by PrettyGothGirl
All Disclaimers Apply
Summary:It's Rikku's birthday, so Gippal brings her breakfast in bed made by him, her adoring husband, and her loving children...
A/N: Another birthday fic! This time for Jezzi. A birthday fic about a birthday! Go figure. Anyways, been wanting some established R/G fic lately. This is the result.
Pale morning light streamed through the window above the bed. Rikku could feel it on her face and she mumbled something unintelligible as someone prodded her on the shoulder trying to wake her from the black oblivion of sleep to acknowledge said light. She blearily opened her eyes and it resolved into the face of her husband, his eye patch slightly askew. He was holding a tray. She rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up. "Morning." She said, voice still scratchy with sleep.
Gippal smiled and set the tray on her lap. "Good morning."
She pushed strands of hair out of her eyes and pushed herself up so her back was against the headboard of the bed. She looked into her lap and eyed the plate filled with what she thought might be food with a neutral face. Her mind and reactions were still foggy and slow. So, she managed neutral quite well. Something that was lumpy and gelatinous, ragged edged rounds of golden brown and yellow white with crispy brown flakes in it. A sagging purple flower held pride in place in the upper right hand corner.
"What's this?" She asked and turned her head.
Gippal smiled at her. "It's breakfast." He paused, "in bed."
She blinked and brushed hair from her eyes again. "Oh, um." She definitely wasn't away enough yet as she still couldn't tell what it was and why she was getting it in bed, when normally she was supposed to be up and actually making breakfast.
Gippal's half frowned. "You like eggs and pancakes with fruit and yogurt, right?" He knew very well that it was her favorite breakfast.
She held back a grimace. When defined that way, she figured out what each mutilated item was supposed to be. "It's very sweet." She picked up the fork and prodded the hypothetical pancakes. She supposed she should be grateful they weren't burnt.
Gippal sighed. "I know. You're a much better cook than I am, honey, at least in presentation, but I had help." He was struggling to keep his face straight. He patted her shoulder. "You start eating while I start to clean up the kitchen."
"Help? You let the kids help you cook." Rikku's eyes widened. "Exactly what state is my kitchen in?"
He swallowed another smile. "Messy. Eat your breakfast."
She prodded the pancakes again. She waited until he was out of the room before setting the fork down and just staring at the plate. She stared at the items in a mixture of horror and shock. Gippal let their seven and five year old children help him cook? Her eyes widened again. "Gippal, honey!"
"What?" He shouted from the other room.
"Where are the kids?" They should be here, crawling all over her and with big smiles and bigger eyes telling her who did what to help papa. She cringed. She knew what her children's version of help was. It was the same as hers had been at that age. Throw things, everywhere, the ceilings, the floor, and the furniture, maybe the ingredients would end up where they were supposed to be. She stared at the eggs. Had Gippal had to scrape them off of something that wasn't the pan?
"With your father." He added something under his breath. She decided it was best not to ask and pretend she hadn't heard. It sounded something like bath, bubbles and egg yolk.
She picked up a spoon and tentatively dipped it into the yogurt. Little berries moved to the surface. She bit her lip and shrugged. She'd survived worse than a little breakfast made by her adoring husband and loving children (they reminded her of these things on a regular basis). She took a small bite of the yogurt and grimaced. Sour. She set the spoon and down and reluctantly swallowed before her throat closed up. She looked around. Maybe there was a way to get rid of it without them knowing.
She picked up the plate and blinked as she saw a note underneath it. Shifting the plate to one hand she picked it up and set the plate down. She opened the note and smiled. "Happy Birthday, Mama! Love, Papa, Nikki and Laila" was written in her eldest child's scrawl. To be honest, birthday was misspelled, scratched out and respelled and the A in happy was upside down. It was the thought that counted. And there was a picture of what she thought was supposed to be Gippal, the kids and her with the coloring outside the lines, the younger child's contribution.
Gippal coughed from the doorway. She turned her head. He grinned. "So, you found the card."
She grinned back and pressed it to her lips. "It's very cute." Now, the breakfast in bed made more sense.
"Happy Birthday, sweetheart." He came back to sit on the edge of the bed. He looked at the tray. "And, you don't have to eat it. I promise not to tell." He sobered. "Your father's gift to you is taking the kids for the day." He reached down and brought out a package wrapped in brown paper. "This is from the kids." He made a false modest face. "I helped make it, but it was all their idea." Rikku took it and bit her lip. She carefully tore the paper away and gasped. A small glass box held together with metal edges, the bottom was filled with sand, rocks and even a tiny cactus model. The back had a picture of the desert sky. Gippal caressed her hair. "They know you miss the desert. They thought it might help."
She blinked several times and her eyes felt funny. "It's wonderful."
He took the tray and went back to the kitchen. She heard the scrape of metal on ceramic and the thumping close of the garbage. She smiled and brushed her fingers across glass box. She could almost feel the heat of the desert sun. She missed being warm. She loved Djose for itself, but there were some days she'd give almost everything to be warm again, almost everything because she wasn't about to give up her husband, her kids or her work.
Gippal gently pried the diorama from her hands. He set it on the bedside table and leaned across her. She smiled at him. "So, what did you get me for my birthday?"
He smirked, leaned forward and kissed her gently. She cupped his cheek with her hand. Her eyes closed and she sighed as the familiar tingles ran through her. "Later." He murmured. "Right now, I'm going to take advantage of the peace and quiet."
She giggled. "By taking advantage of me?" She slid her hand around to the back of his neck.
"Won't be peaceful and quiet for very long now will it?"
Her giggles turned into outright laughter and Gippal smothered them with another kiss. It was a good thing because she didn't have a safe answer for him.
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