So You Want Someone Else To Claim Him For You?
By White Crescent
"Squall! Squall!!!"
A fatigued Squall looked up from the papers he had been reviewing to see a huffing and puffing Selphie in front of his desk. She was waving a crumpled piece of paper in her hands. ‘Not again….I’m never going to finish this….’ He thought.
"What is it?" he asked as he put away the papers aside. The brunette quickly stood up and straightened the piece of paper, which as Squall thought was torn from somewhere. Selphie then showed Squall the piece of paper from the place she stood.
"You have got to see this! You know what’s this is?"
Squall quickly shook his head. ‘How can I? You just came in huffing and puffing, holding that paper, how am I supposed to know what’s that?’
"What i—" he was cut off when the doors to his office burst open to reveal Rinoa, Zell, Irvine, and Quistis catching their breaths with their faces slightly red.
"Whoa, Sefie, you run fast…..Can’cha’even wait for us?"
Irvine said in between his huffs.
"Just what is this all about?" Squall asked calmly, trying to hold his temper. It was early in the morning, he didn’t get any sleep at all, and he needed to review more than fifty papers and now his friends just burst into his office as if he wouldn’t mind at all.
"Read it to him Selphie."
Squall watched as Quistis, who finally caught her breath and whose face was a little less red, walk towards Selphie. Selphie smiled.
"Riiiight!!!" Selphie coughed a bit then raised the paper so that she could read it out loud.
Squall sighed and folded his arms.
‘Patience Squall……patience….this might actually be important….’
"Ehem…..Okay, here goes, the title of this article from Balamb Daily is; ‘Long lost father admits failure to famous Commander—"
"What’s so special about that?" Squall asked coldly, he completely ignored the mention of the word ‘Commander’. He spotted Rinoa walking towards him with a sunny smile and he felt a bit better, and more patient.
"Just listen Squall. She’s not finish yet….I think you’ll like this…" Rinoa whispered to his ear as she leaned on him for a while.
"Okay…I’ll listen for you, my angel." He whispered back. Rinoa smiled at him lovingly and then sat on his desk. She then signaled Selphie to continue on reading.
"Okay," Selphie took a deep breath.
" "I didn’t want to leave him just like that—" Ked Fodich started as I interviewed him. He wiped the beads of sweat that ran down his forehead with his handkerchief. He then continued to tell me his life story. He was an Anti-Adel rebel in his earlier years; it was in those years that he met his wife Yuralia Tudez, a young woman working in one of Esthar’s restaurants. They fell in love but never did get married. About three years after they first met, and the peak of the Sorceress War a new life was born—one that was passed off as another child to add to the growing population of the world—in other words useless as it seemed to be at that time. Tudez died in a bombing a few months after the birth of this then nameless child. Fodich never did have the strength to name the child, or to send him to an orphanage.
His life was going on like it did before his loved one died leaving him with a child to care for when another tragedy struck his life. He lost his job after his bosses found out that he was a rebel. He knew he had no choice then but to give up his child. He didn’t know where, but he knew he should send him to a place away from the war.
He sent him to an orphanage somewhere in Centra. After that event, he tried to forget about his child and swore to remember him once the war ended.
"—but I was caught and was sentenced to twenty years in jail…..Even after the war… It was fortunate that I was released early because they said I was ‘rehabilitated’. When I went to the orphanage—" he then broke into sobs, "I found that it was only ruins…… I then searched, and searched…..then one day I saw his picture once in a magazine…..He looked much like his mother….."
He found out what his son had become after all those years. The nameless child became a powerful Commander—Squall Leonhart."
Squall’s eyes widened. ‘Great, first I didn’t sleep all night, they bother me, and now my father suddenly pops out….great, just great. What a perfect day….’ He thought sarcastically.
"Ain’t that great, Squall?! You’re father’s alive!!! Maybe you should meet him!!" Selphie then ran towards him and hugged him.
"You’re no orphan anymore, isn’t that great Squall?" Rinoa then jumped off the desk and then hugged Squall too after Selphie pulled away.
"Aww….. Ain’t I supposed to get a hug too, huh, Sefie?" Irvine smoothly said, and with that Selphie ran towards him.
"Heey….that means we can have another party!! To celebrate Squall’s father!!" Selphie chided. The all cheered at the idea, except Squall.
"How do you know that he IS my father?" Squall grimly questioned.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You’re father’s surfacing up and you look like it’s Ultimecia back from the dead!" Zell sprinted towards him, stopped then placed his hand over his left shoulder.
"Zell’s right, Squall, you should be glad." A smiling Cid entered the office with Xu and Nida behind him.
Squall rose from his seat and gave Cid a salute. He knew that his other comrades did too, including Rinoa.
"I know I should be glad, Headmaster Cid….. but—" Squall started after Cid asked them to ease. ‘—it’s just that after all these years, why didn’t he show up? Write a letter?…..’ he continued in his mind.
"—that can’t be. Sis and I were adopted together….. he just might not know Ellone…."
Cid gave an acknowledging nod. "That was what puzzled me. Edea told me that you and Ellone came to the orphanage together."
Cid paused and asked Xu and Nida something. Squall didn’t have a single idea of what Cid told them, but he remained silent.
"Quistis, Selphie, Zell, Irvine and you too Rinoa, I think you all should leave the room now." Cid advised them. Squall was puzzled at why Cid had asked them to do this.
Squall looked at Rinoa. She was also a confused, but she turned to Squall and gave him a comforting smile and then left.
Once they all left, he and Cid were the only ones left in the office. Cid then asked Squall to sit down on his chair.
"I have my doubts too, Squall. So, I called this Ked Fodich and asked him to visit here." Cid stated with a plain and calm voice. Squall’s eyes widened once more.
"….What?!" he chided.
***
Laguna Loire watched with great satisfaction his magnificent city from the big glass wall-like window with his hands behind his back. He laughed at his failures.
"Dammit Raine…… If only I came earlier…. If only I wasn’t too unselfish…." He muttered. There were so many ‘if only’s he was thinking about. But he knew that if those ‘if only’s came true, then the world that he was now watching high from his office would never be. ‘Cruel how fate works…..’
He lowered his head and then sighed. This was one of those days when he would feel so depressed. He silently walked towards his desk and then sat down on his chair. He let his head lean on the chair and closed his eyes. He then remembered what happened right after they defeated Ultimecia.
"What is it President Loire?" A cold Squall asked him. They were in his office in Esthar at that time, and as he could remember, he was facing the same window he had watched his city from now.
"I—" Laguna remembered turning around. "—just wanted to congratulate you for the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia." He had said.
Squall had nodded. Laguna had walked towards the SeeD commander and then smiled.
"And—"
Laguna smiled and then shook his head. He remembered feeling his leg starting to cramp then. ‘I want to tell you something…’ Laguna whispered to himself the thought he had said to himself that time. He remembered being silent for a while, trying to find the words suitable to unleash the secret he had been hiding in his heart.
"What is it President Loire? What are you trying to tell me?"
"And…" ‘I want you to know that I’m your father.’ Laguna remembered that his leg cramped totally by then. He had been so nervous.
He laughed some more. He had looked like a total fool in front of the young man. He remembered clutching his leg, totally embarrassed.
"Imagine the president of Esthar doing that in front of you. Looking so helpless.." Laguna chuckled to himself.
"Ugh, I just wanted to ask SeeDs’ assistance. Some monsters from that Lunar Cry are still out loose." Laguna had stood up, becoming a bit eased, becoming less nervous.
"The Esthar army are working on it now, but I think we still need SeeDs’ help to completely wipe out all of those monsters."
"I’ll see what I can do. Is that all, President Loire?"
Laguna had given Squall an unsure nod, and then the SeeD Commander started leaving.
‘Dammit Laguna, say it. SAY IT!!!!’ he remembered his mind screaming those words.
He remembered the wooden double door to his office making a sound, then a word tumbled out of his mouth.
"Wait—"
Laguna remembered watching in horror as Squall turned and looked at him.
"What?"
He had quickly thought of something to say. Laguna could have sworn then that his mind was rejoicing. He also felt his leg cramp then.
"Good Luck to Rinoa and you." He had quickly said.
"….Whatever….."
Then that was it. Laguna had let a chance slip again. He was lost in thought after remembering that event, thinking and wondering what would have happened if he had succeeded in telling Squall what he had wanted to tell him.
‘….I wonder what he would have done if I actually told him….’
"Uncle Laguna! Wake up Uncle Laguna!"
He snapped out of his thoughts after he heard his Elle’s soft coaxing. He opened his eyes and then sat up straight. Ellone was standing beside him, a newspaper in her hand.
"What is it Elle?" he asked with his usual ‘care-free’ voice.
"Uncle Laguna, read this."
Ellone handed him the newspaper, and he started reading it.
***
Squall stood beside Headmaster Cid, watching helplessly and with the loss of words as the double door to his office opened wide and revealed a tall man with dark brown hair. The man’s skin was slightly tanned, and his face had quite a lot of wrinkles. His eyes were icy blue and he wore a nervous smile.
"Squall Leonhart, this is Ked Fodich." Cid introduced the man to him.
Squall didn’t know what to do as Fodich walked towards him nervously and extended his hand. ‘Come on! Shake his hand!!!’ his mind coaxed.
Squall slowly extended his hand and shook his ‘father’s’ hand.
"I…..I’m pleased to meet you." He stated shakily. ‘…..Are you really my father? Then why—‘
"Take a sit, Mr. Fodich." He heard Cid ask Fodich. "You too, Squall."
Squall nodded and sat down on his chair. He eyed on Fodich as he sat down on one of the waiting chairs.
"So, tell me, are you really Squall’s father?"
Squall felt nervous at the straightness of the Headmaster’s question, but he kept a calm look. He looked at Cid who was now seated opposite of Fodich.
"…Y-yes. I am." Fodich nodded nervously. Squall wasn’t sure if the nervousness was because he was lying or just because of seeing his son fully grown.
‘Any father who hadn’t seen his son grow would feel like that…’ Squall told himself.
"Then, how can you explain the fact that Squall came to my wife’s orphanage with a girl named Ellone?"
"Ellone?…." Fodich asked nervously.
"Ellone. Do you know her?"
"—No. I don’t know any Ellone."
Squall felt disappointed and joyous at the same time. Disappointed because he was still an orphan. And joyous because he was right.
"Then how do you explain tha—"
"I don’t know any Ellone. You see I just gave my son to two travelers I saw journeying to the same place. I….just…couldn’t bear to give my son to the orphanage myself…." Fodich quickly answered.
"Explain more of that." Cid said firmly.
"I just met them on the road…..I don’t know any Ellone, but all I can say is that the woman I gave my child to was with two children…."
"Go on."
Squall felt his heart jumping for an unknown reason, but kept a firm emotionless face.
"A girl and a baby boy. I just gave him to them, okay. I had no choice, I didn’t want to turn back after a long journey once I got there."
"I see." Cid stood up, and asked Fodich stand up. "That is all, Mr. Fodich. Thank you for your time."
Squall watched as Fodich cast a glance to him as he exited the room. The door made a quiet closing sound. There was a minute of silence.
"I guess we have a real father here, Squall. How do you feel?"
Squall slowly stood up, totally speechless, then walked towards the Headmaster.
"You’re a tough questioner. You had me on the edge of my sit, Headmaster Cid." Squall declared, and he watched as Kramer’s eyes widened. Cid Kramer then laughed.
"How do I feel? I don’t know headmaster. But I think I’m a bit….. nervous."
"And happy?"
"I don’t know. But I guess I would feel much better if I asked him myself all the questions I wanted to ask." Squall said. He had almost forgotten how it felt to be nervous.
He then started to exit his office. Upon the door, he stopped.
"Headmaster," he started.
"Yes?"
"Can I have his address….."
"It’s with Xu, why?"
"I need to make sure he’s really my father in my own way."
"I see."
He then exited the office completely.
***
"Uncle Laguna, aren’t you even going to do something?! Call him! Tell him everything!! Please, I know this isn’t true, I know this isn’t, I just feel it!"
Laguna didn’t turn his head as he watched the sun slowly set.
"Please, Uncle Laguna, please…." He heard his Elle beg.
She was tugging at his shirt, and he also felt it becoming a bit wet.
‘I bet she’s crying hard….’
"Ward’s saying that you should tell Squall now. How can you be sure that this Fodich figure isn’t a fraud? We all know that we had a list of almost all the members of the Anti-Adel rebels." Kiros stated. Laguna felt a hand on his shoulder.
‘How can I Kiros? Explain to him that I was so busy taking care of Esthar that I didn’t even know that I had a son?’
"I’m sorry, Elle. You heard what Quistis said on the phone. This guy looked practically helpless. And his story was believable…. He didn’t, he can’t be a fraud."
"You’re kidding, Laguna. You mean you’re just gonna buy that statement that your real son died during that journey and Squall took his place?! That can’t be, right Ellone?" Kiros argued.
"Please, Uncle Laguna. One small phone call won’t hurt. Please….." she continued on coaxing.
‘One phone call might not hurt him, but it will hurt me….. It’s best that I just keep quiet and forget all about this.’
"Please…. Oh, Please Uncle Laguna!! I can’t bear it, he isn’t anybody’s son but you! Please!" Ellone cried harder, and Laguna saw her reflection from the glass. She was on her knees now, crying heavily like she did before when she was in that observation room Odine had placed her in about seventeen years ago.
Laguna took a deep breath and bent down to stop Ellone from crying. He felt a feeling of déjà vu, like the time had gone back and he was comforting a small child rather than a young woman.
"Elle, life ain’t fair. Maybe this was meant to be, for this Fodich to pop out and give Squall a ‘real’ father."
Ellone looked at him, her eyes were all puffy.
"Besides, even if I were really his father, who knows. I guess, Fodich would make a better father than me." He took a deep breath. " I guess I deserve this. I didn’t go back with you like I promised….So either my punishment is my real son is dead, or I can’t even admit that I’m his fath—"
"So that’s it? So you want someone else to claim him for you? That’s it?!"
Ellone quickly stood up and wiped her tears, then ran out of the room.
Kiros followed Ellone, and Ward exited the room shaking his head and with a look of disappointment.
Laguna returned to watching his city, night had fallen.
"I’ve never seen her so mad in my life…… I guess I lost two in one…."
He muttered and lowered his head. He then laughed bitterly.
"Cruel how life works…."
A dream was shattered that night. His dream of being part of Squall’s day the next day. He knew that after the night would be a new day, but tomorrow would never be the same, without even a single hope of having his son watch the dawn with him.
.
"Tomorrow will be a new day,
Different from the world today.
But the tomorrow I’ve always dreamed,
Could never be for I failed,
To have the courage to tell you the truth."