Over the next couple days Squall avoided everyone one as much as he could. Ellone had tried to talk to him, but he ignored her attempts at her help. Eventually Laguna had to step in to tell her to get Squall time. Even Laguna was being distant from Squall at this point, but he knew exactly why that was. But he didn't know what to do about it.

That day, Squall was curled up on his bed, letting his tears drip down and soak up into his pillow. He couldn't stop his thoughts in his head from pushing these feelings forward. He hated that he kept thinking about the past, but he couldn't just let go. Every moment he kept remembering what his past was like and how different his life had been… and just how lonely it was.

He was only eight but now he was having memories all from his previous life. A life where he had grown up as an orphan, not knowing anything about his family until his teenage years. By then he had already shielded himself, and he struggled to let anyone into his heart.

It was even harder for him back then when he had learned the truth about his family. When Laguna had come forward to tell him the truth of their relationship, he had avoided the man for weeks. Now he felt like he was falling into that same pattern as before, all with isolating himself from everyone else.

"Stupid," Squall sniffled. "He's stupid… he didn't… he wasn't there for me."

Shuddering, Squall pulled his bedsheets over himself, trying to hide away from everything else. He wished as hard as he could for the past memories to go away, but it just made them feel all the more vivid. He didn't know how to handle the feelings that were tossing and turning within him.

In this timeline he was still only eight, and he felt like he was still eight, but the memories that were trying to inflict themselves on him were from every year of his life. It was so clustered, so muddled, that he wanted to just go back to sleep, but even he knew if he did sleep he would just dream of the past again. It would only cause the cycle to continue on.

Turning onto his other side, he stared at his bedroom wall, his eyes slowly drifting to a picture that hung just above his dresser.

It was of him and Laguna from two years ago. It was from Halloween and they were dressed up as a lion and a lion cub. Both of then were smiling happily in the photo with Laguna's arms wrapped around Squall, hugging him and nearly burying him in the costume lion mane.

Squall couldn't help but crack a small smile at it. Laguna always had the silliest ideas for Halloween costumes. He always participated with Squall and Ellone every year. Sometimes Squall wondered if Laguna ever had grown out of being a kid.

While he was goofy at times, it was better than having a strict or boring parent. Squall knew that Laguna still tried to be a good parent, and he had done whatever he could have over these years.

But there was still the issue of the memories.

Squall couldn't just let go of those past memories now that they were vividly awake in his mind. Every lonely moment of his life at the orphanage conflicted with the life he had now.

Suddenly he remembered what Laguna had said to him the other day.

"...Don't disregard everything in this life for the mistakes of the past life."

"How can I even do that?" Squall asked himself. "How did he do it? When did he…?"

Squall sighed as he sat himself up and rubbed his eyes. As much as he wanted to avoid Laguna… his father… he needed to confront him. He had to figure out what he knew about this situation.

Slowly, he made his way off his bed. He shuffled out of his room and walked down the hallway to his dad's room. He was careful to tip past Ellone's room, not wanting to wake her up, and he finally made it to Laguna's room.

Peeking inside, he didn't see him there so he headed back down the hall towards the kitchen. That was where he saw his dad, slumping in a kitchen chair, leaning over the table.

Squall cleared his throat, not ready for words just yet, but it was enough to make his dad lift his head. He could see how exhausted and tired Laguna was. There were already heavy bags under his eyes and his hair was a complete mess.

"Oh Squall… guess you want food again? I could get you some cereal or something and leave the room… you know, like all the other days."

Squall felt uneasy. He had never seen his dad like this before. Never in this life or even the last one. Laguna had a few times he was down about things, but he always managed to either keep it quietly to himself or recover quickly. Now he was showing his feelings as clear as day, and Squall hated seeing it.

He moved forward slowly and placed a hand on his dad's leg. "I wanted to talk instead."

"You do? Talk about what?"

"You know what…." Squall sighed.

Laguna nodded. "Guess so. Wanna go to your room and talk?"

Squall nodded. "Sure."

They moved quietly back to Squall's room. He crawled up on the bed and sat down, with Laguna sitting next to him. He stared at the floor, having a hard time lifting his head to look at his dad again. He knew that he had to though… but maybe he could wait a few moments.

"So… what's on your mind?" his dad asked. "What do you wanna know?"

"How long… how long have you known?" Squall asked softly.

"For a while now. Honestly, can't even remember when it all came back to me. I think maybe sometime after I met Ranie? After Ellone was adopted but before you were born?"

"Oh… so for a while."

"Yeah, for a while."

Squall sighed, it wasn't exactly the most satisfying answer, but it was something. "And does Ellone know?"

He shook his head. "No. Not that I know of. If she does remember, she hasn't said it."

Finally, Squall lifted his head, staring right into his father's eyes. "And mom?"

He could see his Laguna's already sad and tired eyes grow more weary. He rubbed at them a bit before he cleared his throat. "Ranie… she… she knew after you were born. But you know, even in this new life fate had to be cruel and take her away."

"She at least got to be around a little," Squall said as he scooted closer to his father.

He could tell that he was hurting, and Squall knew part of that was his fault. He had caused stress to his own father by pushing him away. He pushed his father away all because he remembered a different life, one that was less favorable.

"Yeah… we had a good bit, the four of us. You were too young to remember though…"

"But we have pictures and videos," Squall added. "Those are nice."

"Yeah, I cherish those memories a lot. Those were some good times for us. I still miss her a lot."

Squall reached over and placed a hand on his father's leg. "But she'd be proud. You're raising Ellone and me. You didn't leave us."

"But I did in the last life. And I know that's why you're upset… it's okay though, I get it."

Squall shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I yelled at you before. I shouldn't have. I was just really angry."

He could feel Laguna carefully reaching an arm around him, looking at him to see if it was okay. When Squall nodded, his father pulled him into a tight embrace, and for the first time in days, Squall felt happy again. All of those bad memories became cloudy and all he could think about was all the good times they had together.

"Hey no probably, buddy. It's a lot to take in. But you'll be okay," his dad whispered as he petted his hair.

"Does it become easier?"

"Yeah. You never forget, but the memories of then become less vivid. You learn to level it out and go about your day."

Squall curled up in his father's lap, relaxing even further. "And you can help?"

"I'll help you no matter what, Squall. You're my little boy, and I want you to live happily this time."

Squall smiled and nodded, knowing that he believed his dad, and he knew his dad would always be there for him. He could trust him to be there this time, and he loved how warm the thought made him.