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One (Last) Chance	By : RotSeele Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Seifer/Squall Views: 3719 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 39
- 40
Thirty-Nine - Epilogue - Squall POV

I had gone to the party thrown in our honor because it was, I believed, required of me at this point. Seifer went with me, even though he complained about the lousy food and drinks the entire time. I pointed out that we didn’t have much of a budget to get the good stuff, considering we were a school before anything else, and he then pointed out that I was the SeeD Commander, and my first paycheck alone would’ve been able to buy at least him and I something better to eat than hot dogs. I had actually found myself agreeing with him, but it was too late, only because I hadn’t been in charge of the party.
And we had been a little too busy to stop Selphie from helping Zell raid the kitchen.
After we had finished with the congratulations, and the joy of Matron and Cid being back together, and the relief that we had all survived the Time Compression, Seifer and I had made our separate excuses and went to tie up our own loose ends. Seifer went to find Fujin and Raijin to explain to them why he’d basically kicked them to the curb in order to fight with me and my group, and they were surprisingly understanding. Fujin more so than Raijin, of course. Fujin understood that, while Seifer went out onto the front lines, he needed her and Raijin to stay and watch his back. To protect what he couldn’t. And they had done a rather good job, ensuring the safety of all of Balamb’s students when we had jumped ship at Fisherman’s Horizon, and ensuring that no one caused any more trouble while we dealt with Esthar and Lunatic Pandora and Ultimecia. Somehow, Fujin even managed to keep Xu in line, and keep her from overstepping her authority in my absence.
I mentioned to Seifer that maybe I should promote Fujin, and he only laughed at me.
My own loose ends revolved around Galbadia’s new President, settling things with Rinoa, and settling things with my own family. It took a few weeks of negotiating before Galbadia relented enough to allow General Caraway to take interim power. Rinoa and her father seemed to be getting along better after they spent a few days talking. Her status as a Sorceress probably had plenty to do with that, as well as an honorary SeeD. Instead of returning to Timber, Rinoa chose to stay in Balamb Garden with us, which was a prudent decision. Being a Sorceress, Rinoa still would be in a certain amount of danger from people who were terrified of her kind on principle, and neither of us had forgotten how we’d thumbed our noses at the Estharian military. She spent most of her time in the infirmary, playing assistant to Dr. Kadowaki. Otherwise, she was usually with me, or with Seifer, or with us both, if we headed down to the training grounds. She watched us while Seifer and I fought, a spectacle that tended to draw a crowd more often than not. I think Rinoa started selling tickets.
Once I had arranged everything to run as smoothly as possible in my absence, I packed a bag. I left clear instructions with Rinoa, who seemed a little too gleeful, but she promised she’d hold the fort.
Seifer was waiting for me in the Ragnarok, casually lounging in the pilot’s seat. His own bag occupied one of the passenger seats.
“I was wondering when you’d get around to joining me, princess.” Seifer said with a grin.
I grunted at him.
“Hey, this is a words-only zone.”
I sat in the chair beside him. “Go.”
“As you wish, oh great Commander Leonhart.”
I glowered at him. He just grinned at me.
We arrived in Esthar and met with my father and Ellone. The first meetings were awkward at first, as neither I nor Laguna knew what to say to each other. Ellone’s attempts to break the ice between us were met with my stellar silence and Laguna’s nervous laugh, which only served to make her feel embarrassed. Seifer only stood by me, a silent shadow, watching and weighing everything that was going on. I was surprised he kept his silence, considering how sensitive he was to my moods. I was sure that, the one time I got a little upset, he was going to jump on my father and shake him like a ragdoll.
It wasn’t easy for either of us. Laguna didn’t know how to be a father, and I didn’t know how to be a son. It hurt him, visibly and physically, to talk about Mother. Things that were simple, emotionless, were easier for the both of us to talk about. I learned that Laguna wasn’t the idiot he acted like. There was a terrifyingly sharp and precise mind behind those sea-green eyes of his. I caught glimpses of the man who took on an entire country’s status quo without flinching, glimpses of the man who had remained the ruler of that same country for over a decade, and glimpses of the man my mother had fallen in love with. We sort of fell into a working relationship over the course of my stay.
He did, however, accompany Seifer and I to Winhill. So did Kiros, Ward, and Ellone.
I spent most of my time there wandering around the village, looking at the things that had been reconstructed and changed around. I found my mother’s house, which now had a new family living in it, so I was stuck looking at it from afar. This was the place where I was born. This was where my father stayed, where my mother lived, and where she died.
I visited her grave. I stood side by side with my father, and we stared down at the headstone that bore her name. We said nothing to each other, but somehow, Laguna’s hand found my shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. There was more said in that one gesture than he’d said to me the entire time we had been together. I had to leave before I started crying in front of him.
Seifer followed me to the field of wildflowers, a silent, solid presence while he let me have my moment of weakness. After a little while, I heard him approach and felt him against my back. His arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me tight against him. His cheek rested against my hair and he said nothing. We stared at the grazing chocobos together until I was ready to turn around and look him in the eye.
Seifer gestured to my face. “You still got tears on your eyelashes.”
I gave a weak laugh and used my jacket’s sleeve to paw at my face. Then I gave Seifer a playful shove. He only snorted and shoved me back. “Sorry.” I whispered.
“Don’t be. You’ve gotten more of an emotional overload today than you have in all the eighteen years you’ve been alive. All that Before doesn’t count.”
I just looked at him.
Seifer smiled. “Look, Leonhart, you deserve to have a day where you don’t have to wear that armor you’ve constructed for yourself. I get it. It’s more than most orphans get.”
I looked at him a little harder.
He waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, I could care less about where I came from. This whole trip was for you.”
I nodded. I looked away, toward where the figures of my father and Ellone stood, holding onto each other. Then I looked at Seifer again and tilted my head.
“Where do I want to go on vacation? How many days do we have left?”
I shrugged. “I’m the Commander of SeeD. However damn long we want.”
Seifer’s lips split in a broad grin. He folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head back so he could observe the sky for a while. I could tell he was considering my question seriously, thinking about the myriad different places we could go where we hadn’t been yet. Or, return to places we had been. Finally, he looked back at me, his grin lessening into a smile.
I tilted my head.
“It’s not so much a vacation, but there is a beach. And I’m sure Edea wouldn’t mind us crashing for a while.”
“You want to rebuild the orphanage?”
“Why not? I’m pretty good with my hands. You’ve said so yourself.”
Despite myself, I felt my cheeks heat. “That’s different.”
“So I’ll build us our own room. Hell, I can build us our own little place on the property, if Edea will let me. You can help. You know how to use a hammer?”
I’m pretty sure my glower answered that question, since Seifer took a slight step away from me despite continuing to grin. I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Rinoa will want to help.” I said.
“She can.”
“So will the others.”
He grimaced. “I guess they could, too.”
“You’re going to build our own place?”
His hand brushed my cheek before it hooked behind my neck and gripped tight. His forehead touched mine, leaving me no room to look away from his bright emerald eyes. His lips quirked in a slight smile. “I’ll even let you pick out the furniture.”
I sighed softly, but leaned up and kissed him anyway.
Seifer threw back his head and laughed then, before sobering and saying, “I’m good with that!"
- 39
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One (Last) Chance