Walk on Water
She ran across the bridge with a frightened little squeal, watching as the sparking temple before her got even… sparkier… with the lightning from the grumpy skies above. Yep, the skies weren't happy. The clouds were electrocuting things. And she didn't want to be electrocuted.
She was soaking already, of course, because the clouds had been sad long before they'd gotten grumpy. That's how she liked to think of it. Thunder and rain are such boring words compared to fun descriptive ones like sad or grumpy. So… she was already soaked because the sad clouds had cried on her shoulder – and the rest of her – and she couldn't wait to get inside. Not because she actually wanted to see her annoying sibling or the little boy genius or the hot, one-eyed muscle-man inside. No siree. Because she was cold. And wet. And afraid of grumpy electrocutor clouds.
She knocked on the door, dancing from foot to foot to keep herself warm and to distract herself from the creepy little strands of electricity flashing over the stone surrounding the doorway. When she looked at the little pieces, she thought she would rather take her chances with the grumpy clouds. These ones were much more likely to come after her… and they sizzled, too. She wasn't sure she liked the sizzling. "Let me in!" she called, her singsong voice a little less singsong and a little more… frustrated. She waited.
"Guys! C'mon… get off your butts and open the door for me!" She tried the handle, but, just as she'd known it would be, the door was locked. "Boys!" No answer. But she thought she heard chuckling. "Ooooh! You meanies! Open up!"
She kicked the wood lightly, squeaking as a little strand of electricity sizzled near her head. "You hear me in there? Open up!"
She definitely heard chuckling, that time.
"Dangit, let me in already! I'm cold!" The electricity sizzled again. She screamed. "It's gonna get me! Let. Me. IN!"
She leaned against the doorway in defeat, trying to get herself as far away from the little electricity things as possible. And finally, the door opened. She fell backwards, barely catching a glimpse of Gippal's laughing face before she tried to catch her balance… and failed miserably.
She reeled down the small entryway, slipping on a puddle of rainwater that was in the middle of the floor from all the people coming in and out of the temple. Flying as she shuffled around without looking behind her. Flying because she'd tripped over a small machine in the middle of the entryway. Flying because she was clumsy and she always, always, always managed to make her falls dramatic, even if the drama was on accident.
She whined as she pushed herself off the stone floor, her hair and body dripping, creating a new puddle just inside the main room of the temple. She heard the chuckle again, but she didn't look up. Instead, she put her head in her hands and shook it in disbelief.
"So, Cid's girl, what was… how'd you say it? Right, right… 'gonna get' you?" He laughed again as he stopped in front of her. She could see his boots out of the corner of her eye, and she took one hand away from her head and gestured.
"The, uh… the little lightning… thingies." Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "On the walls. Outside. Y'know? The thingies?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know the thingies." He bent down, and she hid her eyes and her tomato red face. "Were they chasing you, Cid's girl? Were they hot on your trail?"
She stayed quiet for a moment before miserably lowering her hands from her face and pouting up at him. "I imagine they'd be hot, if they got me. And one was doing that crackle-lackle noise right by my head, you meanie! You could've just let me in!"
He only chuckled again and messed up her already messed up and wet hair. As he straightened, he pointed behind him. "I know you were trying to walk on that puddle of water back there, but geeze. Y'gotta be a little more… graceful, yeah?" She glanced at where he was pointing, and groaned as she saw the machine she'd tripped over, in pieces on the floor. "I love it how every time you come here you manage to break something. It gives me so much ammo for blackmail!"
"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, her face reddening again.
"Rikku!" she heard, echoing through the mostly empty temple. She glanced behind her, at her Brother who was running like a fool down the hall, sliding on the stones in his wet boots as Shinra followed him in his little jumpsuit, waving his arms.
"Brother, stop! You're going to-"
And he tripped. It was highly reminiscent of Rikku's own fall, though much more comical than dramatic. And when a little machine went flying off a nearby table, she saw her chance to redeem herself. Ignoring her Brother, she dove for the flying piece of metal.
And she caught it.
"Woohoo!" she cried out, dancing in a circle. "I got it! Lookit, Gippal, I saved it this time!" She shook her hands in the air in excitement.
A loud thud sounded near her feet. She looked at her hands, which were empty now, for some strange reason. And with a sigh, she glanced at the now broken machine at her feet that she'd caught in a heroic effort and dropped in childish excitement.
Gippal just laughed and shook his head, brushing his hair back as his chuckling filled the room.
Just a little oneshot I wrote a three word challenge on the LJ community Quite the Couple. I liked it enough to post it up.