A/N: This is my first Final Fantasy VIII fic, so don't be too rough on me! Also, I haven't played the game in months, so if some of the facts are wrong, I apologize. This fic is based mostly on Laguna (he's so frickin' cool!), and I wrote it because after days and days of searching, I have yet to find the fic that explains Laguna's past, present, and future without any grammatical errors. If you know of one, PLEASE tell me! I'll worship you! ^_^
"Uncle Laguna!" A young brunette hopped across the field of flowers, making her way to the center of the site. It was a special day that day, not only because the world was finally in peace, but also because a visitor was back in the town of Windhill for the first time in 17 years. The young girl found Laguna Loire standing at the grave of his deceased wife, thinking about something that very few people knew of or even cared about. He was thinking of his son, Squall Leonhart.
"You're gonna have to tell him sooner or later, Uncle Laguna." The girl said.
"Really?" Laguna turned around and smiled. "In that case, I choose later. How's 50 years from now?"
"Uncle Laguna!"
"I know, I know," Laguna sighed and turned his attention back to the stone that was in front of him. This was so frustrating. Just moments ago, Squall had saved the world from pending doom by defeating the perilous Sorceress, Ultimecia. This should have been a time for celebration for everybody, but instead, Laguna found himself debating on how he should tell Squall that he, the president of Esthar, was his long, lost father. In the short amount of time he spent with Squall, Laguna saw how cold the man could get. That made him a bit nervous.
"Uncle Laguna, just remember, the longer you wait to tell him, the worst it'll be when he finds out." Ellone said softly.
"I know that!" Laguna exclaimed. "That's something every good president should know. I'm just… waiting for the right time to tell him, that's all."
"You're afraid of what he'll think of you, huh?" Ellone said, a-matter-of-factly. When Laguna just shrugged, she shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll understand. Maybe not right away, but he'll understand eventually. I know I did."
"Yeah, but it took you a few trips back to the past and a psychotic witch-lady to finally accept it." Laguna pointed out with a laugh.
"Oh yeah…" Ellone blushed. "I almost forgot about that."
"That's okay." Laguna said, getting serious all of a sudden. "I'm sure Raine's somewhere out there helping me. She always had a sense of compassion in her, ya know? Always so responsible and down-to-earth… all the things I never was…"
"Oh, don't say that." Ellone replied uneasily. It was very rare that anyone saw Laguna like this, and whenever it happened, it scared her.
"Raine was also good at confrontation too." Laguna continued. "Without her, I don't think I would've had the courage to do the things I've done…"
*FLASHBACK*
"Dammit, Laguna, where the hell are you?" Raine
Leonhart paced around the field in worry. That night was Laguna's last night in
the town of Windhill, since he was leaving the next morning for a mission. His
friend Kiros had stopped by to tell him the other day, and since then he had
been steadily avoiding her. This was their last chance to talk before he left,
the last chance she had to tell him she loved him…
"Uh… Raine?"
Raine turned around to find Laguna slowly approaching her
from the distance. "You're late." She stated bluntly.
"Yeah, I know." Laguna laughed. "Let me explain… me and
Kiros were uh, at the house I was staying in looking for this thing… it was
really important, but then I didn't know if this thing was like, any good or
anything, so then I had this long talk with Kiros about this thing, and…"
"Are you saying this 'thing' was more important than
me?!" Raine exclaimed.
"Yes! I mean, no! I mean, uh, can I start over?"
Raine rolled her eyes and muttered, "Whatever…"
'I can't do this…' Laguna thought. Raine didn't seem to
be buying what he was saying. Every word that came out of his mouth seemed to
make her angrier and angrier… what if when he popped the question, she'd pop
him in the jaw? Maybe he should just give up…
"Well?" Raine waited.
"Um, nevermind…" Laguna said quickly. "It's not that important."
"Laguna, listen to me," Raine started slowly, "In the
time I've known you, I've come to see the type of person you are. You're
immature, rash, and full of crap. But even of you're all those things, you're
also brave, strong, and a good father figure for Ellone. I feel like a complete
and utter fool for saying this, but I was raised to be honest with my feelings
and to be strong, so strong I will be. I've been lying not only to you for the
past few months, but to myself as well. I'm afraid of telling you this, but I
know that if I don't, I'll live to regret it for the rest of my life."
'What is she trying to say?' Laguna thought in
confusion. Maybe she was trying to tell him to be honest with his feelings?
Yeah, that's it! It's the old first person trick! Raine was making it seem like
she was talking about herself, but she was really directing the message towards
*him*! Well in that case…
He walked towards Raine as he took out two golden rings
from his pocket. "Raine…"
"Laguna…" Raine turned around. "I-"
"Shh…" Laguna put a finger to her mouth and took her
left hand in his grasp, his own hand slightly trembling. He took the smaller
ring of the two and slipped it onto her finger and smiled. "Raine… I've been
doing all the wrong things. Instead of repaying you, I've been repaying the
town. I'm sorry that I realized this too late, but… will you forgive me and…
you know… marry me?"
Raine felt herself melt into his arms as tears came to
her eyes. She didn't expect this to happen. In fact, she was expecting the
exact opposite! "Yes, Laguna Loire. Yes, I will marry you!"
"R-really??" Laguna exclaimed in surprise. "G-great!!"
He took her in his arms and whispered into her ear, "Now let's make this the
best night of our lives."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"Did you know that this was the exact place I proposed to her? Right here, where she's buried. It's kinda ironic, dontcha think?"
Ellone sighed. "I think we should get back to the Garden, Uncle. We were supposed to be depart 5 minutes ago."
"Oh, I knew that." Laguna smiled. "I was just waiting for you to tell me. You know that you're supposed to pass messages on as soon as possible, right?"
"I know." Ellone whispered in relief. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to cheer you up…"
"Why?" Laguna put his arm around Ellone. "There's no reason to be depressed about anything! My son just saved the world!"
"I worry about you sometimes, Uncle."
"There's no reason to be worried about anything." Laguna protested. "I figured out what I'm gonna do about the Squall situation, anyways."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I decided to tell him after the graduation ceremony, but only on one condition."
"What?"
"You have to be in the room when I tell him, just in case he goes crazy and like, murders me or something."
Ellone grinned. "Okay. You've got yourself a deal."
"Great." Laguna said. "Now let's get back to the Garden."
"Um… I don't think that's possible…" Ellone stated.
"Why not?" Laguna asked in confusion.
Ellone pointed at the sky. "Because the Garden already took off."
"Oops…" Laguna said sheepishly. "My bad?"
Ellone laughed. "That's okay. Seifer and his posse have a ride for us in their car. They decided to stay late for a fishing trip, or something."
"Are you sure that's safe?" Laguna asked in surprise.
"Of course! Seifer isn't that bad once you get to know him."
"I wasn't talking about him." Laguna stated. "I was talking about Fujin. She scares me."
"Uncle!"
"I'm kidding… well c'mon, let's go. We wouldn't wanna miss the graduation!" Laguna stepped aside and gave Ellone a soft push ahead. "Ladies first!"
Ellone began walking back towards Windhill, not noticing Laguna looking back at the gravestone one last time.
"I'm sorry…"
***
"And we're here, LIVE, on Selphie Cam! You are watching our SeeD graduation, and ooh, look it's Irvine! Irvine, whaddya have to say to us today?"
"Huh? Oh, hey!" Irvine Kinneas waved at the camera that Selphie Tilmitt was holding, and grinned. "This is Irvine Kinneas, the finest sharpshooter you'll ever see, and an even better romancer… ladies, if you ever wanna talk, I'm always free, just come up and visit me at my room, dormitory 14C."
"Irvine!" Selphie giggled. "Stop that! I thought you liked *me*!"
"Of course I do, Sefie!" Irvine said. "I was just playin'."
"I know." Selphie smiled and turned her attention to the three figures standing behind Irvine. "Hi! Matron! Headmaster Cid! Quistie! Over here!"
"Yes Selphie?" Quistis looked up in surprise and found herself staring straight into the camera. "Oh dear, Selphie, can you put that thing away? You know I hate cameras!"
"Oh Quistis, don't be such a spoil sport!" Edea exclaimed as she looked into the camera. "This is a very memorable day, Selphie! Not only are my favorite students graduating, they have saved the world and made history as well!"
"And it's all because of the morals you taught them, my dear Edea." Cid smiled.
"Oh, I doubt that." Edea replied. "Even if I wasn't there to guide them as they grew up, I'm sure they would've made fine young students on their own terms."
"That, I agree with." Cid said, taking Edea's hand. "Now we'll be going now, since I'm sure you wouldn't want us old folks to be wasting your film, Selphie."
"Oh, that's not true!' Selphie said. "I'd love you guys to be in my movie!"
"Thanks, but we'd really better be going." Edea said. "Work calls, honey."
"Oh, okay!" Selphie said cheerfully. "Goodbye!"
"Yes, goodbye." Quistis said, trying to sneak away.
"Oh not so fast there," Irvine said, grabbing a hold of Quistis's shoulder. "We still need a shot of our favorite SeeD instructor, right Sefie?"
"Right!"
"You guys…" Quistis smiled. "Oh, okay. But why doesn't Selphie be in the movie with us?"
"We need someone to hold the camera…" Selphie reminded her.
"That's okay!" Irvine replied. "I'll hold it!"
"Really?" Selphie asked.
"Sure! I'll even let you wear my hat!"
"Cool! Okay!" Selphie happily gave Irvine the video camera and stood by Quistis.
"Well, here are two of the most *beautiful* women on the planet, Quistis Trepe, and Selphie Tilmitt. What do you have to say, ladies?"
"You have major issues." Quistis replied.
Selphie giggled and shook her head. "Don't be so mean Quistie. I'm sure she was kidding, right?"
"Of course." Irvine answered. "There's no way a stud like me could ever have issues."
"You just keep telling yourself that, and you might believe it." Quistis said with a laugh.
"Oh!!! Irvine!!! Look, turn the camera, it's Zell!!!!" Selphie suddenly exclaimed. "He finally got his hot dogs! Yay!"
Irvine fumbled with the camera and turned it towards Zell, who was madly scarffing down the food he had on his plate.
"God… these… things… are… good…" He mumbled frantically.
"Whoa, steady boy." Irvine laughed. "You wouldn't wanna choke. Then again, on the other hand…"
"What the hell???" Zell looked up to find Irvine pointing the camera in his face. "Get that damn thing outta my face, man, I'm eating here!!"
"Yes, and I can tell you're treating your food just like you'd treat a woman." Irvine smirked.
"I TOLD YOU TO GET THE HELL OUT!" Zell yelled, throwing the bread he also had on his plate at Irvine, who dropped the camera.
"Oh crap." He mumbled. "I hope Selphie didn't see that." He hit the side of the camera a couple of times, hoping that it'd work. "C'mon, you stupid thing… there!" He got up and pointed the camera around, looking for Selphie. "Hey, Sefie? Baby? Darling? Where are you?"
"Shh!" Selphie exclaimed, motioning Irvine towards the door to the balcony she and Quistis were standing by. "Look…" she whispered. "It's Squall and Rinoa! Don't they make the cutest couple?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess." Irvine said, aiming the camera at the unsuspecting couple. "Be quiet, you guys, I want to hear what they're saying."
The three huddled under the doorframe and listened to the quiet conversation Squall and Rinoa were having.
"Oh, Squall, this is so great! You and me, sitting here alone… it's so romantic…" Rinoa spun around and fell into Squall's arms, smiling. "Hey, Squall?"
"Huh?"
"Do you ever look up at the stars and wonder how all the lost souls are doing?"
"I don't know. I never really thought about it."
"I do that all the time." Rinoa sighed. "I like looking up and wondering how my mother's doing. She died in a car accident when I was little."
"I'm sorry…" Squall said, shifting his weight.
"Oh, don't be, it's not your fault, silly!" Rinoa giggled. "You know, I just realized something we had in common! Both of our mothers died when we were really little!"
"I never noticed…"
"Yeah, my mom was a famous singer before she died. Her name was Julia Heartilly. Ever hear of her?"
Julia Heartilly…? Squall thought. Isn't she the one…
"Squall?" Rinoa said, interrupting his thoughts. "Have you ever wondered who your father was?"
"Well…" Squall looked away, uneasily.
"If you don't wanna tell me, you don't have to."
"No… I never really thought about that either…"
"You don't think much, do you?" Rinoa smiled playfully.
"Yes I do!" Squall said defensively. "It's just… well… remembering Matron and Ellone and seeing myself as a kid made me realize that I was better off not having a father. Besides… if the man wasn't man enough to take the responsibility of taking care of me, then he must be one sad soul…"
"He doesn't deserve a great son like you, anyways." Rinoa said, snuggling closer to Squall. "But what if you actually got to meet him? Like all this publicity your getting from defeating Ultimecia ends up bringing him to you?"
"Then I guess he's just screwed, because I wouldn't care about him either way." Squall replied.
"Oh…" Rinoa ran her fingers through Squall's hair. "You care about me, right?"
"Of course I do." Squall replied. He wondered if he should tell Rinoa that she was the only thing keeping him alive after he defeated Ultimecia, but decided against it. There was always tomorrow…
"Hey, um, Squall?" a male voice emerged from the doorway. Squall looked up to see Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis standing behind a tired-looking Laguna.
"Yes, President Loire?"
"Can I speak to you in your room for a moment… in private?"
Squall looked from Rinoa to Laguna and wondered what it was all about. He hoped it wasn't another mission. He just got back to Rinoa again. "Sure, Sir." He replied, standing up. The two walked to the dormitories in an awkward silence. Laguna hummed to himself rather nervously as Squall unlocked his room to find Ellone waiting inside.
"Ellone? What are you doing here?" Squall asked.
"Uncle Laguna has something to tell you." Ellone said quietly.
"President?"
"Huh? Yeah?" Laguna began to laugh. "Oh yeah, you see? Um… I'm here to… give you a prize for saving the world!"
"UNCLE!" Ellone said sharply.
"What?" Laguna asked. "I was just lightening the mood!"
"President, I'm sorry, but I don't really have a lot of time right now…" Squall said.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Laguna sighed. "Squall, this may come as a shock to you, but uh… I'm your father."