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To Those Who Wait--A Path to Redemption Side Story	By : Nakkinomiko Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female Views: 1530 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does. I make no money from this…I just like to play with them.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does. I make no money from this…I just like to play with them.
A/N: And here’s part three. Is anyone still reading this? ::laughs:: Sorry it took so long to post this one. Enjoy.
*****
Part Three: Her Graduation
“Sir, if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late.”
Loz looked away from his computer monitor long enough to glance at the man standing in his office doorway. He frowned slightly at Captain Jeffrey Anders before he glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Shit!” Loz leapt to his feet and reached for his uniform coat. He quickly pulled the black leather on before reaching for his sunglasses. “Shit, shit, shit!”
“Exactly.” Jeffery said with a smirk. “I’ve got a car waiting, sir. If we leave now, we’ll just make it.”
Loz nodded as he slipped into the hallway. Jeffery was close on his heels. “Marlene will never forgive either of us if we miss her graduation!”
“I know, sir.”
Loz could hear the smirk in Jeffery’s tone. They got on the elevator and rode it down to the lobby. Loz buttoned up his jacket on the way down.
“How does it look?” Loz turned to look at himself in the mirrored wall of the elevator. His dress uniform wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but he would wear nothing less for Marlene’s big day.
“Sharp as hell, as always,” Jeffery said with a grin. “I wish Yazoo was SOLDIER instead of a Turk. He’d be hot as hell in that uniform.”
Loz laughed. He glanced at Jeffery and smirked. “I’ll bet you could get Sephiroth to lend you one . . . just for a little bedroom fun.”
Jeffery arched his brow. “As long as I didn’t tell him what it was for. Besides, the Turk uniform has its merits . . .”
Loz rolled his eyes. “TMI, Captain.”
The elevator dinged open, and Loz and Jeffery made quick strides through the lobby and out the front doors. Loz rolled his eyes when he saw who was driving the car. He glared at Jeffery--who only smirked--and then walked around to the driver side door and opened it.
“Move over, Yazoo. I’m driving.”
Yazoo, who was dressed in a freshly pressed Turk suit rolled his eyes and gave Jeffery a long-suffering look. “Told you he wouldn’t let me drive.” He looked up at Loz. “I can drive, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” Loz said. “That was never in question; however, I want to make it there in one piece. Move over, or I’m going to move you.”
“Boys, we don’t have time for this,” Jeffery reminded them lightly. “Marlene is waiting.”
Yazoo rolled his eyes, but moved over anyway.
The ride to the school was, thankfully, trouble free. The three men took their seats just before the processional music started. Loz smirked at the hushed whispers that heralded their arrival. He exchanged a look with Sephiroth as he sat between him and Kadaj.
“I’ll bet they’re all wondering what Rufus and all his highest officers are doing here,” Loz whispered.
Sephiroth grinned and nodded. “There’s been some speculation . . .although I dare say most of the students know why we’re here.”
Loz nodded. He, Cloud, Sephiroth, and most of their extended network of friends and family actually donated a lot of their time to school functions, for both Marlene and Denzel. Loz himself had helped her class build more than one homecoming float, and Sephiroth had caused quite a stir when Marlene had invited him in for career day. There wasn’t a kid in the room that didn’t know that Marlene had a whole network of adoptive uncles. Apparently, the parents of said kids weren’t all in the know, though. There was a quite audible murmur in the room, even with the band playing.
“We were beginning to wonder if you were going to make it,” Kadaj interrupted.
Loz snorted. “As if.”
“That’s what I said,” Rufus drawled. “Now, hush. It’s starting.”
*****
Half way through her Valedictorian speech, Marlene decided that facing Jenova had been way easier than speaking to a room full of her peers and their families. She could feel sweat trickling down the nape of her neck, and her mouth felt dry. She was amazed that she’d made it this far without stumbling over her words or just simply passing out. The only thing that kept her from completely panicking was sitting in the fifth row of the audience.
Every time she felt as if she were going to forget a part of her speech, all she had to do was find Loz in the audience, and the man would give her an encouraging little smile. It gave her the strength she needed to continue, and before she knew it, she was speaking the last few sentences of her speech. Her classmates gave her thunderous applause, and she found herself grinning at them.
She sat patiently for her turn as the principal and teachers handed out diplomas, and when her name was called, there was a round of raucous cheering from the fifth row. If there had been any doubt at all as to who Rufus and the others were there for, it was laid to rest as the President, his Generals and the full Turk force stood on their feet and gave her a round of applause when she accepted her diploma.
“They’re crazy!” one of her friends said with a laugh when Marlene seated herself again. “It’s so awesome!”
“Yeah,” Marlene said. Her eyes found Loz again, and she met his gaze and gave him a smile. He’d almost been late, and even though the others had been worried, Marlene hadn’t been worried in the least. He had never, ever let her down in all the time she’d known him, and she knew he wouldn’t have started today.
When the ceremony was over, her father was the first to find her and engulf her in a huge bear hug. “I’m so proud of you, Marlene!” Barrett said. He was choked with happy tears, and Marlene tactfully didn’t mention it.
She was soon surrounded by Turks, and she hugged each of them before she moved on to her adopted uncles.
“You’ve done well,” Rufus said as he embraced her. “Where will you go to college?”
“I want to go to Shinra University,” Marlene said. “Every student knows it’s the best school in the area, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my uncle, either. And before you offer to pull strings for me, I’ve already applied and been accepted.”
Rufus gave her a wry smile. “Yes, Marlene, I know. You should know by now that I keep a close eye over everything I own, and that includes the University. And before you get angry, I didn’t pull any strings at all. You’re going because you earned it, kid. The Board was impressed with your essay, so much so that it ended up on my desk.”
“Really?” Marlene asked. “Why would they send it to you?”
“Because that’s where all the essays go when the Board decides a student deserves a full-ride Scholarship,” Rufus said, and there was a definite twinkle in his eyes. “I get to make the final call.”
“Full-ride?” Marlene whispered. “They really recommended me for a full-ride scholarship?”
“Yes,” Rufus said with a nod. “And I chose you and three others to receive it.”
“But . . “
“No one will be able to cry foul,” Rufus assured her. “I make it a point to not look at the names when I read them, Marlene. I had no idea one of those four was you until after I’d made my decision. It’s a well-known fact among the University’s faculty. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Marlene wiped the sudden tears that formed in her eyes away before she hugged Rufus again. “Thanks,” Marlene whispered against his shoulder.
“Of course, if you need anything at all, you know all you have to do is call,” Rufus whispered. “I’ll never have children of my own, Marlene. I like spoiling you and Denzel.”
“I know,” Marlene said. She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll remember.”
“Hey, can I get one of those?”
Marlene turned and found Loz standing very close. He looked so sharp in his SOLDIER uniform! She’d begun to look at him in a different light over the past year, and she could see that he was so very handsome. Again, she found herself wondering why it was the man didn’t have anyone in his life. If she were older . . . Marlene sighed internally. She wasn’t older.
“Sure,” Marlene said. She hugged him hard and pecked him on the cheek. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Loz said. “You did good, Marlene.”
“Thanks! I . . .”
“Marlene!”
Marlene grinned and turned to greet the boy running towards her. “Alex! I was just going to look for you! I wanted to introduce you to my family and friends!” She took the blonde’s hand into her own and turned to face her Father and her adoptive family. “Everyone, this is Alex . . .Um. . .he’s my boyfriend.”
*****
Don’t let the pain show, don’t let it show one bit. Loz greeted Alex with what he hoped seemed genuine interest and civility. He looked to be a good kid, and Marlene was obviously taken with him. Loz watched as Marlene introduced him around, and pretended not to notice the worried glances his brothers were giving him. He waited until Marlene was through with the introductions before he caught her attention again.
“I’ve got to get back to the office,” Loz told her. It wasn’t a total lie. The Cadet exams were coming up, and they weren’t even close to ready for them. Loz still had a great deal of paperwork to do in preparation.
Marlene smiled and nodded. “I know.” She stepped up to him and hugged him hard. “Thanks so much for coming today.”
“You’re welcome.”
“What do you think of Alex?” Marlene whispered into his ear.
Loz closed his eyes and smiled a little. Of course she would want his approval. She considered him a close friend, right?
“I think he’s a good kid,” Loz said. “And as long as you’re happy, it’s all that matters.” He tightened his embrace a little and stepped back to look at her. She was nearly a full grown woman now, and so very beautiful. She’d let her dark hair grow long, so that it fell nearly to her knees, and her eyes were wide and chocolate brown. She was so beautiful to Loz that it almost hurt to look at her.
“I have to go,” Loz said. “Enjoy the rest of your day, ne?”
“I will!” Marlene said. She waved, and then was lost in the crowd of friends that suddenly surrounded her.
Loz turned away from the sight and pointedly avoided meeting any of his extended family’s gazes. The room was suddenly stifling, and he strode out of the auditorium and into the night. He found the car where he’d parked it, and leaned against it and tried to get a handle on the sudden pain he felt in his heart.
You knew this would happen, he told himself. And he had . . . but he hadn’t counted on it hurting so much.
“Loz.”
Loz opened his eyes and met his father’s crimson gaze. There was compassion there, and a deep concern.
“I know it’s crazy,” Loz whispered. “I know I should try to find someone else . . .”
“Loz, you don’t have to explain,” Vincent interrupted gently. “Love is not an emotion that follows reason. I only wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Loz felt the burn of tears, and found himself shaking his head almost violently. “No . . . no I don’t think I am right now.”
The tears came faster when Vincent stepped forward suddenly and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and held him close. Vincent held him for some time before he spoke again.
“Loz, you should tell her,” Vincent murmured. “She is old enough to understand now.”
Loz pulled away and shook his head. “No. I’m not going to influence her life like that. It wouldn’t be fair, and I’d never know if what she felt was real, or just out of pity. There’s still a chance . . . Alex is a good kid, but they’re still just that--kids. They’ll both change, and probably go their separate ways.”
“Loz, you can’t know that.”
“No, but I still have hope for us,” Loz said. “I’m not going to give up that hope. Not yet.”
*****
TBC
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To Those Who Wait--A Path to Redemption Side Story