Cfaadraynd

My dearest Yuna,

I send my condolences regarding the fate of the airship; that must be a grave loss for you and all of the Gullwings. I see that although the Al Bhed claim to be masters of machinery, they still have not perfected the art of piloting an airship – or is that simply a particular talent of your leader's? It is a shame that it cannot be salvaged, and I wish you and those working on it the best of luck in finding a way to salvage what you can.

I have also received word of your restlessness in Besaid, which is to be expected with the loss of the freedom that an airship would bring. Therefore, I invite you to come spend a few days with me in Bevelle – certainly the presence of the High Summoner would calm the nerves of the people of the city. So far, the integration with the Youth League hasn't gone as well as we were hoping, but we are well on the way to finding a common ground. Perhaps seeing you again would remind the people of the good in the world, and give them the courage to forge onward toward the future we are building for ourselves. Although, I do not claim responsibility if they ask you to sing for them.

It has been too long since I have been able to set my eyes on you, my lady. I would certainly welcome the opportunity – send the word, and I will have an airship at your doorstep as quickly as I am able.

All my best,

Baralai

Yuna bowed her head over Baralai's written words, closing her eyes. The Praetor of New Yevon was most certainly flirting with her, and had been ever since she, Rikku, and Paine had flown away from Luca Stadium on the Celsius. Rikku had even noticed it, and Rikku was an expert on those sorts of things.

Her hands shaking, Yuna folded up the brittle parchment paper that the Praetor always wrote to her on, placing it back inside the pale beige envelope. It wasn't that she didn't like Baralai – that was far from the case! It was simply that she was afraid of him.

Yes, afraid. Every time she looked at him, she could see Shuyin rising from his form, pale tan around the edges where his form faded into pyreflies, bringing destruction down on Spira with Vegnagun. Yuna couldn't see past that, and what was worse, she couldn't see past Shuyin… and him.

Every time she saw Baralai, she saw Tidus behind him, hovering like a cream colored waft of a ghost.

"Whatcha got there, your highness?"

Gippal, on the other hand, was entirely his own entity. Yuna had memories with him, too, but none of them like Baralai. Gippal was always just Gippal, and the only person that ever hovered behind him was Rikku… even if Rikku posed her own problems.

However, Yuna couldn't help but to smile as she turned around. That familiar voice could belong to no one else and always put her completely at ease. "A letter from Baralai, Gippal," she replied, smiling and averting her eyes from the man standing in the doorway of her hut, displacing the tan and brown cover that served as a door.

"What's he bothering you for?" Gippal proceeded to walk inside of the hut, the cloth doorflap swinging behind him in a flurry of earth tones, and sat down on one of the wicker chairs with his legs crossed.

Yuna suppressed a grin at the way Gippal fell into the chair, flowing with a liquid movement that would be out of place on anyone else. "He just invited me to Bevelle for a few days, that's all."

Gippal's grin made Yuna's spine tingle. "I see the Praetor is trying to make good with the High Summoner."

"I think he's just being courteous," Yuna protested.

"Oh really?" Gippal uncrossed his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees. "So that explains why he's sent you a letter every week ever since Brother crash landed us here?"

Yuna turned away, feeling her cheeks burn. "H-how is that going, by the way?" she asked, desperate to get off the topic. "I mean, the rebuilding?"

She could almost feel Gippal's wry smile on the back of her neck. His expressions were readable even when she wasn't directly looking at him. "Well, considering the cooling fans are completely shot and there's nothing on this island we can use to make new ones, we haven't had any luck with getting the thing to not practically explode every time we start her up," he answered easily, his voice animated with obvious amusement. Yuna almost hated the way Gippal could see through her, but that would require hating something about Gippal – which Yuna found absolutely impossible. "So maybe," Gippal continued, and Yuna heard him standing up, "we should pay the Praetor a visit, and perhaps the High Summoner could request some airship parts from him—"

"You're terrible!" Yuna protested, turning around and balling her hands into fists.

"I'm just teasing you, cfaadraynd," Gippal said, smiling as he put his darkly tanned hands on Yuna's shoulders. Somehow, Gippal calling her 'sweetheart' in Al Bhed didn't have quite the impact that it would have if he had used regular Spiran. It was just another thing Gippal did that put Yuna entirely at ease.

It perfectly complemented the way he put his fingers under her chin and gently lifted her face upward for one of his irresistible kisses. His mouth was always so warm and inviting, his lips just soft enough to make Yuna's heart skip a beat, but not so soft that he lost his presence. Gippal was always Gippal, and he was always right there when Yuna needed him.

Especially during these kisses.

"Rikku's going to kill me," Yuna murmured breathlessly, her words falling on Gippal's lower lip as soft as sand in the wind.

"That'd be a shame," Gippal replied, tacking on his usual cocky grin that he wore whenever Yuna mentioned how Rikku would be so upset when she found out that Gippal was cheating on her… with her cousin.

Or, Yuna wondered, was Gippal cheating on her with Rikku?

She never could tell. Gippal had this way of smiling at both of them that first made Yuna weak in the knees, and next seemed to indicate that he wouldn't mind having both of them around.

As she found Gippal's mouth on hers again, Yuna thought that she might not mind either.

Dear Baralai,

Thank you for your kindness, and for your offer. Unfortunately, there are pressing matters in Besaid that I have gotten involved with, so I cannot accept your graciousness. I do thank you, however, though perhaps I shall visit you another time.

As for the airship… Gippal wants to know if you'd arrange for a pair of fans to be delivered. I request, politely, that you refuse – I believe he's just trying to use you, Baralai, and that's terrible of him. I think it would be only fitting if you denounced him and offered no assistance, forcing him to remain here in Besaid with us forever.

Sincerely,

Yuna