"I hope you're not too tired for one last present," Ellone said, with a wry smile.
"Another one?" Squall asked. "Where is it?" Ellone smiled even further, before looking over at Rinoa and Laguna, who both sported wide grins.
"Follow me," Laguna said, getting to his feet and walking out of the cafeteria, towards the car park...
Squall entered the car park, not expecting what to find. Rinoa's hands were once again clamped around his eyes so he couldn't see ahead of him, but he could tell she was giggling, and his father and sister were also making it clear how excited they were. Eventually, they stopped, and Rinoa removed her hands.
"Surprise!" Rinoa and Ellone shouted in unison.
"I hope you like it," Laguna added. Squall looked at his final present, and gasped in awe- the Hardy Daytona motorcycle, the bike he'd wanted ever since he started riding them years ago, was finally his.
"Wow," Squall said, genuinely grateful, "Thanks! This must have cost a fortune!"
"Well," Laguna started, "Being President of Esthar means I get paid more than just about anyone else in the world, and I figured I might as well distribute the wealth."
"What D'you think?" Rinoa asked. Squall put his arm round her and looked her in the eye.
"It's perfect, Angel," he said, kissing her on the forehead, before going over and thanking Laguna and Ellone. "Thanks Dad, Sis," he said, hugging them both.
"Gonna give it a spin?" Rinoa asked Squall. He looked at her, smiling.
"Are you kidding?" He asked, slipping on a pair of sunglasses before climbing onto the bike and kick-starting it. Rinoa and Laguna watched him speed off through the car park exit.
"Take care!" Ellone shouted after her receding brother. Rinoa and Laguna were waving too, excitedly. Once Squall had vanished out of sight, they went back into the main body of the Garden.
Cruising down the open road, the wind in his hair and the engine roaring underneath him, Squall took the opportunity to reflect upon the day, and how lucky he truly was. He had everything- a beautiful wife, some of the best friends anyone could ever ask for, a sister who would always be there for him, a job he loved and would never get tired of, not to mention a dedicated and loving father. Can it get any better? He thought, musing over the events of the past few years.
Four years earlier, Squall Leonheart had been a moody, introverted teenager who nobody wanted to associate themselves with. All that had changed, however, when he met Rinoa. She opened his eyes, made him realise that there were people who deeply cared for him, and he should do the same. He started doing so, and felt a little better every day from then on. Squall may have been a little friendlier because of Rinoa's influence, but it was not her influence alone that brought Squall out of his shell.
One of the most hectic, not to mention traumatic months of Squall Leonheart's young life began with the revelation that the man Squall couldn't stand to be around, the man whose actions made Squall cringe with embarrassment, actually turned out to be his father. Oh yes. Squall Leonheart was 50 Laguna Loire, and Squall hated that fact at first. Then, the man whom Squall now considered to be his best friend launched a vendetta against him. Seifer Almasy- Squall's lifelong rival had turned their rivalry into all-out war. In the end, it nearly killed both of them, but as Squall was about to die, his friends and his family refused to give up. They fought for him, and it made Squall realise that his mere presence made them happier, and their presence made him equally as happy. Just what was it about him that people liked? What made people care about him? He was a moody, introverted teenager, after all. What made people love Squall Leonheart? He hadn't known the answer until a few months later, when he'd finally tied the knot with Rinoa.
Squall was not easily likeable- and that was an understatement. He threw up emotional barriers around him to prevent himself from getting close, but deep down, he had a heart of pure gold. Even when at the orphanage, he'd secluded himself, but the other children- his friends- had refused to just let him be, always asking him if he wanted to play with them. He never did, but that didn't stop them asking. And when he grew older, he was seen as someone people could rely on. They trusted him, and wanted to like him, but still he secluded himself away. Squall knew exactly why he hid his feelings from even himself.
Fear.
He'd seen everyone who he ever cared about leave him, and he was afraid that if he ever cared for anyone again, they'd be taken away too. Then along came Rinoa, and despite Squall's best efforts, he couldn't help but fall for her. And sure enough, as Ultimecia possessed Rinoa and his love fell into a coma, Squall's fears became reality as he was faced with the possibility of Rinoa dying, or even worse- having to kill her himself. Rather than hide behind his fears, Squall had to face it head on, and it healed him. He came out of his shell. He opened up. He allowed himself to love, and felt much better for it. It wasn't just Rinoa, though, all his friends had helped. They had shown that they cared for Squall, and eventually, he'd shown he'd cared for them equally as much. He even forgave his father and his sister for abandoning him, because they came back for him. He hadn't recognised them at first, but they had come back. His friends had saved him from a self-destructive path. Gradually, up until the point when he'd become a SeeD, Squall had stopped caring about anything- even his own well being. Eventually, everyone reckoned it would only have been a matter of time before Squall's corpse would have been brought back from a mission, having got himself killed and not even caring. Cruising down the open road, Squall shuddered at that possibility- he had so much to live for, so many people. Smiling at how he enjoyed the simple fact that he was alive, Squall was amazed to find that he'd ridden all the way to Balamb. Riding up to the town entrance and turning around, Squall headed back towards Balamb. It was getting late, and he didn't want Rinoa worrying about him. He eventually arrived back at just past 11:30 PM, to be greeted by his wife.
"Hey," Rinoa said, going over and leaning on the handlebars, "D'you like it?"
"It's perfect," Squall answered. "It handles like an absolute dream. Thanks." Squall climbed off his new motorbike, and went over and gave Rinoa a kiss on the forehead.
"What was that for?" Rinoa asked, smiling.
"Helping me realise how lucky I am to be alive," Squall replied. He put his arm around Rinoa and the pair walked back towards their quarters.
"Have Dad and Sis left yet?" Squall asked Rinoa.
"Not yet," she replied, "they're taking the Ragnarok back to Esthar tomorrow morning."
"I'll see them off, then," Squall replied.
Before even they knew it, Squall and Rinoa were back at their room, and in no time at all had stripped and hopped into bed. Rinoa rolled over and put her arms around her husband.
"Squall..." she cooed, "didn't you say earlier you were going to discipline me?" Squall smiled- despite being tired, he still had some energy left in him, and he intended to use every last drop of it.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten," he started, "you've been a very bad girl indeed," he continued, rolling over and pulling the sheets over himself and Rinoa...
Meanwhile, in his cell in Esthar, Seifer was sleeping peacefully at his desk. He had a bed, but he very rarely slept in it, as he dedicated every waking moment to his writing. Therefore, it made sense to him that he should be able to fall asleep writing and wake up the same way. It had resulted in slight lower back pain for him, but he didn't care- it's not as if he'd ever have to do anything physical ever again. And besides, he was getting used to sleeping slumped over a typewriter.
Seifer was not the only living creature in the cell that night, however. His companion made its entrance between the small bars that made up the window of Seifer's cell, and plopped to the ground, hissing. The snake looked around, and saw its prey asleep, slumped over the desk. It slowly slithered across the floor, not making a sound, and crept up the leg of the desk, until it was within striking distance of Seifer's arm. However, as luck would have it, Seifer stirred at that very moment, and awoke, moving his arm just out of the snake's reach. He stood up and paced around the cell stretching his back, oblivious to his unwanted cellmate. The snake hissed, and Seifer stopped dead in his tracks. What was that? He thought to himself. That sounded like- no, don't be stupid! It's probably just someone flushing the toilet. He turned round, hoping to re-assure himself, but instead got the fright of his life.
"Waagh!" He shouted upon eyeing the snake. The snake simply waggled its forked tongue at Seifer.
"Guards!" He yelled, panicking slightly. "GUARDS!" He yelled again, starting to sweat. Seifer had always had a slight phobia of snakes- large, sword-wielding magical monsters he could deal with, but snakes just freaked him out totally. Even more so since he'd stopped using GF's, which had helped with the phobia slightly. The snake plopped onto the floor, and made its way over to where Seifer was standing, paralysed with fear. He heard the guards approach outside, and made the mistake of diverting his attention towards them outside, taking his eyes off the snake. The snake promptly took its chance and lunged forward, biting Seifer in the shin and filling him full of his venom, before slipping away through a crack in the wall.
Seifer hadn't initially felt much- just a small prick in his shin, but then, the pain really started to begin. He felt like his entire leg had caught fire, and he felt himself unable to stand. He started shivering, gripped with spasms of intolerable pain. He collapsed to the ground, curled up in the foetal position, as the guards entered the room.
"What is it, Mr. Almasy?" The lead guard asked, before seeing Seifer lying on the floor. "Mr. Almasy! What happened?" The guards always addressed Seifer politely- many of them had bought, read and thoroughly enjoyed his books and didn't feel right ordering him about. On this night, however, their favourite author lay dying at their feet.
"S-snake," Seifer managed to gasp between breaths, as he pointed at the small crack where the snake had disappeared. "Went in wall." He was gripped by another spasm, and felt himself start to fade away...
The lead guard immediately called for medical assistance, and ordered his colleague to search the wall where Seifer had pointed- however, nothing could be found.
Seifer's last, vague thoughts before he lost consciousness were of being lifted onto the stretcher, with a breathing mask being lowered onto his face. His feelings were simple. Why would anyone do this to me? He thought to himself, full of self-pity. Unfortunately for him, just as he passed out, he remembered EXACTLY why someone would try to kill him...
And still, the asteroid headed ever onwards...