"Whoa! Squall's got a dad!" Zell exclaimed when they had left Matron's earshot. Squall stopped. The other children slowed down and turned to Squall. He stared at Zell.
"What did yoo say?" Quisty looked at Squall, puzzled. Hadn't he been listening to Matron and Laguna talking?
"Yoo haf a dad!" Zell repeated, amazed. "I wish I had a dad!"
"Who?"
"Laguna," Quisty said a-matter-of-factly. "Weren't yoo lissening?" Squall looked at the ground.
"Huh-uh…" Quisty rolled her eyes, trying to act grown up.
"Squall… Yoo should pay attenshon more ofen! Tch!" Seifer scowled at Zell, who was still exclaiming his disbelief at Squall's luck.
"I don't need a dad…" Seifer said, puffing up his chest. Everyone ignored him. Squall stared silently at the ground. He'd always dreamed of having parents… every orphan did, but to suddenly have one… that was just too much for his mind to comprehend.
"Dus dat mean dat Squall will hafta go away?" Selphie asked, staring up at Quisty with her big green eyes. All the children fell silent and looked at Squall. Would he have to leave them? He was rather quiet, and didn't play with them much, but he was still their friend. Quisty looked back at Selphie and shrugged.
"I dunno…"
***
Edea sat on the bed next to Laguna, whose eyes were tearing up fast. She watched calmly as the tears fell silently down his cheek.
"Laguna?" She said quietly. He opened his eyes and raised his head. "…It's not your fault… You didn't know, did you?" Laguna shook his head. "I'm sorry that this was how you had to find out… but just remember that you are here now." Laguna nodded, she was right.
(I can't just sit here and cry over past mistakes… I'm here now, and so is he… I guess… I guess that means that… he'll have to come back to Esthar…)
"When do you think I'll be able to leave?" he whispered quietly. Edea blinked at the question, how was he going to get off this island?
"…Well… I do have a small boat, that I use whenever I need to get supplies… The closest town is Winhill… but you could get to Fisherman's Horizon too, it would take much longer however…" Laguna nodded. He didn't want to go back to Winhill, but if he needed to, he'd hire a boat to take him to FH from there. "I don't think you should leave for a while though… You're leg is still bound to be too tender to even walk with a crutch… Maybe a week or two?" Edea guessed.
"That sounds okay… We can go to Winhill if it's easier… I can hire a boat from there to get us to FH…" Edea's heart skipped when Laguna mentioned the word "us." Of course it was natural that Squall should go with him, but Edea hadn't thought about the boy leaving.
"Where will you be going from there?" Laguna raised his eyes to Edea's.
"Esthar…" Edea looked at him, confused. He sighed, "…I live there now, it's not so bad since Sorceress Adel is gone…" Edea nodded, she'd heard about the coup d'etat in Esthar, overthrowing the long-time dictator, Sorceress Adel. Edea's eyes widened suddenly.
"What about Ellone?" Laguna stared at her for a second, thinking.
(Ellone can't come with me right now… Dr. Odine would be all too happy to borrow her without asking…)
"I don't think its safe for her there right now… There are still a lot of people looking for her…" he said finally. Edea nodded. "But now that I know where she is… in a manner of speaking… I can send for her when it's safe again…" Laguna said reassuringly.
***
Matron kept pushing Squall into 'Guna's room all the time. 'Guna was okay, Squall guessed, but he wasn't sure how to act around Squall. His other leg would start to hurt and he'd stutter when he spoke, so it was hard for Squall to pay attention to him. He would tell Squall about his mom, 'Guna said her name was Raine, and he would talk about this place called "Espar" or something like that… What scared Squall though, was that it was plainly obvious that 'Guna was gonna leave soon, and that he would have to go with him. 'Guna had been at the orphanage for two weeks. In that time, Matron had modeled a sort of crutch for him to move around with. He would go outside with the children and watch them play, he helped Matron when he could, and the other children all liked him a lot. Except Seifer, he was insanely jealous that Squall had a dad, and was getting all the attention, so he ignored 'Guna whenever possible, which was hard. More often than not, he found himself laughing and playing along with the other children when 'Guna would think up a new adventure for them. Life was great with 'Guna around, even Squall enjoyed himself, somewhat.
"Hey 'Guna!! Wook at me!!!" Selphie squealed. Laguna looked up from the picture that Quisty had drawn for him and saw Selphie standing on her head (with Irvine's help). He smiled at her and clapped his hands.
"Wow Sefie! Good job!!" Selphie fell over and giggled. She ran over and sat on 'Guna's lap, care not to hurt his leg, and kissed his rough cheek. "Sefie? Can you do something for me?" Selphie nodded eagerly. "Good. Can you go get Squall? I need to talk to him…"
"O-tay!" she said cheerfully, standing. Selphie grinned at 'Guna and ran off in the direction of the house. He smiled after her and rubbed his cheek where she'd kissed him. Selphie was just too cute. He remembered when the stubble on his chin had first started to appear. How horrified Selphie had been at the sudden appearance of the black on his chin. She had told him to go wash it off. It had taken a little while to explain to Selphie that he couldn't go wash it off. He had, however, asked Edea for anything that he could possibly shave with, she informed him, however, that she had nothing but knives, and Laguna wasn't too keen on cutting his face to pieces.
Selphie returned shortly with Squall tailing slowly along behind. It always seemed like he was being forced to hang out with Laguna. Which Laguna wasn't too happy with. He didn't want to rush Squall, but he needed to understand that whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to leave with Laguna. "I found him 'Guna!!" Selphie smiled.
"Thank you Sefie… Can you go see if you can find a really big sea shell for Matron?" Laguna answered, trying to give Selphie and excuse to leave him and Squall alone. Selphie squealed in delight and ran off toward the other children on the beach. "Hi Squall… How are you today?" Squall shrugged and stared at the ground. Laguna sighed, this was gonna be harder than he thought. "Um… Squall? …I've been talking with Ed-Matron… and her and I have decided that its time to go…" Squall kept staring at the ground.
"…Squall? …Are you listening to me?" Laguna knew that Squall had a tendency to think too much and would stop listening… especially if he didn't want to hear what was being said. Squall nodded, keeping his eyes on the ground. "Good. This is very important Squall and I need to know that you're paying attention…" Laguna reached out toward Squall, planning to lift his chin so that he knew that Squall understood, but the little boy shied away from his hand. Laguna let his arm drop. "…We'll be leaving tomorrow Squall… In the morning… Matron is going to take us on the raft up to Fisherman's Horizon, then she's gonna come back here…" Squall looked up.
"What abowt the uh-fer kids?" Squall asked quietly.
"…They're not coming… Ed-Matron's husband, Cid, will be back tonight from his trip, and he'll watch the other children while Matron takes us…" Laguna watched the little boy's eyes water. "…Squall… Please… Don't cry…" Laguna reached for him, but he backed away again sobbing loudly.
"I don't wanna go wif' you!!! I wanna stay here wif' Matwon, and Sefie, and Quisty, and Irvy, and Zell, and… and… and even Seifer!! I hate you!!" Squall ran away from Laguna, crying. Laguna watched him leave, and sighed. He'd expected something like that to happen. He pulled himself up slowly, wincing in pain. Laguna had been sitting underneath that tree for a few hours, and his leg had fallen asleep. He leaned against the tree and leaned over oddly to pick up his crutch. He righted himself again and leaned on the crutch, wincing again.
***
"Squall's father?" Cid exclaimed, his mouth hanging open. He had just gotten back from a fund raising trip for his and Edea's project, Garden. Edea continued slicing vegetables for dinner that night. "But… Squall's parents are dead! Winhill, they said his and Ellone's family was dead… It can't be!"
"Do remember that I told you about the man who had been looking for Ellone, the one we tried to find, after she came here?" Edea asked, without looking up. Cid thought for a second.
"Vaguely… His name was Laguna or something wasn't it?" Edea nodded.
"He's Elle's famous Uncle that she always talked about."
"So…?" Cid asked, still confused.
"Well, what did she say about Squall's dad?" Cid thought for a second.
"…That he was… her Uncle?" Cid said uncertainly.
"Yes. Well, the man that washed upon the shore was the same man that was here all those years ago. It seems that he is also Ellone's 'Uncle' Laguna…" Edea said, dropping the sliced veggies in a pot. Cid's eyes got wider.
"Does this mean, that Squall will be leaving with him?" Edea nodded.
"That's the plan… Now, either you or I could take them, by boat to Winhill, or Fisherman's Horizon… I suggest FH, even though it's further away…" Cid shook his head in disbelief.
"Squall's father… How is Squall taking it?" Edea frowned and looked up at her husband.
"Not very well… He doesn't seem to understand that he has to go with Laguna, that he has no choice about this… I can tell it hurts Laguna everytime Squall calls him 'Guna' or says that he doesn't want to leave with Laguna…" her voice trailed off as Laguna limped into the room. Laguna looked up at the two adults and was a little startled by Cid's presence. "Hello Laguna… This is my husband Cid. Cid, this is Laguna Loire…" Cid nodded to the other man. "…Have you talked to Squall yet?" she asked cautiously, Laguna had been avoiding it for some time now. Cid could see pain flash through Laguna's eyes when Edea asked.
"…Yes…" he answered softly. Edea put down her knife slowly and looked expectantly at Laguna. He sighed loudly and looked up at her. "…He… he said he doesn't want to leave…"
"…What else?" she inquired. There was definitely something else that Squall had said. She knew that Laguna had been expecting the "I don't wanna go" from Squall. Laguna sat down next to the kitchen table.
"…He… He told me that he… that he… hates me…" Laguna practically whispered.
***
"Bye Squall!! We'll miss yoo!!" Selphie shouted at the small boat that was pulling away slowly. Cid, Squall and Laguna were all seated in it. Squall sat away from Laguna, near Cid, he was refusing to speak to anyone. Squall watched longingly as Quisty, Irvy, Sefie, Zell, Seifer, and Edea waved goodbye to them.
"We'll come visit yoo Squall!!" Quisty called. Squall waved silently goodbye as tears fell down his cheek. They were going to Fisherman's Horizon, which would take almost the whole day, and he was stuck on a boat with Cid, and 'Guna. This was going to be a long and boring boat ride…
***
"Bye Cid! Tell everybody that I said bye!!" Squall shouted to Cid as he sailed away from the dock. Laguna stood behind Squall and waved goodbye to Cid. They had arrived there in good time, Cid had enough light left in the day to sail back to the orphanage, or at least to somewhere close to the orphanage that he could stay at.
"Come on Squall… We need to find a phone and somewhere to stay…" Laguna said, turning. Squall watched the boat disappear and then reluctantly followed Laguna. The first place they went to was the Station Master's house, in the centre of FH. "I know the Mayor here, he should have a telephone," Laguna explained as they walked slowly along.
"President Loire!!" a voice shouted behind them. Laguna turned to see Mayor Dobe running after him. "You're alive!! Thank Hyne! …Everyone's been looking for you since the ship went down!! We'd almost given you up for dead!" Laguna smiled, leaning on his crutch.
"Nah… It'll take a lot more than a little shipwreck to get rid of me…" Mayor Dobe laughed.
"So, what can I do for you? Anything at all?"
"Well, actually, I wanted to use your telephone to let Esthar know that I'm not dead yet…"
"Of course, of course!! Come with me…" the Mayor exclaimed, walking quickly toward the solar panelled centre. Laguna followed slowly after him, with Squall in tow behind.
***
"Hello? May I please speak to Kiros Seagil?" Laguna said into the reciever of an old telephone. Squall wandered around the Station Master's house, fascinated by all the machinary. "…Yeah… Okay…" Laguna put his hand over the mouthpiece. "Squall, don't touch anything, a lot of this stuff could hurt you… Huh? Kiros? It's Laguna…" Laguna held the telephone away from his ear. Squall could hear someone yelling on the other end. Laguna waited a few seconds and then cautiously brought the phone back to his ear. "I'm in FH… Yeah… That would be considerate of you… Uh-huh… Yeah, well, it's been a rather eventful week…" Laguna said, glancing at Squall. "You will? Damn, you don't need to- …Okay, two hours… I'll see ya then… Bye Kiros… Yes, I'm glad I'm alive too…" Laguna hung up the phone and looked at the Station Master.
"Well, it seems they miss me over there…" Laguna said grinning. Mayor Dobe smiled back.
"Probably…"
"So, what can we do until then?" The Mayor thought for a second.
"Well, there really isn't much to do here other than fish…" Laguna shrugged.
"That's fine… How would you like to learn how to fish Squall?" Laguna asked the child. Squall ignored Laguna. "…Squall… You can't keep this up… You have to talk to me sometime…" Squall glared coldly at Laguna and turned away.
"Um… Squall? Would you like it if someone taught you how to catch a fish?" Mayor Dobe tried. Squall looked up at the other man and smiled.
"…Sure…" he answered. The Mayor nodded and gestured for them to follow. He lead them through FH to the dock that they had arrived at. Sitting there was an elderly man with a fishing rod.
"Hey, Robert!" The Mayor called. The old man turned and smiled.
"Mayor! How are you this fine evening?" The mayor smiled.
"Doing well… Hey, we have a little boy here who would like to learn how to fish…" The old man glanced at Squall and grinned.
"Well, you've come to the right place young man!" He gestured for Squall to come closer. Squall shyly walked up next to the older man and sat down. The boy sat there for an hour and a half straight, learning little tricks of the trade. Squall seemed to pick them up really quickly. Laguna just leaned on his crutch, smiling. The fisherman was showing Squall how to bait the line, when Laguna's attention was diverted by a sound above his head. He looked up and saw an Estharian aeroplane flying overhead. He watched as the plane circled twice and slowly dropped into the centre of Fisherman's Horizon. Laguna looked back at Squall and gestured for him to follow.
"Squall!! Our ride's here!!" Squall pouted, but followed his crippled father off of the dock.
***
"Man am I glad to see him alive!" Kiros said, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw Laguna slowly approach the aeroplane.
"…"
"Yeah, I noticed that too… I think he's walking with a crutch…" Kiros got a better look at his friend as Laguna limped closer. He still looked the same as always, if not a bit frayed around the edges.
"…"
"A kid following him? I don't see anyone, Ward…" Kiros watched as Laguna came closer. "Hey… yeah… I see a kid… brown hair? Yellow shirt?" Ward nodded. "Heya boss!" Kiros greeted Laguna as he came up next to the aircraft.
"Hey Kiros… Hi Ward…" Laguna smiled.
(There's something different…) Kiros thought, watching Laguna. He seemed older, more mature… "tired" came to mind. The kid was still following Laguna slowly, lagging behind. Ward nodded toward the child. Kiros frowned. Laguna turned his head toward the small boy.
"…"
"Yeah… Who's the kid?" Laguna turned slightly pink and grinned sheepishly.
"Uh… Well… *cough* …funny story really…"
Author's Note: You know, disclaimer things, I don't own them… I only own their action figures. :P Anyway, I'll get more updating done soon, so look for it! R&R
-Rhyein