The Ironic Things in Life
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to FFVIII.
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The small town square was decorated with colourful streamers and balloons and the number of people who actually managed to squeeze themselves into the large crowd was amazing. The buildings that enclosed the town square had enlarged posters of a beautiful woman with ebony hair on them. She smiled encouragingly and seemed to fill your insides with light if you looked for too long.
Laguna Loire had his eyes fixed onto one of these posters as he was pushed and jostled around in the crowd. Of course, no one knew that he was really the President of Esthar as he was dressed in plain clothing and this pleased Laguna greatly.
As a young woman of 23 walked onto to the tiny stage which had been placed at the front of the crowd, the noise instantly died down. Here was a woman who could command all attention just by walking into sight. Even Laguna was forced to marvel at her beauty and diverted his gaze to her instead.
The young woman smiled kindly out into the crowd and fixed up the green shawl draped around her arms. She exuded elegance, beauty and intelligence in a modest way and politely waited for everyone to settle down completely. The woman had chocolate coloured hair which was cropped perfectly to the base of her neck and skin which was as white as a pearl.
"Thank you for joining me today for the 20th anniversary of the 'Angel Wings' charity which Julia Caraway began as merely a dream two decades ago," the young woman said, "This charity was founded to support the Timberian victims who had and were losing everything to Galbadia. The take over lasted a long time until Timber was finally granted independence three years ago. It is unfortunate that Julia could not have witnessed that event."
Laguna looked around him and saw that many people were crying and others looked very grieved.
"Nevertheless, we are all standing here today in a city which has been granted freedom and we are celebrating 'Angel Wings' and Julia's accomplishments. Three cheers for Julia!" the young woman cried.
All around Laguna people erupted into cheers and he was surprised to find himself joining in a little later.
When the cheering died down the young woman spoke again.
"I would also like to thank all the people who have donated to the charity and those of you who will continue to do so in the future. Thank you very much for keeping my mother's dream alive."
Laguna jumped in shock as the young woman walked off the stage. This was Julia's daughter? He had to talk to her!
Laguna pushed through the crowd and managed to see that Julia's daughter was standing beside the stage talking to someone. He breathed in relief and hurried towards her, racking his brain for the girl's name.
"Ria!" he called out through the crowd which was beginning to move off around him.
"Ria!" Laguna called out again. This time the woman looked around but was unable to locate the source of the voice.
Laguna finally managed to reach her, out of breath, and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Miss Ria Caraway?" he asked.
The young woman turned around with confusion in her eyes. Her brow wrinkled as she caught sight of Laguna.
"What did you just call me?" she questioned. She had not heard that name in years being uttered from anyone's, but her, mouth.
"Are you Ria Caraway?" Laguna asked as he took in everything about the woman's face.
"…Um…sorry, I'm not. You must be mistaken," she replied.
Laguna felt a little lost at this response as the woman began to turn around.
"Wait! You said you were Julia Caraway's daughter," Laguna appealed.
The young woman nodded and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"I'm the eldest daughter of Julia Caraway, Elisabeth," she explained.
Elisabeth. This name rang no bells for Laguna and he felt a little disappointed. This daughter of Julia's bore no physical resemblance to her mother. It was the younger one who did. Ria.
"I'm sorry, Elisabeth. It's just that I had met Ria many years ago and I wasn't aware that Julia had an elder daughter," Laguna apologised, feeling confused as to why Julia had not mentioned this huge detail.
Elisabeth smiled warmly.
"It's perfectly fine, but please do call me Elly. The name Elisabeth disturbs me," she chuckled a little awkwardly, "Especially from people who knew my mother very well. They're hard to come across these days."
Laguna raised an eyebrow but said no more.
"So, it seems as if you're wholeheartedly against your father just like your mother was," Laguna commented.
Elly's eyes flashed angrily.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"Well, your father was General for the Galbadian Army and played a huge part in the taking over of Timber. Your mother founded a charity to support Timberians and…" Laguna began but was quickly interrupted.
"My mother and father believed in following their own dreams. It didn't affect their love for each other," Elly said firmly, though the corner of her mouth twitched in the slightest.
Laguna took a step back, realising that he had taken things a little too far.
"I apologise, Elly, I didn't mean to offend you."
Elly merely shrugged and once again took on a very calm demeanour.
"That's perfectly fine, Mr…um, I'm sorry, I didn't quite get your name…" she trailed off, looking at Laguna expectantly.
"Laguna Loire," he answered, "Pleasure to have met you, Miss Caraway."
Elly's mouth opened in surprise. She couldn't think of what to say to the President of Esthar but when she finally did, he was too far gone.
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"No comment," Squall growled.
"Squall, is it true that you and Rinoa are currently engaged?" one of the reporter's, a slim woman with a jutting jaw, questioned.
"No," Squall muttered, as he glanced to his side where cameras were flashing in Rinoa's face and she was surrounded by reporters and journalists.
'This is so not my week,' Squall thought, as he noticed Irvine's attempts to reach him through the wriggling mass of people.
At this exact moment Squall wished that he hadn't fired Seifer who was a specially trained bodyguard prepared to deal with all sorts of situations. With all the tension that had been present leading up to the premiere, Squall and Irvine had quite forgotten to hire another personal bodyguard for Squall.
"Are you alright?" Squall asked Rinoa as she finally surfaced from behind a bunch of reporters.
"I think so," she said with a half-hearted smile, and glanced over to where Selphie and Irvine were coming towards them.
"I don't see your other friend, Quistis," Squall observed as he followed Rinoa's gaze. Squall already knew what had happened. Zell had told him everything that had gone on in the apartment since Rinoa's return from South Galbadia.
"I didn't ask her to come," Rinoa murmured softly. She was still angry at Quistis about the Seifer ordeal and wanted plenty of time away from her.
Before Squall could ask why, Selphie and Irvine had reached them. Irvine and Selphie both had excited looks on their faces.
"This is so much fun!" Selphie chirped energetically.
Rinoa and Squall both rolled their eyes. Neither of them enjoyed the media's attention a great deal.
"Come along, come inside," Kiros ushered as the four of them walked to the front of the theatre where the movie was going to premiere.
Squall closed his eyes and wished that all would go well.
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"…Um…maybe you needed to put a bit more emotion into the role…" Rinoa suggested lightly as she looked at Squall's downcast head.
"…"
"I'm sure some people will admire the hard work that you put into it," Rinoa said, hoping that Squall would say something.
The two of them had gone to a restaurant for dinner after the movie premiere and Squall had not said a word since. Unfortunately, most people didn't seem to think that Squall had even tried to act for the film and were angry at having wasted their time to come and see a movie which was based only on hype and speculation, not talent.
Squall slowly looked up and met Rinoa's eyes and Rinoa was surprised to find that Squall's eyes were shining brightly. In fact, he looked completely happy instead of being upset by the negative comments that he had received on his way out of the theatre.
"Squall, are you ok?" Rinoa asked gently and was shocked to find Squall grinning at her.
"I'm great," he replied, "Everything went according to plan."
Rinoa's brow furrowed.
"I don't understand."
"I never wanted to be a famous movie star or whatever. It's only a failed dream that Laguna had for himself and because he couldn't fulfil it, he had me pick up where he left off," Squall explained.
"Laguna…?" Rinoa asked.
Squall snorted darkly.
"Yes, Laguna, my father. He couldn't even make it to my movie premiere because he was off in Timber for the 20th anniversary of some charity!" Squall exclaimed.
Rinoa's eyes widened as she realised what Squall was talking about.
"Angel Wings?" Rinoa wondered out loud.
Squall studied Rinoa carefully and nodded.
"But how did you know?" he asked curiously.
"…Um…because that charity was founded by my mother, Julia Caraway…" Rinoa whispered.
Squall's stomach clenched and he felt like someone had slapped him across the face. So, right now Laguna was at the anniversary for the charity that his lover, Julia Caraway, had founded. Laguna had chosen Julia's charity over Squall's premiere. Once again, Laguna had shown how much he really cared about his only son.
However, Squall could not worry about that right now. He had to stick to his plan, and act surprised at finding out that Rinoa was a Caraway.
"Caraway…?" Squall breathed, "I never knew…you never said…but your last name's…"
"Heartilly, I know," Rinoa said with a nod, "I changed it after I rebelled against my father 4 years ago. Heartilly was my mother's maiden name…"
"So, does that mean that you're General Caraway's…?" Squall questioned.
"Yes, I'm his daughter," Rinoa confirmed.
"But you never said anything…you never mentioned it…" Squall pressed.
"Let's just say that I don't like being connected to his name. Just like you, I don't address him as "father" but rather use his name. He has no respect for me and I none for him," Rinoa explained.
Squall nodded in understanding but then actually wondered something which he didn't know.
"How come you didn't go to the anniversary? It seems like you care about your mother…then why didn't you go to Timber as well?" he asked.
"That's my sister's job. She's better at public speaking than I am and everyone loves her. She has this amazing power over people. Maybe that's why our father prefers her over me. She's the perfect daughter, exactly what he wants," Rinoa muttered bitterly.
Squall could completely relate to what Rinoa was saying. He had had to live in the shadow of his elder sister even after her disappearance, hoping that one day Laguna would recognise that Squall was real and that Ellone was only a dream.
"Squall," Rinoa prompted, "can I ask you something? Why is it that you're surname isn't Loire, the same as your father?"
"Same reason as you. He doesn't know I exist and I have no place in my life for someone like that. Leonhart was my mother's maiden name," Squall explained grimly.
Rinoa nodded intently, her eyes wide in amazement. She could not believe what Squall was telling her and what she was telling Squall. There seemed to be an invisible well of understanding and similarities between them that she never knew existed.
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Zell choked as he saw a figure leaning against the kitchen counter in the dark.
"I-Irvine?" Zell questioned uneasily. But even before the person had spoken, Zell knew that it couldn't be Irvine. Irvine was much leaner in appearance.
"Wrong, chicken-wuss."
A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys and I'll update soon!