Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 or any of its characters.
Chapter 1: Risky Business
"I don't know why the Chief couldn't have sprung for bigger machina. It's so cramped in here." Yuna whined.
"I'm not complaining about a chance to be closer to you." Tidus said lovingly, cozying up closer to his girl. It had been two years since the destruction of Vegnagun and his re-arrival in Spira. The imminent thought of him disappearing again had faded from both of their minds. At the moment, the two were comfortable in a machina vehicle patched together with found parts from the Desert, constructed by their Chief. It was currently stationed outside of the Mi'ihen Highroad's Travel Agency in the middle of night, Spira's moons glowing brightly behind it.
Yuna poured over a small screen which displayed one of the miniscule rooms in the agency. The vehicle barely held the two people, but managed to contain surveillance machina and act as transportation as well. She tapped her forefinger impatiently on the desk before her, sighing with frustration. She didn't notice Tidus throwing his arm around her as she briefly wiggled a joystick, which readjusted the image on the screen. Their subtle touching and contact was no longer treasured, but now easy and expected.
"What is she waiting for? We could be home right now." Yuna asked herself, tapping her finger more quickly.
"She's probably just nervous. Rikku is like a kid, you know?" He replied, burying his face into her neck. "You've changed a lot, but you still are too uptight for anyone's good." Tidus added, kissing her neck playfully.
"Tidus!" She exclaimed pushing his face away. Pouting, she turned her head from him. Pursuing, he started kissing her turned cheek until he got a grin out of her. She giggled and threw her arms around him.
"I can hear you guys…" A voice grumbled over what sounded like an intercom.
"Rikku!" Yuna jumped. She hastily pushed Tidus off of her and refocused on the screen. The teenage correspondent was currently grimacing at the hidden camera. She held up her hands and shrugged.
"It's not like she can see us too…" Tidus muttered, pulling himself upright. He ran a gloved hand through his streaky blonde hair.
"I'm not a kid Tidus!" Rikku chided into the intercom, pointing angrily at the camera. It was true. Her cousin and she had been through a lot in the past four years. She had stood beside her relative as she took down Sin, and then again two years later with Vegnagun. At 19, Rikku had grown up a lot. She was just as playful as ever, but her interests were definitely different. She spent more time thinking about what came next, rather than games to play or spheres to hunt.
"I'm in position!" She announced, pushing her bustle of beaded hair behind her back. Catching her eye in the small mirror on the back of the door, she smiled confidently at herself.
"Rikku, is that what you're wearing?" Yuna asked disapprovingly. She leaned in closer to the monitor, straining over the details.
Rikku scanned over herself in the mirror and frowned. What was wrong with this? "Yeah, why?" She asked, confused. It was a familiar outfit. Since her travels from all over the world, she had dawned her old attire, comfortable, ruffled green shorts and her favorite coral tank top.
"Well, I don't mean to stereotype, but Gippal seems like a guy who would want to see, you know… more." Yuna confessed, embarrassment for her cousin's flushing cheeks. Tidus grinned at her own blush, pinching her cheek playfully. Yuna gasped, swatting his hand away.
"I've worn this in front of him before and he didn't have anything bad to say." Rikku defended over the microphone.
"Well who would have anything bad to say about that?" Tidus admitted lowly. Yuna, appalled, slapped his shoulder playfully. "That wasn't internal dialogue?" He added, confused.
"No." Yuna and Rikku both chimed in. Tidus grinned, embarrassed, and returned to nuzzling up on Yuna. No matter how close he could get, he couldn't get enough of his girl's smell. He didn't remember anything of the two years of distance between the both of them. He realized this was a luxury only after seeing Yuna tromping through the waves of Besaid, tears streaming down her face. At the time, he thought they were only of relief, but as he slowly discovered her hesitation to intimacy did he realize the agonizing grief of separation she had endured. He did everything he could now to reassure her he wasn't going anywhere.
"Well what do you suggest then, Yuna?" Rikku asked, reminding her, again, that there was a third party present in this operation.
"Oh, um, I guess, something more like what you were wearing when we were sphere hunters?" Yuna admitted, slightly ashamed of her truthfulness. Yuna knew that Rikku lived in her two-piece bathing suit because of all the deep sea excursions they partook in the past two years. Yuna had always been a lousy swimmer, depending solely on Wakka and Rikku for following spheres that lead them below the surface. To Rikku, it wasn't a fashion statement, but rather a convenience. Most of the time, her cousin would simply slap on a skirt after diving and dry in the sun on the deck of Celsius with total confidence. The last thing Yuna wanted to do was impose any self-consciousness on her comrade.
"Oh my bathing suit? I guess I can wear that. I didn't even think of that since this is a dry operation…" Rikku trailed off. "Black out cameras until I finish changing, okay Yunie?" With that said, Yuna turned off the monitors until further notice. She sighed and fidgeted with the braid in her hair impatiently.
"What's wrong?" Tidus asked, shutting off their microphones momentarily as well. Yuna sighed again, only shaking her head.
"I hope she can handle this." Yuna managed to say through her agitation. Her eyes darted nervously across the ground, finally rising to meet his. She bit her bottom lip and continued. "She is just a kid, really. Gippal has changed in the past couple years and I don't want her to hesitate."
"I know I haven't been around, Yuna, but I know Rikku." Tidus said softly, kissing her cheek quietly and quickly before continuing. "She has stayed by your side this whole time. Rikku helped you battle Sin, even before we found a way to save you, and she brought you closer to me. She sticks to the plan because sometimes that's all you have, you know?"
"That's what I'm worried about!" Yuna protested. Tidus' consoling words only increased her discomfort.
"You guys, I'm ready!" Rikku shouted over the loudspeaker. Yuna whipped back to the monitors, dropping the words she was about to speak. With a click, the monitors whirred with illumination and Rikku came in to a hazy view, stomping her feet, and vying for attention on the screen. This simple tantrum made Yuna smile slightly. Those small moments reminded her that even through all the tribulations, her cousin would not change on her. At this point though, Yuna could only wish she would want more for herself instead of following everyone else around.
Rikku rolled her eyes as she waited for any response from the others. She knew she really shouldn't interrupt their "alone" time, but she was getting impatient. The idea of this operation made her uneasy, which justified her initial stalling. As of now though, she needed it to be done and over with. Seeing an old friend or whatever from the past was not ideal at this point.
Rikku had had many roles in the past several years. Raised as an Al Bhed and eager to learn the customs, she trained in mechanics, diving, and thievery with the other young people residing in Home. This is where, of course, she met Gippal, their field work often overlapping. The Bikanel Desert was only so expansive.
"I'm not even going to get in to this right now." Rikku muttered, pushing her childhood memories aside. She knew it would only interfere with the operation. The last thing she was known for was hesitation. She had always prided herself on her spontaneity.
Anyway, fast forwarding, Rikku finally met her summoner of a cousin in Luca where she followed her all over Spira. So many people knew of their travels now that she herself was kind of sick of hearing about it. Sin, Vegnagun, blah, blah, blah. What she was excited about though was her new role. Some of the old crew, Yuna, Tidus, and herself included, had joined the Chocobo Knights. Without an impending doom to attend to, the Knights mostly fought local crime and beasts. Rikku took her new role with total seriousness. She did not want her fighting skills to wane in a time of peace. Who knew what was next to come?
That left Gippal in one of the two categories pertaining to beasts and crimes. Unfortunately, he was at the mercy of the law, Rikku's code to be exact. It was operations like these where she really had to prove her loyalty to her new employment.
There was a knock at the door. "It's Gippal… Rikku are you in there?" A muffled voice called from the other side of the agency room door. Panic rising in her chest, Rikku ran her hands through her beaded hair, over her yellow bikini, and threw a scarf around her neck for good measure.
"Yuna, I'm in position." She whispered in to the microphone. Turning, Rikku walked the length of the room unsteadily and grasped the door handle.