Familial

[knighted-lion.livejournal.com]

Characters: Squall, anyone in the Garden, the Loire family
Progress: On-going
Summary: Squall (re)meets Laguna, and family visits happen
Location: Alfitaria
Date: Probably slightly backdated, since I meant to have this up a couple of days ago
Warnings: None

It had been odd, Squall had realized, to have to reconcile the fact that Laguna was both back and didn't even remember who he was. Even with the time oddities, meeting your father before he technically met you was disturbingly bizarre. Perhaps not worse than Time Compression, but distinctly bizarre and that fact and kept bouncing around in his skull for the duration of the time it took for the Garden it get to Alfitaria.

How was he supposed to react, a small part of him wondered. What things (what stupid, ridiculous things) would Laguna want to do? What should he even expect?

He didn't have the answers by the time the Garden finally touched in Alfitaria, but by that point it was already too late. Now all he could do was try and keep his head above the water, metaphorically speaking.

Comments

[knighted-lion.livejournal.com]

Squall's reaction was much similar to Raine's. A slight nod, before he got around the the necessary replies. He'd never been particularly outgoing.

"The trip was fine." One of the advantages of having a fairly mobile base of operations that wasn't particularly inconvenient to move. It wasn't the fastest, but it didn't need to be. Not to mention the simple fact that moving fast would mean needing to find ways to keep everything tied down, a daunting task with something the Garden's size.

Laguna's comment, on the other hand, got a firmer nod. "It's not our usual base of operations, but it's the Garden we currently having, so we've been making good use of it."

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Ellone got a hug back, of course. And her smile widened at Laguna's wink. Selphie had always said he was charming.

"I'm the pilot," she added. "You should come and visit the bridge some time. It's an amazing view, especially when we're on the move."

[waitedinwinhill.livejournal.com]

"It feels even bigger when you're inside it. Squall gave me a tour and I have no idea how the students find their way around." Raine paused and glanced to her son, realizing that it was a younger version of himself that had done that. Sometimes this world made for terribly awkward situations.

[winhillstime.livejournal.com]

Ellone grinned in response to the comments about Garden's size. She'd only been in it a few times and she'd been as turned around as the rest of them.

"I think they probably get used to it after a while, but it'd take forever for me," she admitted, picking Slai up again and swinging the little girl around a little bit. "These people? Sister, brother, Slai. They're family, too."

Slai looked a little more relaxed, nodding as she smiled to Rinoa and Squall. Ellone held her close. She'd already gotten so attached to the girl; she had no idea what she'd do if anything separated them again.

"So, if we're all lost in Garden, does that mean we get another family tour?"

[blue-desperado.livejournal.com]

Laguna laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Well, we all know how I am about directions. I think. I'd need a map to get around a place this size on a daily basis!" Actually, he didn't know how much help a map would be. He'd gotten irreparably lost on many occasions, even with a map in his possession.

"Hey, a tour would be great. And I'd love to see that bridge sometime; I got to mess around with a spaceship during the Sorceress War and I gotta say, I'm kinda missing it. Not something I ever really thought about before, but there's just somethin' about the feeling flying gives you."

[knighted-lion.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Squall answered with a nod. "After a while you just get used to where everything is." And from there all you had to do was hit a routine and everything was fine. Barring, of course, the occasional switch between Gardens. But even that was just returning to the beginning of the process. Not to mention most students were willing enough to point people in the right way.

Still, there was a moment of silence as he considered the concept of a tour. He knew he wasn't anything resembling a decent tour guide, but on the other hand it was his family. So after a moment, he nodded, albeit with some hesitation.

"Sure."

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

"All right!" Rinoa grinned, nudging Squall. "Let's take 'em up to the bridge. This way!"

Unlike Squall, Rinoa was an excellent tour guide. He probably knew more of the facts about Galbadia Garden than she did, while she had plenty of anecdotes to offer. Between them, she thought they might be able to cover things pretty well.

She started walking into the foyer, gesturing for them all to follow.

[waitedinwinhill.livejournal.com]

Raine shifted her weight, waiting for the others to follow along too. This notion of all these kids growing up here was still difficult to swallow, even after all this time for her. And she quietly disapproved of the mercenary lifestyle it encouraged. Far too dangerous and the students too young. Especially the ones who couldn't possibly have even broken the age of ten yet.

Still this was her son's life and his choice to lead it, so little by little she was coming to at least accept that much. Keeping the family close was far more important to her than making a point about danger and practicality.

She walked to Squall's side and quirked her head to the side. "Would you like to hold Brooke? It's been a while since you've seen her." The little one was turning out to be an alert and lively baby, very keen to see what was going on around her, and often actively squirming around to do just that.

[blue-desperado.livejournal.com]

Laguna grinned as he fell into step behind their tour guides, inching closer to Raine as they went. Well, things seemed to be going well so far. He wasn't really sure how such a visit could go bad aside from the inherent awkwardness of meeting your grown child, but he himself was sort of a champion screw-up on occasion, and though he felt he had grown out of it for the most part, nervousness had the potential to cause a relapse. Or leg cramps.

He leaned over to gently nudge Raine with his elbow. "Hey, not bad so far, right?" he asked in a low whisper.

[winhillstime.livejournal.com]

Slai had to be put down to walk on her own, but Ellone hurried ahead, making a game of skipping with the little girl to get her more engaged with being there. She seemed to be enjoying things at least, even if she was a little uncertain about where they were going.

Ellone ended the skipping time next to Rinoa, gently elbowing her friend before moving to thread her arm with Rinoa's. "Sooo, how are you?" She was grinning, almost teasingly, but she really was curious. Besides, if Squall was going to be occupied with baby-holding soon, Rinoa needed to be occupied with the other little one.

[knighted-lion.livejournal.com]

Would he like to hold Brooke? He still wasn't entirely used to the idea that he had a baby sister, not to mention he wasn't quite sure he had the hang of holding her down properly. And then there was the fact that he wasn't at all sure what any of the SeeDs they ran into on the way would think if they saw him with a baby in his arms.

But... it wasn't like it would hurt anything, right?

"I... guess?"

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Rinoa leaned against her for a moment before walking on arm-in-arm with Ellone, deliberately matching her strides with her friend's. She was in a whimsical mood and she contemplated the question more seriously than Ellone had probably intended it.

"I'm okay. That's kind of dull, isn't it? But I really am, I like Alfitaria, I'm glad to be with all you guys... To be part of a family. So I'm... okay."

[waitedinwinhill.livejournal.com]

The hesitant response didn't go unnoticed by his mother and Raine swallowed down a knowing smile. "Don't worry, she's not too much of a handful... yet." She shot a glance over to Laguna and then a fond grin emerged. It wasn't too hard to guess where Brooke's squirminess came from.

Very carefully she shifted the baby to place her into Squall's arms, then gave him a pat on the shoulder. "If you hold her up so she can see where she's going, she'll like it."

Just shoot me. And also LJ. ... but mostly me.

[blue-desperado.livejournal.com]

"She's pretty lively," Laguna observed aloud, stroking his chin as he feigned thoughtfulness. Just as it was clear to Raine, it was already obvious to him which parent Brooke took after. Squall seemed to have inherited his mother's serious nature and knack for giving direction. He wondered, briefly, if either child had gotten his poor navigational skills. That would just set them up for a lifetime of unnecessary trials.

"Pretty friendly baby, too. Takes to people real easily, yeah?"

Eh, I can get shot too so ♥

[winhillstime.livejournal.com]

Ellone smiled in response anyway. She was in a different kind of mood, too, one she'd come to associate with her childhood fiery spirit coming back out for a visit.

"Sometimes dull and boring is the best way to be," Ellone answered, walking along evenly with Rinoa and Slai. "I don't mind Alfitaria. It's so much bigger than Dali and Winhill, but it kind of reminds me of Esthar. So, I guess it's not too different from what I'm used to."

She glanced down at the little girl on her other side, still worried about how the poor child would be and had been adjusting to the sudden removal from her hometown, the only place she'd known until now. But, as Rinoa had said, they were family now. There was no way Ellone or Raine would leave Slai behind. The girl's presence had become such a natural feel that Ellone couldn't imagine a time that she wouldn't be with them. In some ways, she wanted Slai to have her real parents back - because goodness knew Ellone was more than aware of the kind of pain that came with losing one's parents - but at the same time, she didn't want to feel the heartbreak of having to say goodbye to Slai.

That line of thought pulled her expression down for a fraction of a minute before Slai pulled on her hand, clearly trying to get her to smile again. Ellone obliged easily.

"You're right, though. We're all family now. Aren't we, Slai?"

The little girl nodded. "Yep!"

[knighted-lion.livejournal.com]

Squall wasn't really sure he much liked the 'yet' tacked on to the end of that sentence, but he wasn't all that sure he wanted to know what else would happen. That way he could pretend that everything would be... something. Less inconvenient? Not as potentially maddening? Something along those general lines anyway.

Still after a moment of slight awkwardness, Squall managed to get Brooke properly arranged so that she could see where they were going.

"I... guess?" He hadn't exactly met a lot of babies; how was he to say how well they usually got along with people.

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

"So you're staying then?" Rinoa asked. She wasn't sure if Raine, Ellone and family wanted to go back to Dali or not.