Disclaimer: I don´t own Final Fantasy VIII...
Unexpected Destiny
Chapter 36: Flowers and monsters
By CelestialRage
He stretched his back´s muscles, a loud crack echoing through the room as Laguna released a relieved sigh. His head turned to look at the small single bed he had slept in. The previous owner was, at least, one head and a half shorter than him and, although every night he returned too tired to care, the dark-haired man bowed tomorrow he´ll buy another bed.
Laguna´s gaze turned to the window in front of his tiny matress, the bright summer sunshine announcing the arrival of another beautiful day in the small town of Winhill. A smile formed in his lips as the birds´ songs reached his ears as they had done every morning for almost eight months now. The dark-haired man finally got up, his heavy footsteps echoing through the woodened floor as he moved from one side of the other of the room, getting ready for another hard-work day.
Finally ready, he spared another look at the small mirror that hung on the north wall of an equivalent small bathroom. His hair was slighly longer than the shoulder lenght he wore in the Galbadian military and his clothes had changed too.
He no longer wore the blue and silver G-uniform, the only memento from those days were the dog tags he still wore around his neck. Laguna adjusted his blue jacket over the white shirt he wore underneath, placed his item pouch around the hips of his black pants and grabbed his dark fingerless gloves from the small side table before walking back inside the bedroom.
The dark-haired man kneeled and searched under the bed for a second before producing his trademark machine-gun. As Laguna inspected the weapon´s barrel, the sound of small, quick footsteps made the ex-soldier to turn his attention towards the door a couple of seconds before a small but undeniable cute face, poked through the entrance.
"Uncle Laguna! there´s someone here to see yoo." said the small brunette girl smiling as brightly as the summer sun.
Laguna´s smile widened at the sight of little Ellone. She always found a way to cheer him up and he was thankful his rambling trips had led him all the way here. Holsting his machine-gun, the dark-haired man stood up.
"Me? What´s this person look like?" asked Laguna as he bent down slightly to face the five-year-old girl better.
Ellone seemed to consider the answer briefly before shrugging and replying matter-o-factly "He was wearin´ funny clothes." She smiled again and said "He´s tawking to Raine right now."
Laguna frowned. "Is he at the pub?"
The little girl nodded. "Yup. That´s why I come here to get yoo, Uncle Laguna!" Noticing the dark-haired man´s demeanor, Ellone asked "Am I a good girl?"
"No, you´re not." replied the ex-soldier calmly. "I´ve already told you Ellone, it´s dangerous to be out there by yourself." He placed his hands on his hips as he asked "What if a monster comes and attacks you?"
Ellone rolled her eyes slightly as she replied whinning a little "It´s only next door!"
Laguna shook his head emphatically "It´s still dangerous" He crouched to be eye-level (or at least as near as he could come to that) with the tiny girl, his tone softening as he continued his case "And since you´re such a cute girl, monsters would be especially after you!" His arms shoot forward, circling Ellone´s shoulders "They´ll catch you.." his mouth feigning to bite the girl´s neck "... and they´ll suck all your blood out!"
Ellone chuckled like crazy, struggling in the dark-haired man´s arms. When he finally released her, a wide smile adorned his features as he said "See? That´s why you can´t be outside on your own. If anything like that should happen Uncle Laguna´s going to cry."
To his surprise, the tiny girl smiled back and said "I´ll be ok. I´ll just call yoo, Uncle Laguna. You´ll come and rescue me, right?" Before he could reply, Ellone bolted out of the room.
Startled, the dark-haired man scrambled back to his feet. "H-Hey! Ellone, wait!" He bolted downstairs, finally releasing a breath he wasn´t even conscious he was holding as the small figure came into view. Ellone smiled and turned around to face him and as he approached her.
"I waited! Am I a good girl now?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
Laguna couldn´t help but chuckle as he ruffled her soft brunette hair. "Yeah, you´re a good girl." The ex-soldier looked around at the small room they were in. The north wall, just below the stairs, was filled with holes.
Bullet holes.
His frown returned as he glanced at the memento of Ellone´s parents tragical deaths. Although he hadn´t been here when the incident occurred, Raine had told him about it when she showed him around the house. She had offered to store all the furniture in the cottage behind the pub, but Laguna had refused, figuring Ellone wouldn´t want all her parent´s things out of view. His stare settled on the west side of the room, where a mahogany desk stood. The dark-haired man walked towards it, his hand grabbing the only object on the wooden surface.
A smiling middle-aged couple returned his stare. The husband was hugging his wife as she craddled a chubby brunette baby. "Dear Ellone´s father and mother, Ellone has been a good girl today." He said to the picture before turning to face the five-year-old "Right?"
She smiled widely and replied "Yup."
Laguna´s smile returned as well as he carefully placed the portrait back on its place. He walked towards the front door, opened it and pocked his head out., scanning the exterior for any possible threats. His gaze traveled through the other houses around the central plaza, the quiet atmosphere interrupted only for a small Galbadian garrison of around 20 men more or less.
Due to the hostilities with the eastern country of Esthar, Galbadia had been forced to display small but heavy-armed units throughout all its territory. The war Sorceress Adel had started in order to expand her dominion had been up for almost two years now. Raine had told him that during the attack Winhill suffered almost a year ago – and in which Ellone´s parents died – the Estharian soldiers were looking for little girls to kidnap, most likely so Adel could choose her succesor...
... but if they dared to come again, he was more than ready to face them if needed be.
Finding no immediate threats, Laguna scooped the tiny girl up and walked towards the pub. When he opened the door, the fragance of the large, white flowers Raine used to have inside the local reached his nose. He loved that scent, but despite his best efforts, he couldn´t remember the damn flower´s name.
A door opening to his left caught his attention. When he turned his head to regard the newcomer, a warm smile spread through his features as a gorgeous woman came face to face with him. Her eyes were the deepest of blue, contrasting beautifully with her long, cascading waist-lenght copper hair and the thick, loose yellow sweater she wore.
She looked at Laguna´s small cargo and frowned slightly. "Ellone! I told you not to go outside by yourself."
"But I´m fine!" replied the little girl whining.
Raine shook her head "It´s too dangerous and you know it!"
"Raine..." Laguna started to say, but her blue eyes shot an angry look to him, cutting off his words. Her eyes could resemble icycles when she was mad!
Her tone softened as she sighed slightly "Go to your room and play, Ellone." With that, the brunette woman walked pass Laguna towards the bar, where she started to mix some bottle contents, obviously preparing a drink.
Ellone turned to the dark-haired man and whispered "I got into twouble."
"Too baaaad" he replied in a childish voice.
Raine´s voice reached his ears again, this time however, she seemed slightly amused. "Laguna! Use proper English when speaking to Ellone."
The dark-haired man turned to look at his precious cargo, whispering "I got´n trouble."
The tiny girl shook her head as she smiled widely and replied "Too baaaad."
Both of them giggled as Laguna slowly placed Ellone on the floor. "Go up and play, sweetheart." He said smiling as he ruffled her brunette hair again. She smiled back and nodded before scrambling her way up to her and Raine´s room. The dark-haired man turned to look at the brunette behind the bar, his steps carrying him slowly towards her as a nervous smile spread through his features.
"You´re too easy on her." said Raine as he took a seat across her. A small smile showed on her delicate features as her blue gaze locked with his.
He chuckled slightly and was about to reply, when a familiar voice behind him made the dark-haired man turn around.
"It´s been a while, Laguna."
"Kiros!!" his eyes widened as the slim dark-haired man approached him from his spot on the far corner of the room. Laguna rushed forward, pulling his war buddy in a tight hug and laughing in delight.
"You seem well." said the dark-skinned man after detaching from his friend.
"Yeah, you too." replied Laguna still smiling as he glanced over at Kiros as they returned to the bar and took a seat. No doubt his outfit had seemed rather odd to Ellone. His brown-green, form-fitting suit was light, surely designed to adjust to his fast and fluid fighting style. His neck was adorned by several tribal collars. Laguna learned his dark-skinned friend´s hometown was located in one of the numerous islands surrounding the Centra continent, his people were remote descendants of the last inhabitants of that region, though – as everybody knew – most of the knowledge of the ancient civilization were lost in the void of time. Remembering the last time he and his comrades had set foot on that continent, Laguna asked "Hey! How long has it been since our grand escape from Centra?"
"You mean when we were chased out?" replied Kiros raising an earbrow and gaining a chuckle from Raine, who had placed a couple of Krakka beers in front of the men and causing Laguna to blush at the woman´s reaction. The dark-skinned man smiled and said "Hmm... well, I´d say about a year or so. After we got separated by that storm near the cost of Timber, this is where you´ve been?" he asked as he took a sip of his beer.
Laguna nodded "Yeah. I was bed-ridden for six months more or less. Seemed every bone in my body was broken, right?" he turned to look at the woman leaning on the other side of the bar as the last word left his lips.
Raine nodded as she smiled and turned to look at the dark-skinned man. "He was awfully wounded when some of the soldiers stationed here found him and I nursed him back to health."
"Really? He whines like a baby whenever he´s hurt! I must congratulate your dedication, lady, I couldn´t put up with his whinning for even a month!" said Kiros, gaining a chuckle from Raine.
"Hey, I´m not that bad!" replied Laguna with mock indignation, making the other two laugh even harder.
Once Kiros had controled his chuckles, he turned to look at the brunette woman and truthfully said "Thank you, for taking good care of Laguna, really..."
She smiled back warmly and shook her head dismissing his thanks, her long hair highliting her features as it swayed from side to side slightly.
"So, how´s Ward doing?" asked the dark-haired man nervously after she caught him staring intently at her face.
"Well, he quit the army too." replied Kiros, shaking the bottle contents "Luckily, he found a job and is working pretty hard."
"Really? What´s he doing?" asked Laguna as he turned to look at his friend.
The dark-skinned man smiled widely and asked "Remember he once told us he envied the janitors for getting well paid while they did nothing more than mopping floors while we had to risk our lives in a war we didn´t understood?"
"Yeah. But what does that...?" Laguna´s eyes widened at the thought that had crossed his mind "Wait a minute! You mean he´s..."
Kiros chuckled.
"Wow..." muttered the dark-haired man as he scratched the back of his head. "Can´t picture Ward moppin´floors, but I´m glad he´s ok." Laguna took a sip – the first – of his beer before asking "And his voice? Did it ever got back?"
Kiros demeanor changed, his eyes settled on the bottle in his right hand "No... he went to see many doctors before he found the janitor job back at the D-District Prision, but the damage was irreversible..." his dark eyes settled on his friend again as he said "However, you could basically tell what he wants from his facial expressions."
"I see." Laguna took another sip of his beer, before he caught the playful stare of his comrade out the corner of his eyes. "What?" he asked frowning at the expression Kiros had on his face.
"You´re not going to ask about her?"
"About who?" asked Raine as she looked from Laguna to Kiros and back again.
The dark-haired man blushed slightly and sent an angry look to his friend as he finally asked "How´s Julia?"
"It´s been a while since I was last in Deling City but..." Kiros´s words were cut off by Raine.
"You mean Julia, the singer?" asked the brunette woman raising a thin eyebrow.
The dark-skinned man nodded "That´s right. Laguna really admired her and always frequented the night club she used to play at."
Laguna blushed even deeper as his friend shared that piece of information about his life in Deling City with the woman standing behind the bar. "Shut up! So what if I did?" he asked indignately.
Raine, however, seemed not to have hear his last statement as she curiously asked "So Julia used to sing at a night club?"
Kiros shook his head "No, she used to just play the piano at the bar in Deling City´s hotel."
"Is that so?" muttered the brunette thoughtfully. "So the first song she released was Eyes on Me?"
Laguna´s eyes widened.
Eyes on Me...
"The many faces you´ve shown me..."
"Your smile, your face, your eyes... "
"You´ve shown me something... I think I can come up with a song."
Julia´s words the night they talked in her hotel room back in Deling City came to his mind like a hurricane. When he finally found his shaky voice, he turned towards Raine and asked "H-How does the song go?"
The brunette frowned exceptically "You don´t know? But it´s pretty famous!"
"Well, you never let me hear it!" replied Laguna, which was not entirely true. He didn´t have much spare time and when he did, Raine and Ellone – especially the last one – always occuped his free moments in activities such as fishing, playing, cooking or even cleaning up the bar or (on very rare occasions) his house.
"It´s a great song." she replied truthfully. "It´s about being in love... I really like it." she said as a light blush covered her cheeks, which she tried to hide as she feighned to settle a glass she had been cleaning on the shelf at her left.
"Heard she recently got married." commented Kiros taking another sip of his beer as he smiled inwardly at the reaction of the other 2 people in the room.
"Yeah. To a General Caraway or something like that, right?" said Raine as she sat again.
The dark-skinned man nodded "That´s right. He´s the head of the First Division, lots of influences and power there."
"Nah. Julia was never one to go for the power." muttered Laguna as he took another sip of his Krakka beer.
Raine seemed to argue with herself for a minute before saying "I read on a magazine that her true love went off to war and never came back. She was feeling down and General Caraway comforted her, that´s how they got to know each other." Her blue eyes searched for a reaction in Laguna´s face, but found none.
"... So she didn´t wait for the soldier to come back.. ?" asked Kiros
"So what! Who cares?" snapped Laguna as he settled the beer bottle hard on the bar´s surface. "As long as she´s happy, that´s all that matters. Besides I..." he caught Raine´s stare and coughed a little before finishing his sentence with a completely different topic "...have work to do."
"Work?" asked the Kiros curiously "What kind of job do you have around here, Laguna?"
"You´ll see soon." replied the dark-haired man as he stood up, his friend following his example. "See ya later, Raine." He said before turning back and walking towards the door.
She smiled warmly and waved both of the men. "Have fun at work! I´ll have lunch ready when you return."
ooo ooo
Kiros looked as Laguna readied his machine-gun, the dark-haired man walking a couple of paces in front of his comrade, his demeanor clearly showed the ex-soldier was on guard and ready to fight.
"Laguna... I have a simple question." said the dark-skinned man as he watched his friend take a couple of steps off the dirt road they were walking on and inspect a nearby bush. "What is exactly your job?"
Laguna turned to look at his comrade, a wide smile in his features as he rested the heavy cannon of his machine-gun on his right shoulder. "Well, you surely have noticed that aside from the Galbadian garrison stationed here, I´m the only man in town. You see, all the working men in Winhill were sent to war and that leaves only old folks, women, children, chocobos, dogs and cats living here. And without anyone fighting them off, the monsters in the vicinity have been getting inside the town, attacking the few people still living here."
The dark-haired man turned around, gazing at the pink flower field that extended in both sides of the road as far as one was able to see. His tone became softer as he said "This town took real good care of me and I just want to return the kindness." He turned to look at his friend and patted himself on the chest as he smiled "You´re looking at the Monster Hunter of Winhill! And today, Kiros my dear friend, you´ll be my assistant."
The dark-skinned man smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well and what´s our duty?"
"Basically, we patrol the entire town, killing the monsters and if we come across someone who needs help... we, well... help them." replied Laguna shrugging.
Kiros smiled as he unsheathed his katals. "Sounds like fun to me. So, where do we start?"
ooo ooo
Laguna´s machinegun opened a nice series of holes on the soft caterpillar´s flesh. The monster emited a gutural shriek and squirmed painfully before finally laying still. Another painful groan, this time from a particulary big Bite Bug, made the dark-haired man turn to his right, where Kiros´s katals had sliced the monstruous insect´s abdomen.
"Hmm... well, that wasn´t bad." said the dark-skinned man as he sheathed his blades, his gaze wandering through the numerous green and blue corpses laying around both men.
"Yeah, seems like the faeries are on our side today." replied Laguna smiling as he reloaded his weapon. "I can feel the buzzing inside my head."
Kiros crossed his arms thoughtfully "Me too." He frowned and looked at his friend, shaking his head in confusion "What do you think we´re experiencing?"
"I don´t know." answered Laguna "But to be honest, I rather have them around. The battles are a lot easier than without them. C´mon, we still have more road ahead."
Twenty minutes and a couple of caterpillars later, Laguna and Kiros had finally reached the southern part of town, the last building was the miscelaneous store which belonged to an old friend of Raine´s departed father. Laguna wasn´t particulary fond of the man, as he was very rude with the ex-soldier everytime he dared to enter his shop. In fact the dark-haired man had noticed most people in town either avoided him or treated him coldly, maybe because he was an ex-soldier, but he guessed it was mostly because they didn´t like strangers. Winhill was just a small, gardening town in the outskirts of the Galbadian continent and their quiet and isolated life was something they were too fond of.
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, Laguna smiled brightly as he said "Alright! Our first patrol is complete. We´ll report to the commander and assistant commander before our next patrol starts."
"Commander?" asked Kiros raising an eyebrow. "Oh! You´re talking about that woman in the pub... what´s her name again?"
"Raine!" snarled Laguna "And you better not forget it. She saved my life!"
"Okay, okay! Sorry." replied the dark-haired man placing a hand on his hip. "She seems like a very nice person." His eyes narrowed slightly as a little sly smile adorned his features "Though easily taken in by a hotshot."
"... Hotshot?" Laguna´s blush returned at his friend's words.
ooo ooo
The two galbadians were half the way back to the "base" – as Laguna had called Raine´s pub – when Kiros halted.
"Hey, Laguna." The dark-haired man stopped as well, turning around to regard his comrade. "Are you doing this patrol thing everyday?"
To his surprise, the man with the machine gun angrily snapped "Thing? What are you calling THING?!"
Unphazed by his friend´s outburst, the dark-skinned man crossed his arms as he calmly replied "Well, weren´t you aiming to become a world-travelling journalist?" He shook his head and continued "When I was in Timber I went to see the chief editor of the Timber Maniacs magazine..." he halted and raised an eyebrow as he asked his friend "You do know them, right?"
Laguna rolled his eyes "Yeah, so what?"
"Well, he told me they´re interested in any article related to world traveling."
The dark-haired man´s face brightened up at the news "Really? Wow, that´s great!"
Kiros smiled as his comrade´s normal cheery attitude returned "Yeah, we should go see him sometime." Laguna nodded and smiled before turning around and resuming his path, though the dark-skinned man could see his friend was slightly reluctant about his proposal.
Five minutes later, Laguna stopped, turning his head just enough so he could watch his war buddy out the corner of his eyes. "Ummm... About the article.. would it be ok if we stayed here a little longer?"
"You need to gather more material?" asked Kiros "This seems a like a really nice town. You´re going to write about it first, right?"
Laguna turned completely, his head shaking from one side to the other. "No way! Can´t make this place famous or it would be roaming with lots and lots of tourists."
"You scared someone might come and take Raine away?" asked Kiros playfully. Laguna´s face reddened as his friend let out a loud chuckle, scaring a nearby chocobo away. "You´ve changed, man." said the dark-skinned man as he settled himself. A warm smile spread on his lips as he continued "But, I think it was for the best."
ooo ooo
Laguna opened the door leading to the pub, the lovable familiar scent greeting him like an old lover. He stepped into the room, his eyes wandering aroung the apparently empty place. The sound of light footsteps overhead, however, made the dark-haired man´s steps guide him to the wooden staircase, Kiros following him close.
Laguna was about to announce their return, when the soft voice of Raine echoed through the room, the brunette woman was folding some tablecloth she had just finished washing as she talked with little Ellone, who sat in a nearby couch. The dark-haired man turned around, and started to climb down.
"What?" asked Kiros softly as Laguna indicated him to lower his voice.
"Girl talk... We´ll come back later." replied the dark-haired man shrugging.
"I don´t know why, but something inside me tells me to listen." said Kiros as he halted Laguna´s advance, placing his hand on his shoulder. Both men fell silent, Ellone´s squeaky tone raising in the room.
"Raine... Aren´t yoo gonna marry Uncle Laguna?"
The dark-haired man´s face blushed furiously, gaining a silent chuckle from Kiros, whose hands were covering his mouth in an attempt to muffle his laughter.
Raine snorted "A guy like that?" She shook her head as she continued her folding task "He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him since nobody else wanted to have anything to do with the Galbadian military. He has a crude way of speaking and every time I try to have a serious conversation, he avoids it. Not to mention I can't stand his snoring and he talks in his sleep..." her voice faltered there, her eyes glancing at the house next door where he stayed.
True, Laguna had many (many many many) flaws, but...
... she could put up with them.
That wasn´t the real reason why she hadn´t let their relationship – whatever it was – to develop.
"But I really, really like him!" replied Ellone as she looked at the older woman. "Raine, Elle and Uncle Laguna should all be together!"
The brunette woman sighed. "I know, Ellone." Her voice had a sad edge that made Laguna´s heart twitch with anguish. "But you know... " Raine´s gaze turned to the five-year-old child "I don´t think Laguna has in him to live in a quiet country town like this one." Her azure eyes glanced through her window at the far away mountains surrounding Winhill´s landscape. "What he really wants is to travel the world and become a journalist... Some people are just like that..."
"Yoo don´t like him?" asked timidly Ellone.
Raine´s delicate features were highlighted by a beautiful, warm smile as she replied "I feel the same as you, Ellone... but..."
Her words were cut off as Laguna´s weight made the wooden floor squeak slightly. Thinking fast, the dark-haired man bolted upstairs, heaving as though he had come back in a hurry. Raine and Ellone turned to look at the men, the brunette woman´s smile returning as Laguna adopted a firm stance and saluted her.
"Here´s my report on our first patrol, Commander."
Raine took a seat near Ellone on the couch and playfully replied "At ease, soldier. Go ahead with your report."
"Including Buchubuchus and Bunbuns that Assistant Commander Ellone oh-so-hates..." Laguna turned to see the little girl smiling as he said the last part, before adopting his serious demeanor again "We've exterminated 25 monsters."
The brunette woman nodded, frowning at the gravity of the situation. Thanks to Laguna´s presence, the monsters hadn´t been able to take on the town... but their numbers seemed to increase every month. "Great job, guys. Thank you." said Raine as she stood up, taking a couple of paces towards the dark-haired man. "Shall we eat before your next patrol starts?"
"That would be great." replied Laguna smiling tiredly.
Raine looked at him try to stiffle a yawn and smiling said "You guys should take a quick nap first. I´ll come and wake you up as soon as my extra-special-spagetti is ready." The dark-haired man nodded, and she returned the gesture before turning to the couch where the little girl was still sitting "C´mon, Elle. Let´s leave Uncle Laguna and Kiros rest."
As the door closed behind the brunette woman, Kiros turned to look at his friend. His expression was a mixture between sadness, worry and fear. "What´s wrong?" he asked frowning slightly.
Laguna sighed as he ran his right hand through dark, long hair. "Sometimes I get scared, you know?" He dropped on the couch the two women were occuping previously as he continued "Scared of waking up somewhere else... of not seeing Ellone..."
"Of not seeing Raine?" asked Kiros, taking a seat on a chair across his friend. Laguna didn´t reply to his comrade´s question, but the dark-skinned man could tell his normally cool and easy-going buddy was facing something that really scared him.
Responsability.
For the first time in his life, Laguna had someone who depended solely on him to keep going, he was facing all the pressure and joy a relationship with a woman and a child (though not his own, but as dear as if she was) would imply. And although he could tell Laguna loved both women dearly, Kiros could also see his friend was scared as hell.
"Please, let me be in this puny bed when I wake up..." the dark-haired man whispered as he closed his eyes tiredly, his body finally giving in as he settled down to sleep.
As Laguna´s breath steadied, Kiros smiled.
His friend sure had changed in the last 6 months...
... as did everyone who finally find their path in life.
ooo ooo ooo ooo O ooo ooo ooo ooo
Author´s note: Hi everyone!
Thanks to all the reviewers, I really appreciate your comments. You all know they´re precious to me :D
I hope you liked this chapter, I tried to make Laguna and Raine´s relationship less colder than it appears in the game (for me at least..), hope I did it right. And also, I liked to include that little detail about Raine´s eyes as she gets mad with Laguna... guess who Squall got his vicious glare from? :D
Anyway, I want to dedicate this chapter to my friend Revir, who turns 22 today :D (there you go, girl. Sorry I couldn´t wrap it up for you :D)
Happy birthday!!
And see you all again soon!
Lots of love,
Celestial Rage.