Learning What Matters Most

by Jacira_Citlalli

Summary:

It's been five years since the final battle with Ultimecia.
Seifer has moved on with his life and has done his best to make it a good one.
Squall is still Commander of Garden.
So, what happens when life gets in the way?
How will things change for all of them?
Is this the end of their adventures?
Or is it just the beginning of new ones?

Notes:

• Inspired by Bolt Out of the Blue by RaceUlfson

Chapter 1: Prologue

Notes:

I'm going to keep this (somewhat) short. More details will be at the end of the fic where I normally put them, but this was very important to me...

First off, I want to send a very big shout out to Juneki! She graciously has agreed to Beta this story for me.

This story has been in the works for almost a year now, but I've hesitated to share it. It's far from complete and, given the nature of the story, I don't know when it will be. I feel like this is something that might be split up into sections but will be an ongoing tale for a while yet.

I mean, they have so many years with their children and so much potential for things to go wrong (and right) during that time.

Life is a journey and that's what this story feels like to me. A journey that starts from the moment everyone learns what matters most to them.

*Seifer* 

Four Years after Ultimecia’s defeat…

The whole town was caught in a fucking chaotic nightmare! Now, for the first time in four years, I was completely torn between staying at home to protect my family or go out and protect them by chasing the monsters out of town completely. This wouldn’t have even become a damn choice if those bastards on the town council had just listened to me in the first place!

I’d told them months ago that one bad storm was going to take out the weather damaged towers. That’s not even taking into account the damaged roads, the ones that should have kept monster encounters down as well, were in serious need of repair themselves. But of course, they didn’t listen to me. I was damn near a nobody, just an apprentice to the owner of the company I work for. Last year he’d decided to take me on as his replacement and started training me in running the business he’d built from the ground up (literally) but apparently that didn’t mean shit when it really mattered.

No one had listened when I warned them against letting the town deteriorate like it was. Even my boss brushed me off, insisting I practice patience and work on subtlty rather than assertiveness. Whole lot of fucking good that did. Now we had monsters rampaging through the town. The only choice left was to tuck the vulnerable ones away and start hunting.

“Fu!” I called out to the silver-haired woman. At six months pregnant, with her second child, she was still a force to be reckoned with but I refused to risk her safety when I had a more important role to place her in. “I need you to stay here and protect the children. Get them holed up somewhere safe and don’t even think about setting foot outside to help us.”

Okay, so it was rude and the glare from her one red eye confirmed she wasn’t pleased with my attitude but this was an emergency situation, I didn’t have time for subtle or delicate. Fotunately she knew me well enough to understand and just nodded at me. “AFFIRMATIVE!”

The small hand clasped in hers might have helped in preventing her from pushing back. A perfect blend of Raijin’s darker complexion, Fuijin’s silver hair and Cinnamon colored eyes, the small two-year old boy they had named Souta looked to both of us for guidance. At least he wasn’t bawling like he normally would have when something happened in the household.

Next to him, wrapped around Fujin’s legs were two more children that were just under a year older than him. Both of them, one boy and one girl, were looking straight at me with teary eyes despite the death grip they had on Fujin. All they wanted was for me to fix this and make the scary things go away. Normally I managed with a little fun and games to make the shadows and noises that came with the night not so scary but this time the monsters were actually real. Kind of hard to convince them that it was going to be okay at that point.

“Seifer!” A woman cried, slamming the door closed and locking it behind her. Without even looking around the room she threw herself into my arms, clutching desperately at my shirt and scared out of her damned mind. “Are the children okay? There’re monsters all over town! They’re telling everyone to take shelter and stay off the streets but I couldn’t stay away without knowing the kids were safe!”

Even after the last three years I still couldn’t figure out what I had seen in this woman. After the first few months of being together all we did was fight, argue and have angry sex. Then rinse and repeat. When she became pregnant with the twins everything had calmed down for a while but started up again after only a few months of them being born.

Just after they were born she’d jumped on naming our daughter, the older of the two, Cassandra and I declared our son’s name to be Tyr. It was about the only compromise we could come up with but there’d been quite a bit of conversation back and forth and a few heated arguments before deciding on the names during the pregnancy. She hadn’t really loved the name I’d picked out but she didn’t hate it as much as some of the others I’d suggested so we went with it. Just like I hadn’t cared for a long name like Cassandra but agreed when she offered Cass or Cassie as nicknames I could call her.

But in spite of all our hang ups she was a damn good mother to the children and even cared for Souta like he was her own. Just for that I was willing to put up with whatever hellish battles she chose to throw my way so long as they were kept away from all the kids. It was one of the few things we agreed on so I put the effort forth to keep Fujin civil with her. Not that she needed me to, the two of them got along alright with the exception of how I was being treated. Fujin was a bit protective like that.

“The kids are fine. We have everything handled here.” I assured her then turned her towards Fujin and the children.

Almost like magic the older boy was in her arms and his face tucked into her neck. My daughter was a little more hesitant but made the transfer from Fujin’s leg to that of her mother’s. Even at this young age she could tell which of them provided comfort and support and which would be more likely to keep them safe from monsters. Without the threat right in front of us, she decided that the comfort was a higher priority and clung readily to her mother’s dark grey skirt.

From the hallway behind Fujin steps could be heard and I turned to see Raijin entering the room with Hyperion and his battle staff in hand. “Sorry that took so long. I was securing the bedroom, you know. Should be good enough for Fu to take them in there and keep them safe. Maybe hide them in the closet for a little extra security?”

“He meant the kids.” I interjected quickly when Fujin looked ready to throttle him for the comment. “Sounds like a good idea. Maybe Jenna can help pull a few things out to make more room.”

“Jenna?” Raijin questioned, just now noticing she’d arrived. “Hey Jenna, did you get here okay? Those monsters are really starting to swarm out there. You should have called one of us to come get you.”

Jenna nodded and cuddled Tyr closer to her body. “I’m fine. I got out of the building just as monsters started to arrive and came straight here.”

Watching the way the children reacted to the situation I couldn’t help but notice just how different their personalities were from each other. Though scared, Cassie watched and paid attention to what was going on around her. In contrast, Tyr was terrified and clinging to his mother just the way I would expect of a child his age. Even Souta had a sort of middle ground between the two. Clutching Fujin’s pantleg with a death grip he too watched to see what was going on but it was more likely him gauging how to react from those around him since he looked ready to start bawling as well.

“Thanks Raj.” I muttered, taking Hyperion from him and strapping her to my belt. It had been a while since I’d had any serious use for her and with the kids around, she’d been tucked away where they couldn’t hurt themselves on accident.

“Are you really going to abandon your children to fight monsters?” Jenna asked accusingly. The look she gave to Hyperion was filled with hate and disgust. “They need you here!”

“I’m not abandoning them Jenna. Even if I stayed behind I would still be ready to fight. That’s not something you’re going to be able to change.” I frowned at her then pulled Hyperion out to double check the cartridges and that she was in adequate condition before using her in battle. “I wouldn’t just leave the kids alone when there’s any kind of threat around. Fujin’s staying behind to keep them safe and Rajin just said he secured their room so the kids can get tucked away.”

“Fujin is pregnant!” Jenna tried to argue. Clearly, she hadn’t thought it through too well. After knowing Fujin for four years now she should have known better than to challenge the woman’s abilities no matter the situation.

Silently I put Hyperion back in her sheath and strapped it closed. “Fujin is perfectly capable of defending the house. She still has a few months before she’s due and is in great health. Besides, she uses distance weapons that can slice through one of these bugs with little effort. If that’s not enough to get the job done, she still has Pandemona and is able to cast spells if needed. I promise that everything will be fine here.”

“Yeah! Seifer and I are just going to chase some of the monsters off, ya know.” Raijin interjected, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Someone’s gotta do it and they don’t have many here of our skill level. Wouldn’t be right to ignore it when we can help, ya know?”

“FINE!” Fujin confirmed in regard to her condition. Unlike Raijin and I, Jenna wasn’t as adapted to understanding Fujin’s clipped speech and just assumed she was agreeing with all of it as a whole.

“Daddy!” Tyr cried and turned to me. Tears were streaming down his face and mixing with the snot from his nose. The poor kid was a complete mess.

Feeling guilty for leaving them while they were scared and things were happening they didn’t understand, I went over and kissed the top of his head. Little hands reached out to grab me but I knew I’d never get them off if I allowed them to succeed. It killed a little part of me to deny him that extra bit of comfort but the situation was going to just get worse the longer we waited.

Still, it didn’t hurt to give him a small compromise and offer my hand to him. “Don’t worry buddy, everything’s going to be alright. Just stick with Auntie Fu and Momma. They’ll keep you safe.”

“Daddy stay too?” Cassie asked with her thumb halfway in her mouth. It was a stress habit of hers, one that told me how worked up she was getting.

“Not this time Baby Girl.” I said gently and kissed the top of her head as well. “I need to go help Uncle Raijin get rid of these monsters. Lots of people need our help right now. They don’t have someone able to keep them safe like you do. I promise that we’ll be back just as soon as we chase the monsters away.”

It was probably more than she could understand completely but she understood enough to know I had rejected her request to stay behind and make her feel safe. Now all three of the kids were crying and I knew us lingering was only making it worse but I couldn’t help feeling guilty for upsetting them when I could so easily do something about it.

“Seif? You ready man?” Raijin called from the door. Obviously I wasn’t the only one having trouble leaving, he just was smart enough to do something about it.

“Be good you guys.” I told the kids, blatantly ignoring Jenna’s accusing look. That look wasn’t quite a pout but it was as close as she got to one and she only used it when I didn’t cave to the things she wanted when she wanted.

“Seifer!” Raijin called anxiously. “Let’s go man!”

“I’m ready.” I replied and tore myself away from the crying kids and my wife. Refusing to look back in fear of caving to their tears I headed to the door and jerked it open. “Let’s just get this over with.”

A large hand landed on my back in a show of support then we were out the door. With a practiced hand I drew Hyperion to the ready and selected my first opponent. Monsters had taken over the main streets of the town and were invading in swarms, mostly bug monsters but a few of the bigger nasties had migrated this way and were attacking people, animals and houses.

A battle cry erupted behind me. Raijin had already leapt to take on a trio of Bite Bugs, opposite the direction I was looking. With the idea that we wouldn’t go far from each other I gave my own cry and ran towards a Caterchipillar that had two Bite Bugs following it around. Making short work of the trio I continued on, taking out anything that crossed my path. These bastards made a big mistake attacking my town and I was going to make them all pay.

Notes:

Normally I post a little more than this, and will post the next chapter soon, but I think this needed its own post. The next chapter comes a year later and is the real start to the story.

I got the inspiration for this after reading Bolt out of the Blue by RaceUlfson for the umpteenth time. Reading it made me want to know more about Seifer in the role of a loving, caring father.
Eventually I started thinking about where the story could go and what Squall and Seifer would be like as parents. Then I started writing.
Some elements might be similar, but I have tried very hard to make this story completely my own. But I still want to say thank you to RaceUlfson for giving me insight on what Seifer could be like as a single father.

Chapter 2: When the Unexpected Happens

*Squall* (One year later)

This was it. Either my life as a SeeD Commander was over after just a few years or I was going to become the biggest piece of shit ever. Not knowing what to do about this situation, I called Zell for help. Then I had a moment to think about my decision and called Quistis barely five minutes later. All I did was tell her that I had a situation in my room, and she simply requested ten minutes to finish up what she was doing.

“What do you mean she just up and left!? How could she do that to you?” Zell questioned loudly and I threw a hurried glance to the bedroom door.

“Keep your voice down.” I hissed at him then continued pacing the room in agitation. If I could have disappeared into the Training Center for the next week I would have. “And yes, I already said that. She showed up, made the drop and hightailed it out of here while I was trying to figure out what the fuck she’d done.”

“We’ve gotta go find her man. Maybe she’s still in town? Should I haul ass to Balamb and search for her? Maybe Ma can talk some sense into her.” He rambled from where he sat on the couch.

Shoving my hand through my hair I gave a low growl. “Don’t bother. If she made the decision to run away then I’m not chasing after her. Let her go.”

“But she can’t do something like this to you! She at least could have given you some kind of warning or something!” Zell argued but kept his voice down like I’d requested.

“Well she did!” I snapped at him, ticked off because he was voicing the exact words I was now feeling. Further comments were put on hold when I heard the distinct tap tap of feminine boots outside my door.

Without a single knock, Quistis let herself into the room. By this time, Zell had too much energy built up and claimed the corner of the room to do some shadowboxing. It had taken me months to understand that he needed the outlet as a way to get the energy out and it had just become a habit for him to fall back on it when anxious or stressed. Given how small our dorms were growing up I couldn’t imagine him having many options for dispersing that energy and this wasn’t the worst he could have come up with. At least he’d managed something in order to cope that didn’t require monsters to take out.

“Squall. Zell.” She gave a clipped greeting while the door shut behind her. “Sorry that took me so long to finish up. I’d underestimated the situation.”

“Quistis! Thank Hyne you made it!” Zell cried, far too loudly again, but stopped bouncing around for a minute to greet her.

Now that she had arrived I was able to feel some inkling of hope that the situation wasn’t completely FUBAR’d. Out of everyone I could turn to, she was the only one I trusted to think logically enough to provide some insight. If I was really lucky she might even be able to help me come up with a solution that I could find acceptable.

Confused by Zell’s reaction she turned to me. “You didn’t give me much information over the phone. The most I can assume at this point is that it has something to do with you and Rinoa?”

“It’s…” I started but was cut off by a sound from the bedroom I’d been dreading for the last half hour.

All three of us jerked our heads to the closed door and I felt a chill run down my back at the sound. Not much scared me anymore but what was waiting for me in that room had me nearly trembling with fear. The others weren’t as caught up in this mess and I wouldn’t blame them if they decided to walk out the door without looking back. No, I would absolutely and totally blame them for abandoning my ass when I needed their help more than ever.

“Squall?” Zell pressed, expecting me to attend to the source of the noise.

Quistis gave me another of those confused looks and all I could do was shake my head at her. For once, I backed down from a challenge without even attempting to take it on. When her brow furrowed at me the only response I gave was to gesture for her to go see for herself. After a minute or two, she came back out of the room with a screaming baby girl in her arms.

“Okay, I think it’s officially time for an in depth explanation as to why I’m holding a baby while standing in your Garden Suite?” She demanded, trying to soothe the child.

“It was a stupid ass mistake.” I admitted quietly, not sure what to do in this situation. Did I take the baby from her? Since she didn’t seem bothered to be holding the baby I decided it wasn’t a necessity.

“Mistake or not, there is a baby here now. Start talking.” She ordered, glaring at me as if this were completely my fault. Okay, so the situation was partially my doing.

“It was at that party where Rinoa showed up unexpectedly.” I started, knowing she’d remember the one I was talking about.

It took her a minute but she nodded. “The one where she showed up with the dignitaries from Deling City. We invited her to that but never received a response about her coming.”

“Wasn’t that almost a year and a half ago now?” Zell questioned after having calculated it on his fingers.

“Fifteen months to be more accurate.” I grumbled and began pacing again. The room was too crowded now for good momentum but I made it work.

“She must be around six months old now.” Quistis muttered, finally managing to calm the child down. “For Hyne’s sake Squall, I thought Garden had trained you in how to prevent something exactly like this from happening.”

It was true that we had multiple classes where they drilled into the importance of protection and not becoming parents while maintaining our student and SeeD status. But this wasn’t quite the same scenario. Had I thought it was even possible for Rinoa to get pregnant I would have done something about it long before this had happened. I would have…

“She’s a damn sorceress! She’s not supposed to be able to get pregnant!” I snapped, finally ticked off enough for my emotions to escape.

“Well that’s obviously not a hundred percent accurate since I’m holding proof it is possible.” She shot back, cooing to the baby who was quickly becoming upset with the energy in the room.

“You think?” I growled back. It wasn’t her fault that this happened but I couldn’t seem to stop snapping at her for the accusations either.

“That was still only fifteen months ago. The two of you have been separated for two years now. How can you be sure she’s yours?” It was a legitimate question and one I had the unfortunate answer to.

Taking a breath I forced myself to calm down and gestured to the baby. “Look at her eyes. Even I’m not so dense as to miss that. She’s got my eyes, color and everything.”

“Ma said most babies are born with light colored eyes. That they often change when the child gets older, like a few years later or something.” Zell offered, trying to explain away my observation.

“That’s not the case here.” I told him with a small shake of my head. “It’s not just the color. Her eyes are exactly like mine.”

“Squall, that’s ridiculous!” Quistis denied but still held the baby out from her enough to look. “How in the world…”

“I don’t know but I don’t have any doubts she’s mine.” I sighed. Even admitting it out loud was stressful. Garden trained us to fight not nurture and I had no clue what I was doing here.

“It still doesn’t explain how this happened when the two of you haven’t been together in two years.” Zell said, cautiously coming closer and trying to look at her eyes. “Wow! She really does have your eyes.”

“What am I missing here? I thought you’d left the party well before she had.” Quistis asked while rubbing her temple. “You said that you were tired and wanted to go to bed. That was around midnight or so.”

“I was and I did.” I sighed and leaned my back against the wall. There was no getting around this and I was going to have to confess as to what happened that night when I thought I’d be able to just forget all about it. “I drank too much after she arrived. I meant it when I said I was going to bed. Sometime later she showed up talking about missing me and wanting to work things out.”

“So you slept with her? Come on man, you know better than that don’t you? Nothing good ever comes of it.” Zell chided in an almost whining tone that irked me.

Shooting a glare in his direction I decided he was a better target than a helpless baby. “I didn’t just sleep with her. I was drunk and tried to make her leave but she insisted on talking.”

“Talking doesn’t make babies Squall.” Quistis pointed out dryly. “Obviously something happened after the talking.”

“I was tired, drunk and irritable.” I countered. “I wasn’t in the mood for sex of any kind, much less with her. Best I can figure is the bond started to interfere with my thoughts enough to let her get into bed with me.”

“Whoa! She forced you man? So not cool!” Zell gawked and Quistis hit me with a piercing glare that did not bode well for Rinoa’s future.

“She didn’t exactly force me. More like the bond coerced me into doing it?” I replied uneasily. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like I was feeling things I hadn’t felt since we first got together. Then her desire came through along with her thoughts and emotions. Somewhere between the alcohol, the bond, and the confusion they brought I didn’t even think to stop her when she initiated it.”

“Okay.” Quistis sighed and sat down on the couch. “It’s not important how it happened. She’s here now and we need to figure out what to do next. Did Rinoa at least give her a name?”

While we were talking Zell had disappeared into the room. The two of us stopped talking to watch as he came out with a bottle that had some powder in it. Running the water in the sink he stuck his wrist under it until satisfied and exchanged it for the bottle. When it was full, he shook the bottle then handed the mixture to Quistis. When we both looked at him in shock, he shifted his weight back and forth looking completely embarrassed.

“Ma had me babysit a few times during breaks and whatnot. She thought it would be good for me to know how to take care of kids and that included the neighbor’s kids when they were babies.” He explained.

Not sure what to say about that since Garden training didn’t include childcare beyond a few basics I returned to Quistis’s previous question. “Rinoa said her name was Tempest Leonhart.”

“Tempest? Really?” Zell chuckled at that. “I guess it could be worse. Kind of expected her to be a little more creative with the name though.”

“Whatever.” I grumbled.

Really, it wasn’t like I objected to the name. If anything, I had already decided that it was well within Rinoa’s rights to choose the name since I knew nothing about the baby until today. Besides that, I couldn’t imagine it being easy to carry a baby for nine months, give birth to her, care for her for months and then decide to give her up after all that time. Whatever her reasons, I wasn’t going to bitch about something as simple as a name.

“Didn’t Laguna say something about his father being named Zephyr?” Quistis interjected, taking the bottle from Tempest and setting it on the table.

I had barely nodded a confirmation to her when there was a loud burp and Zell busted up laughing over it. “That was a good one!”

“Zell.” I sighed at his crude humor.

“What? That was an awesome belch considering how tiny she is.” Zell defended and acted as if it was nothing.

“Can we please get back to the issue at hand? I have other things I need to do today.” Quistis snapped and Tempest started crying. In seconds Zell had her in his arms and was spinning around the room with her until she started laughing. “Zell, I wouldn’t…do that…”

Her words faded away as Tempest puked all over Zell’s shirt. “Eww! Gross!”

“That’s what you get for being stupid. Or did you forget that she’s a baby and just finished eating only a few minutes ago?” Quistis lectured, taking Tempest back from Zell and going into the room.

Removing his soiled shirt, Zell went to work soaking it in the sink while I followed behind Quistis. There wasn’t even a full two minutes between her entering the room and me, but she’d already managed to get Tempest down to her diaper and was cleaning her face with a wet towelette. How was I supposed to take care of her when they kept proving how little I knew about caring for a baby?

“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked quietly. This wasn’t something that could be fixed with a gunblade, magic or a squad of SeeDs. Short of those I was completely lost.

“First, we need to come up with a plan. You’re going to have to make some hard decisions here Squall. No one can make them for you this time.” She stated and began pulling stuff out of the bag. A clean diaper, a package of wet towlettes and fresh clothing. “I can help for a bit and Zell knows about taking care of babies. We both know Selphie will gush over her the moment she finds out. But that’s a very temporary solution.”

Overwhelmed with it all I found that I couldn’t hold onto a single thought. Years of training and four years of leadership, yet I freeze at the thought of being responsible for a baby, no matter how long or short the timeframe. No matter what choice I made it was going to affect her future just as much as it would mine.

“What options do we have?” I asked quietly dropping my eyes to the bed in embarrassment while she changed the baby.

“Well, there’s the obvious one of you retiring to take care of her full time.” She pointed out.

“I don’t want to give up being Commander.” I stated, hoping there was a solution I could compromise on.

Tempest cooed excitedly and I watched as Quistis worked her into an outfit that appeared to be a single garment. “What about asking Laguna or Sis to take Tempest in? Laguna would spoil her a bit but she’ll be well cared for and you’d be able to visit with her while you are there. Or there’s Ellone. I’m sure she’d happily take Tempest in and raise her for you.”

“No.” I replied adamantly. “Not unless there’s no other options. Loire has his hands full with Esthar and can barely take care of himself without Kiros and Ward to watch over him. Giving him a baby to take care of would be asking for trouble.”

“And Ellone?” By now she was finished cleaning Tempest up and smugly handed me the soiled diaper. Whatever was in that diaper was likely outlawed in both chemical and biological warfare agreements. “Just throw it in the trash Squall. Babies poop just like the rest of us.”

“That’s what toilets are for.” I scowled but went into the main living area to throw it in the trash under the sink.

“Give it a year or two and you might be lucky to start potty training her. Until then you’ll need diapers.” She teased.

“This is not helping her case here.” I grumbled, washing my hands with an excessive amount of soap and scalding hot water.

“So what’s your objection to having Sis take her?” Zell asked and took Tempest back, holding her a little more gently this time. Now clean, she was smiling at him and grabbed a large chunk of his hair and pulled. “Ow! Easy there kiddo, that’s attached!”

“Sis has just started enjoying her freedom. I can’t ask her to give that up for something this lifechanging. This was my screw up and I’m the one who needs to deal with it.” I confessed, finding that I was amused at the way she played with Zell and laughed when he yelped.

“Then you need to stop thinking Tempest is a mistake.” Quistis chided gently. “Unexpected maybe but can you really say that you wouldn’t want her to exist in the first place?”

Confused, I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have had sex with Rinoa if I thought a baby had been a possibility but I won’t say that I have a problem with Tempest existing now that she’s here. It’s not her fault and I don’t want anything bad happening to her. That’s why I’m trying to figure out what the best option for her is now that Rinoa’s left her with me. I just meant…”

“I know what you meant.” She sighed then crossed her arms. “Back to the issue at hand though. Laguna and Sis are out except as a last resort. Even then you’d feel guilty about burdening them with your child. Of course, the obvious answer would be having Rinoa raise her while you visit when you can but that’s clearly not a real option here.”

“What about Matron? She raised most of us from babies after all.” Zell suggested and threw his head back to avoid her grabbing his earring. “I’ve heard from Selphie that she’s opening up the orphanage again. It’s a bit out of the way for visits but I’m sure she’d have no issues with it.”

“No!” I snapped, slicing my hand through the air out of habit. The outburst upset Tempest and she cried loudly while Zell did what he could to calm her again. Feeling guilty for scaring her like that I dropped my head into one hand and leaned against the wall. “I can’t just leave her there. Even if I showed up once a week, you know how kids get. They’ll convince her that I don’t really care about her. By the time she was old enough to understand, she’d want nothing to do with me. Then what happens when the other kids get adopted and Matron makes it so that she isn’t? That’s just going to mess her up even more.”

“I’d ask Ma but she’s getting up there. After taking in so many kids over the years she shouldn’t be handed another one.” Zell said sadly. “I mean, she’s been hinting at grandkids for the past year but I doubt she wants to actually raise one.”

“Well that doesn’t leave many other options here.” Quistis stated. “I don’t think you understand just how much time and attention a child this young requires Squall. You spend nearly every waking out in the office, on missions or in the Training Center unless something else is scheduled in. And we just aren’t set up to raise babies at Garden. There’s a reason Cid established a minimum age limit for enrollment.”

“I’d say we’d be able to do it if all of us helped out but I don’t think it’d be enough.” Zell added. “Quistis is in the office almost as often as you. I have classes to teach, field training and missions. Irvine and Selphie made it work somehow with their own kid, but there’s two of them and they still spend a lot of time on their own missions and do a majority of field trainings with the younger cadets.”

“And we learned our lesson about keeping you off of missions for long periods of time.” Quistis said dryly.

“Yeah, it took like three months to repair the Training Center when Squall got seriously injured on that mission?” Zell smirked. “Doc practically grounded him for months until the muscles in his leg recovered.”

“It was two months.” I muttered, embarrassed over the incident. “And it wasn’t that bad of a situation. It got upgraded like I’d been suggesting for years.”

“I don’t disagree that it was entirely your fault or the fact that the Training Center was due for some repairs and upgrades. But it’s also a fact that you helped the recommendation become a necessity…violently, I might add.” Quistis countered with her own smug look.

“Does it matter? It got done and I haven’t heard any complaints about it since.” I pointed out.

“Oh, this conversation is getting us nowhere! We need to focus on the situation at hand.” She huffed, agitated by all the sidetracking of the conversation. “I don’t disagree with Squall’s reasonings for not having Laguna, Ellone or Matron take her in for the next few years. But I can’t just sit back and approve of him quitting outright. Had we known this was going to happen in advance we could have changed things so it was a smooth transition but for him to just up and quit now would send Garden into chaos for weeks, if not months.”

The only thing achieved by this conversation so far was my understanding of myself. At some point I’d decided that I couldn’t just give her up, no matter how hard the learning curve was going to be on both of us. But to completely leave Garden? It was true I could remain a SeeD and just take up residence somewhere. In that scenario I would simply be responsible for the safety of whatever town or city I lived in. Maybe I’d get tossed a mission or two if I could find a safe alternative for Tempest while I’m gone.

But would that really be fair to her? Being a SeeD comes with high risks and can be hard on a person. On top of that, it was a well known fact that SeeDs didn’t often live into their thirties unless they stopped taking on the majority of missions or took a teaching role. The reality was, if I stayed on with Garden I would eventually transition to being in the office full time long before I hit thirty. If I even got another five years of field work I would be surprised. But it was one thing to make that choice for myself, now I had Tempest who would have to abide by whatever decisions I made today.

“Maybe I should quit.” I muttered quietly, eyes trained on my child.

For a long while everyone was silent, except for Tempest, just letting the possibility sink in. Then Quistis smiled and looked right at me. “What if I can provide you with an alternative to quitting?”

“What do you mean?” Zell asked, just as eager as I was for a solution.

“Do you still have ownership of Raine’s place?” She asked, ignoring him.

“Yes, but what does that…” I was quickly cut off with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“I have an idea that might work. It won’t be a perfect solution but it’s currently the best we have at the moment.” She stated and looked very pleased with herself.

“What’d you come up with?” Zell asked, stopping Tempest from grabbing at his face.

It was a damn good question and I waited for Quistis to give an answer that matched the smug look she was giving us. “I think I know a way that will allow you to work remotely, take care of Tempest and keep Rinoa from coming back to claim her. If you can figure out a few extra logistics, then we can even continue to send you on missions.”

“But that doesn’t solve the problem of him being swamped with work stuff or having to take care of Tempest all the time on his own. If he’s going to attempt to do both then why not do it here where we can help out somewhat?” Zell questioned.

Both of us looked at him and I raised an interested eyebrow at the observation. “He has a point. Changing the location doesn’t solve the problem whatsoever.”

“It does if we change a few things around so you can break away easier.” She countered and leaned back into the couch. “The real problem isn’t work, Tempest or juggling both. The problem is how you can manage to balance them when you never get a real break here. If we’re being honest there isn’t a whole lot you’re actually needed for and you could have been spending at least twice as much time in the field if not for everyone feeling it was necessary to speak with you directly. If you didn’t have dozens of intrusions throughout the day then your work would only take a few hours at most to complete.”

“I…” Stunned by her revelation I found myself just gaping at her for a long moment. “Have you seen the amount of work that’s sitting on my desk every day? How do you expect me to get that done in just a few hours?”

“Have you actually calculated how much time you lose with SeeDs and falculty members coming in to talk to you about something that can easily be handled by one of us?” She countered a second time. “Xu and I have had many discussions around it. Over half your day is wasted on those interruptions, most of which you stubbornly take on by yourself instead of passing it off to us. Without you here, all those issues are going to get handled the way they’re meant to be and only a small portion would need to be sent your way.”

“Is it really that bad?” Zell questioned. Looking over I noticed that Tempest had gone quiet and was now half asleep in his arms.

“No.” I said firmly.

“Yes.” Quistis declared at exactly the same time.

I threw a glare in her direction at that. “Why should I pass off requests and issues to you or Xu when I’m perfectly capable of solving them myself? Isn’t that why they come to me in the first place?”

“Not really.” Quistis shrugged. “Best I can tell, they come to you because you tend to be a pushover and a people pleaser when it comes to Garden residents. Word got around that everyone should go to you directly with their problems just to avoid all the red tape and protocols that Xu and I would make them abide by. We try and catch as many as we can but the majority still make it past us.”

“So your solution is to give you more work just so I can work somewhere other than Garden?” I frowned. “And what about meetings and other events I’m always required to go to?”

She brushed that off with a wave of her hand. “Short term events. In those cases we could easily get someone to babysit Tempest for a night or two until your obligations are fulfilled. That’s different than full time raising her by the way.”

“Yeah, everyone would be fighting for a chance to watch her while you go do fancy adult things.” Zell teased then smiled down at Tempest. “I’m going to go lay her down for another nap. Wish me luck!”

“Good luck Zell.” Quistis laughed softly and I felt like I was missing an inside joke. One that would bite me in the ass right about the time I start to understand it.

The door closed behind Zell and I was left alone with Quistis. “I may have an ulterior motive for putting you into a remote work situation. Though I really do believe it would be the best option for you and Tempest if you plan to raise her yourself. Whether you enroll her in Garden after she’s old enough can be discussed later.”

“What’s the ulterior motive?” I questioned warily. Of course there would be more than one reason for her to suggest something so drastic.

Now that the truth was coming out she started to look a little worn down. “That’s what I was dealing with before coming here. You know about the monster attack nearly a year ago at Winhill. From the sound of things that was a one time event but reports of increased monster encounters have been coming in often. Those same reports also state that there’s only a handful of people who are skilled enough to defend the town on a regular basis.”

“Don’t we have SeeD rookies sent out there regularly?” I asked, confused as to why this is still an ongoing issue and why I’m just now hearing about it.

“Every other week actually.” She confirmed and my brow furrowed. That was twice as often as I’d approved after the first three months of weekly sweeps.

“We’re sending squads out every other week and this is still that much of an issue?” I asked, completely caught up in the situation now.

“I admit that I should have brought this up months ago but I thought an increase in sweeps would solve the issue.” She admitted quietly. If there was one thing Quistis hated most, it was being wrong about something when she was confident on how to handle a situation. “If anything, I should have sent out a more experienced SeeD squad to check out the situation for me. Now that this has come up, I’m thinking I may have an alternative plan that might suite all our needs at once.”

“Tell me this plan.” I ordered just as Zell came out of the room and shut the door behind him.

“We have a real plan?” He asked excitedly. “What is it?”

The over excited questioning had Quistis clearing her throat at him. “As I was saying, I think sending Squall and Tempest to Winhill might be the answer to several of our problems. There isn’t enough room at Raine’s place so it might take a while to obtain another permanent residence with how quickly the town has been growing but I’m thinking of setting up a small base of operations there.”

“A place for rookie SeeDs to come and gain some experience while annoying the hell out of me.” I grumbled as I started to catch onto her plan.

“Wait…what?” Zell asked, every ounce of him expressing his confusion. “I thought the idea was for Squall to get away from the interruptions.”

Excitedly Quistis shook her head. “There shouldn’t be any interruptions other than a daily report from the current squad leader. Personally, I think something is going on in Winhill that’s either allowing unusual amounts of monsters to enter the town or is just flat out attracting them there. I want to add the investigative work to the SeeDs on duty. That way Squall can do his administrative work, take care of Tempest and simply be a commanding officer in case something major happens.”

“I’d like to discuss the situation in greater depth before it’s initiated.” I insisted, thinking over what little we had to go on so far. With a little polishing it could be the answer we were looking for, just as she said. “It’s going to take some time to get renovations done on Raine’s place. While that’s going on we need to try and find a place for the SeeDs to gather and trade off from. Preferably on the opposite side of town from me so that the bases are covered.”

“There’s a lot that needs to get worked out but it’s a good starting point.” Quistis agreed, absolutely thrilled that I accepted her idea. “I’ll talk to Laguna about remodeling Raine’s place into a family home. It’ll probably hit him a bit hard to have it changed so drastically but I think it’s for the best to at least warn him about it. While we wait I’m sure we can work something out regarding childcare for Tempest during the day. You’ll have to cut down office hours but we’ll help by vetting anyone coming into meet with you throughout the day.”

“Alright, let’s take the next week or two to work out the kinks in the plan.” I agreed reluctantly. As far as plans go it was a pretty damn efficient one. That didn’t mean I had to like it entirely.

“Yo! You think we could get Matron to come visit for those few weeks?” Zell inquired with boyish excitement. “She doesn’t have anyone living with her yet and it’ll be a couple months before kids start getting transferred so she’ll have some time.”

“I just have one stipulation if we’re gong to go this route.” I stated though I was unsure if I was going to get my way on this and it scared me almost as much as Tempest did.

“What’s that?” Zell asked before Quistis could.

While I wasn’t paying attention, my finger started running itself over the scar on my forehead. “I can’t stop doing the kinds of missions I’m currently taking. I can do fewer but I can’t stop them altogether. By the time Tempest is old enough to enroll in Garden it will be too late to get those skills up again. Either I keep my abilities as sharp as they are now or this might have to become a permanent position for me.”

They looked at each other, not willing to voice what all of us knew. Without a decent sparring partner, my bouts with Zell not included, I needed to keep taking on opponents that force me to fight somewhere remotely close to the fullest extent of my abilities. The chances of finding either of those in Winhill were going to be slim to none which meant I needed missions to keep me in top condition.

“I understand Squall.” Quistis replied sadly. “If we knew where Seifer was…”

“It doesn’t matter!” I hissed out, still hurt about not being able to find him after all these years. “Wherever he is, he obviously doesn’t want to be found. That’s not my problem anymore.”

“I’ll make arrangements for Tempest in the morning.” Quistis continued as if we hadn’t just discussed the previous topic. “Hopefully by tomorrow we can get this all worked out and initiate our plan.”

“There’s just one more thing…” I muttered, heat rising to my cheeks.

“What’s that?” She asked, beating Zell to the punch this time.

“I don’t know the first thing about taking care of babies…” I confessed quietly.

Admitting my inability to do something was nearly inconceivable to anyone who knew me, for good reason. This time though, it wasn’t me who was going to have to suffer the consequences of my ignorance. That was the only reason I was able to say the words out loud and basically plead with them both for help on how to care for her.

“Don’t worry man! We got you covered.” Zell promised, throwing an arm over my shoulder. “Give us a couple weeks and we’ll have you taking care of Tempest like a pro. I’ll even stay over tonight to help you through it.”

“Thanks Zell.” I breathed, grateful that I wasn’t going to be alone in this.

Notes:

Since the first chapter was super short, I decided to put the next one out as well.

So, for all you Rinoa fans, this is the only fic I have where I do any serious Rinoa bashing. Somehow with writing she just seemed to constantly make choices that annoyed me. I don't hate Rinoa but I don't think her and Squall make the perfect couple either. In this story, she's just a pain in the ass...

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 3: Hyne's Favorite Punchline

Summary:

Seifer receives a big request at work.
Squall gets a little melancholy before arriving at Raine's Tavern.

*Seifer* 

Hyne must have had a fucking warped sense of humor, with me as his favorite punchline. I thought to myself as I looked at my desk on Monday morning.

That’s what I was currently certain of at least given my previous record for shitty situations and the one I was looking at was fast approaching the top ten on the shittiest situations list. There was no way it was going to be fucking possible to manage. Being a Monday morning with only a single cup of coffee in my system didn’t improve it one bit either.

From the moment I walked in there was a huge pile of requests sitting on my desk just waiting for me to sort through and decide how to handle each of them. At the very top of the stack, likely placed there by my oh so loving secretary, was a request that I’d read three times already in hopes of seeing something different. Not a fucking chance in hell…

“Erin!” I called out loudly, knowing she would hear me through the mostly closed office door.

Less than a minute later that same door was being flung open hard enough to slam against the wall of my office. Attempts to prevent the hole that was forming had all failed but today I just couldn’t be bothered over getting it fixed. In my state of disbelief, I had been stupid enough to call my secretary into my office using a manner she considered to be highly rude. Her preference was to have me use the phone or intercom to request that she come speak with me even though I was just as easily heard so long as the door was open.

It was too late to correct my mistake though and I was met with a pair of ice blue eyes that would cause miniature flashbacks under normal circumstances. If I wasn’t so damn certain that Squall was an orphan with no knowledge of his family line I would have asked if she was related to him back when I'd hired her. Something about her eyes reminded me so much of his that I figured it was possible, but we’d never know for sure, and I wasn’t curious enough to find out. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could handle knowing that they were related.

At five foot three, Erin was slim and fit. If she weighed more than a hundred and thirty pounds soaking wet, I’d be surprised but I was smart enough to never bring up a question like that for any reason. Throughout the year, her light brown hair seemed to change to either a darker or lighter color depending on the season and how much sun she’d recently gotten. In most cases it would contrast against how dark or light her naturally tanned skin had become from the same amount of exposure.

None of those details fell under the same as a certain brunette’s whose hair only marginally changed with sun exposure and whose pale skin would simply burn when exposed too long. If not for those eyes I never would have made the connection at all but the totally pissed off looks were so similar I’d sometimes forget where I was and find myself preparing to draw my gunblade for a sparring match. Even the colors weren’t too far off from each other. Hers being icy blue and his gunmetal blues that shifted between cloudy grey and the blue of a winter sky, depending on his mood.

“You bellowed Boss?” Erin snarked as she approached my desk and I had to shake away the images my mind was drawing up over the looks of annoyance she was giving me.

Our working relationship was almost perfect and if I didn’t think we’d end up killing each other I might have asked her out a year ago. It was a wise decision not to ask and I don’t regret it one bit. Luckily, some dumb sap ended up falling in love with her personality about seven months or so ago and she had finally given in just recently, taking her completely off the market. That was perfectly fine with me so long as she was being treated well. Not that I’d ever say that out loud to her but there was a good chance he and I would meet in a dark place at night should he ever hurt her.

A throat being cleared forced me to get my tired brain back on to the issue at hand. Giving a long, dramatic sigh I dropped my head into my folded arms and passed her the request. She was well familiar with my theatrics by now and I didn’t even need to look up in order to know she was frowning hard while taking the paper from me. While she looked it over I simply kept my head down, feeling absolutely defeated.

“They can’t be serious about this!” She exclaimed and I heard papers rustling back and forth in a similar fashion to what I’d done just ten minutes ago.

“I thought it might have been some sort of cruel joke someone was playing when I first read it.” I mumbled, turning my head a little so she could hear me. “Our crew just isn’t big enough to pull this kind of shit off in the timeframe they’re requesting. Not if we’re going to stay on schedule for our other projects anyway. To top it off, that place has been abandoned for twenty fucking years! How do they expect us to get it to these specs in just two weeks?”

More rustling and I knew she was thinking of a solution. “It’s not the first home renovation we’ve done like this. What was our minimum timeframe on those?”

She was right. For a little over a year now I’d been sending crews out to renovate homes throughout the town. On occasion we’ve needed to do similar projects for homes that haven’t been lived in for decades. But none of those were under such a narrow timeline as this one. I wasn’t sure it was possible, even if we brought every member of our crew on the job. Especially since we had no idea what condition this place was even in.

“Tell me you have a way to make this work because my mind is going completely blank on it.” I pleaded with her.

“I might.” She mused and pulled herself onto the corner of my desk so that she was more comfortable. Which of course encouraged me to lift my head and watch her. “I think we can afford to put the school on hold for a couple of weeks while we get the majority of this completed. Let’s pull all our crew onto this, work them in shifts around the clock and maybe get some help from Raijin. It just might be possible to get this done with a couple days left over. It would be even better if we can get them to agree with permitting an extra week for complications since the place hasn’t been lived in for so long.”

“I’ll try and sweettalk this guy into giving us a little more leeway, even if it’s just a few days. It's been a while since we've had to call him in so I might even be able to finagle a week of Raijin’s time. We’ll just have to hope that’s enough to keep the project on track.” I agreed, perfectly willing to kiss Fujin’s ass for the next two weeks if she wouldn’t kick my ass to the curb over this.

Erin gave a long, exasperated sigh that only appeared when we spoke of hiring Raijin on for projects. “Why haven’t we put him on our payroll already? If we do it right we can just bring him on part time and utilize him for the bigger projects. It would be worth the extra cost involved.”

It was a question that we’ve discussed at least once a month or so and both of us knew the answer to it. By now it was more of an ongoing line that we brought up from time to time but know it was futile. To bring Raijin in on the payroll would be absolutely disastrous for my living situation and it wasn’t the big guy that I was concerned about.

“Because his wife knows where I sleep. Even worse, I would loose my babysitter if I dared to so much as bring up the subject of Raijin officially working for my company.” I reminded her dryly. “To bring him in on emergencies means paying him exactly what his services are worth. There’s no way we could pull it off every damn month and you know there’d be mutinies all over the place if we tried.”

“Did you see the payout for this job?” She smirked and tapped the file with her finger. “I’m pretty certain this one job could cover his employment for the better part of a year.”

It was true that we were being offered a lot of fucking money to complete the job at the requested standards. As intense, demanding and time restricted as it was, someone had to be rich as fuck to afford this much as an offer and not bat a fucking eyelash over it. Now if I could just get a little leeway on the timeframe I wouldn’t be getting so worked up over the whole damn thing.

“Or it can cover our entire payroll for at least the next six months alone. School is out for the summer and our deadline isn’t until the end of August on that one. We’ll find a way to make up for lost time on it. But this job could be a hell of a buffer for the slow season. We’re just going to have to make it work somehow.” I told her.

“You get Raijin in here for the next couple of weeks and I’ll find a way to make it all work out.” She promised.

“Deal!” I agreed eagerly then smirked at her. “But you get to explain to Fujin why it’s so important to bring Raijin in this time. She likes you better than me and the last time I called for his help I was nearly locked out of the house for a week!”

“That’s because you didn’t listen to me, and Raijin wasn’t getting home until midnight only to leave again in the morning with you.” She pointed out then dropped the file on my desk. “I’ll go call Fujin, along with all the other wives that will take issue with this, while you call this guy and try to extend the deadline a little.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I can handle this guy. According to the file he lives in Esthar somewhere. Those bastards are all the snooty types.” I joked, opening the file back up to find the guy’s phone number.

Erin laughed and vacated her perch. “I have a lot of phone calls to make then. Plenty of women are going to be pissed off over the scheduling. I expect some reparations for having to pacify them and deal with Fujin.”

“Just make sure that everyone, wives included, is fully informed that this is going to be a temporary around the clock shift with a three-day vacation afterwards and I’ll make sure you’re compensated for the shitty fucking role. I don’t want a fucking mob of wives beating down my door like last time.” I promised. With over half our crew married I didn’t envy her the task, but she always seemed to smooth things out better than I could, so it usually fell on her shoulders to pull it off.

“Sure thing Boss. I’ll get right on it.” She shot back smugly.

As soon as her hand was on the handle of the door I called out to her and she turned back to me, waiting for further instructions. “You think we could actually pull it off this time?”

If anyone ever asked, I wasn’t whining and I’d deny it with every breath in my body. But I could admit to myself that it was damn close. There was a shit ton of money on the line and once I made the call to this guy our reputation would be as well. After the last job we took on, arrogantly I might add, that had a stupid short deadline like this I thought a little insecurity was reasonable. That job had gone over by two weeks due to poor information, a hasty walkthrough before work started and an overbearing asshole who never seemed to be satisfied. The whole thing had almost become a legal battle before it was finished.

Of course Erin would figure out right where my thoughts had been going and gave me a rare, reassuring smile. “We’ve got this one Boss. It won’t be like last time. Trust that your crew has your back and it will work out.”

Normally I wouldn’t fall for empty, comforting words but this time I felt myself actually believing in them. Her steady confidence helped me let out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and I felt like it was possible to succeed this time. Maybe Leonhart wasn’t the only pain in the ass I knew that could pull a miracle out of his ass.

“Yes Ma’am!” I replied quickly and gave her a confident grin. “I’ve got full faith in you and our crew. Let’s make a damn miracle happen.”

Apparently the power of positive thinking was working for a change because she gave me a smile. Something passed between us and we both started laughing, hers lingering even after the door closed behind her. Feeling better about the whole ordeal I confidently picked up the phone and dialed the Estharian number listed in the file.

Forming a checklist in my mind I started writing it down on my notepad while I waited for the call to connect. Someone, a woman judging by the voice, answered the phone and put me on hold. It took long enough that I was able to put my checklist on paper and gather several items before a more masculine voice came on the line. Plan in place, I started chatting the guy up and asking questions. It was a good thirty minutes or so before we ended the call and I felt better for it.

Taking advantage of my improved mood, I ignored the pile of paperwork on my desk and threw my bag together. This was one site that I was going to personally examine before we got started on any of the work.

*Squall*

There had been no shortage of volunteers to watch Tempest during the day, yet it still took longer than expected to get everything in order. Just getting Quistis, Xu and Nida caught up on all my projects, most of which should have gone to them in the first place, was a bit of a chore. Doing so on little sleep made it even harder. Eventually Quistis brought in several of her Trepie fan club that had passed the SeeD exams to assist us in getting things sorted.

In an attempt to take some of the pressure off of me, Zell and one of the Trepies had taken care of obtaining the supplies I needed to care for Tempest. Many of which were consumables, such as diapers or formula, and some of which just hadn’t been provided by Rinoa in the first place. And I’d be the first to admit that I didn’t even know about some of the necessities needed that they had brought back on their first trip into town.

During all of this I was trying to learn how to take care of Tempest. Nearly every evening I was being trained by someone on how to care for her needs, understand the various sounds she made and what I should and shouldn’t do with her. It was exhausting having to cram so much information in short spurts with everything else going on but I somehow managed. To my relief, Zell often stayed over at night so that I wasn’t completely on my own while still learning how to do everything with her.

Amazingly, it only took about a week before everyone in Garden seemed to know about Tempest and she’d gained her own fan club. Often times they would follow us around like the Trepies did with Quistis, jumping to help the second an opportunity presented itself. Tempest seemed to like most of them, and they would often throw out bits of information or guidance that I filed away for future reference, so I was willing to put up with it.

It took a few days, but Matron eventually did make it to Garden and gave her own bits of guidance. Between everyone here, I was starting to wonder whether I was even going to need the small stack of parenting books sitting on my coffee table. Given how obviously lacking my parenting skills were, it was no surprise when Matron had offered to aid me by taking in Tempest until she was older.

After all I’d learned, it was tempting to just pass of the responsibility. But one look from that child’s eyes and I was turning the offer down in a heartbeat. Tempest was my child, and I was determined to be there for her no matter the compromises I had to make in order to do so. Still, it was a relief to know that the offer was there in case I found myself truly unable to care for her the way she deserved.

Matron wasn’t offended at all by my rejection. In fact, she seemed proud of my decision and went out of her way to add to my parenting education. Knowing that Tempest was safely in her care made it easier to spend my mornings and part of the afternoon in the office and my afternoons learning about caring for a child, planning for our eventual move and trying to not panic about the whole ordeal.

The biggest thing I took away from the experience was how many students actually knew how to care for a baby. Most of them having either helped care for a baby in their families or had willingly taken optional classes on child care and education in preparation for being instructors at Garden. On the flip side of that, most of the students didn’t have the slightest idea about what to do with a baby.

After almost two weeks of caring for Tempest, I started doing a subtle survey. In the end, I found that the majority of the people living in Garden had little to no experience with babies whatsoever. Realizing just how many ways a person could come in contact with a baby in our line of work, I grew concerned about this gap in our training.

With that information in hand, along with having a baby randomly thrust upon me for care and knowing my own experiences, I put in the suggestion that students should have at least a class or two added to their basic education. Quistis and Xu approved of that idea and promised to make it happen at some point. While unlikely that they would need to care for a baby in the field, it was still a possibility and SeeDs are supposed to be prepared for any kind of scenario. It only made sense that they should at least have some exposure to early childcare during their student years here.

It had taken me a full week to notice just how much having Tempest around was changing the way I did, and thought, about various things I never thought twice about before. Another few days past that to realize that I cared for and felt protective of her. At two full weeks of having her in my care, I was able to admit to myself that I truly wanted her and was ready to do what I had to in order to keep her safe and healthy.

By the end of the third week, I was helping load up all the crap everyone had bought her and found myself hoping that I could make this all work out. Somehow, I had to make this work for us in the long term. This was the one thing I absolutely refused to accept anything other than absolute success in. Strange how everything could change in just a few weeks...

Still, that didn’t help the sting of Quistis being right when she said that the three of them were perfectly capable of running Garden without me being present. That was proven whenever I’d gone on missions that lasted longer than a couple of days. True, if something needed my verbal approval or input there were ways for her to contact me to get it.

Cutting my workload down by removing the constant interruptions and only focusing on what was absolutely required of me should technically be seen as a good thing. I might even manage to get my daily paperwork done on a regular basis rather than once a week or so. Maybe this remote work did come with a few benefits…

Thinking about it left me with just one question I was afraid to have answered. Did Garden really need me here in my current role? For anything outside of emergency situations? Or was I simply a figurehead to flaunt at other officials? Maybe I was just a perfect example of what SeeD training was capable of achieving. Why was I the only one spoken of when there had been six of us fighting against Ultimecia?

Any one of the other could have just as easily taken the lead or landed the killing blow. It had just been by chance that I’d been the one to kill her in the end. The only difference between myself and the others was Cid placing me in the role of Commander during the war, long before the final battle. A position that didn't even have a title before the others gave me one. So, what really made me special enough to be the Lion of Balamb?

Sadly, it wasn’t the first I’d thought about it. For the last few years I’d been asking myself the same questions over and over again without any good answers. It was depressing as fuck to think about. No, scratch that, it was absolutely devastating to think that all my hard work amounted to a title and a position that really didn’t matter. I was no better than any of the others. Outside of being put into leadership positions again and again during the war, there was no difference between us. We all had Garden training and, except for Quistis, no experience as SeeDs before that morning the three of us left for Timber.

So, what was stopping them from replacing me the moment I became obsolete? What if I resigned from my position or just flat out retired? Eventually I was either going to be killed or retire. Most likely before I ever reached my thirtieth birthday. As it was, I was turning twenty-three this year. What would they do if I did choose to retire a little early? Would they beg me to stay? Ask me to choose a replacement? Or would they just find one to replace me on their own? Did I really want to spend my whole life living at Garden and doing administrative work with only the occasional mission to distract me?

A soft jolting pulled me from my thoughts as the ship decelerated quickly. Instinctively I reached over to place a hand on Tempest’s carrier so that she wasn’t jostled around too badly but it didn’t seem to phase her at all. With Tempest on board Selphie had adjusted her normal flying habits to something a little more tame. Well, for Tempest and because Irvine insisted she take it easy now that she was halfway through her second trimester with their second child.

Their two-year-old daughter, Mio was currently spending time with Matron back at Balamb Garden. After they finished helping me get everything set up, Selphie, Zell and Irvine would go back to Garden to get the two of them, likely dropping off Zell in the process, and transporting Matron back to the orphanage. Since the rest of us had been officially claimed as honorary family members I decided it was going to be necessary to put more effort into the uncle role so Tempest could have some semblance of a family.

Just before Mio was born, Selphie and Irvine had moved from Balamb to Trabia where they would have an easier time raising her. They still helped me out with training students and the occasional mission but mostly they stayed there. Even though visits were irregular, Selphie made sure we all had time to interact with Mio over the last two years.

Mostly that involved phone or video calls, but she also made a point of bringing her to Balamb and planning regular events for us to attend. That first year had been a difficult one for me and I'd hardly interacted with Mio until she was a little over a year old. It wasn't that I had anything against her, I just hadn't been in a good mindset at the time and kept mostly to myself. Now that I had Tempest to think about, her comments about family and bonding were starting to make a lot more sense.

The ship landed behind the house and I could see the fields of white flowers in the distance. It was the first time I’d come here since Ellone had confirmed Loire’s confession about being my father. Not long after that they had declared Raine’s tavern to be my inheritance since she was my biological mother. Of course I tried to give it back to Ellone after she’d spent so many years living here with Raine before I was even born and she turned it down flat. The same happened when I tried to give it to Loire since it should technically have gone to him for being married to her.

Now that I was seeing it, I felt guilt and regret well up inside of me. Of the three of us, I was the only one who had no memories of this place, with the exception of memories Ellone had shown me, and didn’t feel like I deserved to call it mine. In the five years since they’d given it to me not once did I think to visit or work on fixing it up. While I didn’t actually know my mother, Ellone had used her powers a few times to take me into the past so I could have an idea of who she was. She took such pride in this place that I felt like I’d betrayed her by not doing something about it sooner.

What I had done was insist that the deed was also put in Ellone's name in case something should ever happen to me. Being a SeeD who entered the field on a regular basis was dangerous on its own. Being well known as the Commander of Garden, by name and reputation more than appearance, was of even greater risk. Over the last three weeks part of my preparations had included making Ellone godmother to Tempest.

After having found out about the possibility, I’d barely waited an hour before calling her up and asking if she would accept. There was no way I was going to let my child be put in an orphanage somewhere if I were killed somewhere and have no one know who to send her to. A copy of my will would be kept right on the damn wall for anyone to find, another with Quistis at Garden, a third with Ellone and a fourth in my personal files. For Tempest, I was making damn sure all my bases were being covered.

Because of my name being so well known, I decided to adopt an alias while living here. Nothing extreme, but I did change my surname since I going to be recognized by that more than my first name. It likely wouldn’t take long for the older townsfolk to recognize who I was and came to visit. Well, in a general sense anyway. Loire had already admitted that he’d bragged to a few of the more powerful people in town about having found his and Raine’s long-lost son during his last visit to her grave just outside of town. I probably wouldn’t have that much warning if Ellone hadn’t mentioned it when I asked about moving into the tavern with Tempest.

The flight between Balamb and Winhill had only taken a few hours, but Tempest had enjoyed it too much to take her usual nap. Now that we were stopped and I was holding her carrier in one hand, she was making a big show of yawning and eye fluttering. It was a little past her afternoon nap and I wanted to get her set up in a room as soon as possible so that her schedule wasn’t disrupted more than necessary.

A lockbox beside the door held a key to the tavern, the one used during construction presumably, and needed a simple code to unlock it. In a matter of seconds, I had the key in hand and was unlocking the door to the storage room at the back of the ground floor. For the moment Tempest and I were the only ones prepared to enter the house, Irvine and Zell staying behind to unload the Ragnarök under Selphie’s supervision. It was one of the rare times I’d ever seen the tiny woman ever lose an argument, and I was pretty certain she’d find a way to make Irvine pay for it later, but he somehow got her to agree to let the two of them do the heavy lifting while she supervised.

Normally I would have helped by letting Selphie take Tempest in, who was well within the limits Irvine had declared acceptable, so I could assist in unloading. So why didn’t I? Because more than half of the growing pile of crap that they were unloading had been purchased by the three of them. For the last two weeks my Garden suite had been so cramped with this stuff that I could barely move around enough to get to anything.

The other big offender to the pile was my own father. But since he conveniently wasn’t present to help haul everything in, I had no problem placing his share on their shoulders. Only a small portion had been minor donations from other people around Garden but that was generally small items they gave like blankets, clothing or stuffed toys for Tempest to play with. All my share consisted of had been a few boxes, a couple duffle bags worth of clothes and both gunblade cases. It wasn’t like I’d owned much in the first place and one of the boxes was half full of those damn parenting books.

One of the other reasons I’d chosen to go in first was because I had no clue as to the condition of the house. Just because Ellone had hinted at a few repairs being done, much to Loire’s disappointment, it didn’t mean the house was completely safe after all these years. If I let Selphie take Tempest in without inspecting it myself and something happened, I had no doubts what the end results would be with Irvine in such an overprotective state. Letting someone else go into an unknown situation just wasn’t worth the risk anyway. Not when I was absolutely certain I could keep Tempest safe even if half the house fell on top of us.

“One of these days I’m going to stop underestimating those two.” I mumbled to myself upon entering the main part of the tavern.

To my surprise, the tavern wasn’t only repaired but it looked like someone had completely renovated the whole damn thing! Nothing about the place suggested it hadn’t been lived in for over twenty years. Other than a decent sized freezer, there was nothing in the storage room but that was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was the bar being replaced by a fancy kitchen counter, stove and dishwasher. The entire kitchen fully stocked with everything under the damn sun for cooking with.

Moving farther into the house, passing the counter with a bit of astonishment, I found that all the furniture had been completely replaced. The fireplace had been restored and even had a small stack of wood set up next to it as if ready for use. In front of the fireplace was a small coffee table made of polished wood. Beyond that, separating the living room from the dining area, was a couch with plush armchairs on either side of it. In the dining room, the round tables and bar chairs had been replaced by a smaller, square table with a chair on each side and a small stack of extra chairs placed in the far corner of the room. Even the wood flooring had been replaced and coated heavily with some kind of varnish that made it shine.

Absolutely impressed by the details placed, I decided it was probably safe to take Tempest upstairs with me. Seeing how well the ground floor had been done didn’t keep me from testing every step as I made my way up the stairs. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to find they had received similar treatment as the bottom floor had or that not a single board made a sound when I stepped on it. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction at how efficient whoever had done the renovations had been.

Having only the small clips that Ellone had provided me of what the tavern used to look like, I was still startled when I found the second floor to be completely different from those memories. What had once been a completely open floor plan was now divided into various spaces. Only the tiniest section remained of the living room and a kitchenette was added onto the far wall.

The kitchenette only held a half-sized fridge on one side of the counter, a microwave, a two-burner stove and a small sink with only a couple feet of open counterspace left over. Other than the lack of storage space for food supplies up here, the living room and kitchenette were adequate for my current needs. Maybe in a couple years, or if people came to visit, I could utilize the area downstairs. But I really didn’t need to when I could make this work just fine. At worst, I’d have to store the majority of items downstairs and just keep the absolute necessities in the small amount of space offered.

Just like downstairs, there was a small fireplace on the other side of the living room. Given the setup of the house I wouldn’t be surprised if the one fireplace wasn’t quite enough to keep the upstairs area warm in the winter. As old as the house was, it would probably be a pain in the ass to install modern systems to control the temperature of the house. More than likely it just isn’t worth doing when extreme temperatures only lasted a short time and summers didn’t generally get too hot here.

The back half of the room was divided between three rooms. Opening the first I found a mostly empty room with dark carpet and lightly painted walls. The only thing keeping it from being completely empty was the beginnings of a home office set in one corner with a freshly installed power outlet under the desk. Along the same wall a closet had been placed and the door left open, so the inside was easily visible. More than enough space for what I required, and the handle of the door could easily be changed out for a locking one.

Opposite of the office set up and the closet was another door. This one opened to reveal a room clearly designed for a baby or even a young child. Splotches of pastel pinks, light purples and various shades of light blue blended together on the walls. Almost immediately upon entering I noticed that the carpet was twice as thick as mine and appeared to be made of a softer material. Just like the wall, the carpet was a blend of beige and other light brown colors that worked well with the room and wouldn’t expose stains easily. That it gave a warm and inviting appearance made it perfect for Tempest. At least, I considered it to be.

Since she was fully asleep at this point, I decided it would be alright to leave her in the room with the door open while I finished my explorations. Gently I set the carrier down in the middle of the room, opened the second door and went to the final door on this side of the apartment. Opening it I wasn’t surprised to see a nicely renovated bathroom. It was pretty decent size given the available space, good enough to suit our needs.

Above the toilet was a small metal rack to store a couple of towels and under the sink was a small cabinet that could store a few necessities. Off to the side was a closet that held a washer/dryer combination machine. Above the machine was a small rack for laundry supplies and just to the side was some shelving meant for storage.

At least I could squeeze in some laundry without leaving the house. I thought to myself, pleased with the extra addition. It was absolutely baffling as to how much laundry a child her size could go through in a single day.

Selphie was just trudging up the stairs with Tempest’s travel bag just as I finished exploring. “The place looks great! But where’s Tempest?”

“In her room. She decided to have her nap, so I thought I’d leave her to it.” I answered, gesturing to the extra room. “Go sit down and I’ll bring her out to you. Do you mind keeping an eye on her while I help the others?”

“Go for it.” She replied, dropping gratefully onto the couch and rubbing her belly. “I’m going to need a minute before heading back down those stairs. This little one weighs a ton and is killing my balance.”

All it took was that little comment to have me thinking about the stairs and safety. Maybe I should ask Irvine about helping install some kind of barrier for the stairs. According to everyone at Garden, I should expect her to start crawling any time now and shortly after that she’ll practice with walking. It would be too easy for something to happen and that sent a chill down my back.

“Call if you need anything.” I told her, setting Tempest’s carrier on the floor next to her so it was within easy reach.

There were no doubts as to who would make the decisions for decorating Tempest’s room, and I was certain she was already planning it the moment I started down the stairs, but I’ll be damned if anyone took over the rest of the organization here. If I was going to live here full-time, then things needed to be where I could find them easily. Better that I help get everything in now, where I could direct the placement of it all, than to try and fix it myself later.

Notes:

So, I know there's a fairly large time gap between Seifer's request at work and Squall's arrival in Winhill. I hope Squall's reminiscing about the previous few weeks helped fill that in.

Please share what you think of the story so far!

Chapter 4: An Almost Perfect Life

*Seifer* 

“Daaaaddyyyy!” Those matching cries in shrill little voices were my only warnings the moment I stepped into the house. Barely a heartbeat later my legs were being captured by a pair of child sized cannonballs.

Having learned a long time ago that my children would attack me the moment I walked in the door I made it a habit to carry Hyperion well out of their range upon entering the house. Locked in place while they arranged themselves into more secure positions I managed to lean over and place the gunblade in the rack beside the entryway and shut the door at the same time. Later I would move her to a matching storage rack in my room but I liked having her close by after the incident last year.

Fully sheathed, a custom strap blocking the gun portion from firing and placed on the rack, Hyperion was about as child safe as I could make her without locking her away in a damn safe. While I never underestimated my children’s abilities to get into trouble I was fairly certain none of it would involve Hyperion just yet. Maybe in a few years when Cassie got curious enough to learn about it but we’ve discussed the gunblade, and weapons in general, along with being safe around them. Considering that they’d grown up in the house with weapons constantly being everywhere and taught from day one not to touch them, regular discussions were plenty to keep the kids from playing with any of them.

Gunblade now safely out of their reach I was free to chuckle at their dramatics. While they rattled on about me being home, I methodically attempted to pry them of my legs and allowed them to climb on to my arms so I could have a chance at walking. With a child hanging from each arm, it felt like I was swinging around weights as I moved, carefully watching in case someone lost their grip, but it was a feeling I wouldn’t trade for the whole damn world. There was nothing anyone could promise me that could be any better than what I had right here.

While Cassie had inherited my bright blonde hair, she’d gotten her sapphire blue eyes and pale complexion from her mother. At four and a half years old, the girl had proven time and again that she was highly intelligent and capable of hiding just how smart she was from those who didn’t know her well. As for her stubborn streak, that she’d gotten from both of us, I wasn’t quite sure if that was a positive trait or something that was going to be a problem eventually.

She was also nearly impossible to trick, coerce or be lied to like one could with a normal child. It was doable, but you had to go at it like you were dealing with an older child, or sometimes a full-grown adult, before you had any chance of it ever working. As if that weren’t enough of my Almasy blood to give her issues, Cassandra also had a bad habit of not backing down if she believed herself to be in the right. That’s not to say she is in the right, just that she simply has to believe that she is for that trait to come out. Young and inexperienced, she always believed she was right until hit with undeniable proof that she wasn’t.

More than once I found the combination to result in near disaster. Multiple times over the last year she’d taken things too far, often dragging Tyr and Souta along with her schemes, and got them all into serious trouble. So far we’d managed to intervene before anyone got seriously hurt, but damn it was close sometimes. The girl sure knew how to keep me on my toes, but I guess I deserved a miniature version of myself for all the crap I’ve put others through over the years.

Her slightly younger twin brother, Tyr, was the quieter of the two and almost a complete opposite of her. For the most part he kept to himself and the household, speaking quietly to pretty much everyone and using gestures instead of words whenever he thought he could get away with it. Often, he relied on Cassandra to manage the people around him if they were together. There wasn’t anything wrong with him exactly, he just didn’t enjoy being around people much in the first place and the attack only exasperated the issue.

When he did actually feel confident enough to talk, it was clear that he was extremely observant. Though he never appeared to notice much of anything unless you paid close attention to him. He also tended to overanalyze pretty much everything. That included conversations and resulting in him only speaking when he had something important to say or couldn't communicate his needs in other ways.

It wasn’t just his personality that was so different from his sisters either. A couple inches shorter than Cassandra, Tyr somehow ended up with hair dark enough to be mistaken for brown and his eyes were almost the same color as the ocean outside of Balamb. They were closer to my coloring than his mother’s but had just enough blue in them to look like a blend of the two colors. Fortunately, his skin often gained a light tan during the summer rather than burning like his sister’s and mother’s did.

As if to add more complexity to his nature, Tyr loved being outside no matter the weather. During the colder months he hated being stuck inside most of the day and jumped at any chance to go play in the yard. It was the only time he seemed to truly be able to express himself and act like an average kid so I found ways to make it happen as often as I could.

There was one good benefit to them being polar opposites. It gave me a much needed edge over them. Situations with the twins were an almost daily occurrence but I found it was fairly easy to pick out the instigator just by looking at a few factors. Anything reckless, crazy, dangerous or something I probably did as a child, I could assume to be something Cassie initiated.

That’s not to say Tyr didn’t create his own havoc on occasion. Usually, his plans were less dangerous and more thought out. Often falling under the categories of well planned, mischievous, or highly effective. Nothing that I needed to be too worried about and were things often done for fun, like little pranks or jokes. Other times they were fairly harmless instances of breaking the rules, like sneaking into the kitchen for an extra treat or investigating something he was told to not touch.

To his credit, most of his planning could be seen as very simplified and juvenile tactics that I remembered reading in textbooks before they started giving us the more advanced classes. Most of those books were geared towards children with simple tricks and strategies that would seem ridiculous to suggest now that I knew better, but he somehow developed them on his own. Since it was all mostly harmless, he often got away with whatever he was doing. Partly because I wanted to encourage the strategic part of him. But that didn’t apply for flat out breaking rules and getting caught doing it. If he’s going to scheme, at least do it well enough to not get caught.

Overall, the only reason I seemed a bit harder on Cassie was her innate ability to cause trouble. Admittedly, Tyr did often try to deter her from the more dangerous plans but that was only somewhat effective. If he deemed a plan to not be too dangerous he would go along with it more often than not, but he had no hesitation in ratting her out if he worried she was doing something too dangerous.

It was actually kind of cute the way he’d naturally designated himself as her keeper while she thought of herself as his protector. Granted, their brains just weren’t developed enough to realize what they were doing but I could. For now, the two of them were pretty well cared for and looked after but kids often managed to find trouble if given the chance and my children were no exception. Having them looking out for each other just gave another layer of protection onto the ones already provided for them.

“Unkle Seifr!” Cried out a second boy who’d been hiding behind the couch.

Distracted by the two little demons hanging off of my arms I hadn’t initially seen him, though I knew he’d be close by. At his cry I caught him clambering onto the back of the couch and stood completely still, bracing myself for impact. Even with being prepared for it, the impact of the small boy launching himself at my back and throwing his arms around my neck forced a small grunt out of me.

Roughly nine months younger than my own two children, Souta was Raijin and Fujin’s oldest child and best friend to my twins. With all of them so close in age and having spent nearly their whole lives together, the three had become almost inseparable. Of course, Cassie was the unofficial leader of the trio, but Souta was just dominant enough to challenge her on occasion. Which often resulted in them disagreeing on something, neither willing to back down. Usually, Tyr would find a way to step in and calm them both down without ever taking a side. With him there, they often worked out a compromise or found something else to play that they could all agree on.

These kids were good on their own but when they got together like this I had to seriously work to keep things interesting. Acting as if the impact had been absolutely devastating, I laid out the dramatics pretty damn thick and started to stumble around the room. Careful not to move too fast or make jerky movements, I spun around in drunken circles while the kids laughed and squealed. All three knew that I’d break my own damn bones before falling on them if they managed to lose their grip on me. Its why they were all able to enjoy the hint of danger so much, they knew they were completely safe with me.

Part of me regretted that I let them believe the ultimate lie parents give their children. The one about never letting anything ever hurt them. Even the kids knew it was a lie but their small brains couldn’t acknowledge that openly while placing their full trust in me so we all just accepted it as the truth. In reality, I would give everything to keep the kids safe, as would Raijin and Fu, but bad shit happens and there’s only so much a person can do. Didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do my damnedest to protect them though.

“Your momma cooking again Souta?” I asked a little breathless after spinning them around for a few minutes and made my way to the kitchen as if the three of them weighed nothing.

After the twins were born and Fu found out she was pregnant, we started to develop a routine together. At the time Jenna was still with us and had gone back to work a few months after having Cassie and Tyr so Fujin offered to watch them while we both worked. As payment, I helped Raijin with projects around the house during the weekends.

For the last year I’d lived with them and the routine changed slightly. Now Fujin took care of the childcare, cooking and some cleaning while Raijin and I did pretty much anything she asked of us. It was one of the reasons she hated me calling him in on projects. Our long lasting friendship made it so she was never sure whether we were working late into the night or just goofing off somewhere to get a little time away from the house.

“Kchin!” Souta announced proudly, pointing to the room over my shoulder.

“To the kitchen it is then!” I proclaimed loudly, expertly avoiding a blow to my nose as he returned to clinging at my neck with both arms.

Crossing the last half of the living room with a few dramatic, and exaggerated, steps I acted as if I weren’t hauling ninety something pounds of wriggling, laughing kids on my body. One good thing about the kids, the little buggers managed to keep me in shape far better than work or those minor hunting trips could manage. As fast as they were growing I just hoped that I could keep this up for another couple of years. But that was assuming none of them hit some kind of crazy growth spurt. Even I had my limits as to how much I could carry at once.

Fujin had to be well aware of my being home by now, given how much noise we made, otherwise she’d have been greeting me with a chakram in her hand. While I may have grown up with her at Garden, it still amazed me that she could so easily track and manage four kids of different age groups. Part of that might have more to do with teaching them to be well behaved for her so she could leave them in a completely different room unattended while she did something like cook dinner in the kitchen.

Even more admirable was her ability to continue keeping Raijin and me in line. For some reason she still believed that we were incapable of managing ourselves appropriately unless she was nearby to correct us. Over the last year or so I started to seriously wonder if the woman had some kind of super powers. Or maybe a touch of Hyne’s gift. Or something that could possibly explain her insane ability to know what everyone was doing at any given time.

Then again, I guess she’d been like that ever since I first met her. As young cadets, she was always the sensible one who tried to keep Raijin and me in check. None of us could pinpoint exactly when it had happened but she had just naturally taken the role over and made a point of diverting us when we started to do some crazy ass shit that might have gotten our asses in huge trouble or possibly killed, depending on the day.

Around half the time she’d been successful in stopping our schemes, and almost always the most dangerous ones. Those that she couldn’t prevent she would gracefully go along with just to cover our asses when we got in over our heads. When the blasted scheme would backfire she’d smugly give us an ‘I told you so’ right before leaving us to cover her share of any punishments we happened to get placed on us by Garden falculty. To which we would grumble about but do it anyway while she returned to the dorms.

“Seifer, you’re home.” Fujin greeted with a small smile in my direction.

For about two years now, Fujin had been working hard at using more words to get her point across. They might not always be full sentences but she now reserved the single word responses for when they were appropriate. It was something she’d started playing with after the war had ended but was forced to step up her game when Souta began talking.

When my twins were learning to talk they did so in a normal kid fashion. It was only when Souta started to try communicating that anyone noticed a real problem with it. Mimicking his mother, Souta tried to use minimal speech to communicate with everyone in the household. Unlike Fujin, no one could make out what he was trying to say by talking that way. He just didn’t have a wide enough vocabulary to interchange words as needed. Unable to communicate efficiently, Souta began having constant fits in order to express his frustration.

Eventually Jenna figured it out and explained it to Fujin. Once it was clear what was happening, Fujin began taking steps to adjusting the habit she’d built over a lifetime of talking. That didn’t mean it was an immediate fix, and they both had a few falters in the process, but once she started changing her way of speaking, so did Souta. Now his speech was better, if a little broken and with poor pronunciation of many words. Confident he would outgrow an issue like that, we just spoke with him using the correct words and pronunciations. Eventually he does learn the correct way and uses it.

Trying to keep the kids away from the hot stove, I leaned over to give Fujin a quick kiss on the cheek. The small act had become a ritual. One that had been started around the time she began watching the kids for me on a daily basis. It was just a small gesture to show my appreciation for all her help and had an unexpected benefit to me. Her reactions informed me of what my standing was with her. Happy Fujin readily accepts the peck on the cheek and I can be sure things were golden between us. Pissed off Fujin had no qualms about rejecting the offer and I would know to start kissing ass immediately for whatever crime had been committed.

“Was it really necessary to send the troops after me Fu?” I asked in a mock whine that made the kids giggle. “I got ganged up on and everything! They almost took me out completely this time!”

“Late! No sympathy!” She declared seriously but I caught the amusement she hid so damn well.

More giggling from the kids had us both smiling right up until I got a knee in my back from Souta as he fought to adjust his hold. The twins were having their own troubles with hanging on securely and limbs were wiggling everywhere, to the point of bumping into each other and leaving potential bruises on me. Barely giving me an amused smirk, Fu turned away from the battle I was engaged in so that she could continue working on dinner. Attempts to gently dislodge the kids on my own had proven futile and Fujin just stated that I would receive no help from her in the matter.

Eventually this would have to end but sharing the house with them for the last year had been a Hyne send. Moments like these made everything else worth it and I found myself dragging my feet at getting a place for just me and the twins so Raijin and Fu could have more space for their growing family. There had even been hints that they wanted a third child in the near future but that meant needing the space my kids and I took up. Not right away but in a few years at most I would think. Especially if the third child happened to be a girl.

In the meantime, I had my eye on a large property at the far edge of town. It was owned by an elderly couple who I’d helped out more than once with work on the place. They’d been talking about moving into a larger town where monster attacks didn’t happen and getting a small place that they could manage better. There were no children to consider so no one had prior claim to it. I’d never said anything to anyone but if they did sell, I was tempted to drop a small fortune into buying the place and making some changes.

After the monster attack that took Jenna from us, Fujin had insisted on me moving in with the kids. There were some gratshit claims about being easier to help care for the kids, but I was pretty certain that wasn’t the real reason she’d pushed us to do it. Still, it was a relief to provide the kids with somewhere familiar and safe they could be without having to haul them across town for fifteen minutes twice a day. At some point I was going to have to man up and admit that Fujin had been right, everyone had recovered better just by us being together all this time.

“Where’s Rai?” I asked, already suspecting where he might be if the kids were left alone in the living room. “He’ll help me get these little monsters off of me.”

Without even looking at me, Fujin shook her head and pointed to the back door with her spatula then went back to work. Right where I’d suspected!

“Not monsters Daddy!” Cassie squealed, slipping a little.

“Clingy Beasts then?” I questioned, stumbling to the door.

“Daddy!” She laughed, not yet sure how to respond to the teasing and more focused on holding onto me.

Every day it was a similar routine. All the kids would latch onto me the moment I got home from work. Then it would be my job to try and figure out how to escape them. What had started as a desperate clinging at knowing I was still alive and safe had gradually turned into a game. Partly out of self-preservation because I just couldn’t stand the damn crying that went it and it damn near killed me to see them so freaked out every day.

Instead, I’d come up with a fun game, completely by accident in an attempt to stop the crying, and now I had until dinner to escape them or they ‘won’ the battle that day. Sometimes I’d let them win and sometimes the little trio would manage to hang on just long enough for Fujin to call everyone into dinner. Being home late made it a little harder with the shorter time limit but that was fine. Made it easier for them to win against me and I didn’t have to pretend to lose. At least it was all in fun and no one’s feelings got hurt. Most days I didn’t even pout over losing unless the kids needed an extra boost of humor to cheer them up.

That small window between me coming home and dinner being called was my best chance for getting some fun in with the kids during the week. Sure, I took care of them in the mornings before heading off to work. Kids were dressed and fed every morning before I left, just to make things easier on Fu and so I could sneak in a little extra time with them. In the evenings, it was dinner, baths, story time, some cuddles and by the time that was all done it was time for the kids to get into bed.

Weekends were always our best option for family bonding time. Usually, we’d come up with some kind of game to play in the yard or take the kids to a nearby park so they could play while we took turns watching for stray bug monsters. There were occasional patrols around town by local peacekeepers and about every other week I could spot SeeD squads taking out the excess critters.

None of them seemed to recognize me after all this time but from what I could tell, they were all rookies being given easy assignments. Too bad I didn’t have the balls to call up Balamb and bitch about how slack the damn patrols were. Why bother when I could just take care of things myself? Amused the hell out of me though when I thought about how pissed Leonhart and Trepe would be if they ever found out that some of the squads spent more time goofing off than actually monster hunting.

The back door swung open easily and banged against the wall outside, earning me a halfhearted reprimand from Fujin. Over in the corner of the yard I could see Raijin and began making my way towards him while pretending to shake the kids off. Whatever he was working on was difficult to see from where I was but he stopped working the moment he took in my situation and burst out into a deep laugh.

“Looks like they got you real good this time!” He teased while meeting me in the middle of the yard. “Kids have been anxious for you to get home, ya know? Already had to field questions about you being late.”

“It was twenty minutes!” I protested loudly, holding my arms out so the kids were able to hang freely from them. “I was a whole twenty minutes late because of a project at work! That’s it!”

With how obsessed all three kids were about tracking each other and us adults I probably should have had the foresight to call and warn them. But I didn’t think about it at the time. It was a coping mechanism that Tyr had developed and had slowly passed around the trio until all three of them got worked up when schedules changed without warning.

Because of that, the kids required a fairly steady schedule in order to feel more secure. I was still hoping they’d outgrow that but for now I was secretly hoping it would also make sending them to school easier come September. For now, anything outside the ordinary could be a challenge. Even an unplanned trip to the store on the weekends was enough to create havoc if someone was already feeling anxious or agitated. We made it work and had learned a few tricks along the way but most times we were able to keep things under control.

“You late!” Souta challenged and I got another knee to my ribs when he went to tighten his hold on me.

“Rai!” I called out. With three kids clinging to my arms and neck, I was going to need all the help I could get to escape.

The plea for help came with more laughter from all of them but Raijin did eventually try to help. Size doesn’t really matter much when you’re outnumbered and trying to be gentle with small children that barely reached your waist. One at a time we got the kids peeled off of me just to have them launch back into action the moment their feet touched the ground. In the end, both of us were on the ground and out of breath with boney knees and elbows poking everywhere while the kids crawled all over us.

“DINNER!” Fujin called out in a sharp command.

As if someone had flipped a switch, the kids were all scrambling to get off of us and race inside to clean up for dinner. Being their main caretaker throughout the day, Fujin had managed to train those kids far better than she ever managed with us. Then again, that’s probably because Raijin was already eight when she met him and it was two years later before all three of us started hanging out together. Gave us too much time to develop bad habits that she couldn’t break us of.

The call for dinner meant we had a couple of minutes before being expected to join them. Not even Fujin would expect us to try and get cleaned up with kids hogging the sinks and dashing at full speed to reach the table. For her sanity, Fujin had assigned everyone their own chairs so that there was less potential for fighting when they should be eating.

Taking full advantage of the break, I flopped back into the grass and closed my eyes for a minute just to enjoy the peace it gave. Rustling from my left suggested that Raijin had done the same but I was too content to even open my eyes and check. Now that I didn’t have a bunch of four year olds climbing all over me, not that I minded that, I felt like I could just fall asleep right in our own yard for a bit.

Had someone even suggested that I’d want to live this kind of life while I was still living at Garden, I’d have called bullshit on them. Six years ago I didn’t care about anything beyond showing off and proving that I could become a SeeD my own way. It had never been about being one, just me wanting to prove I could do it and getting pissed every time they denied me the opportunity. Back then I’d been young, stupid and more than a little stubborn.

I don’t know why I’d dreamed so much about becoming a sorceress’s knight back then or what had even started that desire. All I could remember was thinking about how amazing it would be to find a sorceress and help her change the world for the better. It never occurred to me just how easily they could succumb to the power and turn evil in their madness or that I’d be dragged along that path once it happened. Willing or not. Yeah, that dream turned out so fucking well…

It wasn’t until the twins were here that I found what I really wanted out of life. To be able to come home every day to them being safe and happy, doing things that parents were supposed to do with their kids and enjoying every damn minute of being with them. I don’t know quite when it happened, but I found myself putting away my foolish dreams of being a hero, knight or SeeD and found myself enjoying this new role. Right now, my life was the closest to perfect it had ever been.

A backhanded slap to my gut pulled me from my thoughts. Opening my eyes I turned to see Raijin sitting up in preparation to go inside, a cheesy grin on his face. “Yo man! Better be getting inside before Fu sends her Chakrams after us again. Don’t wanna piss her off again, ya know?”

One bad day at work some months ago had led to a series of events that involved pissing Fujin off at dinnertime. Needing to burn off some energy and some of my bad mood, I’d goaded Raijin into a wrestling match. When the call came for dinner neither of us responded and the match was getting pretty damn heated with both of us determined to win. That resulted in us learning our lesson the hard way.

Having secured the kids inside the house, Fujin had grabbed her Chakram from the rack beside the door and threw it right at us while we were unable to dodge properly. Fortunately for us, the woman was a master of her craft and made sure that we’d been given only a few minor scratches as a warning. That was more than enough to teach us to pay better attention and had the bonus effect of reinforcing her role with the kids.

“Yeah, might not be a warning next time.” I mumbled lazily, getting into my own sitting position. “Don’t feel like finding out if we can still withstand her at her worst.”

With a shared grin we got to our feet. Just as I was getting fully upright, Raijin reached over and gave me a shove hard enough to set me on my ass. Not a word passed between us before we were racing each other towards the door. Despite the disadvantage of starting from the ground, I still managed to beat him by only a couple of seconds.

“After you!” I teased, giving a mock bow as I opened the door.

The sounds of little Jax, their youngest, could be heard in the open doorway, along with happy chatter from the other three kids. Raijin’s hand clapped firmly onto my shoulder for a moment before he entered the room. For just a moment I hesitated, wanting to drink in the sight of my family gathering around the table. A call from Fujin finally forcing me to enter and join them.

Yeah…life was fucking perfect!

Notes:

I don't have much to say about this chapter. It's simply a feel-good chapter where Seifer is happy for a change.

Please share what you think of the story so far! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: What Family Really Means

*Squall* 

“Ow! Damnmit!” Zell cursed loudly after catching his head on the underside of my desk for the second time that day. “What made it seem like a good idea to change shit around again?! They just keep making this crap more complicated by the day.”

Carefully he pulled himself out from under the desk. For the last hour he’d been stubbornly working out all the wires and cables needed for the extravagant amount of electronics that I’d need in order to do my work from here. Now that it was all hooked up and he was free of that small space I could see the red spot on his forehead where he’d just collided with the wood desk and made a small noise of sympathy. It was the least I could do after he went through the trouble of getting the computer set up so I wouldn’t have to.

Over an hour ago we’d sent Irvine to the local market in order to obtain enough supplies to get me through for a few days until I could make a list, do some reconnaissance on the house, and get some planning done. All of which needed to be done in between the unpacking and organizing that was going to be involved with moving in. Going with him would have meant being able to procure more supplies in one trip but Zell needed an extra hand with the cables.

Besides that, I wasn’t eager to leave Selphie alone with an unfinished baby room and only Zell here with her. Doing that would almost guarantee she’d push herself too hard in order to get it finished before we got back. Probably right under Zell’s nose too with how focused he’d gotten on putting my office space together.

In about twenty minutes, enough time for me to finish helping Zell and to check in on the girls once more, I planned on going out to search for our missing teammate. There were already reports about bug monsters invading the town regularly and some of them got even worse after dark. The mayor hadn’t gone so far as to establish a curfew, but it was highly recommended to be home and in doors after dark.

According to information we gathered over the last few weeks, most shops closed down around sunset. The few that stayed open often gave those with vehicles the night shift and called in escorts at specific timeframes to walk employees to those vehicles. Hopefully it wouldn’t take me long to gather the information needed in order to change things around here so the monster population can go back down to a more reasonable level.

“Looks like everything is plugged in that’s supposed to be. Now to just get the computer up and running.” Zell grumbled and I realized I’d barely paid attention to him for the last several minutes.

Several button presses later, he was leaning over the equipment to double check that he hadn’t missed a plug-in and that nothing had been plugged into the wrong place. Most of that attention was focused on the connections between the printer system and the computer. If everything worked the way it was meant to then I’d have the ability to receive emails, faxed documents, copy, scan, print, and pretty much anything else that was necessary to keep me up to date using real time information. Another book and the monstrosity in the corner of my room were both a necessary evil to endure.

“I spoke to the techie guys at Garden before everything got packed up. Your whole computer profile should be transferred over to this machine so you can access all the same crap as before. It’ll be just like your office, only better!” He rambled and began typing a few things on the keyboard. “I just wanted to get it up and running before we left so you can get some eyes on it. If something’s not right I’ll get someone to help you fix it but I’d be pissed if we left and it didn’t work at all.”

Watching him bend over to type something into the computer made my own back ache. As a show of appreciation, I shoved the new office chair Quistis had given me over to him. “Here. Sit down while you do that.”

“Thanks.” He muttered and dropped into the chair with a sigh. Now that there was a body using it, I could see just how plush the chair actually was with it’s large seat and thick leather upholstery. The manual that came in the box with it mentioned it being able to recline using the levers on the sides. A far cry from the upright, rigid chair that I was used to sitting in.

“Well? Everything functional?” I questioned, leaning over his shoulder a bit to look at the screen. From what I could tell between flashes on the screen, he was making a ton of adjustments to various settings I probably never would have touched on my own accord.

“Okay, you should be all set up now.” He replied and shoved the chair back so quickly that it almost slammed right into my knee. “Just type your username and password in and everything should activate from there.”

Taking back control of the chair I sat down in it and paused to acknowledge the pleasant differences between my old chair and the new one. Once that was out of the way, I followed his directions to type my information in while he surreptitiously looked around the mostly empty room. Other than the hastily constructed bed, nightstands on either side of the bed, a dresser and a pair of filing cabinets next to the desk, there wasn’t much to see.

“I’m in.” I announced and he came back to my side.

Now it was his turn to lean over my shoulder. “Everything look alright? I mean, it’ll take you a while to notice if specific files were missing but overall there should be everything you need right where it’s supposed to be.”

“It’s fine.” I confirmed, checking a few protected files just to be certain. Every one of my personal team had clearance for the information so I didn’t worry about him seeing classified information. “I’m sure I could have figured this all out myself if needed. But thank you for setting it up anyway.”

“Right.” He muttered, dragging the word out to emphasize his disbelief. Neither of us really believed I was so incompetent as to not be able to manage one computer but all of us knew they weren’t exactly my strong suit either. “If you say so Commander. Just in case something manages to get the better of you, feel free to give me a call and I can walk you through it over the phone. There might be a few adjustments needed to the settings or something that didn’t get installed. I made the guys give me a copy of everything so all the disks you’d need are stored in that box over there. So don’t lose them!”

A small storage box sat against the wall near the desk. Once I got things organized it would get a permanent home somewhere that I’d easily be able to find it, but for now I just scooped it up and shoved it into one of the drawers so they wouldn’t get damaged. Based on how heavy the box was, I could only assume the number of disks that were included and needed for reinstallation if something happened to the computer. Not a likely situation but I didn’t think it was a good idea to tempt fate by losing track of them.

“Can I assume the printer is activated as well? I want to get operations up and running as soon as possible around here so I don’t have to worry about it forever.” I said while thinking about how to handle obtaining a SeeD base without alerting anyone as to who I am. Even the slightest connection could give my identity away.

“You can send a fax or scan documents right this second if you want to.” He declared, pleased with himself and proceeded to show me how the printer worked for the various options it provided. “Oh, and before I forget, I set a timer to log you out after ten minutes of being idle.”

“Ten minutes? That’s not a long time. Not even a phone call on a good day.” I told him, mildly concerned about constantly having to log into the system and wait for it to work through its loading phase.

“That’s why I said ‘idle’ time.” He sighed and rolled his eyes at me. “That means you just need to tap the mouse or a key before ten minutes is up to keep the system active or it will enter sleep mode and then log you out. Should be pretty simple if you’re on a phone call or something while sitting at your desk. I just figured you’d stress if documents got left open because Tempest needed you for more than a few minutes. The idea was so you can check on her without worrying too much about whether or not you secured the information on your screen.”

The rambled explanation was a bit wordy for what he needed to say but I got the point. Even better, I couldn’t object to the foresight he’d given the situation. For the most part, Tempest still spent the majority of her time eating, sleeping and destroying diapers as well as clothing on occasion. The amount of time she needed large stretches of attention were pretty small and mostly manageable just by being in the room with her while she played with some toys. A pretty simple fix considering there was a small playpen downstairs that I could easily move between rooms as needed.

“Thanks.” I muttered and logged out of the system.

“Don’t mention it!” He grinned and threw an arm over my shoulders as if to whisper some secret to me. “Look, we’re all rooting for you man. If you can find a way to make this work then things might be able to change with Garden a little. We’ll figure out a schedule to come visit and get you out of the house once in a while. All of us know you can’t stay cooped up in here forever. You need someone to watch over Tempest while you go and kill a few monsters and blow off some steam.”

“Whatever.” I muttered, fully embarrassed over all the damn coddling. Even if I could use a little of it, the constant attention was just too much. “I’m going to go check on Selphie.”

“Hey, don’t be like that Squall!” He protested, following me to the door. “I just meant it’s official now that you’re in charge of this territory. Protect it however you see fit and utilize whatever squads are sent out however you need to. Just remember that the rest of us want to support you as much as we can. Even if it’s a phone call to gripe about something that’s got you stressed out. We’re all here for you.”

Tired from the long day, worried about Irvine and getting annoyed by all the emotional crap I turned around to snap at him. “I’m…”

Before I could get anything out I found myself caught in a unyielding hug. Just like that I felt my stress melt away and a tight feeling built up in my chest. It hadn’t occurred to me until that very moment that I was giving up a lot for one little child that I just met. This wasn’t the same as when I left for an extended mission or when our schedules clashed so much that we didn’t see each other for a few weeks at a time.

Now it just felt like I was losing the friends I’d become so damn close to over the years, and it sucked. True, they weren’t that far away if we really wanted to meet up and there were other forms of communication we could utilize often. But it just wasn’t the same. Giving up Garden had been hard enough, but I hadn’t even considered what else was going to change in my life. So just this once, I gave in and returned the hug with a matching fierceness.

“I appreciate it.” I whispered to him. Saying them any louder was impossible in that moment but a brief tightening against my back said he heard and understood what I meant.

It had only lasted for a few seconds before he stepped away. The action happening just in time to hear the slamming of a door downstairs and Selphie squeal sharply. Barely a look passed between us before we were both racing out the door and leaping down the staircase as fast as we could safely manage. It would be embarrassing to end up injured, or simply land on our asses at the bottom of the stairs, simply because we got reckless.

Fearing for her safety and that of my daughter’s, I found myself moving through the narrow spaces faster than I would have considered possible and with Zell right on my heels. There wasn’t much that could make the petite woman freak out enough to create a sound like that, knowing full well that we would react within seconds of hearing it.

Fortunately, her shock had only lasted less than a minute and I heard her speaking before my mind could process the scene in front of me. “Irvy! What happened? I thought you were just going out for supplies, not taking on a whole swarm of monsters!”

My feet had barely touched the bottom of the stairs when I understood what she had said, but I still stopped short when I saw Irvine’s condition. The sounds of Zell stepping up right behind me were only a minor distraction while I looked the tall brunette over. Whatever damage he’d taken couldn’t have been too terrible, just messy, because he was casually setting the bags he held in one hand on the table.

“Darlin’ I promise that I’m alright. Just a scratch is all. Nothing to worry about.” He crooned gently in an attempt to calm her down.

“Just a scratch?” She hissed at him, glaring daggers at the bloody section of his left sleeve.

“Take off that coat and tell me what happened.” I demanded as I approached. It was probably stupid to intervene but better than having the two of them go at it while he stood there injured and she held Tempest in her arms.

“Just a bug messing with me was all.” He replied casually but took his coat off and draped it over a chair. “Ended up missing one that had gotten behind me because I was keeping an eye on a swarm near the orchard. Didn’t know the blasted things liked Winhill fruit so much.”

While he gave his explanation I inspected the cut that went straight across his arm and just below his shoulder. It wasn’t deep or contaminated so I drew up a Cure and dropped it over him. The moment his wound was healed I found Tempest being shoved into my arms so Selphie could perform her own, up close, inspection of him.

One good thing came from all of this, I learned that I could easily maintain my leadership role even when Tempest was present. Nothing had really changed beyond needing to put a little of my attention onto Tempest in order to keep track of what was going on with her. Otherwise, I could focus on whatever was happening without feeling overwhelmed. That was good, despite this not exactly being an emergency. But I appreciated that I was able to test my abilities out on something smaller than a true emergency scenario where every second counted.

“Darlin’, I said I was fine. It was just a little scratch. Squall already fixed it so don’t freak out on me.” Irvine spoke gently to her, sparing a moment to give me a nod in thanks for the healing. With one hand he held her to him as the other stroked her back in order to calm the tears building. Not her fault that she was more emotional than usual, but it was unnerving to see her crying even at the best of times.

“You take the scenic route or something?” Zell questioned, mentally going over the town map just as I was doing. “The nearest shop should have been just down the road, not near any orchards.”

He was right in his assessment which is why I worried about Irvine having been gone so long. While the town wasn’t huge, it had grown a lot and now had two major stores that could provide supplies. With each of them servicing half the town no one needed to go far in order to get what they needed. Multiple smaller, specialty shops were also spread throughout town but weren’t very beneficial for what I needed right now.

As if unconcerned by the questioning, Irvine shrugged and went to pull items out of the bags now that Selphie had calmed down. “The store was closed for repairs. The guy I talked to there promised that it would be fixed up by Friday at the latest. But that meant having to go across town to get the shopping done since everywhere was starting to close down for the night.”

With nothing else to do besides stand there and hold Tempest while we discussed the situation, I started pulling items from the bags and sorting through them. “Did he say what happened?”

“Some idiot kid tried to bring his Chocobo into the store with him under some premise about protecting it. A fully grown Chocobo!” Irvine shook his head, appalled by the idea that a Chocobo couldn’t handle a bug or two if left alone for a bit.

“Who takes a Chocobo into a place like that? Of course it’s going to freak out easily.” Selphie chirped and began helping with putting things away. At this rate I was going to have to sort everything out again but at least the job was getting done and it wasn’t enough to really stress over so long as I made a mental note of what he brought back with him.

Tempest made an annoyed sound when he passed by her for the third time and was obviously debating on whether to throw a fit in order to get more attention. On the next round we paused long enough for him to tease her fingers with his so that she'd stop fussing about it. We’d learned pretty early on that she detested loud noises and yelling of any kind, so she was already primed for a complete crying fit if we didn't appease her demands in a timely manner.

“Teenage boys who like to show off apparently.” Irvine responded, leaving Tempest to dig into the last stack of supplies.

While the three of us made short work of the items Irvine had brought back, Zell was in the corner of the room going through several more items that were waiting to be put together. Most of which needed to go up to Tempest’s room but a few items could be left downstairs for easy access. Thankfully Selphie had been the voice of reason and suggested we take things up one at a time to put together and set in the room rather than flood the limited floorspace with at least a dozen pieces of furniture that needed to be assembled.

“I’ve done some stupid shit as a kid, some of which caused Ma a lot of stress, but taking an animal into a store was not one of them. Might just be location based though. Kids in different areas find different ways of getting into trouble.” Zell commented idly then set a relatively small box to the side. “Here we go! Next project!”

“Teenage antics aside…” I grumbled and passed Tempest off to Selphie once more. “Aren’t we still doing regular sweeps of the area? I’m fairly certain that we just had a squad out here a week ago for that.”

“The guy at the store had information on that too.” Irvine offered. With everything put away we were now free to get things in motion again. “The biweekly sweeps help, but they only do so much. Someone else made a comment about SeeDs being worthless at protecting the place. A different local mentioned that he's taken to calling in a local and hiring him as a regular sweeper. The third guy's wife mentioned that the guy or his large buddy would come out and take care of large groups of monsters if asked.”

“Did you get a name? Maybe Squall can hire him until we get a safehouse for our SeeDs to stay in for longer trips.” Zell suggested while sorting through various bits and pieces. “Damn! I thought this would be simple to put together.”

“Nope! On both accounts.” Irvine teased but went over to help sort through pieces. “Not even a useful description and no one seemed familiar with the kind of weapon he used but it was a small group in a small town so that’s understandable. Where do you need me to get started on?”

After that I let Selphie take over supervising the trainwreck that they were creating while I searched around for something to make a decent dinner that would feed everyone. Something that didn’t take much effort, was filling and needed little clean-up afterwards. In the middle of all that, I remembered that I needed to make another bottle for Tempest as well.

Handing the bottle to Selphie so she could feed Tempest, I thought about the monster situation. Files have crossed my desk for months, but I had only really focused on the numbers being taken out. Each sweep was pretty consistent in the range but maybe there was something more telling that I was missing. Only way to be sure was to look through all the reports and compile the information into something more simplified.

“What’s this?” I questioned and held up something that resembled lunchmeat. “It wasn’t on the list I gave you.”

Boards nearly fell from Irvine’s hold when he stopped what he was doing to look up at me. “Oh! Yeah, that’s the only stuff available here for lunchmeat. They gave me a sample at the store when I questioned it. Pretty damn good stuff. You should give a shot.”

“This is Squall you’re talking to.” Zell grunted, then shifted a large board to the side. “He doesn’t do change easily and you’re asking him to try something not on his approved foods list? Have you seen how little variety the guy has?”

“Shut up Zell.” I growled over the analyzation of my habits. Just to be stubborn, I opened the butcher paper wrapping and tore off a small piece to try.

“Well? Good?” Selphie chirped, clearly ready to tease about my tastes in foods.

If it hadn’t been for Zell’s comment I might have gone with my knee jerk reaction and denied it. “It’s…better than I expected.”

“Most of the food around here is raised and grown locally so I suggest you get used to it.” Irvine pointed out. “I got what I could find that was as close to your normal fare as possible, but compromises had to be made if I was going to bring anything home.”

“It’s fine.” I sighed. It wasn’t so much that my options had changed as much as needing to find out how different the food around here was. Basing it off the meat sample, I was already suspicious that a lot of things here would be overly sweet.

 “While you’re at it, make sure you keep your gunblade handy when you go out. Not everyone’s a fighter that can take on large groups, but I didn’t see a single teenager or adult that wasn’t armed in some way. Even a few of the kids carried wooden weapons around.” He continued.

“You should probably get Revolver cleaned up and use that one for everyday travel.” Zell suggested, causing us all to look in his direction.

“But Lionheart is so much prettier with it’s blue glow!” Selphie chirped out, accepting the sandwich being offered to her.

“And it’s lighter.” I added, passing one to Irvine as well.

“That’s my point!” Zell insisted, his focus more on the shelf that he was building rather than us. “Squall carries Lionheart with him everywhere. Even though people wouldn’t know him on his own, there aren’t many people who can use a gunblade, much less have one of Lionheart’s level. It would identify him faster than anything.”

“Simple probably would be better.” Irvine agreed, halfway through his sandwich before I could return to hand one to Zell.

“Aww! Look! Tempest likes the meat too!” Selphie cried out excitedly.

Panicked at Tempest being fed something new I whirled around the moment Zell had the plate in hand. What I had already assumed to be Tempest chowing down on a huge chunk of the sandwich was really Selphie feeding her tiny pieces that could easily be swallowed. To my surprise, Tempest was happily trying everything that Selphie offered her.

“Looks like she’ll be easy to transition to solids then.” Irvine pointed out but I wasn’t so sure.

“I thought I was supposed to start with pureed fruits and vegetables.” I questioned.

“You can, just pay attention to her reactions and adjust accordingly.” Selphie advised, still sharing her food with my child. “A little solid food won’t hurt her.”

“Alright.” I sighed, rubbing the edge of my scar in frustration. “And Zell’s probably right about Lionheart and Revolver. I’ll just carry Revolver around when I go through town. I know the blade better and if I need to react quickly with Tempest then it’ll the safer option.”

“It’s also a standard gunblade that can range from beginner to expert. Revolver should fit in just fine here with the weapons I saw other people carrying.” Irvine agreed and finished his sandwich off. “Besides, it’s pretty much bug monsters with something a little tougher showing up on occasion. If the locals can handle it with their simple weapons then swinging Lionheart at them would probably be complete overkill.”

“Yeah, you probably should remain inconspicuous until the locals get used to you. Having the Commander of Balamb Garden here might get their panties in a twist.” Selphie giggled and set the plate on the floor to play with Tempest.

Between Irvine and Zell, the shelf they were putting together was nearly completed. It was one that was only about four feet high and two feet squared at the base. Not something that would take up a lot of space but would be fairly adequate for storing smaller supplies, so I didn’t have to rush up and down the stairs all day for extra items.

Now that all the sides were completely installed, Zell stood up and got the shelf right side up. “You know they’re going to figure it out eventually. If nothing else, someone’s going to notice that our SeeD patrols are reporting into him rather than hiding away in the hotel room. They’ll at least figure out that he’s some kind of commanding officer from Garden for sure when we get a safehouse established here and they’re over daily.”

“Whatever.” I grumbled and gathered up the plates to wash up later. Perhaps having a fully stocked kitchen wasn’t the worst thing. At least I didn’t have to worry about buying any dishes. There appeared to be enough to serve at least eight people with everything I'd seen in the cabinets.

“Uh oh! Squall, I need a clean diaper and change of clothes. On the double please!” Selphie called out, holding Tempest a little away from her body.

My hands were barely in the to-go bag before the smell hit and I was glad that everyone had finished eating before it appeared. When I tried to take Tempest from her, Selphie just gestured for me to handle it and laid Tempest down on her travel blanket. Watching her get Tempest cleaned up and into sleeping clothes left me in awe about the responsibility I’d agreed to take on. A feeling that hit me multiple times throughout the day and one I hadn’t quite gotten used to yet.

How the hell am I supposed to manage this completely on my own once everyone leaves? I questioned silently to myself, only becoming aware of my surroundings when Selphie’s fist tapped onto my shoulder and she held out the soiled diaper to me.

“Stop brooding! You’re going to teach Tempest to be broody too if you keep showing her those looks!” She lectured and I obediently took the diaper to be properly disposed of.

“No! Not a second Squall! We just got the first one trained!” Zell moaned dramatically, holding a shelf panel against his chest as he did so.

“Then you have practice.” I growled at him before going outside to toss the soiled diaper in the trashcan. At least out there no one would have to suffer the stench unless they were snooping. All bets would be off at that point.

“You’re so not helping!” Selphie’s lecture was the first thing I heard upon reentering the house. Ignoring them, I went and washed my hands before taking Tempest from her. Handing her over, Selphie gave a loud sigh and looked at me. “Don’t listen to him Squally, you’re doing a wonderful job considering how sudden this was for you.”

As if by magic I found Tempest back in my arms, fist in her mouth and looking at me with innocent yet trusting eyes. She was putting all her trust in me to take care of her and know what to do on everything only because she didn’t know any better. After just three weeks of her being in my care, and dozens of mistakes already made with her, there was no way I was that deserving. But it wasn’t like I could ruin the illusion for her even if I wanted to.

Lifting her up a little higher I sighed and placed my forehead on top of hers. “Okay, Selphie’s right. We’ve got this, don’t we Tempest?”

An excited squeal from Tempest had Selphie giving one that was so high pitch that I thought my ears might bleed from it. Over where Zell had set up the shelf, he was doing a victory pose with one fist in the air. Next to him, Irvine gave me a grin and a nod only to hold a fist out to the side for Zell to bump his own fist against. All the cheer got Tempest even more excited and she made a valient attempt to squeal just like Selphie had. Not quite as loud but it was a damn good replica that I would have called cute had it not been for the potential of it being misused.

“Don’t start learning that from Selphie!” I growled in warning but she seemed completely unfazed by it.

“Don’t you worry Sugar, we’ve got plenty of tricks to help you keep your old man on his toes.” Irvine promise while sending a wink in my direction. “Part of those good ol’ family dynamics after all.”

At this, all three of them burst out laughing which sent Tempest into another fit of giggling. Then, just as I was going to throw a subtle insult his direction, Tempest’s gave off the most horrid noise and my shirt was suddenly covered in a mixture made up of sandwich bits and milk. More laughter hit the group while Selphie generously took her from me again.

The moment I was free, I reached up and carefully worked my shirt over my head. It did nothing to remove the feeling of her spit-up from my skin, but it wasn’t soaking in anymore either. With a bit of skill and a lot of luck, I managed to get the shirt off without getting anything in my hair. Now the real question was, do I burn the shirt or attempt to wash it with her clothes?

“Oh, stop staring at it like it’s covered in monster goo!” Selphie exclaimed, already gathering fresh clothing from Tempest’s bag. It had been well stocked before I left in case I didn’t get her clothing and other items sorted right away. “Just wash it later when you do her clothes and it should come perfectly clean. Now, go get cleaned up. I know you hate being shirtless in front of everyone.”

Just because she had a valid point didn’t mean I wasn’t embarrassed by it being pointed out. Years of being teased for my pale complexion, mostly by Seifer, had left me with a minor anxiety about not being fully clothed around people. Them being good friends helped but didn’t do much to change years of emotional trauma and I didn’t care that much about it.

“Nah! Squall’s used to monster goo. Practically goes swimming in that stuff when he’s in the Training Center.” Zell laughed.

“I’ll be right back.” I sighed and hurried up the stairs before they could continue their line of teasing.

Both my duffle bags were in my room and it only took a minute or two to find a clean shirt. Setting the soiled one off to the side, making doubly shirt it wouldn’t leak onto the new carpet, I drew the clean shirt on. Once Tempest was in bed I could sneak in a shower. For now, this would have to be adequate enough while I helped build some more of the furniture.

Coming back down the stairs I could hear them still laughing with each other. At first, I considered going back upstairs to do some unpacking. But then I caught Mio’s name and realized they’d moved on in their conversation. Returning to the room, my theory was confirmed when Irvine went into a dramatized retelling of one of Mio’s horrendous diaper blowouts.

Leaning on the wall at the base of the stairs, I couldn’t help but watch as they shared stories with each other. Even Zell had a few stories to share from his babysitting days. With Selphie and Irvine living in Trabia since before Mio was born and me having been focused on my studies while growing up, there hadn’t been many opportunities to gain those experiences. With Tempest, I now had the chance and found myself almost eager to have some stories to share the next time we got together.

“Come on Squall! This crib isn’t going to put itself together!” Zell called out happily, gesturing for me to join them.

“Whatever.” I replied and went to help put more furniture together.

An hour later we had the crib together, placed in Tempest’s room and the bed all made up. While I tucked Tempest into her crib for the night I heard a low humming that slowly grew into a familiar lullaby. At first it was just Selphie singing, then Irvine found a place to join in. After the first chorus was over Zell made his own attempt to sing with them, albeit a little off key.

While I didn’t join in, not knowing the actual words to the song, I leaned over the edge of the crib and watched as Tempest stared at the trio. On the second round her eyes began to drift closed and I couldn’t help but smile at how natural this all felt.

Until Tempest came, I felt like the title of Uncle was just a formality. Not something that really meant anything beyond that. Seeing everyone here, singing her to sleep after spending the day helping us move and put furniture together, it felt like we really were what I imagined a family might really be like.

With Tempest now officially asleep, everyone silently filed out of the room. There was still a lot that needed to be done and more furniture that needed building, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle on my own. What they’d managed to get done today was enough to get us by while I worked on the rest. At least all the large, heavy furniture was done and only a handful of smaller items needed putting together.

So why did I suddenly feel like I didn’t want them to leave? Chills trickled down my spine at the knowledge I would soon be the only one here. The only one to take care of Tempest once they left. Until now, there had always been someone for me to turn to when I didn’t know what to do or what Tempest wanted. There had always been someone ready and willing to take her for a little while so that I could do things that needed to get done.

In just a few short minutes that wasn’t going to be an option anymore. Somehow, I was going to need to figure out just what she needed, and when, completely on my own. It was absolutely terrifying, and I prayed that I was able to pull off one very large miracle. Then I prayed that I wouldn’t screw this up too badly. Neither prayer seemed to be answered right away but I didn’t exactly expect them to be.

“Relax Squall. I promise that you’ve got this!” Selphie assured me. They were getting ready to board the Ragnarök when she stopped to throw her arms around me in a tight hug. “Just remember, we’re all here for you. If you need help, my phone is always on. Doesn’t matter if it’s at two in the morning. If you can’t figure it out, just call and one of us will answer.”

“Thanks Selphie.” I sighed, feeling a little better for it.

“Not a problem. This is a big change for you and we all want to see it succeed.” She grinned and politely stepped away. “And if you have an issue that you aren’t comfortable talking to me about, Irvine’s always available. I’ll make sure he wakes up to take your call.”

“I’m available too!” Zell objected as if being left out. “Besides, Irvine will just rat everything out to Selphie the moment he gets off the phone.”

Selphie set a hand over her hip and gave him a smirk. “Of course Irvy is going to tell me the gist of what happened. But if Squall asks him not to say anything, then he’ll tell me so. And I'll even promise not to push the issue if it's something like that.”

“Sounds like the best I’m going to get on that end.” I decided out loud and allowed her to hug me again.

Irvine and Zell both stopped to give me their own versions of a hug before the three of them got on the ship. Moving towards the back door I stopped long enough to watch as they took off. Once they were fully in the air and moving forward, I took a final look around the backyard and went inside. With a slight feeling of dread and resignation I locked the door behind me.

Notes:

This took a bit to get through and edit. Please let me know if I missed anything!

I hope everyone is enjoying Squall's journey with Tempest!

Chapter 6: Not All Choices in Life Are Fair

*Seifer* 

The sound of a door opening across the hall and small feet padding at a barely controlled walk woke me up. Silently I hoped that it was Souta heading to his parents’ room, one of the kids just needing to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water before going back to sleep. Those hopes were dashed when my door creaked open then shut quickly and feet flew across my hardwood flooring.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Cassie’s cry was restrained but slightly frantic now that she felt it was safe enough to speak.

Before I could ask any questions, I was hit full force by a thirty-two-pounds of child landing right on my chest. The impact knocked the wind right out of me but she barely noticed. It was a small miracle that her boney little knee landed in my thigh rather than a more important area. That had happened once or twice in the past and I was still a bit jumpy about it.

“For the love of Hyne Cassie, what happened?” I moaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. According to my internal clock it was far too soon for her to be awake and the dark sky outside my window confirmed it. “What are you doing up? You should be sleeping still.”

Waiting for her to answer I looked at the clock and saw that it was still several hours before dawn “I had bad dream.”

That whimpered explanation was all I needed, though I’d been hoping something else had woken her up. Thanks to her constant bad dreams I’d taken to keeping a nightlight plugged into my room so she could have something to see by during her midnight visits. Having a nightlight gave me the added bonus of being able to see her a bit better so I could judge just how bad off she was without turning a light on. Took me forever to adjust to the damn thing but I figured it out once I saw how happy it made her.

For the entire last year Cassie had been plagued by nightmares horrible enough to bring her to my room two or three nights most weeks. Sometimes it would be more but never less than twice in one week. Each time she crawled into my bed we would cuddle for a bit then talk about what happened in the dream. Sometimes I was even successful at taking some of the power away it had over her.

On a good night I could get her back to sleep fairly quickly. Bad nights took a bit longer and sleep would only take over when her body was too tired to keep awake any longer. At first she’d come to me on a nightly basis and it would be nearly impossible to get her back to sleep easily. Once we fell into a routine it became easier. Over time the number of nights she came to me dwindled down but I had secretly been hoping for more improvement by now. No such luck for either of us I guess.

At least I had the benefit of Garden training to fall back on. Had I actually graduated, I would have been expected to pull off missions with little to no sleep for long periods at a time. How regular parents managed to function without something like that in their background was a damned mystery to me but it was apparently common.

Silently I resituated us so that she was curled up against my side, her head on my shoulder while I held her. It would take a little while for her to get past the teary stage now that she’d gotten started. Until that part was over, there wasn’t a single chance to get information out of her that would help me fix the situation. Well, not quite fix. There was no fixing this. Improve might be a more accurate term.

After a good twenty minutes or so had passed I sensed her calming down and decided it was a good opportunity to test the waters. “So what kind of monster was it this time baby? Another Bite Bug?”

Knowing what kind of monster she’d dreamed of could go a long way to calming her. Without that basic information I was left floundering. Nearly every one of her nightmares consisted of the same overall theme, just the victim and the monster changed. Some dreams were better than others and easier to talk away. Others were bad enough that I hoped I didn’t get the same dreams once she was asleep again.

I’d never say it directly to her, not until she was grown anyway, but I had my own damn nightmares about that day. The only difference was, I knew how to deal with them better than she did. Mostly they were fairly mild but I always woke up asking myself the same questions. Eat time it happened, I wondered where things had gone wrong and what I could have done differently.

It took some time, but I did eventually end up discussing that day with Raijin and Fujin. Both assured me that I hadn’t done anything wrong and had made the best choices I could have that day. And, despite their reassurances, I still felt damn guilty for failing my wife and kids. Nights like these were especially difficult to handle.

“No. It was a Capperchiller. A big one.” She informed me with a shake of her head. Personally, I thought it was cute the way she mispronounced the monsters names.

“A Caterchipillar this time? How big was it?” I asked, using the correct term just as I would with Souta, but she didn’t notice.

Scrunching up her face she stretched her arms wide. “Very big! Big as the house!”

Judging from the way she was able to talk about it I assumed this was one of her less scary dreams. “Big as the house huh? That’s bigger than any Caterchipillar I’ve ever seen. Bigger than most monsters out there. What was it doing?”

“It was trying to eat Unkle Raijin.” She answered, dropping her voice a little.

Relieved that it was one of the adults, I let out a small sigh. Whenever she dreamed about Raijin, Fujin or I getting attacked, it was what I considered a good situation. We were all adults and I could easily assure her that some stupid little bug wasn’t going to take us down that easily.

It helped that she’s seen us spar with each other, use magic and, on a few occasions, take down random monsters throughout the town. She knew we were capable of it. Which explained why the monster in her dream was so damn big. No way would any of us get taken down by a regular sized monster but one that big might actually be a bit challenging.

“I don’t know baby…” I whispered to her as if I had a secret to share. “…I think Uncle Raijin would give a Caterchipillar an upset tummy if one managed to eat him.”

“Even one as big as a house?” She asked in surprise.

“Even one as big as a house.” I confirmed with a nod. “Besides, I don’t think humans taste very good to monsters anyway. I think they just attack us because they aren’t very smart, not because they are hungry. And one would have to be really silly to try and eat Uncle Raijin. He smells like fish! Can you imagine trying to eat something that smells fishy?”

That had her giggling. Seems like my flair for dramatics did have a few benefits. “But Daddy! That’s not what Mrs. Adderneck said! She said monsters like to eat people!”

“Who you going to believe? An old lady who likes to tell stories to scare kids? Or your Daddy?” I asked, making sure to sound appropriately offended.

“I like Mrs. Adderneck’s stories. Even the scawrier ones.” Cassie pouted. It was just like her to enjoy tales that were intended to give a person chills.

“I think Mrs. Ampernik and I are going to have a talk about what stories are appropriate for little girls.” I frowned.

No harm was meant and everyone in the neighborhood liked Mrs. Ampernik. At least a few times a month Raijin and I would take the kids over for a visit while we did work on her house or the yards. She was a sweet old woman that loved children but sometimes she could forget just how young and impressionable her audience was. Add on the attack that affected most of the kids in the neighborhood one way or another and some of her stories quickly became inappropriate for telling. All those old wives tales and ghost stories were just a little more real after that but her memory wasn’t the best and she would end up scaring the kids for a while.

Now that I figured out the nightmare and the source, my brain was running on overdrive to figure out a solution for the night. Just because I could function on a few hours of sleep didn’t necessarily mean I functioned well on it. Being away from Garden and their training for a few years didn’t help much either. Even Ifrit and Cerberus made grumbled complaints about being woken up for what they considered to be a non-emergency situation. Complaints made, both of them quickly returned to sleep. Lazy bastards.

“But Daddy! She tells good stories!” Cassie complained with a tired whine.

“Even so, they need to be good stories for children your age.” I countered then tried to focus on what had her worried the most. “But I want to go back to sleep soon so let’s get back to your dream. You don’t have to worry about super big monsters eating Uncle Raijin. First off, bug monsters don’t get that big and anything that does lives a very long way away from here.”

“Really?” She asked, hopeful yet calculating. “How far away?”

“Very far.” I insisted, tucking her back under my arm. “Secondly, do you really thing Auntie Fujin is going to let a monster take Uncle Raijin away? She gets made when I borrow him for work for a few days!”

“Auntie Fujin is scawry when she gets mad.” She confirmed with her own nod.

Even though I was sure she couldn’t see it I gave off a highly amused smirk at the thought. “Yeah, Auntie Fujin would cut those monsters down with her Chakram in a second if they tried to eat Uncle Raijin.”

“What about you?” There was a quiver in her voice that had my heart nearly shatter into a million pieces. So much for this being an easy night.

“What about me?” I asked, making sure to add in some arrogance into my tone. “You think your Daddy can’t take out a few monsters? I’m one of the best gunbladers in the world! Only one person is better than me. So you don’t have to worry about me being taken down by a few measly monsters.”

“Really? Who’s is it Daddy?” She asked, eager for a story about me. Something I rarely gave them unless I was able to be vague on a lot of details.

Licking my lips I looked at the ceiling. “No one you know. Just someone I went to school with a long time ago.”

“Did monsters get him?” She asked curiously.

The thought of monsters taking Squall out was absolutely laughable and I couldn’t contain my chuckling. “Not at all Baby. He’s still alive and doing a job where he is in charge of lots of people. He’s probably living the life he always dreamed he would.”

Thinking about Squall was always bittersweet and often pulled memories to the forefront that I didn’t care to think about. What I told her was probably true but without seeing him, there was no way for me to be sure how he truly felt about his role at Garden. I never did understand why he didn’t kill me during the war or why he had me pardoned right after everything started going back to normal. Because of that, I owed him more than he’d ever know. Without him doing all of that, I would never have the life I did now with my family.

“The monsters got mommy…” Cassie whispered. It had been hard for her to understand at the time and I suspected it would be a long time before she ever really understood what happened that day.

Those quiet words pulled me from my thoughts about Leonhart. For some reason, I’d been thinking about him far too much lately. Normally I could go weeks without him crossing my mind but over the last week he’d managed to sneak into my thoughts several times without permission. Just like the asshole to mess with me without even being present to do so.

“I know they did Baby. I’m sorry that happened.” I whispered in an attempt to console her, thoughts about Leonhart being shoved aside.

Sometimes I found it so easy to push the incident aside and keep moving forward that I forget how badly it’s impacted the kids. I don’t really remember much from when I lost my own parents and moved to the orphanage but I’m sure it affected me the same way at the time. The difference was, I had enough distractions to help me forget about it.

Then, after I moved to Garden, we were taught fairly early on about real life. How friends, teachers, classmates and SeeD members could so easily be taken from us at any given time. They did a pretty decent job of preparing us for those scenarios. It still sucked to know someone wasn’t coming home alive but we learned to deal with it.

Maybe that’s why so many people developed their own small groups like I did with Raijin and Fujin. A few people even kept others completely at a distance like Squall had. Not to the same extremes but they just didn’t let anyone get close enough to be hurt too badly by the loss.

But our kids didn’t have that and it’s not like I want them to either. What happened during Adel’s reign was horrible for my generation but most of the people in my age group didn’t remember much outside of what we learned in class. Back then it had been a power crazed sorceress that caused the destruction and we had a person to hate for it. With Jenna, it was a stupid fucking Bite Bug that had just gotten lucky and was killed by Fujin for it. None of that was something these kids were going to easily recover from. Their safe world was no longer safe to them.

“Things were different with your momma Cass.” I told her quietly, trying to figure out how to explain it in her terms. “Your momma wasn’t a person who knew how to fight very well. That’s why I had her stay with Auntie Fujin while Uncle Raijin and I went to fight the monsters outside. We thought she would be safe that way, just like you kids were.”

“Auntie Fu kept us safe. She made us hide in the closet while you were gone. Why didn’t Momma hide too? Why did you and Unkle Raijin have to leave us? You could have scared the monsters away.”

And there went any hope that I’d get more sleep tonight. Giving her the information she wanted could help sometimes but this was one topic that had no easy answer that I could give her. Add in my own damn guilt for leaving before making sure that the kids and Jenna were safe and secure in the house and I couldn’t come up with an adequate explanation.

“It’s complicated Baby.” I sighed and nuzzled my cheek over the top of her head. “There were a lot of people who needed our help. Uncle Raijin and I thought you would be safe, and you three were. None of us thought a monster would be stupid and attack with Auntie Fujin protecting all of you.”

It wasn’t a total lie. There was some truth to that. As smart as Cassie was, there were just too many factors in play back then that she wouldn’t be able to understand for a good while yet. Hopefully, when she did get the whole story, she wouldn’t hate me for failing her and her mother on something I had no real control over.

“Was it because Auntie Fu is scawry to monsters?” She gave a little sniffle and clutched onto me tighter.

“Yeah, Auntie Fu can be pretty scary sometimes. But she will never hurt you kids. Her scary powers are for monsters and mean people only.” I assured her, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“But it didn’t work on that monster.” She stated, fully ignoring my attempts to change the mood.

“I don’t know Baby. Maybe they did work and that’s why we still have you, Tyr, Souta and Baby Jax now.” I offered, knowing it didn’t matter much to her. “Or maybe the monster didn’t see Auntie Fu right away. Her powers only work if the monsters actually see her using them.”

All this talk about pretend powers and scaring monsters was a little strange for me after having been around a sorceress who really did have powers at her disposal. But how else do you explain why Fujin relied on physical attacks rather than magic at the time? It was strongly recommended for pregnant women not to us their GFs or magic during the pregnancy because it can have adverse effects on the growing fetus if done too long or often.

Now, if the kids had been in real danger I have no doubts Fujin would have risked it in order to summon Pandemona and take all the monsters out in the nearby vicinity. Probably half the town too while she was at it. But all that was far too technical and complicated to try explaining to a child and I just wasn’t in a mindset to dumb it all down enough for her to understand.

Perhaps it was time to try something different with her. Something a little more honest and eye opening. Either this was going to work out and she’d start to understand the situation or all I was going to do was traumatize the poor kid even more. Why the hell did parenting books never cover these kinds of situations when talking about raising children?

Taking a deep breath I decided to give it a shot. “Not all monsters are smart. Some of them can be very stupid. The one that broke into our house and challenged Auntie Fu was one of the very stupid ones.”

“Very stupid.” She confirmed confidently.

“Yup. But because it was a stupid monster Auntie Fu had to make a very hard choice. She and I have talked about it and agree that she made the right call.” I continued, my heart pounding at following this line of conversation.

“What choice was that?” She asked, her voice confused but interested.

Stroking her hair, I took a moment to think about how to word it so she didn’t feel responsible. “Auntie Fu’s job was to keep you kids safe. Your Momma’s job was to help her and to help keep you guys calm. When the monster attacked, Auntie Fu had to decide which was more important. Doing her job by killing the monster and protecting all of you or ignoring the monster so she could heal your mother. There wasn’t time to do both without risking your safety.”

Someone really needed to write in to some of those so-called experts and chew them out for not giving advice on real life situations. How the hell am I supposed to explain to a four-year-old, no matter how intelligent, that her mother was an acceptable sacrifice? Sometimes I hated that I grew up in a mercenary school, usually when I didn’t approach situations like a normal person would. Other times I appreciated for the same damn reason. Then there were times I wasn’t sure how the hell I felt about it. This was one of those times.

I carefully unfolded myself from Cassie and got into a sitting position so we were facing each other with my hands out in front of me. “We have choices all around us. Some are easy, some are hard, and some don’t have good choices at all. But all of us have to figure out how to deal with these choices. I’ll give you some examples. Chocolate or vanilla ice cream?"

“Vanilla!” She answered instantly but I could see the confusion already creeping in. Even she knew I wasn’t offering to give her ice cream this late at night.

“Okay, now a harder one.” I continued, hoping to take her focus off of ice cream before she got too hooked on it. “Play in the snow or go to the beach?”

This one she really had to think about since those kinds of trips were fairly rare for us. “The beach?”

For the next few minutes, I gave her various options that kids could relate to. Some were very easy and some were more difficult. Every few questions I would give her one that was hard enough she had to stop and think about like brussels sprouts or broccoli. Things that kids didn’t like to do or eat under normal circumstances.

“Alright…” I told her. At some point the game had to come to an end and I could make the point we’d both been avoiding for the last few minutes. “This one is going to be the hardest question of all. Are you ready?”

“Okay…” She replied hesitantly, not sure where I was going with this.

Licking my lips, I offered my hands to her again. “Do you save one mommy? Or three kids?”

It was a cruel question to ask her, but I couldn’t figure out any other way to help her understand. After a year of trying everything, this was the best I could come up with and absolutely deserved a place in the deepest, darkest pit of hell for it. But maybe, just maybe, there was a small chance this could help her understand why Fujin made the choice she did.

“I don’t like this game anymore.” She replied quietly, tears already forming once more. “It’s not a fair question.”

Yeah, I didn’t like the options either. Now that my point was made, there wasn’t any reason to force her into making a decision like that. It had no real-life value at the moment, so I laid down and pulled her back down to cuddle against my shoulder while I pulled the covers back over us. Not even Garden had been able to prepare us for every hard decision we’d have to make, but it did give us the tools to make the best decisions we could in the moment. Something I had to remind Fujin of more than a few times now.

Looking back on that day, Fujin often questioned her decisions she had made back then. During one of our earlier discussions about it, she’d suggested that there had been enough time for her to summon a Cure and keep the Bite Bug away from the kids. For someone as confident about their decisions as Fujin was, it spoke volumes as to how hard the choice had been for her to make. Neither Raijin nor I ever blamed her for following her maternal instincts and protecting the kids first.

“I don’t like those choices much either Baby.” I told Cassie quietly, stroking her hair to calm her. “Sometimes those choices aren’t part of a game though. Sometimes those choices are very real and we don’t have a lot of time to find better ones. When that happens, we just have to try and pick the best choice.”

“Is that what Auntie Fujin did?” She asked, tilting her head up to look at me.

This one I could answer with confidence. “Yeah, Baby Girl. Auntie Fu made the choice to keep you kids safe even though she knew something bad might happen if she did that. But she made that choice because she didn’t want something worse to happen. You kids are the most important things in the world to us. If anything happened to you kids, it would be the worst thing in the world for us.”

“Really?” She questioned as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Really.” I said firmly and kissed her head. “And it’s not just me. Auntie Fu and Uncle Raijin feel the same way about all of you. Nothing is more important than keeping the four of you safe.”

“Even Hypurin?” She challenged. I guess it was a bit obvious to even the kids how much I loved that damn gunblade.

Without a second of hesitation, I nodded. “Even more important than Hyperion. If I had to give her up to keep you guys safe, I would do it in a hot second.”

I hadn’t been prepared at all for the hug that hit me or the little arms that seemed determined to cut off my air supply. That didn’t stop me from returning the hug just as tightly. All the gunblades in the world couldn’t compete with that one innocent action from my own child. So I let her retain that hold until she chose to pull away, a yawn announcing her inevitable exhaustion was close to arriving. Thank Hyne for that.

“I wanna keep people safe like you Daddy.” She insisted, laying her head down on the pillow this time. “I want to be strong and brave just like you and Auntie Fujin and Unkle Raijin. That way you don’t have to worry ‘bout me anymore. And I’ll be able to keep Tyr and Souta and Baby Jax safe too.”

“I’m always going to worry about you kiddo. I’m your dad and that’s my job.” I promised softly.

“Will you teach me to fight monsters too?” She asked sleepily. “I want to protect people like you do Daddy.”

Not wanting to deter that desire completely by flat out saying no, I tried for a more diplomatic answer. “When you’re a little older I’ll teach you.”

“Why not now?” She insisted, trying to hide another jaw popping yawn. “I want to be ready for the monsters.”

“That’s what us adults are for kiddo. To take on the monsters so you don’t have to just yet.” I countered, rubbing her back to encourage sleep to return. “We’ll talk about it more in the morning if you want. But try to get some sleep Baby Girl.”

“Okay. Night Daddy.” She sighed in frustration, but I felt her starting to relax anyway.

“Night Baby.” I whispered back.

For a long while I laid there, rubbing her back and thinking about the conversation we’d just had. While mostly successful in quelling her fears, I now had the compounding issue of her wanting to learn how to use a weapon. First thing tomorrow I planned to start writing to all those damn ‘child specialists’ and telling them that they seriously need to update their data for actual events that can happen.

Now I had to come up with some kind of plan to appease Cassie or she’ll figure out her own idea of what training should be like. Since she didn’t see most of my morning routine, there was a lot she wasn’t aware of. All she and the kids really saw were those times Raijin and I would spar out back just so we kept up with our practicing. If she based it completely off those little snippets then there was a good chance she or the boys will end up getting whacked a few times from her swinging sticks at them.

Okay, so admittedly I wasn’t much better as a kid. Garden started all the younger students off with practice weapons and of course I chose to grab a sword before anyone else could. Even then I knew I wanted to learn how to use a gunblade and thought practicing with a sword was practically the same thing.

The moment I had a few lessons in I just had to test my limits. When that first gunblade was placed in my hands I barely waited until the middle of the night to enter the Training Center with it, not realizing the differences between a sword and a gunblade. It nearly got Fujin killed…

Probably because I saw her wearing that eye patch every damn day, the memory of my fuck up stuck with me despite the interference of GF usage. That night Raijin had ratted me out to her and the two of them followed me into the Training Center. When she tried to stop me from going in to battle real monsters, I shrugged her off and raced through the door. Neither of them thought twice about following to provide me back up that night when I refused to back down.

While that memory was clear as day if I thought about it, I still couldn’t remember if we became friends before or after that night. I was certain that Raijin and she had already been friends for at least a year by that time, but he and I had only become roommates a few months prior. Either way, we became the closest of friends afterwards.

Why she chose to stick with me after that I had no damn clue, but she and Raijin had insisted on it that night in the Infirmary. There had been so much blood all over her and we both just panicked that night. Finally she snapped at us to get her to the Infirmary and allowed Raijin to pick her up while I watched his back until she was safe. For whatever reason, she waited until after I had thoroughly kissed her ass with a mountain of apologies before telling me that I’d been forgiven.

Of course, I tried to promise that I wouldn’t do something that stupid again but she didn’t believe me. The moment Doctor Kadowaki had released her from the Infirmary, Raijin and I did everything we could to help her adapt to being down to just one eye. For weeks we guarded her and made sure that her lack of depth perception didn’t get her hurt. After a while though she snapped at us both to knock it off and disappeared for several days. When she came back, it was like she’d never been injured. From then on, we were together whenever it was physically possible.

Lost in that memory, I hadn’t noticed the sky getting lighter until sounds from the kitchen reached me. Cassie’s head had claimed my shoulder as her pillow and a hand still clutched tightly at my shirt. But she was now sleeping quietly, and no more nightmares seemed to have plagued her. Hours of daydreaming and contemplation had gotten me not closer to a solution to my problems.

Hoping that Raijin or Fujin, whichever was currently awake, could provide some guidance, I skillfully escaped my daughter’s hold and stood up. Once I was solidly on my feet, I paused to make sure I hadn’t disturbed her then padded silently out of the room. The smell of coffee reached me the moment I entered the hall, right along with the sound of little Jax’s babbling.

With a steadying breath, I shoved my hand through my hair to make it look a little more presentable and headed down the hall to the kitchen. Every step chasing away the memories from so long ago and replacing them with frustration and guilt over the talk I’d had with Cassie just a few hours previous.

There was still a little time before the kids woke up and I fully intended to utilize it as efficiently as possible this morning. Right after a cup of coffee or two to help me wake up.

Notes:

Okay, so this chapter was a little on the rough side because of Cassie. But Juneki assured me it was good, so I kept the conversation as is.
The next chapter will be a little more on the amusing side.

I hope you all are enjoying so far!

Chapter 7: Late Night Calls

*Squall* 

Slowly I took a breath and, when I felt I could do so calmly, I hit the send button on my phone. In an attempt to stay under control, I counted my heartbeats as the phone rang and I waited for the other side of the line to pick up. Only the promise of my friends being available kept me from hanging up and tossing the phone across the room in frustration.

For the third night in a row, Tempest was awake and constantly screaming. Whatever was wrong did not seem to be solved by any suggestions offered in the parenting books I’d been provided and I couldn’t figure out the cause of her being so upset. The only time either of us slept was when she’d cried herself into exhaustion and even then it was only for a few hours before she was up and screaming again.

Out of pure desperation I decided it was time to call the one person I knew would be able to help me figure out what to do. That it was nearly midnight wasn’t something I could help. Whether it was us being completely exhausted or something else being wrong, Tempest seemed to be more upset than she had for the past two days. As it was, I was already working out the correct way to apologize for the timing.

Almost a full week had passed since they left, and I thought I had been managing fairly well in taking care of her. There had only been two times that I’d felt it necessary to call for advice when I couldn’t find a clear answer myself and both times had been relatively minor issues. Being reduced to taking her up on the offer to call at all hours had never been in my plans until just a couple hours ago and I know that I should have done it then. But Tempest had calmed down a bit and slept for a little while, so I put it off in hopes of the worst being over with.

If parenting was this hard for me now, did that mean it was supposed to get better or worse from here on out? Theoretically, I would expect it to become easier once we got a routine in place and I was able to understand her better. But there was always the possibility of things getting much worse before improving.

“Oh wow! What happened?” Selphie’s sleep heavy greeting startled me.

While waiting for her to answer, my mind had begun to wonder enough that I didn’t realize when she’d picked up the phone. Neither had I considered how much of Tempest’s cries she’d get while I paced the room with my child. All things I should have been paying more attention to.

Whatever guilt I felt was amplified by a grumbled complaint from Irvine somewhere nearby. Where her voice had been nearly comforting, it was no match for the reminder that I was waking a pregnant woman and the parents of a toddler for my own selfish needs. The resounding grunt of Selphie throwing something at him did little to alleviate the feeling. Judging from his lack of cursing and the sounds of things breaking, I assumed it had been something soft that hit him.

“Sorry Selph.” I muttered as I moved closer to the crib.

If she heard my apology over the screaming baby she didn’t acknowledge it at all. “Did you scowl at her again Squall? You know she hates the scowling more than we do.”

A hint of jealousy tugged at me from hearing her sound more awake then I was but I forced the emotion away in hopes of making this nightmare end. “I didn’t scowl at her. Give me a second. I need to put her in the crib so I can hear you better.”

Some warped part of my brain had been hoping that the sound of Selphie’s voice would have been enough to calm Tempest. It was a stupid idea but I seemed to be full of those lately. At least the house was still standing and both of us were in relatively good health. Except for whatever was bothering her.

As expected, the phone fell to the crib when Tempest flailed over me putting her down. Snatching the phone before she could get her hands on it, I turned to activate her music box. Dimming the lights on my way out the door, I reminded myself that it wouldn’t hurt to leave her alone for a few minutes while I sought out some help. If nothing else, talking to Selphie might give the fortification I needed in order to get through the rest of the night.

“Selphie…I need your help.” I mumbled once the door was mostly shut between the rooms. Only a small crack remained open so I could keep an ear on Tempest.

It wasn’t me whining or begging. And I will absolutely swear that it wasn’t. No, the request came out in a cool, calm, collected plea for assistance. Same as I would have in any other situation where I needed outside help. Not that I could remember the last time I needed someone’s help that didn’t involve handing out orders…

With a track record like that it was a minor blow to my pride that I seemed to be doing nothing but asking others for help since Tempest came along. To make matters even worse, those who did provide assistance all seemed to do so with such ease. While no one ever said it out loud, I was well aware that all the help I’d received had been for things that I should have been able to manage just fine on my own. In fact, all the lessons given were things I found relatively easy to do once I understood what was needed.

“I don’t doubt it.” She replied with a sympathetic tone. Still, I heard the yawn she was attempting to hide from me.

“I should have waited until morning.” I mumbled, reaching up to rub the bridge of my nose.

A calloused finger brushed just right at the edge of the scar where it never smoothed out over the years. It reminded me of how much crap Seifer had put me through while we were cadets at Garden. The thought had me smirking a bit as I realized he had nothing on Tempest. Fighting I could handle no matter the situation. Caring for a baby who depended solely on me was a completely different story.

“Just give me an update and I’ll do what I can to help.” She insisted.

Pausing just long enough to do a quick calculation I decided accepting the offer would be the more expedient solution. “With the exception of a couple hours sleep daily, Tempest has been distressed and crying nearly non-stop for the past sixty hours…give or take a few. I’m not entirely sure when it really started at this point. Somewhere around Wednesday morning when she woke up earlier than usual.”

Sleep deprived, I found myself getting mildly sadistic. A random thought crossed my mind and I wondered if it was feasible. Interrogation training had been part of our courses that last year as a cadet and I wondered if we could get away with using a crying baby as part of that training. If I had my way, anyone who lasted a full twenty-four hours without breaking down would get an instant passing grade.

On that note, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d used it as a torture tactic in ancient times. Maybe somewhere down in Centra before the Lunar Cry either destroyed populations or forced the people to seek shelter elsewhere. They might have used crying babies against those who committed heinous crimes if they’d been smart. I know I would have.

“Have you checked her for a fever?” Selphie once again brought me from morbid thoughts back to the present situation.

Automatically, I nodded then remembered she couldn’t see silent communication. “I’ve done that. Every few hours just in case. No fever as of yet.”

“Suck it up Buttercup.” Irvine’s grumbling was loud enough for me to hear and I felt my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment.

A yelp sounded immediately after and I was glad that I didn’t have to say anything to cause it. Understanding my situation, Selphie had no qualms about punishing Irvine for being insensitive. Once again I started to question whether I should have waited for morning to call or just rode this out until it passed.

That lasted right up until Selphie gave an annoyed huff over the phone. “Sorry about that Squally. Irvy seems to have forgotten what it’s like having a cranky baby in the house. I’ll be sure to remind him of this when the little one gets here. Or next time Mio isn’t feeling well. Whichever comes first.”

“I’d appreciate it.” I told her with a smirk. Personally, I think he deserved the punishment.

Irvine gave a noise of protest at us ganging up on him but we both ignored it when he didn’t push the issue further. Satisfied that she’d put him back in his place for the moment, I sat down on the corner of my bed. From the cracked door I could hear Tempest still screaming at me, angry for not holding her when she was uncomfortable.

“Give me her symptoms. Besides not sleeping and constant crying.” Selphie demanded gently. “Eating habits, diapers and anything else out of the ordinary.”

Now that I felt like I was doing something more familiar than caring for a baby, my brain started kicking in and sorting through information at high speeds. “No fever but she’s not eating much. Appears to be in constant discomfort. Only that stuffed Chocobo seems to be doing anything that makes her remotely happy. Abnormal amounts of drooling. And I don’t know how relevant it is, but what she’s leaving in her diapers puts both chemical and biological warfare to shame. More so than usual.”

“I remember days like those.” Irvine muttered, sounding closer to sleep than either of us. Another yelp sounded at the comment. “Ow! Hey! What did I do this time?”

“Stop laughing at Squally! He’s having a hard time and you should be more supportive.” She lectured the man.

Another protesting sound came from him but this time he decided to defend himself. “I wasn’t laughing at Squall! I was fondly remembering a few baby days that I’d happily allow my GFs to destroy.”

Selphie’s hum of indecision echoed my own as we both considered how sincere he was being. “She’s likely teething. I’d bet that you’d feel the beginnings of a tooth coming in if you put a finger in her mouth. This is about the right time for it to start up and the first tooth is the worst.”

“How long is this going to last and how do I help her through it?” I questioned now that we knew what the issue was.

Another hum from Selphie suggested she was going over ideas. “The timing is going to depend on her and how much trouble this tooth decides to cause before coming through all the way. In the meantime, you can give her a frozen cloth or a frozen banana to chew on. That will help the tooth break through her gums.”

“She hates bananas.” I muttered thoughtlessly.

That time, I did notice myself scowling. The memory of trying to give Tempest pureed bananas as one of her first real foods had seriously stuck with me. Just the screech she gave at the first introduction was enough to send monsters running the other direction. Afterwards, she refused to eat any more of it and spit out what little I did get in her mouth.

Both of us ended up wearing her breakfast that day and required immediate cleanup before we could move on. There was no way either of us would be happy going through the day with oatmeal and banana in our hair. For the next couple of feedings, all foods were met with hesitation and excessive caution from her. 

“Huh…that’s unexpected. Normally it takes a bit of time for them to get to that level of dislike.” She mused after I explained what happened.

Trying to get back on topic I latched on to the other idea. “Why a frozen cloth? Isn’t that considered a hazard?”

A scoff in the background suggested it was a ridiculous question, but I couldn’t see how. “It’s not like you’re going to give it to her then leave her alone with it. While you’re holding her, give her a frozen cloth to chew on. It’ll help numb her gums and give her something abrasive to encourage the tooth to come out.”

“That sounds like a very short-term solution.” I frowned, thinking about how long of a reprieve it might buy me.

“Well, there are always baby painkillers. They’re pretty safe to use for a few days until she’s feeling better. Or they have stuff to rub on their gums. Either way, it’ll get both of you some much needed rest and might make it easier for her to eat.” Selphie offered.

“I’m starting to forget what sleep is.” I grumbled, rubbing my temple to battle the headache that had been building for hours now. Under normal circumstances I would have kept the thought to myself but now it was out and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“Tee Hee!” She laughed lightly at the joke. Only, I wasn’t sure if I was joking or seriously meant that at this point. “Come on Squall! You’ve got this. Just keep in mind that we’ve been trained extensively for situations similar to these. Besides that, plenty of parents are able to manage the baby years without all that training.”

“I don’t know how.” I grumbled but didn’t think she heard me that time.

“Don’t be a grouch. Sleep deprivation is all part of the fun that comes with being a parent. Be glad that you know how to function with it.” She pointed out and I couldn’t help but take the phone from my ear in order to give it a confused look.

Placing it back against my ear I let out an exasperated sigh as I remembered who i was talking to. “We seriously need to reevaluate your definition of ‘fun’. I think I’d rather go back through interrogation training. Maybe I could get higher marks this time.”

“I don’t think higher marks are possible for you Squall.” She countered then sucked in her breath quickly. “I mean…”

“Lack of sleep and nutrients can’t be good for her either.” I threw out quickly as a distraction from the topic.

I didn’t need the hitch in her voice or an apology. Both of us were awake in the middle of the night, running on little sleep and still having our children to deal with. One slipup between us could easily be ignored. At some point, we both needed to put that part of our past behind us and move on. Neither of us needed extra guilt added on for something that was out of our control.

“Just try to keep her comfortable.” She replied, jumping onto the lifeline I’d given us both. “Doesn’t matter what you do at this point, that first tooth just sucks because she doesn’t understand what’s happening. Keeping her face clean and dry will go a long way towards making it easier on her. And trust me, you do not want a teething baby with sores around her mouth.”

“Duly noted.” I mumbled, hoping that I’d remember all of this conversation later.

A small sigh echoed through the phone. “Don’t stress about it so much Squall. She’s your child.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, thoroughly confused by the random comment.

“Means that she’s made of tougher stuff than the average baby.” Irvine grumbled. Since Selphie didn’t throw something else at him, I assumed he’d accurately translated her thoughts.

“As long as you don’t do something stupid like Irvy did with Mio.” Selphie threw out there.

That bit of snark left me more than minorly curious. “What did Irvine do with Mio?”

Sounds of protests were cut off by another pillow. “The idiot rubbed Galbadian whiskey over her gums after only a week of her teething for the first time.”

“How badly did you hurt him?” I asked, amused by their secrets being revealed so easily.

For whatever reason, my sleep deprived brain was enjoying the vague images it was creating. Still, it provided me a mediocre amount of pleasure to imagine Selphie going off on Irvine over him going behind her back with their child. Not because I had anything against the guy. I was simply feeling minorly morbid at the moment, and it had been far too long since I’d last had a chance to go up against a few monsters.

“I can guarantee that he won’t be experimenting with any more old wife’s tales without running them by me first.” She declared.

“I said I was sorry!” Irvine’s whining had the corners of my mouth twitching upward.

Another of those small hums came from her. “In Irvy’s defense, Mio had two teeth coming in at once and it did actually work. I doubt it soothed her any more than some teething gel would have, but we were out and getting to town was impossible for most of that week due to a storm.”

“Avoid the Galbadian Whiskey. Got it.” I replied obediently. “Thank you, Selphie.”

This time when she made a noise it sounded somewhere between amused and approving. This hadn’t been the first time I’ve called to ask for her guidance but those had been more towards basic questions. Including whether a certain outfit was salvageable or if I should just burn the damn thing. It had been my mistake to forget she’d bought the outfit for Tempest. Fortunately, she’d been able to provide me with a recipe to throw in the wash with said outfit and it came out almost perfectly clean.

There were still two more weeks left on the roster for my ‘vacation’ while I finished with things around here. Tempest and I were also using that time to understand and learn to work with each other better. Rather, I was learning to interpret the sounds she made in order to appropriately react to them. At least it gave me a reprieve from having to deal with the patrol that’s supposed to pass through tomorrow. I didn’t think it was a good idea for them to report to me after three nights of Tempest keeping me awake.

“It’s not a problem Squally. We’re used to getting up and solving problems in the middle of the night. And we meant it when we said to call us at any time.” She insisted. The next yawn was large enough that my own jaw began to ache and I knew it was time to let her get back to sleep.

Silence in my own house became noticeable then. “I think she’s finally asleep.”

“Probably wore herself out with all the crying.” Selphie agreed and yawned again. “Go check on her just to be sure then get some sleep while you can. I’m going to do the same. I can at least kick Irvy out of bed in the morning to deal with Mio.”

“Yes Ma’am.” I teased tiredly then hung up the phone, Irvine still voicing his complaint as the call ended. Setting the closed device against my forehead, I thanked Hyne for having such wonderful friends to help me through this.

With some minor reluctance, I forced my tired body to stand and walked over to the door that separated the rooms. Silently entering, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Somehow, Tempest had dragged her stuffed toys from the dresser and had her favorites placed around her. Several others were dropped haphazardly to the floor near the crib.

Surrounded by the stuffed toys, she’d managed to wiggle around enough that one foot was caught between two of the slats on the crib. Soft light from the various nightlights around the room put a soft glow on her face that gave her a somewhat angelic look with her dark hair and skin paler than mine. After that first night, I was glad I hadn’t tossed those little lights out. I’d been so convinced that there wouldn’t be any need for them but Selphie, Irvine and Zell all insisted I give them a chance.

Being careful not to wake her, I took my time straightening her out and removed the stuffed toys from the crib. Those and the ones she’d dropped made their way back to the nearby dresser. If she woke up again, she would just have to figure out a way to repeat her trick because I wasn’t going to risk one of those toys harming her while she slept.

With Tempest still asleep and all sorted out in the middle of her bed, I called upon my SeeD training to sneak right back out of the room with her none the wiser. Shutting the door between our rooms, I left it open only the barest of cracks to make sure I would hear if she woke up. Then I promptly jerked my shirt from my body and climbed into bed. My head barely hit the pillow before I was out cold.

Notes:

Aww! Sweet, wonderful moments here!

As a disclaimer, I do not condone the use of alcohol on a baby. While it has been known to work when done right, I don't want to encourage anything that might get fellow parents (or anyone else) in trouble. Hence, the reason Selphie chewed Irvine out for it.

And...as always...

Thank you for reading! I hope you're still enjoying if you reached this far. There are so many things left for Squall and Tempest to experience together but if you have any suggestions then please feel free to share with me and I'll see if I can find ways of making it work.

Chapter 8: Chance Encounters

*Seifer* 

This had to be some weird, fucked up dream I was having. Any minute now Cassie or Tyr were going to come barging into my room and wake me up. That was the only explanation I could give for the sight in front of me. Because no fucking way could this possibly be real!

Had anyone ever told me that they’d seen Squall with a shopping cart at the store I would have heavily questioned them on it. If they told me that he was seen with a baby, outside of a mission or something, I’d have requested a sobriety check and something to collaborate their story. But to see it with my own fucking eyes? I was seriously debating on whether I was really locked up in a mental ward somewhere.

So was it any wonder that I was in shock? That I was openly gawking at Squall with a baby holding onto a stuffed Chocobo and shopping in the fucking baby section of all places? The little girl that sat in his cart didn’t look too convinced that he knew what he was doing either. She just sat up in the cart and chewed on one of her chocobo’s wings while he examined several items.

Nope! Couldn’t do it! I just couldn’t believe that it was really him. I was fully ready to consider that this was a whacked-out dream. Or maybe I really was in a mental ward somewhere and they currently have me on some drug that makes me hallucinate something like this. There was also the possibility that I was nearly dead, and this was just my brain creating weird images to make my passing easier. Other options included, the world was ending, this being someone’s idea of a fucking prank, or I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing.

As he examined another small item from the shelf, I considered the actual likelihood of each possibility. Since I highly doubted that I was in a mental ward somewhere, that was out. Normally I didn’t dream of mundane shit like this, so I seriously doubted that I was sleeping. There was no explanation as to why this would be something my brain cooked up if I was dying so that was out as well.

Assuming that this wasn’t some kind of weird prank, which Leonhart would never be involved in, that was easily ruled out. It definitely wasn’t a mission, he’d never endanger an innocent baby like that, so that didn't work either. And I was pretty fucking sure he wouldn’t act so damn casual if the world was ending. That left only one option…

“Are you really just planning on standing there and staring at me all day Almasy?” The words sounded unusual for him. Like a disinterested growl.

My first instinct had been to give him some sarcastic remark, but I stopped myself. Not once in the past few minutes had he looked over at me and the scowl on his face was one I never saw often, even as cadets. It got me to really examine the situation. Then I came to the conclusion that he was stressed out and had no idea what he was looking for. Deciding that this was as good a time as any to start making amends with the man I literally owed my life to, I cleared my throat and walked over as if this were a chance encounter between friends rather than lifelong rivals.

“Sorry Princess, I was trying to convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming or something. Just couldn’t seem to make sense of what my eyes were telling me.” I grinned at him but mentally flinched inside. Okay, so the nickname was said out of reflex. Not my smartest word choice but he fortunately didn’t seem to be upset over it.

Blue-grey eyes the color of an overcast sky shot over at me then. An irritated scowl wasn’t far behind. Either he was already pissy or he hadn’t ignored my little endearment after all. As far as I knew, five years ago we’d separated for the last time on friendly, or at least neutral, terms. So how was it possible that my presence could warrant this kind of reaction from him? Answer…it didn’t. So something else had to be up. But what?

Maybe it had something to do with the little girl watching me curiously? That look in her eyes was a familiar look, only with a more innocent edge to it. With someone new to peak her interest, she’d stopped chewing on the stuffed toy and simply held it in front of her. As I got closer, I had to work at ignoring the dark look Squall was giving me. Not too hard when I had the cute little girl now giving me a huge smile and waving her toy around happily at having someone pay attention to her.

For just a moment I hesitated, concerned that Squall might object more than I’d initially thought to me interacting with his child. Then I shrugged it off. It wasn’t exactly unusual for him to be in a piss poor mood. The easiest way to get around it was to ignore the looks and body language. Not ignore him completely, that would be suicidal, but to simply act as if you weren’t phased by it. Besides, what was he really going to do? We were in a public place with a little child, that was obviously his now that I was close enough to see it. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to start a fight with her in the line of fire.

“So…is it safe to assume this little one is yours? Those grey eyes must be hereditary or something. Gotta say though, she definitely pulls them off better.” It was a bit of light teasing as I tickled her cheek with my finger.

The little one let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement. With my peripheral vision, it was the height of stupidity not to keep him in sight at all times, I saw Squall flinch at the sound and press two fingers to his left temple. Okay, so the sound had been loud but not as ear splitting as it could have been. His reaction instantly piqued my interest.

“Seifer…” There was the usual warning to his growl that told me I’d managed to irritate him a little. But it was that good amount of irritation that could lead to things getting interesting. If not for the tired note that laced the rest of his words. “Can we not do this today?”

“Do what? Nothing’s going on between us. I simply saw you and came over to say hi.” I gave him a small, concerned frown. Something just wasn’t right with him. “Well, that and to make sure I wasn’t seeing shit. Never thought I’d see you with a kid. It was just too unbelievable to pass by without confirming it was real.”

While talking to Squall, the little one had gotten a fairly solid grip over one finger and I let her keep it while I examined the man in front of me. Now that I was taking a closer look I felt my frown deepen. The untrusting look he gave me was disheartening but it was the dark circles under his eyes that I was more concerned with. Given there appearance at all, it was clear that he hadn’t been getting much sleep lately.

“Sorry.” He muttered after a minute. Then he put a tube of ointment back on the shelf next to us.

There was a defeated slump to his shoulders that I’d rarely ever seen. In fact, the only time I could recall seeing it before was during a training mission we’d been sent on during those last couple years as cadets. Every student had come back from that training session so drained that many of them barely made it to their rooms before simply crashing on their beds.

If I recalled that day correctly, I was exhausted as fuck too from it so the memory was a bit fuzzy, Squall and I were among the few who recovered first. Even then we’d spent more than twelve hours sleeping off that trip. Over half the students slept for closer to eighteen hours and a small handful weren’t seen until more than twenty-four hours after returning. It had been just that intense of a session.

For him to look that bad meant he was going through a rough time. The only logical, and perhaps moral, thing to do was offer my assistance. “Tell me what you’re looking for. I’m sure I can help you find it.”

The unexpected offer caused him to pause and look at me in confusion. “She’s teething. Selphie suggested that I get some teething gel to help her get through it. But she didn’t tell me which one.”

“Has this little one been giving you a hard time over it?” I asked absently, eye roving over the selection while trying to recall which ones I liked and which ones were basically useless.

Squall gave a small nod. “Something like that. Mostly she’s uncomfortable with it. Spends her waking hours chewing on her toys. She’s barely eating and hardly sleeps at all. The only reason she sucks down the milk is because she wants to chew on the nipple and doing so puts the milk in her mouth.”

As if his explanation were a signal, there was a small pain in the tip of my finger. “Ouch! Looks like you won’t have to deal with it for much longer. That tooth has definitely started working its way out and I’ve got the bite mark to prove it.”

“Tempest don’t chew on Seifer. You don’t know where he’s been.” Squall chided softly while I retrieved my sore digit from the girl.

It took more than a few seconds to get past the shock of his comment. On top of everything, I truly couldn’t tell if he was really reprimanding his child while insulting me at the same time or if he’d learned to make good jokes since I’d last seen him. Since she’d been chewing on my finger for more than a minute before biting it, I could only assume it had been a real attempt at making a joke. Otherwise, he’d have said something sooner…right?

“Very funny Leonhart.” I grumbled somewhat playfully before reaching past him to grab a different box off the shelf. “Here, try this one if she gets fussy again. It works better than most of the others. Just rub a little over her gums and she should feel better almost instantly. Fair warning though, it’ll have her drooling a lot more and your finger will become numb for a while after applying it.”

Knowing just how skeptical he could be, I didn’t take offense when he read the box over several times before throwing it into the cart. There were a couple of other small baby supplies in there but not much else. Probably just decided to get a few things during his trip here for the gel. But why the cart then? It would have made more sense to just carry her if he only needed a few things.

That’s when I noticed something a little more telling. Every one of Squall’s movements were controlled and calculated. No wasted energy or movements whatsoever. It was highly unusual for him because his movements, even when tired, were normally smooth and nearly graceful. There had been times I’d simply watched him, when he hadn’t noticed I was nearby, as he did his morning routine or fought monsters in the training center. On really good days it was more like dancing than swinging a deadly blade around with the intent to kill.

The difference in his movements was subtle enough that the average person might not notice it, but I’d spent too long studying him to miss something that significant. Perhaps this teething phase was taking a greater toll on him than he was willing to admit. That left me with a lot of questions I wasn’t sure he’d answer willingly.

“What’s the little cutie’s name?” I asked, acting as if I hadn’t caught it when he’d said her name a minute ago. Depending on his response I’d have a better idea of how to proceed.

“Tempest.” He muttered, taking hold of the cart and moving farther down the aisle.

A slight slump of his shoulders revealed just how heavily he was leaning onto the cart. Following, I easily kept pace while trying to decide how best to approach the situation. With how uncertain our relationship was right now, I figured that the best way to help was to keep asking questions. If nothing else, it would get his brain thinking and help to keep him going while he finished his shopping. The man was damn near dead on his feet and had compounded the situation by trying to shop with a baby in tow. None of which made sense to me. Then again, this whole situation was weird to start with.

While he looked at teething toys, I carefully considered a few more questions. “Deciding to stick with a theme then? I mean, I approve of the name but who chose it? You or the kiddo’s mother?”

Currently, my own little demons were in a nearby aisle harassing Raijin, right alongside his own son. I don’t know how many times the man had to be warned not to pass by the toy aisle without finding a distraction for the kids before he would figure it out. Okay, to be fair, it was partly my fault for not paying attention to where we were.

In my defense though, I’d been distracted at the wrong moment. Movement on the other side of the aisle we were passing had caught my attention and I’d stopped to confirm what I’d seen. That one minute was all it took for Raijin to fuck up and let the kids notice the toys. That idiot had the same training I did so I decided to just let him deal with the kids while I wandered off to satisfy my curiosity.

Now I was having to deal with something a little more entertaining and a lot more challenging than coaxing kids away from the large collection of toys. It’s been a few years and I found that my Squall translating skills had become more than a little rusty in that time. That left me struggling to understand just what was putting that frown on his face. Not a scowl that usually came with his being annoyed at me but a true frown.

Well, the Ice Prince was just going to have to suck it up and actually communicate like a real person. Or at least in a way that someone who can understand him would make some sense of. Once I was able to tap into those old skills then he could go back to being his normal, pain in the ass self for all I cared.

For the last couple of minutes he’d been examining the small selection of colorful teething toys. This was at least something I could help him with and not need him to explain it to me. So I reached over, grabbed one that had been a favorite for all the kids and handed it to him. It helped to lessen the frown as he took it from me.

Amazingly, he gave it a quick once over before the toy followed the teething gel into the cart. Well, I was two for two now. That meant he was willing to accept my offerings to help a little. Maybe, just maybe, this awkward situation could be enough for us to start working things out between us. There were a lot of questions I needed answers to. Some of them sooner rather than later.

“It was Rinoa’s idea.” Came an annoyed reply as he moved a few more steps down the aisle.

“Huh…” I muttered out loud as I followed him. The answer had surprised me because I’d heard the two of them were no longer a thing. Had something changed recently then?

A low growl had me going on alert and I watched him as he glared at me. “Seifer. Please tell me what you’re really after here. I’m not in the mood for games today.”

In a dramatic gesture, probably not my best timing, I placed a hand over my heart. “Why, Princess! You wound me deeply with your distrust! After all, I’ve only been polite and helpful this whole time. Now you accuse me of nefarious intentions?”

Yeah, not my best timing at all. My actions did nothing to amuse him. In fact, it earned me a cold fucking glare that had his eyes going darker grey than usual. A bit of an extreme reaction from a little teasing but at least my head was still on my shoulders. Confirmation that he was either more receptive to my teasing, not likely, or something was seriously bothering him. I was betting it was the latter.

“Okay look…” I started and leaned on the side of the cart. It forced us both to look past Tempest while we talked, and I made a real effort to present him with a gentler attitude. “Neither of us has ever mastered the ability to bullshit with each other so I’ll tell it to you straight. I truly did just happen to see you walking by and wanted to come over so we can catch up. Well, that and find out what you were doing with a baby. But I swear that’s all it was. Just my natural curiosity taking over.”

His eyes flicked past me then and I thought it was because he was trying to decide how to respond to that. Stupidity at its finest! It only took seconds for me to realize that the look had nothing to do with me and more to do with our surroundings. Seriously, that should have been a clue as to what was about to happen…

I had less than a second to decide if I was going to try and use the cart to stabilize myself or allow myself to be taken to the ground and land flat on my ass as my legs were tackled. The impact hit me right behind the knees so I did the only thing I could and permitted my body to go down as my kids tackled me. Hanging on to the cart would have run the risk of causing Tempest harm. Better for me to take a hit, both physically and to my already damaged pride, than to hurt an innocent by accident.

Having been so focused on trying to prove myself to Squall, I hadn’t noticed the kids sneaking up on me. That Squall had only picked up on it seconds before they attacked was a testament to how distracted he was. So, I paid for it by letting myself be tackled and having my ass hit the ground hard enough to leave a few bruises. Hyperion’s hilt rubbed roughly against my side for only a second as the sheath slid down to match my leg. But at least no kids were hurt in the process. Mine had learned the art of avoiding me landing on them.

Biting back a small curse, I looked to see my two little demon spawn kneeling at my feet with big grins on their faces. They’ve definitely gotten too damn good at tackling their old man and they weren’t even five yet! I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed, irritated or chew my own ass out for allowing myself to become this pathetic.

Fully expecting Squall to make some remark about me being taken down by a pair of little kids, I turned to him. Only, I found myself hesitating to make my own smart assed comment and watched carefully in case I needed to defend myself or the kids. At this angle it would be difficult to draw Hyperion but I didn’t necessarily need the blade in this small area. It could actually be a hinderance with all the kids and not enough room to swing it around.

Something about the kids attacking had put Squall on full alert. In those few seconds he’d stepped away from the cart and put his hand over the hilt of his gunblade as if preparing for a fight. For someone as deadly as we were, that was too damn close to losing control and not anywhere near a good response to the situation. It just proved that he was nowhere near a good mental state.

It only took him a few seconds to analyze the situation and decide that there had been no real threat. Well, no threat to anyone except my sorry ass and I agree that I deserved to be taken down for not paying attention to my surroundings. Hell, the toy aisle wasn’t that far away. I should have been able to listen in on the kids the entire time I was with Squall. Since nothing came of it and Squall withdrew his hand from the blade, I let it go.

Not that I had much choice when a stuffed Chocobo was being shoved into my face. It had been so quick that I could practically feel the tiny fibers from the toy being sucked into my body on my next breath. Turning my head away so I could breathe, I saw Tyr leaning over my other leg with a toy Torama wrapped up in his arms. Just behind him was Souta holding a Geezard toy. Somehow, I already knew I was going to be taking the blame for these when I got home.

“Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found!” Cassie cheered, shoving the toy even closer to me. “Unkle Raijin said it was okay if you say it’s okay!”

“Daddy?” Squall commented from the sidelines.

That asshole actually had the gall to laugh at me over this! Well, not laugh precisely. But this was the Squall version of laughing. To pretty much anyone else it would look like he was still giving that stoic, blank face. Even his tone was steady and neutral as if he were only clarifying that he heard right. Except, there was a slight tilt to the corner of his mouth that told me he was fucking amused by all of it.

Shifting around so that I was a little more comfortable, and to keep Hyperion from digging more into my hip, I gave him the glare I’d been holding back. No reason to say anything about how much I preferred this side of his personality to the quiet, brooding version. He’d probably just think I was being ridiculous or not making sense if I tried to point it out to him.

It took a minute to get untangled from the kids now trying to climb right on top of me. All the while I forced myself to ignore the tingling at the back of my head that told me Squall was watching my every move. Eventually I managed to move us all around so that I had a kid on each thigh with a supportive hand around their backs. Souta took one look at Squall and hurried back to Raijin in order to wrap an arm around the large man’s leg. He was standing a few feet away, his staff hooked tightly over one should by a strip of leather, giving me a sheepish look.

At Cassie’s remark about Raijin making this my decision, I gave him a look that had him suffering under the full weight of my irritation. The man was such a damn pushover when it came to the kids and they knew it. This wasn’t the first time one of them tried playing us against each other. If it wasn’t so damn effective, I’d have put a stop to it long before now. Even knowing what was going on it took a bit of ingenuity and a lot of manipulating the situation to make it all work in our favor.

“Uncle Raijin said that huh?” I hedged, trying to figure out how to avoid more toys entering the house without upsetting the kids too badly.

All it would have taken was Raijin saying no and they would have simply been disappointed. Scratch that, if either of us had been paying attention to our location we could have avoided the whole thing completely. The kids wouldn’t have even noticed until we were done shopping and we’d have gotten out of there with only a little whining. But of course that didn’t happen and now I was caught between giving in or being the bad guy with my own kids, and Raijin’s, over a couple of stuffed toys. Bastard…

“Hey man! How’s it going? Been a long time, ya know?” Raijin called out in greeting.

It just goes to show how guilty he’d been feeling over giving in to the kids that it had taken him a full three minutes to recognize Squall. I doubt he’d given the Commander a second look once they’d found my location. Though, I guess it could partly be the fact that Squall was dressed more casually than usual. His hair was also longer now and his scar had faded enough to be confused with a wayward strand of hair, unless you really looked at it. Throw a baby into the mix and Raijin probably assumed that I’d run into someone I knew from around town.

At the offered hand, Squall reached over and returned the handshake along with a small nod of acknowledgement. To my knowledge, the two of them had never held any animosity towards each other. Hell, if not for me, they might have even been friends of a sort back at Garden. Now I began to wonder why I hadn’t noticed it sooner. Maybe, if I had gone about things a little differently, we could have all been friends back then. Damn!

Niceties out of the way, Raijin turned to greet Tempest by offering her one of his fingers. Confused and curious, she took his finger with one hand and gave a little laugh. The contrast between the two was absolutely striking. The man I’d called my friend was so large that her little hand barely wrapped fully around one of his fingers. I couldn’t remember if I’d noticed that with any of our kids or if she’d inherited her father’s smaller hands and it was more obvious like this.

Giving her an amused smile, Raijin waggled his finger to mimic a handshake between the two of them. Something about it amused Tempest enough that she let out another of those high-pitched Squeals. Automatically, I turned to check on Squall. This time he didn’t touch his temple but he did flinch a little at the sound and gave another of those defeated looks.

A harsh tug on my arm forced me to look over at Cassie. “Daddy!”

There was so much determination in that single word that I knew it was going to be difficult to resist her demands. Not without a full on Almasy battle of wills commencing. In contrast, Tyr was taking a more subtle approach by cuddling the stuffed animal tight against his body and hitting me with that pathetic puppy dog look of his.

Still, Seifer Almasy did not back down without putting up a fight. Not even for his own children. Especially not when it came to his own children. The worst thing I could do was teach these kids I would give in too damn easily. All it took was one slip up and Cassie would somehow figure out where my weakness was. Even worse, she would share the information with Tyr and Souta! Then the three of them would relentlessly gang up on me. Just look at what happened with Raijin in the toy section. I had no doubts that Cassie had been the mastermind behind it all.

“You know, I distinctly remember a certain room that has a whole flock of stuffed Chocobos back home. Aren’t there like a hundred of them in your bed already? And you want to bring home another one?” I pointed out casually.

That earned me a true Almasy glare from Cassie over my exaggeration. A fake cough from Raijin’s direction was a weak attempt to hide his humor over the situation. The bastard new better than to encourage her by laughing. Even Squall was giving me a raised eyebrow, curious as to how this was going to play out between us. Well, looks like its up to me to show the man how it was done…

“I has three Daddy!” Cassie argued and held up a hand, couting off on her fingers. “The blue one. The norm'l, yellow one. And the yellow one holding a heart in its wings. See? Only three!”

The last had me giving Squall a quick explanation about the heart being a representation for Friendship Day back in February. He looked a little skeptical at that but nodded anyway. Likely, he was imagining a stuffed Chocobo holding an actual heart in its wings and not just a heart shape. I wondered if that was entirely Garden’s fault for not actively celebrating many holidays or if he just hadn’t cared enough to learn about them growing up. Probably a combination of both.

As soon as the argument was out of her mouth, Cassie turned a calculating look on Squall. Clearly she was trying to determine whether he would aid her in her mission. Raijin had already been defeated by her and I was resisting her attempts to win me over. As far as adults went, that just left Squall and he was an unknown to her.

It was almost comical to know that she had no idea of who she was dealing with. While Squall Leonhart might give her a suggestion or two, even going so far as to encourage her tactics against me, he wouldn’t outright help her win the fight. No, he preferred to work from the sidelines where he could safely observe and study the opposing parties in case he should need the information for later. I’ve seen it happen many times over the years with no one ever being the wiser about it.

“There! That’s three too many!” I declared proudly, acting as if she’d just made a wonderful point. “They’re already trying to take over with such a big flock.”

“They aren’t taking over! And look Daddy!” She insisted then shoved the toy in my face a second time.

Jerking back to avoid having the plush shoved into sensitive areas, like my eyeballs, I ended up ramming the back of my head against Squall’s cart. “Ow!”

My complaint didn’t faze her one bit as she continued in her pursuit to win against me. “See Daddy? This one has a cute bow around its neck! None of my other Chocobos have a bow! And this one is all white. It’s completely different.”

Movement from the corner of my eye had me checking in Squall’s direction. It must have just been him shifting around because there was nothing in his expression beyond his usual stoic look. Still, something in his body language led me to believe that he was amused by our interactions. Why was I not surprised by that?

About that time, Raijin took a step back from the cart. The action simultaneously removed his finger from Tempest’s grip and left her more exposed to the kids. Granted, they hadn’t yet noticed her because they could only focus on one thing at a time still and that had been on convincing me to agree to buying more toys.

That all ended a few seconds later when Tempest realized that everyone had stopped paying attention to her. This time when she squealed, it was angry. As if that noise had triggered something, the twins were climbing off of me and onto the sides of the cart in an attempt to get a better look. Even Souta had stepped away from Raijin’s leg to try and see.

“A baby! Daddy look! There’s a baby in the cart!” Cassie cried out excitedly.

Apparently, getting to be so close to a new baby completely trumped nagging their father for a new toy. It was a bit of a relief because I was now free to get off the hard fucking ground and back to my feet. Squall was not nearly as thrilled by their enthusiasm though. All the scrambling to get closer to Tempest caused the cart to rock.

Despite the fact that Tempest seemed to be enjoying both the attention and the rough shaking of the cart, Squall’s desperate look to me was enough to have me intervene. While there was no serious risk to Tempest in all of the excitement, the cart being supported by both Squall and myself was enough to keep it from being jostled too much, his silent plea for help was too much for me to ignore. Either he hadn’t figured out how to handle a couple of overly excited kids or he was still going through that phase of parenting where everything is going to send you into freak out mode.

“Knock it off you two! Stop bouncing around like that. You don’t want to hurt little Tempest do you?” I snapped at my kids, trying to keep the tone calm but firm.

And once more, I had chosen the wrong thing to say. Suggesting that Tempest might be injured had been more to remind my kids that she was still very little. It hadn’t been intended to panic Squall even more about her safety. One of these days I was going to learn to think before speaking…maybe…

For his part, Raijin stepped in and scooped Souta onto his shoulder. It allowed the boy to see everything without adding to the chaos. While effective, I couldn’t exactly do the same with my own kids and I wasn’t willing to risk compromising both my hands to hold them. Granted, Squall was still there and armed but with how tired he was I worried that it would affect his abilities should something happen.

Okay, so I was seriously overthinking that one. It was extremely rare for monsters to invade buildings but after what happened, I’d become more paranoid than most people around here. We’d even done a few drills with the kids, both at home and when outside of the house, so that they would know what to do should a monster attack. That also included me not compromising my ability to defend us while away from the house, for any reason.

So, instead of just grabbing them, I shot Squall a hand signal to let him know everything was under control. There were a few signals that we used at home so that the three of us could communicate, either in silence or to keep the kids from understanding things we don’t want them to. Except for those few signals we utilized regularly, I doubt any of us would be able to use them without having to think about it first. When Squall gave me a look that was somewhere between amused and doubtful, I knew that I’d fudged the signal somehow.

“Her name is Tempest?” Tyr asked quietly. It was odd enough for him that I ended up hesitating to answer. The kid barely talked in the first place, much less ask stranger questions directly.

“Yes.” Squall bit out. The answer was accompanied by his fingers twitching around the metal. A sign that it was officially time to get the kids out of here.

“Tem…pest.” Cassie sounded out the name herself then made the boys repeat it. Obediently, they did. “Is she your baby mist’r? She’s a cute baby. Even if she drools a lot on everything.”

“Don’t be rude Cass.” I reprimanded gently. No need to get Squall anymore worked up than he already was. “Now, all of you come over here and introduce yourselves to Squall. He’s an old friend of ours from school so behave yourselves.”

Once more I got a raised eyebrow from Squall while Raijin set Souta on the ground. All three of them came to stand in front of me with Cassie in the center. There was just enough time for me to give him a small shrug over the comment. I mean, what the hell was I supposed to tell them anyway?

Who in their right mind would tell a bunch of kids that the man standing in front of them was someone who fought against their dads with the intent to kill? Or that we’ve fought with each other since we were younger than the three of them were now? They wouldn’t understand any of the details and would likely see him as someone to be afraid of. They didn’t know he was justified in his actions or that I’d been the bad guy. Besides, I did kind of want it to be true now that we were older. Or was being actual friends forever going to be an impossibility between the Commander and the ex-knight?

“Hi Mr. Squall sir!” Cassie greeted, taking a small step forward so she stood in front of the boys. “I’m Cassie! This is my br’ther Tyr and that’s Cuz’n Souta! Souta is almost four! Tyr and I will be five in stember!”

“September.” I corrected gently, letting the other mistakes go for the time being. “Cassie and Tyr are twins, if you couldn’t already figure that out from her introduction.”

“Nice to meet you.” Squall told them solemnly, as if uncertain how to greet children.

Then again, were there really many opportunities for him to learn? Other than the children that came to Garden from orphanages, most kids were a little older when they joined the academy. And, by Garden regulations, all kids had to be at least five upon enrolling. How many of those did he have to interact with directly though? Probably not many and I bet most of them were taught how to greet him as an older cadet would. We didn’t go that far in training our kids but we did teach them to be polite and follow the rules given to them.

That my old rival was looking to me for guidance was a little amusing. Either he truly felt that he needed assistance in dealing with children or he was just really too tired to think on the fly. The first would be mildly amusing in most cases. But if it was the second, then I would consider things to be more than a little concerning. Squall Leonhart was damn good at thinking through things quickly, despite a nasty habit of overthinking things. If he was having trouble figuring it out on his own, then it was worth paying attention to.

What I hadn’t taken into account in all of this, was the fact that these were my own fucking offspring. It was absolutely in their nature to be stubborn and tenacious. As long as they had ample opportunity to try and get what they wanted, they were going to push until they got it. Cassie being the absolute worst about it.

“Unkle Raijin said I could have this cute Chocobo!” Cassie declared and held the Chocobo up for Squall to see. “It’s all white and has a pretty bow.”

There was a strange tilt to his voice as Squall nodded politely. “It’s very…cute.”

“I has a Torma.” Tyr announced quietly, mispronouncing the monster’s name. “He’s a bery strong kitty.”

Again, Squall nodded. “Yes. Toramas are very strong monsters. You should be very careful if you ever see a real one.”

Excited by Squall’s acknowledgement, Tyr grinned happily then raced to hide behind my leg. He’d officially reached his limit for socializing with someone unfamiliar to him and was seeking comfort by clutching one arm around my right leg. That little bit of conversation and putting himself out there for Squall to take notice of had been a big improvement. Proud of his efforts, I placed my hand on the back of his head to show him that he'd done a good job.

Something about Tyr running off with the Torama toy seemed to upset Tempest. She was reaching out with one hand, the other clutching tightly to her own stuffed toy, and giving him a demanding look. When she made a frustrated noise over not getting what she wanted Squall’s shoulders once again slumped forward in defeat.

It was only the slightest of movement but if I could see it that easily then there was some serious meaning behind it. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought to see this powerful man be brought nearly to his knees by a little girl who couldn’t have weighed more than sixteen or seventeen pounds given how small she was.

Tyr had only just hit fifteen pounds when he was that size and I know he’s always been small for his age. Cassie had a couple of pounds on him at the same age while Souta had been somewhere in the middle of the two. Raijin’s youngest, Jax, was just approaching fifteen and a half pounds. From the time the twins were born there had been a lot of concern over Tyr’s weight and progress in gaining it. That hadn’t changed over the years, and I got into the habit of tracking all four of the kids because of it. Which made me pretty damn good at judging baby weights. I estimated that Tempest was on the smaller end of the scale, just not enough to be worried about it too much.

By my estimates, I judged Tempest to be somewhere around seven months, maybe eight given how small she was. Still a little early for walking. Yet she impressively had the power to do what no one else had ever managed. This little girl had totally defeated the great SeeD Commander, Lion of Balamb, Hero to the whole fucking world! All before she even said her first word.

Welcome to fatherhood. I thought, a little sadistically.

But the moment passed, and I could tell that Squall was in serious need of assistance. Knowing him, the idiot was either too stubborn or proud to ask for help. On that note, where the hell was Rinoa in all of this? Shouldn’t she be here helping him take care of their child? Or had something happened to her? Squall had barely mentioned her during our conversation. Did that mean Squall was having to raise a child by himself?

“I have a Gizzrd.” Souta gave his own announcement, holding the Geezard toy up with uncertainty.

Squall, for his part, nodded and tried to say something about the toy only to be interrupted by another angry cry from Tempest. It was all he could do to give the boy an apologetic look before reaching over to pull Tempest from the cart. Picking her up didn’t help soothe her any and I made a somewhat impulsive decision.

Resting a hand on my children’s shoulders I gave them a cheerful grin. “I’ve got an idea! Why don’t I go help Squall and Tempest out for a little while? You guys can go buy those wonderful toys with Uncle Raijin and I’ll meet you back home later. Okay?”

“Unkle Seifr? You tell Momma you late for dinner? Momma get mad if you late.” Souta asked, clutching the Geezard toy to his chest with the other hand holding on to Raijin’s pant leg. As I said, Fujin had all of us well trained.

Having his turn at showing off the toy get interrupted by a crying Tempest hadn’t really bothered him. It happened often with Baby Jax and Fujin or Raijin would do what they could make it up to him once his brother calmed down. If I was there at the time, I would usually find something to make him center of attention for a bit while his parents dealt with whatever Jax needed.

“I’m sure Raijin will let her know what I’m doing.” I said with a wink to the boy. “Just don’t let him forget to tell her. Can you do that for me?”

“Okay! I make sure Daddy tell Momma!” Souta promised, eager to have the responsibility.

At the decision, Raijin gave me one of those defeated looks. I’d have to make it up to the man later for putting him in such a shitty position. Neither of us knew for sure how Fujin would feel about Squall after all these years. But surely the woman wouldn’t object to me helping the guy out for a little while when he was clearly suffering.

It took me flicking my eyes from Raijin to Squall for the man to take a second look. At first, he was confused but after giving the stoic Commander a good look he turned back to me and nodded his understanding. We both remembered the days where our kids made us question our decision to become parents by keeping us up all night with endless crying and no way to know for sure what it was caused by.

“Alright kiddos! Let’s go buy us some toys.” He encouraged and picked up the small basket of supplies he’d left near the end of the aisle. Eagerly, the kids all followed after him.

“Alright, hand her over.” I insisted the moment my crew was out of sight. When he hesitated, I wiggled my fingers in a gimme gesture.

He gave me that look that said he wasn’t sure this was a good idea but cautiously handed her over anyway. The moment she left his hands for mine there was a movement down near his gunblade. Seeing his thumb flick over the latch holding the blade in place, I drew my eyes to his and nodded. Then we were both able to relax. Threat had been given, message received, and was officially acknowledged by both parties.

Now that the important conversation was out of the way, it was safe to flash him a boyish grin and give Tempest the majority of my attention. No insult had been taken by his silent statement and I knew he’d follow through if I did anything to risk his child’s safety. As if I would ever do anything to harm the offspring of Squall Leonhart. Not a fucking chance! But I took it as a sign that he was going to make a damn good father so I let it go.

All the uncertainty he’d shown when putting her in my care began to fade when she started to calm down. Curiosity eventually got the better of her and she did what any child that young would do. The toy Chocobo dropped from her hand and I caught it before the blasted thing could hit the floor.

Before I could stop her, little hands were tugging on the shiny choker around my neck. With how durable and thick the chain was, I had no worries about her breaking it. Just as long as she didn’t use it to choke me for real, we’d be good. And wouldn’t Leonhart get a kick out of that if she managed it…

“You have kids.” The exhausted Commander stated after a while.

It took a moment to realize that he’d meant it both as a statement and a question. For the last few minutes, we’d gone down the aisle with most of my attention on keeping Tempest entertained. After the first item or two we developed a bit of routine between us. Any item he needed would be picked up, if I thought there was a better option I’d select it and give it to him. In turn, he’d give it a cursory glance so he’d know what he was getting and then toss it into the cart.

That had been our sole communication for the entirety of the baby section until that simple statement. “Yeah. They’re pretty much all that makes my life worthwhile anymore. Their mother and I didn’t get along very well and probably would have divorced if not for the two of them. Our relationship had more or less been reduced to arguments about every little thing by the time they came around.”

“Why didn’t you divorce her afterwards?” He asked thoughtfully.

At his question I just gave a little shrug. “I couldn’t do that to them. Not after the way we grew up. Figured that it was better to have their parents stay together. At least until they were old enough to deal with it. Besides, she wasn’t the worst person I could have been married to. And she was a damn good mother to the kids.”

“But you live with Raijin now?” He questioned.

With how tired he obviously was, I was surprised that he picked up on that during our conversation. Obviously he was trying to build a picture of what my life was like now but just didn’t have enough information to fit it all together in his mind. Since I had my own question I wanted answered, I felt it was only fair to answer his first.

“Yeah, I moved in with him last year. Well, him, Fujin and their two boys if you want accuracy.” The last bit had him giving a little nod of appreciation and I grinned back at him.

For some reason he didn’t seem too surprised by that answer. “They got married then?”

“Yeah, about a year after the war was over.” I confirmed. Normally I’d make him ask more questions just to keep him talking, but I decided to take pity on him. Just for today. “We spent some time looking for a place that we could settle down in and start over. They didn’t ask a lot of questions here. Made it easy to integrate and build up new lives for ourselves.”

“You said they have two kids?” He asked as we changed aisles.

“Jax is their youngest. He just turned nine months last week. Fujin let Raijin leave him at home with her while we came to pick up a few items she needed for dinner tonight.” I explained and stopped Tempest from pulling on my earring. She didn’t appreciate my interference but was content to tug on my necklace some more.

“What about Cassie and Tyr’s mother?” There was caution to the question, as if he suspected something had happened and worried it might be difficult to talk about.

When I didn’t answer right away he shoved the crumpled list he carried into his pocket and looked around. Until this point he’d been feigning the same mild, polite interest most people would give one another after not seeing each other for a while. It wasn’t usual for him but I just figured that someone finally taught him how to be sociable. That or his curiosity had been strong enough to ask about it.

But that question was one I’d been dreading. This was the one person I didn’t want to have to confess to. I didn’t want to have to explain that I’d failed in something too big to fix. I didn’t want him to know that I’d failed, not only the woman I’d promised to protect, but both my kids as well.

And yet, I knew that if I didn’t give him something then our conversation would come to an end. There would be no more questions from him and I would only get clipped, useless answers if I tried turning things around. Asking anything of him would be absolutely pointless. Part of me was sure that whatever was going on between us would end after today. That there wouldn’t be a second chance if I decided to keep this to myself. I just didn’t want a potential friendship with him to end over one mistake I made a year ago…

Taking a breath, I played with Tempest’s tiny fingers and spoke in a voice just above a whisper. “She died. Almost a full year ago now. Just one more thing to add to my long list of things I’ve managed to screw up on.”

At my confession he didn’t say anything, just walked past the barrels full of produce towards a back corner of the store. Caught up in my own thoughts I blindly followed behind him, not once realizing that he was taking us away from the areas with people in them. Somehow he managed to get me cornered between him and the cart and that was when I realized what he’d done.

In that moment, he no longer looked exhausted. Before me was the Commander of Balamb in his full glory, arms crossed over his chest and looking me in the eyes. It was a look I can’t remember him ever turning on me, though I’ve seen him use it a few times when confronted with underclassmen who were acting up and doing stupid shit. That was back before I became head of the Disciplinary Committee. No one ever dared to defy him when he turned all that power onto them. Seemed to me that he’d successfully perfected it during his years as Commander.

“Tell me what happened.” He said in a calm and quiet voice.

This wasn’t a request as it would be from a concerned friend. The way he said it was a straight up order. One he fully expected to be obeyed instantly and without question. All it managed to do was tick me off enough that I found myself shoving aside all that self-pity and loathing in order for more volatile emotions to take their place. When I figured out what he’d done I gave him a sardonic grin. Sneaky ass bastard!

“SeeDs officially showed up at the end of things so I’m going to assume you heard about the monster invasion that happened last year?” I asked anyway just to confirm he knew what I was talking about.

“I know about it.” He nodded then gestured for me to continue.

Shifting Tempest to my other arm I handed the stuffed toy back to her while I thought out what I wanted to tell him. “When it happened, Raijin and I made the decision to try and protect the town. The three of us knew that there weren’t enough people around us who had the ability to fight of more than a couple monsters at a time.”

“So? you and Raijin were present, had the training necessary for the situation and chose to do something about it. I see nothing wrong with that.” He told me and he sounded it as if he meant to reassure me.

Hearing his approval, I found it a little easier to continue with my story. “Fu was pregnant with Jax at the time, so we left her and Jenna, that’s the twin’s mother, to take care of the kids. We figured that they would all be safe as long as they stayed in the house. Even if something happened and monsters did get in, Fu was perfectly capable of throwing her Chakram at them. Rai even secured a room so that the women could have a secure place to protect the children.”

“But that’s not what happened?” He stated, as if already knowing where this was going.

Guilt started to take over again as I shook my head. Only Tempest still being in my arms kept me from acting upon it. “No. While trying to get the kids into the room and settled, a Bit Bug somehow made it into the house. According to Fu, it was a mid-level monster but nothing unmanageable. Jenna had done what she could to get the kids to safety. But three scared children with a monster buzzing nearby made it difficult to do quickly.”

“Why didn’t Fu just take it out? Her aim is good enough to not hit the kids.” He asked, trying to analyze the situation.

“I never got the full details of what happened and didn’t ask for them.” I admitted. At the time Fujin had felt so guilty and the kids were all so devastated that it didn’t seem worth it to go into minor details when there was nothing that could be done about it anyway. “From what I was told, the bug got in and attacked while the kids were between here and Jenna. It happened fast. The bug struck, Jenna hit the ground and Fu had to make a choice. She chose to kill the bug and hope that Jenna would be able to hold on long enough for Fu to secure the room.”

“The Bite Bug took Jenna out in a single attack?” I couldn’t blame him for being skeptical on that one. It was unusual for them to get that lucky.

But, I nodded to him anyway. “It got a lucky strike in. According to Fu, it took barely a minute for her to get between the kids and the bug. On the off chance her strike missed, she wanted to make sure it was her body between the monster and the kids. She didn’t miss. But those two minutes were more than enough. Jenna was gone before Fujin could even attempt to heal her.”

“I’m sorry.” He muttered. Interrogation finished, he grabbed the cart and headed towards the checkout line without so much as an explanation.

It wasn’t so much the apology that pissed me off or him dropping the subject that quickly. What had me storming after him was the guilt I’d heard in those two words. Either he truly had something to be guilty of in regard to that attack or he simply felt it was the only thing that he could say at the moment. Either way, I was ticked off over it.

Catching up to him, I stupidly grabbed his shoulder from behind. The action triggered his instincts and he was turning around fast enough that my heart beat twice before we were facing each other down. Now there was a tension between us that hadn’t been there before and I wanted nothing more than to make it go away.

“That was stupid of me. I’m sorry.” I told him, one hand in the air since the other was still wrapped around Tempest. Letting out a breath, he nodded and took his hand away from the hilt of his gunblade. “I just wanted an explanation. As far as I know, you don’t have any reason to apologize for Jenna’s death.”

“Yes I do.” He muttered. Crossing his arms over his chest he looked away and down at the floor.

That’s all I needed to know that he felt real guilt over the incident. “You’re going to have to explain that in a little more detail Princess.”

The nickname earned me a cool look but at least he was looking at me. “It was my fault that SeeDs didn’t get out there sooner. Too much time was wasted in trying to convince Galbadia Garden to send people out to help you. I’d hoped that we could get them to Winhill faster than it would take to mobilize our troops and get them out here. But they fought me on it. By the time I realized I’d wasted time arguing with them and had Quistis get things moving on our side, it was almost an hour later. Eventually I won and they sent troops out. They arrived about the same time ours did.”

“So? You made a bad judgement call. It happens. Still not your fault.” I insisted.

Squall shook his head and scowled. “Either way, I should have been loading up SeeDs to come handle the mess. According to the reports I received, there were plenty of monsters on the ground once troops arrived. It only took them an hour or so to finish chasing off the rest. I guess I have you and Raijin to thank for making their work easier.”

“I heard that SeeDs had shown up but never saw them.” I mumbled back. “Raijin and I hurried back to the house because a neighbor had informed us of what happened. The kids were so worked up over what happened that Raijin and I had to take turns going out and helping those who needed it. At a certain point, the monster population started to die down enough that we were able to regroup at the house. That’s about the time word got to us that SeeDs had arrived and we chose to let them handle the rest.”

“We never did find out what caused the attack in the first place. Monsters don’t usually attack towns in swarms like that.” Squall stated and gave me a hopeful look.

Sighing, I ran my free hand through my hair and shifted Tempest’s weight on my hip again. “I don’t know what caused the attack itself. The town’s been in poor shape for a while now but I can’t exactly say that’s the reason it happened. Especially since we haven’t had such large numbers before or since in all the time I’ve been here.”

“How are the kids handling it?” That one question gave him a lot of points in my book and I let him see that I appreciated it.

“Tyr never spoke much before hand but after, he stopped talking almost completely. It’s why Cassie has taken over all the talking for him.” I admitted. Letting her support Tyr was one thing, but I knew I should have stepped in sooner when it didn’t seem like things were improving. Now it felt like it was all too late.

“She does remind me of someone.” His lips twitched near the corners of his mouth and I felt myself smirking back at him.

Friendly banter was definitely preferable to the morose conversation we were having. “Yeah, yeah! Rub it in why don’t you? I know she inherited more of the Almasy personality than Tyr did.”

Unfortunately, Squall was not one to be thrown off track for the sake of a little teasing. “So, Tyr’s conversational habits have been reduced. What about Cassie? She seems to be functioning alright.”

I shrugged at that. “Somewhat. She still wakes up two or three times a week with nightmares about monsters eating people. The whole thing has made her more protective of the other kids. Even asked me to teach her how to fight with a weapon the other night.”

“It’s not like you can hide the fact that monsters will kill people when she’s actually witnessed it herself.” He pointed out and I still scowled at him for it. “So? Are you going to accept her request?”

“What?” I asked, irritated by him being right.

At my question he shifted his weight and gave me a hard look. “Are you going to teach her to use a weapon?”

It was a question that had been bugging me since she’d asked the other night for me to teach her. “I don’t know. She’s right that she should know how to defend herself. It wouldn’t hurt for the boys to have that ability as well. But the thought of putting a weapon in my little girl’s hands and preparing her to take on monsters scares the crap out of me.”

“She’s nearly old enough to enroll at Garden. We train kids with simple weapons after the first six months of them being there.” He said, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. Okay, so to him and those kids it wasn’t. And I knew I’d have to make a decision about it soon.

“For Hyne’s sake Leonhart! Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to send her there?” I hissed at him. It was in that moment that I knew I’d decided on that long before today. So why the fuck had I spent the last two days agonizing over all of it if I already had my answer?

“Your reasoning for that?” Again, it wasn’t judgmental. Just a simple question.

“I…I just don’t think it’s a good idea to send her there.” I told him. It was a lame fucking answer, but it was all I could offer until I worked it all out myself.

It must have been enough though because he continued with his questioning. “Then what are your plans for her? If she’s that much like you, then we both know how this is going to end up. At some point she’s going to learn about the Garden program and SeeDs. If she's that much like you, she’ll want to join. Do you let her go or fight her on it?”

Looking down at Tempest, I contemplated for a minute. Garden was hard on its students. The people there demanded your absolute best and pushed relentlessly to bring it out of you. For people like Squall and me that had no other options, it wasn’t all that bad. I’d say we even enjoyed it for the most part. But Cassie has options that we didn’t. She has a home, people who love her and we have the ability to make sure she is ready to take on anything that came her way. But if she really wanted it, could I bring myself to risk our relationship in order to try and stop her?

“I’ll train her myself.” I decided angrily, pissed that he’d made me think that hard about it. “I’ll teach her the basics of self-defense. If she still wants to learn beyond that then I’ll have her choose a weapon. If it’s something we aren’t skilled in, then I’ll find someone who is. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to deter her from enrolling in Garden. That isn’t the kind of life I want for her.”

“And if she still decides to go? Will you support that decision?” The question brought my eyes to his. Those eyes weren’t the hard steel I thought they’d be. More like soft grey clouds on a spring day. Calm and soothing.

Having to consider all of this was one of the worst parts of being a parent. But I knew it was inevitable that she’d hear about it. Soon we were going to have to talk about Garden whether I want to or not. She needs to know who they are, what they do, what life is like there. More than anything, she’s going to have to learn about all my time there and what people are going to think of her just because she’s my child.

“I know I won’t be able to stop her. I’ll fucking try my best to convince her not to join. But if she does, I’ll support her however I can.” I answered, free hand clenched tightly at my side.

That seemed to satisfy Squall because he just nodded and turned back around to grab the cart. Settling back into his slow amble across the store, I fell back into step next to him. For a good while we were both silent. Both lost in thought and neither willing to disrupt that silence until we reached the checkout line. Of course, only one of the three lanes were open and there was a small line of people in front of us.

“If she decides to go, I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” He promised quietly, breaking the silence.

“What? How?” I asked in confusion.

How could he make a promise like that to me when we both knew he couldn’t personally keep it? To start with, he was here in Winhill. Then there was the fact that he had a baby in his care. Thinking about it, that probably had something to do with him being in this town in the first place. Even without Tempest in the mix, he was still Commander of Balamb. A position like that had to keep him incredibly busy. Too busy to keep an eye on one child who was sure to cause trouble wherever she went.

Another small smirk presented itself at my disbelief. “I have connections now.”

“Connections…” I muttered, amused at the thought.

A small shrug of one shoulder suggested it didn’t matter if I believed him or not. “Quistis and Zell are still at Balamb Garden. Zell teaches mixed martial arts there most days and Quistis helps me run the office. There are others who I’d trust to keep an eye out for her as well.”

“That’s assuming she’ll want to go to Balamb Garden.” I said, as if he’d simply forgotten that fact. With three Gardens and rumors of a fourth being built, she was going to have options. As good as he was, he couldn’t be everywhere at once.

The smirk got a little bigger. “Selphie and Irvine both transferred to Trabia Garden. I can guarantee that Cassie would not only be protected there, but spoiled as well.”

“And Galbadia Garden?” I asked, almost enjoying trying to find the flaw in his thinking.

“I’m not in the best situation with Galbadia Garden. But on the off chance she chooses to go there, I’m sure there’s someone that Irvine knows and trusts enough to keep an eye on her. If they have Irvine’s approval, then I have no doubt that whoever it is will keep us updated on her status.” He declared without a hint of uncertainty. "Besides, it's not so far away that I couldn't go there to check on her myself occasionally."

“Why would you do that for me?” I asked, not quite believing he’d go that far just to ease my concerns.

It wasn’t Cassie going to Garden that I’d been concerned about exactly. It was the way everyone would treat her the moment her surname was revealed. While most of the world remained blissfully unaware of the details from the recent war, they knew it had to do with an evil sorceress trying to destroy the world using the Lunar Cry. Unfortunately, for most of the larger cities at least, my name was well connected to all of it for being her Hyne bedamned knight!

That was what they knew from the story that Squall and many other officials had released after the war. The truth was just too much to burden the population with, so they chose to provide only half the story. It worked, but it didn’t stop my name from being put out there. I’d been too active of a participant in her dirty work to be entirely removed from the public’s view.

Unfortunately, that horrid legacy was something my kids would one day have to deal with. With or without attending Garden. Eventually someone would recognize the name and it would all be over. I never hid my presence from the world and because of that, my last name was on every single document. There had always been the possibility that someone would recognize my name and take it out on them.

Here in Winhill, no one seems to care who the hell we are. Which is why we picked it in the first place. Here, they can be given a reprieve as they grow. During that time I planned to give them my tragic story in small bits and pieces. The attack last year had delayed that plan. Too much horror for me to justify adding more onto them, even in the form of a bedtime story. Talking to Squall about it had me thinking it might be time to introduce them to their history like I’d originally planned. Before someone told them something that broke their trust in me.

A grunt of confirmation reminded me that I’d been talking with Squall about possible futures for Cassie. Knowing he would look out for her when I couldn’t was a soothing balm on my guilty conscience. No matter what happened, I could trust that he’d help me in keeping her protected from my screwed up past as much as we possibly could.

While I was lost in thought, we’d moved up to the cashier and Squall had placed the items on the counter. There weren’t many items, barely enough to fill two bags. But I knew Squall and knew he was tired as all fuck. That had me questioning what his plans were for getting both the bags and Tempest home safely. Monster attacks weren’t as bad as they could be, but it wasn’t unusual for someone to be attacked by various bug monsters just from walking a mile down the road.

Gathering up his purchases with one hand, Squall led the way out of the store and stopped. I think it was right about that point that he’d come to the same realization I had. Watching a mother Chocobo gather up her wandering chicks in a field nearby, I made my decision.

Giving his shoulder a gentle bump from mine, I grinned invitingly at him. “Which way is home?”

“I need to get a truck." He grumbled as we walked down the road together.

“It’d be a good idea if you’re the only one with Tempest. It’ll make your life a bit easier.” I agreed.

“Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, but I wasn’t thinking about having to carry Tempest and groceries when I started my list.” He admitted.

The level of irritation had me rolling my eyes at him. “It’s not that big of a deal Princess. Most of the monsters around here are pretty damn weak. Swarms often stick to the outer edges of town and prefer areas like the orchards where they can get easy food. Besides, there’s enough magic between us to take out a Bite Bug or Caterchipillar if one should show up. And I’m fairly certain I can still manage with Hyperion while holding Tempest. Wouldn’t be the first time something like that's been necessary.”

He grumbled something under his breath that had been too low for me to hear, but I had a fairly good idea of what it might have been. The response too familiar not to have been expecting it. At the next crossroad he directed me to turn down the left road and we headed further towards the center of town. Now that I had a general direction of where we were heading, I was starting to get a sneaking suspicion about which place was his.

By the time the three of us had moved to Winhill, the place had started to increase its population. At the northern end of town was the mayor’s house. Around it were dozens of small, older houses that had been there as long as the town had been established. Sometime before we had moved into the area, the locals had simply separated the town into districts. Little had been done to this area and no new construction had been done in quite some time, so it had retained its title as the Northern District.

There was only one place in this area that I knew had been remodeled recently. Pretty much all the other residents in the area were those who had lived here for several generations now and the houses had been passed down to younger family members. There were two exceptions to that rule and one of those houses were being rented out. That left a single possibility. Except…it wasn’t his name on the title or the paperwork…

“So…who’s Kiros Seagill? A new alias?” I attempted to keep the questions casual but I worried about having blown his cover if he was going by an alias here. Not that he’d said anything to correct me on it if he was.

The question got me a quick look over his shoulder as he pulled a key out of his pocket to unlock the door. “Not an alias. Kiros is a friend of my father’s. I guess you could call him my uncle.”

Today was just a day for Behemoth sized information bombs being dropped on me. At this rate I was going to reach my limit for them before the sun finished setting. Finding out that Squall was a father had been shocking enough. To find out that he not only had his own father, but an uncle as well was a little too much to take in one go.

In my shock, I missed one of the steps leading to the door and ended up stumbling. Only my hand catching on the doorframe kept me from full on faceplanting with Tempest still in my arm. As if undisturbed by my reaction, Squall gave a small glance over his shoulder to make sure Tempest was safe from being crushed under me before moving farther into the room.

“Father? Uncle? What else are you going to hit me with? Some long lost sister or something? What else have I missed in the last five years?” I joked. Okay, so I was being just a little dramatic over it, but what the hell? I’ve had quite a few shocks over the last hour and a half. I think I might be entitled to a few dramatics while I processed it all.

“You've missed quite a bit.” He shot back. At my unimpressed look he shook his head and gave a real answer. “You remember Ellone?”

“You’re fucking kidding me…” I bit out, not quite believing all of this.

Again, he shook his head and set the bags on the counter. “No, I’m not. She showed me the memories herself. When her parents were killed during Adel’s reign, my mother took her in and adopted her. Later, Raine and my father got married and she ended up pregnant with me. Ellone is my adopted sister.”

“When the hell did you learn all of this?” I questioned, closing the door behind me and locking it.

Squall shifted his weight as if uncomfortable with the discussion. “I found some of the information out during the war. It didn’t make sense until afterwards, when my father took me aside and explained everything to me. Ellone has the power to let people view the past. She confirmed all of it.”

“If your father is alive, then what the hell were you doing growing up in an orphanage?” I demanded, pissed that none of us had known about this.

“It’s a long story.” He sighed and leaned tiredly onto the counter.

“I’ve got time.” I replied and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. “But give me the short version anyway.”

He looked around the room before answering. “Short version is, this place used to belong to my mother. Her name was Raine. She adopted Ellone during Adel’s reign. Later, she rescued my father and nursed him back to health. They got married sometime after he recovered. Just before Raine found out she was pregnant with me, Ellone was kidnapped and my father enlisted his friends Kiros and Ward to rescue her. Ellone was sent back here while he stayed behind to help fix the situation in Esthar. When it was over and he could come back, Raine was dead. Ellone and I had been shipped off to Edea’s orphanage, but no one told him where it was or that I even existed in the first place. He wasn’t exactly well liked around here.”

“Okay, that leaves me with more questions but they can wait until you get some sleep. You seriously need it. I can stick around and watch Tempest while you rest up.” It was somewhere between an offer and an order but I’ll be damned if I could tell you which way I was leaning on it.

Either way, he seemed to freeze up at the idea of entrusting me with the care of his helpless child. Honestly, if he didn’t trust that I wouldn’t harm her I was going to be seriously insulted. At the moment I was willing to put his lack of judgement off due to how exhausted he was but even that had its limits. Suggesting that I couldn’t be trusted with Tempest was pushing my patience too damn far as it was.

What the man really needed was for someone to take over the childcare while he got some of that sleep he’s obviously been missing out on. Throughout our time together I’d watched as he moved mostly on autopilot, barely aware of anything around him that didn’t directly involve Tempest. While it may be good parenting, it was going to bite him in the ass if he didn’t do something about it and soon.

As things stood now, I wouldn’t place a single Gil on him keeping awake for another full hour. SeeD training had prepared us for a wide variety of different scenarios but even that couldn’t condition our bodies to function well after a certain point. And it absolutely did not make it so we could go without sleep indefinitely. There were limits to everything and he was fast approaching his.

Which led me to one very good question I’d been putting off asking. Where was Rinoa in all of this? The woman should be here to support Squall in raising the child they’d created together. It was absolutely astounding that Squall was the present parent in this situation, not her. I’d half expected her to gush over any child she had and jumped at the chance to parade her around. Especially a child as cute as Tempest.

“Squall? Just how much sleep did you get last night?” I questioned cautiously.

“Four hours I think. No. Three? I’m not sure now. Somewhere in that range I guess.” There was a bit of hesitation in his answer. As if he weren’t even sure about that much.

“And the night before?” I pressed, starting to guess there was going to be a pattern to this.

“About the same.” He answered before glaring at me again. “What is this all about Seifer? I’m fine. I’ve had to deal with worst situations on less sleep.”

“Sure Princess. Now tell me how many nights this has been going on.” I demanded gently. If I was careful with my tone and phrasing, he might actually give me the answers I was after without putting up too much of a fight.

Even as gentle as I was being, he was still ready to fight back. It was simply his first instinct to glare at me and act as if I were being a jerk to him with my dismissive attitude. I was going to end up pushing all the right buttons to set him off without me even trying hard. Yet, these were all normal reactions for him when being pushed into admitting something he didn’t want to.

After a stare down that lasted several full minutes, he looked away first and leaned harder on the counter. “Almost a full week. Pretty much since we arrived here. Well, the first night Selphie, Irvine and Zell helped put her to bed. She fought me a little the second night but eventually went to sleep. And that was about it for her sleeping through the night.”

“For Hyne’s sake Squall!” My growling set Tempest off and I had to calm her down before dealing with him. “Just…go get your ass up those stairs and get some sleep before you drop dead in front of me. I’m surprised you’re only suffering from exhaustion at this point.”

Now, there was a fine line between being stubborn and being stupid. In this moment, he was fast about to cross the line into stupidity. How could he not see that he was literally swaying on his feet when he stood to argue with me? If he expected me to believe he’d been there a week and hadn’t been taking advantage of what time he could get to organize things the way he wanted, then he absolutely had crossed that line into full on stupidity.

“Stop fucking glaring at me like that Leonhart! You know I’m right on this one.” I snapped at him, matching the glare he was giving me. “Just like I know you wouldn’t waste any free time you had that didn’t involve taking care of Tempest. You’re probably still trying to do whatever work has been left to you from Garden in between unpacking and reorganizing. Tell me I’m wrong. Go right ahead and tell me that you’ve been taking advantage of her naps to catch up on your own sleep. Let’s see how believable you can make it sound.”

The urge I had to give him a knowing grin was strong but I managed to beat it back. When his body language confirmed that I was at least mostly accurate on my assessment, I allowed myself to give a little smirk to show I saw it. It was almost amusing how he was wracking his brain to find a reason for turning down my offer to watch Tempest. To find any excuse that he could use without risking a fight between us. Which only proved my point more. There was no pleasure in fighting him when his reflexes were going to be too damn slow to make it enjoyable.

Some thought passed over his face. “This is the first time I’ve seen you since the trial ended. Before that, you were trying to kill me and the others.”

In this quiet room his thoughts were slowing and speech slurring slightly. It was becoming harder for him to keep on track with his argument. No matter what excuses he came up with, we both knew he wasn’t going to be able to win this one in his current condition. But at least he was still willing to stand his ground on the matter. That was something I could respect. Hell, I’d probably do the same if our roles were reversed. Didn’t make it a smart move, just a respectable one between the two of us.

“Yeah, I won’t argue that. But things have changed since then.” I reminded him gently.

He nodded slowly, as if agreeing with me. “And with that said, you’re asking me to leave my daughter in your care while I sleep.”

Well, when you put it that way it does sound like a bit of a stretch. If he didn’t look like a fucking zombie come back to life, I never would have suggested it in the first place. And if it was just him I was worried about, then I’d let him deal with the consequences of running on so little sleep. But it wasn’t just him. Should he crash now, then that left Tempest with no one to care for her until he woke up. I could not, in good conscience, walk away knowing that there was a serious likelihood of that very scenario happening. Which meant I had to convince Squall to trust me.

“Yes Squall, I am seriously asking you to trust me enough to care for your daughter while you go pass the fuck out for a few hours.” I replied in an amazingly calm voice.

“You do realize how ridiculous that sounds right?” He mumbled and started swaying a little more without noticing it.

Biting back a frustrated sound, I decided to stop being gentle with him. “Look Squall, I get it! I have a reputation and we have some bad history with each other. But think about it for two seconds here. You’ve been in my company for a little over an hour now. We did a little shopping, talked and I entertained Tempest for you. We even managed to walk from the store to your place without fighting with each other.”

Coming around the front of the counter, he rubbed the spot between his eyes and leaned back against the solid surface. “That’s true…”

Not giving him a chance to argue any further I broke in as if he hadn’t said anything. “Until this point we haven’t had any arguments or really harsh words at all with each other. I’ve introduced you to my children for Hyne’s sake.”

“They didn’t give you much choice on that.” He countered and I had to admit that he had a good point.

Not wanting to lose momentum I just shrugged it off. “Point is, I’m not in a position to do something stupid. It’s not like I can just pack up and haul ass out of town if I somehow managed to screw this up. I have a home, a business that I now own, kids and a whole life here that I’m not willing to give up. On top of all that, I know you will hunt my ass down if anything at all happens to this little girl while she’s in my care. Hell, Fujin and Raijin would probably gift wrap me for you if I screwed up that badly.”

The rubbing along the bridge of his nose expanded until his fingers were massaging right above his right eye and I didn’t think he even realized he was doing it. The movement pushed the hair from his face enough that I could see the scar better now. Like my own, his had faded some over time but was still there. It was the only thing that really saved his face from looking feminine with all that hair framing it. Something about knowing he would see it every time he looked in a mirror left me feeling oddly satisfied. When the hell had I become so possessive over that one mark? Or Squall for that matter?

“I’d almost like to see that.” He mumbled again and the words were becoming even more slurred.

Now I really was anxious for him. “Would you please go upstairs and get some real sleep while I still have time to cover for you?”

“Alright.” He finally agreed. “I can admit to needing the back up and I know you’ll take care of her. As far as I’m aware, you’ve never once hurt a child. Wake me up in a few hours?”

The comment about me having never willingly hurt a child was so dead on that I was surprised by it. No one, not even Ultimecia, had ever been able to force me into doing something that horrendous. It had actually been part of the reason Cid had placed me in charge of the Disciplinary Committee. Doing that gave me the ability to protect the weaker underclassman from bullies without having to resort to violence. I’d forgotten about that until just now…

“I’ll let you know when I need to leave.” I promised with a dismissive wave of my hand.

It was good enough for him and I was just relieved to have him accept my assistance without the precursor of a full on fight between us. Now that we were in agreement, Squall found the energy to walk over and place an awkward kiss to the top of Tempest’s head. With her still tucked in against my chest, the action caused his hair to brush my cheek and I caught a familiar hint of cool mint before he was pulling away again.

“Be good for Seifer.” He ordered, as if she’d listen to him. Then he looked at me from barely a foot away. “Thank you.”

“Go!” I insisted and gave his unarmed hip a shove towards the stairs. Amazingly, he just gave me an amused smirk and headed off towards the stairs.

Getting up from the chair, I went to stand at the foot of the stairs until I could hear the sounds of him entering the closest bedroom. Bouncing Tempest to keep her quiet, I stood there for a couple minutes more just to make sure he’d landed in his bed and not somewhere on the floor. Last thing we needed was for him to hit his head on something just seconds before reaching the safety and comfort of his soft mattress. Well, I assumed it was soft anyway. For all I knew, the dumbass slept on something that was hard as a rock.

Convinced that he was out for a while, I lifted my charge so that our noses were nearly touching. “Looks like it’s just you and me kid. What do you wanna do first?”

Her face twisted into something that was similar to Squall’s confused look. Then, as if considering her options, her lip jutted out into a very familiar pout. If I knew anything about the Leonhart line, there was a very good chance of that pout turning into full on crying if I didn’t do something quickly.

Remembering the teething ring I’d given to Squall at the store, I started digging through the bags on the counter. Finding the ring, I took off the stupid tag attached to it, gave it a good rinse under warm water and shoved it into her hands. It only took seconds for her stuffed Chocobo to fall to the floor as she took the new toy in both her hands to examine it and then promptly chomped down on it.

“That’ll be a lot more fun once it’s cold.” I told her and scanned the room.

A handmade quilt was set over the back of the couch, so I grabbed it and laid it out on the floor. Giving the area a quick check, I set Tempest on top of the blanket with her new teething ring and her Chocobo toy. One last check to make sure both doors were secure, then I was free to get started on other things.

Having been the one to do a final walkthrough on the house before signing off on the work, I had a general idea of where everything was located. I also had some pretty solid knowledge on the way Squall’s mind worked. The combination made it a breeze to go through the bags and finish putting away the items he’d purchased. For some reason, there were a few items in weird spots that him being exhausted wasn’t enough of an excuse to make sense of it all. Anything that felt out of place I corrected, and soon everything was put right where it belonged.

Throughout all of this, Tempest had pulled herself into a sitting position and chewed on the teething ring while she watched me move around the room. It was more than a little strange to see those grey eyes watching me so intensely. They weren’t quite the same color as Squall’s, more grey and less blue, but the look was there. I couldn’t help but wonder how much she was actually picking up on and how similar her mind worked compared to the minds of her parents.

Notes:

Yay! Their paths finally crossed! So happy to be able to get this chapter out! Okay, I feel bad for Squall because he's freaking exhausted and poor Raijin gets to deal with an irritated Fujing, but still...

Anyway, it's finally the start of more interesting times with our boys and their kids. So thank you for staying this long with the story.

Chapter 9: Starting Over

*Squall* 

“Tempest!” I gasped as I jolted awake. A short glance around the room and I could tell it was after dark. Which meant, I’d slept far longer than intended.

The clock next to my bed confirmed it was past a reasonable time for me to have slept. Nearly midnight to be exact. A vague memory of it being somewhere close to two when I laid down left me more than a little disturbed. All that irritation was suddenly turned onto Seifer.

“Damn him for letting me sleep so long!” I thought as I threw the blanket back.

As soon as I was free of the bed I made my way to the adjoining doors and Tempest’s room. Yanking the door open, my heart leapt to my throat to see the crib empty. Panic flooded my system and my heart beat fast enough I thought it’d burst, I lost all ability to think. Instinctively I raced down the stairs, nearly falling as I missed one in my haste.

Catching myself on the railing forced me to pause long enough to look up and see Seifer passed out on the couch, Hyperion and his belt both resting on the coffee table next to him. Laying across his chest with one of his strong arms over her back, was Tempest. Another few seconds of looking her over revealed that he’d taken the time to put her in pajamas and she was fast asleep against with her head resting on his chest.

As I approached, much more quietly than a few moments before, I saw Seifer’s green eyes watching me from under hooded lids. “Hey Princess. Feeling better now?”

“It’s not safe for her to sleep like that. Why didn’t you put her in the crib?” I asked, well demanded, while ignoring the question he’d asked. All I could think about was that she was perfectly fine and that Seifer had kept his promise.

At my lecturing he simply glanced at Tempest then back at me. “For most people I wouldn’t recommend it. But we’re not most people Princess. You know as well as I do that I’d have woken up if she so much as twitched the wrong way.”

“Again, why not just put her in the crib?” I repeated the question, leaning against the wall near the stairs.

“Because there was no need to? This ran less chance of disturbing your sleep? Because she fell asleep like this? Take your pick Leonhart.” He argued, brushing a hand over tempest’s back when she made a small, irritated sound.

“But…” It was damn hard to argue with him. Especially when I did the same damn thing during the first week I had her. Except, I’d done it without meaning to and before I knew better.

Seeing my reaction, he rolled his eyes at me. “Chill the fuck out Squall. I wasn’t even asleep. I knew you would wake up sooner or later, so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything if I let myself doze for a bit until then.”

My brow furrowed a bit as I tried to wake my brain up enough to make sense of all of this. “You were supposed to wake me up after a few hours.”

“You needed the sleep.” He argued. As if that weren’t bad enough, he relaxed into the couch and closed his eyes again. “I went upstairs a few hours after you crashed. Assumed that you’d wake up just from hearing me get a few things from Tempest’s room. When you didn’t, I decided that it would be best to let you sleep longer. You didn’t even notice that I checked in on you before heading back down.”

A chill ran down my spine over him being able to open the door and watch me sleep without a single one of my instincts kicking in. “But…you promised your kids you’d be home tonight.”

It was a lame argument and we both knew it. Seifer didn’t bother trying to hide how stupid it sounded. “Obviously I called to let them know I was staying longer than planned. Raijin got the kids tucked into bed and I talked to them for a bit. There’ll be some serious hell to pay in the morning. It’s not the first time something has come up that kept me away unexpectedly.”

There was something he wasn’t telling me about. Something that had his fingers of his free hand twitching over his hip. Had him staying to care for Tempest caused issues between him and the others? Or was it something else? Maybe he was worried about the kids? After all, he did say that Cassie still had nightmares fairly often. What would she do without him there?

“Thank you.” I muttered, doing nothing to hide the guilt I was feeling.

Walking over to them, I touched my fingers to the soft hair on the back of Tempest’s head. There must have been something in my expression because Seifer gave me a knowing, arrogant smirk. When I frowned at him over it his smirk grew just a little bigger. Obviously, he knew something I didn’t and wasn’t going to tell me.

Then the moment passed and he removed his hand from her back. “Go put the little angel to bed so you can stop worrying about it.”

“I’ll be right back.” I told him quietly as I scooped Tempest from his chest.

It was impossible to lift her without touching him in some way and I became hyperaware of the unusual contact between us. It was unnerving enough that I barely got Tempest scooped into my arms before turning towards the stairs. Seifer hadn’t reacted to that small touch through his shirt, but I could still feel the firm muscles of his chest on the back of my fingers.

Whatever embarrassment I was feeling, it didn’t seem to faze Tempest. She simply curled up against my chest, wrapping little fingers into my shirt, and sighed softly as she continued sleeping. It was only when I placed her in the crib that she truly reacted, her nose scrunched up and she made sleepy complaints at not being held any longer.

To counteract her complaints, and keep her from waking completely, I turned on her music box then leaned over the side of the crib for several minutes. There was a genuine effort to try and wake up, along with a pouty look, but the low lighting and soft music were too much for her. After failing to fight against it, she fell back asleep with her hands clenched into tiny fists. Assured that she was truly asleep, I left the room and closed the door so there was only a small gap. It would be enough to let me hear if she woke up, even from downstairs.

When I came back down the stairs, Seifer was still lying on the couch. The arm that had been holding Tempest was now tucked behind his head while the other rested lazily across his stomach. If I didn’t know him better, it would have looked like he was sleeping peacefully. But I did know better. That’s why I went to stand at the foot of the couch.

“Thank you for taking care of her.” I told him again.

“You said that already.” He murmured tiredly, as if he were nearly asleep. “She give you any trouble?”

Out of habit I shook my head. Realizing that he might not even see me, which I doubted, I gave a verbal answer as well. “She went right to sleep.”

A low hum rumbled from his chest that sounded pleased. “Good. I wasn’t sure if she transitioned well to her crib.”

That had me curious but I didn’t want to bother him when I’d already been the cause of him staying over late. “You’re welcome to stay here the rest of the night. I really didn’t plan on sleeping so long.”

Something about that must have amused him because his lips twitched upward and he gave a soft huff. “Stop worrying about it. I volunteered because I remember those sleepless nights. You get through them because you have to, but it starts to mess with your head after a while. I just happened to be fortunate enough that I had extra people to help so I could get some naps in. Well, I did once I sucked up my pride enough to ask for it anyway.”

“How long did that take you?” I asked. Hearing him talk about it was making me feel a little better about the situation.

A grin formed and he moved the arm from his eyes enough to look at me. “Damn near two full weeks. Right up until I nearly passed out behind the wheel with my boss riding with me. Freaked him out enough that threated to send me home for a month if I didn’t get something figured out. Still forced me to take a couple days off.”

“Was this before or after the attack?” I questioned, trying to figure out the details.

“Before.” He sighed. “It was right after the twins were born. We needed the income so I continued working and took care of the kids at night so Jenna could sleep. I knew she didn’t have our training and I accepted help when she offered it but she needed to be able to keep up with them both during the day. Her mother helped by babysitting when our schedules overlapped but she wasn’t in the best of health.”  

It made sense to me but that still left out two people. “What about Raijin and Fujin? Didn’t they offer to help?”

I watched his muscles tense before they relaxed and he gave a little shrug. “I tried not to ask them for help too often. Around the time this was happening, Fujin was having trouble with her pregnancy. Nothing serious but she didn’t need the added stress at the time so I made excuses not to bring the kids over and kept my distance for a while.”

“How pissed was Fujin?” I asked, amused at the idea of Fujin kicking his ass while pregnant because he was being stupid.

“Let’s just say, it was a damn good thing she was forbidden to summon or use magic at the time. Raijin had even hidden her Chakram a few weeks before that, so she didn't even have a weapon to use against me. I got pretty lucky with that one.” He smiled then sat up with one knee tucked against his chest and his arms wrapped lazily around it. “Good news is, you’ll likely be able to get back to a normal schedule soon. Better news is, you now have some back up if things start to get bad again.”

“What makes you say she’ll be back to normal soon? She’s been like this for several days now.” I questioned. It wasn’t that I doubted his judgement, I just didn’t understand it.

In response, he held up a finger to me. “That blasted tooth has broken through. I’ve got the bite mark to prove it. You’ll probably be able to see the tip of it poking out if you look.”

When I didn’t respond right away, he stood up and stretched his body out. Leaving him to whatever he was planning, I headed to the kitchen for something that I could throw together as a makeshift dinner. Opening the fridge, I stopped mid-reach when I saw a container of plain spaghetti noodles and two more with sauce in them.

Pulling all three out, I turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “You cooked?”

“Yes Princess, I cooked.” He snarked a little and moved closer to me. “We got hungry and I knew you’d be starving when you woke up so I raided your supplies and made something simple. Tempest really liked it by the way.”

“She ate it?” I frowned at him as he sorted through the containers. But I barely noticed as my brain tried to sift through tons of information in order to decide whether I was going to be upset about it or not.

After shoving one container back in the fridge he turned to look at me. “Yes Leonhart, she ate it. A huge fucking serving of it I might add. Liked it so much that I had to give her seconds just so she’d stop trying to grab mine. I wasn’t sure if her stomach could handle the seasonings I put into the sauce so I made her some that’s plain. It’s the other bowl in the fridge so don’t mix them up if you give her more.”

“You didn’t have to do all this.” I told him numbly. Having him help this much after not seeing him for years felt like I was taking advantage of the situation.

He didn’t answer right away so I just sat back and watched while he set the spaghetti aside then dumped a good helping of the sauce in a pot. “Look Squall, I know we’ve had a few issues in the past but I’d like to put that between us.”

“What?” The calm way he spoke about it threw me enough that I was having trouble understanding what he meant.

Adjusting the dials on the stove, he set a spoon to the side and looked at me calmly. “Try and follow along here Princess. I know I screwed up royally before leaving Garden but we aren’t pain in the ass teenagers anymore. We’ve had time to grow up a little and get a little smarter about things. What I’m saying is, I’d like it if we could be friends instead of rivals or enemies.”

“Friends…” I whispered, more to myself than him.

The idea of us being friends had never really occurred to me. Even today I just saw Seifer as Seifer. Not as a friend, enemy or rival really. After five years I still bore the scar he’d given me between my eyes, as did he. Most of the other scars he’d given me had diminished enough that you had to really look in order to see them. But not these scars. They were both faded now but still visible. Seeing that mark every morning reminded me that he existed. Reminded me of what we once had as training partners.

“Squall?” He prodded softly. The use of my name showed how uncertain my silence was making him.

Immediately I looked up and caught a hint of vulnerability in his eyes that I wasn’t used to seeing. “I think I would like that. To start over as friends I mean.”

Just like that, a grin grew on his face and I knew I made the right choice. Acting like a little kid he held his hand out to me. “I know you’ve got a mobile phone. Hand it over.”

Amused by his reaction, I dug the phone out of my pocket and handed it to him. There was a second or two of hesitation then he was typing something into it. A few seconds later his own device started ringing. Almost immediately, the sound ended and he was handing the closed phone back to me.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he’d called his phone from mine. Based on how long he was messing with it, I could only assume he saved his own contact information. So, with a little trepidation, I opened the phone and accessed my recent calls list.

“#1 Asshole?” I questioned, reading the name out loud while he dug out his own phone.

“Well? It’s accurate isn’t it?” he asked, typing furiously into his device. When I gave him a weak glare he just shrugged at me and shoved his phone back in his pocket. “What? I’m still the number one asshole in your life aren’t I? Or has someone managed to replace me in that? Rinoa doesn’t count either. I’ve got another word I could use for her but I don’t feel like pissing you off that much right now.”

“Seifer…” I growled in warning.

Bubbling and a sharp pop from the stove distracted him so that he had to turn away in order to turn the burner down. Giving the sauce a good stir, he added in the pasta and turned the heat back up part way. While he was busy with the food, I shook my head and decided to let the contact name stand for now. Remembering how he hesitated upon opening my phone, I decided to check it out while he focused on serving the food.

4 unread messages

Four? What did I miss? I thought and opened my messages. Reading through what I’d thought to be emergencies, I found my hand threating to crush the device with each one I looked at.

Rinoa @9:23pm: “Squall? Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Tempest sooner. I know how much Garden means to you and didn’t want to make you feel like you had to choose. Leaving Tempest with you…that was…I was scared and so tired. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. I want to talk. Please call me when you get this.”

Rinoa @10:02pm: “Are you so angry with me then that you refuse to call me? I really do want to talk. Please, please call me.”

Rinoa @10:14pm: Okay, we don’t have to talk. Just tell me that Tempest is doing okay. I worry about her still. At least tell me how she’s doing.”

Rinoa @11:43pm: Okay, okay. I can take a hint. Just know that I’m here when you’re ready to discuss it. Tell Tempest that I love her.”

“Hey Princess, everything okay over here?” Seifer asked, handing me a bowl of hot spaghetti. There were even little meatballs in the sauce. “What’s got that look on your face? Someone who’s got a death wish?”

“It’s nothing.” I told him absently, shoving the phone in my pocket before accepting the bowl. Stabbing at a meatball I looked up just enough to see that his hands were empty. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

At the question he just gave me a casual shrug and laid a hand on one hip. “I ate a few hours ago with Tempest. You slept right through dinner so eat up.”

Uncertain of how I felt, I ended up making a sound somewhere between a huff and grunt. Not wanting to talk about the messages I took a bite of the spaghetti. Despite the alluring scent, I still hadn't been expecting it to taste quite that good. Surprised by it, I froze with the bite still in my mouth. Slowing down, I swallowed and then looked up at him. That vulnerable look was back, almost perfectly hidden behind an arrogant mask. Almost.

“This is really good.” I told him, pointing to the food with the fork.

“Glad you like it so much.” He grinned and I watched as that vulnerable look shifted to pride. The arrogance never left his face so it was hard to see where the mask ended and the truth began.

“I didn’t know you could cook.” I admitted, taking another bite. The taste stimulated my appetite more than the smell had and I had to force myself to not just shovel it into my mouth.

Pleased to have something we could talk about, he leaned a hip against the side of the counter and watched as I ate. “I learned out of self-preservation. That first year, just after we arrived in Winhill, Fujin did most of the cooking. It took her a while to make something that was better than barely edible. Had me missing the cafeteria food for a while there. Raijin helped but was obsessed with using fish any chance he got, and it made it hard to stomach as well. So, I got someone to teach me the basics and experimented from there. Learned a few decent meals in the process.”

“Decent is not the word I would have used.” I told him, smirking a little when his smile faltered. Making him wait for nearly a minute while I took another bite, I gave a small chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” He demanded, feelings hurt because he took my joke the wrong way.

Pointing to the food again, I raised an eyebrow and gave him an amused smirk. “If this is what you call decent, then it’s a wonder they don’t make you cook more often.”

Truthfully, it could have tasted like roast Grat and I probably still would have eaten it. When the hell did I last have a real meal? All week I’ve been scrounging around the place and eating whatever was easily thrown together. With how irritable Tempest has been, that was all I’d really had time for. Nothing that required me standing at the stove for more than a couple minutes.

“You ready to tell me what put you in a bad mood?” The question was so casual that I almost answered him without thinking. Then, at the last second, I remembered just who I was talking to and closed my mouth again.

“No.” I told him, just so he’d know I didn’t want to talk about it.

Frowning at my refusal, Seifer shifted his weight a little and folded his arms over his chest. “Okay, then I’ll try guessing. Obviously, it wasn’t my delicious cooking. It couldn’t be sleep either because you got plenty earlier. So far, I haven’t done anything to piss you off that badly. So why do you look like you want to go kill something? I’m assuming it had to do with the messages left on your phone. Everything alright with Garden?”

“None of your…”

“Business. I know. I’ve heard the line enough to say it for you.” He interrupted and rolled his eyes at me. When I still refused to say anything, he just turned and started cleaning up.

“I can get those. You don’t have to do everything for me.” I objected, setting my half empty bowl onto the counter.

“Finish eating your damn food. I’m not doing anything else right now, so I might as well clean up.” He snapped at me, pointing to the bowl with a soapy wooden spoon. “You focus on eating and I’ll stop pushing about the damn messages you obviously don’t want to talk about.”

It hadn’t been my intent to piss him off, so I picked the bowl back up and ended up shoving a few noodles around. I finished eating right about the time that Seifer was putting the last of the dishes on a drying rack next to the sink. Seeing that I was done, he held a hand out for my dishes. Reluctantly, I handed them to him.

“They were from Rinoa.” I said quietly as he washed the bowl. When he didn’t seem to react, I explained a little more. “She was trying to apologize and wants me to call her.”

“Are you going to?” Just like before, he asked as if the answer didn’t really matter to him.

“Why would I?” I questioned, not sure why I should bother with it. Then again, he might actually have a useful perspective since he wasn’t intimately involved in the situation.

“Dunno. That depends on your problem with her.” He answered slowly. “If the two of you are just having a spat, then the obvious answer is yes. If it’s bigger than that I’ll need more details in order to advise you properly. If the two of you had a falling out, then it depends on what she’s apologizing for and if you even want to hear it. If it has to do with Tempest, then I lean towards talking to her unless you have a good reason not to.”

“I have a good reason…” I murmured. Then, letting out a sigh, I spent the better part of the next hour explaining everything to him. By the time I was finished, he knew everything about my relationship with Rinoa. From the day I met her at the ball to the day she dropped Tempest in my arms and ran away.

“Well, fuck! That’s beyond messed up!” He growled after I finished. Sometime during the discussion, we both ended up with beers in our hands and he took a long drink of his. “I just need to know one more thing.”

“What’s that?” I asked, playing with the nearly empty bottle I was holding and deliberately not looking at him.

His bottle was set on the counter near me with him leaning over it, so I felt compelled to look up at him. “I need to know that she can’t just come and claim Tempest after abandoning her like that. Fucking Hyne Leonhart, even if you missed a step in protecting her like that, there’s no way I would allow her to take off with Tempest. And she’s not even my kid!”

Setting the bottle aside, I leaned on the counter next to him. “We made sure of it before I left Garden. She doesn’t know where we are right now but if she ever finds out, I have other places Tempest and I can disappear to. Some of which she’d have no hope of touching either of us. This was just the most convenient for me, outside of Garden.”

“It’s gotta be driving her nuts not knowing where you are.” He grinned, a little on the sadistic side.

Matching the grin, I nodded. “Probably. But after what she did, there’s no way I would ever trust her with Tempest again. Especially not enough to leave the two of them alone together. It’s part of the reason I agreed to leave Garden and work from here.”

“Well, if the shit ever hits the fan that badly, you'll have one more place you can run to.” He insisted, one of his large hands closing over my shoulder in a friendly gesture. “She ever gives you any trouble then feel free to call on me. You’ll have all three of us to back you up and shelter Tempest while you get things worked out. In fact, give me your mobile back.”

Naturally I became suspicious of him and could keep my eyes from narrowing over it. Slowly I pulled the phone from my pocket but didn’t hand it over right away. “What do you plan on doing with it?”

“Nothing that’s gonna cause issues between Rinoa and you. Well, not unless she does something stupid anyway.” He promised.

The way he said that, I actually believed him. So, without anymore hesitation, I handed over the phone. It was barely in his hands for two seconds before he had it open and his own phone pulled out again. For several minutes he was busy typing away and had to look at his phone twice. An uncertain, sour look crossed his face then he went right back to typing. When he was done, he closed it up, handed it back to me and shoved his own phone back in his pocket.

I didn’t open the device to see what he’d done as I already had a good suspicion of what it was. Besides, I knew he’d tell me anyway without even having to ask. “Okay, so you now have some extra contacts in your phone. Namely, Raijin, Fujin and my secretary Erin. I highly suggest saving her as a last resort though. She’s got a temper that can put Fujin to shame when riled up. She’ll be great back up if you ever need it. And she’s damn good at keeping my ass in line too!”

There was such a big grin on his face as he said that that I had to wonder if he was interested in her. “Someone that’s caught your attention then? I can’t imagine anyone making you act obedient for very long.”

“Nah, wouldn’t have worked out between us anyway.” He denied but still had that grin on his face as he thought of her.

Picking my beer up I finished it off and pointed the opening towards him. “That look suggests otherwise.”

“Look?” He seemed confused for a moment then shook his head. “Hell no! Simply me thinking about her and her new boyfriend. Poor fucking sap doesn’t realize what he’s gotten himself into. Besides, she and I would be too volatile with each other. She’s like Fujin. Needs a more submissive man as her partner. Someone who won’t push back too hard unless it’s really important.”

“That leaves you out then. You’re the farthest thing from submissive.” I teased carelessly.

Both bottles finished, I gathered them up and walked towards the garbage under the sink. Seifer didn’t say anything about it, just visually followed my movements as I tossed the empty bottles. It was a little unnerving to have him watching me when I knew there wasn’t likely to be a request for a sparring match between us. This calmer, thoughtful Seifer was going to take some getting used to.

“Will the couch be sufficient for you? I haven’t had anyone sleep on it yet, so I don’t know how comfortable it is for that.” It was more an attempt to distract myself from his watchful gaze than anything. But really, the couch seemed fine the few times I sat on it and it couldn’t possibly be worse than the cadet beds at Garden.

“That fucking couch is more comfortable than my own bed. Made damn sure of it when we remodeled the place. Might just have to move in just so I can sleep on it at night.” He answered dramatically but something he said had me replaying his words multiple times.

“You were the one who remodeled it?” I asked. Now that he’d said that, I was starting to see that there had been clues about it since we got back.

He frowned a little and looked me over. “Well, yeah. How else would I know about Kiros Seagill? I asked you about him when we got back and you said he was your uncle.”

It seemed like forever ago when we had that conversation and I rubbed the bridge of my nose trying to recall all of it. “I remember you asking about him. Didn’t think about it until just now. He hired you?”

“Yeah, seems like a pretty cool guy. Asked us to get this place completely taken care of in a couple of weeks. Now that I know who lives here and the whole deal with Tempest and Rinoa, I’m assuming he was trying to get you moved in as soon as you could get things sorted with Garden.” There was a slight tilt to that last bit, as if he were asking a question rather than making a statement.

“That was the idea, I guess. Supposedly, Selphie called up Laguna to help get it done quickly. He’s got a bit of a soft spot for her, so he had Kiros take care of it. I didn’t know you would be involved with the project though. It looks good.” I explained. At the compliment, his eyes lit up and I knew he was pleased that I liked it.

“Glad you approved. And I’m even more glad I personally purchased the furniture. Had this stuff hauled in from Deling City. Damn near didn’t get here in time.” He grinned, excited to talk about his obvious success story.

“Get some sleep Seifer. You can brag some more in the morning.” I grumbled, not wanting to listen to him praising himself all night. Besides that, Tempest would be up in a few hours and then he’d be the one running off no sleep.

As he made his way towards the couch, I started checking the kitchen over to make sure everything was turned off and locked up. “You know, I never understood why they didn’t just have us room together at Garden. I mean, Raijin was an awesome roommate and all, but you’d think they’d have put us together once we got our gunblades.”

“They were probably worried we’d kill each other.” I pointed out. Spotting the quilt Matron gave me lying on the floor, I went over to it and tried to figure out what it was doing there. Perhaps Seifer accidently knocked it off the couch and was afraid of waking up Tempest?

“I don’t know. Something tells me they were wrong on that one.” He smiled. The look was far more suggestive than the topic warranted. “It might have been just the thing to keep us from going for each other’s throats so often.”

“How do you figure?” I asked, picking the blanket up and standing behind the back of the couch as he sat down on it.

Flopping down in a complicated turn that he made look like a lazy action, Seifer started settling in. “Well, for starters, if I didn’t have to break into your damn room every time I wanted to hunt you down for a sparring session, I’d have been in a less irritable mood. Pissed me off that the code kept being changed on me. I mean, I like a challenge but it was interfering with my training and that wasn’t acceptable.”

“It changed so often because a certain blond wouldn’t stop breaking into the room at all hours.” I grumbled as I remembered those days. “My roommate put in a request for transfer a few months before the exam. Told administration that his sleep was being disturbed by it enough that it was affecting his ability to prepare adequately for the exam.”

“Well then, that explains why I didn’t see him those during that time. Thought he just found himself a girlfriend or something and snuck over to her place whenever he got the chance.” He mused. That he hadn’t figured that out on his own had me pausing with the blanket resting on the back of the couch. Could he really not have known?

“Yes.” I answered finally and flung the blanket out so when it landed it was haphazardly covering his body. “I’m going to try and get a couple more hours of sleep in before Tempest wakes up. Will you be here in the morning or you planning on sneaking out before coffee?”

“And have the rumor mill running all over town before lunch? Not a chance!” There was a bite of irritation at the remark. Something about his reaction had me wondering what rumors he was concerned about. “Sorry Princess, I’m gonna stay and make sure the two of you get a decent breakfast before I go home to face the music. Obviously you aren’t eating enough. I can tell you lost a little weight since I last saw you and it didn’t all transfer to muscle. Or am I missing something that could explain it?”

When I didn’t answer he just shrugged and adjusted the blanket so it covered his feet and up to his midsection. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I just leaned over the back of the couch and watched him get comfortable. Seeing that I hadn’t left yet, he looked up at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk that barely contained his laughter.

“Goodnight Seifer.” I said with a hurry and turned from the couch.

From behind me there was a hint of laughter. “Good night Princess.”

A quick glance over my shoulder when I reached the stairs gave me the impression that he was asleep. One arm behind his head, the other over his waist and his legs slightly spread for comfort. From here it was hard to tell if his eyes were completely closed. It was possible he’d already started towards sleep but with him it was difficult to tell for sure. The man was a master of the dramatics and skilled at making people believe what he wanted them to.

Leaving him to his sleep after he’d so graciously watched over Tempest, fed all of us and stayed up to talk with me, I headed upstairs. Taking advantage of Tempest being asleep and Seifer being within hearing range, I decided it was a good opportunity for a shower. The warm water was soothing but I only allowed myself the bare minimum amount of time in it so I didn’t risk disturbing Seifer more than necessary.

Clean, fed and not having to deal with a child that was miserable, I tried to lay in my bed for some extra rest. Only to find my sorry ass was lying there, completely wide awake…

Notes:

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all the love this story has gotten. I hope you're all still enjoying it.

I don't really have much to say about this chapter so please let me know what you think.

Chapter 10: Make a deal with the Devil

*Seifer* 

The weekend ended far too soon this time. Walking into the office to see a stack of papers on my desk marked ‘Urgent Request’ only confirmed it was Monday morning. Every single one of those requests were from the locals around here and many of them were likely duplicates of previous requests. Either altered, updated or simply making another attempt to get me to do the work.

But I couldn’t be too pissed about it. First off, they were how I pay my employees and myself. Second, there had been a freak storm last month that damaged a bunch of houses. For some of them, the mayor agreed to either assist in covering the charges or aiding the homeowners in paying the repair costs. It was generous of him to agree to it, and I helped by managing the requests as they came in. I just wish everyone understood that I didn’t have the manpower to do everything at once.

As if that weren’t enough, many homes were starting to reach their century mark. So not only did I have to determine whether a house fell under the mayor’s aid agreement, I also had to inform those who didn’t qualify for it and provide them with quotes on the expected repairs. That was never a fun job and Erin refused to do my dirty work on these cases. Technically I could push the issue since I owned the company, but she was too damn good at her job to risk pissing her off that badly.

“Hey Bossman!’ Erin was damn near chirping the words as she strolled through the door. At seven-thirty on a Monday morning, the woman was far too happy.

“I thought we outlawed being cheery before noon on Monday.” I grumbled, shifting a few papers around as I drank my coffee. The few requests I set aside were going to need a lot more attention than I could manage right this minute.

“Am I cheery?” She smirked at me and shut the door behind her.

Sending a glare in her direction I nodded. “What the hell has you feeling so damn energetic this early?”

“You can’t outlaw emotions Seifer.” She countered right before dropping a file onto my desk. “And I’m pretty certain that you’ll be ecstatic to read what I just did.”

After dealing with Leonhart and his offspring this weekend, I just couldn’t muster up anything more than a doubtful look. Even that didn’t have the normal force behind it that I normally applied in similar situations. According to the still present smirk on her face, Erin wasn’t in the least bit affected by it and was going to remain annoyingly cheerful for the foreseeable future.

Deciding that I was either too damn tired this morning or she knew something I didn’t, I reached a hand out and accepted the file she’d tossed in front of me. The label on it was a familiar one, belonging to a project we’ve been working on for months now, but I couldn’t think of any reason she’d be in a good mood over it. Then I noticed the envelope added to the file.

Pulling the papers out of the envelope, I read them and immediately went back to the original file to scan the updates in it. Having read the file updates twice, I damn near threw both in the air as I gave an excited whoop. Looking back at the documents because I wasn’t convinced that it was real just yet, I held one hand up to Erin for a fist bump. Always happy to celebrate good news, her fist tapped against mine.

“Both the school and daycare are going to be completed ahead of schedule now?” I asked out loud in my disbelief. In no way did I doubt her, but getting a miracle like this was beyond comprehensible. Or it could just be her outstanding ability to manage our projects and predict most possible outcomes. “I thought renovating that tavern was going to set us back for weeks! This says the school is estimated to be finished by the end of July?”

“It might dip into August a bit, but I’m predicting around the last couple days in July it should be completed.” She confirmed.

“That’s fucking excellent!” I cheered.

So far, the school has been a big drain on my resources and an oversized pain in my ass. As one of the oldest buildings in town, nearly everything had to be rebuilt and redesigned for the growing population. Part of that had been an additional set of rooms for parents to have a daycare where they could drop the kids off during the day that were too young for school. With two additional playgrounds needing to be added in as well, Erin and I had worked damn hard to create an almost completely new school for the town.

“I wouldn’t have said it was possible, but this generous donation is going to improve our construction times significantly.” She decaled with a tap to the additional papers from the envelope.

“Does it say who donated the equipment?” I questioned, looking the papers over again for the information I desired.

With that knowing smile of hers, Erin shook her head. “Even better. There was a message left on the machine over the weekend. I didn’t call the number back, but it sounds like the renovations to the tavern met with our client’s approval. The guy who hired us apologized for the inconvenience and donated a bunch of equipment to ‘make up for it’.”

“Shit…” I breathed, still in a bit of shock.

“It gets even better.” She grinned wider.

Setting the papers down I leaned back in my chair. “How the hell can it get better than this?”

“We didn’t just get equipment, we were gifted some high end Estharian equipment. And it gets even better. The equipment comes complete with an instructor to teach our men how to properly use and care for all of it.” She gave a joyous laugh, one I rarely heard from her and almost never at work.

That was right about the time everything seemed to sink in. Realizing what must have happened I couldn’t help but join her in laughter. My reaction must have confused her though because her joy quickly converted into a suspicious frown. But I just couldn't stop laughing and she gradually started to look at me with concern instead.

“S…sorry!” I gasped out, trying to gain control of myself. “Give…give me a second here!”

“I didn’t think it was that amusing.” She was back to frowning at me now.

Unable to speak, I pulled the phone from my jacket pocket while trying to force my breathing to go closer to normal. Calling now while I was laughing so hard would have the opposite effect of what I wanted. It only took a few seconds to open it and find the contact I was after. Four full rings later and he didn’t disappoint me in the slightest.

“Seifer? Is everything alright?” The voice on the other line was gruff and sounded like he’d just woken up. Obviously, he knew me too well to think calling this early would be for a casual chat.

“You wonderful bastard!” I greeted, turning my chair as I spoke. It hadn’t been a snub to Erin, just a natural reaction as I sat up straighter. Hearing a loud groan of annoyance on the other line only increased my good mood. “I have half a mind to come over there and fucking kiss you!”

“I wouldn’t call it half a mind at that point. That would be too generous.” He snarled, clearly in a piss poor mood this morning.

“Sorry, I have it on good authority that I have at least half a mind on Monday mornings.” I boasted, feeling a little playful with him. Alright, so maybe staying at his place for breakfast on Sunday hadn’t been all that terrible.

“Almasy…it’s too fucking early for this shit. Just tell me what the hell you want so I can get some work done before Tempest wakes up.” The growl tempered my good mood enough to consider he was probably still working on getting some caffeine in his system.

Still, our chat yesterday had given me some useful information about his situation. “You’re not supposed to be doing paperwork. You’re on leave for at least another week. What changed?”

“None of your…”

“Business! I know!” I snapped at him then reminded myself how shitty my mood was just a few minutes ago. “Don’t roll your eyes at me Princess. I was just calling to show my appreciation here.”

“Appreciation for what?” He asked, quieter now that he was really annoyed. Hearing the tone in his voice had me realizing just how much I’d missed this. “You were the one who did damn near everything this weekend.”

A noise from behind my shoulder had me turning back to see Erin raising a curious eyebrow at me. Damn Leonhart for being so distracting. I’d completely forgotten that she was in the room while I’d started in on teasing him. There was no doubt that she was already building ideas in her head about what a few stupid words could have suggested.

But hearing that gruff edge in his voice and being able to imagine his hair all tousled from sleep was already distracting me again. Or he might be fresh from a shower, no shirt on and a cup of coffee in one hand while he looked over documents. All the while trying to figure out the most effective way to get me off the phone so he could sneak in some extra work he wasn’t even supposed to be worrying about.

“Seifer, start talking or I’m hanging up the phone.” It was a serious warning, so I wracked my brain trying to remember what we’d been talking about.

A glance at the papers reminded me. “I wanted to thank you for talking to that uncle of yours. The Kiros Seagill guy. Whatever the hell you told him about the renovations, I seriously appreciate it.”

“Kiros? What does he have to do with anything?” His confusion was proof that he had barely retained any of the information I’d given him on Saturday. Of course, I’d repeated most of it the next morning while we caught up with each other, but it wasn’t in the same amount of detail.

“Didn’t you tell him about the renovations done to your place?” I asked, wondering if I’d guessed wrong on this one.

A soft snort sounded like amusement, but I couldn’t be sure without seeing his face. “I haven’t spoken to Kiros in a few weeks now. Mostly it’s my father or Sis that I talk to over there.”

“Well, someone must have updated him because I have papers right here saying that the equipment he donated now belongs to my company. And they sent someone over to train my men on it. This shit’s going to put two of our largest projects ahead of schedule and speed up future jobs.” I told him.

“If anyone said anything to him it’d be Selphie.” He muttered and I could hear him moving things around.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder something… “Who the hell is your dad anyway? I just found out about him on Saturday, and you were vague on it then. I’m figuring he’s gotta be someone pretty damn impressive to be able to ship out this kind of equipment and hire someone to go with it. Considering the damn price tag he’d offered on your place, I have to say it’s got me curious.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” The tone in his voice said it better than his words had.

Whoever his dad was, Squall did not want to discuss it with me right now. Personally, I like to think I’ve matured a little over the last few years and could let something go rather than pressure him further. There was always later.

Not wanting to end the conversation yet, I decided to take a different route. “Okay, we can put that one on hold for now then. At least tell me why the hell he’s being so damn generous. I mean, that was a lot of fucking Gil he sent for renovating the tavern into a home. The shit he sent us must have cost him at least the same amount.”

“Can I assume we’re talking about the school and daycare project you’re working on?” He asked as if he might have some insight if it were accurate.

“Yeah…” I answer hesitantly, wondering where he was taking this.

A soft sigh came over the line and I could imagine him rubbing the edge of the scar. “It might not be related then. Dad has a soft spot for Winhill. Knowing him, there is a good chance he found out about the situation when he started looking in to getting this place fixed up. If that’s the case, then he probably called up the mayor and was referred to you. Since he sucks at explaining shit without a script in front of him, the entire request on the house was likely all put on Kiros to get done. It was probably around that time that he started putting things into motion for the school to be completed faster.”

“Why would he care about the school getting done here when he lives in Esthar.” I questioned because that didn’t make sense to me.

“It makes him happy to help out around here. This just gave him an excuse to do more than he usually can without looking like he has ulterior motives in play.” Squall explained and sighed again. From the sound of it, he often gets frustrated with his dad then.

“I’ll have Erin send in a formal message to Kiros.” I declared but tried not to sound too demanding on the next part. “Next time you talk to your dad, tell him that I appreciate the donation.”

“If I talk to him. The man’s a complete moron sometimes so I try not to give him too much time to waste with his stories.” He conceded just before a shrill cry erupted from his side of the line.

“Damn! She’s seriously pissy this morning.” I commented, holding the phone from my ear until the screaming stopped. “Glad I’m not over there to hear it in full volume.”

A low hum of agreement came from him just before I heard sounds of him standing up. “She’s usually cranky in the morning. Yesterday was one of the rare exceptions. I should go get her taken care of. Unless you’d like to listen in on her morning complaints.”

“Nope! She’s all yours on this one.” I casually rejected the offer. If he thought it would affect me enough, he’d probably give her the damn phone to hold while she squealed. “Go clean her up, then scramble an egg or two for her. She’ll freaking adore you until lunch rolls around. I’ll come by on Friday to cook you up an appreciation dinner. Might even stick around for a bit so you can get a break in if you need one.”

“I haven’t done anything for you to do that.” He grumbled and another shriek came through the phone. The sound of it reminded me of her mother. “Look, I have to get going before she summons a GF on my ass for being late.”

“Go take care of her. Talk to you later Princess.” With that parting shot I ended the call before he could respond. Turning around, my eyes connected with Erin’s.

The woman was giving me an inquiring look, still perched on the corner of my desk and waiting patiently for an explanation. Leaning back in the chair I tossed the phone to my desk. I knew there was an arrogantly pleased smile on my face when I grinned at her, but I couldn’t help that. Her earlier declaration about me being in too good of mood to care that it was Monday morning had been dead accurate.

“Do I get an explanation?” She asked dryly while adjusting her seat a little. “We can start with why you had withheld information from me regarding our client. Had I known he was a friend of yours we could have done things differently.”

“I had no fucking clue it was him until this weekend.” Was it really three weeks ago that I’d gotten the renovation request? Seems like half a lifetime had gone by since then. “Fucking Hyne! I didn’t even know the guy was in town until I ran into him on Saturday. Surprised me enough that I sent Raijin home with the kids while I helped the guy out.”

“I’m sure that made Fu happy.” Yup, the woman had been around long enough to understand my living situation perfectly. Scared the hell out of me sometimes as to just how well the two women got along.

“Shit! I got saddled with all the chores when I got home Sunday morning.” That had been Raijin’s fault though. The dumbass didn’t tell her that I was helping Squall out or that it had been him that we’d run into at the store. Once I’d given the whole story to Fujin, she forgave me. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized that she’d actually liked Squall.

“I’m sure you deserved the punishment.” She smirked, always happy to see my ass getting handed to me by Fujin.

I grunted softly at that. “Not really. Mostly a stupid misunderstanding. But that reminds me, I gave my friend your number in case an emergency comes up and he can’t reach the rest of us for some reason.”

Icy blue eyes glared daggers from behind her eyelashes and a cold chill went down my spine, the kind of chill that had my fingers itching to reach for my gunblade. “I’ll assume there’s a good reason you gave this mysterious person my information without telling me first?”

“I swear that he’s an old friend of mine! We went to the same school, along with Raijin and Fujin.” I told her defensively while still trying to act like it’s a big deal.

She gave a huff and sat up a little straighter. “Sounded like you weren’t very close if you don’t even know who his father is.”

“That’s because I thought he was a fucking orphan like me! Bastard learned he had some long-lost family around the end of the war. We weren’t exactly talking at that point and hadn’t seen each other since so this was the first I’ve heard of it.” It wasn’t my fault that I hadn’t known. Well, I guess it was in a way…

“Is that jealousy I hear?” She taunted. Apparently, I triggered her vindictive side a bit.

My first reaction had been to deny it, but I caught myself. Was it possible that I was jealous over Squall having found his family? Or that Ellone was really his sister? Shit! I’d damn near killed Ellone during the war. The bastard should have torn me to shreds for nearly killing one of the few family members he had left!

But I wasn’t ready to discuss that with Erin, so I found a different answer to give her. “I don’t think I’m jealous. Perhaps a little upset that I didn’t know about it sooner. It was one thing to see him again, but the rest just felt a bit surreal after all these years of knowing him.”

“Explain the need for him to have my number. And how his father is involved in all this when he only found out about the school project two days ago.” She demanded coolly. Guess I said something interesting enough that she was willing to stop being irritated at me.

“The guy who hired us, Kiros, is like an uncle to him now. From my understanding, one of his friends who helped him move in had reported the quality of the renovations to him and he relayed it to my friend’s old man.” I explained, still trying to wrap my head around Squall in a family setting. Looked like this wasn’t going to be one of those easy things for my mind to accept.

“And the equipment?” She prodded.

A relaxed shrug came in response to that before I could think too hard on all of it. “Guess Kiros told my friend’s dad about it. Looks like his dad is interested in Winhill enough to help with improvements whenever possible. I’m also guessing he's in some kind of political position from the way he was talking about the old man.”

“Just who the hell is this friend of yours?” Her eyes narrowed at me. After four years of knowing me, this was the first time I’d really ever talked about Squall, or anyone from Garden for that matter, with her. Anything before moving here with kids was almost a complete mystery to her.

“An old friend from school, like I said.” I hedged; not sure how much was safe to reveal to her.

“Fine then. Why the hell is he moving to a dump like this when he’s got such powerful connections elsewhere? There aren’t many reasons for someone to move into a quiet place like this when they have fancier areas to escape to. Even fewer are good reasons. And being associated with you in any way narrows them down farther. I think I deserve to know if I have the potential to get dragged into someone else’s mess.” It was an accurate assumption, and I couldn’t argue with it now.

“Shut the door.” I sighed and pulled the cord from the phone. It might be a little overkill, but I didn’t want to risk adding any danger to him or Tempest.

There was a moment of hesitation, but she did as I directed then returned to her previous position, confusion written everywhere on her body. “Is it that big of a secret?”

“There’s a lot of secret shit surrounding him and I’m not going to do anything that might reveal him to anyone so this information cannot leave this room.” I told her, looking her dead in the eye.

“Understood.” She replied quietly and gave a regal nod.

Relieved that she would take his secret to the fucking grave I relaxed a little into my chair. “His name is Squall Leonhart. As in The Squall Leonhart, SeeD Commander of Balamb Garden and Lion of Balamb.”

Even though we’d left Garden all those years ago, and Balamb as a result, Raijin still had a couple of friends that he exchanged emails with now and then. They kept us updated on some of the major information and gossip but not everything evidently. Otherwise, we would have known long before now that Squall had a family. But that could be something that’s not widely known, even within Garden.

“I’ve heard the title but not the name that goes with it, or much about him at all.” Erin frowned a little as if trying to recall the information.

“It’s mostly used within Garden circles. Even there, a lot of the information is kept quiet or not spoken of much.” I admitted even though I knew it was going to lead to me explaining a lot more about my past than I wanted her to know.

“So, who is he exactly?” That she had to ask made me wonder where she’d been during the war.

There was a full minute of silence while I debated on telling her anymore, my suspicious nature questioning how she could be so in the dark about Squall’s exploits. At least the ones that were public knowledge. “Leonhart and his team were the ones who brought an end to the Lunar Cry, stopped a monster apocalypse from occurring and kept the sorceress from obtaining Adel’s powers.”

That went along with the official story anyway. We’d been warned about what can and couldn’t be said to the public about the incident just after the war ended and our solution had been to just not discuss it with anyone. No one wanted the general public to know about the crazed sorceresses from the future and be the reason they came into existence. Not to mention the chaos that would come from it. No one, not even Garden, would benefit from the potential backlash they predicted could happen if the truth came out.

So, the Lunar Cry and an attempt to free Adel in order to gain her powers became the scapegoat story. As a result, I got off with little more than a slap on the hand because they couldn’t charge me with a greater crime. Well, not without risking a lot more information getting out than they wanted. It was part of our deal. I kept my mouth shut and they pardoned me for my role in the war.

The way the story went, a Sorceress from the distant future used some kind of machine to come back in time to possess those with the potential to become sorceresses. They’d labeled her motives as an intent to gain Adel’s power before she drifted out into space for eternity. As a result of her attempts, the Lunar Cry commenced. All of it was brought to an end by a team of SeeDs, led by the Commander himself. It was a pretty damn good story and close enough to true that no one questioned it.

“You’re saying he’s the one responsible for ending the war on the Sorceress?” She asked, more than a little skeptical about it all.

Not only was I telling her that a freaking hero was living in our town but that I knew him personally. “Yes.”

“How do you know all of this if it’s supposed to be kept secret?” That was the one question I’d been dreading that she would ask.

Running a hand through my hair I gave a loud sigh. “Because the school we went to, was Balamb Garden.”

“Balamb Garden? You and the hero?” There was an edge to her voice that said she didn’t quite believe it.

Thinking back on those times I absently ran a finger over my scar. “Yeah, we used to be training partners together. The only two people in all of Garden to accept the gunblade as a weapon and master it. It was him that gave me this scar.”

There was a small upward tilt of my mouth that startled me. When had that day become such a fond memory to me? Until yesterday I hated looking in the mirror and seeing that scar. Of seeing the constant reminder of what I lost because of my own stupid dreams. But just now, it felt less like a painful day in my life to one that I’d happily look back on. Okay, so that morning. The rest of the day was still crappy as hell.

For years now Erin has seen my scar. I don’t know how many times she’d seen me rubbing on it in frustration or touching it thoughtlessly. But never once did she comment on it or ask what happened. There had been one day I’d been in a piss poor mood and blew up at her over watching me. When I demanded to know if she wanted the story about it, she countered my bad mood by claiming she only wanted the story if I was willing to give it to her. At the time I hadn’t been so the subject was dropped.

“I’m surprised he’s still alive after giving you such a terrible injury.” She commented calmly.

The smile shifted to a smirk. “Had it been anyone else, they wouldn’t have lived to regret it. But I deserved the damn thing so I couldn’t be pissed at him for it. Not when I gave him the first cut. That precise fucking bastard made sure that we left that training session with matching scars because of it.”

“You caused the first injury, and he mirrored it on you?” She asked in a way that sounded like she needed clarification to believe it.

My grin grew wider. “Yeah, we have matching scars. Damn near opposites in everything else but the scar should be a dead giveaway if you happen to run into him around town.”

“I still find it hard to believe you didn’t kill him for the insult.” She scoffed.

Putting a hand to the back of my neck I rubbed it as I answered. “Squall’s…different. I’ve literally known him for as far back as I can remember. Hell, I’d even say that I know him better than I know myself most days. That bastard is the perfect example of a hero. I’d trust him with my life, and the lives of my kids, any day of the week.”

Talking about him like this was a reminder of how different our lives had actually become. Or at least how different they had been before Tempest entered his life. A few months ago, Squall was living the dream life back at Garden while I’d spent years building mine up one piece at a time. Now that Tempest appeared, he was the one having to figure out how to change his life to make it work for him.

“I’m starting to think you’ve gone insane! I’ve never heard you talk about anyone the way you just spoke of him.” She scoffed and I couldn’t do anything other than shrug because she was right.

“Maybe I am.” Okay, so most days I was fairly certain I was going insane. “But Squall is a good guy. He’s the kind of man that people look at and don’t think of as a hero. Then he’ll do something incredibly outrageous just because he sees it as the right thing to do. Damn habit of his always got him into more trouble than I could have ever managed. Never could break him of it either. At one point I’d almost taught him not to trust people too easily but that was right at the beginning of the war and things changed I guess. It forced him to ally with others and eventually built friendships. Guess it wasn’t a bad thing he didn’t listen to me back then, or he might have failed when it really mattered.”

“Can I assume that these bad habits of him are the reason he now has my contact information?” And that was the reason I didn’t dare jeopardize her employment here. After all the information I’d just dropped on her, it hadn’t distracted her from the main purpose of the conversation.

“Yes.” I answered briefly, hesitating to give her too much of his personal information.

The abrupt answer had her huffing at me. “Fine then. At least explain why he’s living here instead of Esthar or back at Balamb Garden when his identity is such a damn secret. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that this family you mentioned lives in Esthar so why doesn’t he go there for protection from his poor life choices?”

“His ex…fuck! Our ex left him high and dry with their baby about a month or so ago. Kid’s gotta be around seven months now if I calculated it right from the story he gave me on her.”

Later I was going to have to explain everything to her but for right now I was just going to give her the necessary information. Well, as much as I possibly could anyway. It was still Monday, and we’d soon have to return to our work, so an in-depth explanation was going to have to wait until we had more time. That was not a conversation I was looking forward to.

But it did get me thinking about Squall and how he always seemed to find some way of following in my footsteps. Even when it was completely accidental. It started with Garden. then the gunblades. The matching scars. Later it included dating Rinoa. Now we were both here in Winhill and trying to raise our kids the best we could. Having it all laid out like that showed an interesting pattern between us. A pattern that I was seriously going to have to tease him about later if I could find the right opening for it.

“Okay, she abandoned her child with him. Why is this a concern then? Is there reason to believe she’ll come back for the child and start trouble over it?” She questioned with a tilt of her head. The action clearly said she was trying to see just how much information I was going to willingly divulge on this subject.

“Yeah, I think there might be.” I sighed. This one was going to need a bit of explanation if she was going to ever be willing to help back Squall up.

“Okay, tell me why.” She demanded.

Instinctively I reached up and rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling the scar there, as I thought about it. “Rinoa’s a sweet girl. A bit flighty and naïve at times but overall, she’s got a lot of good qualities to her. Problem is, she’s got a bit of a princess complex. If things don’t go her way, she finds the easiest solution before thinking it through. When she dropped Tempest off with Squall there had only been a brief conversation before she took off when his back was turned. She’s already started asking questions about how Tempest is doing now. so I think it’s possible whatever stress she was feeling is fading and she might try to take Tempest back again.”

“You mean that she’d be so heartless as to take the child from your friend after abandoning them both? Is she really the kind of person who would do something like that?” The possibly astounded and angered Erin.

Fidgeting a little, I tried to think of the possibilities compared to what I knew of Rinoa’s personality. “It’s possible. But it’s also just as likely that she’ll try and work out something with Squall over her. It’s even more likely that, if she does ask for Tempest back, Squall will give in to the woman’s demands under the idea that it might be best for Tempest. The man has this weird sense of responsibility. As long as he thinks he’s the only one suffering because of it, he’ll do just about anything for anyone he cares about. If Rinoa’s figured this out about him, then she can trap him in some kind of hellish agreement.”

She let out a sigh then. “So, you offered to help him?”

Unable to deny it, I nodded. “I won’t let him be taken advantage of like that. The dumbass won’t fight for himself unless he’s got no other choice. If she spins her story well enough, he’s going to believe it. So, I got him to promise to call me if she ever shows up. It was the best I could do. The guy won’t break that promise.”

“And I got dragged into this how? It seems like you’ve got this all planned out, so what do you need from me? I don’t even know this guy.” Erin complained slightly. Something about it was a bit off though and I wondered if she was serious or just testing my resolve on this matter.

“I’m not exactly expecting anything from you. Well, except as a last resort for contacting me.” I admitted. It was kind of overkill to add Erin’s number in, I guess. “There is always a possibility that Fujin and Raijin could be unavailable at the same time I’m out of contact in the field. If that happens, then at least he’ll have someone who will know how to get a message to us quickly. I just wanted his ass covered on the chance that shit really started to hit the fan.”

“I highly doubt you were thinking that hard about it.” She rolled her eyes at me.

Perhaps a change of tactics was in order. “Okay, whatever… Look at it this way then, I’ve got an old friend with a baby who’s been abandoned with him by her mother. Not exactly the worst choice she could have made at that moment. It’s a situation I plan on remedying soon here, but how much effort are you willing to offer in order to keep this innocent child you've never met safe from her? On second thought, maybe I’ll make you first contact if she ever shows up. Might have to sell tickets to that one though.”

She rolled her eyes at me for that one. “Seifer!”

“Okay! Okay!” My hands shot up defensively.

“What is it that you still need to tell me about this situation?” She asked impatiently.

Thinking about Squall’s situation got me irritated all over again. “The worst part is, I wouldn’t have expected her to do something like that. According to Squall, they’d dated for a while but broke up a couple years ago. Then she met him at a fancy party and waited for him to be drunk before tricking him into sleeping with her. Never once did he know she’d gotten pregnant that night. Hell, she could have let it out into public channels that she was pregnant. Instead of doing that, she hid the information so word couldn’t get back to him. Then randomly showed up and presented him with a six-month-old baby.”

It seemed that I finally had her interest because she sat quietly while I explained the situation to her. All I needed was to win her over and Squall’s ass would be covered everywhere in Winhill. Between my posse and her connections around town, no one was going to be able to fuck Squall or Tempest over while they stayed here.

“It took that long for her to decide she couldn’t handle being a mother?” She questioned.

“Well…I only dated her for a few weeks during summer break, so my knowledge of her is limited. But from what I know, it's amazing she lasted that long.” I muttered then remembered the purpose of this discussion. “Point is, she got overwhelmed at having to care for a little being, herself and her dog. So, she decided to leave Tempest with Squall. Now he’s trying to figure out how to balance life, work and fatherhood.”

“Lots of people manage to do just that.” She argued.

Again, I had to shrug. “Like I said, Squall’s different. He’s been preparing for his role as a SeeD since he was around six years old. From the day he joined Garden that’s been the only thing he ever thought to do. It’s a life he’s trained endlessly for, a life he’s fought, bled and killed for. And yet he was willing to change all of that for a little girl he just met. I’m not even sure he’s ever been in the same room as an infant before having Tempest put in his arms.”

“Seifer…” She said quietly and I knew that I’d hit just the right spot in that dark little heart of hers. “I highly suggest you never let this woman come near me. I also recommend that she never shows up in this town or tries anything with that child.”

And just like that, I’d netted Squall one of the best protections either of us could have asked for. The war with Adel had been hard on children, many of which were orphaned. Erin had been one of those kids. It resulted in her becoming very protective of children, especially those whose parents leave them behind willingly. There were very, very few exceptions for it to be acceptable in her eyes.

“I knew I could count on you.” I remarked happily.

For a few seconds we shared a dark smile. Had she gone to Garden, she would have made a damn good SeeD. Then again, it’s probably a good thing she’d remained in the orphanage long enough to get adopted. There’s a good chance the world wouldn’t have been able to handle a woman like her with that kind of training. She was deadly enough on her own with the bow she kept on the wall behind her desk.

Now the only question left was, did I just call upon a guardian angel or make a deal with the devil on Squall’s behalf? From the look she was giving me, her eyes half hooded and a dangerous smile in place, I don’t think she would have known either. But it was pretty damn likely that I’d just asked a dark angel to look over an innocent child and I didn’t feel the least bit guilty for it.

The phone gave a shrill shriek in the other room, ending the moment we shared. Calmly, as if we hadn’t just had a serious conversation, she slid off the desk and straightened out her skirt. It was time for our workday to resume and personal issues needed to be set aside until later. As she walked out the door to deal with the phone, I reached over to plug my own phone back in. Picking up the forgotten file, I couldn’t help but feel a true smile appearing.

Chapter 11: A little too much Almasy blood

*Squall* 

“All I’m saying is that I need to keep a low profile while I’m here!”

Staring at the growing pile I had just thrown Tempest’s current outfit into, for the tenth time today, I was very much not in the mood for this argument. As is, my to-do list around the house was steadily growing and I only had another week to get things in order before I was officially back at work. Not that I’d ever stopped managing things after moving here, but I did keep it to the absolute necessities for the first week. Of course that gave Quistis a whole new reason to chew my ass yesterday regarding my work habits.

“I was just trying to help out! The mayor and I were chatting last week and the issue came up. I swear that it was purely a diplomatic move!” Laguna whined at me over the phone.

Tempest must have heard him because she gave one of those gleeful squeals and started flailing while I attempted to get her dressed. In reaction to her happy noises, he started making baby noises over the phone at her. Ironically, it confused her enough that I was able to slide the sleeve over her hand and get the outfit buttoned up before she could squirm out of it again. Even Loire was better at handling her than I was, and he wasn't even in the same town as her.

 Letting out a sigh I returned to the conversation. “However it came about, it drew attention in my direction.”

“Seriously son, it was just some minor equipment upgrades!” He went back to defending his decision. “It was strictly done as the President of Esthar in a bid to build a better relationship with the town. That it was the same company that did both the renovations on Raine’s Tavern and the school was absolutely a coincidence!”

“It’s a small town. I doubt there are many options for specialties around here.” I pointed out dryly.

Having a construction company as large as Seifer’s was impressive considering how small the population was. Less than five hundred people total, and he was able to claim around twenty employees. The chances of having a second company that could do what he offered surviving here would be extremely slim. But of course, Laguna wouldn’t take things into account like that.

“It’s not like I gave him the key to the city! I simply sent over some equipment to aid in the reconstruction of the school. From what I hear there was a big storm a few months ago that did a lot of damage to the town and housing conditions are finally starting to improve around there. I’ve done similar things for other small towns that needed it.” He tried to reason out but I wasn’t entirely convinced.

A demanding knock at the front door cut off the snarky comment I was going to make. “Look, I hate to cut this short but someone’s here. I’ve got to go.”

“Oh! Alright but I’m giving you fair warning, I plan on coming to visit my little granddaughter soon here. I haven’t even got to meet her in person yet!” It was the third time he’s insisted on coming to visit since I moved here.

“Sure.” I muttered, heading towards the stairway with Tempest tucked against my chest.

“Call if you need anything Son. You know I’m always here for you two.” He said it while sounding hopeful that I would believe him.

Before I could take more than a couple steps down the stairs a second knock came, louder than the first one. Clearly, Seifer was losing his patience over being kept waiting. Rolling my eyes, I highly debated whether it would benefit me to just have a key made for him. Since I knew he had better lock picking skills than I did, it probably would save us both a little trouble to just give in and give him free access.

“I will. Talk to you later.” I answered quickly and hung up the phone before he could drag out the conversation any longer. Another knock came and I started to lose my temper at his lack of patience. “Hold on a minute!”

Knowing Seifer, hearing me yell at him through the door probably pleased him. Already I could imagine the cocky grin as he leaned against the doorframe and waited for me. It was amazing that he had remained that polite about it and hadn’t just broken into the house when I didn’t answer the door immediately the first time he knocked.

“Seifer…!” I growled as I pulled the door open.

Only, it wasn’t just Seifer waiting for me on the other side of it. In one hand he was holding a bag that seemed to have some weight to it with Tyr clutching his jacket on that side, on the other he kept a firm grip over Cassie’s hand as if worried that she’d wander off if he didn’t hold on to her. At least that explained his impatience. There wasn’t a major issue with monsters attacking in this part of town but I still wouldn’t have wanted to risk it with two small children in tow.

“Hey Princess, took you long enough.” He gave a small grin at me and Tempest.

“Get the kids inside.” I ordered in a calmer tone and stepped aside so they could enter.

Pushing the kids in front of him, Seifer paused in the doorway long enough to greet Tempest by tickling her cheek with one finger and a large smirk. Then he headed straight for the kitchen while the kids stood near the couch and waited for him. After closing the door I turned around to see Hyperion strapped to his hip, right where Tyr had been holding onto his coattails.

Revolver was strapped to my own hip out of habit but I was always careful to keep Tempest to my right side while wearing the gunblade. I couldn’t imagine allowing two small children to hang onto my clothing while being just a couple inches away from the hilt of the weapon. That just seemed like it would either be temptation to touch the weapon or a high potential for little fingers to catch on something while walking around.

Coming back from dropping off the bag on the counter, Seifer’s coat fluttered open a little and I saw something unfamiliar over the hilt of his gunblade. A strip of leather? Frowning, I looked closer at it and determined that the leather strip was folded over so it blocked access to the gun portion of the weapon. That might be something worth asking about later. Maybe he could help me create something similar for both of my gunblades.

At a signal from Seifer, Cassie came over to me and gave a little bounce on the balls of her feet. “Hi Mr. Squall! Can we play with Tempest now?”

Next to her, Tyr gave a mumbled greeting but otherwise stayed quiet. Since I wasn’t exactly sure how the two different age groups would be able to play together, I looked up to Seifer for guidance. All I got in answer was a careless shrug. Not much help in deciding how to handle the child’s question.

“Sorry about the kids. I forgot to warn you that they were coming over with me. By the time I thought about it, we were almost here, and I was more concerned with keeping an eye out for trouble.” He gave a sheepish grin at that as he came to stand next to me.

“It’s fine.” I answered, waiting for him to get around to answering my question.

He seemed relieved about that. Had he really thought I’d bitch at him for bringing his own kids over? “Good, because Fu threatened to remove one of my favorite body parts if I didn’t bring them with me. Cassie had overheard that I was coming to see you and Tempest and nearly started a riot in the house over wanting to come see her. What I think Fu wanted was the night off to go monster hunting.”

That had me looking curiously at the small girl. Being old enough to follow the conversation, she looked up and gave me a very familiar Almasy grin. It was no wonder that she’d gotten her way so easily. Fujin had to be a damn saint to put up with this many Almasys in her household alongside her own husband and children.

“She deserves it for staying home with the kids all the time.” I muttered, trying to get Tempest to stop squirming around so much.

Seifer reached out and tickled her cheek again. “She also demanded that you come to dinner next week. I think she wants to see for herself that I wasn’t making stuff up and having Raijin back me up on it.”

“I’ll make it work.” I promised and barely held back my amusement over the silver-haired woman’s threats.

“Let’s get the kids taken care of and I can start on dinner.” He declared cheerfully.

Frowning, I looked around the near empty room. “I don’t exactly have anything for them to play with. All of it is baby toys.”

That seemed to throw him a little bit and he gestured for me to hand Tempest over to him. “No worries about that Princess, it’s this little angel that they’re here to see. They’ll just play together and keep each other entertained. My kids are used to playing with Jax so it’ll be fine.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” I questioned, still uncomfortable with leaving the kids to each other.

“Relax! She’ll be fine with them.” He admonished me and turned towards the couch, stopping just long enough to hang his jacket next to mine on the hooks by the door. “This level of paranoia you're developing is hitting the extreme, even for you.”

Even I could admit that my level of paranoia had grown worse since Tempest showed up. It had been less noticeable at Garden but since being here I could only imagine all manners of danger to her in simple, everyday situations. Some nights I ended up lying awake as I thought about the various alterations needed to make her environment safer for her.

A huff from Seifer pulled me from my daze and I watched as he pulled the quilt Matron had given me from the back of the couch. Well, now I had an actual explanation as to why the blanket had ended up spread out on the floor last time he was here. Deciding to trust Seifer’s judgement, I stood back and allowed him to place her on the floor. As she was laid down dead center on the blanket the other two kids instantly moved over to sit near her. Then I was suddenly alone as Seifer moved past his kids to run up the stairs without a word to me.

“Yay! Toys!” Cassie cheered as he returned a few moments later with an armful of baby toys and stuffed animals. All of which were dropped nearly on top of the kids. Immediately she turned to Tempest with several toys in her hands. “Which one your faverit?”

Obviously Tempest didn’t understand the question so she didn’t answer it. Instead, she did a little maneuver that got her on her belly and started doing something that looked like an imitation military crawl as she moved towards a random toy. Awestruck at the sudden development I turned to Seifer for an explanation. It seemed to amuse him because he just laughed and adjusted the coffee table so it was farther from Tempest’s reach.

“Alright kiddos!” Seifer called and both kids stopped what they were doing to look at him. Even Tempest seemed to pause from chewing on her toy for a moment before deciding to ignore him. “Time for us to lay out some new rules!”

“What rules?” Tyr asked quietly as he tried to protect his Torama to from Tempest’s reaching hand. It appeared to be the same one he’d shown me last week in the store.

“Rules for playing safely with Baby Tempest. Since this is a new place and a new baby then we need new rules.” He declared firmly and acted as if that made perfect sense to the kids.

Interestingly enough, they nodded and kept their attention almost completely on him. Whatever he did with these kids, it was better than most of the students back at Garden were able to manage. For a moment I considered the possibility of trying to enlist him to train a few instructors in ways to handle the unruly kids but instantly rejected the idea. Something told me that it would just be asking for more trouble than it would be worth.

“First rule!” He held up a finger and I leaned over the back of the couch as I watched him with the kids. “This is a familiar rule but I’m putting it out there anyway. Do not pick up Tempest. It’s okay if she climbs on you and you move her gently to get away but she’s too heavy for either of you to pick up safely.”

“Yes Daddy!” They agreed eagerly, apparently happy to have a familiar rule to start with.

Something Quistis said years ago was finally starting to make more sense as I watched Seifer with his kids. During our SeeD exam she had been the one to insist on Seifer being Team Leader. At the time she knew there was a lot of room for improvement but she’d wanted him to have a chance at showing off his abilities. Unfortunately, the whole Communications Tower incident blew that for him. Later, when she’d explained her theory about it, I’d thought she’d overestimated him because he was too impulsive and too much a wildcard because of it. Looks like she was right and he had just needed the right motivation to bring those skills out in him.

“For the second rule, this blanket is your ‘safe zone’.” He gestured to the quilt that they were sitting on. “Tempest can crawl all over it and that’s okay. If she leaves the blanket, then you need to call me or Squall to come mover her back.”

What he hadn’t said out loud, but I picked up on it, was that it was likely they wouldn’t have to because we’d catch her first. But I assumed it was simply so they had a plan of action in case we were a little slow in reacting. So far, I couldn’t find anything to object to and it was good that he was laying out simple boundaries with them. That much I knew from having to deal with the younger kids once in a while.

“Okay!” Again, they readily agreed to this so I could only assume it was another of their familiar rules.

“Third rule!” He continued while holding three fingers up for them. “These are all safe toys for Tempest to play with and won’t hurt her if she chews on them a little. But if you see her put anything else in her mouth then that’s bad! So I’m counting on you guys to help keep a close eye on her while I work on dinner and talk with Squall. Okay?”

“Okay!” Now I was getting the feeling that these were all rules that they had at home.

Still, his comment about Tempest possibly picking up stuff from the floor had me looking to the edges of the quilt. The house was kept clean and we rarely used this section of the living room so I didn’t think there was anything that could hurt her on the floors. But just in case, I made a note to give the floors another thorough cleaning and inspect the quilt for any loose threads she might find.

“There’s one final rule.” Seifer grinned when the kids gave him a confused look. “You guys have lots of fun with Tempest!”

“Yay!” They cheered. Neither bothered to wait for an official dismissal before they started crawling around the floor and waving toys at Tempest.

With the kids distracted, Seifer clapped a hand over my shoulder as he passed and guided us both towards the kitchen. “Just relax a bit Princess, they’ll be fine. We’re going to be right over here and can keep an eye on them the entire time.”

“You think they’ll remember the rules while playing?” I wondered out loud, glancing back at the kids.

“The rules?” He asked in confusion then gave a low chuckle. “Oh! Yeah, they’ll follow them. We have the same rules at home. I was just reminding them because kids forget things when they get excited.”

Leaving me at the edge of the counter, he started towards the bag he’d brought with him. Moving so I could watch both him and the kids, I stared in amazement as Tempest started doing that same awkward crawl across the floor. “She’s crawling. I didn’t even know she could do that yet.”

Laughter had me shooting a confused look in his direction. “She should be able to crawl at this point. Just give her plenty of time on the floor like this and put some toys around her for practice. If you place them just out of reach she’ll have no choice but to crawl towards them. There will be times where she’ll get frustrated but that’s good for her so don’t give in to it. Soon enough, she’ll be crawling around the whole damn house and you’ll spend all your time trying to keep her in one place. Wait…you have been playing with her haven’t you?”

“Of course I’ve tried playing with her.” I muttered, feeling embarrassed about my sorry excuse for parenting skills. After more than a month of taking care of her, it shouldn’t still be so damn difficult.

But Seifer had been doing this kind of thing all week with me. At least a few times a day I’d get a random text from him. Sometimes it was just to check in on my status. Other times it was him offering little tidbits of advice here and there. At first I checked out those tips but by Wednesday I was just accepting them as fact. Twice he’d called when I was stressed out over Tempest refusing to stop crying. Turned out she was over tired on Tuesday and yesterday it had just been a gas buildup.

Thinking about it made me realize that I hadn’t gotten a single message from him today. That I found that irritating was enough to reprimand myself over feeling that particular emotion. In all reality, I should be grateful for what help he’d already provided me, not bitch about the one day of silence before he ultimately showed up on my doorstep with the promise of making dinner.

It was stupid how much I’d come to rely on those little distractions during the day and the small bits of support he provided, usually in a teasing manner. For Hyne’s sake, it wasn’t like we were in a relationship or anything! But…I still found it comforting to know that he was close by and checked in with me so often throughout the day. Even Selphie couldn’t claim that much this week.

Taking a breath, I decided it was best to explain rather than allow him to assume. “I followed the instructions in my books and they said to…”

“Books?” He interrupted, looking up at me like I’d done something interesting. “What books?”

Embarrassed about needing parenting books to help me figure this out, I just shrugged and turned my attention to the kids. At the moment, Cassie was attempting to lure Tempest away from Tyr and his beloved Torama toy with a stuffed Tonberry. Which also happened to be one of those plush toys that she has never had any interest in whatsoever. It slipped my mind as to who got her that toy but I suspected it was Selphie or Irvine with their warped sense of humor.

An annoyed huff from Seifer forced me into answering his question. Which meant admitting a weakness to the one person who knew me better than anyone else. It didn’t stop me from being defensive about it. “I got a few books after finding myself in charge of a baby and discovering that I had absolutely no idea how to care for her.”

With a shake of his head, he returned to preparing dinner. “Go grab those damn books of yours so I can see what I’m dealing with here. I’ll even promise to apply real effort into not laughing about how ridiculous they all are.”

“Why? Because you think you know better than they do on how to chare for a child?” I inquired, folding my arms over my chest.

It would be so like him to believe that he could do anything better than someone who was considered an expert on the subject of child rearing and development. While it was a daily battle in trying to figure out how to manage Tempest and her needs, I found that it was much easier to handle the familiarity that came from dealing with Seifer and his ego. That was something I’ve had plenty of practice dealing with.

Pointing a knife in my direction I tried not to smirk as a shredded piece of carrot slid off of it while he glared at me. “Stop arguing and go get those damn books like I asked. There are so many blasted quacks out there that I’d be amazed if you didn’t find at least one of them. I need to know who you are taking advice from or I’m going to run in fucking circles trying to figure out what information you’re working with.”

“Daddy!” Cassie called out to him and both of us stopped talking to look at her.

“What is it Cassie?” Seifer asked when it looked like nothing was wrong with the kids.

Getting on her knees she put one hand on her hip and waved a finger at him. “You said a bad word Daddy!”

It took everything I had not to burst out laughing as he gave her a solemn nod. The corner of his mouth tweaked a tiny bit and I swore he was struggling just as hard as I was not to laugh himself. “Yes I did Baby Girl. I’m sorry for saying a bad word.”

The ‘in front of you’ wasn’t spoken but I could hear it all the same. “Okay, but don’t do it again!”

As soon as her lecture was done and she returned to playing, the knife was once more pointed in my direction and he spoke in a low growl that the kids wouldn’t have picked up on. “Not a damn word from you Leonhart. Just go get the blasted books so I can focus on getting our grub ready.”

“I hope you aren’t planning on using actual grubs this time.” I shot back but was already heading to the stairs, giving one last glance at the kids playing happily on the floor.

“It’s your lucky day then. I don’t feed that cr…crud to my kids.” The correction caused him to lose some of the force behind his words but the hurried look in Cassie’s direction made me smirk.

Shaking my head at him being told off by his child, I headed up the stairs in order to grab the books as he asked. There was roughly half a dozen of them. Combined into one pile they weighed about as much as Tempest did. I’d only read some of them but couldn’t help noticing how one or two would disagree with each other on various topics with both making excellent points to their arguments.

Carefully making my way down the stairs, in case one of the kids had moved too close, I brought the stack over to the counter and set them down. One of the books shifted and caused the stack to topple a little but otherwise they stayed away from the food. At the loud thud of books hitting the counter, I watched as Seifer tried desperately not to laugh. Somehow he managed to keep it to a grin as he turned the books so the spines were facing him.

“Would you just get it out of your system before you hurt yourself?” I grumbled and moved to place Tempest back into the middle of the blanket.

Apparently, watching her yank on my hair was his breaking point because he burst out in laughter just as I got her on the blanket. After checking to make sure she didn’t need her diaper changed and that everything else was good, I returned to my spot against the wall of the stairwell. With how hard he was laughing I debated on whether to take the knife from his hand but figured he was trained well enough that he deserved whatever injury he got from being careless.

“Hyne Squall! No wonder you’re so dang paranoid about everything. I’ve read most of those books and I can tell you right now it was a big mistake.” He gasped out while trying to control his laughter.

“How so?” I questioned. Since when was researching a topic you didn’t understand a mistake?

He gave the books a little shove so they spread out over the counter towards me and most of the titles were visible now. Tapping one of the books he looked at me with a grin but had stopped laughing. “This book had to have been written for the sole purpose of scaring the crap out of new parents. Its full of details about how simple, everyday objects can be so deadly to kids. Damn thing gave me nightmares of dust bunnies attacking the twins after I read it.”

“Isn’t that good knowledge to have?” I asked, ignoring the easy shot he’d given me. Mostly because the damn thing had given me similar nightmares too.

Glaring at me, he tapped two more books. “These two read as if the authors were enemies or something. Everything one says, the other contradicts. How the hell are you supposed to make a good judgement when one book tells you to do one thing and the other tells you to do the exact opposite?”

Frustrated because I knew he was right, I pinched my fingers to the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes to try and think. “So what am I supposed to do then? I have no prior experience and need some kind of guideline to work with so I don’t kill my own child through ignorance.”

“Best advice I ever got was to learn the basics and just wing the rest until I figured it out.” He shrugged and pushed the books closer to the edge of the counter so he could return to cutting up vegetables. “Don’t worry so much about making mistakes. Kids are pretty resilient and extremely forgiving. They’ll hold up against whatever mistakes we make while learning to take care of them.”

“I think Irvine told me something like that as well.” I admitted to him. Running a hand through my hair I flinched when I felt the strands tangling in my fingers. It was getting close to time for me to cut it again. “Why does this have to be so complicated? Shouldn’t there be a generalized manual on how to care for babies or something? I mean, they have to have figured out a standard by now.”

“If only it were that easy Princess. I could have used one of those books myself when the kids were little.” He sympathized while shifting the vegetables into a bowl. That he had difficulty with this parenting thing made me feel a little better. It meant I still had a chance at doing this right. “According to my sources though, parents have been demanding something similar for generations now. Probably the reason we have so many damn books out there that provide different advice on the topic. Hyne, I’d even be willing to bet most of those so-called experts don’t have any kids!”

“So you are saying you can do a better job than these experts?” I challenged, tapping a finger on the stack of spilled books. “Isn’t that just a little arrogant? Even for you?”

My assessment clearly offended him in some way because he stepped next to the sink, with the soiled knife still in his hand, and pointed with it to the living room. “Have you not been paying attention? I’ve got a pair of wonderful kids and made damn sure that they were well trained.”

“Daddy!” Tyr called out. It was the first time he’d spoken that loudly so I’d expected him to need help with Tempest but when I looked over I couldn’t resist giving Seifer a satisfied smirk.

“What…? Oh for Hyne’s sake!” He growled, dropping the knife into the sink and stormed into the living room to look around. “Cassandra Almasy where are you?”

If not for the fact that one of the children had managed to disappear right under both our noses I might have laughed and called him out on his parenting skills. But even with me just a few feet from the stairs entrance, she’d managed to pull a perfect disappearing act. For now I couldn’t decide if I was ticked over not catching it or impressed that she managed to get past two Garden trained adults, one of them a highly accredited SeeD Commander and the other her own father.

“Stairs!” Tyr point helpfully to the stair case. That officially made both categories accurate. The child had both impressed me and got me completely ticked with myself for missing her get passed me when I was that close to her.

One thing I’d noticed about Tyr was that he didn’t seem to talk much. Until now I thought it was just because he was shy, an interesting trait considering who his father is, but now I was thinking it might be something more than that. The only other time I’d interacted with his children, Cassandra had taken charge of introducing the boys and seemed to be the leader of the group. It made sense that Tyr would allow it, especially if he was on the reserved side.

Watching the way he was acting now though, it made me think of the way Seifer and I used to be at Garden. Could it be that Tyr really did choose to step back and let Cassie take the lead? If she was just like Seifer then I could see it. Back then even I believed that he could nearly read my mind and I didn’t have to say much of anything out loud to him for my point to get across. Perhaps Cassandra had inherited that from him and Tyr just went along with it. Definitely something to ask Seifer about later.

“Squall, you’re in charge!” He snapped and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

As he disappeared from the top of the stairs I looked at Tyr as he returned a similar look to me. A couple feet away from him, Tempest was using the couch to pull herself up and onto her feet. Succeeding, she gave an excited squeal and started bouncing only to land right on her backside. When she tried again, I caught Tyr giving me an amused smirk that was exact replica of his father’s. Whatever the kid knew, I had a feeling it was going to bite me in the ass fairly soon here. Maybe it was just simply that he knew how much trouble I was about to be in with Tempest now that she was mobile.

“No Cassie! It’s not okay to go wandering around other people’s homes like that. I thought you knew that rule by now.” Seifer’s lecture gave warning that he’d found Cassie and was returning downstairs with her. “Squall has a lot of important things in his room. You might have broken something or got hurt if he left something dangerous out up there. That’s why we have a rule about asking if you need something.”

By the time he finished lecturing her, the two of them were nearly down the stairs again. Looking over at them, I caught sight of Cassie’s fingers curled in her father’s faded red shirt. “But I was trying to get a differ’nt toy for Tempest.”

“There are plenty of toys down here for Tempest to play with.” He pointed out. But Cassie seemed adamant that he was wrong and shook her head.

“No! She doesn’t like those toys! She isn’t playing with them!” She argued.

“That’s what babies do Cass. You know that. Baby Jax does the exact same thing at home.” He sighed and set her down on the couch. “Sorry Baby Girl but you get two minutes on the couch while Tyr and Tempest play. Next time, just ask one of us to help instead of going off on your own.”

“Yes Daddy.” She pouted and I couldn’t help but see a little of Seifer’s own pouting look on her face as she watched her brother play with Tempest.

“And you need to apologize to Squall for going in his room without asking. That’s his space and you need to ask before going in to his room.” He added a bit belatedly but she didn’t seem to notice that he’d almost forgotten that part.

“Sorry Mr. Squall.” She apologized without looking directly at me but I let it go. Had she been a cadet I would have demanded she stand at attention and look me in the eye but having any Almasy apologize that sincerely was enough of a miracle that I wasn’t going to push it.

“Accepted.” I replied solemnly, just as I would a cadet. But I was uncertain as to what the proper response would be in this situation. Again, first year cadets were different than dealing with Seifer’s offspring and I still had no clue how I was supposed to react.

It was almost ironic to have Seifer forcing his kid to apologize for the very same offense he’d been guilty of countless times over the years. Never once did he apologize for breaking into my room as cadets. Either he’d annoy the hell out of me until he achieved his goal for the day, or he’d find some way of letting me know he’d been there.

If it was the latter, I was fully expected to seek him out and learn the reason for him entering my room. More often than not, it ended in a duel because he got frustrated over me making him wait. By then he’d have forgotten his purpose for seeking me out in the first place. Guess it wasn’t too surprising that the next generation had naturally picked up on some of his more annoying traits.

Having fully reprimanded his daughter, Seifer returned to the kitchen and began preparing the meat this time. Watching him work was almost fascinating and I found myself closely observing his every move. The only time I lost my focus on him was when he announced Cassie’s punishment to be over at exactly two minutes from the time he’d set her on the couch.

“Sorry Squall.” His voice was quiet as we watched both of the kids play with Tempest as Cassie gave directions for their newest game. “She happened to inherit a little too much of that Almasy blood from me. You can double check but I gave the room a once over and I don’t think she’d had the chance to touch anything.”

“Don’t worry about it. She’s of your bloodline so it makes sense she’d have some of your bad habits.” I smirked at him reassuringly then leaned on the counter. “Besides, I’d already stashed just about anything that could be potentially hazardous and the closet door locks now. So I don’t think there’s anything she could have gotten into with only a few minutes of being up there. Not unless there’s a lot of that Almasy blood and she went snooping.”

That got a chuckle out of him, chasing the guilt and worry from his expression. Shifting the pieces of meat from the pan and into a pot he shook his head. “Nah, picking locks comes much later. For now it’s just anything visible that you have to worry about.”

“Then she’s good.” Letting him think he’d gotten off easy, I waited almost a full minute before adding a low blow. “Guess those books were useful for something if I was paranoid enough to keep an Almasy child from getting into anything before getting caught.”

Again, he gave a laugh but this one sounded more honest than his usual one. Taking a step in my direction, he gave my shoulder a bump with his before going back to stir the meat. “You’ve always been a paranoid bastard Squally boy. Those books simply pointed out the spots you might have missed on your own.”

“Whatever.” I muttered, not entirely offended by his rebuttal.

Leaning over the counter I watched as Cassie and Tyr tried to encourage Tempest to scoot across the floor some more. The spot on my shoulder where Seifer had bumped me was only second in my attentions, next to watching them play. It hadn’t hurt at all, but even so…I could clearly feel where the contact had been made and found it more than a little confusing.

Previous to the war, I’d always been aware of Seifer’s presence around me. It had been to the point where I knew that he was in the same room as me without even looking. But this felt different. This was a hyperawareness that fully exceeded anything I’d felt around him before. But why was it happening now? Why not back at Garden when we were training partners and rival? Those were the days I was more alert to things like that. Whereas now, it didn’t bother me in the slightest to have him standing just feet away from me.

“I can’t tell you how much I missed hearing you say that stupid word of yours.” Seifer told me quietly, breaking my train of thought. There was a strange look about him as he adjusted something on the stove. Then, just like a wave washing a drawing from the sand, the look was replaced by the grin that was so familiar to him. “There’s about fifteen minutes left before dinner’s done. If you’ve got something that needs doing, now would be a good time to take care of it. I’ve got the kids covered.”

Nodding my thanks, I gathered up the pile of books and headed upstairs. Fifteen minutes was more than enough time to get these back on their shelf and throw a load of Tempest’s soiled clothing into the wash. Here’s hoping that whatever concoction Selphie had left me could still work the wonders she promised.

Notes:

I think I got all the errors fixed in this chapter. It's fairly short but feels good the way it is.
Of course, I just had to add in a little bit of Cassie getting into trouble. Between the two of them, she's more like Seifer than Tyr is so it's only natural for her to get into trouble.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 12: Tell Me You've Got This!

*Seifer* 

It didn’t surprise me in the slightest to see Squall accepting my offer to keep an eye on the kids. For the entire fifteen minutes I’d allotted him, Squall remained upstairs. There was the distinct sound of someone doing laundry and washing some dishes but that only took a few minutes. The rest of the time it was almost complete silence.

Only when I called up the stairs to let him know dinner was done cooking did he come back down. It was amazing what a few minutes of free time could do when you had a baby to care for on your own. But at least now he was looking much more relaxed than he had earlier. Whatever he’d done in those last few minutes, it had been good for him.

Of course, my kids managed to destroy his peaceful mindset in only a matter of minutes. The only reason it had taken that long was because I kept Cassie busy with helping to set the table while Tyr kept Tempest distracted. All Squall had to do was get Tempest set up in the highchair when he came back down the stairs. That left me with getting plates ready, putting them and our drinks on the table.

“Cassie, eat your food.” I demanded after catching her trying to share with Tempest again.

“But I want to feed Tempest! She likes it when someone feeds her.” She pouted at me.

Watching Squall’s face go more pale than usual, I sighed and shook my head. “Baby Girl, Tempest has her own food for a reason. I promise that she’s perfectly fine with the way things are right now. So eat your food then we can talk about helping with Tempest after you’re done.”

If I’d been thinking more clearly about it instead of trying to make sure Squall didn’t enter panic mode, I would have remembered who I was talking to. In true Cassie fashion, my daughter scarfed down her food so fast that I was amazed she hadn’t choked on it. In comparison, her brother barely touched the stroganoff that I’d given him but ate the peas and carrots I’d put on his plate.

It hadn’t been the most extravagant of meals, but I knew it was one of Squall’s favorites. Since it was a mild thank you for his father’s donation, I felt that cooking something he liked made more sense. Using a better cut of meat for it probably didn’t hurt anything either. Carrots were also one of his preferred vegetables if I had remembered correctly, my memory was proven correct when he ate them before ever touching the peas. Picky fucker.

The only reason I added the damn peas was to give the kids more variety and because they were something easy for Tempest to eat. Overcooking them a little made both the peas and carrots soft enough for her to crush in her hands. Mostly, they ended up on her face and the floor, but she happily got some of it in her mouth. Fortunately, she seemed to be less picky about the vegetables than her father. Between that and the small bits of plain pasta, she was content enough to not care if someone hand fed her or not.

“Done! Can I feed Tempest now?” Cassie asked hopefully.

This time the look Squall gave me had been absolutely priceless and I’d wished I kept a camera handy for occasions like these. For whatever reason, likely the Almasy blood in her, Cassie seemed determined to push Squall well past his comfort levels. Having already utilized her own meal as a deterrent, there were limited options left without risk of retaliation from my child. Not that I was afraid of dealing with it, just that I didn’t want to make Squall suffer a full-blown Cassandra Almasy tantrum on top of everything else.

With all the changes he’d had to deal with since our arrival, it was a wonder that the man was functioning so well. Granted, it was unevenly matched with three Almasys versus two Leonharts. More so when you considered that Tempest was a baby and my two were old enough to be little pain in the ass monsters at times. Okay, that’s not entirely true. Tyr’s personality aligned more with Squall’s than mine so I guess I could claim that it evened out. Right?

Still, it was strange to see Squall expressing so many emotions this openly. Last Saturday I’d simply pushed it off as a fluke from him being so damn exhausted. But that didn’t explain it happening now. Could it be that fatherhood was really changing the man this much? If so, then it was about damn time that something got him to open up and express himself a little better. Even if it was mostly through silent actions, at least they were more obvious now.

Finally, dinner came to an end without too many issues between Squall and Cassie. At this rate, he was going to be fucking terrified of a four-year-old! Of course, he’d never act upon it or show her that he was afraid, but I had a feeling that she’d know anyway. Either way, I was praying that something would happen to smooth things over with everyone.

“I can get those.” Squall objected when I turned the water on so I could clean the dishes Cassie and Tyr were bringing into the kitchen.

Glancing over, I tipped my chin towards a messy Tempest. “Just worry about getting her cleaned up. We’ve got this down here.”

With a nod, Squall scooped a messy Tempest from the highchair and headed upstairs with her. For the next fifteen minutes or so I put food away, washed dishes and directed the kids into cleaning up the table and toys. It bought Squall enough time to give Tempest a quick bath before I couldn’t hold Cassie’s attention any longer.

Hearing that Squall was done bathing his child, Cassie gave me a grin and hurried up the stairs just as I finished wiping down the highchair. Tossing the towel I was using onto the floor next to the chair, I raced up the stairs behind her. Of course, I was too damn slow and she’d hurried into Tempest’s room while Squall was trying to get her dressed for the night. Not wanting to be left behind, Tyr followed me up the stairs.

“Cassie, would you please leave Squall alone? He needs to get Tempest ready for bed and you’re putting too much energy in the room. It’s going to keep her awake longer.” I grumbled, leaning against the open doorway. “Which is something we need to get started on ourselves.”

“Can we say g'night to Tempest first?” Cassie requested sweetly.

If I was smart, I would have learned to not fall for that damn look ages ago. “I dunno Baby Girl, it’s getting late and I’m sure Squall would like to finish doing a few things before he goes to bed.”

“Please Mr. Squall? Can we help put Tempest to bed?” She asked, turning those eyes onto Squall this time.

Seeing Tempest slip her clothes for a third time, I was amazed he was able to keep control this long. “Cassie, stop bothering Squall about it and let him get Tempest dressed.”

“It’s fine.” Squall muttered, finally able get the first few buttons done up the pajamas he was putting her in.

“See Cass? He’s ready to put her to bed. Tell Tempest goodnight so she can go to sleep.” I insisted, hoping that would be the end of it all.

“But Daddy! Tempest hasn’t had her story yet!” Cassie countered and hit both of us with those big, blue eyes of hers.

“Story?” Squall asked turning to me just so he didn’t have to keep looking at her. Not even he was immune to her pouty look it seemed. From the sound of things, Squall hadn’t known about reading stories to his daughter before bed. Hadn’t anyone ever explained it to him?

There must have been some confusion on my own face because he blushed and finished buttoning up the jammies. Watching him a little closer, I was starting to believe that whoever had taught him how to care for Tempest had only given him the bare basics before the two of them were dropped off here. With how little time there had been, it made sense to focus on the necessary information first. But it was also reasonable to believe that someone, somewhere along the line, had thought of giving him some practical information as well.

While I could accept the fact that he was trying to go somewhere that Rinoa couldn’t locate him easily, I found it hard to believe that someone thought putting him here as a starting point had been a good idea. I don’t know why it came to me just then and not sooner, but it had taken me a full week to realize it. With only bare minimum information, someone had placed him, and his newly discovered child, in Winhill with barely any support to help him in caring for her beyond basic needs and keeping her safe. It was damn lucky that I’d run into him last week.

As with the change in his emotional development, I’d put off his actions with Tempest that night as a fluke situation. No one was a perfect parent all the time and exhaustion would only exasperate the situation, not help it. Not once had it occurred to me that he didn’t have the first clue about caring for her mental health or development.

Suddenly, I felt overwhelmingly guilty for all the teasing messages I’d sent him over the past week. True, it was all solid information but I’d put my own personality into the messages as well. The couple of times I’d talked with him while Tempest was having issues didn’t appear to be anything more than normal parental stressors. The kind that it helped to have someone talk things out with you when your child just wouldn’t stop crying. Sometimes even the smartest people could forget steps in the checklist during those moments.

“Almasy team to the rescue again.” I sighed with mock exasperation.

“Yay!” Cassie cried, jumping happily while Tyr just gave a smile.

It took a bit of work, but I managed to ignore the glare Squall was giving me for teasing him instead of explaining myself. “Okay kids, go get a book off the shelf for us. See if you can find something Tempest will like.”

As I’d predicted, Cassie let out another happy squeal then rushed over to the bookshelf. Unsettled by his sister’s volume, Tyr quietly hurried behind her and the two started on deciding which book to select. It was a pretty even chance of either of my kids coming out of this one victorious. Consequently, the sound Cassie made must have excited Tempest because she suddenly let out that ear piercing squeal that she enjoyed tormenting Squall with.

“Can she even understand a story yet? Weren’t those meant to be for later?” Squall questioned while placing Tempest in her crib.

“Hyne only knows if she’ll understand it or not but reading to kids usually makes them happy, even as babies. Must have something to do with hearing someone talking to them and all the pretty pictures is my guess.” I shrugged. It wasn’t like I had all the answers to everything but I could make a pretty damn good guess if needed.

“Hmmm…” He hummed and moved a step back from the crib.

Right about that time the kids returned with a book in Tyr’s hands. “The Little Torama? You thinks she’ll like this one huh? Not too scary for her?”

“Uh uh!” Cassie answered enthusiastically. “It’s Tyr’s faverit! It don’t scawr him and he’s a crybaby! Tempest will love it!”

“I'm not a crybaby!” Tyr grumbled but didn’t really fight back. The quick flick of his eyes to Squall was interesting though.

“Alright! No need to call names. I’m sure Tempest will like it too.” I sighed, trying to stop the fight before it got too much traction.

Distracted by their bickering, I didn’t notice until that moment that all three of them had me cornered. Somehow, Squall had gotten a few steps closer to his door without me catching on to what he was doing. A hint of amusement tugged at his mouth and eyes as he folded his arms over his chest just watching to see what I was going to do next.

Had it just been him then I might have stood a chance at getting out of this little standoff, but I had my own damn kids there as well. As if they’d choreographed it, Cassie and Tyr both turned eager, pleading eyes on me. With four different shades of blue eyes staring at me it was just too much. Then the final piece fell into play when Tempest grabbed the hem of my shirt and gave off sounds like she was curious as to what I had.

It was futile to even try and fight against my fate tonight. With no choice left in the matter, I carefully disengaged from Squall’s child and sat on the floor with my back to the crib. Cries of joy erupted from the twins and even Tempest was reaching an arm through the bars as if to grab for the book. A quick glance to Squall showed him giving me a very satisfied smirk from where he was leaning against the wall.

With a kid under each arm, and one pulling at my shirt, I started reading. “Once upon a time there was a little Torama cub named…”

“Luna!” Cassie and Tyr said together.

“Yes, Luna. Now hush you two so Tempest can hear the story.” I reprimanded them gently. Both kids covered their mouths, barely suppressing giggles. “Now where was I? Oh yeah…Luna was just a little Torama cub…”

Ten minutes later I put the book down in my lap and sighed. Both of my kids had fallen asleep with their heads on either of my shoulders while Tempest’s fingers were just barely twitching in my hair. Still in the same spot he’d been when I started reading, Squall looked at me with an expression I didn’t recognize.

“What?” I whispered. It sounded grumpy but I didn’t have any of my normal aggression or snark in my tone.

“If I hadn’t witnessed it myself then I would never have believed it.” He replied in a similarly low voice. “You’ve truly found something that you’re absolutely amazing at.”

In twenty-something years of knowing each other, I’d never heard him give anyone that high of a compliment. Now that he’d given it to me, it was a fucking shame to have to ruin the illusion for him. But it wasn’t fair for him to believe that I was doing anything more than the average parent could manage just by putting in a little effort.

“I don’t know who the hell you’re calling amazing but it sure as fuck ain’t me.” I insisted, purposefully ignoring the frown he was giving me. “You have no idea how many times I fucked up when I first started caring for the twins. It was even worse when I had to do it by myself for a little while.”

“I find that hard to believe. You managed them so easily tonight.” He argued, looking at the kids. “Even Tempest. It normally takes much longer to get her to sleep.”

“Hyne’s balls Squall!” I practically moaned and would have covered my face with my hand if not for the kids covering me. “Do you really think it’s this easy all the time? That I don’t still make mistakes with them? The kids were worn out from playing with each other and all the excitement. They simply crashed because I got them sitting quietly for a few minutes.”

“Well…” He mumbled, looking embarrassed.

“Dammit…” I sighed and prayed to freaking Hyne for help on this one. “Whatever you’re thinking about my skills as a parent, stop it. I’ve made some major mistakes with them. Fucking hell Squall, I’m still making a crap ton of mistakes with them. There’s nothing amazing about my parenting ability. The trick is to simply do what you must and get good at learning new techniques on the fly. That’s something that you need to learn because kids grow and their needs change daily. It’s all about adapting.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re still doing a better job than I’ve managed so far. All I seem to do is screw things up with her. Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a parent.”

The way he stared at the ground next to him, looking as if he were expecting it to swallow him up. At least this was a look I was more familiar with and knew how to interpret. Didn’t mean that I was pleased to see it. In fact, that look was the final straw for the night and I had officially reached my limit of his crap.

Keeping my movements slow and gentle, I managed to untangle myself from the pile of kids. The real trick to it had been getting Tempest’s fingers from my hair without waking her. After laying both my kids on the floor and tucking Tempest’s hand back into the crib, I scooted backwards a couple feet. Leaving the book on the floor next to them, I got to my feet and marched right over to Squall.

In the two minutes it had taken to get free, he hadn’t once looked up to see what I was doing. That was a serious testament to how badly he was beating himself up. Grabbing him roughly by the arm, I dragged him through the door that I knew would lead to his room. Closing the door behind us so we wouldn’t disturb the kids, I released him and leaned against the barrier. Of course, that only worked because I’d caught him completely off guard.

For several minutes we stared each other down. Well, more like I stared at him while he glared at my feet in irritation. Waiting for him to say something was proving to be pointless, which meant I was forced to move into his personal space in order to get him to look at me. It was a trick I’d learned years ago and applied only when necessary. And only after I’d tried all the normal tricks. The slight flinching around his eyes at seeing how pissed I looked was a bit unusual though.

“Who the fuck are you?” I hissed at him, receiving a confused glare for my verbal attack.

It took far too much effort for him not to look away. “You know who I am.”

“No, I fucking don’t!” I snapped. “The Squall I know doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘give up’. The Squall I know wouldn’t fucking back down when something gets a little difficult. He’d keep pushing forward and find a way to make things work in his favor. So, where the fuck is he?”

“Stop it.” He whispered, digging his fingers into his arms and lowering his eyes once more.

As if it weren’t bad enough that he backed down that easily, the fucker looked like he was about to cry right in front of me! It made me want to comfort his ass, but I couldn’t relent just yet. If I didn’t keep pushing him to understand his potential as a father, he’d truly believe all those doubts and forever believe he was a failure at it.

“No.” I rumbled but forced myself to tone down the aggressive tone a bit. “Squall…you’re a fighter. If you give in this easily, after such a short time, where does that leave the rest of us? Where does it leave Tempest? You’ve only had her with you a few weeks and that girl fucking adores you! Hell, she trusts you explicitly to be there for her. She needs you to make sure she’s safe, cared for and to show her what it means to be loved by a parent. So, stop doubting yourself already!”

“What do you want me to say Seifer?” He growled and shoved both of his hands through his hair, flinching when it tangled around his fingers. Definitely longer than I remembered it being. “SeeDs don’t receive training on how to care for babies. You already pointed out how useless the books are. And I’m constantly over analyzing everything in existence because of them. On top of that, I somehow have to keep her safe from harm while meeting all her needs and mine. All without her being able to tell me what is wrong whenever she cries.”

“Yeah, that’s part of parenting.” I told him in exasperation.

Growling low in his throat, he turned away from me and began pacing the room for a full two minutes before stopping in front of me again. “This isn’t like taking care of Garden! That’s simple compared to this. And it’s worse when I see you, Selphie and everyone else caring for children like it’s natural for them. All while I’m struggling to figure out something like what food to feed her, what schedule she should be on, how to manage my work on top of caring for her…It’s just too much! When I’m not taking care of her or working, I’m spending all my time wondering if there were better options for her out there that weren’t me. And it sucks to think that I might not be the best choice for her.”

“Leonhart…” I said quietly, afraid that I’d yell if I didn’t restrain myself.

“What?” He snarled, letting his frustration show more than I’d ever heard before.

Giving myself a minute, I looked him right in the eye. “Look, I get how overwhelming it can be to have a baby thrown into your arms and told you were a hundred percent responsible for that child’s well-being, safety and care. There is nothing scarier in the world than knowing that there is this tiny, helpless being that's fully relying on you for every damn part of its existence. Because I know what that feels like, I’m going to let you get away with this exactly one time and one time only.”

“So what do I do about it?” He asked sounding completely defeated.

Suddenly he looked like that lost little kid I remembered from when we’d first arrived at Balamb. The boy who would come and crawl into my bed on an almost nightly basis. All because we’d been dropped off in a new place with new rules and didn’t know a single person except each other. Even full grown he could still bring those nearly forgotten memories back with a single look.

How could I have ever forgotten that when we’d been teenagers together? Or did I just forget all the important stuff and subconsciously remembered what that look had meant? Did it really even matter now?

Standing before me was Squall Leonhart, SeeD Commander and Lion of Balamb. Clad in a simple pair of faded blue jeans, a green t-shirt and his gunblade strapped to his hip, he should have looked nothing short of the confident SeeD Commander who’d defeated the sorceress in the war. Instead, he looked so incredibly lost it made me want to comfort him.

There had always been those amazing shields he automatically put up against anyone who could potentially get close to him. Always pretending that nothing really mattered. It had worked to keep others at bay, but I could see right through that bullshit. I could see how he hated worrying about what others thought of him. Not that he’d admit to it.

In the past, people often asked why I felt the need to mess with Squall so badly when we were at Garden. Everyone always wanted to know why I’d go so far out of my way to pick on him and cause trouble for the young cadet so bent on becoming a SeeD. When I first started being asked about it, I attempted to explain my reasoning. But it never seemed to make sense to anyone, except maybe Raijin and Fujin, because no one ever seemed to truly understand Squall. They couldn’t understand that moments like this were the exact reason I started pushing him so hard to interact with me. Well, that and me simply wanting his attention focused solely on me once in a while.

Without someone to interfere with his bad habits, Squall had a predisposition of getting trapped in an endless cycle of his thoughts. Ones that focused almost completely on his doubts, often leading to him being severely depressed if someone didn’t stop it from happening. For as long as I can remember, no one but me had ever managed to figure it out. By default, it had become my responsibility to head it off and keep it from happening.

Now that I wasn’t there to help him manage his depression, was there anyone who had picked up on the habit? Had they figured out how to prevent it from happening? Or counteract it if things started to get out of hand? Was it even a problem now that he’d been forced to take charge? Or was he just better at hiding it from everyone?

The answer to all of it was…probably not. Was it any wonder that he was this fucked up? According to him, it had been a full month that he’s had tempest in his care. I doubt he’d learned the skills necessary to manage his own mental health while dealing with the biggest stressor in his life constantly in front of him.

“The first thing you’re going to do is come here.” I instructed gently as I moved forward enough to invade his personal space. Opening my arms had him giving me a doubtful look but I was prepared for that. “Just trust me on this for a minute. I swear it’ll help.”

The look remained firmly in place, but I did notice it had faded a little around the edges. Seeing him willing to trust me, despite his disbelief of my methods, I felt it was safe enough to wrap my arms around him in a hug. Under normal circumstances, it was an act that would have landed me on my ass with a hand around my throat. Which is why I had to make it completely his choice.

Even so, he remained stiff in my arms for more than a minute. Such gestures were foreign to the man, as far as I knew. Coming from me was even more unusual. There had been maybe a dozen times over the years that I’d offered him similar comforts, most of which had been as young children. Hugs became pretty much non-existent by the time he’d turned twelve and rejected all forms of affection from anyone.

Gradually he seemed to finally give in and relaxed against me. What I hadn’t expected was for him to wrap an arm around my lower back in order to return the hug. Neither had I predicted the hard shudder he gave when his other hand followed a few moments later, his forehead pressed against the bend of my neck.

Rubbing small circles along his back resulted in another bout of trembling that had him squeezing me tighter. The shaking continued for several more minutes while I stood there and offered him my silent support. It was almost like no one had ever thought to provide him with such a simple comfort after being given a life-changing responsibility.

Even the famous Ice Prince had basic human needs. That included needing some emotional support once in a while, even if he didn’t know how to ask for it. That should have been obvious to those so-called friends of his. But I guess I’d been partially responsible by compensating for his poor social skills over the years. Still, they were idiots not to have figured it out.

Ten minutes later, not that I was counting, Squall finally began to relax. Sensing that he’d reached his limit for physical contact, I loosened my grip so he could move away when he was ready. Accepting the offer, Squall took three steps back from me. Given his reaction, I was actually a little surprised to see his eyes were a little red but completely dry.

It didn’t take an Estharian scientist to figure out that he was absolutely confused by his reaction to such a simple comfort. All it took was to know him and the way his brain worked to notice it. Now that I’d given him something he hadn’t even known he needed, it was time to get us back on to more familiar ground.

“Okay, now that we got that out of the way, we can move on to the next part.” My voice was a bit gruff but fricken’ hell! This was completely outside my normal skillset. Helping Squall recover from anything usually was done with gunblades, not hugs and pep talks. “Tell me you’ve got this.”

“I’ve…got this?” He frowned, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

“Oh, for Hyne’s sake Leonhart!” I huffed at the shitty attempt. “Try it again but make it actually sound convincing this time.”

“Seifer, what is the point of all this?” Of course, he added an annoyed eyeroll with those blue-grey eyes while asking. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was thinking I’d lost my mind at some point tonight.

“What? Are you really going to tell me that you aren’t up to such a simple task?” Okay, so I was full-on taunting him now. Add in a haughty look and I was already starting to get under his skin. “C’mon Princess, you can do much better than that. Convince me that you’re a confident SeeD, not a pathetic cadet. Hell, newbies are more convincing than whatever that was. Now try it again and make me believe it!”

“Whatever.” He grumbled, officially getting ticked off at my aggressive tactics. For several minutes we stared each other down. It had only taken that long because he wasn’t truly convinced that I was being absolutely serious about the command and not just messing with him. “Fucking Hyne Almasy! Alright! I’ve got this. You happy now?”

There was more attitude than conviction in his tone, but I was going to take what I could get. More importantly, I saw that he was starting to believe it despite not realizing it right away. “It’ll do. Well, congratulations! You just passed one of the biggest hurdles in parenting.”

“You need to explain that one.” He frowned but didn’t look like he was going to throttle me now. “I’m not understanding how any of that changes my situation. Hugs and empty words are useless.”

I found it almost laughable that he maintained that nothing had changed but his body language was telling a different story. It was right there in the way his shoulders had released some of their tension. In the way his eyes lost some of their fear and anguish, replacing it with fierce determination that grew by the minute. And the way his hands stopped gripping his arms hard enough to bruise that alabaster skin. Almost as if his mind had yet to catch up with his subconscious reactions.

Gesturing towards him, I let out a small chuckle. “Do you really expect me to believe that you aren’t feeling at least a little better? That you don’t see yourself as a total failure anymore? Or that you’re already starting to believe that you might actually be able to pull this off?”

“That’s not…” He growled, stopping midsentence as if he’d just figured out that he wasn’t drowning in his negative emotions. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

“Nope! Not a damn bit.” I agreed with a grin. “But it does seem to work for some strange ass reason. Next time you start doubting yourself and need a boost, just let me know. I swear that I will not judge or tease you for it.”

“Okay…I will.” He promised faintly, as if still not convinced that it worked like that.

“Do you have a bedroll I can borrow?” I asked, thankful to have a change in the subject before he started thinking too hard on it. “I hadn’t expected them to pass out so quickly. Normally it takes them forever to go through their nightly routine before getting them to sleep. They’ll likely be up extra early because of it.”

“Yeah, I have something.” He nodded, looking just as relieved to have a normal topic to focus on. Well, normal in the general sense at least. Nothing that’s happened since running into each other has been what I’d call normal between us.

Kneeling down next to his bed, Squall pulled out a large box from underneath it. It wasn’t very tall but it was big enough to house a decent supply of survival gear. Knowing him, there were probably two or three of those boxes stashed around the house in case of emergency. Then again, that’s assuming he’s had time to put together more than one since he’s been here. There was an equal chance of either situation being accurate.

Opening the box, he pulled out a bedroll and set it on the floor next to him. Then he closed the box, securing it with a latch I’d missed initially, and shoved it back under the bed. Leaving the bedroll on the floor he went to the closet, using the key hanging near the top corner of the door to unlock it, and pulled out an extra blanket. Then he silently secured the door again and replaced the key to its original position.

Without saying a word, he grabbed both items and went past me into Tempest’s room. Once the bedroll was set out in the middle of the room, I started forward to assist in moving the kids. Only to have him block my approach and pull Tyr into his arms like my child was made of porcelain. Confused, I stopped in order to watch what he was doing.

As if I weren’t even there, Squall carried Tyr past me and into his room. Following behind them, I watched as he pulled the blankets back and set Tyr near the middle of the bed. Then he turned around and pulled Cassie into his arms, just as delicately as he'd done with Tyr. With a true Almasy smirk, she curled up against his chest in her sleep.

“Squall…” I tried to protest but he just gave me a cold look and went to go place Cassie in his bed as well. Disturbed by his actions, I waited for him to get the blanket in place before trying again. “What the hell Leonhart? You don’t have to give your bed up for us. That’s why I asked for the bedroll! Opened up, it’d be enough for all of us.”

Ignoring my attempts to correct him, Squall simply entered Tempest’s room once more and I was forced to follow behind him if I wanted answers. “There’s no reason for the kids to sleep on the floor when my bed is large enough to accommodate all of you.”

Deciding that his point was made, he turned to finish adjusting the bedroll and rolling the blanket into a makeshift pillow. It took about that long for me to get past the fact that I’d put all that effort into helping him feel better just to have him turn around and use that logical attitude on me. Even worse was the way he looked at me with a glare that made me feel like I should obey him without argument.

When the fuck did he learn to give a glare like that? And why the hell was it so damn effective? If I hadn’t spent most of my life pushing back against him, there was a good chance I’d have retreated to his room with my tail between his legs. Even now it was a close thing, but I’d had plenty of experience in dealing with him. Add onto him giving me that frustrated scowl, the one that said I was pointlessly being a pain in the ass to him, when I didn’t obey right away and it was a recipe for trouble.

“The bed is yours!” I hissed at him, forcing myself not to take a step back when he stood up from messing with the bedding.

“And I’m telling you to use it tonight so that you and your kids will be comfortable.” He growled back, closing the distance between us. “It’s not going to kill me to sleep in here for one night. If it doesn’t work out, then there’s always the couch downstairs. You already told me that it was comfortable enough for sleeping on.”

“You are so damn stubborn, you know that?” I grumbled, knowing that I’d lost the argument. Still, I couldn’t let him see me giving in so easily. Staring at his steel blue eyes for exactly thirty seconds, I broke away while throwing my hands up in defeat. “Fine! You win! We’ll take your bed over for the night and let your sorry ass sleep on the floor. Just don’t bitch at me when your ass is sore in the morning.”

“Make breakfast and we’ll call it even.” He smirked at having won. Battle over, he placed Lionheart on the floor and settled into the bedroll. Closing his eyes, he declared that the matter was settled and we had nothing else to discuss.

Tonight was just too damn crazy for words. Not only had I been effectively played by Squall Leonhart, but he’d openly confessed to liking my cooking. Irritation and pride welled up in me. Before one or the other could win out and ruin the moment, I decided to just go to bed. After a quick stop in the bathroom, I entered Squall’s room and shut the adjoining door between us.

With no obvious place to stash Hyperion, I slid her under the edge of the bed and my backup knife under the pillow. Kicking my shoes off, I pushed them to the far corner where I wouldn’t trip over them if I needed to get to my blade in a hurry. Dropping my shirt and belt on the floor next to my shoes, I finally crawled in the bed and covered up.

The kids were curled up together on the far side of the queen-sized bed and didn’t so much as stir when I joined them. In the dark, quiet of the room I could feel how tired and worn-out I’d become from everything that had happened today. Turning onto my side so that my back was facing the kids, I found traces of a cool, minty scent coming from the pillow. Another exploratory sniff revealed hints of leather and gun oil to be there as well.

Combined, the smells brought forth an image of a certain brunette. All of which were smells that I’d associated with Squall for a long time now. Though, I’d previously assumed that the minty smell had simply been related to whatever soaps he used. Now I was wondering if that minty musk was just his natural scent being emphasized by his choice of soap. There was also a possibility that it was somehow related to his connection with Shiva. Only way to be sure was to ask and I liked my life too much to do something like that.

Either way, I found his smell to be soothing. Shamelessly I shoved my face into his pillow and allowed the combination of familiar scents to lull me into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Notes:

Okay, so not an incredibly long chapter but I thought it was kinda cute.
Please let me know what you think!
Also, I'm always open to ideas of things Seifer and Squall should happen with them and the kids :D. I already know where the story is going but there is plenty of room to add in little events in between sections.

So, enjoy!

Chapter 13: A Suprise Visit

*Squall*

Something hitting me in the face jerked me from my sleep. Instantly I was in a crouch with my hand on Lionheart’s hilt and scanning the room for whatever had attacked me. It took several seconds for Tempest’s high-pitched squeal to full register. Just as I was about to relax, the door between our rooms flew open and two kids came running in with Seifer close behind him. Clearly half asleep, he shoved his fingers through those blond locks with a yawn. Watching as he tried to force himself awake, I completely forgot about whatever dream I’d been having.

“Guys, not so early.” He yawned again and leaned tiredly against the doorframe between the rooms. “Give us dads a chance to wake up all the way before you start going wild.”

Shooting a grin in my direction, he pushed off the doorway. Reaching up, he curled his hands over the top of the doorframe and stretched his body out using it as a support. With no shirt on to hinder my view I could see every line of his muscles as they shifted and resettled like they were liquid under his skin. Blaming my rude awakening for staring blatantly at him, I found myself inspecting the older man.

Somewhere over the last few years his body had gained a little bit of a softer appearance than I remembered him having. Even with the lines being just a little smoother, the man still presented himself with a predatory aura. Every move was a warning to others that he’d gladly pounce on whoever had the misfortunate of catching his attention.

“Mornin’ Princess.” He greeted with a soft grin. Then sighed before shooing the kids towards the bathroom with orders to get their morning routine going.

“Morning.” I mumbled, embarrassed about having watched him so intently.

Checking to make sure the kids were where they were supposed to be, he turned back to me. “How was the floor? Comfy enough for ya?”

Either he was blatantly ignoring my hand still wrapped around the hilt of my gunblade, or he was teasing in order to get me to relax. There was no way he, half asleep as he was, couldn’t piece together that I’d had a rough night. While the guess might have been accurate, I was sure it wasn’t for the reason he’d suspected.

The damn floor was way too cushioned for me to have slept badly on it. Hyne, it was probably softer than my own bed! But he’d have known that considering he’d been so intimately involved in restoring my house and having slept on my bed last night. No, it wasn’t the floor. Truth was, it had been just another one of my chronic bad dreams. But he didn’t need to know about those.

“The floor was fine.” I replied gruffly. Preparing to get off the floor, I felt my hand brush against something soft. When I looked down, I saw Tempest’s Chocobo plushie next to me and picked it up. “How did this get all the way over here?”

“Guess you must have been more tired than you thought last night.” Seifer’s snicker had me giving him a puzzled look.

Not that I could really blame him. Sitting on the floor of my child’s bedroom, with a cute Chocobo plush in one hand and my gunblade in the other, must have made me an amusing sight. Yet, I suspected that something else had been the ultimate source of his amusement.

“What makes you say that?” I asked, trying to appear disinterested.

It was proven to be a complete waste of time when he gestured at the floor around me. “How could you have missed the line of stuffed monsters?”

Now he was just full on laughing at me while I tried to make sense of the toys that led from my sleeping space to the crib. There were more than half a dozen plushies in various places across the floor. Several of which I was certain I’d put on top of the dresser last night while cleaning up. In her need for more ammo, Tempest had found a way to get them down. But what had bothered me most about the whole thing was that I’d slept right through it!

“How did I not wake up to that?” I muttered in disbelief as I got to my feet. “I should have woken up shortly after her.”

“Don’t you dare start beating yourself up over it, Princess!” Seifer scolded with a roll of his eyes. The sound of his kids playing around in the bathroom had him stopping long enough to tell them to stop. “Seriously Leonhart, you haven’t done anything wrong! A lot of parents develop selective hearing after a while. It lets you sleep through the normal stuff and wakes you up instantly when something changes.”

“But…” I faltered as I glanced between the Chocobo plush and Tempest bouncing in her crib.

Letting out a loud sigh, Seifer got my attention again. “Look, you probably didn’t wake up because she wasn’t upset. I’m willing to bet she was curious about you sleeping in her room and found it amusing to try and hit you with her toys. There’s also a chance that you somehow reacted to the first one being dropped which resulted in her finding a new game to enjoy. I swear, it’s not anything that will hinder your ability to notice other things while you’re asleep.”

“I hope you’re right on that one.” I grumbled.

Not wanting to leave the toys on the floor, I started picking them up and tossing each of them into the crib as I made my way towards Tempest. It truly did bother me that I’d slept through her playing like that. What if I did it when someone was trying to break into the house? And it wasn’t just Tempest I hadn’t reacted to, it was all three of the kids.

“Squall, you probably don’t want to…” Seifer had taken a step towards me with his hand out, but I stopped him with a tired glare. Wisely, he stopped moving and held his hands up in surrender. “Fine, have it your way. Don’t say I didn’t try and warn you though.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, less certain of my course of action, at the tone of his voice. Until I had coffee in my system, I tended to lean towards the moody side and habitually dislike everyone around me. Something he was well aware of.

“That…” Smugly he pointed to the crib. Not trusting that look I turned my gaze to where he was pointing. “You made it a game for her. Now she’s gonna do that every time you throw toys in her crib.”

As if realizing we were discussing her, Tempest froze with one hand holding the side of her crib and the other stretched out over the side of the crib as she dropped the toy she’d been holding. Looking at the toy in question, I saw that it was one I’d put in just a few seconds ago.

A muffled sound came from Seifer’s direction. Needing a target for my irritation, I turned it fully on to him as he made a valiant attempt to hide his amusement from me. To me, it was better than getting pissed at my own child for finding a way to amuse herself. And it was Seifer’s own fault for not doing more to hide the way he was freaking trembling while trying to suppress his laughter. Since he was trying to not piss me off and he had tried to warn me, it was only right that I let it slide.

“Tempest, we do not throw our toys on the floor.” I scolded her as gently as I could manage, using the same phrasing I’d heard from Selphie multiple times when she’d lectured Mio for something.

Over the past month I’d been trying harder than normal to make my reprimands come off as less aggressive and more corrective. Used to dealing with troublesome students and rookie SeeDs that were too full of themselves, I struggled with toning it down to a child’s level. My progress had been significant enough that Quistis had commented on it, but it still wasn’t good enough for Tempest. All it took was hearing my displeasure for tears to fill her eyes and her lip to shoot out in full pout mode.

“Who make Temp’st cry?” Cassie demanded. The twins had entered the room just in time for Tempest to drop down on her butt and start bawling.

At that point it was pretty much inevitable that Seifer became overwhelmed with the situation. Leaning fully against the wall, he threw his head back and burst out in uncontainable laughter. Confirmed when he started gasping and wrapped an arm around his body as he tried to get it under control.

With Cassie glaring at me and Tyr shooting worried glances between Tempest and his father, I managed to restrain myself from retaliating against the pain in the ass. There should be some kind of rule that said a person didn’t have to deal with this kind of thing before they were permitted their first cup of coffee. But I knew there wasn’t.

Watched by the trio, I picked Tempest up and prepared to get her day started. It took nearly a whole minute to remember the conversation last night and come up with a way to get rid of one Almasy. With any luck, the other two would follow him out of habit and I’d be left to get Tempest changed in peace.

“Almasy…” I called in a cool voice as I pulled fresh clothing out of a drawer. “I believe you promised to make breakfast for everyone.”

“Yeah Princess, I remember.” He sputtered out between fits of laughter. It hadn’t been that funny but maybe this was just his reaction to being caffeine deprived. “Getting right on that. Come on kids, let’s go see what Squall has to make breakfast with.”

Just as I’d planned, the kids hurried out of the room after him. The sounds of various suggestions for breakfast trailed after them and I was free to focus on the now laughing baby in front of me. Why did I suspect that those tears earlier had all been for show? And could I blame Rinoa for passing that trait along? Probably, but I doubt anyone would believe it.

*Seifer*

It took several minutes to assure Cassie that Tempest was perfectly fine. Once they were satisfied, I was able to get them focused on setting up the play area for Tempest while I focused on getting breakfast together. Before anything else though, I needed to get the coffee started. Squall had always been a coffee fiend and there was no way today was going to be an exception to the rule. Only the sounds of him getting Tempest ready gave me an indication of how much time I had left before he came downstairs looking for some.

“Selphie!”

The irritation in Squall’s voice helped it travel all the way into the kitchen. Hearing him nearly roaring like that startled the shit out of me because it was just so out of character for him. Pausing in my omelet preparations, I tried to determine what was going on upstairs and if my involvement was going to be necessary.

From the sound of it, either he had received a phone call and the petite girl had somehow managed to piss him off or she’d managed to upset him without ever being present. Since the latter wasn’t likely, I assumed it had to be the former. As luck would have it, getting my answer to that didn’t take very long at all.

“You can’t just randomly plan something like this without telling me first!” He growled as he came down the stairs with Tempest clutched tightly against his chest and the phone held to his ear. “At least give me more warning than ‘we’ll be there in two minutes.”

“…”

“I don’t care if that was his excuse…”

“…”

“Selph…”

Storming across the room, he delicately set Tempest on the floor with her stuffed Chocobo. When he turned towards the kitchen, I could see that he was nearly raging as he passed by me. Simply dodging everything in his path as the girl chattered away on the other side of the phone, he made his way to the back door at the other end of the storage room.

“Door’s unlocked. Just let yourselves in.” He snarled then snapped the phone shut.

Watching warily as he turned to the coffee pot, I slid the first omelet onto a plate then poured the second one into the pan. As if perfectly timed, the coffee pot signaled that it finished brewing. Brooding silently, he went and poured himself a cup. Stunned over him barely waiting for it to cool at all, I flinched in sympathy as he sucked the hot liquid down as if it were cool as water.

“Should we head out?” There had been no mention of us leaving, but I sensed he might need us to anyway. Outside I could hear the sounds of a large engine shutting down.

Positioning himself so that he could glare at the back door, Squall shook his head as he leaned his ass against the edge of the counter just a couple of feet from me. If I didn’t know better, I’d have accused him of wanting me close when his guests arrived. Given that at least one of them was Selphie, that didn’t make sense to me.

“No, stay.” He grumbled. “Better that we just get this over with now. Besides, Selphie won’t allow for either of us to be killed or maimed in front of the kids once the others find out that you’re here. I can’t guarantee her presence the next time someone comes to visit.”

“Avoid being alone with anyone. Got it!” The small joke at least got a twitch from the corner of his mouth. Not my best work but it was what I could manage while juggling several things at once. And it did seem to get him to relax a little.

“She’s already done the worst she can for the day.” He muttered, offering his cup to me.

There was still plenty of coffee left in the pot and I knew that he’d had nowhere near enough to satisfy him, but I accepted the offer anyway. Taking a small hit of the beverage, I handed it back to him. Without really looking at it, he downed the rest and refilled the cup. Grabbing a second mug down, he filled that one as well then set it next to my workspace. Everything about the situation just felt downright domestic for us. Now that I was experiencing what it was like I found that I kind of liked it.

“You shouldn’t make comments like that.” I told him, flipping the omelet over.

“What do you mean by that?” He frowned in confusion.

Before I could explain about how words could jinx a situation, the door opened to reveal an unknown man making his way in. Instantly my hand was on Hyperion. Seeing that Squall was scowling, rather than going on the same defensive I had, it made it easier to remove my hand from the weapon. Determining that the man wasn’t an immediate threat, I turned back to the stove.

The omelet I was currently working on was just finishing so I slid that one onto a plate and got a third one started. If too many more people showed up, I was going to need more eggs. Good thing Squall liked to be kept well stocked on them now that he knew Tempest would eat them for breakfast. I’d just have to make sure I left enough for him to get by in the morning in case he couldn’t get to the store today for more.

“Hey son!” The tall, slim man greeted as he entered the room. “It’s…oh, sorry! I didn’t know you would have company over today.”

Debating on whether to let Squall handle the introductions, I quickly determined he was not in the mood to deal with it. Being the more reasonable one, I turned off the stove. Not the end of the world if the omelet didn’t cook up just right or ended up a little burnt. Better than having an accident occur because I wasn’t paying attention to it.

Looking the stranger over, I found that he wasn’t quite so tall as I thought. In fact, he only had a few inches on Squall. Long, cocoa brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, with the exception of a single strip that trailed down the side of his face. Pale green eyes were practically glowing as he accepted my offered handshake.

“Lagu…” The man started to introduce himself only for us to be interrupted by a loud screech.

Dropping his hand, I barely managed to keep from covering my ears. “Seifer! You’re here!”

Supposedly it was possible for one to eventually become numb to the number of shocks they receive in a single day, but I clearly had yet to reach that limit. A very pregnant pixie came barging through the back door and dodged around the newcomer. Behind her was the cowboy, carrying a toddler, and a dark-skinned man I didn’t recognize.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to examine the second man before Selphie was flying into my arms. With only a couple seconds to decide what to do, I shifted my weight just enough that we didn’t fall to the floor from the impact. For such a tiny person she sure seemed to have a lot of power.

Right up until the day of the exam I hadn’t seen Selphie since the orphanage. At least, that’s what the vague memories I had of her suggested. So, I was completely unsure of how to react to her enthusiasm. As the only source of information, I turned to Squall. It was no surprise that I didn’t get any help from that direction either. Just an interesting combination of being irritated at their arrival and being amused over my discomfort with the reunion, resulting in a very dark and sadistic expression.

“Hey Messenger Girl. You look…um…different?” I greeted her cautiously.

Silently I prayed that I wasn’t going to trigger some crazy mood swing that would result in my death. Okay, so I’ve never been good at talking with pregnant women. Nothing I said ever seemed to go over well. Hopefully Squall had a few spells or Phoenix Downs handy in case I managed to screw this encounter up as well.

“That’s because I’m pregnant Seify! I thought you’d be smart enough to figure that one out.” She huffed and I bit back a sigh of relief. In a moment of wisdom, I managed to keep any additional comments to myself. Yet she still slapped me on the arm the moment she was free and went to take the little girl from Irvine.

“Ow! What was that for?” I whined, rubbing the spot where she hit me. It hadn’t really been hard enough to hurt but it was second nature to play it up a little.

Turning around with the toddler on her hip with both arms wrapped around her, I watched as her face puffed up in irritation. “For not telling anyone you lived here! It’s been too long since we’ve seen you and we haven’t had any time to catch up in the last five years!”

“Yeah, missed you too Sprite.” I replied truthfully. Honestly, even during the exam I couldn’t help but like her spunky attitude.

A cry from Tempest had her turning from me and towards the blanket where the kids were playing. In all the excitement I’d actually forgotten to keep an eye on them. I was damn lucky to have raised a couple of good kids or things would have gone from chaotic to all hell breaking loose with me trying to clean up the fallout.

With a happy squeal Selphie rushed past me in order to set her daughter on the blanket so she could scoop tempest into her arms. Obviously the child loved the small woman because she kept giving happy noises as if trying to talk to her. While the two cuddled and squealed, Selphie’s daughter stared curiously at my own children.

“Daddy? Who this lady?” Tyr asked, looking at me with concern.

“She has baby too! Just like Mr. Squall!” Cassie added happily and took charge of introducing the two of them to the little girl.

Not thrilled with all the people that showed up, and perhaps a little overwhelmed by Selphie, Tyr made sure to sit with his sister between him and everyone else in the room. It was a lot for the boy to handle. A squealing woman, the cowboy, two men I assumed were Squall’s father and the man’s friend, and then there was someone else coming through the door…

“Sis…” I breathed, feeling the urgent need to leave the room. Knowing that Squall would watch my kids as I retreated with my tail between my legs didn’t help combat the feeling either.

“Hello Seifer.” She greeted softly, pulling me into a graceful hug. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do this. How are you?”

It was as if all eyes were just suddenly on us in that one moment. Fighting down the lump that was stuck in my throat I gave a quiet, polite answer. “I’ve been…I’ve been good.”

Running into Squall had been something I’d almost expected to happen at some random point in my life. Once that happened, I guess it was just inevitable that I’d see the others again as well. But nowhere in my wildest dreams did I ever think to lay eyes on Ellone again. Not after what I’d done to her. Didn’t Hyne and the rest of the Universe understand that I wasn’t worthy of being within a hundred leagues of this woman?

As she ended the hug her hand came up to touch my cheek. Looking over to where Selphie was chattering away with the twins she smiled. “Are those your children? Or did Squall find a couple more rescues to take care of?”

The teasing was so sweet and undeserved that I had to remind myself that we weren’t alone, or I’d have started blubbering like a child in from of complete strangers. Attempting to keep my voice under control, I shook my head. “No, those two are mine.”

“Can I meet them?” She asked, taking a step back to allow me some space.

Until this point, no one had spoken. Well, Selphie was chatting quietly with the kids but otherwise they’d all given Ellone and me a chance to greet each other. Still, the dark stranger and Irvine both seemed unhappy with me being so close to her for so long. It was as if everything just stopped due to the significance of this meeting between us.

Proudly I led Ellone around the counter to provide us with a little more room. “Cassie, Tyr, come over here for a minute. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Who is it Daddy?” Cassie asked. Gently she led Tyr over by the hand and looked up at Ellone before turning to me. “You know the pretty lady?”

Such an innocent question let me actually take a whole breath. Even with my world being turned upside down, Cassie was a reminder of what really mattered. Surrounded by strange people she’d never met, taking mine and Squall’s lead to determine they weren’t a threat, she managed to keep her calm while supporting Tyr. It made me damn proud of her.

“Yeah baby. She’s someone I knew when I was about your age.” I answered.

No need to tell her everything just yet, that could come later. Eventually I’d have no choice but to tell her before someone else did, but for now I wanted her to stay ignorant of my past for as long as I could get away with it. The closest they needed to get to that part of my past was currently standing right in front of me and I was more than eager to introduce Ellone to the two most important people in my life.

“Sis…Ellone…” I corrected myself, feeling unworthy of calling her that now. Laying a tender hand on each child’s shoulder I tried again. “I want to introduce you to Cassandra and Tyr. My kids.”

Warm eyes turned on me for a moment before she squatted down to Cassie and Tyr’s level. “It’s very nice to meet you both.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Cassie murmured while maintaining a death grip on my hand. “Your name is Ell…Ell…”

“You can just call me Auntie Elle.” Ellone suggested, looking up at me. “That is, if your daddy doesn’t mind. We are practically family after all.”

Wanting to reject her reckless decree I shook my head, unable to speak the words that were caught in my throat. Movement from behind her caused me to look over at Squall. With a concerned look, he gave a slow nod. Of all the things that could have been done, that simple action was the most effective. Letting out a shaky breath, I gave him a weak smile in thanks.

“I’d like that.” The words were still strained with all the emotions welling inside my chest but at least they sounded sincere.

“Auntie Elle?” Tyr whispered, hesitating when she turned to look right at him.

“Yes Tyr?” She asked, her voice sweeter and more gentle than I remembered it being.

Shifting anxiously, Tyr looked around before giving a slight blush of embarrassment. “You…You’re very pretty!”

When he tried to run off, I tightened my hand on his shoulder to make him stay in place. It sucked having to be hard on him, but he needed to start realizing that not everyone had to be avoided. If he couldn’t handle being around Ellone for a few minutes, then I needed to start looking into better ways of helping him get past this issue.

Noticing the dilemma, Ellone smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, Tyr. And you’re very handsome. Just like your daddy was when he was your age.”

“Really?” Tyr whispered, looking up at me proudly.

“Yes, Seifer was a very handsome boy. Even if he did like to cause trouble with the other kids.” She teased, getting him to look at me in amazement.

The sound of someone chuckling was all it took for him to remember there were other people there. Sending a glare at Irvine for disturbing their moment, I allowed Tyr to clutch my leg and hide his face against it. That was better than he normally did. Truly, I think the best interaction he’s done with a new person has been Squall, but Ellone was a close second.

The man who’d called Squall ‘son’ came forward then and knelt down next to Tyr, acting completely unthreatened by my presence. In most cases I’d have found it insulting as hell to be ignored like I was a non-threat, but I could let it go this once. Obviously the man’s focus was on helping Tyr, I just happened to be nearby.

“Hey Kid, I’m Laguna. Squall’s father.” He said in such a friendly voice that I almost called bullshit on that statement. One looked from an annoyed Squall confirmed it to be true so I kept my mouth shut.

“H…hello. I’m Tyr.” My child answered, barely moving enough to look at the grinning man.

“Seifer Almasy.” I offered, holding out a hand for the man to shake in a bid to get the attention off of Tyr for a bit. The boy needed some time to get used to all the new people around him. “Glad I finally get to meet you in person. I wanted to thank you for all the equipment and help you did with the schools.”

Getting to his feet, the jovial brunette grasped my hand in a firm grip. “Laguna Loire. And not a problem at all! I love being able to help out the kids. Don’t know if Squall told you but this place has a lot of good memories for me.”

Did this man actually brush off spending almost a half million Gil on a small town’s restoration? That was on top of restoring another old building that I knew cost a small fortune. Just who the hell was this guy? And why did the name sound so damn familiar?

“Kiros Seagill.” The dark-skinned man greeted once Laguna and I finished shaking hands.

Taking his hand in my own, I took a moment to really look at him. Slightly taller than Loire, Kiros had dozens of thick braids that reached his waist. Everything about him announced that he had training and knew how to use it. But he made me think his style would be closer to Squall’s, speed over power. The weapons hanging off his belt only added to my deduction.

“You’re the one I spoke to on the phone about restoring this place.” I stated, having recalled the name from the file. “I hope that it lives up to your expectations. Normally we don’t accept rush jobs, but the place seemed well preserved enough for us to get it done in the requested timeframe. We got lucky that I was right on this one. Many of the older places don’t show their real issues until after the work begins.”

“Glad it worked out then.” He replied warmly. “But the real decider is Squall here. As long as he’s happy with it then it was well worth the price tag.”

A grunt from Squall’s direction was all I needed to know that he was satisfied with the work. Maybe a little annoyed at their high-handedness but satisfied nonetheless. Not that anyone else seemed to comprehend what that noise meant as he reached over to pour his third cup of coffee for the morning. Good thing he set one aside for me or I’d have to wait on another batch to finish brewing.

Wanting to ease the mood a little, and feeling a bit playful now that I was getting more comfortable with the group, I gave my jaw a thoughtful scratch with one finger. “I dunno…Had I known who was going to be living here, I think I might have done a few things differently.”

Okay, so screw it. Squall was in a pissy mood and all I wanted to do was rile the guy up, just so he’d relax a bit. These were all people he was familiar with and shouldn’t have an issue with them invading his home. If turning his annoyance on me would help, then I didn’t mind poking him a little. After all, I was the one who didn’t really belong in this scenario.

“What suggestions do you have?” Laguna asked curiously, if a bit too eagerly. “Not that he stays there much but I might try making a few adjustments to his room back in Esthar. Maybe he won’t hate staying there quite so much.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the room.” Squall muttered into his coffee, but everyone more or less ignored the gruff comment.

Watching as Cassie dragged Tyr to go play with Tempest and the new kid, I came up with a few ideas on how to get under Squall’s skin a bit. With the kids playing happily together, Selphie and Ellone watching over then, it seemed like a good time to mess with Squall like I used to. Having fun at his expense had always been a pastime of mine and would go a long way towards breaking the ice with the rest of the group.

“Well…for starters, there needs to be a lot more leather. Probably less color. Black and White are common for him.” I answered, blatantly avoiding looking at him while he glared daggers at me. “Just about everything important to him falls under one of those categories.”

“Seifer…” The warning growl announcing that he’d already figured out what I was doing. Too bad for him that I was starting to have fun with the topic. Besides, I missed this between us.

“For starters? You mean there’s more? Tell me!” Laguna prodded eagerly, clearly not familiar with his son’s taste at all.

“Seifer!” Squall snarled louder but I happily ignored him.

This was just too easy! “Well…I would have done the bathroom in really pale blues and white. About the only place I’d consider adding the color though.”

“Seifer!” Squall nearly shouted at me.

Unfortunately for him, we’d gotten Selphie’s attention. “Why pale blue and white?”

“For Shiva of course!” I explained to her like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. “The guy’s gotta have some place where he can worship her properly and what better place than…OW! Hey!”

Faster than I could blink, Squall was around the counter with his hand gripping the back of my shirt. A few strands of my hair were caught in his fingers, some already having been ripped from the back of my neck as he forced me towards the back door. While he was ripping the door open, I was able to catch sight of the other men following us out but nothing to suggest that Selphie or Ellone were joining us. I took that to mean they were staying behind to keep an eye on the kids.

“What the hell Leonhart?” I demanded, struggling to keep my footing with my head bent downwards. “Can’t you take a little teasing anymore?”

Several yards away from a large, red ship he shoved me away from him. By the time I managed to recover my balance and turn around, Revolver was already in his hands. The familiar blade shimmering brightly in the early morning light.

“Is this what you wanted Almasy?” He barked, holding his gunblade at the ready.

Now that I knew what I was looking for I saw just how badly I fucked up on reading him. What I’d thought was annoyance had been him stressing out over the people in his house. But that didn’t make any sense when these were all people he supposedly cared for and trusted. So why was he so on edge about all of it?

This must have been one of those times where he’d actually counted on me to read him perfectly. Except, I wasn’t used to seeing him in a near panicked state so how was I supposed to know the difference? Especially after five fucking years of not having to try and figure it out?

Not that it mattered now. I’d already failed him royally. It hadn’t been the newcomers that pushed him too far. No, that was for me to claim with my crappy fucking jokes. All I could offer him was a way to relinquish the pressure he was feeling. Between us, that could only mean one thing. Too bad this wasn’t the way I’d expected our first spar to go.

“Hey, one of you make sure the kids and girls stay inside.” I ordered to the trio of males standing a little way off. “Kitten here needs a little play time of his own.”

In my peripheral vision I could see Irvine shaking his head before turning to go back inside, his duster flaring up behind him. That just left us with the two men I just met. Theoretically, so long as they stayed quiet, it should have been a small enough audience for Squall not to be bothered by. So far, he didn’t even seem to acknowledge their presence at all.

Hyperion was barely settled in my hand and held out when he rushed towards me, Revolver coming in low and fast. It had been too damn long since he and I had fought like this without the intent to actually maim or kill each other. While he had kept up with his training, I’d allowed myself to slack. Far more than I should have.

Outside of the sparring matches I had with Raijin and the occasional monster clean-up, there was no one of high enough caliber to truly push me to my limits. And it fucking showed…

At the first swing I stumbled backwards to avoid a direct hit. Barely tapping Hyperion against Revolver to disrupt the blade’s trajectory, I tripped over my own two feet and landed flat on my ass. Right in front of fucking Hyne and everyone! It was beyond embarrassing for a gunblader of my caliber to have made such a costly mistake.

Determined to make up for it, I scrambled to my feet and twirled Hyperion in one hand. “Guess we’re skipping the warm up then?”

It hadn’t been a serious question and Squall knew it. Just like he knew I was trying to make light of the fact that my skills had gotten rusty. Well, I was going to prove that I was still worthy of being his training partner!

This time when he lunged at me, I was ready. Quick strikes seemed to come from every direction, and I soon fell into the familiar routine of dodging or deflecting them. Their purpose was based more on speed than power, making it easy to push them away whenever I could manage. Made it hell trying to find an opening when the blade never seemed to stop moving or reach for the same spot twice.

After more than two dozen of those weak attacks, Squall shifted gears. With a little flourish that I was completely unprepared for, never having seen him do it before, a line was cut right over my thigh with the tip of the blade. The deep scratch so early into the battle only confirmed what we’d both been thinking…I was severely out of practice…

As we separated for the next round, I gave Hyperion a twirl. The action gave me a moment to adjust my grip on the handle and force myself to loosen up a bit. There was too much tension in my body now and it was going to hinder me if I didn’t figure out how to let it go. With Squall, I needed to be more flexible until I could find my opening. Only then could I unleash my power on his ass.

It was downright annoying how easily he dodged my first strike. Lunging forward I went for his center, counting fully on him attempting to dodge the blow rather than deflect it. It was the only successful strike I made and barely managed to cut a hole in his shirt after all the trouble I’d put into obtaining that opening. After that, he seemed to have no issue blocking my strikes and countering with graceful attacks that set my teeth on edge.

It’s alright. No different than us warming up. I consoled myself. After five years it was only reasonable to believe that we’d be out of sync with each other.

It took me another half dozen good strikes before I managed to throw him off guard. Feinting from the right, I followed through with the attack right up until the last minute. Just far enough for him to initiate his defense before using everything I had to change the course of my blade. The move brought me too damn close to where his blade was moving to so I ducked under it. Sliding behind him while he was still recovering from the miss, I swung at an upward angle from one knee.

A line of bright red coated the back of his grey shirt, mimicking the path of my gunblade. The move had been a little underhanded, but I still felt damn proud over being able to draw second blood on him after so many years. To me, that was a major achievement. One that I only got to celebrate for a pitiful few seconds before he managed to retaliate, and I had to move again.

Another ten minutes was all I could manage before I found myself on the ground. Across my neck was Squall’s gunblade, resting dangerously close to my jugular. There was no fear that he’d take it any farther than that, but I still remained frozen in place while that razor sharp edge sat against my delicate throat. Except for a small upward tilt at the corner of his mouth, I’d have almost called his expression apathetic to my situation. At least he seemed more relaxed over all now that it was over and done with.

“Yield.” He insisted. Normally we’d either accept our opponent’s defeat in silence or wait until it was verbally given, but for whatever reason he was straight demanding it of me today.

“Yeah.” I agreed softly, trying to get my breathing under control now that Revolver was no longer pressed against my throat. “You good now?”

“You’re out of shape Almasy.” He taunted lightly, ignoring my question in lieu of a hand up. “Our matches used to take longer than that.”

Irritated at having lost so badly I snarled at him. “And just how do you expect me to…”

“Tyr!” The name was shouted in a distressed voice, cutting off what I was going to say.

“Daddy! Cassie ate all the omet!” My son’s report came just before I saw him.

Running across the yard with Ellone fast on his heels, Tyr tore across the empty space between us and the house. Somehow, he managed to dodge both Laguna and Kiros as they grabbed for him. Not that he’d even really noticed in his absolute determination to reach me. Fortunately, whatever had him in such distress came after the fighting was over.

Immediately, Squall and I both went on alert. If Tyr was this upset and Cassie was nowhere to be seen, I could only assume she’d done something reckless again. It was about the only reason I could think of that Tyr would draw so much attention to himself with this many people around that he’d only just met.

Lifting Hyperion out of the way, I’d managed to leave myself vulnerable to him and of course he picked my injured leg to wrap his arms around. At the unexpected contact against the room, and no adrenaline to keep me distracted from it, I flinched but managed to not jerk away from his touch. Luckily, he was only gripping my pants just above the wound and not right on top of it. Still hurt like a bitch though and of course Squall had noticed my flinching from it.

“Tyr, what is it?” I questioned, lowering Hyperion and placing her into the hand farthest from him.

“Cassie ate…” He started to rattle off. Then, in pure kid fashion, he jerked his hand hard enough against the cut to draw a small hiss from me. “Daddy? You have an owie? Did you an’ Mr. Squall get into a fight?”

“I’m fine kiddo. Squall and I were only sparring. Just a little scratch is all.” I tried to reassure him.

Fat lot of good that did! Suddenly my whole leg was caught up in Tyr’s arms as he wrapped himself around my leg, just barely above the damn cut! When he looked at Squall with a glare, I followed his gaze. Revolver was already put away in its sheath, his mouth still caught with that slight upward tilt. While I stood there, a kid on one leg and Hyperion in my hand. Yet I was completely unable to put her away like this. Everyone else seemed unsure how to proceed since neither Squall nor I had said anything to them yet.

“Damn it Squall! Would you stop laughing at me?” I finally snapped, not caring if Tyr caught my language or not. “So glad you find this shit amusing. Now how about giving a guy a hand?”

“Laughing?” Laguna sounded completely perplexed as he cautiously approached. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him laugh before.”

Apparently, that had been as good a signal as any that I wasn’t going to cut someone down simply for getting too close while my child was upset. Okay, so I guess I couldn’t fault any of them on that one. Theoretically they should be taking their cues from myself or Squall on the situation but that wasn’t exactly realistic either. None of them would know how to read me that well and Squall…well Squall’s ability to give off signals that others could read were pretty much nonexistent.

“Damn right he is! The bastard is laughing it up right now!” I declared, gesturing towards the now smirking brunette with Hyperion. “He just never learned to do it so everyone else could hear.”

“Well, that certainly does explain a bit.” Laguna muttered from next to me. Shaking it off he knelt down beside Tyr. Over his shoulder I could see Kiros watching closely, fingers dancing over the katals at his hips. With a nod I let him know I received the message loud and clear. “Hey Tyr. We spoke inside a little bit ago but just in case you forgot, I’m Laguna.”

“You Laguna…Mr. Squall’s daddy?” Tyr asked, speaking the name slowly, his grip letting up just the tiniest bit.

“Yup! And that’s my friend, Kiros, behind me.” Laguna confirmed cheerfully. “He looks a little scary but he’s a really nice guy. But sometimes he does call me an idiot.’

“That’s because you are an idiot sometimes.” Kiros explained with a sigh. “Also, a klutz, airheaded, childlike…”

“Aww! Come on Kiros! I’m not that bad, am I?” Laguna whined which made Tyr giggle then hide his face against my leg.

“You really want me to answer that one?” Kiros challenged, placing a hand over one hip and shifting his weight to the side as if settling in for a verbal match with the man next to me.

“Oh! Just hush already. Can’t you see Tyr and I are having a conversation here?” At the wave of Kiros’s hand for him to continue, Laguna turned that energetic grin back to my son. “Like I was saying, I’m Squall’s daddy. That makes me Tempest’s grandfather.”

“Grand…father?” The word wasn’t one that he’d had much exposure to yet since none of us had living parents that we were aware of. Well, for a couple years there was Jenna’s mother. But she passed before the kids were old enough to remember her, so it didn’t quite count. “What’s a grand…father?”

“Well…” Laguna stuttered, not having expected it to be an issue. Muttering a few bits of nonsense, he shifted his weight as if something were bothering him physically. “Well, you see, a grandfather is like a dad. Only better! There’s Squall, who is Tempest’s dad, and then there’s me, Squall’s dad. That makes me Tempest’s grandfather.”

Of course, that had Tyr looking up at me with those sea-green eyes full of expectations and hesitant excitement. “Daddy, do you have a daddy too?”

Bringing up my free hand, I rubbed the scar between my brows. This was one of those days I should have scooped up the kids and hauled ass out of there the moment everyone was awake…

“Sorry buddy, we both kinda got the short end of the stick on that one.” It sucked that I had to break his heart over something I had no control over, but I knew this was going to come up eventually too. I just hadn’t expected it to be this soon. “You and Cass are stuck with just having a dad.”

“I’ll be your grandfather, if you want me.” Laguna offered readily when Tyr’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. “I always did want to have a big family. Besides, I’m already planning on visiting with Tempest a lot, so I don’t mind adding a couple more kiddos while I’m at it.”

Looking between me and Laguna, Tyr tried to determine if there was a trick involved. When I didn’t reject the offer, he gave a slow nod and held a hand out for Laguna. “Okay, you c’n be my grandfather.” He agreed solemnly.

Everyone watching just laughed as Laguna plucked Tyr from my leg and swept the boy into his arms. Being suddenly dislodged from his security blanket, Tyr started to freak out. For a moment, our eyes locked and I gave him an encouraging nod along with a grin. It was all he needed to accept Laguna enough to wrap his arms around the man’s neck.

“Let’s get you cleaned up. I think I saw your daddy cooking some yummy omelets when we got here. What do you say we help him finish those so everyone can have some breakfast?” Laguna suggested, earning an excited nod from Tyr.

Turning towards the house, Laguna started talking to the boy. As they passed the others, Kiros, Ellone and Irvine all turned to follow the pair into the house. Watching my son suddenly become surrounded by people who I knew would care for him lifted a burden from my chest that I hadn’t known was there.

Focused so intently on the group, I damn near jumped out of my skin when a Cure landed over me. All the aches and minor cuts faded away just seconds before Squall’s hand gripped my shoulder. Sliding Hyperion into her sheath took little thought other than remembering I held her in my hand. Suddenly, I found that our roles had been reversed and I was looking to Squall for an explanation of what just happened.

“He’s like that.” He answered simply, as if that explained everything. When I frowned, he just shook his head. “It annoys the hell out of me sometimes. Whatever it is, he always seems to be able to just come in and completely take a situation over without anyone being the wiser for it. Sometimes he’s a damn moron but other times he actually seems to know what he’s doing.”

“Do I detect family troubles?” I asked teasingly as we walked towards the house together.

A simple hum in response told me absolutely nothing as he opened the door for me. With a raised eyebrow in curiosity, I strolled through into the storage room and politely waited for him to close the door behind us. As we entered the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks a second time. No matter how chaotic my house could be with Raijin, Fujin and all the kids at once, it was nothing compared to the scene here.

At the stove was Laguna with Tyr sitting on the counter next to him, handing him items when asked but otherwise just watching the man cook. Just a few feet away was Kiros, holding up the wall space, keeping an eye on the duo. Since there was no reason for him to suspect an actual threat from a child, I assumed he was protecting the man from making some idiotic mistake. An observation that proved accurate when he barely gave us a glance before turning back to Laguna.

On the blanket was Irvine playing with Tempest and the toddler I assumed to be his. Before I left, I fully intended to get the little girl’s name. The three of them were playing with various toys while Irvine focused on getting Tempest to work for the stuffed Cactuar he was waving around. Of course, she was having none of that, preferring her stuffed Chocobo instead. The other little girl was content to repeatedly stack up the soft blocks and clap whenever they were knocked over again.

Over on the couch I caught sight of Ellone. In her lap was a teary-eyed Cassie. Stroking her shoulder length hair, Ellone tried to gently sooth my daughter. Vaguely I recalled what Tyr had said as he’d run out of the house, my attention having been more focused on him than his words. If she’d really eaten a whole omelet by herself, then chances were fairly good that she wasn’t feeling well at the moment. Each of those omelets could have easily fed all four kids.

“Hey, Squall?” Irvine called out, getting the attention of both of us. “You still want that old pickup of mine, right? I loaded it in the Ragnarök just in case, so it’s all yours.”

“Yeah, thanks. It’ll come in handy here.” Squall replied quietly, looking around the room. “Where’s Selphie?”

Now that he’d mentioned it, I noticed that the little sprite wasn’t present. At the question, Irvine shrugged. “Upstairs in the bathroom. Guess the baby didn’t care for the smell of eggs cookin’.”

“Food’s almost ready!” Laguna called out cheerfully, causing me to bite back my teasing comment. “Don’t know where everyone’s gonna sit though. Used to be able to feed a dozen people in this room but that was before the renovations.”

Jumping into action, I started towards the table. “I’ve got that covered! Just give me a minute to make some adjustments. C’mon Princess, this’ll be easier with an extra set of hands.”

Brows furrowed slightly, barely enough to distort the line of his scar, Squall followed my steps as we went past the blanket. When we passed her by, Tempest gave a cry of protest over me not stopping to play with her. Fortunately, she was easily appeased by Irvine’s teasing and the two of us were free to work on expanding the table.

“Told you there was more space hidden here.” I muttered, messing with the latches on one side. “Watch and learn Kitten.”

A scowl told me that he wasn’t pleased with the latest nickname I’d come up with for him. After the offhand joke earlier, I decided that the name suited him and didn’t care if he appreciated it like I did. All I had to do was pay attention to his mood before using it in order for the nickname to be just one more tool in my arsenal against him. Though, I found myself a bit reluctant to use it as weapon. Using it as a casual endearment felt like a better use of the nickname.

Manipulating the table open, I directed Squall in the process of expanding it out. With only a couple minutes of work, delayed by the stiff latches that refused to move easily, we now had a space big enough for everyone to sit. Just as the last chair was being put in place, Laguna started dishing out plates to everyone.

“Alright, let’s eat!” He called out while bringing a plate for each of us.

Before sitting down at the table to eat, Irvine had rushed upstairs to check on Selphie, only to report that she was asleep on the small couch up there. After reassuring us that she’d sneak in plenty of snacks later, we all gathered around the table for breakfast.

Leaving Cassie to rest, Ellone soon joined us. Sitting down next to Squall and Tempest, I soon found my hands filled with his child as she damn near choked me in an attempt to get in my lap. Following close behind was a plate of scrambled eggs that I fed to her in between stealing bites of my own omelet. Eventually we got a rhythm down that had Squall scowling at me for making it look so easy.

On my other side was Tyr, chatting away happily with Laguna. Kiros sat on the man’s other side, happily enjoying the meal his friend had finished up. Beyond him was Irvine holding his own daughter, managing a similar system of feeding her while sneaking in bites of his own food. Between Irvine and Squall was Ellone, smiling happily.

In spite of the few questionable moments, I found myself deciding that I enjoyed the company and looked forward to the next time we could all get together like this.

Notes:

Okay, I screwed up! I accidentally skipped over this chapter somehow! T_T
Since it's one of my favorite chapters I have no clue how I managed to do that. So, here it is.

Because I was in a hurry to fix my mistake, there's a possibility that some typos or poor grammar might have occurred that I would normally catch through a final check. If you see something that's off please let me know.

Chapter 14: Plans in the Making

Notes:

There was an error with Chapter 13. As in...I forgot it! It was horrible T_T. If you haven't read it then please go back and do so because it's one of my favorite chapters in the story.

*Squall*

It was late in the afternoon when I finally pulled up outside of the house. Just as I was getting ready to double-check the address, the front door of the house opened up. Glancing over I saw Seifer standing in the open doorway with one shoulder leaning against the frame. The setting sun was casting the full force of its dying light over him.

Beams of light reflected off his tanned skin and blond hair just right to make him look as if he were glowing. Stunned by the unfamiliar experience I froze just so I could take it all in. It took him strolling across the yard to pull me from the minor enthrallment. By the time I shook it completely, he was already halfway to the truck.

Not wanting him to notice the effect he’d had on me, I quickly turned my attention to unclipping my seatbelt. Just as it slid fully back into place with a click, the passenger door was swung open. Tempest let out a happy squeal at the sight of Seifer leaning over her. At her gleeful reaction he simply shot me a grin, winked, and ignored me for her.

“Hiya cutie!” The buckle on her car seat clicked open as he spoke. Astounded by how different he was with the kids, I made a point of grabbing the keys from the ignition and popped the door open on my side of the truck. “And here I was wondering if your daddy changed his mind about coming over for dinner.”

“I would have called if that were the case.” I shot back as my feet touched the ground and I leaned against the door jam to look across the seat. “Tempest had to be changed twice before we could leave the house.”

“That kind of thing happens. You’ll get used to it.” He shrugged as if it weren’t any big deal.

Perhaps it wasn’t but he should know that I hate being late for anything. “Do you mean being late? Because that’s not going to keep happening. Not if I can do something about it.”

Shifting Tempest to his side he frowned at me. “Prepare all you want Princess, but kids have a tendency to throw a wrench into whatever plans you make. Look, you’re here now. Dinner won’t be done for at least a half hour or so. Let’s get Tempest inside so she can play with the others for a bit, and we can hang out in the backyard until food's ready.”

Not giving me time to answer Seifer shut the door on the truck. Left watching them from my side of the vehicle, I could only stare at his back as he walked back to the porch with my child squealing happily for him. Mulling over what he said about kids and being late, I set about grabbing her bag and Revolver from behind the seat. The truck wasn’t large enough to justify having a second row of seating but there was enough storage space behind the bench seat for me to keep what I needed in there.

Clipping my gunblade to my hip, I threw the pack over one shoulder and locked up the truck. Crossing the yard, I noticed that Seifer had patiently waited for me to catch up as he kept tempest entertained. There was the urge to apologize for making him wait but I knew that would just serve to piss him off. Instead, I gestured for him to lead the way into the house.

Throwing a grin in my direction he opened the door. Sounds of kids playing and Raijin’s energetic baritone directing them assaulted me almost immediately after being so quiet outside. Still, I pretended that the sudden change in volume had no effect on me as I followed Seifer through the doorway. Only to be swarmed by a trio of kids excited to see us.

“C’mon now guys! Let them get in the door, ya know?” Raijin called out, trapped on the couch by a toddler that looked to be about Tempest’s age. The boy was sitting up with the support of Raijin’s leg and playing with blocks.

“Kids! Back off for a minute!” Seifer snapped when the trio completely ignored Raijin.

Immediately the three of them took a step back from us. All three were fidgeting with excitement but were obedient for the most part. It gave Seifer enough room to get around them and set Tempest down next to Raijin’s child. Then he came back, took the bag from me and placed it on the couch as well.

“Impressive.” I muttered when he came back to stand next to me. All three of the kids were instantly distracted by Tempest now being on the floor.

“Took a bit of work but it comes in handy when used correctly.” Seifer muttered. Holding a hand out, a large grin appeared. “Come on, hand it over.”

“What?” I tore my gaze from Tempest and Raijin’s boy, who I assumed to be Jax from what Seifer had told me. The two of them were currently sizing each other up.

Letting out an annoyed huff he wiggled his fingers at me. “Revolver. Give him to me so I can secure your gunblade for you.”

“And how do you plan on securing my gunblade?” I demanded, crossing my arms defiantly. It was a bit ridiculous, but I didn’t like the idea of Revolver being out of my sight with this many kids around. Neither did I want it locked up somewhere that would take too long to get if something were to happen.

There was a poorly disguised laugh in Raijin’s direction that earned the man a fairly decent glower from Seifer before the blond turned the same look on me. “For Hyne’s sake Squall, I’m just going to put him on the rack there so you can relax a little. Hyperion’s already stashed in my room with a similar set up.’

Turning towards the door I saw a wooden setup that appeared to be designed specifically for holding a gunblade. On the other side of the door was Raijin’s staff and a hook that I suspected would serve to hold Fujin’s Chakram. All of which were well out of reach for little hands to get ahold of unless incredibly determined to do so.

Reluctantly I unclipped Revolver from my belt and handed the gunblade over to Seifer. For his part, Seifer accepted the gunblade as the act of trust it was. With me observing his every move, Seifer deftly secured the blade to the rack. It had to be unnerving to have me staring at his back the way I was, but Seifer didn’t seem the least bit fazed by it as he double checked to make sure Revolver would stay secure in a setting that had been meant for Hyperion’s longer blade.

It was unsettling to not have a gunblade at my side while outside my own place. Without the familiar weight against my hip, I felt incredibly naked. Even knowing that I had two back up knives on my person and easy access to multiple spells couldn’t counteract the feeling. It was just too ingrained in me to have it nearby.

“That’s a good idea.” I finally told him, carelessly waving towards the rack once I managed to get my emotions under control.

Seifer gave a nonchalant shrug but grinned proudly anyway. “Yeah, comes in handy with the kids around. No need to worry if a door got locked or something. The kids know the rules, but I don’t quite trust Cassie not to get overly curious and have an accident happen because I carelessly left Hyperion lying around. I’ll come by sometime and build you a couple that fit your gunblades better.”

“I’d appreciate it.” I agreed, wondering just how much work went into creating them.

Agreement made, Seifer threw an arm over my shoulder and started guiding me towards Raijin. Used to having Irvine and Zell do something similar, it didn’t take me long to relax under his touch. Any attempt to dislodge him at this point would only expose my discomfort and encourage him to continue doing it. Yet, I didn't find myself minding the contact all that much.

Throughout our conversation Raijin had been mediating between the kids. With five of them set out around his feet, the big man had little room to move around without running the risk of catching one of them in the process. Just watching him like that gave me anxiety but he seemed to be handling it just fine.

As we approached from behind the couch, he held a hand up to me. “Hey Squall, been a while since we hung out, ya know? Didn’t get much of a chance to talk at the store but I’m glad you could make it over for dinner.”

Obligingly I reached out and took the man’s hand. It was a bit awkward with the couch between us and Seifer keeping an arm over my shoulders, but we managed something that resembled a handshake. “Hi Raijin. Thanks for having me over.”

“Sure thing man!” He replied, taking his hand back to catch Tempest before she could reach the edge of the blanket. Gently he set her back down next to Jax, clearly risking her anger by doing so. “You’re welcome here anytime, ya know?”

A tightening of Seifer’s arm kept me from replying. “Come on Princess! Raijin’s got the kids for a bit and you still gotta say hi to Fujin. Take too long and she might just send her chakram out to greet you instead.”

“Is that okay with you?” I asked the big man.

Personally, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of adding Tempest to the group of kids when it was just him watching over them. Leaving her with anyone for long still left me feeling uncomfortable. But with enough kids to start a small daycare, I couldn’t help but worry that he might miss something or not be able to handle so many at once.

As it was, Tempest was not happy at being so close to Jax. Something must have already happened between the two of them that I didn’t catch. Taking into account the look she was giving the smallest of the boys, I suspected things were not going to go over well between the two of them. It was definitely one of those traits she’d inherited from Rinoa.

“Don’t worry about it.” Raijin replied, brushing off the concern with a wave of his hand. “I’m used to watching the whole lot of them. Adding little Tempest is no biggie. Besides, I’m just the adult supervision, ya know? Little Cass here has things under control. And it gives Jax someone his size to play with for a change. Just go say hi to Fu and enjoy your break, ya know?”

“Alright.” I agreed softly. “Let me know if you need me to come get her.”

“She’ll be fine!” Seifer insisted, tugging me farther into the house.

The arm over my shoulders remained in place as he gave me a quick tour of the house. Normally I would have objected or pulled away by now, but I found myself unwilling to pull away from his loose embrace. Something about him touching me like this felt warm and inviting. Nothing like it would have been a few years ago when he’d do something similar just to annoy me.

There wasn’t much besides the bedrooms, so it didn’t take more than a couple minutes for him to show me the way the kids’ rooms had been set up or the second rack in his room where Hyperion was placed. Seeing the gunblade up close after so many years drew my attention enough to drown him out for a minute. Memories, both good and bad, of battling against that blade and her owner started floating along the surface of my thoughts.

“Shortly after we moved in, Raijin and I did a little remodeling.” He continued while I’d been staring at the gunblade. “Used to be that this was just a bedroom, but we managed to locate where it connected to the master bath and added in a second entrance. Can get a little frustrating if our needs overlap but otherwise it works out.”

“No different than sharing a room at Garden.” I muttered while remembering the double dorms that shared a single bathroom between me and my roommate.

“Exactly! At least I like these roommates. The ones that kept getting put in with me at Garden were damn annoying.” He grumbled but I could tell from the grin that it was only a halfhearted complaint. “So, that’s everything. You can tell Fujin ‘hi’ on our way to the backyard.”

A glance at the kids as we passed by assured me that all was well, and Tempest was behaving herself. From the look of things, I was willing to guess that she was actually enjoying being able to play with Jax. Hopefully whatever had upset her earlier was all worked out and they could be friends. It was probably a good thing for her to have someone in her age group to play with once in a while, instead of me.

Entering the kitchen, I was stopped just inside the doorway. On the other side of the room was Fujin with a large tray in her hands as she pulled it out of the oven. Forced to wait for her to finish what she was doing, I took the opportunity to observe her. It had been so long since I’d last seen the woman that it took a moment to catalogue the changes between then and now.

That silvery hair was now long enough for her to put it in a short ponytail as she worked, several strands framing her face. A leather patch still covered the spot where her eye was missing, yet it seemed almost less noticeable now. Instead of the uniform she’d insisted on wearing at Garden, Fujin now wore dark grey jeans and a soft blue long-sleeved shirt. The combination making her appear to be just a little less threatening and more welcoming.

Setting the pan on the counter she turned around to face us. There wasn’t quite a full smile on her face but close enough to one that I felt safe in assuming she wasn’t pissed about me being there. Never had it occurred to me that I was worried about her opinion about my presence in their home until the feeling was just suddenly gone. After all, she’d been the one to extend the invite for dinner. Well, more like demanded I attend.

“Welcome Squall. Thank you for coming.” She said politely, hands still at her sides.

Hearing her speak in full sentences was something I hadn’t been prepared for. Especially when the last time she’d done so was back on Lunatic Pandora. Back when she was pleading with Seifer to see what was happening to him. That was near the end of the war. Since then, I’d only seen her maybe once or twice before the trio disappeared and we hadn't spoken much either time.

Memories began to worm their way through my barriers. Something else I hadn’t been prepared for since they hadn’t really been activated by Seifer’s presence. For the most part, I’d put that time in my life behind me. Only occasionally being plagued by dreams of the war or Time Compression. Flashbacks were practically non-existent at this point. So, I had no reason to suspect that just seeing Fujin and Raijin again would trigger any of it so quickly or thoroughly.

“Hey! Squall? You okay there?” Seifer questioned, shaking me gently as he spoke.

“I’m fine.” I breathed out, forcing my memories back like I’d done so many times before now.

“You sure about that, Leonhart?” Seifer pressed, looking at me with a frown. It took a second for me to realize that his arm was no longer around my shoulders, just his hand holding firmly onto my upper arm.

Nodding, I turned to Fujin and saw that she was giving me a narrow-eyed look. One that said loud and clear she understood what had just happened. Seifer probably did too with how tight he was still holding onto me. Was he concerned about me going after Fujin? Or was he trying to help ground me in his own way?

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” I told them both, trying to pull out of Seifer’s grasp but he kept his hand firmly in place.

“All is fine.” Fujin declared with a nod of her own. “It happens. Dinner will be ready soon. Now go away until I call.”

The moment we had Fujin’s acceptance, Seifer shifted his hold down to my wrist and was dragging me out the back door to a well-cared for yard. Just to our left was an area that had low fencing around it. Inside the area was a collection of toys meant for toddlers. Things that were too big for Jax to play with in the house from the quick inventory I gave it.

Across from the house, tucked in the corner of the yard, was a work area with a shed and a lean-to. Underneath the awning I could make out a work bench and various other pieces of semi-large equipment. Wood planks and panels lined the back fence, along with various pieces of metal and other large items that wouldn’t fit easily into the shed.

Other than those two areas, the yard was of a fairly good size and had toys scattered around everywhere. In several spots there were areas sectioned off for outdoor games that the kids could partake in. Yet nothing was obviously placed permanently in one spot, making it easy to move around if needed.

Upon closer inspection I found discrete monster repellant pillars in each of the four corners, making it safe for the kids to play freely out here. All of which were clearly well maintained. Still, the way they were placed made them appear to be part of the design rather than the obtuse fixtures many towns used in order to keep monsters away.

Silently Seifer guided us to a seemingly random spot before letting go of my arm so he could flop onto the grass. When I moved to join him, as he was clearly expecting me to, his hand shot up to wrap back around my wrist. With a sharp tug at just the right moment he managed to pull me off balance enough that I landed right on top of him.

A low grunt escaped as my body fell across his, but not a single complaint or teasing comment followed it up. Only an amused grin to counter my glare at his interference. When it was obvious that he wasn’t going to apologize or explain his actions, I rolled my eyes and shifted so that I was lying next to him. Roughly a foot of space separated us, and I hoped it was enough to hide the heat I could feel rising to my cheeks over the unusual contact between us.

“You okay now Princess? Your flashback completely gone now?” He asked quietly after laying there for almost a full minute.

The question caused me to freeze up completely, breath catching in my lungs. I already knew he had figured it out, but I hadn’t expected him to question me on it at this point. Since there was no way around it, I let out a long sigh. “You noticed.”

“Of course, I noticed. Kinda hard to miss.” He scoffed while getting comfortable. “And before you ask, yeah, Fu saw it too. So, what triggered it?”

“I’m not quite sure. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one.” I muttered, trying to sort through everything that happened in order to determine the cause.

“Well, take a guess if you don’t know for sure. Can’t combat the problem if we don’t know the cause of it.” He yawned, stretching out so that his shirt rose up enough to expose an inch or so of flesh. That flash of tan skin drew my eyes to him.

“Fujin talking, I think.” I answered absently, not really thinking about what I was saying. Interestingly enough, it felt like that was the right answer.

“Her talking?” He questioned skeptically, absentmindedly placing one arm over his newly exposed stomach while the other disappeared behind his head.

It was close enough to true that I nodded before placing both arms behind my head. Above me the sky had begun darkening and the first stars were shining through. “It was unexpected but shouldn’t happen again. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“We’ll see.” Came the quiet reply.

For a while we just laid next to each other in companionable silence, watching sky finish shifting from day to night. There were a few times where I heard something from the house and tried to listen in. When no signs of me being needed came I eventually started to relax. With Tempest taken care of, Revolver secured in the house, Seifer by my side and the quiet of the night surrounding us, I found myself starting to drift towards a peaceful doze.

“How are you and Tempest doing now?” Seifer’s soft inquiry jolted me from the tranquility I was floating in.

“Hmm?” I hummed, trying to recall what exactly he’d asked me.

Amused laughter followed immediately. “I was asking how you and Tempest were doing. Have you managed to get a system worked out between the two of you? I know you’ve been having trouble adapting to all the changes along with a crash course of learning about each other.”

“I think so.” Nap ruined, I plucked a blade of grass from behind my head where it was tickling the nape of my neck and looked at it. “Your advice has been helpful in getting things figured out. I’ve been finding ways to apply it to our daily routines. But she’s still inconsistent with her reactions to it so I can’t tell if it’s me doing something wrong or if what she’s doing is normal.”

“Yeah, it’s normal for her to test boundaries.” He chuckled.

“It is?” I frowned, turning to glance at him. “I thought they just needed to understand what is and isn’t acceptable.”

The low chuckle turned into full laughter. “Princess, you only got that half right. They need someone to teach them and then continue teaching them as they grow. It isn’t a one and done scenario. Babies, and children, are ruled by emotions. They get better as they age but it takes a long time for them to get a good grasp on where the boundaries lie. Just try to stay consistent with her. She’ll eventually understand just how much she can get away with before crossing that line.”

Scowling over his amusement I dropped the piece of grass I was holding and rubbed at the edge of my scar. “How long is eventually?”

“Dunno. Depends on how long it takes her to figure it out.” He replied, finally getting his amusement under control.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Isn’t there some kind of timeline for me to work with here?” I demanded, trying to recall if any of those books had mentioned something about it.

A wistful sigh came from him then. “Nah, not that simple Princess. Kids develop on their own schedules. It’s possible she just needs a little experimentation to get it figured out. Or she could be absolutely hardheaded and will end up taking things to the extreme before accepting the status quo.”

“Just how am I supposed to work with vague information like that?” This time I was practically growling at him.

After this past week I had gotten accustomed to him having answers to my problems. Now, here he was telling me that he couldn’t even give me a generalized timeline to work with. Babies had timelines for every other milestone, so why not for something so simple as accepting routines and rules laid out by their parents?

“Look Leonhart, it’s not quite so easy as you’re thinking it should be.” He said quietly after a long silence. “There’s no controlling certain things when it comes to kids. Experts can give you an idea of what goals they should meet within which timeframes but even those can easily be disrupted. Major events in a kid’s life can have a huge impact on how they develop. Even if you get a solid routine going, it can easily get thrown off. The good news is, once you’ve got something well established it won’t take as long for them to get back into a routine or habit.”

“Then I’ll just have to control anything that could disrupt her.” I declared, not caring about how ludicrous it was to think I had that much control over what happened in her life.

“You can’t control everything Leonhart.” Seifer rebuked, not letting it slide. “All kinds of shit can happen. We both know that intimately. So don’t go setting yourself up by promising something you can’t deliver. Unless you really think you can control the whole damn world by being so pigheaded.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I hissed out at him, refusing to look him in the eye when I knew he was right.

“I think you’re underestimating the impact experiences can have on a kid. Both good and bad ones. Both are needed for them to learn. Doesn’t mean it’s easy but if you protect her from all of it then how’s she gonna learn to move forward when her world changes drastically?” He pressed, keeping his voice calm.

“I refuse to let anything bad happen to her.” I swore, clenching my fists into the grass. “I’m her father. My job is to keep her safe.”

“Your job is to prepare her for the real world. Teach her what she needs to know so that she can take care of herself.” He argued.

“I can do that and keep her protected.” I insisted, not allowing myself to back down on this issue.

“You know, I can almost believe it’s possible when you say it like that.” He sighed again. “Has there been any update on the Rinoa issue?”

The change in topic confused me enough that I lost my hold on all that anger and determination. “Not really. She’s sent me a few more messages but I haven’t responded to them yet. Nothing that I really want to talk to her about anyway.”

“Why not?” There was no accusation or aggression in the question, just pure curiosity.

Yet it managed to set me off because I was still pretty upset with her for what she’d done. “Why should I? She left Tempest in my care then disappeared. She’s made her choice, now she can live with it.”

“At least let her know how Tempest is doing.” It was a quiet suggestion but not one I wanted to hear right now.

Pulling myself into a seated position with one arm wrapped around my knee I glared at him. “Seifer, she abandoned her child. It’s taken her over a month to try and find out how Tempest is doing. She doesn’t deserve to know anything about what’s going on with her at this point. Had she done things differently I might have considered it but not when she abandoned her own child with someone who is the equivalent of a stranger to her.”

In response, Seifer rolled onto his side and propped his head up with one hand so he could look up at me. “She’s the mother of your child, Squall. Rinoa carried her for nine months. Then she had to go through the process of giving birth to her. Since Tempest appears to be healthy, I’ll assume she spent those next six months taking fairly decent care of her. When she found herself unable to keep doing so, for whatever reason, she sought you out. Obviously, she knew that you were trustworthy and would love the child enough to do anything for her. I think telling her how Tempest is doing will help her believe she’d made the right choice in coming to you first.”

“Was that really the best decision she could have made?” I countered, receiving a warning glare from the blond.

“Explain that one.” He demanded coldly.

Shaking my head in denial of what he was thinking, I tried to alleviate his concerns. “I’m not freaking out again so just tone it down.”

“I’m finding that hard to believe right now.” He rebutted, glaring even harder at me.

Rolling my eyes, I picked at the grass next to my hip. “It’s the truth. I’m not freaking out, just questioning if her decision had been the right one.”

“Really? Because that’s exactly what it sounds like to me.” The heavy disbelief in his tone conveying his emotions better than his words did. “Look, Tempest is healthy and thriving. To me, it's perfectly clear that you’re qualified to take care of that child in there. Hell, I'd even tell you right now that no one else is better qualified for the role. But if you need me to give you another ass kicking to prove it, I will gladly do so.”

“Whatever.” I grumbled, deciding to let him just think whatever he wanted to at this point.

“Damn it Squall, if you aren’t doubting yourself then I want to know what the fuck you’re thinking right now.” He practically snarled at me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see his muscles bunching as if ready to take a swing at me.

“I just…” I sighed, trying to sort out my thoughts into something he could understand. “I meant that there must have been better options besides me. Someone that could have helped her if she needed it. The way she left Tempest with me seemed like a fairly drastic action for it to have been her first choice.”

“Why don’t you ask her about it then?” He asked, settling down into the grass once more.

Furrowing my brows, I turned to look at him. “What?”

Letting out a frustrated sigh he lazily waved a hand through the air before laying it back over his stomach. “When you call her, ask her why she chose that route. It doesn’t have to be done tonight but it should be something you take care of soon.”

“Why?” I questioned, not understanding his logic at all.

“Just think about it for a minute, will ya?” He snapped, irritated at me now. “There had to be a reason for her doing what she did. But does it really matter what she could have done at this point? Like you said, she’s made her choice and has to live with it. Tempest is in your care and that’s not going to change any time soon. Right?”

“Not if I can help it.” I agreed readily.

“Then you might as well try to work something out between you and Rinoa. What if something happens to you? It doesn’t even have to be work related. Shit happens all the time in all kinds of mundane situations. Do you have a plan in place?” He questioned, honestly interested in the answer.

This was at least one of the easier questions to answer. “It’s all taken care of. She’ll be cared for by someone of my choosing. I’m already aware that something happening to me is likely so I made sure she was protected.”

“Like I said, you can’t protect her from the world.” Seifer smirked smugly at me. “Point being, it’s good you have that set up. I won’t pry on it, just wanting to make sure she’s taken care of.”

“She is.” I confirmed again, ignoring the comment about not being able to protect her from everything like I want to.

That seemed to give him some relief because he relaxed in to the grass again. “Good. Just proves what I was saying though. You’re doing a damn good job as her father. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently. Not even yourself.”

“I…” Before I could respond my phone rang.

“Someone important?” Seifer asked as I pulled my phone out.

Looking at the screen I nodded. “Dr. Kadowaki. I have to take this.”

With a wave of his hand, Seifer effectively dismissed me while closing his eyes. Sparing him a brief smile that he probably hadn't even seen, I opened the phone and walked a few feet away from him. Whatever she was calling about, it had to be important for her to contact me this late in the evening. By now she was usually closing up the infirmary for the night and preparing to go to bed.

“Squall! Good! I have some news for you.” Kadowaki greeted cheerily when I answered the phone.

Confused by what she was referring to, I glanced over at the blond man lying peacefully a few feet away. “What is it?”

*Seifer*

Trying to not listen in on Squall’s private conversation with Doc turned out to be more difficult than if I were trying to eavesdrop. At least I had been able to distract myself enough that I only took in his side of the conversation. Even then I simply found watching him to be more interesting than the small, clipped responses he made.

For about five or six minutes, I didn’t track the time all that closely, he finally stopped pacing and hung up the phone. With a thoughtful frown he slid the device back into his pocket. Almost a full minute later he seemed to start at the realization he wasn’t alone. Then, as if he hadn’t been lost in his own thoughts, Squall slowly sat back down next to me with one arm resting on his bent knee.

“Well? What did Doc want?” I probed when he didn’t speak right away, just staring hard at the grass in front of him.

Blue-grey eyes flicked to me as if debating what he wanted to say. “She was calling to tell me that they'd finally tracked down Tempest’s previous physician in Timber and got him to release her medical records into Kadowaki’s care.”

“That’s good news, right?” At my question he simply hummed in confirmation and nodded. “Then what’s the issue?”

“Hmm?” The distracted sound barely an acknowledgement that he’d heard me.

“You look like someone just kicked your puppy. Is there something wrong with Tempest’s medical records?” I sighed, dragging myself up with one knee bent so I could lean on it.

Watching as he picked up a stalk of grass and played with it between his fingers sent a chill of trepidation down my back. “She said that they just came in this afternoon, and she still needs to input them into the system, but it looks like Tempest missed a few of her vaccinations and is due for others.”

“But she didn’t mention anything else being wrong with her?” If it was just vaccinations then that wasn’t the end of the world at least.

The frown he wore deepened as he shook his head slowly. “So far she seems to be perfectly healthy, and Kadowaki didn’t notice anything when she did a physical after Tempest was left in my care. I just need to take her to Garden so she can get updated now that we know which ones she needs. After that I can work on finding someone closer until she’s down to needing yearly check-ups.”

“I can give you a couple recommendations. Still, it'd be good to have someone nearby in case something comes up unexpectedly.” I pointed out and grinned. “So? When are we leaving?”

It took him a few moments to understand what I meant but the moment he did I received a look that was something between a glare and confusion. “What do you mean by ‘we’? I can handle her just fine for a short trip back to Garden. There’s no reason for dragging you along with me just for a routine set of vaccinations.”

This time I did openly scoff at him. Obviously, he had no idea what it was going to be like for Tempest on this trip. Neither did he grasp how she was going to react to things she didn’t understand. There was just no fucking way I was going to let him go by himself when he still flipped out every time she fell onto her padded ass while practicing standing up. Last Saturday it took me forever to break him from rushing over to check on her, with some help from his friends and family, and he was still anxious whenever it happened.

“I’m going Squall.” There was no room for negotiation in my declaration and I knew he’d heard it. “You’re going to need someone to hold your damn hand while Doc is taking care of that little angel in there. Or keep your ass in the chair while you’re flipping out over it. Whichever is more applicable.”

“I don’t need you to hold my hand. It’s a routine visit.” He argued, now fully glaring at me.

Shooting him a knowing look, I nodded. “It may be routine but just trust me on this one. You’ll appreciate it later, as will Doc.”

“What about Tyr and Cassie?” The question was little more of a deflection, and a good one, but I easily outmaneuvered him on it. Clearly, he forgot already that I wasn’t an amateur at this parenting thing.

“I’ll have to make it up to them later, maybe watch the kids while they take a holiday, but Fu and Rai can manage them for a few days.” I countered his argument. “Though, I might end up having you help while they’re gone. Maybe you and Tempest can sleep over or something.”

Tilting his head, he gave me another of those confused looks. “They won’t mind?”

“Nah!” I laughed and waved off his concern. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve needed them to cover for me for a couple days. There’s been a few events I’ve been forced to go to that meant leaving the kids with them. Usually, I just make it up to them by giving them a few days away while I take care of everything.”

“They aren’t in school right? You could just bring them with you.” He offered.

At that point I knew I’d won my case in going with him but didn’t dare let on that I’d noticed my victory. “Not a chance! I’d rather keep Cassie far away from Garden for as long as possible. Knowing my kid, she’s likely to find all kinds of trouble to get into. Hyne, she’d probably find a way to sneak into the training center! Besides, I’ll need to be able to support you and Tempest completely on this trip and I can’t do that properly with my little heathens running around underfoot.”

“Seriously Seifer, Tempest and I will be fine. You don’t need to overreact over something this minor.” He sighed, tossing the piece of grass away. Then he gave me a smirk like he’d found a flaw in my argument. “Wasn’t it you that just said I was doing a good job as Tempest’s father?”

Fine, if he wanted to be difficult then I had no problem matching him blow for blow. “I’m fairly certain I’m not overreacting here. If I am and nothing I’m expecting to happen does, then I’m good with being wrong this one time. But seriously, didn’t Doc give her any vaccinations at all after she was put in your care?”

“No, Kadowaki insisted on waiting until after she looked at Tempest medical records. She just didn’t expect it to take so long in tracking down the doctor Rinoa had been taking her to or having to fight him to get those records in the first place. Given her age, she didn’t want to risk doubling up on something if Rinoa had taken her right before arriving at Garden.” He frowned as he tried to recall details he might have missed.

Well, that completely cinched it for me. No way was I backing down now. “Then nope! I’m not overreacting in the slightest.”

“Seriously?” He grumbled, glaring at me now.

Nodding confidently, I shifted into a more comfortable position. “Seriously. Knowing the way you act around Tempest, you’re either going to destroy the infirmary or beat yourself up for days afterwards. Since I can’t stand by and allow either of those things to happen, the only acceptable solution is to go with you.”

“What are you talking about? It’s a doctor’s visit with Kadowaki, not a mission. I think I can handle it just fine on my own.” He grumbled.

The urge to beat my head against a wall was nearly overwhelming. “Princess, you just don’t get it do you? I know she’s your kid but there’s also just enough Rinoa in her to balance that out. Chances are, she’s going to act just like every other baby and scream bloody murder the moment Doc pokes her with the damn needle.”

“Why would she do that? It's just a simple vaccination. The kids at Garden get them with barely a fuss. She shouldn’t be much worse than they are.” He was starting to get frustrated as well now. Suddenly, my urge to beat my head against the wall turned into wanting to beat his head against it until he understood what I was telling him.

“Hyne be damned Leonhart! Even you seriously can’t be this dense!” I growled. When I got nothing more than a blank look, I knew that I was going to have to completely spell it out for him. “Fine then! We’ll make it simple for you! Tempest doesn’t understand what’s happening or what’s good for her. All she’s going to know is that it hurts and she’s going to cry for a while afterwards, making you feel like a complete ass for the whole thing. Even though you know you’re only doing what’s best for her. Do you get it now?”

“Yeah.” He murmured, staring hard at the ground like it was guilty of creating this whole situation.

If I had been dealing with anyone else, then I would have backed the hell off long before this and let them learn things the hard way. But this was Leonhart and letting him go in with only a basic understanding of the upcoming situation was the wrong way to handle something like this. It couldn’t be helped that he was wavering on the idea about getting the vaccinations done. What he needed was the whole brutal truth of what was coming in order to prepare for it and make the right decisions once all the information was on the table. If that made me the asshole in this situation, then so be it.

“Are you even aware about what might happen afterwards? Or did Doc forget to mention that as well?” I asked, fervently hoping she’d warned him in some way about potential side effects.

“She just said that there might be a little soreness and maybe some bruising at the injection site but nothing I needed to worry about.” He scowled as it kicked in. “I’m guessing she didn’t tell me everything, did she?”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Which earned me an icy glare for the reaction. “Sorry! Sorry! But no, she clearly made the executive decision to give you as little information as possible, that way you wouldn’t back out of bringing her in. That’s one way of handling you. Personally, I’m not a fan of that method. Too easy for it to backfire later. I’d rather give it to you straight and then guide you in the right direction.”

“What else don’t I know about this?” He sighed, pissed that people were trying to manage him.

Had I fallen in line with it then I would have earned his ire as well, but I already proved I wasn’t going to lie or hide things from him. At least, not important things. Of course, that also meant that I’d inadvertently saved my own ass now that he couldn’t use me as a target for all that cold rage boiling beneath the surface. Thank Hyne for small miracles!

“Side effects. You should know about those.” I told him, readying myself just in case he ended up needing a physical outlet before I was done explaining.

“What are they? All I can recall is a sore arm whenever I’m given mine.” He shrugged, thinking that’s all anyone would have.

“Lucky bastard. I always felt like absolute shit after mine.” I grumbled then remembered where I was going with this. “That’s just my point though. No one really knows how she’s going to react after receiving her vaccinations. She can either be perfectly fine and suffer nothing more than a sore arm, or she can go so far as to develop a nasty fever. If it’s the first, then awesome! But I’ll warn you now, the latter is more likely and that means making your life absolutely miserable until she’s feeling better. Good news is, it should only take a day or two for her to recover from it.”

“Aren’t the vaccines supposed to prevent that kind of thing? Why would they make her sick?” It was a damn good question. One I needed a minute to decide on how to answer it.

There was also a question of how much information I should give him right now. Not enough and he’d get totally pissed at me later on, too much and he’d be terrified of putting her through such a minor trial. It was only his faith that I would be honest about it that kept him waiting silently, even if those eyes looked like a frozen tundra as they watched me closely.

A sudden stroke of inspiration hit just then, and I gave him a smug grin. “How much do you remember about our first time going into the training center?”

At the seemingly odd change of subject, his eyebrows furrowed. Still, he appeared to be thinking back on that day. “I vaguely remember it. What stands out most is you getting your ass handed to you by a half-dead Grat.”

“What the f…” Instantly my jaw dropped as I gaped at him for his description of that day. “That’s not what happened at all!”

Smirking back at me, he gave me a one shoulder shrug. “Sure looked that way to me.”

Scowling, I filed that away to deal with at another time. Otherwise, I ran a serious risk of losing my thought process on this one. “It wasn’t! But we’ll come back to that later. Do you remember how we went in and the damn instructor nearly destroyed the Grat before letting us have a go at it?”

“That explains why it was half-dead.” He smirked, sliding in the tiny jab in an attempt to annoy me. When I didn’t take the bait his smirk faded away. “It was amusing to see you get your ass taken down a peg, but what does any of this have to do with Tempest?”

“Just…bear with me for a moment.” I growled, holding a hand up to him. “What else do you remember about it? Other than me getting my ass kicked?”

“You were pissed about how he handled it.” Squall frowned, tilting his head to the side and half closing his eyes in thought. “I remember you bitching at him for not just letting us take on something as weak as a Grat. You lectured him pretty hard about it. Then, when he was warning us about what not to do, you rushed in like an idiot.”

“Yeah, got what I deserved too for jumping in halfcocked.” I grumbled, rubbing the side of my head as if I could still feel the blow I’d been given by that damn Grat. “Learned a valuable lesson that day too.”

“Obviously it wasn’t to wait for all instructions to be given before rushing in.” Squall muttered dryly.

Giving him the glare he absolutely deserved, I shook my head. “No, I learned how to judge my opponents better and to be better prepared before attacking.”

“Uh huh…” His eyebrow raised in disbelief, and I was half certain he was trying not to laugh at me.

“Point is, that instructor was playing in the same capacity as a vaccine does.” If we were going to get to planning for our trip, I needed to stop getting sidetracked.

“I’m not following.” He frowned.

Waving a hand through the air I tried to think about how to explain it more clearly to him. “Okay, look at it this way…you have three players in the game. The instructor, the fighter and the Grat. The instructor is Doc, the fighter is Tempest’s body, and the Grat is the vaccine. Doc puts a super weak Grat out there for Tempest’s body to practice taking down. Sometimes she’ll take a hit or two but eventually the Grat will either die on its own or be defeated by the body.”

Confusion marred his face as he tried to follow along. “Okay…”

“Look Squall, it’s super simple if you just think about it.” I sighed, shoving a hand through my hair. “Doc is simply giving Tempest’s body a sample of viruses it might come across. Then her body fights off those viruses. If her cells make a mistake while doing so, then it’s a low risk one. Like me getting tapped upside the head by a Grat. Afterwards, Tempest’s body will know how to fight off that illness and adapt quicker to ones that are similar to it.”

“So how does her getting sick from it come into play?” This time it was a thoughtful question, but I could see he was finally starting to put aside his protective nature and actually consider what I was saying.

Feeling better about my analogy, I shrugged. “Sometimes the receiving party doesn’t react fast enough then overcompensates. Other times it goes into full limit break mode from the beginning and completely overkills the vaccine. Or, if a person is really lucky, the body puts out just enough troops to fight off the enemy and the person has hardly any side effects at all from the ordeal. No telling which way Tempest is going to go until after the fact. And it’s different every time so be prepared for that as well.”

“I was planning on packing tonight and leaving in the morning.” He sighed after several minutes of silence. “You sure it’ll be fine for you to get away for a few days?”

“Yeah, I can make it work out.” I confirmed, relaxing now that things were good between us, and all the cards were on the table. “What’s the plan?”

“I was thinking about driving to Timber.” He explained, sounding unsure about which route he wanted to take. “If I took the train then I’d have to switch over twice. Once at the Obel Lake Station and again in Timber. It’ll take about a day and a half to do it that way.”

“Driving would be faster. Especially if we trade off.” I agreed with a grin. “Shouldn’t take us more than a full day to reach Timber since we don’t have to make a bunch of stops along the way for passengers. Some of those damn stops take forever to get through!”

That made him do one of those partial smiles. “True.”

“So how long you plan on being gone? Gotta let the ladies in my life know what to expect or I’ll be in a shit load of trouble when I get back.” I grinned, flopping back into the grass to look up at the night sky.

“I’m thinking it will take about four to five days if we’re driving. But plan for a full week, just in case something comes up.” He decided after a few minutes of silent thinking.

“So, we’re looking at a day to Timber and another coming back.” I murmured, working it out for myself. “Most of one day spent in getting from Timber to Garden, including getting settled in. Probably half a day between Garden and Timber. And at least one full day to deal with Tempest and whatever comes from her vaccinations. I count about five days’ worth of being gone. Unless there’s something I’m missing here?”

Squall shook his head. “That about sums it up. Assuming we don’t waste time in between all of that.”

“Then yeah, I’ll let Fujin, Raijin and Erin know I’m gonna be gone for a week.” I grinned, already excited for the upcoming trip.

Five years ago, I’d never have thought it possible to go away somewhere for nearly a full week with just Leonhart. Hell! There’d have been bets on how long it took for us to kill each other back then! Now, all I could think about were ways to make sure I got that full week with just the two of us and little Tempest. If not for the trip being completely about her health, I might have found a way to convince him to leave her with Raijin and Fujin for a week so we could enjoy a kid free trip together. Maybe fighting monsters or finding something interesting to do.

Closing my eyes, I started imagining what that would look like. Maybe I can plan something like that after we get back. It’d be awesome to have someone other than Raijin and Fujin to go hunting with me. If Squall goes, that means we could take on bigger prey and I could stock up on stronger magic.

“Seifer! Squall! Dinner!” Fujin called loudly from the doorway. By the time we turned to look in her direction, the door was already swinging closed as she went back inside.

“Better go eat. Fujin gets pissed if anyone delays dinner. Me leaving for a week is already going to ruffle her feathers.” I laughed, rolling to my feet.

Grinning down at Squall’s prone figure, I held out a hand to him. For a moment he just stared at my hand, and I’d almost taken it back when his hand clasped around mine. Feeling like a damn kid, I pulled him up to his feet. A sparkle of something shone in his eyes while he regained his balance, and it looked like excitement. Though, you’d never be able to tell for sure with the neutral look he had at the moment.

“Seifer?” He murmured, tightening his hold on my hand when I started to take it back.

“What’s up?” Tilting my head, I gave him a confused look.

A blush tinged his alabaster cheeks a light pink as he looked off to the side. “Thanks. For everything.”

With that vague show of gratitude, he abruptly released my hand and made for the back door. By the time I recovered from his actions, the bastard was already halfway in the house. Taking long, brisk strides, I managed to catch the door before it swung shut and followed him inside. The noise from a full house drowning out any chance of questioning his strange behavior.

Notes:

*Taps fingers on the table*

Okay, so I'm not completely sure how I feel about this one. Talking it over with Juneki, I'm fairly satisfied with how this chapter turned out.

For the record, this had nothing to do with the last few years. Tempest getting vaccines just made sense once you take into account her age and the way Seifer and Squall grew up. Obviously, Garden is going to want the kids protected as much as possible. Which also means Squall wouldn't be likely to think of it as anything more than a routine part of living at Garden.

Still, I'm happy to hear your opinions on it. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 15: Road Trip!

Notes:

Hey, this is the last time I'm going to mention it. I was a total airhead and somehow skipped posting Chapter 13! It's in now so if you've reached this point and are a little confused by the change with the chapter numbers, that's why.

Thank you for your understanding!

*Squall*

“Da da da da da!” Tempest chanted from the backseat of Seifer’s truck.

The decision to drive from Winhill to Timber had evolved into a long conversation over dinner about our itinerary, the best route to take and various supplies we were going to need during the trip. There was also a shorter conversation about taking Seifer’s larger truck over my more compact one. A decision that had turned out to be a small saving grace…

“Here you go Tempest!” Cassie chirped, offering the dropped toy back to Tempest and making my daughter happy again.

It had taken us more than two hours to learn that she’d stowed away, and had fallen asleep shortly afterwards, in the bed of Seifer’s truck after we’d gotten done loading up for the trip at his house. If not for Tempest needing an immediate diaper change, for our sakes as much as hers, she might have managed even longer than that. Just more evidence that she was of his blasted bloodline.

Somehow, the little brat had conned her brother and Souta into covering for her. When there was mention of getting Cassie from her room, the kids offered to do it. According to Seifer, the boys had managed to pull a first on the two Garden trained adults by lying directly to them. Having pretended to check on Cassie, they’d told Raijin that she’d cried herself to sleep over being left behind.

Needless to say, Seifer was both impressed and pissed to find out the truth. Or most of it anyway. Whether Cassie had truly threatened the boys if they’d given her plan away or if they’d willingly participated in the deceit was still up for debate. Either way, turning around now would have cost us a severe delay and we decided that it was best to just keep on our way with Cassie.

Though, there was no doubt in my mind that the girl knew exactly what she was doing. After a call to Raijin and Fujin to let them in on what Cassie had done, and that she was coming with us, Seifer followed it up by making her and the boys apologize to the couple while on speaker phone so I could hear as well. Both boys seemed truly apologetic for going along with it. Cassie…not so much…

At least, not for the part about manipulating Tyr and Souta into covering for her. Only when Seifer proceeded to give his daughter a long lecture about the dangers of stowing away like that did she finally break down in tears and sincerely apologize for doing it. For someone her age, she couldn’t be expected to know the dangers of pulling a stunt like that. Still, I did feel like he’d let her off fairly easy.

For stowing away, manipulating the boys, betraying everyone’s trust, and breaking a bunch of house rules, Seifer gave her a list of things that were going to be expected of her as a form of punishment. The first of which was her helping with taking care of Tempest. Initially I objected to this but a stern look from Seifer had me keeping my mouth shut until we could hash it out later.

One of his decrees had been no desserts or sweets during our trip. While I didn’t believe that one was going to hold, I figured it should last long enough to serve as a minor punishment. History has already proven that Seifer had been excellent at skirting the rules or escaping punishments he didn’t feel he deserved, so I couldn’t imagine Cassie being much different than he was as a kid.

While Seifer drove, I made a call to Garden. Informed of our plans, Quistis made vague promises of getting things ready for our arrival in the morning. Apparently, she’d already been updated on Seifer’s presence in my life again and wisely chose not to comment upon it beyond asking what plans were with him. Making the executive decision to keep Seifer and Cassie in my room was a simple one. Keeping them with me would almost guarantee Seifer’s safety until we could determine what kind of reception he was going to receive.

“Want me to take over for a bit?” I offered.

As I’d been hanging up the phone, I’d caught Seifer attempting to be subtle about working the kinks from his neck. It had been nearly three hours since we discovered Cassie and Seifer had insisted on driving since then. That put him behind the wheel for the past five hours and I was sure he could use a real break from driving.

“Yeah, I could use a bit of a break.” He sighed, stopping the car on the side of the road, and turning it off.

It wasn’t common to see cars traveling this far out, most people opting for the safety the railroads could provide, so it didn’t really matter where he parked. Pulling off the road just left the space clear for the few reckless idiots that chose to fly down them. Some of which didn’t care if there was someone in their way or not. Stopping Seifer from sending Fire spells after those idiots hadn’t been an easy task.

“Let’s take a few minutes so I can feed and change Tempest.” I said while getting out of the truck.

Turning to close the door I saw him stretching his arms out before doing the same. “Yeah, better let Cassie stretch out a little too. Kids aren’t exactly fans of being in the car for too long.”

“Just remember to keep an eye out for trouble.” I reminded him and turned my focus onto the happily chirping Tempest who was chewing on her favorite Chocobo.

While I worked on getting Tempest changed, fed, and cleaned up, Seifer played a few games with Cassie near the back of the truck. Knowing that he was watching my back while it was vulnerable made it easier to get through my tasks quickly and efficiently. It didn’t hurt that he timed things well enough to bring Cassie back to the truck just as I was settling Tempest back into her seat.

“Hey Princess, what do you say we have a little play time of our own?” Turning to see what he meant, I caught sight of some monsters in the distance. Not terribly far off, they still close enough to walk to.

“But Daddy, we just had play time!” Cassie pouted, thinking she was being left out of something. Well, I guess she kind of was.

Reaching down, Seifer ruffled her hair. “Not that kind of playtime kiddo. I’m talking about a different kind.”

“Oh…” She frowned, not quite understanding.

Keeping my gaze on the group of Geezards and Blood Souls Seifer had spotted in the distance, I shook my head. “We shouldn’t waste time with that. There’s still a lot of driving left to Timber.”

“Come on Princess! We’ve been cooped up in the truck for hours now!” Seifer whined, much to the amusement of Cassie.

Letting out a sigh, I leaned against the open door and rubbed my fingers over my eyes. “What are you wanting from me, Seifer?”

Everyone knew that bored and Seifer didn’t mix. Ideally, the situation should be avoided whenever possible and handled strategically when it couldn’t be. Other than dragging Lionheart out from the back of the truck for a quick spar, I just wasn’t sure what options I had for dealing with the man’s restlessness. Either I let him have his way or he was likely to test my patience to the limit before nightfall.

Looking at the small gathering of monsters grouped together, I shook my head. “There’s not even enough for a warmup. Both of us would be overkill for that small group. But if you want to waste time with wiping them out, then I’ll stay here with the kids.”

“Alright! But don’t say I didn’t offer to share!” Seifer grinned, eager for the chance to get Hyperion out. As he drew the weapon from the bed of the truck, leaving the sheath behind and holding the bare blade in his hand, he kept talking. “Cass, I’ll be back in just a few minutes. I want you to stay here and listen to Squall.”

Cassie’s hand gripped the hem of my jacket as we watched Seifer jog over to the group of monsters without waiting for her agreement. Looking down at her, I caught sight of a blue Chocobo plushie that I didn’t recognize. More importantly, she looked absolutely horrified at the sight of her father rushing off towards the small group of monsters.

“Mr. Squall?” She squeaked out, jerking on my jacket.

“It’s alright Cassie.” I tried to assure her, keeping my voice calm.

It didn’t do anything to stop the tears forming in her eyes. “But Mr. Squall! Is Daddy r’lly gonna fight those monsters?”

Placing a hand on the back of her head I nodded, looking down to monitor her situation. “He is. But you don’t have to worry, those are some pretty weak monsters. It should only take a few minutes for him to destroy them and come back.”

“They not gonna eat him?” She sniffed, fully on the verge of crying.

When her tiny hands wrapped around my thigh, I nearly reprimanded her for hindering my mobility. The words instantly died in my throat as the first tear trickled down her cheek and she stared at the place Seifer was fighting. That’s when the severity of her situation finally dawned on me and I mentally cursed Seifer for upsetting her like this.

He’d been the one to tell me about how she witnessed her mother being killed and the nightmares that followed. If she knew he still hunted monsters, then he hadn’t said anything directly to me about it. Still, there was a difference between knowing someone actively fought against monsters and being made to watch them do it. To her, it didn’t matter that he could wipe them out in a matter of minutes. Those were her nightmares come to life.

Gently I dislodged her enough that I could kneel down in front of her, making sure to block her view of the battle that was just starting. It was effective in getting Cassie to focus on me and not what she was afraid of. From inside the truck, I could hear Tempest cooing happily as she played with her toy, oblivious to what was going on around her. Another source of distraction for the child.

“Cassie, I want you to listen to me.” I whispered, forcing her to pay attention to my words. “Your dad is a really strong and capable fighter. One of the best I’ve ever known. It will take a lot more than a few Geezards and Blood Souls to hurt him.”

“Really?” The hopeful look in her eyes had me nodding immediately.

“Really.” I agreed.

In the space of a heartbeat her arms were around my neck. Happy that I was able to help her calm down, I awkwardly returned her hug. Small as she was, it was almost nerve-wracking to have her arms nearly choking me while I tried to keep from squeezing her too hard. When she stiffened, I thought I might have misjudged how tight my grip was and quickly loosened my hold on her.

“Mr. Squall?” She whispered into my ear, sounding scared again.

“What’s wrong Cassie?” I asked, trying to figure out if I’d done something wrong.

“You said Daddy can beat those monsters?” She questioned, confusing the hell out of me with her line of thinking. In my attempt to comfort her, I’d forgotten about what the idiotic blond she called a father was doing.

“Yes Cass, they shouldn’t be any trouble for him.” Still, if she was worried then I should probably check in on him. Carefully I pulled her arms from my neck until she was standing in front of me again.

With the most innocent expression, she pointed past my shoulder. “What about the flying monsters? Are they easy for Daddy to beat too?”

“Flying monsters?” I mouthed, turning to look over my shoulder. Muttering curses under my breath, I dropped my head into one hand as I tried to decide the best course of action.

When I’d last looked, the closest thing to flying monsters in the area had been the Blood Souls. So, it was a shock to see that Seifer had somehow managed to disturb a whole flock of Thrustaevis while taking out his opponents. Now, over a dozen of the damn things were circling above him while he fought the ground level monsters.

“Mr. Squall? Is Daddy in twubble now?” She questioned, tugging on the sleeve near my face.

“No Cass, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” I answered.

“But…” She muttered, staring into the distance past me.

Making my decision, I picked her up and set her in the truck next to Tempest. “I promise Cass, your dad will be okay. I’m going to go help him just so I can make sure of it. But I need you to stay here with Tempest and keep the doors closed tight. Can you do that for me?”

“You want to leave us alone?” Her lip suddenly started quivering again. “You told Daddy you gonna stay with us!”

Stroking her hair, perhaps a little too roughly, I nodded. “I know but things changed. Either I can stay with you, or I can go and make sure Seifer has back up. Which do you think is the best choice?”

It might not have been fair to ask her that, but something in her eyes as she held her hands up before her made me think Seifer had worked with her on making decisions. As she mouthed words I couldn’t hear and moved her hands like there was a weight in each one, I became certain he’d done just that. So, I waited patiently for her to decide.

“Daddy!” She decided, holding up her right hand. “Help Daddy! I take care of Tempest!”

Nodding, I gave her a small smile. “That was my choice too. Now, I need you and Tempest to stay in the truck no matter what. Don’t open the door for any reason. Okay?”

“Okay.” She whimpered, her conviction wavering slightly.

Pulling my phone from my pocket I opened it and accessed my contact list. “I’m not sure how well you can read so I’ll make this simple for you. All these names with stars next to them? Those are people we can trust. If for some reason things go very wrong, I want you to call one of these numbers and take care of Tempest until one of my friends arrive.”

“But you said…!” She whimpered, refusing to take the phone. “You said you would bring Daddy back!”

Patiently holding the phone out to her, I nodded. “And I will. But it’s always smart to have a back up plan. Right now, I’m Seifer’s back up plan and I need you to be mine. Can you do that for me?”

“You promise you come back? With Daddy?” She asked, accepting the phone this time with a trembling hand.

“I promise Cass.” I repeated, placing my hand on her head again. Even though I was still too rough for her, the action seemed to help reassure her. If it helped that much, and got me to my goal faster, then I didn’t mind the minor contact.

“Okay. I promises to get help if the bad monsters get you and Daddy.” She declared, holding the phone closer to her chest.

“Good.” I muttered and shut the door firmly.

Kids taken care of, I did a quick scan of the truck to ensure that it was secured and grabbed Lionheart from the bed of the truck. With the sheath hastily strapped to my waist and the gunblade in my hand, I rushed in Seifer’s direction. Just in time to see the first Thrustaevis diving towards him with the others following quickly behind.

*Seifer*

Fucking Hyne’s ass! Squall is going to give me so much fucking shit for this mess! I thought to myself as I sent another Fire spell at a Geezard rushing across the ground to me.

Truth was, I deserved whatever crap Squall decided to give me. The desperate need I felt to get out and do anything other than driving for a few minutes was the same need that had been my undoing more than a few times growing up. You’d think I’d have learned by now not to give in to my restless urges when there was important shit going on.

In my defense, there had been less than a dozen Geezards and half as many Blood Souls when I started in this direction. A group of that size shouldn’t have taken more than twenty minutes for me to dispatch and would have been somewhat adequate in getting my energy out. Had either of us known they were going to call in reinforcements, I probably never would have come after them so readily. Not without Squall at least. Weak or not, numbers did make a difference after a certain point.

Now, after a damn dying Geezard had sent out a call for reinforcements, I had a whole swarm of the blasted things surrounding me and at least a dozen Thrustaevis circling over my head. Honestly, I didn’t think it mattered much to them if their meal was dead monster or one stupid human. The issue I'd run into was their lack of hesitation to join in the fray.

While all of my opponents were normally weak as fuck, I was suddenly surrounded by a large group of them. Fortunately, some skills were so ingrained in my memory that I found myself reacting faster than I could think about what to do. A process that helped greatly with putting a significant dent in my opponent’s numbers.

As I was busy rolling out of the way to avoid a pair of Thrustaevis attacking in tandem with a Geezard, there was a soft thud behind me. Coming up from the roll I swirled around on the ball of my foot with Hyperion raised, ready to defend my back. Only to find Squall standing there with his beautiful new gunblade in hand.

Annoyance exuded from his entire body as he steadily took out several more monsters while I watched in fascination. Guess I kinda do deserve it, but damn he’s fucking amazing like this! And I’m still a selfish, reckless bastard that is having to rely on him to save my ass. Fuck!

Even though I was silently berating myself for being an idiot, I couldn’t bring myself to look away longer than it took to manage whatever monster chose to attack me directly. There was a fierce beauty to Squall when he fought like this that was truly a rare sight to see. It was like he was a raging storm, all that power compacted into his lithe body and released with each deadly strike of his blade slicing through his opponent.

“Dammit Almasy! This was supposed to be a simple trip!” He growled, berating me even as he took down another Thrustaevis with a single blow.

“Where’s the fun in that?” I called back, just barely turning in time to avoid a nasty bite from a large Thrustaevis as it dove from behind me.

It was a shitty move to taunt Squall when I should be thanking him for coming to my rescue, but I just couldn’t help myself. Fighting with him like this was more thrilling than the battle itself. As much as I loved my kids, this was something I’d been missing for more than five years now. Not that I could ever admit such a thing out loud when I had so much fulfillment in my life now, but it truly had been the one thing I was still lacking.

Two more Thrustaevis dove towards me at the same time while I was distracted by watching Squall fight. Barely dodging out of the way, I came to my feet only to be face to face with an ugly fucking Blood Soul and a Geezard to my right. Dispatching them quickly, I spun around so fast that I nearly tripped over their bodies as a rush of air passed behind me.

Before I even completed the full turn, I saw Squall deflecting the attack of several more Thrustaevis in their attempt to divebomb me from behind. That they were constantly striking in groups was quickly becoming annoying. Nearly half the mob was dead around us and there were still more doing everything in their power to keep coming at us in groups. Only the Blood Souls seemed to be completely eliminated from the fight.

“Would you stop rolling in the dirt and take some of these things out already!” Squall snapped, forced to take a step back as he shoved another oversized Thrustaevis’s claws away with the flat of his blade. To add insult to injury, the damn thing escaped before he could slice it in two.

Relieving a Geezard of its head and one claw, I ground my teeth together. “It’s not like I’m asking them to the blasted ball or anything here! What’s the damn rush anyway? Lose your taste for monster killing?”

Another Thrustaevis landed dead on my left just seconds before I was being shoved out of the way. Turning around, I saw Squall take a swing at a relatively small but fast Thrustaevis. Lionheart’s edge only taking of a miniscule section of the creature’s tail before it rose back into the air to hover over us and plan its next attack. Cheeky bastard!

“No, I just don't like leaving the girls alone in the truck while I deal with this mess.” He glared at me, leaping in my direction with Lionheart ready to strike. Immediately I stepped to the side and watched as he destroyed a Geezard attempting to attack me from behind.

“They’re safe there.” I argued, dispatching two more Geezards just to show I wasn’t slacking on my portion of the work. Around us were currently more dead creatures than live ones. All the ones remaining had proven to be quick and crafty, easily dodging our gunblades whenever they got too close.

Pausing the conversation in order to take out another pair of Geezards, Squall turned to glare at me. “Cassie was freaked out when I left them. She’s afraid for you right now and I don’t want her to worry longer than necessary.”

“Shit!” I hissed turning towards the truck, while stupidly letting my guard down. So far, they appeared to still be inside and safe.

“Seifer! Behind you!” Squall shouted, unable to do more as he was forced to deal with a trio of Geezards striking at him simultaneously.

Claws dug into my back less than a second later. Crying out in pain I swung Hyperion around blindly. There was an excruciatingly harsh tug of claws hooked into the flesh along my lower back before the monster managed to pull free. To my amazement, there was the feel of my gunblade slicing easily through flesh and bone. The small Thrustaevis had been delayed too long in its escape after being hooked on me.

Now I’m pissed! I growled, turning to see Squall fighting off the remaining three Thrustaevis and two Geezards with little opportunity to get a decent blow in. I’m so done with this bullshit!

“Squall! Move!” I shouted the order as I felt the beginning of my Limit Break coming to the forefront of my mind.

Catching on to what I was doing, Squall hurried to escape the circle he was caught in. That one action setting up my targets perfectly as the Thrustaevis collided together right above the Geezards. Even if I had planned it this way, I couldn’t have designed a better set up than the one Squall had just provided me with.

Fire built in my palm, and I directed it to the center of the mob. All of the monsters were stunned, the Thrustaevis falling to the ground almost on top of the Geezards. Swinging my gunblade around rapidly, I built up a ball of energy. Once it was just the right size, I swung hard and released it towards the group. Striking exactly where I aimed it, the attack hit all five of the monsters and destroyed every last one within seconds.

“No more stopping to play with monsters while we’re on the road.” Squall decreed, approaching from my right side. “How badly are you hurt?”

Glancing towards the truck on my left, I shook my head and gave him a fake smile. “No more hunting. Got it, Princess.”

“Seifer, there’s blood on your shoulder and lower back.” He rumbled dangerously, reaching out to touch me as the world blurred for a moment.

As his fingers brushed over the wound on my shoulder I fucking whimpered! My choices were that or to cry out. I chose the lesser of the two evils. It had just been so long since I’d sustained such a serious injury that I hadn’t been fully prepared for my body to take notice of it just yet. Much less have Squall touching the open wound.

The only reason I didn’t end up collapsing to the ground was because Squall had caught me before I could do more than stumble. Careful to avoid direct contact, he wrapped one arm around my back and placed his other hand against my chest. Only by his hold on me was I able to stay upright as the world spun and my stomach rolled threateningly.

Damn, must be bad if I’m reacting like this. I mentally groaned, leaning on him far more than would have I liked.

“Just take it easy now.” He murmured, helping me to the ground when I started swaying. “You’re getting soft Almasy.”

“Shut up!” I hissed out, gasping as I shoved my right hand against the ground to support my weight.

With his right hand gripping my shoulder to help keep me in place, Squall briefly examined the two areas that were injured. “I need to get this shirt off so I can inspect the wounds better.”

“Cassie?” I moaned, trying to turn towards the truck only to have him tighten his hold on me so I wouldn't move.

“She’s fine. Probably calling someone from Garden as we speak.” He answered gruffly, working to swiftly remove the useless shirt from my body.

Biting back another whimper, I couldn’t keep from flinching as he tore the cloth from the injured areas on my back. “Need to get back to her. She’s going to be worried.”

“Just keep your ass quiet and we might just convince her you only have a few scratches to show for your stupidity.” He snarled, prodding at the now visible wounds.

“Damn it!” I moaned, instinctively trying to pull away but his grip on my shoulder still wasn't allowing me to move.

The spot on my lower back was harder to fight against and I did give a small cry for that one. At the sound, Squall paused in his inspection briefly. When I stopped trying to resist, he went back to checking the area around the wound only to receive a similar response from me a second time. Increased tension in his right hand let me know that he wasn’t happy with my reaction but at least he stopped messing with the damn spot.

“What the hell were you thinking, looking away like that in a fight? You know better!” He demanded, running his thumb over my shoulder anxiously. “If it weren’t for Cassie being with us, I’d do a quick cleanup of the injuries and make you wait until we reached Timber before healing you.”

“Shit Squall! Give a guy a break for once!” I retorted, hissing as I moved wrong and it stole my breath from my lungs. When I could speak again I continued. “I’ve been living the damn civilian life for the past five years. Nothing more dangerous than a few pests needing to be controlled. It’s not like I’ve been able to go monster hunting on a regular basis in that time. I’ve got shit to take care of and people who rely on me to be there.”

“Then you better start finding a way to make time for it!” He snarled in reproach.

“What the fuck Squall?” I bit out, wanting desperately to turn around and face him.

A finger barely brushed along the edge of one wound in my lower back and it fucking hurt! “This is what I’m talking about Almasy! You got seriously lucky today! I can see bone through this one. Damn it!”

“Squall?” Hearing him go off like that actually had me a bit worried. It was rare for him to lose his temper this badly.

For a long moment he didn’t answer, just stroked my shoulder with his thumb as he thought things through. “Sorry Seif. I shouldn’t have yelled like that when you’re too hurt to fight back. I’ll give you some healing, but I want you to down a Remedy when we get back to the truck.”

“You’re worried.” I stated accusingly. Squall and worried were never a good combination. The only time those two things were ever mentioned at the same time was when shit was seriously hitting the fan.

“Yeah, I am.” He admitted as he brushed a finger near the injury on my lower back. It was far enough away that it shouldn’t have hurt but it was enough to make me inhale sharply. “And that’s why. Something isn’t right here.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” I mumbled, feeling so damn tired now that the adrenaline rush was fading away.

A Curaga settled over me, easing the worst of the pain. The moment it was finished working, Squall inspected the wounds again. Doing a fine job of ignoring my muttered cursing, he followed up the action by dropping a Regen on me as well. Small bursts of healing brought a little relief, but I could tell he still wasn’t happy with the results. Personally, I was just glad that I could breathe again without worrying about how to hold my body to keep it from hurting.

“This isn’t healing right.” He murmured, touching the sensitive spot near the wound. “I can’t feel anything there but I’m sure something isn’t right with it. Hopefully I haven’t done something that will cause problems later.”

“Oh, for Hyne’s sake Squall! Quit talking about me like I’ve suddenly become an invalid!” I sneered at him, more than a bit pissy from being in pain. “It’s a fucking scratch. They happen, we heal them and then we move on with our lives. It’s how we grew up and that’s not something we're going to change anytime soon."

Him standing up to circle around to the front of me was about the same moment I knew I'd seriously screwed up. Kneeling down so that we were eye level, he gave me the full weight of his icy glare. “Do you even hear yourself Almasy? Or has the blood loss killed what few braincells you have left?”

“I’m gonna go with blood loss…” I retorted, unable to stop myself from trying to make light of the situation.

The look he gave me in response to my lame joke made me want to revive every fucking monster we just killed and take them on again solo. It would have been easier to deal with. “You were less than half an inch from walking back to the truck, Almasy. Less than an inch away from never walking again. That bone I saw? It was your damn spine, visible through the flesh that’s torn to shreds around it. Does that sound like a damn scratch to you?”

“Hyne in a fucking handbasket…” I breathed out, fighting not to react to the chill his tone was sending down my back. The bastard wasn’t lying. Neither was he exaggerating because Squall was never one to do so. He always told it like it is. Which meant this had really been a fucking close call. “Okay, okay. You win. I fucked up. Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”

“About damn time.” He sighed in relief, offering me his hand.

Hesitating with my own hand hovering in the air near his, I almost rejected the offer. I knew that getting up now was going to fucking hurt like hell. Only the narrowing of his eyes and the scowl slashing across his face kept me from pulling my hand back. Taking a steadying breath, I placed my hand along his forearm, allowing him to help me get on my feet.

“Fuck!” I whimpered, gripping his arm tight enough to leave bruises behind. Only his other arm wrapped around the middle of my back kept me from going back to my knees again.

“Can you walk?” He asked quietly, waiting for me to decide.

Giving a slow nod I let out the breath that had caught in my lungs. “Yeah.”

“Alright then, let’s get you back to the truck. Cassie needs to know that her moronic father will live to see another day.” He instructed somewhat teasingly.

“Sure Princess.” I sighed, letting him take most of my weight as we stepped forward.

Light bounced off something and I looked to the spot I’d been kneeling in. On the ground was Hyperion, waiting patiently for me to claim her. A lump formed in my throat as I realized just how distracted my injuries had made me. Bad enough that I hadn’t even spared the blade a second thought once Squall started messing with my back.

“Seif?” Squall questioned, looking up at me with concern.

“Hyperion.” I croaked out, gesturing towards the blade with my left arm.

“Stay standing and I’ll grab her for you.” He instructed. When I nodded and spread my feet to stabilize myself, he slowly released me in order to go pick up my gunblade off the ground. “Can you carry her? I’m going to need both hands free, and you didn’t bring her sheath with you.”

“Yeah, I can carry her.” I answered, holding my left hand out to him.

With reservations about doing so shining clearly in his eyes, Squall handed Hyperion over to my left hand. The weight of my gunblade wasn’t terrible and normally inconsequential unless fighting for hours on end. But taking it with the injuries still bleeding steadily down my back created a whole new level of pain that I’d refused to admit to.

The trek back to the truck took longer than it should have but I managed it. A sense of achievement hit when we arrived at the truck and I’d neither dropped my gunblade nor fallen once the entire distance. Shitty as I felt right now, that was absolutely something to be damn proud of. Even Squall looked satisfied over getting me back without further incident.

At least, until we saw what was awaiting us there. Either Cassie had been worried enough to call someone in for back up, or the phone had rung while we were busy and she’d answered it. Whichever the reason was, my child did not look happy to be speaking with whoever was on the line. Meaning, it was probably someone who didn't need to be informed of our situation just yet.

Chapter 16: I'll Meet You At Garden

*Squall*

Until I placed Seifer securely against the back bumper of his truck, the weight in my chest refused to ease. A weak protest from the blond had me slapping his hand away as I took Hyperion from him. Pain was clearly making him more irrational than usual it seemed. So, I purposefully took my time placing the blade in the back of the pickup, along with my own. If anything else decided to attack us at this point, I was just going to unleash the entirety of Shiva’s wrath on them. No more games.

Turning back to the idiot blond, I tore off my right glove and placed a hand against his cheek. Sweat covered his body and there was a faint trembling. Other than that, there were no immediate signs of fever, and he was fully aware of my actions. To my surprise, he somehow found the energy to shoot me one of those arrogant grins of his.

The sound of tapping on the window got my attention, startling me from the curiosity I saw past the pain in Seifer’s green gaze. Calmly I pulled my hand back, feeling more than a little embarrassed over my touch lingering for so long. Ignoring the burning look I was receiving, I stepped around the corner of the truck to see Cassie waving the phone at me through the window. At least one Almasy had the ability to follow orders.

Not wanting her to jump out and see Seifer before I could tend to his wounds, I opened the door just enough to get access to the inside of the vehicle. Between me keeping her in and the camper shell blocking most of her view, the young Almasy was only able to speculate what was happening and she wasn’t amused over being thwarted. Sparing a glance towards Tempest, I saw that she was still quietly sleeping in her car seat.

“Is something wrong Cassie?” I asked, wanting to hurry back to Seifer but afraid something might have happened in the truck that I wasn't seeing immediately.

“We is fine!” She chirped then frowned at the phone while holding it out to me. “There’s a weird lady on the phone. She said she wanted to talk to you. Then got mad when I told your you were fighting the scary monsters. She asked me ‘bout Tempest and I told her you wanted me to watch Tempest. I did! Just like you said Mr. Squall!”

“Weird lady?” I muttered, taking the phone from her and instinctively putting it to my ear. “Hello?”

“What the hell Squall?” Rinoa’s voice shrieked over the line loud enough that I was fairly certain all of the Galbadian continent could hear it. “Why is there a child answering your phone? And why did you leave her with Tempest? And who is she calling a weird lady?”

“Hold on a minute.” I told her, quickly pressing the hold button without waiting for an answer.

“See? I told you she waz mad.” Cassie frowned, giving the phone a pure Almasy look of annoyance.

“Thanks for taking care of things Cassie. You did good.” I praised her, hoping she’d forget about Seifer and Rinoa for a few minutes. “Do you mind keeping an eye on Tempest for a little while longer?”

Both of us glanced over at the sleeping toddler, her arms wrapped tightly around her favorite Chocobo. When I looked at her again, she gave me an Almasy eye roll that clearly said how overly simple that request was but nodded confidently. “Okay. I watch Tempest longer.”

“Thanks Cassie.” I murmured and closed the door before she could start asking questions I really didn't want to answer at the moment. Fortunately, she seemed to be able to read the situation to some degree because she just sat back in her seat to wait.

“Squall? What’s wrong?” Seifer’s strained voice met me as I made my way back around the corner of the truck. Nothing seemed to change so I waved the phone for a second as an explanation.

“This was your suggestion.” I reminded him as I unmuted the phone.

“…mute me? How dare you mute me when I’m yelling at you!” Rinoa’s voice started coming in loud and clear again.

“Rin! Would you be quite for a minute so I can explain it to you?” I snapped, startling her into silence. Taking a breath, I continued in a calmer voice. “I silenced the phone so I could step away from the girls. Tempest is asleep and Cassie doesn’t need to listen in on this.”

“Last time I checked, Tempest was your only child.” She replied in an accusatory snit. “Don’t even try telling me that the other child is yours. Because, unless you're going to claim you cheated on me during one of your missions, I’m not going to believe it. Actually, I still probably wouldn't believe it. That was the one thing I was certain of during our relationship. You aren’t a cheater. Not unless we count work as your mistress.”

“Cassie isn’t mine…” I confirmed.

The sound of her being relieved by that hit me pretty hard. “I didn’t think she was, but there was always a possibility of me being wrong on that one too. Now tell me why you thought it was acceptable to leave a child alone to take care of Tempest. I find it hard to believe you did it just so you could go kill a few monsters.”

Hyne, this was going downhill fast. “That’s not exactly what happened. But yes, I did leave Cassie to take care of Tempest for a few minutes. They were still within sight at all times.”

“I can’t…I just…” She sounded so flabbergasted over that revelation that I wanted to laugh and apologize at the same time. “Who is Cassie? Where did she come from? Why is she with you and not her parents?”

As she continued rattling off questions without giving me a chance to answer I shot Seifer an apologetic look. The man was likely in serious pain, and I was stuck dealing with Rinoa’s near hysterics instead of taking care of him. Somehow I was going to have to get her off the damn phone without making things more difficult than they already were.

Eventually he became annoyed with her seemingly endless stream of questions and yanked the phone from my grasp. “Rinoa, if you’d shut up for two seconds then maybe Squall could tell you that Cassie is my child. He’d also be able to tell you that he’d left Cassie to take care of Tempest because I needed him to save my stupid, arrogant ass from a flock of Thrustaevis. Everyone is fine by the way. Tempest is freaking adorable. So how have you been?”

“Sei…Seifer? Seifer Almasy?” She shrieked into the phone, forcing him to pull it away from his ear in a bid to save his hearing. “What…what are you doing with Squall and Tempest? Did you kidnap them? Is Tempest okay? Don’t drag Tempest into whatever grudge you have against Squall! Tell me where you are and I’ll come get her.”

“Holy Hyne woman!” The startled words were followed by him staring at the phone with his mouth gaping open. “Overlooking the fact that you didn’t offer to save Squall from my supposed clutches, how the hell did you come to any of those conclusions?”

“Why else would you be with Squall? I’ve heard the stories about what the two of you were like as teenagers, always trying to kill each other under the guise of training. Why would I think anything’s changed? Now, tell me where Tempest is!” She demanded frantically.

Disbelief had him forgetting that he was hurting for the moment. “Rinoa, I’ve been helping Squall for the past month with taking care of Tempest. Right now, we’re on our way to Garden so she can get her vaccinations up to date. Everyone absolutely appreciated the way you dropped her in Squall’s lap without providing any important information before leaving. Like her medical history for example.”

“W…what?!” She gasped. Clearly, she’d been fully prepared to bitch me out but hadn’t the first clue how to deal with Seifer appearing out of nowhere. “You have no idea what happened! I want to speak to Squall! Put him on the phone this instant!”

Having reached his limit for dealing with the woman, Seifer practically threw the phone back at me. Sharing the scowl he was giving the small device, I didn’t bother keeping the irritation out of my voice. “What do you want Rinoa? I’m a bit busy at the moment and we’ve already wasted enough time with your dramatics. Make it short.”

“I’m ignoring that rude comment because you’ve always acted weird when it came to Seifer. But if you’re insane enough to suddenly start trusting him with an innocent child, I’m wondering if it was a mistake to trust you, of all people, to take care of Tempest.” She growled dangerously. “If this was too much you should have done something about it sooner. Contacted me or something to say you couldn’t handle being a parent. I mean, really Squall? Seifer Almasy? The sorceress’s pet knight? How could you ever think it was acceptable to trust him with a helpless baby? I was certain you were more responsible than that!”

“Rinoa, knock it off or we’re done talking.” I snarled at her, effectively shutting her up for the moment. The near anguish Seifer was exuding from her mindless ranting was just too much for him at the moment.

“How dare you!” She hissed. “I’m worried about Tempest, and you haven’t even returned a single message to let me know she’s doing okay. Now I find out you’re out playing with Seifer when you should be taking care of your responsibilities. What am I supposed to think here?”

“Seifer has proven himself to be a safe person for Tempest to be around.” I told her quietly, locking eyes with Seifer so he’d know I meant for him to hear what I was saying. “He’s got his own kids, helps take care of Raijin and Fujin’s boys, has a business and has gone out of his way to help me learn how to care for Tempest. When I was at my limit, he was the one that stepped up to help me out. It was Seifer that forced me to take care of my own needs when I’d pushed myself well beyond my limits. Now he’s doing even more for me by traveling all the way to Garden for her sake. So back the hell off of him.”

Utterly reprimanded, she let out a gasping sob. “Then why haven’t you said anything about Tempest? I’ve called and left messages but none of them have been returned. I didn’t think asking for a report on her was too much to ask of you.”

“What is this really about Rinoa?” I sighed, feeling incredibly tired. All I wanted was for this conversation to end so that I could get Seifer fixed up and get back on the road.

“I just want to see her again. See for myself that she’s doing alright.” She pleaded, sounding sincere about the request.

“Tempest is doing just fine.” I assured her, looking to Seifer.

At my silent inquiry he shrugged. “Go ahead. It’ll get her off your back for a while.”

Not really liking the idea, I still trusted Seifer’s judgement. “Rinoa, we’re going to be at Garden sometime around midday tomorrow. We should be there for a couple days at least. If you want to come see her, then I won’t stop you. But right now, I really need to get going.”

“Thank you!” She breathed happily into the phone. “I have some stuff going on in Timber tomorrow that I can’t get out of. But I’ll absolutely be there the next morning. Be careful Squall.”

With that, the line went dead. Conversation over, I slid the phone into my pocket and turned to Seifer. Leaning heavily against the truck, he was grinning at me. Of course, he’d been right and obviously wasn’t going to let me live that one down. If I’d contacted Rinoa sooner than this, it wouldn’t have blown up so badly at such a terrible time. I knew better than to admit it out loud though. Doing so would only inflate his ego. After his recklessness today, he didn’t deserve the boost.

“She sounded happy to hear my voice.” He muttered satirically.

“Yeah.” I sighed, rubbing my scar to stave off the building headache.

Fingers ran along my temple, causing me to look up. “Hey, I’m sorry if I made that worse. It was just frustrating to hear her going off on you like that. I had to do something.”

“It’s fine. That’s pretty normal for her anymore.” I replied, moving past him to dig some items out of my bag. Placing one of the objects into his hand, I turned back to the bag so I could pull out a few more supplies.

“A Remedy?” He grumbled.

Stopping what I was doing I looked over to see him glaring at the pale green vial. “Just drink it. You said you’d do what I told you to, and we don’t need any more complications if they can be avoided. I’ll get you cleaned up in a minute. With all the dirt and blood covering you, it’s hard to determine just how bad the injuries still are.”

The sound of gagging while my back was turned informed me that he drank the liquid as I’d asked. “Shit! That crap is fucking bitter.”

“As long as it gets the job done you’ll just have to suck it up.” I retorted, standing a few feet from him. “Now, turn around so I can soak you with a Water spell. If you can, junction some spells to defend against it. Hopefully it’ll be enough to clean you up.”

A ticked off glare was thrown my way, but he grudgingly turned around to brace himself against the truck. While he was getting into position, I took a moment to adjust my junctioned spells. With any luck, the Water spell would be incredibly weak and do almost no damage at all to him. Especially if he’s able to protect himself from it.

Summoning the spell only took a few seconds before I was able to direct it right against his exposed back. There was a short gasp from him as it hit but I couldn’t be sure if it was because the water was cold or if it had hurt the wounds further. Overall, his back looked much cleaner, and he didn’t seem to be too overwhelmed from being hit by the spell.

One of the things I’d pulled from the back of the truck had been a heavily stained ‘emergency’ blanket from Tempest’s bag. The damn thing was barely worth hanging onto, but I figured it was an expendable item that could be used for messes that I didn’t want to use her good supplies on. It had been a good call since the horrendous tomato sauce stains on it blended in with the blood and mud that came off of Seifer’s skin as I ran the blanket over it.

“Well?” He growled through clenched teeth as I tossed the blanket into the back of the truck. “You gonna get on with the healing or what?”

“Give me a moment.” I told him, running my fingers over the edges of the wounds in search of damage that might not be so easily seen.

“Fuck it all Leonhart! Stop fucking with it and heal me already!” He hissed out, trying to pull away from my touch.

Holding his uninjured shoulder to keep him from moving away, I prodded the spot that seemed to bother him earlier. Now that it was mostly cleaned, I’d hoped to be able to see something near the injuries in his lower back that would tell me what was wrong there. All I got out of it was more complaints from him about leaving it alone.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to give you more healing. Something is going on right here and I can’t figure out what it is.” I muttered, brushing a finger over the spot I was talking about. Even that light contact seemed to hurt him. “We need to get Kadowaki to look at you. Adding more spells might just make it worse and I didn't bring any potions strong enough to clear out something like this.”

“Fuckin’ hell.” He grumbled. This time when he shook off my hand, I allowed it. Taking a step back, I watched as he reached into the truck bed and pulled out a clean shirt. “If you aren’t going to do anything then let’s get going. Cassie’s already been left alone too damn long and is liable to find something to entertain herself.”

“Let’s at least bandage the wounds so they don’t bleed anywhere. I can add some padding over that spot that’s bothering you as well, so it has a little protection.” I insisted, hoping he wouldn’t fight me on it.

That made him hesitate for a moment then he nodded slowly. “Alright, but we need to make it quick. I was serious about Cassie finding things to entertain herself. She’s a little young to figure out how to hotwire the truck but I wouldn’t put it past her to somehow manage it.”

“Can’t have that.” I murmured, to try and lighten the mood a bit.

Not wasting any time, I shoved the items I didn’t need back into the bags and drew out the Med-kit stashed near the tailgate. In record time I got his wounds cleaned out the best I could, bandaged and helped him put on the damn t-shirt he’d insisted was necessary. There was a bit of swearing involved when it came to getting the shirt past his head and shoulders, but we managed eventually.

“You’re driving, right?” He panted, leaning his good shoulder against the corner of the truck.

Nodding, I held up the keys. “I was going to anyway, remember?”

“Right…” He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

Stepping up to him, I wrapped an arm around his back for support. “Come on, let’s get you in the truck.”

This time he just nodded and allowed me to help him into the passenger seat. Cassie’s eyes watched us through the window as we passed then observed silently as I helped him into the truck. Somehow he managed to keep his cursing quiet enough that she wasn’t able to hear exactly what was being said, likely using his entire vocabulary of inappropriate words during the few minutes it took to get him seated and buckled in.

“Did Daddy get hurt?” Cassie asked worriedly just before I shut the door on Seifer.

Leaving him to answer, I walked around the truck to the driver’s side. A glance through the passenger door behind mine showed that Tempest was still sleeping, completely unaware of the things going on around her. With at least one thing working in my favor, I prayed that the rest of the trip to Timber went a lot smoother than the first part had.

Had it not been for the fact that his energy was pretty drained, and his magic ability had never been the strongest outside of fire-based spells, Seifer would likely have already cast healing magic on himself by now. Both of us knew that my affinity towards it was more than triple what his was, making it far more effective with less effort.

All I needed to do was keep him distracted until we reached Timber. From there it was only a few hours by train to Balamb and roughly another hour before we’d reach Garden. Convincing him not to cast for the few hours it would take from Timber to Garden would be significantly easier than the eighteen that was still left of our journey.

I should have just taken the damn train…

*Seifer*

“Daddy? Is it really just a bad owie?” Cassie asked for the hundredth time in the last two hours.

From the driver’s seat I caught sight of Squall’s jaw clenching tighter. Until now he’d been trying leave the explanations for me to deal with. Likely as some form of punishment for getting injured in the first place. But even he had his limits, and my child was no less skilled than I was at pushing his buttons when she wanted answers. Regardless of whether she meant to direct her attack at him or not.

“Cassie,” He grumbled, somehow keeping his tone from sounding ticked off. “Since you won’t believe Seifer’s answer, I’ll give you mine. Your father will be perfectly fine. I cleaned up the wounds and bandaged them the best I could manage out here. When we get to Garden, I’ll have the doctor there fix him up the rest of the way.”

“If Mr. Squall says Daddy be okay, then Daddy will be okay.” She responded confidently and seemed to be content with his answer.

“Thanks Princess.” I muttered quietly, leaning my head back against the seat. Riding in the truck over rough ground was fucking hell but I didn’t dare complain at this point.

“Try and rest for a bit. We still have a long way to go before reaching Timber.” He grumbled back, glancing in the rearview mirror to check on the girls.

Shortly after that conversation, Cassie fell asleep and for the next hour we were able to travel in near silence. At some point Tempest had decided to wake up and immediately demanded that Cassie entertain her. Short of a little annoyed yelling when her companion didn’t react in a manner Tempest approved of, things remained fairly quiet. With both kids awake, I turned up the radio a little louder so I could have something other than kid noises going on in the vehicle. A quick glance towards Squall confirmed that he didn’t mind the extra noise too much.

“Daddy, I’m hungry! Tempest is hungry too!” Cassie announced after having entertained Tempest for a good while.

Barely being on the road for three hours since our last stop had Squall at his limits. There was a slight twitch of his eye to go with the pissed off scowl and clenched fingers around the steering wheel. It was almost comical enough to burst out laughing but I valued my life enough to fight back the urge. No reason to give him a target when he was in that kind of mood.

“We stop, feed the kids, change Tempest, and get back on the road. Understood?” He declared, flicking a glance at me.

I couldn’t help but grin at the suggestion I might delay us further. “Princess, I can assure you that I’m in no shape to go playing with monsters or doing anything that might cause us to stop for longer than necessary.”

“Good.” He muttered while pulling off the road.

A half hour or so later, we had the kids fed, Tempest changed, and everyone settled back into their seats. At my suggestion he stopped at one of the little waystations we were passing through and grabbed some hot food for dinner just as it was getting dark a few hours later. With all the excitement of the day, I was fairly certain Cassie would sleep well once her belly full of something other than travel food. While he was busy purchasing dinner, Cassie and I called up Raijin’s phone so we could say goodnight to Tyr.

It wasn’t the first time we’d pulled into a wayward town for a pit stop since Cassie had needs to take care of. Those few delays didn’t seem to bother Squall quite as much, and he was even willing to escort Cassie inside while I kept watch over Tempest since I was injured. Something about being faster to take care of it himself.

Just as I’d predicted, Cassie complained a little about not sleeping in a bed but was soon fast asleep. It was almost fucking peaceful having Squall navigate the road with nothing more than headlights to guide us, kids snoozing away happily and the soft sounds of the radio playing. Even the monster population had been considerate enough to not cause any more trouble.

“If you don’t stop squirming around, I’m going to cast Sleep on you.” Squall growled, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the girls. “I might do it anyway just so you can get some rest like I’d told you to hours ago.”

“Well fuck me for being uncomfortable.” I grumbled back at him. Even knowing that he was grumpy from all the delays and driving for hours wasn’t enough to keep me from sniping back at him. “Hell Leonhart, if you’re tired just pull over somewhere for the night. Or I can drive while you take a nap.”

“I’m not letting you behind the wheel in your condition.” The firm declaration brooking no room for argument. “Just go to sleep so I can drive in peace.”

“What? And leave you alone to brood?” I huffed. “No thanks. The way you get lost in that head of yours, we’d be lucky if we woke up in the morning. Probably in a ditch somewhere with Geezards gnawing on our limbs.”

“I’m perfectly capable of driving through the night. It’s not like I was the one who took a shit ton of damage from a damn Thrustaevis.” He snapped back quietly. “If you’re that worried about it then you can watch the kids while I take a nap on the train.”

“That’ll net you what? Three hours at most? That’s not a lot of time after driving so long.” I calculated, pushing once more for him to give in. So what if we got there a bit later than planned? At least we’d get there alive.

“I’m used to going on little sleep.” He shrugged and tapped a finger on the large, insulated cup in the holder between us. “There’s plenty of coffee left in there and I can get more in Timber, Balamb and Garden if I need to. It’ll keep me going for a while.”

“Don’t forget that you’ll still have to deal with Rinoa the next morning. I doubt you’ll have caught up on your sleep by then.” I countered, certain that I’d found an excuse for him to take a short break.

“I recall you promising to help me handle her and provide back-up if she causes trouble. Or did you change your mind on that one?” He smirked, knowing he’d won this round.

“Asshole. You know I wouldn’t abandon you like that.” I grumbled.

Shifting once more in an attempt to relieve the pressure of the seat against my shoulder, I inadvertently caused the spot on my back to ache again. Frustration at having to continuously deal with the reminder of my screwup left me wanting to scream and hit something. Since that wasn’t an option, I simply dug my fingers into my arms and stared out the window.

“We’ll get you taken care of just as soon as we reach Garden.” Squall promised so quietly that I suspected he hadn't meant for me to hear him.

Not sure how to respond, I stayed silent. For more than an hour I remained awake, worried he might be pushing himself too hard again. With the canyon now behind us and open fields dominating the landscape, I found myself getting a little sentimental. Something about being in the car with Squall and the girls in the middle of nowhere brought forth feelings I had no names for. Except for one…

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, my gaze locked on the moonlit landscape outside my window. In the distance I could see various monsters through the waist-high grass searching for their next meal.

“For what? The Thrustaevis attacking?” He asked in confusion, turning to look at me briefly before going back to watching the road. “I never actually blamed you for that happening. You couldn’t have known the damn monsters would summon reinforcements.”

“That and…other things.” I nodded as a lump formed in my throat. This conversation had been long overdue, and I wanted it taken care of before we reached Garden. This seemed as good a time as any for it.

A hum of curiosity and another brief glance came from him. “What things?”

Too late to turn back now, I inhaled slowly and began speaking without looking at him. “I’ve fucked up a lot throughout my life. Not once had I ever apologized for it either. I think it’s about time that I did. You, at the very least, deserve it from me.”

“I don’t need your apologies for anything.” He insisted firmly.

“Maybe you don’t need them but you sure as fuck deserve them.” I snapped a little too loudly, causing both girls to stir. Lowering my voice, I continued. “I was an ass to you growing up, so I don’t blame you for not recognizing what was going on right away. It was my own damn fault for allowing that bitch to gain control over me. Then, after you saved my ass from her, I publicly berated you for not killing me. I knew I deserved it and by all rights you could have without any repercussions. But what I should have done was thank you for not doing it.”

For a long time, he drove without a single word spoken in response to my apology. Having said my peace, I resigned myself to never truly gaining his forgiveness. In the end, I’d been the one to allow Ultimecia the opening that gave her control over my actions. There were so many things I've wished I could go back and change from that time. Turning my back on Squall that day was at the top of that list.

“I don’t need an apology for that Seifer.” He finally said, keeping his eyes set on the road in front of him. “She was an expert at manipulating people and had gained more than enough power to do whatever she’d wanted to. It took a while to put the pieces together, but we eventually figured out that you’d been worried about all of us going on that Timber mission. You couldn’t have known how things would have turned out.”

“No, but I should have trusted that you were capable of completing your mission. Or found some other way to help you instead of lone wolfing it. What I shouldn’t have done was lose my temper and rush to your aid when you didn’t need it. All I did was cause more problems for everyone, especially for you.” I argued, still pissed at myself for having so little faith in my training partner.

Then again, Cid had sent three rookies on a mission with an extremely vague end date. There was no telling how long it would take to liberate Timber from Galbadia’s forces with just three newly graduated SeeDs to achieve that goal. If he had set a time limit for how long Rinoa would have them, I might not have reacted so badly. But it bothered me to know he’d have two SeeDs, just as green as he was, watching his back when I knew hardly anything about them or their abilities.

It’s not like Cid would have permitted me on his team even if I had passed the exam. I told myself sadly. That was something I've had to remind myself of often. But why the hell couldn’t the man have sent him with at least one experienced SeeD to help guide him when shit hit the fan? Was it really all about money? Or was there something more to it?

“Seifer, I’m not blaming you for that either. So stop thinking that I do.” Grey-blue eyes nearly glowed as he gave me a solid stare. “You did what you thought was right at the time. I’m not going to fault you for it. Either way, it’s well in the past and you need to find a way to let it go. We’re all here now and are doing just fine. Besides, what you managed to do with your life, raising those kids, that’s a greater achievement than you could’ve ever managed if you had stayed at Garden and become a SeeD operative.”

Ignoring the toll it took on my body, I turned just enough to see Cassie still asleep with one arm resting on the edge of Tempest’s car seat as a pillow. “Those kids sure are a handful but they truly are worth all the crap they put me through. I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

“Like I told Rinoa, you’ve done a damn good job at raising them. I can only hope to do half as well with Tempest.” A small smile appeared on his face that looked almost sad. Or was it resignation? “You found your calling Seif. All you need to do now is figure out a way to help Cassie get those Almasy genes under control before they get her into serious trouble.”

“Yeah, they’ve always been a bit of a problem.” I smirked, laying my head back against the seat. “The three of us have been working on it though. Raj and Fu are pretty damn good at helping to redirect the worst of my traits in both of us. Tyr doesn’t seem too affected by them fortunately. Once in a while he’ll prove he’s got my blood in him, but those incidents are fairly far between. My guess is that Cassie got the lion’s share while they were still in the womb.”

The spot I’d set myself in against the seat was starting to put too much pressure on my shoulder again, so I tried shifting around in search of something less painful. I’d almost had a good spot when I managed to press my lower back against the seat just right, dragging out a hiss of pain before I could contain it.

Instantly, Squall’s eyes were scanning my body. Probably trying to determine the best course of action and wondering if I was causing more damage by not sitting still. Irritated with the injuries and his fretting over them, I found a spot that was the least offensive at the moment and leaned my head against the window. The cool glass felt good against my skin.

“You holding up alright?” The soft inquiry had me jolting awake. I hadn’t even remembered drifting off and he probably hadn’t noticed when he asked.

“I’m fine. Just let me know if you need me to take over for a bit.” I told him, closing my eyes again and letting the coolness of the glass lull me back to the edge of sleep.

“Just get some rest. We’ll be at Timber by morning.” It was a clear order but this time I didn’t bother to object as I let sleep overtake me.

Notes:

Here's the next chapter! I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Chapter 17: Hello Mr. Chocobo!

*Squall*

Dawn was just breaking as I drove the truck into Timber. For the most part, Cassie had slept through the night. Twice, I had to stop in order to take care of Tempest which got a bleary-eyed response from Seifer each time. All it took was a little reassurance that I had it handled in order for him to fall back asleep with his head pressed against the window. Both times I returned to the driver’s seat I witnessed a small sheen of sweat that he’d periodically wipe away in his sleep. Seeing it only encouraged me to drive straight through the night.

Entering town so early in the morning made it easy to navigate the roads. Few people were out and about at this time of day, the town not truly opening up for another hour or so. Which allowed me to drive directly to the station and snag the closest parking spot available. We wouldn’t be needing it for long.

“Trains!” Cassie cheered excitedly. Of course she’d woken up just as I stopped the truck. “We get to ride a train?”

“Yes Cassie, now be quiet. Seifer and Tempest are still sleeping.” I reprimanded her as gently as I could manage. It wasn’t her fault I was tired from driving all night.

And it wasn’t entirely true that Seifer was still sleeping either. He’d been somewhat awake since we pulled into town and had simply opted to keep his eyes closed. With any luck he was managing to get a little extra rest before we had to transfer everything to the train. Only Tempest was still out after having woken up less than two hours ago demanding food and a clean diaper.

The sweat I’d seen on his face and neck during our last stop now looked even more prominent in the morning light. So far he hadn’t made any more complaints or appeared too restless, so I left him alone throughout the drive here. With Kadowaki being only a few hours away, I started to allow myself to relax a little over the blond’s condition.

Over to the side of the platform I saw the ticket booth opening for the day. After a small debate on putting Cassie in charge I turned in my seat to look at her. “Cass, I need to go purchase our tickets for the train. Can you keep an eye on these two while I take care of that?”

“I can do that!” She chirped in an excited whisper.

“Okay. I’ll just be a few minutes and won’t be far.” I promised as I opened the door. Green eyes opened lazily to watch as I left the vehicle.

Closing the door behind me, I quickly walked to the booth and made my purchases. Nearby I noticed a small stand opening that advertised fresh fruits and pastries. Not far from it was a small coffee shop that was just opening its doors as well. Sparing the truck a quick glance I decided to grab coffee for me and food for the others to eat while we waited.

After a stop for coffee, I gave the pasty stand a quick appraisal. It didn’t take long to grab a fruit juice for Cassie, several cups of pre-cut fruit and a couple of pastries. All of which smelled far too sweet for my liking. But, if memory served, I was fairly certain that these were similar to what I’d seen Seifer scarfing down on occasion at Garden. All I needed was more coffee in my system to get through the rest of this trip.

Excited cooing and Cassie chattering away greeted me when I arrived back at the truck. Opening Seifer’s door to hand him a share of the purchases, I couldn’t help but notice a slight flush to his face and neck that I knew wasn’t normal for him. Still, he accepted the pastry, a fruit cup and the second coffee with a murmur of thanks.

Satisfied that I’d taken care of his needs, I offered his child a pastry, the juice, and some fruit as well. She happily began chowing down on the pastry. There was probably some rule Seifer had about her eating the fruit first, but I wasn’t going to bother since she was content and getting fed. If he didn’t like it then he got to be the parent and say so.

Closing her door, I walked around the back of the truck and went to work on getting Tempest cleaned up. It didn’t take long to get her changed and get started on offering her some of the softer pieces of fruit available. For someone who hated pureed bananas, she seemed to have no qualms about the sliced version of them. Strawberries and mango also seemed to please her.

While she took her time exploring the taste and texture of each piece of fruit I gave her, I took the opportunity to suck down my coffee. When I got the chance I would look over to check on Seifer but from my position I couldn’t gain much information on how he was doing. At least he seemed to still be aware and sitting up, so I classified that as an improvement.

Roughly forty minutes later I had both kids fed, Tempest cleaned up, her clothes changed, and all their garbage tossed into a nearby receptacle. After escorting Cassie to the coffee shop, I stood outside while she used the restroom so I could keep an eye on Seifer and Tempest as well, I successfully guided her back to the truck and set her on the seat. With everyone’s needs cared for in the back seat, I climbed back into the driver’s seat and looked over to see how Seifer was doing.

“Seif?” I whispered, keeping my voice low enough not to gain Cassie’s attention as she played with a happily squealing Tempest.

“I’m good Leonhart.” He mumbled with a weak grin.

With a shaking hand he set the barely touched pastry onto the armrest between us. The cup of fruit was being lazily held in his other hand, nearly tipping over, and only had a couple pieces of fruit missing from it. Even if he wasn’t feeling well I’d have expected him to manage a little better than what he had. Not even the coffee had been touched and was now sitting in the cup holder, completely cooled off.

“You should eat more than that.” I urged, pushing the pastry back towards him. "Or at least some more of the fruit."

A sour expression appeared when he visually followed my actions. “I’m not that hungry Princess. Eat it or give it to Cassie.”

Worried that she might have heard her name, I glanced into the rearview mirror. To my relief she was still distracted by the toddler placed in her care. Unamused by Seifer’s attempts to draw attention away from himself for a chance, I leaned over the armrest. Careful not to crush the unwanted pastry, I reached out to place the back of my hand against his cheek.

“You’re so full of shit it could stink up a damn ballroom!” I hissed out, pulling my hand away from the heat rolling off his body. “I should have checked earlier when I noticed something was off. You’re burning up. There are some capsules in the Med-kit that could help manage your fever, but you need something in your stomach with them or they might make you nauseous. Otherwise, the train will be ready to board in a few minutes. It’ll be a few hours before I can get you to Kadowaki.”

“I’ll be alright without them.” He insisted, swallowing hard despite his attempt to appear fine. “Cass has been good for you, hasn’t she?”

“Absolutely perfect. Wish I had a few more SeeDs that were as easy to deal with as her.” I answered lightly, trying to keep him engaged in the conversation. “Beats having the overly independent type that think they know more than the rest of us.”

“Good.” He sighed, completely missing or ignoring the small teasing I’d snuck in, and laid his head against the window again with his eyes closed.

“What’s wrong with Daddy?” Cassie asked, leaning forward between the seats.

“He’s just not feeling well.” I answered softly, starting up the truck. “Sit back and buckle up Cassie. We’re going to go load the truck up and grab a private car for our train ride. Afterwards we’ll take him to someone that will make him feel better.”

Driving towards the loading area I considered how best to handle the situation when Cassie hit me with another anxious question. “Is Daddy going to die like Mommy?”

“Not a fucking chance.” Seifer mumbled, barely coherent at the moment.

“He’s not going to die.” I told them both firmly, trying to end the topic. When a sniffle came from the backseat I wanted to take Seifer out behind the truck and beat his ass for leaving me to manage this on my own. Garden training or not, I was just not prepared for a miniature Almasy freaking out about her father. “Seifer is tough Cassie. He’s going to be alright. I’ll make sure of it, okay?’

“Really?” She sniffed again but sounded calmer.

Even though she likely wasn’t even looking in my direction, I nodded. “Yes. We’re going to Garden anyway for Tempest. There’s a doctor there that knows all about your father and will be able to make him feel better. We just need to be patient for a little longer. Alright?”

“Okay!” She hiccupped then went quiet again while I focused on loading the truck onto the train.

From there, it was an exercise in patience getting Seifer, Tempest and Cassie into the private train car. Fortunately, it was only two cars away from the storage car, so I didn’t have to support the idiotic blond for very long while carrying Tempest against my chest. Cassie was generous enough to get the doors open for us, keeping me from having to let go of either charge while moving between cars.

“…bag…” Seifer muttered as I helped him sit on the bed. Helping him lay down was going to be impossible with Tempest under my other arm.

“What was that?” I asked, leaning in close enough to feel the heat from his skin.

It took a few seconds before he was able to repeat himself. “You forgot Tempest’s bag.”

“Damn!” I hissed, standing upright. It wasn’t a big deal to go back for it, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving him alone in order to bring the girls with me.

“I’ll be fine.” He sighed, nearly collapsing onto the bed in the private cabin. “Leave whoever. It’ll only take a minute to grab it.”

Turning to the younger Almasy, I gave her a hard look. “Stay here with him. I’ll be back in just a couple minutes. You are not to leave the room for anything. Understood?”

“Yes Mr. Squall.” She agreed politely. Too politely in my opinion…

Settling Tempest more securely against my side, I hurried back to the truck. While I was there, I took an extra moment to make sure the gunblades were hidden. Taking them with us was completely unnecessary for the short ride and would have caused more problems when I could just shove them under our bags and lock the truck up. Double checking that all entry points were locked, I readjusted my load and rushed back to the cabin quickly as I could justify going. Running was completely out of the question, so I settled for a fast, no nonsense walk that had people moving out of my way that were trying to enter the room between the storage car and ours.

Glancing at Seifer upon my return, I noticed his eyes closed and mouth slightly opened as if he were sleeping peacefully on his side. I might have believed it too if not for the position, the rapid rise and fall of his chest that said he was breathing harder than usual, and the slight sheen of sweat building again near his hairline. Somehow I was going to have to tend to his needs while keeping Cassie from worrying more than she currently was.

The train was already in motion by the time I got Cassie and Tempest settled on the floor near the bend of the couch. It was about the most secure spot I could find for the two of them. Even the bed, large as it was and surrounded on two sides by walls, wasn’t safe enough should the train move unexpectedly for them.

Once I got the girls situated with some toys to keep Tempest entertained, I snuck away to the bed with a bottle of water. One touch of his skin and I had to keep myself from pulling away with a hiss. His temperature was still raging at concerningly high levels. At least he seemed to be somewhat aware of my presence when I sat down next to him, so that was one good thing.

“Damn it Leonhart, you’re thinking too hard again. I’ll be fine so stop worrying so much.” He panted, holding my hand against his cheek. With how hot his skin was, mine must have felt cool against him. Now all I needed to do was figure out what was going on with him.

“You’re burning up Seif. That’s not fine.” I whispered, trying to keep my voice low for Cassie’s sake. “Try and drink some water then you should get some rest.”

“Whatever’s gonna get you off my back.” He mumbled tiredly.

The way he was nuzzling against whatever exposed skin he could find, I wasn’t sure he was even aware of his actions. Still, he needed to stay hydrated. Gently I got him upright enough to sip from the bottle a few times until he adamantly pushed it away with a disgusted look. Then I helped him to lay on his stomach, which seemed to help ease some of the pressure from his wounds.

“Let me know if you need something.” I ordered softly, stroking a wet strand of hair from his eyes before I caught myself.

Seifer didn’t seem to notice anything too much, other than my hand moving away from his skin. “Yeah, you to go away and stop fussing. Worry about the girls.”

“I think I can manage worrying about all three of you at the same time.” I countered dryly. “Now try to get some sleep. I’ll bring more water for you in a bit.”

“Whatever you…say…Commander…” His words grew fainter as an uneasy sleep took over.

For the next three hours I divided my time between taking care of the girls and attempting to keep more fluids going into Seifer’s body than he was sweating out. At one point I took Cassie and Tempest out to see out the small strip of glass that lined the underwater tunnel. They were excited to see the small glimpses of fish outside the barrier before we zoomed past. Honestly, it wasn’t the best view I’d seen of the underwater creatures but it seemed to make them happy enough and gave Seifer a few minutes of silence.

Finally, the train announced our arrival in Balamb. Letting out a sigh of relief, I went to work packing up what little mess we’d made in the cabin. Reluctantly I left Cassie with Seifer once more to go drop of as many items as I could manage in the truck before the train fully stopped. Then it was just a matter of getting a reluctant Seifer back into the vehicle.

“Come on Seif. Let’s get you situated so we aren’t stuck on the train when it leaves again.” I coaxed, attempting to make a joke out of it.

“…won’t leave with us still here.” He muttered tiredly.

Setting Tempest down on the floor near Cassie, I forcefully got Seifer onto his feet and had him hold onto the bed while I picked my child up once more. Somehow he managed it, with perhaps a little more instability than I would have liked. It helped that I was moving perhaps a little too quickly for both him and Tempest, both complaining to me at the same time over it. I just wasn’t willing to mess around and decided that they could just deal with a little annoyance over my actions.

“It’s about thirty minutes to Garden. You can sleep all you want once we get there.” I promised, knowing full well that it was likely only half true.

“Bullshit…” He grumbled back, trying not to lean too heavily on me as we passed between the cars.

The train had just come to a final stop right as I finished setting Tempest and Cassie in the back seat of the truck. Ignoring my orders to use the truck for support until I was done, Seifer was attempting to get in on his own power. Not in a mood to deal with an excessive amount of bitching and cursing because he decided to push himself too hard, I stepped in and together we got him in the seat.

After that, things went fairly smoothly. Except for having to avoid a rather large crowd of people moving along the streets outside the train station, I was able to navigate the narrow roads of Balamb without too much trouble. The only obligation I had was to slow down to wave at Ma Dincht as we passed by her standing outside her house talking to the neighbor. It took a moment for her to figure out who was driving but she gave a smile and enthusiastic wave before turning back to her conversation.

“There’s a beach! And mountains! And forests!” Cassie cried out eagerly, not having noticed any of the half-hidden monsters in all the areas she’d just mentioned. Oddly, there were almost no monsters trekking across the plains near the road as we passed.

Maybe someone recently ordered a sweep of the area. I wondered, trying to recall the last time we had one scheduled.

Driving around the bend I continued to go over scheduled events when Cassie let out a surprised cry that startled everyone in the vehicle. “What’s that?! It’s humongerous!”

“Humungous…” I corrected automatically, having picked up on the others’ habit of doing so. “And that’s Balamb Garden. Your father and I grew up there. It’s why he’s so good at fighting off monsters.”

“Daddy said Auntie Fujin and Unkle Raijin goed to school with him too!” She announced excitedly, leaning closer to the front seats to get a better view. “They goed to school here too?”

“Yes. Selphie and Irvine were raised the same way at different schools. They moved to this one before you were born. Last year they decided to move back to Trabia where Selphie grew up.” I informed her, distracted by the oddity of not seeing many monsters out. “I have other friends here that you haven’t met yet as well. There should be time to introduce you so that you can recognize them in the future.”

Then again, they’d been acting unusual since the Lunar Cry, so I don’t know why I was worrying about it now. It was probably just another form of adaptation they were developing. That or I was right about Rookies being sent on a monster sweep sometime in the last twenty-four hours. It usually took monsters a few days to travel back into areas we’ve cleared, so that would make the most sense.

“Does Daddy have lots of friends here too?” She asked innocently. “I bet he does! Daddy makes friends easy! Ev’ryone loves him at home!”

The question sent a chill down my spine as the reality of our situation set in. During all our planning for this trip and the free time I had to think while driving last night, not once had I really thought about what it meant to bring Seifer back with me. It had just become so natural for us to hang out together already that I forgot the animosity people at Garden would still feel towards him. Innocent or not…

Stupid! I yelled silently to myself while not showing anything but an outward calm to avoid raising concerns with Cassie.

“Cassie, it’s probably best we don’t mention your father too much while we’re here.” I suggested as I tried to figure out how to do damage control this late in the trip. “There’s some other things you shouldn’t say to people while we’re here…”

“Like what?” She asked while sounding confused enough to get Seifer’s attention.

“Your surname. It’s not a good idea to draw attention to the Almasy part of your name.” At minimum I wanted to avoid drawing attention to the two of them. There was no telling what someone might do to her just to get back at Seifer. Now I was starting to understand his concerns about her going to study at Garden in another year or two. “And I can’t tell anyone where we live now. It might put Tempest in danger. Do you think you can keep details about our town to yourself? Even if someone asks?”

“What’s wrong with my name?” The tone of her voice sounded like she was about to cry.

“Nothing Baby Girl.” Seifer murmured, trying to smooth things over. “People just don’t like me here. Squall doesn’t want anyone to be mean to you because of it. Just tell them your name is Cassie and leave it at that.”

“Your supposed to be resting.” I chided under my breath, even though I was relieved at his interference.

“Why would people be mean to me because you’re my daddy?” She demanded almost frantically, the distress causing Tempest to stir from her impromptu nap. “Daddy is a good daddy Mr. Squall! Why wouldn’t people like him?”

“Squall…” Seifer’s tone had me turning in his direction. There was a pleading look to his eyes that told me everything I needed to know. If asked about it later, I’d claim it was influenced by the fever because Seifer Almasy never begged.

Giving him a nod of reassurance, I turned back to the road. “It’s a pretty big place here Cassie and your father isn’t the same person he was when we went to school here. Some people might still hold some of his mistakes against him. And there’s some people who just never liked him.”

“Can’t Daddy just say he’s sorry? Then they can be friends?” The simplicity of her suggestion had me wishing that it were truly a possibility. “That’s what Daddy says to do if you hurt someone or make them feel bad.”

“It doesn’t always work that way.” I answered quietly. “This is one of those times where an apology isn’t just going to make things better. And that’s fine. Not everyone has to like or forgive him for doing something they think is wrong. They need to see that Seifer has changed and then be willing to give him another chance. It’s just something that’s going to take time.”

“Okay…” she muttered but didn’t seem like she was convinced it couldn’t be fixed with a simple apology. Nothing I could do about that.

“Good job parenting Princess. Now let’s just hope this doesn’t bite us in the ass too badly.” Seifer sighed, looking at the immense structure ahead of us with trepidation.

“It won’t.” I promised him, already decided how the trip was going to go. “The two of you are going to stay with me while we’re here. We won’t give them more opportunity than necessary to do anything to either of you.”

“Whatever you say Pussycat.” Almost as soon as the nickname came out, his face twisted in displeasure. “That sounded better in my head…whatever…I’ll figure out something better later…”

“Don’t bother.” I grumbled completely ready to bitch at him for giving me such an obnoxious nickname. But when I turned in that direction, he was already half asleep again with his head set against the window.

Silence fell over the car for the last fifteen minutes of the drive into the garage area. Setting the truck into park woke Seifer up, but he just gave me a glassy look before closing his eyes again. Keeping an eye on his condition, I pulled out my phone. Staring at my contacts for a minute I selected Zell’s number in hopes that he was available.

Me: I need you to meet me in the garage.

Z.D.: Sure, I’ve got some time. All good man?

Me: Not really. Could use your help. I’ll explain when you get here.

Z.D.: Got it! B there in 5!

With help soon on the way, I got out of the truck and started pulling the essentials out of the back. All three of our bags were on the ground next to the truck and I was just reaching for Lionheart when Zell showed up in a rush. There was a grin on his face as he approached with a hand in the air as a greeting until he saw my expression. At once he was more alert and the grin faded to something more serious.

“Hey Squall, what’s going on? You didn’t just need some extra muscle to carry bags did you?” It was a weak joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. Glancing down at the collection of bags he frowned. “That’s quite a bit for only being here a couple nights. Fatherhood making you paranoid enough to bring the whole bedroom?”

“One’s Seifer’s. He wanted to come with me.” I explained, nodding towards the truck’s passenger door.

Startled by the realization that Seifer was actually in Garden, Zell took a panicked step backwards to glance at the passenger seat and looked at me in disbelief. “Yo! That’s really Seifer? What the hell’s he doing here? I mean, Selphie mentioned seeing him at your place in W…”

“Zell! Shut the fuck up!” I ordered with a sharp hiss.

Unused to me being so aggressive, he stopped talking for a minute and seemed to think about his next words. “Sorry, just surprised me is all. So what did you need my help with? Seems like you have enough hands to carry everything if he’s here with you.”

“Not quite…” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. “I asked for your help because I can’t manage both him and the girls at the same time. So I’m giving you the choice of babysitting duties. Seifer or the girls.”

“Girls? As in plural? Seriously man, I thought it was just Tempest with you. Now it’s Seifer and another kid?” He asked in confusion. At least he seemed more relaxed now.

“We had a stowaway.” I answered dryly, leaning my back against the truck’s bumper. “Seifer’s daughter, Cassie, objected to being left behind when we left. In retaliation for being left out, she thought it would be a good idea to hide in the back of the truck. Then she let her brother and Raijin and Fujin’s oldest boy cover for her. By the time we found her there, we were far enough out that it didn’t make sense to turn around.”

“Why am I not surprised that an Almasy got what they wanted after breaking the rules?” Zell rolled his eye with a shake of his head. “I don’t remember Selphie saying anything about him having kids, but I might have tuned that part out during her rambling about Seifer being back. And you’re saying Raijin and Fujin got together? Guess that makes sense. I just can’t imagine Fujin wanting kids.”

At the last bit about Fujin, I just shrugged. “I don’t know if she wanted them or not. From what I saw, she’s good with them and they respect her. Seifer has two kids that are twins. One boy, one girl. Raijin and Fujin have two boys. One just a little younger than Cassie and the other is about the same age as Tempest.”

“Huh, guess that kinda works out then…” He mused, getting more relaxed on the subject. “Okay, so I think I’m mostly caught up to date on the info. So what do ya need from me? I mean, Seifer’s here so I don’t get what you need my help with.”

“Seifer’s…to put it simply…he’s not feeling well, and I need to take him to Kadowaki.” I answered, stumbling over how to explain without saying too much where Cassie might overhear.

Unfortunately, the cryptic answer only got me more confusion and skeptical looks from Zell. “Seifer…not feeling well. And he’s willing to go to Dr. K over it?”

Glancing at the passenger doors, I reached over and jerked Zell around the back of the truck by his shirt. Once out of sight I leaned in so we wouldn’t be over heard by anyone else. “Seifer got hurt fighting with some monsters. I tried using healing spells on him, but I think there’s still something there that I can’t find. He’s also had a fever since about midnight and it’s getting worse.”

“Okay, so how can I help?” This time it came across as more somber than his joking a few minutes before.

“As I said, your choice.” I repeated softly, releasing his shirt. “Either you can take the girls to my room and keep an eye on them for a bit, or you can escort Seifer to the infirmary. I don’t trust that he can make it there on his own.”

“Yeah, there’s a few people in Garden that would probably be thrilled to catch him while he’s unable to defend himself properly.” He agreed, looking thoughtfully in the direction of the cab. “He won’t appreciate me helping him. I’ll take care of the girls while you get him to Dr. K. Can’t be too hard to watch them, right? I mean, his kid must be younger than five. They’re not all that difficult to watch at that age.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, I leaned my head against the canopy. “Cassandra is four. And she shares a home with Raijin’s youngest so she’s pretty good at helping take care of Tempest.”

“Got it.” He gave a wry smile before grabbing the first of the bags. Slinging them over his shoulders one by one he paused to shift them for a second. “Okay, this isn’t too bad. So long as there’s nothing other than Tempest to still get, I should be fine getting it all in one trip. Especially if the kid is as helpful as you say she is.”

“She is. She’s also an Almasy so keep on your toes with her.” I warned before heading to the rear passenger door.

As soon as it was open Cassie was leaning out to see who I was talking to. “Mr. Squall, is this one of your friends?”

Lifting her out of the car, I set her down between me and Zell. “Yes Cassie. This is Zell. He’s going to help me by taking care of you and Tempest for a bit while I take your father to the infirmary. I want you to listen to him and help out with Tempest. Can you do that for me?”

“Okay Mr. Squall!” She chirped then turned to look at Zell as if sizing him up. “Mr. Zell, your hair looks like my Chocobo’s hair! Can I call you Mr. Chocobo?”

“What the…?” Zell stuttered, looking at me stupidly.

The front passenger door on the truck opened to the sound of laughter right before Seifer managed to slide himself out of the cab. In spite of his sweaty appearance, the laughter helped to make him look a little healthier. Which in turn seemed to ease some of Cassie’s worries because she actually smiled brightly at him. All around, the relief seemed to be contagious because Zell relaxed for a few moments at the sight of him and I found myself trying to hold back my own amusement over Zell’s stunned expression.

Some sound must have given me away though because he turned to glare at me. “Was this some kind of setup? Did you teach her to say that before or after you messaged me?”

This time I couldn’t hold back my own grin as he accused me of training a child to insult him. “You know that isn’t my style. And before you do something stupid, like accuse Seifer of it as well, I can swear that I’ve never heard him refer to you in anyway that would give her the idea to say that about you. Those were pure Almasy genes taking affect.”

“Seriously?” He muttered, eying Cassie suspiciously. “He’s never called me a Chicken-wuss or some other stupid name like that around her?”

“If I did, it wasn’t on purpose.” Seifer stepped up to get Zell’s attention, subtly hiding the fact that he was leaning heavily on the side of the vehicle. “Trying to teach the kids to be better people than I am. But if I had taught her to insult you, it would have been with something better than that. Still, it was pretty good for a first timer…”

“Whatever…” Zell grumbled, holding out his hand. “Squall, just give me Tempest. I can’t grab her from the truck with all your guys’ crap piled on my back.”

“Hey! Watch your language around the kids.” Seifer snapped with barely any of his usual force.

Embarrassment had Zell shifting nervously. “Sorry…gotta work on that.”

Smirking at the way they were interacting, I pulled Tempest from the carseat. Letting out a excited giggle at being free, she reached up and tugged at my bangs. One small section caught on her fingers, ripping several of them out. My reaction had her squealing loud enough to have all the adults flinching. Seconds later, Cassie was laughing along with Tempest.

“Here.” I grumbled, passing her off to Zell. “Be good for Uncle Zell. You too Cassie.”

“Okay Mr. Squall!” She chirped, reaching up to grab the hem of Zell’s shirt. In response, he looked down but didn’t object before turning back to me.

“Can I assume that Selphie taught her that one?” He asked dryly. A strap slipped down his shoulder, and he struggled to adjust his load while trying not to catch the girls with it.

“Unconfirmed as of yet.” I sighed, shaking my head. “Thanks for watching them Zell. I’ll be there as soon as I get Seifer settled.”

“Hey, Chicken-wuss!” Seifer called out when they’d made it halfway to the garage entrance. At the nickname he stopped and glared, unable to do anything beyond that with the girls attached to him.

“What now?” He snarled. The annoyed tone upset Tempest to the point where he had to work quickly to keep her from full on bawling.

Unbothered by Zell’s defensiveness, Seifer sent him a grin. “I was just gonna give you a warning.”

“Warning?” Zell frowned. Somehow I suspected neither of us trusted that vague explanation. “What kind of warning?”

The grin faded into a very dark look that was directed right at the martial artist. “You take good care of those girls or I’ll take care of you personally.”

Zell mouthed the word ‘girls’ as if he couldn’t believe that Seifer was including both kids in his threat. Shaking his head to regain his focus, he returned Seifer’s look with his own. “You just worry about yourself Almasy. Nothing’s gonna happen on my watch.”

“Good to hear Dincht.” Seifer grinned back as I watched the conversation occur.

Silently watching the scene playing out in front of me, I did my best to memorize every detail. If I didn’t take perfect notes to report to Quistis, she was never going to believe that these two were on the same page about anything. With a quick thumbs up, Zell turned to herd Cassie down the hall and out of the garage.

Deciding that it would be best to give the trio a few minutes head start, I went to pull the gunblades from the back of the truck. It was automatic for me to attach Lionheart to my belt, but Hyperion was a different story. Even if Seifer had been capable of carrying her, I still would have suggested keeping her under my control until the shock of his presence wore off.

Without so much as asking his permission, I came back around the corner of the truck while trying to get the second gunblade on my belt behind Lionheart. Reluctantly I set them in a position I was trying to avoid because it would make it nearly impossible to draw either gunblade if I needed to for some reason. But there weren’t many options for carrying both on the same side without compromising my ability to draw them.

If it comes down to it, I still have magic and GFs to fall back on. But this is Garden. Theoretically, I shouldn’t have any reason for having a gunblade out. The number of reasons it would ever come to pass were so miniscule that it made me feel better about having them compromised.

“Leonhart, get over here!” Seifer called from the side of the truck where I’d left him.

Confused by the urgency of the demand, I closed up the back of the truck before coming around the passenger side. The first thing I noticed was Seifer leaning hard on the door with small beads of sweat forming on his brow. Looking closer I found his freehand shaking slightly and his jaw set tight as I approached.

Almost from the moment I was in reach, he all but threw his free arm around my neck and I was left holding nearly all his weight by myself. “Seifer?”

“Sorry Princess. The damn injuries are making it hard to keep standing. Didn’t want to fall on my face where someone could witness it.” This close to him made the wavering of his voice more obvious.

“You going to be able to make it to the infirmary?” I asked, already debating on whether to call Kadowaki for a rolling bed or to carry him there myself.

The hand pressing against the spot between my shoulders curled into the fabric of my shirt. “I’ll make it. Just help me get there.”

“Okay.” I whispered against his neck.

It took a little adjusting to get him situated, but we eventually managed. Options were limited with his left shoulder still being injured but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Our difference in height actually caused the greatest issue with him needing to lean so hard on me. A quick adjustment of my junctions helped compensate.

“Ready?” I asked, wrapping my fingers through his belt. At his terse nod we began moving away from the truck at an agonizingly slow pace.

*Seifer*

Since arriving in the garage I tried to convince myself to get out of the truck. Just the thought of moving sent my lower back throbbing and I kept finding excuses not to move just yet. When I heard Cassie tease Zell I couldn’t help but laugh. It was just what I needed to drag my ass off the seat, but not enough that I was able to stand without leaning against the truck.

Getting outside the truck meant having to defend myself over Cassie’s innocent comment. More than worth it to see Squall struggling not to laugh at Zell being offended. Some of that faded when I noticed how close the two of them seemed to be. Observing the way they interacted with each other stirred something in my gut that I was unfamiliar with in terms of Squall.

Am I seriously getting jealous over the damn Chicken-wuss? The idea just seemed so outrageous that I almost dismissed it outright. Only, I had a policy of not lying to myself and I wasn’t going to stop now. Damn! I am! What the hell is there to be jealous of though? And why do I feel so pissed about them being close friends? My brain must be more fried than I thought…

Watching Zell and the girls head towards the garage entrance bothered me a lot less than not knowing what kind of relationship he and Squall had. Just to save a little face with myself, I threw a fairly weak threat out at Zell about taking care of the girls. That I’d included Tempest in my threat seemed to confuse him. As if me offering her protection was less believable than telling someone Behemoths can fly.

Was it really so hard to believe that I’d protect Squall’s child with the same fierce protectiveness of my own? She’s an innocent toddler for crying out loud! If Zell, and Hyne forbid it ever comes to pass, had a kid I wouldn’t hesitate to protect it either. But I guess it made sense that some people would be confused by it. Knowing that we were being friendly was probably already too much for most people to wrap their heads around.

Once they were out of sight, I no longer had anything distracting me from the low-grade fever still lingering or the sharp pain in my back. Sweat was forming from my attempt to keep standing, acting as if nothing were terribly wrong with me. A self-defense mechanism developed over years of other students waiting for a sign of weakness so they could show up out of the woodwork in order to get revenge on me for something or other.

Maybe Squall was right about something still being in there. My back should be feeling better, not worse. It sucked to admit he was right, but I couldn’t keep denying it.

Unable to keep up pretenses any longer, and refusing to retreat back into the truck, I gave into my weakness. Turning towards the back of the truck, I managed to forget all of it for a few seconds at the sight of his ass sticking out from under the camper shell. Right before he stood back up with Hyperion in his hand. The distraction took long enough to recover from, that he’d already had my gunblade attached to his hip before I remembered what I’d needed from him.

“Hey, Leonhart.” The attempt to sound casual must have worked because he double-checked that Hyperion was secure before turning to me.

Closing the tailgate, he looked me over. “You okay? I’ll be done in a second.”

“Just hurry up and get over here.” I ordered, urging him to understand I was serious about that. As it was, I could feel my legs ready to give out if I didn’t do something soon about the sudden weakness taking over.

Somewhere between thinking that and the long blink that followed, there was the sound of the camper shell shutting. Opening my eyes, I found Squall standing in front of me with his brow furrowed. The sight of those lines distorting his scar made me want to reach up and smooth them away. But that seemed like an incredibly difficult thing to do right now, leaving me no choice but to ignore it for the time being.

Instead, I lifted my good arm up and threw it around his shoulder just in time for my body to become unstable. Wrapping an arm around my waist was likely instinctive for him. Otherwise, he’d have been more cautious of it’s location so as not to set right over the injury. At the moment I didn’t care that his touch fucking hurt so long as I didn’t fall in the damn garage of all places. Once the initial pain passed, I was able to appreciate how good it felt knowing he was the one supporting me.

“Seifer?” There was an unusual hesitance to the vague question I was so familiar with.

Forcing open my eyes, not quite sure when they closed, I tried to think of what to tell him that wouldn’t worry him more than he already was. “Sorry Princess. Got a little shaky and didn’t wanna fall flat on my face where anyone could see me. Just get my sorry ass to Doc, okay?”

“Yeah.” He murmured softly, eyes still scanning for details that weren’t obvious.

It was his lack of silence that made me wonder how fucked up I truly sounded. There wasn’t much time to worry about that though as he worked to get us situated better for walking together. The pain in my back got some minor relief when he shifted his arm up higher so that his hand was closer to my ribs than my hip.

Using him as support, I let him take as much of my weight as I dared to without causing us to lose balance. Our height difference wasn’t extremely large, him having gained a couple inches since the war, but it was still enough that I didn’t trust us not to topple if he was forced to take too much of my weight on his shoulders. As it was, he’d had to adjust us twice before we were able to leave the garage so he could support me better.

On the last adjustment his arm moved back down to where his fingertips were nearly back along my hipbone. The pressure returned to my back in spades, and it felt like I might drop to the ground from the intensity of it. Each step he took forward placed more pressure on it to the point I wanted to yell at him to let go. Instead, I focused all that frustration on moving forward with him. No point in distressing him more when all I had to do was put one foot in front of the other while letting him lead the way.

Only a few more minutes and Doc will get me fixed up. She’ll figure out what’s wrong with me. The reminder that we were only a few minutes away from reaching the infirmary gave me the extra motivation I needed.

And that all changed when we hit the Main Hallway. In every direction there were eyes being drawn towards us. Not even Squall’s best scowl or his coldest glare could deter them for long. At one point I swore that I heard a low growl emitting from him at the brazenness of the Garden population whispering to each other right in front of us.

Whether he’d seen it or not, I easily recognized all the fear, hate, contempt, and anxiousness in some cases. On a couple people, there even appeared to be some curiosity there. Either way, having all those negative emotions directed at me was triggering my instinct to prepare for an attack. That would mean walking on my own, showing no more weakness than absolutely necessary.

Attempting to straighten up and take the weight off Squall’s shoulders did not go over well with the Commander. Sensing that I was trying to pull away from him, the asshole tightened his arm around my waist. Once more I was hit with that stabbing pain and it was all I could do to keep from visually reacting to it. Still, something must have tipped him off because his next step faltered slightly, and I felt him loosen the pressure on my back.

“Almost there.” He promised softly as we passed the directory. An apology for causing more discomfort than necessary. “We’ll get you fixed up soon.”

“Been working on your peptalks?” I teased weakly, having a hard time keeping my breathing at a normal rate. “They’ve improved. Not by much but it’s still an improvement.”

“Shut up and keep moving. Or would you rather I carry you the rest of the way?” He challenged, fingers digging into my shirt as if in warning.

It was a damn good taunt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anything near my usual comebacks. “Fuck off Leonhart. If you want me to walk solo, then just say so.”

“Why would I say that when we’re already here?” He looked over at me with a smug smirk.

“What are you…” It took minute for me to process that we were standing right in front of the hall leading to the infirmary. Then nearly another full minute to figure out what he’d done. “You bastard! You were just trying to get me riled up as a distraction, weren’t you?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” The shrug he started to give shifted his narrow shoulder enough that he had to stop mid-motion.

“When the fuck did you get so damn manipulative?” I snarled, ticked at how easily I’d been played by him.

Shaking his head, he started moving down the hallway. “Let’s just get your ass in a bed. You can bitch at me later. After you’re feeling better.”

“Tired of supporting me already?” I asked, trying to put a bit of a mocking tone into the breathy reply.

An annoyed sigh came from him as he dragged my ass through the doors and planted it on the nearest bed. Somewhere in the back of the lobby I thought I’d seen a flash of white, but Doc hadn’t said anything to acknowledge we were there. No doubt she was fully aware that an injured person was being dragged in that needed her care.

Easing onto the bed completely, I rolled onto my stomach to relieve some of the pressure from my back. The action didn’t stop the hurt completely, but it was enough for me to sigh softly as I relaxed into the pillow. A hand touched my wrist, and I looked up to see Squall had squatted down to eye level with that damn tiny smile in place.

“You’ve been there for me enough that I don’t object to supporting you when you need it.” He muttered quietly so the sound didn’t travel. “I just want you to recover. Don’t you dare leave me to return by myself with the girls.”

Before I could smart off to him, my eyes were already closing again. With a exhale that sounded somewhere in the realm of a laugh I passed the fuck out.

Chapter 18: Bad Guys and Heroes

Notes:

I didn't plan on updating this week, but Chem made a special request and just I couldn't bring myself deny her such a small thing.
This chapter is one of my favorites due to the interactions involved, so I hope you all enjoy it.

*Squall*

“Damn it! Let me go!” The sound of Zell’s angry voice carried through the door just as I was arriving at my room.

Concerned that someone might have figured out Cassie was Seifer’s child, and miraculously managed to get the jump on Zell, had me calling on a Blizzard spell. More cursing came through the door as I punched in my code. Praying that I got through in time to save the girls, I rushed in as soon as the door opened up enough to allow it.

“Mr. Squall! You’re back!” Cassie cried happily as she ran towards me. Dropping the spell, I lifted her into my arms and looked around the room for Tempest.

“Squall! Get me out of this!” Zell called from the kitchenette area where he was tied to a chair with a decently thick rope.

More concerned about what was happening, I ignored him. “Where’s Tempest?”

“She’s in your blasted room! Now get me out of this!” He snapped, more ticked off than I’d seen him in a long time.

“That way Mr. Squall!” Cassie offered with a pointed finger towards my half-closed bedroom door.

“You okay Cassie? Did something happen?” I asked, heading straight to the door.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. “Mr. Chocobo didn’t know how to change Tempest diaper so I teached him to do it. Then he put her in the crib and we played a game. Mr. Chocobo didn’t really like it though because I won…”

Something told me that the game involved him getting tied up. If that was the case, I could understand why he wouldn’t have appreciated her choice in activities. With a quick check to make certain that Tempest was doing alright, I set Cassie down with orders to keep an eye on Tempest and returned to the other room.

“What exactly happened here? How did you get tied up like this?” I asked gruffly, testing the knots holding the ropes together. When it proved impossible to unravel them in a timely manner, I resorted to cutting them.

“It was Seifer’s little hellspawn!” Zell whined, massaging his now freed wrists. “I was trying to keep them busy while you were dealing with Seifer. She wanted to play a game, so I agreed. I even pretended to be the bad guy so she could be the hero.”

“And that meant tying you up? Where did the rope even come from?” The explanation made some sense, but I’d been certain there were other reasons for him being secured that tightly.

“From me hauling the damn thing to your room. Otherwise, I was going to have to make a bunch of trips to and from the garage. I'd gotten everything else cleaned up by the time you messaged me but thought the rope might come in handy later, so I'd set it aside.” He explained, running his hands through his hair. “Quisty said you were heading here with Tempest, so Ma asked around. A friend of hers was going to sell the blasted thing but was happy to donate it when Ma explained the situation. We checked it over, got you a new mattress and fresh sheets so it’s all safe.”

“Tell Ma thank you for me. But what in Hyne’s name made you think it was a good idea to let a child play with a rope? Or to let her tie you up with it?” Rubbing the center of my scar to stave off the oncoming headache, I wondered why I was even having this conversation with a grown adult. A trained SeeD no less! One that should have enough intelligence to not trust a child with a rope.

“Well…how the hell was I supposed to know that she could tie a knot? Most kids her age can’t even tie their own shoes much less secure a person that damn well.” He huffed then went to collapse on the couch in a tiff.

“Whatever…” Rolling my eyes over his whining, I let out a sigh. Then I decided to go right to the source. “Cassie, come here please.”

“Yes Mr. Squall?” She asked, far too sweetly for her bloodline and personality.

“Explain to me why you would tie Zell up like that?” I asked under the assumption that the direct approach would be best based on dealing with Seifer. Somehow, I needed to get to the bottom of this utterly ridiculous situation. Which had me wondering something else. “And who taught you how to tie knots like that?”

“Unkle Raijin!” She announced proudly, smoothly evading my first question. Which only proved how much of the Almasy bloodline she’d inherited.

“Why did Uncle Raijin teach you to tie knots like that?” I prodded, hoping it would encourage her to keep talking. Young as she was, I didn’t think it would take much to get the answers I wanted so long as I caught her off guard.

“He teached me about boats and fishing and nets and…” The list was clearly a tactic to avoid the conversation, so I raised a hand to stop her.

After dealing with the rest of the school’s reaction to Seifer and worrying for the past two days, my patience was wearing incredibly thin. Taking a breath, I bowed my head and rubbed at the scar while I tried to think of a question that would get me the answers I needed. Something she couldn’t work around quite so easily.

“What game were you playing that required tying Zell up?” I asked slowly while looking her in the eyes.

Various thoughts and ideas were rushing through that little mind of hers, but I’d forced her into a corner. Which was the only way to deal with an Almasy it seemed. “Heroes and Bad Guys.”

Now that we were getting somewhere I started to relax. “Okay, what does Heroes and Bad Guys have to do with tying up Zell? Wouldn’t winning just require you to beat the bad guy?”

It had been so long since I’d been small enough to play those kinds of games, and even then I don’t remember playing them with anyone other than Seifer. Except on the rare chance he managed to con one or two of the others into joining us. While there if called upon, the memories were still hazy enough that I couldn’t remember exact details. It was more like a vague idea of what happened during those times.

A proud grin replaced the anxious look she’d been giving for the last couple of minutes. “Daddy say that bad guys always get tied up! That way they can’t escape and hurt people because they’re mad about losing. I asked Auntie Fujin and she says it’s true.”

Finally, the situation began to make sense. Exhaustion combined with all the various emotions I’d been hit with finally caught up to me at the absurdity of it all. A chuckle bubbled up and I let it out while shaking my head at Zell. Once word of this got back to Seifer he was going to have a field day with it, and I couldn’t blame him for ruthlessly tormenting Zell over the whole ordeal. It would teach him not to let his guard down so easily.

“Okay, I understand.” I told her, gaining control of my amusement. “Zell was the ‘bad guy’, and you were the ‘hero’. Tying up the bad guy isn’t the only way to win but it’s a good way to make sure they won’t hurt someone until you lock them up.”

“Squall! This isn’t something to laugh about!” Zell hollered, looking absolutely appalled at me praising Cassie’s way of thinking. “Those knots were such a mess that I couldn’t get free of them on my own. What if something happened to Tempest or Cassie because of it? It was dangerous and she needs to be more careful about how she plays games.”

“Then you should have thought about that before letting it get that far.” I reprimanded, all the humor I’d felt a moment ago was suddenly gone. This was the kind of shit we were trained for, and he blew it in less than an hour with a four-year-old. “You know better than that Dincht. You don’t give anyone the opportunity to tie you up they way you did with her. If for no other reason than because she’s Seifer’s child.”

“Tch!” He scoffed while slapping the arm of the couch in irritation. Then, pouting like a damn child, he crossed his arms and glared at the coffee table.

“Mr. Squall?” Cassie quietly called while tugging at the hem of my shirt. “Is Daddy gonna be back soon?”

“I left him with Doctor Kadowaki. She’s going to fix him up and will let me know when he’s ready for me to come and get him.” I answered. The image of how bad he’d looked since being attacked yesterday lingered in my mind.

“Oh yeah! What’s the deal with him anyway?” Zell asked. It seemed that concern over Seifer trumped his pouting. “The guy looked like sh…”

“Zell!” I barked, cutting him off sharply before he could finish his description.

Eyes still wide at my outburst, he nodded slowly. “Alright. But I expect a real explanation about what’s going on.”

“I will. Later.” I agreed.

With Seifer taken care of, Zell rescued, answers found, reprimands and reassurances given, I felt incredibly tired. And it wasn’t even noon yet. To make matters worse, I had no idea how to keep the kids entertained. Well, Cassie entertained anyway. Tempest was still at that age where a little time on the floor with her plush toys made her happy.

To make up for his incompetence, Zell left for a short while and came back with an armful of entertainment for Cassie. Picture books, simply written children’s books, crayons, paper and outlined images, meant for coloring in, littered the entire surface of my coffee table by the time he was finished. And I was completely alright with that since it was a temporary measure that would provide me with a modicum of peace for the next couple of days.

In an attempt to keep awake, I invited Zell to play cards with me. It was just an added bonus that showed I was no longer angry with him for being taken down by a child. The game didn’t do much to stimulate my mind after a while but the routine placing of the cards and planning moves helped keep me from closing my eyes for too long now that the emergencies were over. It also gave me a chance to quietly give him a very brief description of our trip here.

“Mr. Squall, Mr. Chocobo…I’m hungry.” Cassie announced after a while.

A glance at the nearby clock revealed that we were just past their normal lunchtime. Still on the floor, Tempest slept peacefully on the blanket. I knew she’d wake soon, demanding we change and feed her. Without her or Cassie to remind me about it, I probably would have skipped right over the appointed time and waited until Kadowaki called for me to get Seifer before worrying about food.

Remembering that there was nothing stocked in my room, and I knew Zell only kept junk food in his cabinets, I decided a trip to the Cafeteria might just be in order. Seeing the restless tapping of her fingers on the floor I suspected a trip to the quad might be in order as well. Cooped up for the last few days, she had to be ready to get some energy out. Since Zell acted the same way, I knew it would only spell more trouble for me to ignore the signs.

“Alright. Let’s get Tempest ready and then we can head over to the Cafeteria for lunch.” I suggested while standing up.

Seeing his opportunity to escape, Zell got to his feet and gave an exaggerated stretch. “You guys have fun. I gotta go prepare for classes tomorrow.”

“Sure.” I muttered while trying to decide his motive for passing up food.

It was possible that he’d changed his schedule, was substituting for someone, or needed to prepare for a field trip outdoors tomorrow that I wasn't aware of. But I doubted it. More than likely that he was just ready to get away from Cassie and any other potential for me to lecture him. Since I hadn’t given him a complete update, Cassie being right there the whole time, I decided it probably did have something to do with preparing for classes after all.

“Bye Mr. Chocobo! I had fun! Come play with me again, okay?” Cassie called as he moved towards the door. The mischievous grin was a pure Almasy trait she’d inherited.

Not missing the smirk from Cassie, or the implications of her request, he instinctively turned around to quarrel with her just like he’d have done with Seifer. To prevent any more arguing, I gave him a hard look and gestured towards the door with my chin. Obligingly he left but not without an irritated look at the both of us before doing so.

Running a hand through my hair to try and focus, I bent down to wake up Tempest. Unhappy from being disturbed, she made it difficult to get her changed. Eventually I managed it and gave Cassie strict rules to abide by while we were here. Supposedly she understood them and would obey as much as could be expected from a child. It was about all I could ask for at the moment without Seifer here to head off the worst of her bad habits.

Things went fairly smoothly on the way to the cafeteria, only a few people stopped us so they could see Tempest or ask questions about our presence there. All the disruptions nearly doubled the time it should have taken get from the dorms to the cafeteria. Neither seemed to mind too much, Tempest was especially happy for all the attention, so I allowed the interactions to play out.

After a few minor interruptions, I managed to obtain food for all three of us, nearly dropping it all on the floor when Cassie crossed my path at the wrong moment, and we were set at a table near the back corner of the room. All attempts to feed Tempest ended up failing miserably until Cassie offered her a piece of cut fruit. When she accepted it, Cassie tried again with several other items from the small plate of cut foods meant for Tempest.

With only a few exceptions, Tempest at least tried everything offered to her by Cassie. It gave me a chance to sneak in a bit of food for myself, without it being shoved in my face, and both girls got fed. After about half an hour of being there, we were just getting ready to gather everything up when something from across the room caught Cassie’s attention.

“Daddy!” Cassie cried out. In a matter of seconds, she was out of her seat and rushing towards the entrance.

“Cassie, don’t run!” I called out, trying to get free from the table with Tempest wiggling at the excitement.

Looking in the direction she was headed, I saw Seifer standing just inside the entrance. It appeared as if he were searching for us before suddenly zeroing in on Cassie’s cry. When he moved to intercept her, I observed the way he limped slightly. A sense of relief rushed through me over him no longer looking like a strong wind was going to take him down.

Even with Seifer ready to stop her from rushing out of the cafeteria, I still tried to catch the small, agile child before she could hurt herself or someone else in her blind rush. Amazingly, it was almost like her concern for Seifer had given her an extra speed boost that made it impossible to accomplish. Where she was small enough to slip between chairs, I was having to move a lot slower in order to avoid knocking into people.

The whole scene clearly amused Seifer, who watched us from the bottom of the steps separating the dining area from the food court. Wasting a moment to check that no one was bothering him caused me to lose sight of Cassie for several minutes. When his face went from amused to dark and dangerous, I redoubled my efforts to find his child in the crowded room.

Following Seifer's gaze, I spotted a streak of gold sliding between another pair of tables. Just to the right of her were a trio of boys too busy laughing with each other to notice that she was moving right into their path. Inevitably they collided and she just barely avoided getting covered in the tray of food he was carrying when it went flying over her head.

Recognizing the boy as a troublemaker I’d had issues with previously, I picked up my pace. Nothing he did was enough to get him expelled from Garden. Just like Seifer, he knew how to walk that thin line perfectly and only receive standard punishments whenever he got caught. Still, he somehow managed to make Seifer out to be a model student with how much trouble the kid caused without obvious reason or concern for anyone around him.

“Hey you little brat! What do you think you’re doing?” He snapped at Cassie, clearly not having seen Seifer or me heading in his direction just yet. “No running in the cafeteria! Are you stupid or something?”

“It's not nice to call people stupid!” Cassie shot back, angering the boy when she didn’t cow down to him.

“You really got a mouth on you kid. Don’t you know you’re supposed to apologize when you run into someone?” He sneered at her, reaching down to pull her off the floor. When she was on her feet, he continued lifting her arm until it was at an angle that was possibly painful to her. “What’s your name brat?”

“Cassie!” She stared him down as tears filled her eyes. “Cassie Almasy! Now let go! You’re hurting me!”

Catching sight of a girl who’d helped me with Tempest before I moved to Winhill, I shoved my child into her arms with whispered orders to keep her safe while I dealt with the situation. In that moment I couldn’t recall the girl’s name, but I knew her to be a friend of Zell’s girlfriend, Leena. The two of them worked in the library together and she was someone I trusted to take care of Tempest.

“Almasy? As in Seifer Almasy?” The boy’s confusion brought me back to what was happening a few feet away. It seemed he recognized the name enough to analyze Cassie a bit more, trying to match her to what he remembered of Seifer. “Are you really related to the sorceress’s lap dog? Didn’t know that pathetic bastard was still alive. Someone with his reputation should really keep a better eye on their pup.”

“And someone in your position shouldn’t talk so big when he’s got a wolf at his back and a lion approaching from their front.” Seifer growled, arriving at the scene roughly the same time I did. “Let my daughter go or you’re going to be in some serious trouble kid.”

Startled by Seifer’s comment, the boy whipped around so that his back was to me. Stupidly, he forgot to release Cassie’s arm before going on the defensive and jerked hard on it as he turned. A pained cry from Cassie had Seifer’s eyes fully entering the deadly realm. If the kid didn’t release her soon, I wasn’t sure he was going to survive the next few minutes. Or that I’d be able to stop Seifer before the damage was done.

“Wolf? Nah! You’re nothing but a mutt at best. Calling yourself a wolf is a joke.” Just when I thought he couldn’t be any more suicidal, the kid had to prove me wrong by laughing directly in Seifer’s face while Cassie struggled desperately against his hold.

“Do you know the difference between a wolf and a mutt?” I spoke quietly, forcing them all to move so they could keep tabs on both of us at the same time.

It caused him to pull on Cassie’s arm again, which brought full tears to her eyes, but at least I now had the attention of everyone present. It was the best I could have hoped for in that moment. Knowing that I was there seemed to help calm Seifer down as well and that was more important than rushing to get Cassie from the boy.

“C..C…Commander!” The boy choked out, suddenly realizing what Seifer had been talking about when mentioning a lion.

“Commander!” His friends cried out together in shock, then hurriedly backed away before dropping their trays and hauling ass out of the cafeteria.

Unconcerned with their departure, I raised an eyebrow at the boy and took a step closer. Frantic for a way out, the boy pulled Cassie closer to him as if she’d somehow keep him safe from me. “A wolf often runs in a pack that supports and protects each other. They are also skilled enough to protect themselves and hunt on their own. A mutt scrounges for food and runs at the first sign of trouble, leaving their pack members to fend for themselves. Who is the mutt and who is the wolf here?”

As a rule, I hated it whenever someone used euphemisms in conversation like this. Especially when referring to people as animals. This one just happened to fit the situation after the idiot had called Seifer a lapdog and Cassie his pup. That was the only reason I was willing to make an exception this time. Almasy using predatory animals to describe the two of us wasn’t exactly the most genius move either, but I could give him credit for being so quick at adapting to the situation. Technically, the Lion of Balamb was a title I’d earned during the war, so I’m not surprised he’d used that when warning the idiotic student.

The boy was finally scared enough to start backing away, only to be stopped by an empty table. “Commander…I…It’s not…”

“Last chance cadet. Let the kid go.” I warned, letting him see just how deadly serious I was. If he didn’t act soon, Seifer was going to end up handling things his way.

“Mr. Squall said let go!” Cassie yelled.

Seeing an opening, she kicked the boy hard in the ankle. It must have either startled him or had been painful enough for him to release her finally. Shoving his hand from in front of her so he couldn’t regain his hold, she turned around and darted right towards me. Small hands clung to my jacket. Worried that Seifer would be hurt or offended by her rushing to my side instead of his, I dared to look away from the boy long enough to see what he was going to do.

My fears proved unfounded when he gave me a smirk. All that anger and tension seemed to just fade away now that I had Cassie back in my care. That didn’t mean he was going to simply forgive the kid and forget it ever happened. It simply meant that the boy was going to live to see another day and that Seifer was proud of his child defending herself.

“Hey, Leonhart, it looks like this punk and his friends left behind a huge mess. Seems only right to have him clean it up. Don’t you think?” The low growl as he smiled was a clear indication of how sadistic he was feeling at the moment.

Distracted by Cassie’s attempts to hide behind me while not letting go of my jacket and Seifer’s attitude, mixed in with my lack of sleep, made me a little slow in understanding what he wasn’t saying. Frowning at him for the seemingly lenient punishment, I was met with a wide, toothy grin. Finally catching on to what he wanted me to say in response, I decided that it was a more than suitable punishment for harming Cassie.

“I agree with you Almasy.” My words calmly traveled through the now silent cafeteria, everyone eager to witness the events unfolding so they could relay it to their friends and classmates later. “But why should we limit it to this small mess? Looks to me that the cafeteria is due for a good cleaning.”

“Well, obviously he can’t just clean up the one spot or its going to stick out like a sore thumb! It’s all or nothing at this point.” He continued the idea as we pretended to bounce it back and forth between us. As expected, the kid was getting anxious over the seemingly growing punishment that was being publicly created.

“What would that take? About a full week to get everything adequately cleaned up?” I asked, casually looking around as if no one else was present.

“Something like that.” He agreed, grinning openly at the boy.

Turning to him as well I raised an eyebrow. “What do you think, Mr…?”

“Laurent, Sir.” He replied meekly. “Felix Laurent.”

“Hey punk! Speak up! The Commander can’t hear you.” Seifer reprimanded sharply. “You know, for someone who talks tough you sure turned into a whimpering dog pretty damn quick. Or did I miss something?”

“No Sir.” Laurent muttered in a barely audible tone. Now refusing to look up from the floor with his hands clenched at his sides.

“I can’t hear you boy!” Seifer snapped at him. “And look someone in the eyes when they’re speaking to you. Show some blasted respect for a change.”

Oddly, it felt right to let Seifer take the lead on this one. It was almost embarrassing how I’d taken so long to realize that he was doing it and that I was allowing him to enter a position of power over this kid. Even if it was badly disguised as helping me deal with a delinquent student. No one was really fooled by the act.

Yet, he’s making more headway with this kid in ten minutes than I’ve managed in the last year. I mused, watching the two of them. Already the kid is showing him more respect than anyone else I’d seen deal with him. Quistis included.

“I said ‘no, Sir’. You didn’t miss anything. Is that what you want to hear?” The boy nearly shouted at him, ticked off by Seifer’s abrasive attitude towards him.

“Doesn’t really matter what I want.” Seifer shrugged casually now that he’d gotten the boy’s attention. “You’re the one who fucked up. Time for you to own up to that. Doing it in front of people like the Commander and me was an even bigger fuck up. If you’re going to be an ass to others, then you better learn how to pick your damn battles better. Otherwise, shape up or start dealing with the consequences.”

“Seifer…” I sighed, dropping my free hand down to my hip right above where Lionheart was strapped against my leg.

“Wait…was that the wrong message?” He turned to me looking completely confused. Before I could respond he snapped his fingers with a grin. “That’s right! I’m supposed to remind him not to be an ass at all, right?”

“That’s the general idea.” I replied dryly.

“Well, that’s no fun.” He gave me a false pout before turning back to Laurent with a sigh. Acting as if I’d completely ruined his fun and effectively making the point of me being in charge. “Well? You heard the Commander. A week of cafeteria cleaning duties and an attitude adjustment by the time your done with it all. Got it pup?”

“You guys are fucking insane!” Laurent shook his head, unamused by Seifer’s jovial asshole routine. A scowl from him had Laurent backtracking in an instant. “Alright! Alright! I got it! I’ll clean the stupid cafeteria. Happy now?”

“For a week.” Seifer reminded him, dragging it out to make the timeframe clear to everyone listening.

“For a week.” Laurent parroted, mimicking Seifer’s annoyed stance. Then, just when he was nearly free of us, the idiot had to go and exasperate the situation. “Not like it’s really a big of a deal anyway. The room isn’t that big.”

“You moron…” I mumbled under my breath, wanting to massage away the headache I felt coming on but was unable to turn away from this trainwreck for more than a second.

“Kid…when I said clean the cafeteria, I meant the whole damn thing.” He gestured towards the kitchen with his thumb. Obediently the boy followed where Seifer was pointing, and his mouth instantly opened in protest only to have Seifer beat him to it. “Kitchens are part of the cafeteria, Punk. I expect those appliances to fucking sparkle by the time you’re done. Don’t forget to scrub the hard-to-reach places really well either or they’ll retain the smell of the cleaning supplies and stink up the whole place for days.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” The boy moaned, hands dropping open at his side in defeat. “That will take forever to do!”

“Damn right it will!” Seifer grinned proudly. “Make you sore as hell too. Worse than a week’s worth of trainings sessions I might add. Might just be good enough to get that lesson about being nicer to people fully ingrained into that brain of yours.”

“Worked out really well for you, didn’t it?” I rolled my eyes at the memory of him getting kitchen duty for years in a row. “Weren’t you assigned that punishment yearly for a while?”

“Yup and twice, back when I was sixteen.” The proud look he gave had me nearly groaning out loud. “I swear that one wasn’t my fault though! Instructor Almeida had it out for me something fierce that year. And I almost ended up having to do it a third time, but it was too damn easy at that point. So, Cid decided that it would be a better punishment to have me wash every vehicle in the garage instead. Then he had me scrub the entire garage a week later for a different offense. Trying to get all those stains of the concrete was a bit much, though I don’t exactly remember what I used for it anymore. Wish I did because it'd come in handy at work.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t have gotten that punishment if you hadn’t decided Instructor Almeida was a perfect target for your pranks.” I reminded him, feeling more relaxed now that things had deescalated. To the point where I’d virtually forgotten where we were in the first place. “You know, there was even a rumor going around that you were the one responsible for dying her skin green that year.”

“That…actually wasn’t me.” He replied sheepishly. “Damn good prank though. Made her look like an oversized Tonberry, but I was completely innocent on that one.”

“You were?” I tilted my head, trying to think of the events that occurred during that time. But ten years was a long time to recall in great detail for something I’d barely paid attention to.

“Yup! Don’t you remember? I was with you on an outdoor training class that whole week.” He grinned, shifting his weight so he was more comfortable and relaxed looking. “I’ll admit, I know who did it though.”

“I vaguely remember that session. You and Fujin kept trying to pawn all the work off on Raijin and me.” I frowned, suddenly recalling more details of that trip and how pissed I was over it. “So? who did it? I just assumed you were involved because it was right up your alley.”

“Not tellin’!” He declared proudly and gave me a seductive grin. “Not without some form of…compensation that is.”

“Gross! Would you two just get a room already? I’ve completely lost my appetite.” Laurent complained, drawing our attention back to him once more. It was a dumb move on his part but clearly this boy was full of those. “Can I be dismissed already? Standing here, watching you play tonsil hockey with each other in front of everyone is going to make me nauseous.”

“Watch it punk.” Seifer growled at him, probably embarrassed over the kid's suggestion of us being lovers. And if he wasn’t, I sure was. Not that I’d let either of them see it. “There are worse punishments than cleaning duty. And you can be damn sure that the Commander here will make sure it happens just the way I spell it out for you.”

“I will?” I raised an eyebrow at the high-handed comment. Murmuring from behind me was a reminder of our location. A tug on my jacket had me placing a hand over Cassie’s back and I was relieved to find she’d stopped trembling.

“Damn right you will!” The smile said he knew I’d do exactly as he wanted and that I should just accept my role now.

“What in Hyne’s name is going on in here?!” A sharp voice from the entryway demanded.

Instantly, all of us turned to see the newcomer to the situation. Standing there, hand on her hip and a no-nonsense look, was Quistis. Realizing the scene we’d likely caused, I just knew Laurent wasn’t the only one who was going to be given a lecture on proper behavior. Had we been smarter about it, the boy would have been given his punishment and released well before we started reminiscing about events from a decade ago.

“Instructor!” Seifer greeted, trying to defuse the tension. “It’s been too long. Did you miss me?”

“About as much as a toothache.” She replied with a sweet tone and a smile to match before turning to me with a frown. “Squall, I’m waiting for an explanation as to what’s going on here.”

“Sir? Sorry to interrupt but I have to get to my class now or I’ll be late.” The girl I’d given Tempest to approached cautiously from the side and passed my child back to me. “It was wonderful to see her again. Tempest is such an angel. Bye now, Sir!”

Silently we watched her hurry off. The small interlude did nothing to deter the demanding glare I was receiving from Quistis though. Trying to decide what to tell her, the tension on my jacket disappeared only to have it reappear on my belt as Cassie shifted her hold so she could hide behind me better. Effectively pinned down between a trio of blonds, and one confused toddler, I rubbed the scar between my eyes in an anxious gesture.

“It’s not what you’re thinking Quistis. Seifer didn’t cause this one.” I answered in a bid to appease the worst of her ire.

“Leonhart, Laurent needs to get back to class.” Seifer interjected, nodding towards the boy shifting awkwardly nearby.

“Laurent, try not to cause any more trouble. At least for a few days.” I requested, almost pleading with him to behave better. When he gave a too rapid nod, I waved my hand at him. “Dismissed. Don’t be late for class.”

“Thank you, Sir.” He muttered, quickly saluting before moving towards the door.

Just as he was passing Quistis, Seifer called out to him and I wanted to just sink into a damn hole in the floor. “Hey! Don’t forget what we told you. And be sure to report to the cafeteria staff at nine o’clock tonight.”

“But…” Laurent stuttered, looking to Quistis for some assistance. It wasn’t the wisest of moves when she was in this kind of mood. The only response he got to the silent plea was a very unimpressed look from her.

“What was that?” Seifer growled when the boy muttered something that only Quistis seemed to hear. “Is there a problem with our decision on your punishment?”

“Your decision.” I muttered, earning myself a glare to keep quiet. Deciding it was prudent to back him up on this so everyone could go about their day, I cleared my throat to get the boy’s attention back on me. “Laurent, you will report to the cafeteria staff at closing time each night for the next week. You are not to leave until they release you. Any missed days will reset the clock and you will start back at day one until all seven days are completed consecutively.”

The last part was a bit of random inspiration I was willing to try. Remembering how easy it became for Seifer to manipulate the system, I figured the punishment should be altered to adjust for the tricks he used to pull. If all went well, Laurent wouldn’t be foolish enough to miss more than one or two days of his assigned duties before devoting himself to getting the job completed so he could be free. Someone probably should have figured that out back when Seifer was the one doing the cleaning…

“Yes Sir.” Laurent bit out and took off before anyone could include other additions to his punishment.

Almost to the second that he was out of sight, Cassie transferred from my leg to Seifer’s. A hint of pain flashed in his eyes for a moment before his expression calmed and he was muttering reassurances to her. The trembling that had faded with her hiding behind me had returned now that she was safely in her father’s reach. Yet, they didn't calm completely due to him redirecting her attempts to be held by him.

Is he still in too much pain to pick her up? Didn’t Kadowaki fix the issue? Or was it something that she couldn’t repair completely? Similar questions floated around my mind as I watched the two Almasys together.

“Let’s head back to my room. We can talk there.” I suggested.

Following that plan, I started towards the entryway and all three of them fell into line behind me. There was a minor satisfaction at having Seifer following at my left and Quistis at my right. It was as if those were the roles they’d always been meant to have and with that thought came a sense of peace for the first time in a good while.

Chapter 19: What is that?!

Notes:

If you feel like you're missing something, go check Chapter 17...somehow, I keep skipping chapters on this story -_-

*Seifer*

After following Squall to a room, that I assumed must be his, Quistis went to sit in a chair at the small table while he and I took the girls into his bedroom. As if fully prepared to entertain them, there were all sorts of items set about for the girls, Squall changed Tempest and set her on the floor next to Cassie. She, on the other hand, wasn’t so easy to settle down after the cafeteria incident.

“Daddy? Why was that boy so mean?” She asked while accepting the books and coloring supplies Squall handed to her.

“Dunno kiddo. Probably mad about something and doesn’t have the skills yet to do something about it.” I answered carefully from where I sat on the floor next to her. “Don’t worry about it. Squall and I dealt with him so he shouldn’t bother you anymore.”

“Okay.” She frowned but searched the papers in front of her for something. “This is for you Daddy. You feel better now?”

“Yeah Baby Girl. I’m much better now.” I answered, taking the picture. It was a bit of a stick figure family portrait with Raijin, Fujin, Squall, me and all the kids. “Good job kiddo! We’ll have to hang this up when we get home.”

That got her beaming with pride, and she started going on about having fun with ‘Mr. Chocobo’. For a minute or two I just listened as she broke off into some other random story. Then Squall placed Tempest on the floor with Cassie and signaled for me to follow him out the door. It took a bit of work, but I managed to get off the floor without too much trouble and followed him out.

Leaving the door half open so we could listen in on the girls playing, Squall gently shoved me towards the couch and waited for me to sit down first. From just a few feet away, Quistis watched us with more curiosity than annoyance. Nice to know that we could still surprise someone that always acted superior to everyone else.

“Seeing the two of you getting along is absolutely amazing to watch.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t think I really believed Selphie when she told me how well the two of you were managing with each other. Now I’m simply wondering why it took so long for you to reach this point. You could have been friends instead of spending all your time fighting.”

“You got us all wrong Trepe.” I corrected, trying not to be obvious about shifting around on the couch. “The issue had nothing to do with us being friends. It was more like Princess here just didn’t know how to express himself well. He needed someone to get him out of his shell.”

“And you did that by tormenting him as cadets?” She scoffed

Knowing I couldn’t dissuade her from believing whatever, I simply shrugged. “Doesn’t matter anymore, does it? We’re getting along and helping each other. Isn’t that good enough?”

“Why are you here Quistis?” Squall interrupted. “I’m assuming it has to do with what happened in the cafeteria, not events from six years ago.”

Unamused, she nodded. “Care to explain what happened? And why I’m going to be officially writing up a report on Mr. Laurent without any real knowledge of what he did or what his punishment’s supposed to be?”

“That dumbass went after Cassie. That’s what he did!” I growled, wishing I’d been able to put the kid more thoroughly in his place. “All I did was remind him that he should be a little more careful about who he messes with.”

Rubbing her temple, Quistis glared at me then looked to the man at my side. “Squall…I’m assuming you have something to add that explains the incident better? I can’t exactly put all that in an official report.”

“It’s a fairly accurate summary…” He sighed.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he gave a complete report on the entire incident. Which was shortly followed by a recount of our trip here, at her request. Then I reminded him about Rinoa’s impending arrival. That one did not make her happy in the slightest. Guess Rinoa had managed to piss off quite a few people with her little stunt.

When he was done, she stood up and brushed her hands down her clothing. “Alright, I’ll file the report and make sure the punishment is carried out. Let me know if there’s anything else you need from me during your stay. And Seifer?”

“Hmm?” I responded, fully ready for a quick nap.

“Try not to cause too much trouble while you’re here.” She teased then walked out the door.

After Quistis left, I got up and checked on the kids. A quick check told me that Tempest needed another diaper change. When he caught me doing it without saying anything, Squall gave me an annoyed look and went back to the other room. Disposing of the soiled diaper, I washed up and went back to my previous seat.

“How bad was it?” He asked after a few minutes of silence between us, only the girls making any noise in the room. “Your injuries I mean.”

Not wanting him to stress about it, I shrugged. “Nothing major. Just a bit of debris that needed cleaning out.”

A dark look passed over his face, showing he wasn’t pleased by my downplaying. “That wasn’t some simple debris. A bit of debris that I couldn’t pinpoint would have been irritating, not put you in that much pain or make you sick that quickly. Tell me what I missed.”

“Tch!” I scoffed, getting a little annoyed at this protective streak he’d developed. “I’m fine now. Can’t you just be satisfied with that?”

“No.” He growled.

Too drained to fight with him on it, I leaned back into the couch. A twinge of pain hit my back, but I did my best to ignore it. “It’s not your fault Leonhart, so don’t start thinking it is. Doc said there was a piece of claw from that damn Thrustaevis still in my back that had splintered. As for the illness, she thinks there was something on it from a recent kill. Whatever it was had to still be in the claw splinters when I took the Remedy and came out later.”

“But it’s fully healed now?” He demanded while scanning my torso.

“Mostly.” I admitted. “I insisted on getting out of there first chance I got. She healed everything but it’s going to take a day or so for the muscles and nerves to feel better. By tomorrow I should be back to normal.”

Instead of responding he stared at me with that scrutinizing gaze as he tried to discern how much of what I’d told him was a lie to cover my ass. Innocent of wrongdoing, I still found it difficult to sit there and not squirm under the look he was giving me. A weaker man would have confessed to damn near anything after a minute of him looking at them that way.

“Stand up and turn around.” He ordered finally.

Confused, I tilted my head with a furrowed brow. “What?”

“I want to see it.” The order softened into a request.

Seeing no harm in allowing him to see the recently injured spots, I stood up and dragged my shirt over my head. Torso bare, I turned so that my back was to him. For anyone else I wouldn’t have even considered doing it, but for Squall’s guilty conscience I could endure quite a bit. Yet, it didn’t faze me to go against training by giving him my back willingly.

He’d been right about how lucky I’d been. The thought was a poor distraction from the awareness I had of his location. Doc confirmed that I’d have been screwed if that stupid fucking monster had gotten a quarter inch deeper or to the side.

Until his fingers brushed over the skin of my shoulder, I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath. While I knew Doc had healed the wounds, I couldn’t see what they looked like now. From the tight feeling when I moved just right, I assumed that they were still at the last stages of healing where the scars would be a bright pink color.

Calloused fingers trailed the length of the healing wounds on my shoulder, mapping them out as I patiently stood there for him. Slowly they traced the path of the wounds, sending a shiver down my spine. The reaction had him hesitating in his exploration and I felt his touch pulling away from my body.

“Do they still hurt?” The soft question had me instantly shaking my head.

“No. That just tickled a little.” I lied coolly, not wanting to admit the effect his touch had on me.

Taking me at my word, he put his fingers back against my skin and continued his exploration. This time I didn’t shiver over the firmer contact. Now I was torn between stopping him from touching me so intimately and wanting him to touch me more. The sudden realization left me completely frozen in place while he shifted down to my lower back.

Just when I thought I wasn’t going to stand anymore of that delicate touch, it stopped. A wave of disappointment hit me that I couldn’t explain. Thinking his curiosity was satisfied, I prepared to turn around only to have his arms encircling me and his head resting right between my shoulders. Unprepared for the unusual contact, I stiffened. When nothing more came of it, I relaxed and let him hold onto me.

“You scared the shit out of me. I didn’t know what was wrong with you. I didn’t think I was going to get you here in time.” He whispered quietly into my back.

Unsure how to respond to his raw emotions being voiced, I laid my hands lightly over his. In my chest it felt like my heart was beating loud enough for him to hear. With all the strange occurrences lately, I didn’t know what to feel about him holding me like this. Too many emotions were hitting me at once that it was difficult to sort them out.

There was guilt for worrying him because of my carelessness. More from leaving him to take care of me and two young children, one of which couldn’t even walk yet. Then there was irritation towards both of us that I couldn’t exactly explain. Behind that irritation came another, unfamiliar, pair of emotions. His concern had me feeling wanted and cared for…

Wait…cared for? Did Squall really care about me so much that being sick and injured had terrified him enough to admit it?

“It’ll take more than a weak ass monster like that to do me in.” I promised, voice thick with my own emotions. “The only one allowed to deliver the killing blow is you. No one else is worthy enough for that kind of honor. Though, I do hope it doesn’t happen for a long time yet. Gotta be there to see you freak out over all of Tempest’s milestones.”

Stupid and sentimental as hell, it had been exactly the right thing to say in that moment. Tension in his arms pulled me tighter against his body as he turned the awkward contact into a full embrace.

"You better be." The whispered order was barely more than a breath against my skin but I somehow managed to hear it.

For several long minutes we stood there like that while I marveled at the discovery of how much Squall cared for me. Then I noticed something that just had to ruin the moment…

“Do you hear that?” I asked suspiciously.

“I don’t hear anything.” He answered, stepping away. Likely he thought I’d been uncomfortable at the contact, when in fact I was already missing it the second it was gone.

“Me either.” I frowned, turning around.

That seemed to get it to click for him as well. “The girls.”

Having spent time with Cassie, he’d learned that nothing ever good came from her being quiet. Together we hurried into the room, Squall just a few feet ahead of me. Barely a few steps into the room he stopped, which had me stopping as well. Now that I knew there was no emergency, I leaned my head against the doorframe with a dorky smile.

Lying on the floor were both girls, fast asleep. Wrapped protectively around Tempest, Cassie was using one of her coloring books for a pillow. Only a few minutes before they’d been awake still and going strong. All the excitement of the day must have finally worn off with the room being a relatively quiet space.

“Guess we shouldn’t be too surprised.” I mused quietly. “Cassie especially has had a rough couple of days. Makes sense they’d both pass out ahead of schedule.”

“Cassie’s been a great help with Tempest. Mostly so she could stay busy instead of worrying about you.” He replied just as softly. “She’s a good kid.”

“Yeah.” I sighed, watching him start towards the girls.

While he was busy with getting Tempest into her crib, I headed towards Cassie. It hadn’t occurred to me that Squall might come back for her after he was done with Tempest, so I went to take care of her myself. Kneeling just happened to be more of a challenge than I was expecting, pulling at the sore spots hard enough to make me hesitate for only a couple seconds. Recovering quickly, I reached over to pick Cassie up only to have Squall’s boots appear on the other side of her.

“What are you doing?” Clearly he was not amused by my actions.

“Well, I thought I’d be a parent and put my daughter in the bed. Unless you have a problem with that.” I snarked before I could temper my attitude. It wasn’t his fault that I was still sore.

“I don’t have an issue with her sleeping in the bed.” Smoother than I’d managed, he kneeled down and looked me in the eye. “You’re still healing. Go sit your ass back on the couch so your back can rest. Or go lay on the bed. It’ll be better for you, and you can take a nap with Cassie. Either way, I’m not letting you carry her until you’ve recovered better than this.”

Back to being pissed over his coddling, I let him see how I felt about his ordering me around. “I’m healing up perfectly fine. It’s just a little muscle soreness and I’m not going to let that keep me from taking care of my own damn child.”

Thinking my point was made, I reached again for Cassie. Before I could touch her, one of Squall’s hands touched my shoulder and gave me a hard shove. The force of it threw me off balance and I landed hard on my ass. Air left my lungs as the impact jarred my remaining injuries all at once. Stubbornly I looked up just to see him scowling at me with a raised eyebrow, clearly asking if his point had been made.

“Screw you Leonhart.” I hissed, not wanting to admit he had won.

“Is that a proposition?” He shot back with a smirk.

“It…I…” It took several seconds before I was able to rally myself enough to try and respond to the unexpected taunt. Then realized...I didn’t fucking know the answer to his question. “Tch! Whatever!”

Having successfully caught me off guard for a third time since returning to the room, he took advantage of it to scoop Cassie into his arms. A whine of complaint from my child chased the confusion away. Glaring at his back, I watched him lay her in his bed while I tried to figure out what the hell he’d meant by asking me that in the first place.

Pulling my worthless ass back onto my feet, I went to the crib and looked Tempest over. Then I made a point of walking to the bed and adjusted the blanket a little, despite it being fine. Refusing to give in to the temptation of laying down with Cassie, I stormed passed him out of the room. If he was going to insist on playing caretaker to anyone then I might just let him.

Not like I hadn’t saved his ass a few times already. Only right that he helps with Cassie after I got my ass handed to me.

While Squall picked up the mess left by the girls, I went back to my spot on the couch. Tossing my discarded shirt onto the coffee table, I leaned back to rest my head and close my eyes for a minute. This couch wasn’t exactly the most comfortable place in the world, not even close to the one I’d gotten for Squall when doing the renovations, but it wasn’t the worst place I’d slept either.

Perhaps I should have swallowed my damn pride and accepted his offer of napping in the bed.

“You hungry?” Squall asked as he closed the door most of the way. “The girls are out for a bit. I can go grab something for you from the cafeteria.”

Cracking my eyes open, I watched him come over to stand next to couch as he waited for me to answer. The last thing I’d eaten was a bit of fruit and that damn pastry he shoved at me this morning. Trying to eat such sweet food when I wasn’t feeling well had been a bad idea. I’d only attempted it in the first place to make him and Cassie feel less worried. Now it was seriously backfiring and the thought of eating anything made my stomach roll violently.

“No.” I murmured with a slight shake of my head.

Accepting my answer, he sat down as well. “If you change your mind, let me know. You haven’t had much of anything the last couple of days.”

“I’ll be alright.” I sighed, just wanting to close my eyes for a little longer. Then a thought crept in, making me realize I’d waited too long to even think about it. “Where’s Hyperion? I remember you taking her, but I haven’t seen her in the room anywhere.”

“I put her behind the couch. Carrying two gunblades was too complicated with the girls to take care of.” He answered quietly, sleep making his voice thick and sluggish. “Figured it was safe enough there. Be hard for either of them to get to the blade before I could catch them. So far it’s worked.”

“Okay. Thanks Princess.” I breathed, letting exhaustion overtake me.

I guess a small nap couldn’t hurt.

A grunt was all the reply I got before darkness took over my mind and I was out.

*Squall*

“Daaaddyyy!”

The sudden squeal, followed by a grunt from Seifer, had me rolling to my feet, now fully awake. Realizing that only Seifer was being attacked, and by his own child, I stretched out in an attempt to work the kinks from my neck and back. Falling asleep on the couch hadn’t been intentional, but I was definitely feeling a little better for it.

Looks like we all needed some sleep. I thought, noticing that Seifer didn’t seem the least bit bothered by being shirtless with Cassie climbing on top of him. Is that normal? Or is it unique to them?

“Hey Baby Girl.” Seifer let out a large yawn as he patted her on the head. “Have a good nap?”

“Uh huh!” She answered then started telling him about whatever dream she’d been having.

Hearing Tempest in the other room, I left the two of them to talk and went take care of my own child. The moment I walked into the room I was greeted by a happy squeal from her. Concern had me stopping to watch her bounce in the crib with her mouth coming extremely close to the bar her hands were wrapped around. Until now, I hadn’t thought of a crib as a dangerous place but now I worried about her hurting herself on the hard wood.

I’ll ask Seifer about it later. Decision made, I walked over and leaned on the railing.

“Hi.” I greeted her roughly. Talking to someone unable to converse back was still strange to me and I felt awkward about having one-sided conversations with her. “Let’s get you changed. Then we’ll take Cassie out to the quad. You might enjoy it too even though you can’t walk yet.”

“Dadadada!” She babbled happily. Part of me kind of hoped she was trying to call me ‘dad’, but I let logic remind me it was just her playing with sounds.

Lifting her from the crib into my arms, I grabbed a fresh diaper, wipes, and a change of clothes from her travel bag. After getting us settled on the floor, I went to work on getting her changed. Cleaned and happy, she decided it was a perfect time to reiterate her stance on clothes being optional items. So far, she hadn’t grasped that I made the rules on wearing clothing and continued to fight me on the matter.

One of her sleeves somehow got stuck over her face and I was struggling to correct it when Seifer walked in. Having his eyes on me while I was failing miserably on dressing my child was unsettling. Despite him not saying anything, I felt like he was judging my terrible parenting skills. It was embarrassing how I was still struggling so badly with it after six full weeks of her being in my care.

A sound had me looking up right after I’d succeeded in getting Tempest’s shirt on the right way. Doing so earned me a full-on Rinoa style pout but I was well immune to those after dating the woman for so long. Which made it easy to ignore it long enough to see what Seifer needed. The odd look on his face was not what I’d expected to see. I’d anticipated some type of amusement, but this was different…soft and almost happy.

“You mentioned something about going to the quad?” He asked after catching me staring at him.

“I thought about doing it after lunch, but other things happened.” I hedged, not sure where this was going. “Cassie’s had a lot going so I thought getting her out where she could safely run around would be a good idea.”

“It would. Thank you.” The look he gave Tempest confused me even more than the previous had. “You think I can get a shower in before we leave? I’m sure one’s well overdue.”

It was right about then that I realized neither of us had showered since arriving here. Two days of travel and one skirmish wasn’t the worst I’d come back with, but I usually got cleaned up shortly afterwards. Now I wondered if I could get one in before going as well or if I should sacrifice it for a little longer so that Cassie and Tempest can get an hour or two outside before being couped up in the room until dinner.

“Your bag should be in the pile there. We’ll wait.” I told him then returned to getting Tempest ready.

Arriving at the room earlier, I’d found that Zell had simply dumped our belongings in the corner of the room for me to deal with later. Distracted by everything going on, the only thing I’d pulled out of the pile had been Tempest’s bag. Since she’d been changed right after Zell took custody of the girls, I assumed Cassie had only grabbed out the necessities for her when helping Zell out.

Watching Seifer separate everything, I realized that I probably should have helped him move the fairly heavy bags. Other than a few clumsy movements, he managed to get a change of clothes and his toiletry bag out. About the time I’d gotten the purple dress on Tempest and won the fight to clasp the overall style straps, the shower was already running.

In spite of him being fairly quick with his shower, I had only just managed to get Tempest’s socks and shoes on when he came out. Looking calmer and much better than a few minutes before, Seifer was scowling as he rubbed at his jaw in annoyance. Someone did not seem too thrilled to have a bit of stubble that had begun growing without his consent.

“Ready?” I asked. The urge to tease him was there but he had far too much ammo to use against me at the moment.

“Hyperion?” He requested with a sigh of disappointment over not having time to shave.

“Watch her for a second.” I ordered then set Tempest back on the floor and went to retrieve our gunblades. Lionheart, having been stashed behind the couch as well upon our return, got strapped to my belt first.

Seeing his gunblade, Seifer grinned like a kid being given candy and started securing the weapon to his waist. I still wasn’t sure if it was the wisest choice to let him walk around Garden armed, but I also didn’t want him unarmed with so much animosity around him either. Especially when his movements showed that he was a bit more tender than he wanted me to believe.

Touching my fingers to Lionheart’s hilt, I walked over and picked up Tempest before she could crawl too far. Refusing to wait on Seifer, after realizing he was downplaying how much he was still hurting, I turned and grabbed Cassie’s hand. Seeing us heading towards the door, Seifer let out a growl of annoyance before hurrying after us.

“Come on.” He growled, reaching the door first and gently taking Cassie’s hand from mine, he tapped the panel for it to open. “Let’s get the kids to the quad so they can play for a bit.”

Keeping a straight face, I nodded and allowed him to lead the way.

*Seifer*

“Why in Hyne’s name are you sleeping on the couch?” Rinoa’s voice was loud enough to wake the dead. And apparently, a couple of sleeping children.

“Rin, keep it down. It’s too early to yell like that. You’ll wake the kids up.” Squall’s tired reprimand was far more subtle, no more awake than I felt at the moment. “What the hell are you holding?”

As Squall predicted, Rinoa’s yelling had startled Tempest and Cassie awake. The smaller of the two looking at me with a full-on pout that was fast approaching tantrum over being woken up so rudely. Despite her habit of getting up early with her father, the small child still had close to a half hour left before her normal wake up time. Not a terrible gab but enough to put her in a bad mood and throw her schedule off for the rest of the day.

Curious about who was here, Cassie slid from the bed before I could finish climbing over her. Both of us trying to get up at the same time resulted in me damn near landing on top of her when she moved right in front of me while rubbing sleep from her eyes. Amazed at how unaware she could be in this state, I watched her stumble towards the door out of curiosity.

Fuck it… I yawned and moved towards the crib. Squall can deal with my spawn while I handle his. Someone’s gotta keep her from destroying Garden and making our lives miserable for the rest of the day.

“A puppy! Here puppy!” Cassie’s excited cries as I was just picking up Tempest chased away any grogginess that had been lingering. Scooping Squall’s child into my arms, I was damn near running from the door. “Can we keep her Mr. Squall?”

“No!” I cried out, far louder than was appropriate for the situation. Or maybe not. With Cassie involved, that was a very thin line. As everyone stared at me for the outburst I cleared my throat and tried again. “No Cassie. We can’t have a puppy.”

“It’s not like I brought her for either of you anyway. The puppy was meant for Tempest. That way they can grow up together and be best friends.” Rinoa huffed. Seeing Tempest in my arms she smiled and tried to take her from me. “Hi Tempest.”

At the sight of Rinoa reaching for her, Tempest turned her face to my neck and started crying. Instinctively I took a step back and laid a protective hand over her, rubbing her back to try and calm her down. A glance at Squall confirmed that I was going to have two very upset Leonharts on my hands if I didn’t do something about it…and soon.

“Give her a minute to wake up Rin.” I admonished gently, silently praising myself for not voicing what I really wanted to say. “You woke her up a little early so she’s gonna be cranky over it. Give her a chance to wake up and start her morning routine before you start grabbing at her.”

“But I’m her mother!” Rinoa huffed at me, placing both hands on her hips. “I should be allowed to hold my own daughter whenever I want to.”

“The daughter you abandoned?” The low rumble from the couch sent a damn chill down my spine and I was fucking glad it wasn’t directed at me for a change.

“I…” Rinoa stuttered, recognizing that tone.

As much as I wanted to witness them battling it out, I really didn’t want it happening when the kids were present. “Oh yeah, and you made the mistake of waking Squall up too. For someone wanting to work things out, not the best way to go about it.”

“Oh really?” She turned her irritated gaze on me, happy to have a safer target to go after. “Are you saying you could do better? Squall’s always grumpy in the mornings. So is Tempest for that matter.”

At her ignorance of the two people she should know intimately, I shook my head. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. What and learn Rin.”

“Impress me.” She challenged dry before stepping out of the way for Cassie and the puppy. Both of which were still running around the room and adding to Squall’s annoyance.

Turning to the man in question, I gave him a stern look. “Princess, go get some coffee started before you end up flinging spells at people. Cass, stop chasing the puppy. Quistis was nice enough to bring you some supplies that you forgot to pack. There’s also a change of clothes on the dresser for you that should work. Go get them and get ready for breakfast.”

“Okay Daddy.” Cassie sighed, gave the puppy one last pat, and headed into the room.

Watching Squall zone out on preparing the coffee pot and Cassie obeying, I felt it was safe enough to leave the room. “Rin, you keep that puppy under control and try not to piss Squall off for a few minutes. I’ll be back out shortly.”

Realizing that I was leaving the room with Tempest, she held a hand out to me. “Wait! Where are you going?”

“Into the room with Tempest. Someone needs to get her ready and if we don’t get breakfast in her soon, she’s going to end up in a worse mood than her father is without coffee.” I warned, stroking Tempest’s back as she started making sounds of annoyance.

On top of having her routine messed with, something she shared with Squall, the child clearly was not happy being near Rinoa right this moment. While I wasn’t going to declare the answer as to why, I suspected she had some seriously negative feelings about Rinoa leaving her with a stranger and disappearing. Or she was just in a bitchy mood this morning. It could go either way, but I know exactly how Squall was going to view his child’s reaction to her mother…

“And you’re now an expert on what Tempest needs? You aren’t her father so how can you know that much about her already?” Rinoa demanded, almost accusingly, as she followed me into the room with the puppy in her arms.

“Nope! I’m not. That’s Squall’s job.” Grinning at being able to point out that little fact, I laid Tempest on the floor and began changing her.

“That still doesn’t answer my question. It’s been less than two full months since he’s had her, so how can you know what kind of routine she needs?”

Rolling my eyes at the somewhat naïve woman, I tried to engage Tempest in a bit of play to distract her. Unimpressed with my teasing, she just glared at me and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. Both of which were almost exactly like her father’s when he was in a sour mood. I couldn’t help wondering if he’d figured that out yet or not.

Keeping my voice down, I gave the door a worried look before pulling the child’s pajamas off. “I shouldn’t be sharing this with you, but I think you should know how badly your actions affected everyone.”

“What? How do you…” She looked at me in confusion then understanding took over. “Squall told you?”

Nodding, I tried keeping tabs on everyone while still getting a new diaper on Tempest. “Look, you caused a huge fucking mess when you dropped her off like that. A lot of people were pissed about it from what I’ve heard. But Squall was worse…”

“I didn’t mean to…” She whispered, eyes tearing up.

“Didn’t mean to do what?” I growled, remembering at the last moment to keep it down. “Didn’t mean to trick him into having sex that produced a child? Or that you didn’t mean to hide that information from him so he could help you in his own way? Or do are you saying that you didn’t mean to abandon your young child with a man who knows nothing about babies? You need to open your eyes Rin! That man was a total mess when I ran into him a few weeks ago. And that was after having all of Garden and Matron helping him learn this shit for a month straight. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been helping him learn how to take care of her and provide him with time to get things done so he has less to stress about. That’s how I know what Tempest needs.”

During my lecture, I ignored the guilt and torment that overtook her expression and focused on getting Tempest dressed. Now cleaned and forced to wear more clothing than she preferred, Tempest wasted no time in sitting up on the floor and pouting harder at me. Distracted by the child and cleaning up the mess, I missed how the pup managed to slip free of Rinoa’s arms.

“Rin!” I hissed, reaching out to catch the puppy. The rough twisting caused a spasm in my back where the injury had been damn near fully healed, interfering with my ability to stop the rambunctious pup. “Shit!”

Caught up in her own self-pity, Rinoa hadn’t moved any faster than I had to keep the pup from ramming right into Tempest. Pushing aside the unexpected pain, I finally shoved the oversized pup away from Tempest. All hope of this not becoming any worse died when Tempest let out a wail, despite me having already chased the damn animal away and got her sitting in my lap.

“Seifer?” Squall inquired from the other room, and I could hear him cursing softly. Probably from burning himself trying to put the pot back on its burner to come see what was going on.

“Handled!” I called back. Mostly because I didn’t want him walking into the room just yet, but it was mostly true.

“Here puppy!” Cassie called from the bathroom doorway, drawn out by all the yelling. Instantly the pup ran to her, and my child gave her a lot of pets for listening.

“Thanks Baby Girl.” I sighed, debating on whether I wanted to get up or wait for small spasms in my back to calm down a little more.

Trying to keep the rambunctious puppy from jumping on her, Cassie gave me a curious look. “What happened Daddy? Why Tempest crying again?”

“It’s fine Cass. The puppy just knocked her over.” I answered, firmly deciding not to get up just yet as the muscles gave an angry protest from me simply adjusting positions.

“Not nice to push baby Tempest! Bad puppy!” She lectured the puppy, who just gave her an open-mouthed grin with her tongue hanging out and wagged her tail happily.

“It’s not the puppy’s fault. Putting puppies and babies together isn’t usually a good idea.” I explained as I watched Rin go pick the furball up before she could get away again.

“Sorry.” The woman murmured, shoving her face into the pup’s fur. “I didn’t think she’d be so wild. Normally she’s calm unless she wants to play. And Angelo’s so good with kids that I thought her puppy would be too.”

“What the hell is she mixed with? No way is she all the same breed as Angelo.” Looking at the pup that easily weighed fifteen to twenty pounds, depending on how much was fluffy fur, I could barely see the sweet and protective dog reflected in her appearance.

Struggling to keep the pup under control, Rinoa frowned. “I’m not sure really. The other pups looked more like Angelo, but I think this one took after her father. I never saw the act, but someone told me a male Toramahound had been in the area and Angelo had run off for a few hours somewhere during that time. So, I’m guessing he’s the father.”

“A…Toramahound?! Seriously? That pup’s going to be fu…freaking huge Rin!” I hissed, barely remembering to keep my language clean for the kids.

“I can’t do anything about that!” She snapped, looking like she was on the verge of tears again.

Not wanting her to start crying, I held up a hand. “Okay, okay, I believe you had no control over it happening. Angelo is actually a pretty damn good dog, so I’m surprised she disappeared for so long. But let’s put off the harder discussions until after Squall and I get some coffee and the kids get fed. Sound fair?”

In all reality, my brain just was not up to dealing with so much this early in the morning. Without coffee, I didn’t even want to try and work it all out with her. A few hours weren’t going to make all that much of a difference other than appeasing our basic needs. But she’d lost her damn mind if she thought Squall would accept taking care of a puppy, on top of Tempest, Garden, and himself, without putting up some kind of fight. Since I was likely to side with him on this one, I figured it best to wait on the discussion.

“Okay. That’s fair.” She admitted, looking a little defeated.

“Let’s get back to the other room before Squall realizes we’re still missing.” I suggested, finally forcing myself up from the floor with Tempest under one arm. There were still a few muscle spasms going on but nothing that wouldn’t be resolved quickly. Assuming I actually gave it a chance to recover.

After asking Cassie to throw the dirty diaper away, I led all of them back to the other room. As I walked through the door I spotted Squall leaning against the counter with a coffee wrapped in both hands and another sitting a few inches away from the half full pot. Judging by the glower he was giving the woman behind me, the man’s mood had not improved with his favorite beverage entering his system.

Approaching the ticked off SeeD Commander without fear, I reached for the lifesaving cup he’d left for me. Downing what was left in his mug, Squall set it aside and took Tempest from my arms. Subtle as it was, I knew he was checking her for injuries. As much as the man trusted me to keep her safe, he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he’d given his own inspection.

“Thanks.” I told him, raising the mug in hopes of distracting him.

“Even with all the distractions, you’re still faster than I am at getting her dressed.” He sighed, shoving a lock of dark hair out of her face.

“Practice and lots of it.” I said gruffly, refilling both our cups. “We should get moving though. The girls need to eat, and we still need to take Tempest to see Doc. Think Dincht would be willing to watch Cassie again for a bit while we do that?”

“Not a chance.” He smirked. Then he shifted Tempest to one side in order to keep her safe from the hot cup and its contents as he drank it.

“Why wouldn’t Zell watch her? I thought he liked babysitting the kids.” Rin’s inquiry had me curious as well.

Catching the look Squall gave Cassie, a cross between impressed and amused, I turned to my child. “Cassandra Almasy, what did you do to Zell?”

“Mr. Chocobo and I were playing a game Daddy. It was fun.” Somehow, I didn’t believe that far too innocent look she was giving while trying to pet the puppy some more.

“Squall?” I asked with only the barest hint of a whine, praying that it only seemed worse than it was.

Amusement had his mouth twitching upwards as he hid behind his coffee for a moment before answering. “You should speak with Raijin about Cassie’s knot tying abilities. They could use some work.”

It took a minute to understand what he was suggesting, and I felt all the color leaving my face. “Oh Hyne…she didn’t!”

At his nod I wanted to just drop to the ground and disappear for a bit. “Apparently she and Zell were playing something called ‘Heroes and Bad Guys’. Guess who got to play the hero and protect Tempest from the bad guy.”

“If you had a normal sense of humor I’d accuse you of messing with me. But you don't and I also know my own child.” I groaned, rubbing my forehead. “Do I need to go apologize to Dincht over this?”

“No, I took care of it.” Squall offered, still brimming with amusement. “After rescuing him from Cassie, I chewed his ass for letting her tie him up in the first place.”

Rinoa gave both of us an absolutely baffled look. “Hold on a minute! I’m totally lost here. What happened with Zell and what does this have to do with Raijin and bad knots?”

Since I hadn’t been there to witness it, I could only gesture to Squall. “You’ll have to ask him for details. This is the first time I’m hearing of it. I just happen to know my daughter well enough to guess what might have happened.”

“I had to protect Tempest from the bad guy!” Cassie answered proudly before Squall could say anything. “Mr. Chocobo ask me what I wanted to play, and I said ‘Heroes and Bad Guys’. Then I got to be the hero and keep Tempest safe from the bad guy. Unkle Raijin and Auntie Fujin said bad guys need to be tied up when they lose a fight, or they will hurt other people because they gets mad.”

Still looking completely lost, Rinoa looked between me and Squall before settling on the brunette. “She tied Zell up when they were playing a game. The idiot let her have access to a rope thinking she was too young to do anything with it. Unfortunately for him, Cassie has been getting fishing lessons from Raijin that includes tying knots. She apparently practiced what she’d learned from him on Zell. The knots were atrocious by the way.”

“That’s horrible! Poor Zell!” She gasped, giving my child a second appraisal.

“I’ll speak to Raijin about it later. For now, we need to get going. Tempest has been awake long enough that she’s going to start getting pissy if we don’t feed her soon. We can decide what to do with Cassie during our visit to Doc after they have food in front of them.” I decided, rinsing my cup in the sink before setting it down.

“I thought you took care of that yesterday.” Suddenly her delay in getting here made a lot more sense but I wasn’t going to rat her out if Squall hadn’t picked up on it. They had enough problems to deal with.

“No, we had other issues to deal with that took priority.” Squall informed her, handing Tempest back to me while he did a quick clean up.

Accepting the child, I looked to the puppy which seemed to work in getting Rinoa to remember it as well. “What should I do with her?”

“I don’t know but she’s not staying here, and dogs aren’t allowed in the cafeteria.” His tone not allowing room for argument.

Seeing things escalating quickly, I stepped between them. “Princess, it’s fine. Rin, go turn the light on in the bathroom and lock her in there. She’ll be fine for a bit that way. You’ll just have to clean up whatever mess she leaves.”

“Right!” She chirped and disappeared into the room.

The moment Rin left the room, Cassie tugged on my arm. “But Daddy! Puppy might get lonely.”

“She’ll be fine for a bit Cassie. We won’t be gone long, and she’ll probably sleep most of the time.” I assured her, trying very hard to ignore the suspicious look Squall was giving me. “Besides, it’s not our puppy so we aren’t responsible for making sure she isn’t lonely.”

“All set!” Rinoa announced as she reentered the room. “Shall we?”

Shaking my head at her blatant attempt to control the situation, I gestured for Squall to take the lead. After getting our shoes and gunblades on, with a little game of ‘Pass Tempest’ in between, we were ready to go. Anywhere else and I would have been more concerned about our rough appearance, but this was Garden, and most people were used to seeing others in less than perfect condition first thing in the morning.

Chapter 20: Freya

*Squall*

“Eat something Leonhart.” Seifer rumbled the order while pushing a plate in my direction.

“I’m fine.” I argued while trying to get Tempest to eat some of her oatmeal before letting her have the scrambled eggs on her plate. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one not happy with the decision.

“Squall! You shouldn’t be feeding Tempest solids!” Rinoa admonished once she realized I was genuinely offering the food to Tempest. “At her age she’s supposed to have pureed foods. Not oatmeal and eggs.”

“It’s fine Rin. Just let Squall handle it. The guy’s managed to do a damn good job of keeping her fed and happy for a while now.” Seifer growled at her. Despite already having a cup and a half of coffee in him, the man was not a morning person and Rinoa had woken us up before seven-thirty.

Wanting to at least try and keep a fight from breaking out between the two of them, I offered a piece of banana to Tempest. “Seifer’s right. I’ve learned the hard way that Tempest doesn’t like pureed food. She’ll eat pretty much anything else offered to her that has a solid form. After having gotten some of that crap in my mouth, I don’t blame her on the preference.”

“But the books say…” The words were barely out of her mouth before Seifer burst out laughing.

“Which ones? The ones that contradict each other? Or the ones that are incredibly vague on their information?” I asked dryly, watching as Seifer picked up a piece of bacon from our shared plate and held it out to me. Knowing he wasn’t going to relent on the matter, I took the strip of meat.

“Maybe she means the ones designed to make paranoid parents even more paranoid.” Seifer offered, munching on his own piece of bacon while setting a bowl of fruit in front of Cassie. “Don’t worry Rin, I already saved Princess from all of those. Now he’s able to take care of Tempest the right way.”

“Seifer Almasy to the rescue then?” She quipped while picking at her blueberry muffin. “Enlighten me here. Exactly what do you consider to be the right way for him to raise Tempest?”

“Whatever way works best for him and Tempest.” He countered then bit into some toast. Fortunately, he had the sense to swallow it before continuing his explanation. “Those two are smart enough to learn from each other. If they run into trouble, then he knows I’ll be there to help him figure it out. That’s all it really comes down to.”

Prepared for her to turn this into a full-on argument, I wiped the food off Tempest’s face and hands. “Seifer, if we’re going to get to Dr. Kadowaki before things get busy we should head over now.”

“In a hurry Princess?” Seifer teased lightly but helped me clean up a bit.

Draining the remainder of my coffee, I set the cup on the tray and picked up Tempest. “I just want to get this over with.”

“Alright, just relax for a minute and we’ll get moving.” Seifer’s attempt to appease me did nothing but add to my annoyance of the situation. Still, I waited with Tempest in my arms while he turned to Cassie. “Cass? Think you can be a good girl and sit quietly while Doc takes care of tempest?”

“Is the doctor gonna hurt Tempest?” Immediately Cassie’s eyes began to water with concern, and she looked absolutely ready to snatch Tempest from me.

“Just a poke or two is all. It’ll hurt for a second, but Tempest is still a baby and she isn’t gonna understand what’s going on.” His attempt to explain things to her didn’t seem to be working well, so he rubbed the back of his neck and seemed to come up with an idea of how to explain it. “Hey! You remember a few months ago when we took you to see your doctor? You and Tyr each got a poke, and it was all better before we got home?”

“Yeah…” She replied, looking like she was waiting for the catch to what he was saying.

The smirk he gave seemed a little too confident for the situation. “Well, that’s all that’s going to happen with Tempest. She’ll get a poke from Doc and be completely over it by the time we get back to the room.”

“But doctor might give me pokes too!” Cassie nearly shouted and came over to put a hand around Tempest’s ankle as if to protect her. “I don’t like pokes. Tempest don’t either!”

“You aren’t here to get pokes Cass and it’s important that Tempest gets them today. It’ll keep her from getting sick.” It was clear he was losing this battle and I considered stepping in to help.

Watching the two of them go at it was more than I could take this early in the morning, so I attempted to step in. “Cass…”

“Oh! For Hyne’s sake Seifer, don’t you know anything? Can’t you see that she’s freaked out about all of this? She’s a small child, she doesn’t understand your reasoning.” Rinoa broke in, standing up now as well with a hand on one hip.

“I do too!” Cassie shot back only to falter in her conviction. “I think…”

“Let me make this easier on everyone.” Rinoa sighed and bent down so that she wasn’t tower over Cassie. “How about we go play with the puppy while Squall and Seifer take Tempest to see the doctor?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong here, but shouldn't you be the one going with Squall and Tempest while I take care of my child?” Seifer questioned dryly, giving her an unimpressed look.

“But you handle Squall so well and I hate seeing Tempest cry from the shots.” She countered smoothly with a wave of her hand. “It’s a win-win for everyone. Besides, Squall probably doesn’t want me there anyway.”

“Not really.” I mumbled just loud enough for Seifer to give me a sideways look.

When I gave him a cool glare, he shook his head. “So what? You don’t think you can handle the Princess? Or is it just your way of getting out of doing the hard shit that comes with being a parent?”

Exasperated by Seifer blatantly calling her out, Rinoa gave him a haughty look and flung her hair back over her shoulder. “Look, it’s obvious you’re the better choice for Squall to take with him and clearly Cassie doesn’t want to go. So your options are to take her with you, or I can watch her for a few minutes while you get this all out of the way like you should have done yesterday.”

“Tch! I’m only agreeing because I know I’m gonna have my hands full with the Commander here. Not that I can’t manage both.” He added the last quickly when she gave a satisfied smirk. Just to not be outdone, Seifer raised an eyebrow and gave her a smug look. “Think you can do better than Dincht and manage my daughter for a half hour?”

“Should be safe enough. I got rid of the rope.” I offered quietly with a small smile that had Seifer’s grin almost doubling in size.

“Are you two serious? She’s a child! It can’t be that difficult to keep her entertained for less than an hour.” She argued, not once seeing the overly innocent look Cassie was giving her.

“Fine, you win!” Seifer let out a sigh while raising his hands in defeat. Then he bent down to kiss Cassie on the head. “Be good for Rinoa and don’t destroy Squall’s room while we’re gone. We’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”

“Okay Daddy!” Cassie chirped then went over to take Rinoa’s hand. “Let’s go play with puppy!”

As the two of them left the cafeteria, Seifer started cleaning up our mess. “That was too easy. I’m surprised you allowed Rinoa to take Cassie back to the room.”

“I have my reasons.” It was the wink that made me suspect an ulterior motive. “Come on Princess, let’s get your little one taken care of so we can get on with the day.”

Deciding that Rinoa and Cassie could keep each other in check, after having spent several days with the girl and seeing what she managed with Zell, I decided to stop worrying about it. Instead, I did what I could to help clean. Once Seifer had everything dumped and put in their proper places, I led the way out to the main hall.

*Seifer*

“You think it was really a good idea to leave those two together?” Squall questioned as we approached the turnoff for the quad.

Thinking about it for a moment I gave a shrug. “Well, if it isn’t then we’ve solved at least one of your issues.”

“Which one?” The question was practically a growled warning.

In response I gave him a wide grin. “You wouldn’t have to worry about Rinoa anymore.”

“Seifer, can’t you be serious for a minute? I truly don’t think it was a good idea to trust Rin with Cassie.” The frustrated sigh and him rubbing at the center of his scar were both signs that he was overly stressed out.

Personally, I didn’t have an issue with it simply because I was fairly certain that Cassie could handle herself. At home I’d be more concerned about her potentially being left alone, but here it would be harder for her to get into too much trouble before someone sees her wandering around. In a worst-case scenario, she’d probably run into someone and give them just enough information for them to seek us out.

“It’ll be fine Squall. Don’t worry so much about it.” I insisted right before plucking Tempest out of his arms. Almost instantly she began pulling at my necklace to get my attention and jabbered away at me in baby-speak.

It was clear that he was more concerned by the residents of Garden that were staring and whispering at us as we passed by than about me taking Tempest from him. With his hands free, he’d be able to defend me in a way that wouldn’t get my ass in trouble. Seeing his fingers caressing the hilt of his gunblade did have me a little on edge though. Either he was overly anxious, or he truly believed that some of the people around us would try something regardless of permission for me to be there or his presence.

Reaching the infirmary was a relief for both of us. With a gentle shove, I pushed him towards the hallway. It broke his concentration on the people around us enough to get him refocused on the task at hand. Despite all that, he never once tried to take Tempest back and even took up a position behind me in order to guard my back.

“Squall, Seifer! It’s wonderful to see you this morning. I’ll assume you’re feeling better?” The last was directed at me by Doc, her greeting commencing from the moment I’d stepped through the door. “And look at little Tempest! She’s grown so much since I’d last seen her. Squall, you are doing a wonderful job with this child.”

The praise embarrassed Squall enough that he’d forgotten about miniscule threats and started blushing instead. “I hope we didn’t come too early.”

“Not at all! My door is always open. You know that.” She reproached, soothingly taking Tempest out of my arms.

“Thank you for getting Seifer taken care of as well.” He added, shifting his weight in uncertainty. This had to all be a little new for him.

Deftly stopping Tempest from pulling on her earring, Doc waved him off. “That’s my job Commander. And so is getting this little one a proper examination. We’ll be right back, won’t we Tempest?”

It wasn’t until she’d turned away and Tempest gave an uncertain look about leaving us behind that Squall took issue with the situation. The moment he moved to follow them into a room, I placed myself in his way with one hand on his shoulder. After his display on the way here, there was no way I’d let him near Doc during the examination.

“Isn’t it my job to be in there with her?” It was more of a challenge than a true question.

Gripping his arm, I guided him to a chair that he reluctantly sat down in. “Technically yes, you should be. Whether I’m going to allow it is a different story entirely.”

Right at that moment, Tempest started making unhappy noises that we could hear past the privacy curtain. Knowing exactly what to expect in the next few seconds, I casually reached over and placed a hand over his shoulder in a silent order for him to remain in place. His eyes suddenly narrowed as my grip tightened in accordance with Tempest’s agitation.

“You planned this!” The hissed accusation hit harder than I’d expected it to, but I refused to let him see it.

Hiding behind a smug grin, I nodded. “Yeah, Doc and I talked it over yesterday. Thought it would be best for me to get my hands on Tempest before coming in so I could hand her off. Then it became a divide and conquer strategy.”

“Seifer…”

At that point, Tempest let out a blood curling scream that sent him completely over the edge. Without thought, he launched himself up and tried to shove past me. Fortunately, he hadn’t thought to use junctions in order to get free or I wouldn’t have stood a chance at holding him there. As it was, I was struggling to get him back in the chair without them.

“And this is why I insisted on coming.” I panted heavily, trying to hide how much fighting him had aggravated my nearly healed muscles. “Calm down Leonhart. She’s fine.”

“Almasy, let go of me.” The menacing growl was so low and intimidating that I was damn near startled into obeying him.

Before he could win the fight, Doc was already returning with a pissed off looking Tempest. “Commander, your child is perfectly healthy. Keep up the good work.”

“Thanks.” Squall rumbled quietly, shrugging my hands off. This time I allowed him to escape. “Are we done here?”

Watching him run a hand over her limbs I let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t fuss or she’ll use it against you next time. Pretend nothing is wrong and she’ll learn to not flip out every time it happens.”

Pressing her head against his shoulder, Squall glared daggers at me. “My child is upset and looking for some damn comfort after something hurt her. And you want me to just ignore her request?”

“No, I’m saying that you need to teach her early on that you’ll sympathize with her but won’t give in to excessive fussing.” I argued back even though I knew he had to be looking for a fight. Damn protective instincts. “It was a minor pain Squall. She’ll get over it quickly but not if you teach her that crying about it will get her more attention. Once you do that, it’s going to bleed into other aspects of your life and soon she’ll end up using it for everything.”

“Whatever.” The automatic dismissal of the subject proceeded him stalking through the door with Tempest still whimpering in his arms.

“You should take care tonight Seifer.” Doc teased once the doors closed. “Sleep with one eye open.”

“Don’t worry Doc, I’ve got things under control.” I grinned and winked at her. “Besides, I’m not the only one in the doghouse right now.”

“Oh really? And who else has displeased our Commander?” Curiosity had always been the woman’s downfall.

“A certain sorceress who doesn’t know when to quit.” I chuckled at the memory of her arrival this morning.

Doc leaned against her desk, giving me her full attention. “I’m listening.”

“Seems the little princess decided to surprise Tempest with a puppy.” I told her in a conspiratorial whisper. “One of Angelo’s in fact. Possibly mixed with a Toramahound. Given its current size, I’m inclined to believe the pup is going to take after her father.”

A sharp laugh filled the room then, bouncing her amusement off the walls. “Oh, that girl. Just has to stir up all kinds of trouble. Poor Squall. What’s he going to do about it?”

“Hopefully send her and the pup packing.” I scowled, once more annoyed by the situation. “The guy doesn’t need anymore responsibility on his hands. He’s already struggling to maintain a balance with his child. Adding a rambunctious pup into the mix isn’t going to make things any easier.”

“Well, I wish you luck then.” She gave me a warm smile then gestured towards the door. “You better hurry or he’s liable to do something he’ll regret later if Rinoa is still waiting for him.”

“Shit!” I hissed out and took off at a near run through the doorway.

*Squall*

“We can’t keep her!” Seifer moaned at the sight of Cassie greeting us at the door with the puppy in her arms.

By the time he’d caught up to me after leaving the infirmary, my anger had cooled along with Tempest’s pouting. Even though he’d been right about the decision to keep me out of the room, I still wasn't going to apologize for blowing up at him. Just like he didn’t apologize for his actions. Neither of us needed it spoken out loud anyway.

Since it had been barely a half hour from the time we left the cafeteria until our return to the room, I hadn’t worried too much over what we might find there. Even an Almasy needed time to destroy a room beyond repair. What I hadn’t been prepared for was Nida sitting anxiously on my couch and Cassie to pick the puppy up in order to greet us at the door with that damn Almasy grin on her face.

“Nida, where is Rinoa?” I asked coolly through narrowed eyelids, allowing Seifer to take my gunblade and stash them both behind the couch before doing anything else.

“Well, um…you see Commander…” Nida stumbled, now at attention next to the couch and on the opposite side of Seifer.

“Squall…” Seifer hissed into my ear, upon returning to my side, in an attempt to remind me that this wasn’t Nida’s fault.

But my head shook so violently in rejection that I could feel strands of hair smacking against his cheek. “No Almasy. Rinoa was supposed to be watching Cassie and the puppy. Now she’s nowhere to be seen. I want answers.”

“Sorry man, you’re on your own with this one.” Seifer sighed then knelt down in front of Cassie, talking quietly to her.

“Well?” I demanded, turning my gaze back to the SeeD in my room. The only person I actually had any true superiority over.

Gathering himself, Nida stood up straighter like he was giving an official report. “Sir, I ran into Rinoa in the hallway, and we exchanged greetings. During that point, she got a phone call that couldn’t be ignored. As the child was getting restless, the sorceress requested I escort her here and she’d follow the moment her call was finished. It sounded important Sir, so I agreed.”

“And you didn’t question why she was asking you to bring an unknown child to my room?” That should have raised a few red flags at minimum.

Sweat started dripping down the side of his face at my interrogation. “Headmistress Trepe had already updated me in regard to Almasy and his child being with you, so I was already aware that the child had permission to be here.”

It was a reasonable enough excuse for the assumption, so I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I tried to decide how to best deal with this situation. “Alright, then. Thank you for taking care of Cassie.”

“How long ago had you seen Rinoa?” Seifer asked after gently coaxing the puppy out of his daughter’s grasp so that it could run around again.

“About twenty minutes ago Mr. Almasy.” Nida answered respectfully. “Commander, if there’s nothing else then I have duties to attend to.”

“That’s all. Dismissed.” I replied, ignoring the grateful nod he gave before dodging around everyone in a bid to escape the tension building in the room.

Either Seifer really could read my mind, or we ended up having a shared idea right then. The moment my phone cleared my pocket, he snatched it from my hand and stepped out of reach. Scowling hard enough to burn holes into the small device, he started searching through it for the only number I could imagine him being after in that exact moment.

The sound of Rinoa’s recorded voice announced her phone was off while confirming my suspicions of who he’d been calling. A low growl came from him at her cowardness, and I was forced to rescue my phone from his grasp before he could chuck it across the room. All the heavy emotion was upsetting Tempest, so I set the phone down on the coffee table in order to give her some comfort while I tried to figure out what to do next.

“Grrr! I should have known better than to trust that little minx!” Seifer snarled finally, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “She saw a perfect opportunity to drop this mutt on us and bailed! And we stupidly provided it to her!”

Like he said, we provided the opportunity for her to leave the puppy with us and now we had to figure out what to do with it. “So what are our options? If it really is one of Angelo’s pups, there’s a good chance it’ll be trainable. Besides, Cassie is half in love with it already.”

“Then congratulations Princess, you’ve got yourself a dog.” Seifer snarled sardonically with a roll of his eyes.

Every muscle in my body stiffened at the sound of it, instinctively going on the defensive in case he chose to direct that frustration at me. Not that I believed he would, but two decades of habits aren’t going to be changed so easily. He must have thought the same too because he attempted to calm himself down before moving towards the couch.

Flopping onto the seat, his gaze landed on Cassie chasing the puppy between rooms. Without the surge of angry adrenaline keeping us going, I was starting to calm down myself. Quietly I took up the opposite side of the couch and sat down with Tempest nuzzled up against my shoulder, already half asleep from her ordeal.

Silence fell over us long enough that she fully passed out with one hand curled around my shirt and her soft snores barely reaching my ears. Even Cassie and the puppy were starting to wear down enough that she was on the floor in front of us rubbing the dog’s belly with both hands shoved in its fur. But Seifer was still on edge, and I needed some way of distracting him. There was only one thing I could think of that might do it…

“You were right.” I told him quietly.

“About what?” The soft murmur sounded so damn tired, and I started wondering if he blamed himself for the dog issue.

Being careful not to wake Tempest, I shifted around so that I was more comfortably tucked into the corner of the couch. “You were right about me needing you here. If not for you then I probably would have lost it on Kadowaki when Tempest started crying. I don’t mean hurt her, but I’d have verbally ripped her apart over it. So, thank you for saving us both from that scenario.”

That finally got him looking at me instead of into the distance. “Well yeah Kitten! You needed me, even if you didn’t know it at the time. Of course I was gonna be there to support you on this. That’s what friends do.”

Shaking my head, I gave him a small smile. “It’s not just the thing with Kadowaki either. You managed the situation this morning far better than I would have. Rinoa showing up like that had been unexpected and I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting her see Tempest again after the last time.”

“Squall, the early arrival had been intentional.” His smirk was one that used to irritate the hell out of me and still did at times. It was the one that said I was missing something or being ignorant. “She was trying to catch you off guard so the puppy would seem like a minor issue. It had probably always been her plan to drop the damn mutt in your lap and high tail it out of here first chance she got. Cassie was just a damn good catalyst for pulling it off. Seems to be a theme in this family. Always the scapegoat.”

“Seifer…don’t.” I whispered, silently urging him to look at me but all he did was lean his head back and close his eyes. “Cassie may have been convenient, but you were the reason she needed one in the first place. Without you here, she would have some excuse to run off again. At least now I have some back up with me that I can trust.”

Green eyes turned towards me with a shimmer of hope in them. “You really have some way with words when you choose to use them, Princess. Thanks for that by the way.”

“Hmm.” I grunted, just happy that things were good between us again.

Settling back against the couch, I watched as Cassie brought some of her supplies out of the room to color on the floor next to the sleeping puppy. From my angle I couldn’t tell what she was drawing, but I suspected the dog had a starring role in her picture. On the other side of the couch, Seifer seemed to relax the rest of the way and leaned his head back to watch his daughter in peaceful silence.

 

Sometime later I was jolted awake by the sound of a phone vibrating and Seifer’s voice answering it. “Not anymore, I'm not. What did you need?”

Since I wasn’t sure who’s phone he was answering, I just leaned my head back against the couch to allow myself time to wake up. On the other side of the line, I could hear someone talking. While I couldn’t pick up actual words, I could tell that it was a female and not Fujin he was talking to. Which meant he was either taking a work call or answering my phone.

“Because I was closer to his damn phone. That’s why.” Seifer grumbled, giving me a wry smile upon seeing that I was awake.

Again, the voice spoke briefly.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine. You should know by now that he doesn’t get enough sleep as it is.”

The voice on the other end got quieter now and I found it hard to hear much more than the suggestion of them speaking.

“Sure, I’ll steal your number from his phone later and shoot you a message when I do.”

Taking a guess that he was likely talking to Quistis, given the current conversation, I felt a little more relaxed about it. Leaning back, a vague memory of weight on my chest had me jolting awake and looking around the room. Seeing my frantic look, Seifer muttered something quickly into the phone and moved it away from his face.

“Calm down Princess. You were out cold. I put her in the crib so you could both sleep.” He hissed out hurriedly, making sure he’d gotten my attention before adding to the information. “Cassie and the pup are in your bed. Everyone was tired. I’ll handle this, you go check on her. You won’t be able to relax until you do.”

“Thanks.” I murmured with a nod.

Dragging my tired body from the couch, not the best place for a nap, I walked around the coffee table to the room. The entire time I passed by him, green eyes were fully locked onto my every move. It sent my body tingling with both awareness and excitement to have his attention so blatantly on me, even when he was speaking with Quistis on the phone about other things.

“Nah! It’s all good! No, we won’t turn down an offer like that! How soon can you make it happen?” Seifer’s excitement had me curious about what they were discussing but concern for Tempest wouldn’t let me truly think on it until I checked on her.

Upon entering the room, I managed to wake the puppy who jumped up from its location next to Cassie on the bed. Dismissing it for the moment, I went straight for the crib. Tempest was still sound asleep and unbothered by my staring at her for a solid minute. A glance at the clock warned me that her sleep schedule was going to be completely obliterated by the time we got home.

At least we managed to get things resolved in this trip. She shouldn’t need to make another one for a while now.

There are times where I’ve wondered if Tempest inherited some kind of innate ability to sense my presence. It seemed like every time I got close to her for more than a few seconds while she was asleep, my child would start waking up. And she did not usually wake from a nap in a happy mood. A trait I readily blamed on her mother.

Leaning over the edge of the crib, I watched as she started stirring. If there was a slim chance of keeping her from disturbing Cassie’s nap, I didn’t have a problem being patient. It wasn’t like I had to wait very long either for her to start making those cute little noises that signaled her waking up.

What I hadn’t expected was for those little grumbles of annoyance to be accompanied by a growl from behind me. The sound was clearly a warning, one that I wasn’t going to ignore. It was nothing like Angelo’s and sounded very underdeveloped, as would be expected from the pup, but it was more than enough to get my attention.

Spinning around on the ball of my foot, I put my back to the crib. The move bought me just enough reaction time that I was able to catch the pup by the scruff of the neck before she could bite me. Even with me holding her in place, the pup was still growling and trying to escape. Until she stopped though, I wasn’t letting her go. I didn’t want to hurt the pup, but I also wasn’t going to allow her to hurt me or one of the kids.

“Squall?” Seifer called from the other room, followed by the sounds of him moving around. “What happened?”

Scowling at the wriggling pup, I gave him the barest glance before giving her my full attention again. “Tempest started waking up and the pup lunged at me.”

“Trepe, I’m gonna have to call you back.” Seifer muttered into the phone, eyes locked on the two of us. “Yeah, looks like Rinoa struck again. I’ll update you soon.”

“Seifer…” I growled, wanting this resolved immediately.

There was a tightness around his mouth that gave away his poor attempts not to start laughing at my current situation as he snapped the phone closed. “Princess, that pup has at least two very protective breeds in her. She’s probably thinking that the kids are hers to protect. I know some of the sounds Tempest makes when waking up and that could easily confuse the pup into thinking you were doing something to her. The pup just doesn’t know better yet. It’s nothing personal.”

“You take responsibility for it then!” I growled and the moment he was close enough I shove the pup into his arms. For a moment they just stared at each other and then the damn pup licked his chin while wagging her tail. At least Seifer had the decency to shoot me a guilty look before pulling the furball to his chest. “Great! So it’s just me that she doesn’t like. Typical…”

“Aww! Did the mean Squally wake up the sleeping baby?” Seifer cooed to the puppy, who started wagging her tail eagerly at the attention. It was as if both of them were working together to get on my nerves. “You were just doing your job like a good puppy, weren’t you?”

“Knock it off Seifer.” I grumbled. Turning to my child, I was met with an annoyed look over interacting with something other than her. “Let’s get you changed.”

“Puppy?” Cassie mumbled from the bed. She was just waking up from her nap and reaching around the bed for the puppy while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Where’d my puppy go?”

“It’s not our puppy Cass. She belongs to Squall and Tempest.” Seifer sighed in exasperation.

Personally, I thought the dog would be better off having Cassie to play with than Tempest and me. As it was, Seifer was having a difficult time trying to convince her that the puppy wasn’t theirs. If I couldn’t convince him to keep her, was I really going to be stuck taking care of the damn thing on top of Tempest and Garden?

Laying Tempest on the floor, I set to work getting her changed while Seifer put the damn pup on the bed with Cassie. Halfway through the process, the pup broke loose and came right for me again, nearly trampling Tempest in the process. For a creature that was intent on protecting her, it didn’t seem to have much awareness about her immediate safety.

“Seifer! Would you please get this animal under control?” I snapped, shoving the pup to the side so it wouldn’t step on Tempest. “I’m trying to get Tempest changed here! And what the hell did Quistis want? That was her on the phone right?”

“Hang on Princess! Come here you…” The grin he gave was one of those that he was perilously close to laughing as he scooped the pup back in his arms again.

Getting the fresh diaper on, I started changing her outfit for a clean one. “Seifer…Quistis?”

“Oh! Right! Yeah, she offered to give us a ride home on the Ragnarök.” He said, seeming to have some difficulty with getting wriggling pup under control.

Dealing with my own struggles, I managed to pull the soiled clothes off Tempest and got her cleaned up. “When are we talking here? Tonight?”

Dodging a headbutt from the pup, he let out a low growl. “Tomorrow morning actually. It’s that or we pack everyone up tonight and drive home.”

“Let’s take the Ragnarök.” I sighed, getting the dress over Tempest’s head with relatively little trouble. “I’d rather wait another night than risk a repeat of the drive here.”

“Hey! I said I was sorry for that!” Seifer yelled, nearly dropping the dog. Cursing under his breath, he readjusted his hold on the struggling animal.

Before I could say anything regarding his apology, Cassie tugged on his shirt. “Daddy? What’s a ragarock?”

“Ragnarök.” I answered for him, going slow so that she could hear each syllable. “It’s an airship that my father let me keep a few years ago. For now, I’m letting Garden borrow it until I decide to take it back.”

“You has a airship?” She asked, clearly confused as to what an airship was. “We can ride it?”

“Tomorrow morning. After breakfast.” Seifer explained in an exasperated tone. “Until then, we’re gonna help Squall take care of Tempest and this wild pup here. Who needs a name by the way. We can’t just keep calling her puppy or pup. She won’t be one forever you know.”

“Bo!” Cassie suggested eagerly.

“No” The dual rejection from both Seifer and me had her eyes watering instantly.

Clearing his throat, Seifer knelt down in front of her while somehow managing to keep hold of the pup. “Bo isn’t a name for a puppy Baby Girl. She needs a good, solid name that she can grow into and everyone can enjoy…like Persephone!”

“I’m not naming her Persephone.” I grumbled as I scooped Tempest from the floor, completely ignoring the fact I was participating in a discussion revolving around me actually keeping the dog.

Immediately Seifer let the pup down now that the danger was past, and it started bouncing around the room happily. “Well? What do you want to call her then Princess?”

Rubbing my brow with one hand, I actually gave the name some thought. “If I’m stuck with her, then she’s going to be called Freya.”

Fully prepared to tease me about whatever the chosen name had been, I watched Seifer’s jaw clamp shut in a scowl. “Damn! I can’t say anything about that one. It’s powerful and kinda pretty. Perfect for this little one to grow into. Alright, Freya it is then!”

“Freya!” Cassie squealed happily as she chased the dog around the room. “Freya! Freya! Freya!”

Smirking at me, Seifer came over to take Tempest in his arms. “We should probably go into town and buy a few things for her. Doesn’t look like she came with basic necessities at all.”

Annoyed over going through a second round of this shit, I left Tempest with Seifer and stormed off to the other room. There was just too much going on and I needed a moment to get my thoughts straightened out. Happy as Cassie was chasing an equally happy pup around the room, the squealing and yipping was getting on my nerves.

And somehow I’m going to end up being the one stuck with the pup, even though Cassie would be happier with it. How do I keep getting into these situations?

Chapter 21: A trip to Balamb

*Seifer*

“Daddy? What is Garden? And why do people talk about seed people there? Seeds are from plants, not people.” Cassie asked as we wandered through the general store in Balamb.

Pointing out that the pup was in dire need of supplies to get us through the night, Squall immediately made arrangements for us to go into town. There wasn’t a whole lot available here, but there was enough for a basic puppy starter kit. Grumpy as he currently was, I decided it was best to take Cassie across the store in search of gifts for the other kids while he worked off a list I’d thrown together before we left.

A decision I wholeheartedly regretted once she started asking about Garden. It wasn’t something I was prepared to deal with, and my brain completely froze up the moment she gave me that inquisitive look. How the fuck was I supposed to tell her about Garden when I knew it would only make her want to join the moment she was old enough.

“Um…that’s kind of a hard question for me to answer Baby Girl.” I deflected quickly as I searched the store for any sign of Squall.

Damn it! Where the hell did he disappear to? This kind of shit is right up his alley, isn’t it?

“Why Daddy?” That sweet, innocent tone reminded me of the exact reason I didn’t want her knowing about Garden in the first place.

Grabbing a toy for Souta off the shelf, I started towards the softer items. “Because it’s not a quick, easy explanation Baby Girl. There’s a lot of information involved with Garden, and it will take time to explain it all. For now, why don’t we finish up here and grab some lunch? Afterwards we can head back to Garden and maybe Squall can help me explain it better.”

“Okay.” Cassie answered, giving that same disappointed look she gets every time she asks about something too big for her to fully understand.

Trying to figure out a way to salvage our shopping trip, I started fidgeting with the toy in my hand and suddenly got a bit of inspiration. “Hey kiddo, since we’re getting toys for the other kids back home, why don’t you help me find something Jax would like?”

“I can do that!” She chirped happily. At being given a task, she was able to shove the negative emotions away in order to search the shelves for the perfect toy. Part of me actually hoped she’d forget her questions about Garden and SeeDs until much later, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath on that. “Here Daddy! Jax don’t have this toy!”

A grin pulled at the corner of my mouth as she held up a cute T-Rexaur that was a lot more friendly and cuddly looking than it’s real-life counterpart. Nodding in approval, I added that to our small pile then headed to the counter to pay for it all. The woman gave me an uncertain look when we approached but was quickly won over by Cassie’s excited chattering. Even so, I paid quickly and got us out of there before the woman could decide on calling for help at the sight of me.

Outside the door we finally found Squall leaning against the side of the building with several shopping bags at his feet. In front of him, the pup was eagerly bouncing around with a new, black leash and harness attached as she watched all the people passing by. The leash didn’t seem to bother her much unless she happened to get tangled in it. Then she’d let out that adorable growl and start chewing on the lead until something else distracted her.

Stormy eyes glanced up at the sound of us leaving the shop. “You ready to go? I don’t want to leave Tempest with Xu and Quistis for too long. They’re busy with Garden and there’s no telling what they’ll manage to teach her before we get back.”

“I kinda promised Cassie we’d stop and grab some lunch first.” I said with a guilty grin.

Unamused by the sudden change of plans, he held up the leash. “What about the dog? She can’t go in to eat with us.”

As if realizing we were speaking about her, Freya stopped chomping on the leash and looked up at us. Her mouth instantly dropped open and her tail began wagging the moment we turned our attention to her. When nothing more came of it, she grabbed the leash holding her in place and began chewing on it again.

Shrugging, I gestured to the pup. “They won’t mind too much if we eat outside. Weather’s decent enough that it shouldn’t be an issue, and it’ll be good to start training her now while she’s more receptive to it.”

“I assume you have somewhere in mind for this?”

At least this one I had an answer for. “I was thinking that little café near the docks? Cass can watch the ocean while we wait for our food and the pup can keep those pesky birds from bothering us.”

Uncertain about it, Squall and Freya entered into a small staring contest. The pup’s abilities weren’t developed enough to withstand Squall’s years of practice and she quickly dropped the leash to put her front paws on his leg. An excited yip had him picking the pup up with a scowl.

In retaliation, she lunged forward to lick his chin. “Don’t do that!”

The attack had been so sudden that he nearly dropped her out of a desire to wipe his face. It was such an amusing sight that I couldn’t help laughing at his misfortunate. Something that almost placed me in a very dangerous position with the easily irritable Commander. Manipulative as she was, Rinoa had managed to grace Squall with a beautiful daughter and a puppy that would likely bring us all endless entertainment. Even if it was at his expense.

“Mr. Squall?” Cassie’s polite tug on his jacket was a sure sign that she was up to something. The timing couldn’t have been better though because it saved me from suffering Squall’s wrath.

“Yes Cassie?” The wariness in his tone was a testament to how well he’d come to know her.

Well enough that he knew to treat her with the upmost caution whenever she wanted something. Then again, that could partly have been due to growing up with me harassing him all the time. Do I take credit for teaching him well or was this one of those things I was supposed to apologize for?

Holding her hands up, Cassie gave him a wide smile. “Can I walk Freya please?”

“Seifer?” The question being directed at me meant he was unsure if it was a good idea to let her be in charge of such a large puppy.

Too bad I couldn’t answer this one for him. “That’s up to you Leonhart. Never really had much experience with the kids and puppies. They seem to like each other enough that I don’t see an issue with it. We’ll just keep them close so we can interfere if Freya overpowers Cass.”

That confession earned me a confused frown. “That’s not exactly reassuring.”

“Please Mr. Squall? I be really good with Freya!” Cassie insisted, batting those blue eyes at him.

“I’m going to regret this…” He muttered, rubbing his brow with two fingers as he tried to convince himself to go along with it.

“Pwetty please Mr. Squall? Freya will be a good girl for me.” Cassie begged harder and I watched in amusement as his resistance to the child’s request completely crumbled.

Setting Freya down, he held the leash out to Cassie. “Stay close to us. If she is too strong for you to control, then you need to tell me or Seifer immediately.”

“Okay Mr. Squall!” Her excitement transferred to Freya and the pup was instantly bouncing around Cassie’s legs in an attempt to lick her face. “Freya! That tickles!”

“Down Freya! No jumping.” I ordered, gently guiding the pup back down to all fours. Then I repeated the action twice more in a matter of seconds, receiving an annoyed puppy look for my intrusion on her fun.

Wiping her face with her sleeve, Cassie gave me a low-grade pout. “Freya just giving kisses daddy. That’s being a nice puppy, not a bad puppy.”

“Puppies need rules too kiddo. One of those rules needs to be ‘no jumping’ or she might hurt someone when she gets bigger. She won’t mean to hurt anyone but Freya is going to be a really big dog when she grows up.” I explained while petting the pup to encourage her staying on the ground.

“There’s rules for doggies too?” She asked, petting Freya’s head and getting another lick once she was in range.

Nodding, I blocked a second attack before the pup could get excited again. “Yeah Baby Girl, puppies need rules. They’re just like kids. They need someone to teach them rules so they can grow up to be good dogs and not learn bad habits.”

“Was there any point in buying a book on dog training? Or did I just waste money on something you’re going to teach me anyway?” Squall’s dry comment had me looking at the bag he was holding up.

It was right about then that I noticed my head was sitting waist high on him and I had an excellent view of his belts. Bowing my head to hide the slight blush over the suggestive positioning, I focused more attention on the dog. After a few seconds, I was able to temper my thoughts and bring my grin down to an amused smirk.

“Keep the book Princess. It might be needed.” I told him while standing up. “I don’t really know squat about raising dogs so we’re both kind of in the dark here. Obviously she needs food, water and a bed. As far as training goes though, I only know what little I’ve been told. My understanding is that you need to treat them like you would a cadet. Be firm and consistent with your directions. Do that and she should learn quickly what you want from her. Beyond that, I don’t know much.”

There was a very doubtful look from him that was quickly being interrupted. “Sit Freya! Good girl!”

In tandem we turned to watch as Cassie gave Freya a second order to ‘sit’ while pressing a hand just above her tail. The pup sat down quickly, wagged her tail then stood up when Cassie praised her. The next time Cass gave the order, the pup actually followed the command on her own without any physical prompting. That got Cassie squealing happily and the two of them bounced in circles between Squall and me.

“Maybe she can be trained.” Squall muttered softly as he looked at the duo.

Shrugging, I watched as Cassie continued to teach Freya tricks. “Looks like it. She’s picking up on it pretty quickly.”

“Let’s go get lunch. I’m sure my backup can handle Tempest for a little longer yet.”

Scoffing at the thought of Quistis needing rescuing from a baby, I gestured towards the direction of the truck. “Come on then. Let’s drop this stuff off before we go eat. Cassie, lunch time!”

“Come on Freya! Lunch time!” Cassie called out happily as she chased after us. In response, Freya gave a happy yip as the two of them ran literal circles around us the whole way to the truck.

Maybe having a puppy wouldn’t be a bad idea. It’d take some sweet talking to get Fu on board, but I don’t think it’ll be impossible. Maybe a little puppy sitting to show her how happy the kids would be over having one? Shoving the bags in the back of my truck, I shook my head. Who the hell am I trying to kid? If I come home with a dog, Fujin would have my hide! Maybe a little joke wouldn’t hurt though? Borrow Freya and tell Fujin that Rinoa dropped her off on us? It’d be interesting to see what she’d do to the woman…

The possibilities of that played over in my head as we walked to the café. Setting Fu on Rinoa’s ass would be amusing at first, but it would eventually have to come out that the dog really belonged to Squall. Funny as it may be, it just didn’t seem worth it to put my ass on the line for a joke. Not one that involved Fu anyway.

“Daddy, look! We gets to eat by the ocean!” Cassie called out, pointing towards the water. “Hurry Daddy!”

“Coming kiddo!” I called back, pausing just long enough to recall a few good memories of Raijin, Fujin and I fishing on the docks.

We should go do something together again. It’s been too long since the three of us got to just hang out. Maybe Squall would be willing to watch the kids for a day? Better wait until he’s got someone to back up while we're gone. Maybe when his dad or one of the others comes by for a visit. Poor guy would lose his mind being alone with a house full of kids. Especially my kids...

“What’s so funny?” Squall asked from my right.

Looking over, I saw Cassie and Freya settled at a table nearby. “Nothing. Let’s go eat!”

Wrapping an arm around his shoulder, I started moving us towards the table and a very energetic child.

*Squall*

“Those two are just absolutely adorable!” The waitress gushed while Seifer handed her payment for our lunch. Somehow he’d talked his way into covering the meal and I just wasn’t up to fighting with him over something so minor.

It must have shown that I had no clue how to react because Seifer easily took over. “Thanks! Lunch was great! You take care now Miss.”

While he practically flirted with the waitress, I went to work unhooking Freya from the chair. Small hands were almost immediately held out to me and I passed the leash over to Cassie. Now that lunch was over, we would be heading back to Garden where she’d have to stay in the room again. Tempest didn’t care so much yet, but I’d discovered that Cassie got bored far more easily than her father did.

“See? Freya was a good girl!” Cassie beamed while walking the dog back to the truck.

“Yes, you were right Cass. Once she learned the rules she did very well for a puppy.” Seifer agreed and gave me an expectant look.

Raising an eyebrow questioningly at him, I followed his gaze as he looked first at the pup, then Cassie and back at me. It took a minute to understand that he wanted me to continue to the round of praising. To me it felt like enough had been said on it, but clearly my input was a necessity of some sort. Even if the dog wouldn’t understand it at all.

Running a hand through my hair, I caught sight of familiar Almasy eyes looking at me. Only these ones were more blue than green, and I knew I was trapped with only one acceptable way out of it. “Freya did a good job today. Thank you for your help in teaching her to behave Cassie.”

Right away I could see that Seifer had been right on praising them. For the first time in all my memories, I was allowed to see what a truly happy Almasy smile looked like. Stubbornly I tried to recall just one single instance of Seifer ever being that happy and carefree, but nothing came to mind. There had been countless looks from him ranging from smirks to scowls, yet not once had he ever truly just smiled.

What would he look like if he smiled like that? Could he smile like that now? Or had life broken him enough to chase that look away forever?

Knuckles tapped gently against my ribs to get my attention. “Hey Princess, you okay?”

“Fine. Just random thoughts was all.” I answered automatically.

“You do too much of that.” He grumbled and threw an arm over my shoulders, just like he had at the docks. A slight blush rose to my cheeks but I didn’t think he really noticed it. “Come on then! We better get back before you get too damn broody and ruin the mood.”

“I don’t ruin the mood.” I muttered then shot him a weak glare. “And I’m not broody!”

The arm over my shoulders tightened for a moment as he laughed. “Whatever you say Princess.”

Reaching the truck, we quickly got Cassie and Freya in the back seat. As I was climbing in, I heard her laughing as Freya bounced all over the seat and on top of her. Guilt hit at allowing her to have so much time with the dog when she wasn’t going to be able to keep it. To me it felt like teasing the child with something she couldn’t have.

They’re over often enough that she can still play with the pup. That might be enough for her.

“Hey Princess, what’s got your belts in a twist now?” Seifer asked from the driver’s seat.

Realizing that I’d zoned out with one foot on the floorboard, I got in the rest of the way and shut the door. “Sorry. I was just thinking about making some changes at the house.”

“What kind of changes?”

Shaking my head, I leaned against the door. “I was just thinking that I need a real yard for Freya and the kids. The field behind the house goes out a good distance before meeting up with the neighbors and there’s the river nearby. Fencing off some of it would reduce the risk of something happening to them.”

“Then it can go right at the top of our to-do list. Shouldn’t take more than a weekend to get one set up. Especially if we can get Raijin to help.” Seifer responded while navigating the streets of Balamb.

That’s when it occurred to me that I’d said everything out loud with no consideration to how Seifer might perceive it. “I didn’t mean…”

“I know you weren’t asking me to come help you with it. Just hearing you speak your thoughts was nice though.” The grin he shot was large and bright. “It’s something you want to get done, no reason I can’t help with that. I’ve kinda become an expert on designing and building things remember? Even got me a whole business that revolves around that kind of thing.”

Seeing that he was going to insist on this, just as he had everything else, I let out a sigh. “Fine. If you want to help me build a fence strong enough to keep the little beast in, then I’m not going to stop you.”

The truck gave a slight swerve from him looking at me so suddenly. Then he was back in control again with his eyes on the road. “Just like that? No arguments or stipulations? No claims that you don’t need anyone’s help? Nothing?”

“No. I’m not arguing over it because I could use the help if I plan to get the damn thing built in a timely manner.” I explained and frowned at him. “Can’t you just appreciate the fact that I’m learning to accept help from others when I need it?”

There was a flash of teeth at his easy win and another quick flick of his eyes in my direction. “Guess I won’t say anything about it then. You just let me know if there’s anything else you think needs upgrading while we’re at it. Might as well get it all planned out at once.”

He had a good point about planning it out so I gave it an honest consideration before shaking my head. “I can’t think of anything offhand. Your crew did a really good job on the house when you fixed it up. The place is already bigger than I need.”

“That ever changes, you just let me know. I’ve still got the blueprints for the house in my files so changing things won’t be too much of a hassle.”

“Good to know.” I replied softly and turned to watch the scenery.

Out in the distance I could see a small swarm of Bite Bugs flying across the plains. More were visible closer to the forest where Caterchipillars were. There wasn’t any sign of Gaylas being this far away from the mountainside, which meant things were fairly quiet in that direction. Generally, they preferred the cooler areas near the mountains and only came near the roads in search of food, because they were overpopulated, or to run from predators.

“Cass, look at the forest quickly.” Seifer said as he slowed the truck down to a near stop.

“What’s that monster doing? It’s humungerous!” She cried out, bouncing in her seat.

Looking past Seifer, I watched as a T-Rexaur slowly chased down a large Caterchipillar. Nearby were two Bite Bugs on the ground, likely defeated over being a nuisance to the large predator. While it was common knowledge that Bite Bugs and Caterpillars had a symbiotic relationship to protect against predators, it was fairly rare to see it in action.

“The T-Rexaur is trying to hunt down the Caterchipillar. Doesn’t look like it’s an even match though.” Seifer commented, now pulling to a full stop on the side of the road.

“Huh? What’s that mean Daddy?” Cassie asked curiously.

“Low level T-Rexaur verse a high-level Caterchipillar.” I agreed, leaning over a bit more. “If the T-Rexaur is careful it might actually catch its prey. But the higher level Caterchipillars have a few tricks for defending themselves. Taking out the Bite Bugs first was actually a good move on the T-Rexaur's part.”

After another minute the pair disappeared deeper into the forest with no clear winner in sight. Now that the excitement was over, Seifer started back down the road to Garden. Silent as the truck was, I glanced back to see Cassie just staring out the window with Freya’s head in her lap. It was too bad that we couldn’t take them down to the beach but it was just too infested with monsters.

“Hey, Squall?” Seifer’s soft voice broke through the silence as he turned towards the garage.

“Hn?” The low grunt was enough to let him know I was listening. Otherwise, he’d get annoyed by my silence until he felt the need to push for a response. When he didn’t continue I started paying more attention to the way his thumbs ran over the steering wheel anxiously. “Seif? Something wrong?”

Guiding the truck through the doors, Seifer let out a sigh. “I was just thinking about something. I don’t wanna piss you off because I know how you feel about Tempest, but have you considered enrolling her in daycare?”

“Daycare? I hadn’t really considered it. Everything is running fairly smoothly now back home. Why would I change it?” The idea of having some strangers watching Tempest didn’t sit well with me at all.

Wait…when did I start thinking of Raine’s tavern as home? Garden has always been home for me. I assumed Tempest and I would go back there once we got things sorted out between us and she came of age to enroll. When did all that change?

Amused by my confusion, he let out a barely restrained laugh. “Yeah Princess. Daycare. You should start thinking about enrolling her in one.”

“Why?” The response was clipped and I could feel myself going on the defensive.

Seifer glanced over as he parked the truck in an open slot. “Because it would be good for her. Kids need to get out and socialize regularly with others their own age. Your dad helped get the local school back up and running, so that's always an option. Their system is pretty decent, and I know they’re accepting new applicants. You should look into it.”

“She’s perfectly fine staying at home with me. If she wants to play with other kids, we’ve got your household and Selphie’s kids. She doesn’t need some stranger taking care of her all day.” I snapped at him as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

A hand shot out to cover mine, stopping me from escaping. “Take it easy there Kitten. No need to get the claws out. I’m not challenging your ability to take care of her, just suggesting that you look into it. I promise that it will help her development in the long run. Besides being educational, she’ll learn how to interact with other kids appropriately.”

“Are you telling me that you trusted someone to watch your kids for you?” I challenged, highly doubting he’d do something like that.

There was a slow shrug and a guilty look from him. “Yeah, I did. For a short time anyway.”

“A short time?” I questioned, attempting to pull my hand away and was a little surprised to find him allowing me to do so.

Flicking his eyes towards the back seat and licking his lips in a nervous gesture, he nodded. “Yeah, I did. But it’s not something I want to talk about right now. Let’s get Cassie back to the room and we can discuss it there.”

Looking into the back seat, I found a nearly passed out Cassie with her fingers tangled in the scruff at Freya’s neck. The pup watched me through half closed eyes as if waiting for me to say something about it. Seeing the two of them cuddle up together had me wondering if it wouldn’t be better to help Seifer convince Fu that a dog would make a good pet for the kids.

“Alright.” I agreed quietly. “Both girls are due for a nap. Why don’t you take Cassie to the room and get her settled? I’ll go get Tempest and meet you there.”

Undoing his seatbelt, he gave a small nod. “Sure. I’ll take Freya with me so you aren’t flaunting her all over Garden. No pets rule and all.”

“Thanks.” I muttered.

Getting out of the truck, I passed Hyperion to him over the seat before silently strapping Lionheart to my belt. Throwing him a nod in appreciation for handling everything there, I left him to take care of Cassie and Freya. Hopefully the damn pup had enough time with me today to figure out just who I was and wouldn’t attack me this time when I went to put Tempest down for her nap.

A couple of female students got on the elevator with me, causing a two-minute ride to feel like an eternity. Both were whispering to each other and giggling periodically, acting as if they weren’t ogling me in the process. When they got off on the second floor for the classrooms, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Good afternoon Commander! You here to pick up Tempest.” Xu greeted cheerfully right as the doors finished opening.

“Yes. Did you get to spend some time with her?” I asked as I started towards Quistis’s office.

While Xu was known to be a hardass to the students, she was a complete pushover when it came to Tempest. In fact, all of Garden was like that. Give her a few more years and there was a good chance my child could run the blasted school by simply batting her eyelashes at everyone. It was a bit of a chilling thought.

“I did! She’s been such a sweetheart. I hear you’re leaving in the morning though?” Her head tilted to the side as we approached the closed door.

It was only then that I realized I hadn’t so much as offered my assistance with work duties since I arrived here. “That’s what we were planning on. Did you need something from me while I’m here? I’m sure Seifer wouldn’t mind watching Tempest for a while.”

How could I forget about my responsibilities within Garden? Did I really start focusing solely on Tempest? I thought I was getting things balanced better than that.

“Don’t worry yourself about that right now. We’ve got everything under control, and you’ve been outstanding with getting your work done on time.” She smiled while clutching some files to her chest. “How’s Seifer doing? I hadn’t received any updates outside of what Quisty’s been able to tell me. I hear he’s got a child? That must be an interesting change.”

“Yeah, two actually. He’s done a good job with them. Cassie…” The door opened up and I practically had Tempest shoved into my arms.

A frazzled looking Quistis gave me an apologetic look as she kissed my cheek. “Sorry Squall. You know I love Tempest, but I was just hit with a bunch of things at once so your timing is perfect.”

“Anything I can help with?” I asked while Tempest glared at me and gave a small pout. “Seifer would understand if I’m needed here.”

“What?” The offer seemed to throw her off. Recovering, she waved a hand through the air. “Oh no, nothing like that! I just need complete focus to get it all done in a timely manner. It was just a minor mistake on my part and won’t take long to fix. If I need help with something, I know where to find you.”

“Alright. Let me know if anything changes. I’m still Commander here and that needs to take precedence over everything else.” I reminded her even as Tempest tugged on my necklace.

Setting one hand on her hip, Quistis gave me a hard look. “You already do more than your fair share of the work around here and that’s without being present. Don’t think we haven’t noticed you taking over all the files we send your way. Just because we’re following your orders by sending you copies of everything, it doesn’t mean you’re required to do all the work. What you need to do is take care of that little angel.”

The subtle chiding had my back stiffening until I was standing at full attention just outside her office. Even Tempest stopped playing with my necklace to try and make sense of what was happening. Something about the aura shifting in the room must have been enough to affect her as well.

Okay…how to handle this without pissing both her and Xu off? Quistis is right about not needing me for most of the work I’ve been dealing with and I have been taking on more than my required amount of the paperwork. But that’s only because I have the time to do it now, just like she said I would. Why not take advantage of that?

“I only do what work I can manage. Tempest is still being taken care of.” It was a fairly weak defense on my part when she had all the evidence she needed in the completed files.

Letting out an annoyed huff, Quistis frowned at me. “That isn’t my point and you know it! The reason we cut down your workload was so you could spend more time with Tempest and worry more about taking care of her needs. The next few years are the only real chance you have of forming a close bond with her and you need to take full advantage of that. Once she reaches school age things are going to change and you’ll want that strong foundation to fall back on.”

“Quistis is right on that one.” Xu added, giving me a slightly apologetic look. “Just because you have the time and capability of doing the extra work it doesn’t mean you’re required to do so. Focus whatever attention you can on Tempest. In a few years, you’ll want this time back with her.”

Frustrated by the conversation, I shoved a hand through my hair. “I think I just gave Seifer something along those lines on our way back from Balamb. He suggested putting her in daycare during the day and I told him that I didn’t want a stranger taking care of her when I could manage it just fine. Besides, I don’t like the idea of handing her off to someone I see for only a few minutes a day when she already has all the kids at Seifer’s place to play with.”

“That’s actually not a bad suggestion really. It would solve a few problems with a simple solution.” Quistis murmured thoughtfully.

Confused by the sudden change of opinion, I tried to find the trick that had to be waiting for me. “You just said I should spend more time with Tempest. Now you’re telling me to put her in daycare? Wouldn’t that mean spending less time with her, not more? How does that make any sense?”

“No, Quisty’s right. It makes perfect sense.” Xu agreed.

Shaking my head, I looked at the older woman. “I’m not following.”

“Look at it this way then. If you put Tempest in daycare for only a few hours out of the day, you’ll be able to devote that time completely to your work and not have to worry about her needs being taken care of. Work that probably takes you twice as long to do already because of her needing your attention.” She explained patiently.

Did the three of them plan this or something? I’m feeling like I’ve been set-up.

“You still haven’t explained how this gets me more time with her? I’m already attending to her needs and still getting my work done.”

Dropping her head into one hand, Quistis began rubbing her temple like this was all causing her a major headache. “Obviously we need to spell this one out because you aren’t getting it on your own.”

“Not getting what?” I demanded, wishing I could just go hide in the room with Seifer for a while.

“We eliminated one of your biggest distractions by cutting out your interruptions throughout the day, correct?” Quistis asked, waiting for me to nod in agreement. “Now you’re flying through your work in a matter of hours when it used to take you days to get through the same workload. Even if you put Tempest in daycare for a few hours, you’ll be able to get most of, if not all, your work done by the time she comes home. I know you Squall. If you don’t have any distractions whatsoever, you could blow through your daily workload in a few hours.”

“Tempest isn’t a distraction!” I snapped at her.

Barely holding her ground, Quistis ran nervous hands over her clothing to calm herself. “We aren’t saying that! All we’re saying is that you can utilize those few hours to their fullest without her present. Then, when she comes home, you can spend all your time and energy taking care of her without having to worry about any backed-up paperwork. It would ultimately give you more quality time with her.”

A low growl formed in my throat. “Why is everyone so adamant about me putting her in daycare? It’s like you all think I can’t manage my position and take care of her at the same time.’

“Of course we don’t think that!” Xu exclaimed, looking completely shocked.

Stepping forward to take the brunt of my glare, Quistis gave me a faint, placating smile. “Squall, we just want what’s going to be best for you and Tempest. Whatever that may mean. But I do believe it would benefit you both if she got enrolled in daycare for at least part of the day.”

Bravely, Xu nodded. “It will give you more time to get work done without interruptions and it will give Tempest an opportunity to make friends outside of her current circle. Kids that would force her to learn and adapt to different situations. They’ll also teach her new things throughout the day there and will give her a head start for when she starts school.”

It was the part about helping her get ahead in school that got my attention. Sending her to daycare for educational reasons made far more sense to me than the social aspect of things. Personally, I was fine with her current level of socialization. She had Raijin and Fujin’s youngest that was her age and the other three kids that were only a few years older. Then there was Mio that was in between Tempest and the twins. And Selphie’s upcoming child that she’d get to play with occasionally. That seemed like a decent enough variety.

I guess it couldn’t hurt to let someone trained in education start teaching her from a younger age…

“Alright…I’ll look into it.” I finally agreed. It didn’t mean I would enroll her any time soon, just that I’d do a little research when I could.

“Thank you for considering it.” Quistis sighed, relieved that I wasn’t fighting her on it still.

Readjusting my hold on Tempest, I gave them both an appreciative nod. “Thank you for watching her while we were out. I should let you get back to work.”

“Squall!” Quistis called out just as I started to walk away. Turning back around, I tried to figure out the reason for her concerned tone. “Thank you for letting us have some time with Tempest. It’s great to see her doing so well and I want you to know that you’re doing a wonderful job raising her.”

“Thanks.” I muttered. Feeling embarrassed over the praising, I quickly made my way to the elevator while trying to not look like I was in a hurry.

Once the doors were securely shut, I shifted Tempest around so I was holding her out from me with both hands. “What do you think? Should we give this daycare thing a try?”

“Dadada!” She chattered, reaching towards my face. It wasn’t exactly an answer, but I hadn’t really been expecting her to give one.

Barely dodging her drool covered fingers, I tucked her back against my side again. “Alright, we’ll look into it then. If only to make everyone happy.”

“Dada pfff!” She chirped happily, now interested in the lapel of my jacket.

Even though I knew she hadn’t the slightest clue over what we were talking about, I still felt the need to work things out with her. If nothing else, no one would think twice about me talking to her about random stuff. Being able to work my thoughts out verbally without ridicule was an unexpected benefit that I happily planned to take advantage of.

Chapter 22: Bad Dreams

Notes:

Such a long chapter🥹. I think I caught most of the grammar/spelling errors. So please enjoy!

*Seifer*

“Daddy? You ‘wake?” Cassie’s poor attempt at whispering had me waking up long before her rough shaking could even begin to register in my brain.

Tilting my head back, I glanced out the window to confirm it was still dark outside. “Why are you up, Baby Girl? It’s sleepy time.”

“I had bad dream and woked up. Then I heard noise from out there.” She whispered in her scared voice, and I watched through half closed eyes as she pointed towards the living room area.

“What kind of noise was it?” I asked quietly, hoping to be able to explain it away easily.

Whatever she’d heard didn’t seem to be significant enough for my internal system to take notice of it. The fact that she’d been woken up by a bad dream rather than the noise was the only reason I was convinced she might have heard something. As it was, Freya was still in sleepy puppy mode and hadn’t been disturbed until after Cassie succeeded in waking me.

Maybe it was just Squall doing something in the other room. Wouldn’t be the first time he had trouble sleeping and he’s a familiar enough presence to not disturb my sleep as easily. Besides that, anything that could have been loud enough to scare Cassie would definitely have woken him up and I’m not hearing anything now.

“It was a scawry growly noise! Like a monster!” she insisted while shaking my arm harder. “Hurry Daddy! It’ll eat Mr. Squall!”

“Baby Girl, calm down for a moment. There aren’t any monsters out there that are strong enough to eat Squall. Not for a good few years at least.” A yawn kept me from laughing at my own joke. As it faded, a faint sound drifted to my ears.

Holding a hand up to silence whatever Cassie was going to say next, I listened harder to see if another sound came through. Sounds of distress barely eked through the door, along with some mumbled words that I couldn’t quite make out. That the voice belonged to Squall was the only part I felt certain of, and he sounded upset about something.

At least it’s a better excuse to go out there and risk pissing off Squall than Cassie’s fear of a monster attack in the middle of Garden.

“That’s the noise Daddy! I told you it was scawry!” Pleased at being proven right, Cassie still couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice.

“You’re right, Baby Girl. That did sound like a pretty scary noise when you’re supposed to be asleep. But I think Squall’s just having a bad dream too. I’m going to go check on him really quick and then I’ll be right back. Okay?” Placing a kiss on her head, I tucked Cassie back under the blankets and set Freya next to her. Fortunately, the pup didn’t bother to do more than lick my hand at being moved.

Briefly struggling against the covers and the pup, Cassie sat up and grabbed my shirt. “What about Hypurin? It might really be a monster! What if it’s getting Mr. Squall?”

It seemed as if Freya developed a newfound determination to comfort Cassie in her moment of distress. Deciding to wake up fully, she wiggled her way into my child’s arms and began licking her cheek. For a pup who hadn’t been around very long, she was sure trying her damndest to comfort Cassie. The mutt definitely earned a few points for recognizing the one most in need of care and trying to do something about it, even if she didn’t have the greatest skills in that department yet.

Not willing to pass up the opportunity, I gently removed her hand and tucked both of them back into bed again. “I’m not gonna need Hyperion for this, Baby Girl. I promise that monsters aren’t going to get in the room that easily. So why don’t you and Freya get comfy in bed together and I’ll go check on things? You know, it would be a big favor to me if you could keep an eye on Tempest until I got back.”

“Okay Daddy.” She sighed, already smart enough to figure out my half-assed attempt at diplomacy with an almost five-year-old.

With one last kiss to Cassie’s head, and a quick dodge of Freya’s tongue, I left the bed to check on everyone. My first stop was to check on Tempest, who was sleeping soundly. Bare feet barely making any sound as I moved across the cold floor, I somehow managed to get the door open without too much noise. There wasn’t much I could do about the sound of it opening though, so I just left it alone. Years at Garden had taught me that it was impossible to get through a closed door without making some kind of noise in the process.

Doesn’t look like I woke the Princess up this time. Nice to be able to get the drop on him once in a while. I thought proudly, then got a good look at him in the low, ambient light of the room.

Since our initial arrival here, Squall had insisted on Cassie and I having the bed while he took the couch. Given the people involved, there weren’t exactly many options. In exchange, I kept an eye on both girls at night so he could get some decent sleep. Theoretically, I should be able to manage any issues that came up in the night with her. If not, then I’d be getting a bit of shit at Squall having to step in.

Being a relatively light sleeper, Squall was generally pretty quiet at night. Well, once his damn brain decided to calm down and stop bothering him with an endless barrage of thoughts that kept him awake. Tossing and turning during those moments was fairly usual, but not once he had actually crossed over into a real sleep.

To see him like this now, I couldn’t help but stand there in utter disbelief. Beads of sweat were forming on his face, getting soaked up by his hair with each restless movement. Every part of his body seemed to be in a constant state of movement, nothing ever settling for long. The blanket had gotten so twisted around his legs, I was amazed he hadn’t woken up from the restraint of it alone.

“Princess?” I called softly, careful not to let my voice carry too far.

Sneaky as she was, Cassie was still learning all those blasted tricks that I’d been so proud of when I was a kid. Almost from the moment I’d closed the door behind me, there were the unmistakable sounds of her and the pup getting out of bed. Hearing her shush Freya over the pup’s confused whining was a dead giveaway, but I wasn’t dumb enough to tell her that.

“Rinoa…Zell…” The breathy, dream induced tone was followed by another roll that placed his back towards me yet did nothing to muffle his words. “There…look out!”

Only moments ago, I’d have been willing to pass all this off as one of those generalized nightmares we all get from time to time. That he had completely ignored my presence because of it was mildly concerning, but easily brushed off with the excuse of us being too familiar with each other for it to bother us now.

Truthfully, I’d half expected him to jerk awake at my staring. Or possibly have him stay asleep and still give me some snarky comment about not needing someone to check on him like a child. What hope I had of this being a simple issue we could just brush off and joke about, ended when he called so desperately for two of his allies in the dream.

Situations where he could have called out to them both like that were few, at least in my mind. Most of which included battle scenarios or emergency ones. Of the words I could make out following their names, I could only guess what was happening in his dream…

I can’t leave him trapped there. Not in a dream where everyone he cares about is in danger.

Knowing full well that he could view me as a potential threat upon waking up, I tried to keep some distance between us. “Princess, it’s just a bad dream. Wake up and it’ll go away. No one is in danger.”

Failing to get through to his subconscious mind, I took a couple steps closer to the couch. Any retaliation he might attempt would likely be slowed down by him having to turn around first. It was only then that I was able to take in the severity of his situation. Ragged breathing interlaced the few rambled words he was still making. One fist was clenched around a stray corner of the blanket in a deadly grip. And, instead of reacting to my presence as he normally would, Squall actually curled in on himself.

“Need to…keep moving…don’t stop…have to stop her…save…” Voice trailing off again, Squall’s legs seemed to have adopted a restless energy. It was almost as if he felt a physical need to move in synchronization with his dream.

It was the words he used that ultimately froze me in place. There was only one kind of nightmare that could match those words with the level of distress he was in. A nightmare that I was more than half responsible for giving to him, no matter how involuntary my actions back then. Knowing that one stupid mistake had such lasting effects brought back the guilt I kept trying to bury deep within my soul.

Five years! Five fucking years and he’s still dreaming about that time! The man saved the world, for Hyne’s sake! He shouldn’t have to continue suffering this long after doing something like that. How the hell could he ever find it in him to forgive me after all the trouble I caused everyone? Or for the memories that he’s obviously still suffering from, even if he never tells anyone else about them?

Blinded by guilt, I stopped relying on logic to handle him and allowed my emotions to lead my decisions. Kneeling down next to the couch, I placed a trembling hand over his shoulder. Nothing else mattered in that moment more than saving him from this single, devastating nightmare. Not even pausing to consider the consequences of doing so.

“Squall, it’s just a bad dream.” I whispered, shaking his shoulder gently. “Come on now, it’s time to wake up. The war is over. You won.”

A flash of movement caught my attention right before pain tore through my wrist. Some instinct recognized that Squall had grabbed my arm even as the rest of my brain tried to catch up to what happened. The attack was so sudden that I almost forgot to bite back the startled cry I felt forming in my throat.

It took being tackled to the floor, only just barely avoiding the coffee table, for my years of neglected training to kick in. Ignoring the air being knocked from my lungs, I reached up to prevent Squall’s other hand from claiming my throat. Decades of training with a heavy weapon was evident in the grip he had on my wrist, and I didn’t want that same strength around my vulnerable neck.

There was a noise from the direction of the bedroom that drew my attention away from the fight. With my focus in the wrong place, I felt my grip on his arm loosen and I’d almost lost all that hard-won control because of it. Correcting my mistake, I tilted my head to the side just enough to see Cassie standing in the doorway, staring out in horror over the scene. Freya was trying desperately to push past her legs but she didn’t seem to notice anything other than the scuffle before her.

“Get back in the room, Cassandra!” I snapped. Squall’s struggles forced my attention back onto him, leaving me hoping that she’d obey my orders quickly.

After an entire year of managing to keep the more violent side of life away from her, it had all been ruined in a matter of days. It was my own damn fault she’d seen me get seriously hurt by some monsters. Those teenage bullies hadn’t been too terrible, but it was still more than she was used to dealing with. Now she was witnessing me being attacked by someone that she was supposed to be able to trust and feel safe around.

Somehow I needed to snap Squall out of this damn daze before one of us really did end up hurting the other. While I wasn’t afraid to take a hit or two from him, it was Cassie I was concerned about. The last thing she needed was to see us beating the crap out of each other because I’d let my guilt get in the way of my training.

Thankfully, she’d had enough experience, training and practice obeying me to follow my orders without question. The pup, on the other hand, was not so well trained. Taking advantage of the small opening Cassie left while trying to close the door, Freya rushed past her and straight towards us.

For almost a minute straight she ran circles around us, yipping and growling, while I tried to get the upper hand on Squall. Something must have alerted her to this not being a playful interaction and she was trying her best to help stop the fight. It was damn impressive that she seemed to understand the situation and even more astounding that Squall still wasn’t coming out of his daze with all the noise she was making.

Suddenly, I found an opening to try and turn things around with Squall. Just as I was starting to change our positions though, the pup came out of nowhere and latched onto his neck. Realistically, it was probably more due to luck than any skill she possessed but it was damn effective in breaking him from the dreamlike state he was in.

“Shit!” He cried out, shoving her off of him. With the weak bite she had, it didn’t take much to send her rolling across the floor.

As if he didn’t notice me there, Squall tried reaching up with the hand I was holding to inspect the damage. Now that the dazed look was gone from his eyes, I felt it safe enough to release him so he could touch the bloody section of his neck. From below, it looked as if the pup’s teeth had actually gotten close to his jugular but didn’t have the experience or the power to do more than leave a scratch behind.

When he reached up to inspect his neck, his weight shifted to the hand pinning my wrist to the floor. Letting out a hiss, I tapped his arm with one finger of my free hand in hopes of not startling him. “Squall, let go.”

Grey eyes dropped down to where his hand was holding mine down and it was as if he were just now noticing the position we were in. Instantly he let go and hurried to get off of me. Using my good hand, I started to sit up only to be tackled by my own child.

If I had any real pride left to boast of, it was totally obliterated in that moment. Not only had I been taken down twice in less than five minutes, but I hadn’t even heard Cassie coming towards me. It was just too damn much for my remaining ego to handle in a single night.

“Daddy!” Cassie bawled as she clutched tightly to my shirt. From how damp the material was becoming, I was willing to bet she’d been crying for a while and was now wiping it all over me in her distress.

Dull throbbing in my wrist reminded me to keep it tucked against my side while using my good arm to stroke her back in soothing circles. From what I could tell, some decent damage had been done but I couldn’t let her know that Squall had truly injured me. Whatever trust she had left in him would be destroyed if she found out.

Taking a deep breath, I shoved the pain to the back of my mind as I tried to work out a way to fix this mess. Somehow I needed to get Cassie to calm down, get her back in bed, then tend to my wrist, and find out what the hell happened with Squall. If this was a normal thing for him, then he wasn’t as recovered from the war as I’d initially thought.

So much for a quick, easy trip to Garden. This whole thing has been a fucking disaster!

“Seifer?” The soft inquiry from across the room reminded me that Cassie wasn’t the only one completely freaked out over tonight’s events.

Ignoring those dark grey eyes staring pointedly at my wrist, I continued to sooth Cassie until she calmed down. In our household it wasn’t unusual for injuries to occur or emergency situations to arise. Just going out to spar with Raijin on a regular basis or our occasional monster hunts has led to one of us coming back home with minor injuries.

For the most part, Cassie handled it all fairly well but there were times where it was blatantly obvious how young and inexperienced she still was. This was definitely going to be one of those moments. Finding a way to explain everything that happened was definitely going to be a challenge. With any luck, I’ll be able to convince her that Squall was just having a rough night and wasn’t someone she should be afraid of.

The second time Squall glanced at my wrist, I noticed a dark look in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. “I’m fine, Princess. You bruised my ego a bit but everything else should make a full recovery.”

Cassie pulled back with a teary-eyed, confused look at my attempt to turn things into a lighthearted direction. “What’s an ego? Does it need a band-aid?”

Over by the couch, Squall made a coughing noise to try and cover his amusement at the low blow my own damn child had just given me. The amount of effort it would take to glare at him over it was more than I was willing to waste. Besides that, I was just too damn tired to try and navigate any more shit than was absolutely necessary tonight.

On top of it all, the adrenaline rush was leaving my system and it was getting harder to ignore the throbbing pain from my wrist. Experience told me that it wasn’t broken but it had been a close call. Best case scenario, it was just a bad sprain and easily fixed with a Cure spell. Once I got Cassie out of the room, that is.

“Nah, I don’t need a band-aid. An ego is like an emotion. I’ll explain it all to you later when I can answer your questions better. It’s just too late tonight for that.” The small reassurance had her face scrunching up in confusion, but she gave a small nod of agreement to my promise of a future explanation. Situation successfully dodged for the moment, I turned to look over at Squall. “How ‘bout you, Princess? You doing alright? That was a pretty hard flashback you were caught in.”

“I’m fine.” While the reply was almost expected, I heard something off about it that sent my senses tingling.

Being careful not to put pressure on my injury, I sat up the rest of the way and used my good hand to shift Cassie fully into my lap. Now that she wasn’t so worked up, her habit of observing everything was starting to take over again. Normally a habit I liked to encourage, but I was too worried about her picking up on the same thing I had. Squall was getting too caught up in his own head and trapped by his emotional turmoil.

Back pressed against the couch, he had one arm loosely wrapped around one bent knee and his head was bowed so far it was almost touching his arm. Next to his leg, the pup was sniffing around curiously. From the look of things, it seemed like she no longer considered him a threat and was deciding what was needed from her now.

Freya suddenly gave a soft whine and shoved her head under the bend of his arm with enough force to jolt it off his knee. Before Squall had time to recover from the attack, his arms were filled with an overeager puppy trying to clean his face. It was almost amusing to watch him struggle with the pup as her tongue tried to cover his neck and face in wet kisses to cheer him up.

“Daddy?” A tug on my shirt and a small sniffle drew my attention away from them and back to Cassie.

Too much had gone on in such a short timeframe, leaving me with no freaking clue how to navigate this uncharted territory. “What is it, Baby Girl?”

Stubbornly she shrugged off my attempts to comfort her and gave me an intense look. “Why you and Mr. Squall fighting? You said real fighting is not nice! That’s why you put me on time-out when I kicked Derick for picking on Tyr at the park.”

“Those are two different scenarios Cass.” I hedged, trying to figure out just how to explain it so she would understand.

A growl from Freya had both of us turning to see what was happening. What she was trying to do was unclear, but she was determinedly tugging at Squall’s shirt sleeve. The man in question was now curled up with both knees to his chest, arms wrapped around them, and his head tucked into the small pocket they created.

Everything about him looked like he was ready to curl up and mope, if only the pup would allow it. After a minute of her persistent nagging, he finally opened his arms and scooped her into his lap, petting her in an attempt to keep her quiet. It was only semi-effective since the furball was still just a baby and couldn’t stand sitting still for long or being confined.

Serves you right, dumbass! Stop beating yourself up for something you had little control over. Even the blasted pup knows you’re not the bad guy here.

“It’s not different!” Cassie insisted firmly, her Almasy bloodline shining through as she glared at me. “You said fighting wasn’t nice! That friends should not fight each other! You and Mr. Squall are friends. So, it’s not different!”

“You’re right, friends shouldn’t fight with each other. But there’s different reasons to fight and different kinds of fighting.” I tried to explain calmly, hoping it would also knock some sense into Squall before he could fall too far into the rabbit hole he was in.

Confused, she tilted her head. “Different kinds of fighting?”

“Yeah, there’s different kinds of fighting.” I repeated in order to emphasize the importance of it. “There’s fighting for training. Fighting monsters. Sometimes friends fight but it’s important for them to talk about it afterwards so they can stay friends. Then there’s fighting bullies to protect yourself or others.”

“Derik was being a bully!” She declared, holding firm to her belief that she was in the right on that one.

Shaking my head, I held up a finger. “You got in trouble for fighting because you didn’t try and fix the problem first. I talked to him, his mom and Tyr while you were on time-out. It was a misunderstanding that could have been fixed a different way, but you went straight to hurting him because he made Tyr cry. That’s why you got in trouble for it.”

If Squall thought it was odd for me to lecture my child over fighting first being wrong, I wasn’t going to fault him for it. Until she started showing a lot of the same Almasy traits that had gotten me in trouble growing up, I hadn’t thought twice about enforcing rules like that. Over the last couple of years though, the kids have pushed me into being a blasted responsible parent and I’ve been trying my best to keep them from being just like me as a kid.

“Okay, I was wrong to kick Derick first.” She admitted while whipping her face on her sleeve. Trying to work out the logistics of my explanation, her brow furrowed, and I couldn’t help but find it to be a cute look for her. “But you and Mr. Squall are daddies! Daddies are not s’pose to fight with each other!”

“Yeah, you’re right kiddo!” I praised her with a small smile, then quickly checked on Squall once more. All the talk about fighting and friends wasn’t doing him any favors. Time for some damage control. “Squall and I weren’t really fighting though. I messed up and scared Squall while he was asleep. When he attacked, he was still having a bad dream and didn’t know I was trying to wake him up from it. Yeah, I made a mistake and got a little hurt because of it but I’ll be okay. Are you understanding the difference here?”

“Maybe…” She mumbled, looking between us with a confused frown. “Mr. Squall was dreaming? But dreams go away when you wake up. Don’t they Daddy?”

Reluctantly I shook my head. “Not all the time Baby Girl. Sometimes people have really bad dreams, and it takes a minute for their brains to know the difference. That’s what happened with Squall. He was having a bad dream and woke up to me right next to him. His brain didn’t understand he was awake, so he thought he had to protect himself from me. Once he woke up all the way, he stopped fighting and let me go. It was all just one big misunderstanding.”

“Okay. If you say so…” It wasn’t the most convincing acceptance, but she was willing to trust my judgement on the situation at least.

“I promise that it was just a misunderstanding.” I said, trying to make her understand. When she continued to give him skeptical looks, I decided to try something different. “Baby Girl, is it alright if I talk to Squall for a bit about it? I want to apologize for scaring him and make sure he didn’t get hurt.”

Flicking her eyes between us, Cassie gave a slow nod. “Okay Daddy. You can apologize for scaring Mr. Squall. Scaring friends is not nice either.”

“No, it’s not.” I agreed. Looking over, I found Freya was still stubbornly trying to work her magic on a resistant Squall. It gave me an idea of how to handle the situation. “Looks like Freya is over apologizing to him. Think you can go snuggle with her for a bit while I talk to Squall? If I just put her in the room she might wake Tempest up while trying to get back out.”

“I can keep Freya quiet!” Cassie declared excitedly and got to her feet. For a moment she forgot all about being afraid of Squall, stopping in her tracks when he looked up at her through half closed lids. “Daddy? Can you get Freya? She’s all wiggly!”

“Sure kiddo. Go on into the room and she’ll be right behind you.” I promised from my spot on the floor.

Tossing an uncertain look to Squall and Freya, she quickly went into the room. There were a few moments where her back was too me that I took advantage of, climbing clumsily to my feet before she could turn around. No reason to give her more to worry about than absolutely necessary.

“She’s afraid of me. She should be.” Squall murmured quietly when I went to take Freya from him.

Carefully tucking the pup under my good arm, I sent him the sternest look I could manage. “Knock it off, Squall. She’s scared for the moment but will eventually get over it. We both know those girls are safer with you than anyone else in the whole damn world. Now, give me a minute to put these two to bed and we can spend all night hashing this out if you need to. Or we can make everyone feel a little better and get a bit more sleep so no one is too bitchy in the morning.”

When he didn’t respond at all I turned and walked the few steps to the bedroom. Cassie was already at the door and waiting for me to deliver Freya like I’d promised. As I put the pup down, a stray paw kicked the side of my wrist hard enough to make me hiss softly from it. Fortunately, Cassie didn’t notice as she urged Freya back into the bed. Sparing a few moments to tuck them in and give Tempest a quick check, I left in hopes they would go back to sleep quickly and this would be nothing more than a bad dream.

Confirming that the door was firmly shut, I went back to where Squall was still crouched down. With my good hand, I used the arm of the couch to sit on the floor next to him. Using a tactic that had worked more than once in the past, I placed myself so that we weren’t facing each other. Given his current state of mind, I didn’t think he’d appreciate the more direct approach I normally used when forcing him to talk about things.

A couple minutes passed in silence between us before he reached down to take my left hand in his. Since he was making the first move, I didn’t stop him from touching me willingly. Wanting to inspect my injury was far more agreeable than him shutting down completely in distress.

“Ow! Fucking hell!” I bit out when his fingers found a particularly tender spot near the bone. “It’s fine, Leonhart. Just leave it alone. I’ll heal it before I go back to bed.”

“No reason to wait that long. It’s not broken at least.” He stated. Then he went back to manipulating my hand until I was irritated enough to try and pull free of his hold.

Pain wasn’t the issue for me. It had more to do with the frustration that comes when having someone else check for complications that could cause it to heal wrong. Seeing him focused on something other than his own issues was the only reason I’d put up with it for so damn long. Even when he clearly had the answers he wanted and was simply running his fingers over the bruises left behind.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I grumbled only to flinch when he turned my hand over to inspect the underside again. Worried he was going to get worked up again over being the cause of it, I decided it was time to bring an end to his explorations. “Think you could hurry it up a bit? You already confirmed it’s not broken. Unless there’s another reason you’re holding off on treating it?”

My only answer was a Cure falling over me and the pain in my wrist fading away, along with a variety of bruises I hadn’t even been aware of. After the spell was complete, Squall repeated his entire exam again. This time, I felt a bit more accommodating now that it didn’t freaking hurt to have him touching me. I’d even say I enjoyed watching him pay so much attention to my body, even if it was just my hand and wrist he was looking at.

After a few moments I caught him lingering over certain spots on my palm. It became more obvious when his thumb traced one of the many callouses I’d earned from all my years training with Hyperion. Then he turned my hand over and began tracing a few of the more noticeable scars on my hand. None of which I minded too much until he found one that held less than pleasant memories for me.

“Satisfied I’m not going to lose the use of my hand?” I asked a bit sardonically, wanting to draw his attention away from the white mark.

“Whatever.” He muttered as he gently set my hand back on the floor before pulling his knees up to his chest again. “You should go to bed. Cassie will need you after the shit I pulled tonight.”

Until now I’d avoided looking directly at him to keep from tipping the balance in the wrong direction. But that trick was about to come to a screeching halt if he was just going to regress right back into his depressed state. While I couldn’t completely understand why he was beating himself up over this, it didn’t mean I was going to let him keep doing it now that it was all over.

Turning so that I was kneeling next to him, supporting myself with an arm on the side of the couch, I gave his leg a gentle tap to get his attention. “Nope! I’m not gonna let you avoid talking about this one. I know that I seriously fucked up when trying to pull you out of that dream by hesitating at the wrong moment. I didn’t mean to spook the hell out of you. Whatever that dream was, it’s seriously fucked with your head even after you’re awake. Now you’re gonna tell me what’s going on in that brain of yours so I can help you work through the negative shit before it gets trapped in there again.”

“It’s none of your…”

“…business.” I finished with him, waving a hand as if to brush off the glare he was giving me from beneath those chocolate locks. “You kinda made it my business when your blasted dreams woke Cassie up, so start talking.”

“Then I don’t know what to tell you.” He whispered, turning his head so I couldn’t see anything but hair. While it was a start, it wasn’t exactly a helpful one and I was to lose patience with his avoidance routine.

Watching him tuck himself into a tighter ball destroyed what tolerance my tired brain had left for tonight. To his left side was a wall so I gave him a bump with my shoulder just hard enough to throw him off balance. As predicted, he instinctively threw out an arm to protect himself. When he turned to glare at me for the impact, time seemed to completely freeze around us for several heartbeats.

Of all the reasons I would have come up with for Squall to huddle up like that, crying hadn’t even come close to one of them. Hyne, it wasn’t even in the top one hundred possibilities that I could have come up with had someone questioned me about it. Yet there he was, glaring at me with a pair of wet lines trailing down his cheeks to the underside of his jaw.

It gave him such a strange, innocent, vulnerable look that I couldn’t recall every having seen from him before. Not even that day that I found him at the store, worn-out from taking care of a teething baby he had no idea how to really care for. This was the first time I was so flagrantly reminded of how young he actually was for the level of responsibility he’d been thrust at him.

“How about we start with you explain what this is all about?” I suggested in a breathy whisper. Not giving him time to react, I reached over and wiped away a tear that was just making its way over his cheekbone. “This is a bit much for a bruised wrist when we’ve hurt each other far worse than that as kids. So, why the hell are you crying over it? Is it because of Cassie? She’s a little freaked out and might be a bit cautious around you for a day or two but she’ll be alright. And no one got seriously hurt from it either. There’s no reason for you to be this upset, is there?”

Of all the memories I still had of Squall growing up in Garden, there wasn’t a single one where he’d shed a tear. It didn’t matter how bad something hurt or how pissed off he got, nothing ever seemed to make him cry. If he ever did, it was never where anyone could see him. Which is why I was trying so damn hard to keep him from seeing how much it was freaking me out to see him crying now, over something that should be considered a minor incident for us.

Ashamed over having been caught in such a state, Squall turned away from me to stare hard at the wall. The whole thing had me so confused that it actually took a minute to become thoroughly pissed at his continued attempts to avoid talking to me. Especially when there was something bigger going on with him than I was aware of. Something that I refused to let fester until it ultimately destroyed him.

Reaching out with the hand he’d just healed, I sunk my fingers into his thick locks of hair and forced him to face me. Despite being barely phased by my aggressive approach, he fought against my control just long enough to have a few strands come out into my fingers before giving up. For a brief moment I caught a glimpse of true fear cross his face before it was quickly replaced by an icy blue death glare.

As he continued to stare me down I began to wonder if I’d really seen him looking at me with fear in his eyes. With the image still so fresh, I couldn’t deny it had happened, however briefly, and had to force down the lump forming in my throat. Out of habit, I stared back at him. When his eyes dropped away, after the shortest stare down on record for us, I knew I couldn’t deny that some part of him still was afraid of me. No matter how miniscule it actually was.

Cold blue eyes dropped to the side, no longer trying to challenge me. Having achieved my goal of getting his attention, I loosened my hold. My fingers began massaging his scalp in a silent apology and to provide a bit of comfort as I waited for him to do something, anything really, that would indicate he was ready to talk. Gradually he started to relax under the ministrations, and I began working my way down until my fingers reached the back of his neck where it met his shoulders.

Several more minutes passed like that before he let out a shaking breath and touched my arm in a request for me to stop. Unwilling to give up complete contact with him, I ended the massage but left my fingers around the nape of his neck. If nothing else, it would serve as a good reminder that I was still waiting for an explanation to his unusual behavior.

“It scared the hell out of me.” He confessed, still looking at the floor with his arms around his knees. “I can’t remember a single time in my life that I ever felt like that. Not even when Rinoa left Tempest in my care.”

While it was a starting point and he was talking, I was having trouble making sense of what he meant by his vague answer. Brushing slow circles along the side of his neck with my thumb, I noticed an excessive amount of tension there. Tempted as I was to help him work it out, I was kept on task by the frantic beat of his pulse pounding against my fingers.

“Okay, explain to me what scared you. Was it the dream? Or because you attacked me?” I asked carefully, attempting to understand where his main issue originated from. “If it was, then keep in mind that I was more at fault than you for it. Besides, it was a minor injury and I’m fine. You’re not going to seriously hurt me so easily.”

Almost immediately he went right back to hiding his face from me. It only took a few seconds for a slight tremble to take over his shoulder that was quickly developing into full on shaking. If I didn’t figure out what the hell was going on and help him deal with it, the Commander of Garden was going to have a full-on breakdown.

Granted, I was fairly certain he was well past due for one. But something told me he would need more than a few hours to recover once it hit. Considering how much crap he’s held in for the past twenty years or so, it might even be a few days before he got it all worked out of his system. Determined as I was to help him, it would preferably happen at a better time. Sometime when I could plan for it in advance and have the others take care of Tempest and Freya for a few days while I put my sole focus on helping Squall deal with all that built up crap going through his head.

Until then, I was just gonna have to do whatever I could to help him hold it off. “Come here, Princess.”

Initially he resisted my attempt to pull him into my arms. With a few sweet words I managed to get him tucked against my side with his head in the crook of my neck. A little rearranging later, I had a semi-comfortable spot with my back against the couch. It left him squished between me and the wall while he cried it out for a bit.

All those paternal instincts I’d been honing for nearly five years kicked in and I set about comforting him just as I would my own children. Hell, if it worked for a totally distraught four-year-old, then why the hell wouldn’t it do the same for a devastated SeeD Commander? Over the last couple of months, we’ve more than proven he wasn’t getting the comfort and support he needed as a single father. So why in Hyne’s name would this moment be any different?

Over a half hour had passed before his shaking died down and he took a raspy breath. “I wasn’t afraid about hurting you. Of everyone I know, you’re the only one I can trust to take whatever I can throw at you then give it back to me with interest afterwards.”

Seeing my opportunity to draw him into an active conversation, I lowered my arm a bit so he could sit up if he wanted to. Surprisingly, he stayed right where he was with his fingers gripping my tearstained shirt. At this angle my hand was now resting lightly over his hip, so I ran a few circles over it and his thigh as I considered my next words.

“Then what scared you so badly, Princess?” I asked quietly, trying to keep him calm as we dug into the root of the matter. “Were you afraid I couldn’t take control of the situation?”

“I don’t know.” He insisted, clearly agitated that I wasn’t able to figure out what was bothering him on my own. Whatever it was, he really didn’t want to voice it. As if admitting it to me would make it all the more real or something.

“Then what is it, Squall? Lying isn’t going to help solve the issue. Whatever it is, just tell me.” I growled, stopping myself for a moment to get my temper under control. “Look, I’m not going to be pissed over it. I don’t like that something is capable of scaring you this badly. Unless you tell me what it is, I can’t help you get past it. Obviously it’s not something you’re gonna be able to deal with on your own, so let me help you.”

“Because it could have been Cassie instead of you!” He snarled. When he tried to pull away I tightened my arm around him, denying him the chance. Instead, he released my shirt and started shaking again with his face hidden behind his hand.

Now that I knew what kind of demon he was facing, I had a chance at helping him. Especially since it was one I’ve struggled with myself a few times. Pressing his face back to my shoulder, I let him fret about it for another ten minutes or so. This was something he needed to get completely purged from his system and one night definitely wasn’t going to be enough. But it would help some.

When he calmed down again, I tilted his chin up so that he was looking right at me with those watery eyes. “You calm enough to listen to me?”

“I’m listening.” He mumbled.

Wiping away the tears from one cheek I gave him a sympathetic smile. “Cassie is perfectly fine. You didn’t go after her, you went after me. Since I have a pretty damn good idea of what you were dreaming about, it makes complete sense that you would feel threatened to wake up with me standing over you like that. What matters is that Cassie is fine, you’re fine and I’m fine. Nothing terrible happened. It’s time to accept that and try to move forward.”

“You don’t get it!” He snapped, not willing to accept what I was telling him. This time I allowed him to escape when he pushed away from me and bounced his back against the wall. “What if you hadn’t been there? What if Cassie needed something and tried to wake me while I was having a dream like that? What if…what if this doesn’t stop? What if it gets worse? What if next time it’s Tempest coming to me? What if…”

“What if? What if? What if?” I snapped, cutting off his rambling. “That’s a lot of ‘what if’s’ going on in that head of yours. You of all people should know better than that! Keep up that line of thinking and it’s going to drive you fucking insane with worry. What’s going to happen to Tempest if you lose your damn mind from worrying about things that likely won’t ever happen? It doesn’t matter if you’re caught in a bad dream or wide fucking awake. Some part of your brain will always know the difference between them and an actual threat. I can tell you right now that I know for damn certain that you would never hurt one of the kids. I think deep down, you know that too.”

“How could you possibly be so sure of that?” He asked, looking up at me as if I had all the answers in the world. Well, maybe not all the answers. Lucky for him, I might possibly have the right one that could make him feel better and stop fretting about all of this so much.

“You think I don’t have those same dreams? That any of us got out of that war scot-free?” I asked quietly, resting an arm on my knee as I looked away from him. “Raijin and Fujin have them too, you know. Not as often as I do, but pretty damn close between the two of them. And you know what? None of us have ever accidentally hurt the kids because of it. No matter how deep into the dream, our instincts warn us in advance that they’re someone innocent. Someone to protect, not attack. It helps us wake up faster to deal with their problems. Though, if you tell them I said anything about it I’ll have to deny it and kick your ass when we’re alone.”

That last little threat seemed to help pull him out of his slump. Something other than tears shimmered in his eyes for a minute when I looked up to grin weakly at him. “Sounds like a bit of good blackmail to me.”

It was my turn to feel a bit of panic now, even though I knew he wouldn’t say a damn word about it to them. “Seriously Squall, just keep that one to yourself. They’re seriously sensitive about it and Fujin has more than enough shit to deal with.”

“I won’t say a word.” He promised with a small smile. A vast improvement from where he was a moment ago.

Feeling a little more relieved by it, I leaned back into the couch. “Thanks. Now, back to the issue at hand. Had it been anyone else standing over you, do you really believe it would have taken the damn pup biting you to knock you out of your flashback? I mean, we all know who the leading villain is in your nightmares. It’s no wonder you’d flip out to see him standing over you like that after dreaming about what I’ve done to you.”

“I forgot that Freya actually attacked me.” He muttered and touched the bite on his neck. Touching it caused the scratch to bleed a little, but the wound already appeared to be healing. “She even broke skin.”

“She’s not a small pup. Your lucky it’s just a scratch.” I pointed out. With a smirk, I gestured towards the door. “She’s gonna be a good dog once she’s all grown up and had a bit of decent training. She’s already incredibly protective and smart. Even though she didn’t understand what was going on, she got the gist of it and went after you to protect me and Cassie. When it was over she went over to cheer your brooding ass up while I took care of Cassie.”

“I guess she won’t be so bad to have around. I’ll look into getting her some training so she can protect the kids whenever we go anywhere again.” He mused, not even noticing the implications of his statement. Things couldn’t be too bad between us if he was already including me and the kids in future events with them.

With a playful grin, I gave his shoulder a gentle tap from mine. “Feeling better now? Or do you need me to stay out here for a bit more coddling?”

Ignoring my bit of teasing, he shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Just getting tired of needing my ass bailed out so often. I’m the Commander of Balamb Garden, I shouldn’t be having mental breakdowns or screwing things up this badly. You’d think after dealing with a bunch of SeeDs, I’d have no trouble raising one baby on my own.”

“Babies are a lot different than dealing with older kids. By the time they make it to Garden, most of the kids are prepared for learning to take care of themselves. They still need help but it’s not the same one-on-one that a baby or small child requires.” I reminded him, not quite sure how much of this he’s figured out.

“I guess. It is different when she can’t talk or take care of basic needs and gets fussy if I don’t accurately predict what she requires of me.” He sighed, rubbing at his scar. “Sometimes I wonder who’s really in charge of this relationship. I thought it was supposed to be me, but it feels like I’m nothing more than her personal servant.”

“That’s raising kids for ya.” I laughed, covering my mouth when I remembered the kids and pup in the next room. “Got a question for ya though.”

Curious about what I could want to know, he tilted his head to the side and looked at me with it resting on his arms. “What’s that?”

Pleased with this more relaxed version of him, I licked my lips and moved a lock of hair from his silvery blue eyes. “When was the last time you did anything that didn’t involve work or taking care of Tempest and the house? This trip and coming over to my place don’t count.”

If it wouldn’t have gotten me punched, I would have laughed at the absolutely perplexed look that he was giving me. “I dunno. It must have been before Tempest I think. I’d come back from a mission only a few days before Rinoa showed up. Since then, it’s been all I could do to take care of her and keep up with all the work that I have. Why?”

“So, you’ve done nothing but office work and learning to take care of Tempest for what? Three months now?” I clarified, receiving a shrug from him.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ve had times where I couldn’t get into the field for months because of office stuff or meetings I needed to be present for. I’ve never been affected by it before.” He answered, clearly still not following where I was going with this.

Unable to hold it back any longer, I gave a short laugh. “I don’t know why I expected something different, but this is such a you thing to do!”

“What’s so funny about it?” He demanded, frowning at me for laughing at him when he didn’t understand what I found so humorous about it.

Getting myself under control, I touched my fingers to his cheek only to have them pushed away. “Princess, haven’t you figured out that you don’t need to be in the field in order to get a reprieve from your work? When you’re here, you have the training center, the quad, the library, and the plains all within easy access whenever you need it. Back home you’re trapped in a house with a baby that needs your constant attention and a bunch of mind-numbing paperwork. What exactly do you do for yourself?”

“Read when I can. Sometimes I’ll sneak out to the yard and do some training.” He replied defensively. “It’s not like I can take Tempest with me to hunt monsters. What do you expect me to do? Put her on a blanket in the middle of a field and hope she stays safe while I take on a few monsters?”

It suddenly dawned on me that he didn’t even realize other options were available. “Then let us babysit her once in a while so you can go monster hunting. Hell, Raj and Fu would probably be fine with watching her so we can go hunting together. Maybe even get a little training in, like we used to do. How does that sound?”

“What?!” His mouth gaped open as if I’d suggested something horrible.

Moving into his space, I got him pressed against the wall until I could kneel over him with my hands on either side of my head. “I’m not saying you have to give her up or anything like that. I’m offering you a chance to get away for a bit without having to worry about her safety or care. Allow us to take her for a few hours, or even a night if you want. That way you can do something for yourself. Go train, fight monsters, or just lay around the damn house while it’s perfectly quiet for all I care. Even go on a mission once in a while. Whatever you want, we’ve got you covered.”

“But I…” He stuttered, still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

Understanding his concerns, I closed the distance so that my forehead was resting against his. “Squall, why do you think I come over so often to help you with her? Everyone needs a break or they’ll eventually burnout. Do you think I haven’t noticed how you take advantage of my presence to catch up on things that you don’t feel comfortable doing with Tempest in tow? Would it be so terrible to allow us to do a little more for you?”

“I can’t just pawn her off on people so I can go do a bit of monster hunting.” He scowled, shoving against my chest. Obligingly I put a small bit of space between us but kept my position over him. “It was one thing to allow other people to help me with her when she first arrived at Garden. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I needed the time to prepare for us to move here. It wasn’t for pleasure that I did that. When I decided to keep her, I made a commitment to take on all the responsibilities that came with that decision. Now you want me to pass that on to someone else just so I can have a bit of fun?”

Stunned into silence by his theories around babysitting, I felt my jaw moving but it took a few tries to get the words out. “Are you really this fucking dense? Or have you not been paying attention to anything I’ve told you these last couple of months? Why the hell do you think I’ve been coming over weekly and invited the two of you to visit? It’s to give you a break from being a parent for a few hours. That’s the very definition of babysitting! Fucking Hyne! No wonder your stress level is through the damn roof lately.”

“My stress level is perfectly normal.” He declared with a hint of a pout. “I don’t have an issue taking care of Tempest all the time. Mostly she’s either sleeping or playing on the blanket while I work. Taking care of her and her needs in between that isn’t that difficult.”

“Don’t forget making time to play with her.” I reminded him automatically, then shook my head to get back on track. “Not the point I was trying to make. I get that you aren’t exactly the social type. Hell, I was probably the closest thing you had to a friend growing up. But babies need more socialization than that. And I don’t care who the fuck you are, taking care of a baby, work shit and household chores is fucking stressful.”

A slight blush formed on his cheeks. “It’s not that bad. No more than what I’m used to dealing with.”

“Bull-fucking-shit it is!” I snarled and ran a hand through my hair before replacing it on the wall. “Why do you think Fu has been taking care of the kids and the house while Raijin and I work during the week? We sure as hell don’t bitch when she gives us a damn list of things that need to be done around the house on our days off. We’re lucky to have each other to help manage it all. You’re all by yourself trying to manage both your needs and those of Garden’s. Don’t think I haven’t figured out you’re doing more shit than you’re supposed to daily. People talk, even to me.”

“So what if I do? It’s not hurting anything.” He grumbled, annoyed at everyone being aware of how much work he took on when he didn’t need to.

Leaning down to relieve some of the pressure on my arms, I gave him a smirk. “How about this then? In about a month the daycare will be open again. Fujin’s already agreed to run it. You know as well as I do that she isn’t going to put up with anyone’s crap and will make sure the kids are well taken care of. From what I’ve seen, things are organized fairly similar to the schedule you have for Tempest. Why not sign her up for it and see how things go for a few weeks? You’ll get some child-free time to get work done and Tempest will have a safe environment where she can play, learn, and socialize with other kids her age.”

“Daycare?” The word was drawn out as if it were completely foreign to him, even though I clearly remembered bringing up the subject earlier that day. “Quistis and Xu mentioned something about that as well. I just don’t like the idea of leaving her with complete strangers for hours every day when I can take care of her just fine at home.”

“It’ll be good for her, Squall.” I insisted. “Little ones need the socialization. And she’ll be perfectly safe there. I can promise you that.”

Storm colored eyes glared up at me. “It’s still leaving her with complete strangers.”

Seeing that this was going to become an issue, I sat back for a moment and rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ll see if Fujin can’t get you the files of those she’s hired. I won’t make any promises on it, but I can say she’s already done background checks and interviewed everyone herself.”

“I would appreciate it.” He sighed, leaning back against the wall. “I still don’t like the idea. Won’t she think I’m abandoning her or something?”

Tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, I left my hand pressed gently over his cheek. “She’ll have a rough couple of days but will be fine once she gets used to the changes. Besides, Fujin and Jax will be in the same room as her. Souta is a bit older, so he’ll be in another room just a few doors down from her. Cassie and Tyr will be starting school when it’s finished being rebuilt. You don’t have to worry so much about it. This is one of those things that will be harder for you than for her. Trust me on that. I went through the same thing when I finally gave in about putting the twins into daycare so their mother and I could both work full time.”

Tilting his face into my hand, he allowed me to see the anxiety starting to build up again. “I’ll consider it. With there having already been one monster attack on the town, I don’t like leaving her in someone else’s care in case it happens again.”

“We’ll get the cause figured out so we can stop worrying about it.” I promised simply because we both needed to hear it spoken out loud. “Keep in mind though, Fujin isn’t pregnant this time and still possesses Pandemona, along with all the magic she’s stored up. She’ll have no problem keeping the kids safe this time. At least, as far as I know. The way those two go at it I’m kinda shocked there aren’t twice as many kids in the house.”

His face scrunched up at the thought of those two having sex and I couldn’t help but chuckle at it. “I seriously did not need that particular image in my head tonight.”

“Try living with it. At least once a week I can hear it through our shared wall and…”

“Seifer…” He growled, warning me against continuing my statement.

Laughing at his disgust over my teasing, I ran my thumb along his cheek. “Feeling better now?”

“I was.” He growled, still upset over my jokes about Raijin’s and Fujin’s sex life.

“Good, because I’m fairly certain Cass is asleep. I should probably still go check on them just to be sure.” I told him quietly, not exactly eager to get up just yet.

“You should go to bed. Sorry that I woke you.” He muttered, a dark blush hitting his cheeks as he turned his eyes to the side. Realizing that I still had him virtually pinned against the wall, I wondered how he would react if I moved in for more than a little touching.

Humming softly, I gave into temptation a bit and leaned close enough to feel his breath on my cheek. “Cassie woke me, but I would have heard you eventually.”

The blush had taken over most of his face, neck, and ears now. “Seifer, move so I can go back to sleep on the couch.”

Chasing those thoughts away, I rolled onto my heels and stood up. “Sure thing, Princess. Just try to get some real sleep this time. We’ve got a flight to catch in the morning, kids to wrangle and a puppy that’s going to be in desperate need of a potty run.”

“Blame Rinoa for all of that.” He snarked, not really meaning it. Despite her shitty way of handling things, Rinoa did seem to have a knack for sending all the right things Squall’s way.

Pushing me out of his way, Squall went straight for the couch. In his flustered state, he laid down on the couch first and had a minor issue with getting the blanket sorted out above him. Amused by his fussing with it, I stepped over and gave the blanket a few tugs so that it spread over him the way he liked it. Just when I thought his pale cheeks couldn’t get any darker, they decided to prove me wrong.

“Night, Princess.” I whispered, resisting the urge to place a chaste kiss on his head.

“Good night, Seifer.” He replied automatically then turned his back to the room. Chuckling softly, I left him to try and catch a few more hours of sleep.

Upon entering the room, closing the door behind me, I found Cassie and the pup completely passed out on the bed. Of course, they’d claimed more than half the bed between them, leaving me barely any room at all. According to my sleep deprived and stressed-out brain, it would have been much simpler to just sprawl out on the floor until morning came.

It only took changing out my wet shirt for a dry one to remember why that was a bad idea. The floors were too damn cold to sleep comfortably on and I wasn’t going down to the garage to get a bedroll from the back of the truck. Since I highly doubted that Squall left one behind here for emergencies, there was no point in rummaging through the closet either.

Left with no other recourse, I gave one final check to see that Tempest was still sleeping contently before turning to my final task of the night. After ten long minutes of easing the pup and Cassie around the bed, I finally achieved enough space to crawl between the blankets. Barely a minute passed before I fell asleep to the sound of the girls’ soft breathing and the pup’s collection of sleeping whines and whimpers.

Chapter 23: Crossing That Line

Notes:

Okay, this was a bit of a shorter chapter, but it allowed me to get it out sooner than I expected. I hope you enjoy this long awaited treat😉.

*Squall*

Morning came far too soon, and I was woken by the sound of a fussy Tempest informing the rest of us that we overslept. It took a good minute or two, and Seifer passing in front of me with her tucked against his chest, for me to remember where we were and what had occurred the night before. Seconds later a bouncing puppy was chasing after him. For a brief moment, I considered going right back to sleep in hopes that this was all going to be another one of my random, lifelike dreams when I woke back up.

“Come on, Princess. Time to get your ass up. I know you’re awake.” Seifer grumbled, nowhere near his normally playful personality. “Get a move on or I’m making your ass clean up any messes made before we leave.”

“I’m up.” I grumble, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The blanket pooled around my legs as I sat up to the semi-chaotic scene before me. “What do you need me to take over?”

The scent of coffee was already filling the room, Tempest was having a minor fit about the delay in her schedule and Freya was grabbing at Seifer’s pantleg with her teeth. Cassie was nowhere to be seen just yet, but I assumed Seifer was letting her sleep a little longer. Of course, neither of us were being permitted the same luxury.

“You’ve got less than two minutes to take care of your bathroom needs, get dressed and take the damn pup for a walk.” He ordered gruffly, grabbing two cups from the cabinet.

Expecting to make a few trips back to Garden, I left only what would be necessary for a brief stay in my room. Coffee, the pot for it and a set of mugs were the majority of what I'd left stashed in the kitchen. There were also some basic supplies in the bathroom, a change of clothes and a spare uniform in case of an unexpected meeting. Even if I didn’t plan on coming back often, it never hurt to be prepared.

Rolling to my feet, I shoved the hair from my face. “I’ll be right back then.”

“Don’t worry about Tempest. I’ll get her changed and take the girls to get breakfast. Just meet us in the cafeteria when you’re done.” He called as I stumbled into the room for fresh clothing.

The thought of having to clean up after the pup helped motivate me to be back in exactly a minute and a half after leaving the couch. Lionheart was barely strapped to my belt when a leash was being held out to me by a very sleepy looking Cassie. On the end of the leash was a very eager puppy ready to go relieve herself.

Guess Seifer was right that she would recover quickly from last night.

Deciding it would be safer to carry the enthusiastic animal, I scooped her into my arms and nodded to Cassie. “Thank you.”

“Here, make it quick. You’ve got minutes before everything starts going to hell and you need to change again.” Seifer smirked, handing me a cup. Taking a quick drink of the surprisingly cooled down beverage, I handed the half empty cup back to him and went straight for the door.

Taking a left from the dorms hallway, I headed straight for the garage. Technically it was a minor abuse of my power to use the codes for the small entry door just to the left of the larger rollup door, but I was in a bit of a hurry. As it was, Freya was already squirming and whimpering for me to put her down. If asked, I planned to call it a minor emergency. Not that anyone was really going to question me about it though.

“Hold on for one more second.” I grumbled when the door opened.

A quick scan of the immediate area showed it free of potential monsters, so I set her down to begin the bathroom process. Last night, Seifer had graciously taken care of her while I sat with the girls for a bit. Something about needing a bit of air anyway. Leaving me with no idea how long it would actually take for her to finish and allow me to catch up to Seifer and the girls.

Keeping an eye on the area around us, I noticed a small swarm of Bite Bugs in the distance. From the way they were moving I suspected they’d found a dead animal to feast on. Either way, they were well occupied for the moment and far enough away to be of little concern to us. Still, I didn’t like having Freya out here when I knew she still needed a bit of training before taking on monsters like Angelo could.

“Make it quick. We need to get back inside and go back home.” I told her firmly as the door closed behind us. In response to my command, I received a lopsided grin and a yip before she put her nose to the ground.

Despite her supposedly desperate need to relieve herself, the blasted pup insisted on dragging me around the outskirts of Garden for more than twenty minutes. It was like every new scent, blade of grass or mindless insect was more important than her toilet run. After a while I figured out how to get her moving towards Garden’s main entrance.

Eventually we got a system going where I dictated our direction and she’d follow my lead, so long as I allowed her to stop for another sniffing session every few feet. Trying to force her just resulted in a battle over the leash until she either got her way by being permitted to inspect whatever caught her attention or forgot about it when something else intrigued her. It didn’t take me long after that to work out what the quickest course was.

“We don’t have time for you to explore much longer. We need to get back.” I informed her, not sure how much she actually understood what I was telling her.

As if offended by my rushing her, Freya looked at me, snorted and returned to her sniffing with extra vigor. After what seemed like forever of her searching a single spot, she finally squatted down. The main entrance was nearby so I continued to head in that direction once she was done. Even though I knew there was going to be a second part to her walk that we hadn’t yet achieved, I hoped that she would manage to complete it before the walk was over.

Passing next to the vehicle entrance, I was hit by the sound of two Garden vehicles and commanded Freya to wait until they had passed. Because of the noise the vehicles were making, I didn’t notice the small group of Bite Bugs approaching until Freya started barking aggressively at something behind me. Turning around, I just barely avoided being stabbed by one of their venomous stingers.

With the vehicles well on their way to Balamb, I dropped Freya’s leash so I could focus on the monsters attacking us. While I wasn’t certain she would stick close to me, the best I could do was hope she wouldn’t go far or run somewhere dangerous, like the garage. But I hadn’t thought she would come to stand with me against our opponents, head low to the ground and giving off a pathetic sounding growl that Siefer probably would have called cute.

I didn’t know how she would fare against a Bite Bug, the bug being larger with more weapons at its disposal, but I had to give her credit for trying. Still, I did my best to keep them away from her. The constant jumping she did, trying to catch the bugs in her teeth, meant I took a bit longer to dispatch the first of the bugs because I constantly had to avoid hitting her. After a few minutes of observing her attacks, I managed to get it taken down before either of us could be injured by any of them.

After the first Bite Bug’s body hit the ground, she eagerly pounced on it. While she entertained herself with ripping it to pieces, I turned my attention to the other two. Both of which took much less time to dispose of than the first one had, now that I wasn’t hindered by having to dance around twenty pounds of inexperienced puppy. With all three bugs dead, Freya proudly approached me with an entire elytron sticking out of her mouth.

“Good girl, Freya.” I told her.

Giving her a pat on the head as a reward, I wondered whether it was safe to let her hang onto her hard-earned prize for any length of time. Theoretically the hard outer shell of the wing shouldn’t be an issue, but I still planned to ask someone about it when we got back inside. Excited as she was over it, I didn’t want to take it from her before I absolutely had to.

It only took another few minutes for Freya to finally finish her business. That had been the only time she dropped her prize, leaving it next to me until she was done. Then it was immediately back in her mouth, carrying it all the way back into Garden with us. Since no one said anything about it being harmful to her, I figured it must be safe enough for her to play with for a while.

Seifer and the girls were long gone when we reached the room. After getting Freya settled in the bathroom with the elytron, I finished my morning preparations and drank the, now full, cup of coffee that Seifer must have left for me on the counter. With Freya fed, watered, and chewing away happily, I made my way to the cafeteria.

Locating Seifer and the girls didn’t take long, seeing as they were in the same corner we’d sat in yesterday. It was amazing to see how effortlessly he managed to juggle getting both girls fed while sneaking a bite or two in for himself. Still, I was a bit concerned about the abnormal level of fussiness Tempest was showing. Even though he was offering her various pieces of cut fruit, pancakes, and oatmeal, she just didn’t seem pleased with any of it.

“Is she feeling alright?” I asked while taking the seat opposite of Cassie.

Sparing me a small smile, he offered her a half empty bottle of milk. “Just a little cranky, but that’s to be expected. She should be perfectly fine by tomorrow.”

Nearly jerking the bottle from Seifer’s hand, Tempest sucked greedily from it. After a moment or two, her eyes fluttered and she opted to rest her head against his shoulder while continuing to drink. Then she turned her half-closed eyes on me, as if just realizing that I had joined them.

“Everything go okay with the pup?” Seifer asked as her eyes drifted the rest of the way closed, freeing me from her gaze.

“Fine.” I replied, accepting the lukewarm coffee he placed in front of me. A plate of breakfast foods followed right behind it.

“You suck at lying, Leonhart.” He announced with a rueful smile. “Have some breakfast. You can tell me about it on the way home.”

“Home…” I whispered, half to myself but loud enough for him to hear as well.

Somewhere along the lines I’d truly started thinking of Winhill as home for Tempest and me. Strange as the concept was to have somewhere like that, other than Garden, it didn’t feel wrong. This just happened to be the first time that I’d acknowledged it as such since first arriving there.

“Yeah, Princess. Home. The place we need to get back to today.” He declared. When I’d just sat there, staring into my coffee, he tapped his knuckles against my plate. “You better eat something. From what you’ve told me, we’ll have a short flight home and then life is gonna get busy again.”

“Again? Things are always busy.” I countered quietly. At his insistence, I began picking at the items in front of me.

“Squall?” There was a soft, questioning tilt to the way he said my name.

Confused by it, I hurried to swallow the small piece of fruit I’d been eating. “What?”

“You remember what we talked about last night?” He asked, taking the bottle from Tempest and setting it on the table.

Uncertain of where he was going with this, I began moving the small pile of scrambled eggs around with my fork. “We talked about a lot of things last night.”

Humming in confirmation at my observation, he sat back and snuggled Tempest against his chest. “About coming over to my place if you need a break.”

“I remember.” I replied, not sure where he was going with this.

“I mean it, Squall.” He growled, displeased with my attempt to dismiss the conversation. “This trip hasn’t exactly been an easy one, and I can admit that part of that was my fault. You’ve done nothing but manage one situation after another since we left my house. You deserve a chance to get away and relax for a bit.”

An annoyed sigh escaped before I could stop it. “And just what are you suggesting I do?”

“You’re not gonna be satisfied until you get your house back in order after being gone for so long.” He declared, knowing me too damn well for my liking. “I’m not gonna try stopping you either. So, I’m proposing that you come over tomorrow night instead. Let Tempest play with the other kids for a while so you can go play for a bit. Or, if you’d like some company, I can go with you.”

My instantaneous response was to reject his idea, but then I thought about how good it felt to take down those Bite Bugs only a little while ago. Weak as they were, I’d been eager to feel Lionheart in my hand again as I cut them down. Too much time had passed since I’d been able to go kill some monsters. Between Seifer’s little detour and that trio of Bite Bugs, I was starting to realize how much I needed to get some time in for things I enjoyed doing.

“I think I’ll take you up on that.” I said slowly, gaining more confidence in my decision with every word. “A bit of hunting would probably do me some good.”

Now that he had me thinking about it, I was starting to understand why I hadn’t noticed before this morning. When Seifer had gotten hurt, my mind was in full emergency mode. Even though the monsters had been more difficult than a few Bite Bugs, I hadn’t been able to fully enjoy myself because I was too busy worrying about Seifer’s injuries and leaving the girls in the truck. Once I had gotten Freya out of the way, I’d actually found a bit of peace in taking down a few monsters.

“Seriously? Just like that? Not one single argument?” He questioned, eyeing me suspiciously over the unusual answer.

Even Cassie was watching curiously as I picked up a piece of toast. “No arguments.”

Nearly a whole minute of silence passed at the table, Cassie being too interested in eating to talk, before Seifer let out an irritated sigh. “Alright, I tried but I just can’t let it go. Why the fuck aren’t you fighting me on this? Normally I have to manipulate, blackmail, or give you hell about something before you go along with it. Hyne! I was even prepared to give my reasonings for why you deserve a blasted day to relax. Now I’ve got no damn clue how to react to you giving in so easily.”

“Daddy! You said lots of bad words!” Cassie chided around the pancake in her mouth.

Letting out a groan, Seifer ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, Baby Girl.”

Snickering came from a nearby table right then, and I almost ignored it. Had it not been for one of the boys staring right at Seifer with a haughty grin, I might have been able to play it off as a badly timed joke between their group. It was lucky for them that Cassie and Tempest were with us to keep Seifer from actually seeing that look.

“And here I thought he was supposed to be some big, scary badass.” One of the other boys muttered, just loud enough for me to hear it clearly.

“Taken down by a little girl.” Added the smug kid and the two started laughing.

Seeing that Seifer wasn’t even paying attention to them, the third boy joined in on the ‘fun’. “Guess he’s gotten soft. Or just wasn’t that tough to begin with. Rumors get exaggerated all the time, after all.”

“If you’re so certain of that, then why not take him on yourselves in the training center?” I suggested, turning my head to look directly at the table that was closest to me.

“We don’t have time for that, Princess. We’ve got a ship to catch.” Seifer pointed out in a bored tone, showing the boys that their opinion of him didn’t really matter. “Besides, we can’t take the girls in the training center.”

Effectively called out on their bullying, the three boys started shifting uncomfortably. Determined to teach them a lesson, I gave him a small shrug. “Selphie won’t leave without us and I’m sure someone would be happy to watch Tempest for a bit while we get this sorted out. Cassie can either sit in the ship with Selphie or join us. I'm confident enough in my abilities to keep her safe. Doesn’t matter to me either way.”

“Looks like you guys just fucked up.” A boy from another table laughed at the trio, drawing the attention of more occupants.

“Jason! Just apologize!” A girl sitting at a different table urged one of the boys.

“Yeah man! That’s Seifer Almasy. He’ll totally wipe the floor with you.” Another boy added. Just like that, the whole thing had become a group conversation instead of me putting a few boys in their place for shooting their mouths off to the wrong person.

“Only Commander Leonhart can keep him in line. Not even Headmistress Trepe or Xu could do that.” Someone else said from behind me.

One of the original trio scoffed at that person’s statement. “Oh, come on! How tough can he really be? We’ve all heard the stories or witnessed it first-hand. The guy couldn’t pass his SeeD exams, so he joined up with the Sorceress. Then he disappears for years only to show up again looking half dead. Doesn’t sound like he deserved his reputation at all. I bet all those old stories were just exaggerated to make them more interesting.”

“Damn it! Shut your mouth!” Seifer snapped, spooking Tempest with how loud he’d shouted.

“Daddy, what’s a sorc’ress?” Cassie asked, looking between the two of us for an answer. Young as she was, it was probably difficult to follow along with the conversation and I doubted Seifer ever brought that specific topic up to her.

Instantly there was a crushed look on Seifer’s face before hiding it behind a meaningless smile. “That’s…”

“Geez kid, don’t you know anything?” The first boy laughed, interrupting Seifer’s attempt at damage control. “Your old man is a loser here! He couldn’t cut it as a SeeD, so he decided to help Ultimecia destroy the world. Such a wonderful role model, isn’t he?”

Tears filled Cassie’s eyes at the insult. “Daddy’s not a loser! You are!”

Suddenly I found Tempest in my arms and Seifer’s chair flying to the floor. Careful to keep my child safe from stray blows, I stood up and grabbed his arm before he could potentially kill the boy. “Seifer, stop!”

“Let me go, Leonhart! I can’t let something like that slide! Someone needs to teach the boy a lesson.” He snarled, trying to remove my hand from his arm without catching Tempest in the process. So long as she was there, he wouldn’t do anything that would risk her or Cassie’s safety, giving me enough leverage to keep the upper hand in the situation.

“Stand down, Almasy!” I ordered, not exactly expecting it to work. Mostly I just wanted his attention redirected at me instead of the kid.

It was a bit more effective than I’d intended. Raging turquoise eyes turned onto me, dared me to make a move he could retaliate against. “Leonhart…”

A whimper from Cassie reminded me of another weapon I had in my arsenal. Trusting that he would do anything to protect the girls, I leaned in closer than I would have without Tempest between us. “Seifer, Cassie is freaked out over the fighting. Right now, she needs to be your priority. The brats can be dealt with later, but keeping Cassie in the middle of this is just going to scare her more and might risk her getting information that you aren't ready for her to have.”

“Shit! I hadn’t thought of that.” He muttered, glancing towards his child.

“I know.” I told him gently, still not releasing my grip on his arm. “And you know that you can’t kick the kid’s ass just because he said stuff you didn’t like in front of her. It’s not like he was lying about what happened, he’s just misinformed on the details behind it. That’s something that needs to be corrected. Beating him into the ground isn’t going to achieve anything but encourage more rumors about you. Let me handle this one.”

“But…”

Shaking my head, I flicked my eyes over to Cassie then back to him. “You’re her father. She needs you to maintain control right now. Don’t help these idiots give her more reason to doubt you than they already have.”

“Fine. I’ll let you handle this.” He growled, gently coaxing Tempest back into his arms. Tiny hands gripped his shirt as she watched us with confused grey eyes. Then he reached down for Cassie’s hand. “Come on, Baby Girl. Let’s go make sure everything is ready before Auntie Selphie decides to leave without us.”

“Auntie Selphie? Haha, as if she’d want to be associated with the likes of you!” The arrogant punk laughed.

Anger flared as he gave one last look in my direction, making sure I saw the boy’s fate if I didn’t adequately deal with his attitude once Seifer got the girls out of sight. Understanding exactly what he was demanding, I gave a small nod to assure him that everything would be taken care of to his satisfaction. While the taunts and jeering continued around us, Seifer got the girls out of the room.

It was obvious from where I stood that Cassie was too upset and confused to ask questions with all the laughter going on. The dozen eyes watching Seifer’s retreat didn’t help matters much either. But at least the potential crisis had been adverted and I could take care of the original cause for the level of distress they were being put through.

“Look at how he ran with his tail between his legs.” One of the boys laughed. “Guess the Commander did train him to be an obedient dog after all.”

Instantly I turned on my heel, grabbed the boy’s jacket and shoved him hard against the nearest wall. “I highly suggest you learn to pick your targets better if you’re intent on being an ass. And the next time you decide to talk shit about someone, you’d better make damn certain you know who the fuck you’re messing with and who their friends are. You’re lucky I was here this time, or your name might have been on the list during the next Memorial Ceremony. Have I made myself clear?”

“But…” He whined, gasping when I pressed harder against his chest.

“This bullshit ends here.” I declared, pissed at the treatment Seifer had received since arriving back at Garden with me. “If you have a problem with Seifer or his past, take it up with him personally. Don’t fucking insult him when his child is nearby and he’s in no position to defend himself. Only a coward would challenge him with his child right there. Are you a coward cadet?”

“N…no.” He whimpered, gripping at my hand to try and dislodge it.

Pleased by the healthy dose of fear now showing, I leaned in a little closer to aid the intimidation. “No, what?”

“No, Sir!” He yelped, now terrified of what I might do next.

“Do you understand where you fucked up?” I questioned, rubbing it in to make sure the lesson stuck for a good, long time.

“Y…Yes, Sir!” He stuttered.

Releasing him abruptly, I turned to face the rest of the room. “That goes for everyone here. Feel free to challenge Seifer all you want, but do not include his child as a weapon, pawn or target in your games or the next person you’ll be dealing with is me.”

Declaration made, I stormed from the cafeteria while they watched with dumbfounded expressions. Even though I knew Quistis was going to be pissed over the uproar this incident caused, there wasn’t much I could do about it now. Compared to what was likely waiting for me in the room, this was a minor situation that would all but be forgotten in a week or two when something new and exciting happened.

*****

“Leonhart? What happened?” Seifer asked before the door even closed behind me.

Looking up, I saw that he was just coming out of the bedroom where Tempest was playing on the floor near a clearly disheartened Cassie. Scratching and whining from the bathroom announced that Freya was still locked up and demanding to be let out. Which meant Seifer had arrived only a couple minutes before I had.

Drained from everything that had happened in the last week, I went straight to the couch. Seafoam green eyes watched closely as I sat down and dropped my head in one hand to try and sort my thoughts out. Guilt for bringing him along and worry for his relationship with Cassandra being at the top of my concerns.

“I’m sorry.” I muttered after a minute.

The sound of Freya’s whining and Tempest’s babbling faded a bit. “What could you be sorry about? You didn’t cause that scene. And like you said, the kid wasn’t entirely wrong about me. Details might not have been right, but the general history was. I was just pissed at him for saying it where Cassie could hear.”

“I’m sorry for bringing you here. I should have considered how people would think of you when planning my trip. What I should have done was take the train and brought Tempest here by myself.” I answered softly, still not looking at him.

“What the actual fuck?” He hissed out, moving closer to me so Cassie couldn’t overhear him. “When the hell did you start believing this kind of nonsense? Weren’t you just saying last night that you were glad that I’d come with you? Now, because of a couple idiots who can’t keep their traps shut in front of a kid, you’re going to go and change your mind about it?”

When I failed to answer he moved to kneel in front of me. Years of being overly aware of his actions encouraged me to look up in order to see what he was going to do next. Met with a watered-down smile, I forgot everything that I’d been thinking about only a moment before. Heart racing, for some unknown reason, I didn’t even try to avoid the hand reaching up towards me.

Fingers carded through the hair near my temple, continuing until the locks filtered through his fingers near the nape of my neck. On the second run through, I unconsciously tilted into the caress. At some point over the last couple of months, being touched by him was becoming a comfort. To the point where I actually wanted more contact with him simply because it felt good to be touched by him.

Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh and leaned forward to provide more access. There was no longer an instinctive need to question his actions, just a calm acceptance that he had no intention of doing anything to me that I wouldn’t approve of. So, I was caught completely off guard when his lips touched mine. Even more startling was the way I leaned into the kiss without a hint of hesitation.

When a low hum of appreciation rumbled in my chest, I placed one hand on his shoulder for balance as I deepened the connection between us. The fingers still intertwined with my hair, curled possessively around the locks as he pushed me back into the couch. My strong desire for more of this unexpected change kept me from resisting in the slightest.

A hungry growl vibrated low in his throat just before his tongue traced my bottom lip, asking for entrance rather than just taking what he wanted. It was so different than what I would have expected from him that it caused me to hesitate. Just before he could pull back though, I drew him closer and granted him the access he’d requested.

Heat flooded my body as his tongue and teeth played with my bottom lip, then gradually began working farther into my mouth to continue his exploration. That hungry demand was still there, just sitting on the edge of his control, but he was determined to keep it in check. Gently he initiated a dual between our tongues while grazing his teeth over the soft flesh of my lips in a teasing manner.

“Daddy?” Cassie’s quiet call startled us both. The small amount of air left in my lungs seemed to catch as I watched Seifer jerk back hard enough to stumble, nearly tripping over the coffee table before catching himself.

Embarrassed at being caught by the child, I dropped my head into my hands. A dark blush formed on my face and the air seemed to burn in my chest with every ragged breath I took. Nearby, I could hear Seifer clearing his throat while nervously dusting himself off. Both of us having forgotten about everything for those few minutes.

How the hell could I allow that to happen? I questioned silently, keeping my face hidden as Seifer moved towards the door.

“Hey, Baby Girl! Do you kids need something?” He asked, sounding too energetic and I knew he had that fake grin in place without even having to look up.

“Can we ride ragrock now?” She asked, sounding more than a little confused by what she’d just witnessed.

“Oh! Yeah, sure. We can go for a ride on the Ragnarök.” He sighed in relief over the mundane request. At that moment, my own breathing seemed to get a little easier and my lungs stopped aching from holding it in so long. “What do you say, Princess? Ready to get everyone back home?”

“Yeah.” I agreed and stood up. “We just need to pack up the toys and grab Freya.”

Shooting me a large grin, Seifer coaxed Cassie back into the room to help clean up. Thankful that he could handle the kids, I went to grab my newest charge from her enclosure. When I opened the door though, I was more than a little tempted to trade tasks with him.

“What did you do?” I groaned, rubbing a couple fingers over the bridge of my nose at the mess waiting for me.

A shift of air and Seifer’s hand on my shoulder were my only warning before he busted up laughing. “What the hell did she tear up? That stuff is everywhere.”

Scowling at the pup, who was completely unbothered by the look, I stepped into the small room. “Her reward for helping me take down a group of Bite Bugs.”

“Really now?” He asked with genuine interest.

Nodding, I began picking up the pieces of elytron that I could access and tossed them into the small trash can. “She needs work, but I’m sure that she’ll earn her keep once she learns a bit more.”

With a grunted agreement, he leaned against the door with his arms crossed. “Not saying I’m gonna forgive her, but at least Rinoa managed to pick a good dog for the two of you.”

Not knowing how to respond to that, I continued cleaning as he watched. When Freya grabbed a large piece from my hand, I started to worry about her having it. “I didn’t think she’d tear it to shreds with how hard it was. Now I’m wondering if I should have taken it from her.”

“Possibly. But she seems okay so don’t worry about it too much. You might want to start carrying some treats with you though. That way you can reward her without having to give her something that she can chew up.” Seifer suggested. A sound from the room drew his attention away. “I better finish with the girls. You got this?”

“I’m good. Just get them ready to go.” I sighed and snatched another piece of blue shell from under Freya’s nose.

It was another ten minutes before we were able to leave the room. Between the two of us we got everything packed up, the girls gathered and Freya bouncing happily on her leash next to me.

There were a few moments where she stopped to inspect something, bringing all of us to a halt until she was satisfied, and we were stopped by a few people on our way to the garage. Some wanted to say goodbye to Tempest or me. Others wanted to pet Freya, making the pup overly excited from the attention. And one older cadet stopped in front of us with a look that suggested wanting to challenge Seifer. That was halted before it began due to my interference, and he moved on without a word to any of us.

When we arrived, the truck was already loaded, and the only thing we had to do was to get the kids settled in. A group of rookie SeeDs were already seated in one section of the passenger area, so I directed our group to the other side of the ship. None of us really paid them any mind as we got Tempest secured in her seat, the dog’s leash attached to the one next to her and Cassie placed near a window.

Throughout all of this, I was able to focus on each task as it occurred. It was only when we were seated with nothing needing our immediate attention that my mind began to wander, instantly zeroing in on the memory of how Seifer’s lips had felt against mine. Which left me to question what it meant for us now that we’ve crossed that line between us.

Chapter 24: Stupid Games Rookies Play

Notes:

This will probably be the last chapter posted for a little while. At least until I get more written. It may be all in my head how this story is going but that doesn't do much for anyone else, does it😅?

I'll do my best to hurry it along, but it's gonna take time. I can promise that this story will get finished...eventually😆. So don't give up hope just yet😉.

Enjoy the chapter!

*Seifer*

“Daddy! Mr. Squall! Look, look! We’re in the clouds!” Cassie cried out happily while bouncing dangerously in her chair.

After getting the room cleaned up, everything packed, and everyone loaded on to the Ragnarök, I’d hoped our day would take a more positive direction. So far it seemed to be heading that way, other than the trio of rookies that looked highly uncomfortable in our presence. Fortunately, they kept to themselves and didn’t do anything beyond glancing at us a few times.

It took a good while to figure out why their presence was nagging at me. Then I recognized one of the rookies as being part of a squad I’d considered to be major slackers when stationed at Winhill. Once I figured that out, I made a note to bring it up to Squall before they took off on their pathetic attempts at patrolling the town.

Being hit by Cassie’s excited bouncing reminded me that I had other priorities to attend to. “Cassandra Almasy, sit down in your seat right now.”

“Sorry, Daddy.” She whimpered meekly. Eyes trained on the floor, she sat properly in her seat with her hands folded in her lap.

Of course that attracted Squall’s attention as well. Having his disapproving frown directed at me was more than a little unnerving. “Don’t give me that look, Princess.”

“Whatever.” He grumbled, clearly not wanting to have a conversation at the moment.

Other than the constant flickering of his eyes towards Tempest, he sat quietly with his gaze on his hands folded between his knees. On the other side of Tempest, Freya was napping happily. It was a bit amusing to watch her jump awake and check on her charge anytime Tempest made noises in her sleep, then casually returning back to her nap once she’d made sure the child was fine.

Things were mostly quiet from there. Eventually Cassie grew bored and leaned against my side for a nap. As if following their lead, Squall’s eyes had closed as well. Tucked into the corner of his seat with his arms folded over his chest, it appeared as if he were taking advantage of the quiet cabin to sneak in a bit of rest himself. Tired as I was, sleep just wasn’t going to come nearly so easily for me.

Searching for something to keep my mind occupied, I noticed the boys laughing quietly to each other. There was enough distance between our two groups that the sound didn’t carry too much, but I could hear it if I paid attention. After what happened in the cafeteria, I shamelessly decided to listen in on the off chance they were talking about me or planning something for after the ship landed.

All three boys looked as if they’d only just recently passed their SeeD exams. There was just something about them that screamed they were green and inexperienced with true missions. Granted, being given simple assignments like this wasn’t unusual for new SeeDs. Which is part of the reason I’d lost my shit over hearing the kind of mission Squall had been sent on the day after passing his own exam.

One of the boys was raven-haired with a hint of blue highlighting to it. At his side was a fairly standard sword that didn’t seem all that impressive to me. The only real thing interesting about him was the extra bit of arrogance in his actions, leading me to believe that he was the leader of their group.

Sitting next to him was a boy with auburn hair that leaned more towards brown than red. In one hand he held a battle staff that had customized sheaths over both the blades to prevent accidents when traveling. Other than grinning and joking back with his leader, I couldn’t find anything overly unique about him either.

Upon setting my sights on the third member of their group, I instantly pegged him for the team’s medic. Dark blonde, almost brown in color, he had a pair of long daggers loosely strapped to his thighs. At his feet sat a large satchel that generally held potions, medical supplies, and emergency gear. Being the quietest of the group, I couldn’t help but wonder if he really fit in with their team.

“Seif?” The sound of my name instantly dragged my attention away from the boys and onto Squall.

“Need something?” I asked, trying not to dwell too much on the huskiness of his voice that was the only evidence he’d actually slept.

Other than a hint of silvery blue beneath his lashes, not a single thing had changed in his posture since the last time I’d checked on him. Now that he was awake, I couldn’t keep my gaze from taking in every detail.

Hair that had been groomed this morning was now disheveled yet didn’t have an unkempt appearance to it. Eyes that had initially appeared to be silvery blue were the color of a cloudy day over the ocean. Despite the short nap, he still had an air about him that screamed exhaustion.

Slowly he shook his head. “Just a favor.”

“Anything you need.” I replied without hesitation, no longer interested in the rookies when I had Squall asking me for favors.

“We’ll be landing soon. Would it be alright if I got a ride to your place?” He asked quietly, as if not wanting anyone to hear.

“Sure.” I agreed, confused by the sudden request. “Don’t you have stuff to do tonight though?”

Nodding, he sat upright and stretched his arms in front of him before checking on Tempest. “I do, but I want to go get my truck. I drove it to your place before we left.”

Earlier, in the cafeteria, I thought we’d established that he’d be over tomorrow night so he could spend the rest of the day recovering from his trip. Unless he needed the truck for some reason between now and tomorrow, I couldn’t figure out why he’d want to pick it up today. It’s not like stopping by his place tomorrow on my way home would be a big deal and he could just drive it back afterwards.

“No problem. But why not wait until tomorrow? Is there something you need it for today?” I asked, too distracted by him to think about what reasons he might have for coming over.

Since that kiss in his room, I’ve found it harder to keep from analyzing his every move. Especially the way his lips moved as he spoke, still slightly swollen from my teeth tugging at them. There was also his pulse thrumming softly against the thin barrier of skin at his throat. My mouth watered at the thought of placing my claim on that pale skin where it couldn’t be covered by his clothing.

That single image became so overwhelming that I stopped thinking about anything just so I could stare at that single spot through my eyelashes. Already I could imagine what his skin would taste like against my tongue. And the sounds he would make at me coaxing his skin into leaving behind a dark red mark for all to see.

“Seif?” Hearing his concern, I jerked out of my daydreaming to see the curious look he was directing at me.

Unsure of what I might have missed, I gave a lopsided grin in apology. “Sorry Princess, my mind kind of wandered off for a moment. What were you saying?”

Surprisingly enough, he seemed to catch on to my meaning and I got to see a bit of red grace his cheeks before he quickly willed it away. “I was saying that I need to speak with the SeeDs assigned to this week’s sweep before we leave. It shouldn’t take long to discuss their routes and schedule. Do you mind waiting? Or are you needed back home right away?”

“I’ve been gone long enough that an hour or so isn’t going to hurt anything.” I told him with a shrug, glad to have something to distract me from more daydreaming. “If nothing else, it’ll give Cass a bit more time with Tempest and Freya. While you talk business, I can watch the girls, take care of Freya, and start making plans for your new fence. That way you have less to worry about tonight.”

As if there hadn’t been enough shocks to my system, he gave the pup an approving smile. “I’d appreciate it. You’re right about her being a good dog. A bit more training and a fence probably won’t even be necessary for her, but I’d still like one for Tempest to give her a safe space for playing in.”

“What exactly happened this morning?” I asked out of pure curiosity. It took a lot to impress Squall and that pup managed to do so in less than twenty-four hours.

Grinning, he flicked his eyes over the dog once more. “She chose to fight at my side. Her inexperience made things a bit difficult, but that can be corrected with proper training and practice. Wish you could have seen her though. Even with the Bite Bugs trying to sting her and flying out of her reach, she kept trying to go after them. When I took the first one down, she rushed over and ripped it to shreds before I finished off the remaining two.”

“Good dog.” I agreed, shooting the pup a grin of my own. When her tail wagged happily in her sleep at hearing us talk about her, I let out a low chuckle. “Yeah, she’s gonna fit right in with the rest of the group. If you’re gonna come over today, might as well bring her along. The kids would love to run in the yard with her and she’ll need to get familiar with everyone before she gets too settled in. And I’m sure Raijin will have a few tips on how to train her. He likes animals.”

“The yard is secure enough that I don’t see a problem with letting them play together for a while.” He agreed.

Hope fluttered through my chest at all the possible reasons he’d agree so easily to my suggestions. “Should I let Fu know to expect you for dinner then? The woman makes enough food to feed a small army, but…”

That red tint returned to his cheeks just as he bent his head to stare at the floor. “If it’s no extra trouble, we can stay for dinner as well.”

If it had only just been us there, I might have launched out of my seat to kiss that bottom lip before he could worry it to death with his teeth. Because of his position, I wasn’t going to cause a scene in front of a squad of kids that I had a pretty low opinion of. All I’d achieve by doing that is pissing everyone off, ruining the mood and possibly screwing up any chance I have of ever tasting him again.

“Seifer, Commander, we’re about to land. Might wanna hang on to those pretty little girls of yours.” Irvine called out over his shoulder.

Just before we were ready to take off, it was revealed that Selphie had a required doctor’s appointment to determine whether it was safe for her to pilot the ship. Upon learning that the appointment was scheduled for today, Squall had adamantly told her to stay behind and that she was grounded until clearance was given for her to fly again.

Which totally surprised the hell out of me and nearly brought the little Pixie to tears over it. After she blew up at Irvine for trying to reassure her, Selphie told the girls she’d see them soon then stormed out. That’s when I finally got the story of what was going on and why Squall looked absolutely pissed about the whole ordeal.

Apparently, Selphie had pushed her luck with little Mio during her last month of pregnancy and she went into labor a couple weeks earlier than expected. Which wouldn’t have been a serious concern if she hadn’t been flying a ship thousands of feet in the air with two Squads on board heading back to Garden. They had been damn lucky that Irvine was there to take over and she’d waited until she was transferred to Doc’s care before having the baby.

Of course, that would understandably make Squall a bit overprotective of her with this pregnancy. The last thing he wanted was to face Mio if the worst happened with Selphie over something that could have been prevented. Seeing as everyone was generally concerned about it, I investigated a bit more to find out her flying was fairly on par with her normal energy levels.

Now that I knew all of it, I was firmly in Squall’s corner on the decision to prevent her from piloting the ship until after the baby was born. It just irritated me that no one had any issues with letting Squall be the asshole in all of this. Personally, I thought Irvine should have been the one to put his foot down on the matter. But obviously he was too blasted whipped to argue with her over too much anymore.

The issue with Selphie aside, our trip back was relatively peaceful and the landing was perfectly executed behind Squall’s place without a single mishap. While Irvine was busy shutting down the ship, I lifted Cassie into my arms. Energy reserves officially depleted, she didn’t do more than snuggle against my chest in all the excitement going on around us.

Seeing that Squall was going to be a bit slower with a baby and a pup to manage, I headed towards the house first. Digging out the spare key, that he’d given me while we were in Balamb yesterday. It took a bit of doing with Cassie in my arms, but I managed to get it out and unlocked the back door for everyone. Just one less thing he’d have to fuss over once he got everyone gathered up.

“Daddy?” Cassie mumbled tired, rubbing her eyes when we’d reached the kitchen. All the movement and shuffling around finally disturbed her rest enough to warrant an inspection of what was going on.

“Go back to sleep, Cass. We’re back at Squall’s house. You can finish your nap before we go home.” I told her as I turned towards the stairs.

Letting out a large yawn, she gave a cursory glance at her surroundings. “No more Ragrock?”

After reaching the top of the stairs, I switched on the light to the small living area and headed into Squall’s room. Now that we’d established that he didn’t mind letting the kids nap in his bed, I didn’t worry about asking first. I did, however, try to decide how we should approach the issue for the future if we were going to spend more time with each other. At the very least, we needed to figure out some kind of sleeping arrangements for the twins so they could nap or sleepover if needed. Without dislodging Squall from his bed in the process.

Ignoring the light in Squall’s room, I tucked her under the blankets and sat down next to her. “No, our ride on the Ragnarök is over. I’m sure there will be other opportunities for us to ride on it though.”

“Okay.” She mumbled, eyes fluttering now that the bed was starting to warm up from her being in it.

When she was settled, I placed a kiss on her head. “Squall and I have some stuff to take care of before we head home. Be a good girl and don’t mess with his things. We’ll be right downstairs when you wake up, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.” She replied with another jaw popping yawn. Just as I reached the door to leave, she called out to me again. “Freya?”

Not sure what Squall intended to do about the dog at night, I tried to keep my answers vague. “Freya needed a potty run. While you’re sleeping, Squall and I are going to discuss what needs to be done so she can stay here with him and Tempest. But you can play with her after your naptime is over.”

There was just the barest of nods from her, then she was fully asleep again. Waiting for a minute to make sure she was truly asleep, I left the room and closed the door behind me. It was about then that I heard a bit of tired fussing from Tempest’s room, urging me in that direction. From the open doorway, I watched as Squall finished changing her so she could finish her own nap.

“You’re gonna have fun getting her routine back in order.” I teased quietly, partially to let him know I was there. Nothing up to that point suggested he’d even been aware of my presence.

Soft grey eyes glanced over at me just before he grabbed her favorite Chocobo plushie and placed it in the crib next to her. “Hopefully it won’t take too long.”

“Depends on how much she takes after her parents.” I replied with a grin. “If she’s more Rinoa, then good luck. But I have a feeling she’ll be more like you and relish the routine getting put back in place. No more odd distractions or strange people to bother her all the time.”

“Seifer…” He sighed, giving me a half-hearted glare. When Tempest gave a squeal and started babbling for his attention, he handed the dropped plushie back to her with a stern look. “Go back to sleep, Tempest. Naptime isn’t over for another hour.”

In response to his orders, she gave him a hard pout that was immediately ruined by her yawning. Babbling softly, she gave in and laid down with her head next to the plushie. That glare, a direct imitation of Squall’s, stayed on him the entire time her eyes closed without her permission. Immune to the look that he’d perfected years ago, Squall leaned over the crib’s railing and watched until he was certain she was down for the count.

Observing from the safety of the doorway, I couldn’t help but notice how that little girl already showed so much of her parents in her. In about fifteen years or so, both of us were going to have our hands full keeping the boys from approaching our daughters. Deep down, I wanted to be there when he finally realized just how much trouble that little angel he kept staring at with a wistful look was going to cause him.

“Ready?” I asked quietly, startling him from his thoughts and chasing that smile away.

Small and adoring, it only appeared when he was looking at Tempest where he wasn’t worried about being seen. A smile that completely lit up his face and softened his battle worn expression into what it could have been long before today if our lives had not turned out the way they did. The only reason he was able to show it now was because I wasn’t considered a threat he needed to hide those softer emotions from.

Regretful as I was for ruining the moment, I was graced with another gift. One of those soft blushes that formed on his cheeks whenever he was embarrassed about something. Lately, I’ve been seeing them more and more. Not that I was complaining in the slightest, but I wanted to test things out a little more to determine the true cause of that cute blush he’d developed. If I had the ability to add a bit of color to his face, then I wanted it to be something I could do on purpose.

Dropping his gaze towards the floor, he began fidgeting a bit as he stood next to the crib. “Yeah. Cassie asleep?”

“Yup. All that excitement left her totally worn out. Don’t know if we’ll get a full hour out of her at this point, but I’m willing to give it a shot.” I smirked, amused by his hesitation to be alone with me all of a sudden.

With one last look to the sleeping child, he made his way towards the door. Deliberately I held my ground until he was close enough that I could curl a finger into one of his low hanging belts. Giving the leather a gentle tug, I pulled him all the way against me. Even though he’d allowed every single action, even moving closer of his own free will, Squall’s brow still furrowed in confusion over what I was doing.

When he was close enough, I held his hip with my left hand and released his belt. Then, using slow movements to give him the opportunity to step away if he didn’t want this, I moved the hand on his hip to encompass his lower back. Seeing that he wasn’t objecting yet, I caressed the fingers of my right hand over his face until my entire hand was cupping his cheek.

“Just tell me to stop, Princess, and I will.” I whispered gently as I leaned down closer to his mouth.

A hint of uncertainty flashed in his silvery eyes, but he placed both hands on my hips in spite of it. “I…don’t think I want to. Stop you, I mean.”

Taking him at his word, I pressed my lips against his in a chaste kiss. Just to give him a final chance to change his mind. It took a few seconds for the shock to leave his system, allowing him to relax against me and even kiss me back. That small bit of acceptance was more than I’d hoped for after what happened in his room at Garden earlier.

Having him as an active participant, I couldn’t hold back completely. His hands easily dodged past Hyperion’s hilt on in their search for purchase, curling around my belt where it pressed against the sway of my back. Immediately after that, a battle for dominance ensued and turned the gentle introduction I’d planned for him into something that was far more…us.

It only took a little bit of nipping and licking at his bottom lip for me to win entrance to his mouth. Once there, his inexperience in this kind of aggressive kissing was made painfully obvious. Wasting no time, I took complete advantage over that fact to pull him closer against my body. Then I went to work exploring everything his mouth had to offer, receiving only the slightest resistance from him at the feel of other things being so close.

For that one moment, it was like I’d stepped into Heaven…

Boots pounding on the stairs gave us just enough warning that we could break away from each other. “Hey Commander, I need to head back. Do you need anything else…from…me…”

Irvine’s voice trailed off at the sight of Squall standing there with a semi-dazed look about him. More than a little pleased with my conquest, I couldn’t fight down the grin that formed. It wasn’t as if we could have hidden what we were doing if we wanted to. Especially not from someone who has real life experience with it and is trained to piece small details together at a glance.

Then again, even someone without Garden training could probably figure out what we were doing fairly easily. One look at Squall’s bruised and swollen lips, the flush covering everything from his neck to his cheeks and the slight stupor he was still in would give it away in a heartbeat. But it was the way his tongue flicked out to lick the taste of me from his lips that almost had me clearing the small space to give Irvine a visual explanation.

“Hey, Cowboy! You heading out, then?” I asked cheerily, giving us all a distraction from the awkward silence.

In no way was I under the delusion that Squall would be fine with other people knowing anything about us just yet. That being only our second kiss, both in the same day, wasn’t going to help matters much either. Both of us needed time to discuss our relationship before allowing others to stick their damn noses into it.

Catching himself staring at his commander for too long, Irvine visibly shook off his shock and smiled back at me. “Yeah. Selphie’s gonna be pissed over having to stay behind, so I can’t hang around here too long. Don’t worry, she won’t hear a word about this from me.”

“Fuck!” Squall hissed, hiding his face behind one hand.

Not knowing how to comfort him at that moment, I looked around for inspiration when I noticed something missing. “Where’s Freya?”

Mention of the pup missing instantly got Squall’s full attention as he gave the same inspection I did. Until now, the dog had suck close to one of us without fail. Which is why I couldn’t fully enjoy how damn cute he looked at being so worried over a puppy that he hadn’t wanted in the first place.

“Made one of the rookies take her for a toilet run.” Irvine shrugged as he watched Squall’s reaction. “Thought the kid could use something to do while waiting for the two of you to come down. He seemed a bit anxious about having to meet with the Commander in his home.”

Amused by his way of handling the situation, I shook my head with a grin. “Not too impressed by them either, huh?”

“Not really.” He answered dryly.

“If there’s something I need to be made aware of, now’s the time to tell me. Before I go downstairs to discuss the assignment with them.” Squall demanded, finally regaining his composure now that work related matters were involved.

It was a freaking mistake to share a questioning look with Irvine, pissing Squall off about not being included. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I waved my hand at Irvine. “Go on and get back to that little Pixie before she causes too much mischief. I’ll fill Leonhart in.”

“Good luck, Almasy.” Irvine grinned, holding out a hand that I shook.

The moment we broke contact, he gave Squall an official SeeD salute and headed back down the stairs with barely a wave over his shoulder. Silently counting his steps, I ran a hand over the back of my neck. Once he was firmly on the first floor of the house, I moved to stand near the couch so Squall could close the door to Tempest’s room.

“Spill it, Almasy. What is it that you need to tell me?” With that one command, it was clear that the moment we’d shared was officially over.

Just because I understood that Squall was in a powerful position, it didn’t mean I had to like his job interfering in our personal time together. Fortunately for the both of us, it was something that I was used to dealing with and knew how to bide my time until another opportunity arose. Or create that opportunity if I felt it was necessary.

But that had nothing to do with why I was so reluctant to talk to him now. Only when those silvery eyes turned the color of hard steel did I finally break my silence. “Fuck it all, Leonhart! I don’t need the blasted intimidation act! Just give me a minute to get my thoughts in order.”

“Minute’s up. Start talking.” He growled, unamused by my attempt to buy a little time.

Thanks to a bunch of some lazy fucking rookies, I was put in a shitty ass position. Leaning on the side of the couch with my arms crossed, I scowled up at him to express my displeasure at having to discuss this particular topic. “I’ve been trying to come up with a diplomatic way to say it for a while now, but the teams you’ve been sending out this way are filled with a bunch of lazy ass rookies. There have been a few exceptions, but not many and none of them being the team leaders.”

Faced with the reality of what was happening in Winhill, he rubbed at the scar on his forehead and stared at the floor in frustration. “Explain.”

Hearing him resort to one-word responses had me adopting a slightly more apologetic demeanor. “Sorry to be the one to tell you this, Princess, but your rookies have been treating this assignment like a damn vacation. Even when the townsfolk know they’re present, I’m often the one getting called out to deal with monster related issues. No one really trusts your rookies to take care of it and many just see these patrols as a way to placate the townspeople. I’ve done what I can to defend you, but no one really has much good to say about Garden or its Commander around here.”

Anger darkened his eyes into a stormy dark grey just before they were hidden behind his partially lowered lids. “Looks like we’ve been a bit lax in how things are being taken care of around Winhill.”

“Shit! Leonhart, wait!” I hissed out as he stormed right past me and down the stairs. In my rush to catch him before he could do something reckless, I nearly stumbled right into him as we reached the last few steps. “Damn it! Would you stop for a minute and talk to me?”

“Captain Amsel! What’s this I’m hearing about my SeeDs not doing their jobs properly?” Despite his calm tone, no one would ever mistake Squall for being anything other than pissed.

“Guess not.” I groaned, watching as he stomped over to the two men sitting at the kitchen table. Both of which jumped up the moment Squall was within a few feet of them.

Two sets of eyes turned to glare at me over getting put on Squall’s shit list, as if it were my fucking fault they couldn’t do their damn jobs. That’s about when I noticed the medic was the one missing and assumed he’d been the one assigned by Irvine to take the dog for a walk. Which made me feel a little better about some kid being left alone with her.

Coming to the conclusion that this was going to happen at some point or another, I stared back at the two punks with indifference. The raven-haired male’s fists were clenched at his sides, and I couldn’t help but think about how Squall’s icy glares were far more intimidating than this kid’s heated ones. Yet they oddly reminded me of how Dincht would look at me whenever I called him ‘Chicken-wuss’ or made fun of his intelligence. This kid didn’t hold a candle to either of them.

“Commander, I don’t know what this traitor has been telling you, but you can’t trust it! We patrol daily whenever we’re assigned here and take down plenty of monsters while doing so. All you have to do is look at the reports to know that I’m telling the truth.” The young SeeD tried to argue, never once thinking to assess Squall’s calm expression for clues.

“Dumbass…” I sighed and settled in against the outer wall of the staircase.

Things were about to get very heated around here and for once, I wasn’t the one on the receiving end of it. Well, not on the receiving end of Squall’s’ icy wrath anyway. That was a very important distinction to make. The Squad Leader could be pissed at me all he wanted because I knew that I could easily take him without ever having to draw Hyperion from her sheath.

“I have read those reports.” Squall replied coldly, one hand resting on his hip. “The only thing Seifer Almasy is guilty of, at this moment, is resolving an issue that I’ve been investigating for a while now.”

Hearing him come to my defense while dealing with his SeeDs was enough to startle me. “You already knew about it?”

Sparing me a small nod, Squall turned all that ire back onto his rookies. Before he could continue though, the back door opened and the medic came in with a happily bouncing Freya at the end of the leash. Possibly sensing the tension in the room, she stopped walking long enough to look between me, Squall and the two boys near the table.

Either because of Freya’s reaction or because he could sense the tension himself, the medic stopped near the kitchen counter. It was clear that he was trying to figure out what the hell he’d just walked into and whether he should extend the amount of time exercising the pup. Not that I could blame the kid when Squall turned to stare right at him for interrupting.

Since I didn’t have any issue with the rookie, I went over to relieve him of the leash and leaned forward so I could whisper a bit of advice to him. “Kid, I highly suggest you go line up with your buddies like a good little SeeD. Keep your head down and your mouth shut.”

“Yes Sir.” He muttered back, then hurried to follow my instructions.

Leash now in hand, I urged Freya to follow as I returned to my previous spot by the stairs. After instructing Freya to sit, I casually waved a hand in Squall’s direction. “Might as well continue, Princess. Everyone is accounted for, and we all have shit that needs doing before it gets dark.”

“As I was saying,” He grumbled, turning back to the trio. “I have been going through all the reports, for all the teams, sent out to patrol Winhill and the surrounding area. For the past couple of months, I’ve been comparing the data and times to try and make some sense out of the information I was finding. What I didn’t expect to see was a series of reports that show very similar kill counts for almost a full year now. Especially when Garden has been receiving complaints about increases in monster encounters, mostly in the fields and orchards. All I needed was Almasy’s input to put all the pieces together.”

“I told you that we shouldn’t have…” The staff wielder hissed at his leader, doing a poor job of keeping it between them.

“Shut up, Sargis!” Amsel snapped at his teammate before he could finish speaking, effectively shutting him up.

Even more interesting than the almost confession was the medic. Apparently he was taking my advice to heart and keeping silent throughout the entire exchange. Something about his demeanor suggested he wasn’t thrilled at being caught up in the situation and would gladly let his teammates take the fall for this one.

While I couldn’t blame him for it, I also couldn’t decide how I felt about his inaction on the matter either. It would all depend on what kind of interactions the three of them had when no one else was around. If this was just a case of him being assigned to a shit leader that he didn’t approve of, there were better ways of handling it than throwing them under the bus when caught doing something wrong as a team.

I’ll have to figure out some way of getting the kid alone for a bit. Poor guy is in a shitty ass situation and doesn’t have a clue how to get out of it without pissing off the wrong people. But I’m gonna have to do a bit of digging on these guys before sticking my nose into this mess and getting Squall ticked off with me for interfering.

Too bad for the other two that I had a lot less sympathy for them and absolutely no desire to come to their aid on this one. Especially not when they were doing an excellent job of digging a deeper hole for themselves without my help. Why pass up a chance to witness the lion in action when I wasn’t the one he was trying his claws out on?

So far, the medic was the only one I’d be willing to risk my ass for with Leonhart when he was in this kind of mood. Mostly because Freya seemed to like him. Before taking off, she’d made a point to keep away from the leader when he passed by her to fetch something from his bag. Since she appeared to like just about everyone else she’s met, it put me a little more on edge with the kid.

“Shouldn’t have what?” Squall demanded quietly.

Then the damn medic decided to be an idiot. Managing to catch his eye before he could say anything, I shook my head in reminder to not get involved if he could avoid it. Which confirmed one bit of information that I’d been wondering about with him, the kid had a strong sense of loyalty. Even if it meant putting his own ass on the line to help teammates he didn’t really care for. It was sheer fucking luck that had Squall so focused on the leader of the group that he hadn’t noticed the kid’s mistake.

Squad Leader Amsel wasn’t so fortunate. Despite all that bravado he’d started out with, the rookie was nearly trembling from being caught in Squall’s icy stare for so long. The same damn glare that I’d always worked so hard to get him to turn on me when we were cadets together.

Back then, it had a far different meaning between us than it did for anyone else who was unfortunate enough to have it turned on them. It was the only time I could be certain that I’d succeeded in getting under his skin in all the right ways. After a while, it even became a type of precursor to some of the best sparring matches between us.

“Sir…I…” The raven-haired rookie mumbled, foolishly taking an involuntary step backwards in his distress.

How the fuck did he make SeeD if he was already this close to pissing himself? Squall hasn’t even done anything other than turn those cold eyes on him for too long. Fucking pathetic little shit! No wonder he’s doing monster patrols in a backwater town like Winhill.

Tired of watching things going nowhere, I raised my voice loud enough to reach across the room without running the risk of waking the girls up. “Kid, I highly suggest you stop stammering and speak up. The Commander may seem calm, but I know from experience that he’s ready to kick your ass if someone doesn’t start talking in the next minute or two.”

Eyes the color of hurricane clouds were suddenly turned on me. Exciting as it was, I started questioning the wisdom of getting involved. “I don’t need your help to deal with my men, Almasy.”

“Of course you don’t, Princess!” I grinned impishly, hoping to assuage the raging storm in the only way I knew how to. “Just thought you’d like to get things moving along. There are still a few things we need to get sorted out before the kids wake up.”

“…whatever.” He grumbled in defeat, rubbing a pair of fingers over his temple as if his head had begun hurting there. Either way, my attempts at calming him had been mildly successful. “Captain Amsel, please give me an explanation as to what the hell has been going on around here so that we can all get on with our day.”

Reluctantly coming to attention, Amsel stared straight ahead as he gave his report. “Sir, almost a year ago a few of the other rookies and myself ended up together in the quad at Balamb Garden. During our conversation someone, I do not remember who at this point, suggested setting a minimum quota for the monster exterminations. That is likely the reason for everyone’s reports to be so close in numbers.”

Well damn! That makes a hell of a lot more sense than them just being lazy bastards.

Still, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Squall unamused by the explanation. “What was the point of the quota? Did you think the monsters would just miraculously deplete themselves once you killed off a certain amount? Or did you find it funny to play games like that? Had it occurred to any of you what this kind of deception could do to Garden’s reputation? Or what that would mean if another major attack were to occur under our watch?”

“We weren’t trying to deceive anyone, sir!” Amsel argued nervously. It was a stupid move, but I could give him credit for standing his ground against a very ticked off Squall. “The minimum quota was only meant to be part of a friendly game between the squads that got sent here. Killing Bite Bugs, Caterchipillars and the like is so simple that we were just trying to make it more entertaining. I don’t know what or when it happened, but at some point I guess we forgot about the game and just kept the quota in place to give us a marker for the time we spent here. I can’t speak for all groups, but ours just got into the habit of meeting that quota and only killing whatever monsters crossed our paths after that.”

“That isn’t an excuse for slacking on your duties as Seeds.” Squall reprimanded loudly. “You are all trained mercenaries sent out here to do a job. If you have an issue with it, then you speak to someone about it who has the power to change things. You don’t just make up games that are going to ultimately harm Garden’s reputation and endanger innocent civilians.”

“Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir.” Sargis replied, sounding thoroughly chastised for the time being.

Shaking his head, Squall rubbed at his temple again. “Now that we’ve solved that problem, let’s discuss the assignment so there are no more misunderstandings in the future. I expect a significant increase in your kill reports starting tomorrow. Understood?”

“Yes, Commander!” The three boys answered together.

Seeing that the matter had been resolved without bloodshed, or waking the girls, I cleared my throat to get his attention. “Princess, while you take care of those pups, I’m going to take this one with me and do a little inspection of the backyard. Keep an ear out for the girls?”

“Sure, whatever.” He sighed dismissively.

Taking that for approval, I gave a gentle tug on the leash for Freya to go with me. Happily, the pup followed on my heels out the back door. Once free of the tension filled room, I let out a long breath of relief.

Chapter 25

*Squall*

Almost a full hour had passed by the time I’d finished dealing with my insubordinate SeeD team. As Seifer predicted, the girls were starting to wake up and I was far from feeling up to dealing with them. The headache that I’ve been flirting with since early this morning was quickly growing into a torturous migraine. One that was absolutely refusing to go away.

Even worse than having to deal with two excited children and a puppy while my head was pounding were the constant looks of concern Seifer kept sending my direction. It was clear he knew something was wrong, but likely not the exact reason for me being quieter and more short-tempered than usual. Somehow, I managed to keep from taking my bad mood out on the girls, but it starting to feel like the most difficult task on my list for today.

Things didn’t improve any on the drive over to Seifer’s place either. My eyes were incredibly sensitive to the sunlight reflecting off of every shiny surface we passed. It took an ungodly amount of willpower to keep from simply massaging my throbbing temples whenever the truck’s tires happened to find a rough patch of road.

Yet Seifer didn’t say a single word about it the entire drive. In fact, he wasn’t even talking unless it was directly to Cassie. Hiding my condition for long was a futile endeavor though. All it took was a single excited shriek from Tempest to feel like shards of glass were piercing right through my skull. Add in a high-pitched yip from Freya and I was ready to leap from the moving vehicle in search of relief.

When we finally pulled in next to Raijin’s truck in the driveway I let out a soft sigh of relief. The engine had barely been shut off when Seifer purposefully caught my eye to give me a stern look. A silent warning that we were going to talk the moment everyone was settled in and entertained. Before I could offer him any kind of reassurance, Cassie flung her door open and Freya leapt free of the truck.

“This isn’t over, Leonhart.” He growled then went to head the puppy off before she could really go anywhere.

Much as I wished that I could avoid that particular conversation and just call it an early night, I knew Seifer wouldn’t let me get away with it. So, I forced my hand to open the door and slid unsteadily to my feet. Not even thinking to check Seifer’s location, I went to get Tempest from the back seat. Only to have him scowling at me from the opposite door, Cassie still bouncing happily at his side.

Damn! This just isn’t my day it seems. The complaint was followed right by an irritating realization. If he realizes just how crappy I’m feeling, he’s going to insist on controlling everything tonight.

Planning on just transferring Tempest’s carseat to my truck, I started in on undoing the belt holding it in place. Right as I was about to pull the entire thing out of the cab, Seifer grabbed my wrist and shoved Freya’s leash into my hand. With a simple gesture, he insisted on me stepping back so he could collect Tempest himself.

“Come on, Freya.” I grumbled in resignation and carefully closed the door with restrained fury over Seifer’s high handedness.

The pup almost predictably got distracted by some scent and began pulling me in the opposite direction. Not expecting the resistance, I moved my head too fast with the intent to call her back to my side. It was a horrid mistake that only caused more pain to form behind my eyes. On its heels came a wave of vertigo as the world started spinning around me, taking its sweet time getting back in order.

When everything finally righted itself, I found that I was still clenching tight to Freya’s leash and Seifer was now surrounded by all the kids. Their energetic chattering had me wanting to go in the other direction, but I forced myself to go meet them on the other side of the truck. As if my day wasn't bad enough, I realized far too late that Tyr and Souta knew nothing about Freya's existence. By the time I remembered it, chaos was already erupting around me.

“Puppy!” Souta announced excitedly, gaining the attention of Tyr and Freya.

“That’s Freya! She’s gonna live with Mr. Squall and Tempest now!” Cassie announced proudly, rushing over to stand next to the bouncing pup. “Mr. Squall, can I take Freya inside to play?”

Too distracted to think clearly, I figured it was best to leave the decision to Seifer’s judgement. “I don’t see an issue with it.” He shrugged in answer to my unspoken question.

Eager to show off Freya to the boys, Cassie wasted no time taking the leash I handed out to her. “Come on, Freya! Let’s go play with Tyr and Souta!” She cried out, leading the group into the house with Freya bouncing and barking at her side.

Just moments later there was a sound that even my growing migraine couldn’t dampen the enjoyment of. “SEIFER! DOG?!”

The smile was instantly wiped from his face at Fujin’s enraged shout. Readjusting his hold on Tempest’s carrier, he shot me a sheepish grin before rushing inside to smooth things over with the silver-haired woman. Amusement momentarily chased some of my discomfort away as I followed close behind him. As I approached the front porch, I caught sight of Raijin shaking his head at the blond as he disappeared into the house.

The two of us shared a look, both of us glad it was us having to face Fujin’s wrath. To be fair, Seifer should have warned her in advance that the pup would be coming over with us tonight. It was absolutely his own fault for not mentioning it to her sooner and I didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for him suffering the consequences of his actions.

“So…uh…how was the trip?” Raijin asked before I could cross into the house. Even from this distance we could hear Fujin reading Seifer the riot act. “Seifer mentioned bits and pieces of what was happening when we spoke, but not a whole lot. Can’t say too much in front of the kids, ya know?”

“Yeah. A bit happened that he probably couldn’t share with you at the time.” I muttered, then gave him the shortest version I could about the last few days. Anything beyond that I was fairly certain Seifer would fill him in on when they had time later.

Once we finally moved inside, I had to stop and take in the scene before me. The living room had become pure pandemonium with three children, two toddlers and a bouncing puppy. Nearby was a pissed off looking Fujin and a thoroughly chastised Seifer, who did his best to hunker down so he that wasn’t towering over her so dramatically while he desperately attempted a rushed apology. At the rate he was going, I was surprised that he wasn’t on his knees already.

My entrance seemed to bring an abrupt end to their interaction as a single red eye turned my direction, and her lips curved slightly upward into some semblance of a smile. Behind me, Raijin was already closing the door. Of course, Seifer saw the two of us as a perfect excuse to break away from Fujin to scoop up Tyr and fling him into the air before catching him again.

“Hey kiddo! Sorry you didn’t get to go on the trip. Were you a good boy for Auntie Fu while we were gone?” He asked once Tyr stopped squealing over the sudden toss.

“I was good!” Tyr insisted, shoving his thumb into his mouth. With the high levels of excited energy coursing through his system, the boy was practically vibrating in his father’s arms.

Leaving them to their reunion, I turned to place Lionheart on the rack next to the door since it was the same spot Seifer had me put the gunblade during my previous visit. A quick glance around showed that Hyperion wasn’t placed anywhere nearby or attached to his hip so I could only assume that he already placed her in his room already with the intention of me utilizing this space while I was here.

Gunblade secured, I turned back around to find Tyr was still happily jabbering away at his father about some project Fujin had done with them while Seifer was traveling with me. A wide smile was plastered on Seifer’s face as he listened raptly to Tyr’s story, asking questions and praising him whenever he found an opening to do so. It was only then that I realized just how much he’d grown up into someone I barely recognized once he was around his kids. Almost as if he transformed into a totally different person while in their presence.

A sudden yelp broke through the surreality of the moment, drawing everyone’s attention to the rest of the children. Cassie had been showing Freya off to Souta when I’d come in, but now the pup was vigorously licking at her tail. Nearby was Tempest with a fistful of fur and a warped expression that was threatening to form into an all-out bawling session over the pup’s complaint to having her fur pulled out. The sudden change from being Tempest being spooked to full-on crying was enough to have Jax following suit.

“SEIFER!” Fujin yelled from the kitchen, the scent of food permeating the air suggesting that she’d gone back to cooking after thoroughly chastising Seifer over the puppy’s presence.

Instantly he paled and looked around the room, his mind working at full speed for a quick resolution to the situation. “Hey Squall, what do ya say to us taking the older kids out back so they can run around with Freya? I’m sure the pup would enjoy a chance to really stretch her legs after being cooped up for so long.”

Having just picked Tempest up to confiscate the fur from her clenched fingers and attempting to calm her down, I glanced over to Raijin. “Do you mind watching her for a bit? We can always take her outside with us if you want a break from all the kids.”

“It’s fine. She’s a lil’ angel. Besides, Jax and her get along well enough and enjoy playin’ together, ya know?” He assured me with a dismissive wave of his massive hand.

At Raijin’s reassurance Seifer set Tyr down next to Cassie and Souta. “Forgot her bag in the truck. I’ll go grab it real quick then we can head out back.” He said with a wink as he made his way to the front door.

Just over five minutes, and a diaper change, later we got the kids and Freya outside. The two of us sat on the grass near the side of the house while the three kids played games with each other in the yard. Freya tried desperately to keep an eye on all the kids, getting anxious any time one disappeared from her sight. Which led to her frantically searching for the “missing” child until she found them again.

It didn’t take long for Cassie to notice what was happening and declared they would play hide and seek. Freya struggled to understand why they kept hiding at first, but after a few minutes she seemed to find the entertainment of it and started enjoying the hunt. Out of all the kids, Tyr seemed to be the best at hiding from her. Something I made sure to keep in mind should a true emergency arise.

“How’s your head feeling? Better now? Or do ya need me to get you something for it?” Seifer asked after a while of us just watching the kids play.

“It’s fine.” I mumbled just in time for Cassie to let out a fake shriek at being pounced by Freya. The sound was sharp enough that I couldn’t keep from wincing at the stabbing pain it created behind my temple.

When she screamed a second time I closed my eyes to control my reaction better. Seifer’s cool palm felt good against my cheek, making it hard to move away from the gentle touch. “Bullshit.” He whispered softly, running his thumb over my throbbing temple. “How about we try that again? Or are you going to keep insisting you aren’t in pain right now?”

Intimate as the moment was I couldn’t help the flush or my failed attempt to resist leaning into his cool palm. “I have a headache. That’s not unusual for me. You happy now?”

“That you’re in pain? No. But hearing you admit it is a start.” He murmured back, sounding so much closer than he had been a minute ago. There was a sudden brush of his lips over my forehead that had me going still, not even breathing, until he pulled back. “Keep an eye on the kids for a bit, Princess. I’ll be right back with something to help take the edge off.”

Seifer was already rolling to his feet and nearly to the door before I could think well enough to try and reject his plan. Along my cheek I could still feel the touch of his hand, quickly becoming confused by how much the loss of it affected me. Which should have been a ridiculous feeling if not for the fact that Seifer had kissed me twice today.

As promised, Seifer returned quickly with a couple of white capsules and a glass of water. With a stern look he shoved them into my hands and towered over me until I swallowed both pills along with the entire glass. It felt strange to not only be the center of his attention but to have him caring for my needs so often in such a short amount of time. Yet, I found myself not minding it so much simply because it was such a perfectly Seifer thing to do.

Once the painkillers and water were consumed, I was left with an empty glass to stare dumbly at as I played it between my hands. “You didn’t have to go out of your way for me. But thank you anyway.”

“Tch! Sure I did!” He huffed, dropping down next to me again. This time close enough to lean his shoulder against mine as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. “Princess, one of these days you’re gonna figure out that I like taking care of you. Sometimes I have to be a total pain in the ass to make it happen, but I’ve got no problem doing what’s necessary.”

The heat that had dissipated from my face made a sudden return upon realizing that it wasn’t just his shoulder against mine but his whole left side subtly touching my right. “I’m starting to see that.”

Whatever Seifer had been prepared to say was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. The moment it was free of his pocket he answered it, eyes looking over the yard rather than the screen or me. “Almasy.”

On the other end of the line I could hear a woman’s frantic voice speaking so quickly that it was impossible for me to make out what the problem was. Instantly Seifer’s expression changed, the relaxed smirk turning into a concerned frown, as he spoke gently to the woman. From his line of questioning, I could easily assume it had something to do with the monster attacks.

“Another monster attack?” I asked after he finished promising to be right over and hung up the phone.

Nodding curtly, he made a visual search of the yard for the kids. “Yeah. Just a bunch of weak monsters harassing an orchard on the south side of town. Shouldn’t take me too long to deal with it though. If I leave now I should be back somewhere between the end of dinner and getting the kids to bed.”

Something about his phrasing seemed off. When I realized what it was, I did my best to make sound like I hadn’t been hurt by his lack of invitation to join in on the hunt. “Were you planning to deal with it alone?”

“If you don’t mind leaving Tempest and Freya here for an hour or two then you’re more than welcome to come with.” He offered nonchalantly.

Now I was more than a little confused by his attitude and the way he seemed to already decide I’d rather stay here. “Why wouldn’t I? Raijin and Fujin know what they’re doing and we aren’t going to be gone long.”

Green eyes looked over at me quizzically. “Princess, you’ve already made it clear that you’re not comfortable with anyone other than me or your group of friends watching her for very long. Did you even notice that we’re only a few feet from the back door? You’ve stayed close enough to hear if she cries so you can rush in and take over for Raijin.”

“I…” Realization hit, and I glanced over my shoulder to see that he was right about our location. Some part of my subconscious had kept me close to the back door just in case I was needed. Right on cue, Tempest gave an irritated yell, possibly for not getting her way on something, that was quickly soothed by Raijin. “I’m okay with Raijin and Fujin watching over her. I know they’re safe, the same way you and the others are. She’ll be okay for a couple hours without me here.”

“Alright then! We better get going.” He replied with an eager grin. Standing up, he offered his hand. “The place we’re going isn’t far, so I’m good with you bringing the truck back if you change your mind.”

The thought of making him walk home just so I could rush back to check on Tempest irritated the hell out of me. Accepting the offered hand, I let him pull me up and close to his chest. His free hand trailing to my hip in order to steady me when he tugged too hard and threw me off balance. Even through my clothing I could feel his touch practically burning against my skin.

“I’m not going to leave you to walk home in the dark.” I muttered to distract us both from how close we were to each other. “Whatever issues that might come up can easily be resolved with a phone call.”

“That’s true.” He agreed softly, still not stepping away like he should have by now.

Heat rushed up my neck as I sought for an escape. “Besides, I’ll need to get used to having someone watch her if I ever plan on getting back in the field. There have been a lot of requests coming in that wouldn’t require me to be gone for more than a few hours. A day at most, depending on the location.”

As I spoke, Seifer’s hand released mine to slide over the side of my face. “The first time will be the hardest, Princess. It starts to get easier after that but it’s going to take you both a bit of time to get used to being separated for more than an hour or two. Consider this practice for when you have to do the real thing and can’t run back to her right away if you need to.”

Knowing that he was right about needing to practice now, I let out a resigned sigh. “Let’s just get going so we can deal with this infestation.”

“Yes, sir.” The slight teasing made me smile back.

Seafoam green eyes locked onto mine, a variety of emotions dancing in them like waves over the beach. After a brief glance to make sure the kids were still occupied with their game, he leaned down to brush his lips over mine. The kiss lasted for barely a heartbeat before he was pulling away again.

Dazed by the unexpected affection, I failed to react quickly and the next thing I knew he was already gone. It took another second to realize that the door was slamming shut as he started updating Fujin on the situation. Turning my gaze onto the kids and Freya, I stood watch while he made the arrangements for Tempest and the pup to stay behind.

A few minutes later the door opened again and my gunblade was being handed to me. “Ready to go, Princess?”

“Yeah.” I mumbled and followed him through the house.

*Seifer*

Something was off with Squall, but I couldn’t tell what it was exactly. The guy was prone to headaches, but they didn’t generally give him such a flushed look. Short of calling him out on it, and basically accusing him of lying to me about how he was feeling, there wasn’t much I could do just yet. With any luck, the meds I gave him earlier would fully kick in soon, giving him a bit of respite while his body fought off whatever bug he must have picked up while we were at Garden.

“Tell me what the situation is.” Squall demanded from the passenger seat, his gaze steadfastly focused out the window. The sun was already starting to set when we left the house and it would soon be fully dark, leaving little to see except growing shadows along the roadside.

Taking a turn off the main road, I started towards an orchard that I’d come to know fairly well over the past year. Whether it was due to the location or something else, the local bug monsters seemed to favor it more than some of the other orchards. It was one of the few that also grew Winhill fruit trees, a specialty of the town that made the fruit expensive as fuck to anyone not local.

“Mary and her husband, Ian, own an orchard. They’ve had a lot of trouble with monsters eating up the fruit this year. This would be the second time in the last couple of weeks that I’ve personally gone out there to deal with the problem. Raijin had to go once while we were gone.” I explained while navigating the dark roads. If I wasn’t careful, I could easily run the truck into the blasted ditch. “Haven’t figured out what the deal is with their trees being so enticing. It’s not like the fruit is even ripened just yet. Until this crop sells, they won’t be able to afford any deterrent devices to help minimize the attacks on their crops.”

That seemed to confuse him. “Why isn’t the local government helping to protect the orchards? From my understanding these farms and orchards are still well within the town’s jurisdiction. If this is an ongoing problem, then it’s their job to do something about it.”

A laugh caught in my throat. “Princess, have you not seen the condition of this town? The roads are fucked up, reducing their effectiveness in repelling monsters. Half the towers that are supposed to keep the town safe don’t work anymore. And don’t even get me started on the crap I had to go through in order to make sure the schools would be fully protected with multiple forms of monster repellents!”

“Why didn’t you tell me about all of this sooner?” His eyes narrowed accusingly. “I’ve been doing research into why monsters have been so easily attacking the town, but it’s been difficult to piece it all together with all my other duties. Including taking care of Tempest. If I’d known where to look from the beginning, I would have talked with the mayor shortly after I arrived.”

His accusation hit hard but was overly effective at chasing back the smartass comment I’d been about to make. It wasn’t as if anything he said had been inaccurate after all. This was all shit I should have brought up a hell of a lot sooner than now. If only to make certain he had all the information available instead of what he could find out from his lazy ass SeeD squads and his own observations.

“Well, fuck!” I growled, only just now realizing that I’d fallen into the same habits as the locals. “Sorry, Leonhart. I seriously fucked that one up! Not to make excuses here, but it’s been damn hard dealing with all this shit with just Fujin and Raijin to help out over the past year. I know there have been trained SeeDs dispatched to deal with the issue, but you see now just how fucking useless they’ve been. That doesn’t negate the fact that I know you’d do something about it if given a chance. I should have remembered that without you having to fucking remind me!”

A tense silence fell over the cab as we took a dirt road that led to the orchard and I could feel Squall’s eyes studying me intensely. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ve had a lot to deal with recently. There’s no reason for you to assume I wasn’t aware of the situation more than I currently have been.”

While it wasn’t true forgiveness, it was close enough that I could let out a relieved breath. “Yeah, like a certain stubborn ass commander who has a habit of getting in over his head and doesn’t know when to ask for help.”

The moment I found a decent spot to park the truck I shut off the engine and gave him a playful grin. Only to find a hint of a smile playing along the corners of his mouth. “Guess I just needed someone capable of calling my bluff to knock some sense into me. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“Bah! Don’t go getting all mushy on me now!” I huffed, trying to hide my discomfort at Squall’s appreciation. “Hurry up and get out of the damn truck, Leonhart. Or did you just come to watch from the sidelines while I exterminate these pests by myself?”

Whatever retaliation he’d come up with was quickly cut off by me slipping from the truck and closing the door firmly. The sound of his own door opening and shutting a moment later brought a smile to my own lips that I quickly hid. Using Squall’s work ethics against him was a bit unfair, but I wasn’t opposed to doing it when the situation called for such measures.

Since it was nearly dark and there was little lighting out in the orchards, I left the headlights of my truck on to provide us with some visibility. An hour or two shouldn’t be too much of a strain on the battery, but I planned to break away in about a half hour to start the truck up and let it run for a bit just to be on the safe side. Being stuck out here with a dead battery was one issue I’d rather not have to deal with tonight, even if it was easily fixed with a single call.

“Seif…” Squall muttered, his attention on the orchard we were supposed to clear out.

Turning away from the truck I looked over at the tree line to find it absolutely swarming with Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars. All of which were making quick work of the fruit trees. My initial thought was that they were after the underripe fruit, but it seemed that the Caterchipillars were happy to eat the leaves just as much as the fruit that was within their reach.

“What are they all doing here now?” I wondered out loud as I pulled Hyperion from the back seat. “There’s still a couple of weeks before the fruit will be ripened. So why come for it early?”

Squall grabbed Lionheart from his side of the truck and I realized he’d forgotten to switch out the gunblades before leaving his place. It wasn’t exactly an end of the world type situation, more of an unusual one for Squall to have overlooked such an important detail. Either way, one night wouldn’t hurt and the soft glow of the blade might actually work to his benefit out here.

“Perhaps there’s something about the fruit that’s attracting them?” Squall suggested, sounding just as curious about the situation as I was.

Doors closed, I secured my gunblade at my side as we started towards the nearest group of monsters. The best option was to take them out quickly before they could do too much damage. Which meant figuring out some way of getting the Bite Bugs down from the upper levels to where our gunblades could cut into them. It was only then that I began to notice a system forming between the two species of creatures.

Bite Bugs swarmed the area, munching on pieces of the sweetening fruit while inadvertently knocking other fruits down with their legs and wings. The Caterchipillars that were nearby would forgo their leaves and low-hanging fruits to gather the ones on the ground. A pretty efficient system, if not for the fact that the blasted creatures were stealing something that didn’t belong to them in the first place.

“Doesn’t matter why they’re here. Our job is to turn them into fertilizer.” I quipped and shot him a grin. “You take the right half, I’ll get the left. We can tally them up afterwards.”

Whether he was uninterested in the game or just trying to focus on the task at hand, Squall did little more than nod as he drew Lionheart out of its sheath. “Just watch your back this time. I want to get this over with quickly and without serious injuries to deal with.”

“You know Tempest is perfectly fine where she’s at, right?” I offered gently, ignoring the small jab as I sought out my first target.

A blizzard shot out towards a trio of Bite Bugs just off to the right of the headlights, casting a rainbow of color over the trees momentarily. “I was more concerned with Fujin and Freya. She didn’t exactly seem thrilled to have a puppy in her house.”

“I’m sure Fujin will have that pup half trained by…shit!” Thinking about Fujin glaring the pup into submission had been so amusing that I’d forgotten to watch out above me for the Bite Bugs hanging out in the trees.

As several of them dove right towards my head, I managed to duck down to one knee and come back up swinging. One of the damn bugs whizzed right past my head, its blasted stinger just a hair's breadth away from my ear, only for Hyperion to slice it in half a second later. The other two were already turning around to face me by the time I rose to my feet.

The fact that I had to give up bantering with Squall while fighting such relatively weak creatures was just one more blow to my already abused pride. Despite knowing Squall would prefer I focused on the fighting, verbally sparring with him as we took down the obnoxious creatures had always been part of the fun. Creatures that shouldn’t have been any kind of real challenge, even the higher-level ones, were just more evidence to show how out of practice I was compared to my former training partner.

As the fighting continued, the two of us began drifting farther and farther apart. Our attention almost solely focused on the horde rather than the other’s location. The sheer number of monsters that continued to fall at my feet was absolutely astounding and I hoped that Mary’s precious fruit could survive until the festival next month. At least enough to get them through the year and allow for them to purchase the monster protections they needed to keep their crops safe.

When I finally killed or ran off the remaining bugs in my section of the orchard, I started making my way towards the spot I’d last seen Squall’s gunblade dancing through the air. The soft glow should have been easy to pick up in the dark but I was struggling to see it now that night had fully taken over. And that was part of the reason he’d previously been so adamant about not wielding the blade around town. It was too noticeable and a fairly well-known weapon that could out him as the Commander of Garden far faster than his name ever could.

“Squall?” I called out when I couldn’t find him quickly. A fact that was making me more than a little antsy with each minute that passed.

“Over here.” Came a tense response from somewhere to my right.

With each dead monster I passed, the direction I needed to go became more obvious. After a minute of wading through his numerous kills I managed to find him sitting on the ground with his back to a tree and his head resting in one hand with his bent knee as support. The other leg was stretched out in front of him with his right hand, still clutching Lionheart’s hilt.

Thankfully, whatever was wrong with him clearly wasn’t bad enough to disrupt his survival instincts, if only just barely so. The fact that he was on the ground while there was still a risk of monsters coming out of the dark wasn’t a good sign at all. Which jacked my anxiety up sky-high and sent my adrenaline into overdrive mode.

Given the situation, I felt it was best to approach with caution. “Princess? You alright?”

A small nod was followed by a wince, and possibly a breathy whimper, but he didn’t once look up from his current position. “I don’t…I don’t think those meds are working right.”

“The meds?” I questioned quietly, having all but forgotten about giving him some earlier. It only took a couple seconds for me to recall giving him painkillers just before we left. “They should have kicked in by now. Is your head still hurting?”

Again he nodded right as I was kneeling down next to his right side. Concerned by his current demeanor, I didn’t even bother asking before taking my glove off and placing the palm of my hand against his exposed cheek. This time there was no missing the soft whine that escaped as he leaned his face against my bare skin.

“Those meds totally suck.” He bit out, following it up with a huff that sounded like a partial chuckle. Simply creating that sound seemed to cause more pain and he let out a groan instead. “Fuck! It feels like Selphie’s throwing a music festival inside of my brain.”

Shaking my head, I exchanged my palm for the inside of my wrist. “That’s probably because you’re burning up, Princess. How long have you been feeling like this?”

His attempt to nudge my hand away quickly morphed into him seeking more solace from my relatively cooler body temperature. “It’s just a bad headache.” When I scoffed at his pathetic attempt to downplay his symptoms, he let out a long breath and gave into the inevitable. “It started this morning. No more that I usually get. Then it just kept getting worse. Those meds didn’t even take the edge off for very long.”

“Probably because I gave you something to deal with the headache, not whatever this is.” I grumbled and ran my thumb over his throbbing temple. “You’re sick, Leonhart. Probably picked something up from those Garden brats of yours.”

“Not sick. Can’t be sick.” He argued tiredly, too stubborn to just accept the situation without a fight.

A small chuckle escaped at the way he continued to deny the truth, even as his body proved otherwise. “Deny it all you want, Leonhart, but you’re burning my damn hand with how much heat you’re putting off.” I growled back, trying to keep my tone gentle so I didn’t aggravate his headache further. “We need to get you back to my place and get this fever under control. Raijin and Fujin can watch Tempest for a night or two while you get this shit out of your system and…”

“I can take care of Tempest just fine!” He snapped back before I could finish laying out the plan. It was a mistake that he almost instantly regretted, forcing him to stop glaring at me in the dark so he could hide behind his hand once more.

Eager to get him home and in bed, I tried to soothe him by running my fingers through his hair. “Put the claws away, Kitten. I’m just trying to help here.” I told him, scanning the area to make sure more bugs hadn’t shown up while my focus had been elsewhere. “You and I both know that just climbing the damn stairs in your house is gonna kick your ass right now. Not to mention doing it with Tempest in your arms. If you insist on going home, then we can arrange it. Either way, Tempest should stay with Raijin and Fujin for a few days, so you don’t end up sharing this shit with her. Assuming you haven’t already.”

“Asshole.” Mixed into the snarling, that was barely understandable as a word, was the hint of defeat.

It hadn’t been my intention to taunt him or make him feel guilty with my explanation, but he was clearly taking it as both. With it came the small retaliation of him pushing my hand away so he could use Lionheart as a crutch to help him stand up. Then, after shooting a sneer in my direction, he gingerly began weaving through the monster bodies as he headed towards the truck.

Weakened as he was at the moment, I still wasn’t foolish enough to rush after him and make some stupid offer to help. Instead, I waited until he was a short distance ahead of me before standing up and following him. Regardless of what lies he’d told himself to get that far, there was only so much his body could tolerate. For that reason alone, I maintained a painstakingly slow pace in order to discretely monitor his progress.

Only when we were close to the truck did I pass him up so I could go stash my gunblade in the bed while waiting for him to catch up. When his hand was finally within touching distance of the vehicle, I swiftly stole Lionheart from his grasp and stowed that away as well. Effectively ticking him off, as if I hadn’t already done that a hundred times since waking up this morning.

Adding insult to injury, I opened the passenger side door and gestured to the empty seat. “Don’t say a damn word. Just get in the blasted truck so I can take you back to my place for the night. Tomorrow we can discuss other arrangements. Right now, you’re in no shape to make rash decisions. Which means I’m in charge. Got it, Princess?”

By some small miracle, Squall didn’t even try to fight me on the matter. Except for a small grumble, he simply climbed in the truck with a pissed off scowl and I couldn’t help but notice how it seemed to clash with his flushed complexion under the dome light. It was almost comical given who the man was and all he'd accomplished. But I liked my head where it was, so I didn’t dare make a single comment as he climbed inside.

Relieved that he was now seated and getting his seatbelt on, I closed the door and walked around to my side of the truck. Silently I got in and turned the key in the ignition, not fully convinced that he wouldn’t blow up if I hazarded to speak at that particular moment. With the hardest part over with, I resigned myself to a quiet drive back.

Just before backing out, I remembered why we were out there in the first place. It only took a minute for me to pull my phone out and shoot a text message to Mary that the monster situation had been dealt with. Once I got a “thank you” back in response, I put the phone away and turned the truck back towards the safety and comfort my home provided.

Notes:

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