1. Colors of a Blooming Flower

**A/N:** Another oneshot addressing something that once more wouldn't get out of my head; a scene from the lives of the Leonhart family. While I loathe playing around with OCs, I've enjoyed writing about Squall and Lightning's children, and thus entertained more ideas into their lives. This story is its own oneshot, as its premise wouldn't exactly fit in SCE.

For those that haven't read Tiny Titans yet, Squall and Lightning are married and have sired two daughters, Averia and Raine Leonhart, the latter being one-year younger. For those interested in how they look like, _Yurei_ and _Eirlys-Tylluan_ have generously drawn up their design; links can be found in my author's page.

mikeymike, to answer your question, 'Averia', according to the Final Fantasy Wiki, was what Lightning's name was originally supposed to be. Whether this is accurate, I don't know ^_^;

Hope you'll enjoy this one!

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><p>"<em>Daddy!"<em>

_A pink haired girl cried when she burst into the room, her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. The brunet looked up from his desk and frowned worriedly, pushing his chair backwards as the eight year old circled the table and leaped into her father's arms, burying her face in his chest as her body shook with her suppressed sobs._

_Squall rubbed her back awkwardly at first, not knowing how to comfort his eldest daughter, before sighing and giving her a reassuring hug as he tried to piece together what made her upset._

"_What's wrong?" he asked comfortingly, or as comforting as he could. Even after these eight years, he was still awkward when it came to verbally reassuring upset people. Lightning was easy to appease, as she understood him, even though she teased him about his awkwardness every now and then._

_The little girl pulled back, looking up at her father, before suddenly burying her face in his chest again when she felt her tears about to fall. Squall frowned at Averia's reaction before he began to affectionately stroke her hair. He felt his eldest daughter tense up, her arms, wrapped around his chest, tightened tighter, and he rested his cheek against the crown of her head. _

"_It's alright to cry." He spoke softly, trying to soothe his distressed daughter. Averia's arms tightened even more in response, and he felt a growing wetness on his chest. Squall continued to rub circles on her back and the little pinkette let out a few choked sobs._

_Eventually, her grip around his chest loosened and she pulled back, and Squall looked on worriedly at her red cheeks and eyes. "What's wrong?" he repeated softly, and Averia chewed on her bottom lip, tears welling up in her eyes again, before taking a deep breath and speaking._

"_Ceo… Ceo did…" she choked out, trying to speak over her dry throat. Squall tightened his hold, pressing her cheek against his chest as he continued rubbing her back. Gathering her guts, she suddenly wailed. "He said I'm a freak! And I have cooties!" She started crying again, balling his shirt in her tiny fists. _

_Squall's brows knitted as he tried to decipher what was wrong. He tried to imagine why Cecil's son would say that, and why Averia acted the way she did. He stared at the pink hair framing the top of his eldest daughter's head and mentally sighed. The 'why's didn't matter. What mattered was getting his little princess (he inwardly cursed Laguna's influence, though seeing as his eldest enjoyed being called a 'princess', he couldn't berate his father about it) to smile again._

"_I'm sure he didn't mean it." Squall spoke sincerely. "He was just…" he trailed off briefly, trying to think of Ceodore's motive and said the first thing that came to mind. "…being a boy."_

_Averia craned her head upwards, sniffling once and rubbing her eyes with her palms as before her baby blues widened in wonder. "Were you like that daddy?"_

I was actually busy hunting down Gnats to be bothered with teasing other children. _"… Of course I was."_

_The little pinkette squinted at him and he held his breath, recognizing the look his wife gave him when she sensed he was hiding something, before she sighed and pressed her cheek against his chest once again. "Silly daddy." She berated him softly with a small smile, and Squall decided that it didn't matter if she did see through his white lie. "But thank you."_

_Squall ruffled the top of her hair, making her scowl up at him. _

"_Hey!" she shouted indignantly._

_The brunet looked around before returning his gaze back to his pouting daughter. "Where are your mother and sister?"_

"_Mommy's trying to stop Rainy from beating up Ceo." Averia muttered as she tried to straighten her hair._

_Squall blinked owlishly. "Hn. Your mother should let Raine get a hit in at least."_

_The little pinkette in his arms giggled at her father's disappointed tone. "Rainy already got him with a few rounds from her XM109."_

_Squall cracked a small smile, proud of Raine's protectiveness over her big sister and Averia's growing knowledge of their youngest's firearms. "Remind me to buy her more bullets."_

_Averia giggled again as she stood on the tip of her toes, placing her hands on his shoulders as she stared intently into his eyes, her own blues glittering affectionately. "I love you daddy." She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek._

"_When I grow up, I wanna marry you."_

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><p>Squall Leonhart was scribbling away at his desk, reviewing and correcting the latest batch of reports and requests for the week, when his wife strode in his study in their safe house in Archades. He acknowledged her presence with a glance, and she returned it with a nod, before he returned to his work as she plopped down on the sofa by the window with a sigh.<p>

Lightning craned her neck towards him, resting her cheek on one hand as she studied her husband.

Several moments passed before Squall finally caved under her stare. The Commander of SeeD sighed, taking off his reading glasses and placed them on his desk before leveling his wife with a cool gaze. "What?"

The pink haired mother smirked, fixing her position so she was sitting upright while continuing to lock gazes with him, not minding as her pink hair and the white curtains danced with the wind blowing behind her from the open window. "I've dropped her off."

Squall's demeanor remained unchanged and his voice remained controlled. "I see."

"Thought you'd like to know." Her voice was smug and cheeky, and he could tell that the pinkette was trying to fish a reaction out of him.

Lightning continued to sit there expectantly, waiting for him to finally be at his wit's end, and her eyes shimmered when he finally relented.

"Is there else anything you wanted?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

She pushed herself off the couch and gracefully walked the steps towards his desk, pressing her hands on the wooden top as she leaned over the table, staring intently into his aloof gaze as she sought an answer. Squall's eyes remained impassive, though she was satisfied to see the sliver of agitation in his steel blue orbs.

"It's nothing." She retreated, leaning back against her chair. "I just thought you'd be interested."

She saw Squall's grip tighten around his pen and she inwardly smirked when he deadpanned, folding his arms. "I trust Averia."

"But...?" she prodded.

Squall looked away and added with great reluctance."... I don't trust Ceodore." _To not hurt her._

Lightning sighed with a shake of her head. "Neither do I." She agreed, making her husband's head snap in her direction. She smiled fondly. "You're not the only parent she has, you know." She dug her elbows on the table as she rested her chin on her knuckles.

Squall's posture relaxed as he admitted with a melancholic sigh. "... Averia wanted to marry me when she grew up."

The pink-haired mother blinked questioningly. "When was this?"

"Back when Averia was eight and Ceodore called her a freak."

Lightning easily recalled that memory, as she had just barely stopped their seven-year old Raine shooting King Cecil Harvey's eldest with _live_ rounds. Raine had been grounded for a month, though with Averia sneaking cookies and other assorted goods to the young brunette, which the two parents found out _after _Raine's punishment was lifted, the earnest Leonhart remained as trigger-happy as ever.

"What really happened that time?" Squall asked offhandedly.

"Apparently, all the children were playing when Cecil entered and Averia's condition kicked in."

"Hn..." Squall hummed thoughtfully, making Lightning's eyes narrow.

"Idea?"

"Ceodore was jealous." Lightning looked at him incredulously. "Men's intuition."

The pinkette scoffed. "Anybody ever told you that you give the lamest excuses?" She ignored her husband's scowl as she relaxed in her seat. "But I guess that would explain why he would say such a thing." While Ceodore was normally mild-mannered, he suffered from a major inferiority complex against his parents' achievements which would come out from time to time, though normally he grew more subdued whenever his father was around. She mused absently. "Still, this means that Ceodore may possibly return Averia's affections."

The sound of a pen clattering against the wooden table snapped the pinkette out of her musings. She inwardly laughed at the shock that embedded itself on her normally stoic husband's countenance, and couldn't help the smug mirth from escaping her mouth. "You didn't know?"

"..." Squall opened his mouth, trying to form words that never came before pressing his lips together, his eyes shut as his brain rebooted. He sighed before picking up his fallen pen. "That's... news." He placed the pen neatly on his pen holder as he scanned the report in front of him for any stains. "How are you sure?"

"Besides the obvious fact that his teasing always upset our eldest?" She smirked. "You can be _so_ clueless at times."

Squall ignored his wife's taunting, already used to her bluntly stating his faults. Instead, he continued reading through the official documents in front of him. Lightning's triumphant smirk softened before commenting. "You're taking this well."

The SeeD Commander's eyes shifted towards her questioningly and she elaborated. "Your fifteen year old daughter is meeting with her second crush," it was no secret that the eldest Leonhart daughter's first crush was Cecil's _hair_. "who just _might_ feel the same way about her, and you're just sitting there scribbling on your work." Lightning frowned. "How can you be so calm?"

Squall faced her fully, knowing that his wife was feeling anxious since the day before when Averia asked their permission to 'watch the parade with Ceo'. At the time, the Leonhart patriarch didn't read _too_ much into it. While he didn't like Ceodore so much, he was well aware that, if push came to shove, Cecil's son was a capable and responsible man, even more so than his Averia.

"I trust Averia. Everything's under control." he repeated sincerely, and Lightning found comfort in his words. Both knew that both their children were growing up, that they were no longer the little bundles of mischief that innocently hijacked the Ragnarok and shot it outside their atmosphere.

_That_ incident was one heartache they _couldn't_ forget.

Seeing the anxiety in his wife's eyes dim, Squall commented offhandedly as he contiued perusing the reports. "I guess that explains Raine's attitude towards Ceodore."

Raine always clung to her sister whenever Ceodore was around; making sure that the quarter-Lunarian would _never_ have time alone with Averia...

Lightning blinked when she suddenly realized something. "Where's Raine?"

Squall began scribbling furiously on the pages in front of him, ignoring his wife's question. Lightning's eyes narrowed before she stood up from her seat, rounding the table and pushing his shoulder backwards so that he was facing her.

"Squall." Lightning's voice was low and menacing as her eyes peered intensely into his. "Where is _she_?"

The brunet remained calm under his wife's glare and spoke clearly despite the sweat gathering behind his head. "I don't know."

"But you have an idea." She growled.

Squall's lips remained thin and Lightning suddenly let go of him. Squall swiveled his chair around as he watched his wife bend down to unhook the latch at the bottom of the bookcase behind his desk before standing. She glared at him over her shoulder once, and he took that as his cue to approach her and push the wooden bookcase to the side, revealing a door.

Lightning glared at him again and his countenance remained schooled. "You better hope I'm wrong." She threatened before grasping the handle and pushing.

The metallic door slid open _without_ a fuss and revealed a hidden armory. To Squall, it was their stash of weaponry, ranging from melee blades to the latest model of firearms. To Lightning, it was the biggest clue to the manic Raine's whereabouts. To the one known as Raine Leonhart, this door was the gateway to paradise.

Lightning's eyes quickly scanned the room, mentally running an inventory check for what the most dangerous weapon missing was, and the possible repercussions of said weapon being used. Her eyes narrowed at a particular spot and she glared balefully at her husband.

The trial of Squall Leonhart began.

"Why was this door unlocked?" Lightning's tone was even, but one could detect the undercurrent of danger.

Sadly, Squall constantly stared at the proverbial abyss without blinking. "Obviously, _Raine_ unlocked it."

The pinkette's eyes narrowed at her husband's cheek. "How, pray tell, _did _Raine get ahold of the keys to _this_ specific room?"

"I may have accidentally left them on the table" Squall shrugged absently, though Lightning could clearly see his ruse.

"_Accident_." His wife repeated dryly. "I'm sure." She growled before continuing, her voice getting more dangerous with each word spoken. "Doesn't it bother you that Raine, our sweet little _psychopath_, is running loose with an assorted collection of the latest issue of firearms, one of which happens to be a _Satellite Cannon_? That if this same Raine has a history of using her firearms against _your _cadets, what more someone she's shown to _greatly_ dislike?"

Squall knew he was in trouble, but he firmly stood his ground, even as his wife stood in front him angrily. "No. Like I said before, everything's under control."

"Elaborate."

"… Raine will retrieve Averia from the blast zone before firing."

A moment of silence passed before Lightning spoke, her voice leaving no room for argument. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight."

Squall Leonhart was found guilty.

"It's for Averia's safety!" No longer able to keep his emotions schooled, a spark of desperation bled through his voice.

"And I thought you said you trust her." Lightning pointed out wryly, pinching the bridge of her nose to stave off the incoming headache. She walked past him and plopped down on his chair, feeling all her strength leave her.

"I do." Squall defended. "I just don't trust Ceodore's intentions."

"I take back what I said earlier. You're not calm about _this_." She felt like banging her head on the table as she hoped and prayed that Raine wouldn't pull the trigger until they've retrieved her.

The phone suddenly rang and Lightning picked it up, glaring at Squall to stop his approach.

"Leonhart office. Speak." She didn't bother hiding the anger in her voice.

"_Ah Light?" _A familiar voice came from the other side and she sighed.

"What is it Laguna?"

Squall folded his arms, trying to think of a reason why Laguna would call.

"_Hey, I thought I told you to call me 'dad'?"_ the man whined from the other side.

"… Just state why you're calling." She spoke tiredly, not in the mood for all this.

"_Oh yeah! The space station called. They received a request to fire the satellite cannon,"_ Lightning glared at Squall, who had just figured out why his father was calling. He put on his jacket and walked towards the door with resigned steps. _"but the coordinates are at Archades. They've ID'd the weapon to Squall's, and I know your family's in the area for the negotiations, but satellite imaging shows no sign of danger."_

Despite Lightning's mood, she was quite impressed how Laguna managed to say all that without any mistakes. "Roger that. Do _not_ give permission to fire. I'm sending Squall to deal with the situation. Hold on."

She placed her hand on the microphone, ignoring the indignant cries from the speaker, placing her palm against it as she spoke to her husband. "Find Raine and bring her back." She commanded lowly. Squall reluctantly nodded, knowing there was no point arguing against her now.

"Oh, and Squall?" he stopped the door from closing halfway at his wife's call. "You're _still_ sleeping on the couch tonight."

Lightning savored the frown on her husband's face as the door closed. While it was sweet that he was _that_ protective of their children, it still didn't excuse his actions. Her husband, the legendary Commander of SeeD himself, had absolutely _no_ tact. At all.

"You still there?" She asked the man on the other side of the phone.

"_Yeah. This call isn't cheap, y'know?"_

"Oh suck it. Your city _made _these types of calls possible." She shot back irritably before sighing and cutting the man's incoherent grumblings over the phone. "Laguna, are any of your men in Archades?"

"_Yup. Anything you need?"_

"Averia is there. There should be a silver haired boy around her age looking for her." Lightning spoke slowly. "I want them to capture and interrogate him. I _want_ to know what he intends to do with _your first_ granddaughter." She emphasized that last point, knowing _that_ would get the gears in Laguna's imagination turning. Still, she knew Laguna wouldn't act without a little more prompting. "That boy _abducted_ Averia."

It technically wasn't a lie, as Ceodore was the one who called Averia out since the Red Wings were also visiting Archades. Abduction didn't always mean kidnapping, after all.

Lightning instinctively held the speaker away from her ear.

_"HE_ _WHAT? !"_ Laguna shouted from the other side. _"Don't worry! My men will catch that little rascal for sure!"_

The pink-haired mother was pleased when the President of Esthar hung up the phone.

She sunk back into the embrace of her husband's seat with a soft smile on her lips. There were _other_ ways to get around Averia's situation instead of blowing up the cause.

Really, her husband had _no_ tact at all.

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><p><strong>AN: **Pretty sure this will be as lowly received as Tiny Titans, but I still hope that whoever read this piece still found it enjoyable. I hope Squall and Lightning's portrayal are still believable in this shot, as, admittedly, I was getting drowsy as I typed this story out.

Thanks for reading!


	2. My Youngest Daughter Can't Be This Cute!

**_A/N:_** As most readers probably could not care about original characters, I've delegated my Tiny Titans 'verse its own drabble series (as it should have, an age past, but I was too lazy to begin one) separate from where they appeared (and felt out of place given the rating) in _Scenery Called 'Everyday'_; so yes, _Colors of a Blooming Flower_, now renamed, is no longer a oneshot.

Expect a lot of Averia and/or Raine (mis)adventures, and the hapless passengers kidnapped along for the ride—most especially but not limited to their parents: Squall and Lightning. Expect subtle-to-blatant ooc-ness from the canon cast as the combined Final Fantasy world [name still needed] I've created is explored nearly a decade after the inception of each game. Characters have matured; some have changed while others remain the same.

To start off this series is more growing pains with the Farron-Leonhart family with, from the internal musings of Lightning Farron-Leonhart…

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><p>:.:<em>My Daughter Can't Be This Cute!<em>:.:

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><p>It was edging towards midnight when heated shouts rang from the hallway into the children's bedroom, causing two pairs of blue eyes to look up and at each other. The elder of the pair leveled the younger with a pointed stare.<p>

"Your girls are arguing again." Squall pointed out coolly.

Averia's brows scrunched together. "Silly daddy; they're _your_ girls."

"Hnn, so they are." Squall nodded slowly. He ruffled his seven year old daughter's pink head in amusement. "Do you know what happened _this_ time?"

"Mommy was taking a bath when Rainy needed to make the fudge brownies. Because Rainy was insistent, mommy let her in." She crooned under her father's touch. Sapphire eyes sparkled up at him knowingly. "Mommy will berate you later for spoiling us. Again."

"…whatever." Squall rolled his eyes.

"Aww," Averia hugged her father's waist. Squall's mouth twitched; it was _very_ strange to hear his daughter coo at him. She was picking up expressions from Serah, Sis, and Laguna, clearly. Gods help his soul if his daughter suddenly gives him the cuchie-coo treatment; it was bad enough when his lying father had done it as a 'dying request'. "Don't worry, daddy. I'm here for you."

Squall sensed Averia's ploy. "You just want more cookies before sleeping."

Averia probably planned to share her loot with Raine, as well. Arguments between the eldest and youngest of their family always ended with a disgruntled Raine Leonhart brooding in her room.

Really, his wife and youngest daughter were so similar that rows between them were inevitable. After all, the only one more stubborn than _Lightning Farron-Leonhart_ was _Raine Farron-Leonhart_.

Averia blinked owlishly, her eerie smile not betraying a hint of reaction to his deduction. Her arms wrapped tighter around his waist. "_I love you, daddy._"

As sweat gathered at the back of Squall's head at the soul-seeing eyes staring into him, he hoped Lightning had it easier…

Down in the hallway just outside the bathroom, Squall's wishful thinking remained a thought as mother and daughter continued to butt heads.

"You told me you didn't feel anything when clearly there _was_ something brewing in the toilet!" Lightning chided heatedly, both her arms at her waist as she bended over to glower at her daughter.

To her credit, Raine remained defiant as she, too, had her arms at her sides and stared up at her mother. "No, mommy! I said I did!"

"You mumbled a 'mhmm'. How was I supposed to know that was a 'no'-mhmm while I was taking a shower? Why didn't you flush the toilet?!"

In all her six years of age, Raine Farron-Leonhart had never been more embarrassed. "But- but there wasn't anything inside when I checked!"

"It was already in the drain. When I made to use the toilet, the water was already murky." Lightning grimaced at the disgusting memory. "Ugh, I knew your reply was odd when I actually smelled _something._"

Raine's face was a bright ruby. "But I didn't see any!"

"That doesn't mean you _shouldn't_ flush when you clearly felt something come out!" A sudden thought chilled Lightning to the bone. Horror slowly crept into her features, and Raine, who hadn't seen her mother look like _this_ before, was stunned by the sight. "Did- did you even wipe?"

Lightning recalled, with clarity and embarrassment, the first time Raine was made to wipe after herself. It took a _lot_ of cheering from Averia to finally make the youngest Leonhart act.

"I did!" Raine roared indignantly, folding her little arms and stomping her foot for emphasis. Her face was no a bright red beacon of embarrassment at her mother's insinuation. "I'm in-the-pendant now, mommy!"

"_Independent_, Raine." Lightning swiftly corrected her daughter's penchant for trying to use bigger words her size, and garbling them; she suspected Raine was simply trying to keep up with Averia's rapid progress. "And no, you're most certainly _not_ independent."

Not if _she_ could help it. For all her stubbornness, Raine was still her precious daughter.

Still, she could not help but wonder, exasperatedly, where Raine got her attitude from.

"And I doubt you even wiped. If you did, then surely you'd see _something._"

"But there wasn't any!" Raine countered heatedly, telling the truth. There really wasn't any.

"I don't buy it." Lightning crossed her arms and stared into Raine's soul.

"Fuuuuu!" Raine fumed, stewing on the spot. She remained defiant in the face of her mother's glare.

They stayed like that until, eventually, Lightning conceded.

Lightning sighed, slowly.

There was just no point arguing anymore. Raine was already scowling up at her with watery eyes. It was a very, very cute sight, and Lightning was dearly tempted not to drop the issue, but Raine was embarrassed enough for one night. A maternal smile stretched across Lightning's lips, and she lectured her daughter softly.

"Fine." Lightning ruffled the mop of brown hair on Raine's head. "Just remember to flush _next _time…" Raine's spirit lifted now that the matter was dropped, and Lightning could not stop herself from adding, and so with a mischievous glint in her eyes she blessed her youngest with yet another pet name, "…my _poopie trooper_."

"Ge-ha?!" Raine spluttered, her features contorting funnily as it could not decide between indignation and embarrassment and so chose something in-between, before finally settling back on anger. "N-no! STOP IT, MOMMY!"

Lightning winced at Raine's powerful lungs; she forgot her daughter could actually shout.

"Raine!" Lightning bellowed admonishingly; her daughter suddenly quieted at the sternness in her tone. "What did I tell you about shouting indoors?"

"…" Raine mumbled something Lightning couldn't quite catch.

"And what did I tell you about eating your words?" Lightning prompted.

Raine sucked in a breath. "To not to." She replied simply, before adding under her breath. "_But you and daddy shout all the time._"

With her eyes downcast, Raine missed the way her mother's cheeks flush with embarrassment. Lightning rightly chose not to comment on what her ears had just picked up. Instead, she made a mental reminder to talk to Squall about when to exercise their marital privileges.

Post-nuptial life still hadn't deadened their lust.

"Good." Lightning nodded her head after shaking all thoughts prompted by what she refused to remember hearing from her youngest daughter. "Now come, poopie trooper."

"DON'T SAY-" Raine abruptly cut herself at her mother's withering gaze, and she swallowed before repeating. "Don't call me that, mommy."

"I'll keep calling you that until you change, Raine." Lightning reminded.

"But it's making me shy!" Raine complained.

"Sticks and stones, Raine. Words _can't_ hurt you."

Raine frowned before lowering her head.

Satisfied with her daughter's response, Lightning made her way to her children's bedroom to place her daughter to sleep. It was six steps into the short journey when Lightning heard her daughter mumbling behind her.

"_Sticks and stones can't break my bones, and words can never hurt me_!" Raine chanted to herself in a low but self-reassuring cheer.

Catching her youngest daughter's mantra, Lightning was once more unable to restrain herself from teasing her. She stopped abruptly, and shot Raine a flat look. "_Oh, really_?"

Raine froze in her steps as she stared up at her mother; Lightning didn't budge.

"…" Mother and daughter stared at each other before Raine's eyes slowly widened in horror, and pulled at her hair and exclaimed. "NO! IT DOES NOT WORK!"

"Indoor voice!" Lightning reminded, though she couldn't school the amusement from her lips at Raine's proclamation. "Come now, poopie trooper. Let's get you to bed."

"I'm not-! Don't call me that!"

"Alright, alright." She patted her daughter's head before giving her a quick hug. "I'm sorry for teasing you. Now come, let's get you to bed. Hopefully, your dad has put Averia to sleep already."

That was not the case when Lightning opened the door to the children's room.

"What's up with you two?" Lightning questioned when she spotted her husband and her eldest sitting on the bedroom floor.

"Welcome back mommy, Rainy." Averia greeted cheerfully.

Lightning's eyes were quick to spy the cookie jar, the plate of cookies in front and slightly to the left of Averia, the empty space to the _left_ of Averia, and the two glasses of milk. Squall's head was craned backwards in defeat, resting on the mattress behind him, but the now-frowning Lightning paid it no mind; at Averia's nod, Raine let out a small squeal of excitement and scampered away from Lightning's shadow to claim the empty spot beside her sister.

"Cheer up, Rainy!" Averia's kilowatt smile threatened to infect the stoic _Farron-Leonharts_.

"Sis, you're the best!" Raine praised her in an even tone before taking a huge bite from the large cookie in her tiny hands.

With the surplus of evidence before her, Lightning's eyes narrowed. "_Husband_," she hissed accusingly, "What have _I_ told _you_ about spoiling our children?!"

It took Squall a moment before he finally mustered the courage to lock eyes with his furious wife, albeit in resignation.

"… _To not to_…" He muttered weakly, unaware that he echoed Raine's earlier reply.

Lightning pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, dropping the matter. "Ugh, you three will be the death of me." Though she whined, Lightning still joined her family on the floor.

Squall shuffled to the side and patted the space beside him. Lightning took the offer with a muttered gratitude.

"Here," he said, placing beside his wife a plate of oatmeal cookies, and raised a cup of her favorite tea towards her. "Thanks for all your hard work. I heard most of the fight."

"Hmph." Lightning rolled her eyes but nonetheless accepted the peace offering. She took a sip from her cup, feeling the drink work its soothing magic, before setting it down.

Lightning's eyes trailed from her tea, to Squall's warm eyes shimmering at her ever-so-gently, and then to both her daughter's enjoyment of their treat. She sighed softly, and smiled. She took a sip from her tea before tucking her head under her husband's chin.

"Let me fight a war, any day, all day." She muttered grumpily, though the smile never left her lips. It grew warmer when Squall wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her body closer.

He buried his nose against her wonderfully-scented hair while she inhaled his faint and familiar musk.

Thankfully, both _their_ daughters were oblivious to their cuddling; else they'd both start complaining about their parent's disgusting display of cooties.

Impulsively, Lightning's hand snatched the remnants of the cookie in Raine's grasp and swiftly ate it.

"Mommy!" Averia gasped.

Beside her, the slighted Raine raged. "WHY, MOMMY!?"

Despite losing her hearing, albeit temporarily, and in spite of the annoyance on Squall's face, the small but contented smile crooking the edges of Lightning's lips was blinding.

For all her griping, Lightning Farron-Leonhart truly loved her family.

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><p><strong><em>AN:_** Yes, ChocoT, this was the family drabble that was to be a chapter of SCE but didn't really fit the theme. Yes as well, ChocoT… more Squall/Lightning kinkiness should appear with SCE's update. And… yes, again, ChocoT, I uploaded this without the new broadband =( It should be coming soon!

Oh, again if you have not seen it yet, FFVIII fans, _Syc0ticEpis0de _has updated both his stories; one, a retelling of FFVIII with a Triple Triad-addicted Squall, and the second, a drabble series involving Squall, Selphie, and Wednesday night movie night. _Traingham _has also started his retelling of FFVIII where Seifer actually does become a SeeD. Check them both out if you haven't, yet!

Thanks for reading o/


	3. I Don't Have A Son!

:.:_I Don't Have A Son!_:.:

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><p>It was on one quiet afternoon with their children away when an anxious Squall Leonhart dropped an unusual request on his relaxing wife.<p>

"I want a son." Squall declared, glancing down on the pink crown beneath his chin.

Lightning blinked, turning her gaze upwards from her book to peer at her husband disbelievingly. "Come again?"

"I want a son." Squall repeated, this time looking a bit flustered. "Don't you?"

Lightning continued to stare at him oddly before finally relenting, marking the page she last read before closing her book. It seemed her husband was actually serious about wanting another child from her – a son, too.

Shifting on the space between his parted legs, a spot she nestled in whenever they both had downtime to just sit, so that she could face him fully. "What brought this about?"

"Don't you think it's about time we had a son?" Squall asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It wasn't, and the look Lightning leveled him with reflected that. "You don't force these things, Squall." She chided him pointedly. Honestly, sometimes her husband's common sense was spot on, while other times… "Besides, aren't you happy with the two we have?"

Squall nodded his head. "I am. But it's just not the same."

"And what, pray tell, _isn't_ the same?" Lightning pressed half-seriously. "Bear in mind _I'll_ be the one doing all the carrying and laboring."

"I'm the one suffering your mood swings and cravings." Squall countered while rolling his eyes. Not to mention the broken bones he received whenever she gave birth. He took a deep breath. "I want a son to go camping with."

"What's wrong with camping as a family?" Lightning narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing." Squall swiftly replied- and then wisely changed the subject. "I want a son to play sports with."

"Raine is already in the radar of the Zanarkand Abes." Lightning pointed out, relaxing her features. "The _Balamb Fishes_-"

Lightning inwardly chuckled at the name; Balamb originally wanted to name themselves Lions, but SeeD had strong-armed the Blitzball club into changing their mind so there would be less association with the wandering mercenary group. Squall had handled the negotiations those many years ago, and Balamb had thus chosen the name to spite him.

"-and even the _Academia l'Cies_ have also expressed their interests. Academia in particular wants to offer Raine a scholarship – if she meets the requirements when the time comes, of course. Really, Raine's probably more boy than any other boys her age I've seen. More intelligent, too."

Squall frowned but said nothing more.

Shaking her head in amusement, Lightning rested her hand on his and gazed into his eyes imploringly. "Tell me, what brought this on?"

"It's hard to explain." Squall started, but quickly shook his head. "No. I _can't_ explain it." He confessed truthfully. "I guess part of me just wants another child."

"Averia's only nine." Lightning interrupted.

"I know." He shot her a dry look. "But that's just me making an unfair excuse. I just want a son."

"Our children are already a handful." Well, Raine mostly, but she made up for Averia, and more. "I don't know how we'll manage with a son." Lightning eyes were downcast as she looked at her waist. "And, I'm not looking forward to feeling bloated and fat and _immobile_ all over again- and don't get me started on labor pains."

"It's not that bad." Squall pressed.

Lightning looked at her husband as if he was stupid. Really, his common sense sometimes…

"Tell you what; you get pregnant then give birth and we'll compare notes."

Squall flushed in embarrassment, having realized just how insensitive he must have sounded. "Sorry."

"Hey," Lightning spoke up supportively, threading her fingers between his. "I'm not saying I'm against it, alright? It's just, there's a lot to think about before deciding to have another child. You can't just say you want a son on a whim."

"I know." Squall did know. But this feeling in his chest…

Lightning pressed her lips against his deeply before pulling back, heart racing like their first time so many years ago. "We'll think this through together, alright?" She told him, her voice hitching a bit.

"Alright." Squall acquiesced.

Smiling in satisfaction, Lightning pulled back and got to her feet. "Good. Now, it's time to get ready. Averia and Raine will be back any minute now."

The door suddenly opened with a click.

"Speak of the devil." Lightning smirked, and both parents turned just in time to see a disheveled-looking Raine with cuts and dirt on her skin and tears on her clothes close the door behind her. There was no Averia in sight, either.

Raine blinked owlishly at her stunned parents before speaking up. "What?"

"_What?_" Lightning hissed at her little mischief-maker. "You come in looking like that and the first thing you say is '_what'_?"

"Ah." Raine beat a fist against her other hand's palm in realization. "That's right. I'm home, mommy and daddy."

"Raine, are you alright?" Squall asked, shooting the inwardly frantic mother a sharp look to remind her _not_ to confuse her worry with outrage.

Lightning sucked in a deep breath while Raine grinned widely. "I'm fine."

"What happened to you?" Lightning finally asked, lightly running her hands across her youngest daughter's skin to inspect her wounds. There didn't seem to be anything wrong—just a few shallow scratches and minor bumps.

"I kicked butt." Raine proudly declared with a grin.

A bomb seemed to go off in Lightning's mind.

"_What happened?_" Lightning demanded, already fearing the worst.

"One of the other kids was making fun of Avy just 'cause she's so much better then him." Raine recollected. "So, I gave them a warning just like you told me to, but, just like you said, boys are stupid, so I crushed his balls with my boot just like you taught me."

"RAINE!" Lightning exclaimed at the proud little girl, as much scandalized by Raine's bluntness as the decisive manner she ended the scuffle.

"Ah!" Raine gasped as if suddenly remembering something. Turning to her father, she explained. "Don't worry daddy. You're a man, so I think that means you're not stupid."

"Thanks." Squall took his youngest daughter's innocent comment in stride. Looking her over, Squall addressed her disheveled state. "One thing. If you ended the fight so quickly, why do you look like there's something more to this story?"

"Ah," Raine blushed sheepishly. "The other boys started ganging up on me."

Lightning choked on her breath.

"But don't worry I busted their balls, too!"

"Raine!" Lightning was almost pulling at her hairs in frustration.

A comforting hand on her shoulder made her snap behind her and she was met by her husband's calming gaze. Sighing away her anxiety, she decided she could chew her youngest out later. For now, he was right. First things first.

Taking a deep breath, Lightning turned her attention back to her daughter and tiredly asked, "How many complaints should I be expecting _this time_?"

This wasn't the first this has happened, no.

Raine puffed her cheeks out in protest before exhaling in defeat when her mother shot her with her patented glare. "Lemme think."

"Don't mix your words." Lightning corrected absently for the nth time. Honestly, first the mumbling, and now this?

The youngest Farron-Leonhart pouted and then began counting under her breath and with her fingers.

The frown on Lightning's lips deepened when three fingers were extended. That frown transformed into a grimace when Raine moved on to her next set of fingers. By the time Raine exhausted all her fingers, and was now flexing them as she continued her body count, Lightning had already broken into a nervous sweat.

"Fifteen." Raine finally concluded. The smile on her face let both parents know the little mischief was unrepentant.

"How…?" Lightning asked weakly of her little troublemaker.

Raine beamed. "I'm strong. I can look after Avy and me now, so-"

"No!" Already knowing what Raine wanted, Lightning firmly denied before laying down the law. "You're not ready to be enrolled in Garden _nor_ become a SeeD." And neither did Lightning want any of her children to, but she didn't want to be too vocal about her sentiments.

Averia and Raine would soon grow into their own woman, and Lightning wanted them to make their own choices and be the type of mother that could proudly say she respected them. Besides, knowing her luck, vocally protesting would backfire on her the way it backfired with Serah those many years ago.

Whirling on her thus-far quiet husband, she demanded of the observing man. "Squall, don't you have something to say."

Raine's features remained hard with defiance even as her father crouched and leveled with her.

"I'm proud of you for defending your sister and showing that you can look after yourself if the need arises," Squall paused slightly, letting her digest the apple before offering the lemon. "But next time, don't start a fight over something so small. Your mother and I- we taught you how to defend yourself and not to be a violent bully." Squall offered Raine a reassuring smile. "In the end, what those kids told Averia are just words."

"And words can never hurt me." Raine recited her old mantra, and then sighed in defeat. Looking between her parents, the little girl apologized. "Sorry mommy, daddy. I'll try to control myself next time."

Lightning visibly exhaled, all her tension rolling out of her tired frame. Despite the exhaustion she felt, however, she also felt quite contented. Her heart swelled with motherly pride at the maturity her youngest displayed.

She could worry about how she'd apologize to the other mothers later.

"That's all I can hope for. I'll run damage control tonight, but I want you to apologize to those boys tomorrow." Lightning ruffled Raine's soft brown hair, making her daughter swat her hand away and scowl cutely. "You're growing up, Raine."

That comment seemed to make Raine's eyes sparkle.

"Does that mean I can enroll in Garden?"

Lightning smiled sweetly. "No."

Raine opened her mouth.

"You can't use live ammo yet." Lightning interrupted.

Raine's mouth snapped shut before another request struck her and she opened it again.

"No, I still won't give you extra money for your explosives." Lightning denied her firmly.

Raine finally deflated and sulked. "Whatever…"

Squall smiled to himself at how well Lightning understood Raine; even he found it uncanny.

"Alright," Squall began, drawing their attention. "Now that that's sorted, where is Averia?"

"Avy?" Raine creased her forehead in thought. "Ah! She stayed behind. She said she'll be home for dinner, though."

"I see." Squall nodded his head.

Lightning blinked. "Did she say why she wasn't coming home with you?"

Raine shook her head.

"She stayed behind to apologize on your behalf, Raine." Squall explained.

"Ah," Lightning nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. She's becoming more responsible every day."

Squall shook his head before throwing a pointed look at his youngest. "Not exactly."

"Daddy?" Raine trailed off in puzzlement.

Glancing at the wall-clock, Squall added. "She'll be here soon."

As if his words were a summoning spell, the doorbell rang. Squall quickly responded and opened the door to reveal a surprised Averia.

"I'm home." Averia greeted with a smile. "Thanks for opening the door, daddy."

"Hn." Squall nodded with a knowing smile. "Where have you been?"

The nine-year old blinked. "Oh, you know. Out."

Squall's smile seemed to grow at her evasive response.

Averia appeared to have picked up on her father's mood as she quickly avoided his gaze and scampered into the house.

"I'm hungry. What's there to-" she caught sight of her mother and the still-dirty Raine waiting in the living room. "Oh." She blinked before realization dawned set in. "Ooooooooh." Averia threw an embarrassed look between her parents before meekly telling her sister, "Rainy, I thought I told you to get changed before mommy and daddy see you."

"They were already here." Raine explained with an awkward smile.

"So," Squall began, ignoring the confusion on his wife's face as he glanced at his eldest daughter; Lightning would understand soon. "Are you done apologizing on Raine's behalf, Averia?"

"Ehehehe, busted." Averia giggled nervously before sighing. "Is Rainy in trouble?"

Glancing at his wife, who nodded in affirmation, Squall alleviated his eldest daughter's fear. "We've spoken to her already, and she understands where she went wrong. So, no, Raine's not in trouble."

Averia looked up expectantly to her mother to be extra sure.

What her husband was referring to earlier suddenly dawned on the mother of two.

While Averia was a very responsible young girl, it seemed the main reason why she did what she did was to cover-up for Raine—and Squall understood that instinctively.

The way Squall understood Averia was just uncanny, Lightning found.

"She's not in trouble." Lightning answered Averia's gaze.

"Yay!" Averia cheered before glomping her younger sister in relief. "Isn't that great, Rainy?"

"Um!" Raine nodded with a small but happy smile.

"However, Raine still has to apologize to all the boys she injured tomorrow."' Lightning reminded.

"I will" Raine declared.

"Alright. Now, freshen up you two while your dad gets dinner ready. I'll be giving your wounds a thorough check when you're clean again, Raine."

"I'm fine!" Raine protested.

"Sure you are." Lightning reassured. "But I just want to be certain."

Averia glanced at the youngest Farron-Leonhart. "It's alright, right Rainy?"

Put on the spot, Raine mumbled. "…whatever."

"Great!" Averia smiled. "We'll be down soon!"

Lightning sighed deeply when her daughters ran off to the shower. Feeling two hands settle on her shoulders, Lightning threw a weary but grateful smile at her husband.

"That was trying." Lightning commented.

"You did a good job." Squall praised. "I'm happy you didn't blow up at Raine."

"She's a good girl. A handful—hell, that's even an understatement—but Raine's a good girl."

"Yes she is." Squall affirmed before commenting in disbelief and pride. "Can you believe she took down fifteen boys in a brawl?"

"Don't remind me." Lightning winced. "I'm not looking forward to what the other mothers have to say. Even though Averia apologized, I'm sure they're expecting something from me." Lightning sighed again before shooting her husband a skeptical look. "And you're sure you want a son?"

Squall thought about all the trouble Raine brought and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Lightning offered him her back, and Squall got the message. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled against the inviting warmth and sweet fragrance emanating from her nape.

His wife shivered in pleasure before whispering suggestively.

"You better get to work, then." Lightning gyrated her wonderful rear against his groin, riling him up. "We can start tonight. I'm gonna need a massage after I'm done with this mess."

Squall ghosted kisses across her flesh and rubbed his growing tent harder against her.

"I've got the oils all prepped." He murmured.

Lightning moaned when her husband kissed a particularly sensitive spot. She reached behind her and grabbed his hair roughly, pulling against his scalp and claiming his teasing lips in a hungry kissed.

"Wonderful." She whispered excitedly. "I can't wait."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**_ As usual, proofreading will come later.

With this, I've finally baptized my new laptop in the realm of fanfiction after my old one decided to take a journey to the abyss. Ye of great courage and patience, I salute you for enduring with me this long!


	4. Problem Children Are Coming From Us?

The Farron-Leonhart residence was an architectural masterpiece—somehow managing to look both homely and modern. A lot of praise could be given not only to the seasoned travelers and owners, Squall and Lightning, for their meticulous attention to detail, but also to the wellspring of patience and imagination their architect was blessed with the weight of such perfectionist hawks perched on their shoulder and their hands-on approach to building their perfect home.

Indeed, there was an almost Galbadian aristocracy to the house's exterior, yet one would say the colors were of Bodhum's hue. That roof, in particular, appeared almost Alexandrian in its shape and design despite its solar panel covering _(a feature Squall felt was redundant and unneeded, but Lightning refused to power the generator herself with magic, so they compromised that she would only do so in the case of an emergency)_, with apparently wooden windows and a balcony straight from Dalmascan royalty. Then, there was the porch—clearly inspired by the open-ness of Besaid—while the veranda at the back was straight out of Winhill with its floweriness.

One would expect that such a Frankenstein should look like a monster, but there you go; wellspring of patience and imagination.

The interior was, thankfully, much easier to envision. It had everything a typical house needed, and then some—a gym in the basement; a mini-library facing the west that tripled as the reading room and Squall's study; secret rooms filled with gadgets and armaments.

Past the front door was a small space to park one's footwear before laying one's feet in the white carpets that extended everywhere except, obviously, the places it shouldn't—the kitchen and dining room, toilets and bathrooms, and laundry room.

The toilets were peculiarly accessorized, to note. After all, not many houses had heated toilet seats and bidets, Jacuzzis with thermostats, and water-free urinals.

Yes, water-free urinals.

That was for Squall, obviously.

Lightning had vehemently insisted on the urinals.

Oh yes, Lightning had insisted of their architect under threat of bodily violence—"_Your children's, children's children would be so lucky to sit straight after I'm through with you."—_that urinals be integrated into the Farron-Leonhart residence in a way that _didn't_ make visitors wonder why such a commercial thing was there in the first place; _Lightning didn't want to explain herself_. The stubborn Squall was her husband; their many years dating had taught Lightning that there were just some dogs—lions—that never learned new tricks.

Not for the lack of trying. Gods, did Lightning try every conceivable way to train her husband to lower that damn seat!

Lightning _had _thoroughly chewed his ear off after the second, just-as-embarrassing time she fell into the toilet in the middle of the night—"_You viscous dropping from an adamantoise's asscrack! How many times must I tell you to keep the seat down?!"—_but Squall had remained nonplussed against her fury before firmly answering, "_You need the seat down; I need the seat up. You don't see me complaining about the seat down. Do it yourself._"

Sometimes, Squall could be a _very_ insensitive jerk.

Lightning had boiled and stewed over the next several days until Squall made a minor concession that he would at least _try_ to bear it in mind—especially when they were about to sleep. He had also given her one of his sensual back rubs, so there was that, too.

_Nota bene_, whoever said that makeup sex was the best really knew what they were talking about.

_Ahem_.

Still, despite his concession, Lightning had fallen into the toilet several more times before finally learning to put the seat down when she needed it.

How did this story relate to the Farron-Leonhart residence's urinals? It is quite simple, really. Lightning didn't want any of her children to share her watery fate.

Lightning felt disgusted just thinking about it…

…which brought her to a very unusual situation, flash-forward many years later and two children later.

"I need to pee!" Came Raine's strained proclamation from behind the door, followed by a series of impatient banging. "I need to pee now!"

"Coming!" Quickly closing the tap despite not finishing her shower, Lightning hurriedly wrapped her body in a towel, uncaring if her hair was dripping water and foam all over the marble floor before hastily throwing the door open.

Frantic as she was, it didn't occur to Lightning to ask Raine why she didn't rush to the other toilets but, knowing her little troublemaker, the eight-year old was watching another action flick on the telly in the bedroom, subduing her natural urge until the commercials set in before bolting to the nearest haven, occupied or not.

Lightning barely made it out of the way as a brown blur darted past her, a white t-shirt smacking the stunned mother in the face when she turned her attention to her youngest daughter.

"What the?" Lightning trailed, peeling off Raine's shirt and absently hanging it on the door's handle. Her ears picked up the scraping of the plastic stool—_stool?_— that her children used to access the sink, against the floor.

Why did she need the stool?

The answer became all-too apparent—and stupefying—when Lightning found her youngest daughter with her panties down and standing over the urinal.

"…Raine?" Lightning began, eyebrow twitching at the contented sigh that left Raine's lips as the young _girl_ relieved herself. "The hell are you doing?"

The little brunette, apparently finished, reached out for the roll of toilet paper while explaining. "Wiping myself, mommy."

"I meant before that." Lightning remarked, still twitching.

"Peeing." Raine huffed, a small scowl on her embarrassed face at having to explain herself. "I thought that was obvious."

"While standing up?" Lightning pressed, not hearing her daughter's snark.

"Yeah." Raine nodded, tossing the used tissue in the bin and pulling her panties up.

"You were peeing… while standing up."

"Yeah." Raine nodded again, dragging her stool across the floor before parking it in front of the sink.

Lightning finally shook herself out of her stupefied stupor and weakly asked, "Why?"

"Because," Raine began with a mighty huff. "Daddy does it."

Lightning's body shivered. If asked, Lightning would be uncertain whether it was because she was feeling cold due to her damp near-nakedness having her shower interrupted, her disturbed state at witnessing something so uncanny, or her bubbling rage at Raine's flippant admission of the culprit.

"_Why_-!" Lightning sharply turned her head away with a tight smile, mentally counting down from ten—a natural habit when dealing with her little troublemaker—before repeating in a calmer tone, facing her daughter. "Why are you trying to copy your father?"

Raine, who had mounted the stool and just finished washing her hands while her mother gathered her wits, was now wiping said washed hands with the nearby towel. The little brunette stared at her mother oddly. "Well, if I was a boy, I wouldn't need a little brother."

"Herp?" Very eloquent of Lightning, true, but the mother of two could be excused. If she was expecting an answer—anything at all—it was most definitely _not_ that. "What—what makes you say you're having a little brother?"

She and her husband were still working on—that is, _discussing_ the issue. They were going to tell their children when the marker turned pink.

"Honestly, mommy," Raine actually had the gall to tut and shake her head, folding her arms in a very Lightning-esque fashion. "I'm not stupid. I can hear you two thumping in the night."

Lightning's skin erupted with color of mortification, red wildflowers blooming all the way down to the tips of her toes. It was testament to Lightning's many years of experience that she was able to evasively remark, "And… how does that relate to you thinking you'll have a brother?"

"I'm not really sure." Raine confessed thoughtfully. "Avy overheard you and pops talking—and that the thumps meant I was getting a brother."

"I see." Lightning's heart finally began to slow down. Maybe—maybe her eldest was just blindly shooting in the dark? "And how does Avy know what the _thumping_ means?"

"She won't say." Raine pouted. "I don't understand it either, but Avy says I'll understand when I grow up."

Curses. Averia _really _knew.

Dear Etro, dear Hyne, dear whoever gods above mocking her family life—please stop!

"Can I go now, mommy?" Raine interrupted her mother's inner mourning insistently. "I think my show's up."

That snapped Lightning back to reality.

"…give me a hug first." The mother of two crouched down, her white towel hiking up her thighs in the process.

Raine narrowed her eyes at her mother's moist skin but, seeing the look on her mother's face, sighed and closed the distance between them to wrap her smaller arms around her mother's shoulders.

Lightning pressed her hand against Raine's nape and embraced her youngest daughter tightly, whispering softly in her ear. "Even _if_ you'll have a younger brother, always know that your father and I still love you and will never replace you. You're still our Raine, alright?"

The little girl in her arms shifted, and Lightning could feel Raine pout. "Avy said that too."

"Your sister is a wise girl." Lightning offered Raine a smile, pulling back slightly to gaze at her youngest reassuringly.

"Um." Raine agreed, cheeks flushing with an adorable shade of embarrassment. _These touchy stuff—they were Avy's thing-!... but they did feel nice_. "Avy knows everything."

"Yeah. It's scary how fast she's growing."

No sooner had Lightning spoken did a girlish scream drown the house-

**_"KIIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_**

-followed by a loud thwack.

"What in the world?!" Lightning _almost_ cursed, instinctively holding Raine closer for whatever it was that-

"That was Avy!" Raine boomed from her place against her mother's bosom.

The dull thuds of footsteps racing across the house sounded before the door to the bathroom slammed open to reveal a teary-eyed and naked nine-year old Averia.

"Mommy!" The little girl cried, throwing herself against her mother and sister.

Raine instinctively escaped her mother's reach before she could be bowled over—wincing at the smack her mother's head made when it impacted with the floor. Glancing down at the lying form of her sprawled over their mother's front, Raine offered a sympathetic rub on Averia's back.

"Shhh-shh. I'm here. Tell me what happened?" Lightning quickly tried to calm her eldest, ignoring the throbbing of her head.

"Daddy- daddy-! He-!" Averia babbled incoherently.

Lightning inwardly groaned; gods, what _now_, Squall?!

"Daddy saw me naked while I was brushing my teeth!" Averia bawled.

This time, Lightning did outwardly groan.

Dear gods did Averia grow up fast!

"…Where is your father now?" Lightning finally managed to inquire about her hapless husband.

He probably didn't even know what hit him.

Averia sniffled.

"I don't know." The little pinkette confessed. "I think I might have left him in my toilet."

Lightning stiffened—she suddenly recalled the loud thwack that followed Averia's wail.

"I—I need to go check on your father." Lightning excused. "You're alright now, right Averia?"

"Yes, mommy…" Averia crawled off her mother and accepted Raine's hand to help her stand.

Lightning also stood and fastened her towel around her body securely. Glancing at her daughters, she told Raine, "Look after your sister, alright?"

Raine pouted—Lightning could actually see the protest in her blue eyes forming—but finally sighed; her show was probably over by now, anyway. "Yes, mommy."

"Good."

Lightning hurriedly shuffled out of the master's bathroom. She quickly climbed the flight of stairs—her ears picking up the sound of running water while her nose picked up a distinctly minty scent like the mouthwash her children used.

"Squall!" The Farron-Leonhart mother burst into the toilet and found her husband calmly washing his bloodied nose in the sink.

"'uat?" Squall glanced at his wife with bloodshot eyes.

"What the hell happened to you…?" Lightning asked in concern, cautiously reaching out to grab his hand and pull it away from his face so she could get a better look at his injury. She blinked in disbelief at what she found. "Did Averia break your nose-" her eyes caught something off to the side, "-with a bottle of mouthwash?"

"Un." He affirmed, wincing when she aggravated the broken bone.

Lightning shook her head slowly as her hand began to glow with healing magic just as Squall's free hand made to shut the tap.

"Fuck," Lightning shook her head slowly. "Squall, are you _sure_ we should be having a boy?"

Squall pressed his eyes shut tightly.

"…_un_…"


	5. As Expected, My Family Is Strange!

**_A/N: _**Been a while, eh?

* * *

><p>Lightning was not normally a woman that whined.<p>

Curse the cards fate dealt her, yes, but never ever whine. Unlike her husband, who was prone to bouts of introspective musings, Lightning impulsively settled on a course of action and stubbornly followed through it.

And while she had learned not to act so rashly as the years went by, rising up in the ranks of Academia such that she was responsible for more than just her own life, Lightning still retained the mindset of acting first which, unfortunately, meant swallowing many a spoonful of regretful _what ifs_ in the aftermath.

Introspection only did come after.

It was why one particular afternoon found Lightning laid supine on a couch, fingers interlaced as both her hands rested atop her abdomen, and eyes filled with uncertainty gazing up at the white ceiling. On a separate couch close to the mother of two sat her… _therapist_. Lightning didn't think much of the odd situation she found herself in; there was no other person she could find on such short notice, and, grudgingly, Lightning would admit that she was the most normal, well-adjusted person in her family.

"Tell me," the girl prodded gently, "What are you thinking about?"

"It's just not fair, you know?" The corners of Lightning's lips curled slightly into a pout. "I mean, I've put in a lot more effort." Lightning explained as if that settled the matter.

Clearly, it didn't, and her therapist managed to pick up on the unease.

"How so?"

Lightning raised one hand and began listing out with her fingers, "Sure, we split our duties, but I'm the one that carried her in my womb for nine months. I'm the one who breastfed her. I'm the one who's—who's actually _trying_ to instill some discipline in her so that she will grow up to be a _respectable member of society_."

"I see." The therapist nodded her head while scribbling on the notepad. She took a sip of warm milk from her mug before prodding Lightning once more. "You say that you put in more effort but, apart from discipline, aren't you just doing what you are uniquely capable of doing?"

Lightning's eyes darted to her therapist in surprise. That… was a remarkably insightful and eloquently-worded response.

Maybe it was a fluke.

"That doesn't mean I didn't do more, right?"

"But that also means you only did what was asked of you."

_Oh damn, she was good._

"I can see that this is something you'll need more time to think about." The girl continued when Lightning remained quiet. She took another sip of milk. "Back to the second part of what you mentioned earlier, you used the phrase _respectable member of society_. What did you mean by that?"

_Reflecting content._ Lightning realized. _Her active listening skills are impressive._

"Exactly what it means." The mother of two stated. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," The girl scratched her head with the butt of her pencil. "It seems like you are worried that society won't respect her."

"I am."

"Which society are you referring to?" She prodded.

"Does it matter? My children _will_ grow up to be respected, regardless." Lightning nodded to herself before her mood soured. "It's why I'm worried about Raine. She's—it's not normal, how she acts."

It was only too late did Lightning realize that her youngest had problems making friends. The six year old was far too attached to her sibling, at the cost of mingling with the other children. Lightning knew that neither she nor husband could cast proverbial stones, of course, and while Lightning felt that they both had turned out alright despite everything they went through, she wanted better for her children.

So Lightning nudged the stubborn Raine, but as always the case with her dear troublemaker…

"Raine gets into far too many fights. Especially for a girl." Lightning sighed. "It would be nice if she _didn't_ use her guns, but what can I do? Despite checking her every time she goes out, she still somehow manages to bring at least one handgun to school."

And, at one point, a _real_ grenade launcher; _be still my beating heart_.

Lightning almost had a heart attack when the little-lest Leonhart took aim at that annoying dog near their house. Sure, she may have offhandedly commented that the world was better off without that nuisance trampling over their garden every day or barking up a storm in the evenings, but that didn't mean her daughter could take her words literally!

"Maybe it's the other case?" The young therapist prodded, unknowingly jolting Lightning from her reminiscing once more. "Maybe, because she feels pressured by you for simply liking guns and explosions and it manifests in this manner? Is it possible that she is rebelling?"

Her therapist's counsel made Lightning pause in thought. _Could it be true? _

Could Raine's trigger-happy nature truly be the outlet of all the pressure Lightning unknowingly placed upon her?

After minutes contemplating the conundrum, Lightning finally arrived at an answer. She shook her head and declared with absolute certainty, "No. Raine has always had an itchy trigger finger."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am." Lightning nodded to herself. "It's— you won't understand. It's a mother-thing."

"But-"

"And," Lightning cut her off gently, "That wasn't the matter that brought me here."

"Oh…" the pink-haired girl trailed before her eyes fell to the page she had been scribbling on. A small pout formed upon her lips and she glanced back at Lightning hesitantly. "Ah, I ran out of paper."

Lightning blinked in surprise. Had she really said that much?

"Do you mind waiting here while I go get more?" The girl asked.

Placing a hand on the armrest she had been using to rest her head against, Lightning pushed herself off and twisted her upper body just enough to give her therapist a pleased look. "Thanks, but there's no need to take more notes." Lightning then scooted deeper into the couch and then patted the space she made and, with a beckoning smile, invited, "Come, Averia."

Her first child smiled brightly and quickly set her writing materials down so she could join her mother.

As soon as Averia was within arm's reach, Lightning snatched her eldest daughter and hugged her close.

"Mommy!" Came Averia's surprised giggle.

"Thanks for listening, Averia." Lightning said and ruffled her daughter's air.

"Uh-uhm!" The seven year old sounded before ducking out of her mother's arms just enough for her to level an expectant stare into Lightning's blue eyes. "You still haven't explained why you're sad, mommy."

"Must I really?" Lightning asked melodramatically, half-hoping it would distract Averia.

Her daughter giggled and then smiled. "Yes. We're family and family doesn't keep secrets."

"Oh, fine." Lightning rolled her eyes and conceded to her giggling daughter; Averia truly appeared to be the only one in her family with a full affect. "Raine said she hated me."

Averia stifled a gasp and reminded herself that she was being professional. "Do you know why she said that?"

"No." Lightning admitted, her eyes dimming slightly. "She's just lashing out, probably."

"How do you feel about what she said?"

Lightning didn't answer immediately. Instead, she glanced at her prodding daughter incredulously.

_Is she just talking me through catharsis?_ If her daughter truly was talking her through the first part of the catharsis-education-action intervention, Lightning was incredibly impressed, proud, and fearful for Averia's rapid growth. _Where did she learn these skills?_

"A bit hurt." Lightning finally replied. "I know she didn't mean it but, well, it hurts a bit."

Averia nodded sympathetically. She knew that her mother loved both of them dearly and really only did what was best for them. Even at her young age, Averia had already understood that her parents _didn't_ present a united front when it came to their discipline; her father tended to be somewhat lenient while her mother was very strict. To her introspective mind, the eldest Farron-Leonhart child knew that this disunity would naturally result with preferentialism, and no further effort is needed to deduce which parent was more approachable.

"You said that Rainy's lashing out hurt you." Averia began, all-the-while smiling at her mother comfortingly. "Is there anything you fear about what you're feeling?"

"I don't-"

"It's okay, mommy." Averia gently cut her mother's expected protest. "You can tell me. It'll make you feel better."

Lightning fell silent and, once more, marveled at her daughter's psychiatric skill. Truly, Averia's emotional development was growing at a scarily rapid pace. Not that she wasn't grateful. While Lightning loved her husband, it actually felt good that her shrink no longer just grunted wordlessly.

"My fear, I guess…" Lightning murmured, thinking out loud while absently stroking Averia's curly pink hair, "It's probably Raine thinking that I'm a bad parent when she grows up. I fear her lashing out is proof of it." That thought unsettled her to no end. "I try to explain my actions to her but I don't think she understands… or she refuses to understand."

Raine was stubborn. Really, why couldn't her youngest just listen to her? Why did she have to be so difficult?

"I see…" Averia squeezed her mother comfortingly. "Is there anything else?"

"You're only getting that much from me, Averia." Lightning deadpanned.

"But mommy-"

"Averia." This time, it was her turn to cut her daughter off. Lightning shot her daughter a slightly pained smile. "At least allow me to retain some of my pride as your mother."

While Lightning and Squall had already learned to cohabitate years _before_ their marriage, that did not mean they were completely different people _after_ their marriage. If anything, marriage was just another stepping stone in their personal growth; they assumed new roles but who they were at their core remained the same.

Averia held her ground. "But mommy, pride isn't-"

"_Averia._" Lightning repeated, this time more firmly. "_Please_."

"…alright." The young shrink finally relented. Averia could tell that her mother was becoming uncomfortable and, she supposed, she had prodded enough already. Straightening herself as much as she could given her confinement against her mother's bosom, Averia decided to bring their session to a close. "So, if I were to summarize, you think that Rainy means it when she says that she hates you, and you're afraid that it's a sign of the future."

"I'd change your wording."

"But…?"

"…but that sounds right."

"Good. I'd like you to know that Rainy doesn't hate you and you're taking this too personally."

"This?"

"You're jealous of daddy and it's affecting you." Averia bluntly stated and felt her mother's heart abruptly thunder.

"If your father is to be followed, you and Raine will grow up to be spoiled brats." Lightning stated bitterly. "_Someone _has to instill discipline."

"Daddy's not like that at all!" Averia defended.

"We're not discussing this right now, Averia."

"Fine." Averia conceded but resolved to tackle this issue with her mother someday. "But I really do think you're jealous of daddy."

"Averia…" Lightning sighed. "Your sister got in the way between me and your father this morning and declared she hated me. She also told me to stay away from _my_ husband."

"Being more attached to the paternal figure is common for girls Rainy's age."

Lightning sorely wanted to point out that she and Raine were only one year apart and Averia, to her knowledge, _didn't_ display such a complex, but decided that was simply a strawman argument that would needlessly derail their conversation.

_Conversation?_ Lightning inwardly blinked. _When Averia offered to speak with me about this, I never realized it would be with such seriousness._

"Mommy," Averia smiled empathically. "You just want to spend more time with Rainy, don't you?"

"Again, you could word that better…" Lightning murmured. It made her sound… _needy_, and Lightning liked to think that she already had everything she needed.

"I might be able to help."

"Oh?" Lightning raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"You know how Rainy was saying that she wanted to watch a horror movie?" Her mother nodded, prompting her to continue. "That's going to be Rainy's first horror movie…"

"…and Raine was never really good at dealing with horror in the first place." Lightning finished with growing realization. This was it!

"Yes." Averia nodded. "You don't have to stop Rainy from watching the movie, mommy. All you have to do is be there for Rainy during the movie."

As a mother, Lightning felt that Raine, with her imaginative mind, was far too young to watch a horror movie. Who knew what sort of trauma it would impact on her daughter?

However, as this session showed her, her children were growing up quickly. Just as she trusted Averia with her feelings, maybe she could trust that Raine would turn out fine after all.

"Averia," Lightning smiled at her daughter with pride. "You are a genius."

"Ehehehehe…" Averia giggled with an adorable blush at her mother's praise. Both her parents were never normally so open with their recognition, so it always made her young heart flutter.

Planting an affectionate kiss upon her daughter's crown, Lightning pushed themselves off the couch. "Alright. I'll take this opportunity. Thanks, Averia. I need to go tell your father so he knows what will happen."

It wouldn't do for her husband to obliviously spoil her plan.

"You're welcome, mommy."

Of course, events did not unfold that simply.

When the movie began, Lightning made sure Raine was between her arms while Averia cuddled with her father. About midway through the movie, the six-year old Raine was brought to tears, at which point Squall decided to stop the movie while Lightning attempted to console her daughter, all-the-while feeling guilty at planning to use her daughter's fear to manipulate her into bonding time.

When Raine remained sobbing incoherently, muttering blames such as _"What kind of mother lets her daughter watch something so scary!"_, Lightning turned to her husband with a pained look, and Squall wordlessly took Raine into his arms and comforted her. It was at that point that Raine finally calmed down.

Averia was right. It pained Lightning that Raine was far more comfortable with her father than with her. However, it pained Lightning more to see her daughter that distraught, and if being in her father's arms meant Raine wouldn't cry with such anguish, then so be it.

Everything she did, she did for her children.

"Are you alright?" Squall asked his wife.

The movie had ended hours ago, and now, they were already on the bed, preparing to sleep. Lightning had her arms wrapped around her husband's torso and made sure her face was obscured from Squall's view.

She couldn't face her husband after such a debacle.

Squall was surprised at Lightning's request to allow Raine to watch the horror film, and while he didn't know _why_ his wife changed her mind, Squall didn't miss the pain behind the look she had given him.

There was turmoil racking his wife, and Squall _needed_ to know _what._

"I'm fine." Lightning stated.

Squall wanted to point out that she wasn't. Lightning was only ever like this when something was terribly wrong. But, rather than prod, Squall waited. He knew his wife. He knew that guilt would best her eventually.

"…alright, I'm not." Lightning finally amended.

"Care to talk about it?"

"Not now." Lightning denied. "Just— I don't mind if Raine spends more time with you than me, alright? So don't hold yourself back."

The gears in Squall's mind turned automatically in their quest to decipher Lightning's roundabout way with words. Vaguely, Squall recalled that the people of Spira had a particular term that described Lightning behavior— _tsundere_, if he remembered correctly.

"You wanted to spend more Raine?" Squall ventured his conclusion.

"It didn't work, obviously." She muttered, but nonetheless answered Squall's question. "_And I think Raine hates me even more now_."

After all, it was Lightning that held Raine in place and prevented her from bolting at the first sign of fear.

"She doesn't." Squall quickly denied.

"What do you know?" Lightning snapped, and suddenly wished she didn't.

The two parents remained silent. Squall didn't want to prod when his wife's mood was so volatile, while Lightning didn't want to speak because she might say something she would regret.

When he felt his wife calm down, Squall finally broke the silence.

"…you shouldn't be so quick to assume, _Light_."

"Can we not talk about this now?"

"_Trust me_."

Like magick, those two words snapped Lightning out of her self-deprecation. Groggily, Lightning pushed herself off her husband and craned her head backwards so she could face him. He gazed down at her with that same stoic expression, but she could still see the gentle reassurance in his grey eyes.

"Fine." Lightning sighed. "I'm sorry, alright?"

Squall pulled his wife upwards, causing a surprised yelp to leave her throat, and, taking the smack to the shoulder for his effort, Squall planted a tender kiss on Lightning's forehead, causing his wife's features to light up with embarrassment.

"_What was that for?_" Lightning hissed.

"To remind you that you don't know everything. Even you can still be surprised, _Claire._"

Lightning smacked his shoulder once more and narrowed her eyes. "I thought we agreed that you can only call me that when we're _intimate_."

"Aren't we, now?" Squall challenged.

Needless to say, Lightning's blush intensified.

"A-anyway," Lightning inwardly cursed how her voice hitched, but she wouldn't give her cheeky husband the satisfaction of knowing he effortlessly stripped her of her guard, "I never proclaimed to know everything. I just— I _assume_ based on facts."

"And what do your facts tell you about our daughters?"

"That both of them prefer you over me." Lightning stated. "_And I'm fine with that._"

"_Claire_…" Squall sighed. Her second statement only proved how bothered Lightning was by the matter that she had to convince herself otherwise. Squall shook his head and, in a reassuring tone, continued, "Lightning, _listen._"

Lightning waited. After a few seconds of silence and her husband remained quiet, Lightning glanced at him in confusion. "Squall-"

Squall silenced his wife with a finger upon her lips.

Taking that as a sign to be patient, Lightning complied. Her husband could be really strange at times.

"_Mommy…?_"

Lightning's head snapped towards the door where she found, much to her surprise, the timid form of Raine peeking through the gap. Normally, her daughters would barge in, but…

"What is it, Raine?"

The young brunette took that as her cue to invite herself in.

"I'm—I'm sleeping with you tonight." Raine declared, though it lacked her usual fire.

Glancing at her husband, Lightning saw the reassurance in his eyes and, Lightning realized, she had really been silly all afternoon.

Averia was right.

"Of course." Lightning lifted the blanket with one hand. "Come."

"_Thanks!_"

Raine became a blur of brown and—

-settled herself between both her parents.

_Huh…?_

Lightning arched a brow but decided to let the matter slide.

_This is good too, I suppose_. Lightning inwardly sighed. While she knew it was petty, she had really been expecting that Raine would choose her side only.

"You okay there, shortstuff?"

"Don't call me that." Raine huffed at her mother before replying. "And yup."

"I love you, Raine." Lightning told her youngest.

"U-uh, yeah!" Raine agreed. Declarations like that always caused her no end of embarrassment.

It didn't take long before the tired child finally slept.

Turning her attention back towards her husband, Lightning smiled. "Thanks, Squall."

"Hnn." Squall nodded, accepting his wife's gratitude.

He then turned his gaze towards the door.

Lightning looked puzzled before she finally realized, "Are you waiting for Averia?"

"Yes." Squall answered. "It just… doesn't feel right, I guess, that she's not here."

"She's fine, you know." This time, it was Lightning's turn give reassurance. "She's a big girl now."

"I guess…"

Still, despite her words, Lightning knew what Squall was feeling.

"I'll be right back." Lightning whispered to her husband.

Knowing what it was his wife planned to do, Squall nodded and waited. Lightning returned not too long after leaving, carrying a sleeping Averia in her arms. With Squall's assistance, she set their eldest daughter next to Raine, and finally crawled back to bed.

With her family complete, Lightning felt the day's exhaustion finally catch up to her, and her heavy eyelids finally closed.

_Today was a decidedly weird day_.

"Goodnight, Lightning."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**The Oedipus and Elektra Complexes are perfectly normal in young children. Don't take it to heart, Lightning! And besides, Squall really is at fault for not providing a united front when it comes to discipline~


	6. Daily Life with a Melodramatic Daughter

**_A/N:_** Because Averia and Raine are not quite at the "one year apart in age"…

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><p>Daily Life with a Melodramatic Daughter<p>

* * *

><p>Lightning supposed that the biggest surprise was that this <em>hadn't<em> happened sooner. Unfortunately for the mother of two, that also meant that she was severely out of practice.

How was a mother supposed to pick between which of her two distraught daughters to console first?

Thankfully, parenting was a job for two and her husband offered her way out.

"I've got this." Squall reassured his wife, tilting his head slightly towards the door to their children's bedroom. The father of her children then settled into his usual position at these times: he sat down with his back against the door, left leg drawn close to his chest just enough to rest his arm on. "You don't have to worry."

Gratefully, Lightning nodded her head.

"I need to go." She didn't bother masking her urgency.

"Do you know where to look?"

"Of course." And with that, Lightning briskly strode toward her destination.

There was only one place Raine would go to whenever she was in one of her moods.

Lightning entered the master's bedroom and headed straight towards the bathroom, divulging herself of her clothes in the process. Her eyes registered Raine's clothes haphazardly discarded on the floor—and she made a mental note to reprimand her for her sloppy behavior at a later, less-volatile time—while her sharp ears heard the sound of the shower running, no doubt filling the bathtub with soothing warmth.

The Leonhart matriarch's lips curled upwards ever-so-slightly; her youngest daughter had inherited _so_ much from her.

She picked up her daughter's clothes and folded them before placing the articles atop hers, next to the doorway.

"Raine," Lightning called her little girl beyond the door as she stood, "I'm coming in."

There was no question nor request on her part. She was not her husband— adept at waiting game while reasoning beyond the door— nor was Raine like her older sister—honest with herself and quite reasonable.

Raine was a prideful, stubborn, and strong-willed hellion.

_'Honestly,_' Lightning thought in dry, self-deprecating humor, _'I worried greatly that our children will take after their father's melodrama that I hadn't imagined they'd inherit anything from me.'_

Lightning turned the knob and entered.

A wave of mist washed over her; Raine apparently hadn't opened the window nor did she switch on the vent. It was not a problem, though, as Lightning quickly found the dark brown tresses of her daughter in the bathtub, her normally pale skill flushed from the heat.

What did cause the mother pause was that the normally alert Raine hadn't noticed her appearance. Such was the gravity of her youngest daughter's current woe, Lightning supposed.

She opened the glass door.

"Scoot over."

"Who-" The startled little girl turned, her reddened eyes widening at the familiar arms that effortlessly picked her up. "_MOMMY_!"

"Indoor voice, Raine." Lightning dutifully reminded as she shut the door behind her. She hadn't flinched; while she was already used to her little girl's impressive lungs, this was a habit Lightning wanted _out_ of Raine's system. Still, a warm smile did upturn her lips when Raine's arms reflexively wrapped themselves around her neck and she tucked her head under her chin.

Raine pulled away just enough to throw her mother's signature glare at her. "Don't surprise me like that."

Lightning honestly found her look adorable.

"Mhm." Lightning hummed vaguely as she sank into the warm water. Idly, she wondered what it was that her daughter reminded her of…

Raine realized that she was curled up against her mother's bosom and quickly pushed herself away, paddling through the raining shower to settle on the other side of the tub. She glared at her mother's somewhat hazy silhouette. "I'm serious, mommy!"

_'Ah, that's it. She's just like a kitten.'_

"_Mhm_." Lightning repeated, knowing that the response would only annoy her daughter more. It was fun; she wondered if _this_ was why Squall had responded with those grunts and hums early on in their relationship… not that she would finally forgive him for those times, of course.

_This and that were entirely separate matters._

Speaking of which…

"Switch off the shower, Raine." Lightning instructed the little girl, who was displaying her displeasure through blowing angry bubbles into the water, "There's already plenty of water here."

Of course, that wasn't the true reason underlying her instruction. She wanted to tear down whatever wall it was her daughter was hiding behind so that she could see her.

Raine hesitated.

Lightning grasped the opportunity.

"What's wrong, Raine?"

"I-…" Lightning could feel her daughter's conflict through her voice so vividly as if it were her own. "…_Yes, mommy._"

"Raine, tell me." She prodded her much like how she used to coax her husband except gentler. "I am here."

"I-it's nothing, mommy. Really."

"Averia is crying, you know."

The bathwater shifted noisily.

"I-!" Raine almost shouted, but she caught herself. "_I know_…"

"I am here." Lightning repeated and pushed herself off the bathtub's edge, crawling forward and past the shower to behold her youngest daughter. "_I am here for you_."

It was then when Raine looked up at her mother with her reddened eyes, her small hands clutching at her chest. Though both of them were wet and even through the steam, Lightning could distinguish the tears from the droplets of water rolling down her daughter's cheeks.

"_It hurts, mommy_." Raine admitted with a shaky whisper. Her daughter looked so very confused. "_I—I don't know…_"

Lightning resisted the instinctive desire to embrace her distraught daughter and banish even the smallest of bothers from her frail frame. Doing so might only cause her prideful daughter to runaway.

Instead, Lightning leveled with her daughter's gaze, never minding the shower pelting her back. To her, there was nothing else in the world apart from her daughter.

"Talk to me." She urged her. "Tell me everything you're feeling."

"_I… I hurt Avy…_" Raine finally confessed, her voice hitching with every syllable. "_I told her… I said…! I… wanted to hurt her. So much!_"

"Why?" Lightning asked, wondering what it was that spurred Raine to turn on the sister she was so attached to.

"_I was mad._" Raine rubbed her eyes with her wrist, wishing with all her might that the blurriness would go away. "_The other kids! They said—they said I'm…!_"

Abruptly, Raine lowered her hands and met her mother's gaze with pleading eyes.

"Mommy, I—_am I an accident_?"

Lightning tilted her head.

"…An accident?" She softly whispered.

Lightning nearly missed her daughter's tiny nod.

"_I mean…_" Raine continued, her tiny frame quivering with her desperate attempt to hold all her emotions in. "_With Avy… it's like… it's like everything's planned out._"

"That's not entirely true." Lightning murmured. Both she and her husband _had_ planned out Averia's life but, as soon as their eldest daughter displayed a maturity beyond their years, they decided _not_ to continue with said plans.

It seemed as if Averia _knew_ what kind of woman she wanted to be.

_But Raine…_

"_Was I… am I not s'posed to be born?_" The little brunette continued and, just like that, the dam broke; she could no longer deny the tears that streamed down her cheeks; all she could do was to let her ailing heart bleed into her words and hope her mother would soothe her wounds. "_I mean… everyone knows it takes nine months for the stork to come and-! And Avy and I are less._" Raine shuddered. "_And-! And I… always cause you problems. I cause daddy and Avy problems. I… don't want to be a problem…_"

It was then when Raine looked up at her unspeaking mother, terror and confusion swimming in her tearful blue eyes.

A small part of Lightning blamed her husband's inherent melodrama thrusting this sudden existential crisis on her _six year old daughter_ but Lightning quickly squashed that impulse.

It did not matter.

What mattered was her daughter was worried.

It felt like such a very, _very_ minor worry, too, but it must have been the world to Raine.

Lightning honestly could not relate with what the small girl was feeling. She never felt such a feeling in her entire life.

But that did not matter.

_Her_ feelings didn't matter.

Not in the face of her child's turmoil.

Not when her daughter was stubbornly struggling against her tears.

Wordlessly, Lightning brought her youngest daughter's small frame back into her embrace and, this time, Raine did not struggle. Instead, the little girl seemed to invite herself to her mother's moist but comfortingly warm flesh.

She stopped trembling.

"_Mommy…?_" Lightning felt her daughter trepidatiously whisper against her ear.

It would be so very easy for her to lie—to say that they wanted another daughter so soon after Averia's birth. A harmless white lie was all it took.

But Lightning didn't want to be that kind of mother who took the choice out of her children's hands.

Lightning could only have faith in her children.

Lightning had to _believe_ that Raine would turn out fine.

With that decision, Lightning inhaled deeply and hardened her resolve.

"Raine…" This time, it was Lightning that pulled away just enough to gaze at her daughter, one hand at the small of her back while the other cradled her nape; Raine's hands rested loosely on her collarbones.

"I love you, Raine." Lightning confessed with all the sincerity she could muster. "I love you, therefore… _I will not lie_."

Raine's eyes widened—her grip on her mother's shoulder suddenly tightening, no doubt in anticipation.

But she did not pull away.

Lightning smiled at her daughter's own resolve.

"We hadn't planned for you, Raine."

With their bodies pressed so close to each other, Lightning could _feel_ Raine's every muscle stiffen. It was as if her words inflicted _petrify_.

It was fortunate that Lightning knew _esuna_.

"But I couldn't be any happier."

"_M-mommy …?"_ Her daughter croaked, confusion—_the good kind of confusion—_ringing in her voice.

"An accident is not necessarily bad, Raine." Lightning patiently explained so as to make sure her daughter understood. "Accidents can be happy. And, I don't believe in accidents. I believe _you_ were meant to be born, Raine. I believe, Raine, that you were born to make your father, your sister, and especially me, happy… _and I am_." Words could not describe the incredible catharsis admitting such a fact brought her.

She blessed her daughter's moist forehead with a kiss.

"I cannot imagine a world without you, my… my _darling Raine, my lovely troublemaker_."

Color exploded on Raine's skin and her eyes watered up once more—but this time with her embarrassment and happiness.

"_B-but I…_" Raine whispered, a doubt still lingering inside of her, weighing on her that she could not meet her mother's loving gaze. "_I… cause you so many problems…_"

Lightning raised her daughter so she could look up at her.

Their foreheads pressed against each other.

"Be a problem only to us, Raine. That's what family is for. That's not to say that you should deliberately be a problem."

A joyful tear dropped from Raine's eyes and ran down her mother's cheek.

"_Deliberate_?"

"It means you're a problem because you want to be."

"I don't want to be a problem." Raine vehemently repeated her earlier declaration.

Lightning smiled as she saw her feisty daughter's fire return.

"You don't need to force yourself." Lightning reassured her. "Your father and I will _always _be here for you."

"Mhm!" She cheerfully hummed before, suddenly, worry crept in once more. "Mommy…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think… do you think Avy will forgive me if I say sorry?"

Lightning could not help it; she rubbed her nose against her adorable daughter's. "_There's only one way to find out_."

"O-oh… right!" Raine fired herself up. "I gotta say sorry!"

"Yes you do." Lightning nodded and finally stood, Raine in her arms. "But you and I need to get out of here first."

Raine twisted slightly so she could reach the shower knob and turn it off.

"Good girl." Lightning acknowledged as she exited the shower.

Lightning set her daughter down. She grabbed one of the hanging towels and proceeded to wipe Raine dry.

"Mommy…"

Lightning paused in drying her brown hair at the sound of Raine's muffled call.

"Yes?"

Raine's blue eyes peeked from the white towel, and she motioned for her mother to come closer to her by cupping her hands around her mouth. Understanding what her daughter wanted, Lightning kneeled down and turned to the side.

Raine leaned in closer to her mother's ear so that she could whisper.

"_Thanks mommy_."

"You're-"

"_I love you, too_."

Raine pecked her stunned mother's cheek and swiftly ran away with the towel.

It took Lightning a moment to process what happened—mostly because Raine, having inherited much from both her and her husband, was not normally one to initiate displays of affection.

That Raine actually _did_ and _to her_ made her feel incredibly warm.

Lightning decided that, yes, her husband was forgiven for passing on such melodrama onto her children because, without it, she very much doubted instances like this would occur.

As Lightning proceeded to dry herself so she could rejoin her family, she gave a silent prayer.

_'Don't let my daughters grow up too fast_.'

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**I'm totally in love with mother hen Lightning Farron(-Leonhart).


	7. to be loved is to love (First Half)

_**A/N: **_I've been Been playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper to keep my interest here. Squeenix, throw me some coal to keep this ship alive!

* * *

><p>~to be loved is to love~<p>

First Half

_"A mother understands what a child does not say."_

* * *

><p>Lightning was not a forgetful woman. She knew very well what the next day would bring.<p>

It was going to be _Mother's Day_, and it made Lightning fearful.

Already, she had an entire itinerary for the coming day: attend Raine's recitation, then Averia's activity, and then lastly a social with Squall before the family would reconvene at the end of the day. Any other mother would treat this occasion with excitement, the former brigadier general supposed, but all she could think of were all the horrible ways her family would embarrass her.

Her family was eccentric that way.

She glared at whom she believed to be the source of the eccentricity—the lightly snoring form of her husband beside her.

"_This is all on you._" Lightning whispered her accusation. "_If tomorrow proves just as bad—or worse—than last year, then I'm confiscating my sleeping bag and sending you to the couch._" She threatened. "_You'll also be pulling all the chores for a month! You'll scrub every square inch of the kitchen with a toothbrush! You'll sweep every surface with a feather! By the time I'm through with you, you'll wish that our daughters inherited more from me than you!_"

Squall's brows creased in his sleep and grumbled something incoherent. Overcome with curiosity, Lightning leaned closer to her husband's lips.

And then, just like what the angler fish does to its prey, Squall's arm encircled his wife and pulled her body flush against his, her head buried against his shoulder. Apparently satisfied, Squall's snoring resumed.

Lightning frowned as she felt herself trapped in his embrace.

_"Mark my words, husband,_" She began, yawning slightly as she began to feel drowsy against his comforting heat. Her eyes were heavy—a cursory glance at the clock telling her it was hours after her bedtime already—and Lightning finally closed her eyes, but not before mumbling one last threat, "_I will bite you…_"

She had a big day ahead of her.

-0-0-0-

The morning was remarkably uneventful.

Squall prepared breakfast as usual, with Lightning being drawn to the table by the aroma of her favorite food. Averia and Raine appeared not much later with mother's day greetings, the former giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek while the younger gave her mother an embarrassed hug.

After breakfast, the two children scurried back to their rooms to prepare for school, leaving the two parents to a leisurely conversation while they washed the dishes together. It ended with Squall reminding Lightning over her schedule for the day, and that she, too, had to get dressed.

They embraced, with Squall's arms lingering just a few seconds longer than her own as he whispered his own greeting, leaving his wife's cheeks as pink as her hair and with a taunt at how soft-hearted he had become, before she made her way to the shower.

Squall had then driven his family to their children's school, making sure to leave the keys with his wife when they all went down. With one final reminder of Lightning's schedule, much to her slight irritation, and two hugs from his daughters, Squall left Lightning in their daughter's care as he commuted out.

After entering the school premises, Lightning parted with Averia with the promise that she would be with her on time before, finally, accompanying Raine to her classroom.

Lightning scanned the inside and made note of all the different decorations the kindergarteners prepared for their mothers, most of whom were already seated at the back of the classroom.

"Raine, Mrs. Leonhart!" Raine's teacher greeted upon spotting the pair. "How wonderful it is that you two made it in time."

Lightning tilted her head. "Hello. We're in time for... what, exactly?"

The teacher stared at Lightning before the light of realization lit up her features. "Oh! Did Raine not tell you?"

Raine glanced up at her teacher and shrugged. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

Lightning shot a sharp look at her daughter—and inwardly cursed Squall that the day finally started.

"What has Raine done now?" Lightning turned back to the teacher and asked, much to her daughter's indignation.

"I didn't do anything yesterday, mom!" Raine declared with folded arms.

"Indeed." The teacher reaffirmed. "And it's not so much a question of what Raine _has_ done, but one of what Raine _is about to do_."

"Oh." Lightning felt embarrassed jumping into conclusions. She gave her daughter an apologetic smile. "Sorry, dear. Mind telling me what's up?"

Accepting her mother's apology, Raine unfolded her arms and puffed out her chest proudly. "I'm reci- re-re… umm…" The little girl looked up towards her teacher.

"Raine is reciting her mother's day letter." The teacher supplied.

"I'm reciting." Raine parroted.

Lightning glanced at her daughter once more. "Wait, so this wasn't a group-thing?"

The teacher laughed and patted Raine's brown head affectionately, making the little girl scamper out of her grasp after a few seconds. The little girl quickly left the two adults to join her friends before her hair could be murdered further.

"No. As I've told you and your husband in the last parent-teacher meeting, Raine has displayed a remarkable reading ability. I felt it would be wonderful to open this event with your daughter reciting her homework that I issued the class last week."

"And this homework is…?" Lightning prompted.

"I asked my students to write what they thought of their mothers so that they can give it today." She glanced around the room before she clapped her hands together in delight. "And look! We're all here. It's time to start the event! If you would excuse me, Mrs. Leonhart~"

_'Oh joy_.' Lightning thought, feeling lightheaded while the teacher gave her opening remarks. _'There's no backing out now, I suppose…'_

Steeling herself, Lightning made her way to the back, past the seated children minus Raine who was standing next to her teacher, so she could join the other mothers.

"…and to start off this wonderful day, a piece from one of our children, _Raine Farron-Leonhart_!"

A round of applause met the smallest Leonhart, who suddenly became the center of attention now that her teacher seated herself beside the window.

It was then that Lightning spotted the piece of paper her daughter was holding—a paper Lightning assumed was her daughter's homework and speech. From the looks of it, her speech was handwritten which, in hindsight, was probably how her daughter was able to hide it from her.

Raine glanced at her mother beyond the edge of the paper she held and, at Lightning's reassuring nod, she cleared her throat and began to recite.

"My mom has super powers." She declared with certainty. Lightning's gaze softened at the chuckles the other mothers made at her daughter's opening line. "She can do amazing things. She can cut things faster than anyone!"

Her daughter's cheerful words suddenly pierced through Lightning's good mood; she had a bad feeling about where Raine, bless her innocence, was heading…

"She also makes the best toast, ever!" Raine continued, earning snickers from the rest of her classmates. "When I feel sick, she makes me porridge when my dad isn't home."

Lightning sank in her seat, inwardly cursing fate for this building mortification.

"We always play the quiet game—even if I'm bad at it." At this, Raine's tiny shoulders sagged with her sadness. "Sometimes, I wish mom would just let me shoot something instead…"

Lightning could _feel_ the prickling sharpness of the gazes all the other adults in the room stabbed her with. It was a miracle she hadn't exploded yet!

"My mom likes to bully dad." Raine suddenly said, and Lightning could feel all the staring intensify. "She shouts his name a lot at night when she thinks we're asleep. Sometimes, the thumping happens and I feel bad for dad. I think it's mean but dad seems happy in the morning. I don't really get it so I think they're just weird."

It took all of Lightning's willpower to remain poised. She would pat herself on the back later for maintaining grace despite her skin claiming the color of her hair—after throttling her little hellion, anyway.

"_Oh my…_" Lightning heard one of the other mothers, a woman in her mid-forties by her estimate, whisper to her companion, "_Young couples these days!_"

The Farron-Leonhart matriarch felt her pride recoil at the accusation, but humiliating it may be, it was still the truth. She couldn't deny the claim—and she wouldn't if she could, either: her youngest was still speaking.

Still, it didn't stop her from feeling like a _flanbanero_ on her seat.

Oblivious to her mother's humiliation—and entirely too-focused on her speech, the littlest Leonhart continued.

"Her favorite thing to do is scold me." Lightning's eyes bugged out at her daughter's sagely nod. "Whenever I'm with my mom, she always seems to say I'm not doing something right."

"_Kill me now._" Lightning muttered, nearly in tears. She desperately wished smoke would arise from her burning ears just so it would trigger the sprinklers.

"She cooks the yummiest… umm…" Raine fidgeted from where she stood. Lightning immediately straightened when her daughter's eyes roamed towards her and, despite all the embarrassment she felt, Lightning still gave her little girl her reassurance. Raine nodded, a tiny smile curling on her lips now that she knew her mother was still with her, "Hot choco!"

The embarrassed mother palmed her face _hard_ as the entire room broke out in laughter.

_'Raine hates me.'_ Lightning thought in dismay. _'Raine hates me and she's doing this to get back at me, I'm sure!'_

"My mom makes me happy when…" Raine trailed once more. Unlike the previous times, however, Raine wouldn't seek support from her mother; a fact Lightning noticed.

More than that, Lightning realized that throughout her entire speech, Raine's skin, too, was painted with an embarrassed red…and at once, all feelings of humiliation evaporated.

Realization struck the pink-haired mother: none of what Raine said was a lie meant to torment her. All of what Raine confessed were what she honestly felt…

And so, once more, Lightning sat in attention. Whatever humiliating comment her daughter would next speak, whatever mortification she would feel, Lightning resolved to pin her daughter's heartfelt words onto her breast and wear them with pride.

"…She makes _so_ happy when she showers with me. I like looking at my mom." Raine said with no small amount of pink on her cheeks. "When I grow up, I want a body like my mom's—not like all the other moms with their flabby bellies and saggy boobs."

More than one mother gasped at the uncouth comment that left Raine's mouth. Her teacher, who was smiling proudly at her star-pupil's recitation, visibly grimaced while inwardly wishing she had read over Raine's speech before she allowed her to speak. The children's reactions were mixed—most of the boys snickered, some dared to glance at the mother-in-question, while the girls beheld Lightning with admiration.

On her seat, Lightning could only smile.

"My mom can fix a flat tire faster than my dad." Raine recounted, garnering more laughter from her classmates. "My dad's better at fixing up our mess, sure, but my mom has him beat when it comes to assembling a blazefire saber!"

_'You just got schooled, you silly schoolboy.'_ Lightning smugly thought about her meticulous husband.

"And lastly…" Raine paused. She looked up from the sheet and met her mother's warm blue eyes. "I love it when my mom makes time for me." She said, and it was clear that no more words were needed to explain how much Raine loved her mother.

Raine folded the piece of paper. In typical Farron flair, Raine smirked at her entire class and issued her challenge.

"My mom is the best mom ever!"

And to make sure her point came across amidst all the applause, Lightning being the loudest of them all as she approached her daughter to smother her with a hug, _Raine stuck her tongue out at her class_.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**_ Late mother's day piece, part 1. More to come soon when I get inspired; the flow is already set but I just need time and motivation to write. For those wondering, Raine's letter is inspired by a worksheet from the "Mother's Day Gift Book! SUPER MOM! SUPERHERO THEME! Mother's Day, Birthdays" I found over at teacherspayteachers ( d o t ) com.


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