Fire-Cross Knight

Squall had allowed Irvine to talk him into allowing the Ragnarok for a trip to Deling City; the gang had agreed that nothing sounded better than food from that region, and, as always, Squall had been unable to deny them.

The trip had been relatively short- Quistis didn’t seem angry at Squall for his prolonged silence and instead took time to speak to him of the particulars of her life. As always, Squall listened impassively, flying smoothly and setting the ship down outside the city limits with a skilled hand.

The establishment that Irvine insisted upon stood close to the market district, so they enjoyed a stretch of the legs before their early dinner. It was actually the sort of place one would expect to find the recent heroes of the world, but much more ostentatious than they preferred. Some of them, most notably Irvine and Zell, refused to observe the extra rules of etiquette forced on them by being in such a renowned restaurant, which limited the number of places in which Quistis was not too embarrassed to be seen with them. This afternoon, however, Irvine had insisted that if they were to eat Galbadian cuisine, they would do so at the only place (aside from his kitchen) where it could be properly made.

Zell immediately fell to cleaning space for his arms by piling unnecessary silverware to the side of his plate. Quistis watched with much less horror than she had previously; she had accepted that part of being off-duty meant acting however you wanted, and Zell had provided several profound arguments as to why he should be able to do whatever he pleased. Being that they weren’t there to impress anyone, least of all each other, he thought he should be comfortable. And that was a statement to which Irvine, Selphie, and (silently) Squall all could agree.

Irvine and Selphie sat side-by-side and talked constantly, but there was something different about them. Squall’s assassin’s observational skills told him that they were holding themselves differently tonight, but his social skills weren’t quite strong enough to tell him why that would be, so he didn’t think on it.

The dinner conversation ranged from recent missions to the rebuilding of Trabia. Selphie, through Cid, had contracted a handful of people from Fisherman’s Horizon to assess the damage. On her way back to Garden, she’d left the contractors at FH to discuss and plan the reconstruction with their mayor. She was growing increasingly nervous about what she suspected would be outlandish costs; if the cost was too much, she worried, Cid might decide to close the Garden down completely, and simply relocate the students there.

“When will they have an estimate ready?” Quistis asked over a fork spearing one fat ravioli.

“Before this evening,” she answered. Squall stared at his lasagna, thoughtful.

“You can stop by there on your way back from dropping Squall off in Esthar and see if they’ve got an answer,” she offered and Selphie nodded.

“They’re so freakin’ skittish! To get the mayor to bring the contract to Cid for signing would be *impossible*, and I don’t think that we can trust them enough to drop off the contract with Cid’s signature. And I’m sure Cid will agree!” Quistis nodded- rules and bylaws stated that the two parties agreeing to the contract must sign them in person. Allowing a one-sided contract to leave the Garden, with Cid’s signature, would be an easy way to create a forged document.

“Isn’t Cid going there in a few days anyway?” Zell asked, carefully maneuvering the food in his mouth as he spoke. “He can sign it then.” Selphie sighed, visibly deflating where she sat.

“You’ve waited this long, Seffie, a few more days won’t kill you,” Irvine answered sympathetically. Selphie nodded but didn’t brighten.

“...I can go look it over,” Squall said quietly. Suddenly the felt the familiar weight of four sets of eyes turned towards him. “I’ll look at it, and if it’s any good...”

“Squall’s right!” Quistis exclaimed, turning to Selphie. “He’s still acting Field Commander! When ‘in the field’ he has the same rank and privileges as the Headmaster! And the definition of ‘in the field’ includes anywhere *outside* of Garden- since FH is outside of Garden, Squall has Headmaster authority there!”

“Are you sure there’s no way this can come back on us?” Irvine asked. Quistis nodded.

“Garden laws on this subject were only just recently written, and it was done after NORG left, so it was mostly Cid’s work. And his written laws have been notoriously flexible!” Zell groaned, remembering the Timber contract Rinoa had received from the same source. “There hasn’t been any time to flesh out the loopholes in the laws and bylaws yet!”

“Would you really look it over for me?” Selphie asked. When Squall nodded, she bounced high in her chair, pumping a fist in the air above her. “Woo-hoo!” A waiter walking behind her jumped, managing to look so scandalized when his feet returned to the ground that Zell couldn’t help snickering at his expense. It took only a moment before Selphie deflated again. “But don’t you have to be in Esthar by 1700? It’s 1600 now!” Squall shrugged.

“This contract hasn’t been authorized by any Garden or Esthar authorities yet. I was going to sign it with Laguna when I got there. I’ll call him and tell him I’ll arrive at a different time. He’s got his own men keeping an eye on the situation, and the enemy has no way of escape. It’s a standoff, and they’re only calling me in to end the situation before it gets serious... I have the time.” Selphie reached across Zell to take one of Squall’s hands in gratitude.

“Thank you~ thank you~ THANK YOU!” She laughed and returned to her meal with new fervor. Irvine grinned at her delight and winked at Squall. Even Quistis laughed.

Dinner went smoothly after that point, and Squall came to realize that, even though he rarely spoke, these people could make him feel like a part of every conversation. He felt more at home among these people, people who understood that his silence wasn’t forbidding, than he ever had in one physical place. It was that comfort, more than anything else, that made him dread looking into that place in the back of his mind.

No matter how nice it was to spend this time with his family, in that place, there was a fear he couldn’t kill, because it wasn’t his own.