Final Fantasy VIII... Afterwards: Chapter Four: The Next Morning.
pSquall looked at his wife while she sipped some coffee. iWhat's the deal with sorceresses from the future trying to kill me?/i He thought to himself. iWhy do they all need Rinoa to do it? I'd rather they just had me kill myself than force Rinoa to do it./i He looked down at the table and put his hand on his head, iHow could she live with herself if she killed me? Would she kill herself afterwards? Who would raise Raine?/i
br"What's the matter, honey?" Rinoa's calm voice broke his concentration.
br"Hmm? Oh, nothing."
br"Now... I've known you long enough to know that when you say "nothing", you mean "something that effects everyone around me", right?"
brShe knows me too well. "Yeah... your right. I'm just thinking about--" He stopped himself. iIf I mention the sorceress to her, she will get all worked up about last night again./i "... I'm thinking about nothing."
brRinoa looked down at the table, iAll of the years we've been married, and he still tries to push me away from him./i "... Why do you lie to me, Squall?"
br"What?"
br"I know your thinking about what happened last night. I've been thinking about it, too." Rinoa said softly, "I wish Edea was still alive, she could help me... she understood."
br"I've been meaning of talking to Cid. You could ask Ellone if she could contact Matron."
br"... She can contact people that are dead?"
br"I don't know... she forced me to contact Laguna all of those years ago... and she helped me contact you while you were in space."
brRinoa remembered floating in space. She felt alone, cold... dead. "... Is she a nice person?"
brSquall smiled and leaned back in his chair, "She was the first person I know I had feelings for. She lived in the orphanage with the rest of us, and I selfishly tried to take all of her attention for myself."
brRinoa laughed, "Squall Leonhart, the anti-social child that grew up to be a heartless SeeD... craving attention."
brSquall looked into Rinoa's eyes, "I wasn't so heartless... if I was, would we be here right now?"
brRinoa stood up, "Oh, you was heartless, allright... I just gave you mine to share."
br"Oh... you always know the right way to make fun of me." He laughed as he stood up and kissed his wife. iI think she's over last night... for now./i
p"Zelly?" Selphie said, leaning towards her husband.
br"... Five more minutes, mommy..." Zell was mostly asleep.
brSelphie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Zell woke up, "Yeah, sweetie?"
br"What do you think Quisty is gonna make us do at the Garden?"
br"I don't know," Zell sat up, "I guess she'd have us make speeches..."
brSelphie sat up, "... Squall making a speech..." She and Zell looked at each other and laughed.
brZell got up and put on some clothes, "I wonder is she's up yet?"
br"I'll bet she needs to rest alot, it can't be easy being the Headmaster of a Garden" Selphie said as she got up. She sat on the bed, "I wonder how much the Garden has changed in the past fifteen years."
br"I'll bet they still don't have any hotdogs..." Zell looked around for a second, "Where'd my shoe go go?"
brSelphie saw his shoe under her feet and kicked it under the bed. "We don't need to get ready right this minute..."
br"I know, but I want to see what Squall and Rinoa are planning." He walked into the next room.
briI swear... it seems sometimes he cares more about Squall than he does me... must be a guy thing./i
pQuistis sat up in her bed... it was the best night's sleep she had since that failed SeeD mission in Trabia two months earlier. iI hope they can raise the SeeDs spirits... that incident alone caused a large increase in dropouts and lowered testing scores./i She got up and put on her slippers that she packed and looked at her feet. iWow... everyone's changed so much in the past years... their all married with kids and everything. I'd been so busy with the Garden... I haven't been on a date since.../i She stopped herself. She didn't want to remember that sorry excuse of a man she fell in love with seven years earlier. iIf it wasn't for him.../i
br"Quisty? Are you up?" Selphie said while knocking on the door.
br"Yeah, come in if you want." Quistis said, taking her slippers off.
brSelphie walked in and sat down next to Quistis. She could tell something was wrong with her... an instinct of hers. "Are you ok?"
brQuistis looked at Selphie and her always-present smile. "I'm fine... just amazed at how different everyone is."
brSelphie knew what she meant... she just never noticed herself. "... Have I changed any?"
brQuistis smiled, "Not really... but you did get married and have a child..."
briEveryone has changed alot since then.../i She thought to herself. "I'm sure you could find a guy..."
br"I can't find any time for dating..."
br"You haven't been on a date since we left?"
br"I had one boyfirend... but he was a jerk that just ditched me for no reason."
brSelphie suddenly remembered Irvine, lying in their bed with another woman. "I know what you mean..."
br"Men are stupid..." Quistis said, after a short pause.
brSelphie looked through the doorway watched Zell open the fridge and drop a jar of jelly on his toe. He yelled out in pain. "... Yeah." They laughed.
pSquall knocked on the Dincht's door. "Is anyone in there awake?"
br"... Yeah, come in." Squall heard Zell's voice say from inside. He sounded like he was in pain.
brSquall looked at Zell's foot, it was swollen. "... Foot problems?"
brZell looked at Squall's shoe and could see his bandage in the place of his sock. "I could ask you the same thing... I dropped a jar on jelly on my foot, you?"
br"I'd rather not talk about it." Squall said as he sat down, "Was the jelly hitting you foot the thing that made that "DAHHH!!!!!" noise I heard?"
brZell laughed, "That's not funny... speaking of weird noises, was Rinoa screaming last night?"
brSquall blinked, "You heard that? It didn't even wake the kids up..."
brZell grinned, "You lucky dog... who would guess that you would be that good in bed..."
br"Whoa, it wasn't like that! She just had a bad dream..."
br"Oh..."
br"... Is Quistis up?" Squall changed the subject. He didn't want to talk about last night.
br"She's in the kids room with Selphie. I think their talking about guys."
br"How can you tell?" Squall raised his eyebrow. The girls laughed in the next room. "Nevermind."
brZell poured two cups of coffee and handed one of them to Squall, then sat down. "Do you have any plans for what we're gonna do at Garden?"
brSquall sipped the coffee and let it's warm feeling pass through his tired body. "... Not really. I was hoping Quistis had some idea."
brQuistis and Selphie walked into the room and sat down. Neither one of them minded that they were still in their nightgowns.
br"Zelly, would you pour us some coffee?" Selphie said as she sat down.
brZell sighed i... I just sat down... why do I always sit next to the coffee pot?/i "Yes sir..." He stood up and got out two more cups.
br"Thanks sweetie..." Selphie blinked, "Did you just say 'Yes sir'?"
brZell laughed as he set cups of coffee in front of his house guest and irritated wife, then sat down again.
p"Come on, you two. Get dressed." Rinoa walked into Raine's room. Laguna was wearing one of Zell's shirts and Raine was wearing a sleeping dress. The two of them were playing with some toys Laguna brought over.
br"Yes misses... Raine's mom." Laguna put on some pants and switched shirts.
br"Ok mom..." Raine changed into an cute outfit that reminded Rinoa of the outfit Selphie used to wear... only slightly longer.
bri... I hope getting dressed and undressed in front of each other is just a phase... that's how Selphie and Irvine got started./i Rinoa thought to herself. "Laguna, you need to pack up your..." She looked at the toys he brought. They looked like assorted monsters, except cuter and they made noises. "... whatever those things are."
br"Mommy, where are we going?" Raine heard the adults talking about the Garden, but didn't know what it was.
br"We're going to the school that I met your dad and Laguna's parents." Rinoa sat down on her knees, iIt's means alot more to us than it does to the kids.../i
br"... Why?" Laguna interuppted her thinking.
br"Well, aunt Quisty needs our help with something." Rinoa looked at Laguna... he looked like a young Zell with darker hair. "Let's go to your house 'till everyone's ready to go."
hr
Well... as you can tell, I'm fresh out of ideas. I know what will happen future chapters, I just don't know how to get there. Hope you don't think I was Zell bashing, It's just funnier when he's doing something stupid.
pSquall looked at his wife while she sipped some coffee. iWhat's the deal with sorceresses from the future trying to kill me?/i He thought to himself. iWhy do they all need Rinoa to do it? I'd rather they just had me kill myself than force Rinoa to do it./i He looked down at the table and put his hand on his head, iHow could she live with herself if she killed me? Would she kill herself afterwards? Who would raise Raine?/i
br"What's the matter, honey?" Rinoa's calm voice broke his concentration.
br"Hmm? Oh, nothing."
br"Now... I've known you long enough to know that when you say "nothing", you mean "something that effects everyone around me", right?"
brShe knows me too well. "Yeah... your right. I'm just thinking about--" He stopped himself. iIf I mention the sorceress to her, she will get all worked up about last night again./i "... I'm thinking about nothing."
brRinoa looked down at the table, iAll of the years we've been married, and he still tries to push me away from him./i "... Why do you lie to me, Squall?"
br"What?"
br"I know your thinking about what happened last night. I've been thinking about it, too." Rinoa said softly, "I wish Edea was still alive, she could help me... she understood."
br"I've been meaning of talking to Cid. You could ask Ellone if she could contact Matron."
br"... She can contact people that are dead?"
br"I don't know... she forced me to contact Laguna all of those years ago... and she helped me contact you while you were in space."
brRinoa remembered floating in space. She felt alone, cold... dead. "... Is she a nice person?"
brSquall smiled and leaned back in his chair, "She was the first person I know I had feelings for. She lived in the orphanage with the rest of us, and I selfishly tried to take all of her attention for myself."
brRinoa laughed, "Squall Leonhart, the anti-social child that grew up to be a heartless SeeD... craving attention."
brSquall looked into Rinoa's eyes, "I wasn't so heartless... if I was, would we be here right now?"
brRinoa stood up, "Oh, you was heartless, allright... I just gave you mine to share."
br"Oh... you always know the right way to make fun of me." He laughed as he stood up and kissed his wife. iI think she's over last night... for now./i
p"Zelly?" Selphie said, leaning towards her husband.
br"... Five more minutes, mommy..." Zell was mostly asleep.
brSelphie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Zell woke up, "Yeah, sweetie?"
br"What do you think Quisty is gonna make us do at the Garden?"
br"I don't know," Zell sat up, "I guess she'd have us make speeches..."
brSelphie sat up, "... Squall making a speech..." She and Zell looked at each other and laughed.
brZell got up and put on some clothes, "I wonder is she's up yet?"
br"I'll bet she needs to rest alot, it can't be easy being the Headmaster of a Garden" Selphie said as she got up. She sat on the bed, "I wonder how much the Garden has changed in the past fifteen years."
br"I'll bet they still don't have any hotdogs..." Zell looked around for a second, "Where'd my shoe go go?"
brSelphie saw his shoe under her feet and kicked it under the bed. "We don't need to get ready right this minute..."
br"I know, but I want to see what Squall and Rinoa are planning." He walked into the next room.
briI swear... it seems sometimes he cares more about Squall than he does me... must be a guy thing./i
pQuistis sat up in her bed... it was the best night's sleep she had since that failed SeeD mission in Trabia two months earlier. iI hope they can raise the SeeDs spirits... that incident alone caused a large increase in dropouts and lowered testing scores./i She got up and put on her slippers that she packed and looked at her feet. iWow... everyone's changed so much in the past years... their all married with kids and everything. I'd been so busy with the Garden... I haven't been on a date since.../i She stopped herself. She didn't want to remember that sorry excuse of a man she fell in love with seven years earlier. iIf it wasn't for him.../i
br"Quisty? Are you up?" Selphie said while knocking on the door.
br"Yeah, come in if you want." Quistis said, taking her slippers off.
brSelphie walked in and sat down next to Quistis. She could tell something was wrong with her... an instinct of hers. "Are you ok?"
brQuistis looked at Selphie and her always-present smile. "I'm fine... just amazed at how different everyone is."
brSelphie knew what she meant... she just never noticed herself. "... Have I changed any?"
brQuistis smiled, "Not really... but you did get married and have a child..."
briEveryone has changed alot since then.../i She thought to herself. "I'm sure you could find a guy..."
br"I can't find any time for dating..."
br"You haven't been on a date since we left?"
br"I had one boyfirend... but he was a jerk that just ditched me for no reason."
brSelphie suddenly remembered Irvine, lying in their bed with another woman. "I know what you mean..."
br"Men are stupid..." Quistis said, after a short pause.
brSelphie looked through the doorway watched Zell open the fridge and drop a jar of jelly on his toe. He yelled out in pain. "... Yeah." They laughed.
pSquall knocked on the Dincht's door. "Is anyone in there awake?"
br"... Yeah, come in." Squall heard Zell's voice say from inside. He sounded like he was in pain.
brSquall looked at Zell's foot, it was swollen. "... Foot problems?"
brZell looked at Squall's shoe and could see his bandage in the place of his sock. "I could ask you the same thing... I dropped a jar on jelly on my foot, you?"
br"I'd rather not talk about it." Squall said as he sat down, "Was the jelly hitting you foot the thing that made that "DAHHH!!!!!" noise I heard?"
brZell laughed, "That's not funny... speaking of weird noises, was Rinoa screaming last night?"
brSquall blinked, "You heard that? It didn't even wake the kids up..."
brZell grinned, "You lucky dog... who would guess that you would be that good in bed..."
br"Whoa, it wasn't like that! She just had a bad dream..."
br"Oh..."
br"... Is Quistis up?" Squall changed the subject. He didn't want to talk about last night.
br"She's in the kids room with Selphie. I think their talking about guys."
br"How can you tell?" Squall raised his eyebrow. The girls laughed in the next room. "Nevermind."
brZell poured two cups of coffee and handed one of them to Squall, then sat down. "Do you have any plans for what we're gonna do at Garden?"
brSquall sipped the coffee and let it's warm feeling pass through his tired body. "... Not really. I was hoping Quistis had some idea."
brQuistis and Selphie walked into the room and sat down. Neither one of them minded that they were still in their nightgowns.
br"Zelly, would you pour us some coffee?" Selphie said as she sat down.
brZell sighed i... I just sat down... why do I always sit next to the coffee pot?/i "Yes sir..." He stood up and got out two more cups.
br"Thanks sweetie..." Selphie blinked, "Did you just say 'Yes sir'?"
brZell laughed as he set cups of coffee in front of his house guest and irritated wife, then sat down again.
p"Come on, you two. Get dressed." Rinoa walked into Raine's room. Laguna was wearing one of Zell's shirts and Raine was wearing a sleeping dress. The two of them were playing with some toys Laguna brought over.
br"Yes misses... Raine's mom." Laguna put on some pants and switched shirts.
br"Ok mom..." Raine changed into an cute outfit that reminded Rinoa of the outfit Selphie used to wear... only slightly longer.
bri... I hope getting dressed and undressed in front of each other is just a phase... that's how Selphie and Irvine got started./i Rinoa thought to herself. "Laguna, you need to pack up your..." She looked at the toys he brought. They looked like assorted monsters, except cuter and they made noises. "... whatever those things are."
br"Mommy, where are we going?" Raine heard the adults talking about the Garden, but didn't know what it was.
br"We're going to the school that I met your dad and Laguna's parents." Rinoa sat down on her knees, iIt's means alot more to us than it does to the kids.../i
br"... Why?" Laguna interuppted her thinking.
br"Well, aunt Quisty needs our help with something." Rinoa looked at Laguna... he looked like a young Zell with darker hair. "Let's go to your house 'till everyone's ready to go."
hr
Well... as you can tell, I'm fresh out of ideas. I know what will happen future chapters, I just don't know how to get there. Hope you don't think I was Zell bashing, It's just funnier when he's doing something stupid.