Title: Hindsight
Part: prologue/?
Author: Oriana
Rating: PG-13 for now, maybe R later
Disclaimer: Characters and settings and pieces of plot belong to Squaresoft. Everything beyond this point, especially creative ideas, belongs to me. I don't like plagiarism. So don't.
Notes: Yay! I wrote this one in driver's ed, so don't hurt me if it sucks.
P.S. – I SOLD MY ART AT OTAKON! THERE IS A GOD! Or goddess. Or whatever.
* * * * * * * * * *
"War! Let's play war!"
"Awww, Sephie, you ALWAYS wanna play war!" Zell shoved his small hands in his pockets.
" 's cause it's fun!" Seifer grinned, gleefully hitting a distracted Squall with a stick.
Grey eyes flashed in irritation, and the smaller boy snatched up his own stick, slashing at Seifer's head. "Stoppit, or I'll… I'll…"
"You'll what? Poke me with yer stupid stick?" The blonde taunted, sneering down at him.
Squall's cheeks flared red, and he leapt to his feet. "It's NOT a stick, it's the Mighty Lionheart! And it'll cut ya dow--"
"Squally!" A short little blond girl marched up to them, fists planted firmly at her hips. "Seif'r!" She shook her head in disapproval. "Hon'stly."
"Sephie, wanna play with Exeter n' me?" Irvine looked up from 'polishing' his toy gun, trying for his most charming grin.
"Kay!" The tiny girl bounced over to him, latching unto his arm.
Seifer looked over at Squall. "Race ya to the beach!" With that, he took off, leaving Squall to stare at his retreating back before breaking into a sprint behind him.
"Hey…" Quistis stood alone at the top of the hill, her lower lip stuck out in a slight pout. "I though we were gonna play war!"
-*-*-*-*
He awoke with the vivid memories lurking in the back of his conscious mind. Squall rubbed a hand across his eyes, blearily expecting that Matron would be in his room in a moment to talk him out of bed.
"Nnngh… I don't wanna get up…" He rolled over, pulling the pillow atop his head. His leg reached down, searching for the covers, and he was jolted into awareness by the impact of his toes against the baseboard. "Damn!" Squall sat up, ruefully massaging his throbbing foot. //Forgot the bed was so small…//
He heard a familiar chirping sound coming from somewhere outside, and his sluggish mind casually registered, 'Oh. A chocobo.' Squall stood and shuffled over to his makeshirt kitchen. He flipped the switch on the propane stove with his uninjured toe, searching through a bag for a can of soup. He found on, popped it open, and poured it into the pot on the stove. As he picked up a spoon, the full import of the chocobo's presence struck him.
Aw, SHIT.
Maybe it was a baby.
Squall dropped the spoon, poking his head outside the door. His heart sank when the saw the fully grown chocobo nervously fidgeting outside the old orphanage. He felt exactly like the damned bird.
//So. Somebody found me.//
He could automatically deduct that it wasn't Rinoa. He'd have woken up to see her sprawled beside him, assuming that he would be thrilled to see her first thing in the morning.
It wasn't Quistis or Selphie – they would have arrived with the Garden in tow if there were an emergency that required his attention.
Cid and Edea were still scheduled to be in Esthar for another week or so, and President Loire wouldn't have been allowed to travel without a guard – and there was only one chocobo.
He ticked off the remaining suspects in his head. Fujin and Raijin were helping with the most recent repairs to Fisherman's Harbor – Irvine was on Balamb Garden organizing the next Garden Festival with Selphie (and there was no way she would ever let him escape) and Zell was overseeing a SeeD field exam somewhere near the Shumi village up north.
The only other person should have known the location of his little haven had been MIA and presumed dead for almost a year and a half.
His jaw set, Squall retrieved the Lionheart from its leather case, striding out in his t-shirt and boxers. He patrolled around the outside of the orphanage before heading down the rocky path to the beach below.
The brunette scanned the horizon for any ships – standard SeeD procedure – and listened for any footfalls behind and around him. His gaze eventually swept to the lone figure straddling a mount of boulders, nearly hidden by the blanket of early morning fog.
"Hey."
No response. Squall called again, starting towards the person with Lionheart drawn and at the ready. "Hey…! Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing here… Identify yourself, or I'll-- "
The figure's shoulders heaved with a long, exhausted sigh. "You'll what? Poke me with your stupid stick?"
The weary, monotone words struck Squall in the stomach like an iron fist, and he took a step backwards. Grey eyes widened in shock as a sense of déjà vu swept over him once more. "Seifer…?!"
"Yeah, and don't YOU look lovely in your new birthday suit."
Squall glanced down quickly, the back at the blonde. "If you'd bother to turn around, I'm dressed. Mostly." His fist clenched around the handle of his gunblade.
Seifer obeyed momentarily, standing and running his hands through his hair. He nodded once. "Hello, Commander Leonhart." He gave a mock bow, his hair stubbornly falling back across his forehead.
The brunette stiffened involuntarily. "Don't call me that. What are you doing here, Seifer?"
"Whatever are you talking about? I once lived here, too, you know."
"Don't give me that crap. Everyone though you died during the Lunatic Pandora incident…"
"Oh, so that's what they're calling it now? An incident? I though it rather a catastrophe, personally."
Squall rolled his eyes. "You would… Call it what you want, Seifer, but even you have to admit that this re-emergence of yours is a little…"
"Odd? Suspicious? Blatantly sexy?"
Squall out a hand over his mouth to cover a quick twist of his lips. "All but the last – and let's add convenient to the list."
Seifer smirked. "Right, always forget that one… but if you don't mind me asking, how exactly so? I've been a little…out of touch."
The other man deflected the question with a raised eyebrow. "Did you come here purely to irritate me?"
The blond shifted his weight from foot to foot. "That's a plus, but no. I'm here to deliver a message."
"From?"
"President Loire."
Squall blinked. That had certainly not been expected.
"Hello, Hyne to Squall! Come in, Squall!"
The shorter man frowned, gesturing behind himself. "Let's go inside to discuss this. My breakfast is probably on fire by now."
"You cook, too? Aww, the perfect housewife – I think I'm in love."
"Shut up, Seifer." //As insolent as ever – no wonder he never made SeeD. What should I have expected? That he would change? That he might actually feel some remorse for his actions? Not Seifer. Obviously.// He glanced over at the blonde, only to find that Seifer had been staring at him, an odd expression on his face. He caught the other's eye, and Seifer looked away, pretending that he hadn't been watching.
//Obviously…// Squall reassured himself, an anxious feeling building in the put of his stomach. //Obviously.//
~TBC~