Disclaimer: I wish I own them, but no, FF8 and all its characters belong to Squaresoft. But I do own this story! ^__^
Chapter 9: How's Deling City Been Treating Ya?
"Ooh lookie! The D-district prison! Did you know Ward worked as a janitor there? Imagine the big guy mopping floors!" Laguna pointed at the ominous-looking building in the middle of the desert. Squall wasn't thrilled to see it. That building was a nightmare to him.
"Okay, according to the map, we should go that way to Timber!" Laguna pointed north.
"Are you sure? I remember it was this way," Squall pointed east.
"Maps don't lie! Now start walking!" Laguna marched northwards, blissfully unaware that he was holding the map the wrong way.
After a tiring walk of endless hours, they finally reached a city illuminated with welcoming lights by nightfall. Squall smacked his forehead. "We've arrived in Deling City! I told you to go my way! By the way, why is it always night time in Deling City?"
"Hey! I've been here with Kiros and Ward a few days ago, but we never got to go sight-seeing. Could you take me on a tour this time?"
Squall wanted to say no, but Laguna's puppy eyes were too much. Really, they were getting annoying.
"This is the car rental shop…this is a T-junction…" Why does this remind me of Rinoa, thought Squall. "And this is…" He stopped dead in his sentence. General Caraway's Mansion! The last place he wanted Laguna to see.
"You know what? I'm hungry. Let's go have dinner," Squall said in his most convincing tone, and without waiting for Laguna's response, he dragged him to the farthest restaurant on the street, far, far away from Caraway's Mansion.
They found a table at a corner, a perfect place to hide from unwanted attention. Just when Squall thought everything would be fine, a hand dropped on his shoulder. He immediately turned his head, only to see Caraway himself standing behind him!
"Squall Leonhart. I thought it was you," Caraway smiled a bit. He was dressed in informal clothes, but a sense of sternness was still present.
Squall saluted the man. "Good to see you, sir. I'm glad you took office as General again." A hint of panic was in his voice.
He was lucky Caraway didn't notice. He was much interested in Laguna. The latter stood up and shook hands with Caraway. Caraway eyed him carefully, "You are…"
"Laguna Loire. Squall's father."
Caraway was most interested. "Fascinating. I'm Peter Caraway, Rinoa's father."
Squall watched in horror as the two older men sat down and started conversing. If he let them continue, they might learn about both men's relationships with Julia, the piano player and singer. Caraway would find out that Laguna was Julia's lover, while Laguna would find out that Caraway married Julia. They might even start to fight, if Caraway accused Laguna for leaving Julia. Laguna would know that Rinoa was Julia's daughter. Why would that matter? Or rather, why would he care? Just because Laguna might get upset…Whoa. Why would he care if Laguna might get upset? He wasn't like this a few months ago. Did Rinoa turn him into an emotional man again?
"My wife was Julia Heartilly, she wrote the song 'Eyes on Me'. Have you heard it before?" Caraway asked.
His words were like a hammer that pounded Squall's head. In his confusion, Caraway had blurted out the words he dreaded Laguna to hear.
Laguna was taken aback. He hadn't given much thought about this Caraway with the one Kiros told him in Winhill many years ago. However, nothing bad that Squall imagined happened.
"Really? You're a lucky fellow to marry such a fine woman."
Squall drew in a big breath. Good thing Laguna was sensible enough not to tell Caraway about his ex-lover. He even started to picture a jealous Raine eyeing Laguna angrily, and chuckled to himself. He sat down and listened in on their conversation, from which he learnt a great deal about his father. Maybe Laguna's not that bad after all…
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Author's note: Even though General Caraway was persecuted after the failed assassination of Sorceress Edea, I figured he took office again after Sorceress Ultimecia's defeat. Oh, about his name, I don't think I recall the game mentioning his name, so I made one up for him.