Convergence of Destiny

Chapter 2: Unwelcome News

"Hey Seifer! Y'know, it's been too quiet around here without you pissing me off at every turn."

The blond man eyed Xu warily as he awaited his guide to take him to Squall and the others. He could see the resentment that still lingered in her eyes. Hell, I can't blame her. She's got every right, they all do. Why can't it be this easy with all of them? He nodded coolly at her. "Xu."

She feigned shock. "What? No witty comeback? No personal digs? Not even a small smirk? What the hell happened to you, Almasy?"

"Xu, I…" He considered telling her to get out of his face, waving her away with a disdainful flick of his wrist. Instead, he done something unprecedented, something that surprised even him. "I'm sorry."

The dark haired girl's mouth hung open for a few seconds before she realised. "Seifer, other people may be willing to forgive you with a simple apology. In my opinion, they're fools. You want to make up for the things you did to us? Go and jump off a fu-"

"That's enough, Xu."

She turned, red and shaking with rage to meet two, stormy grey-blue eyes. They betrayed no emotion as they returned her glare, calmly staring her down till her anger began to dissipate. Xu broke from the silent battle first, turning her gaze to the floor before jabbing a thumb roughly in Seifer's direction. "What the hell is he doing here? After what he did! You're just going to forgive and forget? At least discipline him, he's a Hynedamn murderer!"

"That's enough." The man repeated softly. "It's been a while, Seifer."

Green eyes betrayed a hint of suspicion. "It has."

"You know it's not going to be easy." It was a simple statement made without any discernible malice.

Coming back here, confronted at every turn by the faces scarred by my betrayal…not everyone accepts that I was controlled, but that was to be expected. Who ever said it was going to be easy?

"I know."

"You're sure?"

He nodded his head slowly. "Positive."

The other man raised an eyebrow, but was apparently satisfied by the answer. "Good enough for me. Let's go meet the others. They're looking forward to catching up with you again."

Seifer began to follow him out the door until Xu barred their path, jabbing a finger angrily into the lead mans chest. "What are you doing?"

"Stand down, Xu."

"Seifer, I'll personally make sure you fail! If you think I'm going to tolerate a maniac among the ranks of SeeD you have another thing coming Commander." She narrowed her eyes menacingly at the taller man.

He sighed, rubbing absently at his scar. "Don't call me that."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh for Hyne's sake, Squall! Face up to your responsibilities. You're the Commander, act like it! You could start by getting rid of this piece of shit."

Squall's eyes flashed in annoyance, his face still a blank canvas. He repeated himself quietly, forcefully. "Stand down, Xu."

Seifer watched the war of wills with interest. Maybe…He shook the fermenting thought from his mind, but filed it safely away for later use. He watched the other man, making silent observations. Squall, still stoical, still reticent around others had gained an edge. He could talk and people would clamour round, eager to listen to the gravelled tones. The changes were slight but they were there. A conversation with the green Commander could no longer be likened to drawing blood from a stone. The elusive smile, though still rare, made an appearance, which was frequent in comparison to mere months ago. Seifer knew who was responsible for the changes. He wasn't surprised when she entered the room, smiling warmly at the assembled trio.

"Hey guys." The smile faded slightly. "Um, what's going on?"

"Your boyfriend is letting this traitor literally get away with murder! Did you know he was coming back, Rinoa?"

The young sorceress grinned. "Yeah, I thought everyone did. We're glad he's home." She winked at Seifer, the blond returning her smile.

Xu flung up her arms in annoyance. "For Hyne's sake! Cid was wrong about you, Squall. You're not fit to be Commander. First you shack up with our enemy, the Sorceress and then you forgive the man who tried to kill us all. You're insane."

The impassive façade dropped as he barked at her. "Stand down, Xu! Get the hell out of my sight. You're suspended on half pay until further notice."

"You can't d-"

"You want to make it no pay?" Squall growled.

Rinoa stifled a giggle as the other girl turned on her heel, marching out smartly. "Jeez, what's stuck up her ass?"

"Hyne knows, Rin." Squall turned to the man whose scar mirrored his own. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

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Cid looked over the request, removing his glasses with a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb. Despite reading the letter several times, he could not displace the nagging unease he felt in the pit of his stomach as he looked over the document once again. Something about the solicitation was…strange. He looked up into the soft eyes of Edea as she walked into his office.

"Is something wrong, darling?"

He smiled wearily perching the glasses back on his nose. "No, no. It's nothing. Winhill have requested SeeD's assistance."

His wife raised a delicately arched eyebrow. "And? Since when has a simple requisition thrown you into such a tizzy?"

"Winhill is a quiet town, my dear."

"I know, darling. Please tell me what the problem is?"

He waved the letter about. "They've requested our children. The elite, the best of the best, Edea. They want them all! What can such a quiet little town require the most highly trained SeeD's for?"

Edea also looked confused as she gently removed the paper from his hand, scanning it quickly. "It does seem rather odd…the mission isn't for another few weeks. You're free then, why don't you tag along, make sure everything is above board?"

"I may just do that."

"Good. I know they have a monster problem, but nothing that would merit the attention of Squall and the others. It is a strange request." She planted a kiss atop his head before taking a seat opposite him.

He smiled slightly. "Well, at least I know I'm not just being paranoid. It's just that I worry, Edea. They're the closest thing we have to children. If anything was to happen to any of them…"

"I know. Squall's father has requested a meeting with him."

Cid couldn't contain his surprise. "Loire? Does Squall know?"

She shook her head. "No. President Loire didn't even know of him until they met during the Ultimecia incident. It is as Ellone told us, he never returned from Esthar in time. When he did return, he was told his wife had died in child birth, as had the infant." Edea sighed. "For a small town they were so cruel, meddling in people's lives, their destinies. It's wrong, Cid."

He moved to comfort his wife. "It is, my love. But all was for the best. Had it not been for that act, who knows what would have happened to us all?"

"You're right of course, but…Oh Cid, I just wish one of our children had had the chance at normality."

Cid looked into the amber eyes he loved and began to speak quietly. "Life is a series of converging paths, my dear, it is the convergence of destiny. The turns we take, the decisions that are made influence the rest of our days. We cannot fault the paths that others took, for they have led us to this point. What matters now is where we choose fate to take us. Choices from the past cannot be changed, the ones we face now, however, are alterable. We must look to the future, not regret the past."