Hey folks, I have yet another Rippal one-shot for QTC. It will be placed in a blind spot of a project I'm secretly working on. Notes needed for characters (only if you want):
Niada: Gippal and Rikku's only child, she's six.
Meechan: Gippal's cousin by his aunt, Lyrra. Lyrra's a year younger than Gippal, but Meechan is ten months younger than Vidina.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Meechan (sorta, long story) and Niada.
Gippal blew his current breath out in an exasperated sigh. He wasn't exactly thrilled at the moment.
Then again, his temple was being decorated with tinsel and holly and aeons knows what else. There was even a large tree set up in the biggest chamber not habited by workers' shops, where Gippal was also, with Rikku humming as she twined a string of beads painted gold around it.
He was not a Winter Solstice person. Never had been. But his wife, unfortunately, loved every minute of it. Every year, Rikku insisted on decking the place out. Every year, she drug out the crates from previous years and went to the shops to add to her massive collection of what he disgustedly labeled clutter. Every year she worried and stressed how everything had to be just right.
And every year, she insisted on his company as she did it, no matter how much he whined and complained.
Stretching out his legs from his position on the floor, he watched as she jumped to twine the string over branches just out of reach before she had to resort to using a ladder. He was amused at least.
"You know, you could help," she shot at him, the string of beads twined around one of her hands ignored as she propped both hands on her hips.
Taking advantage of her pose, he leered at her before he responded. "Well," he drawled, "for one you are highly distracting. You realize it is winter, right?" She had on her thief's dress sphere, which was a wee bit odd, since she had taken to a more conventional wardrobe years ago.
"I need the extra agility," she reminded him with a sniff.
"Okay, I'll buy that," Gippal quipped back with a shrug, "Anyway, two, you do this every year and every year you convince me to help and when I do, you go along behind me fixing whatever you think I've screwed up. I'm saving you time. "
The look on her face screamed that she wasn't buying it.
"Mama! Mama, we found 'em!"
Both of their heads turned to the door. Niada, the very image of her mother at the tender age of six, her precious Blankie wrapped around her shoulders and dragging along the floor behind her, came trotting into the room with a small box in her hands. Behind her was Meechan, his teenage lankiness bellied by the ease in which he carried a stack of larger boxes, so many that he wasn't exactly visible behind them.
"Careful, Niada," Gippal warned, scrambling to his feet and rescuing the box before his daughter tripped. He swung her up on to his shoulders as well, making her shriek with laughter.
"Oh sure, help the squirt," drawled Meechan, sounding eerily similar to Gippal had before the children entered and making Rikku giggle as he set down his load gingerly. "Thank you so much, cousin, really. It wasn't like I couldn't see where I was going," he continued to joke, pushing his goggles further up on his head to keep his hair out of his way. He looked a good deal like Gippal had at that age, even adopting his preference for purple tanks, which led to inevitable teasing by the workers.
"Well, you really need the balance practice," Gippal drawled in reply. When Meechan made a face in reply, it stirred more laughter, this time from the entire family.
The ribbing continued as Gippal and Meechan took over the twining of the beads and Niada "helped" her mother hang ornaments, Rikku certain that Niada got the more durable ornaments while she handled the glass, crystal, and other delicate ones.
Standing back, Gippal rubbed the back of his neck. How had he gotten wrapped into helping this year?
"Gippal, it's time," Rikku gently chided as she opened the small box Niada had been carrying. Grinning, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, looking over her shoulder as she brushed aside wrappings to reveal his first Solstice gift to her as a married couple. A delicate angel made of silver and gold wires and netting, he had arranged for crystal and glass to be added as well to create an extremely ethereal affect.
Niada ran over to cling to Rikku's leg."Oh, it's the Solstice angel!" she cooed, standing on tip-toes to get a better look. Grinning, she knelt down so the little girl could run her fingers gingerly over the large wings before Gippal took the angel into his hands.
Running his fingers over the blown glass that made up the face, Gippal seemed to consider it, looking up at Rikku slyly. "I still think you're Mama's prettier," he informed his daughter with a grin. She giggled and wrapped Blankie around her head, peeking out of the blue fabric with a matching smile.
He was careful as he set the angel on top of the tree, with Meechan nitpicking how straight it was from the front. Finally, the family gathered in front of the tree, Rikku tucked into Gippal's side and Niada up on Meechan's shoulders, Blankie over her shoulder.
"Well, Cousin Rikku has done it again," Meechan finally sighed.
"Done what?" Niada immediately asked, looking down as if that would let her see his eyes.
He grinned as he tilted his head back in response. "Worked her magic, of course."
"Magic?" Niada's eyes had grown wide and she looked to her parents. "Like the Solstice angel?"
Gippal was still trying to work out how he ended up helping when he heard Niada's questions. Shaking his head, he reached over and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, your mama has some of the Solstice angel's magic stored away," he drawled, "That's how she gets me to do this shit every damn year."
Meechan's roar of laughter couldn't drown out RIkku's shriek of outrage since he cussed twice in front of Niada—again—and she hit him rapidly on the shoulder.
It was definitely the Winter Solstice in Djose.