Clash of the Gardens
Father
As Squall arrived at Cid's office, he had prepared himself to be dismissed rather quickly from the old man's sight. He held his breath and knocked on the door.
"Come inside, Squall." He heard Cid's welcoming voice call out from inside the room.
Laguna sat in a chair before Cid's desk, his back toward the door of the office. He wasn't sure what to expect when the young SeeD was to enter the room. He nervously sat in his chair, his leg shaking and had only a few minutes before it would begin to cramp up. Laguna heard the knock on the door and shuttered as if he had caught a fright from the knocking. Cid had looked at him and titled his head to side quizzically, and when Squall entered the room with the two older men, their fidgeting had ceased.
Laguna had faced forward, not wanting to look back, but Cid looked up from him and smiled at Squall. "Ah, Squall please have a seat."
"Thank you, sir." Squall said as he walked to the second chair, and as he walked, Laguna turned back to see him.
When Laguna looked at Squall, he almost called out to his betrothed. My god…he looks…he looks almost exactly like Raine. Raine…is he really…
"Mr. Loire, this is Squall Leonhart, one of the top ranking SeeDs of Balamb Garden. Leonhart, this is Mr. Loire, President of Esthar." He said as he and Laguna stood from their seats to greet. Laguna held out his hand, and Squall hesitated to shake it first, but he did the respectable thing and shook the man's hand. Laguna closed his eyes and held on for a second. Squall raised an eyebrow and tugged back for the release of his hand. Laguna opened his eyes and let go of Squall's hand with an embarrassed chuckle.
The men all took their seats, and Squall tried to avoid eye contact with both men at all costs. Laguna's leg had begun cramping, but he fought hard against himself to beat the pain. Cid sat quietly, awaiting the conversation and questions Laguna might have had for the young Seed, but found himself waiting a great deal of time.
Finally, Laguna sat up and cleared his throat, "…So…Squall…What made you decide to become a SeeD?" Squall? …Was it because she was so infatuated with the wind that she named him Squall? We never got a chance to talk about naming kids…so I guess…
"…It wasn't a choice, really. Just something I had to do."
"What do you mean?"
"…Well sir, I never intentionally set out to become a SeeD." Squall said while facing him.
"…Is that so?"
"Yes." Squall said with a nod.
Laguna and Squall sat still for a few moments again, and Cid stood from his desk. "Would you two excuse me, I just remembered a few things I must run by Xu."
The two nodded and watched the headmaster leave from behind his desk and exit the room. Cid saw that Laguna might have wanted some privacy with the SeeD, for reasons unknown. Overcoming the fear and unlikelihood of Squall's ego being broken by the hateful words of Laguna, Cid excused himself from the room; he knew such thoughts were greatly exaggerated due to the fact that Laguna was indeed a good man.
Laguna looked at Squall and sighed, "…Why didn't you have a choice? Why were you sent here? How old are you?"
"…Excuse me?"
Laguna rubbed the back of his head and faced Squall once again, "I'm sorry…really. I'm just…a little confused."
You can say that again…
"I'm really interested to hear about you, seeing that you managed to get valuable information and survive the wrath of Galbadia in one day."
It wasn't about the information… it was about Rinoa…
"I'm curious about where you're from. Any relatives?" Laguna chose his words carefully, and he secretly prayed for an answer from Squall. Squall sat up in his chair and leaned on his thighs. "What's the matter?" Laguna asked while leaning over to him trying to see if he had upset the young man for any reason.
"…I don't have any relatives."
"Are you serious?"
"…Yes. There aren't any relatives that I'm currently aware of. Now can you please make a point as to why you're questioning me!" Squall groaned and turned his face away. Laguna clearly understood his message and pulled back. He stood from his chair and sighed.
"…What about Raine Leonhart? Would you happen to know of her?"
Squall immediately looked up from the floor and back to the man that had forced him into an interrogation. He sat quiet and moved his eyes back to the floor. Why does he know her name? How? Squall forced his eyes to study Laguna once more and had rested on the man's face. The roundness and jolliness of his face, the black hair and dark brown eyes, the familiar nose… Squall gasped and looked away quickly.
"Do you know her?" Laguna asked him again.
Squall stared down into the floor and paced his breathing, "…No…not really, but I've…I've heard about her."
"…Oh really? What did you hear? …Possibly that she's your mother?"
"…Yes." Squall answered slowly, unsure if the man would surprise him with a trick question following his answer. "She was a citizen of Winhill, and had rebelled against Galbadia for a long time."
"…That's right. There was a raging battle, but the civilians could no longer hold them off. Because Raine assumed the role of leadership, she was…murdered before everyone else in Winhill as an example of what would happen if Deling were threatened again. The same thing had happened in Timber also, but years after this particular incident."
Squall sighed, placing his hand on his forehead, "How do you know all of this?"
"…I…"
"Sir!" An escort of Laguna's called as he opened the doors to Cid's office, "Sir, we must board soon. You have to be back in time for the meeting."
"…Oh. I almost forgot." Laguna said while looking back at his escort, Kiros.
"We should be leaving soon…" Kiros said again.
"I know, I know." Laguna said while rising from his chair. Squall hadn't dared to look at him; instead, he sat facing forward and staring away in his own daze. Laguna cleared his throat and touched Squall's shoulder, "Please come with me."
"What?" Squall said while looking up at Laguna.
"I would rather we talked away from Balamb Garden anyway. I really feel as though I should speak with you now, otherwise, I may never get another chance to talk to you again."
Squall brushed Laguna's hand from his shoulder, "I can't go anywhere… It's against orders."
"I'm sure your headmaster will understand. Now please, come with me."
Squall stared at the floor once again before standing to his feet and nodding to Laguna. "You're coming?"
"…Sure." Squall responded unenthusiastically. Laguna smiled and followed behind Kiros as they exited Cid's office.
Deling City during the day was a completely different city; it was boring because hardly anyone seemed to be awake. Rinoa looked out of the window in her room and sighed. She had hoped her father would send her off to Timber right away, but because the old man took his precious time making every single decision, she was forced to wait until he gave the okay and allowed her to go.
She stood from her window and walked to the door. If she couldn't travel to Timber just yet, then she would walk around the mansion and rediscover what it was that she disliked about it as a kid. When she opened the door, Angelo greeted her by placing a cold nose onto her calf. Rinoa smiled and bent down to comfort her companion with a pat on her head.
"Hey girl, how are you feeling today?" Rinoa said to her softly, and Angelo barked once. "Oh really? That's good." She smiled and rose from the floor, but before she could walk Angelo jumped up and gently pressed her paws into Rinoa's thighs with a soft whine. "…What's the matter?" Rinoa asked and looked down into Angelo's eyes. The dog barked a few more times and whined again.
"…If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were telling me you want something. …What is it, Angelo?" Angelo whined again and pushed her cold nose onto Rinoa's stomach. Rinoa laughed and scratched beneath the dog's mouth. "…It's Squall, isn't it? You miss him…don't you?" Just as Rinoa spoke about him, Angelo had barked again. She jumped down and happily pranced around in the hall. "You're so cute!" Rinoa cheered and opened her arms to Angelo. The dog ran over to receive affection from her owner.
"Rinoa." She heard her father call from down the hall.
"…Yes?" She answered while releasing Angelo and standing from the ground again. Finally Caraway appeared and stopped as he saw her with Angelo. He cleared his throat and fixed his tie, a habit of his that seemed to disturb Rinoa with each passing day.
"I am beginning preparations for your transportation to Timber. Care to join me over brunch?"
"…Okay."
In the dining room of the large Caraway Mansion sat father and daughter quietly enjoying a delightful meal. Rinoa sipped some orange juice from a tall glass and wiped her face with the napkin placed beside herself by some maid.
"…Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What is it, Rinoa?"
"…The plans?"
"That's right. I was just getting to it." He sipped from a glass of water and wiped his mouth as well. "…Rinoa, I need you to trust me when I tell you what kind of help you'll have to rebuild Timber."
"…Why don't you just tell me first?"
"…Very well. …Because there are very few survivors who are strong enough to fix the damages, I have decided to send my troops over to help aid in the reconstruction of Timber."
"Troops! No way!" She said while slamming her napkin onto the table.
"Rinoa, I'm sorry. It's the only way we can be of help. Because our war is over, we aren't under any threat by the other forces; therefore, I believe it will be easier to have the soldiers rebuild. Think about it? We're doing those civilians a favor. This is what we both want Rinoa; making our wrong into a right."
"…Those soldiers are the ones who attacked those people, what makes you think they would want to see them again?"
"They'll just have to understand."
"No! You can ask for help from a nation that thrives on building, like Fisherman's Horizon, or someplace else; maybe even Balamb!" Rinoa's excitement had caused him to stand from his seat and slam both hands onto the table in a mad fit.
"Don't you speak about Balamb to me, Rinoa! You ran away from me and hid yourself within that wretched military force! I know now without a doubt that the intruder was most likely from Balamb! You allowed him to get in and steal some of our plans, and he may have even learned the floor plan of the mansion. Am I right!"
"For your information, I was talking about Balamb City! Not Balamb Garden! Yes, the intruder did get in, but only to see how I was fairing. Maybe if you had taken me into the city in a less hostile manner, he wouldn't have had to sneak into this place! By the way, he wasn't even worried about you or your pathetic plans! He was trying to make sure you hadn't killed me! You're such a coward dad that you ignore me just to be sure that you're the one who's safe!"
"…Rinoa."
"Don't do that! Don't you dare say my name! I hate you! You've always been that way to me!" She stood from the table and walked to the door.
"…You called me dad." He spoke and caused her to stop in her tracks. She closed her eyes and stood by the door.
"…Maybe if you would start acting like one, my saying it won't be a big deal to you!"
"Rinoa, please stop this. I don't want us to fall out, not when we've just begin speaking to one another after so many years."
"How can I when you don't even care about what I have to say! How can I possibly get along with you when you don't even listen to me? You're just ordering me around like one of your lifeless soldiers!"
"I'm sorry! Okay! I'm sorry! I'm not intentionally trying to be this way with you, Rinoa! I love you too much, Sweetheart! I just want the best for you! I'll do anything in my power to please you, but I know other ways that you may not understand right now…other ways that can get the job done."
She stood silent and allowed him to finish, "With all those troops aiding in the rebuilding of Timber, things will go much quicker and smoothly for everyone. The citizens won't have a reason to complain because we'll take care of them. I want them to know they can trust me. I just can't leave those people homeless. …Why won't you understand?"
She sighed and placed her hand on her forehead, "…Why didn't you just say that from the beginning…?"
"…I didn't get a chance to finish…"
She turned back to him from the door and smiled, "…I understand."
"…Now please. Will you finish your meal?"
"...Yes…dad."
The two of them smiled, and Rinoa had joined her father at the table for brunch once again.
Squall was taken onboard the airship that Laguna and his men had used to travel to Balamb. He was seated in the passenger's wing, and was told that the President would join him soon. He wondered how Laguna would have answered to him had he not been interrupted.
"Squall." Laguna said as he took the seat beside Squall and buckled himself inside. "We're about to take off momentarily. Have you ever been on one of these before?"
"…No."
"This will be the greatest experience in your life."
Squall rolled his eyes and sighed while facing the window, he could careless of such silly things. Laguna stared at him quizzically, but soon turned forward in anticipation of takeoff.
"Here we go!" He said and held on to his armrests. Squall frowned and placed his hand on his forehead. In an instant, the ship had emerged from the ground and boosted into the sky. Squall felt his stomach sink into his chair and he held onto his armrests for safety. He didn't know why, but the short event caused a smile to form across his lips. Laguna looked at him and smirked. "See? Even tough guys like you can't handle its force."
"Whatever." Squall said and forced the smile away.
When the airship had taken normal flight, Laguna stretched his arms and yawned a little. He turned to Squall and smiled, "Do you need anything?"
…Yes…an answer. Squall rubbed his hands together and looked at Laguna, "…What were you going to say to me earlier?" Squall had asked.
"…Um…Earlier?" Laguna scratched his head and looked away. "What were we talking about again?"
Squall sighed and hit his forehead while shaking his head. I'm on an airship bound for Esthar with a complete moron.
"Ah, yes. I remember now. We were talking about Raine!" He cleared his throat and faced forward, staring into the back of another seat. "I hadn't always been the President of Esthar you know. I had a real life before I accepted this title."
Laguna turned to Squall, "I was a soldier for the Esthar military for a very long time. Because I was no longer a novice, and had proven myself to many in battles against Galbadia…I was sent along with a few others to the Western Continent to keep an eye on Galbadia's forces. There were complaints of disturbances around the area about some new types of soldiers making threats against Galbadia. It was quite unclear what the meaning of this new type of soldiers was back at that time, but now it's understood that those people were actually the earliest SeeDs."
He turned to Squall to see if his reaction had changed, but Squall remained interested in his story, and so he continued, "Anyway, everyone mistook them for us and Galbadia began dispatching troops all over the Western Continent in search for our men. That's when my fleet and I decided to station amongst the towns in order to report Galbadia's statuses back to Esthar. We wanted to protect those people from both SeeD and Galbadia. Also, back then no one knew how SeeD actually worked. People assumed them all to be a bunch of low life mercenaries who attacked anyone for money or what have you…but it was greatly misunderstood."
He took a deep breath, "…Well, I went to Winhill and stood there while stories of the war between SeeD and Galbadia took place. Eventually, me and every other soldier in Winhill began to accept the place as a second home. It was quite peaceful and very different than Esthar. I found myself enjoying my stay."
"…Raine?" Squall asked as Laguna paused.
"Yes, yes, I was getting to her." Laguna said while looking at Squall and laughing, "I'm sorry, I know I tend to talk too much sometimes." He swallowed his breath and began to speak again, "During my stay, I met Raine. A wonderful woman…" Laguna quieted his voice as he continued, "…and you look so much like her."
He turned his face away from Squall and sighed, "…She and I…we fell in love…so…there's no doubt in my mind that…you are…" Laguna forced himself to look at Squall as he spoke, "…my son."
Squall sat silent, unable to think or move. He had faced forward and was looking at the back of the seat before him, just as Laguna had done sometime before, but his silence made Laguna uncomfortable.
"Squall…? Are you alright?" Laguna asked, but Squall remained silent, "Squall?" Squall was lost in thought. I don't know what to say to him, I don't know what to do. What am I supposed to do! Just leave me alone… "Squall?" Laguna called again.
"I heard you the first time!" Squall yelled as he released himself from the seatbelt and jumped up from his seat. He quickly walked out of the passenger's room and left Laguna sitting in his own silence.
Squall paced back and forth in the walkway right outside of the room. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. In a way…I already knew what to expect…but…I hadn't prepared myself incase it were actually true. I wonder…did he…did he know about me? Did he purposely leave me behind!
Squall rammed his fist into the steel wall of the airship several times before resting his head against it, and feeling tears escape his eyes. I always assumed them both to be dead…
"Squall…I'm sorry." Laguna said as he exited the passenger's room and walked toward Squall. He placed his hand on Squall's shoulder, but Squall shook it off again. "Will you listen to me?"
"I am listening to you! What do you want me to say! You expected me to celebrate because you're my father? No, I am not going to just run to you and pretend to be fine! I don't even know you! I don't know anything about you or Raine! For all I know, you could've abandoned her when you learned she was pregnant! Who are you to try and act as if everything is okay?"
"…If you would calm down and ask, maybe I can give you the answers you need."
Squall forced his tears to cease and looked at Laguna. Laguna smiled and pulled his son into an embrace. Squall suddenly felt something from the older man. Whether it was natural instincts of a bond between father and son that had completely disoriented he and Laguna, or just the fact that they were flying in the air so high and could not keep their balance; Squall was unable to answer his own thoughts; instead, he let himself feel the security from the adult that held onto him now.