i felt so much, i couldn't feel at all.
She was tiny, golden and the finest piece of ass I'd seen this side of D'jose in a long time.
I mean... eh... Cid's Girl was still as... cute as ever.
It was a cool day at the Temple, and I was going about my duties; sending machina out onto the Mushroom Rock Road to beat down some fiends, using my charm to make Lucil regret her chastity vows and just generally helping Joe Public beyond belief - and there she was.
I'm not one for poetry, but damn does Rikku remind me of sunshine and Home. All shiny and gold in colour, the green of those eyes singing of Al Bhed thriving in the desert... and man had she grown up since the last time I'd seen her.
Her legs seemed to go on for miles, shining with smoothness, the muscles of her stomach taught and tight, her hair braided and flowing, beads chinking together in a joyous cacophony.
And her boobs.
Well, they'd done a little bit of growing up too.
I paused only slightly, when I thought of the last time I had seen her, of what she had been like, of what she had said.
How it took every last shred of my will to leave her, standing there, on the boardwalk at Bikanel.
"Gippal, please don't go."
"… There's no time for this. I just wanted to say goodbye, I didn't want a plead to stay."
"How can you do this? How can you leave me here?"
"I'm not doing anything to you - I'm leaving for me. There's nothing left here, 'Ku. This place is dead, the sand is dead, the Al Bhed are dying. If I don't get out now, I'll be stuck here, poking at machina forever."
"Hey! It's Cid's little girl!" I called, walking forward and flicking her directly in the forehead. She stumbled back, brow furrowing as she caught her balance, a foul little noise issuing from her throat.
I thought I saw a flicker in her eyes of that last night, as she moaned.
"I have a name," she muttered, planting her hand on her hip, and surveying me with those Bikanel eyes.
I tore my eyes from Rikku's form for the first time since she had wandered up the D'jose bridge, to see Yuna, her cousin and the lah-dee-dah Saviour Lady of Spira blah blah grinning mischievously at Rikku.
"You two are... close?" she asked Rikku, playfully. Before the little blonde could answer back in distaste, I leant forward, grasping Yuna's arm and lowering my voice.
"We made quite the couple," I grinned at her, to which her eyes widened in scandal and she turned to Rikku laughing.
Rikku's eyes burned into my own, and I gulped. Okay, maybe that one was unnecessary.
"I'm here!"
"Cid's girl..."
"No! No don't you treat me like a child! Don't brush me off! What about me, Gippal? Am I dead? Am I so boring that I can't hold your attention anymore?"
"Rikku, you're the last thing about this place that I care about! You're the only thing I care about on this rock, and if the only thing I can do to save you is join the Crimson Squad then that's what I'll do!"
"Gippal..."
"This is already the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Don't make it harder... Cid's girl..."
"Fryd yna oui cyoehk?" she hissed at me, shaking her head in disbelief. I laughed at her outwardly then, throwing a grin at Yuna.
"Rikku's always good for a laugh," I said jovially, as Rikku marched towards me, prodding my chest ferociously and glaring up into my face.
"Bmayca, oui fecr," she muttered, eyes narrowed. I grinned at her then, matching her pout.
"E tu, E tu..." I laughed, holding my hands up. I leaned further into her face, my voice low enough that only she could hear. "Pekkacd secdyga uv so meva..."
Rikku's eyes widened a moment, and I watched the words she had prepared to speak next fall from her lips as her mouth formed a small 'o'.
I stared straight at her, expression never wavering.
Bikanel was on fire that night, the horizon burning and the ocean running blood red, as I kissed Rikku hard and slow, my hands clamped firmly around her, pressing her body close to mine, as I tried to remember ever inch of her.
Rikku and I are equally excellent at pretending like everything is normal, so when Yuna started prattling about sphere hunting and killing fiends, I was able to remain cool and collected.
As they turned to leave, Rikku's eyes stayed locked with mine for a moment too long, and her smile was small, but confused.
"Caa oui cuuh, Gippal?" she murmured, eyes wide, hands folded behind her back.
I nodded, scratching the back of my head.
"Cuuhan dryh mydan, eh, 'Ku?"
She glanced back at Yuna and Paine, before nodding, and blowing me a (reluctant) kiss.
I caught it, laughing at her, before watching her wriggle away after her friends, considering again how much she had grown up.
Her ass in that skirt had to be criminal...
Bikanel was on fire that night, the horizon burning and the ocean running red as I caught a red boat to the Crimson Sqaud, watching my golden girl fade as we drifted further and further away.
"See you soon Gippal?"
"Sooner, rather than later, eh, 'Ku?"
Al Bhed translations:
- What are you saying?
- Please, you wish.
- I do, I do... Biggest mistake of my life.
- See you soon, Gippal?
- Sooner rather than later, eh Ku?
Haven't written in God knows how long. Rikku and Gippal are just too perfect to pass up.