel, he let himself rest with knees and palms flat on the floor. "I-I don't think my back is strong enough for roughhousin' yet." Would it ever completely heal? Or would it be like his leg and be a potential liability for the rest of his life?

Raine lowered her head to look at Laguna's face past the curtain of dark hair that fell over his eyes. "Are you all right?" she repeated.

He nodded again and stiffly came to his feet. "Yeah. I think I'll just take a raincheck on those pushups."

A knock at the door summoned Raine downstairs. Laguna heard the chatter of female voices, followed by stampeding footsteps up the stairs. A little girl with red pigtails burst into the loft, eliciting a shriek of excitement from Ellone. "Isa!" In an instant, the girls were diving towards the dolls. Soon after, Raine and another woman entered the loft.

The blonde woman nodded her head to Laguna, who smiled and waved at her. "Hey, Amelia."

Turning to Raine, Amelia took her aside. "Don't stay out too long," she warned, "Especially since you're taking him along. Heaven knows he's tempting, but you honestly can do better."

Laguna's smile fell and he crossed his arms. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Raine told him, "Go downstairs, I'll be down in a minute."

Shaking his head, Laguna complied. He really didn't want to pick a fight. Besides, it didn't seem to matter what he said in his defense. Why waste the energy? He wasn't going to stay much longer anyways, right?

It was not long before Raine came down the stairs, purse over her shoulder and keys in hand. "Let's go," she told him. "Through the back door." After passing through door at the back of the kitchen, Raine trotted out to the rickety detached garage behind the pub. The main door clattered as she opened it to get to the old pickup truck waiting beyond. She opened the unlocked door and climbed into the cab. Laguna joined her and she put the keys into the ignition. It took a few attempts, but the engine turned and started.

Raine leaned back on the bench seat and exhaled as the truck warmed up. "Finally."

Laguna grinned halfheartedly. "Gotta love your friend up there."

"Sorry about that," Raine replied, "She's been pushing me to settle with any of the local boys since we were twelve. Her attempts to play matchmaker have been... interesting. You always have to take what she says about relationships with a grain of salt."

Now Laguna's grin returned with amusement. "She try to set you up with a dweeb or something?"

"I only wish. They were usually jerks or assholes." When Laguna's eyes widened and smirk crossed his face, Raine added, "Pardon the language." She shook her head. "The back of a pickup truck is not a very romantic place. I've had to walk home from a few of those dates. After a while, I stopped accepting the offers." Raine put the truck into gear and started driving down the road that would lead out of Winhill. "It just wasn't worth it anymore." Raine sighed and flicked the windshield wipers on absently. "Most of the girls my age are already married, some with kids... I still can't understand why they settled with who they did. Why they decided that their purpose in life was to make babies with whatever stud they could find... I mean stud as in a breeding male, Laguna, not the other definition. That, most of those boys were not. Get that grin off your face!"

Chuckling, Laguna's grin broadened. "You said "stud"."

Raine punched him in the arm. "Oh, grow up!"

"Owww..." He rubbed at his offended arm.

Rolling her eyes, Raine shook her head. "You big weenie. I can't believe you sometimes. Weren't you in the army?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to hit me! That's not ladylike!"

"Since when have you been concerned with someone acting ladylike?" Raine shot back, "With the way you've acted around Elle, I swear, Laguna, she'll be nothing but a tomboy!"

"Ain't nothin' wrong with that," he tried to defend. Then he straightened in his seat and held a warding finger out against Raine. "An' you can't make me do pushups in the truck!"

"At least you're catching yourself, now." Raine grinned, "That's a start."

After an hour's drive, they came to a mid-sized town along the road between Winhill and the pass through the mountains. Since this town was away from the train lines and separated from "civilization" by the mountains, it was an oft-ignored location, except by the locals for whom the trip to Timber or Deling was too far for any convenience.

The truck parked at a modest shopping center. "I want to get a few things before we catch a movie," Raine told Laguna. "Do you want to wait in here?"

"They're girly things, aren't they?"

"Mostly."

"Is it gonna take a while?"

"Probably."

"Aw, man..." Laguna opened the truck door and stepped out onto the wet parking lot. "I'll see if there's anything I need to get while you're shopping."

It was bizarre to Laguna to walk through those sliding doors and onto the waxed floor under fluorescent lights. It seemed so alien after all of this time away from cities. While Raine made such a trip monthly, this was the first time he joined her. 'Oh man... I'm goin' native,' Laguna mused, 'I don't need to get all freaked out over a store.'

Raine had no hesitation about walking into the shop. "I need to look at some clothes. You probably should too." She pointed to one end of the store. "The men's section is over there. I'll be in women's if you need me." With that, she disappeared into the isles of racks, leaving Laguna to his own devices. Lost, he surveyed the store interior and started to wander in the direction that Raine had pointed.

Jeans and flannel shirts were the first things he found. 'Well, if I ever wanted to try to blend into Winhill...' he mused, 'But there's no need for that, 'cause I'm not sticking around for much longer.' He needed to find something that would be more suitable to Deling, or at least Timber. With those thoughts, he picked up a pair of brown pants in that section. The material was thick, stiff, and heavy, meaning that it would tolerate the abuses he would put it through on the road. A couple extra pairs of pants were picked up for good measure. Maybe he could have a full week's worth of pants, now. He didn't have a problem with wearing the same pair for a few days in a row, but he liked having a dry pair ready during a wet season like this. Everyone needed emergency pants. He bypassed the flannel shirts, finding himself not quite ready to voluntarily put those into his wardrobe. The shirts Raine found for him were fine; he wasn't going to snub them. But now he had the choice and he decided that he would find things that he liked.

After both of them checked out of the store with basics, Raine decided to do a little window-shopping at some of the upscale and trendier shops. She would rarely find anything that she liked and had an affordable price tag, but she enjoyed the exercise. She paused in front of a boutique meant for teens and young adults. "Are they actually bringing those back?" she asked Laguna.

He had no idea what she was talking about, but followed her inside, regardless. As Raine giggled over the nostalgia of whatever it was that she found, Laguna wandered to another section of the store. He saw some t-shirts that he liked, but the price tags on them made him wince. 'They're t-shirts! How hard can it be to put a funny saying on a t-shirt?' He meandered away and found himself at a rack full of jackets.

When Raine returned, she gaped at what Laguna was admiring. It was a short blue jacket with tan lining and a pair grooved metal disks on the front and back. "You can't be thinking of buying that, are you?" When he nodded, she shook her head. "That jacket is far too short for you and those metal... things on them are gaudy."

"It is not too short!" Laguna protested. He shrugged the jacket on and held out his arms. "See! The sleeves are the right length."

Raine facepalmed. "Take it off and put it back, Laguna."

"Hey, it's a cool jacket!" He slipped the jacket off and put it back on its hanger. "It's an awesome jacket! How could you not like it?"

"You're too old for it."

"Whatever! I am so not too old for it. I'm, like, twenty-..." He paused, trying to calculate his age.

"-Eight. You're twenty-eight," reminded Raine, "That's two years short of thirty."

"Whatever. I'm still not too old for it."

"Put it away and let's go. There's still one more store that I want to look at."

Reluctantly, Laguna obeyed and followed after her. His boots squeaked to a stop when they came to the entrance of the shop, while Raine continued to walk inside. An entire store of women's underwear? That certainly was not a place for him! "Um, I-I'm gonna wait outside, okay?"

She paused and nodded. "I won't be long."

By the time she left the store, Laguna was nowhere in sight. Looking around, she tried to guess where he had gone. She did not have to look for long, because he strolled around a corner and came towards her. He was wearing that blue jacket with a broad smile. Not only that, but he was wearing the brown pants he just bought and had them tucked into his boots. Raine frowned. She was going to scold him about the jacket, but instead asked, "What is that black thing around your waist?"

"Oh, this? Pretty cool, huh? A little extra back support."

"At least it helps make the jacket not look so short." She sighed and touched her fingers to her head in her headache-fighting mannerism. She decided not to comment on the fingerless black gloves that he wore. "Nevermind. Let's go."

Once inside the truck, Raine had to turn the key a few times to get the engine to start again. Laguna propped his elbow on the door and watched as the truck shook to life again. "Is it always this hard to start?"

"More and more," she replied, "I should look into getting a new one. Maybe something with a bigger cab. Though, I really don't want to get rid of Dad's truck yet."

"Oh."

They arrived at the cinema just in time to catch a showing of "Loveless". Raine lifted the bench seat of the truck up and put the bags of clothes in the storage compartment beneath, out of sight, before they entered the theater. Halfway through the film, Raine heard a strange sawing sound from beside her. In the glow reflected from the screen, she saw that Laguna had fallen asleep in his seat. Elbowing him, she tried to wake him up before his snoring became any louder. With a snort, he startled awake with a loud "Sir, no, sir!" Looking around in confusion, it took a moment for him to realize where he was. Next to him, Raine was trying to disappear into her seat, as a few chuckles bubbled out of the audience.

On the way out of the theater, she leveled a glare at Laguna. "I can't believe you fell asleep in the middle of the movie."

"It was a boring movie!" Laguna retorted, "I couldn't help it!" He spread his hands out. "I'm sorry for doin' it, though. I didn't mean to spoil the movie for you."

"You didn't spoil the movie," she assured him. "You just added to the sound effects. Maybe you can pick the movie next time. Then you can stay awake through it."

"Really? Cool!"

The sun was setting as they climbed back into the truck, painting the clouds in brilliant shades of pink, orange, and purple during a break in the rain. Laguna leaned back on the bench seat. "You think that Elle behaved herself for your friend?"

"I hope so."

Halfway through the trip back to Winhill, a burning odor permeated the cab and the truck began to jerk and shake. Laguna glanced into the side mirror while Raine pulled over. "Oh, shit... We got smoke back there."

Raine cut the engine and popped the hood open. Laguna hopped out of the truck and onto the grass. Lifting the hood, he winced away from the blast of heat from the engine. "We're gonna have to wait for the engine to cool down before I can try to do anything. There's no way I'm gonna try to check on the radiator when it's this hot."

Peering into the engine compartment, Raine blew a harsh breath between her teeth. The light that was supposed to illuminate the engine when the hood was opened wasn't working. The shadows under the hood were making it hard to see details. "It's going to get dark soon."

"Yeah." Laguna strode back to the cab. "You got a flashlight in here?" Raine came to the cab from the driver's side and lifted the bench seat. Rummaging around, she found an old flashlight and handed it to him. Laguna flicked the switch on it, but nothing happened. He shook the flashlight and still nothing. "It's a dud." He searched through the storage compartment, trying to find something that would help them. "Not much in here. This isn't cool." He rolled up his jacket sleeves and went back to the engine. "There was white smoke comin' out the back, which usually means that there's water getting into places it shouldn't. Probably because of a bad hose or head gasket. Either way, there's no tryin' to drive this truck, unless you wanna ruin the engine."

Crossing her arms, Raine scowled at the old truck. "So, now what?"

Looking up at the darkening sky, Laguna grimaced. "We can't stay out here for much longer. You see any houses around?"

Raine shook her head. "No. There aren't many houses outside of villages around here because of the monsters." Her stance stiffened. "Monsters."

Laguna nodded.

She scanned the landscape around them. "There's worse out here than the Caterchipillars and Bitebugs that get into town."

Laguna nodded again. "And I don't have my gun with me." He straightened his posture and ventured to the edge of the road when he spotted a set of oncoming headlights in the distance. Stretching out his arm, he stuck out his thumb.

"Laguna! What are you doing?" Raine tried to pull down his arm.

"I'm gonna get us outta here, so we can get some help," he answered while resisting her pull. "Unless you really wanna stay out here or try walkin' back unarmed."

Raine tensed and marched back to the truck. After closing the hood and retrieving the bags and purse from the truck seat, she joined Laguna at the side of the road. "I can't believe we're actually going to try to hitchhike." This went against every last shred of her common sense. She had heard enough horror stories about what happened to people who hitchhiked or picked up hitchhikers. She had no intention of becoming one of those stories.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Laguna smiled. "I used to do this a lot when I was younger. Met all sorts of interesting people that way. Some of them were scary, but interesting."

Bringing her fingers to her forehead, Raine swore she could feel a migraine coming on. This was going to be a long evening.


A/N: I want to give a shout out to DBZ Fanfiction Queen for plugging this fic in "The Past is Back" and give my thanks for the support. Go check out the Queen's stuff and tell 'em Randomality sent ya.