Note: Hi everyone! Woohoo! The last person! Squall! Yeay, the 'hero' of Final Fantasy VIII *snicker.* I'm sorry everyone! I'm so mean! I don't really like Squall that much! That moody boy! But hey, he's hot so I can't complain that much! ;) Ain't Rinoa lucky? LOL. Anyway, here's HIS story. He's a rich boy and yeah...ahem... Here it is! By the way the 'Cloud' mentioned here is NOT the Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. I just picked that name because it fits well with the family name. So...yeah....
Chapter 6 - My Father The Hero
The screen flashed and a man, with long, dark hair appeared in front of the camera. He gave a smile and nodded to everyone present. He took another step to the podium, fixed the microphone in front of him and cleared his throat. "Mayor! Mayor! Could you please tell us more about the development of the new cinema?" came a male reporter's voice.
The man looked up as the same reporter held out his microphone towards him. He nodded and looked up to smile again, but it was cut off, when the television clicked off. The remote control used to turn the t.v. on and off, was thrown angrily on the couch by the young man who was watching the whole thing from his large home. "He cares more about that stupid cinema than me!" he hissed.
"Now, now, sweetheart, you know how important his job is," came a woman's voice from the kitchen. "Marie, could you please put these roses in that nice purple vase from Mexico?"
The boy looked up and noticed his mother walking to the living room to meet him. She gave him a loving hug, before kissing him on the cheek for another greeting. "How was school?"
Squall had no reason to explain everything to her about Rinoa and her rejection towards the promise ring he has waited for a long time to give. His mother always changed the subject when it came to talking about his needs to have a father to always be there. He didn't need to ask her why, because he heard them argue in their bedroom, when his mother told his father about their son's presidential campaign at school. He listened as his father just brushed off the conversation and went straight to bed. His mother decided not to argue about that. She would rather avoid fighting than face divorce, because she loved him very much. Taking a deep breath, Squall shrugged and went back to sit down on the sofa. He was counting on Rinoa to stick by him, unlike the father who was never there for any of the big events where he had to do a speech in front of the entire school. "It was okay," he replied, turning the television back on. The mayor was no longer in front of the camera, but was replaced by his secretary, Moira Gray, further explaining about the production of the new cinema, which will be called, 'Tempest' for some reason. "Why is he calling the cinema, Tempest?" he spoke, frowning in disgust. It was like he favored everything else than his son.
"Who knows, he has this thing about storms. I mean, your name means thunder," his mother explained. "And your brother's name is Cloud. I think he's going somewhere here." She laughed at her own joke and then called for Marie, telling the Spanish born young woman to heat up some tea for her.
Squall sighed. "I know that," he spoke, putting an arm on the back of the seat. He watched as Moira disappeared from view and then the reporter for channel 4 replacing her this time, now in a differnent environment, overlooking the building where his father just made his speech. She lifted the microphone just above her stomach and closed off the report with, 'back to you, Irene.' He pursed his lips together angrily, his mind coming back to Rinoa and the way she was acting today. He turned off the television once again and stood up. "I'm going to pick Cloud up from school," he said.
"Okay. He's at his soccer practice," his mother told him, before he left. "Don't you feed your brother ice cream after! You know how much he loves ice cream after practices! We'll be having dinner soon!" Squall waved silently good bye at his mother and left. He needed fresh air to think. The young boy was just walking across the driveway, when a black Lincoln appeared from the corner. Squall moved out of the way and watched as the car parked in the driveway. The man he saw on the television stepped out of the car and smiled when he noticed Squall standing there, with the usual frown he wore everytime he saw him.
"Come on now, Squall, aren't you going to say hi to your father?" he asked.
"No," he replied coldly, before walking away.
Laguna watched his son go and before he could stop his son, he was already gone. "Welcome home dear," he heard his wife say. The dark haired man turned and grinned, when he noticed his wife, Raine approaching him. He gave her a hug and a kiss, before they both went inside their house to discuss about Squall's 'attitude.'
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The field was full of young kids around nine running around, passing the ball to each other, or each taking shots in the goal post. One boy, with short dark hair kicked one of the many balls bouncing in the field to another boy, with blond hair. Squall watched his brother block the ball that the blond boy kicked back to him. The little boy looked up when he noticed Squall's black, leather coat. He waved at his big brother and smiled, picking up the soccer ball and kicking it far away into the field, making the blond boy pick it up. Squall only nodded at his brother's greeting, his mind still on Rinoa and the promise ring which she rejected. He didn't care how much he bought it for, as long as he sees Rinoa wear it around her finger. Besides, the money wasn't really his. With his dad being the Mayor of the city and having many friends because of it, he didn't really have to 'buy' it from the Gold's Store.
"Squall!" he heard his brother call. The young brunette looked up as Cloud approached him with a smile on his face. "Hey, Squall! We have a game tomorrow night against the Tigers!" The boy watched as his big brother nodded, but he frowned, when he noticed Squall's mind on something else. He could read his big brother like a book. "What's wrong? You're not happy?"
Squall looked down and noticed his little brother's worried look. He petted his brother's head, messing up his dark hair and shook his head reassuringly. "Nah, it's not that." He didn't want his little brother to worry, or he would start blabbing it to his parents. He knew how much of a blabber Cloud was. "I just had a tiring day at school," he explained.
With relief, Cloud nodded and threw the soccer ball at Squall, who caught it with one hand. "Can we go get some ice cream?"
The big brother sighed, thought for a moment, then remembered his mother's warnings about not getting him ice cream. Squall shook his head. "No, mom said you can't have any, because we're having dinner soon. Come on." He turned and walked ahead of his brother, who caught up just in time, before he got too far away. Squall could hear Cloud mutter under his breath how 'uncool' his brother was. The young brunette smiled slightly, shaking his head in disbelief. He stopped and turned to face him. "How about we walk down to Rainbow Roads after dinner and I can treat you to your favorite sundae?"
Cloud's face lit up. "Really?"
Squall couldn't help but reach out and mess up his little brother's dark hair again, which Cloud quickly fixed without any other expression, except a smile on his face. He was too excited about the sundae to worry about his hair. "Yeah, but don't tell mom."
The dark haired boy nodded and put a finger across his lips, as if closing a zipper. "My lips are sealed!"
"Well, they better stay sealed or I WILL sew your lips together." He placed an arm around his little brother's small shoulders and together, they walked back to the Leonhart residence, just ten minutes away from the elementary school. They were greeted by their maid and then by their mother, who gave Cloud wet kisses on the cheeks. ("Moooom!") The young boy slipped away from her, before he got any more wet around his cheeks. Squall sat down on the table, where his father was busy reading the Globe and Mail newspaper across from him. He watched him for a minute, then took his eyes away from him when Cloud and his mother joined them on the table. He heard the rustling of the newspaper and Squall looked up to see his father folding the newspaper back into its original state, his face full of pride.
"Well, Raine, you're going to be so proud of me when you see the cinema open up the same day as Cloud's birthday!" Laguna announced, glancing at his family.
Squall hid a scowl behind his thick, brown hair. Damn him, he thought. His father always found a way to make him feel guilty about everything. HE should be the one to feel guilty. He clenched his fists around the napkin on the table and was unaware that Marie was preparing the food on the table and was also unaware of his brother looking at him with a curious look.
"Squall? What's wrong?" Cloud asked.
The young man looked up, startled at the many faces staring at him. His mother looked up, slightly shaking her head at him, warning him not to make a scene in front of his little brother. "I'm fine, squirt," he replied, forcing a smile on his face. Once again, he ruffled his brother's hair, whom his mother quickly fixed, gently telling Squall not to mess his hair again. "Awwww, mom!" came Cloud's voice in the background. His mother was fixing his hair straight, while Cloud tried desperately to get away from the embarrassment, even though it was just his family watching. Squall knew Cloud was trying to make himself look like a man, even at the age of nine.
"Oh, hey dad!" the little boy spoke again, who was able to get away from his mother's arms. He reached out and tugged at his father shirt, his face beaming with excitement. "I'm playing against the Tigers tomorrow after school! You should come! You should come!"
Squall watched his father shrug off Cloud's hands from his sleeve. He looked down at his son and smiled, shaking his head. "I can't, Cloud. I have business downtown tomorrow and I don't know how long that will take. Maybe you can have Marie tape it for me and I can watch it," he replied.
Cloud's face fell.
The young man felt his face heat up in anger. He clenched his fists tighter and forced himself to calm down. He looked up and reached out once more to ruffle his litlte brother's hair. "Hey, don't worry! I'll come to watch and mom too! At least your games are more important than other businesses in mind," he said, taking a swift glance at his father, who was back at reading the newspaper. He felt a hand on his. Squall looked down and noticed his mother's hand on the clenched hands around the napkin, which was getting wrinkled from his anger. She was looking at him, pleading him with her bright green eyes not to lose his temper. Squall took a deep breath and nodded quietly.
"Really, Squall?" Squall looked at his brother across from him, with hopeful eyes and nodded. Cloud smiled and turned back around to face his dinner.
"Yeah, let your brother go. I would just be a bother if I show up and don't know anything about soccer anyway," Laguna spoke, without even looking at who he was talking to. He flipped the page and jumped, startling his wife and his sons at his sudden impulse. Laguna flipped another page, then went back to the previous one, before showing his family what he was so excited about. 'You wouldn't be a bother, not even to a son who needs you there,' Squall thought. He looked up as his father leaned the newspaper enough so his wife and sons could see what he was looking at. "There! That's the place I'm going to put Tempest in! That's what we're going to be discussing about tomorrow at the meeting!"
"Dear," came Raine's voice. She placed a hand on her husband and smiled. Laguna took his eyes away from her and waited until she said, "You promised Cloud to show up at one of his games."
Laguna glanced at his youngest son, then turned his eyes back at the newspaper. "Did I?" he asked, mostly the newspaper, than his wife. "I'm sorry, Cloud, I know I did, but you have to understand how important this is. When the cinema is done, I promise to show up at ALL your practices?" He glanced at Cloud. "I can then watch all the games Balamb Cheetahs play! "
"You mean, Balamb Lions?" the little boy corrected, his face falling into a frown. Squall couldn't believe it!
His father's eyes widened and nodded, smiling. "Oh right, right! Balamb Lions, that's it! Well, don't you worry, because by the time the Cinema is finished, I can see you play!"
Cloud nodded-- Squall, knowing full well that his little brother was unsure whether their own father would keep to his word. The young man looked at his mother, with total anger, but kept it in check, because he knew that if he lost his temper now, Cloud would be overwhelmed. He knew how sensitive his little brother was. When you're at an innocent age of nine, you'd want to believe that you lived in a perfect family. He also didn't want his brother to worry too much, because there was nothing to worry about anything. He didn't want his nine year old brother to grow white hairs all around his tiny dark head. Burshing doubts aside, Squall glanced at his brother and winked at him. Cloud grinned, showing a set of white pearls where a small green spinach was traped in between the two large teeth at the front. The young man couldn't help but snicker at the appearance. "Hey, squirt, you got spinach on your teeth!" he spoke, grinning. He watched his little brother lean back on his chair, taking a fork to pick on the spinach that was stuck between his teeth. Squall couldn't help but laugh. His mother nudged him on the shoulders, but as he looked up at her, she was trying not to laugh. The young man glanced over at his father, who was too busy reading the newspaper to notice his family. Squall wanted to announce something that will surely break his father's attention from the newspaper, but kept his mouth shut. His mother was watching him too much for him to continue with his decision.
After a moment or so of silent eating, Squall excused himself and left for bed early. He couldn't stand it everytime his father had papers on the table, his eyes reading the information on it, instead of paying attention to his family. He would sometimes mention some of the things he read outloud and even though none of his sons cared, he continued anyway, explaining about how the sewers near Pike Place Fish Market needed to be replaced because it was starting to fill up with raw fish smell. Squall had always known that his father wants to make everyone in the city happy and he cared for them, unlike most mayors who cared only about publicity, but sometimes his father cared TOO much for the city that he would neglect his family a lot and it made him mad. He has always known that Laguna Loire worked really hard to take care of his family, but being his son, was even hard work. During his first years of his life, Squall worked really hard to impress his father, but nothing seemed to worked. When he started going to school, he worked hard on his english so he could be better in writing and speaking his speeches. Those were the days before his father started running for Mayor. He was originally a rich man, born from a rich family, but never really used the money. Squall even dreamt of being a Mayor someday, but as he grew, when high school hit, his dreams were shattered when his father started using his skills and ran for Mayor of the city. He started getting busier and busier as days went by, then weeks, months and then years. His mother had his second baby when Laguna Loir won the election and Cloud grew up knowing that knowledge, but not knowing that his father will always be too busy for both him and his big brother.
As he started walking up the stairs, he heard another pair of footsteps behind him. Squall turned and noticed Cloud following him with a bright smile on his face. The young man paused at the top of the stairs and looked down curiously. "What?"
Cloud frowned. "You promised!" he whispered, glancing over at his mother, who wasn't paying attention to what they were doing.
Squall stared at him for a moment, then, remembering what he promised his little brother a while ago about getting him ice cream, he sighed, stuffing his hands in his pant pockets and walked back down the stairs with Cloud. He reentered the kitchen a few seconds later and told both his parents he was taking Cloud for ice cream. Knowing full well that Squall told him it was a secret, Cloud tugged at his big brother's shirt gently and looked up curiously. Squall placed a hand on his forehead and smiled. "Mom, dad, we're going to Rainbow Roads to get ice cream that I promised Cloud."
The only one who actually looked up was their mother, who gave them a great big smile a nod of approval. They waited until their father waved their hands in agreement, his eyes never taking off the papers in front of him. Squall held his anger inside and glanced at his little brother, who was looking at him with a great big smile. He ruffled his hair, then pointed towards the door with a slight nod of his head to the left and led the way out of the house. He glanced at his father before closing the door behind them and felt his face go red, noticing the Mayor of Seattle, his face still glued to his task.
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He had forgotten that the Seattle Mayfair started at this day. Rows and rows of rides gleamed all around them. Squall couldn't hold Cloud down by the time they got in. They had to pass the Mayfair in order to go to the Rainbow Road Ice Cream shop and the gleaming, holiday lights had caught the young boy's attention. He had no other choice but to follow Cloud inside, to make sure no one would snatch him away. Squall walked just slightly behind his little brother, watching him stumble from one game to another. On one game, he begged Squall to play and win so he can get a fake water gun, but he refused, because when he looked at his watch, it was almost nine and they had to get back before their mother starts to get worried. When he mentioned that to his little brother, Cloud gave him a disappointed look and for the rest of the evening, even after getting him his favorite ice cream (Chocolate Chip Cookies), he was quiet on their way home. Squall could no longer take the silence anymore, so he paused and faced his brother.
"Hey, the Seattle Mayfair will be there tommorrow and tomorrow's Saturday. I'll take you down here when game's over okay?" Once more, he ruffled his brother's hair, who looked up with the same gleaming face of excitement. Squall stuffed his hands in his pockets and finished the ice cream (Chocolate Chip Mint) in his hand. They walked back down home, too busy eating their ice cream to talk.
They made it back just in time before their mother got so worried. They were only gone for half an hour and it would have been longer if they stayed for the Mayfair and Squall would have been the one their mother yelled at for staying out too long. She was the first one to greet them back. Squall had asked where their father was, because he had disappeared from the dining room and his mother explained that he was in his study, reading over the fax his secretary sent over about a mob of people protesting to stop cutting down the trees down at the Sayamoo Hills. He took a quick glance at his little brother, who had finished licking off the ice cream that fell around his fingers, pretending the little boy didn't hear anything about his father caring more about the trees or the other people than he did with his sons. But Squall knew Cloud was hurting. Just like he had when Laguna stopped going to all his school presidential meetings. Laguna doesn't even know the name of his youngest son's team and that thought made Squall wince. What kind of a father would forget his own son's soccer team name?
The worst kind, he answered in his head.
GoodGurl: WOoh! Finally finished the last character! Yes, obviously all the characters have problems, but where would dis story go if they didn't? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Squall's story! So...well he doesn't really have a HUGE problem, other than the fact that Rinoa won't tell him why she didn't accept his promise ring, but he does have a problem with his father, who won't even pay attention to everything his sons does....dang Lagun! :S Okies, dats all kids! See ya next time! ;)
Chapter 6 - My Father The Hero
The screen flashed and a man, with long, dark hair appeared in front of the camera. He gave a smile and nodded to everyone present. He took another step to the podium, fixed the microphone in front of him and cleared his throat. "Mayor! Mayor! Could you please tell us more about the development of the new cinema?" came a male reporter's voice.
The man looked up as the same reporter held out his microphone towards him. He nodded and looked up to smile again, but it was cut off, when the television clicked off. The remote control used to turn the t.v. on and off, was thrown angrily on the couch by the young man who was watching the whole thing from his large home. "He cares more about that stupid cinema than me!" he hissed.
"Now, now, sweetheart, you know how important his job is," came a woman's voice from the kitchen. "Marie, could you please put these roses in that nice purple vase from Mexico?"
The boy looked up and noticed his mother walking to the living room to meet him. She gave him a loving hug, before kissing him on the cheek for another greeting. "How was school?"
Squall had no reason to explain everything to her about Rinoa and her rejection towards the promise ring he has waited for a long time to give. His mother always changed the subject when it came to talking about his needs to have a father to always be there. He didn't need to ask her why, because he heard them argue in their bedroom, when his mother told his father about their son's presidential campaign at school. He listened as his father just brushed off the conversation and went straight to bed. His mother decided not to argue about that. She would rather avoid fighting than face divorce, because she loved him very much. Taking a deep breath, Squall shrugged and went back to sit down on the sofa. He was counting on Rinoa to stick by him, unlike the father who was never there for any of the big events where he had to do a speech in front of the entire school. "It was okay," he replied, turning the television back on. The mayor was no longer in front of the camera, but was replaced by his secretary, Moira Gray, further explaining about the production of the new cinema, which will be called, 'Tempest' for some reason. "Why is he calling the cinema, Tempest?" he spoke, frowning in disgust. It was like he favored everything else than his son.
"Who knows, he has this thing about storms. I mean, your name means thunder," his mother explained. "And your brother's name is Cloud. I think he's going somewhere here." She laughed at her own joke and then called for Marie, telling the Spanish born young woman to heat up some tea for her.
Squall sighed. "I know that," he spoke, putting an arm on the back of the seat. He watched as Moira disappeared from view and then the reporter for channel 4 replacing her this time, now in a differnent environment, overlooking the building where his father just made his speech. She lifted the microphone just above her stomach and closed off the report with, 'back to you, Irene.' He pursed his lips together angrily, his mind coming back to Rinoa and the way she was acting today. He turned off the television once again and stood up. "I'm going to pick Cloud up from school," he said.
"Okay. He's at his soccer practice," his mother told him, before he left. "Don't you feed your brother ice cream after! You know how much he loves ice cream after practices! We'll be having dinner soon!" Squall waved silently good bye at his mother and left. He needed fresh air to think. The young boy was just walking across the driveway, when a black Lincoln appeared from the corner. Squall moved out of the way and watched as the car parked in the driveway. The man he saw on the television stepped out of the car and smiled when he noticed Squall standing there, with the usual frown he wore everytime he saw him.
"Come on now, Squall, aren't you going to say hi to your father?" he asked.
"No," he replied coldly, before walking away.
Laguna watched his son go and before he could stop his son, he was already gone. "Welcome home dear," he heard his wife say. The dark haired man turned and grinned, when he noticed his wife, Raine approaching him. He gave her a hug and a kiss, before they both went inside their house to discuss about Squall's 'attitude.'
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The field was full of young kids around nine running around, passing the ball to each other, or each taking shots in the goal post. One boy, with short dark hair kicked one of the many balls bouncing in the field to another boy, with blond hair. Squall watched his brother block the ball that the blond boy kicked back to him. The little boy looked up when he noticed Squall's black, leather coat. He waved at his big brother and smiled, picking up the soccer ball and kicking it far away into the field, making the blond boy pick it up. Squall only nodded at his brother's greeting, his mind still on Rinoa and the promise ring which she rejected. He didn't care how much he bought it for, as long as he sees Rinoa wear it around her finger. Besides, the money wasn't really his. With his dad being the Mayor of the city and having many friends because of it, he didn't really have to 'buy' it from the Gold's Store.
"Squall!" he heard his brother call. The young brunette looked up as Cloud approached him with a smile on his face. "Hey, Squall! We have a game tomorrow night against the Tigers!" The boy watched as his big brother nodded, but he frowned, when he noticed Squall's mind on something else. He could read his big brother like a book. "What's wrong? You're not happy?"
Squall looked down and noticed his little brother's worried look. He petted his brother's head, messing up his dark hair and shook his head reassuringly. "Nah, it's not that." He didn't want his little brother to worry, or he would start blabbing it to his parents. He knew how much of a blabber Cloud was. "I just had a tiring day at school," he explained.
With relief, Cloud nodded and threw the soccer ball at Squall, who caught it with one hand. "Can we go get some ice cream?"
The big brother sighed, thought for a moment, then remembered his mother's warnings about not getting him ice cream. Squall shook his head. "No, mom said you can't have any, because we're having dinner soon. Come on." He turned and walked ahead of his brother, who caught up just in time, before he got too far away. Squall could hear Cloud mutter under his breath how 'uncool' his brother was. The young brunette smiled slightly, shaking his head in disbelief. He stopped and turned to face him. "How about we walk down to Rainbow Roads after dinner and I can treat you to your favorite sundae?"
Cloud's face lit up. "Really?"
Squall couldn't help but reach out and mess up his little brother's dark hair again, which Cloud quickly fixed without any other expression, except a smile on his face. He was too excited about the sundae to worry about his hair. "Yeah, but don't tell mom."
The dark haired boy nodded and put a finger across his lips, as if closing a zipper. "My lips are sealed!"
"Well, they better stay sealed or I WILL sew your lips together." He placed an arm around his little brother's small shoulders and together, they walked back to the Leonhart residence, just ten minutes away from the elementary school. They were greeted by their maid and then by their mother, who gave Cloud wet kisses on the cheeks. ("Moooom!") The young boy slipped away from her, before he got any more wet around his cheeks. Squall sat down on the table, where his father was busy reading the Globe and Mail newspaper across from him. He watched him for a minute, then took his eyes away from him when Cloud and his mother joined them on the table. He heard the rustling of the newspaper and Squall looked up to see his father folding the newspaper back into its original state, his face full of pride.
"Well, Raine, you're going to be so proud of me when you see the cinema open up the same day as Cloud's birthday!" Laguna announced, glancing at his family.
Squall hid a scowl behind his thick, brown hair. Damn him, he thought. His father always found a way to make him feel guilty about everything. HE should be the one to feel guilty. He clenched his fists around the napkin on the table and was unaware that Marie was preparing the food on the table and was also unaware of his brother looking at him with a curious look.
"Squall? What's wrong?" Cloud asked.
The young man looked up, startled at the many faces staring at him. His mother looked up, slightly shaking her head at him, warning him not to make a scene in front of his little brother. "I'm fine, squirt," he replied, forcing a smile on his face. Once again, he ruffled his brother's hair, whom his mother quickly fixed, gently telling Squall not to mess his hair again. "Awwww, mom!" came Cloud's voice in the background. His mother was fixing his hair straight, while Cloud tried desperately to get away from the embarrassment, even though it was just his family watching. Squall knew Cloud was trying to make himself look like a man, even at the age of nine.
"Oh, hey dad!" the little boy spoke again, who was able to get away from his mother's arms. He reached out and tugged at his father shirt, his face beaming with excitement. "I'm playing against the Tigers tomorrow after school! You should come! You should come!"
Squall watched his father shrug off Cloud's hands from his sleeve. He looked down at his son and smiled, shaking his head. "I can't, Cloud. I have business downtown tomorrow and I don't know how long that will take. Maybe you can have Marie tape it for me and I can watch it," he replied.
Cloud's face fell.
The young man felt his face heat up in anger. He clenched his fists tighter and forced himself to calm down. He looked up and reached out once more to ruffle his litlte brother's hair. "Hey, don't worry! I'll come to watch and mom too! At least your games are more important than other businesses in mind," he said, taking a swift glance at his father, who was back at reading the newspaper. He felt a hand on his. Squall looked down and noticed his mother's hand on the clenched hands around the napkin, which was getting wrinkled from his anger. She was looking at him, pleading him with her bright green eyes not to lose his temper. Squall took a deep breath and nodded quietly.
"Really, Squall?" Squall looked at his brother across from him, with hopeful eyes and nodded. Cloud smiled and turned back around to face his dinner.
"Yeah, let your brother go. I would just be a bother if I show up and don't know anything about soccer anyway," Laguna spoke, without even looking at who he was talking to. He flipped the page and jumped, startling his wife and his sons at his sudden impulse. Laguna flipped another page, then went back to the previous one, before showing his family what he was so excited about. 'You wouldn't be a bother, not even to a son who needs you there,' Squall thought. He looked up as his father leaned the newspaper enough so his wife and sons could see what he was looking at. "There! That's the place I'm going to put Tempest in! That's what we're going to be discussing about tomorrow at the meeting!"
"Dear," came Raine's voice. She placed a hand on her husband and smiled. Laguna took his eyes away from her and waited until she said, "You promised Cloud to show up at one of his games."
Laguna glanced at his youngest son, then turned his eyes back at the newspaper. "Did I?" he asked, mostly the newspaper, than his wife. "I'm sorry, Cloud, I know I did, but you have to understand how important this is. When the cinema is done, I promise to show up at ALL your practices?" He glanced at Cloud. "I can then watch all the games Balamb Cheetahs play! "
"You mean, Balamb Lions?" the little boy corrected, his face falling into a frown. Squall couldn't believe it!
His father's eyes widened and nodded, smiling. "Oh right, right! Balamb Lions, that's it! Well, don't you worry, because by the time the Cinema is finished, I can see you play!"
Cloud nodded-- Squall, knowing full well that his little brother was unsure whether their own father would keep to his word. The young man looked at his mother, with total anger, but kept it in check, because he knew that if he lost his temper now, Cloud would be overwhelmed. He knew how sensitive his little brother was. When you're at an innocent age of nine, you'd want to believe that you lived in a perfect family. He also didn't want his brother to worry too much, because there was nothing to worry about anything. He didn't want his nine year old brother to grow white hairs all around his tiny dark head. Burshing doubts aside, Squall glanced at his brother and winked at him. Cloud grinned, showing a set of white pearls where a small green spinach was traped in between the two large teeth at the front. The young man couldn't help but snicker at the appearance. "Hey, squirt, you got spinach on your teeth!" he spoke, grinning. He watched his little brother lean back on his chair, taking a fork to pick on the spinach that was stuck between his teeth. Squall couldn't help but laugh. His mother nudged him on the shoulders, but as he looked up at her, she was trying not to laugh. The young man glanced over at his father, who was too busy reading the newspaper to notice his family. Squall wanted to announce something that will surely break his father's attention from the newspaper, but kept his mouth shut. His mother was watching him too much for him to continue with his decision.
After a moment or so of silent eating, Squall excused himself and left for bed early. He couldn't stand it everytime his father had papers on the table, his eyes reading the information on it, instead of paying attention to his family. He would sometimes mention some of the things he read outloud and even though none of his sons cared, he continued anyway, explaining about how the sewers near Pike Place Fish Market needed to be replaced because it was starting to fill up with raw fish smell. Squall had always known that his father wants to make everyone in the city happy and he cared for them, unlike most mayors who cared only about publicity, but sometimes his father cared TOO much for the city that he would neglect his family a lot and it made him mad. He has always known that Laguna Loire worked really hard to take care of his family, but being his son, was even hard work. During his first years of his life, Squall worked really hard to impress his father, but nothing seemed to worked. When he started going to school, he worked hard on his english so he could be better in writing and speaking his speeches. Those were the days before his father started running for Mayor. He was originally a rich man, born from a rich family, but never really used the money. Squall even dreamt of being a Mayor someday, but as he grew, when high school hit, his dreams were shattered when his father started using his skills and ran for Mayor of the city. He started getting busier and busier as days went by, then weeks, months and then years. His mother had his second baby when Laguna Loir won the election and Cloud grew up knowing that knowledge, but not knowing that his father will always be too busy for both him and his big brother.
As he started walking up the stairs, he heard another pair of footsteps behind him. Squall turned and noticed Cloud following him with a bright smile on his face. The young man paused at the top of the stairs and looked down curiously. "What?"
Cloud frowned. "You promised!" he whispered, glancing over at his mother, who wasn't paying attention to what they were doing.
Squall stared at him for a moment, then, remembering what he promised his little brother a while ago about getting him ice cream, he sighed, stuffing his hands in his pant pockets and walked back down the stairs with Cloud. He reentered the kitchen a few seconds later and told both his parents he was taking Cloud for ice cream. Knowing full well that Squall told him it was a secret, Cloud tugged at his big brother's shirt gently and looked up curiously. Squall placed a hand on his forehead and smiled. "Mom, dad, we're going to Rainbow Roads to get ice cream that I promised Cloud."
The only one who actually looked up was their mother, who gave them a great big smile a nod of approval. They waited until their father waved their hands in agreement, his eyes never taking off the papers in front of him. Squall held his anger inside and glanced at his little brother, who was looking at him with a great big smile. He ruffled his hair, then pointed towards the door with a slight nod of his head to the left and led the way out of the house. He glanced at his father before closing the door behind them and felt his face go red, noticing the Mayor of Seattle, his face still glued to his task.
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He had forgotten that the Seattle Mayfair started at this day. Rows and rows of rides gleamed all around them. Squall couldn't hold Cloud down by the time they got in. They had to pass the Mayfair in order to go to the Rainbow Road Ice Cream shop and the gleaming, holiday lights had caught the young boy's attention. He had no other choice but to follow Cloud inside, to make sure no one would snatch him away. Squall walked just slightly behind his little brother, watching him stumble from one game to another. On one game, he begged Squall to play and win so he can get a fake water gun, but he refused, because when he looked at his watch, it was almost nine and they had to get back before their mother starts to get worried. When he mentioned that to his little brother, Cloud gave him a disappointed look and for the rest of the evening, even after getting him his favorite ice cream (Chocolate Chip Cookies), he was quiet on their way home. Squall could no longer take the silence anymore, so he paused and faced his brother.
"Hey, the Seattle Mayfair will be there tommorrow and tomorrow's Saturday. I'll take you down here when game's over okay?" Once more, he ruffled his brother's hair, who looked up with the same gleaming face of excitement. Squall stuffed his hands in his pockets and finished the ice cream (Chocolate Chip Mint) in his hand. They walked back down home, too busy eating their ice cream to talk.
They made it back just in time before their mother got so worried. They were only gone for half an hour and it would have been longer if they stayed for the Mayfair and Squall would have been the one their mother yelled at for staying out too long. She was the first one to greet them back. Squall had asked where their father was, because he had disappeared from the dining room and his mother explained that he was in his study, reading over the fax his secretary sent over about a mob of people protesting to stop cutting down the trees down at the Sayamoo Hills. He took a quick glance at his little brother, who had finished licking off the ice cream that fell around his fingers, pretending the little boy didn't hear anything about his father caring more about the trees or the other people than he did with his sons. But Squall knew Cloud was hurting. Just like he had when Laguna stopped going to all his school presidential meetings. Laguna doesn't even know the name of his youngest son's team and that thought made Squall wince. What kind of a father would forget his own son's soccer team name?
The worst kind, he answered in his head.
GoodGurl: WOoh! Finally finished the last character! Yes, obviously all the characters have problems, but where would dis story go if they didn't? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Squall's story! So...well he doesn't really have a HUGE problem, other than the fact that Rinoa won't tell him why she didn't accept his promise ring, but he does have a problem with his father, who won't even pay attention to everything his sons does....dang Lagun! :S Okies, dats all kids! See ya next time! ;)