A/N: Thank you everyone for all the kind reviews! I was a little nervous about the last piece since I haven't written anything so angsty (or much of anything, really) in the last 4 years. Hoping to have the next piece up shortly, been working on it little by little each day. xoxox


Tears blinded her as she ran through the complex's walkway. She dropped the champagne bottle into one of the community trash receptacles that were mostly used to dispose of dog waste. As her car finally came into her sight she paused and released a shuddering wail. Now that she was away from Squall, the tears came loose, burning down her cheeks and stifling her throat. She tried to steady her breathing and quickly wiped at her face.

She came upon Laguna who was stepping into his truck, frozen solid as she came into his view.

"Rinoa," he whispered. "Oh, fuck."

She shook her head and continued to her car. "You should go," she managed to say through her sobs. "You should really go."

"Rinoa, you shouldn't be driving." He closed his door and tried to steady her.

"I shouldn't have done this," she whimpered. "He's not ready. This was a mistake, a huge mistake. I'm so sorry. Tell Yalena I'm so sorry for dragging you into this. I'm so sorry. None of you deserved this."

Laguna tried to keep her from her car but she was determined to get in, so instead he helped as much as he could to get the door open. "No, I'm sorry that I bombarded you. It was brash and probably extremely inappropriate…I didn't think I'd see you here. I don't know what I expected coming here, but I am sorry that it's come to this."

"I have to go," she said lamely. "I need to get out of here."

"You shouldn't be driving," he urged.

She gave him a watery smile as an assurance. "Not the first time I've driven off crying," she confessed. "I mean, not with him but…I have to go." She pressed her lips together and rubbed at her eyes, not caring that her mascara and eyeliner smeared over her cheekbones. "Please, let me go."

So Laguna did. He released his hold on the car door and let it close gently behind her. Silently he took a step back and watched as she strapped herself in and then calmly drive away.


Squall ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes screwing tight as he bit his teeth down into the cigarette that dangled between his lips. "Fuck," he muttered. He half expected her to shoot back some sort of comment, render him speechless like she always did…but she didn't say a word. Instead she slipped out of his apartment, quickly and silently, just as he had requested.

No, not requested. That would have been considered polite. Ordered.

"Fuck," he said again. Dropping the unlit cigarette from his lips, Squall rushed out after her. "Rinoa!" he shouted as he broke into a run down the steps that led into the parking complex. He came down and found her regular spot—the guest spot just across from his normal reserved spot marked 3AA—empty. His head turned and he heard a car accelerating off but could not see the origin of the sound. He shoved his hand into his jeans to search for his phone, growling when he realized he had left it somewhere in the apartment.

"She's already gone," came a low voice.

Squall slowly turned and came face to face with a man in his late fifties. He had long black hair tied back into a low ponytail, streaks of gray peppered in through the strands. He stared back at him with eyes a shade of blue resembling storm clouds that stretched across the morning sky. His stance was calm and collected, steady like a wolf standing and watching with intrigue. Squall didn't want to say he immediately recognized him, but something about him seemed almost too familiar to leave it to chance.

With a scoff, Squall nearly rose his lip in a snarl. "So, you're him huh? The father."

The man gave Squall a faint smirk that mirrored the same eat-shit grin Squall normally gave someone when he was trying to watch his mouth. Rather than saying anything at all, the man brushed past Squall and sat upon the bench that resided on the center island that divided the guest parking from the reserved spots. He cleared his throat and calmly sipped from the cardboard coffee cup that was in his hands. "That would be me," he said, reaching into his jeans and pulling out a pack of Cactuar Reds.

Squall narrowed his eyes but followed when the man held up a cigarette to him as if it were a peace offering. When the cigarettes were lit Squall sighed and sat down on the bench with him.

"Laguna," said the man. Then, "My name," when Squall arched a brow at him through the smoke. "Saying that you're pissed would be an understatement of the century," he murmured. "But you didn't have to take it out on her so fiercely."

A soft roar rumbled within Squall's throat and he exhaled the smoke through clenched teeth. "Are you seriously giving me 'fatherly advice'?" Squall snarled.

Laguna twisted his lips, his head tilting to the side as he looked at the younger man. "No," he said sharply. "I'm simply reprimanding you for upsetting a young woman who only tried to do something nice for the man she loves." He sighed and clasped his hands together, leaning forward so his elbows rested upon his knees and he stared out ahead of him. "You can be a dick to me all you want; I'd understand since there is nothing between us…but don't you dare be an asshole to her. While I agree that this is not the most ideal situation for either of us to have met…she did the wrong things for the right reason."

"You're not upset? Finding out about me?"

"I never wanted kids," Laguna admitted. "My wife and I…she can't have kids. Medical issues she had to have taken care of a few years before we met. We've quite enjoyed being the crazy, rich, and fun uncle and auntie in the family. Mostly her side," he added in. "I've no siblings. She's one of four kids so she's got nieces, nephews, and godchildren up the ass. We never wanted the responsibility and protocol that comes with being parents." He let out a quiet breath and pulled out another cigarette.

Though Squall understood what he said, he narrowed his eyes at Laguna for not actually answering the question.

"It was a surprise. Not entirely a welcome one but…after having time to sit and think about it and discuss the situation with my wife…" Laguna lit the cigarette. "While neither of us wanted to be parents, had we known about you, we would have taken you in."

"You don't know that."

"Not for sure," Laguna agreed. "I'd like to think that we would have. It's easier to say now how we would have reacted then than to have done it if we were aware of the circumstances. Hindsight is a lot clearer when it's twenty-some years afterwards. I want to believe that I would have been the father you needed, that I would have been there for you."

Squall wanted to believe that too. "I was raised by a good woman."

Laguna nodded. "Bet you were. I remember Elle. For being only ten or so at the time she had a good head on her shoulders." He chuckled a bit as he thought back. "I watched as she would boss around the kitchen staff and take orders from clients. Girl could make a mean whiskey sour."

Squall allowed a small, miniscule smirk to emerge as he heard about Ellone as a child. Her memory wasn't as great. So often he had asked about her childhood and she could only remember certain instances. She hardly even remembered her own father. "She still does. It's her signature drink."

"You look so much like your mother," Laguna said, almost absently. "You have her eyes." Then he cleared his throat and tapped the ash from his cigarette. "I uh, found this picture of your mother actually," he said, twisting onto his hip so he could reach into his back pocket for his wallet. "It's old and has seen better days…but I think you should have it. I found it a few years ago, when Yalena and I were packing up to move into a different house. I kept it, not just because it was the only picture I had of Raine, but also because in it was also one of my old comrades who had passed away about ten years ago." He unfolded the photograph from a slot in his wallet and held it before Squall.

Off to the center was Raine, behind the bar of The Wishing Star, a glass two fingers full in one hand and a bottle of Jameson in the other. She had clearly just finished pouring a drink and was smiling right at the camera. Her blue eyes crinkled at the corner, her smile wide and open as if she were in the middle of a laugh. To her right and in one of the barstools was Laguna, his elbow bent and resting along the countertop as he looked into the camera, his eyes, a more muted shade of blue, glinting with an almost hint of annoyance at having his picture taken. His lips were curved only slightly enough to show that he felt he was in good company. To the side of him, a woman with her hair tied up in a neat and tight military sock bun who held up a glass filled with what looked to be vodka garnished with a slice of lime. To Raine's left were two other men, one with his mouth open in a loud and boisterous guffaw as the other man had one arm around his shoulder while the other was outstretched and out of camera, clearly the one who was taking the picture.

As he looked at the photo of Raine and Laguna, Squall could see the resemblance. Indeed, he looked very much like his mother when it came to the shape of his eyes, the slope of his brow, and the sharp angle of his nose…but his jaw and the soft ghost of a smile was clearly from his father. Raine never offered a half smile, in all the pictures he had seen of her she was always fully smiling enough that the corner of her eyes crinkled.

"Is it really ok for me to have this?" Squall asked. "You said your comrade who had passed away is in it."

Laguna nodded. "Yes. Please, take it. I have plenty others of Zach and I. Raine passed when you were still so very young, I know you probably don't have many of her."

Squall grunted in thanks and kept the photograph in his grip.

"Have you looked up your previous foster parents?"

Laguna may have said 'previous' but Squall could hear the real underlying question: The last foster home he was in. He bristled. "No."

Quietly, Laguna nodded. After a deep breath he reached for his cigarettes and lit another. He handed Squall one. It was silent between them for a moment, the only sounds were of the crickets chirping and the late-night traffic, a melody amongst the sound of burning paper. "I did." His voice was low, thick, and heavy with fury as he blew out a stream of smoke. "They're in prison."

Squall frowned. That was surprising. While abusers like them never stopped at just one instance, he never expected them to pay for their crimes.

"For fraud," Laguna said bitterly. "For exploiting government funds under the guise of childcare."

Squall scoffed. "Oh, is that all?"

"Government is more concerned about funding being abused than children, I'm afraid," he said.

It grew quiet between them again. The silence rising around them in a chokehold. So much was to be said, but Squall's mind drew a blank. All he could do was stare through the smoke that ribboned in the air from the tip of his cigarette that he didn't even feel like smoking but did so out of habit.

"If I had known…" Laguna began.

Squall shook his head. "Stop," he muttered, taking a long hit from his cigarette and pinching the scar between his eyes as he exhaled. "You didn't know."

"I should have known. No child ever deserves to go through what you endured." He nodded at the scar across Squall's face. "Was that from them?"

"No. Stupid ass fight with a friend when we were teenagers."

Laguna grunted in a choked laugh. "Boys will be boys. I have a scar on the back of my neck from playing with paintball guns with some friends when I was twelve." He let out a sigh and ran his tongue over his teeth. "I did go back to Winhill."

"You did?"

Laguna nodded, still looking out towards the sky. "About a year after. But when I got into town the bar was closed."

"Closed down? Or closed for the night? Because it didn't close down until after she passed."

"Not closed down. It wasn't closed for the night because it was barely even six in the evening. But the place was locked up and there was a sign on the door saying that they had to close early for the night. I asked around for Raine and one of the guys in the shop across the way only had the number for the bar. I tried calling but the voicemail was full so…" He took a deep breath and leaned back against the bench. "Couldn't leave a message. I had to leave early the next morning and when I left the bar was still closed. And this was before the age of Internet and social media so it's not like I could have looked her up again."

"And then, why would you? You met your wife, started your life with her," Squall said. "How would you know about what was happening in Winhill?" He wasn't sure if he was asking Laguna or saying it aloud for himself.

"The time I spent with your mother was meaningful," Laguna told him. "As cliché as it may sound, it was…magical." A small smirk cut into his lips. "In the short time we spent together, we'd loved a lifetime's worth."

Squall allowed a laugh to erupt from him, short and abrasive, but a laugh nonetheless. "Thank you, Sarah Connor."

Laguna smiled fully and shrugged. "Hey, it works." He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before speaking again. "I won't ask you to do anything you don't want," he said. He produced a business card and placed it on the bench between them. "My cellphone number is on there, and my e-mail, if writing is easier for you. I live in Tear's Point, just under a five-hour drive away. If, for any reason, you would like to meet up again, it can be arranged." He stood to his feet and sighed. "Regardless of the circumstances and the situation, I'm glad to have met you Squall."

Squall said nothing, only looked up at him and watched as he started to walk towards his truck. He didn't know what to say at this point anymore. What could he say? Instead, he nodded at Laguna in a way of farewell and silently watched as he drove away. His eyes drifted down to the business card. Laguna Loire.

With a grunt he dragged his fingers over the card and clutched it in his hand as he headed back towards his apartment to get his phone.


Rinoa knocked on the door. She tried to do it quietly, but she grit her teeth when she realized instead of a knock it was a rushed and frantic pounding for attention. While Selphie's condo was indeed on the way to Rinoa's apartment, she wasn't sure if arriving unannounced was the best thing. Maybe she should have called first…

Selphie opened the door with a woosh, her hair blowing back from the movement, her green eyes already wide yet expanding even further when she saw Rinoa's face. "Babe? Ohmygod, what happened?" She reached for her and pulled her inside.

"I fucked up," Rinoa gasped. "I…really fucked up."

Irvine stood from his seat at the table and immediately went to Rinoa's side. "Sit down," he told her softly. "Babe, I got her. Get her some water." He nodded towards the kitchen and kept his grip on Rinoa's bicep as he led her to the couch. "Sit, come on." He helped her sit down and watched as Selphie returned with a full glass.

"Honey, what happened?" Selphie gently brushed away the strands of hair that stuck to Rinoa's cheeks, wet and clammy from her tears.

Rinoa swallowed some of the water and then pushed it away. Her stomach felt ill and she felt a new wave of fresh tears come knocking behind her eyes. "I asked Caraway if he could find Squall's dad."

Irvine froze.

"What?" Selphie took the glass of water and set it aside. "Why did you do that? Did he find him?"

Rinoa nodded. "I just wanted to see if it was a possibility," she choked out. "He was at that wedding I shot a few weeks ago and I talked to him. I met with him. I told him everything." She relayed the meeting she held with Laguna and then as she fought the onslaught of tears, spoke of the heated ass-chewing she received from Squall when she came clean. "I knew it wasn't a good idea. I knew it. And I did it anyway. It never occurred to me until it was too late how fucking stupid it was."

Irvine and Selphie exchanged a look.

"Ohmygod I've jeopardized everything," Rinoa moaned, cradling her face in her hands as the consequences of her actions started to slam into her. "I've jeopardized my relationship with Squall, any possible future with him…even my job." She grunted and wiped at her eyes with so much force she saw explosions of dots behind her eyelids. "Well, I mean, it's not my only job but it's my favorite one."

"Hold on," Irvine said. "We don't know all that yet."

Rinoa scoffed and her hands dropped into her lap. "You honestly think he'll even want to look at me, let alone talk to me, after all this? He straight up told me to leave." When it came to the band, if the choice was between her and Squall, it was beyond obvious that the choice would be Squall. If he so much as made a silent request that her contract as their photographer be rescinded, then it would be, no question.

Selphie grabbed Rinoa's hand and tried to give her an affectionate squeeze. "He needs time," she whispered. "This…is heavy. For anyone. I won't pretend to even have an inkling to what's going on in his mind right now but…it's done. It's happened. There's no going back. Only forward."

"I don't think you've ruined everything," Irvine said.

Rinoa looked at him, skeptical but he could read the hope that glittered briefly in her eyes. "You know him better than I do."

"Not completely," Irvine admitted. "That would be Zell. Those two have been inseparable since kindergarten. But…I wouldn't go to Zell for advice on this matter, at least not any time soon. His loyalty will always be to Squall."

Selphie gently stroked Rinoa's hair. "We can discuss this more in the morning. Get some rest honey," she whispered. "I'll get some pillows and a blanket for you."

Rinoa shook her head and took Selphie's hand into her own. "No, I have work tomorrow," she murmured. Softly she planted a kiss to Selphie's hand and dropped it onto the couch. "I gotta get going."

"Sweetie, I really don't want you driving."

Rinoa stood to her feet and gave Selphie another kiss, this time to her cheek. "It's fine," she promised. Her face was now plastered with a smile and her eyes, though still reddened and raw, were now dry and devoid of tears. "Driving will help clear my head. I'll save for my crying breakdown for when I get home, I swear." When Selphie started to argue, Rinoa simply backed away and grabbed her keys. "Honestly, I'm so sorry, I really shouldn't have come here since I'm just trying to up and leave…" A watery and nervous giggle bubbled its way through her lips and suddenly she couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I don't even know what I'm doing! I'm not thinking, I'm fucking shit up, I'm just…a mess."

Selphie stood and slowly walked Rinoa to the door. "Ok, ok fine," she said. "If you won't stay here then can you at least promise to let me know when you get home so I'm not up all night worrying that you got into a crash?"

"Yes, Mamas, I promise." Rinoa leaned in again and rested her forehead to Selphie's. "I'll be ok."

"You sure?"

"About the driving? Yes."

Selphie swallowed. "And…the other stuff?"

"Definitely not," Rinoa chuckled. "Not one bit. But…that will be Monday Rinoa's issue."

"Talk to me tomorrow."

"I will. After my shoot, I'll call you."


His ears picked up the sound of the lock turning. As the door pushed open he listened to the keychains jingle and the soft footsteps trail inside. The rustling of the plastic bags caught his attention. He listened as she walked in towards the kitchen. As he kept his back to her, he heard her sigh and set the plastic bags onto the counter with a crinkling sound and a soft tinkling of glass.

"Fancy a beer?" Ellone asked as she met him at the patio.

"Thanks." He accepted it and let her pop off the cap with her keys.

She nodded and leaned back against the railing, her eyes scrutinizing every minute movement he made. "What happened?" she asked him quietly.

Squall lit a cigarette and deeply inhaled. "Met my dad."

Ellone hardly made any reaction. The only change to her face was the slight uprise of her left brow. "Oh?" She was silent for a moment and sipped her beer. "There are many questions I have, but you tell me everything you want to tell me."

"Rinoa found him."

"How?"

"Had her father, the General, look him up. Since he's Galbadia's General it couldn't have been difficult for him to find a faction that went through Winhill nine to ten months before my birth. He found the four-person team, one was a woman and the other was a married man. The other two were single and around the right age. Rinoa narrowed it down and by some strange fate ran into him at a wedding she was photographing."

Ellone nodded as she listened to him. "And how did she approach him?"

"As a photographer. Then before her shoot with him she told him she couldn't work with him because she had discovered who he was." He summarized how Laguna in turn had found him, and saw Rinoa outside the apartment, forcing her to tell Squall what had happened.

Ellone remained quiet as Squall spoke, taking in all the information as she slowly sipped at her beer. When he finally finished, she tapped her nails along the glass bottle and took a deep breath. "That's a lot to take in," she said softly.

He half expected her to ask about Rinoa, but she didn't. He saw her glance around briefly inside the apartment and then returned her gaze to him. "And how do you feel about all of it?" she asked.

"I don't know yet."

Ellone only nodded as the silence wrapped around them again.

"He gave me this," he said after a while. He pulled out the photograph and handed it to her.

Ellone finished knocking back a long swallow and took the photo between two fingers. "What's this?" She smiled as she immediately zeroed onto Raine's smiling face. "There's Mom," she whispered. Her eyes scanned over the other faces and she nodded. "Yup…There he is." She shifted the bottle in her fingers and tapped Laguna's face with her pinkie. She sighed and shook her head as she tried to remember that point in her life.

"Well, I'm really glad you said that," Squall said with a sarcastic grin.

"How you mean?"

Squall shrugged and brought the cigarette to his lips. "I mean, I believe that he's my father. There hasn't been any DNA testing or anything but, well, the other men in the picture? One's a married father who was from Winhill and the other one is…well, dead." He snorted back a laugh. "So you pointing out Laguna just kinda…" He took a drag and blew out the smoke in a long breath. "Kinda just seals it, you know?"

"Adds reassurance," Ellone settled. "I hear that." She looked down at the picture again and softly smiled. "God, I miss her smile," she whispered.

Squall gave a curt nod and alternated his beer and cigarette. "He said something about how he had come back into Winhill about a year after but the bar was closed."

"Closed like we had already left? Wait, no, a year after…so you would have been only a few months old." Ellone thought for a moment. "When you were an infant you did develop RSV. You didn't have to be on the ventilator or anything, but because you were so young they wanted to keep you overnight. Mom and I didn't leave your side and she told all the workers at the bar to go home."

"Timing is always something, isn't it?" he muttered bitterly. "If I hadn't have gotten sick then maybe they would've reconnected."

"Don't," Ellone snapped. "Don't go there. There is no one to blame for any of that, especially not a three-month-old baby." She finished her beer and set the bottle down. "Nothing fucks up our head more than the question of 'what if?' Don't go down that slope."

"I know. It's over with. There's nothing to say our lives would've been perfect even if they had reconnected."

Ellone sighed and crossed her arms. "Sometimes we lose sight if we focus too much on the what if's or the could have been's, that we forget to look at the what now could be." She watched as Squall stubbed out his cigarette. "Well, what do you want to do?" she asked. Before Squall could shrug it off, she waved her hand and clarified. "I'm not talking about tomorrow, this week, or even next month. I'm not even talking about Laguna or Rinoa. Right now, in this moment in time, what do you want to do?"

Squall couldn't even think about what could happen tomorrow or even the day after that. He couldn't even think about practices that had been planned over the next coming days. At the moment, his brain fogged and he couldn't even think beyond the space of his patio. "I want to have another beer," he said finally, tilting his head back and finishing his bottle.

Ellone nodded and grabbed another from the pack. With ease she flipped off the cap with her keys and handed him his drink. As he drank in silence she looked down at the watch around her wrist. "Is it alright if I stay here?" she asked. "I don't work tomorrow but I'm exhausted. I'm sure you are too."

Squall nodded. "Please." He reached for his cigarettes and lit it. "After this I'm gonna crash. Take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch." He pointed his beer inside. "You know where my pajamas are."

Ellone gave a nod of affirmation and picked up the bag to put the rest of the beer into his fridge. Before she stepped through the slider, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him a squeeze and then planted a soft kiss to his temple. "I'll see you in the morning," she whispered. "Night."


Monday, August 27th

Selphie arrived at Rinoa's apartment some time after two. She pulled into the guest parking which was near the trash receptacles and saw Rinoa dragging something out. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Someone threw this away!" Rinoa answered, almost excitedly. It was a small, bistro style table and she nodded her head towards two matching chairs. "I came out to dump my trash and saw this!" She almost protested when Selphie started to hoist up the legs.

"It's not too heavy," Selphie said. "But it's a wonky shape so you need help dragging it up the stairs." Together they got the three-piece set indoors and started to wipe it down with a cleansing cloth. "It is cute," Selphie commented as she started to give it another wipe. "Perfect size for your little dining area."

Rinoa grunted in agreement and made her way into the kitchen to grab the almost forgotten coffee mug. "I mean, I don't mind eating on the couch but I saw this and thought maybe it'd be nice to eat at an actual table."

"True. How'd your shoot go?

Rinoa grinned and hoisted up her camera. "So well. This kid was an absolute doll. I even got some shots of him and his mom." She clicked through the playback and showed Selphie a series of photos. The mom was clearly enjoying herself in smothering her son with lipstick covered kisses while he tried his best to look annoyed and embarrassed, but the quiet smile on his lips showed he felt the love.

"Ohmygoddddd," Selphie bawled. "That is way too cute I love it!" Her eyes twinkled for a moment and she gave Rinoa an emotional pout. "Holy shit…this will be me in eighteen years!"

"We ended with this." She showed the screen again, this time an image showed both parents hoisting up the teenager and kissing his cheeks while he made a squished face. "They told me that they have a picture like this of him when he was about eight months old so they wanted to have a recreation to have side by side."

Selphie squealed. "Stop! My heart can't take it!"

Rinoa chuckled and placed the camera down. "I know, they were way too adorable." She sipped at her coffee and grimaced. After putting it in the microwave for a few moments, she glanced over at Selphie. "Irvine not with you today?"

"He's at Seifer's. They're posting the documentary today." Selphie quietly sat down and tapped her fingernails along the tabletop. "I don't know about the rest of the band."

Rinoa heard the underlying remark: She hadn't heard anything about Squall. She nodded and pulled her mug from the microwave. "Well, I'm sure they all already saw it yesterday so it'd be a bit repetitive to be there today just for the posting." To busy herself, she started to chug at her coffee.

"Stupid question but, are you ok?"

Rinoa let out a mournful laugh and sat down at the table. "Hasn't…entirely hit me yet." She looked up and gave Selphie a watery smile. "I really crossed the line here," she whispered. "He was so angry, Selphie, and rightfully so. I'm trying to prepare myself for worst-case scenario here—that he wants nothing to do with me after this. I wouldn't even blame him."

"I know," Selphie said softly. "But it hasn't even been a whole day yet. He's probably in thinking mode right now. Or over-thinking mode. It's a lot to process, for anyone. He probably doesn't even know the first thing to do next."

Rinoa shrugged and brought up her mug again. "Same here."


Sarah Connor (c) "The Terminator," James Cameron