Hero By Necessity

restored || commander-lionheart

They weren’t, apparently. She shimmied out from underneath the car, the rough pavement playing hell with the back of her blouse. Why Trabia thought that low vehicles would be a good idea in their neck of the woods, she would never know, but she had been the only one who could fit between car and ground.

"We’re clean," she informed him, sighing as she looked at grease-stained hands, and wiped them off on her skirt. Black hid the stains fairly well, at least. She rooted in her bag and dug out a clean blouse, using the slow drive up Trabia’s winding roads to Garden as an opportunity to change.

"Wonderful. That’s garbage," she muttered, studying the damage to the back of the dirty shirt. The mourning period was brief; she crammed it into an open space in her bag and sat back.

Clothes were sacrificed far too often in their line of work; however, Trabia was starting to claim an alarmingly large percentage of her wardrobe. How annoying.

"As if you don't have enough saved up to buy that same blouse a thousand times over," Squall muttered back. If the vehicle had been high enough from the ground, he would have gotten beneath it or, at least, requested one of their Trabian escorts to do it.

Another silent ride, but this one was almost out of necessity. Anything, even unsaid, could and would be used against them if Trabia insisted on doing so. The best thing to do was not give them an opportunity to record something.

When the car stopped, Squall did not wait for the door to be opened for them. He did it himself, stepping out onto the pavement. "You ready?"

#xuofhearts

Wraps her arms around him gently, touching the softness of his hair in the back of his head. "Greetings, Squall of the storm..."

He smiled, turning his head to look back at her. "Greetings, Jenova of Calamity."

restored || commander-lionheart

He thought he was closed-off, difficult to read, but she’d been involved with him long enough to know when she had crossed a line, and right now, Squall looked approximately two seconds away from starting an argument over a tasteless joke.

"Not so much, no," she agreed, closing the file in her lap. Reading words she’d practically committed to memory at this point wasn’t going to do them any good. Xu lit a cigarette, and stood, crossing toward the window. Trabia proper was approaching, the skyline of the low-slung city advancing into view. "Think I can make a formal request to never come back to this city after we’re done here?”

"Yeah... after we blow it up."

----

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Banter, terrible coffee, and a car full of cigarette smoke. When they got off at the platform, Squall gripped the over-edited folder of papers under an arm as if it was a stress-ball.

"Alright... there should be a vehicle waiting for us out in front of the station," he commented, slowly getting used to the scent of fresh air. "Let us just hope they weren't nice enough to stick a bomb beneath it."

#xuofhearts

Getaway || commander-lionheart

"You know your audience very well," she grinned in return. Not a huge surprise, of course. "Maybe I’m even rubbing off on you more than I thought!" Although it would probably be difficult to tempt him into anything close to joining her in song. She could dream, though.

Selphie nodded, letting her hands curl and rest in her lap. “Of course she has. It’s not like I can let anything with my health slide anymore with both of you watching me, after all.” The last thing she wanted was to make Squall have to be even more concerned with her than he already was. “As far as I’m aware, she doesn’t have any complaints for me.”

"Good." Squall nodded, paying careful attention to the road as he drove. "I have to admit... I'm excited about this. I know nothing about raising children... And I cannot promise to be good at it, but..."

A deep breath. "I was thinking... of names. If it's a boy, maybe Daemeon? And for a girl... Rhen?" He glanced over at Selphie in the passenger seat. "What do you think? I know we have plenty of time, but..."

#sunnyexplosions

Getaway || commander-lionheart

She’d known him long enough to know that the answer she’d wanted to hear and the answer she expected him to give were two different things, and she was just convinced enough to let it slide.

He’d eat better while she was with him; that much she was sure of.

Selphie carefully maneuvered herself into the car, nodding her approval and waiting for him to move around to his own side. “Good plan! And you know I can’t say no to trains.”

#I think they were on the search for baby literature #but don't quote me on it #sunnyexplosions

"That's why we're taking one," he said, sliding into the driver's side and closing the door behind him. "A little bit of excitement never hurt anyone." not to mention it saved on him driving, and that was always a plus.

He started the vehicle, then navigated them outside of the parking area before applying a bit of speed.

"Kadowaki been keeping you in good shape, I trust?"

restored || commander-lionheart

"I was tired, half-blown up, and all of my false papers have me listed as a Galbadian citizen." She shrugged. Her name was nearly as recognizable as his, especially in the wake of recent events. "Besides, I was dead. That would’ve been awkward if I just suddenly strolled into town alive and well."

A joke in really poor taste, but she didn’t care terribly much.

"Remind me to take a refresher course in Galbadian at some point; my idioms are rusty, apparently."

#xuofhearts #it would make sense #they weren't exactly subtle about it

Awkward just strolling in alive and well. Squall refrained from commenting on that. It would just set him of and set them back. And right now, the last thing that they needed was an argument. There was a bigger problem laying ahead, not behind.

"Makes sense. Though I will end up using you as a reference regardless. Every bit of Galbadian I learned has long since left my memory." Another sip and a wince. "Don't think I will be able to get away with an alter-ego like you, though."

restored || commander-lionheart

"Enough that I’m tempted to get marketing tips from them. If I keep my receipt, can I have it written off as an expense?" A faint smirk curved her lips and she handed him one of the coffees. "Careful. It’s hot as hell and tastes like sludge. But it’s caffeinated."

Settling herself back down onto the side of the bench she’d staked out as her own, Xu balanced her cup on the armrest and flicked back through the folder she’d been browsing.

"If it comes down to needing them, they knew me as Brigitte," she added absently, referring to the network of Trabian resistance that she’d holed up with. "I’ve still got the documents they set me up with to get me out of the country."

And a powerful need to burn that identity once this situation had been wrapped up. Brigitte was not a handle she particularly enjoyed being known by.

"It's all getting written off as an expense. And if I get opposition about it, well, I'll tell the financial team to shove it." Squall said, accepting the coffee. It was good to see something besides the determined furrowed brow on Xu's face. He sipped the coffee and winced. Xu had been right. It was utter crap. But it had caffeine.

He watched her browse the folder, slowly formulating his own plan. The name caught him off-guard, and curiosity begged him to ask. "Brigitte? Mind if I ask why that name?" Not that he didn't like it, but anything other than 'Xu' was just difficult to imagine.

"Though if all goes well, we won't need to utilize them."

#xuofhearts

Getaway || commander-lionheart

Selphie fought the urge to tell him she was more than capable of handling opening doors for herself, but he would have insisted and she’d learned to sit back and allow him to do as he pleased, paranoid though he was. It was endearing more than anything else, after all, and of little harm to anyone.

Thankfully, they were able to make the walk through Garden without being interrupted by anyone, and she nodded in reply to his question. “I did. I’m making extra sure to not skip any meals! But, have you?”

Had he? No. Was he going to tell Selphie that and get scolded? Not a chance. Hell hath no fury, after all.

"Three a day," he said, fibbing and counting coffee for two of them. "And plenty of fluids." Again, coffee. They entered the garage and Squall opened the passenger door of his car for the pregnant woman. "We'll go to the station, catch a train... Faster and will save on gas."

#sunnyexplosions

khpalooza

SO I WAS IN MY ROOM ABOUT TO FALL ASLEEP AND MY LITTLE SISTER WHOS LIKE 12 WAS IN THE SHOWER AND ITS REALLY LATE SO ITS REALLY QUIET AND SUDDENLY I HEAR MY SISTER GIGGLING TO HERSELF IN THE BATHROOM SO I NATURALLY ASKED HER WHAT THE HECK WAS WRONG AND SHE COMES IN OUR ROOM PRACTICALLY HYPERVENTILATING AND HOLDS UP ONE OF THOSE BATH SQUISHY THINGS AND SAYS CALMLY; "….Marloofuh" AND I CANT EVEN

restored || commander-lionheart

An hour.

That was how long she spent in the dining car, nursing two, three cups of burnt, overpriced coffee and watching the Trabian continent’s not-terribly-interesting scenery pass by.

Snow-capped mountains, mostly, giving way to wide valleys and something almost like civilization in the form of tiny little villages and slightly bigger towns.

Trabia city got endlessly closer. Xu gave up on the last cup, bought two more and two stupidly overpriced packs of cigarettes from the newsagent, and made her way back to the SeeD car.

Squall was pretty much right where she’d left him, and Xu tossed one of the packs in his direction without aiming very precisely. If his reflexes had gone to shit in the three months she was gone, that was his fault.

"Here," she said. "Catch."