"Squall's so lucky."
Rinoa gazed wistfully at Selphie, chin resting against her palm. They sat across from each other at the café, with two iced lattes between them.
"What do you mean?" Selphie stopped mid-sip, the straw still hovering between her lips. She was obviously caught off guard by Rinoa's seemingly random remark.
Rinoa smiled softly as she let her gaze drift longingly around the room, watching a man a few tables down spoon feed some soup to his toddler. "I mean, he's lucky to have a dad like Laguna. Don't you think?"
"You already know what I think, Rin," Selphie said smirking. "Sir Laguna is the best. But is there a reason why you think so?"
Rinoa tore her eyes away from the little family and looked at Selphie. "I know it's childish to feel this way, but whenever I think about how Squall and Laguna are getting closer...it kinda makes me wish I could have that, you know?"
"That's not childish. That's just human nature."
Rinoa felt mildly surprised by the wisdom of Selphie's words. "Really?"
"You just gotta make the first move. 'Cause you know your dad sure won't. Then take baby steps. It doesn't happen all at once."
"But I don't know if I even want that with him…" Rinoa sighed. "I feel like I just don't like my dad as a person, Selphie. He's very controlling and...compared to Laguna...he's mean."
"Everyone's mean compared to Laguna." Selphie's eyes softened. "Your dad still loves you, though. It's might be tough love, but it's still love."
"That's what everyone says," Rinoa grumbled. "I'd rather have a different version of love where I don't end up feeling like I hate the person. You know he called the police on me once, just because we had an argument? Just so he could end up winning it. The cops came and sided with him, telling me I had no choice but to obey my father until I moved out. Can you believe that? And I know it sounds horrible...but sometimes, I wish my mom was the one who was still alive."
"I don't wanna sound like I'm arguing with you, but Squall did have to give up his Ifrit card, just so your dad would even play his card with your face on it. He seemed to really treasure it."
"Just him being possessive, most likely," Rinoa huffed.
"Although...Squall would probably trade dads with you in a heartbeat, if he could. He used to be practically afraid of Laguna, remember?"
"Yeah...of course I remember. I'd get so mad at him for being so rude. But Squall's a dummy. He doesn't know what he's got." Rinoa furrowed her brows in irritation and shook her head. She wished Squall wouldn't be so dense sometimes.
"I could say the same about you."
Rinoa frowned as she looked down at the table, absentmindedly picking at a chip on the lip of a plate, her cinnamon roll long-gone. "I wish you would just agree with me that my dad sucks," she mumbled.
"If I did, I wouldn't be such an awesome friend." Selphie paused. "But, about your mom, do you remember anything about her? What was she like?"
"I don't remember anything," Rinoa said, looking up at her. "I was too young. But my dad used to talk about her a lot. He'd say she was a really good person. Kind and sympathetic. He did really love her. It's weird, though, that none of her kindness seemed to rub off on him," she finished bitterly.
"People don't change just like that. I mean, look at Squall. He's made friends and saved the world, but he's still shy as heck."
"I actually like Squall the way he is, though. I think he's adorable. Like a fluffy moogle." Rinoa smiled at the thought of her boyfriend. She loved talking about him any chance she got. And it was especially welcome in their current conversation. "You should hear him laugh, Selphie. I mean, really laugh. When it happens it's like you just died and went to heaven. It's amazing."
"Do you ever listen to your mom's music?" Selphie asked, changing the subject.
Rinoa sat in silence for a moment. "I've listened to it. I mean, everyone's heard Eyes on Me." The song never really held much relevance in her life until she'd fallen in love with Squall. Now whenever the melody played in her head, her heart would swell with bittersweet tenderness. "I don't actively look for her songs, though. Just feels a little weird, I guess."
"Speaking of Eyes on Me, she did have a thing for Laguna," Selphie chirped. "What's even crazier is Laguna actually could have been your dad. Can you believe it?"
"Yeah, but if that had happened, then…" Rinoa's voice trailed off as she realized what she'd been about to say.If that had happened, then she and Squall would never have met and fallen in love. In fact, they could have ended up as brother and sister. She swallowed hard at the disturbing thought, suddenly feeling conflicted. She couldn't believe she'd never really thought about this before now. She hated that the universe seemed to be punishing her for complaining about her dad by dropping this bombshell on her.
Selphie smiled at her knowingly, not saying anything.
"Anyway," Rinoa began, feeling slightly embarrassed, "my mom's death kind of was the nail in the coffin of our relationship. After that, my dad put all of his focus on keeping me from living my life and being happy. Just because he wasn't."
A group of teenagers burst into raucous laughter a few tables down, catching their attention for a moment. Rinoa suddenly noticed how noisy the cafe had gotten as it had filled with people while they were engrossed in their conversation. She turned back to Selphie and took another sip of her latte. After setting it down, her mind drifted back to Laguna and how elated he was whenever he saw her.
"Laguna really issweet, though…" she murmured.
"Yeah…" Selphie sighed dreamily. "He is."