Disclaimer: I do not ownnnn Final Fantasy. (Square Enix does) =]
Summary: RikkuPaine. Yuri. 'nuff said.
It wasn't something that was easy to explain. Yuna just... wasn't sure how she felt about all this.
Of course she had known for a long while before the two announced it to the rest of the group, but that was only because she was so close to them. They hadn't tried so hard to hide the evidence from Yuna, really. Actually, they seemed more like not to care. Or maybe, they just didn't think that she'd catch on so quickly. But honestly, Rikku and Paine didn't seem to know what Yuna's reaction would be when they approached her, privately one day, and admitted to her their relationship. In a way, Yuna could understand where they were coming from, but then again, she couldn't understand why they had been so nervous about telling her. Did they think that she would just throw away their friendship for something like that? Did she really come across as so shallow?
It was aboard the airship of course. Yuna was on the deck of the Celsius, looking out over the clouds, thinking. She had seen Rikku and Paine together several times already, whenever they thought that she wasn't around or when she was sleeping. She'd seen the little looks they threw at one another behind others' backs, and had even caught a glimpse or two of them holding hands once or twice. But she wasn't thinking about it at this time. Actually, she was thinking about Tidus again. Whenever other idle things, like sphere hunting and Rikku and Paine's relationship, weren't on her mind, she was usually thinking about him of course. Compared to that, everything else seemed dull in comparison. The precious memories she held so dearly of him played through her mind and caused her empty chest to throb in pain. She had so much in life to be thankful for, the chance to live free of Sin, to have such great friends and be able to fly through the skies and have her own adventures every day. But whenever she thought about him... Yuna felt like a piece was missing.
She turned to look over her shoulder when she heard the door to the deck slid open, and saw Rikku and Paine come out, walking purposefully toward her. As she was watching, her eyes widened in surprise when Paine deliberately reached out and took Rikku's hand. Rikku looked nervous.
They must have noticed Yuna's eyes flickering down to their interlaced fingers, but they both kept their eyes on her. "Yunie," Rikku said in a small voice once all three of them were close enough for conversation. "We wanna tell you something."
Even Paine looked a little embarrassed. Instead of meeting Yuna's eyes she looked out over Spira. She didn't say a word.
"Okay," Yuna agreed, keeping her tone positive. She already knew what they were going to tell her anyway.
"Rikku and I... are together," Paine said matter-of-factly. She didn't sound like she cared about Yuna's reaction, but she did turn her face to see what Yuna's expression was.
Yuna couldn't bring herself to tell the two of them that she had already known. In all honesty, she really didn't know how to feel about the two of them being together. Before they approached her about it, Yuna had been embarrassed to think of it, always blushing brightly and pushing it out of her mind; after all, if they didn't want her to know, she might as well try to convince herself that she didn't. But it had been so obvious to her that it'd been hard to think otherwise. What was she to say to them now that they obviously wanted her approval? She replied with an, "Oh. Really?" Feigning surprise.
It was quiet for a moment. They were waiting for her to say more, Yuna knew, but she just didn't know where to go from there. "So..." Rikku started. "What do you think?"
She thought for a moment, searching inside herself for an honest, but nice reply. "Well..." she asked, "are you two happy together?" A sudden grin bloomed on Rikku's face, and she and Paine shared a glance. Paine didn't smile, but she didn't have to; it showed in her eyes. They didn't need to answer. "Then I'm happy for you," Yuna continued with a smile and a little laugh.
Rikku had been so happy to hear Yuna's quick understanding and words of approval. She jumped around, like Rikku always did whenever she was excited, and threw her arms around Yuna in a hug. "You too, Dr. P!" she cried, and Paine chuckled and joined them for a group embrace.
"We wanted your personal approval before we told everybody else," Paine said after a minute. "We didn't think it was fair for you not to know beforehand."
"Yeah, and plus we were kinda a little nervous about how you would react," Rikku added in her quick voice. As they were headed back inside, Paine turned around and said "Thanks."