Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Until the End of Eternity, and Longer ❯ Chapter Nineteen ( Chapter 19 )

*Banshee cowers away from her muse, Xavier, who is currently glowering at her, hovering over her with arms crossing his chest and insisting she write instead of doing that other thing she's supposed to do, like eat lunch* He's so scary. *Looks longingly at her half-eaten mac n'cheese, and with a sigh, checks the time and puts her fingers on the keyboard*

Tehe! Okay, so actually, today was a really great day and for the first time in a long time, I don't actually NEED Xavier to feel inspired! It's a good day to be alive-it really is. Every day is a good day to be alive (and don't you dare forget it!).

Irvine, I'm sorry you're so shocked! But, durnit! I can't let this thing go on and on forever, or I'd never have any time for any of my other ideas! I have like 4 original works going, two Inuyasha arcs, this story/arc (I want to do Selphie next I think.). Plus, I had so much fun writing "Stay with Me" a ff8 yaoi fic of mine, that I want to write another with that pairing, an epic like this story is! And I mean, sheesh, I've got to be over 100 pages with this by now, easily! Ooo, and I read a great fic a lil' while ago that inspired me, so I want to write a Squall/Irvine fic. (I dig all fiction, hetero, yaoi, yuri, doesn't matter, but fact is, though this fic is standard pairings, the odder the pair-up the better, as far as I'm concerned!) Oh, and more GW fics too, I want to write some more odd-couple gw fics! *grins* So, anyway, if this was all I had to do, maybe forever and ever would be okay, but alas, it will have to end at some point, and I can see the end approaching, so. . .bleh.

Lunatic Pandora1. Something you thought you'd never see Squall do? Would that be fishing in his underwear or giving Irvine a hug (as awkward as he felt doing it)? LOL!!! I know at first glance, it seems ooc for him, but I think given the direction the story has taken, it really suited the moment. I mean, comeon, more than anything, you gotta admit, Squall is a totally damaged individual. So I decided a few "human" moments would not at all be a bad thing to do with him. Besides it was SOOO FUN to write! Anyways, thanks!

Sariph21. Thanks so much! Everytime someone says something like that I get a total ego boost. Haha! *watches her ego swelling* Gah! Bad waffle! Oh wait, that's eggo, isn't it? *blushes and giggles uncomfortably* Anyway, *scratches back of head* I seriously do appreciate it. My reviewers make me feel like bothering to write fanfiction at all is actually worth it, because there are times that I start to wonder, ya know?

Anyways! Thanks so much to all of you. I reeaaallllyyy really appreciate your input!

Tonight, it rained buckets. . .and I danced. But I still don't own FFVIII and never will.

And now, on with "Until the End of Eternity, and Longer". . .

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"Until the End of Eternity, and Longer"

by: Banshee Puppet

Chapter Nineteen

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"I danced in the rain tonight," Jace said with a smile.

"Is that so important?" Laguna asked, loading his gun.

"It's the most important thing there is."

Laguna hadn't understood it then and he didn't understand it any more now. So why had he thought of it so suddenly as he ate his eggs, watching the odd chemistry in the air between his son and nephew this morning.

It was Zell who finally commented on their odd behavior. "Okay, you two are acting weird, what's the big secret?" he looked at Irvine and leaned in, trying awkwardly to death glare Squall into spilling the beans.

Instead, Irvine said evenly, "we went fishing," and Squall snickered slightly, his mouth spreading into an uncharacteristic grin, before a thunderous echo of laughter exploded out of him and sent Irvine chuckling, then laughing right along with him, pulling Selphie against his chest in his mirth.

"What's so damn funny?" Zell insisted. "Why are you laughing?!"

"Because I can, Zell," Squall answered between snickers as his random fit of laughter started to die down, and smiling, said softly, "because I can."

"You aren't yourself today, Mr. Leonheart," Rinoa said, using her mock-professional tone.

"Quite the contrary, Rin. I'm more myself today than I've ever been." And acting on impulse, he took her hand and kissed the back of it as if a nobleman of some sort.

Rinoa gasped and giggled. "What HAS gotten into you?" she prodded.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"What did you two do last night, really?" she insisted.

With a sweet, but knowing smile, and an exchanged glance between the boys, Squall said evenly, almost flatly, as he let go and leaned back in his chair, "we went fishing."

"Is fishing really such a big deal?" Selphie asked skeptically, looking up at Irvine.

"It's the biggest deal there is darlin'," the cowboy said, his voice taking on a reverent tone as he repeated himself, "the biggest deal in the whole damn world."

And finally, Laguna understood. It was something about their reckless nature, and the need to feel alive.

He realized suddenly, they were waiting for something, for him to continue, so he swallowed down a bite of egg, took a sip of coffee and began.

"I was really sorry to leave, at that time. I didn't want to go, but I felt like I owed it to myself, and especially to Jace, to fulfill my dream. I wanted, more than anything, to be someone that she could be proud of, and you too, Irvine, but things rarely go according to plan."

He sighed slightly. "But I would come back. Once more when I was given a week off. . .okay, so technically I was suspended from active duty, anyway. . .the other time I returned, it was because the military had contacted me after I left for good, and because I needed her help."

And suddenly, Laguna could smell daisies and peaches on the air again. He sighed. "She's been dead a long time now, but damn if this town doesn't still smell like her."

"That's because she's still here. She never left," Squall said quietly, looking at the figure standing behind Laguna's chair like a quiet sort of strength, the ghost-like fingers making some of his hair wisp as she brushed it with her hand, trying to comfort him. Her words came back to him. "I can almost feel it," she had said. And now her fingers were moving his hair, just barely, hardly noticeable, but it DEFINITELY was her. And there were shadows in her eyes, a story written in the blood that dripped down her right arm. Now, he noticed, for the very first time, a pistol hanging loosely in her grip there. One of her pistols, the ones depicted in the statue.

"Adel was running wild at that time. How could I deny my little brother whatever help he needed? He was so worried, about the world, about us, and more than that, I wanted there to exist a world where my little boy didn't have to be afraid. So of course I went with him, of course I helped him. How could I not. And also, there was something about a little girl. Laguna always had a weakness for children, and this one was practically family to him, it seemed. He was worried. He didn't want her to be hurt, and I could never stand seeing him frown, so I did the only thing I could." Jace's eyes turned sadly on Irvine as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I gave him up. My little boy. My shining star." But her words faded in Squall's mind as a familiar feeling overtook him and blearily, he noticed Irvine's eyes fluttering before he dropped from consciousness.

`Jace? Jace where are you?!' Squall called out.

`M-mom?' Irvine asked, hearing Squall call her name in the blackness.

`I'm so sorry boys. Just allow me to use you like this a little longer. Please.' She spoke, but neither could see her here, in this blackness.

`It was you doing this, all along?' Squall asked.

`No. The first time was Ellone. Imagine my surprise when I found out, being dead, I could do a very similar thing. Perhaps, one day, you'll. . .forgive me. . .' and her voice faded as the scene came into view.

They recognized it immediately. It was the orphanage by the sea, but it was obvious that Laguna and Jace had never been here before.

Irvine could feel the little him clinging to his mother's leg, and Squall was vaguely able to register the words coming from Laguna's mouth. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's not the time for being selfish, `guna. Crow and I have been taking it easy for way too long."

"You never did tell me how you ended up with that GF, you know," Laguna informed her.

"I. . .don't really know. Maybe I died," she shrugged, not as flippantly as was her habit, but more of a "just drop it" sort of shrug. "Now isn't the time. If we live through all this, THEN we can look for the answers and stories, but not before, Laguna. There's just too much else to worry about right now."

"Momma?" little Irvine asks nervously, shifting from foot to foot. His eyes ask the obvious questions, `why are we here? Where are we? And, why are you sad?'

Jace kneels down in front of Irvine and brushes his hair back with her fingers while she speaks. "I have to go away for a little while, Irvine. A lot of people are counting on me and your Uncle Laguna to do something important, but we'll be back, okay? I promise."

Irvine clutched her neck tightly. "Don't go!" he begged.

And Jace? Well Jace squeezed back, just as tightly, biting her lower lip to hold back the tears, before pulling away and saying, "I have to, Irvy. I don't want to, but, I've GOT to. Maybe one day, you'll understand."

Sure, Irvine understood. He'd done a lot of things he hadn't wanted to do because of the war. There was really only one difference between them in that respect: Irvine had survived. And that was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Be good for Matron Edea, while I'm away, okay kit?"

Irvine nodded and sniffled.

Laguna was the one to approach the woman on the stairs. `Let them have a few moments alone,' he thought, as heart-wrenching as it all was. There were really two purposes to him being here.

"Irvine's a good boy," he told her weakly, biting his lower lip.

"I'm sure he is. He'll be fine, Mr. Loire. I promise."

"Jace or I, we'll come back for him, if we can, when this is all over." He shook his head with more determination. "We're coming back for him," he said steadily. "So just, you know, look after him for a little while."

Edea smiled and nodded. How many times had she heard something similar in these past weeks? She didn't want to count them. And how many were likely to return as they'd promised? She didn't want to think about that at all.

Jace came over, a sniffling Irvine holding her hand and said, "Irvine, this is Matron Edea. She's going to watch over you for a little while, just like Kennedy did when I was fixing the roof or something, okay?"

"M-my name's Irvine Kinneas," Irvine said softly, still clutching tightly to his mother's hand.

"Laguna," Jace said. "I know you want to ask her about that other thing, so just go ahead. I'll bring Irvine inside so he can get to know the. . .the other kids. . ." she swallowed. "If that's alright."

Edea nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

But Edea didn't know anything.

There were only a few other children there, at that time: a young blonde boy called Seifer, and a cute little brunette named Squall who reminded her so much of Laguna it was a little freaky. Not that he looked all that much like Laguna, really, there was just something about him that she couldn't place. When they entered, Squall was crying because Seifer was making fun of him and had stolen his toy car.

`Gotta be strong, like momma,' little Irvine recited in his head over and over again. And, biting his lower lip, he slipped out of his mother's grip and went over slapping the bully, unexpectedly, upside the head. "Leave `im alone," he insisted.

Squall peeked up at him through the tears, and Seifer just sort of gaped at him. `He'll be okay.' Jace knew it, at that moment. She watched the boys for a few more moments before feeling a presence behind her shoulder. She looked up and leaned back. It was Laguna. The tired expression, at that time, it made him look so old. `Do I look that old too?' she wondered.

"Time to go," she asked.

Laguna nodded. "We only have so much time, and there's a lot to do."

Jace nodded. "I want to tell him I'm leaving, but he's so content right now, I don't want to ruin that," she whispered. "Let's just go. He already knows. . .I'm coming back for him."

Laguna nodded and the pair turned to leave. But the motion distracted Irvine's attention from Squall and his toy car, as he sat Indian style across from the other boy.

"Momma!" he leaped up, clenching his fists to keep himself from running to her. "Your promise! Don't forget!" he insisted, and vaguely, through the blinding sunlight, he could see her tip her hat at him before the door closed between them.

"She won't come back, you know," Seifer mocked.

"She will too!" Irvine insisted. "She promised."

"Adults always make promises to kids that they've got no intention of keeping. She's not coming back. She hates you. She never wants to see your ugly face again," Seifer insisted with mocking tones.

And Irvine, angry, punched the other boy in the nose. "She's coming back," he said. "My momma, loves me. It's not like you. Nobody'd ever love a jerk like you, Seifer!" he huffed and then sat back down on the floor with Squall.

Yeah, Irvine would always remember that day. . .the one and only day he'd made Seifer Almsay cry.

Jace sat in the car silently, her expression haggard. She knew, if she said one word, she'd lose it, start sobbing, and she didn't want that.

For a long time, Laguna said nothing either, but it wasn't in his nature to stay silent for long. "Jace. . ."

Jace looked up at him with those wide eyes she had and her lips started quivering, moisture beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Her head dropped into his shoulder and hiccupping sobs began to escape. "I. . .'guna. My little boy. . . . . .it hurts so much. . .my heart. . .so much."

Laguna parked the car and wrapped his arms around her. "I know, sis. I know. It isn't good to keep it all bottled up though, you know. That's why. . .I'm so sorry Jace. I shouldn't have gotten you involved, but I. . .I'm sorry."

And these last words came out a whisper as both boys came to, Irvine wiping his eyes of the tears that had begun to fall, even while he slept. "Momma," he whispered.

Squall looked across the table at Irvine with some strange expression that had never been seen on his face again, his brow furrowed and he swallowed hard. "I just remembered you," Squall said softly. "You. . .hit him. I can't believe I forgot."

And through his tears, Irvine chuckled. "Yeah, uh, guess I did."

Through the sorrow and grief, through all the pain and loss, the boys found themselves laughing again at a jewel of a memory that tumbled out of all that came before, and when Squall got up to bring some of the dishes into the kitchen, which had become a habit these past few days, something he did with his father, as small and silly as it was, he tripped over a rusted toy car that was on the floor, lying there with only three wheels still attached.

"Shit!" he cursed as he fell backwards, surprised at the lack of impact the fall had.

"Squall?!" Laguna asked, looking down at him from over his son's head as Squall realized that he was half on the ground, with his head and shoulders caught against Laguna's chest where the man had fallen to his knees to catch him.

"I'm okay," he said, not sounding as certain as he intended, a little stunned from the sudden fall, as he sat up.

Irvine picked the car up from where it rolled and strolled over to Squall, meaningfully, holding out the object in his open palm for the other to take. Squall did, and smiled softly, just like on that day. `How could I have forgotten you, Irvine? In those early days at Matron's you were like a brother to me. Before Ellone, and before the others, before Selphie. How did we end up falling away from one another like that, so easily. Well, I won't forget again. I promise,' Squall decided. `I won't forget about you again.'

He put the car in his pocket, another little reminder of a life that was shared, a world that could have been, and another important memory that the GF had taken away from them. And here was Jace who was asking to be forgiven? `Right, if anything, we should be thanking her for giving us our lives back.'

And Jace, hiding in the sunlight of the window, winced. `I guess I put that in a bad spot,' she thought as Squall took his spill.

`Gee, ya think?' a voice came from beside her, causing Jace to jump slightly. `Oh! Raine, it's just you.'

`Hmn. What are you planning to do, when you're finished telling your story, Jace? What do you think will happen?'

`I don't know. . .something. . .extraordinary. At least I hope so. I can't take this anymore. At the very least, I hope they'll tear down that god-awful statue! What were they thinking? I mean, really. So many people died in the war, so they make a statue of one woman? To honor one woman? All I did was fire the final shot, and from what I hear, even that wasn't enough to finish her off for good.' Jace sighed. `It almost feels as if I wasted my death. Anyway, it's time for something to change, don't you think? Can't you feel it in the air? I really want to protect them, you know. Don't you?'

`Sure. But we're dead. There isn't really much we can do,' Raine insisted.

`Well. . .maybe. . .but I'm still going to try.'

`You're totally untamable, as usual. I see Crow has come back to you,' Raine commented of the feathers floating around Jace's bloody form.

`Huh? Oh, yeah,' Jace said, lifting one of the feathers out of the air and brushing it under her nose. `It something about this place. This desert wind stirs his heart. Mine too.'

`Doesn't that hurt?' Raine asked of the bleeding wounds covering Jace's form, the now bruised and slightly swollen cheek.

`No. But. . .almost. . .' Jace answered reverently. `I can almost feel it.'

Raine sighed. `You're so odd. Maybe it's because you died in such an unnatural way. Or maybe it's just. . .because you really are the type of person they all think you are. But, Jace, are all heroes as odd as you?'

`Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a hero. Just a woman. I've never been anything else. If you stick around, you'll see. I think the end of my story makes it entirely clear. I died selfishly. But seriously, tell me. If there was a way that you could watch over them, be sure they were okay all the time, no matter what the cost, would you do it, Raine?'

"You know something, don't you?"

"I have. . . a strong suspicion. Now just answer the question."

"Yes. I would do it."

"I was hoping you would say that. So please, stick around a while longer, if you can."

And with some careful deliberation, Raine nodded. `. . .I don't think it's the desert wind that stirs Crow's heart, Jace. I think, maybe, it's just you.'

Jace smiled sweetly, a secret on the air between them that she wasn't sharing. `Crow is. . .someone who has loved me, since before I was born.'

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hokay! Well, that's chapter nineteen! We're getting real, genuine plot now! At least, plot for the present, rather than just the past. Jace has a secret! Irvine is at the orphanage! What's going to happen next?!? Well, *leans in and whispers* "I'm not telling!"

Anyways, hope you like! R&R. Until next time kits!

Happy Haunting,

~Banshee Puppet~