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Disclaimer. Squaresoft owns all these guys and places. I don't mean to infringe you guys so........ just chill, eh???
You have no idea how friggin hard it is to write each word of these last few chapters, so forgive me if my style slips only I'm dreading finishing this story...




The Longest Road.

"Normal? Weird is the way of the world. Live a life you are proud of. Think not of the past, keep your eyes on the future and your heart in the right place. All will turn out well. Love as you would want to be loved. You are loved."
- Unknown.




Chapter twenty five; Family.





The Ragnarok landed at the designated point and as the ramp was set down a small brown haired woman rushed up it to greet all of her younger friends, The first one she encountered was Squall who embraced her so tightly she thought he'd never let go.

"It's so good to see you 'sis'..., Ellone." He grinned as he let go of her. "It's been way too long."

"It has Squall. I wish you'd come and visit more often...." She waved to the others as they appeared behind him. Then her face became a mask of curiosity. "Squall..., who's that?"

He turned to see who she meant and beckoned the person forward. Ayden walked cautiously forward. "Ayden, this is my...."

"Sister. Laguna adopted me officially remember?"

"This is my sister, Ellone." The he turned to look at her. "Ellone, this is Ayden...." Squall swallowed hard and mentally crossed his fingers in hope that she wouldn't have the same reaction as Selphie. "Ayden is my son."

Ellone's eyes widened in shock. "He's so..., older than I would have expected."

"Well that's a long story....."

"Does this mean you're my auntie Ellone?" Ayden asked, still half-hidden behind Squall's legs as she crouched in front of him.

"I guess it does Ayden. Are you okay with that?" She smiled hopefully and he nodded, giving her a SeeD salute. "You remind me of your dad so much!" She straightened as Squall told Ayden to return to Zell before briefly explaining the reason for Ayden's appearance. "Poor thing." She whispered as Squall finished. "Loosing his mother like that... and another childhood cut tragically short."

As Kiros and Ward appeared, Ellone dashed off to give Zell Dincht a bearhug. Irvine seemed a little jealous and Quistis noticed this giving him a sharp elbow in the ribs to remind him of his place before Selphie noticed. "Where's .... Laguna?" Squall asked.

"He's on his way, just finishing up a meeting with some guy from Fisherman's Horizon. He sent us to say he'd sorry." Kiros stated and stuck out a gloved hand which Squall shook gladly. "How you doin?"

"We're getting on alright I guess. What about you two?"

Ward gave a series of gestures to mean. "Doing fine apart from when Laguna goes mental on us and disappears into a dream world."

The SeeD commander blinked several times and swallowed hard. As Kiros began to translate, Squall held up a hand to halt him. "I think I spent too much time with you two last year, I just understood what he said!"

"It happens to them all." Ward signed. "You all go mad in the end."

Kiros grinned and suddenly stood to a poor shadow of attention as Laguna walked in. "Here comes the big guy now."

All five SeeD's and the one cadet snapped sharply to attention as soon as they saw him. The president waved to the others as he approached his son. "Hello Squall. I'm sorry about Rinoa...., you know. She was a good kid."

"We wanted to send some flowers or anything to her grave but we had no idea where it was located." Kiros shrugged.

"I'll get that to you." Squall nodded. He was nearly bowled over into the three Estharian officials as a small body smashed into the back of his knees. Turning, Squall glared at Zell and Ellone who had collapsed into giggles at the sight of the crash and picked the boy up.

"Well well well, who's this? A new cadet, you're taking them in young these days at Garden aren't you?" Laguna enquired with a slight sarcastic tone to his voice.

"This is President Loire, Mister Seagil and Mr Trabac." Squall informed the boy. "Now introduce youreslf."

"Full or general intro?"

"Full. These are friends so it's okay."

Ayden cleared his throat and saluted again. "My name is Ayden Leon Heartilly, but I am enrolled in Garden as Ayden Leonhart, like my dad. I am a level one student. They won't let me go any higher yet."

Laguna had become rather whiter than before and was looking from one pair of storm cloud grey eyes belonging to his son to another pair of storm grey eyes belonging to his grandson. "Ayden is your son? I'm a grandfather!"

"Please don't faint." Kiros said as Laguna swayed. "I don't think I'll be able to pick you back up anymore."

After taking several deep breaths Laguna seemed to have calmed down a little. He rubbed his eyes with hands more tired than the last time Squall had seen him and shook his head, once a rich brown now growing more and more peppered with grey with each passing day. "Let's get back to the presidential palace."

As he led the way to the two MPV's waiting for them he heard Ayden' voice, barely above a whisper. "Is he really my grandad?"

"Well, he is my father so of course he is."

Laguna's chest swelled with pride.

It had been the first time he had ever heard Squall refer to him as father.







Walls in rich maroons and terracottas, beds swathed in silk, floors with carpets so plush there was a line of footprints following you everywhere. The lavish suites wanted for nothing.

If anything, they were over-bearing and stuffy. Squall found himself wishing for his own room back in Balamb.

Of course, Zell and Ayden loved it.... Especially the beds. At that moment, they were trying to see who could bounce the highest. Squall shook his head and stepped out onto the terrace that all the best guest rooms shared with the presidential bedroom.

The view of Esthar was breath-taking, the city shining like a jewel in the mid-day sun. As the young man leant on the railings he heard a door open but was so caught up in the sight he dared not turn around for fear of missing something.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Beautiful..." He nodded before realising who had spoken.

Laguna stood next to him. "I come up here when I need to think.... It inspires me, being responsible for such beauty.... Making decisions that effect it's future..."

"Mmm." Squall murmured. He felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Ellone told me about Ayden. Is there anything I can do to help?"

With a shake of his head Squall said, "you needn't worry. It's all been explained and his growth is starting to slow. I've even got four SeeD instructing him in the use of his powers."

After a short silence Laguna asked; "do you miss her?"

Squall thought carefully before replying. "Sometimes. I miss having her there to talk to, and I wish she could be here to see Ayden growing up but...."

"You still feel like it was your fault don't you?"

The younger of the two men moved to sit on a black wrought iron bench nearby. "All the damned time." He shook his head and decided to change the subject. "Hows that monster nest in the city centre?"

"Dead last time we checked. Hope it stays like that too. It's good to see you back here Squall....... son. I have a meeting to go to, but you're all joining Ellone me and the others for dinner aren't you?"

Squall searched his father's face for a moment, unsure of what he was looking for but only finding hope. "Sure."








"Which fork is which?" Selphie hissed into Squall's ear.

"You never took that class?"

"Nope."

Kiros leant over the table and whispered; "If it were left to Laguna it'd be fried chicken every night just so he wouldn't have to figure out which one to use."

Laguna glared at him from the head of the table.

"Now I know where Squall got that look from." Irvine murmured.

"I wish I could have seen the sorceress again, before she'd died. She was such a nice young girl wasn't she?" Laguna said to Squall two seats away.

"And I wish everyone would let her rest." Squall growled back.

Eager to change the subject, Ellone asked; "So how long have you and Squall been together Zell?"

"Erm.... a little over a year." He scratched his head. "That's right, isn't it?"

Squall nodded. "Just before the last time I came to visit."

"Maybe if you'd been a little less concerned with him and more with her she'd still be alive." Laguna mumbled.

Squall's gaze turned to his father. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Laguna narrowed his gaze at his son. He was an easy going guy by most standards but once in a while he was like a rabid dog with a bone with some ideas.

"You care to repeat it to refresh my memory?"

"I can't be bothered."

Squall glanced to his own son who covered his ears on reflex. "Laguna if you have a problem I suggest you speak now. Otherwise you may just end up in pieces."

"Alright. I said if you'd been more concerned with Rinoa than with ....him, she may have still been alive." Laguna stated as he rose to his feet.

"You bastard." Squall seethed.

Ellone stood too, the tears filling her eyes. "You two are unbelievable, it was just like this last time.... I hate arguments!" And she ran sobbing from the room with Selphie following close behind.

Squall's eyes flickered towards Irvine who stood and offered his hand to Ayden. "Shall we go and see where auntie Ellone and Selphie disappeared to cowpoke?"

"Okie!"

When the door had closed behind them, Squall spoke up again. "What the fuck is wrong with you Laguna? I wouldn't have even come back if Zell hadn't convinced me. You are such a fucking....." he searched for an insult, "tosser!"

"You shouldn't have come then should you?"

"What!?!" Squall laughed in disbelief. "This man, whom I love very much by the way, practically WORSHIPPED you as a HERO, though I don't have any idea why, and he wanted to meet you again....."

"So I can blame him can I? For you coming here?"

"LAGUNA YOU BASTARD! LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS! IT'S BETWEEN YOU AND ME!"

Quistis had never heard Squall raise his voice in such a way, it was not like him. Usually his arguments were settled with a gunblade and even as he spoke his hand moved to the place the hilt would usually lie, but she couldn't remember him ever raising his voice in anger....

Not even against Seifer.

This was bad to say the least.

"I told you we shouldn't have come Zell..." Squall mumbled, in a brief reprise from the thundering of his voice.

"At last you agree with me son..."

"NEVER call me son. I don't even want to acknowledge your link to me."

"Whatever, why did you come back anyway Squall? Ayden can't have been the only reason."

"Zell convinced me that I should make my peace with you before.... Oh fuck the lot of it I don't care anymore." Keeping his eyes on Laguna, he pointed to Quistis. "I'm really sorry you had to find out this way Quisty but it can't be helped."

"What?" She asked.

"I'm dying. That's the main reason I came back."

The president fell back into his seat. "You're...."

"I was infected by a virus on a mission, I have no idea how long I have left to live."

A chair clattered to the floor as Quistis stood. "This can't be....." She turned to leave but Zell managed to catch her before she got to the door.

"I know Quisty, I did the exact same thing, but he needs us right now, okay?"

Squall looked upon his father with distaste and spoke with disgust in his voice. "I still blame myself Laguna..., and I think I always will because I was her knight once. But she left me Laguna. She left me. Maybe I could have done something to help her.... If I'd still cared for her as much as before, I could have been with her but... There was something more I was meant to find... Or as meant to find me." He glanced at his lover for reassurance and Zell smiled a little. "And I don't particularly fucking care what you think of me for that Loire. She meant a lot to me.... but we weren't meant for each other. I really don't like you talking like this and, Hyne rest her soul, I don't think she would have either. So please shut your mouth before I do it for you." His voice had returned to that calm monotone, which signified he was either in control, or very very close to loosing it.

"If there's anything the Estharian science team can do to help, you only have to say." Laguna said as he stood to leave. "I'm sorry Squall. Really."






Author's notes.

Okay okay Laguna was out of character but awwwww, I'm not gonna tell ya what I was gonna say. I wanted to create a little tension and this was the massive explosion that resulted. I may change it later in the year, I may leave it..... What do you think?

Anyway, this may be the last of the linear time line, I'm going to jump ahead a year or so next chapter, so see ya then.

Love peace happiness.......................................................................................................................... whatever.

Luv

Darksquall