Disclaimer: I own not, you sue not.
~*~
Rinoa sighed heavily, leaning back onto her army-issued dresser. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, her face a flushed red due to the constant scrubbing she endured to remove blood from her skin. A small smile crossed her normally stern face when she remembered the telephone call she had received earlier in the day. It had been her father's lover, Phoenix, asking her to go on a mission with her as her field nurse.
She stepped forward, sitting on her bed and unwrapping her hair. She shook her head, causing all of the excess water to rain all over her small quarters. Rinoa had been ordered by her CO to 'get a good's night rest' because she was scheduled to leave at 4 AM. She was very curious as to what the mission involved, considering it was incredibly rare for members of the Council for United Efforts to be assigned field missions. She was told she would be assigned a field uniform, and Rinoa prayed it wasn't a skirt.
She stretched her long legs and arms, arching her back like a big cat. She couldn't remember the last time she had had more than 3 hours of sleep, and she was looking forward to it.
However, before Rinoa could go to sleep, there was one thing she had to check on. She stood from her bed and walked over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out her sky-blue colored pinwheel. It had been a very long time since the weapon had seem the light of day, and it almost seemed to be happy back in her hands. She removed a bottle of weapon polish and went to work cleaning her tool before she fell fast asleep on her hard mattress.
~*~
The woman walked quietly through the moonlight-drenched halls, her uniform boots tapping across the blue marble tile. It was summer in Galbadia, and even the nights were balmy and had comfortable warmth to them. There was a small pay phone around the corner in the visitor's lounge, and she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. She picked up the receiver with the dainty cloth and dialed after inserting her change. It took a moment before the other end stop ringing, and a familiar loud breath came from the other end of the line.
"Captain Simmons reporting to Commander."
"Good to hear from you Simmons. How did the intelligence meeting go?"
"Very well, sir. They agreed to the mission, and placed General Phoenix Aring in charge of invasion mission. Reports say they're placing Caraway in charge of the ground troops."
"Do you know who the soldiers involved in the invasion mission are?"
"No. I will attempt to get close enough to her to find out, but General Aring is a very suspicious person. I highly doubt we will be able to influence her decisions. "
"That's unfortunate. She would make a good ally if not for her morals. We'll have to kill her."
"Do you want me to try and get close enough to do so?"
"No. We're continuing with what is planned. But it is crucial that you get close enough to see her team list and make sure that our operatives are on the list. If you can't, report back immediately, because we'll have to change a few things in the our mission."
"Very well, Commander."
"Excellent job thus far, Captain."
"Thank you. Oh, and tell Trepe-"
"I know. And I will."
"Thank you again, Commander."
~*~
The bar of the Galbadia Hotel always seemed a bit dreary compared to the rest of the world, and tonight was no exception. The red velvet drapes had been changed to deep navy blue in support of Galbadia victory. In the left hand corner a young solider was playing the piano, still dressed in his field fatigues.
Phoenix descended the stairs with Fury close by her. All night she had been distracted by the mission and had been locked in her office until Fury all but tore the door down. He told her he wanted a single night where they could forget about the war. After reading between the line, Phoenix came to the conclusion that Fury was feeling a bit frisky. How charming.
The two took a table toward the back of the bar, a small smile spreading over Phoenix's face as she watched two men at the bar. They were both laughing at one another, casually touching. One was wearing field fatigues, the same as the soldier at the piano. The other man was smiling like a love struck teen, which he most likely was, considering that he had the other man's dog tags hanging around his neck. He started to talk about something, leaning closer to the other man. The soldier just smiled, and kissed his lover's palm.
"See that?" Phoenix asked, nodding toward the couple as they sat. "That's what I'm fighting for." Fury quirked his eyebrow up, smiling slightly.
"So you can sit in a dark bar and spy on people? Sounds rather creepy."
"You know what I mean." She answered, smiling warmly.
"Yes, but I told you. I want to get away from the war."
"Then you're going to hate me for what I'm about to tell you." She said after a moment.
"I could never hate you." He replied.
"I've decided to take Rinoa on the invasion mission with me as my field nurse." Phoenix revealed, leaning forward.
"No."
"The last time I checked, Fury, I was in charge of the invasion mission and I was the one to choose who is qualified." She retorted smartly.
"But she's my daughter, Phoenix." He said in an annoyed tone.
"She's also a soldier, Fury." She answered in the same voice. She frowned at him, leaning back in the chair. "Do you not trust me that I will keep her out of harm's way?"
Fury sat back, running a gloved hand though his salt-and-pepper hair. He sighed, his blue eyes never leaving Phoenix's pale face. She was still in her formal uniform, the three silver General stars gleaming on her collar. Her red hair was pulled from her face in a half-pony, held back with an intricate silver clip.
"Rinoa is a walking terrorist target, Phoenix. She is my daughter. My enemies tend to take advantage of that. She was kidnapped once before and-"
"And," She interrupted, crossing her arms. "She's alive today because she is a warrior like her father. She escaped from her captors because she is your daughter."
"Phoenix…please," He said, rubbing his temples. "I don't want to argue."
"Fine. It's settled. I'm taking her." Phoenix said, motioning for the waiter to come over to them.
"We'll discuss this later." He whispered as the waiter neared.
"How does champagne sound?" She asked harshly, ignoring his last comment.
"Sounds lovely." Fury answered, smiling warmly. The waiter nodded, and disappeared.
"I don't see how you can do that." Phoenix said, staring at him.
"What?"
"Just suddenly pretend that you're okay."
"Oh, gee, Phoenix. You just told me that you want to take my daughter onto a mission where she'll be at risk, and now you want to talk about it?"
"No, Fury I-"
"You want to know how it makes me feel, Phoenix? Hmm? Want to put your nice little psychology degree to work?" He asked sarcastically. He could see that he had made a mistake. She did not take well to sarcasm when it was directed at her.
"Fuck you." She answered, getting up. "I know you're pissed off about Rinoa, but she's a soldier, Fury, whether you like or not. I know she's a fucking terrorist target. She knows she's one! So do you want to know how she dealt with that? She signed up for the army so she could protect herself and the people that mean something to her. Unfortunately, since her father is a General, he redirected her and made her become a nurse." Phoenix looked down at Fury, her fists clutched at her sides. "She is willing to give her life to the effort, Fury. I know you see her as this pure little girl…but she's grown up. And you should be proud of what she's become, because she's not going to change. Not for you, and not for anybody."
"Phoenix…" He started, looking down at the table for a moment. "Damn it, you're taking her with you either way, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
"You better keep her safe. If she dies, I'll…"
"If she dies Fury, then it means the mission has failed. And you know I don't fail." She said, touching to soft tablecloth with her fingers.
"You're so arrogant."
"No, I'm not. I'm truthful, there's a difference." Phoenix answered, a small smirk tugging at her lips.
~*~
Irvine yawned, climbing out of his bed. Although he was very tired, he was too uncomfortable. He decided to head back to the patient lobby, in hopes that someone else would be there, doubting it because it was nearly 11: 30. Irvine was very pleased to see Seifer sitting on the couch that he was earlier.
"Hey, couldn't sleep?" Irvine asked, sitting on the other end of the couch. It took a moment for him to reply. He was resting his head in his hand, eye closed. In his other hand was a glass of what looked to be an elixir mixed with scotch. He took a sip of it, and looked to the other man.
"Nah. I couldn't sleep."
"What's up?" Irvine questioned. "You seem…"
"Upset?" Seifer finished, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "I am."
"Why?"
"I'm here because I led my platoon into SeeD territory in northern Trabia. We were trying to liberate the Shumi Village, because HQ said they would be a good ally if we want Trabia back. Well, obviously we failed, and almost all of my soldiers were killed. In two days I have to go back into the field and take the soldiers that survived into another mission in Centra." He paused a moment, and took a sip of his concoction. "I'm sick of this fucking war. It's pointless."
"It's not pointless." Irvine answered. "And you should be ashamed for saying so. People's lives are depending on us."
"But we're going to loose anyway. Our troops are nothing compared to the SeeD force."
"So what if we win or loose? The point is that we fought back, and we didn't just roll over and let the SeeDs kill our people. We give the people hope, Seifer. And hope is more precious than anything in this day and age." Irvine said, getting frustrated.
"You're very passionate about this." Seifer replied, sitting up straight.
"I know I am."
"Why?" He asked.
"I was born in a tiny little village in south west Galbadia. When I was 10 or so, the SeeDs invaded, and killed my entire family. I lived because I was the fastest, and I hid in crawlspace under my living room floor before they raided our house. I watched through the floorboards as they shot my mother, but not before they raped her. I was only 10 years old, and I watched my mother being put through the most painful thing of her life, and I could do nothing. Galbadia forces found me a few hours later. The leader of the platoon told me that I needed to use all the anger and sadness toward freeing the people of the world, because it was misplaced anger that was killing everyone. He gave me hope, and I learned that hope, real true hope, is very rare."
Both men were silent, refusing to look at one another. It was rather embarrassing for Irvine to tell his story, as very few people knew it.
"Someone very important to me was taken by the SeeDs several years ago. I tried everything to get her back before I realized the only way to ever see her again was to fight the SeeDs. To me, every one of those sons of bitches I kill, I get one more step closer to her. But now…I'm questioning it. I don't know if I'll ever see her again." Seifer spoke softly, his gaze never leaving his glass.
"Then you have more reason than any to fight." Irvine answered. "If she were here, would she be in the army?"
"Yes."
"Then fight in her place. Instead of fighting to see her, fight for her."
"You're not making much sense." Seifer replied, tearing his eye from the liquid in his hand.
"I know. But just think about it." Irvine smiled, standing up. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. Goodnight, Seifer."
"Goodnight." He answered softly.
~*~
Fury smiled softly, looking around his living room. The carpets were a deep, blood-like shade of crimson and the walls a unique tone of tan. Various ivy plants were strewn around the room, some entwining with the legs and arms of his furniture. One whole wall was nothing but glass, looking over his extensive backyard, complete with in ground pool and garden.
Phoenix had fallen asleep on the couch, her body spread fluidly over it. The moonlight streamed into the window and flooded the floor like spilt milk. The lights were off in the room, and Fury sat in a chair next to the couch. He studied his backyard, sipping his sherry once in a while.
Fury considered himself a poor father. He had done the best he could with his only child, but it didn't seem to be good enough. Since Rinoa's mother had died when she was only 5, it was up to Fury to raise this girl without even a hint on how to do it. Naturally, Fury wasn't as home as much as he liked, often being assigned missions and investigations. There were times when just coming home to see his daughters smiling, sunny face was what got him through the day. But, that soon changed as well. Rinoa became withdrawn from him around age 10, often flat out ignoring him when he tried to reach out to her. He couldn't blame her exactly, since he had been away most of the time, and missed more than one school play, piano and ballet recital. Rinoa turned to the staff, mainly the maids and her nanny, to explain her homework or show up at her parent/teacher conferences. It was almost as if every woman in the house was a bit of a substitute mother, but Rinoa never got too close.
But that had all changed when Rinoa was 12. That was when Fury had met Phoenix when she was still just a Colonel. Phoenix was often leered at because many people thought she arose to her position because she was dating Fury. The truth was that she had led the only victorious attack against the SeeDs, which sent her shooting up levels and straight to a 3-star General.
Of course, Fury had heard of her before. Many people called her the 'child warrior' because she had signed up for the army so young. Her father was Colonel Wilhelm Aring, and he himself had been a legend amongst Galbadian soldiers. When the SeeDs had first started forming 12 years ago, they weren't known as SeeDs. They were just plan old terrorists who didn't like Galbadia. They destroyed Winhill completely, burning down every last house and flower field. However, Colonel Aring had held onto Winhill for two weeks straight before the SeeDs won and killed him. Rumors had it that Wilhelm had actually had his young daughter to help him fight them back.
Rinoa hadn't exactly been thrilled when Fury introduced Phoenix. She screamed and cried that Phoenix was trying to take the place of her mother after she asked if Rinoa needed any help with homework after dinner. This was incredibly confusing for the General, because his wife had never helped Rinoa with her homework. The two butted heads often, and it had taken Phoenix every bit of will power to remain calm with the child. But after one horrible night in particular, where Rinoa had actually attempted to hit her, her willpower diminished. Phoenix opened the gates of hell on the child. She never raised her voice, but in a dark, deep tone, she set Rinoa straight. She did not have to like Phoenix, but she did have to show the same respect she showed her. At the time, Rinoa was 14.
The next week the two of them were out shopping on the mall strip. His daughter took to her like a fish in water, mainly because Phoenix treated her like an adult, not the skinny 14-year-old piano playing, ballet dancer that everyone saw. She asked Phoenix the questions she was too nervous to ask anyone else, mainly about boys and periods. Eventually, Rinoa warmed up to Fury, and started calling him Father instead of by his given name.
Rinoa graduated from high school early because she was taking summer classes when school was out. It was then that Rinoa was kidnapped by some rouge SeeDs in Timber on a trip to buy her a puppy. However, Rinoa had escaped a few days later before authorities even had a chance to intervene. A year later, Rinoa sighed up for the army as a way to protect herself. Phoenix supported her to her full extent. Fury, completely dismayed with what she had done, pulled a few strings and had her assigned to nursing instead of firearms. Three years later, she became a head nurse because of her exceptional work with the doctors in surgery. But it still took a long time for Phoenix or Rinoa to speak to Fury again. He now rarely saw his daughter, and it was even rarer that the two had a real conversation.
Fury sipped his sherry, looking over to Phoenix. Her full lips were parted slightly, and her arm was draped over her stomach. He smiled, downing the last of his drink, and stood. He didn't want to wake her, but he didn't want her get a crank in her neck.
"Phoenix." He said softly. "Time to go to bed."
"No. Go away." She murmured, rolling over. With a small chuckle, Fury lifted her from the couch. It was a difficult task, despite that he was 4 inches taller than her and outweighed her by at least 80 pounds. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and huddled closer to the warm mass that held her. He smiled slightly, and carried her up to his room.
~*~
Rinoa sighed heavily, leaning back onto her army-issued dresser. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, her face a flushed red due to the constant scrubbing she endured to remove blood from her skin. A small smile crossed her normally stern face when she remembered the telephone call she had received earlier in the day. It had been her father's lover, Phoenix, asking her to go on a mission with her as her field nurse.
She stepped forward, sitting on her bed and unwrapping her hair. She shook her head, causing all of the excess water to rain all over her small quarters. Rinoa had been ordered by her CO to 'get a good's night rest' because she was scheduled to leave at 4 AM. She was very curious as to what the mission involved, considering it was incredibly rare for members of the Council for United Efforts to be assigned field missions. She was told she would be assigned a field uniform, and Rinoa prayed it wasn't a skirt.
She stretched her long legs and arms, arching her back like a big cat. She couldn't remember the last time she had had more than 3 hours of sleep, and she was looking forward to it.
However, before Rinoa could go to sleep, there was one thing she had to check on. She stood from her bed and walked over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out her sky-blue colored pinwheel. It had been a very long time since the weapon had seem the light of day, and it almost seemed to be happy back in her hands. She removed a bottle of weapon polish and went to work cleaning her tool before she fell fast asleep on her hard mattress.
~*~
The woman walked quietly through the moonlight-drenched halls, her uniform boots tapping across the blue marble tile. It was summer in Galbadia, and even the nights were balmy and had comfortable warmth to them. There was a small pay phone around the corner in the visitor's lounge, and she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. She picked up the receiver with the dainty cloth and dialed after inserting her change. It took a moment before the other end stop ringing, and a familiar loud breath came from the other end of the line.
"Captain Simmons reporting to Commander."
"Good to hear from you Simmons. How did the intelligence meeting go?"
"Very well, sir. They agreed to the mission, and placed General Phoenix Aring in charge of invasion mission. Reports say they're placing Caraway in charge of the ground troops."
"Do you know who the soldiers involved in the invasion mission are?"
"No. I will attempt to get close enough to her to find out, but General Aring is a very suspicious person. I highly doubt we will be able to influence her decisions. "
"That's unfortunate. She would make a good ally if not for her morals. We'll have to kill her."
"Do you want me to try and get close enough to do so?"
"No. We're continuing with what is planned. But it is crucial that you get close enough to see her team list and make sure that our operatives are on the list. If you can't, report back immediately, because we'll have to change a few things in the our mission."
"Very well, Commander."
"Excellent job thus far, Captain."
"Thank you. Oh, and tell Trepe-"
"I know. And I will."
"Thank you again, Commander."
~*~
The bar of the Galbadia Hotel always seemed a bit dreary compared to the rest of the world, and tonight was no exception. The red velvet drapes had been changed to deep navy blue in support of Galbadia victory. In the left hand corner a young solider was playing the piano, still dressed in his field fatigues.
Phoenix descended the stairs with Fury close by her. All night she had been distracted by the mission and had been locked in her office until Fury all but tore the door down. He told her he wanted a single night where they could forget about the war. After reading between the line, Phoenix came to the conclusion that Fury was feeling a bit frisky. How charming.
The two took a table toward the back of the bar, a small smile spreading over Phoenix's face as she watched two men at the bar. They were both laughing at one another, casually touching. One was wearing field fatigues, the same as the soldier at the piano. The other man was smiling like a love struck teen, which he most likely was, considering that he had the other man's dog tags hanging around his neck. He started to talk about something, leaning closer to the other man. The soldier just smiled, and kissed his lover's palm.
"See that?" Phoenix asked, nodding toward the couple as they sat. "That's what I'm fighting for." Fury quirked his eyebrow up, smiling slightly.
"So you can sit in a dark bar and spy on people? Sounds rather creepy."
"You know what I mean." She answered, smiling warmly.
"Yes, but I told you. I want to get away from the war."
"Then you're going to hate me for what I'm about to tell you." She said after a moment.
"I could never hate you." He replied.
"I've decided to take Rinoa on the invasion mission with me as my field nurse." Phoenix revealed, leaning forward.
"No."
"The last time I checked, Fury, I was in charge of the invasion mission and I was the one to choose who is qualified." She retorted smartly.
"But she's my daughter, Phoenix." He said in an annoyed tone.
"She's also a soldier, Fury." She answered in the same voice. She frowned at him, leaning back in the chair. "Do you not trust me that I will keep her out of harm's way?"
Fury sat back, running a gloved hand though his salt-and-pepper hair. He sighed, his blue eyes never leaving Phoenix's pale face. She was still in her formal uniform, the three silver General stars gleaming on her collar. Her red hair was pulled from her face in a half-pony, held back with an intricate silver clip.
"Rinoa is a walking terrorist target, Phoenix. She is my daughter. My enemies tend to take advantage of that. She was kidnapped once before and-"
"And," She interrupted, crossing her arms. "She's alive today because she is a warrior like her father. She escaped from her captors because she is your daughter."
"Phoenix…please," He said, rubbing his temples. "I don't want to argue."
"Fine. It's settled. I'm taking her." Phoenix said, motioning for the waiter to come over to them.
"We'll discuss this later." He whispered as the waiter neared.
"How does champagne sound?" She asked harshly, ignoring his last comment.
"Sounds lovely." Fury answered, smiling warmly. The waiter nodded, and disappeared.
"I don't see how you can do that." Phoenix said, staring at him.
"What?"
"Just suddenly pretend that you're okay."
"Oh, gee, Phoenix. You just told me that you want to take my daughter onto a mission where she'll be at risk, and now you want to talk about it?"
"No, Fury I-"
"You want to know how it makes me feel, Phoenix? Hmm? Want to put your nice little psychology degree to work?" He asked sarcastically. He could see that he had made a mistake. She did not take well to sarcasm when it was directed at her.
"Fuck you." She answered, getting up. "I know you're pissed off about Rinoa, but she's a soldier, Fury, whether you like or not. I know she's a fucking terrorist target. She knows she's one! So do you want to know how she dealt with that? She signed up for the army so she could protect herself and the people that mean something to her. Unfortunately, since her father is a General, he redirected her and made her become a nurse." Phoenix looked down at Fury, her fists clutched at her sides. "She is willing to give her life to the effort, Fury. I know you see her as this pure little girl…but she's grown up. And you should be proud of what she's become, because she's not going to change. Not for you, and not for anybody."
"Phoenix…" He started, looking down at the table for a moment. "Damn it, you're taking her with you either way, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
"You better keep her safe. If she dies, I'll…"
"If she dies Fury, then it means the mission has failed. And you know I don't fail." She said, touching to soft tablecloth with her fingers.
"You're so arrogant."
"No, I'm not. I'm truthful, there's a difference." Phoenix answered, a small smirk tugging at her lips.
~*~
Irvine yawned, climbing out of his bed. Although he was very tired, he was too uncomfortable. He decided to head back to the patient lobby, in hopes that someone else would be there, doubting it because it was nearly 11: 30. Irvine was very pleased to see Seifer sitting on the couch that he was earlier.
"Hey, couldn't sleep?" Irvine asked, sitting on the other end of the couch. It took a moment for him to reply. He was resting his head in his hand, eye closed. In his other hand was a glass of what looked to be an elixir mixed with scotch. He took a sip of it, and looked to the other man.
"Nah. I couldn't sleep."
"What's up?" Irvine questioned. "You seem…"
"Upset?" Seifer finished, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "I am."
"Why?"
"I'm here because I led my platoon into SeeD territory in northern Trabia. We were trying to liberate the Shumi Village, because HQ said they would be a good ally if we want Trabia back. Well, obviously we failed, and almost all of my soldiers were killed. In two days I have to go back into the field and take the soldiers that survived into another mission in Centra." He paused a moment, and took a sip of his concoction. "I'm sick of this fucking war. It's pointless."
"It's not pointless." Irvine answered. "And you should be ashamed for saying so. People's lives are depending on us."
"But we're going to loose anyway. Our troops are nothing compared to the SeeD force."
"So what if we win or loose? The point is that we fought back, and we didn't just roll over and let the SeeDs kill our people. We give the people hope, Seifer. And hope is more precious than anything in this day and age." Irvine said, getting frustrated.
"You're very passionate about this." Seifer replied, sitting up straight.
"I know I am."
"Why?" He asked.
"I was born in a tiny little village in south west Galbadia. When I was 10 or so, the SeeDs invaded, and killed my entire family. I lived because I was the fastest, and I hid in crawlspace under my living room floor before they raided our house. I watched through the floorboards as they shot my mother, but not before they raped her. I was only 10 years old, and I watched my mother being put through the most painful thing of her life, and I could do nothing. Galbadia forces found me a few hours later. The leader of the platoon told me that I needed to use all the anger and sadness toward freeing the people of the world, because it was misplaced anger that was killing everyone. He gave me hope, and I learned that hope, real true hope, is very rare."
Both men were silent, refusing to look at one another. It was rather embarrassing for Irvine to tell his story, as very few people knew it.
"Someone very important to me was taken by the SeeDs several years ago. I tried everything to get her back before I realized the only way to ever see her again was to fight the SeeDs. To me, every one of those sons of bitches I kill, I get one more step closer to her. But now…I'm questioning it. I don't know if I'll ever see her again." Seifer spoke softly, his gaze never leaving his glass.
"Then you have more reason than any to fight." Irvine answered. "If she were here, would she be in the army?"
"Yes."
"Then fight in her place. Instead of fighting to see her, fight for her."
"You're not making much sense." Seifer replied, tearing his eye from the liquid in his hand.
"I know. But just think about it." Irvine smiled, standing up. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. Goodnight, Seifer."
"Goodnight." He answered softly.
~*~
Fury smiled softly, looking around his living room. The carpets were a deep, blood-like shade of crimson and the walls a unique tone of tan. Various ivy plants were strewn around the room, some entwining with the legs and arms of his furniture. One whole wall was nothing but glass, looking over his extensive backyard, complete with in ground pool and garden.
Phoenix had fallen asleep on the couch, her body spread fluidly over it. The moonlight streamed into the window and flooded the floor like spilt milk. The lights were off in the room, and Fury sat in a chair next to the couch. He studied his backyard, sipping his sherry once in a while.
Fury considered himself a poor father. He had done the best he could with his only child, but it didn't seem to be good enough. Since Rinoa's mother had died when she was only 5, it was up to Fury to raise this girl without even a hint on how to do it. Naturally, Fury wasn't as home as much as he liked, often being assigned missions and investigations. There were times when just coming home to see his daughters smiling, sunny face was what got him through the day. But, that soon changed as well. Rinoa became withdrawn from him around age 10, often flat out ignoring him when he tried to reach out to her. He couldn't blame her exactly, since he had been away most of the time, and missed more than one school play, piano and ballet recital. Rinoa turned to the staff, mainly the maids and her nanny, to explain her homework or show up at her parent/teacher conferences. It was almost as if every woman in the house was a bit of a substitute mother, but Rinoa never got too close.
But that had all changed when Rinoa was 12. That was when Fury had met Phoenix when she was still just a Colonel. Phoenix was often leered at because many people thought she arose to her position because she was dating Fury. The truth was that she had led the only victorious attack against the SeeDs, which sent her shooting up levels and straight to a 3-star General.
Of course, Fury had heard of her before. Many people called her the 'child warrior' because she had signed up for the army so young. Her father was Colonel Wilhelm Aring, and he himself had been a legend amongst Galbadian soldiers. When the SeeDs had first started forming 12 years ago, they weren't known as SeeDs. They were just plan old terrorists who didn't like Galbadia. They destroyed Winhill completely, burning down every last house and flower field. However, Colonel Aring had held onto Winhill for two weeks straight before the SeeDs won and killed him. Rumors had it that Wilhelm had actually had his young daughter to help him fight them back.
Rinoa hadn't exactly been thrilled when Fury introduced Phoenix. She screamed and cried that Phoenix was trying to take the place of her mother after she asked if Rinoa needed any help with homework after dinner. This was incredibly confusing for the General, because his wife had never helped Rinoa with her homework. The two butted heads often, and it had taken Phoenix every bit of will power to remain calm with the child. But after one horrible night in particular, where Rinoa had actually attempted to hit her, her willpower diminished. Phoenix opened the gates of hell on the child. She never raised her voice, but in a dark, deep tone, she set Rinoa straight. She did not have to like Phoenix, but she did have to show the same respect she showed her. At the time, Rinoa was 14.
The next week the two of them were out shopping on the mall strip. His daughter took to her like a fish in water, mainly because Phoenix treated her like an adult, not the skinny 14-year-old piano playing, ballet dancer that everyone saw. She asked Phoenix the questions she was too nervous to ask anyone else, mainly about boys and periods. Eventually, Rinoa warmed up to Fury, and started calling him Father instead of by his given name.
Rinoa graduated from high school early because she was taking summer classes when school was out. It was then that Rinoa was kidnapped by some rouge SeeDs in Timber on a trip to buy her a puppy. However, Rinoa had escaped a few days later before authorities even had a chance to intervene. A year later, Rinoa sighed up for the army as a way to protect herself. Phoenix supported her to her full extent. Fury, completely dismayed with what she had done, pulled a few strings and had her assigned to nursing instead of firearms. Three years later, she became a head nurse because of her exceptional work with the doctors in surgery. But it still took a long time for Phoenix or Rinoa to speak to Fury again. He now rarely saw his daughter, and it was even rarer that the two had a real conversation.
Fury sipped his sherry, looking over to Phoenix. Her full lips were parted slightly, and her arm was draped over her stomach. He smiled, downing the last of his drink, and stood. He didn't want to wake her, but he didn't want her get a crank in her neck.
"Phoenix." He said softly. "Time to go to bed."
"No. Go away." She murmured, rolling over. With a small chuckle, Fury lifted her from the couch. It was a difficult task, despite that he was 4 inches taller than her and outweighed her by at least 80 pounds. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and huddled closer to the warm mass that held her. He smiled slightly, and carried her up to his room.