---Disclaimer: I own nothing of Final Fantasy VIII; everything is © Square.

---Author's Notes: Three chapters all in the same vicinity! NOW who's the master updater, eh? Oh, and forgive me if I spell Kiros' and Ward's last names wrong; I don't have my strategy guide here right now x.x

~

"Laguna! It's so great to see you again," Rinoa exclaimed, embracing the President as if he were her own father - whom she'd never hug in her life. Laguna smiled over her shoulder, clearly enjoying the feeling that at least someone besides Ellone hugged him, but nearly shoved her aside when his son came out of the airship, followed by the five other SeeDs that he had bought for the affair. Rinoa, slightly put-out, rubbed her arm and walked back over to her group. The President strode over, moving as if to embrace his son, but at the last minute he let out a defeated sigh and merely clapped the Commander's shoulder.

"Nice to see you again," he said truthfully, admiring all of the SeeDs before them, uniforms crisp in the twilight.

"You too," Squall replied, gifting his father a threadbare smile. Laguna took it to heart and stepped away, folding his arms and addressing all of the SeeDs before him.

"Okay, here's the plan. The convention - of sorts - starts tomorrow evening at roughly 5:00. What I want you to do is to stand guard at the entrances, just in case. I have high doubt that anyone from any province would try something in Esthar, but . . . uh . . . Kiros says I'm a bit off my rocker sometimes, and he was the one who asked me to order you guys. Anyway, I just want one of you positioned at every entrance - there's five of them - and two roaming the seats and stuff, or at the dais with me. You can decide amongst yourselves who that'll be, and I'm sure its gonna be boring, but -"

"Mr. President, it's our job to do what you request. It won't be boring; trust me," Xu prompted, and Laguna ran a hand through his hair, looking much like Squall when nervous.

"Yeah, uh . . . and until then, you can just enjoy the city and everything. Everyone has a separate room at the Presidential Palace, so you don't have to worry about a hotel or anything. So . . . go enjoy yourselves!" He finished heartily, and the seven SeeDs saluted him before dispersing towards the Palace. Laguna grabbed Squall's shoulder and yanked him around before he could leave. Rinoa stopped short as well, intending to wait for him after the President was done.

"Listen . . . if you wanna talk to me sometime, I'd love to know how things are going with you and Rinoa, or how things are at Garden, or whatever you wanna talk about. I don't talk to you that often, and I'd much prefer doing it in person anyway . . ." Laguna faltered, unsure of what to say. His son didn't hate him, but he wasn't exactly running and telling him that he was the world's best father.

"Maybe sometime," Squall said shortly, and turned to walk away, but a look in Rinoa's eyes told him to say something else. He was only trying to make up for past mistakes, after all . . . "After the convention tomorrow; is that good? I just . . . have to get everyone in order before then, and . . . well, you were in the military; you know the drill." Laguna nodded exuberantly.

"Oh, yeah! I understand completely. Great seeing you again, son!" The President called as Rinoa hurried to the Commander, and the two began to walk away. Rinoa waved happily to Laguna as they walked away, and all of the forced happiness for the previous statement deflated out of his stomach as if he were a balloon.

"He's getting better, you have to admit," Kiros said cheerily, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Yeah . . . well, c'mon, let's go get everything ready," the President said wearily, turning in the other direction.

"Yes, Sir!" Kiros said, and Laguna kicked him hard in the shin.

~

"Do I have to?" Rain moaned, crossing her arms over her disheveled uniform. It hadn't lasted long through the night or that morning, mirroring Rinoa's.

"Yeah, you do," Squall said firmly, and pointed to the left of the dais. She stalked off angrily, followed by Xu; Squall had appointed the two of them 'roving officers', and, unlike Rain, Xu had jumped on the idea. She was not one to sit around; restlessness would have killed her. The Commander directed Zell to the exit on the far left, and Quistis that on the far right. Squall himself had taken the center door, and Seifer was standing dutifully on his right, Rinoa on his left. Everything was taken care of; typical SeeD protocol. The auditorium that Laguna had selected for the meeting was filled with representatives from nearly every province, and Laguna himself was standing proudly on the raised platform at the head of the room, beaming around at all of the different people.

"Okay, I just want to welcome you all to Esthar!" Laguna began cheerily, clapping his hands together. A few charts were tacked up behind him, and Kiros and Ward were standing, as always, by his side. "If you don't already know - which you really should, you know - I'm Laguna Loire, President here. These are my two trusted advisors, Kiros Seagill" - Laguna gestured to Kiros, who made a formal half-bow - "and Ward Zaback." Ward rumbled something incoherent and turned his head away. Now, I want everyone to take a look at the back of the auditorium" - Every head turned simultaneously to view the SeeDs standing formally by the doors - "and locate the five SeeDs standing over each door. They are here to keep things under control - not that we'll need it - and to assure you that everything is safe. Now turn back to the front and face me" - They all did just that - "and view the two SeeDs on either side of the dais. They will be patrolling the auditorium and reporting any unethical behavior to Kiros, Ward, or myself." Laguna immediately dropped the formalities and grinned broadly at the stone-faced people filling the auditorium. "Well, now that that's over, let's get on with the presentation."

As Laguna proceeded to state the cause of the laboratory and the need for funds, Rinoa shifted next to Squall and giggled softly. He shot her a sharp look, but only made her laugh harder. A few people in the back row turned around to glare at them, and Squall apologized hurriedly for the distraction, and strode quickly over to the Sorceress and seized her arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed, pushing her up against the door. She bit her lip, trying to stifle her amusement. "Well?" He demanded, his grip becoming painfully tight on her arm. Anything could happen when they were alone, but this was SeeD - he had Garden's reputation to protect, and having his Sorceress ruin an important sermon by his klutzy father wouldn't help in the slightest.

"It's just . . . he looks so funny up there. I mean, you can tell that he's not putting on any façade, because he's acting just like himself. It's really comical; just take a look -" Squall cut her off, one of his fingers in her face.

"Listen! He's the weirdest person for this job, I know that, and apparently he's not the best public speaker, but leave him alone about it! You don't have to laugh at him because he's not the world's best speech-maker," He growled, he released his grip and stalked back to his position. Rinoa's eyes welled with translucent tears, and she rubbed her wrist where he had driven his nails into her skin.

"I - I didn't mean it that way," She said quietly, staring at the floor. Squall cursed blackly through clenched teeth; now he'd done it. She'd cry and ruin the whole thing for his father - something he had never considered before - and on top of that, she'd be really pissed at him. Summoning all of his kind threads, he walked quickly over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. In the background, Laguna rambled on:

". . . And of course the possibilities will be infinite if we establish a permanent research base up there; so many things could be collected, and more information than ever could be found and distributed. Who knows, maybe one day we'll all live in space!" Laguna threw his arms out to the side, and a couple of people chuckled. "Good, good!" He enthused, eyes shining. "I don't want this place to be like a graveyard . . ."

"I'm sorry," Squall began quietly, not meeting her eyes. "It's just . . . sometimes duty overrides insight, and I have to refer to protocol before thinking about your feelings. I didn't want anything to blow this for him because . . . well, he's my father, however grudging I am to admit it. I want him to get all the money he'll ever need for this thing, because that's what makes him happy. I mean, just look at him - he's having a blast because he loves doing this, and -"

To his surprise, Rinoa had put a finger to his lips, shaking her head. Her tears were gone, and she had a sly smile on her face.

"Just stop babbling for a minute and let me do something," She whispered, and, without waiting for a reply, she raised herself on her toes and kissed him. Somewhat taken aback, it took him a moment to respond.

A sudden roar of applause filled their ears, and they broke apart, staring around wildly. Laguna's speech wasn't even halfway over, but the crowd was standing and cheering - not for the President, but for the two SeeDs standing in the back of the auditorium.

~