Interlude: Julia
Squall had heard that Deling City went by a second name, proudly spoken by its inhabitants: The Shining Night. The view as Laguna drove the armored car through the checkpoint at the main road into the capital of Galbadia did little to refute that name.
The whole city was alight, with almost every building, store, shop, business, and home still lit despite the late hour. Cars and trucks of various makes filled the roads, and spotlights shone into the sky as well. People roamed the streets, and if it weren't for the darkened sky above, a visitor would have thought it daytime. It seemed as if Deling City thrived on nighttime as much as any other city did in the daylight.
Laguna manuvered the car through the entrance to the city, driving it along one of the outer main avenues that encircled the city like a wheel. The car continued through the streets, passing civilians and soldiers, many either standing guard in the streets, patrolling, or walking around casually, as if on leave.
Soon, Laguna brought the car to a stop in front of the Galbadian military and political headquarters, the Presidential Palace. It was here that the hub of all Galbadian command was located, a place that had seen political manuverings and power plays since its erection as the castle of the first king of Galbadia, centuries ago.
Right now, an entire battalion of soldiers seemed to be on guard inside and around the Palace. Squads of men patrolled, all heavily armed and armored, and one could see troops in the red garb and bulky armor of Galbadian officers strutting about, barking orders. Here and there, moving with discipline and purpose far greater than that of the blue-clad regulars, were green clad troopers, Galbadian special forces units.
"Man, they've got the place locked down tight," Ward commented as they drove past the Palace.
"Yup," Laguna agreed, and then brought the car to a stop. Kiros and Ward looked over at him even as Laguna switched the car into parked mode and turned the engine off.
"Hey!" Ward protested, looking out the window. As far as he could tell, they were still in the road. "You can't park in the middle of the street!"
"Relax," Laguna replied, undoing his belt and getting up. "We're soldiers; its cool. Besides," Laguna added as he exited the car, "We can have one of these guys take care of it." Laguna gestured to a squad of Galbadian soldiers patrolling the sidewalk.
"Hey!" he called to the soldiers, catching their attention.
"Sir!" the leader of the small group replied, snapping off a salute.
"Move this out of the road for us, would you?" Laguna said, then gestured to the car.
"Of course, sir!" the trooper replied.
"Alright then," Laguna said to Kiros and Ward as he led them down the street and the soldiers moved to take care of the vehicle. "How's about a drink?"
"We're not here just for booze, are we?" Kiros asked. "We've got a war to fight after all, and I don't think we'll be good fighters if we get wasted."
"So we'll get smashed," Ward replied, a jovial look on his face, "and then we'll CHAAARGE!" That brought out laughter from the other two soldiers. After the laughing died down, Laguna shook his head at his friends.
"Kiros, Ward, you guys seem to misunderstand," Laguna explained. "I just want to have a friendly drink with you two."
"Whatever," Kiros responded with a chuckle. "Like you drink . . . ." He grinned. "We already know you're not in it for the drinking. Just admit it already."
"Yeah," Ward added. "Just drink some juice like a weenie, and then gawk at the piano lady." Laguna turned around, arms crossed and with an annoyed look on his face.
"Don't call her 'the piano lady'!" he shouted angrily. He then spun around, shaking his head, and started to walk off. "That's it! Forget it! I'm not going!" As Laguna headed off, both his comrades shared a laugh.
"We know you will . . . ." Kiros called after him, and they walked after their departing friend.
-------------------
"Private!" Colenel Varsk shouted at the soldier slipping into the driver's seat of the car blocking the road. "I demand to know what you are doing!"
"Sir!" the soldier replied, saluting his superior. He had to shout to be heard over the honking horns and yells from drivers whose cars were stuck by the impeding vehicle. "I was ordered to move this vehicle from the road, sir!"
"By who, Private?" Vrask roared.
"Lieutenant Loire, sir!" the private replied.
"Are you under Lieutenant Loire's command, Private?"
"Sir, no sir!"
"Under whose command are you, Private?" Vrask's voice was growing in volume and menace.
"Yours, Colonel Vrask, sir!" the private replied, sounding a bit distressed.
"And what are your orders, Private?"
"To patrol the Palace grounds, sir!"
"Correct, Private! Get back to your orders now like you're supposed to!"
"But, sir, this car-"
"I SAID NOW, HYNE-DAMMIT!" Vrask screamed into the poor soldier's face. "One more remark like that and its no pay for a month! Move it!"
"Sir! Yes sir!" The private scrambled out of the car and hurried back to his patrol duties.
"Stupid soldiers," Vrask said, shaking his head as traffic continued building up behind the armored car. "Not obeying orders like they're supposed too!"
-------------------
The Galbadia Hotel, world famous for its excellent rooms, low prices, and exceptionally well stocked bar, was Laguna's destination. The trio of soldiers walked in, and nodded familiarly at the attendant behind the desk, who aknowledged them with an equally familiar smile.
"Ah, gentlemen, it is good to see you tonight," the attendant said. "You came at a good time, many of the soldiers who frequent the establishment are out and about. I trust your deployment was uneventful?"
"Not quite," Laguna replied with a chuckle.
"Combat?" the attendant asked.
"Nah," replied Laguna. "Just some ugly critter action. Nothing major. Its good to be back, though!" With that, he and Kiros and Ward headed down the stairs leading to the hotel's basement, where the bar was located. They descended into a comfortably subdued lighting.
The hotel's bar was beautifully appointed, featuring many plush booths and tables, complete with rich leather upolstry, and also a grand piano located on a stage next to the stairs. A number of sodiers were scattered about, wearing their blue and red uniforms, although only a few men were wearing their armor. Sidearms were present on many of the men, but only one soldier was fully armed, a single red-clad officer with the insignia of a military policeman. Laguna spotted several soldiers at the bar, wearing green uniforms and their standard armor. They all had an insignia on their upper arms, of a flaming arrow nocked on a black bow: the insignia of Galbadian Army Rangers, the cream of the crop in Galbadian special forces. A few waitresses moved about, serving drinks to the scattered groups of soldiers or individual troopers drinking alone. One waitress, familiar to Laguna and his comrades, approached.
"Welcome, gentlemen!" she greeted with a smile. "If you want it, your usual table is ready."
Laguna nodded, but as he was about to reply, he heard a buzzing in his head, and the sound of what he thought to be a voice, seeming confused and frustrated. Laguna shook his head in confusion as the voice in the back of his head quieted.
"What?" Laguna asked as the voice vanished. He blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head again.
"What's wrong?" Kiros asked, soundign concerned. Laguna turned to face him, and shrugged. he didn't know either.
"I . . . I dunno," he replied. Then, he heard it again, that frustrated voice. He didn't understand what it was, it was like rogue thoughts running through his mind, but he couldn't pin them down. "Huh?" Laguna said in renewed confusion, shaking his head.
"What is it?" Kiros asked again.
"Ahh . . . I'm not quite sure," Laguna replied, shrugging as the voice vanished again.
"Wait a second," Ward interjected a look of confused undertanding on his face. "Is your head buzzing too?"
"What? You too?" Laguna asked.
"Yeah, ever since Timber," Ward explained. "There's been a buzzing in my head . . ."
"Me too," Kiros added immediately.
"Then what . . . ?" Laguna asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
"Hey, we're just tired," Ward said with a shrug. "We'll be alright after a drink or two, or three . . . ."
-------------------
Squall had been surprised that Laguna had reacted to his mental frustrations. He'd been personally wondering what the hell was going on, and somehow Laguna had picked up on that. What did it mean?
Whatever it meant, Squall was still extremely unhappy with what he was seeing. Well, it wasn't what he was seeing as much as how illogical and strange it seemed to him. From the look of Deling City, it was almost two decades earlier than the Deling City Squall had heard of. The city was overrun with soldiers, which corresponded to the capital city eighteen years ago. So why was he seeing it now, in real time? The answer to that question eluded Squall, and a lack of proper answers to any situation aggravated the SeeD.
That, combined with his lack of control over the current situation, resulted in Squall's current frustration as Laguna and his buddies made their way across the bar to a booth, obviously their regular table. Like all the others, it featured plush seats and a single, glowing lamp in the center of the table, which was wrought of fine wood.
"At ease, men," Laguna joked as they settled into the plush blue chairs. "We're going all out tonight, right boys?!" Laguna asked his comrades, to assenting nods and grins.
"Hell yeah," Ward said, pounding the table. "I need a drink after all we've been through!" Kiros and Laguna chuckled, and Laguna called over the waitress that had seated them.
"The usual!" he told her. "Mimmett beer!"
"Me too," Kiros agreed.
"And keep 'em coming too!" Ward added. The waitress nodded at their order and headed off to the bar to fetch the drinks. She soon returned, and the trio of solders wasted no time hitting the beer.
Ward downed four glasses in twice that many minutes, while Kiros went after his much more slowly. Laguna, however, only took a few sips of his, and by the time the waitress had returned to refill Kiros and Ward's glasses, his was only half empty.
Kiros leaned over to Ward as the big man gulped down half his glass in a single swallow, and motioned towards their comrade. Ward chuckled, unsurprised. Laguna was taking another sip of his beer at that moment, but had his attention focused on the far side of the bar, watching the steps leading down from the lobby.
"So, Laguna," Kiros said conversationally, "Julia should be making her apperance pretty soon."
Those words, particularly "Julia," jolted Laguna, and he turned back to face Kiros. The soldier shrugged, his face warming.
"Piano lady . . . ." Ward said quietly, jokingly, just loud enough for Laguna to hear him. Kiros obligingly ducked as Laguna leaned over his back and smacked the huge soldier across his head. "Ow, man," Ward whispered, rubbing his head. "That smarted."
"She's not the piano lady, you dolt!" Laguna hissed. "Her name's Julia!"
"Oh, speaking of the piano lady," Kiros said, drawing Laguna's wrathful glare, "here she comes now."
All intents towards hurting his comrades faded as Laguna turned around to see a woman descending the stairs. She was tall, slender, and elegant, with shimmering black hair and a beautiful dark red dress. She smiled and nodded at several of the soldiers who greeted her warmly, and made her way to the grand piano.
"You going for it tonight?" Ward asked Laguna, who was watching Julia Heartilly intently as she began play a lovely tune on the piano.
"Yeah, go for it!" Kiros encouraged, tapped in Laguan on his shoulder.
"What-ever man!" Laguna replied, shaking his head nervously. "Can't you see she's working!"
"Oh, come on," Kiros said. "Go wave to her at least."
"Give me a break," Laguna replied. "I can't right now."
"So you say," boomed Ward while downing another glass of beer. "But we know you'll do it."
"And if you don't, I'm sure one of those upstanding Rangers will do it instead," Kiros added.
"Fine, fine," Laguna muttered, standing up. He took a couple of breaths, closed his eyes for a second, and drew in one last steadying breath. Then the soldier began to make his way across the room to the stage, where Julia was still playing her song.
'Crap, everyone's watching me,' Laguna thought, as he saw the eyes of many a soldier turned towards him. The group of Rangers at the bar were talking among themselves, and several were handing wads of gil between themselves.
'Great, they're taking bets,' Laguna mused, but then his attention shifted to the lovely woman sititng behind the piano on the stage. She was looking directly down at the keys, her attention soley focused on her song. As he approached the stage, and Julia, Laguna's steps began to falter.
'Ah, to be this close to Julia . . . .' he thought, looking upon the raven-haired beauty. 'Wow, she is pretty.'
A snicker from the direction of the bar, no doubt from a Ranger, drew Julia's attention from the keys for an instant, and as she looked up, her brown eyes met those of Laguna. The soldier froze up instantly as she regarded him, and a sudden and wholly irrational fear gripped Laguna.
He was acutely aware of the fact that almost every eye in the bar was on him, standing right there by the stage, but it seemed even the exposure from the gazes of thousands of men would not compare to the naked scrutiny of Julia's warm brown eyes upon Laguna.
But then Julia, seeming to realize and understand the effect she was having on the poor soldier, looked away, frowning at the soldiers at the bar.
"Do you want me to finish this song or not?" she called to the laughing Rangers. "Or would you like my fans to toss you out so I can keep playing?" At her question, several of the regular soldiers chuckled and cheered, and a laughing shout of "Shut up, ya meatheads!" sounded throughout the bar. It was all in good fun, and the Rangers, obliging their fellow soldiers, quieted.
But during that time, Laguna had attempted to get a little closer to the stage. He'd taken a few steps, but then a sudden pain shot up his right leg, and he had to stop for a moment in the face of the pain.
'Uh-oh!' Laguna thought, his mind racing. 'My leg's cramping up! Bad timing, bad, bad timing!' Laguna bent over slightly, grimicing at the pain, and clutched his hurting leg.
'Can't stop now, though!' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth and stepping towards the stage. 'If I back out now, the guys will call me a weenie forever!' With the threat of permanantly annoying jabs hanging over his head, Laguna gritted his teeth and took a few more steps towards the piano. As the soldier drew closer, he spotted Julia's eyes looking up from her keys and directly at the ridiculous sight of the limping soldier.
"Uhh, hi," he said quietly, not able to raise his eyes to meet Julia's in the face of his embarassment. "Um, good performance," he added, inwardly cursing himself for the idiotic sound of his own voice.
"Why, thank you," Julia replied with a smile. Laguna, surprised that Julia had even deigned to speak to him, nodded. Then, nervousness and embarassment taking over, Laguna turned and limped away, hoping to cut the humiliation as much as possible. He quickly (or as quickly as a man with a cramped leg could move) made his way back over to his table, where Kiros and Ward waited. The smaller man's shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter, while Ward sat back, cradling an empty beer glass and smiling at his comrade.
"Good work, Laguna," Kiros said after being able to bite back his amusement enough to speak.
"Mission successful!" Ward added, trading his glass for one with less air and more alcohol. "I didn't think you'd actually do it," the huge man included as Laguna sat down. "Our popularity rating's gone up a point!"
"Even the Rangers were a bit impressed," Kiros said, nodding towards the soldiers at the bar. One man was grinning, while the others, muttering under their breath, handed the successful better wads of money. "But you cut a pretty pitiful figure up there. I'd say you're a negative three on the manliness scale."
"So, sadly, tonight's endeavour was a loss," Ward added with a swallow of beer.
"Say what you want!" Laguna replied, shaking his head at his own irrational nervousness towards the piano player. He quieted for a moment, then glanced back up at Julia. The soldier sighed forlornly. "But man, she sure is pretty," Laguna added as he looked down at his glass. He reached down and took the mug in hand, and drank another sip of the alcohol.
"Aaa . . . ." Kiros said, drawing Laguna's attention. He looked up at his smaller friend to see the soldier looking past Laguna, his eyes wide. Before Laguna could turn his head to see what Kiros was looking at, Ward's mouth dropped a bit as he too saw what Kiros was observing.
"Huhhh?" Ward said, drawing Laguna's attention his way.
"Laguna, we're taking off," Kiros added suddenly, glancing to Ward. The big man looked down at his tiny friend, and then nodded quickly.
"Yeah," Ward agreed. With that, both men stood up and made to leave the booth. Laguna was quick to follow, surprised by his friends' sudden departure.
"H-Hey! What's the rush?" he demanded. In response, Ward turned around, a big smile on his scarred face.
"Its on us tonight," he said, patting Laguna on the shoulder. "Relax and stay a while, Laguna." Without any further explanation, Ward followed Kiros over to the bar.
"What the heck?" Laguna said, standing dumbfounded as his friends abandoned him. He reached up and scratched the back of his head, wholly confused.
"May I?" a quiet, familiar voice asked from right behind Laguna. He spun around, recalling that the sound had come from the direction both his friends had been looking prior to their sudden departure.
Laguna Loire turned to see Julia standing behind him, smiling.
Laguna's overwhelming nervousness swiftly returned, with a vengance. Right on cue, Laguna's leg once more cramped up as his mouth opened in surprise and indecision.
"Aaaaaa . . . ." was the first thing to come out of his mouth. Then, Laguna realized how much of a fool he was making himself out to be, and shut up.
"Uh, yes, yes please sit down," Laguna babbled as he stepped back and allowed Julia Heartilly to sit in the booth. The woman didn't take the seat immediately, instead looking over to Kiros and Ward, now seated at the bar.
"Did I interrupt anything?" she asked.
"N-N-N-Not at all," Laguna stammered. Not sure what to do with his hands, the soldier placed them behind his back, which invariably caused him to shift his stance to an "at ease" pose. "P-please, s-sit down." he added, to which Julia nodded and obliged.
'Oh man, oh man, its really HER!' Laguna thought as he sat down as well, his thoughts moving at breakneck speed. 'What do I do! Kiros? Ward? Help! What do I say? But man, she sure is pretty . . . .'
"Are you okay now?" Julia asked suddenly, breaking Laguna's train of thought.
"Kind of," Laguna replied, the only thing he could think to say in that situation.
"How's your leg?"
"L-leg? Oh, this?" Laguna asked, surprised by the comment, and embarassed by his own response. 'Of course, that leg, you dolt!' he thought. 'You think she means Ward's leg?'
"Y-yeah. Its fine now," Laguna said instead of voicing his thoughts. "Happens all the time when I get nervous." Laguna coughed slightly to give himself an excuse to look away, his mind still racing.
"Were you nervous?" Julia asked.
"Oh, yeah," Laguna admitted. "I'm still, kinda . . . ."
"You can relax," she advised him. "You don't have to get nervous around me. I'm not gonna hurt you." That last bit was said with a disarming smile that did calm Laguna down a bit.
"Sorry," he said, blushing. "Its hard not to . . . ."
"That's okay, I understand," Julia replied, still wearing her smile. "Say," she said, then leaned a little closer, and lowered her voice slightly. "Would you like to talk somewhere private? I have a room here."
"Your room?" Laguna exclaimed, a little louder than he should have. Still, that was understandable, considering the immediate ideas being alone in Julia's room would conjure up.
"Well," Julia said, looking up. "Its pretty hard to talk freely in here. Everyone's listening in." At that, Laguna did look up, to see the majority of the bar's occupants either looking in their direction or at least leaning that way, intent on their conversation.
"If you'd like to, please come by," Julia added. "I've been wanting to talk to you." She paused, looking at Laguna's dubious expression. "You don't want to?"
"Of course I do!" Laguna replied immediately. "Its just . . . ."
"Nothing funny's going to happen," Julia replied with another smile. "No matter what your fellow soldiers think. I'll go ahead and wait for you. Ask for my room at the front desk." With that, Julia stood up and stepped out of the booth, and headed for the stairs.
Laguna watched her depart, shaking his head.
"Am I dreaming?" Laguna muttered to himself. "No, this can't be a dream! Julia wants to talk to . . . me? And just the two of us!" Laguna's hands began shaking slightly at the oppurtunity, before he managed to bring them under control. "Get it together Laguna!" Nodding inwardly, Laguna rose from his seat.
"I always screw up by talking about myself too much," he continued saying as he crossed the bar. "Not tonight! I'm all ears for Julia!" He glanced across the room to the bar, where the Rangers were laughing and taking bets again, and even more, Kiros and Ward were participating. Laguna paused and sent them a jokingly stern look, to which Kiros responded with a thumbs-up. Ward raised his mug in salute.
"I got fifty that you'll be a gentleman about it!" Ward proclaimed, to the laughter of all the soldiers around him. Laguna laughed too, and shook his head before making his way up the stairs.
-------------------
Laguna had departed for Julia's room when Kiros and Ward were approached by another soldier, a young enlisted man who hadn't even reached the rank of private yet.
"Excuse me, Corporal Seagill, Corporal Zaback?"
"That would be us," Kiros replied to the kid.
"General Caraway has new orders for your unit," the soldier said. "He wants to meet you at the Palace."
"Alrighty," Ward replied. "What about Lieutenant Loire?"
"The men who told me you were here said the Lieutenant had found some companionship for the evening. A fine catch, they called her."
"Ah hell, looks like we've got some pavement to be introducing to some of our fellow soldiers' faces," Kiros responded, shaking his head.
"Yup," Ward replied, plopping a thick wad of gil on the counter to pay for their drinks. "You guys hold onto my bet for me, would ya?" he said to the Rangers. "I will collect my winnings after we squelch the rumors and get our orders." There were some chuckles and a few toasts among the soldiers, and then Ward and Kiros headed upstairs and outside the hotel.
Immediately, the two troopers were assaulted by the audial barrage of honking horns and shouting drivers. The source of the noise was immediately apparent in the traffic jam that clogged the streets directly in front of the hotel.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Ward said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I'll bet gil to dimes that our car started this," Kiros added.
"That's one bet I ain't taking," Ward said as they made their way to the Palace.
Soon enough, they arrived at the Palace, and it turned out that Laguna's bad parking habits had indeed resulted in the jam. In the middle of the road, surrounded by dozens of stopped cars, was Laguna's armored car.
"What happened?" Ward asked a nearby blue-clad soldier. "I thought that car was supposed to be moved?"
"Well, it was, but the soldier who was moving it recieved new orders," that patrolling trooper replied. He shrugged. "By the time anyone thought to remove the vehicle, traffic had already built up to the point where we couldn't move it. There's a helicopter en route from Gilenka Airbase to airlift it out of there so we can get traffic started up again."
Kiros and Ward looked at one another in shock.
"This army is gonna get real boring when Laguna leaves," Ward muttered.
-------------------
Laguna paused outside Julia's door, his hand rising up to the doorknob. That hand came to a stop a few inches away, and Laguna just held it there for a moment, paralyzed by anxiety. Then, he took his hand away from the knob, formed it into a fist, and held it over the wooden door. But, as with when he reached for the knob, Laguna couldn't knock.
He began to reach down for the doorknob again, but stopped halfway. His hand dropped back down to his side, fingers grasping nervously.
Then, Laguna Loire turned around and started pacing down the hallway after his third attempt to make himself enter Julia's room.
'Good Hyne, get a hold of yourself! Julia's waiting for you in there!' he mentally berated himself as he paced the hall. 'You're acting like a little kid! Get over it!' Laguna paused, leaning against a wall and staring up at the ceiling.
'Why am I so nervous? Come on, she practically invited me into the room!' Laguna lowered his eyes and looked back down the hall to Julia's suite. 'And remember, she promised nothing inappropriate. Just act like a gentleman and talk to her. Time to turn on that manly charm!'
Slightly reassured by his self-encouragement, Laguna turned and strode back down the hallway to Julia's room. For the fourth time tonight he paused in front of her door. Taking a steadying breath, Laguna raised his hand to the doorknob, then paused again. He couldn't go barging in, right? So instead, Laguna raised his hand up to the door, took another breath, and rapped lightly on the wood.
No response.
Laguna paused for a second, listening for any sound. Frowning, the soldier knocked again, a little louder.
"Yes?" Julia's voice called softly.
"It's, uh," Laguna began. "Its me. Laguna. From the bar?"
The door swung open, and Julia was there, a welcoming smile on her face. It occured to Laguna that she was just as lovely now as she had been in the bar.
"Thanks for coming," she said as she stepped back, allowing Laguna to nervously walk into the room. The suite Julia lived in was pretty nice, he saw, with plush beds and everything else one expected out of a five-star hotel.
"No, not at all, " Laguna replied. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Have a seat," she offered to the anxious soldier, who nodded. Laguna took the closest spot he could sit at, which was the edge of one of the beds. He got back up immediately, however, realizing the bed wasn't the best place to sit for a talk with such an esteemed star.
It was then that Laguna spotted a couple of chairs around a small table, so he got up and made his way over there. He sat down, and turned his head back to Julia, only to see her still standing by the door, laughing faintly.
'Crap, what did I do?' Laguna thought, wondering what was wrong. He quickly got up, his fingers visibly grasping again in nervousness.
'Oh, man, I gotta get outta here! I'm nervous as hell!' With that thought, Laguna got up and moved towards the door. 'She probably thinks I'm a total idiot,' the soldier thought as he drew closer to Julia and the door. He almost took a step outside when she spoke.
"Leaving already? We didn't even get to talk." Laguna brought himself to a stop, and turned back to Julia, unsure what to do with his hands. After a second, he took a step back into the room.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Its just that I'm a really big fan of yours, so I'm really kinda nervous, y'know?" At this, Julia's smile grew wider.
"So that's why you come to hear me play so often?" she asked. Laguna jerked in surprise. She'd actually recalled Laguna being in the bar so often?
"You . . . you saw me?" he asked nervously.
"You were always smiling while listening, right?" Julia asked, nodding before Laguna could reply. "Yes, that was you. I always remembered you because of your eyes. They're beautiful, though they look a bit nervous now."
At this, Laguna gulped and his fingers waggled a bit more in anxiety. Julia had picked him out? She'd been watching him while he watched her? In response to Laguna's growing nervousness, Julia chuckled.
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'm not gonna pluck 'em out and eat them. I just want to talk to you, looking into those eyes . . . ." She walked over to a cabinet, and opened it. "Would you like a drink? Wine perhaps?"
Laguna shook his head as Julia was looking away.
"I must be dreaming," he whispered.
-------------------
A few hours passed in the suite, and Laguna continued talking to Julia. He spent a long time telling her about his life before the army, and then his services in the Galbadian military.
"Yeah, I don't like fighting too much, but I get to travel a lot y'know? See new places 'n stuff. And its fun, because Kiros and Ward are always with me." He paused, scratched his chin for a second, and then smiled, as if he'd had an idea. "Hey, we should all go out drinking sometime! Whaddya say?"
Julia, who was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, listening to Laguna stand and talk, smiled and shrugged.
"We could," she said, to which Laguna grinned even wider.
"That's great! And, um . . . what was I talking about? Oh, yeah! So, I want to quit the army and become a journalist, so I can tell people about all the places I've been on during my travels. I mean, going around's much more fun than all the fighting, at least to me!"
Squall, who had been observing the long, often one-sided, conversation, considered the change between the curent Laguna and the one who had first entered Julia's room a few hours ago. That Laguna had taken up her offer for some wine, and the alcohol had definately loosened the nervous soldier up, Squall observed.
"So, like, this other day, one of my articles made the reader's column," Laguna continued on. "Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, that was way cool . . . ."
Though now Laguna was babbling on like a teenager, Squall thought. Nevermind that Squall was a teenager himself. Sometimes, the SeeD felt like he was twice Laguna's age.
"I'm happy for you," Julia replied, sounding honest as she looked up into Laguna's eyes. Laguna grinned again and continued his story, apparently happy to be so interesting to Julia.
"Oh, yeah, and then . . . ." Laguna trailed off, realizing then that he had been talking way too much. Kiros had always complained about Laguna "just yap-yap-yapping and never letting anyone else talk," and in his excitement, the soldier had fallen into that mode again.
"What is it?" Julia asked Laguna as he stopped talking.
"Umm, sorry," Laguna said quickly, scratching his head again. "Kiros always says I talk too much . . . ."
"That's alright," Julia replied with another of her dazzling smiles. "I can tell you're not like some jock at the gym. You're . . . you're different."
"I am?" Laguna asked in surprise at the compliment. Or at least, he thought it was a compliment.
"Yes," Julia replied. "So many other men in Galbadia are really fools. But you, you aren't like them at all. You speak from your heart and through your soul, and in that, I believe there is the greatest wisdom anyone can show."
Laguna was speechless from Julia's compliment. He didn't know what to say, and in that lack of words, there was an awkward silence.
"So, umm," Laguna said after a moment. "Tell me about you. Like, I dunno, your dreams for the future?" A thoughtful expression crossed Julia's features, and piano player rose from her seat on the bed. She paced across the room to the window overlooking the lights of Deling City.
"I," she began, then trailed off for an instant before resuming. "I want to sing. Not just to play the piano, but to sing."
"Really?" Laguna asked. "I'd love to hear it."
"But, I can't," Julia responded, looking back at Laguna. "I'm no good at writing lyrics. But, thanks to you, I think I can come up with something."
Laguna's jaw dropped in surprise at this.
"Thanks to me?" he managed to say.
"Yes," Julia replied, smiling as she walked across the room to him. "The many faces you've shown me, times when you were hurt, worried . . . or felt pain deep inside you." She stopped in front of Laguna. "Your smile, your face, your eyes . . . You've shown me something special. I think I can come up with a song now."
"Wow," Laguna whispered at what Julia had said. He shook his head in denial. "This must be a dream."
In response, Julia took Laguna's hand in one of hers, and then pinched it. He flinched away for an instant in surprise and pain, before realizing her intent.
"Its not a dream is it?" she asked, to which Laguna smiled and laughed a bit. He then looked at Julia, looked deep into her brown eyes. He opened his mouth, to thank her for the honor and tell her how much he appreciated being the inspiration she so needed, when a sudden, sharp rap on the door got their attention.
"Laguna!" Kiros shouted from the other side of the door. "Hey, man, we got new orders! Meet by the Presidential Palace on the double! Oh, and Ward says you better have kept your pants on or he'll never see that fifty again."
Both the soldier and the musician laughed faintly at Kiros's slightly crude remark, and turned back to face each other again.
"Can we meet again?" she asked, to Laguna's emphatic nodding.
"Of course!" he said. "I have to come hear you si . . . ."
-------------------
The final word trailed off into nothingness as Squall's hijacked perceptions faded, once more enshrouded by black shadow. For an instant, he didn't know what happened, until he began to keenly feel carpet digging into his cheek. Squall then felt the dull rumble of the train running along the tracks.
Then, a voice, loud and electronic, as if announced over the intercom.
"Next stop, Timber. I repeat, next stop, Timber. Please pick up all your belongings and be ready to disembark. Our next stop is . . . ."
Squall had returned to reality.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------
Ack. Took me darn near forever, but lo, for the chapter is here!
One thing I want to say is a lot of myself was put into Laguna in this chapter. His character very closely parallels my own, being such a nervous goofball, so its hard to tell where I end and Laguna begins. The hand thing though, where he keeps nervously waggling them and grasping at nothing, is something I do when I'm around a girl I like.
Oh, anyone catch the FFVII reference?
Squall had heard that Deling City went by a second name, proudly spoken by its inhabitants: The Shining Night. The view as Laguna drove the armored car through the checkpoint at the main road into the capital of Galbadia did little to refute that name.
The whole city was alight, with almost every building, store, shop, business, and home still lit despite the late hour. Cars and trucks of various makes filled the roads, and spotlights shone into the sky as well. People roamed the streets, and if it weren't for the darkened sky above, a visitor would have thought it daytime. It seemed as if Deling City thrived on nighttime as much as any other city did in the daylight.
Laguna manuvered the car through the entrance to the city, driving it along one of the outer main avenues that encircled the city like a wheel. The car continued through the streets, passing civilians and soldiers, many either standing guard in the streets, patrolling, or walking around casually, as if on leave.
Soon, Laguna brought the car to a stop in front of the Galbadian military and political headquarters, the Presidential Palace. It was here that the hub of all Galbadian command was located, a place that had seen political manuverings and power plays since its erection as the castle of the first king of Galbadia, centuries ago.
Right now, an entire battalion of soldiers seemed to be on guard inside and around the Palace. Squads of men patrolled, all heavily armed and armored, and one could see troops in the red garb and bulky armor of Galbadian officers strutting about, barking orders. Here and there, moving with discipline and purpose far greater than that of the blue-clad regulars, were green clad troopers, Galbadian special forces units.
"Man, they've got the place locked down tight," Ward commented as they drove past the Palace.
"Yup," Laguna agreed, and then brought the car to a stop. Kiros and Ward looked over at him even as Laguna switched the car into parked mode and turned the engine off.
"Hey!" Ward protested, looking out the window. As far as he could tell, they were still in the road. "You can't park in the middle of the street!"
"Relax," Laguna replied, undoing his belt and getting up. "We're soldiers; its cool. Besides," Laguna added as he exited the car, "We can have one of these guys take care of it." Laguna gestured to a squad of Galbadian soldiers patrolling the sidewalk.
"Hey!" he called to the soldiers, catching their attention.
"Sir!" the leader of the small group replied, snapping off a salute.
"Move this out of the road for us, would you?" Laguna said, then gestured to the car.
"Of course, sir!" the trooper replied.
"Alright then," Laguna said to Kiros and Ward as he led them down the street and the soldiers moved to take care of the vehicle. "How's about a drink?"
"We're not here just for booze, are we?" Kiros asked. "We've got a war to fight after all, and I don't think we'll be good fighters if we get wasted."
"So we'll get smashed," Ward replied, a jovial look on his face, "and then we'll CHAAARGE!" That brought out laughter from the other two soldiers. After the laughing died down, Laguna shook his head at his friends.
"Kiros, Ward, you guys seem to misunderstand," Laguna explained. "I just want to have a friendly drink with you two."
"Whatever," Kiros responded with a chuckle. "Like you drink . . . ." He grinned. "We already know you're not in it for the drinking. Just admit it already."
"Yeah," Ward added. "Just drink some juice like a weenie, and then gawk at the piano lady." Laguna turned around, arms crossed and with an annoyed look on his face.
"Don't call her 'the piano lady'!" he shouted angrily. He then spun around, shaking his head, and started to walk off. "That's it! Forget it! I'm not going!" As Laguna headed off, both his comrades shared a laugh.
"We know you will . . . ." Kiros called after him, and they walked after their departing friend.
-------------------
"Private!" Colenel Varsk shouted at the soldier slipping into the driver's seat of the car blocking the road. "I demand to know what you are doing!"
"Sir!" the soldier replied, saluting his superior. He had to shout to be heard over the honking horns and yells from drivers whose cars were stuck by the impeding vehicle. "I was ordered to move this vehicle from the road, sir!"
"By who, Private?" Vrask roared.
"Lieutenant Loire, sir!" the private replied.
"Are you under Lieutenant Loire's command, Private?"
"Sir, no sir!"
"Under whose command are you, Private?" Vrask's voice was growing in volume and menace.
"Yours, Colonel Vrask, sir!" the private replied, sounding a bit distressed.
"And what are your orders, Private?"
"To patrol the Palace grounds, sir!"
"Correct, Private! Get back to your orders now like you're supposed to!"
"But, sir, this car-"
"I SAID NOW, HYNE-DAMMIT!" Vrask screamed into the poor soldier's face. "One more remark like that and its no pay for a month! Move it!"
"Sir! Yes sir!" The private scrambled out of the car and hurried back to his patrol duties.
"Stupid soldiers," Vrask said, shaking his head as traffic continued building up behind the armored car. "Not obeying orders like they're supposed too!"
-------------------
The Galbadia Hotel, world famous for its excellent rooms, low prices, and exceptionally well stocked bar, was Laguna's destination. The trio of soldiers walked in, and nodded familiarly at the attendant behind the desk, who aknowledged them with an equally familiar smile.
"Ah, gentlemen, it is good to see you tonight," the attendant said. "You came at a good time, many of the soldiers who frequent the establishment are out and about. I trust your deployment was uneventful?"
"Not quite," Laguna replied with a chuckle.
"Combat?" the attendant asked.
"Nah," replied Laguna. "Just some ugly critter action. Nothing major. Its good to be back, though!" With that, he and Kiros and Ward headed down the stairs leading to the hotel's basement, where the bar was located. They descended into a comfortably subdued lighting.
The hotel's bar was beautifully appointed, featuring many plush booths and tables, complete with rich leather upolstry, and also a grand piano located on a stage next to the stairs. A number of sodiers were scattered about, wearing their blue and red uniforms, although only a few men were wearing their armor. Sidearms were present on many of the men, but only one soldier was fully armed, a single red-clad officer with the insignia of a military policeman. Laguna spotted several soldiers at the bar, wearing green uniforms and their standard armor. They all had an insignia on their upper arms, of a flaming arrow nocked on a black bow: the insignia of Galbadian Army Rangers, the cream of the crop in Galbadian special forces. A few waitresses moved about, serving drinks to the scattered groups of soldiers or individual troopers drinking alone. One waitress, familiar to Laguna and his comrades, approached.
"Welcome, gentlemen!" she greeted with a smile. "If you want it, your usual table is ready."
Laguna nodded, but as he was about to reply, he heard a buzzing in his head, and the sound of what he thought to be a voice, seeming confused and frustrated. Laguna shook his head in confusion as the voice in the back of his head quieted.
"What?" Laguna asked as the voice vanished. He blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head again.
"What's wrong?" Kiros asked, soundign concerned. Laguna turned to face him, and shrugged. he didn't know either.
"I . . . I dunno," he replied. Then, he heard it again, that frustrated voice. He didn't understand what it was, it was like rogue thoughts running through his mind, but he couldn't pin them down. "Huh?" Laguna said in renewed confusion, shaking his head.
"What is it?" Kiros asked again.
"Ahh . . . I'm not quite sure," Laguna replied, shrugging as the voice vanished again.
"Wait a second," Ward interjected a look of confused undertanding on his face. "Is your head buzzing too?"
"What? You too?" Laguna asked.
"Yeah, ever since Timber," Ward explained. "There's been a buzzing in my head . . ."
"Me too," Kiros added immediately.
"Then what . . . ?" Laguna asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
"Hey, we're just tired," Ward said with a shrug. "We'll be alright after a drink or two, or three . . . ."
-------------------
Squall had been surprised that Laguna had reacted to his mental frustrations. He'd been personally wondering what the hell was going on, and somehow Laguna had picked up on that. What did it mean?
Whatever it meant, Squall was still extremely unhappy with what he was seeing. Well, it wasn't what he was seeing as much as how illogical and strange it seemed to him. From the look of Deling City, it was almost two decades earlier than the Deling City Squall had heard of. The city was overrun with soldiers, which corresponded to the capital city eighteen years ago. So why was he seeing it now, in real time? The answer to that question eluded Squall, and a lack of proper answers to any situation aggravated the SeeD.
That, combined with his lack of control over the current situation, resulted in Squall's current frustration as Laguna and his buddies made their way across the bar to a booth, obviously their regular table. Like all the others, it featured plush seats and a single, glowing lamp in the center of the table, which was wrought of fine wood.
"At ease, men," Laguna joked as they settled into the plush blue chairs. "We're going all out tonight, right boys?!" Laguna asked his comrades, to assenting nods and grins.
"Hell yeah," Ward said, pounding the table. "I need a drink after all we've been through!" Kiros and Laguna chuckled, and Laguna called over the waitress that had seated them.
"The usual!" he told her. "Mimmett beer!"
"Me too," Kiros agreed.
"And keep 'em coming too!" Ward added. The waitress nodded at their order and headed off to the bar to fetch the drinks. She soon returned, and the trio of solders wasted no time hitting the beer.
Ward downed four glasses in twice that many minutes, while Kiros went after his much more slowly. Laguna, however, only took a few sips of his, and by the time the waitress had returned to refill Kiros and Ward's glasses, his was only half empty.
Kiros leaned over to Ward as the big man gulped down half his glass in a single swallow, and motioned towards their comrade. Ward chuckled, unsurprised. Laguna was taking another sip of his beer at that moment, but had his attention focused on the far side of the bar, watching the steps leading down from the lobby.
"So, Laguna," Kiros said conversationally, "Julia should be making her apperance pretty soon."
Those words, particularly "Julia," jolted Laguna, and he turned back to face Kiros. The soldier shrugged, his face warming.
"Piano lady . . . ." Ward said quietly, jokingly, just loud enough for Laguna to hear him. Kiros obligingly ducked as Laguna leaned over his back and smacked the huge soldier across his head. "Ow, man," Ward whispered, rubbing his head. "That smarted."
"She's not the piano lady, you dolt!" Laguna hissed. "Her name's Julia!"
"Oh, speaking of the piano lady," Kiros said, drawing Laguna's wrathful glare, "here she comes now."
All intents towards hurting his comrades faded as Laguna turned around to see a woman descending the stairs. She was tall, slender, and elegant, with shimmering black hair and a beautiful dark red dress. She smiled and nodded at several of the soldiers who greeted her warmly, and made her way to the grand piano.
"You going for it tonight?" Ward asked Laguna, who was watching Julia Heartilly intently as she began play a lovely tune on the piano.
"Yeah, go for it!" Kiros encouraged, tapped in Laguan on his shoulder.
"What-ever man!" Laguna replied, shaking his head nervously. "Can't you see she's working!"
"Oh, come on," Kiros said. "Go wave to her at least."
"Give me a break," Laguna replied. "I can't right now."
"So you say," boomed Ward while downing another glass of beer. "But we know you'll do it."
"And if you don't, I'm sure one of those upstanding Rangers will do it instead," Kiros added.
"Fine, fine," Laguna muttered, standing up. He took a couple of breaths, closed his eyes for a second, and drew in one last steadying breath. Then the soldier began to make his way across the room to the stage, where Julia was still playing her song.
'Crap, everyone's watching me,' Laguna thought, as he saw the eyes of many a soldier turned towards him. The group of Rangers at the bar were talking among themselves, and several were handing wads of gil between themselves.
'Great, they're taking bets,' Laguna mused, but then his attention shifted to the lovely woman sititng behind the piano on the stage. She was looking directly down at the keys, her attention soley focused on her song. As he approached the stage, and Julia, Laguna's steps began to falter.
'Ah, to be this close to Julia . . . .' he thought, looking upon the raven-haired beauty. 'Wow, she is pretty.'
A snicker from the direction of the bar, no doubt from a Ranger, drew Julia's attention from the keys for an instant, and as she looked up, her brown eyes met those of Laguna. The soldier froze up instantly as she regarded him, and a sudden and wholly irrational fear gripped Laguna.
He was acutely aware of the fact that almost every eye in the bar was on him, standing right there by the stage, but it seemed even the exposure from the gazes of thousands of men would not compare to the naked scrutiny of Julia's warm brown eyes upon Laguna.
But then Julia, seeming to realize and understand the effect she was having on the poor soldier, looked away, frowning at the soldiers at the bar.
"Do you want me to finish this song or not?" she called to the laughing Rangers. "Or would you like my fans to toss you out so I can keep playing?" At her question, several of the regular soldiers chuckled and cheered, and a laughing shout of "Shut up, ya meatheads!" sounded throughout the bar. It was all in good fun, and the Rangers, obliging their fellow soldiers, quieted.
But during that time, Laguna had attempted to get a little closer to the stage. He'd taken a few steps, but then a sudden pain shot up his right leg, and he had to stop for a moment in the face of the pain.
'Uh-oh!' Laguna thought, his mind racing. 'My leg's cramping up! Bad timing, bad, bad timing!' Laguna bent over slightly, grimicing at the pain, and clutched his hurting leg.
'Can't stop now, though!' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth and stepping towards the stage. 'If I back out now, the guys will call me a weenie forever!' With the threat of permanantly annoying jabs hanging over his head, Laguna gritted his teeth and took a few more steps towards the piano. As the soldier drew closer, he spotted Julia's eyes looking up from her keys and directly at the ridiculous sight of the limping soldier.
"Uhh, hi," he said quietly, not able to raise his eyes to meet Julia's in the face of his embarassment. "Um, good performance," he added, inwardly cursing himself for the idiotic sound of his own voice.
"Why, thank you," Julia replied with a smile. Laguna, surprised that Julia had even deigned to speak to him, nodded. Then, nervousness and embarassment taking over, Laguna turned and limped away, hoping to cut the humiliation as much as possible. He quickly (or as quickly as a man with a cramped leg could move) made his way back over to his table, where Kiros and Ward waited. The smaller man's shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter, while Ward sat back, cradling an empty beer glass and smiling at his comrade.
"Good work, Laguna," Kiros said after being able to bite back his amusement enough to speak.
"Mission successful!" Ward added, trading his glass for one with less air and more alcohol. "I didn't think you'd actually do it," the huge man included as Laguna sat down. "Our popularity rating's gone up a point!"
"Even the Rangers were a bit impressed," Kiros said, nodding towards the soldiers at the bar. One man was grinning, while the others, muttering under their breath, handed the successful better wads of money. "But you cut a pretty pitiful figure up there. I'd say you're a negative three on the manliness scale."
"So, sadly, tonight's endeavour was a loss," Ward added with a swallow of beer.
"Say what you want!" Laguna replied, shaking his head at his own irrational nervousness towards the piano player. He quieted for a moment, then glanced back up at Julia. The soldier sighed forlornly. "But man, she sure is pretty," Laguna added as he looked down at his glass. He reached down and took the mug in hand, and drank another sip of the alcohol.
"Aaa . . . ." Kiros said, drawing Laguna's attention. He looked up at his smaller friend to see the soldier looking past Laguna, his eyes wide. Before Laguna could turn his head to see what Kiros was looking at, Ward's mouth dropped a bit as he too saw what Kiros was observing.
"Huhhh?" Ward said, drawing Laguna's attention his way.
"Laguna, we're taking off," Kiros added suddenly, glancing to Ward. The big man looked down at his tiny friend, and then nodded quickly.
"Yeah," Ward agreed. With that, both men stood up and made to leave the booth. Laguna was quick to follow, surprised by his friends' sudden departure.
"H-Hey! What's the rush?" he demanded. In response, Ward turned around, a big smile on his scarred face.
"Its on us tonight," he said, patting Laguna on the shoulder. "Relax and stay a while, Laguna." Without any further explanation, Ward followed Kiros over to the bar.
"What the heck?" Laguna said, standing dumbfounded as his friends abandoned him. He reached up and scratched the back of his head, wholly confused.
"May I?" a quiet, familiar voice asked from right behind Laguna. He spun around, recalling that the sound had come from the direction both his friends had been looking prior to their sudden departure.
Laguna Loire turned to see Julia standing behind him, smiling.
Laguna's overwhelming nervousness swiftly returned, with a vengance. Right on cue, Laguna's leg once more cramped up as his mouth opened in surprise and indecision.
"Aaaaaa . . . ." was the first thing to come out of his mouth. Then, Laguna realized how much of a fool he was making himself out to be, and shut up.
"Uh, yes, yes please sit down," Laguna babbled as he stepped back and allowed Julia Heartilly to sit in the booth. The woman didn't take the seat immediately, instead looking over to Kiros and Ward, now seated at the bar.
"Did I interrupt anything?" she asked.
"N-N-N-Not at all," Laguna stammered. Not sure what to do with his hands, the soldier placed them behind his back, which invariably caused him to shift his stance to an "at ease" pose. "P-please, s-sit down." he added, to which Julia nodded and obliged.
'Oh man, oh man, its really HER!' Laguna thought as he sat down as well, his thoughts moving at breakneck speed. 'What do I do! Kiros? Ward? Help! What do I say? But man, she sure is pretty . . . .'
"Are you okay now?" Julia asked suddenly, breaking Laguna's train of thought.
"Kind of," Laguna replied, the only thing he could think to say in that situation.
"How's your leg?"
"L-leg? Oh, this?" Laguna asked, surprised by the comment, and embarassed by his own response. 'Of course, that leg, you dolt!' he thought. 'You think she means Ward's leg?'
"Y-yeah. Its fine now," Laguna said instead of voicing his thoughts. "Happens all the time when I get nervous." Laguna coughed slightly to give himself an excuse to look away, his mind still racing.
"Were you nervous?" Julia asked.
"Oh, yeah," Laguna admitted. "I'm still, kinda . . . ."
"You can relax," she advised him. "You don't have to get nervous around me. I'm not gonna hurt you." That last bit was said with a disarming smile that did calm Laguna down a bit.
"Sorry," he said, blushing. "Its hard not to . . . ."
"That's okay, I understand," Julia replied, still wearing her smile. "Say," she said, then leaned a little closer, and lowered her voice slightly. "Would you like to talk somewhere private? I have a room here."
"Your room?" Laguna exclaimed, a little louder than he should have. Still, that was understandable, considering the immediate ideas being alone in Julia's room would conjure up.
"Well," Julia said, looking up. "Its pretty hard to talk freely in here. Everyone's listening in." At that, Laguna did look up, to see the majority of the bar's occupants either looking in their direction or at least leaning that way, intent on their conversation.
"If you'd like to, please come by," Julia added. "I've been wanting to talk to you." She paused, looking at Laguna's dubious expression. "You don't want to?"
"Of course I do!" Laguna replied immediately. "Its just . . . ."
"Nothing funny's going to happen," Julia replied with another smile. "No matter what your fellow soldiers think. I'll go ahead and wait for you. Ask for my room at the front desk." With that, Julia stood up and stepped out of the booth, and headed for the stairs.
Laguna watched her depart, shaking his head.
"Am I dreaming?" Laguna muttered to himself. "No, this can't be a dream! Julia wants to talk to . . . me? And just the two of us!" Laguna's hands began shaking slightly at the oppurtunity, before he managed to bring them under control. "Get it together Laguna!" Nodding inwardly, Laguna rose from his seat.
"I always screw up by talking about myself too much," he continued saying as he crossed the bar. "Not tonight! I'm all ears for Julia!" He glanced across the room to the bar, where the Rangers were laughing and taking bets again, and even more, Kiros and Ward were participating. Laguna paused and sent them a jokingly stern look, to which Kiros responded with a thumbs-up. Ward raised his mug in salute.
"I got fifty that you'll be a gentleman about it!" Ward proclaimed, to the laughter of all the soldiers around him. Laguna laughed too, and shook his head before making his way up the stairs.
-------------------
Laguna had departed for Julia's room when Kiros and Ward were approached by another soldier, a young enlisted man who hadn't even reached the rank of private yet.
"Excuse me, Corporal Seagill, Corporal Zaback?"
"That would be us," Kiros replied to the kid.
"General Caraway has new orders for your unit," the soldier said. "He wants to meet you at the Palace."
"Alrighty," Ward replied. "What about Lieutenant Loire?"
"The men who told me you were here said the Lieutenant had found some companionship for the evening. A fine catch, they called her."
"Ah hell, looks like we've got some pavement to be introducing to some of our fellow soldiers' faces," Kiros responded, shaking his head.
"Yup," Ward replied, plopping a thick wad of gil on the counter to pay for their drinks. "You guys hold onto my bet for me, would ya?" he said to the Rangers. "I will collect my winnings after we squelch the rumors and get our orders." There were some chuckles and a few toasts among the soldiers, and then Ward and Kiros headed upstairs and outside the hotel.
Immediately, the two troopers were assaulted by the audial barrage of honking horns and shouting drivers. The source of the noise was immediately apparent in the traffic jam that clogged the streets directly in front of the hotel.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Ward said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I'll bet gil to dimes that our car started this," Kiros added.
"That's one bet I ain't taking," Ward said as they made their way to the Palace.
Soon enough, they arrived at the Palace, and it turned out that Laguna's bad parking habits had indeed resulted in the jam. In the middle of the road, surrounded by dozens of stopped cars, was Laguna's armored car.
"What happened?" Ward asked a nearby blue-clad soldier. "I thought that car was supposed to be moved?"
"Well, it was, but the soldier who was moving it recieved new orders," that patrolling trooper replied. He shrugged. "By the time anyone thought to remove the vehicle, traffic had already built up to the point where we couldn't move it. There's a helicopter en route from Gilenka Airbase to airlift it out of there so we can get traffic started up again."
Kiros and Ward looked at one another in shock.
"This army is gonna get real boring when Laguna leaves," Ward muttered.
-------------------
Laguna paused outside Julia's door, his hand rising up to the doorknob. That hand came to a stop a few inches away, and Laguna just held it there for a moment, paralyzed by anxiety. Then, he took his hand away from the knob, formed it into a fist, and held it over the wooden door. But, as with when he reached for the knob, Laguna couldn't knock.
He began to reach down for the doorknob again, but stopped halfway. His hand dropped back down to his side, fingers grasping nervously.
Then, Laguna Loire turned around and started pacing down the hallway after his third attempt to make himself enter Julia's room.
'Good Hyne, get a hold of yourself! Julia's waiting for you in there!' he mentally berated himself as he paced the hall. 'You're acting like a little kid! Get over it!' Laguna paused, leaning against a wall and staring up at the ceiling.
'Why am I so nervous? Come on, she practically invited me into the room!' Laguna lowered his eyes and looked back down the hall to Julia's suite. 'And remember, she promised nothing inappropriate. Just act like a gentleman and talk to her. Time to turn on that manly charm!'
Slightly reassured by his self-encouragement, Laguna turned and strode back down the hallway to Julia's room. For the fourth time tonight he paused in front of her door. Taking a steadying breath, Laguna raised his hand to the doorknob, then paused again. He couldn't go barging in, right? So instead, Laguna raised his hand up to the door, took another breath, and rapped lightly on the wood.
No response.
Laguna paused for a second, listening for any sound. Frowning, the soldier knocked again, a little louder.
"Yes?" Julia's voice called softly.
"It's, uh," Laguna began. "Its me. Laguna. From the bar?"
The door swung open, and Julia was there, a welcoming smile on her face. It occured to Laguna that she was just as lovely now as she had been in the bar.
"Thanks for coming," she said as she stepped back, allowing Laguna to nervously walk into the room. The suite Julia lived in was pretty nice, he saw, with plush beds and everything else one expected out of a five-star hotel.
"No, not at all, " Laguna replied. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Have a seat," she offered to the anxious soldier, who nodded. Laguna took the closest spot he could sit at, which was the edge of one of the beds. He got back up immediately, however, realizing the bed wasn't the best place to sit for a talk with such an esteemed star.
It was then that Laguna spotted a couple of chairs around a small table, so he got up and made his way over there. He sat down, and turned his head back to Julia, only to see her still standing by the door, laughing faintly.
'Crap, what did I do?' Laguna thought, wondering what was wrong. He quickly got up, his fingers visibly grasping again in nervousness.
'Oh, man, I gotta get outta here! I'm nervous as hell!' With that thought, Laguna got up and moved towards the door. 'She probably thinks I'm a total idiot,' the soldier thought as he drew closer to Julia and the door. He almost took a step outside when she spoke.
"Leaving already? We didn't even get to talk." Laguna brought himself to a stop, and turned back to Julia, unsure what to do with his hands. After a second, he took a step back into the room.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Its just that I'm a really big fan of yours, so I'm really kinda nervous, y'know?" At this, Julia's smile grew wider.
"So that's why you come to hear me play so often?" she asked. Laguna jerked in surprise. She'd actually recalled Laguna being in the bar so often?
"You . . . you saw me?" he asked nervously.
"You were always smiling while listening, right?" Julia asked, nodding before Laguna could reply. "Yes, that was you. I always remembered you because of your eyes. They're beautiful, though they look a bit nervous now."
At this, Laguna gulped and his fingers waggled a bit more in anxiety. Julia had picked him out? She'd been watching him while he watched her? In response to Laguna's growing nervousness, Julia chuckled.
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'm not gonna pluck 'em out and eat them. I just want to talk to you, looking into those eyes . . . ." She walked over to a cabinet, and opened it. "Would you like a drink? Wine perhaps?"
Laguna shook his head as Julia was looking away.
"I must be dreaming," he whispered.
-------------------
A few hours passed in the suite, and Laguna continued talking to Julia. He spent a long time telling her about his life before the army, and then his services in the Galbadian military.
"Yeah, I don't like fighting too much, but I get to travel a lot y'know? See new places 'n stuff. And its fun, because Kiros and Ward are always with me." He paused, scratched his chin for a second, and then smiled, as if he'd had an idea. "Hey, we should all go out drinking sometime! Whaddya say?"
Julia, who was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, listening to Laguna stand and talk, smiled and shrugged.
"We could," she said, to which Laguna grinned even wider.
"That's great! And, um . . . what was I talking about? Oh, yeah! So, I want to quit the army and become a journalist, so I can tell people about all the places I've been on during my travels. I mean, going around's much more fun than all the fighting, at least to me!"
Squall, who had been observing the long, often one-sided, conversation, considered the change between the curent Laguna and the one who had first entered Julia's room a few hours ago. That Laguna had taken up her offer for some wine, and the alcohol had definately loosened the nervous soldier up, Squall observed.
"So, like, this other day, one of my articles made the reader's column," Laguna continued on. "Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, that was way cool . . . ."
Though now Laguna was babbling on like a teenager, Squall thought. Nevermind that Squall was a teenager himself. Sometimes, the SeeD felt like he was twice Laguna's age.
"I'm happy for you," Julia replied, sounding honest as she looked up into Laguna's eyes. Laguna grinned again and continued his story, apparently happy to be so interesting to Julia.
"Oh, yeah, and then . . . ." Laguna trailed off, realizing then that he had been talking way too much. Kiros had always complained about Laguna "just yap-yap-yapping and never letting anyone else talk," and in his excitement, the soldier had fallen into that mode again.
"What is it?" Julia asked Laguna as he stopped talking.
"Umm, sorry," Laguna said quickly, scratching his head again. "Kiros always says I talk too much . . . ."
"That's alright," Julia replied with another of her dazzling smiles. "I can tell you're not like some jock at the gym. You're . . . you're different."
"I am?" Laguna asked in surprise at the compliment. Or at least, he thought it was a compliment.
"Yes," Julia replied. "So many other men in Galbadia are really fools. But you, you aren't like them at all. You speak from your heart and through your soul, and in that, I believe there is the greatest wisdom anyone can show."
Laguna was speechless from Julia's compliment. He didn't know what to say, and in that lack of words, there was an awkward silence.
"So, umm," Laguna said after a moment. "Tell me about you. Like, I dunno, your dreams for the future?" A thoughtful expression crossed Julia's features, and piano player rose from her seat on the bed. She paced across the room to the window overlooking the lights of Deling City.
"I," she began, then trailed off for an instant before resuming. "I want to sing. Not just to play the piano, but to sing."
"Really?" Laguna asked. "I'd love to hear it."
"But, I can't," Julia responded, looking back at Laguna. "I'm no good at writing lyrics. But, thanks to you, I think I can come up with something."
Laguna's jaw dropped in surprise at this.
"Thanks to me?" he managed to say.
"Yes," Julia replied, smiling as she walked across the room to him. "The many faces you've shown me, times when you were hurt, worried . . . or felt pain deep inside you." She stopped in front of Laguna. "Your smile, your face, your eyes . . . You've shown me something special. I think I can come up with a song now."
"Wow," Laguna whispered at what Julia had said. He shook his head in denial. "This must be a dream."
In response, Julia took Laguna's hand in one of hers, and then pinched it. He flinched away for an instant in surprise and pain, before realizing her intent.
"Its not a dream is it?" she asked, to which Laguna smiled and laughed a bit. He then looked at Julia, looked deep into her brown eyes. He opened his mouth, to thank her for the honor and tell her how much he appreciated being the inspiration she so needed, when a sudden, sharp rap on the door got their attention.
"Laguna!" Kiros shouted from the other side of the door. "Hey, man, we got new orders! Meet by the Presidential Palace on the double! Oh, and Ward says you better have kept your pants on or he'll never see that fifty again."
Both the soldier and the musician laughed faintly at Kiros's slightly crude remark, and turned back to face each other again.
"Can we meet again?" she asked, to Laguna's emphatic nodding.
"Of course!" he said. "I have to come hear you si . . . ."
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The final word trailed off into nothingness as Squall's hijacked perceptions faded, once more enshrouded by black shadow. For an instant, he didn't know what happened, until he began to keenly feel carpet digging into his cheek. Squall then felt the dull rumble of the train running along the tracks.
Then, a voice, loud and electronic, as if announced over the intercom.
"Next stop, Timber. I repeat, next stop, Timber. Please pick up all your belongings and be ready to disembark. Our next stop is . . . ."
Squall had returned to reality.
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Ack. Took me darn near forever, but lo, for the chapter is here!
One thing I want to say is a lot of myself was put into Laguna in this chapter. His character very closely parallels my own, being such a nervous goofball, so its hard to tell where I end and Laguna begins. The hand thing though, where he keeps nervously waggling them and grasping at nothing, is something I do when I'm around a girl I like.
Oh, anyone catch the FFVII reference?
