FFVIII: Leader
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Squall/Fujin
Warnings: Angst
Rating: G
Summary: She was surprised at the welcome. For fated_children.
Squall welcomed her back to Garden.
It hurt, how easily he accepted her back, sat in his commander's chair in his office and looking up at her with a world of compassion and understanding in the eyes she only remembered as being dark and distrustful. He'd been changed, so changed, and she barely recognised him as the sullen boy she'd watch Seifer taunt and fight and bait.
It seemed so simple for him to do, even though she'd tried to kill him. He just listened to her, listened to her apologise and say she didn't know where Seifer was. And then he looked up. "I understand. You're welcome to finish your training and take the SeeD exam in Garden. Just be aware that should Seifer cause any more trouble, if you follow him, I won't be able to welcome you back a second time."
That was it and then she was walking out of his office, alone. Raijin wasn't with her. He'd sickened of it all, of blood and death and endless follow-my-leader. But she hadn't. Somehow, she needed a leader, and maybe she needed the fight, too, the quick beating of her heart and the surge of adrenaline.
"Are you okay?"
His friends weren't with him. He raised an eyebrow at her, holding his cup of coffee carefully, and without her saying another word, he sat down at the same table as her, wrapping his hands around the warmth of the cup as if he was cold.
"NO PITY."
"I don't pity you."
It was an echo of a conversation she had once, of a laughing blond-haired boy slipping into the seat opposite and saying she'd looked lonely. She hadn't felt lonely since, 'til the end of the war, and suddenly, the feeling lifted.
"THANK YOU," she said, more quietly than usual, and he shrugged.
He loved Rinoa, of course. He was the perfect Knight, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect husband. But Fujin didn't need his love in return to know that he was the kind of person she needed. And so she would have followed him to the depths of hell, even if Rinoa wouldn't, even if the rest of the world wouldn't.
And he was her friend.
She came to become his second-in-command, somehow, despite everything, and the most painful moment of her life was when she and Squall faced Seifer and Raijin. Seifer was bewildered and Raijin was hurt, but she stayed at Squall's side.
Seifer had always been wrong, and Squall had always been right.
She knew that now, and she was never going to leave him.
Pairing: Squall/Fujin
Warnings: Angst
Rating: G
Summary: She was surprised at the welcome. For fated_children.
Squall welcomed her back to Garden.
It hurt, how easily he accepted her back, sat in his commander's chair in his office and looking up at her with a world of compassion and understanding in the eyes she only remembered as being dark and distrustful. He'd been changed, so changed, and she barely recognised him as the sullen boy she'd watch Seifer taunt and fight and bait.
It seemed so simple for him to do, even though she'd tried to kill him. He just listened to her, listened to her apologise and say she didn't know where Seifer was. And then he looked up. "I understand. You're welcome to finish your training and take the SeeD exam in Garden. Just be aware that should Seifer cause any more trouble, if you follow him, I won't be able to welcome you back a second time."
That was it and then she was walking out of his office, alone. Raijin wasn't with her. He'd sickened of it all, of blood and death and endless follow-my-leader. But she hadn't. Somehow, she needed a leader, and maybe she needed the fight, too, the quick beating of her heart and the surge of adrenaline.
"Are you okay?"
His friends weren't with him. He raised an eyebrow at her, holding his cup of coffee carefully, and without her saying another word, he sat down at the same table as her, wrapping his hands around the warmth of the cup as if he was cold.
"NO PITY."
"I don't pity you."
It was an echo of a conversation she had once, of a laughing blond-haired boy slipping into the seat opposite and saying she'd looked lonely. She hadn't felt lonely since, 'til the end of the war, and suddenly, the feeling lifted.
"THANK YOU," she said, more quietly than usual, and he shrugged.
He loved Rinoa, of course. He was the perfect Knight, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect husband. But Fujin didn't need his love in return to know that he was the kind of person she needed. And so she would have followed him to the depths of hell, even if Rinoa wouldn't, even if the rest of the world wouldn't.
And he was her friend.
She came to become his second-in-command, somehow, despite everything, and the most painful moment of her life was when she and Squall faced Seifer and Raijin. Seifer was bewildered and Raijin was hurt, but she stayed at Squall's side.
Seifer had always been wrong, and Squall had always been right.
She knew that now, and she was never going to leave him.